Mormon records that the Nephites were successful in retaking possession of "the lands of [their] inheritance" (Mormon 2:27). But what were considered the "lands of our Inheritance"?
According to John Sorenson, the cultural connections of the Chiapas area (proposed general land of Zarahemla) since A.D. 50 had been primarily to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (proposed narrow neck and land Bountiful) and beyond to south-central Veracruz (proposed land northward--hill Cumorah area). That would tie our Zarahemla area to Bountiful, and also to Desolation and Cumorah, Mormon's homeland. The Book of Mormon's statements and implications agree with that picture. It was northward to those areas that the Nephites finally retreated (Mormon 2:16-17,28-29) On the contrary, practically no connections are evident in early A.D. times between the Chiapas sites (general land of Zarahemla) and Maya-speaking areas to the south and east. Since that is what we have considered Lamanite territory, this cultural differentiation again fits the Book of Mormon situation. [John L. Sorenson, An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, p. 340]
“Lands of Our Inheritance”
Mormon records that the Nephites were successful in retaking possession of "the lands of [their] inheritance" (Mormon 2:27). But what were considered the "lands of our Inheritance"?
According to J.N. Washburn, Jesus came to the temple at Bountiful, Zarahemla having been burned. At least four times in his discourses he mentioned that that land (not necessarily just Bountiful, but the area) was the land of the people's inheritance (3 Nephi 15:13, 16:16, 20:14; 21:22). It was unquestionably that country to which Mormon referred in Mormon 2:27-29 as "the lands of our inheritance." [J.N. Washburn, Book of Mormon Lands and Times, p. 213]
Yet from this perspective, one might ask: How could the Nephites reclaim any land as an "inheritance" if the Nephites and Lamanites became "one people" at the time of Christ? (4 Nephi 1:17) What became of political boundaries and lands when in 4 Nephi 1:2,17 (34-110 A.D.) it says that there were "no Lamanites or Nephites--they were one"? Wouldn't this mean that the "Lamanites" had just as much right to consider local lands as "lands of our inheritance" as the "Nephites" ? [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]
Geographical [Theory Map]: Mormon 2:26-28 The Nephites Retake the Lands of Their Inheritance (346 A.S.--349 A.S.)
“Lands of Our Inheritance”
Mormon records that the Nephites were successful in retaking possession of "the lands of [their] inheritance" (Mormon 2:27). But what were considered the "lands of our Inheritance"? Did these lands extend "southward, even to the land of Zarahemla" (Mormon 1:6). Did these lands extend to the "borders west by the seashore" (Mormon 2:6)? We might get an answer in Alma 22:29-32 which talks about the Nephite lands. According to Alma 22:32 there was a "small neck of land between the land northward and the land southward," Alma 22:31 says that "the land on the northward was called Desolation and the land on the southward was called Bountiful. Thus, if the "narrow passage" mentioned in Mormon 2:29 is somewhat equal to the "small neck of land" mentioned in Alma 22:32, then the Nephite "lands of inheritance" constituted:
(1) the land northward (of the "narrow passage"), the southernmost part of which apparently was called "Desolation"; and
(2): the general land of Bountiful and the general land of Zarahemla which constituted the Nephite land southward.
Assuming a hemispheric model, with only one quick reference here to a military march (1-3 years in length at the most), do the Nephites with an army that only counted 30,000 before the battles conquer all the land from Canada to the middle of South America (the Nephite "lands of inheritance")? Does this mean that the Nephites once again make a mass migration, only this time it is four times as far as Brigham Young led the saints, (a total of 5000 miles)? [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes] [See Geographical Theory Maps]