More Comments from Readers:

Comment #1 “Your Zarahemla (Pachacamac) is, at best, northwest of Cusco, where you claim the land of Nephi is located, but it’s supposed to be north” Tyrus.

An Internal Map of the scriptural reference of these locations found in Alma 22:27-34. (Red Diamond) represents City of Zarahemla (Pachacamac today), and (Yellow Square) represents City of Nephi (Cuzco today). While the two cities are mostly west and east of one another, the two lands are north and south of one another. Note: In his descriptions of locations, Mormon  uses location of “lands” not “cities” in Alma 22:27 regarding this separation
    Response: It is to the north. It is not due north, or even mostly north, but it is north, which is what Mormon is describing. Also, he is not talking about the city of Zarahemla (Pachacamac), but the Land of Zarahemla (note his use of “land of Zarahemla” in his description in Alma 22:27). This land of Zarahemla is described as running east and west on the north side of the edge of the narrow strip of wilderness, with the Land of Nephi running along the southern edge of the narrow strip. Mormon describes this division or separation of Nephi and Zarahemla thus, as he outlines the Land of Nephi over which the king ruled: “amongst all his people who were in all his land, who were in all the regions round about, which was bordering even to the sea, on the east and on the west, and which was divided from the land of Zarahemla by a narrow strip of wilderness, which ran from the sea east even to the sea west, and round about on the borders of the seashore, and the borders of the wilderness which was on the north by the land of Zarahemla…” In addition, most of the Lamanite incursions northward were into the eastern land of Zarahemla along its borders with the land of Gideon (or into the valley of Gideon just to the east).

Certainly to the cities along the Sea East coast, which would be directly north of the City of Nephi. The problem is in not using the terms “land of” and inserting your own idea “city of” but that is not how the scripture reads. On the other hand, you are not alone, a lot of people think Zarahemla was not along the coast, but Amaleki tells us that it was.
    “And they journeyed in the wilderness, and were brought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters, into the land where Mosiah discovered them; and they had dwelt there from that time forth” (Omni 1:16, emphasis added). This should suggest, though it does not outright say it, that this settlement was where they landed, which was the case Lehi who “pitched his tents after landing.” So "into the land where Mosiah discovered them" would place them along that west coast.
    Comment #2: “Helaman 1 states that the city of Zarahemla was in the center of their lands.”

Response: This is not correct. As Mormon states: “for they had supposed that the Lamanites durst not come into the heart of their lands to attack that great city Zarahemla” (Helaman 1:18). Heart does not mean center—in 1828, it meant “the inner part of any thing, the interior, the chief part, the vital part”; today it means “central or innermost part of something, the hub, core, nucleus, bosom, etc. It is an idiom that means where the most important things happens, where the control is located, where the main parts are. The heart of Salt Lake City is either the capital, the temple, the Church headquarters, the business district, the restaurant district, the city hall/court house, etc. These are not necessarily in the center of the city, but depending on category, make up the hub or the core, or the heart of the city. 
    On the other hand, "center" means the middle point of a circle or sphere, equidistant from every point on the circumference or surface, which "center" is not implied regarding the location of the city of Zarahemla, though the city would have been "in the heart of the Land of Zarahemla," and in government, the heart of the Land Southward, it assuredly was the capital of the Nephite Nation at that time and for hundreds of years.
    As for Central: “And now he did not tarry in the land of Zarahemla, but he did march forth with a large army, even towards the city of Bountiful; for it was his determination to go forth and cut his way through with the sword, that he might obtain the north parts of the land. And, supposing that their greatest strength was in the center of the land, therefore he did march forth, giving them no time to assemble themselves together save it were in small bodies; and in this manner they did fall upon them and cut them down to the earth” (Helaman 1:24).

Even if we determine that “center of the land” meant the “center” as you indicate, that does not mean that Zarahemla was located in the center. This usage is in regard to Coriantumr marching his Lamanite army up to Bountiful, assuming where the strength of the Nephite resistence would be and determining to rush quickly through and overcome any resistance before it could be properly organized. It does not say that Zarahemla, as the starting point, was located in the center of the land, only that Coriantumr traveled up the center of the land.
    Comment #3: “Pachacamac is on the west coast and doesn't leave room for the land of Melek to the west and the wilderness of Hermounts.”
    Response: Zarahemla is right where the Mulekites would have landed. As Amaleki stated (see above). On the other hand, the wilderness of Hermounts, which is mentioned only once in the scriptural record (Alma 2:37) is north of the City of Zarahemla, beyond the borders of the land of Zarahemla. It says west, but that is in reference to the location of the Amlicites and Lamanites and the battle that took place between the Nephites, Amlicites and Lamanites, who were marching, fighting, and then fleeing from the east of the city toward it—having started out in the Valley of Gideon (Alma 2:20) and on the east of the River Sidon (Alma 2:17). So west of that location would be the land of Zarahemla and much further west of that location would be the City of Zarahemla (Alma 2:26)—and north and west of that location would he the wilderness of Hermounts.

Internal Map showing the relationship east to west of the three places mentioned: Sidon River, and cities of Melek and Zarahemla and the Wilderness of Hermounts
    As for Melek, its first mention is after Alma returned home to his own house at Zarahemla to rest himself from the labors which he had performed” (Alma 8:1), where he spent the rest of the year. In the beginning of the next year, “Alma departed from thence and took his journey over into the land of Melek, on the west of the river Sidon, on the west by the borders of the wilderness” (Alma 8:3). Thus we find that the City of Zarahemla in the far west, and the River Sidon toward the far east, with Melek in between, for Alma left the city, traveled east to the land of Melek, which was “on the west side of the river Sidon, on the west by the borders of the wilderness” (Alma 8:3).
    The point is, all of the locations we suggest meet the scriptural record as Mormon states it, not a belief in the record, or an assumption of what the record states, but what Mormon wrote.
    In summation, since we receive numerous comments, inquiries, questions disagreements, and request for clarification,  that most of the errors being made by readers of the scriptural record can be summed up in just a few categories:

1. Lack of knowledge of the meanings of the words being used;
2. Lack of knowledge of the Hebraic way of thinking, writing and speaking;
3. Mis-interpreting what is being stated in the scriptural record, such as thinking Mormon wrote the “river” Sidon when he wrote the “waters” of Sidon (Mormon 1:10), or thinking the land of Zarahemla meant the city of Zarahemla, etc.
4. Having one’s mind made up of a situation that requires the person to not accept what is actually written in the scriptural record and allowing the person to substitute a preferential meaning;
5. Not bothering to search out other scriptural comments that supports or counters the point under question;
6. Approaching a problem with a counter or negative point of view, rather than thinking "that's wrong," or "I don't agree with that," recognizing if the scripture says this, then finding out why and what it means the way it is stated;
7. Believing common sense prevails over spiritual matters, i.e., like saying ”Jacob did not know what was at the northern-most point of the land northward (about 1500 miles from Cusco), or Jacob could not have known whether they were on an island or not, etc., when the scriptural record suggests, as any LDS should consider, that the Lord talks to his prophets and provides visions for them of matters, such as both Lehi and Nephi having a vision of the entire Land of Promise, the seas around it, the wars fought upon it, the gentiles coming in ships to it, etc., etc., etc. Jacob even tells us that the Lord spoke to him when he said regarding this message of their being on an island, “or the land of their inheritance; for it is a choice land, saith God unto me, above all other lands” (2 Nephi 10:19, which is the sentence before saying they were on an island).