Whether this refers to the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean is not known for certain. In the absence of any authoritative information on the question, we prefer to accept the suggestion of Elder Orson Pratt. It is at least plausible that the Jaredite migration was an eastward movement. 3
MORIANCUMER
Moriancumer is the name of the colonists gave to the first camp on the shores of the great sea. It was the name of the Brother of Jared. As customary anciently, the central settlement of a community was named after the chief leader. And thus the first resting place of this company was called Moriancumer.
This is a matter of history.
In the Messenger and Advocate, April 1835, pp. 108-112, there is a letter on the early days of the Church. Oliver Cowdery was the editor of the magazine, and the Prophet Joseph Smith had recently offered to look over the historical matter in order to see that "our narrative may be correct." (Messenger and Advocate, Oct., 1834, p. 11) In this letter we read: "It is said, and I believe the account, that the Lord showed the Brother of Jared all things which were to transpire from that day to the end of the earth, as well as those which had taken place."
At this place we record an authoritative statement regarding the name of the Brother of Jared. In the Juvenile Instructor, Volume 27, p. 282, one of the authors hereto, President George Reynolds of the First Council of Seventy, furnishes this information:
"While residing in Kirtland, Elder Reynolds Cahoon had a son born to him. One day, while the Prophet Joseph Smith was passing by his door, he called the Prophet in and asked him to bless and name the baby. Joseph did so and gave the baby the name of Mahonri Moriancumer. When he had finished the blessing he laid the child upon the bed, and turning to the father, Elder Cahoon, he said, 'The name I have given your son is the name of the Brother of Jared; the Lord has just shown (or revealed) it to me.' Elder William F. Cahoon, who was standing nearby, heard the Prophet make this statement to his father; and this was the first time the name of the Brother of Jared was known in the Church in this dispensation."
In a previous note we have expressed the thought that Ophir, the eleventh son of Joktan, may have been the brother that was called to accompany Jared on the long and perilous journey. This was only by way of suggestion. But whosoever he was, his name was no doubt changed at the time when he was called to take the lead of the expedition (John 1:42), and Saul, after his conversion, became known as Paul.
THE MEANING OF THE NAME
Concerning the meaning of the name, Moriancumer, we can offer only a brief suggestion. The first part of the name, Morian, may be related to the Aramic, Mara, which means lord or master. Or to Moreh, a teacher, the name of the place where Abraham first rested on his arrival in Canaan (Mark 5:41). The final r is in many languages, ancient and modern, expresses the idea of being, or making. Witness such nouns as maker, doer, hunter, lover, etc., etc., in English, and their equivalents in cognate languages. If this analysis of the name, Morian - cume - r, is correct, it would mean, One who stands up for God, that is, one who speaks for, or represents the Lord. As applied to a locality, it would mean a place, a hill, a camp specially claimed for the Lord. It would express the same idea as the name, Cumorah, in which the identical grammatical elements appear.
The meaning of the first name, Mahonri, given to the baby by the Prophet Joseph, is not entirely unknown. We believe we are safe in analyzing it thus: Mahon - r - i. Mahon, or Mahan, means one who is the master of a great secret. (See Moses, Pearl of Great Price, 5:29 and 45-49) That is the literal meaning of the term. The name given to the Brother of Jared signifies that he, too, had become the possessor of a great secret; but his secret was a revelation from God, while the secret of Cain came from the opposite source. For this is a mystery of Godliness 5 The i may be an abbreviation of Jah. The name, Mahonri Moriancumer, would then be, "The Master of the mystery of Jehovah, who stands up for the Lord."