“The hill of Shim is very interesting. What’s the Arabic word for shim? It means north, north country. Shim is north in any Semitic language. … So here’s another one of those places where the Book of Mormon just casually tosses off just a bit of evidence at no extra charge. But people don’t notice these things.
“Therefore, go to the hill Shim ‘and there have I deposited unto the Lord all the sacred engravings concerning this people.’ He knew that the movement would be northward. It wouldn’t be safe for them to remain south when they start into this long tragic retreat here” (Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, 4:192).
The Boyhood of the Prophet Mormon
“1. He was born probably in A.D. 310 or 311. (He was about ten years of age in A.D. 321—see 4 Nephi [1:]48 and Mormon 1:2.)
“2. He was a descendant of Nephi. (Mormon 1:5.)
“3. His father’s name was Mormon, and he was named after the land of Mormon. (Mormon 1:5 and 3 Nephi 5:12.)
“4. He was evidently born in the land northward. (Mormon 1:2, 6.)
“5. At the age of fifteen he was ‘visited of the Lord.’ (Mormon 1:15.)
“6. Despite his testimony of the divinity of Christ, he was ‘forbidden’ [for a time] to preach repentance unto the wicked people. (Mormon 1:16.)
“7. In his ‘sixteenth year’ he was appointed leader of the Nephite armies, and he and his armies defended the Nephites from the Lamanites. (Mormon 2:2.)” (Ludlow, Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, 298).