“Thoughts on the location of Book of Mormon Peoples”
by Franklin Keel
“First, I must say that, based upon the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith and my experiences with contemporary American Indians, I believe that the events of Book of Mormon occurred in what is now the United States.
Having said that, I must also say that I also believe that Jesus Christ visited other people in this hemisphere and elsewhere (who, much like the Mulekites, were not descendants of Father Lehi) and taught them his doctrine. He speaks of this in 3 Nephi 16: 1-3:
1 And verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep, which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister.
2 For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them.
3 But I have received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one-fold and one shepherd; therefore I go to show myself unto them.
Choctaw believe that Nanih Waiya is the “Mother Mound” (Inholitopa iski) where the first Choctaw was created. Nanih Waiya (alternately spelled Nunih Waya) is an ancient platform mound in southern Winston County, Mississippi, constructed by indigenous people during the Middle Woodland period, about 300 to 600 CE.
“There are many variations of the story. According to some versions, the mound (or nearby cave) is also the origin of the Chickasaw, Creek people, and possibly even the Cherokee.
Others believe Nanih Waiya is the location where the Choctaw tribe ceased their wanderings and settled after their origin further to the west. George Catlin’s Smithsonian Report in 1885 included a story of the Choctaw following a prophet from an origin in the west:
The Choctaws a great many winters ago commenced moving from the country where they then lived, which was a great distance to the west of the great river and the mountains of snow, and they were a great many years on their way. A great medicine man led them the whole way, by going before with a red pole, which he stuck in the ground every night where they encamped. This pole was every morning found leaning to the east, and he told them that they must continue to travel to the east until the pole would stand upright in their encampment, and that there the Great Spirit had directed that they should live.
They say that Nanih Waiya, which means “leaning hill,” “stooping hill,” or “place of creation” in Choctaw, was the final destination of their migration.” Source
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Franklin Keel Continues
“These people undoubtedly would have preserved a record of His visits–depending on the culture– through stories, legends, or writings. (I also believe that it is reasonable that the other sheep of this hemisphere might have subsequently interacted and/or intermarried with the Nephite and Lamanite descendants.) Now, millennia later, when the posterity of those people learn of the Book of Mormon, it strikes a chord with their preserved ancestral memories, as intended by the Savior. That, with the assistance of the Holy Ghost, helps them know that our Church is true.
However, simply because they have those memories through legends, stories, or even written records of a bearded white god, does not require that they be related to the people who are chronicled in the book of Mormon. Nor does it mean that because their ancestors were also visited by the Savior that the Book of Mormon events had to occur in their particular lands of inheritance.
As I noted above, in addition to legends or other stories passed down orally, the other sheep may also have had written records of His visit to their ancestors. I think that this is borne out in 2 Nephi 29:11, 13, where the Lord says:
11 For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written.
13 And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews.
To summarize, based upon the words of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, I believe other peoples, not just Lehi’s posterity, were visited and taught by the Savior. But the events of Book of Mormon (Father Lehi’s posterity) happened in only one place—the land now known as the United States—where the Prophet Moroni led the young Joseph Smith to the Hill Cumorah. As these prophecies are fulfilled, other records will come to the fore because the Lord has spoken it.” Franklin Keel
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Based on the foregoing, I believe the LDS scholars who are following the evidence of groups of New World peoples outside of the land now known as the United States have indeed discovered those “other sheep” spoken of in modern scripture (i.e., the Book of Mormon). This is reason for rejoicing, not because they have found an additional Cumorah, but rather because they have found the remnants of the sheep of the other folds– the additional, living temporal proof of the words of the Savior cited above, as well as a reinforcement, by archaeological proof, of the literal truth of the Book of Mormon and its doctrine that Heavenly Father and our Savior do remember all Their children who were scattered anciently and visited them after His crucifixion. Their findings of these “other sheep” support the reality of the Book of Mormon just as the archaeological and anthropological findings in what is now the United States.
The universe of evidence that we are viewing is circumscribed by Truth and Truth alone. We as members of this Church say that we have assurances of that spiritual truth of which we must testify in order to come back to our Heavenly Father’s family through the waters of baptism. Because we are the children of the same Heavenly Father, we must be in agreement—he has commanded us to “be one.” (D&C 38:27) This alone should be reason enough to make us want to rejoice together and work together to discover and develop even greater temporal knowledge which will assist our brethren (spoken of in D & C 88:118) whose faith is “not sufficient.” Our doctrine tells us that the temporal and spiritual are inextricably intertwined. (D&C 128:14) With the help of these additional temporal proofs, these people will not be lost spiritually. Because there is more than one set of “other sheep,’ there must be and will be more than one path to discovering them.
Because both the “One Cumorah” and “other sheep” theories both support the doctrinal and physical Truth of the Book of Mormon, both sets of scholars must be willing to joyfully work together in the unity that the Savior commanded, or our divided efforts will eventually destroy this Church that we love. We must not allow the pressures of outside critics within the “great and spacious building” (1 Nephi 8: 26-28) to push us into separate corners and to forever remain asunder. Moreover, we must never forget that there is a power in this world that seeks that result.
Let all of us who love the Book of Mormon and the Savior put aside any personal envies and animosities and extend the Olive Leaf to each other and work together in this great and glorious endeavor. This is not only our duty but is the purpose of our lives.
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