So Where is the Land of Promise? – Part VI

Continuing from the last three posts, listing actual descriptions in the Book of Mormon and how any Land of Promise model should match all of those listed in that scriptural record.     
    Earlier posts in this series have covered 1) Mountains, “whose height is great”; 2) Two unknown animals; 3) Two unknown grains; 4) Plants that cure fever; 5) Land of promise as an island; 6) The four seas surrounding the Land of Promise; 7) the Climate where Lehi’s seeds grew that he brought to the Land of Promise from Jerusalem; 8) Roads and Highways; 9) Driven before the wind; 10) Lehi’s Course to the Land of Promise; 11) Both Gold and Silver and Copper; 12) Hagoth’s ships went northward; 13) Forts, fortifications and resorts; 14) Fortified wall; 15) Narrow neck of land; and 16) Defendable narrow pass or passage.
    Following are more descriptions found in the scriptural record:
An example of a sea dividing, but not separating, a land. That is, dividing one land into two parts, without separating the land entirely
    One of those additional descriptions is the statement about the sea dividing the land. This occurs in Moroni’s translation, when he wrote: “And they built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land” (Ether 10:20).
This statement occurs just after the poisonous serpents blocking the way into the Land Southward were all destroyed (Ether 10:19), and the Jaredites decided to preserve the Land Southward, which was “covered with animals of the forest,” as a “preserve,” that is, a hunting ground. No Jaredite settlements were built in the Land Southward as seen by the following statement: “And they did preserve the land southward for a wilderness, to get game. And the whole face of the land northward was covered with inhabitants” (Ether 10:21).
    The question that many theorists struggle with is what sea is being described here? To answer this question, we need keep in mind that the sea that divides the land is mentioned in conjunction with the narrow neck of land. And the city they built, and the sea mentioned, is along by this narrow neck of land. So to understand the sea, we need to understand what made this land narrow at the neck. We also need to keep in mind that this is written by Moroni who is reading the Jaredite record.
    Stated differently, unlike the Jaredites, Moroni knew very well what the Land Southward looked like, how it was shaped, how the land narrowed to form the narrow neck of land, and what waters flowed around these south countries. He also knew how the waters formed around this narrow neck and its narrow passage which had seas on the west and east (Alma 50:34). He also knew about Hagoth’s shipyard and from where the ships that went northward sailed.

Left: The Bay of Guayaquil in southern Ecuador divides the western coast of Andean South America, today leaving about a 25 mile wide corridor, or neck, between Peru (south) and Ecuador (north), blocked on the east by the sheer height of the Andes Mountains, and on the left by the sea; Right: In Nephite times, the Andes had not yet risen and this area on the east was a sea, referred to as the Pebasian Sea (See the post “The Rising of South America—Part III,” dated September 7, 2012)
    Thus, from a viewpoint of knowing this configuration, Moroni wrote the words “where the sea divides the land.” Or, where the sea encroached into the land and divided it. Or where the sea separated the Land Northward from the Land Southward.
    This, of course, is the same sea into which Hagoth launched his ships, which Moroni knew very well from reading the records and knowing what his father wrote and knew. No doubt Hagoth’s shipyards at the narrow neck existed long after the period in which he is mentioned, since the Nephites were involved in shipping and the building of ships (Helaman 3:14).

The sea that divides the land is that portion of the West Sea that flows into the Bay of Guayaquil, separating the northern land from the southern land and creating the narrow neck of land
    No doubt Hagoth’s shipyards at the narrow neck existed long after the period in which he is mentioned, since the Nephites were involved in shipping and the building of ships (Helaman 3:14). And since Moroni was in the narrow neck area during the ten year hiatus of peace (Mormon 2:29; 3:1), and was part of Mormon’s army which withstood the Lamanite invasion through the narrow neck of land (Mormon 3:5) during the following three years. Consequently, it must be understood that Moroni, when writing about the Jaredites around the narrow neck of land some forty years later, was well versed in the area he was describing.
    The fact that this sea had no name is consistent with the Jaredite manner of not giving names to seas; at least the record lists no names, though directions are understood. Take the example of Omer when he departed out of the land and traveled many days, it says he traveled “eastward, and came to a place which was called Ablom, by the seashore, and there he pitched his tent” (Ether 9:3). Again, “And it came to pass that in the first year of Lib, Coriantumr came up unto the land of Moron, and gave battle unto Lib. And it came to pass that he fought with Lib, in which Lib did smite upon his arm that he was wounded; nevertheless, the army of Coriantumr did press forward upon Lib, that he fled to the borders upon the seashore” (Ether 14:11-12), and also “Shiz did pursue Coriantumr eastward, even to the borders by the seashore, and there he gave battle unto Shiz for the space of three days” (Ether 14:26).
    In these three uses of the word “seashore,” no name is given to the sea, though a direction, “eastward,” is mentioned. In fact, there are very few directions given in the entire Jaredite record. Moroni uses the term “north country” twice, Land Northward once, the term “southward” once, and the Land Southward four times. The terms “north” or “south” are never mentioned as a direction, and the word “sea” is mentioned only four times, and never with a name, unless Ripliancum, meaning “to exceed all,” is their North Sea.

Thus, when the words “where the sea divides the land,” is given, it should be considered that this sea is the main sea with which Moroni was well familiar and the Jaredites evidently simply called “the sea.” Obviously, the sea Moroni would have associated with the narrow neck of land would have been the Nephite West Sea (Alma 63:5).
    Another consideration is that the wordage “divides the land” is the same terminology used earlier in Ether 2:13, referring to the oceans that separated them from their homeland and the land of promise, when Morsoni wrote: “And now I proceed with my record; for behold, it came to pass that the Lord did bring Jared and his brethren forth even to that great sea which divideth the lands.”
    Thus, we see that both statements are Moroni’s, and again, Moroni was well familiar with the sea that divided the land in the Land of Promise—the West Sea, where it cut into the land to create the narrow neck.
    Once again, we can see that Mormon (and Moroni) described the Land of Promise as two main land masses, the Land Southward, and the Land Northward, which were connected by a small and narrow land mass he called a neck. And these two lands were divided by the West Sea except for the narrow neck, and within this narrow neck was a narrow pass, which was the only passage between the two lands. And that pass was narrow enough that it could easily be guarded against an army trying to move from one land to the other.
    Obviously, then, any true Land of Promise must match all of the descriptions listed in the Book of Mormon—it is not a pick and choose arrangement in selecting those that agree with your point of view, but must match all of the descriptions, beginning with these first 17 covered in these six posts.
(See the next post, “So Where is the Land of Promise? – Part VII,” for more of these descriptions as listed in the scriptural record of the Book of Mormon)

So Where is the Land of Promise? – Part V

Continuing from the last four posts, listing actual descriptions of the scriptural record of the Book of Mormon and how any Land of Promise model should match all of those listed in that writing. We have earlier covered 1) Mountains, “whose height is great”; 2) Two unknown animals; 3) Two unknown grains; 4) Plants that cure fever; 5) Land of promise as an island; 6) The four seas surrounding the Land of Promise; 7) the Climate where Lehi’s seeds grew that he brought to the Land of Promise from Jerusalem; 8) Roads and Highways; 9) Driven before the wind; 10) Lehi’s Course to the Land of Promise; 11) Both Gold and Silver and Copper; 12) Hagoth’s ships went northward; 13) Forts, fortifications and resorts; and 14) Fortified wall.

Still another of the descriptions Mormon left us is that of the small neck of land that separated the Land Northward from the Land Southward. While many have claimed its existence in their various models, we need to pay particular attention to the actual descriptions given. First of all, Alma, when describing the land stated: “And now, 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; and thus the land of Nephi and the land of Zarahemla were nearly surrounded by water, there being a small neck of land between the land northward and the land southward” (Alma 22:32).
    From this description we learn that this neck between the lands:
    1) Was small
    2) Connected the Land Northward and the Land Southward
    3) Separated the Land of Bountiful from the Land of Desolation
    4) Its width was the distance a Nephite could journey in a day and a half (about 18 hours of walking)
    5) Bordered the West Sea and had some type of terminus to the east
    6) It was the only land that was part of the Land Southward not surrounded by water
    7) It was the only land mass that connected the Land Southward with the Land Northward

A normal person walking would be a good way to express distance from one era to another since not much would change, i.e., men walk at about the same pace in any age, thus the distance described by a man walking can be measured
    A Nephite, a common man in Alma and Mormon’s day, could walk, no doubt, about the same pace as a common man today. No indication or suggestion is here given that this Nephite journey was meant to imply a special person, athlete, runner, military man, or any other special type person. In addition, the use of this phrase “journey for a Nephite” is given in the sense of explaining to a future reader a distance—that is the distance of the width of the small neck of land.
    To imply or suggest any other explanation is to change the wording or meaning of Mormon’s simple statement.Thus, this measurement is the distance a normal man could walk in a day and a half--about 18 hours, or about 25 to 30 miles.
    Now the word small was defined in the area of New England in Joseph Smith’s time as “Slender; thin; of little diameter; hence in general, little in size; not great; as a small house; a small horse; a small farm; a small body; small particles,” according to Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language.
    Further, Either uses the word narrow to describe this same neck of land when he wrote: “And they built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land” (Ether 10:20). Again, the word narrow was defined in Joseph Smith’s time as: “Of little breadth; not wide or broad; having little distance from side to side." Also "of little extent; very limited; within a small distance.” Perhaps more specifically to Ether’s narrow neck is, “A strait; a narrow passage through a mountain, or a narrow channel of water between one sea and another.”
    In addition, when it comes to a physical landmass, it should be understood that those who saw it had to know that it was small or narrow in order to describe it as such. An isthmus, on the other hand, is not a narrow neck of land. Today, a narrow neck is usually described as an “isthmus,” but in 1828 the word isthmus only applied to a land of considerable extent between seas, such as Webster's example of "the isthmus between the Euxine (Black) and Caspian seas.” That distance, by the way, is about 350 miles—hardly what we would call “small” or “narrow.” On the other hand, the word Neck in 1828 was described as “a long narrow tract of land projecting from the main body, or a narrow tract connecting two larger tracts.”

Above, the isthmus between the Euxine Sea and the Caspian Sea, Webster’s example, which is about 350 miles wide. Below: The isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mesoamerica, which is about 140 miles wide. In neither case would a man on foot in Nephite times know there was a narrow neck of land—nor could either of these areas be considered a narrow neck of land separating two larger land masses 
    Yet another description of importance is the narrow pass or passage that led from the Land Southward into the Land Northward. Not only was this pass narrow, but it was a type of bottleneck for movement from one land to another since it is described as an area that could be defended to stop movement from land to land, such as in the case of keeping Morianton (Alma 50:33-35) or the Lamanites from obtaining the Land Northward.
    This pass is described in Alma as “the narrow pass which led by the sea into the land northward, yea, by the sea, on the west and on the east” (Alma 50:34). And it was described here as a place where a fleeing army could be caught and stopped, such as a narrow pass would afford, “And it came to pass that they did not head them until they had come to the borders of the land Desolation; and there they did head them” (Alma 50:34).
    A little later, Moroni sent men to strengthen Teancum’s army in Bountiful and also sent “orders unto him that he should fortify the land Bountiful, and secure the narrow pass which led into the land northward, lest the Lamanites should obtain that point and should have power to harass them on every side” (Alma 52:9)
    This passage was such a prominent landmark, as the small neck of land between two larger land masses would be, that Mormon worked out a truce with the Lamanites to use this pass as the dividing line between their two lands after the Nephites had been driven into the Land Northwared. Mormon wrote: “And the Lamanites did give unto us the land northward, yea, even to the narrow passage which led into the land southward. And we did give unto the Lamanites all the land southward” (Mormon 2:29).
    Again, using the terms as known to Joseph Smith in 1829, the word pass was defined as “A narrow passage, entrance or avenue; a narrow or difficult place of entrance and exit; as a pass between mountains; a passage, a road.” The word passage was defined as: “Road; way; avenue; a place where men or things may pass or be conveyed.”

Top: Long narrow passes between sheer mountain sides; Bottom Left/Middle: Short narrow passes between tall rock outcroppings; Lower Right: Narrow mountain pass among extended obstructions. Each of these narrow passes would be easy for a military blockade or defense against unwanted passage by an enemy force, which Mormon describes in Alma
    Clearly, Mormon described the Land of Promise as two main land masses, the Land Southward, and the Land Northward, which were connected by a small and narrow land mass he called a neck. Within this narrow neck was a narrow pass, which was the only passage between the two lands. And that pass was narrow enough that it could easily be guarded against an army trying to move from one land to the other--this is why from thje very beginning the Land of Promise was seen by readers of the Book of Mormon as shaped like an hourglass, i.e., large on both ends, narrow in the middle.
    Obviously, then, any true Land of Promise must match all of the descriptions listed in the Book of Mormon—it is not a pick and choose arrangement in selecting those that agree with your point of view, but must match all of the descriptions, beginning with these first 16 covered in these five posts.

(See the next post, “So Where is the Land of Promise? – Part VI,” for more of these descriptions as listed in the scriptural record of the Book of Mormon)

So Where is the Land of Promise? – Part IV

Continuing from the last three posts, listing actual descriptions of the scriptural record of the Book of Mormon and how any Land of Promise model should match all of those listed in that writing. We have earlier covered 1) Mountains, “whose height is great”; 2) Two unknown animals; 3) Two unknown grains; 4) Plants that cure fever; 5) Land of promise as an island; 6) The four seas surrounding the Land of Promise; 7) the Climate where Lehi’s seeds grew that he brought to the Land of Promise; 8) Roads and Highways; 9) Driven before the wind; 10) Lehi’s Course to the Land of Promise; and 11) Both Gold and Silver and Copper. 

Another important criteria has to do with a simple statement about Hagoth’s ships. Though extremely important, it is often ignored.  Mormon wrote: “And it came to pass 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. And behold, there were many of the Nephites who did enter therein and did sail forth with much provisions, and also many women and children; and they took their course northward” (Alma 63:5-6).
    Two important points are made here: 1) The ship was launched into the West Sea; and 2) the ship then “took their course northward.” Though a simple statement, it is amazing how little attention is paid to its importance in better understanding the Land of Promise.

For Hagoth’s ships to leave the area of Mesoamerica’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec (narrow neck of land) and set sail into the Pacific Ocean (West Sea), they would have had to travel 120 miles in a southwesterly direction, then 25 miles in a due west direction, then 750 miles in a northwesterly direction before it could have turned onto a northward (red arrow) direction, which is the direction Mormon tells us the ships initially took (Alma 63:6)
Obviously, any model of the Land of Promise would have to have a west sea coastline that ran north and south, not east and west as Mesoamerica does.
    Yet another description that enables us to look more closely at a Land of Promise location is the continual use of forts, fortifications, and resorts (small fort) mentioned in the scriptural record. In the book of Alma alone, resort is used 3 times, fort l4, fortifications 8, fortify or fortified 13, and stronghold 14 times.
    As an example, Moroni “had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small fort or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land” (Alma 48:8), And in their weakest fortifications he did place the greater number of men; and thus he did fortify and strengthen the land which was possessed by the Nephites” (Alma 48:9).
    Thus, we should find all sorts of forts, stone walls, and high-ground fortresses throughout the Land of Promise. Moroni not only dug ditches and built walls of timber for these fortress walls (Alma 49:18-22; 50:1-6), but he also built “walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land” (Alma 48:8).
    Obviously, these fortifications were not just wooden stockade walls that would deteriorate over time and disappear, but also built walls of stone that would not only withstand a concentrated attack by the enemy, but last for centuries.

Top: Stone walls erected for defense; Bottom: Small forts, or resorts, that often served as lookout positions for the larger army
    While the purpose of these small forts, or resorts, is not mentioned in the scriptural record, other than they are included with the construction of defensive strongholds (Alma 52:6), it must be concluded that they served a defensive purpose in the war against the Lamanites. It should also be mentioned that the first mention of resorts is in connection with the defector Zoramites “being the most acquainted with the strength of the Nephites, and their places of resort” (Alma 48:5), suggesting that the Zoramites, having lived among the Nephites, were not only well acquainted with the strength of their cities (fortresses), stone walls, etc., but also their small forts—which can only mean that they knew about the Nephite system of warning outposts. Nor were these fortifications in just one particular area, for “Moroni had fortified, or had built forts of security, for every city in all the land round about” (Alma 49:13; see also 50:11 and 62:42).
    Obviously, any Land of Promise location must show not only erected buildings, impressive as they  might be, but such fortified areas, stone walls, hillside or mountainous small forts as a remnant of a once powerful Nephite nation that withstood the constant attacks of a dedicated enemy for nearly 800 years before being finally exterminated. While there are many stone edifices in Mesoamerica, there are few fortresses and no outpost stone structures serving as lookout resorts. There are none whatever in any of the other suggested locations for the Land of Promise, except of the crudest manner. Such structures are only found in the Andean area of South America, in  Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.

It is obvious that these forts and fortresses found all over the Andean area of Peru, western Bolivia and Ecuador were built for defense. Walls surround most, and others were built on hilltops, and still others had such small entrances that an enemy could onlly enter one at a time in single file
    There is also a particular mention of a fortification that the Nephites built across the land to stop the advance northward of the Lamanite invasion. At this time, in 36 B.C., three years after Helaman died, the war broke out with great fervor—a war that saw the Lamanites conquering all of the Land of Zarahemla and driving the Nephites and Moronihah’s army back into the Land of Bountiful. Mormon writes: “and there they did fortify against the Lamanites, from the west sea, even unto the east; it being a day's journey for a Nephite, on the line which they had fortified and stationed their armies to defend their north country” (Helaman 4:7).
    For two years this war progressed, no doubt, from city to city in the Land of Zarahemla, as Nephite dissenters stirred up the Lamanites to battle. So heated was the war, that the Nephites lost almost all of the Land Southward until they were driven back to a point where Moronihah had the Nephites build a fortified wall across the land in Bountiful after the army retreated northward. This fortified line evidently was so successful, that it stopped the Lamanite advance, and the following year saw the Nephite army retaking many parts of the land and regaining many cities which had previously fallen into the hands of the Lamanites (Helaman 4:9). The year after the Nephites gained more, even half of all their previous possessions in the Land Southward (Halaman 4:10).
    Obviously, then, this was no mere ditch or mounded earth piled up, but an impenetrable, well fortified wall that stretched across the land from the west sea eastward. Since this wall was the length of a day’s journey for a Nephite (Helaman 4:7), it obviously had some eastward terminus that was impassable by the Lamanites, such as deep canyons and steep mountains. Nor was this wall a mere temporary, quickly constructed chest-high fortification (breastwork, barricade or parapet), but a sturdy, stone wall (bulwark) that stopped the Lamanite invaders in their tracks and turned the tide of the three year war.

Top: The Great Wall of Peru, built to defend against attack from the south (right) runs parallel to the north side of the Santa Valley; Bottom: the walls as it crossed the mountain passes and along the ridges
    This Great Wall of Peru, which stretches from the west coast of northern Peru near the mouth of the Santa River in what is now a large marsh, was stone and broken rocks set in mud mortar as it crossed the Santa Valley and hilly interior. It stood as high as 20 to 30 feet, with 14 stone fortresses located on hills overlooking the wall, dated to the period between 900 B.C. to 100 B.C.

Top: Parts of the Great Wall of Peru still standing today; Bottom: The wall ran from near the mouth of the Santa River, up along the river for several miles, then along the north ridge of the Santa Valley to near Corongo, effectively cutting off any movement from the south to the north because of the steep, almost sheer mountains beyond that point
    This should suggest to all who study the scriptural record, that any true Land of Promise must match all of the descriptions listed in the Book of Mormon—it is not a pick and choose arrangement in selecting those that agree with your point of view, but must match all of the descriptions, beginning with these first 14 covered in these three posts.
(See the next post, “So Where is the Land of Promise? – Part V,” for more of these descriptions as listed in the scriptural record of the Book of Mormon)

So Where is the Land of Promise? – Part III

Continuing from the last two posts, listing actual descriptions of the scriptural record of the Book of Mormon and how any Land of Promise model should match all of those listed in that writing. We have earlier covered 1) Mountains, “whose height is great”; 2) Two unknown animals; 3) Two unknown grains; 4) Plants that cure fever; 5) Land of promise as an island; 6) The four seas surrounding the Land of Promise; and 7) the Climate where Lehi’s seeds grew that he brought to the Land of Promise.    
    Another important criteria are the roads the disciple Nephi tells us about when he said: “there were many highways cast up, and many roads made, which led from city to city, and from land to land, and from place to place” (3 Nephi 6:8). Samuel the Lamanite confirmed that there were many highways in the Land of Promise (Helaman 14:24). These highways were made of some type of solid material, like stone or a form of pavement, since Nephi also tells us that during the terrible destruction that “changed the face of the earth,” these highways were “broken up” (3 Nephi 8:13).

Top: Stone highways found in Andean Peru, still travelable after more than two thousand years; Bottom Left: This stepped, stone highway stretches for miles, obviously not intended for wheeled vehicles; Bottom Right: This ancient road was “cast up” across a series of  mountainous valley ravines with an irrigation channel in the middle;
Bottom: Stepped roads and bridges meant only for foot traffic
    The highway system in Andean Peru is both remarkable and unequaled anywhere in the Western Hemisphere, and according to the conquistadors who first saw these roads, claimed they rivaled the highly acclaimed roads of the ancient Romans. This highway system ran 3,700 miles, from Chile to Ecuador, with an intertwining and interconnected network of 24,000 miles of roads and highways. Truly, this road system “led from city to city, and from land to land, and from place to place.”

Called Qhapaq Ñan by the Inca (Great Inca Road or Route of the Inca), who later used these well-built Nephite roads to help them conquer from Ecuador to Chile. They never could have been built by the Inca, whose existence is figured to be about 100 years in which most of that time was taken up by fighting wars. Without these roads already in place, the Inca never could have conquered most of their eventual territory
    Another important criteria, is Nephi’s brief, but extremely important comment on how his ship was propelled from Bountiful to the Land of Promise. He tells us: “after we had all gone down into the ship, and had taken with us our provisions and things which had been commanded us, we did put forth into the sea and were driven forth before the wind towards the promised land” (1 Nephi 18:8). Not long out to sea, Nephi adds, “And after we had been driven forth before the wind for the space of many days” (1 Nephi 18:9). This is when his brothers and the sons of Ishmael bound Nephi and the Liahona stopped working.

This statement, which many try to compare with that found in Ether, is talking about the wind driving the ship, where a careful reading of Ether shows the wind was driving the waters, which moved the barges: “the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind” (Ether 6:5; read all verses 5-11).
    In these two statements, Nephi informs us that his ship was propelled by the wind, and that wind blew his ship toward the promised land from the shore of the Arabian Peninsula where he built and launched his ship all the way to the Land of Promise. And the winds and currents that move from Arabia to the Western Hemisphere are:

1) Southward across the Arabian Sea and then the Indian Ocean, to 2) the West Wind Drift and Prevailaing Westerlies, which cross the Southern Ocean and the very southern edge of the Pacific Ocean, and a) the lower portion through the Drake Passage (south of Cape Horn) and into the Atlantic, or b) the upward portion forced upward along the western coast of South America within the Humboldt (Peruvian) Current.  
    Though Mesoamericanists want to send Lehi through Indonesia and island-hopping across the Pacific, the winds and currents simply do not blow nor move in that direction, as any Atlas will show. And while Heartland and New England modelists want to take Lehi around the tip of Africa and diagonally across the Atlantic to America, the winds and currents around the Cape of Good Hope, originally called the Cabo Tormentoso “Cape of Storms,” blow in conflicting directions there.

Left: Red area is the Agulhas Current, flowing southward. On the opposite side of Africa is the Benguela Current, flowing in the opposite direction. These two currents meet at the southern tip (right) and cause unending storms, current conflict, and wind turmoil. This area was called the Cape of Shipwrecks by sailors for centuries
    In fact, this passage from east to west around Africa is so severe in trying to sail from east to west through the Agulhas Current, the attempt drove Vasco da Gama’s second attempt to round the cape backward for three days. It wasn’t until the mid-1500’s that the Portuguese learned to round the tip of Africa by staying well out to sea, a maneuver that worked sailing west to east and into the Indian Ocean, but was not possible because of the currents when sailing east to west.
    Another important description, and often overlooked, is the statement made by Nephi: “And we did find all manner of ore, both of gold, and of silver, and of copper” (1 Nephi 18:25). It should be noted that though the term “both” is used, three different metals follow. Few people bother to spend a moment to try and understand what Nephi wrote and Joseph Smith translated; however, in understanding this phrase, one can understand exactly what Nephi found “as they journeyed in the wilderness of the Land of Promise."
    Obviously, the word “both” means “two,” as in “both a dog and a cat.” One would not say “both a dog and a cat and a rabbit.” But Nephi and Joseph Smith were not using improper grammar as some suppose. To understand this statement, we merely need to recognize that two of those items can categorically be placed as one—that is, the precious metals of gold and silver, which is one item, the non-precious metal “copper.” This is also seen in “the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam” (2 Nephi 9:21). Again, men and women are adults (one category) and children are not (another category).

Top Left: Ore rock containing 3.95 ppm gold, 5 ppm silver, and 1% copper; Top Right: High grade silver, containing gold and copper; Bottom Left: Both gold, silver, and copper in a single ore sample; Bottom Right: Both gold, silver, and copper bubbled in a single ore
    So why did Nephi make such a statement? Obviously,  because the Nephites found “all manner of ore,” including that which contained gold, silver and copper in a single ore. We need only keep in mind that ore often contains more than one metal, especially the ore of copper, which can contain gold, and it can contain gold and silver. Thus, we see that Nephi is telling us that he found abundant deposits of gold, silver and copper ore—a single ore containing all three metals.
    Now, copper is not found in gold and silver ore deposits everywhere—none, as a matter of fact in the Great Lakes region, and while tumbaga (a manufactured alloy of gold and copper) was found in Central America, it was not found in the ground in that manner. So the use of tumbaga does not qualify for the manner in which Nephi describes the ore he found. These three metals in a single ore are not found in Mesoamerica, though some are located in northern Mexico. However, the three metals in single ore are found throughout Chile and Peru in Andean South America.
    Obviously, then, any true Land of Promise must match all of the descriptions listed in the Book of Mormon—it is not a pick and choose arrangement in selecting those that agree with your point of view, but must match all of the descriptions, beginning with these first 11 covered in these three posts, as well as the ones to follow in the next posts.
(See the next post, “So Where is the Land of Promise? – Part IV,” for more of these descriptions as listed in the scriptural record of the Book of Mormon)

So Where is the Land of Promise? – Part II

Continuing from the last post, with listing actual descriptions of the scriptural record of the Book of Mormon and how any Land of Promise model must match all of those listed by Mormon, Nephi and others.    
    Another important criteria is Jacob’s description of the land upon which the Nephites lived. This would have been between 559 and 545 B.C., more than 30 years after landing, probably about 20 to 25 years after Nephi founded the City of Nephi, and after the temple was built, after Nephi had appointed Jacob and his younger brother as priests over the people, and the city populated with at least three generations of Nephites.
    At this time, Jacob, who obviously well understood the land upon which he lived, reminds his people that “we have been driven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a better land, for the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea” (2 Nephi 10:20). He also went on to tell them, “wherefore as it says isles, there must needs be more than this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren” (2 Nephi 10:21).
    These words were spoken by Jacob and written down by Nephi on the plates he made. These two men, who had traveled some in the Land of Promise, either by their own observation or from a vision, knew they were upon an island—that the Land of Promise was an island. Therefore, at the time of the Nephites, at least up until the earthquakes (3 Nephi 8:3) and terrible destruction in the Land Southward, but even greater destruction in the Land Northward (3 Nephi 8:11-12), and the “face of the whole earth became deformed" (3 Nephi 8:17). Consequently, any Land of Promise model must be of an area that is either now an island, or was an island during the time of the Nephites.

By definition, an island is surrounded by water. Jacob says that “we are upon an isle of the sea,” which is an island in the sea, or surrounded by the sea
    In addition, the scriptural record clearly states that there were four seas around the Land of Promise, each given a name depicting the cardinal directions: Sea North, Sea East, Sea South, Sea West, suggesting that these seas were located in the four directions of the land, north, east, south, and west. Around 46 B.C. we find that the Nephites: “Did multiply and spread, and did go forth from the land southward to the land northward, and did spread insomuch that they began to cover the face of the whole earth, from the sea south to the sea north, from the sea west to the sea east” (Helaman 3:8).A form of parallelism in writing, Mormon describes "from the land southward to the land northward," and "from the sea south to the sea north," suggesting a relationship, i.e., the land southward and the sea south--both being in the south of the Land of Promise; the land northward and the sea north--both being in the north of the Land of Promise, or, as we would say today to describe America--"from sea to shining sea," meaning the entire land.
    We are also told by Mormon that the Land Southward, which was the land he was describing at the time, was basically surrounded by water: “the land of Nephi and the land of Zarahemla were nearly surrounded by water, there being a small neck of land between the land northward and the land southward” (Alma 22:32). So the Land Southward was surrounded by water except for the small neck of land that connected the Land Southward to the Land Northward. We are also told that this narrow neck, which could be crossed in a day and a half, and the narrow pass or passage within it, had water on both sides (Alma 50:34).
    When combining these facts with that of Jacob’s statement (2 Nephi 10:20) mentioned above, it becomes quite clear that the Land of Promise was an island in the middle of the sea, completely surrounded by the ocean.

An example of the Land of Promise, according to Jacob, was an island in the middle of the sea; and according to Mormon/Helaman, it had four seas around it. Either also mentioned a sea that divided the land, which is shown above (right). This, then, was the layout of the Land of Promise during the time of the Nephites
    Thus, it must follow that any Land of Promise model must be in a place that was not only an island during Nephite times, but configured in two, distinct and separate land masses, connected by a narrow neck, and surrounded by the sea.
     Still another description is a land where seeds from Jerusalem of every kind would grow. Jerusalem is a Mediterranean Climate, and as such, seeds originally grown there would require a very similar climate in which to grow elsewhere. As Nephi tells us: “we did begin to till the earth, and we began to plant seeds; yea, we did put all our seeds into the earth, which we had brought from the land of Jerusalem. And it came to pass that they did grow exceedingly; wherefore, we were blessed in abundance” (1 Nephi 18:24).
    In 600 B.C., seeds did not just grow anywhere—they were obtained from parent plants grown in a climatic area with the intent of replanting the seeds in that same climatic area. To plant such seeds successfully elsewhere, especially where they would grow “exceedingly” and provide an “abundant” crop, they would have to be planted in a climate conducive to that of Jerusalem—that is, in a similar Mediterranean Climate, which is made up of a particular soil, soil type, temperature, precipitation and plants.
    It is interesting that there are only five such climates outside the Mediterranean—the Western Cape of South Africa, Southwest Australia, South Australia, California, and Central Chili. More specifically, there are only two such climates in the Western Hemisphere—Southern California and Chile, along the 30º South Latitude; and only one place in the entire Western Hemisphere that has a complete climatic match to that of Jerusalem, including a matching soil, soil type, temperature, precipitation and plants.

Top: The six areas in the world where a Mediterranean Climate exists; Bottom: The two areas in the Western Hemisphere where Lehi’s initial seeds had to be planted
    Thus, to match this criteria, Lehi’s landing site would have to be either in Southern California or Central Chile. No other areas match the very clear description of seeds from Jerusalem being planted in the Land of Promise. By way of comparison, the climates of Mesoamerica, Heartland and New York State in the U.S., southern Baja California, Malaysa proposals simply do not meet this most important criteria.
    As an example of its importance, when the Pilgrims planted their seeds brought from Southampton, England, or Leiden, Holland, they would barely grow in the climate of Plymouth, Massachusetts; nor would they have done better in their intended destination of northern Virginia. Facing famine and eventual starvation, the Pilgrim colony was saved only by locals (attributed to the Indian Squanto) who taught them to fertilize their plants with fish buried beneath the seeds, and to plant corn, beans and squash together in a technique called the Three Sisters—a method of advanced agriculture known to the Iroquois, but unknown in Europe as late as 1600 A.D. (in this method, the bean vines climb up the corn stalks as a trellis, the squash and pumpkin plants cover the soil as living green mulch as well as to choke out weeds, and the nitrogen fixer of the beans fertilizes the corn as it grows).

Top left: Planting Squash, corn and beans; Top Right: An Iroquois Garden of these three plants growing together called the Three Sisters; Bottom: The lattice arrangement of a Three Sisters garden in its initial stages
    Obviously, any true Land of Promise must match all of the descriptions listed in the Book of Mormon—it is not a pick and choose arrangement in selecting those that agree with your point of view, but must match all of the descriptions listed.
(See the next post, “So Where is the Land of Promise? – Part III,” for more of these descriptions as listed in the scriptural record of the Book of Mormon.

So Where is the Land of Promise? – Part I

Just as a reminder—in locating the Land of Promise, a few factors cannot be—but often are—ignored. And that is the list of descriptions left us by Mormon about the Land of Promise and what it looked like, what was within it, and evidences of its existence. The list actually is quite long, with many items completely ignored by those who promote one model or another.    
    That critical list of descriptions is found only in the scriptural record of the Book of Mormon. While modern-day comments and descriptions may be helpful, the fact remains that the scriptural record is not only by far the most important basis, but in fact, the only one since it was written by prophets who lived upon the land their entire lives (except for Nephi and Jacob who spent most of their lives on the land), and was translated by a prophet whose translation was verified by the Spirit.
    We concluded a previous post with the statement: “As has been said by others, this list of criteria is not a cafeteria list—you can’t pick and choose. However, all Mesoamericanists and Great Lakes/Heartland, Central and North American theorists do this. They ignore those scriptural references that disagree with their points of view. So we continue to publish what those scriptural references are and show where they are not used and do not support these numerous and erroneous views of those who place the Land of Promise in areas not supported by Mormon's many descriptions and many other the scriptural references.”
    Thus, to find the location of the Land of Promise, we have to find an area that now and/or during the time of the Jaredites/Nephites, matched the entire list of descriptions found in the Book of Mormon. And we have to do it without changing the meaning, twisting the words around, inserting words that are not in the scriptural record, or deleting words or ideas that do not agree with one’s personal point of view, or claiming that these erstwhile prophets did not know what they were writing about, such as not knowing directions or what their land was like, or how it was laid out from north to south, or whether or not they meant sea when they said sea, etc.
    As an example, Samuel the Lamanite foretold that the land would be changed at the time of the crucifixion of the Lord, saying “And behold, there shall be great tempests, and there shall be many mountains laid low, like unto a valley, and there shall be many places which are now called valleys which shall become mountains, whose height is great” (Helaman 14:23). Thus, our Land of Promise must have mountains that are so high or unusual that Samuel singled them out with the term “whose height is great.”

The Andes is the highest mountain range outside Asia, the longest continental mountain range in the world at about 4,300 miles in length and 430 miles wide, with its highest point at 22,841 feet, and containing the world’s highest volcanoes. It has over 50 separate volcanoes above 19,685 feet, and 25 mountain peaks over 20,000 feet. No other area in all the Western Hemisphere can boast of so many mountains “whose height is great”
    Another example is Moroni’s statement found in Ether when he said, “And they also had horses, and asses, and there were elephants and cureloms and cumoms; all of which were useful unto man, and more especially the elephants and cureloms and cumoms” (Ether 9:19). Thus, we must find a location where two animals that were unknown to Joseph Smith in New England America in 1829, but were present in the Land of Promise and of great importance to its inhabitants.
    In fact, these two unknown animals were so important to the inhabitants of the Land of Promise that Moroni likened them to elephants in their value, and placed them of more importance than the horse or donkey. The only animals in the Western Hemisphere anciently and now that can qualify for this description are the Llama and Alpaca, the former being a pack-carrying beast-of-burden animal and the latter being a fiber-producing animal, with a very fine, soft fleece coat of lustrous and silky natural fiber that has been used for making knitted and woven clothing and fabric for thousands of years. Both provide food, and the larger llama can be ridden, though more often used to carry heavy packs.

There are five species in the camelid family: camel, guanaco, vicuna, llama and alpaca, the latter two shown above. The guanaco and vicuna are the wild ancestors of the llama and alpaca, with all four species indigenous only to Andean South America. There really is no other animal anywhere in the world that is so beneficial to man in the many ways these two have served Andean man for 5000 years
    Still another scriptural description of the Land of Promise are the two grains that were unknown to the farmer Joseph Smith in 1829. These grains, mentioned as having similar value to corn, wheat and barley were called neas and sheum by the Nephites and were grown in and around the city of Nephi and, no doubt, elsewhere. They are described with grains and separate from fruits: “we began to till the ground, yea, even with all manner of seeds, with seeds of corn, and of wheat, and of barley, and with neas, and with sheum, and with seeds of all manner of fruits; and we did begin to multiply and prosper in the land” (Mosiah 9:9).
    Nowhere else in the Western Hemisphere are found two grains that are on an equal footing with corn, wheat and barley in their value and production as quinoa and kiwicha, which were indigenous to, and found only in, the Andean area of South America. Both of these grains are considered superfood seed, the latter long known for its healing properties in the Andes, and the former was most important to the diet of pre-Columbian Andean civilizations.
    Both these grains are high in nutritional value, today called superfoods, with the multipurpose quinoa very high in protein content, containing all nine essential amino acids, with high levels of unsaturated fats, rich in minerals like iron, magnesium, copper, manganese and phosphorus, and has low levels of carbohydrates. The benefits of quinoa far outdo any other grain available.

Quinoa and Kiwicha fields stretch across the Andean hillsides and mountains of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Not truly a grain, though called one, these seeds can be eaten whole, ground, mixed, and made into just about any breakfast, lunch or dinner dish
    Yet another description Mormon left us was “And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year were very frequent in the land -- but not so much so with fevers, because of the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of diseases, to which men were subject by the nature of the climate” (Alma 46:40). Fevers causing death, specifically malaria, has been a scourge on ancient civilizations from the beginning of time.
    We live on a malarious planet and today malaria is endemic to 106 countries, threatening half the world’s population. It is figured that this year malaria will strike half a billion people, and at least a million will die—and that is with the knowledge of mosquitoes, malaria controlling drugs and techniques known today. In the time of the Nephites, malaria was known simply as a fever that killed—the word malaria being coined much later in time from an Italian word mal’aria meaning “bad air.”
    However, fevers date back to about 40 centuries ago. These killer fevers were well documented by the Chinese and Greeks, and even the father of medicine, Hippocrates. Not until the 17^th century A.D. was quinine discovered, found in the medicinal bark of the Chinchona tree, which was indigenous only to the Peruvian Andes. There, the bark had been used for thousands of years by Andean civilizations for not only combatting the fever of malaria, but a host of other diseases and maladies.
    Nowhere else on the planet was found the cinchona tree, its medicinal bark, and quinine—the only cure for malaria fevers—until the 19^th century when the Dutch stole starts from the Andes and planted the cinchona tree in what is now Indonesia. Only in this Andean area of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia did quinine exist anciently, a root and plant that fought both fevers and other “diseases to which men were subject by the nature of the climate.”

Cinchona pubescens or Quina is a genus of about 8 species in the family Rubiaceae, native to the tropical Andes forests of western South America. The bark of this genus is the source of a variety of alkaloids, the most familiar of which is quinine, an anti-fever agent especially useful in treating malaria, and are known as medicinal plants
    Obviously, any true Land of Promise must match all of the descriptions listed in the Book of Mormon—it is not a pick and choose arrangement in selecting those that agree with your point of view. Any model must match all of the descriptions of the scriptural record to be considered the Jaredite/Nephite Land of Promise.
(See the next post, “So Where is the Land of Promise? – Part II,” for more of these descriptions as listed in the scriptural record of the Book of Mormon)