In 1828, Noah Webster published his ten-year-long work, called the 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. A dictionary that Joseph Smith chose for use in the School of the Prophets, and represented the language spoken and used in the area of New England where Joseph grew up and lived until the family moved to Western New York, where the language was also spoken.
Woodlands Wilderness
Wilderness was defined in 1828 as:
An unoccupied track of land; a track of land or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings; a desert, forest or wide barren plain. In the United States, it is applied only to a forest. and we find the descriptions in the Book of Mormon following along this common understanding:
• 1 Nephi 2:2 -- Wilderness here refers to the barren mountains and plains surrounding Jerusalem; specifically, between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea.
• 1 Nephi 2:5 -- Wilderness here refers to both the desert wadi between the south shore of the Dead Sea and the city of Ezion-Geber, and the desert plains beside the Red Sea; specifically, the sea of Aqaba.
• 1 Nephi 2:6 -- Wilderness here refers to the plains beside the Sea of Aqaba between the mountains to the west and the mountains to the east creating a valley.
• 1 Nephi 18:25 -- Wilderness here refers to the land along the coast and inland a short distance, including the forest.
• 1 Nephi 19:2 -- Wilderness here refers to both the deserts of Arabia and the unchartered lands of the land of promise.
• 1 Nephi 19:10 -- Wilderness here refers to the deserts of Egypt, specifically that desert area between Goshen and the Red Sea which is mostly flat sandy desert.
• 2 Nephi 5:24 -- Wilderness here refers to the unsettled lands in the land of promise where the Lamanites dwelt, covering a very large area of land which would probably have included mountains, valleys, forests, and deserts.
• 2 Nephi 24:17 -- Wilderness here refers to a desolate, uninhabited place.
• Omni 1:12 -- Wilderness here refers to the land between the City of Nephi (Lehi-Nephi) and Zarahemla which is described in scripture as highlands (up to), lowland hills (down to), and valleys (capital parts).
• Mosiah 7:4 -- Wilderness here refers to this same land in reverse, between Zarahemla and the land of Lehi-Nephi which, upon leaving Zarahemla, would be valleys or plains (capital parts).
• Mosiah 8:7 -- Wilderness here refers to all the land between Lehi-Nephi and the land of many waters (land northward), which would have included mountains, valleys, canyons, ravines, plains, and the like.
• Mosiah 8:8 -- Wilderness here refers to that area probably between the narrow neck of land and the land of many waters (Land of Desolation). This could not possibly have all been mountains, but would have included valleys, plains, forests and perhaps jungles.
• Mosiah 19:18 -- Wilderness here refers to that land around the land of Lehi-Nephi and the land of Shilom. Unless these cities and lands were on the side of a mountain, this wilderness refers to valleys, plains, forests, etc.
• Mosiah 19:28 -- Wilderness here refers to that area outside the settled parts of the land of Lehi-Nephi and the land of Shilom.
• Mosiah 20:4 -- Wilderness here refers to an area of water where women came to bathe, etc. This is likely a meadow, valley, clearing in a forest, etc.
• Mosiah 22:6 -- Wilderness here refers to an area surrounding the city of Lehi-Nephi, and is likely not a mountain when considering the driving of animals. but may have been plains where crops were planted.
• Mosiah 22:8 -- Wilderness here refers to that area around the land of Shilom. Again, probably flatter land since animals were being driven through it, and since there was a secretive nature, this area was likely forest or jungle.
• Mosiah 22:11 -- Wilderness here refers to that area around the land of Shilom, which would hardly signify mountains, otherwise the escaping Nephites would be traveling in a semi-circle around mountains that enclosed at least half or more of a rather small valley (if not very small, then the escapees were traveling a very long way in a round-about manner -- hardly what escapees would do who feared being followed by an avenging army). Thus, since you could see across the valleys around Lehi-Nephi and Shilom, this area of wilderness had to be more open and level, like plains or valleys (forests or jungles).
• Mosiah 23:3 -- Wilderness here refers to numerous types of terrain for no one would be fleeing an avenging army eight days in mountains.
• Mosiah 23:335 -- Wilderness here refers to probably more open areas such as plains or valleys, for an army seeking its way home would hardly be content to travel up and down mountains where they could see little and where the going would be most difficult.
• Mosiah 24:20 -- Wilderness here refers to an area somewhere between Lehi-Nephi and Zarahemla. It is unlikely that all this land was mountains, yet it is described continually as wilderness. Probably it was a combination of mountains, valleys, canyons, forests and jungles, or even deserts.
Mountain Wilderness
• Mosiah 24:24 -- Wilderness here refers to the area Alma covered between the land he had established (Helam) and Zarahemla. There is no indication that this was mountainous country.
• Mosiah 24:25 -- Wilderness here refers to that land between Helam and Zarahemla. Twelve days in mountains would hardly seem likely with women, children, and animals.
• Mosiah 28:9 -- Wilderness here refers to traveling on more level ground before they "went up" into the Land of Nephi. Likely this was a valley, plain, or forest area below a more noticeable highland area.
• Alma 18:37 -- -- Wilderness here refers to the deserts of Arabia.
Canyons Wilderness
• Alma 22:27 -- Wilderness here refers to a narrow strip between the land of Zarahamla and the land of Nephi. This narrow strip was somehow set apart from the valleys of Zarahemla and the highlands of Nephi. Mountains do not seem to fit such a narrow strip concept, but may have been canyons
Despite Hugh Nibley claiming that wilderness in the Book of Mormon always meant a “desert,” and Mesoamerican theorists claim it always meant “mountains,” while others claim it is forest or jungle, we see all of these in the dictionary of the time, and of the actual scriptural usage of the word, that the term means an unoccupied tract of land uncultivated and uninhabited.
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