The text of the Book of Mormon provides a surprising number of references describing the shape, relative location and size of the land. We refer to these locational scripture references as Global Positioning Scriptures (GPS). We maintain that the land configuration of Baja California, or the configuration of any other land, must match these GPS references if it is to be considered a potential location.

Two scriptural references provide descriptions of the outer shape of the Book of Mormon lands. Jacob, the brother of Nephi, in speaking to his people, states that “. . . we have been driven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a better land, for the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea” (2 Nephi 10:20). The word isle can refer to an island, especially a small one, completely surrounded by water, or it can denote a peninsula, a narrow portion of land extending into, and almost surrounded by, the sea. The word peninsula in Latin means “almost an island.”

An additional depiction of the shape or configuration of the Book of Mormon lands is provided by Mormon, within his detailed geographical description of all the lands (Alma 22:27-34). Mormon states: “. . . the land of Nephi and the land of Zarahemla were nearly surrounded by water, there being a small neck of land between the land northward and the land southward” (Alma 22:32). In his account, Mormon not only describes the major lands of Nephi and Zarahemla as being “nearly surrounded by water,” but also indicates that only the small neck of land to the north prevented these same lands from being completely surrounded by water. This is a concise description of a peninsula and helps to clarify the use of the word isle, by Jacob, to portray their land. The shape of Baja California, the largest peninsula in North America, fully conforms to this description in a striking and remarkable way.