THE FRAMEWORK FOR BOOK OF MORMON GEOGRAPHY is set forth in Alma 22, in which Mormon describes the way the land was divided between the Nephites and the Lamanites. He is writing several hundred years in the future, looking back on the events as a historian providing an overall perspective.

Alma 22 can be confusing because we are not accustomed to the method Mormon used to describe the various lands. Plus, the current chapter and verse divisions make the text a little more confusing than it should be. (In the next chapter I suggest two changes that would help, although I realize we can't change the chapters and verse at this point.)

One point to keep in mind is that Mormon describes the overall picture of Nephite and Lamanite lands in the first section, then he focuses particular region of Nephite territory (Bountiful and Desolation) before coming back to summarize the overall picture.

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Parallel terms are underlined for convenience. In my proposed structure below, I've also bolded the word which because of its importance to the structure and meaning of the passage. In this format, each of the which clauses modifies the original focus of the passage-the extent of the king's land. Together, they describe an oval or a rectangle. This clarifies the meaning of the text and produces a general overview of the geography in The Book of Mormon.