What is Meant by Four Quarters?

Book of Mormon writers commonly spoke of the earth as being divided into four quarters, four corners or four parts. In addition, they described each area of their lands by reference to the cardinal directions, such as "the land northward and the land Southward,” the “east, west and south wildernesses,” and the “east, west, north and south seas.”

Jaredites leaving Mesopotamia toward the land promised to them

When the Lord told the Brother of Jared that he would meet them in a valley to the north of their Mesopotamia, and upon arrival “the Lord commanded them that they should go forth into the wilderness, yea, into that quarter where man had never before been” (Ether 2:5).
    Now, since the division always used is the earth was divided into four quarters, we can assume that one of those quarters was where the Jaredites had been along with all the people who worked on their tower of Babel and whose families were scattered—we need to ask ourselves to what “quarter” did the Lord lead them?
    The Lord “did go before them, and did talk with them as he stood in a cloud, and gave directions whither they should travel. Obviously, the Lord’s “leading them” involved traveling across the wilderness, building barges and crossing many waters, to reach the shore, then cross the great deep (ocean) to reach in the Land of Promise.
    Thus, we can conclude that the Lord led the Jaredites to the quarter of the earth “where man had never been.” This means that the Land of Promise had not been occupied neither before nor when the Jaredites arrived.
    This is verified when Ether wrote: “after the waters had receded from off the face of this land it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should serve him who dwell upon the face thereof” (Ether 13:2), and also “this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever” (2 Nephi 1:7).
    That is, this land, the Land of Promise, from the time of the Flood onward, was reserved for those the Lord would bring to this land, and the first the Lord brought to the Land of Promise in that quarter of the earth were the Jaredites.
    Nor was it occupied during Lehi’s time, since he was told by the Lord, “And behold, it is wisdom that this land should be kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations; for behold, many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance” (2 Nephi 1:8).

Lehi speaking to his family

This is verified by Lehi’s statement: “I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that inasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall prosper upon the face of this land; and they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall keep his commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of their inheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever” (2 Nephi 1:9, emphasis added).
    There are five instances in one verse where the future tense “shall” is used, to show that the situations being described had not year happened in Lehi’s time. Again verifying the fact that there had been no other people on the Land of Promise when Lehi arrived.
    Another factor is that the Land of Promise, after being settled, was divided into four quarters. As Mosiah wrote: “There began to be much peace again in the land; and the people began to be very numerous, and began to scatter abroad upon the face of the earth, yea, on the north and on the south, on the east and on the west, building large cities and villages in all quarters of the land” (Mosiah 27:6).
    So the Earth itself was divided into four quarters, and the Land of Promise was also divided into four quarters. It would appear, then, that depending on the land area being discussed, it can be divided into quarters.
    It should be noted that the phrase “quarter of the Land,” is used far more often that “quarter of the earth,”
• In Alma, the term is used several times, such as “And he caused that all the people in that quarter of the land should gather themselves together to battle against the Lamanites, to defend their lands and their country, their rights and their liberties…” (Alma 46:26).

Moroni writing an epistle while in the field between battles

• “And Moroni also sent unto him, desiring him that he would be faithful in maintaining that quarter of the land, and that he would seek every opportunity to scourge the Lamanites in that quarter, as much as was in his power…” (Alma 52:10).
• “And now it came to pass in the commencement of the thirtieth year of the reign of the judges, on the second day in the first month, Moroni received an epistle from Helaman, stating the affairs of the people in that quarter of the land” (Alma 56:1).
    The term, “in that quarter of the land,” should not be construed to mean a geographical area divided into four parts, but according to the 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language as the term was known to Joseph Smith during his translation. In that dictionary, quarter is also described as “a particular region in a town, city or country; as all quarters of the city; in every quarter of the country or of the continent.”
    It is also defined as “to divide, to separate into parts. To divide into distinct regions or compartments.”    The term “this part of the land,” is also used as well as “four quarters of the land,” though not as often. In fact, in the scripture stated above, Helaman goes on to say, “My dearly beloved brother, Moroni, as well in the Lord as in the tribulations of our warfare; behold, my beloved brother, I have somewhat to tell you concerning our warfare in this part of the land” (Alma 56:2).
    In describing the difference between quarters of the Earth and of the Land of Promise, we find that “In that part of the land” is a much clearer understanding of “that quarter of the land” and should be recognized that Mormon wrote “quarter of the land” while Alma actually wrote “part of the land.” Later Alma wrote: “Yea, and it came to pass that the armies of the Lamanites did flee out of all this quarter of the land. But behold, they have carried with them many women and children out of the land” (Alma 58:30).

The four quadrants of the Earth using the hemispheres: West and East and North and South

This term is used to describe an area where numerous cities and lands were located (Alma 58:32). Alma goes on to write: “Behold, we do not know but what ye are unsuccessful, and ye have drawn away the forces into that quarter of the land…” (Alma 58:35).
    When the term quarter is used in Helaman: “And there began to be much peace again in the land; and the people began to be very numerous, and began to scatter abroad upon the face of the earth, yea, on the north and on the south, on the east and on the west, building large cities and villages in all quarters of the land” [Mosiah 27:6], it is definitely used to mean all areas of the land, that is, all regions of the land.
    In all these earlier instances, the term “quarter” would best be described as a particular region—the region the Lamanites were basically attacking, or where defenses needed to be developed. In the case of Helaman, the term is used to describe areas or regions of the land within a larger scope that could have been described as quarters of the overall Land of Promise (north and south, east and west).
    There is also a tendency to insert other language when one believes he understands the use of quarter, such as the word quadrant—however, quadrant and quarter do not necessarily mean the same thing. The word quadrant means “the fourth part,” and typically the fourth part of a circle, either in the heavens or of the globe. Thus, we need to be careful placing cities within a quarter of the land when the scriptural record does not suggest quarters of the land as in one-fourth of the total land area.
    The term quarters, other than in Alma, are used sparingly. Nephi uses them in an overall planetary concept: “from the four quarters of the earth” [1 Nephi 19:16] which was definitely the use of one-fourth of the area of the sea, which was a phrase Nephi quoted from the unknown prophet Zenos who wrote on the Brass Plates. And again “And he gathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth…” (1 Nephi 22:25). In both these cases, the term was used to mea overall when God will remember and rescue his children from both the four quarters of the land, and the four quarters of the sea, which can easily be divided into hemispherical quadrants as shown in the image above.

The Lord gathering in his people form the four quarters of the earth 

This same use in 3 Nephi is described: “And as surely as the Lord liveth, will he gather in from the four quarters of the earth all the remnant of the seed of Jacob, who are scattered abroad upon all the face of the earth” (3 Nephi 5:24,26), and again “And then will I gather them in from the four quarters of the earth; and then will I fulfill the covenant which the Father hath made unto all the people of the house of Israel” (3 Nephi 16:5), as well as in Ether “And then also cometh the Jerusalem of old; and the inhabitants thereof, blessed are they, for they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who were scattered and gathered in from the four quarters of the earth, and from the north countries, and are partakers of the fulfilling of the covenant which God made with their father, Abraham” (Ether 13:11).
    It should be noted that “quarters of the earth,” is an inconclusive term referring to the earth as a whole; the term “quarter of the land,” and “part of the land,” are descriptive of parts of an area, either a country, land, or city.