Saturday, August 4, 2012

Direct Criticisms Answered-Part III

Peter Covino on his True Book of Mormon Geography website, writes critically of this blog:

“[DowDell] effectively shifted the Sea South to south of the Land of Nephi where no body of water is ever referenced - neither directly or indirectly.”

As has been written here many times, Jacob, speaking to the Nephites while Nephi recorded his words, said, “And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember him, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast off; nevertheless, we have been driven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a better land, for the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea… wherefore as it says isles, there must needs be more than this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren” (2 Nephi 10:20-21).

A depiction of the four seas in the Land of Promise, which was an isle in the Sea

While Covino wants to place the Sea South in the middle of the Land of Promise, Jacob shows that the Land of Promise was an island “of the sea,” which should suggest even to the most unknowledgeable, that an island, by definition, is surrounded on all sides by the Sea, and as such, there would be water in all four cardinal directions, North, East, South, and West. Thus is must be concluded that there was a North Sea (or Sea North), East Sea (or Sea East), South Sea (or Sea South), and West Sea (or Sea West).

Now, Covino, places all his eggs in one basket, claiming that everyone who discusses the Sea South places the sea “to the south” of the Land of Promise. That might seem normal to the rest of us, but Covina wants to place the Sea South between the Land Northward and the Land Southward, “where the sea divides the land” (Ether 10:20).

Land Southward was nearly surrounded by water except for a narrow neck of land (Alma 22:32)

However, the land of Nephi ran from the east sea to the west sea (Alma 22:27); the narrow strip of wilderness ran from the east sea to the west sea (Alma 22:27), and the Land of Zarahemla stretched almost to the Sea East (Alma 31:3), yet was nearly surrounded by water, along with the Land of Nephi, except for the narrow neck of land that separated the Land Southward from the Land Northward (Alma 22:32).

Thus it can be concluded that the Land Southward was surrounded by water, except for a narrow neck of land, which divided the land Northward from the Land Southward and kept the Land Southward from being completely surrounded by water.

Coming back to Covino’s placement, he relies solely on the only mention in all of the Book of Mormon about the Sea South. “And it came to pass that they did multiply and spread, and did go forth from the land southward to the land northward, and did spread insomuch that they began to cover the face of the whole earth, from the sea south to the sea north, from the sea west to the sea east” (Helaman 3:8).

Before discussing this further, let’s consider the time frame, who is writing, and where he is located. The year is 46 B.C., the location is Zarahemla, the Nephite Capitol, where all the prophets seemed to have lived, and the person is Helaman, son of Helaman (Alma 63:11), who was in possession of all the records (Alma 63:12) Shiblon, his Uncle, entrusted to his hand. In the Land Southward, eleven years after Helaman had died, and ten years after Moroni’s death, there was much contention in the land after several years of peace (Helaman 3:1-2). This contention caused a great many to leave the Landf of Zartahemla and travel into the Land Northward “to inherit the land” (Helaman 3:3). They went as far as the Land of Many waters, and spread out all over the old Jaredite lands (Helaman 3:4-7).

Helaman writes that these people “did multiply and spread, and did go forth from the land southward to the land northward, and did spread insomuch that they began to cover the face of the whole earth, from the sea south to the sea north, from the sea west to the sea east” (Helaman 3:8).

While Covino tries to limit this spreading out to only the Land Northward, Helaman, who is in the City of Zarahemla writing this down, is talking about the entire Land of Promise--"the whole earth." In the very next sentence, he limits his scope only to the Land Northward when he wrote: “And the people who were in the land northward did dwell in tents, and in houses of cement, and they did suffer whatsoever tree should spring up upon the face of the land that it should grow up, that in time they might have timber to build their houses, yea, their cities, and their temples, and their synagogues, and their sanctuaries, and all manner of their buildings (Helaman 3:9). Three sentences later, Helaman again refers to those in the Land Southward where he was located: “And it came to pass that there were many of the people of Ammon, who were Lamanites by birth, did also go forth into this land” (Helaman 3:12), and follows that with an overall comment about the Nephite people, basically in the Land Southward, when he says, “And now there are many records kept of the proceedings of this people, by many of this people, which are particular and very large, concerning them” (Helaman 3:13). The next several sentences (verses) also deals with the people overall, and mostly those in the Land Southward covering a two year span, concluding with: “And in this year there was continual rejoicing in the land of Zarahemla, and in all the regions round about, even in all the land which was possessed by the Nephites” (Alma 3:31). Right up to the time Helaman dies in 38 B.C. (Helaman 3:37).

The point is, Helaman’s writing, except for a few intervening sentences about those who went north, is all about the Nephites in the Land Southward. Covino cannot claim that the intervening sentences separates the people in the Land Northward and placing the emphasis of Helaman’s words in 3:8 solely to those. He was talking about the Nephites overall throughout the Land of Promise in all this writing.

If the Sea South was located north of the Land Southward, what would the sea be called to the south of the Land Southward since the Land of Promise was an island? (2 Nephi 10:20)

When Helaman discussed the Sea South in Helaman 3:8, it would be ridiculous for him to refer to a body of water to his north, a body of water to the north of the Land Southward where he lived and was located, as the Sea South. That would not make any sense at all!

Finally, Covino’s statement: “Sea South to south of the Land of Nephi where no body of water is ever referenced - neither directly or indirectly” again ought to re-read Jacob’s discussion of the Nephites being on an island of the sea! If that is not a reference to the four cardinal points of water around the Land of Promise, then what is? Rather, it should be stated that there is no body of water to the North of the Land Southward referenced anywhere in the scriptural record other than the sea that divides the land--and since we are talking about an island, the Land of Promise would have seas all around it!

(See the next post, “More Covino Comments Answered,” for more errors in his thinking, judgment and understanding of the scriptural record as well as Western Hemisphere history)

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