The most fundamental element of Book of Mormon geography hinges on the account of Omer. If the Nephite battle occurred in Palmyra as the evidence reflects and as early church statements confirm, the account of Omer locates:
- Jaredite Lands
- Sea North
- Hill Shim
- Land of Cumorah
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, and from thence eastward, and came to a place which was called Ablom, by the seashore, and there he pitched his tent, and also his sons and his daughters, and all his household, save it were Jared and his family. (Ether 9:3)
Where was Omer? Already by the Narrow Neck:
5 And when he had gathered together an army he came up unto the land of Moron where the king dwelt, and took him captive, which brought to pass the saying of the brother of Jared that they would be brought into captivity. 6 Now the land of Moron, where the king dwelt, was near the land which is called Desolation by the Nephites. (Ether 7)
16 And he gave battle unto Shule, the king, in which he did obtain the land of their first inheritance; and he became a king over that part of the land. 17 And it came to pass that he gave battle again unto Shule, the king; and he took Shule, the king, and carried him away captive into Moron. (Ether 7)
12 And they did land upon the shore of the promised land. 18 And it came to pass that they began to spread upon the face of the land (Ether 6)
31 And there came forth poisonous serpents also upon the face of the land, and did poison many people. And it came to pass that their flocks began to flee before the poisonous serpents, towards the land southward, which was called by the Nephites Zarahemla. 32 And it came to pass that there were many of them which did perish by the way; nevertheless, there were some which fled into the land southward. 33 And it came to pass that the Lord did cause the serpents that they should pursue them no more, but that they should hedge up the way that the people could not pass, that whoso should attempt to pass might fall by the poisonous serpents. (Ether 9)
19 And it came to pass that Lib also did that which was good in the sight of the Lord. And in the days of Lib the poisonous serpents were destroyed. Wherefore they did go into the land southward, to hunt food for the people of the land, for the land was covered with animals of the forest. And Lib also himself became a great hunter. 20 And they built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land. (Ether 10)
6 And he came forth to the land of Moron, and placed himself upon the throne of Coriantumr. (Ether 14)
So when Omer traveled “many days” past the Hill Shim, and past Cumorah where the Nephites were destroyed, we know that Cumorah was a far distance beyond the East Sea, because the Line Desolation/Bountiful was only 1.5 days wide from sea to sea.
Some modelers will resist this view thus we’ll buttress it by the City of Desolation which was by the Hill Shim.
19 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did come down against the CITY DESOLATION; and there was an exceedingly sore battle fought in the land Desolation, in the which they did beat the Nephites. 20 And they fled again from before them, and they came to the city Boaz; and there they did stand against the Lamanites with exceeding boldness, insomuch that the Lamanites did not beat them until they had come again the second time. 21 And when they had come the second time, the Nephites were driven and slaughtered with an exceedingly great slaughter; their women and their children were again sacrificed unto idols. 22 And it came to pass that the Nephites did again flee from before them, taking all the inhabitants with them, both in towns and villages.
23 And now I, Mormon, seeing that the Lamanites were ABOUT TO OVERTHROW THE LAND therefore I did go to the HILL SHIM and did take up all the records which Ammaron had hid up unto the Lord. (Mormon 4)
Why is that important? Because the City of Desolation was near the Narrow Neck:
5 And it came to pass that I did cause my people that they should gather themselves together at the land Desolation, to a CITY which was in the borders, BY THE NARROW PASS which led into the land southward. 6 And there we did place our armies, that we might stop the armies of the Lamanites, that they might not get possession of any of our lands; therefore we did fortify against them with all our force. 7 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and sixty and first year the Lamanites did come down to the CITY OF DESOLATION to battle against us; and it came to pass that in that year we did beat them, insomuch that they did return to their own lands again. (Mormon 3)
Thus, the City of Desolation was by the Narrow Pass and the Narrow Pass was along the West Sea; the Hill Shim was not far from the City of Desolation and the Narrow Pass—the west side of Book of Mormon lands.
Jaredite lands were surrounded by FOUR SEAS. The sea north of Cumorah is Lake Ontario, the Sea West is Lake Erie (including the Niagara Gorge), the Sea East is the Genesee Gorge, and the Sea South is ancient Lake Tonawanda.
See also: