Erroneous Great Lakes Theory

The concept of a Great Lakes Land of Promise has been gaining ground in some circles over the past decade, and it seems no one is taking the time to look into the relationship of the Great Lakes to the Book of Mormon account. As an example, Mormon, inserting a geography lesson into Alma 22, makes it quite clear as to the directions and locations of this land.

In describing the Lamanite king’s land, or the Land of Nephi, Mormon wrote about the location of the Lamanites: “who were in all the regions round about, which was bordering even to the sea on the east and on the west and which was divided from the land of Zarahemla by a narrow strip of wilderness, which ran from the sea east even to the sea west, and round about on the borders of the seashore” (Alma 22:27).

First of all, Mormon describes these lands (the Land of Nephi and the Land of Zarahemla) as stretching from the east to the west. That is, the borders of this land “bordering even to the sea, on the east and on the west.” He is not saying the East Sea or West Sea at this point, only that the land stretches from the east to the west between two seas. That is, the land runs from east to west. Then Mormon places the two seas, one in the east and one in the west, calling them the west sea and the east sea “which ran from the sea east even to the sea west,” which should suggest to anyone that this area of land, called the Land of Nephi and the Land of Zarahemla, that both lands stretched from the east to the west, and “ran from the sea east even to the sea west.”

However, in the Great Lakes Theorists’ maps, with Lake Ontario as the East Sea and Lake Erie as the West Sea, the Land of Nephi and the Land of Zarahemla as they show it, do not stretch from these two seas running from the east to the west. In fact, as the map below shows, these lands run from two seas, one on the NORTH and one on the SOUTH.
And so it goes with Theorists who do not use the scriptures to determine the location of the Book of Mormon, but try to get the Book of Mormon to agree with their pre-determined map location. Of course, one looking at an overall map could say that Lake Ontario runs to the east and Lake Erie runs to the west, but at the narrow neck of land, they are north and south of one another, contrary to Mormon’s description.

One would also find it difficult that Mormon, who tried so thoroughly to make geography understood by his future reader, or the other prophets, never wrote about or at least indicated, one of the greatest landmarks in all North America, and that is Niagara Falls, while claiming it was along the Narrow Neck of Land separating the Land Northward from the Land Southward (however, in their map, it separates two lands that are east and wet of the division). In addition, the Niagara River, which flows from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie (an impassable river to sail) is also not mentioned in this narrow neck of land, though there is mention of a pass and passage.


How is it possible such a magnificent landmark that has existed since time began according to geologists that can he seen and heard for miles around is never mentioned? Mormon mentions a narrow neck, a narrow pass, and a narrow passage, but never this awesome landmark that people for two centuries have traveled thousands of miles to see.

It actually boggles the mind to think that anyone could place what is written in the Book of Mormon within the Great Lakes region for there simply are far more disagreements than there are agreements in land location and geography.