Using the advanced knowledge of
stonework and building techniques learned from the Lord, Nephi taught his
people to build buildings and work with their hands
Sacsahuaman, or the City of Nephi,
was built along the plateau overlooking the valley of Cuzco behind three
formidable levels of zig-zag stone walls that completely blocked off the one
side, with the cliff on the other, in an almost impregnable location. Note the
size of the stones compared to the people in the foreground
At one time Sacsayhuaman, the City of
Nephi, was so impressive, that the conquering Spanish thought it had been built
by the Devil, it was so magnificent in its construction size, appearance and
techniques. They tore down as much as they could, but remains are still
impressive in its size and magnificence, drawing tourists from all over the
world
Around 200 B.C. or so, Chemish, the brother of Amaron, passed the records on the small plates to his son Abinadom, who passed them on to his son, Amaleki, who described Mosiah being told to leave the city and land of Nephi and to take all those who would go with him (Omni 1:12): ”they were led by many preachings and prophesyings. And they were admonished continually by the word of God; and they were led by the power of his arm, through the wilderness, until they came down into the land which is called the land of Zarahemla.” (Omn 1:13).
Now the Land of Zarahemla was an extensive area, bordering along on the north of the narrow strip of wilderness—which was evidently a mountainous region that included the headwaters of the Sidon River (Alma 22:27), which would have flowed from the south toward the north, down the mountain through the narrow strip of wilderness and past and through the lands of Zarahemla toward the north and eventually to the sea.
Amaleki, the last of the Nephi prophets through the lineage of Jacob, with no family and a brother who had gone with Zeniff back to reclaim the lands of their inheritance in the lands of Nephi (Lehi-Nephi), ended up giving the records to King Benjamin (Omni 1:25; Words of Mormon 1:3, 10) which were later joined with the records held by Mormon (Words of Mormon 1:6), was an eye-witness to the discovery of the people of Zarahemla, which we know as the descendants of Mulek and his party which left Jerusalem and were guided by the lord to the Land of Promise, landing and settling where Mosiah found them, obviosuly along the seashore where they landed.
As Amaleki put it: “And they journeyed in the wilderness, and were brought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters, into the land where Mosiah discovered them; and they had dwelt there from that time forth” (Omni 1:16), adding, ”And at the time that Mosiah discovered them, they had become exceedingly numerous. Nevertheless, they had had many wars and serious contentions, and had fallen by the sword from time to time; and their language had become corrupted; and they had brought no records with them; and they denied the being of their Creator; and Mosiah, nor the people of Mosiah, could understand them” (Omni 1:17).
Unfortunately, Mesoamericanists disregard this information of Mulek landing and settling where Mosiah found them because it does not fit into their Mesoamerica model and questionable secular history of the area, consequently, Mesoamrican theorists have created a scenario where Mulek landed in the Land Northward among the Jaredites (Sorenson p120), eventually traveled southward to settle the City of Mulek (Sorenson p249) along the east coast to the east of Bountiful, and then eventually some traveled to settle in Zarahemla (p249).
However, the fact of the matter is what Amaleki, an eye-witness to this meeting with Zarahemla and a recorder of what the chief Zarahemla told Mosiah about his history and that of his people, and the Mulektes traveled across the ocean, being led by the hand of the Lord, to land along the West Sea shore and settle there, where Mosiah found them (Omni 1:16).
How far Mosiah traveled from the city of Nephi to the city of Zarahemla, wandering in the
wilderness, “admonished
continually by the word of God,” and being “led by the power of his arm,” is not known. Later, when Alma
reverses that route, we are told it took him a total of 21 days to travel from
the Waters of Mormon, which would have been within a day or two total from the
city of Nephi, to the time he “arrived in the Land of Zarahemla” (Mosiah
24:25). Whether or not that phrase means arrived at the city of Zarahemla or
just the borders of the land, is not known, so even though this is the only
definitive time and distance measurement in the entire scriptural record, it
too is clouded with a little questionable information. So whether or not it
took 21 days, of 24 or 25, is simply not know, yet a distance factor can still
be closely determined, if not exactly. Figuring 20 miles a day travel distance,
times 21 days, we have a total of 420 miles; at 25 days, it would be 500 miles;
consequently, we can say the distance between the City of Nephi and the City of
Zarahemla is between 400 and 500 miles.
The distance between Cuzco and Lima, or more accurately, between Sacsayhuaman (Nephi) and Pachacamac (Zarahemla) is about 600 miles. Thus, if the scriptural reference is to the borders of the Land of Zarahemla, then the further distance to the actual city, 650 miles would be just abut right. In addition, from Sacsayhuaman along the east coast (seashore when the Sea East existed) and the cities of Moroni to Lehi, Morianton, Omner, etc., where most of the Lamanite attacks were located, the distance is much shorter (from about 75 miles upwards to about 400 miles). The majority of the cities along this east coast seashore belt fall within about 100 to 200 miles of the City of Nephi.
(See the next post, “Finding Lehi’s Isle of Promise – Part XI,” for Mormon’s descriptions of the land and how it was configured)
The distance between Cuzco and Lima, or more accurately, between Sacsayhuaman (Nephi) and Pachacamac (Zarahemla) is about 600 miles. Thus, if the scriptural reference is to the borders of the Land of Zarahemla, then the further distance to the actual city, 650 miles would be just abut right. In addition, from Sacsayhuaman along the east coast (seashore when the Sea East existed) and the cities of Moroni to Lehi, Morianton, Omner, etc., where most of the Lamanite attacks were located, the distance is much shorter (from about 75 miles upwards to about 400 miles). The majority of the cities along this east coast seashore belt fall within about 100 to 200 miles of the City of Nephi.
(See the next post, “Finding Lehi’s Isle of Promise – Part XI,” for Mormon’s descriptions of the land and how it was configured)
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