Danger of Theorizing Part XIII – Weights and Measures & Agriculture

Following are the last three points of the 16 listed by the author claiming all must exist for a Land of Promise location to be taken seriously. They are:

“(8) Merchant Class Using Weights and Measures tied to gold, silver and grain (Alma 11)”

First of all, there is no proof that the Nephites used weights and measures as their monetary system. This would imply that gold and silver were exchanged in bulk or bar/ingot form. Such is definitely impractical in any society. But especially in the case of Zeezrom offering 6 onti of silver to Amulek (Alma 11:25); and also in such understanding as the judges “received their wages according to their employ” (Alma 11:20). None of this would make sense if an onti of silver was a weight in the form of a bar or some other bulk form.

In addition, the Nephite monetary system had been in place for several centuries by the time of Alma’s writing, and when Mormon abridged that record over 400 years later, he saw no reason to alter, change, or explain further, suggesting that whatever system was in place in 82 B.C., was the system used in 385 A.D. Rarely in history, if ever, would you find a monetary system of a 1,000 year old culture (with more than a thousand years history before that in Palestine) using weights and measures for their money exchange. Besides, the Nephite culture by 82 B.C. had been building fantastic buildings, temples, cities, highways, etc. Nor can it be said, as the author did above, state that only the merchant class used money—Zezzrom and his fellow judges were a professional class and not involved in merchandizing of any kind.

For a complete understanding of the Nephite monetary system and how it operated and how it compares to monetary exchange of today, see the future 3-part posting entitled “Nephite Monetary System.”

The second of these last three is: “(13) Must be in the Western Hemisphere but where Joseph Smith could not have known about in 1829”

The author of this list probably included this having a comparison with the Great Lakes and Heartland theories in mind. Obviously, areas and places within the eastern and mid-American area would have been known to Joseph Smith. However, this could also be used to show that the Andean area of South America fits this very well. Joseph would not have known anything about Peru, Chile or Ecuador in 1829. These countries were just obtaining their independence from Spain and divesting themselves of direct Catholic control. Not much commerce or any other news would have been coming out of the Andean area at this time because of the constant warfare going on.

The last of these three is: “(16) An Agricultural Base to support several millions of people, Columbus having visited the area (1 Nephi 13:12).”

First, the agricultural area of Peru and Chile are legendary, and far more than Guatemala and the rest of Mesoamerica in terms of production and food source. The Mediterranean climate of Chile is a producer of just about every kind of food that can be grown. And as for size, the population of Mesoamerica today is about 83-million, and the population of the Andes is about 65-million. Both areas would certainly qualify for the “several millions of people,” but the Andean area is even more productive in the growing of food.

It is always interesting to see how the many theorists pick on those items for proof of location that match their model. However, there are many other points to be included. As an example, what about:

1. Two unknown animals that are valuable to man? (Ether 9:19)
2. Two unknown grains on a par with corn, wheat and barley? (Mosiah 9:9)
3. A metal used for decoration--ziff? (Mosiah 11:3)
4. Highways that go from city to city and from place to place? (3 Npehi 6:8)
5. A society where circumcision was practiced under the Law of Moses? (2 Nephi 5:10)
6. Herbs, such as quinine, that cured fever? (Alma 46:40)
7. Climate where seeds from Jerusalem would grow abundantly? (1 Nephi 18:24)
8. A land where towers were built and remains are still found? (Mosiah 2:7; 11:12-13)
9. A land where winds and currents flow to from the Arabian peninsula? (see any Atlas)
10. A land of Promise that is an island as Jacob said? (2 Npehi 10:20)
11. A land that has “mountains whose height is great”? (Helaman 14:23)

The list could go on, but suffice it to say that only the Andean area of South America can qualify for ALL the points that could be raised about the Land of Promise as shown and listed in the Book of Mormon as has been pointed out and listed in numerous other posts.