Is the Book of Mormon a historical account?

Some or all Latter-day Saints believe that the Book of Mormon contains a historical account of God's  dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the American continents - specifically the group of people referred to as the Nephites and Lamanites.

Before discussing the archaeological aspect, let's discuss some purported events recorded in the Book of Mormon and compare it with a biblical timeline.

There is a Book of Mormon video - "The Lord Commands Lehi's Family to Leave Jerusalem."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edg-0hAM3iA

It depicts Jerusalem in a state of calm as Lehi begins to preach.

Here's a brief summary of some Book of Mormon chapters.

- The introduction notes of 1 Nephi 1 says "The Lord warns Lehi to depart out of the land of Jerusalem, because he prophesieth unto the people concerning their iniquity and they seek to destroy his life".

- 1 Nephi 2 – Lehi leaves Jerusalem in the first year of Zedekiah’s reign. The Introduction notes for 3 Nephi 1 says, "And Helaman was the son of Helaman, who was the son of Alma, who was the son of Alma, being a descendant of Nephi who was the son of Lehi, who came out of Jerusalem in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, the king of Judah".

This heading is also found in the 1830 version of the Book of Mormon. See the Joseph Smith Papers.

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/book-of-mormon-1830/458#XB17B2C90-A617-41D2-9005-C2A294C923DF

- 1 Nephi 3 – Nephi and his brothers return to Jerusalem to get their gold, silver, and other precious items in order to barter for brass plates from Laban. They are denied the plates, their treasures are confiscated and they flee out of Jerusalem and back into the wilderness.

- 1 Nephi 4 – They return again to Jerusalem and are successful in retrieving the plates after Laban is killed. They leave Jerusalem in haste for fear of being captured by Laban's servants.

- 1 Nephi 7 – They return to Jerusalem again and get Ishmael and his household. In 1 Nephi 7:6, some of Ishmael's household, together with some of Nephi's brothers, rebel and wish to return to the land of Jerusalem. 1 Nephi 16:36 mentions that the daughters of Ishmael wanted to return to Jerusalem.

- 1 Nephi 17:21 – One of Lehi’s sons says they would have been happier and enjoyed their possessions if they had only remained in Jerusalem.

- Jerusalem was said to have been destroyed immediately after Lehi left Jerusalem (2 Nephi 25:10).

When I read Jeremiah's account in the Bible and apply it to what is written in the Book of Mormon, Lehi and family were totally oblivious to all the Babylonian activity in and around Jerusalem. They seem more fearful of Laban and his servants. In Lehi's case, we see that he was concerned about attempts for the Jews to kill him, but no concern about being killed or being taken captive by the invading Babylonian soldiers. Neither is there any concern about how tough life was due to the Babylonian siege in the years of King Jehoiachin before Zedekiah even comes to the throne (2 Kings 24:10-17).

Daniel 1:1-2 says, "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god".

This is before the time Lehi and his family are supposedly still living in Jerusalem, prior to their departure. They are living in a time of death and destruction.

In regards to his sons and Ishmaels daughters, it's puzzling how they would think their life would be better in Jerusalem as opposed to freedom in the desert when Jerusalem is being ransacked, people are being killed, and possibly women are being raped - before Zedekiah comes to the throne (2 Kings 23 and 2 Kings 24).

Jerusalem was destroyed immediately after Lehi left Jerusalem as the church mentions in the notes section of 3 Nephi 1 and as the Book of Mormon mentions in 2 Nephi 25:10. This destruction occurred some time after Jeremiah was imprisoned (in the tenth year of Zedekiah's reign; Jeremiah 32). In Jeremiah 39, we see that the walls of Jerusalem were breached in the 11th year of Zedekiah's reign so there is no way that Jerusalam
was immediately destroyed when Lehi is said to have left in the first year of Zedekiah.

According to the Book of Mormon, Mulek was the only surviving son of King Zedekiah of Jerusalem (Helaman 8:21). He and his group also supposedly left Jerusalem for "America" and intermarried with the population of Nephites and Lamanites. But the Bible shows none of this sons remained alive (2 Kings 25:7; Jeremiah 39:6).

The prophet Jeremiah would depict the Book of Mormon characters (Lehi, his family, and others who supposedly left Jerusalem to escape God's judgment) as the evil figs (Jeremiah 24:1-10).

God’s plan was for the Israelites to go into Babylonian captivity. Not even Daniel or Ezekiel escape. Let’s examine some key passages in the Bible to show that there was no exodus to freedom instead of being taken captive to Babylon.

“And afterward, saith the Lord, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy. And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.” (Jer. 21:7-9).

“Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good” (Jer. 24:5).

See also Jeremiah 27:8-20, 29:4-19 and 38:2.

Some articles report to make the case for or against archaeological evidence.

- http://www.mrm.org/bofm-archaeology

- https://www.mormonstories.org/home/truth-claims/the-book-of-mormon/archaeology-and-the-book-of-mormon/

- https://www.dialoguejournal.com/articles/book-of-mormon-archaeology-the-myths-and-the-alternatives/

- https://www.faithmatters.org/p/historicity-and-the-book-of-mormon

- https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/archive/publications/archaeological-evidence-and-the-book-of-mormon

- http://www.fairlds.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ash-Archaeology_and_the_Book_of_Mormon.pdf


But just to give you an example, Michael R. Licona, author of "Behold, I Stand At The Door And Knock" wrote this:

"Hill Cumorah is located in New York, southeast of Rochester. Joseph Smith claimed that when Moroni appeared to him, he was told that Moroni’s father, Mormon, buried the gold plates upon which the Book of Mormon was based on the hill Cumorah just before the great final battle there (Mormon 6:6). In the Pearl of Great Price, Smith writes that the day after his second vision, he went to a large hill outside of the village where his family lived (the hill Cumorah) and found the gold plates.  This identifies the hill where Smith dug up the plates as the same hill where Mormon buried them and where the great battle took place. 

In Mormon 6:10-15, it is claimed that hundreds of thousands of people were killed on or near the hill Cumorah during that final battle. It says that “their flesh, and bones, and blood lay upon the face of the earth, being left by the hands of those who slew them to molder upon the land, and to crumble and to return to their mother earth” (Mormon 6:15). In other words, their bodies were left there, unburied.

To help you understand the magnitude of casualties at hill Cumorah, let’s consider another major battle. During the Battle of Gettysburg of the American Civil War there were 55,000 soldiers wounded, 6,000 of them killed on the battlefield and 4,000 more whose wounds were mortal. Eyewitnesses said that there was so much blood from the dead and injured that there were parts of the battlefield that seemed like streams of blood. So many men and horses died that all could not be buried at once and many corpses were left on the battlefield until a few days later when others were hired to do the task.

If 6,000 men died on the battlefield at Gettysburg, what would a battlefield look like with hundreds of thousands dead? Since they were left unburied at hill Cumorah, wouldn’t there be some artifacts made of metal and stone? Bullets by the thousands are found at Gettysburg. Nothing however has been found at hill Cumorah.

University of Rochester palaeontologist and stratigrapher Carl Brett has worked in the Palmyra, New York area where hill Cumorah is located and is familiar with the hill and its geologic conditions. He says that if hundreds of thousands were slaughtered at the hill and not buried, there would still be skeletal remains on the surface today, even after 1,600 years. Scavengers and weather conditions would account for why much is gone, but there would still be quite enough left to look at. Metallic artifacts from weapons and armor would also be easily found.  But nothing has ever been found at hill Cumorah."

Add to this all the people and cities that were destroyed before the risen Christ supposedly appeared to the Nephites.