The discovery about phrases that describe water is that there are many ways to describe to water. Water in the Book of Mormon is referred to in a number of ways. Phrases involving water include "river of water," "waters of the river," "many waters," "waters of...," "water of," "bodies of water," "living waters," "great waters," "waters," "pure water," and "place of water." Other types of water mentioned are rivers, fountains, and seas. What are not specifically mentioned are lakes. If lakes are present, one or more of the previous phrases describes them.

So, how is it possible to determine what type of water is being described? Rivers can be identified fairly readily. Rivers, river of water, and waters of the river describe rivers. Fountains have been discussed in another discovery. Seas are referred to as seas, many waters, and great waters, as in I Nephi 5:87 [17:17], "Yea, and he also thinketh that he can cross these great waters." The phrase "many waters" refers to a sea as a single body of water as explained in I Nephi 5:64 [17:5], "And we beheld the sea, which we called Irreantum, which being interpreted is, many waters."[1]

The phrase "waters of" is used to directly reference either a sea or a river. Given that it is used to describe more than one type of water and also places where it is not clear what type of water is being described, it may refer to lakes as well. The term "water of" is singular and used only once to describe the water of Sebus, so there is no clear meaning that can be gleaned from it. The water of Sebus is also referred to as a "place of water" five times, this being another reference in singular form. Given that the Book of Mormon is consistent in the use of plural and singular forms of words, Occam's Razor would indicate it referred to a single water, in other words, a lake. The phrase "waters of Sebus" is also used several times, so these instances would indicate the phrase can also refer to a lake as well as a river and a sea.

This leaves a few phrases that mean something else. The phrase "living waters" is figurative and does not reference water at all, but is described in I Nephi 3:68 [11:25] as meaning the love of God. The phrase "pure water" is used twice as an adjective, once as "fountain of pure water" and once as "land of pure water." Since the phrase does not describe specific bodies of water, it is not useful for determining the geography. The phrase "waters", when used by itself and not as one of the other phrases, is used as a general purpose term. Again, it has no usefulness in determining the geography.

Notes: 1. The Hebrew word for water is "mayim" and is a dual plural form that has no singular form. Translated as a plural form as "waters" can mean a single body of water or multiple bodies of water. English has a few words that also have only a plural form that can mean "one or more" (i.e. deer). Failure to understand the underlying Hebrew meaning of words in the Book of Mormon has led to false interpretations, such as interpreting "waters" as only more than one and never just one.