I appeared in an episode of the Stick of Joseph show that finally went live recently, so I’d like to release this post in conjunction with it.
Several months have passed since I recorded that episode, and I’ve continued to reflect and study the things I shared there.
I did get at least one thing wrong that I think is essential to correct.
In the show, I am against the idea that King Noah gave the land the name Mormon. But upon further reflection, I think it does seem most likely that it was King Noah who ascribed the name Mormon to this land that Alma and his people seek refuge in.
However, even with this interpretation in play, I think it actually raises many other questions that leave me with my original idea that there was indeed an individual named Mormon who inhabited that land and could have been a king, among other things.
But first, let’s start at the beginning.
In Mosiah chapter 18, we’re introduced to a place that is called “Mormon.” This is significant because the abridger of the Nephite record is also named “Mormon,” and he tells us that he is named after this land.
And behold, I am called Mormon, being called after the land of Mormon, the land in which Alma did establish the church among the people, yea, the first church which was established among them after their transgression.
3 Nephi %:12
The Nephites had a custom of naming all their lands, cities, and villages after the person who first possessed them.
Now it was the custom of the people of Nephi to call their lands, and their cities, and their villages, yea, even all their small villages, after the name of him who first possessed them; and thus it was with the land of Ammonihah.
Alma 8:7
The Jaredites seem to have had a similar tradition.
And as they came to the sea they pitched their tents; and they called the name of the place Moriancumer. (Joseph Smith indicated that Mahonri Moriancumer was the name of the Brother of Jared)
Ether 2:13
In Alma 18:4, we learn that the place or land of Mormon received its name from the king, whom we can assume is King Noah. But where did Noah get this name? Did he make it up, was he acknowledging what the land may already have been known as, or was he able to name it because he knew about the person who first possessed it?
If it was named after the person who first possessed it, then what happened to them? Who were they, and how did Noah come to know their name?
This place of Mormon seems like it was in the outskirts of the land and had some good hiding places where he and others couldn’t be found by the king’s men.
…being in the borders of the land having been infested, by times or at seasons, by wild beasts. Now, there was in Mormon 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 18:4-5
Nephite use of Jaredite names
Here’s where it gets a little weirder. To me, name Mormon doesn’t look like a Hebrew or even an Egyptian name; it actually resembles Jaredite names like: Moron, Com, Corom Cumom, and Curelom.
After the discovery of the people of Zarahemla and the translation of the Jaredite plates, we start to see Jaredite and Jaredite-like names being used by the Nephites (See this source):
| Jaredite | Nephite |
| AHAH (Ether 1:9, 11:10) | AHA (Alma 16:5-6) |
| CORIANTOR (Ether 1:6, 11:18-23) CORIANTUM (Ether 1:13,27, 9:21, 10:31) | CORIANTON (Alma 31:7 – 63:10) |
| CORIANTUMR (Ether 8:4-6, 12:1 – 15:32, Omni 21) | CORIANTUMR (Helaman 1:15-30) |
| CORIHOR (Ether 7:3-15, 13:17,14:27-28) | KORIHOR (Alma 30:6-59) |
| GILGAL/ GILGALL (Ether 13:27-30) | GILGAL (3 Nephi 9:6, Mormon 6:14) |
| MORIANTON (Ether 1:22-23, 10:9-13) | MORIONTON (Alma 50:25-36, 51:1,26,55:33, 59:5), MORIANTUM (Moroni 9:9-15) |
| MORON (Ether 1:7-8, 7:5-6,17, 11:14-18,14:6,11) | MORONI (Alma 43 – 63), MORONIHAH (Alma 62:43 – Helaman 4:20; 3 Nephi 8:10,25, 9:5, Mormon 6:14) |
| NEHOR (Ether 7:4,9) | NEHOR (Alma 1:15, 2:1, 14:16,18, 16:11, 21:4, 24:28-29) |
| SHIBLOM / SHIBLON (Ether 1:11-12, 11:4-9) | SHIBLON[3](Alma 11:15,19, 31:7 – 63:17), SHIBLOM (Mormon 6:14) |
| SHIM (Ether 9:1) | SHIM (Mormon 1:3) |
These Jaredite-inspired names first appear in the text of the Book of Mormon in Alma 1, which dates to approximately 91-88 B.C.
Note that Mosiah 2 translates the Jaredite plates in about 92 B.C., and it seems that some of these names got adopted pretty quickly, like “Nehor: for example, who gets executed around 91-88 B.C., just a couple of years later.
Interestingly, in the Jaredite record, Nehor is both the name of a land, similar to Mormon, and a city. (Ether 7:4-9) And perhaps the Nephite Nehor assumed that name for himself after the contents of the Jaredite record became public.
But if he was named Nehor at birth, where did his parents get the name before the translation of the Jaredite plates? It may be possible that the people of Zarahemla may have had access to some Jaredite names from their association with Coriantumr, the last Jaredite king, before the Jaredite plates were found and translated, which would have been either before or around 323-130 B.C.?
This could potentially explain why the name Mormon appears before the Jaredite plates are translated. Perhaps Mormon was already known as a place-name, or perhaps there were stories about someone named Mormon and a people who inhabited the land near where Zeniff occupied, and then King Noah acknowledged that place as “Mormon” during his reign.
See, if Mormon is a Jaredite name, it’s the only one I’ve found being used by the Nephites around 147-145 B.C., which is approximately 55 years before the Jaredite plates are translated.
Now, this area we’ve been looking at was initially settled by King Noah’s father, Zeniff. His objective was to inherit the land of his fathers, but the best he was able to get was a spot called Lehi-Nephi that was “near to the land of our fathers.” (Mosiah 9:4)
He made a deal with the king there to possess it, but it was actually a trap. After some oppression and bloodshed, quarreling with King Laman, he secured the land once again and conferred the kingdom upon Noah. (Mosiah 10:22)
Then, somewhere in his reign, King Noah names this spot in the borders of their lands with the Jaredite-sounding name “Mormon.”
Interestingly, years later, King Noah’s son Limhi is involved in the discovery of the 24 Jaredite plates, which are translated in Mosiah 2. They definitely had Jaredite names after this point.
Was there an original Jaredite splinter group led by a man named Mormon?
We know the Jaredites had a reign of kings, but the land of Nephi was far south of the core Jaredite civilization.
The Jaredites were destroyed in a land later called Desolation, which was up in the far north.
Coriantumr, the last Jaredite king, wandered into the Mulekite territory below the narrow neck or pass. The land southward was where the main Nephite civilization ended up.
The land of Nephi was south of the land of Zarahemla, and anything at that distance may have been way outside the main Jaredite civilization’s circle of influence. So, how does a remote land that far south get a Jaredite name like “Mormon?”
Consider that the Jaredite history is a long chain of warring factions of kings which would have created a great deal of instability at times and I would think that over their 1600-1900 year history there would have been many migrations and splinter groups that could have spread all over North, Central, and South America over time.
This happened quite a bit with the Nephites, people would break off of the main body and form their own groups. We know of many, and we see others like Hagoth that leave, and we never hear from them again.
If you can’t tell, I’m more of a proponent of a very limited geography for Nephite lands. I estimate the Nephite lands as being approximately the size of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
I lay out my theory that there were likely many other splinter civilizations that survived the collapse of the Jaredite civilization in this article.
This would mean that this land of Mormon may have been occupied by some splinter group that broke away from the main Jaredite civilization and would therefore be absent from the Jaredite records.
I think there were likely many other splinter groups that continued onward and potentially existed right alongside the Lehites. Perhaps the Lamanites even merged with them at times, contributing to the vast numbers of Lamanites we see throughout the Book of Mormon.
The Nephite lands were nearly surrounded by water. With their religious traditions, they were likely more isolated and kept to themselves, with the exception of the merger with the Mulekites, who were also Israelites.
However, my theory is that there was a person, perhaps even a king named Mormon, after whom that land was named. Perhaps Noah’s naming of the land was more of an acknowledgement of what he had heard through legends passed down from Coriantumr through the Mulekites and to his father.
Yes, it’s a stretch, but that name came from somewhere, and if the patterns hold, the land Mormon received its name from the person who first inhabited the land.
Here are some creative ideas I’ve considered as to how the land got its name:
- Noah just made up the word Mormon for the land.
- Noah learned that the nearby land used to be occupied and had the name Mormon so he called it that as well.
- Zeniff decided to settle there near that land because there may have been legends or stories about it, but it was formally recognized by its name by Noah.
- The name Mormon was known among the people of Zarahemla, who learned it from Coriantumr, and knowledge of that name was passed on. Noah used it randomly to name the land, or perhaps it had a special meaning that has since been lost.
I think the two strongest possibilities for the source of the name might be:
- Knowledge of the name Mormon originated from Coriantumr, who passed it on to the people of Zarahemla.
- Coriantumr had no knowledge of this far Southern land, and Noah learned the name from other locals who knew the history of the area and that it was called Mormon by the original inhabitants.
Clues that Mormon may have left us
As we read about this land, Mormon, the abridger of the Nephite record, focuses extensively on this name, mentioning it 18 times, but without providing any further information beyond what we can speculate about regarding how he used this name in his abridgement.
Mormon mentions that he was named after the land, not a person. It would seem that if the land were named after a person, Mormon would have indicated that he was named after that person, rather than just the land.
But what was significant to Mormon about being named after the land was that it was where Alma established the first church among the people after their transgression. It doesn’t seem that there’s really much more of a backstory, at least nothing else he wanted to share explicitly.
We see Mormon, the abridger, specifically chose to repeat the name “Mormon” 12 times in the text, but is there any meaning behind that? The number 12, according to E.W. Bullinger’s analysis of the Bible, carries these meanings:
Twelve is a perfect number, signifying perfection of government, or of governmental perfection. It is found as a multiple in all that has to do with rule. The sun which “rules” the day, and the moon and stars which “govern” the night, do so by their passage through the twelve signs of the Zodiac which completes the great circle of the heavens of 360 (12 x 30) degrees or divisions, and thus govern the year.
https://www.biblebelievers.org.au/number16.htm
Now, maybe this is just a coincidence, but for the sake of exploration, let’s consider that Mormon is very intentional about what he’s doing. There are many other instances where we see emphasis created by words and phrases appearing multiple times.
I’m not sure that the idea of a perfect government makes sense in light of what is happening with Alma and his followers, but I think it presents a clear contrast with what is happening with King Noah.
What if there was a king Mormon who this land was named after, who created a perfect government, much like Enoch, and that this perfect government resulted in a people who may also have been taken to heaven?
This could be why the land was no longer occupied, with only a name and a legend remaining. Or they could have been killed off by the Lamanites, killed each other off, moved away, or could have ceased to exist due to other reasons.
A lot of this is just speculation of course, but I do think that there is an argument to be made that there is good evidence to support the idea that the land of Mormon was named after an individual, perhaps a ruler who established a perfect government, and that there was something special about that people and that land.
Perhaps Alma chose that land not only because it provided a good hiding place and a suitable location for baptizing, but also because of its sacred history.
We do see this from time to time where the location of preaching happens in a sacred place, much like how Alma the Younger preaches to the Zoramite poor upon the hill Onidah (which could mean “he knows my affliction”), and that may have been the location of a Nephite sanctuary originally.
The retreat of the poor among the Zoramites to the hill Onidah to hear Alma and Amulek preach since they had all been excluded from the synagogue, reminds us that the Israelites from time immemorial had built altars and worshipped in high places before they built Temples and presumably synagogues and other sanctuaries. It is further noteworthy that Onidah is used in respect of two different places in the Book of Mormon, both of them raised places of gathering, retreat and perhaps even sanctuary (Alma 32:4; 47:5). While it is possible they were the same place, we cannot be sure from the limited text provided by Alma and Mormon. If they are not, Onidah may have some generic sacred significance in denoting a hill, mountain, or other traditional high place but without any formal religious structure yet erected upon it.
https://web.archive.org/web/20241229002657/https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/nephite-insights-into-israelite-worship-practices-before-the-babylonian-captivity/
Jacob gave a sermon at the temple (Jacob 2,3), Jesus came to the Nephites at the temple in bountiful (3 Nephi 11), King Benjamin’s tower at the temple (Mosiah 2-5), and I think Alma’s sermon at the waters of Mormon is at a kind of natural temple.
You have this concentric space consisting of three parts: the land, the forest, and the waters. This three-part space implies ascension in the same way temples do. Perhaps lacking a temple, a mountain, or a hill, Alma created his own temple-like space in the land, forest, and waters of Mormon.
Take a look at Mosiah 18:30, where we see the name Mormon appear 6 times in a pattern that is repeated twice:
- in Mormon, yea,
by the waters of Mormon,
in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, - the place of Mormon,
the waters of Mormon,
the forest of Mormon,
Emphasis is being created here by Mormon, the abridger, but why, what does it mean?
First off, when you see a three-part concentric space being indicated in this way, you’re seeing a subtle nod to the three-part space of the temple. Especially when that three part space involves ordinances being administered by a high priest that result in salvation.
But why repeat the name Mormon so much?
Perhaps there is something more that Mormon the abridger knows that isn’t being said explicitly, but is shining a big light on. Or perhaps he’s just excited to write about the place he was named after.
Personally, from my reading of Mormon, he doesn’t take his job lightly, and he seems to enjoy being creatively meaningful with his abridgment, hiding additional meanings and connections for us to discover, rather than indulging his ego.
But maybe he doesn’t go into depth here because he has already written about this Mormon figure. Could more information have been included in the pages that were lost by Joseph Smith and Martin Harris?
Maybe he provides just enough attention to draw in the observant to a sacred, revelatory reality that lies beyond the text.
Maybe the original Mormon was lost to history.
Maybe his people vanished like Enoch’s.
But the name remained. And it landed on a godly man who carried the weight of a fallen nation, who abridged their sacred stories, and who made sure that one name and everything it pointed to would not be forgotten.
Perhaps Mormon didn’t just inherit the name of a land.
Perhaps he inherited its mission.
