History of Moroni Day

On Friday, September 20, 2024, I stood up in front of 500 people in the main ballroom of the Hyatt Regency in downtown Salt Lake City. I announced that we (Scripture Central) were making Moroni Day into a thing around the world. Moroni Day corresponds to the Autumnal Equinox (September 20 -  22). This is the back story. 

The first Moroni Day 2015 was celebrated with a BBQ in my back yard. About 15 people attended. Book of Mormon Central was just getting started and would begin digital publishing on January 1, 2016.

The second Moroni Day 2016 was a fundraising event held at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building on Temple Square. 

Postcard Promoting Moroni Day 2016

Since the fourth quarter of each year is prime fundraising season, we determined that Moroni Day would be an ideal event to kick off our annual appeal.

We did not hold Moroni Day 2017. The spectacular Chiasmus Jubilee was on August 16, 2017 on BYU campus culminating with the evening celebration keynoted by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. 

Elder Holland Embracing Jack Welch

1,300 people attended the Chiasmus Jubilee which firmly established Book of Mormon Central's bona fides in the eyes of many influential Latter-day Saints.

Moroni Days 2018, 2019, and 2020 were low key affairs in Jack and Jeannie Welch's back yard. The foundation was growing, maturing, and beginning to reach large audiences. We had a lot to celebrate. We just did it internally with staff rather than putting on a large public gathering. 

With COVID behind us, Moroni Day 2021 was at the Aquarium in Draper. Elder Tad R. Callister was our keynote and Elder Kevin W. Pearson an honored guest. About 250 people attended. We were gearing up for exciting things ahead as Jack and Jeannie Welch announced in a BYU Hawaii devotional.

Welches Announcing the Start of Something Big

Momentum was building.

Moroni Day 2022 was back at the Aquarium with about 350 in attendance. We introduced the Martin Harris Award for major donors who give as much in modern currency as Harris gave in 1829. 

Martin Harris Award

2023 was the 200th Anniversary of the first visit of the Angel Moroni to the Prophet Joseph and we celebrated in style. About 400 people gathered at the Hyatt Regency in Salt Lake City and listened to Elder Ronald A. Rasband tell stories of his personal ministry sharing the Book of Mormon.

Elder Rasband with his Missionary Book of Mormon

Former Governor Gary and First Lady Jeanette Herbert unveiled two heroic sized statues of Moroni that eventually will be installed at the Monument of the Americas sculpture park in Heber City. 

Lynne Wilson, Elder Larry Y. Wilson, Jack Welch
and Moroni Statue at Moroni Day 2023

Moroni Day 2024 was again at the Hyatt Regency with about 500 attendees. Elder Marcus B. Nash was the keynote speaker with Elder Matthew S. Holland an honored guest.

Postcard Promoting Moroni Day 2024

Moroni Day has become enough of a phenomenon that other groups besides Scripture Central are helping us celebrate. For example, several years ago Book of Mormon Central was the fiscal sponsor for Angela Johnson's magnificent Tree of Life sculpture park at Thanksgiving Point. We eventually spun that project off into its own dedicated non-profit organization. Scripture Central Board Member Trace Mayer was a key player who got that project over the finish line and the grand opening will be held on October 8, 2024.

Angela Johnson's Sculpture Studio with Tree of Life

On Thursday, September 19, 2024 Sculptor Steven Neal was given the deed to 10 acres in the hills above Heber City where the Monument of the Americas will be built. That project is now moving ahead quickly enough that we should be able to unveil a permanent statue of the original Captain Moroni waving the Title of Liberty on Moroni Day 2025.  

Christian Divisions

When Joseph entered the Sacred Grove in the spring of 1820, he was unsure whether the Methodists, Presbyterians, or Baptists had the stronger claim to truth. He was confused by their continual sectarian "war of words and tumult of opinions." Joseph Smith History 1:10.

The US Census Bureau tabulated statistics on religious denominations in 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, and 1890. Indeed, the Methodists (13K congregations in 1850), Presbyterians (5K congregations in 1850) and Baptists (9K congregations in 1850) were among the most powerful religious bodies in the US during Joseph's lifetime. Methodism began in Oxford, England in 1738 following the ideas of John Wesley (1703-1791). Presbyterianism grew out of the Church of Scotland ca. 1650 following the ideas of John Calvin (1509-1564) and John Knox (1514-1572). Baptism began in Holland in 1609 following the ideas of John Smyth (1554-1612) and Thomas Helwys (ca. 1575-1616).

In 1820 when Joseph went into the grove to pray, there were about a dozen major religious denominations in the US including Congregationalists, Jews, Lutherans, Quakers, and Roman Catholics. By 1850, the US Census Bureau recognized 18 principal religious denominations in the country, including the relative newcomer "Mormon" church. By 1870, that number had grown to 27 principal denominations, and by 1890 there were 145 religious denominations in the country according to the government tally.

The 20th Century saw a literal explosion in the number of religious organizations on earth. A reliable source for statistics within worldwide Christianity is the Center for the Study of Global Christianity (CSGC) at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts. According to the CSGC, there were 47,300 Christian denominations in the world in 2023 and that number could reach 60,000 by the year 2050.

Joseph in 1820 had 12 organizations to choose from. Today he would have tens of thousands. Christian groups splinter from:

• differences of opinion in the interpretation of the Bible.
• different attitudes about contemporary social issues.
• personality conflicts among leaders.
• potential pastoral economic opportunity. 
• a trend among megachurches toward independence.

Splinter groups have broken off from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over the years, but the long-term effects on the main body have been minimal. By and large, the 17 Prophets and 103 Apostles called in this dispensation have done a remarkable job holding the center together since the Church was organized 194 years ago on April 6, 1830. Of course, the True Church has a huge advantage over the other Christian organizations on earth. We all have the Bible, which is a great start, but just like an infinite number of lines can be drawn through a single point, an infinite number of interpretations can create biblical cacophony.

An infinite number of lines can be
drawn through a single point

On the other hand, the True Church has both the Bible and the Book of Mormon and we all know how many lines can intersect two distinct points.

Only one line can intersect two points

This is a good example of the well-attested law of witnesses described in 2 Corinthians 13:1. It is also part of the sense of Ezekiel 37:16-20 where the stick of Judah (Bible) and the stick of Joseph (Book of Mormon) will become one. This is the meaning of 2 Nephi 3:12 that the Bible and the Book of Mormon will grow together to confound false doctrines, lay down contentions, and establish peace.

Joseph Smith as Writer

Joseph Smith finished dictating the text of the Book of Mormon on or about June 30, 1829 and the printed volume went on sale in Palmyra, NY on March 26, 1830. 10 days later, on April 6, 1830, the Prophet Joseph organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Fayette, NY. On that day, Joseph received D&C Section 21. D&C 21:1 says "there shall be a record kept among you."

More than 2 years later in Kirtland, OH, Joseph Smith was motivated to begin writing a personal journal. After many crossed out words, his first entry reads:

Joseph Smith Jrs | Book for Record | Baught on the 27th of | November 1832 for | the purpose to keep a minute account of all | things that come under | my observation &c oh may God grant that | I may be directed in all | my thaughts Oh bless | thy Servent Amen 

--

2 days later, the Prophet continued writing:

November 29th this day | road from Kirtland to | Chardon to see my Sister | Sopronia and also came | to see my Sister Catheri | and found them all [editors are not sure, but assume he meant to write "well"] this Evening Brother Fr | ederic Prophcyed tha | next spring I should | go to the city of Pitts | Burg to establish a Bis | hopwrick and within | one year I should go to | the city of New York the Lord spare [me is crossed out] the life | of thy servent Amen

--

4 days afterward, the Prophet wrote in his journal again:

December 3rd ordained Brothe [editors believe he intended to write "brother"] | Packherd with my own hands | also Brother umpry came | to see me from the East & | braught news from Brother | Lyman Johnson and Orson | Pratt &c. also held a | conference in the Evening Br | Jese and Mogan and William | Mclelen was excommunicated | from the church &c.

--

December 4th this day I been | unwell done but litle been at | home all day regulated some of my | things this Evening feel better in | my mind then I have for a few | days back Oh Lord deliver [the word "out" is crossed out] | thy servent out of temtations | and fill his heart with wisdom " and understanding

--

December 5th this day ["wr] crossed out | ["ote leters" crossed out] copying letters and | translating and in evening held a council to advise with | Brother Solomon Humphry | it was ordered by the council | that he should be a comp | anion with Broth [editors believe he intended to write "brother"] Noah | packard in the work of | the ministry

--

December 6th translating | and received a Revelation | explaining the Parable the | wheat and the tears &c

--

10 months elapsed before Joseph's next journal entry on October 4th, 1833.

First Page of Joseph's Journal
Documenting 27 November 1832
from The Joseph Smith Papers

Joseph Smith's personal journal demonstrates the veracity of Emma's oft-cited comment "Joseph Smith could neither write nor dictate a coherent and well-worded letter, let alone dictate a book like the Book of Mormon...It would have been improbable that a learned man could do this; and for one so ignorant and unlearned as he was, it was simply impossible." Saints' Herald 26 (1 October 1879) pp. 289-90. 

Wealth Doing Good

It is common knowledge that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints manages its assets productively and has amassed considerable wealth. 

Salt Lake Temple and Environs Under Construction April 2024
This is a $1B+ Project 

The true Church D&C 1:30 undertakes large projects routinely without even so much as breaking a financial sweat. What does the word of God say about wealth? It is a blessing to be used for righteous purposes.

Proverbs 3:7-10 "Fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel and marrow to thy bones. Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thy increase; So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine."

Proverbs 10:20-22 "The tongue of the just is as choice silver...The lips of the righteous feed many...The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich."

Jeremiah 17:7-8 "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."

Malachi 3:10 "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

The Church has virtually no long-term debt. Romans 13:8 "Owe no man any thing."

2 Corinthians 9:7-8 "God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work."

Philippians 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

Jacob 2:17-19 "Be familiar with all and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you. But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God. And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good - to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted."

Here is one small example of the way the true Church blesses lives worldwide.

Tabernacle Choir Touring Organ
Photo by Kirk Magleby April 19, 2024

The Church has world-famous organs in the Tabernacle (Aeolian-Skinner) and the Conference Center (Schoenstein) played by 3 professional organists (Richard Elliott, Andrew Unsworth, and Brian Mathias). All 3 organists have performed as guest artists with the Timpanogos Symphony Orchestra (TSO), 

• October 2013 Richard Elliott
• September 2017 Andrew Unsworth
• April 2024 Brian Mathias

April 2024 Brian Mathias with the TSO

For the 2013 concert with Richard Elliott, the TSO had to rent a portable organ at considerable expense. By the 2017 concert with Andrew Unsworth, the Tabernacle Choir had acquired a touring organ which they transported and installed at Timberline Middle School in Alpine, Utah. This was done at no cost to the TSO. Ditto the 2024 concert with Brian Mathias at Orem High School in Orem, Utah.

This touring organ, a magnificent instrument in its own right, was recently in the Philippines where the Tabernacle Choir gave a series of acclaimed concerts in February 2024. The Tabernacle Choir has been broadcasting continuously since 1929. The TSO has been enriching northern Utah County's arts scene since 2011. Both organizations, world's foremost choir and a local community orchestra, benefit from the support of a Church that gives the gift of music to the world.

Presidential Succession

The organization Jesus established during his earthly ministry was a kingdom Luke 12:31-32.

Kingdoms are generally passed on through hereditary succession rather than through committees, conclaves, conferences, contests, conventions, councils, etc. People nor their representatives generally do not vote for a new prince or king.

If the religious organization to which you belong chooses its new leader through a human process, you are justified in asking if it really is the kingdom of God on the earth.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which we affirm is the kingdom of God on the earth, D&C 65:1-6 selects its new leader through a divine process.

Quorum of the 12 as of December 7, 2023

Men are called to the Quorum of the 12 Apostles in seniority order. At the death of the current president,  the senior apostle in seniority, not biological age, becomes the new president. Through His control over life and death, God literally decides who the next President of the Church will be. 

At any given time, some apostles may serve in the First Presidency, so there can be more than 12 living apostles. Currently, there are 15 living apostles.

1. Russell M. Nelson, age 99, is President of the Church. He was ordained an apostle on April 7, 1984.
2. Dallin H. Oaks, age 92, is President of the Quorum of the 12 and First Counselor in the First Presidency. If he is living when President Nelson dies, Elder Oaks will become the next President of the Church. He was ordained an apostle on May 3, 1984.
3. Jeffrey R. Holland, age 83, is Acting President of the Quorum of the 12. He was ordained an apostle on June 23, 1994.
4. Henry B. Eyring, age 91, is Second Counselor in the First Presidency. He was ordained an apostle on April 1, 1995.
5. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, age 83, was ordained an apostle on October 2, 2004.
6. David A. Bednar, age 71, was ordained an apostle on October 7, 2004.
7. Quentin L. Cook, age 83, was ordained an apostle on October 6, 2007.
8. D. Todd Christofferson, age 79, was ordained an apostle on April 5, 2008.
9. Neil L. Andersen, age 72, was ordained an apostle on April 4, 2009.
10. Ronald A. Rasband, age 73, was ordained an apostle on October 3, 2015.
11. Gary L. Stevenson, age 68, was also ordained an apostle on October 3, 2015, but after Elder Rasband.
12. Dale G. Renlund, age 71, was also ordained an apostle on October 3, 2015, but after Elder Stevenson.
13. Gerrit W. Gong, age 70, was ordained an apostle on March 31, 2018.
14. Ulisses Soares, age 65, was also ordained an apostle on March 31, 2018, but after Elder Gong.
15. Patrick Kearon, age 62, was ordained an apostle on December 7, 2023.
    

Is there a more elegant system of leadership training leading to presidential succession on the planet? It there is, I am not familiar with it. God controls who the senior apostle is, and that person is guaranteed to have years or even decades of experience in Church leadership.

Longevity Corroborates Prophethood

We are living in the dispensation of the fulness of times (Ephesians 1:10). In this momentous era, the Lord has given us prophets and apostles to guide us as explained in Ephesians 4:11.

The Bible refers more than a dozen time to the blessing of long life. 

Exodus 20:12    "Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land"

Exodus 23:26    "The number of thy days I will fulfil"

Deuteronomy 5:33    "Ye may prolong your days in the land"

Deuteronomy 6:2    "That thy days may be prolonged"

Deuteronomy 11:21    "That your days may be multiplied"

1 Kings 3:14    "I will lengthen thy days"

Job 5:26    "Come to thy grave in a full age"

Psalm 71:9, 18    "Cast me not off in the time of old age" "When I am old and gray headed, O God, forsake me not"

Psalm 91:16    "With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation"

Proverbs 3:2    "For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee"

Proverbs 4:10    "The years of thy life shall be many"

Proverbs 10:27    "The fear of the Lord prolongeth days"

Proverbs 16:31     "Long life is the reward of the righteous" (Good News Translation)

Ecclesiastes 7:17    "Why shouldest thou die before thy time?"

Isaiah 40:31    "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength"

John 10:10     "Life, and that they might have it more abundantly"

Ephesians 6:3    "Live long on the earth"

--

3 biblical heroes were specifically blessed to live to a "good old age."  Abraham (Genesis 15:15, 25:8), Gideon (Judges 8:32) and David (1 Chronicles 29:28). 

The 17 prophets who have presided to date in the dispensation of the fulness of times and their age at death are:

1. Joseph Smith               38 (martyred in his prime by an armed mob)
2. Brigham Young           76
3. John Taylor                  78
4. Wilford Woodruff        91
5. Lorenzo Snow             87
6. Joseph F. Smith           80
7. Heber J. Grant             88
8. George Albert Smith   81
9. David O. McKay         96
10. Joseph Fielding Smith 95
11. Harold B. Lee              74
12. Spencer W. Kimball     90
13. Ezra Taft Benson          94
14. Howard W. Hunter       87
15. Gordon B. Hinckley     97
16. Thomas S. Monson      90
17. Russell M. Nelson        99*

*Living as of August 15, 2024

The mean age at death of these 17 prophets is 85. 8 of the 17 lived into their 90's and President Nelson will likely live to be 100.

First Presidency in January 2018

As of Aug 15, 2024, Dallin H. Oaks is 92,

 Russell M. Nelson is 99, and Henry B. Eyring is 91

Is there another organization of global significance anywhere on earth led by 3 men in their '90's? This seems to be an unequivocal fulfilment of the biblical promises of long life to worthies among the faithful. Happy 100th Birthday on September 9, 2024 President Russell M. Nelson, who will transition from a nonagenarian to a centenarian. 

This analysis was inspired by a terrific video from David Alexander.

Updated August 15, 2024.

Church Growth 2023

One of my favorite parts of April General Conference is the release of the annual statistical report. At the end of 2022, Church membership stood at 17,002,461 and had grown by 1.17% year over year. At the end of 2023, Church membership stood at 17,255,391 and had grown by 1.49%. World population growth in 2023 was .88% so 2023 was the second year in a row where Church growth outpaced world growth.

Church Annual Growth Rate 1975-2023
Red Line is World Population Growth Rate

The Church is on a 3-year strong growth track post COVID.

No Kings

Jacob, ca. 550 BC, gave us one of the most audacious prophecies in the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 10:10-14:

• This land (North and South America - see the blog article "This Land") will be a land of inheritance for Lehi's posterity.
• The Gentiles (immigrants mainly from Europe) shall be blessed upon the land.
• This land shall be a land of liberty (see the blog article "Free Nations").
• There shall be no kings upon the land.
• This land will be fortified against all other nations.
• He that raiseth up a king against me shall perish.
• The Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king (see the blog article "Christians by Continent and Country").

When this prophecy was published to the world in 1830, monarchies and empires were the norm across most of the surface of the earth.

• The Imperial House of Japan had been in power since 660 BC.
• The Cambodian Royal Family had been on the throne since AD 68.
• Other monarchies had been in place since:
• 751 Oman
• 788 Morocco
• 804 Denmark
• 814 Spain
• 871 England
• 872 Norway
• 970 Sweden
• 1139 Portugal
• 1462 Russia
• 1526 Austria (Habsburg)
• 1544 Netherlands
• France was flirting with republican forms of government after having kings from 509 - 1795 and 1804 - 1815. The French monarchy was re-enthroned again in 1830.
• The Holy Roman Empire, dissolved in 1806, had ruled for 1,000 years since Charlemagne.
• Other empires were going strong, subjugating and colonizing vast extensions of territory beginning in:
• 1299 Ottoman Turks
• 1492 Spain
• 1604 Britain
• 1605 France
• 1644 Qing Dynasty
• 1721 Russia
• 1804 Austria

In the Americas, wars of independence had begun to change the governing dynamic. See the blog articles "Prophecy Fulfilled 015" and "1830 Americas." Brazil had opted for monarchy beginning with Dom Pedro I (known as "The Liberator") in 1822.

Dom Pedro I of Brazil (1798-1834)

So, for the Book of Mormon to announce in 1830 that attempts to establish royalty in the Americas would end badly ("he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish") it was a bold declaration, practically unprecedented in world history. Like other Book of Mormon prophecies, this one was fulfilled precisely.

King James I (James J. Strang) was coronated in 1850 and reigned over Beaver Island, Michigan until his assassination in 1856.

James I of Michigan (1813-1856)

James Jesse Strang at the height of his power ruled over 12,000 followers and counted Joseph Smith's brother, William, among his supporters.

Maximilian I of Mexico was coronated in 1864 and executed by firing squad in 1867. 

Maximilian I of Mexico (1832-1867)

The Imperial House of Brazil reigned from 1822-1889 when a coup d' etat forced Dom Pedro II (known as "The Magnanimous") into exile in Paris where he died 2 years later.

Over a dozen sovereign nations in the Americas have some form of fealty to a monarch through a voluntary Commonwealth association such as Canada to the UK, but since 1889 no absolute monarch has reigned anywhere in the New World. Those few who attempted to establish a king in the Western Hemisphere post 1822 did perish just as the Book of Mormon foretold.

I recommend Stephen Smoot's blog article about 2 Nephi 10.

Narratives

 The Book of Mormon text has a number of narratives that geographic models should accommodate or explain. Key narratives include:

Mulekite/Phoenician connection. The Mulekites likely sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in a Phoenician ship.

• The Mulekites named their big river Sidon (Alma 2:15), the name of a major Phoenician port city along with Arwad, Byblos, and Tyre.
• The Phoenicians ca. 600 BC had formidable maritime experience and capability. They were much more advanced in this area than the Kingdom of Judah. See Philip Beale's two excellent books Sailing Close to the Wind Dorchester, England: Lulworth Press (2012) and Atlantic B.C. Dorchester, England: Lulworth Press (2022).

Philip Beale's Modern Replica of Phoenician Sailing Vessel

Isolation.

• Mosiah I discovered the Mulekites whose language was unintelligible to the Nephites. At contact, both groups realized they came from Old World Jerusalem. Omni 1:14-17.
• Coriantumr, a Jaredite survivor, lived among the Mulekites for nine moons. He carved his history on a stela, but no one among the Mulekites could read it. Omni 1:20-22.

Disorientation.

• Ammon and his reconnaissance party wandered for forty days in the wilderness Mosiah 7:4.
• Limhi's 43 explorers were lost in the wilderness for many days. Mosiah 8:8, Mosiah 21:25.
• The Lamanite army dispatched to intercept Limhi and his people were lost in the wilderness. Mosiah 22:15-16, Mosiah 23:30.

Incommunicado.

• Amaleki's brother returned from Zarahemla back to Nephi with the Zeniff colony and no word from the migrants ever reached Zarahemla. Omni 1:30, Mosiah 7:1.
• Captain Moroni on the northeast front was uninformed about Helaman's military activities on the southwest front. Alma 59:1-2.
• Many people who migrated to the land northward were never heard from again. Alma 63:8.

Over Extension.

• Ca. 71 BC the Nephites achieved their territorial maximum Alma 50:23. Only 36 years later, Lamanites controlled 100% of the greater land of Zarahemla. Helaman 4:5.
• Helaman thought Nephite armies were too small to effectively hold their large territory. Alma 58:32.

Mistaken Identity.

• Limhi's 43 explorers thought they had found Zarahemla Mosiah 21:26 and King Limhi believed them for a few days until Ammon and his party arrived Mosiah 7:14.

Enigmatic Phraseology.

• The term "pure water" appears only 2 times in the text. It is obvious what the fountain of pure water was in the place called Mormon - it was a spring of some kind. Mosiah 18:5. But how do you have an entire land of pure water as in Mosiah 23:4?
• What does it mean that the Nephites under Mormon fortified the city of Desolation and environs "with all our force?" Mormon 3:6. These fortifications were so well-engineered that had the Nephite armies just stayed home the Lamanites would never have prevailed. Mormon 4:4.

Dissimilar Climate.

• The disastrous return of Zeniff and his followers from Zarahemla to Nephi is likely due to very different climates in the two places. Economic opportunity, kinship ties, access to good land, violence, and natural disasters are unlikely to have been major motives for the reverse migration. See point #12 in the blog article The Usumacinta/Sidon Correlation.

Scantily Clad Warriors.

• Armies went to battle around the new year dressed only in loincloths. Alma 43:4, 20. 

Disobedience.

• Ammaron ca. AD 324 commanded Mormon to leave the Nephite repository in hill Shim Mormon 1:4. Ca. AD 375 Mormon removed the Nephite repository from hill Shim because the area was no longer secure Mormon 4:23. Ether 15:11 tells us that Mormon created a new Nephite repository in hill Ramah/Cumorah. A useful geographic model will shed light on Mormon's willful disobedience.

Containment

• There was a point along the west coast where the Nephites could successfully prevent superior Lamanite forces from overrunning the land Northward. Alma 22:32-34, Helaman 4:7.

Lehites Sailed East

Noe Correa, a brilliant Scripture Central colleague, shared this insightful exegesis with me today. I thought about it for several hours, and am convinced Noe's conclusion is correct. When the Lehites left their Bountiful harbor in modern-day Oman, they sailed east toward India, Indonesia, and the Philippines before crossing the Pacific and landing on the west coast of Mexico or Guatemala.

Likely Route of Lehite Voyage 

Up to this point, our single clue in the text of the Book of Mormon that pointed to a Lehite landfall on the Pacific coast of the Americas was Alma 22:28 that says the place of the Lamanites' fathers' first inheritance (aka land of their first inheritance Mosiah 10:13) was bordering the seashore on the west in the land of Nephi. Almost all Mesoamerican geographers locate the land of Nephi in highland Guatemala, so west by the seashore would be in the general vicinity of Izapa near the mouth of the Suchiate River which is the boundary between modern Mexico and Guatemala.

Noe now adds a second confirming data point. His logic is:

1. Nephi quoting Zenos says the Lord in the last days will remember and gather Israel from the isles of the sea and the four quarters of the earth. 1 Nephi 19:16. Jacob explicitly says the Nephites were upon an isle of the sea. 2 Nephi 10:20-21. The Lord also refers to the posterity of Lehi on an island 2 Nephi 29:11 in one of the quarters of the earth. 
2. Nephi reiterates the prophecy that the children of Israel will be gathered from the four quarters of the earth. 1 Nephi 22:25.

3. In 1 Nephi 21:8 Nephi quotes Isaiah 49:8, but as part of his "likening" Isaiah to his people (see 1 Nephi 19:23), Nephi adds the phrase "O isles of the sea" which explicitly makes the Lord's words in the Isaiah passage refer to the Nephites.

4. Nephi, still quoting Isaiah, says the house of Israel will be gathered from the north, the west, and the land of Sinim. 1 Nephi 21:12. The earliest text we have of Isaiah is the great Isaiah scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls, and rather than "Sinim" it says "Syene" which is Aswan in southern Egypt. Rabbi Manasseh ben Israel (1604-1657) in his 1650 book Hope of Israel critically cites Aben Ezra (p. 40 in the 1651 English edition) as supporting an Egyptian location for Sinim. So, Isaiah is referring to the house of Israel gathering from the north, west, and south. But north, west, and south are not good enough for Nephi because it leaves his people out of the picture.

5. So in 1 Nephi 21:13 Nephi inserts the phrase "for the feet of those who are in the east shall be established" to complete the quadripartite partition of the earth into four quarters. Nephi is saying that his people, the Nephites and Lamanites, are in the east relative to Isaiah's Jerusalem. This means that the Lehite voyage sailed east from the Arabian Peninsula Bountiful. Nephi literally puts words into Isaiah's mouth to reflect the location of Lehi's posterity in the prophetic geography.

My tireless colleague, Alan Miner, has a third line of reasoning that shows Lehi travelled east from Oman. 1 Nephi 17:1 says the Lehites, after leaving Nahom, travelled "nearly eastward from that time forth."  Generally eastward from Oman (17 degrees north latitude) lands you in Mexico.

Was it possible to sail west from Oman anciently? Yes. Philip Beale in his replica ship Phoenicia demonstrated that single masted square riggers ca. 600 BC could have circumnavigated Africa just as Herodotus said the Phoenicians did. On the south coast of Oman, prevailing winds are seasonal. Westerlies predominate part of the year, then easterlies the other part. See the blog articles "Where did the Mulekites land?" and "Pacific Winds and Currents."

This Land

 A previous blog article explored the likely meaning of the terms "this continent" and "this country" in Joseph Smith's day. Both could refer to the New World, the Western Hemisphere, all of North and South America. 

What did people from Joseph Smith's era mean when they used the phrase "this land?" Orson Hyde (1805-1878) gave a Fourth of July speech in Salt Lake City in 1853. His remarks are reported in Latter-day Saints Millennial Star Vol. 15 (29 October 1853) page 706. "This land" the Apostle said, "means both North and South America." 

John Taylor (1808-1887) preached a sermon in Salt Lake City on January 12, 1873 while Brigham Young was still alive. This is recorded in Journal of Discourses Vol. 15, page 279. Elder Taylor said:

"This land, North and South America, is the land of Zion, it is a choice land — the land that was given by promise from old father Jacob to his grandson and his descendants, the land on which the Zion of God should be established in the latter days."

As with "this continent" and "this country," "this land" among contemporaries of Joseph Smith could mean the entire New World.

John Taylor in Journal of Discourses

Taylor's thoughts coincide with the prophet Joseph's. Joseph Smith on July 19, 1840 said: "speaking of the land of Zion, it consists of all North and South America." See BYU Studies Vol. 19 No. 3 (Spring 1979) p. 392.

Nephi uses the phrase "this land" in an expansive, hemispheric context when he says "do ye suppose that the children of this land, which were in the land of promise, which were driven out by our fathers, do ye suppose that they were righteous?" 1 Nephi 17:33.

Nephi's Use of "This Land" in 1 Ne 17:33

Nephi was probably in modern Oman referring to modern Israel, locations that are 2,500 air kilometers distant.

In 1 Nephi 22:7 a mighty nation is referenced. That mighty nation is Spain. See the blog articles Prophecy Fulfilled 016 and Mighty Nation = Spain. "This land" in this context refers to all of Spanish America, both North and South America.

In 2 Nephi 1:1-11 Lehi prophesies about his seed in "this land" and others from multiple nations who will also be brought to "this land." The implication is "this land" refers to territory more extensive than a single modern nation. For context behind the phrase "land of liberty" in 2 Nephi 1:7 and 2 Nephi 10:11 see the blog article "Free Nations."

This Continent and This Country

Some people in the Church cite Joseph Smith in an attempt to locate Book of Mormon lands in what is today the United States of America. In his 1838 history, Joseph describes his initial visit with the Angel Moroni and recites what Moroni told him: "He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang." "This continent," some students claim, means North America.

Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language says otherwise. In Joseph Smith's day, all of the Americas were considered a single continent, the "Western continent." This was a perpetuation of the idea expressed by Ephraim Chambers in his 1727 Cyclopaedia that there were two grand continents, "the Old and the New." Emanuel Bowen in his 1752 atlas repeated this idea that Europe, Asia, and Africa were a single continent "as America is another." So, to Joseph Smith in 1838, "this continent" likely meant the Americas, the Western hemisphere.

Beginning about 1850 some atlases published in the US began separating North America and South America into two different continents, joined by the Isthmus of Darien known today as Panama. The 1850 Webster's Dictionary, published after the great lexicographer's death, continued to reference the "Western continent" and the "Eastern continent." Almost all European atlases published in the 19th century identified the Americas as a single continent, although some of them began separating Europe, Asia, and Africa into three different continents. Some American atlases published as late as the 1920's continued to show a single American continent. By the 1950's, geographers worldwide decided that North America and South America were two different continents and that modern notion continues today. See the blog article entitled "North America."

A dubious line of reasoning continues that Joseph Smith's "this continent" in 1838 was refined to "this country" in his Wentworth Letter first published on March 1, 1842. This famous letter, that contains the original Articles of Faith, says "I was also informed concerning the aboriginal inhabitants of this country and shown who they were and from whence they came..." 

1838 this continent = North America, 1842 this country = United States of America. Voila, the Book of Mormon happened in the good ol' US of A, or so some people claim.

Except that one of Joseph Smith's close associates published a book in 1839 and used the phrase "this country" to refer to Mexico and Guatemala in addition to the US. This is what Parley P. Pratt said in the 1839 second edition of his widely-circulated A Voice of Warning: "We might fill a volume with accounts of American Antiquities, all going to show that this country has been peopled with a people, who possessed a knowledge of the arts and sciences; who built cities, cultivated the earth, and who were in possession of a written language." Pratt's star "antiquity" was the ancient Maya site known today as Palenque which is located in Chiapas, Mexico. For Pratt, Palenque was in "this country." So as to leave no doubt, Pratt refers to "North and South America" three sentences later in his treatise. This makes it likely that Joseph's use of "this country" in 1842 was intended to convey the same meaning as his use of "this continent" in 1838 and Pratt's use of "this country" in 1839.

Parley Parker Pratt

A Voice of Warning

2nd Edition, 1839

People who insist that 19th century phrases such as "this continent" and "this country" must be interpreted with modern meanings are guilty of the logical fallacy of presentism.

Pacific Winds and Currents

Poorly informed people sometimes claim that the winds and currents in the Pacific Ocean run only from east to west, which would preclude either the Jaredite barges or the Lehite ship crossing the Pacific. This gross oversimplification distorts the truth. 6 major wind-driven currents in the Pacific Ocean flow from west to east, eventually landing a vessel somewhere on the Pacific coast of the Americas:

1. North Pacific Current
2. Kuroshio Current
3. Equatorial Counter Current
4. East Australia Current
5. South Pacific Current
6. Antarctic Circumpolar Current

Map of Major Ocean Currents

K =Kuroshio Current

NP = North Pacific Current

EC = Equatorial Counter Current

ACC = Antarctic Circumpolar Current

Ocean Motion Map from NASA

and the American Meteorological Association

This map shows all 6 of the major west to east currents in the Pacific.

Map from Science Education through Earth Observation (SEOS)

These maps show mean wind-driven current paths. Seasonal variations exist. Patterns are sometimes disrupted in El Niño years.

From 1565 to 1815 Spanish traders sailed the "Manila Galleons" from the Philippines to Acapulco, Mexico. Transit time for them averaged about 4 months to cross the Pacific from west to east.

Explaining seasonality, Philip Beale, captain of the remarkable Phoenicia, told me that sailing his replica vessel from Oman he could have gone west to Africa or east to India depending on the season of the year.

For reasons why the Jaredites almost certainly crossed the Pacific, see the blog articles "Tracking the Jaredites" and "Jaredites Crossed the Pacific."

Christians by Continent and Country

 The Book of Mormon contains a powerful prophecy about the relationship between freedom and religiosity. "Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ." Ether 2:12. The 6 inhabited continents vary greatly in their adherence to Christianity:

1. South America 83%
2. North America 77%
3. Oceania 65%
4. Europe 64%
5. Africa 49%
6. Asia 12%

This Christ Statue in Cochabamba, Bolivia

is 40 meters (132 feet) high

The 10 contiguous countries in North America also vary considerably in their adherence to Christianity: 

1. Mexico 91%
2. Panama 90%
3. Guatemala 85%
4. Honduras 82%
5. Nicaragua 82%
6. El Salvador 78%
7. Belize 73%
8. Costa Rica 70%
9. US 68%
10. Canada 53%

North America

 Many people believe the Book of Mormon took place in North America and they may be right. North America is a continent in the western and northern hemispheres. It is bounded by the Arctic, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans and the Caribbean Sea.

North America in Orthographic Projection

North America consists of 23 sovereign nations and 23 dependent territories. Modern contiguous countries in North America include (moving in a general north to south direction):

• Canada
• United States
• Mexico
• Belize
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• El Salvador
• Nicaragua
• Costa Rica
• Panama

Modern island countries in North America include (in alphabetical order):

• Anguilla
• Antigua and Barbuda
• The Bahamas
• Barbados
• British Virgin Islands
• Cayman Islands
• Cuba
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• Greenland
• Grenada
• Guadeloupe
• Haiti
• Jamaica
• Martinique
• Montserrat
• Puerto Rico
• Saint Barthelemy
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Pierre and Miquelon
• Saint Martin
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Sint Maarten
• Turks and Caicos Islands
• US Minor Outlying Islands (8 in the Pacific, 1 in the Caribbean)
• US Virgin Islands

There are 7 continents on the planet recognized by the International Standards Organization and the International Geographical Union. They are: Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania, and Antarctica.

North America is the third largest continent with 24.2 million square kilometers which is 16.2% of the land surface of the earth. 

North America is the fourth most populous continent with 600 million inhabitants which is 7.5% of the population of the earth.