In the previous 16 posts of this
series, the following points have been made
1. The shape and topography of the Land
of Promise has been changed since Lehi landed in 600 B.C. This change resulted
from the various destructive events described in 3 Nephi 8, with:
• Existing Mountains tumbling into pieces (1 Nephi 12:4) and fell down and became valleys (Helaman 14:23).
• Plains of the earth were broken up (1 Nephi 12:4).
• Valleys rose to form mountains “whose height was great” (Helaman 14:23).
• Level ground (including cities), were sunk into the depths of the earth (3 Nephi 9:6).
• Hills formed, burying existing cities beneath them (3 Nephi 8:10; 9:8)
• Seas rose, covering cities beneath them (3 Nephi 8:9; 9:7).
• Occupied areas (cities) were leveled and left desolate (3 Nephi 8:14).
• Highways were broken up and level roads spoiled (3 Nephi 8:13).
• Solid rock base of the ground, both above and beneath the earth, was broken up, creating seams and cracks (Helaman 14:21-22).
Three results of this destruction were mentioned:
• The damage was exceedingly great” (3 Nephi 8:15).
• Changes were upon “all the face of the land” (Helaman 14:28).
• The whole face of the land was changed (3 Nephi 8:12).
2. In recent geologic time, the Andes rose to form the Andean uplift along a north-south
vertical axis
• This resulted from the Nazca tectonic plate subducting beneath the South American tectonic plate, causing an uplift all along the continent to the east of the present-day Andes
• The inland Pebesian Sea and Paranense Sea flowed away from the rising Andean uplift, rushing through the North, East and South portal seaways into the Atlantic Ocean.
• The rising Andean Mountains changed much of the weather system along the Andean uplift and beyond, especially within the eastern slopes of the Andes, creating the humid, wet zone of eastern Peru.
• The uplift of these mountains caused new river courses, trapped ocean fish in high salt water lakes, and salt dissipated as escaping salt water evaporated to form extensive salt flats.
3. There is a distinct difference between the geologic time scale and the time scale shown in the Biblical and Pearl of Great Price record.
• The Biblical record shows that:
a) The Earth was created (organized) in six time periods, or days, and on the seventh day, the Lord rested;
b) A day to the Lord is the same as 1000 years to man on Earth;
c) The Earth was then created in 6000 years and on the seventh day, or 7000 years, the Lord rested;
d) Since Adam was ejected from the Garden of Eden, 6000 years of recorded history has taken place;
e) Thus, the Earth is about 13,000 years old.
• It can then be shown that the Earth is 13,000 years old, 7000 years in its formation, and 6000 years with man living upon it.
• During that 13,000 years certain events occurred that changed the face of the Earth:
a) The creation or organization of the Earth itself, causing events in much shorter time frames than the geologic scale indicates;
b) The Flood of Noah’s time, which caused enormous and abrupt change in the fossil record;
c) The dividing of the Earth in the time of Peleg, which caused the continental dispersion over a 239 year period, instead of the several million years according to geologists;
d) The destruction and changes brought about at the time of the crucifixion, especially in the Land of Promise, as outlined in 3 Nephi 8, specifically the uplift of the mountains “whose height is great”;
• Much of the measurement of long term events, such as radiocarbon dating (carbon-14) and radiometric dating have been shown over time to be quite inaccurate, providing impossible old dates for recent creations.
• Many of the examples of stratigraphy have been shown to be inaccurate, providing dates of items out of sequence, out of time frame, and out of location.
4. With all of this in mind, we can see that the events written about in the Book of Mormon, such as the Land of Promise being an island, and the mountains rising “whose height is great,” and other changes, occurred in the recent history of man, including the changes geologists record as having happened to South America, for it to be connected to the Panama Isthmus and the rising of the eastern continent, all taking place within the last couple of thousand years.
All of these posts have been made to give credence to the fact that western South America at one time was a small island, surrounded by the seas--the island Jacob says they were upon. And also to show that changes over time had brought about the alterations to South America that we now see. But at one time, it was the configuration of the Land of Promise, and that all the descriptions listed in the scriptural record fit the South American model as no other area in the Western Hemisphere. If you did not read all of these past posts on this subject, beginning with September 15, "Comparing Various Lands of Promise with the Scriptures-Part I," you might want to do so.
• Existing Mountains tumbling into pieces (1 Nephi 12:4) and fell down and became valleys (Helaman 14:23).
• Plains of the earth were broken up (1 Nephi 12:4).
• Valleys rose to form mountains “whose height was great” (Helaman 14:23).
• Level ground (including cities), were sunk into the depths of the earth (3 Nephi 9:6).
• Hills formed, burying existing cities beneath them (3 Nephi 8:10; 9:8)
• Seas rose, covering cities beneath them (3 Nephi 8:9; 9:7).
• Occupied areas (cities) were leveled and left desolate (3 Nephi 8:14).
• Highways were broken up and level roads spoiled (3 Nephi 8:13).
• Solid rock base of the ground, both above and beneath the earth, was broken up, creating seams and cracks (Helaman 14:21-22).
Three results of this destruction were mentioned:
• The damage was exceedingly great” (3 Nephi 8:15).
• Changes were upon “all the face of the land” (Helaman 14:28).
• The whole face of the land was changed (3 Nephi 8:12).
2. In recent geologic time, the Andes rose to form the Andean uplift along a north-south
vertical axis
• This resulted from the Nazca tectonic plate subducting beneath the South American tectonic plate, causing an uplift all along the continent to the east of the present-day Andes
• The inland Pebesian Sea and Paranense Sea flowed away from the rising Andean uplift, rushing through the North, East and South portal seaways into the Atlantic Ocean.
• The rising Andean Mountains changed much of the weather system along the Andean uplift and beyond, especially within the eastern slopes of the Andes, creating the humid, wet zone of eastern Peru.
• The uplift of these mountains caused new river courses, trapped ocean fish in high salt water lakes, and salt dissipated as escaping salt water evaporated to form extensive salt flats.
3. There is a distinct difference between the geologic time scale and the time scale shown in the Biblical and Pearl of Great Price record.
• The Biblical record shows that:
a) The Earth was created (organized) in six time periods, or days, and on the seventh day, the Lord rested;
b) A day to the Lord is the same as 1000 years to man on Earth;
c) The Earth was then created in 6000 years and on the seventh day, or 7000 years, the Lord rested;
d) Since Adam was ejected from the Garden of Eden, 6000 years of recorded history has taken place;
e) Thus, the Earth is about 13,000 years old.
• It can then be shown that the Earth is 13,000 years old, 7000 years in its formation, and 6000 years with man living upon it.
• During that 13,000 years certain events occurred that changed the face of the Earth:
a) The creation or organization of the Earth itself, causing events in much shorter time frames than the geologic scale indicates;
b) The Flood of Noah’s time, which caused enormous and abrupt change in the fossil record;
c) The dividing of the Earth in the time of Peleg, which caused the continental dispersion over a 239 year period, instead of the several million years according to geologists;
d) The destruction and changes brought about at the time of the crucifixion, especially in the Land of Promise, as outlined in 3 Nephi 8, specifically the uplift of the mountains “whose height is great”;
• Much of the measurement of long term events, such as radiocarbon dating (carbon-14) and radiometric dating have been shown over time to be quite inaccurate, providing impossible old dates for recent creations.
• Many of the examples of stratigraphy have been shown to be inaccurate, providing dates of items out of sequence, out of time frame, and out of location.
4. With all of this in mind, we can see that the events written about in the Book of Mormon, such as the Land of Promise being an island, and the mountains rising “whose height is great,” and other changes, occurred in the recent history of man, including the changes geologists record as having happened to South America, for it to be connected to the Panama Isthmus and the rising of the eastern continent, all taking place within the last couple of thousand years.
All of these posts have been made to give credence to the fact that western South America at one time was a small island, surrounded by the seas--the island Jacob says they were upon. And also to show that changes over time had brought about the alterations to South America that we now see. But at one time, it was the configuration of the Land of Promise, and that all the descriptions listed in the scriptural record fit the South American model as no other area in the Western Hemisphere. If you did not read all of these past posts on this subject, beginning with September 15, "Comparing Various Lands of Promise with the Scriptures-Part I," you might want to do so.
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