Clues Suggest the Land of Promise was an Island

Nephi tells us the Lord leadeth away the righteous into precious lands (1 Nephi 17:38), and that Lehi was to inherit a choice land (1 Nephi 5:5), a land more choice than all other lands (1 Nephi 2:20). This was to be Lehi's inheritance for his family (1 Nephi 5:4).

We know this land of promise was many days journey (1 Nephi 18:23) by ship (1 Nephi 18:8) across the many waters they called Irreantum (1 Nephi 17:5). Wherever this land was, it had to be isolated from other places, and unknown to the world, for Lehi says his land of promise was to be kept from other peoples at that time (2 Nephi 1:8), because if others knew of this land, they would overrun it and there would be no place for his family (2 Nephi 1:9).

Eventually, the Lehi Colony landed on the promised land (1 Nephi 18:23), and found beasts in the forest of every kind—cows, ox, ass, horse, domesticated and wild goats, and wild animals—and also found gold, silver, and copper (1 Nephi 18:25).

Nephi, recording the words of his younger brother, Jacob, who he had called to be a teacher over the people, says “we are upon an isle of the sea” (2 Nephi 10:20). Based on an 1828 dictionary of American Language, isle is defined as: “a tract of land surrounded by water, or a detached portion of land embosomed in the ocean.” Jacob continues on to mention that others are on isles of the sea (2 Nephi 10:21). He adds, “wherefore as it says isles, there must needs be more than this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren” (2 Nephi 10:21).

Since Jacob says, “wherefore it says,” he must mean that he had something in his possession that was written, no doubt the brass plates, from which he was quoting or to which he was referring. Nephi, himself, in quoting Isaiah who was looking forward in time to the Nephite migration, verifies that they were on an island when he said, “Yea, the more part of all the tribes have been led away; and they are scattered to and fro upon the isles of the sea” (1 Nephi 22:4), which suggests that the brass plates indicated that the ten tribes as well as the Nephites had been led away onto islands, but “whither they are none of us knoweth, save that we know that they have been led away” (1 Nephi 22:4).

That is no one at Jerusalem knew where they had been led. Neither did anyone else. Consequenty, if we are going to look for a land where Lehi landed, we ought to seek out a location that either is, or was in 600 B.C., an island. We simply cannot ignore those scriptures that disagree with our premise or predetermined location.