Proof of the Book of Mormon location is supported by significant evidence in the history of the Great Lakes. You might say, the Great Lakes were Greater than they are now. And the greater “Great Lakes” and their contributories help reveal the Native American peoples in the Book of Mormon.

Significant evidence exists that the Great Lakes were greater than they are now. We will see why Mormon would say that they, “were nearly surrounded by water.” (Alma 22:32) I share a map below from a 1915 Monograph #53 by Frank B. Taylor and Frank Leverett. They were with the US Geological Survey. The map shows that Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and Lake Heron were all combined: this is the “West Sea” in the Book of Mormon. It was enormous; it was more than 500 km across based on the areas of these three lakes as they are today. Lake Algonquin–the “west sea”–was much bigger than that at the time of the Jaredites, Lehites, and the Mulekites.

Lake Algonquin

The Native Americans called it Lake Algonquin. Lake Erie and Lake Algonquin are connected by the St. Clair and Detroit rivers (8 feet of drop in 62 miles, 1.3 ft/mi). Historically then, it seems the “West Sea” was connected to the St. Lawrence River by the Ottawa River. It was called the Algonquin River by the Natives connecting the “West Sea” to the St. Lawrence Sea Way. It is also named after the Algonquin word ‘to trade”—dropping less than 1 foot per mile on its way to the St. Lawrence River and to the Atlantic Ocean. That shipping route avoided Niagra Falls. Lake Erie is named after the Erie Indians, and Lake Ontario is named Lake Iroquois by the Native Americans. One meaning of Iroquois is “Original People,” and their population has strong Israel DNA ties. The “West Sea” was also connected to the Sidon (Mississippi River) and to the Illinois River—dropping only ½ foot per mile.

Algonquin People

The Algonquin population also have strong Israeli DNA ties. From their oral traditions, the Algonquin people had their first landing on the St. Lawrence River near Montreal. Their third landing was near Detroit, which would be close to the Land Bountiful in the Book of Mormon and to Lake Erie. The resurrected Lord first visited the Nephites at the temple in Bountiful. (3 Nephi 11)

One of the meanings of the word Algonquin is interesting:  “They are our relatives/allies.” Sounds like a ZION mentality. Back then, since the Algonquin Lake was not only connected to St. Lawrence via the Ottawa River but also to the Mississippi and the Illinois Rivers, it is no wonder the Mulekites ended up in Zarahemla across from Nauvoo. (D&C 125:3) This is the first place the Mississippi River could be crossed on foot back then, when coming up from the Gulf of Mexico.

Key Migrations Unknown to the World

As best I can I like to look at things as the Lord does in how He orchestrated these key migrations to and from America. He had them keep records so we could learn from them God’s will for them and to be preserved for us. Included in these records are critically important information for our day. Given the above information about the greater “Great Lakes,” let us look at some key migrations and some associated artifacts. I will share the migrations of the Jaredites, Mulekites, Hagoth, and the Mi’kmaq. There is a lot more that could be shared about ancient shipping across the oceans. The book, Atlantic B. C., by Philip Beale is a real eye-opener.

Jaredites

The Jaredites are associated with the Adena culture. Their burials have been found in most of the contiguous 48 states and Canada. Utahna Jessop has a fascinating documentary on this culture: Ancient Giants Erased from History.  They are unique in that their language was not confounded after the Tower of Babel, at their request.  The Lord told them they would be the greatest nation in world history (Ether 1:43). He promised to lead them to a land choice above any other (Ether 1:42). Clearly, this was North America, which they inhabited for about 1,600 years. They were destroyed in a massive civil war ending just west of the Hill Cumorah in western New York.

President Marion G. Romney’s “Destiny of America”

“I will give you a lesson today that the Lord has taken great pains to bring to us… In the western part of the state of New York near Palmyra is a prominent hill known as the “Hill Cumorah.” (Mormon 6:6) On July twenty-fifth of this year [1975], as I stood on the crest of that hill admiring with awe the breathtaking panorama that stretched out before me on every hand, my mind reverted to the events that occurred in that vicinity some twenty-five centuries ago—events which brought to an end the great Jaredite nation.

“As I contemplated this tragic scene from the crest of Cumorah and viewed the beautiful land of the Restoration as it appears today, I cried in my soul, ‘How could it have happened?’ …This second civilization to which I refer, the Nephites, flourished in America between 600 b.c. and a.d. 400. Their civilization came to an end for the same reason, at the same place, and in the same manner as did the Jaredites’.

“Now my beloved brethren and sisters everywhere, both members of the Church and nonmembers, I bear you my personal witness that I know that the things I have presented to you today are true—both those pertaining to past events and those about events yet to come. The issue we face is clear and well-defined. The choice is ours. The question is: Shall we of this dispensation repent and obey the laws of the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, or shall we continue to defy them until we ripen in iniquity?”

The Prophet Moroni Saw or Day More Clearly Than any Other

Moroni saw our day more clearly than any other prophet. The need for North Americans to repent or be “swept off” is critical.

The Prophet Moroni gives us a magnificent and very significant summary of the Jaredites in the Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon. Regarding North America, the Lord gives them and us an extremely important promise:

“And the Lord would not suffer that they should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but he would that they should come forth even unto the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people. And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them. And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity. For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off. And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God—that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.” (Ether 2:7-11)

Mulekites

The Jaredite and Mulekite nations had their passageway to North America through the St. Lawrence seaway and the greater “Great Lakes.” The Lord told both the Jaredites and the Lehites of a Promised Land greater than any other. We see how the Lord kept His promise by providing North America—ameliorating the climate and conditions to make this a blessed land for them. This the Lord did and is doing from Adam down to the “Land of the Free” today. His great promises for them and us are incredibly important today, as we prepare for His coming.

I have heard several talks by my good friend, David Doane. I have had many personal conversations with him as well. He is a fascinating Jewish convert. His research shows that the Mulekites came up the St. Lawrence in Phoenician ships, and established themselves in Zarahemla. Zarahemla is a Phoenician word. The Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith to name the city across from Nauvoo, Ill, Zarahemla (D&C 125:3). The Book of Mormon shares that the river there is called the Sidon, which is the Mississippi River, which is also a Phoenician word. When the Mulekites joined with the Nephites, several Phoenician words appeared in the Book of Mormon text. David Doane explains how and why they came in Phoenician ships.

Wayne May told me of a Phoenician artifact in a museum in Dear Born, MI, found on the shores of Lake Michigan near Chicago. He sent a picture of it to me.

The Vikings had several settlements in eastern Canada where they lived year-round. The petroglyph writings on the cliffs along the waterways from ships coming from northern Europe are much higher than current water levels. So, we know that current water levels are not as they were then.

Glottology

Glottology is the science of linguistics. Brian D. Stubbs states, “Written records unearthed in the Americas have often been labeled as hoaxes. But, languages show specific ties from ancient to modern times, and thousands of the related languages are beyond fabrication. Many people label artifacts as hoaxes because the material does not conform to their paradigm that Hebrew, Christian, and Egyptian relics should not be found in North America.”

John Whitmer, who helped scribe for Joseph Smith, from the small plates in Fayette, NY, copied characters from the small plates. My good friend, Brian Nettles, has been able to translate some of those. They are Demotic Egyptian, which was the language used at the time of Lehi and Nephi’s writings.

Author, David Hocking shares how the Hebrew language links to North America with the numerous Hebrew names ending in “ah.”  Many of these names are also found in the Book of Mormon.

For example: Utah is a Ute Indian word meaning “In the tops of the Mountains,” and ending in “ah.”  So, using the Ute Indian word in Isaiah 2:2-3, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in [Utah] the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.”

The Ten Commandments

I know of three occurrences in North America of ancient Hebrew renditions of the Ten Commandments in what is called “block Hebrew”.  I have a replica of one of those we saw in a museum in Ohio with the inscription and figure of Moses in block Hebrew at the top.

Hagoth

The Book of Mormon tells us of Hagoth, who built several ships and took thousands of people “north”—probably up Lake Algonquin—the “West Sea.” (Alma 63:4-9) And then most probably east down the Ottawa River to the St. Lawrence seaway.

I believe the Mi’kmaq were part of the Hagoth entourage. The Mi’kmaq settled at the mouth and south of the St. Lawrence seaway. The Mi’kmaq have the tradition of Noah’s flood. The Jesuits found them easy converts to Christianity. Wayne May shares that the Jesuits made a prayer book for them in the Mi’kmaq language, which has several characters similar to Demotic Egyptian, and many of them with the same meanings. That prayer book is still used today by the Mi’kmaq people. Demotic Egyptian was spoken at the time Lehi left Jerusalem in 600 B.C. Over 50% of their population’s DNA ties to Israel.

Geologist, Wayne May has shown direct comparisons of Demotic Egyptian with the Mi’kmaq language and some of the characters have the same meanings.

Narrow Neck

One meaning of the Indian word, Niagara, means “Narrow neck.” Because there were significant changes in the land at the time of all the destruction that happened at Christ’s crucifixion. We are not surprised by the evidence that the Great Lakes area was much larger and very different from what it is today.

In the elevation chart below, you see the distance between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario is 35 miles. The distance a Nephite can walk in a day and a half, as it is described in scriptures (Alma 22:32). Clearly, the “narrow neck” is not Panama. My expert friends have more than one possibility for the “narrow neck” in North America as described in the Book of Mormon.

Book of Mormon Heartland

I am on the board of directors for Brian Nettles, BookofMormonHeartLand.com program. Where we are showing “voices from the dust” from artifacts in the Mississippi drainage area. I did a recent podcast for him on one of these amazing artifacts.  These “voices from the dust”, prophesied by Isaiah 28:4, are telling of Christianity in North America and of the infinite atonement described so profoundly in the Book of Mormon.

This elevation chart below of the Great Lakes to the Atlantic is fascinating.

What we know now is that the Straits of Mackinac join Lake Michigan and Heron. They make the largest freshwater lake in the world, 45,300 sq mi (about 120,000 sq km). How awesome it was back then, when Lake Algonquin was much bigger, and important to them for shipping. Mined copper from that area has been found in other parts of the world.

Lake Algonquin Anciently

The US Geological Survey Monograph 53 is titled The Pleistocene of Indiana and Michigan and the history of the Great Lakes. It was authored by Frank Leverett and Frank Bursley Taylor and published in 1915 ¹². The monograph describes the glacial features and the great glacial lakes of a district in Indiana and Michigan lying between the areas covered by Monographs XXXVIII, and XLI. The pre-Wisconsin glacial and interglacial formations are given attention, but the principal subject of discussion is the Wisconsin drift of the Saginaw lobe and the neighboring portions of the Lake Michigan and Huron-Erie lobes.

The links for the above map and elevation chart are here:
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Book of Mormon Heartland

At BookofMormonHeartland.com you will find podcasts sharing “voices from the dust” as the ancient Native Americans tell their story of the resurrected Lord visiting North America and sharing the fullness of the gospel with them. I have been privileged to help with these.

The Book of Mormon Message is True

All of this leads us to know with certainty that the Book of Mormon message is true with Christ being here in North America. Here, He came as a glorified resurrected being sharing the fullness of the gospel. That book is another witness that Jesus is the Christ joining with the Bible. In the Book of Mormon, we learn of God’s perfect and infinite love for us. We learn of His perfect and infinite Atonement amid all our imperfections. We are privileged to live in that day when the Native Americans are now blossoming as a rose. “Voices from the dust” are telling the Book of Mormon story in the heartland of North America. These transpirings are in fulfillment of prophecies in preparation for the Lord’s glorious Second Coming.

David W. Allan

Photo: CC Dreamstime