My Soul Delight in Plainness

Nephi makes it quite clear that his writing, and that which he commanded his subsequent Book of Mormon recorders to follow, was the plain and simple truth. “I will speak unto you plainly, according to the plainness of my prophesying, for my soul delighteth in plainness” (2 Nephi 31:2-3). And speaking how God speaks to us, Nephi wrote, “For He speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding” (2 Nephi 31:3).

Nephi was also well aware that people in the latter-days would not pay attention to his plainness, when he wrote: “They will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as a word can be” (2 Nephi 32:7). He was also concerned about his lack of ability to write and was assured that his words would be made strong by God (2 Nephi 33:4). He wrote, “The power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of man. But behold, there are many that harden their hearts against the Holy Spirit, that it hath no place in them; wherefore they cast many things away which are written and esteem them as things of naught” (2 Nephi 33:1-2).

The Book of Mormon is clear in all ways, but especially in the writing outlining the geography of the land. When Mormon inserts his description of the land of promise, he writes quite clearly that the Land of Nephi went from the west sea to the east sea (Alma 22:28), and that the Nephites were to the north of the Land of Nephi:

1. The Nephites had taken possession of all the northern parts of the land
2. This land, on the north, even until they came to the land, which they called Bountiful
3. And this Bountiful bordered upon the land, which they called Desolation
4. This Desolation was so far northward it came into the land that had been peopled and been destroyed (Jaredites).

Thus, in clear language, we get a picture of the Land Southward, with the Land of Nephi in the south, with the Land of Zarahemla to the north of that, the Land of Bountiful to the north of that, the Land of Desolation to the north of that, and the land where the bones of the Jaredites were located to the north of that. We also understand that the Land Southward was completely surrounded by water except for a narrow neck that led into the Land Northward (Alma 22:32). We also understand that the Land Bountiful stretched from the east sea to the west sea (Alma 22:33), thus effectively blocking any access of the Lamanites into the Land Northward (above the narrow neck of land).

Now, one might think this is pretty clear and straightforward. Even John L. Sorenson begins his book, “An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon,” with his first four maps on pages 7, 11, 20 and 24, showing this easily understood north-south relationship. However, his map 5 on page 37, changes directions to an east-west orientation within his Mesoamerican model, stating on page 36, “Many features of south and Central Mexico and Guatemala seem to match up decisively with the requirements for the Book of Mormon territory.”

The fact of the matter is, none match up. To overcome this, Sorenson adds, “Except perhaps for one major anomaly. The Book of Mormon writers talk about their geography in terms of “north” or “northward” and “south” or “southward,” while Mesoamerica seems skewed from those standard compass directions. How is this problem to be solved?” He then spends the next several pages telling us why the Book of Mormon prophet-recorders did not understand the cardinal directions they wrote.

The problem lies in Mesoamerican being an east-west land and the Land of Promise being a north-south land. So, if Nephi tells us the Book of Mormon was written in the language of plainness, how can we justify saying these writers clouded the issue so thoroughly, they were off 90º in their constant comments about the geography of the land? Or is it that Sorenson and all other Mesoamerican Theorists are clouding the issue and removing the plainness from the record and inserting their own convoluted thinking in its place?