Research by Kerry A. Shirts

The decade from 1975-1985 may very well be a turning point in scientific,archaeological and historical information about the Book of Mormon. This was the decade that demonstrated the Book of Mormon *can* and *was* used as a geographical guide through the Arabian Desert. The Book of Mormon opens for its first several years of recording in the Arabian Desert. Is it factual? Does it show consistent and internally consistent knowledge as well as correct geographical, biological and climactic information? Yes, yes, and a thousand times yes. The Hilton's were asked by the "Ensign" Magazine to go back to Arabia and re-trace the steps of Lehi. Could this be done?

It *has* been done, and with Arabian guides using the BofM to help them locate the important sites mentioned, in of all places, the very BofM! Since the *first* time of learning that these places actually existed was in the early 1920's, this increases our interest considerably. How *could* Joseph Smith have known, since no one else did in the Western World until 1929? Consider the evidence from the Hilton's discovery through Arabia, with the Arabians themselves using the BofM as the correct guide.

1. Lehi, of course, was involved in cultural contacts and trade since he literally traveled down the only route possible, the ancient Frankincense trail. There really *was* such a trail! This was literally unknown before the 1900's, in the western world.

2. There were obviously other people in the desert in 600 B.C., with the prominant rise of a group calling themselves the "Lihayanites" - "The people of Lehi". This is the ARAB translation incidentally! They know about the Lihayanites, but they were not known until the 1900's. This group arose around 550-500 B.C. after a prominant person came through and founded them! They were Jews! Two member of this group has also been found in the Lihiyanite inscriptions named "Lehi", "Nephi". And these names are not found in Taymanite, Jawfian, Dedanite, Najdi, Hijazi, or the Tabuki languages - *only* the Lihiyanite! In fact, descendants of the Lehiyanites still exist today and are listed by the hundreds in the phone books in Arabian large cities. Ut, ut.... this is only the start of a long and fruitful odyssey, see below...

3. The Lihiyanites ruled Arabia from 500 B.C. - 200 B.C., over three hundred years! Lest ye say yeah, but that's not very long. Consider America. We have only been independent and ruling ourselves for *less* than this amount of time.

4. Interestingly, Nephi says he did not build his ship after the manner of men. Could he have said this without having seen ships? In the desert? Ships in the blasted desert? Yeah, this is a blooper, until the Hiltons discovered that along the coast of the Red Sea along the Frankincense Trail were numerous shipping sites and villages using imported lumber for many generations before 600 B.C. Um-Lajj, al Wedj, al Yanbu, al-Jeddah, al-Lith and others have been found. In other words this is another mistake that Joseph Smith did not make. True the Jews may not have been a shiplumbering folk, but the Arabs apparently were. This small band of Jews certainly would have run into these villages along this trail. The plausibility of the BofM on this score is very high indeed.

5. The two or three plausible routes that Lehi could have taken ran along the coast of the Red Sea (Nephi says "borders near the Red Sea"), both meet at the gulf of Aqaba, the head of the Red Sea. Aqaba was the center of both shipbuilding and oresmelting. Interesting in light of Nephi knowing these trades later on in the BofM. The trail then goes south to a place called Nahom. Uh, in case you were wondering, the *time* required to get to Nahom is also plausible in the BofM. Nahom means "Mourning", and it was here that Ishmael was buried, according to the BofM, while his daughters wept greatly for their loss. In other words they "mourned". A perfect fit, and incredible that there really *is* a site geographically discovered that is mentioned in the BofM.

6.Since the Red Sea does not run dierctly north and south, Lehi's party correctly note that they went "nearly... south-southeast" (1 Ne. 16:13). After Ishmael's burial, they turned "nearly eastward from that time forth" (1 Ne. 17:1). Now that we know where Nahom is, there is only *one* direction they could have taken and remained on the trail! Eastward. The BofM is correct again. After a bit they came to many waters which is also correct. Nahom *still exists today*. The BofM name "Irreantum" is remarkably similar to the Greeks concept of "the deep" called "Erythraem", both describe large bodies of water.

7. Nephi describes the place where they finally arrived at as "Bountiful", which must have contained water, fruit, grass, trees large enough for a ship, mountains, a shoreline, and metal oreing. There *is* a place, the *only* place on the Arabian penninsula in its entire length of 1,400 miles. It is backed by the Qara Mountains, which is the only place that receives a significant enough rainfall and where large trees grow (so large a grown man cannot put his two arms encircling them and touch fingers), and which trees have grown there for over 2,000 years. Not one single thing in Nephi's account is unconfirmed.

8. Lehi having joined one of the most heavily-traveled routes of antiquity, the frankincense trail, ends at Salalah, Dhufar, Oman. This explains the water sources the direction the group traveled and the people they undoubtedly met, which people later called themselves after a man named Lehi - The Lihiyanites. Nothing is out of place in the BofM, from the motifs and methods of travel, the directions they took and why, the time it took them to get to where they went, and their sufferings.

9. The Arab guide of the Hilton's explained to them that a days travel in the desert averaged around 20 miles. At this speed, each and every spot that Lehi and Nephi mentioned they came to in the desert after whatever length of time they traveled, has been found to correspond with the physical reality of the Hilton's own trek through the same desert, and over the same trail, including when they came to valleys (the valley of Lemuel), waters, or get lost, etc. Nothing is outlandish or idiotic in Nephi's account. The wadi Afal at the oasis of al-Bad has a precipitous, breath-taking canyon cut by the rushing waters. It has steep sides hundreds of feet high. As important as the river is, Nephi mentions the valley twice as much. There is indeed a valley with firmness here!

10. Nephi says they traveled for three days in the wilderness and came to the Valley of Lemuel. In geographic reality, on the Arabian Penninsula, after three days travel, the Hilton's found to an oasis, al-Bad in the Wadi el-Afal, Saudi Arabia. It is the only significant oasis for 150 miles.

11. Fifty one Kilometers north of Duba there lies an amazing desert oasis covered by at least 80 acres of Palm Trees, the al-Muwaylih, which corresponds to Nephi's "Shazer". It is close to the Red Sea beach and was an ancient stopping place as well. This oasis is the only one south of al-Bad of importance before one arrives at al-Wajh, which is 200 miles more distant. The BofM says they did travel for four days before they reached Shazer (1 Ne. 16:13). The 76 mile journey would be 19 miles for each day travel, which is close to the distances between watering holes as well. Fascinating that after four days travel, the Hiltons run across the only oasis around, which corresponds very well with our geographical knowledge of Arabia today.

12. Nephi mentions that they did travel near the borders of the Red Sea, and then coming down nearer the borders of the Red Sea. (1 Ne. 2:5). This is precise and accurate descriptions of what the ancient frankincense trail actually does do. From Satellite photos one can clearly see the trail going along the borders and then coming right up to the Red Sea, "nearer the borders of the Red Sea". In fact, the trail ends up on the beach of the Red Sea at this point. There is nothing incorrect of Nephi's description here, and yet how on earth could a person have known this in the 1820's when the satellite photo wasn't taken, nor any trips through the desert to speak of until the 1900's?

13. The Arabs confirmed to the Hilton's that during the rainy season, the ancient wadi's became massive torrents of thick yellow water and mud, destroying everything in their path. Some wadi get over 100 miles wide! The river in the desert is no problem at all according to Hilton's Arabian guides.

14. Also, Nephi saw his vision in an exceedingly high mountain. At al-Bad, there are simply magnificent mountains! Some as high as 8500 feet.

15. From an Arabian guide the Hilton's learned that there *are* fountains in the desert! The fountains are headwaters, a spring or source of water. Wadi Afal just happens to run into the Red Sea. Nephi's meaning is now crystal clear, according to geography, this is the fountain of the Red Sea, at least seeing it from the vantage point of the ground at this spot as Nephi and the Hilton's saw.

16. Nephi says they gathered seed of every kind, grain and seeds of fruit. (1 Ne. 8:1) The Arabs confirmed that indeed, these can be grown in Arabia at this spot!

17. A ruin of ancient oresmelting was found just south of al-Bad. This could have had something to do with Nephi's oresmelting at the land Bountiful (1 Ne. 17:9). The point is ore smelting was had in ancient Arabia, and Nephi knowing about it is now confirmed perfectly.

18. After al-Bad the trail widens to over 120 miles! It was at this exact point that the Liahona was given, to help them keep in the more fertile parts of the wilderness. The BofM correctly posits both the best time and the best possible place and reason for receiving the Liahona in the wilderness. There is nothing incorrect or fanciful about the reasons behind it being given here and when it was.

19. The Arabs understanding of marriages explained in the very BofM itself shows that none of the marriages in the BofM between Lehi and Ishmael's families were in conflict with the detailed Mosaic prohibitions. This astonishing fact lends us to conclude that no man in the 19th century could have fabricated such a document as the BofM, relating complex and interlocking relationships, such as marriages between double first cousins, first cousins, and nieces, without violating cultural taboos of the ancient time.

20. The Lihiyanites built a temple, as Nephi later did, both groups being Jews. This demonstrates that true Jewish peoples could and would build temples outside of Jerusalem if they had to. Apparently, both groups felt the importance of the temple could not be overlooked.

21. "Nafee" is an actual town in southern Arabia, near where Nephi would have traveled, and the Arabs in Hilton's group recognized that "Nephi" = "Nafee". In fact, on a visit to Utah, one Arab doctoral student stopp at Nephi in S. Utah and asked the gas station attendant, "What is the connection between "Nephi" in Utah and my home "Nafee" in Saudi Arabia, since both are the same word?" The puzzled gas station attendant could only say "Are you kidding?" But the Arab could see they were the same word! And it is claimed that Joseph Smith would have known. Uh-huh......suuuuuuuure................

22. The average distance between watering holes in the desert going toward Nahom is 18 miles. Yet on the eastward trek after Nahom, the average distance between watering holes is 26 miles. It is in this segment of the journey that Nephi's party suffered the most (1 Ne. 16:20, 17:1).

23. Nephi mentions at 1 Ne. 7:16 that his life was sought after, and he worried about being bound and left in the wilderness to be devoured by wild beasts. The Hilton's had a run in one night with two very large black hyenas in the desert here, and were told by the local Arabs that they were extremely lucky to not have been killed, as the hyenas come in by night and take little helpless children into the wilderness to devour them! The Arabs call them "Devil Dogs", which are usually twice the size of dogs. They are feared more than lions by the villagers. This corresponds well with Nephi's worry!

24. Most interestingly, Nephi says he broke his bow on their journey. As the Hiltons traveled down the western coast of Arabia they experienced the terrible heat *and* humidity. One of their traveling companions quipped rhetorically "Can you blame Laman and Lemuel for bellyaching over this?" The breaking of Nephi's bow occurred after they had traveled many days (1 Nw. 16:15, 16:17) and the other bows lost their springs here also. This would have occurred in the vicinity of Jiddah, the most humid area in the desert! About 60 percent. The forces of heat, humidity, sand and salt would have broke Nephis steel bow. Weakened by rust, it would have snapped here as Nephi says it did! But more telling indeed was when Nephi simply says he found wood to build another bow! Uh yeah, riiiiiight! In a desert eh? But the Hilton's Arab guide, Salim Saad enthusiastically pointed out that the pomegranate trees in the area around Jiddah was used for..................... *bow making*. It is a relatively straight and closegrained wood that is remarkably limber and tough.

25. Then Nephi hunted wild animals for food. In the desert? big game? Riiiiiiiiiiight! But a local Arab guide told them that they have hunted gazelles for centuries here as well as wild ass, oryx, ibex, reem (small white deer), pigeon, grouse, partridge, and hare! There are occassionally leopard here even! The slings Nephi mentions were actually shown to the Hilton's to be an Arab weapon of hunting and war, and they are deadly accurate with them indeed!

26. The Arabs had an ancient shipyard at Jiddah as well. (Here we go again!). The Hilton's were actually shown how ships were built by the local Arabs who claim they have done this from time immemorial in the desert! We know from Nephi's description that his ship had sails because he "sailed it" (1 Ne. 18:22), a rudder, because he "steered it" (1 Ne. 18:13), and perhaps a deck on which the families of Laman and Lemuel and Ishmael's sons could sing and dance (1 Ne. 18:9, 22).

27. Nephi never mentions fishing, although they came down near the borders of the Red Sea in their journeys for years. Most telling indeed, according to their Arab guides, the Hilton's learned that down the reaches of time nomads have disdained fish, a stark inconsistency in the hungry land.

28. At Abha they found four iron ore deposits. A Saudi Archaeological and engineering team identified ten sites which yielded *tons* of ancient slag of gold, copper, and iron, as well as the ancient remains of smelters. Nephi could have easily learned his blacksmithing here as well. The BofM is not incorrect in noting this ancient science was had in Arabia.

29. In the market of Abha, the Hilton's found many trading sites and markets for buying, selling, trading, etc. The truly astonishing thing about these markets were the woven baskets and blankets. Sheik Habtar, who had been educated in America asked the Hiltons if the American Indians had ever been in Saudi Arabia. This bowled them over until he showed them the Arabian baskets and blankets. There was not a single difference in the patterns, colors, geometric shapes, sizes, or weaving styles between Arabian and American Indian basketry or blanketry. Stacked triangles, colors of red, black, and blue, revealed absolutely astonishing similarities to the point that an American educated Arab postulates that American Indians came to Arabia anciently! We Mormons say it is the other way around, but it didn't surprise the Arabian a bit. He already knew that!

30. The Arabian desert forts built since ancient times had watch towers as tall as 75 feet! These are the imagery in Nephi's dream of the high and proud tower. That they are found in Arabia is simply more confirmation that the imagery of Nephi is not outlandish or made up at all. There really do exist such things. The Hiltons show pictures of them.

31. Interestingly, along the way, the BofM never confuses which sites were approached first, and from how long a journey they had gone, they never mix up the direction nor the distance either. Bountiful *is* east of Nahom, and Nahom is south, southeast of Shazer and the valley of Lemuel, in real geographical locations in Arabia today!

32. Where the little band of Nephi met their most terrible affliction was when they turned westward. Most interestingly, from this point on to the great waters, the Hiltons found that the watering holes, instead of averaging 20 miles apart, now averaged a staggering 66 miles apart! It is also the hottest part of the desert today as well as anciently.

33. Among the hardships, Nephi mentions the eating of raw meat (1 Ne. 17:2). Most interesting, the Hiltons found that to the Arabs it is a delicacy, and they ended up eating raw meat. But Nephi also mentions the Lord showed them how to make it sweet, not repugnant. As well the Hiltons were shown how Arabs do mix the meat with spices and garlic, which ends up something like a hotdog or bologna! It is called "basterma" in Arabia. Literally, "raw meat!"

34. At Nephi's Bountiful are the Qara mountains, springs of gushing waters, wood trees for shipbuilding, and ore smelting sites as well. Dr. Hayat A. Qidnai the Senior Exploration Geologist in Arabia showed the Hiltons a map of ore deposits in Arabia. You guessed it, there is a 12inch thick seam of coal six miles from Nephi's Bountiful. It is adequate in a forge to smelt ores. Smelting iron ore and steel manufacturing was available from Aqaba hundreds of years before Nephi got there. A local blacksmith showed the Hiltons how he and his father and so on back for many generations used a bellows to smelt ores with today! (Cf. 1 Ne. 17:1). Ancient sails were made of sewing and weaving coconut fronds together. Nephi had sails. Also the winds in Dhufar at Bountiful help the ships sail toward the Pacific Ocean. They are correct in direction for Nephi to have gotten his boat to the ocean, and *only* from this Bountiful location incidentally!

So here is the challenge for critics. Demonstrate how these 34 points of a modern scientific exploration/expedition does *not* show the BofM is entirely plausible. Show how the BofM is incorrect in using the distances it claims, finding the correct stopping points along the frankincense trail, in the correct order, the correct direction, and the correct time from each other. Show how the BofM fails in Nephi's description with modern Arabian culture, geography, time travel, oasis locations, travel near the borders of the Red Sea and Nearer the Red Sea, going south-southwest until the BofM place Nahom and then turning eastward til they reached the great waters, where they built a ship. Show how this is incorrect with current geographical knowledge of Arabia. Show how Nephi broke his bow at the incorrect time and place, which perfectly fits the actual position in the Arabian penninsula both from the time traveled, and the climactic conditions of the area where Nephi says the bow broke and others lost their springs. Show how Nephi was incorrect in making another bow from the pomegranate trees that are still used today for bows! Show how Nephi was incorrect in hunting wild game here. Show how there never were wild beast in the desert, or that the eating of raw meat is not an Arab custom. Show how tents were unneccesary or incorrect for a traveler along the frankincense trail. For that matter show that the frankincense trail goes in the wrong direction for the BofM!

There is not one extra item in the BofM that should not be there. There is not one item that is missing either. Everything is in correct order in time, space, place, description, ability to either smelt ore....hey! Show how it would have been impossible for Nephi to have smelted ore, since it was in Arabia from very ancient times indeed! Show how this is incorrect. Show how the Lihiyanites are a figment of our modern imagination, and how the Arabs' history of them is incorrect. Show how the Lihiyanites are not Jews, didn't build a temple. Show how the names Lehi and Nephi are not really in the inscriptions and they weren't really real people in the desert. Show how the Liahona was wrongly put into the BofM in the wrong time and place.

In fact, show us anything in the Bible that has point after point after point after point in the exact same order, etc., and how ancient journeys in the Bible have been undertaken today and how place names, personal names, physical geographical descriptions are as correct in the Bible as they are here in the first 20 chapters in the BofM. Where is the BofM wrong? It reflects accurate history, ancient culture of the desert, geography, archaeology, politics, religion, etc.

This is as scientific as we can get. Anciently there was supposed to have been folks walking in the desert in certain directions, finding certain locations, doing certain things, and making certain things. Everything in the BofM that occurred in the Arabian desert has been discovered by a modern expedition in the 1980's. Nothing is incorrect, weird, out of line, date, or place or position, including directions traveled, lengths traveled, the weather, the complaining brought on by extra hardships as when the water holes were 66 miles apart in the hottest part of the desert after Nahom, as opposed to their earlier journeys. Show us how this could all have been made up since it has been traveled again!

P.S. Hilton's book: "Discovering Lehi: New Evidence of Lehi and Nephi in Arabia", CFI Publishing, 1996.

Also, the latest news as of 11/22/2000.

DISCOVERY IN YEMEN POINTS TO BOOK OF MORMON http://newsnet.byu.edu/show_story.cfm?number=12492&year=2000 Researchers say two stone altars found in Yemen that contain the inscription "Nahom" support accounts in the Book of Mormon. The altars date to 700 B.C. and shows the place called Nahom, mentioned in the Book of Mormon, pre-dated Lehi's arrival, researchers say. The Book of Mormon records that Ishmael was "buried in the place which was called Nahom."