Lehi and El Niño: A Method of Migration

The acceptance of ad hoc ideas on Book of Mormon geography has been a continuing problem in Church history, and for a very good reason. Specifics are generally lacking, and attempts to quantify missing geographic data are frequently met with considerable skepticism. Some Church members find it equally difficult to accept the suggestion that naturally occurring events played a role in anything that is more easily explained by supernatural activity. Fully cognizant that addressing either subject is analogous to welcoming the African killer bees across the southern borders of our country, I offer a new idea on Lehi's transoceanic voyage, an idea that is firmly rooted in recent atmospheric and oceanographic observations.