The Mulekite Homeland in the Land of Promise – Part II

Continued from the previous post regarding the Mulekite homeland, where they landed, where they settled, and who they were
    The only important factor in determining the answers to the many questions that theorists raise through their opinions, is the scriptures themselves. Following are scriptural responses to these points raised in the previous post.
1. The Mulekites landed on the east coast in the Land Northward and eventually migrated into the Land Southward and inland to the area of Zarahemla.

Joseph Allen, who earned his degree at Brigham Young University in Ancient and Modern Scripture with an emphasis in Mesoamerica and the Book of Mormon, erroneously states that Zarahemla and his people had lived in the area of the Jaredites and eventually migrated into the South Wilderness where Mosiah discovered them (Joseph L. Allen, Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon, S.A. Publishers, Orem, Utah, 1989, p7). This belief is taken from two scriptures that theorists like Allen and others use to claim that the land northward as the Mulekite area of first landing:
    And it bordered upon the land which they called Desolation, it being so far northward that it came into the land which had been peopled and been destroyed, of whose bones we have spoken, which was discovered by the people of Zarahemla, it being the place of their first landing” (Alma 22:30). Also, “Now the land south was called Lehi and the land north was called Mulek, which was after the son of Zedekiah; for the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north, and Lehi into the land south” (Helaman 6:10).
    At first glance, it would appear that these scriptures are self- evident and unarguable.    However, upon closer examination, we get a clearer understanding, and even though this has been covered quite thoroughly in Lehi Never Saw Mesoamerica (complete with correct English grammar and sentence structure), it bears a brief repeating here because it is at the very heart of where the Mulekites landed and, therefore, what involvement, if any, they would have had with the Jaredites.
    Before doing so, we might add that several erroneous ideas have been set forth by theorists that suggest various places where the Mulekites landed. One of those is that they landed on the shores of the Sea East since a city there is named Mulek (Alma 51:26) even though this city was not built until 67 BC, about 150 years after the Nephites discovered the people of Zarahemla. The theorists go on to claim the Mulekites eventually moved from there across the entire land to the area of Zarahemla, where they eventually settled. However, the city of Mulek was not even built until 150 years after they were discovered, which was about 550 years after the Mulekites landed (Omni 1:14). Surely if such was the case, there would be no reason to call a second city in the area of that landing by the same name.
    On the other hand, there is scriptural reference regarding where they landed and where they settled.

The boundaries within which Mormon describes the lands of the Book of Mormon held by the Lamanites in the south and the Nephites in the north 

Looking at the First of These Two Scriptural Accounts: The first, in Alma, the author is talking about the boundaries of both the Nephite and Lamanite lands in conjunction with a proclamation from Lamoni’s father, the king of the Lamanites, that he sends throughout his kingdom (Alma 22:27). In this side discussion, which Mormon enters into the record, he interjects the fact that the Nephites were nearly surrounded by the Lamanites (Alma 22:29), however, the Nephites had taken possession of the land northward, “even until they came to the land which they called Bountiful.” Then, in describing Bountiful, Mormon adds that it (Bountiful) bordered on the land of Desolation.
    The statement as it appears in Alma: “And it bordered upon the land which they called Desolation, it being so far northward that it came into the land which had been peopled and been destroyed, of whose bones we have spoken, which was discovered by the people of Zarahemla, it being the place of their first landing” (Alma 22:30).

The lands around the Narrow Neck as described by Mormon

The statement is here shown with grammatical meaning is: “And it (Bountiful) bordered upon the land which they (Nephites) called Desolation, it (Desolation) being so far northward that it (Desolation) came into the land (Old Jaredite Domain) which had been peopled (Jaredites) and been destroyed, of whose bones (Jaredites) we (Limhi’s people) have spoken, which (bones and land) was discovered (found) by the people of Zarahemla (Limhi’s people) it (this northward Jaredite land) being the place of their (Jaredites) first landing.
    In this passage, Mormon’s insertion is meant to show the geographical relationship of the land controlled by the Nephites, in follow-up to his previous statement: “And thus the Nephites were nearly surrounded by the Lamanites; nevertheless the Nephites had taken possession of all the northern part of the land bordering on the wilderness...” (Alma 22:29)—and goes on to describe it, ending with the above verses.
    In this, Mormon is not describing the Mulekites (people of Zarahemla) nor their lands, nor where they landed. He is describing the Nephite lands, which around 70 B.C. extended from the Land of Nephi, which bordered on the land of Zarahemla, clear into the Land Northward, which had been peopled by the Jaredites, and where these Jaredites had first landed.
    With this in mind, then, we can restate the scripture so it is not quite so confusing upon first reading: “And the land of Bountiful bordered upon the land which they called Desolation, the land of Desolation being so far northward that the land of Desolation came into the land which had been peopled by the Jaredites who had been destroyed and their bones were left scattered on the land (which we have already mentioned.) This land northward of Desolation, which was discovered by the people of Zarahemla, was the place where those that had been destroyed first landed,” or where the Jaredites first landed.
    Continuing on, we can add in the next verse:
    And they (Jaredites) came from their (place of first landing) up into the south wilderness (the southernmost part of the Land Northward, just north of the narrow neck). Thus the land on the northward (just north of the narrow neck) was called Desolation (after the Jaredite bones), and the land on the southward (south of the narrow neck) was called Bountiful, it being the wilderness (uninhabited land) which is filled with all manner of wild animals of every kind, a part of which had come from the land northward (north of the narrow neck) for food (during the famine and poisonous serpents).
     Thus, reading the entire two verses (Alma 22:30-31) stated in simpler form:

Where the Jaredites landed and later settled; Green Circle: Jaredite lands; White Dotted Line: Jaredites came up into the South Wilderness of the Jaredite lands

“And the land of Bountiful bordered upon the land which they called Desolation, the land of Desolation being so far northward that the land of Desolation came into the land which had been peopled by the Jaredites which Jaredites had been destroyed and their bones were left scattered on the land (which we have already mentioned). This land northward of Desolation, which was discovered by the people of Zarahemla, was the place where those that had been destroyed, first landed. And these Jaredites came from their place of first landing up into the south wilderness, just north of the narrow neck. Thus the land on the northward, just north of the narrow neck, was called Desolation, and the land south of the narrow neck was called Bountiful, it being the wilderness of uninhabited land, which is filled with all manner of wild animals of every kind, a part of which had come from the land northward—north of the narrow neck, for food.”
    Consequently, the scripture in Alma cannot be used to show that the Mulekites landed in the land northward.
(See the next post, “The Mulekite Homeland in the Land of Promise – Part II,” regarding the Mulekite homeland, where they landed, where they settled, and who they were)