This post is a summary of the article “Accessing Nephi’s Bountiful: A New Proposal for Reaching Irreantum” by Warren P. Aston in Volume 62 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. All of the Interpreting Interpreter articles may be seen at https://interpreterfoundation.org/category/summaries/. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter series is available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought/.
The Takeaway
Aston proposes that Lehi’s group may have had the option of traveling to Bountiful through the shorter and narrower—but perhaps more easily traversed—Wadi Kharfot, in addition to the lengthier and broader Wadi Sayq.
The Summary
In this article, Warren P. Aston provides a brief proposal regarding access to the Khor Kharfot site, one of the leading candidates for Nephi’s Bountiful. As shown from the satellite view, there are two wadis that lead from the inland plateau down into Khor Kharfot: (1) Wadi Sayq, which provides a long, broad path for an approach from the west, and (2) Wadi Kharfot (meaning “Abundance of fruit] Valley), which is shorter (7.5 miles) and narrower.
Both wadis converge just over a mile from Khor Kharfot and each offers workable access to Khor Kharfot in a way that obscures a view of the ocean, potentially allowing for a dramatic reveal of the valley’s abundance as Lehi’s group arrived at the site. Yet they make for very different approaches to the sea, whether in terms of physical structure (with Kharfot having a shallower initial descent than Sayq) or natural function (Sayq provides drainage for dozens of tributaries, meaning it’s more likely than Kharfot to have water flow in connection with monsoon rains, and it has more rock debris).
As Aston notes:
“…the sparse details of the arrival at Bountiful recorded by Nephi do not favor either of the two wadis… [Yet] realities on the ground—most still visible today—thus continue to inform our quest to probe these sacred records. They bring us closer to a fuller appreciation of what is surely one of the longest and most consequential journeys in history.”
The Reflection
The fact that we can explore a physical site that has a solid chance of having borne Lehi and Nephi’s sandaled feet is one of the coolest parts of Restoration scholarship. I will greedily consume every satellite image that finds its way into the pages of Interpreter, and no one can dissuade me otherwise. I appreciate the hard work and personal and financial sacrifice that goes into even short articles like this one, and wish Aston the best of luck in his continued explorations.
