What Exactly is a Narrow and Small Neck of Land? – Part I

Many theorists try to find certain matching areas between the scriptural record and modern maps in order to locate the Land of Promise. Unfortunately, this often leads to mis-statements of scriptural descriptions, such as the narrow neck of land, where theorists claim this or that feature on a map to be the narrow neck. Since this is often the case, which leads to erroneous choices, perhaps we should once again state the obvious that seems to be so often over looked by these many theorists.
    First of all, the Prophet Mormon, near the end of his life in the 4^th Century AD, gave us some information during his abridgement of the records Ammaron entrusted to him (Mormon 1:2-3), regarding the landmark referred to as a small or narrow neck of land. The first mention of this topographical feature in the scriptural record is in Mormon’s 568-word insert where he covers in eight verses the basic outline and directions of the layout of the Land of Promise. About this small or narrow neck of land, he stated:

The neck of land that connects the Land Northward to the Land Southward was described by Mormon as both small and narrow, such as the narrow neck shown here

“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, emphasis added).
    When he came to the event in the Book of Alma about the Lamanite king sending a proclamation throughout his domain, Mormon inserted into the record information he thought would help his future readers better and more clearly understand the location of the various lands within the Land of Promise, stating where the Lamanite lands were located (Alma 22:27) in relation to the Nephite-held lands (Alma 22:29-33).
    In this brief eight-verse description, Mormon tells us:
1. The Land Southward ran from the Sea East to the Sea West (Alma 22:27);
2. The Land Southward was nearly surrounded by water (Alma 22:32);
3.There was a Land Northward (Alma 22:31);
4. A small neck of land connected the Land Southward and the Land Northward (Alma 22:32);
    Thus, a small (Alma 22:32) or narrow (Alma 63:5) neck of land ran between the two larger land masses of the Land Northward, which included the Land of Desolation and the Land of Many Waters (Alma22:32; Mormon 6:4), and the Land Southward, which included the lands of Bountiful, Zarahemla and Nephi (Alma 22:31,32)
    Also, since this neck was the only land between the two larger land masses, and that there was a narrow passage between these two lands (Alma 50:34), the narrow pass had to have been within the small or narrow neck of land.  This is evidenced by the fact that the narrow neck led into the Land Northward (Alma 63:5) as did the narrow pass lead unto the Land Northward (Alma 50:34; 52:9)—and also led into the Land Southward (Mormon 2:29:3:5)

A Mesoamerican model showing (White Circles) the Narrow Neck to the south and the Narrow Pass to the north

One of the problems that arises among theorists is when they try to separate the narrow neck from the narrow pass or passage. Since there was only one land area that connected to two larger land masses, this idea would be incompatible with Mormon’s clear and simple descriptions. This is quite clear when Mormon tells us that the Land Southward was nearly surrounded by water except for a small or narrow neck (Alma 22:32; 63:5).
    Now since this narrow neck was the only part of land that blocked the sea from completely surrounding the Land Southward, there could be no other means of crossing from one land to the other than this narrow neck of land. What the shape of these three lands (Northward, Southward, and the narrow neck) were is unknown from the scriptural record; however, since the Land Northward had an east sea directly to the East (Ether 14:26), and also along the northeast shore (Ether 9:3), as well as the southeast shore (Ether 14:12-13). There was also an area of waters that “exceeded all” (Ether 15:8) in the north, since from that location during the Jaredites battles, they headed south (Ether 15:10).
    All of this, of course, agrees with the comment that the Land of Promise had a north, south, east and west sea (Helaman 3:8). In fact, all of this also agrees with Jacob’s statement 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).
    Now scholars and readers from Joseph Smith’s day to the present have tried to locate some of the key features and sites mentioned in the scriptural record, and one can count several dozen scenarios proposed over the years. There are those who take the unnamed hill in western New York and make it the hill Cumorah of the Nephite land, including the North America, Heartland, and Great Lakes theorists. As an example, Phyllis Carol Olive, in the Preface of her book The Lost Lands of the Book of Mormon (Bonneville Books, Springfield UT, 1998) states “Perhaps the time has now come to concentrate more heavily on those lands surrounding the only known landmark we have – the Hill Cumorah in New York state...only by doing so will the lands of the Nephite and Jaredites begin to unfold.”
    Unfortunately, such approaches tend to discount the scriptural record and place Mormon’s comments and descriptions in a less prominent position to the writer or theorist’s own personal views as he writes about determining the geography of the Book of Mormon. This is clearly seen when one starts with a known and unmovable location (the hill) and then tries to arrange the other lands in relation to it. The result is claiming that rivers were seas, as Olive does, and adding seas not mentioned (Helaman 3:8), and not matching Mormon’s description that the Land Southward was nearly completely surrounded by water except for the narrow neck of land).
    Or , take Rod L. Meldrum claiming the Sidon River flowed to the south instead of to the North; or John L. Sorenson claiming the entire Land of Promise was really oriented east and west because the Hebrews had a different way of listing directions, instead of north and south as stated in the scriptural record (Alma 22:27-34).

A Heartland model showing the Land of Bountiful to the East of the Land of Zarahemla, and Bountiful’s common border with the Land of Nephi, both contrary to Mormon’s description, as well as Meldrum having no sea that divides the land

Or Heartland theorists, such as Rian Nelson, Bruce H. Porter, and Jonathan Neville, whose maps show the Land of Bountiful to the east of the Land of Zarahemla, and not the north, and the Land of Bountiful bordering along the northern border of the Land of Nephi, both against the descriptions given us by Mormon.
    It seems that if once a theorist makes up his mind regarding a location, then if the rest of the land doesn’t fit the scriptural record, he ignores that fact and starts placing lands and places where he wants them, regardless of their not being consistent with Mormon’s descriptions.
(See the next post, “What Exactly is a Narrow and Small Neck of Land? – Part II,” for more on the Heartland Theory narrow neck of land).