There are numerous references to Lehi's promised land in the scriptures and in the teachings of the prophets.

The river in the promised land

- Pronouncements Regarding the Book of Mormon, 1830-1950

           This chapter has a specific purpose in mind. In our journeys in the Church, we have become aware of inspiration in the days of Joseph Smith and his close associates with respect to Book of Mormon lands associated with the Hill Cumorah, the New Jerusalem, Adam-ondi-Ahman, Zarahemla, Manti, and the land of promise or choice land in the United States of America.

 During the 184-year history of the Church, there has been a period in recent decades where Book of Mormon land models have taken on a life and popularity of their own in depicting broader lands and geography than those mentioned in previous chapters. The tenor of other views on this subject are likely to be spurred on by such comments as follows: “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has no official position on Book of Mormon geography.”[1] And “the specific location of the ancient Book of Mormon civilizations are unknown.”[2]

           Further: “Although Church leadership officially and consistently distances itself from issues regarding Book of Mormon geography in order to focus attention on the spiritual message of the book, private speculation and scholarship in this area have been abundant.       

           Based upon these criteria, many scholars currently see northern Central America and southern Mexico (Mesoamerica) as the most likely location of Book of Mormon lands. However, such views are private and do not represent an official position of the Church.

           In early Church history, the most common opinion among members and Church leaders was that the Book of Mormon lands encompassed all of North and South America, although at least one more limited alternative view was also held for a time by some. The official position of the Church is that the events narrated in the Book of Mormon occurred somewhere in the Americas, but that the specific location has not been revealed.”[3]

           We will draw upon commonly available resources to illustrate a rough time line of trends from inspirational statements given by latter-day Prophets and other Church leaders about Book of Mormon lands. This chapter will utilize latter-day scripture and a variety of commentary from Church leaders which will dramatically show the consistent views of the Church leaders about America as the promised land of former days and in these latter days.

 In the Book of Ether, the Prophet Moroni certifies once again, as one who helped abridge the multitude of records (even “an account of those ancient inhabitants who were destroyed by the hand of the Lord upon the face of this north country,” Ether 1:1), and as Prophets before him in the Book of Mormon had certified for centuries, that this land where records were buried and the Savior had taught was a “choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord”(Ether 13:2), descriptions always associated with the Promised Land of America. He testifies that the Prophet Ether had seen the “days of Christ” hundreds of years before and “he spake concerning a New Jerusalem upon this land” (Ether 13:4) (see Chapter 13 Heading also).

           There are numerous traditions of Jesus Christ appearing in North, South and Central America, and the isles of the sea. He said to the assembled multitude in the land of Bountiful, “I have other sheep, which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister… I shall go unto them… I go to show myself unto them” (3 Nephi 16:1, 3). He likely visited numerous lands and great numbers of people in many places. But the Book of Mormon is a sacred and inspired testament of His visit to a particular remnant of the house of Israel, a covenant people, the seed of Joseph, in a land of liberty, even the Promised Land, a land choice above all other lands. This chapter will give support to the divinely appointed land where the book came forth.

           The following references will portray a rough timeline of statements or commentary with regard to possible locations of ancient Book of Mormon civilizations and the Prophet Joseph Smith’s clear and early desires to take the sacred record to the Indians (Lamanites) of North America.

1. 1829 – D&C 17: heading: “Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet to Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris, at Fayette, New York, June 1829, prior to their viewing the engraved plates that contained the Book of Mormon record. Joseph and his scribe, Oliver Cowdery, had learned from the translation of the Book of Mormon plates that three special witnesses would be designated (see Ether 5:2–4; 2 Nephi 11:3; 27:12). Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris were moved upon by an inspired desire to be the three special witnesses. The Prophet inquired of the Lord, and this revelation was given in answer through the Urim and Thummim.

1–4, By faith the Three Witnesses will see the plates and other sacred items; 5–9, Christ bears testimony of the divinity of the Book of Mormon.

Behold, I say unto you, that you must rely upon my word, which if you do with full purpose of heart, you shall have a view of the plates, and also of the breastplate, the sword of Laban, the Urim and Thummim, which were given to the brother of Jared upon the mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face, and the miraculous directors which were given to Lehi while in the wilderness, on the borders of the Red Sea.

And it is by your faith that you shall obtain a view of them, even by that faith which was had by the prophets of old.

And after that you have obtained faith, and have seen them with your eyes, you shall testify of them, by the power of God;

And this you shall do that my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., may not be destroyed, that I may bring about my righteous purposes unto the children of men in this work.

And ye shall testify that you have seen them, even as my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., has seen them; for it is by my power that he has seen them, and it is because he had faith.”

2. 1830 – Book of Mormon published in New York State.

3. 1830 – D&C 28:8, “Go unto the Lamanites and preach my gospel unto them.”

D&C 28:15, “Thou shalt take thy journey among the Lamanites.”

4. 1830 – D&C 30, Peter Whitmer and Oliver Cowdery to build up the Church among the Lamanites.

5. 1830-1831 – D&C 32, Mission into the wilderness among the Lamanites (of the Indian tribes).

    D&C 49:24, The Lamanites shall blossom as the rose.

1832 –   D&C 84:1-4, city of New Jerusalem to be built in western Missouri.

1832 – D&C 84:59, “For shall the chosen of the kingdom pollute my holy land? Verily, I say unto you, “Nay.”

6. 1834 –   Letter to Emma Smith “wandering over the plains of the Nephites.”

June 4, 1834 – “recounting occasionally the history of the Book of Mormon.” “… over the mounds of that beloved people of the Lord.”

June 3, 1834 – Zelph mound, during Zion’s Camp march, west bluffs overlooking the Illinois River, south of Valley City, Illinois. Under the influence of the Spirit, Joseph discovered the skeleton of a white Lamanite warrior named “Zelph,” killed in a battle between Lamanites and Nephites.[4]

See Appendix I, “Oliver Cowdery Letter VII.”

7. Early 1830s – “The Book of Mormon is a record of the forefathers of our western tribes of Indians…, after having been hid up in the earth for the last 1400 years, containing the word of God which was delivered unto them. By it we learn that our western tribes of Indians are descendants from that Joseph who was sold into Egypt, and that the land of America is a Promised Land unto them, and unto it all the tribes of Israel will come, with as many of the Gentiles as shall comply with the requisitions of the new covenant.”[5]

           “The Book of Mormon has made known who Israel is, upon this continent. And while we behold the government of the United States gathering the Indians and locating them upon lands to be their own, how sweet it is to think that they may one day be gathered by the gospel.” (January 6, 1836)[6](See Appendix 2, Oliver Cowdrey Letter VII, 1834).

8. May 1838 – D&C 116:1. “Spring Hill is named by the Lord Adam-ondi-Ahman, because, said he, it is the place where Adam shall come to visit his people, or the Ancient of Days shall sit, as spoken of by Daniel the prophet.”

May 1838 – A Nephite altar at Adam-ondi-Ahman, Spring Hill, Missouri (the remains of an old Nephite altar or tower that stood there).[7]

9. September 1838 – Ancient city of Manti in Missouri. [8] From history of travels of Kirtland Camp, “The camp passed through Huntsville, in Randolph County…, and is the site of the City of Manti…”[9]

The same event is recorded in the journal of Samuel D. Taylor as follows: “We passed through Huntsville…this is the ancient site of the City of Manti, which is spoken of in the      Book of Mormon…”[10]

10. 1840 – Apostle Orson Pratt of the Quorum of the Twelve: … Mormon and Moroni hid the records in the New York Hill Cumorah. The final destruction of the Nephites was in North America and the Lamanites continued to be at war with each other over the whole face of the land. This was a common view among early Latter-day Saints.[11]

11. March 1841, 1842 – D&C 125:3, Nauvoo, Illinois, 1841 – “A city to be built opposite Nauvoo, let the name of Zarahemla be named upon it.” One hundred and sixty references to “Zarahemla” are found in the Book of Mormon account. Unfortunately, a serious error has been perpetuated in early Church history documents about the first known reference to Zarahemla. The Joseph Smith Papers, Vol. 1, p. 344, shows that Joseph Smith did not put the name of Zarahemla on the town until the revelation cited above. Post-1841 Church history documents indicate erroneously that Zarahemla was named in 1839. (The subject of D&C 125:3 has been discussed at length in Chapter 14).

           March 1842 – “I was informed concerning the aboriginal inhabitants of this country.[12]  

“In this important and interesting book, the history of ancient America is unfolded (The         Book of Mormon).”[13]

“The remnants are the Indians that now inhabit this country.”[14]

12.  7 September 1878, Richmond, Missouri – Story from Joseph F. Smith and Orson Pratt as related by David Whitmer, one of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon.

“Orson Pratt: ‘Do you remember what time you saw the plates?’

David Whitmer: ‘It was in June, 1829, the very last part of the month, and the eight witnesses, I think, the next day. Joseph showed them the plates himself. We (the Three Witnesses) not only saw the plates of the Book of Mormon, but the Brass Plates, the plates containing the record of the wickedness of the people of the world, and many other plates. The fact is, it was just as though Joseph, Oliver and I were sitting right here on a log, when we were overshadowed by a light. It was not like the light of the sun, nor like that of a fire, but more glorious and beautiful. It extended away round us, I cannot tell how far, but in the midst of this light, immediately before us, about as far off as he sits (pointing to John C. Whitmer who was sitting 2 or 3 feet from him) there appeared as it were, a table, with many records on it, besides the plates of the Book of Mormon; also the sword of Laban, the Directors (i.e. the ball which Lehi had) and the Interpreters. I saw them just as plain as I see this bed (striking his hand upon the bed beside him), and I heard the voice of the Lord as distinctly as I ever heard anything in my life declaring that they (the plates) were translated by the gift and power of God.’

Orson Pratt: ‘Did you see the Angel at this time?’

David Whitmer: ‘Yes, he stood before us. Martin Harris was not with us at this time. I don’t think he saw all that we did, but our testimony as recorded in the Book of Mormon is strictly and absolutely true just as it is there written….When I was returning to Fayette with Joseph and Oliver, all of us riding in the wagon, Oliver and I on an old fashioned wooden spring seat and Joseph behind us, we were suddenly approached by a very pleasant, nice looking old man in a clear open place, who saluted us with ‘Good morning, it is very warm,’ at the same instant wiping his face or forehead with his hand.  We returned the salutation and by a sign from Joseph I invited him to ride if was going our way, but he said very pleasantly, ‘No, I am going to Cumorah.’ This was something new to me, I did not know what Cumorah meant, and as I looked enquiringly at Joseph, the old man instantly disappeared so that I did not see him again.’

Joseph F. Smith: ‘Did you notice his appearance?’

David Whitmer: ‘I should think I did. He was, I should think, about 5 feet 9 or 10 inches and heavy set, about such a man as James Vancleave, there, but heavier. His face was as large. He was dressed in a suit of brown, woolen clothes; his hair and beard were white, about like Brother Pratt’s but his beard was not so heavy. I also remember that he had a sort of knapsack on his back, and something was in it which was shaped like a book. It was the messenger who had the plates.’”[15] (Please refer to point #1 and Section 17 earlier in this chapter).

13. 1888 – “The Hill Cumorah is a high hill for that country, and had the appearance of a fortification or entrenchment around it.”[16]

“I have seen these fortifications in many other parts of the United States.”[17]

“Final battles were fought between Nephites and Lamanites at the Hill Cumorah, the Nephites made their last stand prior to their utter extermination, A.D., 385.”[18]

14. 1908 – Elder George Albert Smith of the Quorum of the Twelve. “This is our Father’s work. The land that we live in is blest above all other lands; God has decreed it – only so far, however, as the people upon it are righteous.”[19]

15. 1920 – Elder James E. Talmage of the Quorum of the Twelve. In the Eastern States Mission during the summer of 1920. “From Buffalo, drove to Palmyra, Joseph Smith farm, Sacred Grove, Hill Cumorah.   He described last great battle, soils rich in calcium, and phosphate – indicative of decaying bones of armies that perished there – no doubt the wars of the Book of Mormon occurred in this place.” [20]

16. April 1920, Improvement Era – “Inspired nature of Book of Mormon – The Book of Mormon is the sacred history of the ancient inhabitants of the American continent; it contains the predictions of their prophets, the commandments of the Lord to them, and the history and destiny of those ancient peoples. It is the American volume of scripture and is just as sacred and inspired as is the Bible, which contains the sacred records of the Hebrew race on the Eastern Hemisphere.”[21]

17. 1922 – Elder George Albert Smith of the Quorum of the Twelve. “God watched over those who settled the land of America. [1 Nephi 13:12-19] refers to Christopher Columbus and the Pilgrim fathers. It was the Lord that inspired that little band of people who crossed the mighty ocean and landed at Plymouth Rock, because they desired to worship him according to the dictates of their own conscience. He watched over them and safeguarded their descendants and those who followed them to America, and in due time, there came an opportunity to establish liberty such as humankind had not known before.”[22]

18. 1923 – President Joseph Fielding Smith. “As I stood on the summit of the Hill Cumorah… I tried to picture the scenes of former days. Here were assembled vast armies filled with bitterness and bent on destruction… Here a people perished because of their extreme wickedness… I thought of the Prophets, Ether, Mormon, Moroni, and tried to realize the sadness of their feelings as they witnessed the mad onrushing of their people to annihilation.”[23]

19. 1928, April General Conference – President Anthony W. Ivins. “These records and the other sacred records which were deposited in the hill Cumorah still lie in their repository, awaiting the time when the Lord shall see fit to bring them forth, that they may be published to the world.

“Whether they have been removed from the spot where Mormon deposited them we cannot tell, but this we know, that they are safe under the guardianship of the Lord, and that they will be brought forth at the proper time, as the Lord has declared they should be, for the benefit and blessing of the people of the world, for his word never fails…

“Without doubt, these treasures lie concealed today, some of them, at least, to be brought forth in the not-distant future. How soon this will be we do not know, but this is certain, we are more than a century nearer that time than we were at the time when Joseph Smith took from their resting place, in the hill Cumorah, the plates from which he translated the contents of the Book of Mormon.

“All of these incidents to which I have referred, my brethren and sisters, are very closely associated with this particular spot in the state of New York. Therefore I feel, as I said in the beginning of my remarks, that the acquisition of that spot of ground is more than an incident in the history of the Church; it is an epoch – an epoch which in my opinion is fraught with that which may become of greater interest to the Latter-day Saints than that which has already occurred. We know that all of these records, all the sacred records of the Nephite people, were deposited by Mormon in that hill. That incident alone is sufficient to make it the sacred and hallowed spot that it is to us…

“I bear witness to you that the words which I have read here, quoted from the Book of Mormon, which refer to the future will be fulfilled. Those additional records will come forth, they will be published to the world, that the children of our Father may be converted to faith in Christ, our Lord and Redeemer, through obedience to the doctrines which he taught. May God our Father hasten that day, is my humble prayer, and I ask it through Jesus Christ. Amen.”[24]

20. 1938 – President Joseph Fielding Smith. “In the face of this evidence coming from the Prophet Joseph       Smith, Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, we cannot say that the Nephites and Lamanites did not possess the territory of the United States and that the Hill Cumorah is in Central America. Neither can we say that the great struggle which resulted in the destruction of the Nephites took place in Central America."[25]

21. 1938, September – President Joseph Fielding Smith. “This being true, what would be more natural       than that Moroni, like his father, Mormon, would deposit the plates in the land where the battles came to an end and the Nephites were destroyed? This Mormon says he did, and from all the evidence in the Book of Mormon, augmented by the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, these final battles took place in the territory known as the United States and in the neighborhood of the Great Lakes and hills of Western New York. And here Moroni found the resting place for the sacred instrument which had been committed to his care.”[26]

22. 1940 – Elder George Albert Smith, Quorum of the Twelve. “America’s divine role is taught in the Book of Mormon. America has been greatly blessed. I wonder if we appreciate how much the Lord has favored us. Our Heavenly Father told the Jaredites who came here from the Tower of Babel, and later told Lehi and his people that this was a land choice above all other lands, and if they kept his commandments they should prosper in the land.”[27]

23. 1947 – Elder George Albert Smith, President of the Quorum of the Twelve. “The founding of this nation paved the way for the Restoration. In no other nation under heaven could the Church have been organized and gone forward as we have in this nation.”[28]

[1] Palmer, David, In Search of Cumorah, p. 19, 1981.

[2] Largey, Dennis, Book of Mormon Reference Companion, 2003, p. 288.

[3] Encyclopedia of Mormonism, edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, 1992, p. 176-179.

[4] History of the Church 2:79-80.

[5] Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 2002, pp. 13-14.

[6] Ibid. 7, p.92.

[7] Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 208.

[8] Ibid. 5, p. 3:239.

[9] Millennial Star, 16:296.

[10] Journal of Samuel D. Taylor, September 25, 1838, filed in Church Historian’s Office.

[11] The Joseph Smith Papers, Histories, Vol. 1, appendix, 1840, pp. 519, 532-537.

[12] Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 1965, Wentworth Letter, pp. 217.

[13] Ibid., p. 217.

[14] Ibid., p .218.

[15]Smith, Joseph F., Life of Joseph F. Smith, 1938,  pp 242-244.

[16] Whitney, Orson F., Life of Heber C. Kimball, 1888, pp. 25-26.

[17] Ibid.

[18] Ibid.

[19] Smith, George Albert, Conference Report, October 1908, p. 86.

[20] Talmage, James E., journal entry, 20 August 1920, pp. 132-33.

[21] “Origins of the First Vision,” Improvement Era, April 1920, p. 503.

[22] Smith, George Albert, Conference Report, October 1922, p. 95.

[23] President Joseph Fielding Smith from a conference of the Eastern States Mission, near Palmyra, New York, September 21-23, 1923, at p. 242.

[24] Ivins, Anthony W., Address, April 6, 1928 General Conference, 1st session.

[25] Smith, Joseph Fielding, Church News Sept. 10, 1938 pp. 1, 6.

[26] Ibid. p. 3:240 (Church News, September 10, 1938, p. 1).

[27] Smith, George Albert, Conference Report, April 1940, p. 84.

[28] Smith George Albert, Conference Report, April 1947, p. 163.