Dear hunter@xmission.com

My name is ____.  I'm from the South Pacific.  I enjoy reading
your site about the Book of Mormon. Do you have an outline
map of Zarahemla, Zeniff's expedition, Ammon's expedition, and
Limhi's expedition?  (I'm trying to draw a picture of what
might had happened)
I homeschool my son and we also study the BOM.
Thank you,
____

Answer:

Dear ____

I will put this page on the internet as my provider does not allow graphics
the size that might be necessary.  Then I will post this page on my sight and
you can read it there.  I hope I haven't been too long in answering.

The following graphic is taken from one of the LDS Church's study manuals of
the Book of Mormon.  It is a very good picture of what journey's occurred
between Zarahemla and Nephi.

The one journey not shown in this illustration is that of the Mosiah I
Exodus which would have been similar to Moses leading the Children of Israel
out of Egypt.  Mosiah first led those Nephites who would heed God's warning
out of the Land of Nephi where the Temple that Nephi built would have been.
Mosiah came to the Land of Zarahemla finding the people of Mulek there and
they joined together.

Concerning the Six travels illustrated:

1) The Ill-fated Expedition - During the Wars with the Lamanites during the
reign of King Benjamin, the Nephite victories where very decisive and the
Nephites took courage that they could easily defeat the Lamanites.(Omni 1:24)
A large and strong man led an expedition into the Land of Zarahemla desiring
to retake the lands of Nephi by force.  Zeniff was part of this first
expedition and was used as a spy to size up the enemy.  Zeniff witnessed that
which was good of the Lamanite life, of their family life and the love of
the husband for his wife and their love for their children. Zeniff's
heart was soften and he came back from his spying and reported that he did
not desire to kill the Lamanites to get the land back.  Instead he suggested
that they deal with the Lamanites for the land.  This caused a disagreement
and a battle ensued leaving only 50 of this first expedition alive.
(Omni 1:27-30)

(It took Zeniff's expeditions many days travel to reach the Land of
Nephi from the Land of Zarahemla.)

2) Zeniff was still very desirous to return to the land of his fathers the
Nephites.  He persuaded many more people to join him in a second 'peaceful'
attempt to return and repossess a portion of the Land of Nephi.  This they did
and the Lamanites agreed.  The Lamanite King wanted to accept the Nephi
return to eventually enslave the Nephites to the Lamanites.  Zeniff did not
know this so he was happy to agree.  Zeniff became the first King of the
Nephites who returned.(Mosiah 9:1-10)

6) The 43. After Zeniff's death, Noah his son became King.  Noah was wicked
and during his reign the Nephites became subjected to the Lamanites and King Noah
was killed.  Limhi, Noah's son, became the next King and under the duress of being
subjected to the Lamanites he sent out an expedition of 43 men in search of
Zarahemla in hope of returning to Zarahemla to escape the Lamanite bondage.
These 43 men by-passed Zarahemla.  In terms of the illustration, it
arbitrarily shows them  by-passing Zarahemla to the east.  In terms of
the thought of Elder George Reynolds that the Magdalena River of the country
of Colombia is the Sidon river of the Book of Mormon, it is more likely
that the 43 man expedition would have passed to the west of the Sidon River
or Magdalena River Valley and traveled the Cauca River Valley in error and on
up into the Land of Desolation by the Narrow Neck of Land which would have
been the Isthmus of Darien.  In the land of the Jaredites they found the
24 plates of gold of Ether.  The Book of Mormon is very abridged and we do
not have the details of the inspiration of this expedition's leader that
may have led them to locate the plates of Ether.  This group had been gone
for so many months that they had been given up for dead.  When they did
return with the stories of the destruction they had found in the Land of
Desolation of the Jaredites, the conclusion was that the Land of Zarahemla
no longer existed and they where now the only Nephites left. (Mosiah 8)

7) Ammon's expedition - This Ammon was a Jew being descended from Zarahemla.
It appears that some of those with Zeniff where of the people of Mulek who
also came to repossess the Land of Nephi as Ammon came to find his brethren.  \
It took Ammon's group 40 days to find the Land of Nephi.  (Mosiah 7/8)

8) Limhi's escape was effected by God's instrument, Gideon. And Ammon would
have been able to help lead Limih's people back. Many of Limhi's people would
have followed Gideon into the Valley of Gideon and would have built and lived
in what became known as the City of Gideon.  Others may have traveled to
the land of Ammonihah in the next valley west of the Valley of Sidon.  There
they reverted to their 'priestcraft' of the Order of Nehors and were part of
fulfilling Abinadi's prophecy concerning Noah's people. (The city of Noah was
a 'twin' city of Ammonihah.)

9) Alma's escape was a miracle from God, and Alma would have been led by God's
inspiration.  Alma's family remained and lived in Zarahemla.  As for Alma's
people, no clear site is indicated where they may have located, perhaps Melek.

(The exact sites of the Book of Mormon lands are subject to opinion and the LDS Church states no known sites. Some like to argue where the sites are and propose that no other sites than Central America can logically be proposed. Early Church leaders have not taken such a position of limiting the lands to Central America and neither do I. I do find support for my thoughts in similar thoughts of others. Some of these I have sited in some of my Book of Mormon Articles found on my Book of Mormon Page.)

4)Location of Zarahemla - On the west of the River Sidon in the River Sidon
(Magdalena) Valley.

Location of Waters of Mormon & Helam - Instead of east of the Land of Nephi as
arbitrarily illustrated in the graphic, I would suggest north of the Land of
Nephi beyond the borders of the Land of Nephi.  And I would suggest that
Helam was even further north in the Land of Ecuador and closer to Zarahemla.
It is of interest that the area of the Waters of Mormon is far enough removed
and occupied a large enough area to be denoted as its own Land, the Land of the
Waters of Mormon.

Land of Desolation - Central America, beginning just north of the Isthmus of
Darien. This is were is found the many cement and stone structures of the
Nephites when they went in to possess the land north and there was no trees
with which to build which was their normal manner of construction in the Land
of Zarahemla.

3/5)Land of Nephi - Northern Peru associated with the early Chavin culture
during the time of Nephi and of the Moche during the times of joint occupation
of the days of Zeniff - Limhi.

Narrow Neck - Isthmus of Darien as prescribed as Lehi's Landing site according
to the Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith (ToTPJS page 267).

I hope this helps. - Don