As an example, we know and understand that the Nephites considered their Land of Promise to run mostly north and south—all compass directions indicated a northward and southward description. We know there was a Land Northward and a Land Southward, and in the latter, there was a Land of Nephi and a Land of Zarahemla, and a narrow strip of wilderness in between, there was a “sea on the east and on the west,” and their was a “west of the land of Zarahemla, in the borders by the seashore,” and there was a sea on the east. We also know that the Land of Zarahemla was to the north of the Land of Nephi, and the Land of Bountiful was to the north of the Land of Zarahemla, and the Land of Desolation was to the north of the Land of Bountiful.
Why do we know this? Because Mormon tells us (Alma 22:27-33). And in accepting Mormon’s view and explanation as written, because we know it to be true, we satisfy the first rule of discovery—“Accept nothing as true which you do not clearly recognize to be so.”
In Descartes second rule of discovery, “Divide up each of the difficulties examined into as many parts as possible,” we need to divide, or list, all of the separate parts of Mormon’s description of the land’s directions:1. The Land of Nephi was in the south.
2. There was a sea to the east and to the west of the Land of Nephi.
3. The Land of Zarahemla was to the north of the Land of Nephi.
4. A narrow strip of wilderness running from the East Sea to the West Sea separated the Land of Nephi from the Land of Zarahemla.
5. There was a sea to the east and to the west of the Land of Zarahemla.
6. The area of Lehi’s first landing was on the West Sea in the Land of Nephi to the south.
7. The Land of Bountiful was to the north of the Land of Zarahemla.
8. The Land of Desolation was to the north of the Land of Bountiful.
9. There was a Narrow Neck of Land between the Land of Bountiful and the Land of Desolation.
10. There was a sea to the east and to the west of this Narrow Neck of Land.
11. The Land Southward (including the Land of Zarahemla and the Land of Nephi) were completely surrounded by water except for this Narrow Neck of Land.
12. The Land of Desolation ran mostly north and south.
13. To the north of the Land of Desolation was where the Jaredite bones were found.
14. The Land of Bountiful ran from the east sea to the west sea.
15. The Nephites had hemmed in the Lamanites to the south by their occupying all the lands to the north of the Lamanites.
Next, Descartes third rule says to begin with the most simple and easy to understand—thus we can reflect upon the Nephite directions as being simply stated to be running from the south to the north, with an obvious east and west terminus.
Now, the simplest understanding is that Nephi understood directions, using compass headings correctly in his describing the journey of the Lehi Colony along the Red Sea *1 Nephi 16:13-14) and then across the Rub' al Khali (Empty Quarter) desert to the land by the seashore along the Arabian peninsula they called Bountiful (1 Nephi 17:1, 5).
The Nephites had in their possession of the Liahona, which was called a compass (1 Nephi 18:12, 21; Alma 37:38). This Liahona, or compass, showed the Nephites what course to travel in the wilderness (Alma 37:39), which were true compass directions as Nephi stated.
Next, taking this information and following Descartes rules of discovery, and having omitted nothing about Nephite directions, we move to the complex—that is, the Nephites had a compass, Nephi wrote correct compass directions in his travel, the Land of Promise is described in correct compass terms as stated by Mormon. Thus, it can only be concluded that the Nephites knew and understood correct compass directions, and that those directions are given to us correctly in the scriptural record by Mormon.
And, certainly, John Sorenson’s introduction of far reaching northern tribes in the Arctic having a different understanding of compass directions, and that in very ancient times, compass directions were known by the location of the sea, and that the Nephites did not know compass directions as we know them today, is disingenuous and certainly inconsistent with Mormon’s description and intent, and violates Descartes Rules of Discovery by introducing the complex over the simple, and adds nothing to the investigation into the location of the Land of Promise.
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