From Bountiful to Moroni

Most theorists attempt to determine distances in their Land of Promise from one point of their models and descriptions to another with little or no information to judge such a distance. Most of these attempts are simply guesses, some based on misinterpreted information from the scriptural record, other from simple opinion in order to bring the distances in line with the theorist’s point of view and their model.

However, in judging distance, we need to know where the points are located in relation to one another. In addition, we need to know the exact position of one of these points to something else that is exactly known. Since such measurements are unknown in the Land of promise, it is impossible to determine anything near specific distances. 

How do we figure a distance from Moroni to Bountiful?

 

However, theorists, beginning with John L. Sorenson’s initial book, have used the journey of Alma from the Land of Nephi to the Land of Zarahemla in 21 days as the criteria for all other measurements. However, there are two points to consider:

1. There is no way to figure any distance from the scriptural record, let alone 180 miles as Sorenson does. Theorist on the other hand, believe they can determine this by the escape of Alma and his some 450 men, women, children, and provisions, to walk from the Waters of Mormon to the Land of Zarahemla” (Mosiah 23:3;24:23-25). Note that scriptural record does not mention in this travel that they left the City of Nephi, nor that they arrived at the City of Zarahemla—which is the distance theorists use to determine the distance between these two cities.

Consider that Alma established his covenant community around 140 BC “at the Waters of Mormon in the Land of Nephi “ (Mosiah 18:177-18, emphasis added), “in the borders of the land (Mosiah 18:31, emphasis added)—Note that he did not start from the City of Nephi!

Now Alma established his covenant community at these Waters around 140 BC in the Land of Nephi (Mosiah 18:17-18), from where his journey began at the Waters of Mormon, where Alma taught in the land of Mormon, in a place of water and a small forest where he hid from the king (Mosiah 18:4-5). When he was finally located by the king’s men, Alma and his followers left the Waters of Mormon where the Company had been baptized and headed for safety. 21 days later they arrived in the Land of Zarahemla (Mosiah 22:13, emphasis added)—Note that he did not arrive at the City of Nephi!

How do we figure a distance from the Waters of Mormon to the Land of Zarahemla

 

Again, Alma and his Company left the Waters of Mormon, and arrived at the Land of Zarahemla, i.e, an unknown starting point and an unknown ending point! Yet theorists claim they can arrive at an estimate of a journey that is really unknown.

2. We do not know the exact position of a third point—that is, something to which one of the other points can be tied. Theorists like to claim that the time frame and thus a distance can be determined between the City of Nephi and the Waters of Mormon by the fact that people from the city went out to the Waters of Mormon and back—but we have no idea how long they stayed, how far they traveled, or even in which direction they went. Even a single day would make a difference of considerable difference in the overall difference.

We need to keep in mind that it took Limhi traveling directly from the city of Nephi to the Land of Zarahemla is described as “many days” (Mosiah 22:13), however, once again, this was to the “Land of Zarahemla,” not the city. In addition, it took Ammon and his group 40 days wandering in the wilderness (Mosiah 7:4) from the City of Zarahemla to the hills over-looking the valley north of the Land of Shilom. From there they went “down into” the Land of Nephi (Mosiah 7:6) and to the “walls of the city” (Mosiah 7:10).

 How do you figure any distances in the entire Book of Mormon when none are stated?

 

To use the 21-day travel time of Alma, one would have to know how far from the city of Nephi were the Waters of Mormon, and how far from the borders of the Land of Zarahemla to the city of Zarahemla. However, both of these figures are unknown and could be considerably longer than assumed by theorists.

Another point to keep in mind is that nearly all places in the Land of Promise of the Book of Mormon are indefinitely known and thus lend to beliefs, opinions, models, and needs for comparisons or verifications. Where two points, cities or lands are oul of alignment, the tendency among theorists is to make an adjustment, either with the knowledge, historical record, or scriptural record so that alignment (agreement) can be achieved. For some reason iut never occurs to a theorist to stop and evaluate their thinking, thus consider the inaccuracy of their model and location.

In the case of these two cities and their relationship to one another—that is, what recorded information lends itself to such a decision or opinion in trying to arrive at an estimate of distances, we may conclude that something was far or not very far because of the events involved, but in no way can we arrive, from the meager descriptions in the scriptural record, to a specific mileage distance. But that is exactly what John L. Sorenson of BYU, and other theorists have has done on numerous occasions, claiming a city is “so far” from another city because of their list of “facts” or opinions about travel.

Take, for example Sorenson’s conclusion of the exact mileage between the City of Bountiful and the City of Moroni. He wrote:

“Yet another travel account helps us pin down distances, this time on the east coast of the land southward. The Nephite commander Moroni set up a string of garrison cities there against an anticipated Lamanite assault aimed at Bountiful and the strategic neck zone. The area soon became a crucial battle zone when the Nephite dissenter Amalickiah schemed his way into control of the Lamanite armies and blitzed along the coast, capturing city after city until he was at the very border of the land Bountiful (Alma 51:22-28).”

Sorenosn assumes that Bountiful was the city farthest north on the line of march toward the land northward; yet, we do not know that. While it is the last one mentioned in the scriptural record, it likely was not the last city actually located between Bountiful and the Narrow Neck of Land—which causes one of the problems of determining distances in the scriptural record.

From what is listed in the scriptural record, we know that the city of Moroni was built near the Land of Nephi along the east coast, and going northward, there were certain other cities built, with Mulek in the north of the Land Southward, near the Narrow Neck of Land. It should be kept in mind that we do not know if these were all the cities along the east coast of the Land Southward north of the Narrow Strip of Wilderness—they are only the ones mentioned in the scriptural record—and mentioned because of an event involving them dealing with the defector Morianton and later Amalakiah.

As Mormon writes: ”And thus it did come to pass that “they did multiply and spread, and did go forth from the land southward to the land northward, and did spread insomuch that they began to cover the face of the whole earth, from the sea south to the sea north, from the sea west to the sea east (Helaman 3:8), and again: “the people of Nephi began to prosper again in the land, and began to build up their waste places, and began to multiply and spread, even until they did cover the whole face of the land, both on the northward and on the southward, from the sea west to the sea east” (Helaman 11:20).

From our point of view, it appears that Mulek and Bountiful were close enough together that Teancum's force could go a major part of the distance and back during part of one hot day. As one theorist put it: “Although it involved strenuous effort (vs 31). On the basis of these statements, we may infer that it was about a regular day's march for soldiers from Mulek to Bountiful – say nearly 25 miles.”

The point is, all distances in the Book of Mormon are so ambiguous that it is simply not possible to arrive at even assumptive distance measurements, let alone set 180 miles as the distance between the city of Zarahemla and the city of Nephi—especially when there is not one single record of anyone traveling that specific route from city to city and how long it took.