Lehi in the Wilderness -- if the title sounds familiar, it is alarmingly close to a Hugh Nibley work, Lehi in the Desert. Given their fondness for Dr. Nibley, I wouldn't be surprised if their choice of title was in effect a tip of the hat to the elder statesman of Book of Mormon apologetics.

The current work chronicles the authors' quest for the land described in 1 Nephi. This quest required years of work and a tremendous amount of work and money. One cannot help but admire the tenacity of the researchers.

However, the authors sent my critical antenna on end with the very first sentence of the Introduction:

We believe we have proven that the first book of Nephi is a true history. (xi)

It may be just me, but any time someone uses the word "prove" in any of its forms, my immediate reaction is that this someone has committed the cardinal sin of overstatement. Can 1 Nephi actually be "proven" to be "true history"? This is an enormous burden to meet. Whether they meet this burden is yet to be determined..

The journey that led to the discovery of Lehi's trail did not start out that way. Potter was accompanying friends who were seeking the true location of Mt. Sinai. His discoveries concerning Arabia as the land traversed by Lehi and his family were serendipitous, and, in his mind, providential. He would later call on Wellington to join him and assist in documenting the search.

Chapter 1, "Discovering the Valley of Lemuel," traces the first steps of their journey. As mentioned, they didn't start out trying to find Lehi's trail. But as each new area opened to their view, and as each piece of research provided new clues, the authors grew more and more certain that the "proof" of the historicity of 1 Nephi had indeed been found.

As they tell their tale, the authors display a keen and very welcome sense of humor. An example:

...our small party stopped at a Bedouin camp to pick up rifles in case these Bedouin young men spotted wolves or rabbits. The tribesmen hunted both animals for food. Here, they we joined by another Toyota Landcruiser with an older Bedouin at the wheel and a concerned looking goat staring at us through the back window. Both driver and goat had long beards. We agreed that it must be a very pious goat. (p. 2)

This sense of humor would manifest throughout the story.

Chapter 2, "Jerusalem and the Way of the Wilderness," recounts the history of Judah leading up to the fall of Jerusalem, and describes what the authors feel Lehi's family's flight from Jerusalem must have been like. In discussing "the wilderness," the authors state:

The recent discovery of the remains of a church at Wadi el-Kharrar, marking the place where both Elijah was caught up into heaven (2 Kings 2:11-13), and also the place where John the Baptist ministered, would seem to add weight to that hypothesis that the area to the east of Jerusalem, beyond the Jericho plain, was, in fact, "the wilderness." (p. 21)

This citation serves as an example of the uneven nature of this book. Although reference to this "discovery" is footnoted, the footnote offers no information on the discovery, only that excavations in the area continue. Any tourist in the Middle East will testify that there is no end to the number of historical sites for which biblical claims are made. Can anyone really say that Elijah was caught up into heaven at the very place the authors were standing? Of course not. And yet, the "discovery" of this place is afforded some weight in the development of their thesis.

Chapter 3, "The River of Laman and Valley of Lemuel," describes the process by which the authors determined that an area known as wadi Tayyib al-Ism is, in fact, the location of the Valley of Lemuel, the place where Lehi and his family camped after their flight from Jerusalem. With near clinical precision, the authors recount Nephi's description of the valley, and demonstrate how this location fits Nephi's description to a tee. They go so far as to analyze Lehi's dream, thought to have been shaped by his surroundings, and identify elements of the landscape that correspond to the contents of the dream, including a rock structure that may have served as the model for the Great and Spacious Building.

It may be my natural skepticism, but it seems to me that two questions arise:

1. Is it possible that true believers can look upon a physical scene and see, not what's there, but what they want to see?

2. Even if the physical surroundings are an exact match, does this mean that this scene is the *only* match? Would it not have been more fitting to describe the area as a *possible* location of the Valley of Lemuel?

Occasionally, the authors show commendable caution in announcing their conclusions: While surveying a mountain in the area, they discover remnants of what may have been an ancient altar:

At this point in our research, we believe that we have found an ancient monument in the wadi Tayyib al-Ism that could have been an altar. However, we cannot be certain that this or any other of the monuments we found were ancient altars. (p. 40)

The words "we cannot be certain" seem the operant phrase here. And they might well have been inserted throughout the entire book, lending credibility to their findings.

Chapter 4 is titled "Lehi's Trail to Southern Arabia." In this chapter, the authors make their case for identifying the "Frankincense Trail" as the best candidate for the path Lehi and his family travelled. Herein may be found an interesting study of what we know about ancient trading practices. There is much good information here, presented in a lively and readable style.

The authors once again demonstrate a good sense of humor as they recount their own experiences travelling the Trail. There is a real sense of humanity in the telling of their tale. They have an eye out for the humorous side of the story.

Here we find another point of discontinuity in the telling of the story. An example: on page 61, the authors begin an extensive list of evidences that the Frankincense Trail is indeed the trail followed by Lehi and his family. "Here is a list of the reasons why it appears that Lehi took the Frankincense Trail all the way to Dhofar." And yet, a few pages earlier (p 57), a full-page color map is offered, showing the Frankincense Trail, and the major towns that mark it, and yet Dhofar is nowhere to be found on this map.

Chapters 5 through 7 continue the story of the journey, bringing us to the arrival at Bountiful As with previous chapters, the text is a mixture of history, current culture, and (sometimes humorous) anecdote. The mix is nice, and makes for a comfortable read. In particular, an episode regarding a broken muffler and a recalcitrant mechanic made me giggle. It pointed to the difficulties of communicating in a tongue not your own.

Once again, however, we encounter that confounded certainty with which the authors write:

Armed with the knowledge that Lehi's caravan traveled the seventy-five miles from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Valley of Lemuel in three days, we felt that; finding Shazer, a fertile valley with many trees, from that point should be easy. We just had to look for an oasis no more than one hundred miles south-southeast of the valley. However, it took us another two years and three more field trips before we could say with certainty that we had found Shazer. (p. 73-4)

I found myself constantly wishing they had been more moderate in their statements. Can anyone really know "with certainty" the location of Shazer?

With chapter 8 we arrive at Bountiful. The narrative is beautifully told, the photos are striking. I enjoyed reading this chapter. However, and I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, the authors make some logical leaps that defy the imagination. This one, I thought, was a real whopper:

The text of the Book of Mormon also appears to support the idea that Bountiful was populated and that the family had interaction with the inhabitants. In 1 Nephi 18:2, Nephi states that his ship was not built "after the manner of men." He also informs us that he "did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men." The clear implication is that Nephi was working within a community that had carpenters and shipbuilders. (p. 124)

Is it just me? Does anyone else find a "clear implication" here? Isn't it at least as likely that Lehi and his family knew some shipbuilders and tradesmen while living near Jerusalem?

Chapter 9, "Discovering Nephi's Harbor," documents the search for the site of the launching of Nephi's ship. With clinical detail, the authors parse the Book of Mormon text and draw conclusions about the ship's size, capacity, etc. It also lists the materials needed for such a construction. The port of Khor Rori, in southern Oman, is selected for this site (p. 152).

The book closes with tributes to Nephi and to Joseph Smith, Jr. Both essays are moving and heartfelt.

There is so much to admire about this book. The dedication and perseverance of the authors are to be commended. Driven by a quest for understanding and clarity, they've devoted time, talent and treasure to their quest for the holy grail of Book of Mormon studies -- the location of Lehi's trail.

I don't remember Cedar Fort producing such a handsome book prior to this. Despite some editing problems ("in the site of Lord," etc.), and some typographic errors, by and large the book is well-edited and lavishly illustrated.

To their credit, the authors understood the need for a balance between scholarship and anecdote. Their journeys yielded some interesting, and often amusing, interactions with the indigenous peoples of the Arabian peninsula, and we get to listen in on some of these discussions.

However, all of this can be overshadowed by their passion for certainty where certainty is not warranted. As most Book of Mormon scholars will agree, the final word on any element of Book of Mormon geography has not yet been written. So much is yet to be learned, it is surely premature to close the book on the Book and dismiss other conclusions.

As distracting as these "certainties" are, the book has merit as it takes the reader through a part of the world not familiar to most. I really can't make a final judgment as to whether I recommend this book or not. It depends on what you're looking for. You may find the authors' conclusions compelling. Frankly, I hope not. I hope that uncertainty continues, for it is uncertainty that drives curiosity, which yields more discoveries and more viewpoints.

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Jeff Needle
September 20, 2003