16. MANY WATERS
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.”
17. WOODEN SWORDS
People endorsing a Mesoamerican model are stuck with the interpretation that the swords in The Book of Mormon were made of wood. Sounds ridiculous, we know, but such is the case. To justify this position, they claim the following verses pertaining to swords becoming stained by blood prove their point:
10 And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.
11 And now behold, my brethren, since it has been all that we could do, (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away our stain—
12 Now, my best beloved brethren, since God hath taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright, then let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brethren. (Alma 24)
As can be seen, the word “stain” is figurative, referring to the HEART. Secondly, stained wood CANNOT be cleaned and made BRIGHT. And thirdly, it says quite clearly their swords could RUST:
And again, they have brought swords, the hilts thereof have perished, and the blades thereof were cankered with rust (Mosiah 8:11)
18. WILDERNESS
There were wildernesses all throughout Book of Mormon lands in the Land Southward. The question is, what kind of wildernesses were they? Were they forests, shrub, or jungle? Take the following verse as an example. Four hundred and fifty people fled into the wilderness with farm animals in tow, yet they were not able to be easily tracked by their enemies:
And it came to pass that Alma and the people of the Lord were aprised of the coming of the king’s army therefore they took their tents and their families and departed into the wilderness and they were in number about 450 souls. (Mosiah 18:34-5)
And it came to pass that the army of the king returned having searched in vain for the people of the Lord. (Mosiah 19:1)
A supernatural failing? Don’t think so. This scenario played out continually throughout Book of Mormon times, with even the righteous becoming lost and unable to find other cities.
What does this tell us? It tells us that the wildernesses were thick, yet not so dense that hundreds of people pulling animals could not move through them. In fact, we learn that these 450 souls, with animals and supplies in tow, traveled a mere eight days and already felt safe enough to build a new city:
1 Now Alma, having been warned of the Lord that the armies of king Noah would come upon them, and having made it known to his people, therefore they gathered together their flocks, and took of their grain, and departed into the wilderness before the armies of king Noah.
2 And the Lord did strengthen them, that the people of king Noah could not overtake them to destroy them.
3 And they fled eight days’ journey into the wilderness.
4 And they came to a land, yea, even a very beautiful and pleasant land, a land of pure water.
5 And they pitched their tents, and began to till the ground, and began to build buildings; yea, they were industrious, and did labor exceedingly.19 And it came to pass that they began to prosper exceedingly in the land; and they called the land Helam.
20 And it came to pass that they did multiply and prosper exceedingly in the land of Helam; and they built a city, which they called the city of Helam. (Mosiah 23)
**It means they were not hacking their way through jungle.**
Throughout The Book of Mormon, the people in the Land Southward were building their homes and cities out of WOOD. The trees in these wildernesses were of a kind suitable for building homes. They were straight and easy to cut, which is exactly what Western New York is full of.
Unless your model includes wildernesses described in this manner, it cannot be considered true Book of Mormon lands.
19. FEVERS
Believe it or not, the single verse in The Book of Mormon that refers to “fevers” has been interpreted by some as “malaria,” which is typically found in tropical areas. Therefore, they conclude Book of Mormon lands must have been in Mesoamerica.
Is that what the verse says, though? Have a look:
And there were some who died with fevers which at some seasons of the year were very frequent in the land but not so much so with fevers because of the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of diseases to which men were subject by the nature of the climate (Alma 46:40)
It becomes apparent their fevers were climate-based ACCORDING TO THE SEASONS OF THE YEAR. This is hardly proof of a tropical climate, but rather, proof of a WINTER SEASON.
Q. In North America, in what “season” of the year does the “flu season” begin?
A. Winter
Q. How many people does it say died from fevers?
A. Some
Q. How many people die today from Malaria?
A. Many
Q. Do we have a cure for Malaria?
A. No
Q. Did they have a cure for their fevers?
A. Yes
Q. Does this verse prove Malaria or a tropical climate zone?
A. No, it proves the opposite; it proves they had a winter season like Western New York does.
20. CULTURAL BELIEFS, PRACTICES, AND WRITTEN LANGUAGES
Those who demand that Book of Mormon culture and practices must align with some existing or pre-existing nation are greatly misguided. The Nephites were a subset of a much larger, pre-existing culture that despised the Nephite culture and its people. They vowed to remove all traces of the Nephites, and in fact, they succeeded (Alma 45:11). Therefore, searching for remnants of Nephite culture and practices, or Hebrew, or any written language, is absurd.