The Church in Zarahemla

We begin with an interesting research question: Could we locate the seven churches Alma₁ founded in the greater land of Zarahemla Mosiah 25:23 ca. 120 B.C.? Terms of  interest in the text include variations of:

• baptize
• church
• establish
• ordain
• order
• people of God
• priests and teachers
• regulate

Alma₁ founded a church in the wilderness of Mormon near the local land of Nephi ca. 147 B.C. Mosiah 18:17, Mosiah 23:16 when he was about 26 years old. We derive his age by calculating backward from Mosiah 29:45. 27 years later, ca. 120 B.C., Alma₁ and his flock of several hundred Mosiah 18:35 arrived in the local land of Zarahemla Mosiah 24:25 where King Mosiah₂ immediately recognized Alma's priesthood and moral authority Mosiah 25:14. Soon, Alma₁ had founded seven churches throughout the greater land of Zarahemla Mosiah 25:23.

Had the church existed in the greater land of Zarahemla before Alma₁ arrived ca. 120 B.C.? Yes. King Benjamin called priests to teach the gospel Mosiah 6:3 and Ammon at the court of King Limhi knew he held priesthood authority to baptize although he felt personally unworthy to exercise it Mosiah 21:33. But, Alma₁ was such a towering spiritual figure that King Mosiah₂ entrusted him with ecclesiastical affairs Mosiah 26:8 as the senior high priest Mosiah 26:7 throughout the greater land of Zarahemla.

How large were the church congregations Alma₁ established? The text does not say, but we have some parameters to consider:

• As a young church leader in the land of Mormon, Alma₁ consecrated one priest for every fifty congregants Mosiah 18:18. Multiple priests and teachers were ordained for each church unit Mosiah 25:19 in Zarahemla. So, a few hundred believers was probably the minimum number required to plant a new church.
• Another name for churches was "bodies" Mosiah 25:21. The text explicitly says the church bodies in Alma's day were large Mosiah 25:15.
• One criterion for dividing people into a new church body was simply the number of people who could gather in one place and listen to a speaker together Mosiah 25:20. This implies an upper limit of several thousand members per congregation.
• In the great awakening that followed the Amlicite war, about 3,500 people joined the church throughout the greater land of Zarahemla in one year Alma 4:5. 

We know that Alma₁ regulated the affairs of the church Mosiah 26:37 supported by an able lay ministry Mosiah 27:5. During his 29 year tenure as the presiding high priest in the greater land of Zarahemla, many people were baptized Mosiah 26:37, some of them by Alma₁ himself Mosiah 25:18. The aged leader ordained his son, Alma_2 , to succeed him as high priest over the church Mosiah 29:42 and passed away ca. 91 B.C. at age 82 Mosiah 29:45. The text is silent about Alma's journeys on the preaching circuit or specifics about any individual church. We do know that the church of God was generally established throughout all the lands subject to King Mosiah₂ Mosiah 25:19, Mosiah 27:35. So, where were these lands and churches?

Fortunately, Alma₂ was one of the principal Nephite record keepers and we have detailed information about his life and ministry. Soon after Alma₂ was ordained high priest by his father and given charge over all the affairs of the church, he was also appointed chief judge by the voice of the people Mosiah 29:42. He occupied this dual role for approximately eight years from ca. 91 B.C. to ca. 83 B.C. Alma 4:18. During those years, he presided over capital cases Alma 1:14, led the Nephite armies in battle Alma 2:16, and baptized many in the waters of Sidon Alma 4:4. Then, in the ninth year of the reign of the judges, Alma₂ turned the chief judgeship over to Nephihah Alma 4:20 and began his famous missionary journeys bearing pure testimony Alma 4:19.

Alma₂ taught and ordained priests and teachers to preside and watch over the church that was previously established in the city of Zarahemla Alma 6:1. So, we know that one of the seven churches founded by Alma₁ was in the capital city of Zarahemla. Alma 5:1-2 implies that there were other churches in the local land of Zarahemla in addition to the one in the principal city. Analyzing ancient settlement pattern data in our proposed local land of Zarahemla, three densely populated regions stand out - the Emiliano Zapata area which we correlate with the city of Zarahemla, the Balancan area, and the Palenque area. These regions are shown as white circles (average radius 12.5 kilometers) in the map below.

3 areas with large populations anciently in our proposed
local land of Zarahemla

We propose that three of Alma's seven churches were in the local land of Zarahemla, roughly corresponding to the locations indicated in the map above.

Alma₂ then crossed the river and taught and established the order of the church in the land of Gideon as he had previously done in Zarahemla Alma 8:1. The church in Gideon, though, was already established before Alma's arrival Alma 6:8. In fact, Alma₂ apologized to the good people of Gideon - since becoming high priest over eight years ago, he had never before communicated with them face to face Alma 7:1. From this we learn that one of the seven churches founded by Alma₁ was in the land of Gideon.

One of Alma's seven churches was in Gideon

Next on Alma's itinerary was the land of Melek west of the river. Alma₂ taught and baptized Alma 8:4-5 in Melek as he had previously done in Zarahemla. This verbiage indicates he was working within an existing church organization as a visiting authority with convening power rather than calling leaders and planting a new church. So, another of Alma's seven churches was in the land of Melek.

Proposed land of Melek west of Sidon, another of
Alma's original seven churches

After Melek, Alma₂ ventured into hostile territory in apostate Ammonihah three day's north of Melek Alma 8:6. The church of Nehor, later led by Amlici, was headquartered in Ammonihah Alma 14:16-18, Alma 15:15, Alma 16:11. Nevertheless, the text makes it clear that prior to Nehor and Amlici the church of God had been established in Ammonihah.

• Nehor's preaching, particularly successful in Ammonihah, disparaged the true church Alma 1:3
• Nehor preached against the prevailing order of lay ministry among priests & teachers Alma 1:3
• Alma's original intent in Ammonihah was to teach and baptize just as he had done in Zarahemla and Melek Alma 8:8-10
• Amulek was a Nephite living in predominantly Amlicite Ammonihah Alma 8:20. Discussing events five years earlier, Mormon emphasized the contemporary meaning of the term "Nephite" in the post-Amlicite war era Alma 3:11. Thus, Amulek was a believer, a member of the church of God, albeit one who had backslid during much of his adult life Alma 10:5-6. Alma₂ did not have to baptize or ordain his missionary companion.
• Even though the Amlicites held a deep-seated aversion to the Nephite scriptures Alma 14:8, copies were widely available among the people of Ammonihah Alma 14:1.

Therefore, we suggest that one of Alma's seven original churches was in the land of Ammonihah. 

Proposed land of Ammonihah where the true church once existed

The seventh church we believe was probably in the land of Minon south of and upstream from the local land of Zarahemla, although nothing in the text explicitly indicates this. The only other candidates might be the lands of Noah or less likely, Manti, or the city of Aaron, all attested in the text by ca. 82 B.C. By the time of  Alma₂ and the four sons of Mosiah₂, Manti was well-established along the north south Zarahemla to Nephi corridor Alma 16:7, and eventually Alma₂ attempted to travel there Alma 17:1. In the ca. 120 B.C. time frame, though, when Alma₁ founded the seven churches, people were still getting lost trying to travel between Nephi and Zarahemla and vice versa (see the blog article "Water Fight on the River - Round Five"). It is not likely that Manti was part of the Nephite nation at that early date. Noah and Aaron are less likely than Minon simply because they are further away from the local land of Zarahemla. When Alma₂ got to the land of Sidom, ca. 81 B.C., he founded the church there Alma 15:13. Sidom was distant enough from the Nephite culture core it had only recently been brought into Zarahemla's orbit. The same was probably true for Noah and Aaron. So, we propose that one of Alma's seven churches was in the land of Minon.

Proposed seven churches in the greater land of Zarahemla

Mosiah 27:2 says that the seven churches founded by Alma₁ were in the "land round about" the city of Zarahemla. Mosiah 27:32 adds that they were "round about through all the land". The red line shows our interpretation of this circularity.

Seven churches in the land round about Zarahemla

How far distant were the seven church bodies from each other? In our correlation above, the red circle has a radius of 65 kilometers. The text says Alma's most arduous journey Alma 8:3 on this circuit was the one from the city of Zarahemla to Melek, shown in magenta on the map below. The term "take journey" in Nephite parlance implies long, tough travel.

Proposed journey from the city of Zarahemla to the land of Melek

The Zarahemla to Melek journey plotted above runs for 135 air (straight-line) kilometers which would require about 9 day's travel according to our standard metric (see the blog article "Land Southward Travel Times"). Highest elevation en route: 388 meters.

The text evidences an all too human pattern of societal upheaval followed by resurgent interest in religion. Some examples:

• In Mosiah 25, ca. 120 B.C., Nephite society in the greater land of Zarahemla was fundamentally transformed with the influx of Alma's and King Limhi's peoples. King Mosiah₂ authorized Alma₁ to establish churches throughout all the land Mosiah 25:19.
• In Alma 4, ca. 86 B.C., the Nephites were suffering because of the severe devastation brought on by the Amlicite war Alma 4:2-3. They began to establish the church more fully and many were baptized Alma 4:4.
• In Alma 45, ca. 73 B.C., the war with Zerahemnah caused massive casualties Alma 44:21 and major disruptions in the church Alma 45:21. Helaman led a nationwide renewal throughout the church organization Alma 45:22.
• In Alma 62, ca. 57 B.C., following the lengthy war with Amalickiah/Ammoron, the church was in disarray. Once again, Helaman led a resurgence throughout all the land Alma 62:44-46.

Sidon East then West

An interesting textual shift occurs at Alma 50:11, a passage describing events in the Nephite golden age ca. 72 - 71 B.C. Alma 50:23. Captain Moroni's ingenious fortifications worked so well at Noah (1,000+ Lamanites killed in action, 0 Nephites slain Alma 49:23) that the Nephites were busy erecting similar moats, walls & palisades around all of their settlements Alma 50:1. Nephite military forces cleared Lamanites from the east wilderness and drove them south of the east-west line that separated the greater land of Zarahemla on the north from the greater land of Nephi on the south Alma 50:7. Nephite settlers were brought in from the heavily populated local land of Zarahemla and environs to occupy the newly vacated eastern lands Alma 50:9. With the founding of the city of Moroni ca. 72 B.C. Alma 50:13 in the extreme south eastern corner of the greater land of Zarahemla, the process of colonizing the east coast that was well underway ca. 77 B.C. in the land of Jershon Alma 27:22 was nearing completion. Up to this point in the text, all of the action in the greater land of Zarahemla had been in the central riverine corridor and points east (all references to the west sea were in the lands of Bountiful and Desolation). Alma 50:11 marks an important turning point when the west began its ascendancy in Nephite affairs.

The word series "north, south, east, west" was formulaic among the Nephites to mean omni directional 2 Nephi 29:11, Mosiah 27:6, Helaman 1:31. The terms "east" and "west" as a duo are coupled 13 times in the text. The order is always east to west from Alma 22:27 through Alma 50:11. Then from Alma 50:34 to 3 Nephi 1:17 the order reverses and is always expressed west to east. To wit:
Alma 22:27        ca. 90 B.C.  sea on the east and on the west
Alma 22:27        ca. 90 B.C.  sea east even to the sea west
Alma 22:27        ca. 90 B.C.  from the east towards the west
Alma 22:29        ca. 90 B.C.  from the east to the west
Alma 22:32        ca. 90 B.C.  from the east to the west sea
Alma 22:33        ca. 90 B.C.  from the east unto the west sea
Alma 50:8          ca. 72 B.C.  from the east sea to the west
Alma 50:11        ca. 72 B.C.  in the east wilderness, yea, and also on the west
-- Textual turning point --
Alma 50:34        ca. 68 B.C.  on the west and on the east
Helaman 3:8       ca. 46 B.C.  from the sea west to the sea east
Helaman 4:7       ca. 35 B.C.  from the west sea, even unto the east
Helaman  11:20  ca. 16 B.C.  from the sea west to the sea east
3 Nephi 1:17       ca. A.D. 1    from the west to the east

What is going on here? The text is telling us that in the ca. 72 B.C. time frame, the Nephite nation, having settled lands from the river all the way to the east coast, changed its focus from an eastward orientation to a westward outlook as the land northward assumed a much greater role in Nephite affairs. We are seeing the first manifestation of a 1) Sidon 2) east then 3) west pattern.

This semantic shift is even more impressive when you realize that 5 of the 13 east, west couplets are describing features that are probably clustered within 30 kilometers of each other in the area along the west coast where the Sierra Madre reaches almost to the Pacific. Click to enlarge.

Cluster of proposed Nephite geographic referents along the west coast
near the modern boundary between Oaxaca and Chiapas 

The textual transition is clear when we analyze the east west narrow strip of wilderness and the line separating the Nephites in the greater land of Zarahemla on the north from the Lamanites in the greater land of Nephi on the south. In this map, the narrow strip of wilderness is shown in green and the Nephite Lamanite line along its northern (uphill) edge in red.

Narrow strip of wilderness (green) ran from the east sea to
the west sea with the head of Sidon roughly at its midpoint

Alma 22:27 first says that the northern boundary of the greater land of Nephi ran from the sea on the east to the sea on the west. It then says that the narrow strip of wilderness separating Nephites on the north from Lamanites on the south ran from the sea east to the sea west. Finally, it says that the narrow strip of wilderness ran from the east towards the west, passing by the head of the river Sidon with wilderness areas to its north. Alma 50:8 continues this same theme, adding that the eastern portion of the northern boundary of the greater land of Nephi was more rectilinear than curvilenear. In our correlation, this eastern portion of the boundary generally followed the Polochic/Dulce, roughly parallel to the Motagua.

Eastern portion of the narrow strip of wilderness running
in a straight course from the east sea to the west

In Alma 50:11, though, this eastward primacy suddenly changes. We learn that by ca. 72 B.C.:

• Nephite military forces for the first time drove Lamanites out of the wilderness west of the central Sidon corridor
• The Nephites began fortifying the east west dividing line - the northern part of the narrow strip of wilderness that separated the Nephites on the north from the Lamanites on the south
• for the first time, the narrow strip of wilderness was characterized as running from the west sea eastward to the head of Sidon rather than from the east sea westward
• the Nephites for the first time had now begun to inhabit not only the land Bountiful but also the land northward beyond Bountiful. Alma 46:17 ca. 73 B.C. confirms that the Nephites by this time had settled the land Bountiful. 

Going back 18 years to ca. 90 B.C., the text paints quite a different picture:

• While the greater land of Nephi extended westward to the west sea, the greater land of Zarahemla did not. The west wilderness, full of idle Lamanites living in tents, was explicitly west of the greater land of Zarahemla Alma 22:28. The land of Melek was in the central Sidon corridor west of the river with nothing but wilderness west of Melek Alma 8:3.
• While the Lamanites in the west wilderness were exploiting a Nephite settlement vacuum, the Lamanites in the east wilderness had been explicitly driven there by the Nephites' eastward expansion Alma 22:29.
• With the exception of their defensive garrison on the west coast Alma 22:33 the Nephites had not yet inhabited the land Bountiful Alma 22:29.  

These verses make the situation clear: by ca. 90 B.C. the Nephites in the greater land of Zarahemla had settled multiple lands along the central Sidon corridor including the land of Manti in the extreme south just north of the head of Sidon. They had established a defensive outpost in the land Bountiful along the west coast. And, they had begun expanding eastward, driving the Lamanites before them. The settlement of Jershon ca. 77 B.C. was a major milestone in this eastward movement. By ca. 72 B.C. the Nephites had expelled the Lamanites from the entire east wilderness area and were themselves establishing settlements along the east coast from the city of Bountiful on the north to the city of Moroni on the south. Having largely filled in their eastern lands, the Nephites ca. 72 B.C. began to finally turn their attention westward, driving the Lamanites out of the west wilderness and fortifying the east west narrow strip of wilderness line that separated the greater land of Zarahemla on the north from the greater land of Nephi on the south.

In the greater land of Zarahemla, the Nephites settled:

1. first, the river Sidon corridor beginning ca. 200 B.C.
2. second, the east with settlement well underway by ca. 90 B.C. The second wave of eastern expansion near the east sea was going strong with the establishment of the land of Jershon by ca. 77 B.C. By ca. 72 - 67 B.C. there were many cities up and down the east coast.
3. third, the west, beginning ca. 72 B.C.

These conclusions come from analyses of two data sources: 1) the list of geographic referents organized by date of first mention in the text (as a surrogate for polity founding date) published in the blog article "Expansion of the Nephite Nation", and 2) a list of all occurrences of the words "Sidon," "east," and "west" organized by contextual date of the passage in which they appear. This second list is available as an Excel spreadsheet here. To download, click first on "File" and then on "Download."

This map shows the first Nephite settlements in the river Sidon corridor, a single defensive outpost in the land Bountiful beside the west sea, and the beginnings of eastward expansion along the San Pedro river as per point #1 above.

Nephite lands (in white) ca. 90 B.C. either
explicitly attested or inferred in the text

This map adds those lands included in the eastward expansion of the Nephite nation as per point #2 above. The black circles represent areas (Piedras Negras on the north, Altar de Sacrificios/Dos Pilas on the south) unlikely to have ever been under Nephite control at any time.

Nephite lands (in white) ca. 67 B.C.
explicitly attested in the text

This map adds those lands mentioned in the text as part of the westward expansion of the Nephite nation as per point #3 above.

Nephite lands (in white) ca. 66 B.C. attested in the text

We can corroborate the Nephite settlement pattern outlined above by plotting the long string of Lamanite invasions and other military actions in and near the greater land of Zarahemla. These hostilities are organized in ascending chronological order from the time period ca. 200 B.C. when Mosiah₁ first entered the local land of Zarahemla through the time period ca. 31 B.C. when the Lamanites permanently occupied the south half of the greater land of Zarahemla. In the Book of Mormon Model dated August 21, 2012 or later, these 35 military actions are in the battles folder labelled Z1 through Z35, the "Z" designation meaning the greater land of Zarahemla.

1. King Benjamin, local land of Zarahemla & probably land of Minon, ca. 150 B.C. Omni 1:24, Words of Mormon 1:13-14
2. Amlicites, hill Amnihu in land of Gideon, ca. 87 B.C. Alma 2:15-19
3. Lamanites + Amlicites, local land of Zarahemla via land of Minon, ca. 87 B.C. Alma 2:27-28
4. Lamanites, land of Minon, ca. 87 B.C. Alma 3:20-23
5. Lamanites + Amulonites, land of Ammonihah, ca. 81 B.C. Alma 16:2, Alma 25:2
6. Lamanites + Amulonites, land of Noah, ca. 81 B.C. Alma 16:3
7. Captain Zoram & Sons, wilderness south of land of Manti & east of Sidon, ca. 81 B.C. Alma 16:7-8
8. Captain Zoram & Sons, wilderness south of land of Manti & east of Sidon, ca. 81 B.C. Alma 25:3
9. Lamanites, location not specified, ca. 78 B.C. Alma 16:12
10. Lamanites, east wilderness south of newly settled land of Jershon, ca. 77 B.C. Alma 28:1-3
11. Zerahemnah (Lamanites + Zoramites + Amlicites (critical text emendation for "Amalekites"), southern border of Jershon & northern border of Antionum, ca. 74 B.C. Alma 43:18
12. Zerahemnah, east of Sidon, south of land of Manti, ca. 74 B.C. Alma 43:36-38
13. Zerahemnah, west of Sidon, south of land of Manti, ca. 74 B.C. Alma 43:41
14. Amalickiah, wilderness south of the land of Manti, ca. 73 B.C. Alma 46:32
15. Lamanites + Zoramites, city of Ammonihah, ca. 72 B.C. Alma 49:11
16. Lamanites + Zoramites, city of Noah, ca. 72 B.C. Alma 49:21-23
17. Morianton, narrow pass near the west sea Bountiful/Desolation border, ca. 68 B.C. Alma 50:33-35
18. Amalickiah, cities of Moroni, Lehi, Morianton, Omner, Gid & Mulek along the east seacoast, ca. 67 B.C., Alma 51:22-26. Note: the term "Nephihah" in Alma 51:26 is a known error in the text. Royal Skousen's critical text correctly emends this word to read "Moroni."
19. Teancum, southern border of the land Bountiful near the east seacoast, ca. 67 B.C. Alma 51:28-31
20. Ammoron, cities of Manti, Zeezrom, Cumeni & Antiparah, ca. 66 B.C. Alma 56:13-14
21. Helaman & Antipus, west sea area north of Antiparah, ca. 65 B.C. Alma 56:49-54
22. Jacob, northwest of the city of Mulek near the east coast, ca. 64 B.C. Alma 52:31-36
23. Helaman & Gid, Cumeni on the south western border of the greater land of Zarahemla, ca. 63 B.C. Alma 57:17-22
24. Moroni, city of Gid on the east coast, ca. 63 B.C. Alma 55:20-23
25. Helaman, Gid & Teomner, city of Manti on the extreme southern border of the greater land of Zarahemla, ca. 63 B.C. Alma 58:27-29
26. Lamanites, city of Nephihah in the south eastern quarter of the greater land of Zarahemla, ca. 62 B.C. Alma 59:7-8
27. Moroni & Parhoran (critical text emendation of "Pahoran"), north of the city of Nephihah, ca. 61 B.C. Alma 62:14-15
28. Moroni & Parhoran, city of Nephihah, ca. 61 B.C. Alma 62:23-26
29. Moroni, Lehi & Teancum, city of Moroni, ca. 61 B.C. Alma 62:38
30. Moronihah, location not specified, ca. 53 B.C. Alma 63:15
31. Coriantumr, city of Zarahemla, ca. 51 B.C. Helaman 1:19-20
32. Moronihah & Lehi, north of the local land of Zarahemla, south of land Bountiful, ca. 51 B.C. Helaman 1:28-30
33. Lamanites, all of the greater land of Zarahemla, Nephites driven into land of Bountiful, ca. 34 B.C. Helaman 4:5-6
34. Moronihah, west sea to the east along a fortification line 1 day's journey in length, ca. 33 B.C. Helaman 4:7
35. Moronihah, northern half of the former Nephite homelands in the greater land of Zarahemla, ca. 31 B.C. Helaman 4:9-10

This map shows military actions 1 - 8 in and near the greater land of Zarahemla through ca. 81 B.C. Action 9, ca. 78 B.C. has no provenance in the text, so cannot be mapped. Note that all of these engagements are in the central Sidon corridor or slightly east of it as the Nephite settlement data predicts for this time period.

Military actions through ca. 78 B.C. Nephite victories
are shown as red icons, Lamanite victories as blue

This map adds military actions 10 - 19 with dates through ca. 67 B.C. Note that all of these hostilities are in the central Sidon corridor or the east, except for one area near the Bountiful/Desolation border on the west sea. Again, the hostilities map mirrors the Nephite settlement map for this time period.

Military actions through ca. 67 B.C. - central Sidon corridor,
points east, and a single defensive outpost by the west sea

This map adds military actions 20 - 32 with dates through ca. 51 B.C. when the Nephite nation had begun settling the west. Action 30 has no provenance in the text, so cannot be mapped.

Military actions through ca. 51 B.C. Nephite victories in red
Lamanite victories in blue

In ca. 34 B.C., the Lamanites conquered all of the greater land of Zarahemla, forcing the Nephites into the land Bountiful and beyond. The following year, the Nephites set up a fortified east west line along the west coast. This map represents military actions 33 & 34. The white overlays represent the greater lands of Nephi and Zarahemla, both under Lamanite control in ca. 33 B.C.

Military actions through ca. 33 B.C. when the Lamanites
had conquered the entire greater land of Zarahemla

In ca. 31 B.C., the Nephites under Captain Moronihah regained the northern half of their former territories. This map shows the reduced Lamanite possessions, again as a white overlay. Note how the proposed lands recaptured by Moronihah follow the San Pedro river, northern tributary of the Usumacinta. The lands that from ca. 31 B.C. on were permanent Lamanite territory follow the Pasion river, southern tributary of the Usumacinta.

Military actions through ca. 31 B.C. when the Nephites
had regained one half of their former territory

Summary: The Nephites settled the central Sidon corridor from Zarahemla on the north to Manti on the south early in their history. They established a defensive outpost at a key point on the west coast, then began to expand eastward, probably following tributaries of the Sidon. Every Nephite polity in the greater land of Zarahemla referenced in the text through ca. 67 B.C. was along the central Sidon corridor or in the east. The Nephite westward expansion began in ca. 72 B.C. with the first place names in the west appearing in the text 4 years later. The textual semantic, settlement and military action data all match this Sidon - east - then west pattern.