“Seasons of the Year”

Alan C. Miner

Alma 46:40 mentions "some seasons of the year." According to Joseph Allen, those familiar with the seasons of Mesoamerica well know that, as opposed to winter, summer, spring, and fall, the seasons in Mesoamerica are measured in terms of the "rainy season" (May-October) or the "dry season" (October-May). A deeper understanding of the Book of Mormon [especially military actions] is realized as we understand the climatic conditions of Mesoamerica. The people of Mesoamerica absolutely depend on the rainy season for production of their crops. [Joseph L. Allen, Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon, p. 170]

“Fevers at Some Seasons of the Year”

Limited information is provided in the Book of Mormon concerning the climate where the Nephites and Lamanites lived. Some scholars have assumed that the reference to "fevers, which at some seasons of the year were very frequent in the land" (Alma 46:40) might indicate that this particular land was in a tropical or semi-tropical area. It is also very interesting that Mormon makes note of the fact that the effects of this fever were not too serious "because of the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of diseases" (Alma 46:40).

According to Joseph Allen, "the lowland jungle area of Guatemala, along the Usumacinta and Grijalva Rivers that are proposed as the general area of the Land of Zarahemla, certainly meets such climatic descriptions." [Joseph L. Allen, Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon, p. 170]

“Fevers at Some Seasons of the Year”

In Alma 46:40 we find reference to "some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year was very frequent in the land." This comment provides us with a clue concerning the geographical setting of the Book of Mormon story because hot weather and high humidity, where mosquitos abound and fevers like malaria and yellow fever are known to be killers, are tropical conditions. And while we do find the word "seasons," it blends with the conditions of the tropics, where there are seasons of dry and wet weather. According to Neil Simmons, an examination of the text of the Book of Mormon, looking for weather words, gives powerful evidence that Joseph Smith, Jr., was not the author of the book, and furthermore, that the people of the Book of Mormon lived in the tropics.

Consider Joseph Smith, Jr., who was born in Vermont and lived in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Missouri, and died in Illinois. If he made up the Book of Mormon he would undoubtedly have used his own life experiences to infuse the book with its sense of reality. He experienced winter and its weather extremes every year of his life. He even commented on it in his personal journal:

November 12, "rain and snow still falling . . . wind very heavy;"

November 18, "cool and cloudy;"

November 24, "freezing, some snow on ground;"

November 28: Cold and stormy, snow falling;"

December 1, "snow yet falling." (The History of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 1:600-611)

It is very curious, but the Book of Mormon does not have any cold words. If it had been authored or invented by Joseph Smith, Jr., or anyone who lived in the northeastern part of North America, we would expect some kind of reference to the changing seasons and to the effect of winter weather on the history of the people. Certainly the historical records of the United States show how our country has been seriously influenced by cold, frost, freezes, snow, seasons of cold, blizzards, snowdrifts, and the like. These terms all appear in the histories of the people who colonized North America because of the tremendous influence the weather had upon them.

Strangely, in the Book of Mormon there is hardly any mention of cold words. Only once is the word "snow" used in the text, but that is in reference to the "whiteness" of the tree of life in Lehi's (and Nephi's) dream--"the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow" (1 Nephi 11:8). Even though "snow" is used in a metaphorical sense, it can be pointed out that Nephi had lived in Jerusalem, a part of the world which does experience some snow. The word "cold" is also used once, but it is used by Lehi in a descriptive sense in referring to "the cold and silent grave from whence no traveler can return" (2 Nephi 1:14).

While Abinadi prophecies that the people of wicked King Noah would be afflicted with "hail," he also says that they would be afflicted by the "east wind." (Mosiah 12:6), [which terms can be metaphorically traced to the Old Testament]. [Hail is also not uncommon to Central America--see the commentary on Mosiah 12:6] But beyond that, there is an absence of any mention of the traditional seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall. Nor is there mention of cold, frost, freezing, seasons of cold, blizzards, or snowdrifts.

This absence of cold words and the absence of associated words such as coats, furs, heavy garments, hibernating animals, and the like, provide the student with internal clues to the real location of the peoples of the Book of Mormon. We are reinforced in this view by checking the many remarks about the clothing, or lack of clothing, of the Lamanites. Several references are made to the Lamanite warriors having shorn heads and fighting with only animal sins girded about their loins. This means that they fought naked, with animal skin belts to hold their weapons. There is certainly nothing to indicate that they were fighting in winter weather.

The absence of cold in the Book of Mormon is a powerful indicator that the story of the Book of Mormon occurs south of the frost line. It also tells us that the setting of the Book of Mormon could not be too high in the mountains. High altitude, like high latitude, brings cold weather. Altitudes above 8000 feet will have snow, ice, and even permafrost as far south as the equator. Thus, the setting of the Book of Mormon cannot be in the mountains of Peru. The Inca area is not the land of Nephi, neither is any location in North America which is at a higher latitude than about Tampico, Mexico. Furthermore, if hurricanes were the fulfillment of Abinadi's prophecy concerning destruction by the "east wind," then it also should be noted that devastating east winds are a phenomena of the northern hemisphere. South of the equator the wind pattern is reversed, and the evil winds are west winds.

In summary we can see that the internal evidence of the Book of Mormon shows that the setting of the story is in a warm, tropical climate. Neil Simmons, "No Cold Words in the Book of Mormon," in The Witness, #103 March 2002, pp. 1-3] [See the commentary on Mosiah 12:6]

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

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