Mesoamerica and the Book of Mormon's "Narrow Neck of Land"

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Mesoamerica and the Book of Mormon's "Narrow Neck of Land"

Summary: Most Latter-day Saint scholars of the Book of Mormon accept a Mesoamerican setting for the events described in the book. Those scholars believe that the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is the "narrow neck" referred to in the Book of Mormon, which separates the land northward from the land southward. Many question how the Isthmus of Tehuantepec could be the Book of Mormon's "narrow neck" when the Isthmus is 137 miles wide at its narrowest point.

FAIR takes no position on the geography of the Book of Mormon, but we do want to help those seeking a plausible setting for the events described in the Book of Mormon. Issues like these might allow people to dismiss Mesoamerica out of hand. Without a plausible setting for the Book of Mormon's events, people's testimony of the Book of Mormon's divine origins might founder. For this reason, the editors have decided to address two issues that might seem like easy reasons to dismiss the Mesoamerican setting for the Book of Mormon. The first relates to how Mesoamerica is geographically situated and the Book of Mormon's directionality. The second is the one this page responds to.

While scholars do not agree on a specific location for the narrow neck of land today, the proposals that have been given are all defensible. They are well-grounded in the text of the Book of Mormon as well as ancient topography and culture.

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The Narrow Neck of Land in the Context of the Book of Mormon

In the Book of Mormon, the “narrow neck of land” is a geographic feature that functions as a critical connector and boundary within the narrative, separating the “land northward” from the “land southward.” The term appears most explicitly in the Jaredite record, where Ether 10:20 states that the Jaredites “built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land.” In the Nephite record, the same landform is described more indirectly. Alma 22:32 explains that the land southward and the land northward were “nearly surrounded by water,” with a “small neck of land” connecting them, and that the distance across this neck could be traversed “in a day and a half’s journey.” These passages suggest a relatively narrow land connection between two larger regions, flanked by bodies of water, and significant for travel and defense.

Closely related to the narrow neck of land are references to a “narrow pass” or “narrow passage,” which appear to denote more specific routes or chokepoints within or near this broader neck region. For example, Alma 52:9 and Alma 52:17 describe Nephite military efforts to control the “narrow pass which led by the sea, into the land northward,” indicating that access through the neck could be strategically restricted. Mormon 2:29 and Mormon 3:5 similarly place large-scale movements and final defensive efforts near the narrow passage and land northward. Together, these passages portray the narrow neck of land not merely as a geographic curiosity, but as a strategically vital corridor that shaped migration, settlement, and warfare. Within the text itself, therefore, the narrow neck of land is best understood as a transitional region—limited in breadth relative to surrounding lands, associated with nearby seas, and central to the political and military history recorded in the Book of Mormon.

Scholars have provided different proposals to the identity of the "narrow neck."

The Isthmus of Tehuantepec

The first proposal is that the narrow neck is to be identified in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. This proposal is defended by the likes of John Sorenson and Michael R. Ash.

In an article for Deseret News, Ash defends the Isthmus as a promising candidate for the narrow neck of land described in Alma 22:32, despite its substantial width. The article explains that this region plausibly fits several narrative criteria: it is a constricted land connection between larger territories, it lies between significant bodies of water, and travel across part of it could reasonably be a day and a half’s journey for a Nephite if measured from inland delineations rather than strictly from sea to sea. Scholar John Sorenson’s observations about Nephite endurance and Lawrence Poulsen’s identification of local geographic features—such as cliffs and wilderness areas corresponding to Book of Mormon descriptions—provide context that makes the Tehuantepec isthmus a compelling real-world candidate, bolstering efforts by Latter-day Saints to correlate the text with ancient geography.

Panama or southern Costa Rica

In his article “The Narrow Neck of Land” (2008), Andrew H. Hedges reexamines this identification by focusing closely on scriptural descriptions of travel time and distance. He compares the day and day and a half journey references associated with the narrow neck to other distance statements in the Book of Mormon and argues that these passages reflect ordinary, not exceptional, travel speeds. Hedges notes that if standard daylight travel distances are assumed, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec may be too wide to fit comfortably within the text’s constraints—particularly in light of passages that imply relatively rapid east–west movement across the narrow neck. He therefore questions whether Sorenson’s model relies on unusually high travel speeds in order to make the geography fit.

Based on these observations, Hedges suggests that narrower land connections in Central America, particularly in Panama (and possibly southern Costa Rica), may better align with the textual description of a neck of land narrow enough to cross within the stated travel time. These regions feature isthmian stretches closer to 30–50 miles between seas, which Hedges argues may correspond more naturally with the narrative geography.

Importantly, Hedges does not assert a definitive identification of the narrow neck of land. Rather, he emphasizes that alternative candidates should be considered and that geographic correlations should be driven primarily by the internal details of the text rather than by inherited assumptions.

Coastal Shelf of Southeastern Mexico

Joe V. Andersen challenges the common assumption that the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southern Mexico corresponds to the Book of Mormon’s “narrow neck of land.” Building on earlier work by F. Richard Hauck, Andersen argues that this identification relies more on modern geographic analogy than on careful attention to the internal text. He emphasizes that the Book of Mormon distinguishes between a “small” or “narrow neck of land” and an east–west “line” separating the land Desolation from the land Bountiful (Alma 22:32), which functioned as a strategic and defensible boundary repeatedly referenced in the narrative.

Andersen contends that the Isthmus of Tehuantepec does not fit these descriptions because it runs primarily north–south, separates the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of Mexico rather than the lands northward and southward, and lacks an identifiable east–west line running from the west sea as described in the text. Instead, he proposes that the Isthmus more plausibly represents part of the Jaredite land northward, while the “narrow neck of land” itself was a much narrower coastal corridor along the Pacific coast, providing limited access between the lands northward and southward. Andersen does not claim a definitive geographic solution but argues that the Tehuantepec isthmus should not be assumed to be the Book of Mormon narrow neck and that alternative interpretations better aligned with the text deserve serious consideration.

North American/Carribean Plate Boundary

In his study “The Narrow Strip of Wilderness,” Kirk Magleby examines the Book of Mormon’s references to the narrow strip of wilderness—most clearly mentioned in Alma 22:27 but also described under related terms in Alma 22–50—and proposes a detailed geographic correlation grounded in the internal narrative rather than in preconceived modern locations. Magleby argues that the narrow strip of wilderness functioned as the principal boundary between the Nephite and Lamanite lands, running east–west from the east sea to the west sea, separating the greater land of Zarahemla to the north from the greater land of Nephi to the south. He reviews multiple scriptural passages that describe the feature as a wilderness at the head of the river Sidon, the line of possession between Nephites and Lamanites, and the southern boundary of Zarahemla.

Magleby develops 32 criteria for identifying this boundary on modern maps, emphasizing its linear and constricted character, its orientation, and its role as both a natural boundary and a defensible line. He proposes that the narrow strip corresponds to a distinct tectonic boundary feature—the North American/Caribbean plate boundary—which forms a long, relatively narrow band of cliffs and east-west running valleys from present-day Livingston, Guatemala to near Huixtla, Chiapas, Mexico. According to Magleby, this feature satisfies the textual requirements of the Book of Mormon and is consistent with the wilderness characteristics implied in the text: it is narrow relative to its length, lies between major drainage basins, runs from sea to sea, and would have served as a natural defensive barrier and boundary between peoples. He further argues that light ancient occupation patterns along this line are compatible with wilderness terrain described in the narrative.

Magleby's is the most exhaustive and wide-ranging study to date. It's a promising candidate for the Book of Mormon's ancient "narrow neck."

Notes (click to expand)

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