Fromthe president 'And it meaneththat the time cometh that afier all the ltouseof Israel hauebeen scatteredand confounded,that the Lord God will raiseup a rntghty nation amnng the Gentiles,!ea, eaenapnn theface of 4@ ftnoddthis knd; And by tltem shall our seedbe a scattered.And afier our seedis scattered, the Lord God will proceedto do a rnar- uelousworh ttmong the Gentiles,whiclt The Book of Mormon Foundation PublishedQuarterly shall be of great worth untl our seed;' Number 106 December 2002 (I Nephi 7:15-17) I t is with thankful heartsthat we I approachthe end of tiis year.'We Mysteriesof the Bookof Ether,Part One I are reminded of the great blessings bestowedupon us.'Wehave been born in a free land and raisedup as a mighty WhoCarved nation, where the Lord will complete his great and marvelouswork for the latter days.This country is mighry not the Stoneof becauseof military power or financid prosperiry but rather for being estab- lishedas one nation under God. \7e KingCoriantumr? area Christian nation with divine pur- by Wrneil Simmons pose,reserved by God for the restora- tion of the firllnessof the gospel,the he Book of Mormon presents ancestrallands and discoveredMulek's endowment,the building up of the the seriousstudent with an descendantsin the land of Zarahemla. New Jerusalem,the gatheringof the intriguing historicalpuzzle. A The rwo peoplesunited, and Mosiah House of Israel,and all the other pro- stone is brought to King Mosiah becamethe reigning monarch in the phetic fulfillments that haveinspired carved in an unknown tongue. Mosi- capital ciry, Zarahemla. the saintsfor generations.This should ah, by the "gift and power" of God, Lehis son Nephi had kept careful his- strengthenour faith, aswe become readsthe writing and discoversit hon- torical records,and this was continued more awareof the freedomsand privi- ors King Coriantumr, the last ruler of by his successors.Mosiah took these legeswhich allow us to celebratethe a destroyedpeople. national recordswith him and found birth and coming of JesusChrist, our The puzzle to be solved is who Mulek's people without recordsof their Savior,openly and withouc fear.It is carved the stone, *hy was it carved, past. Their king, Zarahemla, gave his our hope that we will soon understand and why was it written in an unknown lineagefrom memory as a descendantof our identity more fully and become more activelyengaged in this later day language?To solve the puzzle,one Mulek (Mosiah 12:14-21). 'We needsto understand some of the histo- The long history of the Nephite- work. at The Book of Mormon ry of The Book of Mormon. Lamanite nation, as recordedover the Foundation hope and trust that the Lcrd will be in your thoughts this The book is a religious and military centuries,was abridged by Mormon, Jesus'We history of some of the people who prophet-leaderof the Nephites, in the season. firmly believeThe Book of lived in Central America before the fourth century A.D. It was his sad role Mormon is a latter day wimessto dre arrival of the European explorers.The to record the downfall and utter de- divinity ofJesusChrist our Savior and history, which coversa thousand years, struction of his nation at the hands of pray that the blessingsof God will be beginsat 600 B.C. with the family of its enemies,the Lamanites.He gave yours during the holidap. t Lehi leavingJerusalem early in the the abridgment to his son, Moroni, reign of Zedekiah, Judah'slast king. who wrote the final chaptersin A.D. Look insidefor: Within the samedecade, another 400. He included a summary of Jared- Testimony of Merva Bird . . . ..page 3 group fled the ciry taking with them a ite history taken from the 24 gold Congregational young son of the king, known as platesas translatedby Mosiah II and Book of Mormon Days ...... page 3 Mulek. called it the book of Ether. Audio tapes available . .Page4 Dissensiondivided Lehis descen- The Jareditecolony left Asia from Winter/spring classes. . .page 5 dants, eventuallycreating rwo seperate the Great Tower, crossedthe Pacific, Alma's geography lesson . . . . .page 6 nations known as Nephites and Lam- and arrived in America many centuries Book of Mormon anites.At about 200 8.C., someof the before the people from Jerusalem. chainreferences ...... page 7 Nephites, led by Mosiah, left their Continued on page 2 Continuedfrom page I led to their discovery?Certainly Mor- Zarahemla(Mosiah 9:168). This gives oni knew at this time that he was re- us one more clue. The city they found Th.y brought a record with them and peating the role of Ether in the matter had to be on a large river, sincethey kept national records,according to the of hiding the Nephite recordsfor well knew that Zarahemlawas built kingJine. They, too, fell into evil somefuture time. Did he learn some- on dre Sidon river. ways, and their civilization was thing from Ether'saccount that proved Archaeologismhave given the name destroyedby war. usefulwhen he hid his fathert Olmec to the earliestcivilization - In the last daysof the Jaredites, abridgementin an unusualstone box found in Mexico the Jareditesof fought Shiz for the in a country far from his homeland? The Book of Mormon. The largest Kirg Coriantumr 'We throne. The country was in chaos,at may not know how and where Olmec ruin, built on a river near the the mercy of guerrilla bandits,with no Ether hid his record, but we do know narrow neck of land which divided the central governmentin control (Ether how and where it was found, nearly a Jarediteterritory from their Nephite 6:105-108). As their prophet,Ether neighbors,is known as San l,orenzo. had warned the people they must \7e find the fulfillment of Ethert repent or they would be destroyed,but prophecyconcerning the death of he had been forced into hiding to save Coriantumr in the book of Omni. his life. It was then he beganto Amaleki, the last writer on the small engravethe nationt history on metal platesof Nephi, was born in the days plates. of the first Mosiah, king in the land of During his secondyear in hiding, Zarahemla.Amaleki writes an account the lord sent him to the king with a of a carvedstone brought to Mosiah message.If Coriantumr and all his for uanslation. It had to come from a householdwould repent, the Lord Mulekite settlement,possibly far from would give him the kingdom and the city of Zarahemla.The local peo- sparethe people.If not, all his house- ple could not readit, but neifier hold would perish,with the exception could Mosiah.He translatedit by the of the king, and the peoplewould be "gift and power of God," a term used destroyed.The king had grown sons, for the Interpretersor Urim and but none would surviveto restorethe Thummim (Mosiah5:72-82; 12:16- dynasry.Coriantumr would live to see 26).The engravingson the stoneiden- another people inherit his kingdom, tified Coriantumr, who had lived with and he would be buried by them the peopleof Zarahemlafor nine (Ether 6:21-23). months. It gavehis genealory,e time- In spite of the prophett warning, line for his people,and information there was no repentance;not in the on the nation'sdestruction due to court, nor in the land, and so the bat- God'sjudgments. des continued. At long last, the death \Who carvedthe stone?Only Ether and destruction humbled Coriantumr knew thesefacts about Coriantumr's who, lamenting the deathsof nnromil- life and lineage,and only he could lion of his people,offered to give up havecarved it in the Jareditetongue, the kingdom to Shiz. It was too late; which no one in the land could read. Shiz had made a vow to havethe head His prophecywas fulfilled. The king of his enemy! centurylater (Mosiah5:60-71). was buried by thosesffangers who The final batde, which resultedin Limhi, a Nephite ruling over two were desdnedto inherit his kingdom. the death of Shiz and the collapseof small cities in Lamanite territory sent SurelyEther carvedthis memorial to Coriantumr, will be discussedin the a search perry to find Zarahemla and his king to mark his tomb! secondpart of this study.At the ask for help to free them from their \7'hen stone stelewere first found moment, we are concernedwith the Lamanite neighbors.These men lost among the ancient Mayan cities, the role of Ether.The Lord told him to their way and found insteadan aban- most famousarchaeologists of that "go forth" from his caveand seethat doned Jareditecity. It was large,filled time, Thompson and Morley, refused the words of the Lord had beenful- with buildings of all kinds and littered to believethat the unreadablecarved filled, so he could finish his record. with the bonesof people and animals, glyphr recordedpersonal histories. 'S7'hen Moroni wrote that Ether hid rusting swordsand large breastplates. However,recent progress in glyph the record "in a manner that the peo- The searchparty returned with such deciphermentestablishes without any ple of Limhi did find thent'' (Ether souvenirs,including the 24 plarcsof doubt drat thesestones are recordsof 6:108),we arefaced with e plzle. gold which they had found in the personalachievements. They give the \fhy did he not tell us what the "man- ruins. They reported to King Limhi king's narne,his parents,forefathers, ner" was that protectedthem, but also that they supposedthis was the city the datesand the great accomplish-

THE \TITNESS. NUMBER 106. DECEMBER2OO2 mentsof his reign,and sometimesthe nameof his heir. One hasto wonder if Ether'sstone carving set a Paffern which survivedfor centuriesamong the descendantsof Mosiah'speople. How long did the prophet survive the death of Coriantumr? Moroni endshis abridgment of Ether'srecord with the prophet'slast words (Ether 6:109). "\flhether the Lord will that I be translated,or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh,it matterethnot, if it so be that I am savedin the Kingdom of God." 'With thesewords, Ether disappears from the pagesof history.Yet he had alreadygiven us enoughclues to solve the puzzleof King Coriantumr's tombstone.t TheBlessings StillContinue by Meraa Bird

y lifelong fascinationwith The Book of Mormon began in early childhood when Brother Harold Velt showedslides in a little church in Thcoma,'W'ash.The amazing(to me) picturesof archeolog- icd ruins in Mexico and Mesoamerica wereconvincing proof of Christt knowledgeof and love for his people here in this land. As Brother Velt Book of Mormon showedthe slidesand relatedscrip- from the church for a number of in the pagesofThe a small fraction of the tures of the propheciesand promises years. we haveonly the peopleled here, in the Old Testamentand then told \7hen my husbandand I had the history of someof only an abridgedand highly con- the wonderful story of the Jaredites, opportunity to go with Brother RoY to covernearly 3000 and later Nephites,being led by God \V'eldonon one of his Book of Mor- densedaccount there is so much more to a promisedland, choice aboveall mon tours in 1955,we wereover- years,we know othei lands, I knew I was hearing the joyed. He was so very knowledgeable. to learn. pattern truth, and I was thrilled. It was a blessedexperience for us, and The easilydiscernible clearlyshows Many yearslater, when I received we learnedso much. \7e took many throughout the record need to learn. \7'hen my patriarchalblessing through Broth- picturesas we visited such placesas the lessonwe all living in righteousness' .r G.r.tolley at Lamoni, Iowa, the Tula,Teotihuacan, Monte Alban, and obedientand blessed;when they words, "He has given you a small fore- Mitla.'We marveledat the remnantsof the peoplewere fell awayinto wicked- tasteof the sweetnessof the Holy a highly advancedcivilization and the forgot God and they were Spirit in your heart ...," had special questionsand mysteriesof its disap- nessand rebellion, Pun- The patternwas consistent, meaning for me. That childhood exPe- Pearance. ished. in the Nephites riencewas indeed a tasteof sweetness. In The Book of Mormon, we have finally culminating ashad been foretold. \?'hat a blessing!I am still very thank- glimpsesand insightsinto the history being sweptoff of Oaxaca'we met a ful for this early influence,especially of someof the "other sheep"Jesus vis- At Mitla, south had retired from his sincewe weresubsequently isolated ited. However,when we considerthat man who said he

THE \?TTNESS. NUMBER106 ' DECEMBER2OO2 'We law practicein Chicago to enjoy the that trip! visited all the archeologi- origind artifactsthat they had just slowerpace and good weatherin that cal sitesthat Ivan and I had seenwith found, though we knew they were far- not). part of Mexico. He had built a small, Brother'S?'eldon,and also drove 'W'e affracdvemuseum in which he dis- ther south to the Isthmus of Tehuante- especiallyenjoyed the market playedsome very fine artifacts.He pec, which is believedby Book of areain Oaxacawhich coveredseveral explainedthat they were brought to Mormon scholarsto be t}re "narrow blocks,with specialplaces for pottery him by native ZapotecIndians in the neck of land" in Book of Mormon leathergoods, baskets, birdcages, sera- area,who knew where to find such geography. pes,etc. I particularly admired the things in placesnot yet known to the There was so much to seeand expe- serapesand rebosas,or shawls.Bar- governmentof Mexico. Brother rience.'Wenot only visitedthe well- gaining quickly caught on with some 'Weldon calledour attention to a beau- known tourist aftractions,but the love of our party.In fact, one of the men tifully carvedwater buffalo finally traded his flashlight for which excitedour interest one last item beforeheading back and wonder. Could it have home, and, of course,we had to survivedsince the daysof teasehim a bit. the Jaredites?'Whoelse in I should comment here that ancientAmerica would travel in Mexico at that time was haveknown of the exis- very inexpensivefor us because tenceof such animals? of the depressedeconomy in that After our return home, country. The rate of exchange becauseof our enthusiasm was 12fi centsto the pesoin in sharingthe picturesand their money.This is no longer experiencesof our trip, true, but when you considerthat some of Ivan'scoworkers was45 yearsago, it is easyto and friends persuadedhim understandthat many things to take them to the places havechanged. we had visited. That is Theseearly trips whetted my how it happenedthat we interestin the Book of Mormon set out eady one August landsand peoples,and increased morning in 1957 with a my desireto travel and to learn parry of 18 in three station of new discoveriesand insights.I wagons.'Wearranged to am intrigued with the question, rendearousat the Alamo "'What will the Lord revealnext?" in SanAntonio and cara- Much more has beendone to van from there. \7e had uncoverand restoremore of the our four oldestchildren known archeologicalsites. In with us, and there were fact, our more recentpictures of three other children in the someof the samescenes show group. The men were all considerableprogress since 1957. priesthoodmembers, and Nevertheless,for eachof the few Brother Henry Schaeffer sitesthat havebeen excavated, was to be in chargeof our there are hundredsmore known, morning devotion time aswell as many hundredsyet each day. undiscovered.According to the 'We were truly blessedto record, the population is shareour beliefsand describedin variousplaces as understandingof Godt beingas numerous as the sandof promisesin our three the sea.Mormon relates,"And it bool

THE \TITNESS. NUMBER 106. DECEMBER2OA2 ancient America was unknown to the What happenedat the height of pride ultere man can\ penetrnte." world at the time of the coming forth and luxury and power? ofThe Book of Mormon. The Lord's Weremillions hurried to their deaths How thankful I am that I had the timing in this, as in all things, was in one terrific hour? opportunity even as a child to learn of perfect. For a civilization once so grear Did plague and pestilencedestroy The Book of Mormon lands and oeo- and progressiveto have vanished is 4 Peoplegrown sogreat? ple. That was truly a blessingto my life indeed one of the riddles of history. The answer hidden, lies in Time, - and the blessingsstill continue. t This question is expressedby the American poet, Edgar A. Guest: SpanishI " YucAtan,a jungle land, Winterlspring Rob Sylvester where sisalfields Aregrown, Jan.23to March27 And yet a land of mystery Classes Thursdays,6:00 p.m.to 7:30 p.m. entombedin grauen stone. No prior Spanishrequired. Time was her wise men read tlte stars at the BMFLearning $10 chargefor course. and hneta the moon And sun, Center And builded ahars to their gods as Spanishll euery/race has done. Gary Metzger Eveningcldsses Jan.2Oto March24 Now come the studentsto t/te tombs, The Book of Mormon Mondays,6:00p.m. to 7:30p.m. tlte tourists to the gate; SpanishI required. on Prophecyand Revelation They seekthe long-lost uaults of time $10 chargefor course. to breah and penetrate; BarbaraWilkinson But tonguelessstands the sullen stone Jan.9116,2! and 30 Spanishlll/Gospel Vocabulary Thursdays,7:00 p.m.to 8:30 p.m. amid the templesfair. Gary Metzger They seeno more the uorsltipers utho Jan.20to March24 once Assembledthere. PreparingThe Book of Mormon Mondays,7:30 p.m.to 9:00 p.m. to Be an EffectiveWitnessing SpanishI and Spanishll required. Time uas that Yucatan uas rich uith 510 chargefor Gourse. wisdom, art and skill, Tool:A Hands-onApproach for MarkingThe Book But now her halls are desolate.lter of Mormon SpanishVocabularyl temples strangely still. RobertE. Giertz Verb Study ll The scorpionand the coral snakein Feb.6and13 man-made grottoesdwell; Thursdays,Tzo0p.m. to 8:30p.m. AnnieWebb And slither quichly o'er the spot wltere Items needed:missionary copy of The Jan.17 to March21 Fridays,7:30 p.m.to 9:00 p.m. cuhttre roseand fell. Bookof Mormon,highlighter; ruler, fine ink p€h,notebook and SpanishI required. Scriptures. $10 chargefor course.

Traveling Daytime classes the Book of Mormon Lands Abraham- The Friendof God BMF Pre-ColumbianStudies Institute Ann Taylor Feb.20and27 tan,27,Feb.3, 1A,17,24 and March3 wishlist Thursdays,7:00 p.m.to 8:30 p.m. Mondays,9:3Oa.m. to 11:00 a.m. How to Preparefor the Return Laptop computer $2,000 lsaiahin The Bookof Mormon VennaStevens Johnson of the Bridegroom LCD projector $3,500 March6,13,2O and27 BarbaraWilkinson Folding tables(6) t OOeach $ Thursdays,7:00 p.m.to 8:30 p.m. March10,17,24,and 31 Podium light $45 Mondays,9:30a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

If you would like to assist More Toolsfor Endowment The 23rd Psalm: Gaylordand FayeShaw in the purchaseof any of these A Gift of Peaceand Hope April3,10,17 and24 Sylvia Powell items,please contact Thursdays,T:00 p.m.to 8:30p.m. the Foundation. Aprif 14,21and28 Mondays,9:30a.m. to 11:00 a.m. lllt .\ editesland had been destroyed ... whichUandl was discovered by the A GeographyLesson peopleof ZarahemlalMulekitesl; it by Gb" Scon beingthe placeof theirfirst landing. And they lMulekiteslcame ldeportedl ometimeafter 91 8.C., Alma northwestso thatpart of thecoostal from there,up [inelevation,and (the son of Alma) interrupted plain is actuallywest of Zarahemlal, doubtlessupstream, moving south- his narrativeto give the readera andon the westin the landof NePhi wardlinto the southwildernesslthat geographylesson. The occasionwas a Ithepart southof Zarahemlolin the oreo,knownin moderntimes as the proclamationsent by the newly con- placeof theirfathers'first inheritance Petenlowlands, wos virtually uni nhab- vertedking of the Lamanitesthrough- lLehi'slanding placel,and thus bor- itedat that timel. out all his kingdom orderinghis peo- deringalong by the sea-shore "Thusthe landon the northward ple not to harm the Nephite mission- lPacificl. lmeaning"generally north," in thiscase aries. ?nd alsothere were many Laman- northwestlwas called Desolation, and Almat lessonbegins at Chapter 13, iteson the eastside by the sea-shore the landon the southwardlnextto verse68 (RLDS;22:27LDS), asfol- Ithe eostwilderness bordering the Desolatipnlwas called Bountiful, it ' lows: Caribbeon.SeeAlmo 22:7(50:7)l ....-.y.,r;'- bqi|g lhe wilderness lsporselypopu- ?nd ... the kingsent a proclama- andthus the Nephites foqdlwhic[ is with ... wild ani- tionthroughout all [hrs] land [the surrounded from the land landof Lehi-Nephil...which was bor- lseeEther 4:36-37, deringeven to the seaon the east 9,211. andon the westand whi the distance divided from journeyfor a bya t 60 miles,at +^:rW, lborder and the land east to the

d of Nephi of moun- of Zara-

r- Ithe Gulf ; the

strip fd" north Za me writers have suggestedthat the "land northward" may have been tn Yucatan, though the majoriry of Book of Mormon scholars (both RLDS and LDS) writing since 1924 agree that seaeast (Caribbean) to thesea west "northward" meant "generally north" (Pacific)at the narrowneck of landl." rather than due north, and that the 'And "land donedNephite citiesi;and they were it lBountifull bordered lin the northward" was west of the nar- (Tehuantepec) spreadthrough the wilderness,on northwestlupon the landwhich they row neck of land in the westin the landof Nephi." calledDesolation; it [Desolation] south central Mexico rather than in "Yea,and alsoon the westof the beingso far northwardlnorthwestl Yucatan. Of 53 authors surveyed by landof Zarahemla,in the bordersof that it camelextendedl into the land John Sorenson, only three held to the the sea-shore[fhe Pacific coast angles whichhad beenpeopled lby the Jar Yucatan position.

I'Hf WI'l'NF.SS'NLJMII[:]R l 0(r' l)t,(l].MBl'.R2002 These three authors assume thar Yucatan IsthmusofTehuanrepec, which is "northward" and "north" are synony- There is no "narrow neck of land" northwest of Zarahemla. mous. Their position rests on the sin- benveen Guatemala (generally agreed Helaman'srecord tells us that in 45 gle appearance of the word "southeast" to be the Land of Zanhemla), and the B.C. "an exceedinggreat many ... found in 1 Nephi 5:16 and the assum- Yucatan Peninsula. Nor did the Ol- departedout of the land of Zarahemla ption that if the Book of Mormon mecs (Jaredites) occupy Yucatan. But ... unto the land northward" and that authors had understood that the land they did occupy the land west of the Continuedon page 8 northward was northwest, they would have written northwest. Howeve! the majoriry believe that The Planof Salvation the one and only appearanceof the Containedin The Bookof Mormon word southwest is irrelevant because: hy Elder RobertE. Giertz (1) it only appearsonce; (2) it was used in an Old Vorld setting; and (3) The taskof readingthrough The Book of Mormon can somerimesbe a daunt- it is never used by any of the writers in ing challengefor first-time readers,or evenfor membersof the church.Topical the New'World. In addition, Nephi I, study providesa more focusedlearning experience. Using a seriesof chapterand a product of the Old \[orld, never versereferences that havebeen systematically linked together (chain references) used either the term "northward" or ganpe very helpful for not only studyingthe plan of salvation,but dso "southward." In fact, "northward" marking a Book of Mormon for missionaryoutreach to nonmembers. does not appear in the record uncil used by the scribe Amaleki in the days of Mosiah I, who ruled from about 235 to 171 8.C., 365 yearsafter 1 ...... A|ma 13244-47 410 384 Nephi I. The term "sourhward" does 2 .. o.. .,.,2 Nephi1:53r66-81 87-88 82-83 3 ...... Mosiah 1:119-l2l 231 218 not appearuntil Alma (12:l [17:l]) in 4 ...... 2 Nephi1:94-105 89-90 84-85 about 91 to 77 8.C., more than 500 5 ...... ,2Nephi 7z4O-44 119-120 115 years after Nephi I. 6 ...... ,2Nephi1:115-125 90-91 86 Vebster'sNew World Dictionary 7 ...o.....2 Nephi12:21-25 162 154 "northward" "toward defines as the 8 ... . o....Mosiah8:28-29r37r53 266-268 251-253 north; in a northerly direcdon, point 9 ... o.....Alma 1622O7-211, 459-460 428-429 or region," in other words, "generally 215-217 north." 10 ...... Mosiah2.,9-12 233-234 220 It is known that the ancient 11 ...... A|ma 19:84-106 486-488 452-454 Mesoamericans knew their directions 12 .. o, . . .. .A|ma 162228-234 461-462 430-431 exactly. So when Book of Mormon 13 ...... 2 Nephi6245-48151-56 112-1 13 108-109 14 ...... Mosiah authors meant "north," they wrote 1:97-109 229-230 216-217 15 ...... Mosiah 8:61-62rT7-78, "north" (37 times). \When they meant 269-271 253-255 86-88 "south," they wrote "south" (35 16 ...... A|ma 5:19-23 344 323-324 times). That's almost as many times as 17 ...... A|ma 122143 398 373 they wrote "northward (45 times) 18 ...... 2 Nephi6:10-25 110-111 106 and more than they wrote "south- 19 ...... Mosiah8:3-8 264 249 ward" (20 times). As proof that they 20 ...... A|ma 14275-76 423 396-397 made a distinction ber'weennorth and 21 ...... 3 Nephi723-9 698-699 il3-644 northward and berween south and 22 ...... Alma 9:22-27140-61 366-370 344-348 southward, all four of those terms 23 ...... 3 Nephi12:13,18-35 731-733 672-674 24 ..... appear in the same paragraph in 3 ....?Nephi 1327-32 169-171 161-163 25 .o..o....ZNephi Nephi 3:3, proving that they were not 14:4 172 163 26 ...... Mosiah synonymous. 3:3-13 237-239 224-225 27 ...... A|ma 5:24-28 344-345 324 So why did Amaleki call the ruins of 28 ...... Mosiah9:39-50 27s-276 258-260 the "land Jareditesthe northward?" 29 ...... Alma3:58-70 336-337 317-318 Becausethe areawhere the Jaredites' 30 ...... Mosiah 11:136,141, 302-303 284-285 nation was destroyed was just west of 144-145 the narrow neck of land referred to in 31 ...... Mormon 3:30-33 766-767 704 Alma 13:77 [22:32], which was north- 32 o...... MoJoni8:29 844 771 west of Zarahemla. This is a concrete 33 ...... A|ma 16:151-199 4s3-458 423-427 example of "northward" not meaning 34 ...... 1 Nephi7:69 81 77 due north, but "generally norrh," in 35 ...... Moroni 8:9-26 842-844 769-770 this case,northwest. 36 ...... Moroni7:4-43 835-840 763-767 37 ... o.....Jacob428-17 r 99-200 188-189 THE \7II'NESS . NIIMBER 10(r. DECEMBER 2002 Continued.fro*page 7 limestoneplain, thinly coveredwith those migrants traveled "an exceeding soil and averagingonly 50 feet above great distance" and came to "large sealevel, far too flat for rivers to flow. jN{fr^cEd bodies of water and many rivers." The only freshwater in Yucatancomes (Helaman 223-4 from naturalwells called "cenotes." Number 106 December2002 13:3-41). There is no way one can travel "an The readeris urged to comparethe Board of Directors exceeding great distance" in Yucatan. geographicalfeatures described in President Dale Godfrey From Yaxchilan (generally believed to Alma'slesson with the map on page6, Vice President Marlin Guin have been the City of Zarahemla) to payingspecial attention to (1) the nar- Secretary/Theasurer Gary Lair corner of Yucatan is less row neckof land; (2) the Land Deso- BonnieAnderson Anderson the farthest Jason lation; and (3) Yucatannorth of the Linda Guin BarbaraCapps than 400 miles. Secondly, there are Linda Tlimble neither any large bodies of water, nor Land of Zarahemlaand Land Bounti- any rivers in Yucatan. It is one vast fuI, and to draw his own conclusions.t THn WtrNnss Committee A much krger map in color(approximately 22 inchesU 36 inches)is auailable Linda Guin Dennis Moe throughThe Eooh of Mor*on Fiindation $5.00 in a.nenuelope or $6.00 RochelleNewell Chervl Scofield for foldrd tube,plus postage tf yu wish to haueit mailedto l^try Scofield Kathy Vogt rollei in a mailing !ou.

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