Chapter 3

In 1 Nephi chapter 13 in the Book of Mormon, there is a reference to a man who would cross the many waters and come unto the seed of Nephi's brethren. Growing up in the church, I was always taught that this was Christopher Columbus. Made sense at the time...he was the first to "discover" the Americas. Since I didn't have much of an understanding of where the Lamanites were, I took it for a fact that it was Columbus. Now that I've learned a few things about the potential Book of Mormon sites and where the Lamanites would have been, I'm not so convinced anymore that the person mentioned in verse 12 is actually Columbus. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Columbus hater by any means. He seemed like a decent man to me. I am saddened at the vitriol spit at this guy who was courageous enough to explore. So many fallacies exist around him because much of what we know about him came from his competitor's diaries and writings. Can't ever trust history from a nemesis (for example, you really think Fawn Brodie's history of Joseph Smith is based on fact? Please...). I try never to judge a person out of context. I have no idea how life was back then and don't presume to come from some superior moral time period. It's ironic how we harshly judge people from the past while our current state of the world is so wicked, confused, and evil. We kill more people today with the push of button than you could ever do throughout history. Tens of millions of unborn babies destroyed in our country alone. And we think the middle ages was barbaric...

Back to my point. If I had to choose a side, I would be firmly in the U.S. heartland Book of Mormon camp. No, I haven't received a witness from the Spirit to confirm, but logic for now brings me there. Having spent time in Guatemala in the areas that were part of the Mesoamerican theory, I just don't see it. I also don't see Moroni packing hundreds of pounds of plates thousands of miles either to a second Hill Cumorah. I've read Wayne May's books and it just seems and feels right that the heart of the Book of Mormon was the Great Lakes and midwest area. So if Nephi's brethren ended up primarily in the heartland area and Nephi saw a man go to a remnant of his brethren, how could it be Columbus? Columbus never set foot on the North American continent. His voyages landed on various islands in the Caribbean. I suppose there could have been migrations from the continent to the islands by Lamanites, but it was the Nephites who are mentioned about seeking out new places (Nephi, Hagoth, etc.). Also, the Lamanites seemed to follow the Nephites around. So my question is...why Columbus and not other explorers? So many Europeans crossed the great waters and explored the New World. Could it have been a Viking seeking out new lands? We now know that they came further into North America than we previously believed. Other French, British, or Dutch explorers who spent a great deal of time in the heartland? How about Henry Hudson? I'm pretty sure he explored much of that territory. I read about Hudson after having this question and honestly, I think he has a better claim to that verse than Columbus. He had many friendly interactions with the Native Americans and traded often with them. Right there where much of the Book of Mormon probably took place. Seems to me that makes him a good candidate.

In the end, I don't know. I also don't think it's good to make a guess (Columbus) and then perpetuate that guess. That's how false traditions and ignorance spread. I searched around and couldn't find any direct revelation in the early church to confirm that it was Columbus. I know Columbus himself wrote that he felt he was inspired to go by the Spirit so I'm not going to dismiss him completely, but it's still just an assumption. I think the point of my rambling here is really more about studying things ourselves and seek out the truth, not just blindly accept traditions. Nephi could have made it a whole lot easier for us by just telling us his name, but sadly he didn't and left us to figure it out ourselves. If anybody reading this has any insight or has received an answer, shoot me an email. I don't know why, but this one is very intriguing to me. I am a very curious bloke and fall into these rabbit holes quite frequently.