The Lands of Zarahemla and Bountiful

Before Mosiah encountered the people of Zarahemla, the area was called the Land of Zarahemla (Omni 1:13). There was an area to the south of Zarahemla and at a higher elevation called the Land of Minon, (Alma 2:24). There was also a narrow strip of wilderness that ran from the east sea to the west sea, dividing the Land of Nephi from the Land of Zarahemla (Alma 22:27).

This Land of Zarahemla is not specifically mentioned as stretching from the east to the west sea as is the Land of Nephi, the Land of Bountiful, and the narrow strip of wilderness, the Land of Zarahemla, like the Land of Nephi, was nearly surrounded by water (Alma 22:32-33), which should suggest that if a land is surrounded by water, it must stretch to that body of water on both sides—otherwise, the Land of Zarahemla would be bordered by another land, not water. Obviously, the Land of Zarahemla stretched to the west sea (Alma 50:11).

It should not be confused that Lamanites were along the west seashore of Zarahemla and along the east seashore of Zarahemla, causing some to suggest that Zarahemla was an interior land. The Lamanites were driven into the east seashore of the Land of Zarahemla since that was an occupied area at the time of the Land of Zarahemla, but later were driven out (Alma 50:7), and Nephites moved into the eastern borders or seashore (Alma 50:9). Thus Moroni drove the Lamanites out of the east and west wildnernesses of the Land of Zarahemla and reclaimed those areas for the Nephites (Alma 50:11). Later, King Ammoron stirred up the Lamanites to attack the west and east seashores of the Land of Zarahemla to harass the Nephites and take possession of these Nephite lands (Alma 52:13)

The land of Zarahemla was directly north of, and adjacent to the “narrow strip of wilderness,” and had a sea to the west and a sea to the east, as did the Land of Nephi and the narrow strip of wilderness. And according to Mormon’s description, the land of Zarahemla was bordered “on the north, even until they came to the land which they called Bountiful” (Alma 22:29). The land of Bountiful is described as being occupied by the Nephites “even from the east unto the west sea” (Alma 22:33). Obviously, this can only happen if the land of Bountiful had a sea on the west and a sea on the east, which as part of the land south of the narrow neck, was completely surrounded by water as was the Land of Nephi and the Land of Zarahemla except for this narrow neck.

North of this narrow neck was the land of Desolation. Thus, “the land on the northward was called Desolation, and the land on the southward was called Bountiful” (Alma 22:31). The width of this dividing line “was only the distance of a day and a half’s journey for a Nephite, on the line Bountiful and the land Desolation, from the east to the west sea” (Alma 22:32). This line was fortified “against the Lamanites, from the west sea, even unto the east; it being a day’s journey for a Nephite, on the line which they had fortified” (Helaman 4:7).

These references indicate that the defense line extended from the sea west to the sea east, and suggests the Nephites used these two constricted or narrow sea coast boundaries to shorten their fortified line which was designed to stop the Lamanites who were trying to gain more territory in the land northward (Alma 22:32-34) and thus surround the Nephites.

Thus the land of Bountiful, bordered by a sea on the west and a sea on the east, was adjacent to the land of Desolation, which also extended from the sea west to the sea east. The fortified line between the land of Desolation on the north and the land of Bountiful on the south also extended between these same two seas on the west and the east. These are the same two seas that bordered the land of Zarahemla, including the surrounding Lamanite areas, the narrow strip of wilderness, the land of Nephi and the land of first inheritance on the west and on the east.

Or, as Jacob stated, “we are upon an isle of the sea” (2 Nephi 10:20).