The Fifth Land Mentioned in the Book of Mormon

As mentioned in the last post, Mesoamerican and other Theorists ignore the division of the Land of Promise as illustrated in the scriptures. There are actually five lands mentioned, not just the two everyone writes about. The first four, the Land Northward, Land Southward, Land North and Land South, were covered in the last post. This post will cover the fifth land mentioned.

The Land Which Was Northward.
At one time, Geologists claim South America was not connected to Central America, nor was the land to the east of the Andes above water.

Since both the prophets who recorded the statements and Mormon who abridged their writing used the term “Land Northward” or “Land North” why was the term “Land which was northward” used in the one single case in Alma 63? Perhaps it was used because in this single instance, Nephites sailed in Hagoth’s ships away to a land disconnected from the Land of Promise.

At the end of his book, Alma records an incident, which was more likely inserted by Mormon, that a man named Hagoth built several ships in an area at the narrow neck of land, along the southern side of the line separating the Land of Desolation and the Land of Bountiful (Alma 63:5), and launched them there into the West Sea. Several of these ships took their course northward (Alma 63:6).

He also starts out this sequence of events by talking about how many Nephites emigrated to this land which was northward. Closing out the last verse of the 62nd Chapter of Alma, in the 35th year of the reign of the judges, or 57 B.C., Helaman died, and beginning Chapter 63 of Alma, in the 36th year of the reign of the judges, which would be 56 B.C., Shiblon took possession of the record, and Moroni also died that year (verses 1-3). Now, beginning in verse 4, in the thirty-seventh year of the reign of the judges, or 55 B.C., Alma or Mormon write about a northward emigration of Nephites.

“There was a large company of men, even to the amount of five thousand and four hundred men, with their wives and their children, departed out of the land of Zarahemla into the land which was northward” (Alma 63:4)--which would be about 25,000 people. Then in verse 5, we are told that “Hagoth, he being an exceedingly curious man, therefore he went forth and built him an exceedingly large ship, on the borders of the land Bountiful, by the land Desolation, and launched it forth into the west sea, by the narrow neck which led into the land northward” (Alma 63:5).
In verse 6 we are told that “many of the Nephites did enter therein and did sail forth with much provisions, and also many women and children and they took their course northward” (Alma 63:6). Contrary to Sorenson’s claim, Hagoth did not sail with these people—he stayed behind: “And in the thirty and eighty year, this man built other ships. And the first ship did also return, and many more people did enter into it; and they also took much provisions, and set out again to the land northward” (Alma 63:7).

These people who took their course northward, “to a land which was northward” were never heard from again (Alma 63:8).

It is interesting that Mormon, who could only write 1/10th of the records of the Nephites chose to spend almost an entire chapter, 6 verses describing Hagoth and his ship building and the Nephite movement “to a land which was northward” that were never heard from again. Might we not conclude, then, that these Nephites (and Lamanites) went somewhere other than to a land connected to the Land of Promise? After all, Jacob and Nephi told us that this land was an island (2 Nephi 10:20), which by definition, means it was not connected to any land to the north—thus, when taking their course northward, they left the island and landed on a land “which was northward.”