As noted, the loss of 116 pages of Mormon’s abridgment of the Book of Lehi denies us geographical descriptions of the land of Nephi, the home of the children of Nephi for some 400 years (about 589–200 B.C.). The Book of Mosiah, fortunately, provides some helpful descriptions in the recorded travel accounts of Ammon’s party and Zeniff’s group back to the land of Nephi (Mosiah 7-8 and 9-22). Additional geographical descriptions are recorded in Zeniff’s account of Alma establishing the church of Christ in the land of Nephi and the account of Alma leading his followers, under the Lord’s direction, north from the land of Nephi to the land of Zarahemla (Mosiah 18, 23-24).

Both the accounts of Ammon’s party and Zeniff’s group mention one prominent geographical feature that served as an exit landmark after journeying south through the rugged narrow strip of wilderness between Zarahemla and the land of Nephi. This landmark is referred to as “the hill north of the land of Shilom.” The land of Shilom was in the north of the large land of Nephi, just south of the narrow strip of wilderness. In the account of Ammon’s party of 16 strong men traveling south from Zarahemla to the land of Nephi, it is mentioned that after wandering forty days through the wilderness, “they came to a hill, which is north of the land of Shilom, and there they pitched their tents” (Mosiah 7:5). Ammon and three others continue on into the land of Nephi and meet king Limhi. The king imprisons the four men, but eventually allows them to return to the “hill which was north of Shilom, and bring their brethren into the city, that thereby they might eat, and drink, and rest themselves from the labors of their journey; for they had suffered many things; they had suffered hunger, thirst, and fatigue” (Mosiah 7:16). A city of Shilom is also mentioned (Mosiah 7:21; 9:8).

Some years earlier, Zeniff’s group journeyed south from Zarahemla and settled in the land of Nephi. Zeniff’s son, Noah, later became king and built buildings in the land of Shilom, including a great tower on the “hill north of the land of Shilom.” This land, the account notes, “had been a resort for the children of Nephi at the time they fled out of the land” (Mosiah 11:13). It would appear that this “fleeing” refers to the earlier time when Mosiah (the first) was “warned of the Lord that he should flee out of the land of Nephi, and as many as would hearken unto the voice of the Lord should also depart out of the land with him, into the wilderness” (Omni 1:12-19). Mosiah and his followers were led by the Lord to the land of Zarahemla where they “did unite together” with the people of Zarahemla, and “Mosiah was appointed to be their king.”

According to these two accounts, this prominent hill was north of the land and city of Shilom in the land of Nephi and positioned near the south end of the narrow strip of wilderness. The rugged terrain within this wilderness was an impediment to travel between the land of Zarahemla on the north and the land of Nephi to the south. This wilderness also extended from the sea west to the sea east (Alma 22:27). Our proposed area in Baja California that corresponds to the relative location of the land of Shilom in the land of Nephi, and that gently merges into the southern boundary of the narrow strip of wilderness to the north, is relatively flat with only one hill of significance. Today this singular hill is known as El Cerrito (Spanish for “the little hill”) and serves as a prominent landmark for travelers emerging from the wilderness to the north, and for those living in the agricultural area to the south. We propose this hill as “the hill north of the land of Shilom.”

A place called Mormon is described in the record of Zeniff (Mosiah 9-22). Here Alma taught the people the words of salvation as he had received them from the prophet Abinadi. In this secluded place he organized the church of Christ and ordained priests. In Mormon there was “a fountain of pure water, and Alma resorted thither, there being near the water a thicket of small trees, where he did hide himself in the daytime from the searches of the king” (Mosiah 18:5). Some 204 souls were baptized in these pure waters (Mosiah 18:8-17). A forest was near the waters of Mormon (Mosiah 18:30). This secluded location “received its name from the king, being in the borders of the land having been infested, by times or at seasons, by wild beasts” (Mosiah 18:4; Alma 5:3). It would appear that the border location was a wilderness retreat not far from the center of the King’s land, possibly less than a day’s journey. The place of Mormon was beautiful in the eyes of the new converts because there they “came to the knowledge of their Redeemer” (Mosiah 18:30).

The water at this location is described as a “fountain of pure water.” The phrase, “pure water” appears elsewhere in the scriptures (Mosiah 23:4; Heb. 10:22; Rev. 22:1). Pure water seems to describe water that comes from an uncontaminated source—like a spring—rather than water flowing in rivers and into lakes downstream. A fountain is a container or reservoir of water or other liquids, such as the small reservoir in a fountain pen—the place where the ink is held. A baptismal font is a fountain containing water. The word font is the same as a fountain in this context. The word font in relationship to fountain is the same as the word mount is to mountain. Font can also be spelled fount. The word font in Latin refers to a “spring, fountain.” In nature, a spring and a fountain (a natural reservoir) often occur together. All of this would render “fountain of pure water” as a natural water body or reservoir at the source of pure or spring water (see the definitions of font and fountain in the New Oxford American Dictionary, 2nd Edition). We have provided a rather lengthy description and definition of the word fountain. But this may help in understanding its connotation in the Book of Mormon account and possibly its meaning in the phrase, “fountain of the Red Sea,” mentioned by Nephi (1 Ne. 2:9), and also the phrases “fountain of living waters” and “fountain of filthy water” in the vision of the tree of life recorded by Lehi and Nephi (1 Ne. 8:20, 32; 11:25; 12:16). It should be noted that in none of the descriptions of the Book of Mormon lands is the word lake used to describe a body of water.

In Baja California, and especially in the central area of our proposed land of Nephi, the main source of water is springs, not the typical system of tributaries with rivers and lakes, common in more humid lands. These springs flow directly into small natural fountains or reservoirs. This same pattern of springs and fountains is common in Biblical lands. There are numerous “fountains” of “pure” spring water in our proposed land of Mormon, sufficiently large to perform baptisms and in a wilderness area of wild animals. These natural fountains fully match the description of the waters of Mormon and are located less than a day’s journey from the center of our proposed land of Nephi. Unfortunately, it is not possible to pinpoint which of these several fountains is the actual waters of Mormon, but we can identify an area with a number of suitable candidates.

The people of Alma were warned by the Lord that the armies of king Noah were preparing to destroy them, and they should gather their flocks and their grain and depart into the wilderness (Mosiah 23:1). With the Lord’s care, the group fled the land of Mormon and traveled eight days until “they came to a land, yea, even a very beautiful and pleasant land, a land of pure water” (Mosiah 23:2-4). Again they selected a location with “pure water,” or a pure water source such as a spring. An eight-day journey, under the slow travel conditions of moving flocks and provisions, would take them some 60 to 70 miles into the wilderness. The people of Alma called their new home, the land of Helam, and “pitched their tents, and began to till the ground, and began to build buildings; yea, they were industrious, and did labor exceedingly (Mosiah 23:5, 19, 25-26). They prospered and built the city of Helam, even though their numbers tallied only in the hundreds (Mosiah 23:20).

The people of Alma were discovered by an army of the Lamanites and later placed in bondage (Mosiah 23:23-29). Under the Lord’s protection, they escaped in the night and fled into the wilderness for a day, to a place they called the valley of Alma. The next day they began a 12-day journey through the wilderness, towards the north, to the land of Zarahemla. There king Mosiah (the second) received them with joy (Mosiah 24:18-25).

Within the distance of an eight-day journey from our proposed location for the land of Mormon, there are several valleys that match the description of the land of Helam. These valleys, in the southern extent of the narrow strip of wilderness, have springs of pure water, areas of tilled land, and places for flocks. The Spanish in the 1700s established missions and built settlements in three of these wilderness valleys: Misión La Purísima Concepción de Cadegomó; Misión San Jose de Comondú; and Misión San Francisco Javier de Viggé-Biaundó (San Javier). We propose the latter mission site of San Javier as the land and city of Helam. This valley is located some 60 miles—an eight-day journey—to the north of the land of Mormon and some 170 miles—a 13-day journey—to the south of the land of Zarahemla. These two distances match the Book of Mormon account and our proposed locations and travel routes in Baja California (see section on the scale of the Book of Mormon lands). Today, San Javier has a population of over 100 in a beautiful valley of pure water, flocks, and tilled land. The route in from the surfaced highway, however, is a 35-mile rough and winding dirt road, crossed by several spring watercourses, with no bridges. Still, hundreds of tourists visit this isolated historic town every year.