Using strictly the scriptures, I
would like to ask the following questions of those many Theorists who claim their pet theories about the
location of the Land of Promise are consistent with the scriptural record.
This Thirteenth question is
directed mostly to John L. Sorenson, but also to all Mesoamericanists who claim
Lehi landed along the Pacific Coast of Guatemala in Mesoamerica.
The question to ask
is quite simple and strictly scripturally based:
13. “What makes you think the seeds from
Jerusalem (1 Nephi 18:24), a Mediterranean Climate, would have grown at all in
600 B.C. in Mesoamerica, along the coastal area in the vicinity of 14º north
latitude, Guatemala, which is a hot and humid tropical climate?”
First, Nephi makes it
clear that upon landing, the first thing they did was pitch their tents, then
plant their seeds they brought from Jerusalem, which produced an exceeding and
abundant crop (1 Nephi 18:24).
Second, on page 138
of Sorenson’s book, An Ancient America Setting
for the Book of Mormon, he writes: “Lehi
and his party launched their vessel into the Indian Ocean from the south coast
of the Arabian peninsula. The same winds no doubt bore them on the same sea lanes
that Arab, Chinese and Portuguese ships used later, touching India and
ultimately the Malayan peninsula. From that point Nephi’s ship likely threaded
through the islands of the western Pacific, then across the open reaches north
of the equator to landfall around 14 degrees north latitude.”
Third, 14º north
latitude is along an area of coast between the mouth of the Rio Nahualate at
the town of Nueva Venecia where highway 5 ends, and the town of El Semillero
Barra Nahualate, which is where highway 27 ends along the coast (the rest of his comment is also questionable and will be dealt with at a later time.)
Mouth of the Rio Nahualate, not far from
Lehi’s proposed landing site. This is a hot and humid tropical climate zone
where temperatures only fluctuate between 86ºF and 88ºF all year long, and certainly
not conducive to planting a crop of Mediterranean Seeds that produced an exceeding
and abundant crop (1 Nephi 18:24)
Fourth, this area is
a tropical climate zone, including tropical storms, humidity and rain. These
Guatemala lowlands have daytime temperatures reaching 100° F and nights rarely
dropping below 70° F, with temperature fairly uniform throughout the year. The
two seasons, are the dry season (summer—November through April) and the wet
season (winter—mid-May to October or November), with the coolest months (only
time to visit) in December and January.
Fifth, according to
the worldwide Permanent Agriculture Research Institute, Mediterranean Climates
are found in specific areas around the world: “western Australia, western South
Africa, the ring of countries around the Mediterranean Sea (Portugal, Spain,
southern France, Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon,
Syria, Algeria, Morocco, etc), coastal Chile, and central California. (Notice
they all have the ocean on their west, which keeps their winters mild.)
“Mediterranean” means that during a large part of the year there is little or
no rain, and since this arid condition is among those that can really benefit
from permaculture practices, it is conducive to the benefits of winter
gardening.
World climate zones with only five such
Mediterranean climates in the entire world outside the Mediterranean Sea area;
only two are in the Western Hemisphere—one in Chile (30º S. Latitude) and the
other in Central California
Sixth, climate, from
the ancient Greek klima, meaning “inclination,”
is commonly defined as the weather averaged over a long period and takes into
consideration air mass, precipitation, and temperature. In planting, climate is
one of the more important factors to be considered, and before all the modern
technology of chemical, managing and harvesting, anciently seeds grew in the
climate from which they had been grown, i.e., tropical seeds grew in tropical
climates, desert seeds grew in desert climates, subarctic seeds grew in
subarctic climates, humid subtropical seeds grew in humid subtropical climates,
highland seeds grew in highland climates, and Mediterranean seeds grew in
Mediterranean climates—there are three climate zones: tropical, temperate, and
polar; with five climate types (tropical, moderate, continental, polar, dry,
and a unnamed sixth, which is where highland climate plants survive). In
addition, these five types are broken down into 12 specific climates on the
earth, and there are numerous sub-climate conditions for planting (as an
example, a Dry Climate can be sub-divided into “dry arid,” and “dry sem-aird.”)
Every seed packet sold has a set of
instructions as to where, when, and how to plant, including pictures of local
or nation-wide planting zones so you can find the area best suited for the seeds
grown inside the packet
Seventh, even today,
seeds for flowers, fruits, vegetables, etc., are sold to be planted in specific
climates. While today, with advanced technology and knowledge, it might be
possible to grow a seed from one climate to another, in 600 B.C., that
would not have been possible. The Pilgrims found in the 17th century
that their seeds from Holland and England would not grow in Plymouth, New
England, and they would have perished as a colony except for the help of local
Indians who fed them and then helped them learn how to plant in the local soils
seeds that would grow there.
Eighth, the area at
30º South Latitude, where Lehi landed, is the only Mediterranean Climate in the
Western/Southern Hemisphere, the only other one in the Western Hemisphere is in
Central California in the Northern Hemisphere. These Mediterranean climates are classified under the
Köeppen climate classification system as “Cs”—the “C” stands for warm
temperature climates, where the average temperature of the coldest months is
64° F. The “s” stands for a dry season in the summer. In the winter the
Mediterranean climate, is mild and moist. During the summer it is very
hot and dry. The annual temperature range is between 30° and 100° F.
Ninth, coastal
Guatemala has a tropical rainforest type climate that is hot and wet all year,
with temperatures remaining in the high 80s, while Mediterranean Climates are
characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters.
Planting maize (corn) within velvetbean
mulching in the lowlands of Guatemala. Once the velvetbeans reach 8-feet in
height, the Kekchi slash the growth with machetes and chop it up into fine
mulch through which the maize grows
Tenth, wheat, barley
and other European-type grains do not grow well in Guatemala—their
principal crops are coffee, sugar, bananas, and cotton, followed by hemp,
essential oils, and cacao. By comparison, Guatemala produced 15,459,000 tons of
sugarcane compared to 1,109,000 tons of corn. But even corn, the largest
produced grain in Guatemala, reaches only about 30 bushels per acre, while by
comparison, corn in the United States averages 123 bushels per acre. Though
Guatemala is the fastest growing market for wheat in the region (importing
424,000 tons annually), Guatemala produces only about 5,000 tons of wheat
annually, and is the only wheat producer of any kind in all of Central America
region.
Eleventh, according
to the Food Security Outlook updates, Guatemala is considered a grain reserve
deficient country, with grain reserves almost constantly depleted and food
security conditions over much of the country considered either “stressed” or in
“crisis” state. Nor is it believed that current harvests will cover the food
consumption deficits of households, and food reserves dangerously low.
Twelfth, while
Sorenson claims (pg 139) that “the experience of pioneers suggests that first
success for an imported crop does not necessarily mean continued vigor for it,”
in order to claim that “flourishing plants don’t always yield good seed in
turn,” to make room for the loss of wheat and barley in his Mesoamerica Land of
Promise (where it does not particularly grow), he then finally states,” what
happened later to those plants from the seeds the Lehi party carried across
the ocean is not stated,” in order to lay claim that “by 130 B.C. “corn” (this
is maize)—a native plant of America—had become the leading crop in the land of
Nephi.” It is interesting that Nephi tells us exactly what happened to those
Jerusalem seeds, and the seeds produced by their first planting when he writes
after separating from his brothers and founding the city and land of Nephi:
“and we did prosper exceedingly; for we did sow seed, and we did reap again in
abundance” (2 Nephi 5:11). Evidentl Sorenson missed that scripture.
Coastal Guatemala near the 14º North
Latitude where Sorenson claims Lehi would have landed
Thirteenth, it is
obvious, even from Sorenson’s own writing, and all reports of Guatemala
agriculture now and anciently, that wheat and barley would not grow in
Guatemala to any degree, certainly not as Nephi tell us it did in his Land of
Promise.
Fourteenth, even after
four hundred years, wheat and barley were growing exceedingly in the Land of Promise, as was a new
crop, corn, and two other grains unknown in 1830 to Joseph Smith, called neas
and sheum (Mosiah 9:9).
So we ask again, “What makes you think the seeds from
Jerusalem (1 Nephi 18:24), a Mediterranean Climate, would have grown at all in
600 B.C. in Mesoamerica, along the coastal area in the vicinity of 14º north
latitude, Guatemala, which is a hot and humid tropical climate?"
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