“Minon”

Alan C. Miner

According to the geographical theory of Joseph Allen (Chiapas depression = the general land of Zarahemla), the area of Comitan, Chiapas, Mexico and the surrounding archaeological zone meets the requirement for the land of Minon. Comitan (Minon) is 5200 ft. in elevation and the valley of Chiapas (the local land of Zarahemla) is 1200 feet above sea level. [Joseph L. Allen, Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon, p. 329]

“Land of Minon”

In Alma 2:20, the Nephites did "pitch their tents" in the valley of Gideon. In verse 21, Alma "sent spies to follow the remnant of the Amlicites." In verse 23, the spies returned to the Nephite camp in great haste "on the morrow." Therefore, we might assume that these spies, after a day long battle, traveled in pursuit of the Amlicite army and returned to Alma's camp in the valley of Gideon (without rest, and in the dark) in somewhere around 12-24 hours.

According to John Sorenson, the distance from the valley of Gideon to the land of Minon could not have been more than 15 miles to allow all this. [John L. Sorenson, The Geography of Book of Mormon Events: A Source Book, pp. 231-232]

Step by Step Through the Book of Mormon: A Cultural Commentary

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