INTERNAL CONSISTENCY OF THE BOOK OF MORMON

Back in 1 Nephi we read that Lehi and his family travel by ship and arrive in the Promised Land.  No one knows for sure where that was located; we do, however, know that they built along the coast in the Lowlands.  In 2 Nephi, we learn that Lehi grew old and died.  Without the influence of their father to stay their hand, Laman and Lemuel began to make open threats against their brother, Nephi.

Mayan city of Tikal in the highlands of Guatemala, a possible site

 for the City of  Nephi.

Nephi was warned by the Lord that his only recourse for the survival of his family and people was to separate themselves from these wicked brothers and flee into the wilderness, far enough away that it would not be worth the effort for the elder brothers to pursue the younger.  We read Nephi's words:

. . . the Lord did warn me, that I, Nephi, should depart from them and flee into the wilderness, and all those who would go with me. . . I did take my family, and also Zoram and his family and Sam . . . and his family, and Jacob and Joseph, my younger brethren, and also my sisters, and all those who would go with me.  They did journey in the wilderness for the space of many days. And after we had journeyed. . . we did pitch our tents.  And my people would that we should call the name of the place Nephi. . .  (2 Nephi 5: 5-8)

All that we know of this land of Nephi is that it was in the mountains.  There the people of Nephi built a city and a temple.  They lived there in peace for a long time.  The followers of Laman and Lemuel never gave up their fathers' traditional hatred for Nephi and his people and frequently traveled closer and closer to the Land of Nephi and began to attack and harass the Nephites. Around 130 B. C., the danger became so great that the Lord warned their current king, a man named Mosiah the First, to leave the land and flee northward, away from their enemies.  The record keeper was a man named Amaleki.  Here are some of his words (from the book of Omni, chapter 1.)

Ruins of a city in the Valley of Central Mexico

Mosiah . . . being warned of the Lord that he should flee out of the land of Nephi . . . into the wilderness - And . . . he did according as the Lord had commanded him. . . . they were led by many preachings and prophesyings. . . . they were admonished continually by the word of God; and they were led by the power of his arm, through the wilderness until they came down into a land which is called the land of Zarahemla. (Omni 1:11-12)

Here they met a completely different people, the followers of the Mulekite King, Zarahemla. We learn later that these people also left Jerusalem just prior to its destruction at the hands of the Babylonians.  They were a group who were protecting the youngest son of King Zedekiah of the Jews, a child name Mulek.  The two people became one people and chose Mosiah to be their king. Later, after the death of Mosiah, his son, Benjamin was chosen king.  We just finished studying the words of King Benjamin as recorded in the book of Mosiah

Amaleki was the keeper of the records at the time of Mosiah the First's death.  Not having any children of his own to pass along the record he was keeping, he chose to give it to Benjamin, knowing he was a good man and a prophet in his own right.

Amaleki then concluded his record by relating the story of a group of Nephite men who decided, for whatever reason, that  they wanted to return to the Land of Nephi. In his own words:

And now I would speak somewhat concerning a certain number who went up into the wilderness to return to the land of Nephi; . . . they went up (remember, Nephi was in the mountains?) into the wilderness . . . and they were all slain, save fifty. . . and they returned again to the land of Zarahemla.

[Later,] they took others to a considerable number, and took their journey again into the wilderness. And I, Amaleki, had a brother, who also went with them; and I have not since known concerning them. (Omni 1: 27-30)

Whew! What a complex story full of different peoples and cultures, translated by a young, uneducated farm boy in a few months in 1829.  By contrast, it took J.R.R. Tolkien more than 10 years to write the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  People have spent years studying Tolkien to delve into the complex cultures of the peoples of Middle Earth.  Tolkien was supported in this lengthy quest by members of his group, the Inklings, especially his friend, C. S. Lewis, to make sure that it remained internally consistent.  LDS scholars, many of whom have spent their lives studying the Book of Mormon, have found that the people, cultures, geographical references, and - most importantly - doctrine are as internally consistent as anything that came from the mind of Tolkien.

While the Book of Mormon does not read like the Lord of the Rings (nor was it intended to) it also introduces diverse cultures and people, geographical references, and Christian doctrine in a way that is just as complex and just as internally consistent.  A 19 year old farmer could not have written it! I have a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book.  I received the testimony when I was 18 as a witness from the Holy Ghost (see Moroni 10).  Everything I have learned since has served to strengthen that testimony. Scholars are making finds that support Joseph and the Book of Mormon; on the points that early critics used to "disprove" the Book of Mormon we are now finding evidence supports the Book.  That fact, in and of itself, is a testimony strengthener for me.

© Dr. Kathleen Rawlings Buntin Danielson, April 2020