More questions and comments we
have received from our readers:
Comment #1: “It seems that the Lamanites and Nephites had numerous wars, it appears
they were always battling each other” Sandra W.
Response: That is
probably because of the condensed history we have. However, in Jarom, we find a
clue that these wars were probably annual, when the weather broke and the
winter passed and the grounds dried up and marching an army across the land was
feasible. Jarom wrote: “And it came to pass that two hundred and seventy and
six years had passed away, and we had many seasons of peace; and we had many
seasons of serious war and bloodshed” (Omni 1:3).
Now the word “season” has two meanings: 1) a
season of the year, such as spring, summer, etc., and 2) a period of time. The
1828 American Dictionary of the English
Language defines this definition of season as: “A fit or suitable time; the
convenient time; the usual or appointed time,” “a time of some continuance, but
not long.” Either way, it would appear that these wars covered a period of time
of the year, but not the entire year, meaning not ongoing. Wars in genera, especially during the early history of the world, have been fought during the seasons or periods of time
when the weather was conducive to moving troops and supplies. Few winter
campaigns have been successful, as first Napoleon and then Hitler found out
when attacking Russia. Thus, it would appear that the
Lamanite-Nephite wars spoken of in the scriptural record occurred during one
period of time each year (probably late spring and summer) and then broke off
because of weather changes, rain, snow, etc., to pick up again when the spring
came. On the other hand, there were a few occasions when the wars did not
continue for a few to several years. As was the case in all ancient situations,
warfare was closely bound to the natural environment and ecology: weather,
altitude, terrain (geography), food supply, seasonality, and agricultural
cycles.
Comment #2: “You
are right in that the text reads "we are living upon an isle of the
sea." It is my interpretation that the Nephities, or at least some
of them, were still living on the Isle of the Sun in Lake Titicaca when Jacob
inscribe the passage.”
Response: This
statement was made in answer to a comment about Jacob’s statement in 2 Nephi
10:20.
First of all, the
Isle of the Sun is a rocky, hilly island in Lake Titicaca with eucalyptus
trees, no paved roads, and is a farming community with several terraced hills, including today about 800 families. Of
the several villages, Yumani and Ch'allapampa are the largest. There are about
80 ruins on the island, all dating to the Inca period, though archaeologists
have discovered evidence that people lived on the island as far back as the
third millennium BC. According to Inca legend, the Isle of the Sun was one of
the most important Inca shrines, with pilgrimages rivaling that of Pachacamac.
The problem with the assessment
of this being what Jacob had in mind is to ignore what Jacob actually said.
First of all, Jacob is standing in the Temple, i.e, the Temple Nephi built like
unto Solomon’s, he is speaking to the bulk of the Nephite people who had
gathered at the temple for a two day conference, this being the second day, in
which Jacob says, “the
Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea”
(2 Nephi 10:20).
Isle del Sol in the midst of Lake Titicaca
Thus, we see that the
Nephites in total were living on the island at the time of Jacob’s comment, and
that the island Jacob mentions is one within the sea over which the Lord led
Lehi to the Land of Promise. Therefore, it could not be an island within a
lake. Jacob then goes on to say, “But
great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the isles of the sea;
wherefore as it says isles, there must needs be more than this, and they are
inhabited also by our brethren” (2 Nephi 10:21), showing that other islands
would not just be other islands within the lake, for certainly Jacob and the
Nephites would have known of this, but Jacob refers to their island like other
islands unknown to them, again suggesting islands in the sea or oceans.
Flippant answers like this submitted comment
are far too often an unthinking, simple, unknowledgable response to a serious
and important question when the theorist doesn’t believe that the Nephites were
on an island in the first place.
Comment #3: “What do you think of Rod Meldrum’s comment
that “nowhere in the Book of Mormon does it state that they sailed east in
their ship or that they landed on the west coast of the promised land” Jayson M.
Response: I wonder
how he explains away that Mormon describes the area of First Landing of Nephi
as being “and they were spread through the wilderness on the west, in the land
of Nephi; yea, and also on the west of the land of Zarahemla in the borders by
the seashore, and on the west in the land of Nephi, in the place of their
fathers' first inheritance, and thus bordering along by the seashore” (Alma
22:28). The idiom “Father’s First Inheritance” carries a significant meaning in
Hebrew, akin to “are first occupied,” etc.
Comment #4 “Did Hagoth settle Mexico or do you think his
ship was lost at sea? My guess is since these were Nephites they did not settle
North in Mexico and the language is so much different that it tends to prove
that they weren't related to the Mayan. But what is your opinion?” Ira T.
Response: First of
all, there is no suggestion Hagoth ever sailed anywhere—we only know he built
ships, and while one ship was at sea, he was building another (Alma 63:7).
Secondly, this is well outlined and covered in our book Who Really Settled
Mesoamerica, and in short, when those Nephites “who did enter therein and did
sail forth with much provisions, and also many women and children; and they
took their course northward” and “the first ship did also return, and many more
people did enter into it; and they also took much provisions, and set out again
to the land northward” (Alma 63:5,7). Since these people were never mentioned
again in the scriptural record, even when Mormon was running for his life with
the Nephi Army throughout the Land Northward, one might suggest they went
elsewhere—which is why they were never heard from again. Add in that a similar
culture and civilization cropped up in Mesoamerica around the first century
B.C., when Hagoth’s ships are said to have sailed northward, it might be
suggested that these were also Nephites, who occupied Mexico and Central
America. And when Joseph Smith talked about the Nephites and Lamanites in North
America that he discovered, we can then assuredly know that, as modern prophets
have time and again said, the Western Hemisphere is the Land of Promise. It
began with Lehi landing in Chile and Nephi occupying the northern area,
specifically Peru and later Ecuador, then spread northward by ship, and finally
into North America, all the prophecies, all the rhetoric of the various
Theorists, come together. As for the language, we don’t know what the Nephites
in Mesoamerica underwent in their history, or whether there was a repeat of
those who were righteous and those who were not splitting into two groups once
again, and an annihilation of Nephites occurred elsewhere. At some point I am
hoping that is all clarified for us.
Comment #5: “It seems to me that an explanation of the
lost 116 pages should have been included in the Book of Mormon somewhere in the
beginning for those who read the book for the first time, as I just did, would
understand why it starts with Nephi’s comments and not his father’s, which are
alluded to later” Jack V.
Response: It is interesting you mention
that—no one else has ever brought that up to us. However, in the original first
edition of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith felt that a preface was necessary
to address the loss of those 116 pages of the Book of Lehi. It stated: “As
many false reports have been circulated respecting the following
work, and also many unlawful measures taken by evil designing persons to
destroy me, and also the work, I would inform you that I translated by the gift
and power of God, and caused to be written, one hundred sixteen
pages, the which I took from the Book of Lehi, which was an account abridged
from the plates of Lehi, by the hand of Mormon; which said account, some person
or persons have stolen and kept from me, notwithstanding my utmost
exertions to recover it again….” This preface is not included in any
other edition.
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