The Book of Mormon

Alma 22:27–37 contains the most comprehensive description of the geographic layout of the Nephite and Lamanite lands. Understanding the geography described in this section is important not just for understanding the scope of the Lamanite king’s proclamation in 22:27; it will also be critical when the narrative turns to the wars of the Lamanites later in the book of Alma.

Any proposed geography of the Book of Mormon must align with the description given at the end of Alma 22. While there can be some room for interpretation, a responsible reader should define the words used in this section according to their usage in Joseph Smith’s time (via Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Langage).

• • For example, the nine instances of wilderness (22:27, 28, 29, 31, 34) should refer to “a desert [or other] tract of land or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings, whether a forest or a wide barren plain.” (Webster, 1828, def. 1) Referring to a river as “wilderness” or as a “sea,” because one’s geographical theory demands it (as one Latter-day Saint author has proposed), is irresponsible and an example of special pleading.

  • Likewise, sea must refer to “the ocean” (def. 3) or “a large body of water, nearly inclosed by land…[being] upon the same level [as an ocean].” (def. 2) Webster notes: “Large bodies of water inland, and situated above the level of the ocean, are lakes.” Lakes are not mentioned in the Book of Mormon (outside of ten references to the spiritual “lake of fire and brimstone”—2 Nephi 9:16, 19, 26; 28:23; Jacob 3:11; 6:10; Mosiah 3:27; Alma 12:17; 14:14). A large inland body of water may be called a “sea” (e.g., lake Gennesaret = the sea of Galilee), and the Hebrew scriptures refer to the river Nile as a “sea” in a few places (Isaiah 11:15; 19:5) but these are exceptions, not the rule, and should therefore be used with caution.