S. Kent Brown has an excellent response to critics who have challenged the significance of finds in the Arabian Peninsula dealing with the place Nahom. His article, “On NAHOM / NHM,” is posted on The Nephi Project.
I’ve noticed some folks afflicted with the dread EXMO virus have been ranting about how ridiculous the evidence from the Arabian Peninsula is (though I appreciate their increased traffic to my site). Most of their comments seem to be verbal eye rolling and otherwise ignoring the issues, but some of the more meaningful comments have raised the possibility that Joseph Smith could have learned about the place Nehem in Arabia from some eighteenth or nineteenth century sources. We will need to add a few more volumes to the vast frontier library of that ultimate scholar, Joseph Smith, to accommodate this theory. Unfortunately, that frontier library remains hypothetical and probably would not have helped even if it existed for, as S. Kent Brown shows, it is unlikely that Joseph could have gained access to this information even if he were a bookworm anxious to learn all he could about Arabia. Even if he were able to acquire all that was available in print to Western scholars of his day, there does not appear to be any way that he could have learned about some of the accurate details in the text, such as the fact that one can turn eastward at Nahom and continue eastward to safely reach Bountiful.
To date, the critics have been unable to explain how so much of First Nephi has become so plausible in recent years. Showing a 1780 map in Europe that has the name Nehem in Arabia does very little to explain the accuracy of Nephi’s journey as described in the Book of Mormon. It does not explain the accurate description of places that our critics have long claimed did not even exist, such as the River Laman and the Valley Lemuel or the place Bountiful. It does not explain the plausibility of details such as the place Shazer or the accurate route that includes a plausible due-east turn at Nahom that bypasses the empty quarter and provides a plausible route to Bountiful. Issues that they raised to discredit the Book of Mormon have now become some of the most impressive evidences supporting the authenticity of the text.
Stay tuned for more! I’m sure the Lord is not interested in absolutely “proving” the Book of Mormon is true and reducing the need for faith at this time, but I am grateful that He has allowed such finds to come forth in this day of intellectual assaults on our faith, and I am grateful to those who have dug into the Book of Mormon and gone to Arabia and other locations to search for clues. I expect additional faith-strengthening insights to come forth, and definitely expect areas of alleged weakness to become strengths as we learn more.
Hey Jeff
Do we have any archeological evidence that Jesus ever lived? Not that I need/want any…just curious. You are right about God only allowing us small bits of evidence. Anyone who understands the principle of faith, and our need to develope it while here on earth, should realize just how devastating/detrimental it would be if someone were to prove the book of mormon was true. If God wanted us to know for sure he would have just left Joseph the plates.
But at the same time, the evidences we do have, are a big help for those who have just planted their little seedlings of faith.
Tom Sanford Bullhead City AZ
Hello Jeff!
I like the other comment.
It is amazing what you find on the web. We typed in Nahom and found alot of postings. I read many and felt a good spirit. Then I read one that tried to discredit the evidence. The spirit changed. With the spirit, it is easy to know what is true and what is not. You can feel it. The facts will eventually come, but they will only confirm what you already knew, through the spirit. There have been many findings in South America and the South Pacific that point to the truthfullness of the Book of Mormon, and there will be more. Unfortunately, even facts are often colored or ignored by critics when they oppose their views. ( Just look at the news everyday.) That is why one must rely on the Holy Ghost who will witness the truth of all things. A testimony of the Book of Mormon and the Bible is gained thru the spirit. The fact that “Jericho” or “Nahom” are where they say they are means little if you don’t learn the spiritual lessons taught and live by them.
L. Aki, Idaho
"Nahom" is not officially endorsed by the Church as evidence of anything, therefore talking about it does not make a person a critic and calling them a critic for discussing the issue is a form of ad hominem attack. If fact, calling those that discuss it a critic is evidence that LDS theology leads down a path of hate and anger. Calling them afflicted with an "EXMO virus", wow, why so unChristlike? I have never seen one call the existence of Nehem in Southwest Arabia "evidence", so have could have anyone called it "ridiculous" evidence? I have seen some overly zealous fundamentalist devout believers bizarrely suggest a stretch of a connection and some skeptics of them request a explanation of what a connection is with no explanation every provided. The need to create a connection though is the real take away and demonstrates that those zealous believers struggle with their faith.