Helaman 3:7, 9, 11 (about 55 B.C., in the land northward)

There is only one reference in the Book of Mormon, consisting of three verses, that mentions building with “cement.” When pointed out to Book of Mormon readers, this scarcity of references often comes as a surprise.

Unfortunately, this is one of the most misrepresented set of verses in the Book of Mormon, and the concepts and mental images of Nephite “cement” buildings, held by some, are often far removed from the context of these three verses. It is helpful, therefore, that we attempt to provide a complete and detailed textual analysis of this single mention of the use of cement as a construction material among the Nephites.

Starting in 55 B.C., at the time when Helaman and Shiblon, the sons of Alma, were the record keepers, large groups of Nephites migrated northward into the abandoned and desolated Jaredite lands. These northern lands had been deforested by the Jaredites, that is, the trees had been cut down, and the land had “been rendered desolate and without timber, because of the many inhabitants who had before inherited the land” (Hel. 3:5–7; see also, Alma 63:4). Some “five thousand and four hundred men, with their wives and their children, departed out of the land of Zarahemla into the land which was northward” and emigrated to the northern land of Desolation from the lands of Bountiful and Zarahemla to the south (Alma 63:5). And in the next year “there were many people who went forth into the land northward” (Alma 63:9). Eight years later, there were “an exceedingly great many who departed out of the land of Zarahemla, and went forth unto the land northward to inherit the land” (Hel. 3:3). And “many of the people of Ammon, who were Lamanites by birth, did also go forth into this land” (Hel. 3:12). Several groups traveled northward by ship (Alma 63:5–8, 10; Hel. 3:14). In total, tens of thousands of people relocated to these northern lands.

After some 600 years of living in the lands of Nephi, Zarahemla and Bountiful to the south, the Nephites migrated to these northern lands suddenly and in substantial numbers (see Alma 63:4). The reason is not clear. The record, however, states that “there was much contention and many dissensions” among the people of Nephi at the time they left the land of Zarahemla (Hel. 3:3). Moreover, the Nephites may have determined they should wait until a sufficient number of regenerated trees had grown and matured before they could settle the deforested Jaredite lands with a reasonable chance of success. The record states that there was a “little timber upon the face of the land” when they arrived (Hel. 3:7). We do not know how many years elapsed between the final battle of Jared’s descendants and the Nephite migration into this land, but possibly several hundred years. (See “Arriving in the Promised Land” in our topic article, Jared, his Brother and their Friends: A Geographical Analysis of the Book of Ether)

These tens of thousands of immigrant families needed to construct thousands of homes and other buildings upon their arrival in the land northward (Hel. 3:7–9). According to Mormon, these people “became exceedingly expert in the working of cement” after they arrived in the land northward (Hel. 3:7, italics added for emphasis). The phrase, “became exceedingly expert,” implies that they were not experts when they left their home in the land of Zarahemla or had even worked with cement before they arrived in their new land (Hel. 3:9). The urgent situation they found themselves in—little timber for their homes—required that they “become expert” in cement as an alternate building material. They were compelled to become experts in building with cement because of the shortage of timber—their traditional building material (Hel. 3:7). This implies that the land they came from had trees for timber, and they did not have to “become expert” in timber construction. When necessary, timber was the construction material they replaced with cement. Timber would also have been required for the roof structures that spanned the walls of “cement” houses.

Mormon states that “they did build houses of cement, in the which they did dwell” (Hel. 3:7). It is curious that these “houses of cement” are the only cement structures noted in the record. There is no mention of larger and more elaborate structures of cement, that is, structures larger than houses, such as their temples, synagogues and sanctuaries. Does this mean that these other structures were only built of wood? Or was house building merely the major focus of cement construction? The record is mute on this issue. Even though they built houses of cement, they also “did dwell in tents” (Hel. 3:9). Possibly not all the people were able to live in houses of cement or timber, even after many years. The “dwelling in tents” is stated numerous times throughout the thousand-year Book of Mormon record (see section on Tents, above). Many families in the northern lands could have continued to live in tents as their principle residence and choice of dwelling for a number of years or generations.

Clearly the Nephites, even in their new northern location, preferred to build structures of timber. Thus while they were becoming experts in the building with cement “they did suffer [allow] whatsoever tree should spring up upon the face of the land that it should grow up, that in time they might have timber to build their houses, yea, their cities, and their temples, and their synagogues, and their sanctuaries, and all manner of their buildings” (Hel. 3:9). Even while building “houses of cement,” the Nephites did not abandon timber construction or the sustaining of reforestation. Timber was their preferred and traditional building material for all their structures. This detailed statement by Mormon suggests that the traditional and almost exclusive building material for Nephite “houses,” “cities,” “temples,” “synagogues,” “sanctuaries” and “all manner of their buildings” was timber, not only in their new land but also in the lands they had come from. Why all this concern over the lack of timber if their preferred building materials were cement and stone? It appears that the existing stands of trees in this northern land had indeed been almost completely deforested by the previous inhabitants—the Jaredites—and any future supply of timber depended on new trees that “should spring up upon the face of the land” (Hel. 3:9). Protecting “whatsoever tree should spring up … that it should grow up,” implies that the landscape of these northern lands was not the many thousands of fast-growing trees of a tropical rain forest region, but the more widely spaced and slower-growing trees of a more temperate zone such as the Mediterranean and semiarid climate areas of Baja California where every tree counts, and even slow-growing varieties of tall cacti (40 to 60 feet) have hardwood centers that are used as construction timbers.

Shipping timber supplies from the lands to the south became the means of providing this necessary and traditional building material, even though this shipping by sea would have required much time and effort. There is no mention of hauling timber overland from the southern lands. Hagoth’s ships and the ships of others were built for the stated purpose of transporting not only people but also timber and provisions to the deforested settlement area (Alma 63:6–10). Hagoth’s initial voyage launched “forth into the west sea, by the narrow neck which led into the land northward” (Alma 63:5). This western sea route is the shortest route in Baja California from our proposed land of Zarahemla to the lands northward.

It is most telling that “cement” construction is not mentioned in the Book of Mormon record outside this set of three verses. And no stone construction is mentioned with these “houses of cement” nor with any Nephite buildings in the north.

But what is meant by the phrase, “houses of cement” (Hel. 3:7)? Most of us today envision sidewalks or driveways which are built with “cement” when we encounter this reference. However, this type of modern cement was invented in the 1810s by Joseph Aspdin, a British bricklayer, which he called Portland cement because it resembled Portland stone, a type of building stone quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. This type of modern cement does not dissolve in water because it has been heated in a kiln causing a chemical reaction that creates a solid and permanent structure when combined with water and then allowed to dry. The Romans developed a form of hydraulic cement by combining hydrated lime with pozzolan, a vitreous siliceous material. Many structures such as the Pantheon in Rome and the Roman aqueducts were built with this early form of cement.

We should emphasize that a building constructed of any type of cement material is not the same as a building constructed of stone, so these verses mentioning “cement” houses in the Book of Mormon record do not provide support for stone construction among the Nephites. Moreover, these “cement” materials seldom last longer than a hundred years even with continuous maintenance. An adobe-like “house of cement” provides, however, a building that could last a generation or hopefully the lifetime of the builder and possibly a timespan longer than a house built of timber. But would these Nephite “houses of cement” be still standing today? The early Spanish adobe structures of a few hundred years ago have long disappeared or are in a critical or final stage of ruination when they literally disintegrate into dust. Often the most valuable bricks and other components are hauled away and reused. We have personally witnessed this unfortunate dismantling of abandoned historic buildings by individuals surreptitiously removing sections piece by piece for their own use. Throughout time, this hastened destruction of older buildings has occurred among all cultures and civilizations.