Bountiful (Book of Mormon)
Bountiful is the name of two places described in the Book of Mormon, a religious text dictated in 1829 by Joseph Smith. The first location is set in the Old World near Jerusalem, and the second location is set somewhere in the Americas. While secular and non-LDS scholars consider the Book of Mormon to be a work of fiction, Latter Day Saints view the book as a chronicle of actual indigenous American people. Accordingly, several scholars in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have attempted to coordinate the Book of Mormon text relating to Bountiful with actual locations in the Old World and the New World.
The Book of Mormon references have inspired
Old World
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In the
Sea "Irreantum"
Upon their arrival at the coast, the Book of Mormon states that Lehi's group named the sea Irreantum, which is said to mean "many waters" (
Speculative real world locations
Many LDS scholars and researchers believe that the location of Bountiful can be correlated with any of several locations on
- The location must lie nearly eastward of Nahom (1 Nephi 17:1).[4]
- The coast must be accessible from the interior desert.
- Both the general area and the location when the Lehites camped must be fertile and capable of producing crops.
- It must be a coastal location (1 Nephi 17:5).
- It must be very fertile, with "much fruit and also wild honey" and small game (1 Nephi 17:5-6).
- Timber must be available with which to build a ship (1 Nephi 17:8).
- Freshwater must be available year-round.
- A mountain must be located nearby to account for Nephi's reference to going to a mountain to "pray oft" (1 Nephi 18:3).
- Cliffs overlooking the ocean must be present to account for Nephi's brother's attempt to throw him "into the depths of the sea" (1 Nephi 17:48).
- Ore and flint must be available with which to make fire and fabricate tools to build a ship" (1 Nephi 17:9)
- No resident population at the time of the Lehite's arrival.
- Wind and ocean currents capable of carrying a ship out into the ocean (1 Nephi 18:8)
After visiting and evaluating every site on the southern Arabian coast that might qualify as Bountiful, Aston concluded that all sites were found to be incapable of meeting every one of these requirements with the exception of Wadi Sayq/Khor Kharfot (Aston & Aston 1994, p. 43). Other researchers however disagree with this opinion and favor the location of Khor Rori 40 kilometers to the east of Salalah.[5]
Wadi Sayq/Khor Kharfot
Aston concluded that the Wadi Sayq/Khor Kharfot site meets all of the requirements to qualify as Nephi's Bountiful (Reynolds 1997, p. 383). Some LDS researchers believe that the Wadi Sayq (River Valley) and Khor Kharfot (Fort Inlet or Port) site is the most viable candidate, and discount other potential sites as they lack key aspects of the "Bountiful" described by Nephi (Chadwick 2005). Other LDS researchers however disagree with this opinion and discount the Wadi Sayq/Khor Kharfot site for several reasons. Reynolds, in his opinion, describes why he feels Wadi Sayq/Khor Kharfot meets the requirements described by Aston (Reynolds 1997, pp. 384–7):
- Khor Kharfot is situated less than one degree from due east of Nehem (Nahom).
- The valley of Wadi Sayq leads to the ocean from the desert interior, and is the only wadi that flows from the high desert eastward toward the coast. The coast is accessible by traveling through the bottom of Wadi Sayq.
- Khor Kharfot is the most fertile site on the southern Arabian coast. The region of fertility extends two miles into the Wadi Sayq.
- There is evidence of inhabitation and use as a small seaport during the Islamic period. Water was available through freshwater springs and an ancient river.
- A number of sizable trees exist in the area, with evidence of ancient forests. These trees could have provided sufficient lumber to build a ship (Reynolds 1997, p. 385).[6]
- Khor Kharfot has the largest permanent flow of fresh water of any site on the coast.
- A large mountain overlooks the west end of the beach.
- Cliffs rise above the ocean in this area.
- Iron in the form of specular hematite is available in the Marbat plain, within a few days' hike to the east of Khor Kharfot.
- A form of flint is available on the surface in large quantities.
- Ancient ruins show that Khor Kharfot was occupied intermittently, although it is currently uninhabited.
- The coast is well suited to sailing, with seasonal winds in the fall blowing east.
Salalah
In
Khor Rori/Wadi Darbat
New World
The Book of Mormon refers to a city on the American continent called Bountiful. It has significance in the book as the place where Jesus Christ is said to have visited people in the Book of Mormon civilization after his resurrection. As with most Book of Mormon places, secular scholars consider the New World Bountiful fictional. LDS archeologist John Sorenson believes it to have been in what today is the Mexican state of Tabasco.[15]
An alternate view is that Bountiful was in North America. In what is known as the heartland theory, Nephi and his posterity established themselves in the Iowa area, with their primary city called Zarahemla, believed to be Montrose, Iowa, directly west across the Mississippi River from Nauvoo, Illinois.[citation needed]
The heartland theory has Nephi's family arriving in the Florida panhandle and gradually moving north through the Tennessee and Mississippi River valleys, eventually establishing their civilization in the Ohio area and covering an area from the Mississippi River, east to New York, and south to Florida. The idea of a central American settlement is known as the M2C theory and has begun to fall out of favor amongst Mormon scholars.[citation needed]
Other LDS argue that the New World land and city of Bountiful cannot be very distant from the location of the land Cumorah given in LDS scripture. This interpretation understands the Cumorah in the Book of Mormon to be identical to the Cumorah mentioned in Doctrine and Covenants 128:20.[16]
Notes
- ^ Van Atta, Dale (Jan 22, 1977). "You name it - there's a town for it". The Deseret News. p. 15. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "And we beheld the sea, which we called Irreantum, which, being interpreted, is many waters."
- ^ "The Greeks of the first century A.D. called this sea ERYTHRAEM (sic)."
- ^ "...we did travel nearly eastward from that time forth"
- ^ Book of Mormon Explorers Claim Discoveries, Nephi Project
- ^ Reynolds states that the ancient Omani on the Dhofar coast constructed an unusual type of vessel called a sewn boat. Fleets of these sewn boats were used by the Omani to maintain trade between Mesopotamia, Africa, India and China over a 5000-year period, earning the ancient Omani recognition as the Phoenicians of the Indian Ocean.
- ^ "Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 15/2 (2006)". publications.mi.byu.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 15/2 (2006)". publications.mi.byu.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ D'cunha, Stanly (2006-09-28). "Salalah - Dhofar region in Sultanate of Oman: land of Bountiful, as described in the Book of Mormon". Salalah - Dhofar region in Sultanate of Oman. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Land of Frankincense - UNESCO World Heritage Centre". whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Arabia Antica: Pre-islamic Arabia, Culture and Archaeology: History and Geography". arabiantica.humnet.unipi.it. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Discover Nephi's Bountiful LDS Tours Blog: Did Nephi Follow the Frankincense Trail?". www.discovernephisbountifulblog.com. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Arabia Antica: Pre-islamic Arabia, Culture and Archaeology: The archaeological Park". arabiantica.humnet.unipi.it. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ "Arabia Antica: Pre-islamic Arabia, Culture and Archaeology: Index of publications". arabiantica.humnet.unipi.it. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
- ^ Sorenson 1985, pp. 43–44
- ^ Doctrine and Covenants 128:20, Olive, Phyllis Carol; see also Coon, W. Vincent, "How Exaggerated Settings for the Book of Mormon Came to Pass"
References
- Aston, Warren P; Aston, Michaela Knoth (1994), In the Footsteps of Lehi: New Evidence for Lehi's Journey across Arabia to Bountiful, Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book Company, ISBN 978-0-87579-847-9.
- Aston, Warren (1998), "The Arabian Bountiful Discovered? Evidence for Nephi's Bountiful", Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, 7 (1), Maxwell Institute: 4–11, S2CID 130026372, archived from the originalon 2006-12-08, retrieved 2007-01-04.
- Chadwick, Jeffery R (2005), "The Wrong Place for Lehi's Trail and the Valley of Lemuel", Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, 17 (2), Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies: 197–215, S2CID 164804955, archived from the originalon 2006-12-08, retrieved 2007-01-04.
- Hilton, Lynn M; Hilton, Hope A (1996), Discovering Lehi: New Evidence of Lehi and Nephi in Arabia, Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort, Inc., ISBN 1-55517-257-1.
- Phillips, William R (2000), "Metals of the Book of Mormon", Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, 9 (2), Maxwell Institute: 36–43, S2CID 22208921, archived from the originalon 2006-12-10, retrieved 2007-01-04.
- Reynolds, Noel B (1997), "Lehi's Arabian Journey Updated", Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited, Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, ISBN 0-934893-25-X.
- Sorenson, John (1985), An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, Deseret Book Company, ISBN 0-87747-608-X.