ROUTE TRAVELED BY LEHI AND HIS COMPANY

The Compendium, a little book by Franklin D. Richards and James A. Little, was originally published in England, 1857. This edition makes no reference to the route followed by Lehi and his company. All American editions, however, beginning with 1882, contain the following:

"Lehi's Travels—Revelation to Joseph the Seer. The course that Lehi and his company traveled from Jerusalem to the place of their destination:

"They traveled nearly a south, southeast direction until they came to the nineteenth degree of north latitude; then, nearly east to the Sea of Arabia, then sailed in a southeast direction, and landed on the continent of South America, in Chili, thirty degrees south latitude."

This statement has gained wide acceptance throughout the Church, and has even been copied by various writers. Its authenticity, however, is subject to grave doubt, as witness the following:

The only known source of authority upon which it rests is a single sheet of manuscript presented to the Church Historian's office, in 1864, by Ezra G. Williams, son of Frederick G. Williams, at one time counselor to Joseph Smith in the First Presidency. On one page of the manuscript are some supposedly Book of Mormon characters, and on the other a faulty copy of the revelation printed as section seven of the Doctrine and Covenants, together with the statement that appears in the Compendium, with the exception that it lays no claim to being a revelation, neither dees it mention the name of the Prophet as its author. Thus the following caption, as it appears in the Compendium, "Lehi's Travels—Revelation to Joseph the Seer," is not present in the original manuscript.

In summary, the most that can be said with certainty of the manuscript statement is that it bears good evidence of having been written by the hand of Frederick G. Williams. He himself, however, gives no indication of the identity of its author; neither does he claim it to be of divine origin.

The Church has issued no information concerning the route followed by Lehi and his company. Until this is done, teachers of the Gospel Doctrine department should refrain from expressing definite opinions.

Frederick J. Pack.

Chairman Gospel Doctrine Committee.

(Note. The present associate editor of The Instructor was one day in the office of the late President Joseph F. Smith when some brethren were asking him to approve a map showing the exact landing place of Lehi and his company. President Smith declined to officially approve of the map, saying that the Lord had not yet revealed it, and that if it were officially approved and afterwards found to be in error, it would affect the faith of the people.—Asst, Editor.)