Hagoth and the Land Northward

Today I read Alma 63, the last chapter in the book of Alma. Wow, it's been a little over 2 months, but we made it through the book of Alma. This chapter has always been an interesting one to me. It marks the death of Moroni, the leaving of the people in Hagoth's ships, the settling of the land northward and yet another war.

Hagoth we are taught by modern day prophets that the people who went with him eventually found their way to Samoa and Tonga and that they are the descendants of the Nephites who went with Hagoth. I personally think that's really neat. I do wonder if the Lord helped Hagoth with the building and design of his ship. Because Mormon makes it sound like they were built in a manner unfamiliar to the Nephites. I guess we won't know in this life but it is still neat.

This chapter also marks the start of the colonization of the land northward, the land the Jaredites peopled. Now it is interesting to me that while, we are led to believe that the Jaredites eventually inhabited all the land, from sea to sea, the only part that was destroyed was the land northward. I personally believe that is because the land northward is where their final war took place. But I am getting ahead of myself.

There are many people that speculate as to where the land of the Nephites and Lamanites were, well the short answer is America, North, Central and South! At one point, I believe in the Book of Helaman, we are told that they were so numerous that they reached from sea to sea, both east to west and north to south! That sure sounds like it was everywhere to me. However, most people want to know where the city of Zarahemla was, to me it doesn't matter. I DO think that the land of desolation is where Central America is today though.

The reason I think that is in a few more chapters they will talk about the lack of trees and the fact that those people who lived there made cement houses. When the Indians were discovered in what is now the United States of America, to my knowledge they did not live in cement houses, they lived in tepees and had a very nomadic lifestyle. The only Indians I am aware of that lived in cement homes were in Central America. Honestly though it doesn't matter where they were, it's just a fun little aside.

This chapter also has another war that took place that Mormon gives all of 2 verses to it. This is what I meant at the beginning of our reading the war chapters, why was that particular war given so much time in the Book of Mormon when there are plenty of other wars that are only given one verse or maybe one chapter. I think honestly it was because of the men that were involved in the war chapters war, the war of Amalickiah. It was the fact that such a unique hodgepodge of spiritual men were gathered together at that time and there is much we can learn from them.

We will learn the reason one day, for now it is fun to speculate and ponder on it. The Book of Alma has SO much truth to it, it's sad to be done with it yet again, however now we move into the Book of Helaman and ever closer to the birth of the Savior. Until tomorrow.