Comparison Chart of Different Models – Part I

Explanation of the Chart:
(1) Seeds grew. The seed brought to the Land of Promise came from Jerusalem (1 Nephi 18:24), which has a Mediterranean Climate. For such seeds to grow exceedingly in a new location, the climate, soils, temperature and precipitation would have to be the same. Thus, a Mediterranean climate would be required to match this scriptural fact.

(2) Single unit ore. Nephi wrote: “we did find all manner of ore, both of gold, and of silver, and of copper” (1 Nephi 18:25). The term both when followed by three items indicates that two were different from the third: gold and silver are precious ores and copper is not. When these three metals are mentioned together, they indicate a combination—and gold, silver and copper can be found in single unit of ore, but not everywhere.

(3) Unknown animals. “there were elephants and cureloms and cumoms; all of which were useful unto man, and more especially the elephants and cureloms and cumoms” (Ether 9:19). The elephant is a beast of burden—not kept for meat but for labor—as would have been the cureloms and cumoms. Two such animals, and the only ones in the Western Hemisphere that fit this description and use would be the Llama and Alpaca.

(4) Unknown grains. ”with all manner of seeds, with seeds of corn, and of wheat, and of barley, and with neas, and with sheum, and with seeds of all manner of fruits” (Mosiah 9:9). Two unknown grains worthy of mention are the “super grains” of quinoa and kiwichi indigenous to the Andes of South America.

(5) Unknown metal. Ziff was important enough to be included between gold, silver and copper (Mosiah 11:3), and was used for ornamentation along with brass and copper (Mosiah 11:8). This was likely bismuth, a heavy, stable metal replacement for lead, and used in ancient times for decorating or ornamentation, and often confused with tin. Peru and Mexico are leading producers of bismuth.

(6) Cure fevers. “there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year were very frequent in the land -- but not so much so with fevers, because of the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of diseases, to which men were subject by the nature of the climate” (Alma 46:40). Quinine was the only cure for fever (malaria) until the 20th century, and found only in the Andes.

(See the next post, “Comparison Chart of Different Models – Part II,” for the remaining 9 explanations)