We have often stated that the gold plates taken from the ground by Joseph Smith after being deposited there by Moroni are the best archaeological evidence for the Book of Mormon. This buried record, with its “correct” translation, is valuable “archeological evidence unearthed from the past” because it has allowed us to match Book of Mormon places and details to actual locations in Baja California, and to provide this analysis of the structures built by the Book of Mormon people. The translation of the Book of Mormon came by the gift and power of God, and we have found the book’s numerous geographical details to be correctly recorded, and in harmony with existing topographical features on the earth. The desire to find supportive or verifiable Book of Mormon evidence on the land and in the ground parallels the challenges faced by those seeking collaborative evidence for the location of Biblical places. The lands of the Bible, after many years of archaeological investigation, have yielded only a few items that link to the Biblical record, especially during the hundreds of years the children of Israel were in Egypt. Scholars have found that geographical confirmation of Biblical locations must precede supportive evidence from other disciplines, including archaeological discoveries. It stands to reason that this would be the case with Book of Mormon lands. For those interested in this topic, we would recommend an article on this subject: “Historic Archaeology and the Geographic Imperative,” by John A. Tvedtnes.

We trust our work on the geography of the Book of Mormon lands will help pinpoint potential locations for finding Book of Mormon artifacts rather than casting a wide research net over the total area of Baja California, a task that is not feasible nor cost-effective. But if remnants of ancient buildings were found in Baja California, which unique features from the Book of Mormon record would we use to identify the remains as Nephite buildings and not structures built by another culture? Indeed, it would be essential to assemble a list of features from the Book of Mormon account to positively identify a Nephite building, similar to the unique details in dental records that help identify the remains of a specific person rather than merely identifying the remains as human. Creating an inventory of these essential features is one of the purposes of this analysis.

Another objective is to document and stress the absence of stone buildings within this inventory. Certainly the record keepers would have mentioned stone as a construction material if stone had been a significant component of their buildings. The record keepers were not reluctant to itemize timber, cement, and metals of many kinds such as iron, steel, copper, brass, gold, silver, ziff and other precious ores when detailing the construction of their buildings, but never stone. The city of Zarahemla was burned at the time of Christ’s crucifixion (3 Ne. 8:8, 24; 9:3). Near the end of the Jaredite record, Shiz, the brother of Lib, “pursued after Coriantumr,” his nemesis, and “did overthrow many cities, and he did slay both women and children, and he did burn the cities” (Ether 14:17). It is difficult to burn cities consisting of stone buildings. We assume these Jaredite structures were mainly made of wood, as were the Nephite buildings.

But what if there are not sufficient unique details in the Book of Mormon record to ever clearly identify a Nephite structure, and we are left with only the numerous geographical features in the Book of Mormon account that match a specific location on the surface of the earth such as Baja California? And if we did stumble upon ruins of a Nephite building, would details of the building tell us, through some unanticipated identifying marks, it was indeed a Nephite structure? It would be delightful to unearth a sign declaring, “Welcome to the City of Zarahemla.” But could we even decipher or read the writing on such a sign if we found one? And so again we ask the simple but essential question: If you saw a Nephite building, what would you expect to find? It is to be hoped that this inventory and analysis of Book of Mormon structures could serve as a standard for answering this question.

Readers wishing to pursue the topic of archaeology and the Book of Mormon are strongly urged to read two chapters on the subject by Hugh Nibley, “The Nature of Book of Mormon Society” and “The Archaeological Problem,” published in his work, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, and an article in the Ensign, “Ancient Temples: What do they signify?” (September 1972, 47). Nibley spells out what we should expect to find in the way of buried artifacts, and especially what we should not presume to find, simply because many of the anticipated items are not part of the society and culture of the Book of Mormon people. His insights and perspectives have enlightened our understanding of Book of Mormon geography. Links to these articles are provided on our web site.

We know the Book of Mormon to be a true and correct account of the Nephite, Lamanite and Jaredite cultures and civilizations. We also believe that the most important contribution of the Book of Mormon is not it’s geography or its cultural details, but its clear and masterful contributions to our understanding of gospel doctrines of salvation, correct principles of behavior, and the consequences of unrighteous choices.

We conclude our geographical analysis of Book of Mormon structures by reiterating and reemphasizing the prophetic declaration of the Lord to the people of Jerusalem and to the people of the Book of Mormon at the time of his crucifixion that their dwelling places would become desolate. A “desolated” place, by definition, as we have stated, is one that is caused to be “deserted of people” and “made empty or bare” by the devastation and obliteration of buildings, crops, trees and everything of substance, rendering the land “without sign of life” and “unfit for habitation.” Jerusalem was destroyed and leveled and the inhabitants swept off in fulfillment of this prophecy. Would not the prophesied desolation also have utterly destroyed Zarahemla and all the other Book of Mormon dwelling places, with no buildings left standing and the places abandoned? These sobering and prophetic words should temper any search for Book of Mormon ruins:

And thus it was.