Questions I Would Like to Ask – Part XX-B

Continuing with the question I would like to ask Hugh B. Nibley and John L. Sorenson, strictly using the scriptures, in this three-part series: 
    20. “Where did the other people come from and why is there absolutely no mention, suggestion or even hint of them in the scriptural record you claim co-existed in the Land of Promise along with the Jaredites, Nephites, Mulekites and Lamanites?”

The Pilgrims of 1620 were some of the early Europeans who flooded the eastern shores of North America, and who were greatly blessed
    Twelfth, it seems pretty simple and clear. As shown in the last post, the Nephite prophets prayed to the Lord to bless the Lamanites and anyone who might come to this land. Surely if there were already other people on the land, this magnanimous appeal to the Lord would have in some way included them as well. After all, most of us pray for our friends and neighbors, but few of us probably pray for our enemies—yet, the Mesoamericanists would have us believe that these erstwhile Nephite prophets of whom the Lord speaks prayed for their enemies, but not their friends and neighbors?
    Thirteenth, these prophets did not ask the Lord to bless people already on the Land of Promise if, in fact, there were, other than the Lamanites. Nor did the Lord mention anyone, either in this discussion. Now this seems perfectly, and inarguably clear and should need no further explanation—there simply were no other people in the Land of Promise at the time of the Nephites; however, Mesoamericanists sometimes have great difficulty understanding or accepting a scripture that disagrees with their model and thinking, even when it is crystal clear, so perhaps we should take the space to clarify the meaning of D&C Section 10:47-52:
    1. Other nations: other than the Nephite nation. The Nephite prophets knew of no other nation nearby at the time, and did not know if anyone else were to occupy the Land of Promise, and if so, what people or nation that might be, so the Lord says they used the wordage “unto all of whatsoever nation, kindred, tongue, or people they may be” (D&C 10:51). Obviously, there were no other people in the Land of Promise at this time, nor can Hubley or Sorenson claim there were simply because they want to claim it, or that these prophets ignored them, since these prophets asked the Lord to bless all who might occupy the land!

Beginning in the 17^th century, America was flooded with immigrants who the Lord brought to these shores
    2. These prophets left a blessing on this land that “whosoever should believe in this gospel in this land,” yet they did not refer to anyone living there at the time, other than Lamanites. So if there were all these others that Nibley and Sorenson and others have been claiming, why did they not mention them? And since they are all God’s children, why did the Lord not mention them?
    3. “Their faith and prayers was that this gospel should be made known also, if it were possible that other nations should possess this land.” Obviously, these prophets did not know of anyone else occupying the Land of Promise, yet wanted to make certain that if someone did, a blessing was left for them over the land.
    4. The Nephite prophets left a blessing upon this land “that it might be free unto all of whatsoever nation, kindred, tongue, or people they may be.” Obviously, the prophets did not know of anyone in the land at the time, only that there might be others led there in the future, to which they wanted a blessing on the land for them whoever “they may be.”

5. The Lord told Joseph Smith (left) that the prayers of these former Nephite prophets “should be granted unto them according to their faith in their prayers” (D&C 10:47), sounds like the Lord intends to bless all those who were to occupy this land…funny he would not bless all those people Nibley and Sorenson and other Mesoamericanists claim were already in the Land of Promise at the time.
    Fourteenth, there simply is no way for anyone to claim that there were other people in the Land of Promise. Two entirely different bodies of scripture—the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants—have absolutely no indication that anyone else occupied the Land of Promise during Nephite times. One would think that would be sufficient, after all, in the mouths of two or three witnesses, the truth would be established (2 Corinthians 13:1; Matthew 18:16).
    Fifteenth, Mesoamericanists simply need to withdraw from their insistency about Mesoamerica being the Land of Promise and start looking for somewhere that matches the scriptural record. Will they? No. They will simply go on claiming their model to be accurate, the best available match to the Book of Mormon, etc. However, as has been shown in these past more than 1,400 posts in this blog, that is simply not true. Despite the lack of evidence in the scriptural record, Mesoamericanists continued to shout that no other area in the entire world matches the scriptural record as well as Mesoamerica. Yet, example after example in this blog shows the opposite to be the truth!
    So the questions is asked again, “Where did the other people come from and why is there absolutely no mention, suggestion or even hint of them in the scriptural record you claim co-existed in the Land of Promise along with the Jaredites, Nephites, Mulekites and Lamanites?”
(See the next post, "Questions I Would Like to Ask – Part XX-C," for the final installment on this question)