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A popular argument among Great Lake theorists, is the Promised Land theory. The Book of Mormon states several times that the land which they were led to, was the “promised land”, or a “choice land”.

The Book of Mormon mentions barley several times[1] but was thought for years that it was not introduced to the Americas until brought by the Europeans. “’In 1887 M.T.

One of the criteria which The Book of Mormon requires of its lands, is that they must have the correct climate. Dr. Lund’s book Mesoamerica and The Book of Mormon: Is this the Place? does a great job in describing the weather conditions we should see when looking for these lands, and concludes that it is just not possible for a North American setting to be the correct setting for The Book of Mormon.

There are some Times and Seasons articles frequently cited as evidence for the proposition that Church leaders were not opposed to including Central America in a potential Book of Mormon geography.  Rod Meldrum has argued (correctly) that two of these articles were likely not written by Joseph Smith.  Has also argued, (I believe incorrectly) that this was done without Joseph's knowledge or consent because the Prophet was in hiding.  The historical problems with this view are laid out here.

Barley Found in the New World 

by Raymond C. Treat