The Longest Voyage: Lehi’s Journey to the Promised Land (2024)

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The Book of Mormon tells of three ocean voyages from the Old World – the Middle East – to the New – the Americas. First were the Jaredites, who left their homeland after the scattering at the Tower of Babel. Then, after a huge leap forward in time, two migrations took place that were almost contemporaneous. We are told very little about the Mulekites, whose journey may have been an Atlantic crossing using a Phoenician ship. Because the Book of Mormon is ultimately a lineage history of the third group, led by the prophet Lehi, we are most familiar with their story.

As discussed in recent Meridian articles, the Lehite land route from Jerusalem to Bountiful is now largely settled. The key location in Nephi’s record that indicates directions, Nahom, is now archaeologically attested by dated inscriptions; his “Bountiful” is the most comprehensively-described location in the entire Book of Mormon. Significant fieldwork is now under way in southern Oman at the most plausible site for it.

The reason that the Lehite land journey, roughly 2100 miles/3300 km in length, is now largely in place on the modern map stems mainly from two facts:

Firstly, it is the account that the Book of Mormon gives us the most information about. As we would expect, Nephi’s account remains largely focused on the spiritual significance of the events, but he still incorporates a high level of descriptive detail, including directions, just as he said he would (see his introduction to 1 Nephi). These details allow us to accurately visualize the physical setting where everything unfolds.

Secondly, modern scholarship knows significantly more about ancient Arabia, its history, its civilizations and cultures, than it does about ancient America. That is true no matter where in the Americas we may think the remainder of the Book of Mormon unfolds. So while the Old World setting is quite clear, the New World’s is not as settled; a factor allowing competing theories about where most of the Book of Mormon took place.1

Both these factors, however, become largely irrelevant when the Lehite ship pushed out into the Indian Ocean. Nephi’s account is suddenly terse and vague. Unlike the land journey, Nephi gives us no directions, no time scale, no names along the way, no lessons learned, no examples of divine blessings received and no descriptions beyond the terrible storm that soon arose. Based on my experience aboard a 600 BC-design ship in the same waters, I have speculated that at least one reason for his silence is that the realities of life aboard a pre-modern vessel simply left little time and energy for record-keeping.2

But also, while scholarship tells us much about ancient sea voyaging generally, including a fact that surprises many: the extensive maritime history of Oman, our knowledge of seafaring in Lehi’s era and in that region remains spotty. In particular, we have no comparable ocean voyage to learn from. The Lehite voyage was, quite possibly, the longest sea journey made in history by anyone.

By taking just Nephi’s account and a touch of common-sense, here’s what we can be sure of:

1. Just as revelation allowed Noah to build a very large and complex ark for a specific mission, Nephi tells us that he too was guided by the Lord (1 Nephi 18:1-3) in building a ship to accomplish his mission of sailing thousands of miles to another hemisphere.
2. In any case, his ship was not built after the manner of men (three times in 18:2). Any ships that Nephi might have seen in his life were suited only for relatively short coastal voyages. No-one then alive had the expertise or experience needed for such a long voyage.
3. Nephi relied on his brothers for ship-building labor and expresses his appreciation for them (17:49, 18:1,4). No others are mentioned. Had Bountiful been an inhabited place, Nephi could have hired others. That fits nicely with what we now know about the most plausible Bountiful candidate, Khor Kharfot: despite its unique abundance, it was almost certainly uninhabited when the Lehites were there.3
4. Nephi would also not have needed specific revelation to know where he could locate ore to make basic tools, then the considerable effort involved in smelting the ore and making them.
5. The Lord provided all the resources necessary at Bountiful, including timber. It was “prepared of the Lord” (17:5) and thus not deficient in any way. Khor Kharfot contains the last remnants of the ancient forest found in parts of early Arabia, including several species of hardwood suitable for building a ship. Nothing needed to be imported from outside of this special place.
6. The group did not necessarily have to re-supply during the journey to supplement the food items taken aboard. They may have, but while many landlubbers imagine calling into exotic islands for fresh coconuts and fruit, in fact, many long voyages have demonstrated that this is not necessary. Abundant fish and rain allow non-stop sailing.
7. Whatever direction they traveled the Lehite voyage was almost surely the longest voyage across the oceans in recorded history, perhaps as long as 17,000 miles/27,000 km.

What we don’t know:

1. Nephi does not tell us the type of ship he made. We know only that it had at least one sail (18:9, 22), it could be steered (18:13) and it had decking where people could dance (18:5-9). Obviously it was robustly built, surviving not only the four day tempest (18:9-22) but a trans-continental voyage. A number of design options remain possible – a hulled vessel, a raft of some sort or a hybrid design, perhaps like a catamaran. The timbers could have been lashed/sewn together, overlapping planks nailed or pegged together or the mortise and tenon method (joined using interlocking timbers with sealing).
2. We do not know the direction of sailing from Bountiful. Once out in the Indian Ocean, two options awaited. Winds and currents allow for both possibilities under the guidance of the Liahona. The first was that they could have traveled southwards and then westwards, passing beneath both Africa and South America before turning northwards into the Pacific; or they could have maintained an easterly heading across the Indian Ocean into the Pacific. ENSO weather events (El Nino)4 then allow periodic sailing eastwards across the central Pacific. A northerly crossing of the Pacific is another possibility. These are longer routes, but would normally offer much easier and safer sailing conditions than passing beneath Africa and South America.
3. From this stems the obvious fact that we cannot be sure how long the voyage took. Regardless of the details, it was surely a minimum of 9-12 months.
4. While we do not know yet exactly where they arrived in the New World, Alma 22.28 clearly indicates that the initial arrival was on the west, Pacific, coast of the Promised Land.

Conclusion

The more we learn from history about seafaring and the role of oceans in facilitating contact between pre-modern cultures, rather than isolating them, the more plausible Nephi’s account becomes. This does not in any way diminish the awe that the Lehite journey generates, or its value as a testament to unrivalled faith and determination.

As our energies continue to be applied to the Book of Mormon’s story and its message, the circ*mstantial evidences that Joseph Smith predicted would ultimately validate his prophetic calling will continue to emerge.5

Notes

1. Indeed, at least two proposals made by Latter-day Saints are not even situated in the Americas!
2. “Sailing with Nephi” in Meridian Magazine (2010): www.latterdaysaintmag.com/index.php?option=com_zine&view=article&ac=1&id=
3. See the recent accounts in Meridian Magazine of archaeological work at Khor Kharfot last month, February 2016.
4. “Is this the wind that blew Nephi to the Americas?” in Meridian Magazine (2011): www.latterdaysaintmag.com/component/zine/article/7969?ac=1
5. Times & Seasons, Vol. 3 (Nauvoo, IL: September 15, 1842): 921-922.

This article is condensed from the author’s 2015 book, Lehi & Sariah in Arabia: The Old World Setting of the Book of Mormon.

The book is available from the publisher in hard-cover, soft-cover and e-book formats at:https://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-001023307/LEHI-and-SARIAH-in-ARABIA.aspx