Brandley’s Map – Another Useless Shot in the Dark, Part II

Continuing with Theodore Brandley’s North American setting for his Land of Promise, we revisit his map to show the relationship errors according to Mormon’s writing in Alma 22:27-34):

Mormon tells us that the Land of Bountiful was so far to the north that it “bordered upon the land which they called Desolation” (vs 29-30). “Thus the land on the northward was called Desolation, and the land on the southward was called Bountiful” (vs 31) Mormon goes on to tell us that these two lands were separated by “a small neck of land between the land northward and the land southward” (vs 32), and this narrow neck was narrow enough that “it 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” (vs 32), and that the Land of Zarahemla and the Land of Nephi were nearly surrounded by water except for this narrow neck of land (vs 32).

So let’s take this information one point at a time:

1. Bountiful “bordered upon the land which they called Desolation. Thus the land on the northward was called Desolation, and the land on the southward was called Bountiful”

The Land of Desolation and the city of Desolation were located in the Land Northward, north of the Land of Bountiful and the city of Bountiful, which were located in the Land Southward.

2. Separated by “a small neck of land between the land northward and the land southward” and narrow enough that “it 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”

Between these two lands was a narrow neck of land that a Nephite could cross in a day and a half journey.

Now common sense should tell even the most unknowledgeable person that this narrow neck lay between Bountiful and Desolation. But in Brandley’s map, it does not. First of all, his small neck of land is further south than where Lehi landed, which landing is recorded in the scriptural record as the furthest point south in the Land of Promise. Secondly, Brandley’s map places Bountiful and Desolation about 1,000 miles apart, with his Narrow Pass to the north of Desolation! He also places about 1,200 miles between his Narrow Neck and the Narrow Pass (as the crow flies) and 3,000 miles by land. He also describes the entire Delmarva Peninsula as a Narrow Neck (Delaware, and parts of Maryland and Virginia). 

A narrow neck of land, by definition, is “narrow.” This diagram shows a narrow neck of land between Desolation in the Land Northward and Bountiful in the Land Southward as Mormon describes, and from which Hagoth could have launched a ship into the West Sea as Mormon wrote

As an example, in Alma, we find: “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). By this description, we find that 1) the narrow neck must border on the West Sea, 2) the narrow neck must lead into the Land Northward, and 3) a ship must be launchable into the Sea to the West of this narrow neck.

Brandley’s map of his narrow neck, narrow pass, City of Desolation, and a Great City.

This is the Delmarva Peninsula, containing Delaware, Eastern Maryland and two counties of Virginia, and is approximately 6,000 square miles of flat sandy land with very few hills, almost completely surrounded by the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. In Mormon’s writing, but not in Brandley’s map location, the Narrow Neck led into the Land Northward from the Land Southward. In Brandley's map, there is nothing south of this peninsula except ocean.

Brandley has Hagoth launching his ships from the area of present day Baltimore into the 4,479-square-mile-Chesapeake Bay, sailing 200 miles south before being able to turn east into the Atlantic Ocean (his East Sea) and only then heading north—to where? Keep in mind this is about 1100 miles north of his West Sea into which Alma tells us Hagoth launched his ships

In Brandley’s location of both his narrow neck and small neck, none of Alma’s criteria is possible. First, in the small neck to the south (which he locates in Panama), the land runs east to west, with the sea to the north and south—no west launching, and Land of Desolation is over 3600 miles away—no leading into the land northward, and this area is about 1,000 miles from the West Sea. As for his narrow neck, it is 1100 miles from the West Sea, can only launch a ship into the Sea to the east, and since it is a peninsula, it does not lead anywhere, i.e., does not lead from the Land Southward into the Land Northward.

As for the narrow neck, which Mormon tells us could be “crossed in a day and a half’s journey by a Nephite,” Brandley has placed this passage area in northern Florida, over 1000 miles to the south of his narrow neck and pass into the Land Northward. In addition, this area is 150 miles across—a mighty journey for a day and a half. Also, Brandley labels this area a 1 ½ day run! A run! Nowhere in scripture does Mormon or Alma suggest this journey is a run! Mormon describes this as a journey, not a marathon. Before cars, horses, wagons, etc., a journey was taken on foot—it was a walk!

Another glaring problem is that Brandley’s map shows the City of Nephi in Guatemala, but the City of Lehi-Nephi in Texas, about 1200 miles apart. Yet, Mosiah makes it quite clear that the City of Nephi and the City of Lehi-Nephi were the same city (Mosiah 7:11,21; 9:8,15; 20:3; 21:1, 12).

(See the next post, “Brandley’s Map – Another Useless Shot in the Dark, Part III,” to see how other ways his map does not meet the simplest criteria of Mormon’s explanation of the appearance and layout of the Land of Promise)