1. Alma 50:13 states: “And it came to
pass that the Nephites began the foundation of a city, and they called the name
of the city Moroni; and it was by the east sea; and it was on the south by the
line of the possessions of the Lamanites.”
It
can easily be seen in Brandley’s map that the City of Moroni is nowhere near
the Land of Nephi, in fact, he has it to the east of the Land of Nephi, more
than 1000 miles away when it should be “on the south by the line of possessions
of the Lamanites.” But Brandley has no line of possession of the Lamanites
anywhere in the vicinity, and certainly not anything to the south that was
occupied by the Lamanites!
2. Helaman 4:6-7 states: “And the
Nephites and the armies of Moronihah were driven even into the land of
Bountiful; And there they did fortify against the Lamanites, from the west sea,
even unto the east; it being a day's journey for a Nephite, on the line which
they had fortified and stationed their armies to defend their north country.”
Heleman is describing a battle or series of battles
between the Lamanites and the Nephites in which the Lamanites drove the Nephites
northward into the Land of Bountiful. At this point, the Nephites dug in their
heels and made a stand, “fortifying from the west sea, even unto the east.”
However, since Brandley’s map has the Land of Nephi to the WEST of the Land of
Bountiful, it would not be possible to fortify a line form the West Sea (which
is to the south) toward the east to stop the Lamanite advance.
3. Omni 1:12-13 states:
“I will speak unto you somewhat concerning Mosiah, who was made king over the
land of Zarahemla; for behold, he being warned of the Lord that he should flee
out of the land of Nephi, and as many as would hearken unto the voice of the Lord
should also depart out of the land with him, into the wilderness -- And it came
to pass that he did according as the Lord had commanded him. And they departed
out of the land into the wilderness, as many as would hearken unto the voice of
the Lord; and they were led by many preachings and prophesyings. And they were
admonished continually by the word of God; and they were led by the power of
his arm, through the wilderness, until they came down into the land which is
called the land of Zarahemla.”
On Brandley's Map, Mosiah would have traveled about 500 miles to reach the city of Zarahemla, some 350 miles of that on basically level ground
One of the things you
cannot do and maintain credibility is create a Book of Mormon city in an
ancient location that does not meet scriptural description. When Amaleki, who
was with Mosiah when he discovered Zarahemla, said they “came DOWN into the
land which is called the land of Zarahemla,” we have to find Zarahemla in an
area where someone traveling from the Land of Nephi would “come down” to reach
it. Along the path from the area where Brandley places the City of Lehi-Nephi
(around Loredo, Texas), there is no high ground at all on the way to his
Zarahemla, at Poverty Point, Louisiana, some 500 miles to the east and a little
north.
Loredo sits at 438 feet
elevation. Along that general route, you have Mathis, Texas, at 161 feet,
Beeville, Texas, at 210 feet, Victoria, Texas, at 95 feet, Houston, at 43 feet,
Beaumont, Texas, 16 feet, Lake Charles, Louisiana, 13 feet, Alexandria,
Louisiana, 75 feet, and Monroe, Louisiana, 75 feet, to finally Poverty Point,
about 100 feet. In fact, no matter how you come into Poverty Point, you do not
“come down” to it. To the north is Oak Grove, 121 feet, Epps to the west at 98
feet, Delta to the south at 89 feet, Transylvania to the northeast at 98 feet,
and Tallulah to the southeast at 85 feet.
The point of this is
that Mosiah left the Land of Nephi and “came down into the land which is called
the land of Zarahemla.” According to Brandley’s map, if Mosiah left the City of
Lehi-Nephi, and traveled through southern Texas and western Luisiana, it would
not have been possible to “come down into the land of Zarahemla” as shown by
the elevations listed above. Yet, the scriptures are full of references to the
Lamanites “coming down” to the Land of Zarahemnla: Alma 51:13; 53:10,12;
56:3,25; 57:15-16,28-30; 62:7; 63:15; Helaman 1:15,17; 4:5; 6:4; Mormon 3:7-8;
4:17,19. Brandley’s map does not allow for the Land of Nephi to be at a
significant higher level than his Land of Zarahemla.
4. Alma 22:31 states: “And
they came from there up into the south wilderness. Thus the land on the
northward was called Desolation, and the land on the southward was called
Bountiful, it being the wilderness which is filled with all manner of wild
animals of every kind, a part of which had come from the land northward for
food.”
Brandley's Narrow Neck does not match the scriptural record which states this neck was used as a passage from the south to the north, but the Delmarva Peninsula does not connect to any land to the south
These are the animals described in Ether 9:31-34, which fled
into the Land Southward. This is also described in Ether 10:19-21, which
states: "And in
the days of Lib the poisonous serpents were destroyed. Wherefore they did go
into the land southward, to hunt food for the people of the land, for the land
was covered with animals of the forest. And Lib also himself became a great
hunter. And they built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place
where the sea divides the land. And they did preserve the land southward for a
wilderness, to get game. And the whole face of the land northward was covered
with inhabitants.” Consequently, we can see that the animals fled into the Land
Southward through the narrow neck of land “by the place where the sea divides
the land” and “built a great city” and “preserved the land southward.” None of
this makes any sense when looking at Brandley’s location of his narrow neck
location. Nor does it make any sense that the animals would flee in only that
direction when they could have fled southward in any number of areas along the
west side of the Blue Ridge, and up into the mountains themselves since they
are only 2,000 feet in elevation (climbs to 6,000 feet further south in the
Carolinas) and mostly rolling and gently sloping hills (not like actual
mountains we know in the West).
Following are images of
the Water Gap through the Blue Ridge Mountains which Brandley claims is the
Narrow Pass. Would Mormon have called
this landscape a Pass? And would animals have had to come through this gap
where two rivers join? Why not just go up over the low, sloping hills? And would
such a pass keep the Lamanites at bay?
Various views of Brandley's Narrow Pass into the Land Northward. There is never a mention of a river connected with the narrow pass; however, there is a Sea mentioned which does not exist here: "by the narrow pass which led by the sea into the land northward, yea, by the sea, on the west and on the east" (Alma 50:34)
5. Alma 50:7-8
states: “And it came
to pass that Moroni caused that his armies should go forth into the east
wilderness; yea, and they went forth and drove all the Lamanites who were in
the east wilderness into their own lands, which were south of the land of
Zarahemla. And the land of Nephi did run in a straight course from the east sea
to the west.”
However, Bradley’s map
does not allow for either of these two points to occur. Zarahemla’s east
wilderness, which is along the east seashore, does not exist in Brandley’s map;
Moroni could not drive those Lamanites along the east wilderness into their (Lamanite) own lands south of the
land of Zarahemla since in Brandley’s map, the Lamanite lands are not south of
the Land of Zarahemla; and the Land of Nephi could not “run in a straight
course from the east sea to the west” since in Brandley’s map the Land of Nephi
is north and east of the West Sea, and lies about 1000 miles west of the East
Sea.
It would seem that
anyone promoting a specific area and map of his Land of Promise, would at least
make his map closely aligned to the scriptural record.
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