Tuesday, August 21, 2012

More Covino Comments Answered-Part XVII-Land of Many Waters


Peter Covino in his True Book of Mormon Geography website, in discussing the Land of Many Waters, makes an interesting, though unsupportable claim. He writes:
The phrase "many waters" is used twice in the geography - once in terms of Jaredite lands (Mosiah 8:7-11) and once in reference to the Hill Cumorah (Mormon 6:4). Geographers therefore conclude that the two places must be the same or close by. That is incorrect. No one wanted to bury the dead so Cumorah could not have been where people lived. "Many waters" was an expression NOT a location, and was of benefit for the last battle for the ease of travel, i.e. "many water routes."

Limhi’s 43-man expedition “traveled in a land among many waters, having discovered a land which was covered with bones of men, and of beasts, and was also covered with ruins of buildings of every kind, having discovered a land which had been peopled with a people who were as numerous as the hosts of Israel” (Mosiah 8:8). From this we learn:

1) They traveled into the old Jaredite lands
2) They found the ruins, bodies, and armor of the Jaredites
3) They found this in a “land of many waters”

When Mormon moved his army for the final battle, they “did march forth to the land of Cumorah, and we did pitch our tents around about the hill Cumorah; and it was in a land of many waters, rivers, and fountains” (Mormon 6:4). It should be noted that, in this case, Mormon is being descriptive. Many waters, including rivers (specific) and fountains (specific). Fountains are springs where water comes up out of the earth, and consequently, form rivers. And since rivers and fountains are stated in the plural, we can see that these fountains formed numerous rivers that spread out over the land, thus causing "many waters."

"And the Lord warned Omer in a dream that he should depart out of the land; wherefore Omer departed out of the land with his family, and traveled many days, and came over and passed by the hill of Shim, and came over by the place where the Nephites were destroyed"

Moroni writing about the movement of Omer and the Jaredites, said, “Omer departed out of the land with his family, and traveled many days, and came over and passed by the hill of Shim, and came over by the place where the Nephites were destroyed” (Ether 9:3).

Thus, with the Jaredites occupying the Land Northward, the Nephites being destroyed in the Land Northward, and the Land Northward being a place of many waters, rivers, and fountains, it must be concluded that all of these areas were one of the same.

When Covino says: “No one wanted to bury the dead so Cumorah could not have been where people lived,” is a complete misunderstanding of the situation that existed in those final days of the Jaredite nation. The scriptural record tells us a different reason: “so swift and speedy was the war that there was none left to bury the dead, but they did march forth from the shedding of blood to the shedding of blood, leaving the bodies of both men, women, and children strewed upon the face of the land, to become a prey to the worms of the flesh” (Ether 14:22).

"And so great and lasting had been the war, and so long had been the scene of bloodshed and carnage, that the whole face of the land was covered with the bodies of the dead"

Obviously, no one wanted to bury the dead, because they were running and fighting for their lives. In fact, “the loss of men, women and children on both sides was so great” in this running battle, that both sides decided to stop fighting for a time (Ether 14:31). It should be noted that “they returned to their camp” (Ether 14:31), which should suggest that people were no longer living in their homes, villages or cities, but camped around the battlefields where the fighting was taking place. In fact, from this time on, the war moved to the waters of Ripliancum (Ehter 15:8), where a great battle took place. From there they fled southward (Ether 15:10) until they reached Ogath, where “the army of Coriantumr did pitch their tents by the hill Ramah; and it was that same hill where my father Mormon did hide up the records unto the Lord, which were sacred” (Ether 15:11).

Another great battle took place at this point in which many were killed (Ether 15:15-17). This battle continued through several days until there were only 59 people remaining (Ether 15:25). Finally, the battle ended with Coriantumr the last man standing (Ether 15:31).

"Wherefore, he did pursue them, and on the morrow he did overtake them; and they fought again with the sword. And it came to pass that when they had all fallen by the sword, save it were Coriantumr and Shiz, behold Shiz had fainted with the loss of blood...when Coriantumr had leaned upon his sword, that he rested a little, he smote off the head of Shiz"

The point is, the entire rationale for Covino’s claiming there were two areas referred to as the Land of Many Waters is based upon “No one wanted to bury the dead so Cumorah could not have been where people lived” is fallacious and without merit.

And, too, is his following Statement: “"Many waters" was an expression NOT a location, and was of benefit for the last battle for the ease of travel, i.e. "many water routes."

When Mormon wrote: “and it was in a land of many waters, rivers, and fountains,” is was not a general term. Consider:

1) “in a land” means in it, not about it. It is an expression meaning “within.”
2) It was a land of “many waters.” This could possibly be a general term, but not when you include the additional description of “rivers and fountains.” Each of those terms has a specific, not general, meaning.
• River comes from the Italian word “Riviera” which is from the Latin “rivus/rivulus” meaning “a river with a bank or shore.”
• Fountain means “natural source of water.” It also connotes “the head or source of a river” and ”issuing from the interior of the earth.”

River and fountain are not general terms, but have specific meaning. When used with the overall description of “many waters,” it connotes the meaning of an area of many rivers, lakes, springs—the source of the water itself. That is, an area full of springs that have formed rivers and lakes.

(See the next post, “More Covino Comments Answered-Part XVIII-Fevers,” for more of Covino’s erroneous interpreetations that have led him to claim a Land of Promise in the Great Lakes area)

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