From time to time
readers of this blog send in requests for us to take a look at something they
have encountered regarding the Book of Mormon Land of Promise location.
Recently, we received the following map and were asked if this different
Mesoamerican model was accurate in any way. While we have discredited every
Mesoamerican map that we have seen regarding their lack of matching Mormon’s
description, mostly in Alma 22:27-34, but also in several other locations, this
particular map has not been covered in our posts.
The map sent in is
credited to Kirk Magleby, and appears on the website “Book of Mormon
Resources,” in which he has 35 different maps. We have not written extensively
about Magleby’s views on our website since they are of the same stripe as those
Mesoamericanists that we have written about. But since we’ve been specifically
asked, we will take the time to respond.
The problem with his
map, as with most maps people draw of a model of their idea of the Land of
Promise site is that it does not follow the descriptions in the scriptural
record with much consistency or exactness. As an example, he has a somewhat
curved Land of Bountiful (light green) that is about 650 miles long, borders
three of his seas, and is in the north and west on his map, plus curves around
toward the south for a short distance in order to get to his “narrow neck of
land,” “narrow pass,” and “narrow passage” which he has placed along his West Sea, which is really the South Sea. And Zarahemla is closer to the
Narrow Neck of Land than most of the Land of Bountiful, plus he also has a
Bountiful East, a Bountiful Center, and a Bountiful West, none of these terms appear in the scriptural record. He has the Land of
Desolation next to the Bountiful West, which means his narrow neck runs east and west instead of north and south. In addition, Magleby shows that there is
a valley east of Sidon on map 20, along with two east valleys (east and south
branches), and all of this is to the east of the River Sidon, and there is a
valley west of Sidon; yet, when applying these directions to his overall map,
they show that the Land of Desolation is to the west of Bountiful, Zarahemla is
to the east of the narrow neck; the Land of Cumorah is not in the Land of Many
Waters or even near it.
The four seas: both the South and West seas
are the same sea and would not have been labeled as such by the Nephites who
used directions for their labels
The south sea is west
and a little north of his west sea; the west and south seas (Pacific Ocean) are
the same continuous body of water with no division between them, providing no
reason for their two names (plus the Gulf of Mexico is labeled the Sea North,
but opposite that the Pacific Ocean is labeled both Sea South and Sea West
though both bodies of water along each coast are continuous seas; the city of
Nephi is south of, and not very far from, the area of First Landing, however,
Nephi would have traveled a much farther distance to get away from his brothers
who threatened to kill him; there is no mention of any land in the scriptural
record, let alone two, near Zarahemla that is not under Nephite control; Lehi’s
landing along the Pacific Coast, which he has labeled that water the Sea South
and the Sea West; He has a huge area called the Wilderness West, at least as
large, and probably larger than the Land of Zarahemla; and as long as one is
going to claim city locations along then East Sea, why leave out most of them—maybe
because they wouldn’t fit in his model?
In addition, he has
the River Sidon beginning in, and ending in, the Land Southward, yet emptying
into his Sea North. Now the Sea North would have to have been beyond the old
Jaredite lands, and was probably referred to by the Jaredites as Ripliancum
since it is the only body of water ever mentioned in the north: “he came to the
waters of Ripliancum, which, by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all”
(Ether 15:8). In order for any river from the Land Southward to reach the Sea
North, it would have to pass through the Land Northward, yet the scriptural
record does not say that and, in fact, does not even mention the river between
Zarahemla and the Sea East in the northern area of the land Southward around Bountiful and Mulek where much activity took place.
His
Narrow Neck, while defensible along the southern coastal area, there is about
150 miles or more north of there where an invading army could attack with no
defensible positions to aid in keeping the Lamanites in the Land Southward
Besides his distant
legends on Magleby’s maps being off by several miles, perhaps the main problem
with his map is the area of the narrow neck of land, his narrow pass, narrow
passage, and where the sea divides the land are all tied into a small, narrow strip
of beach about 100 miles long between La Joya on the east and Salina Cruz on
the west—along the far eastern end of this strip is his line between Bountiful
and Desolation and Hagoth’s Port. None of these match Mormon’s descriptions,
and any ships leaving Hagoth’s Port would have to sail about 90 miles southwest
before it could turn northwest, again hardly matching the scriptural record. In
addition, Magleby places his narrow neck of land along the south coast, about
80 miles east of the narrow neck that Sorenson and other Mesoamericanists
claim, but the problem is his narrow pass, passage, and neck of land does not
have his East Sea opposite the West Sea, with the East Sea 425 miles away from
his narrow neck.
Another problem is in
the overall directions of Maglebhy’s map, and therefore his lands. Mormon tells
us that the Land of Nephi was south of the narrow strip of wilderness, which
separated the Lamanite lands from the Land of Zarahemla, which was to the north
of the narrow strip, with the Land of Bountiful to the north of Zarahemla, and
the narrow neck of land to the north of Bountiful, with the Land of Desolation
north of there. Magleby has some of these directions, but not all of them. As
an example, his narrow neck is to the west of the Land of Nephi, to the south
of the city of Zarahemla, and his overall Land of Desolation to the west of the
Land Southward.
When we look at
Magelby’s narrow neck, we have to keep in mind that Mormon describes this area
(including the narrow pass/passage) that this was a defensible position to delineate between the two lands, Land Southward and
Land Northward, with the entire area of the Land Southward nearly surrounded by
water except for this narrow neck. Two things about Magleby’s narrow neck: 1)
It does not basically divided the two lands, and 2) It is not a physical place
that is the only passage into the Land Northward. Besides this tiny area, the
width of the land is about 170 miles across at this point, and would be easily
broached along most of that width. Consequently, Magleby’s land does not meet
the requirements of Mormon’s descriptions in any of the important areas.
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