2 Nephi 1:9 mentions other people the Lord would bring out of the land of Jerusalem (the Mulekites). When he uttered this prophecy, Father Lehi was already in the Americas. The next to leave the Near East would be Mulek and his party. This passage contains details that can help us locate the Mulekites in time and space.
The Mulekite capital, the city of Zarahemla, will be found in an area that was relatively isolated during the nearly 400 year period from ca. 580 BC to ca. 200 BC.
Serious proposals for the city of Zarahemla in Mesoamerica include:
We can test the various Zarahemla candidates against this isolation narrative. We know from the work of Barbara Arroyo, Lucia Henderson, Takeshi Inomata, and others that all 3 candidates for the city of Nephi were within early Kaminaljuyu (KJ)'s sphere of influence. We also know that 4 of the 6 candidates for the city of Zarahemla were within this same sphere of influence that reached along the Grijalva to Chiapa de Corzo, along the Usumacinta to Chama, and along the Pasion to Cancuen and Ceibal.
Only Zarahemla candidates Nueva Esperanza and Yaxchilan pass this KJ influence test.
Since the Olmec (ca. 1,200 - 400 BC) generally preceded the Mulekites, areas with large numbers of Olmec or Olmec-influenced sites are incompatible with the isolation narrative we are testing. Only Zarahemla candidates Nueva Esperanza, Yaxchilan, and Salinas de los Nueve Cerros pass this Olmec influence test. Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and Ceibal themselves were all Olmec or Olmec-influenced sites in close proximity to other Olmec sites.
Sites within the area shaded blue in the map above are incompatible with the isolation narrative we are testing. Only Zarahemla candidates Nueva Esperanza and Ceibal pass this Zoque influence test.
The site pictured is Nueva Esperanza, Chiapas, west of the Usumacinta about 4 kilometers from the town of Emiliano Zapata. John Clark told Garth Norman about the site which led Garth and I to visit it in 2006. It has about 200 mounds similar to the ones shown above. Garth did a little surface scavenging and found preclassic pottery shards.
- they would be kept from all other nations
- they would possess their land unto themselves
- their righteousness would bring blessings
- none would molest them to take away the land of their inheritance
The Mulekite capital, the city of Zarahemla, will be found in an area that was relatively isolated during the nearly 400 year period from ca. 580 BC to ca. 200 BC.
Serious proposals for the city of Zarahemla in Mesoamerica include:
- Yaxchilan, Chiapas (RLDS candidate since Louis Edward Hills, 1917)
- Santa Rosa, Chiapas (John L. Sorenson followed by Joseph & Blake Allen)
- Salinas de los Nueve Cerros, Alta Verapaz (F. Richard Hauck followed by Joe V. Andersen, Stanford S. Smith, and Lenard C. Brunsdale)
- Santa Cruz, Chiapas (Gareth W. Lowe)
- Ceibal, Peten (Robert Roylance & Richard Terry)
- Nueva Esperanza, Chiapas (V. Garth Norman followed by Kirk Magleby & Javier Tovar)
We can test the various Zarahemla candidates against this isolation narrative. We know from the work of Barbara Arroyo, Lucia Henderson, Takeshi Inomata, and others that all 3 candidates for the city of Nephi were within early Kaminaljuyu (KJ)'s sphere of influence. We also know that 4 of the 6 candidates for the city of Zarahemla were within this same sphere of influence that reached along the Grijalva to Chiapa de Corzo, along the Usumacinta to Chama, and along the Pasion to Cancuen and Ceibal.
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| Attested Diplomatic and Trade Relations with Early Kaminaljuyu ca. 600 BC to ca. 200 BC |
We can plot known Olmec and Olmec-influenced sites.
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| Zarahemla Candidates with Known Olmec & Olmec-Influenced Sites |
Bruce R. Bachand with BYU's NWAF has extensively studied Chiapa de Corzo. He documents a Zoque sphere of influence centered on Chiapa de Corzo that extended southeastward to La Lagunita and eastward to the Usumacinta ca. 1,000 to 400 BC.
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| Zoque Sites and Sphere of Influence ca. 1,000 - 400 BC |
The results of these 3 tests of the isolation narrative:
- Nueva Esperanza passed all 3 tests.
- Yaxchilan passed 2 tests.
- Salinas de los Nueve Cerros passed 1 test.
- Ceibal passed 1 text.
- Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa failed all 3 tests.
Among the Mesoamerican proposals we have considered for the city of Zarahemla, Nueva Esperanza best fits the isolation narrative described in 2 Nephi 1:9.
This is the first slide of John E. Clark's powerful presentation at the Library of Congress Worlds of Joseph Smith Conference in 2005. The conference commemorated the bicentennial of the prophet's birth in 1805.
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| John Clark's Joseph Smith Bicentennial Presentation Title Slide |