Following are more comments or questions we have received from various readers of this blog.
Comment #1: “The Lord promised that his posterity would be "kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations" (v. 8) as well as "kept from all other nations" (v. 9). As ethnohistory specialist Brant Gardner has explained, "Lehi comforts his people by indicating that there will not be foreign nations overrunning them as yet." While modern readers automatically assume that these "nations" must come from across the sea, in Lehi's limited-land view, other "nations" could come from over the next mountain or valley. Verse 9's "kept from all other nations" also means "kept from domination by them.” It seems obvious to me that there were other people in the land of promise when Lehi arrived.” Diane K.
Lehi blessing his children and telling them about the prophesies of the Land of Promise
Response: First, Lehi was not comforting his children, when he ultimately—in this overall discussion—bawls out two of them. He was informing them of what they could expect if they lived righteously or if they lived unrighteously. Likely, Lehi through vision knew that he two wayward sons would fall away, but that Nephi and Sam would not. Second, his prophesying was intended to provide a path to the future as prophesying has done in this dispensation. He was telling his children that they would be in control of the Land of Promise, which the Lord had promised to Lehi and his posterity—provided they lived righteously.
He was also providing for them information about the condition of this Land of Promise and what they might expect. It hardly seems consistent to tell Lehi’s family that no others would be led to their land as long as they were righteous, yet there already be people who were there prior to Lehi’s landing.
Third, notice that all of the Lord’s promise to Lehi, which he repeated to his children, were couched in the future tense: “would be led,” “shall be led,” “shall bring,” “should be kept,” “shall serve Him,” “should have,” “should be,” “shall be,” “none shall,” “will bring,” “they shall,” some of which are used more than once (2 Nephi 1:4-9).
He also used past tense four times in one verse: “I have seen a vision, in which I know that Jerusalem is destroyed; and had we remained in Jerusalem we should also have perished” (2 Nephi 1:4)
There is one verse that stands out in this discussion: “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)
In addition, Gardner states that "kept from all other nations" also means "kept from domination by." The problem with this thinking is that in order to be kept from domination, the people who would dominate the Nephites are never introduced, mentioned or referred to by any writer of the Book of Mormon, except in Lehi and Nephi’s visions regarding Columbus and the Spanish and later the Europeans not arriving until long after the Nephite demise.
Comment #2: “The Deseret News published an article about the Mesoamerican and Heartland theories, writing that: “Geographic correlation with features in the Book of Mormon under Mesoamerican strengths: “[There are] Hundreds of different geographic descriptions in the Book of Mormon – such as two seas, a narrow neck of land, a large north-flowing river and so forth.” I thought there were other seas – am I wrong?”
The four seas of the Land of Promise
Response: No. You are correct. There were four seas surrounding the Land of Promise: seas East, West, North and South (Helaman 3:8). In addition, there was a “sea that divides the land” (Ether 10:20). However, this “fifth” sea was really a gulf or bay that cut inland, forming a narrow neck leaving a larger land mass on either side, and just an extension of one much larger sea (Sea West). The idea of just two seas is of Mesoamerican design since that land has only two seas, the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, which John L. Sorenson claimed were the Sea East and the Sea West, though they are actually to the north and south of his Mesoamerican model.
Comment #3: “It seems to me that North America fits the seas mentioned in the Book of Mormon much better than Mesoamerica—which has only two sea, whereas the Heartland-Great Lakes models have all four seas.” Paul K.
Response: The four seas you mention as the Great Lakes, are not really seas, but lakes. Nevertheless, we will deal with them as seas in this comparison between the Heartland in North America and the scriptural record:
• Land of Nephi stretches from Sea West to Sea East (Alma 50:8)—Heartland: Land of Nephi touches none of the seas: north, south, east, or west; Great Lakes Land of Nephi touches Lake Ontario which they claim is the Sea East;
• Sea West is west of Zarahemla and the Land of Bountiful (Alma 22:23; 63:5)—Heartland: Sea West is east of Zarahemla and north of Bountiful;
• Land of Nephi and Land of Zarahemla were nearly surrounded by water (Alma 22:32)— Heartland: None of the seas surround these lands;
• Seashore west of Zarahemla (Alma 22:28)—Heartland: There is no seashore west of Zarahemla;
• Seashore west of Nephi (Alma 22:28)—Heartland: There is no seashore west of Nephi;
• Seashore west of Nephi in the Land of First Inheritance (Alma 22:28)—Heartland: Land of First Inheritance does not touch the Sea West, Sea East or Sea North, its only seashore is the Gulf of Mexico to the south;
• Hill Cumorah is beyond the Narrow Neck of Land in the Land of Many Waters north of the Land of Desolation (Mormon 2:29; 6:2-6)—Heartland: Desolation is the area above and between the Great Lakes, but to get to Cumorah one must either cross or travel around the “sea east,” which is south of Desolation.
• Hagoth’s ships “took their course northward” (Alma 63:4,6-7)—Heartland: Hagoth could not have gone northward from Lake Ontario or the Sea West (Alma 63:4,6-7);
• The Sidon River flows from the Narrow Neck of Land northward past Zarahemla (Alma 2:15; 6:7; 22:27)—Heartland: Mississippi River flows north to south, with neither head or mouth in their Land of Promise.
Obviously, the article you read did not seem to compare the Heartland North America theory to the scriptural record—the same could be said of Mesoamerica (not comparing well with Mesoamerica).
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