Men from the East Wearing Red

Mark Wright of the BYU Religion faculty is one of the brightest Book of Mormon scholars in the contemporary Church. He holds a PhD from UC Riverside where he studied under the eminent Karl Taube. I am indebted to Mark for this color/directionality insight. I am solely responsible for the associated geographic correlation.

Mark Wright at La Danta, El Mirador, Peten, January, 2016

When the Amlicites invaded the greater land of Zarahemla via the land of Gideon, they attacked from the east. We know this because Gideon was explicitly east of Sidon Alma 6:7. They also wore red marks on their foreheads Alma 3:4. Alma attached considerable symbolic significance to this mark as a fulfillment of ancient prophecy Alma 3:13-16. This is the only place in the text where body art color is mentioned. In the Maya worldview, the color red was associated with sunrise and the cardinal direction east. The Amlicites came from the east (Mayan "elk' in") wearing the color red (Mayan "chak") associated with the east.

See the article "Water Fight on the River - Round Ten" for a photo of a modern Maya floral altar from Chiapas showing the color red in the east quadrant.

This color association is one more indication that Ammonihah (home of the Amlicites) was east of Sidon as the January, 2016 Book of Mormon Lands Map proposes. See the article "Red Herrings" for a list of relevant articles examining Ammonihah's setting in the greater land of Zarahemla.

This map shows likely locations for the Alma/Amlici battle narrative per the January, 2016 correlation.

Blue Line Shows Plausible Amlicite Attack Route from the East

The Amlicites came from the east wearing red and engaged the Nephites on Hill Amnihu in the land of Gideon east of the land of Minon.

Detail of Proposed Hill Amnihu Area

If a Book of Mormon geographic correlation is accurate, future corroborative discoveries will surface.

My Testimony on #BoMDay and Easter

This is a photo of me, Kirk Magleby, holding the Yale 2009 text at the Shoshone Falls lookout point near Twin Falls, Idaho on March 26, 2016.

Reading the Book of Mormon on Book of Mormon Day
Photo by Doug Christensen March 26, 2016

I know that God lives and Jesus is the Christ. I cherish the Bible. I also love the Book of Mormon which clarifies and corroborates the Bible. If Jesus of Nazareth atoned for our sins and sorrows, was crucified, and rose again on the third day as we celebrate today on Easter Sunday, then perhaps he is the Savior of mankind. Good people in non-Christian traditions may beg to differ. If Jesus of Nazareth atoned for our sins and sorrows, was crucified, rose again on the third day, came to the Americas, descended in glory, and ministered to the Nephites as the Book of Mormon records, then he is indeed the very Eternal Father of Heaven and Earth as Amulek taught Zeezrom in the city of Ammonihah ca. 82 BC Alma 11:39-40.

I testify that Amulek and the other Boook of Mormon prophets taught the truth.

Ubiquitous Narrow Strip

In 2011 when I began this blog, satellite imagery was not as advanced or as widely available as it is today. When I went looking for a natural feature that matched the text's description of the narrow strip of wilderness, my first clue was a faint east - west line of lights that showed up on NASA's image of earth's lights at night. Since settlement follows rivers, that line of small population centers meant a line of streams flowed east - west across Chiapas and Guatemala. With examination, I discovered a line of east - west cliffs with rivers flowing at their bases. I then discovered this line of cliffs was caused by uplift along the boundary between the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates. This tectonic plate boundary is generally called the Polochic Fault and after a few weeks of weighing alternatives that distinctive fault line became my candidate for the narrow strip of wilderness. For much more detail, see the article "The Narrow Strip of Wilderness."

In 2016, shaded relief based on precise elevation data derived from satellite remote sensing is getting so good my proposed narrow strip of wilderness practically jumps off the page on many maps. Here is one example - the current CIA map of Guatemala.

CIA Geo Political Map of Guatemala

As with all images on this blog, click to enlarge. Notice the east - west line running across the middle of the country where the Cuilco, Chixoy, and Polochic Rivers flow. This line also forms the northern shore of Lake Izabal. The towns of Huehuetenango, Sacapulas, Tactic, El Estor, and Livingston are all along this line. Had a widely published map this good been available to me five years ago, my search for the narrow strip of wilderness would not have taken long.

Here is another image of the proposed narrow strip of wilderness showing curvature round about on the Pacific side as per Alma 22:27.

Unmistakable Polochic Fault in Shaded Relief 

And here is a snapshot image from the current version of Google Earth.

Polochic Fault Highly Visible in Google Earth

This is a map of obsidian sources published by Mark Golitko and Gary Feinman of the Field Museum.

Obsidian Sources, all South of the Proposed Narrow Strip of Wilderness

And this is a current image from Google Maps:

Google Maps with Terrain Layer Turned On

When a text to map correlation is accurate, future discoveries and better technology will tend to make it even more obvious.

Article updated April 11, 2016

Easter 2016

Here are a few of the outstanding things Book of Mormon Central is doing to celebrate the International Day of the Book of Mormon on March 26th, General Conference on March 26th and April 2-3rd, and Easter on March 27th. #BoMDay & #hallelujah

1. Print counter.

Interactive Counter of Copies Printed since 1830

This counter increments every 5.922 seconds. It is based on official numbers prepared by the LDS Scriptures Publication Committee and LDS Printing Division. It reflects all languages including braille and ASL (delivered as a video). It does not reflect electronic copies accessed via the web or downloaded to mobile devices.

2. Easter infographic.

Christ in the Book of Mormon

I particularly like the name cloud. As with all images on this blog, click to enlarge.

3. Christ in America timeline.

Sequence of Events in 3 Nephi

It is not easy sometimes to keep this chronology straight.

4. Christ collage.

Images of Christ in Book of Mormon Central KnoWhys

Book of Mormon Central has been publishing KnoWhys since January 1, 2016. KnoWhy #62 about Jacob's use of the Psalms was published today. This collage brings together images of the Savior used in the KnoWhys published to date.

Lehi and Sariah in Arabia

We have all heard people say "I liked the movie, but the book is better." That is certainly the case with Warren Aston's latest publication. Information about his excellent 2015 DVD is in the article "Lehi in Arabia." I just received my copy of his superb 2015 book entitled Lehi and Sariah in Arabia: The Old World Setting of the Book of Mormon.

Sunrise over Khor Kharfot

Contemporary Book of Mormon research doesn't get any better than this. The lavishly illustrated volume is handsome with generally high production values. Aston is a good photographer and a fine writer. More importantly, he is an intrepid explorer with a careful researcher's eye for quality sources. This book belongs on every serious Book of Mormon student's shelf. Order your copy from Xlibris.

At great personal cost, Aston has put not one but two Book of Mormon place names on the map - Nahom in Yemen and Nephi's Bountiful in Oman. Quite the accomplishments for one lifetime. A November, 2015 audio with transcript Interview with Warren Aston is in the Book of Mormon Central Archive.

Book of Mormon Day 2016

Saturday, March 26th, 2016 is the 186th anniversary of the day the Book of Mormon first went on sale in Palmyra, New York. To commemorate the event, people worldwide are using hashtag #BOMDAY to:

• post photos of themselves reading the Book of Mormon in a familiar, comfortable, or culturally significant place.
• share their testimony of the Book of Mormon.
• share something they learned from the Book of Mormon.

People not comfortable with hashtags are welcome to submit material here:

There is also an art contest. Details here: While on that page, notice the counter showing how many copies of the Book of Mormon have been printed worldwide since 1830. At the current rate, a new copy rolls off the press on average every 5.922 seconds. This is a delightful piece of Book of Mormon art submitted by a lovely 12 year old girl.

An Interpretation of Jesus and the Children

As with all images on this blog, click to enlarge. Happy Book of Mormon Day.

Book of Mormon Temples Fireside

Book of Mormon Central has been publishing terrific material since January 1, 2016. It was time for the group to produce an event. To celebrate the dedication of the Provo City Center Temple, Book of Mormon Central in collaboration with the American Fork 29th Ward hosted "Book of Mormon Temples," a fireside at 7 pm on Sunday, March 20, 2016. Approximately 175 people attended.

A Celebration of Temples Ancient and Modern

As with all images on this blog, click to enlarge.

Pres. Keith Blake of the American Fork Utah East Stake Presidency presided. Taylor Halverson conducted. Taylor holds PhD's in biblical studies and instructional technology from Indiana University. He teaches adult Sunday school in the Hobble Creek 15th Ward, Springville Utah Hobble Creek Stake. He is on the BYU faculty and serves on the Book of Mormon Central Executive Committee.

Quin Barney offered the invocation. Quin is 1st Counselor in the Elder's Quorum Presidency in the American Fork 29th Ward. He teaches Seminary at Brighton High School and is a Book of Mormon Central Associate.

Nicole Shepard talked about the first international Book of Mormon Day on March 26th, 2016. Book of Mormon Day is a joint project of More Good Foundation and Book of Mormon Central. Nicole teaches Sunday school and is a Visiting Teaching Supervisor in the South Jordan YSA 3rd Ward, Riverton Utah YSA Stake. She is an editor, script writer, and layout artist with Book of Mormon Central.

Stephen Smoot is a newly set apart ordinance worker in the Provo City Center Temple. He enters the University of Toronto in the fall to pursue an advanced degree in Egyptology. He is a researcher and writer with Book of Mormon Central. You can see his presentation here.

David Larsen is 1st Counselor in the Spring Creek 4th Ward, Springville Utah Spring Creek South Stake. He has a PhD in biblical studies from University of St. Andrews (Scotland). He is a researcher and writer with Book of Mormon Central. His presentation is here.

Primary children from the American Fork 29th Ward sang "I Love to See the Temple" directed by Steve Pratt and accompanied by Erik Anderson. Steve is Primary chorister in the American Fork 29th Ward. He teaches 6th Grade at Westfield Elementary School. Eric is one of the Primary pianists in the American Fork 29th Ward. He is a student in horn performance at Utah Valley University.

Jasmin Gimenez is a member of the compassionate service committee and assistant pianist in the Provo YSA 91st Ward, Provo Utah YSA 7th Stake. Her degree is from BYU in web design and Near Eastern studies. She is a web designer and content manager with Book of Mormon Central. Her presentation is here.

Jack Welch is a sealer in the Provo Temple. He read at Oxford and received his JD from Duke. Jack is on the BYU law faculty and is Editor-in-Chief of BYU Studies. He founded FARMS and chairs Book of Mormon Central. His keynote presentation is here.

Blaine Dickerson offered the benediction. He is a ward missionary in the American Fork 29th Ward. Blaine is one of the skilled craftsmen (wood worker and welder) who built both the Ogden and Provo City Center Temples.

The fireside included a display of about 20 important books on the Book of Mormon, classic titles that have stood the test of time and been broadly influential. It also featured a small gallery of recent Book of Mormon artwork from Joseph Brickey and Glery Becerra.

Article updated March 25, 2016.