We have written about this many times, but since it is a major issue among Theorists and often articles are written to describe a different view of this subject that are both confusing and erroneous, which causes confusion in the scriptural record where no confusion actually exists, let us take a few moments and go into great detail on what Mormon wrote in this insertion of 8 verses and what is obviously his intent.
An angel, answering the prayers of the
Church Members, appears to Alma and the sons of Mosiah who had been fighting
against the Church; they were so frightened the fell to the ground which shook
as the Angel called them to repentance. Their conversion led to the great
missionary work they performed among the Lamanites
This decree the king sent out, stated “that they should not lay their hands on them to bind them, or to cast them into prison; neither should they spit upon them, nor smite them, nor cast them out of their synagogues, nor scourge them; neither should they cast stones at them, but that they should have free access to their houses, and also their temples, and their sanctuaries. And thus they might go forth and preach the word according to their desires, for the king had been converted unto the Lord, and all his household; therefore he sent his proclamation throughout the land unto his people, that the word of God might have no obstruction, but that it might go forth throughout all the land, that his people might be convinced concerning the wicked traditions of their fathers, and that they might be convinced that they were all brethren, and that they ought not to murder, nor to plunder, nor to steal, nor to commit adultery, nor to commit any manner of wickedness” (Alma 23:2-3).
As can be clearly seen, Mormon is following the events in Alma’s writing of the missionary work of the sons of Mosiah, however, in between these two events, Aaron preaching to the people and sending the proclamation, Mormon inserts eight verses of explanation regarding the land of the king, the Lamanite lands and the lands of the Nephites.
Throughout all the Lamanite king’s land and among all his people in
the land
So in vs 27, “the king sent a proclamation throughout all the land, amongst all
his people who were in all his land who were in the regions round about.”
[1] all the land,
[2] amongst all his people who were in all his land
[3] who were in the regions round about
In this simple statement, Mormon inserts a fairly complete description of the Land of Promise. Consider that he goes on to tell us in his description that this land:
1. Borders even to the sea on the east and on the west
Mormon mentions this twice in vs 27, saying the land went from the Sea East to the Sea West
2. Was divided from the land of Zarahemla by a narrow strip of wilderness
3. This wilderness ran from the sea east even to the sea west,
4. This wilderness also “curved” roundabout on the borders of the seashore,
“Roundabout” means “not following a direct route, but is circuitous.” This means the narrow strip of wilderness had to have curved or wound upward at the east and west terminus of the land, i.e., “curved upward” since it was on the west and east of the Land of Zarahemla
5. The borders of the wilderness which was on the north by the land of Zarahemla,
“On the north” obviously means that the northern boundary of the narrow strip of wilderness that ran between the Land of Zarahemla (a term sometimes used for the entire Land Northward—Mormon 1:6; Alma 4:1; 16:1) and the Land of Nephi (a term most often used for the entire Land Southward—Alma 26:23; 46:29; 50:8) was a dividing wilderness between these two major lands (Alma 22:28,34; 27:14)
6. This wilderness “that bordered Zarahemla on the north” ran through the borders of Manti, by the head of the river Sidon,
Either along the northern edge of this strip, or slightly within it, was both the city of Manti and also the head of the River Sidon
7. Which wilderness ran from the east towards the west—and thus were the Lamanites and the Nephites divided.
Mormon again makes it clear he is describing that Manti and the head of the River Sidon are within this narrow strip of wilderness that separates the Nephites from the Lamanites
8. This narrow strip of wilderness on the west extended northward from the narrow strip into the Land of Zarahemla along the seashore, and southward along the seashore from the narrow strip all the way down to the area of First Landing, and was occupied by tent-dwelling idle Lamanites (vs 28)
While the narrow strip runs in a basic straight line from sea to sea, it curves up at the seashore in both the east and the west, forming a land “roundabout” that curves up into the Land of Zarahemla along the coast. It also extends downward along the coast of the West Sea, and is filled with idle Lamanites all the way to the area of First Landing
9. This narrow strip of wilderness also extended northward in the east along the seashore into the Land of Zarahemla
The Nephites had driven the Lamanites (who had been in the Land of Zarahemla) far to the east and at the time of Mormon’s description, occupied the wilderness that ran roundabout northward along the sea
Thus, this narrow strip of wilderness along the northern boundary ran like an upside down horseshoe with the Lamanites along the horseshoe and the Nephites in the middle, thus “the Nephites were nearly surrounded by the Lamanites”
(See the next post, “Understanding Mormon’s Insertion and His Intent – Part II,” for the rest of these points that Mormon makes in his insert about the geography of the Land of Promise)
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