Nephi’s “Shazer”:
The Fourth Arabian Pillar of the Book of Mormon

There are 7 thoughts on “Nephi’s “Shazer”: The Fourth Arabian Pillar of the Book of Mormon”.

1. The good work in Arabia by Warren Aston and others has produced compelling empirical evidence for the veracity of The Book of Mormon, which is accepted by almost all LDS scholars, and members who are aware of it. This work also demonstrates that the Lord inspired His prophets to include in the text all of the clues required for us to know all of the major locations of The Book of Mormon, from Costa Rica, to Central Guatemala, to Northern Mexico, to the Mississippi River, to the Midwest and East Coasts of the United States, and to the State of New York. This kind of meticulous work of matching the text to the facts on the ground, if applied without sundry false assumptions, can produce the same compelling empirical evidence in the North American Continent as it has done in Arabia.

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2. Warren Aston, you did it again! More great investigation, exploration, research and reason. Four pillars established and mission accomplished.

   Your next mission, should you choose to accept it, is to go to center of the west coast of Costa Rica and find the remains of the temple built by Lehi and family upon their arrival in the Promised Land. This temple will be similar to the one they built during their stay in the Arabian Bountiful and will be located near the sea and above a river emptying into the sea. According to the US Geological Survey, this is the only location along the west coast of North America where gold, silver and copper are found all within a radius of 30 miles (1 Nephi 18:25).

   This message will self-destruct if you choose to ignore it.

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   • Mr. Brandley, I would be interested to know where you got your information on Costa Rica and it’s mineral deposits. Jim Warr

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     • Jim Warr,

       When I did this research in 2007, the known mineral deposit location maps were located at http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/country/latin.html#mx However, these maps are no longer at that URL. I have emailed the USGS to help me recover them and will get back to you on their response.

       Costa Rica has all the other features Nephi described (1 Nephi 18:24-25). They planted all their seeds in the earth and they “did grow exceedingly.” Costa Rica has fertile soil and 150 inches (3.8 m) of rainfall per year. It is interesting that the almond tree is indigenous to the Levant and is mentioned ten times in the Old Testament, but the almond is also considered to be native to Costa Rica. In Costa Rica the almond tree is larger, but the fruit appears and tastes almost identical. After 2500 years growing wild in an entirely different climate, I think it could have mutated to that extent to adapt. A plant geneticist could probably analyze the differences and determine that. Perhaps there are other plants in Costa Rica that could have originated in the Levant?

       The most probable point for Lehi and his family to land would have been on the lush coastal strip where the fresh water of the Rio Grande Tárcoles River flows into the Gulf of Nicoya, near the present town of Tárcoles. When Lehi left Jerusalem, the first place he camped was beside a river of fresh water where it emptied into the Red Sea. The place Lehi sailed from was a fruitful valley near the sea they called Bountiful. When they landed in the Promised Land, they surely would have settled along a fresh-water river, not far from the sea. They may have sailed a short distance up the Rio Grande Tárcoles and found a good settlement site on the rich flat soil on the north bank of the river. After eight years in the desert and traveling more than half-way around the world by sea, the tropical paradise of Costa Rica would have been an unimaginable fulfillment of the promised blessing to Lehi and his family.

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     • James,

       After contacting USGS they finally provided me with the links to the following:

       Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) By Commodity

       https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/map-commodity.html

       It is an interactive map where you can select the mineral you are looking for anywhere in the world. It is greatly improved from what I was using twelve years ago. Here is a link to an area about 25 miles from my suggested Lehi Landing Site:

       Quebrada Curtiembre Prospect
       Occurrence in San Jose, Costa Rica with commodities Lead, Zinc, Copper, Silver, Gold

       https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10090473

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3. Another great contribution to our realistic knowledge about the Book of Mormon. I love your work, mate.

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4. Good and informative research. Keep up the good work Warren.

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