Understandably, many who propose a location for the Book of Mormon lands provide quotes from church leaders and others to support the area of their research and their beliefs. We have found the authenticity, interpretation, or authoritative origin of some of these statements to be questionable, or they appear to be merely the opinion of the writer. There are, however, a few official statements bearing on the location of Book of Mormon lands. For example, when Moroni first visited Joseph Smith on the night of September 21, 1823, he told the young prophet that “there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang” (Joseph Smith—History 1:34). Clearly, the Book of Mormon lands were located somewhere on “this continent”—the North American continent of Canada, United States, Mexico, and stretching to Central America. Later, the Lord directed through a revelation to Joseph Smith that some of the brethren should flee the land and take their “journey into the regions westward, unto the land of Missouri, unto the borders of the Lamanites” (D&C 54:8. See also, D&C 19:27; 57:4 and Sections 28, 30, and 32). This early and earnest concern to preach the gospel to the Lamanites unmistakably had a orientation towards the western half of the continent.

Possibly the most enlightening statement is the one made by Joseph Smith in a letter to N.C. Saxton, editor of the American Revivalist and Rochester Observer, 4 January 1833. Saxton had asked Joseph Smith to write about principles of the gospel and the need for the church among the nations of the earth. As a part of his response, which he attributed to a revelation from the Lord, the Prophet wrote: “The Book of Mormon is a record of the forefathers of our western Tribes of Indians, . . . By it we learn that our western tribes of Indians are descendants from that Joseph that was sold into Egypt, and that the land of America is a promised land unto them, . . .” (History of the Church 1:315).

These statements, when considered together, certainly do not rule out a western North American location, such as Baja California, for the Book of Mormon lands, and perhaps provide impressive supporting evidence.