This is the city of Gadiandi. Due to the practice of naming a land by the same name as the city, it is presumed to also be the land of Gadiandi. There is no clear location for the city of Gadiandi. The city lies next to the city of Gadiomnah. Being sunk into the ground destroyed the city of Gadiandi. This is the same fate as the city of Moronihah and the land southward. Using Occam’s Razor, this would put the city of Gadiandi also somewhere near the land of Moronihah and the land southward. The term 'gad' is the root of Gadiandi and means a band or troop and is commonly used in conjunction with robbers. The wilderness was the home of the robbers in the Book of Mormon. Using the Nephite practice of naming a city after the person that establishes the city and inferring that a robber would likely be named Gadiandi, the city could be located in the wilderness. This last premise is very unsubstantiated, but it still indicates that by using Occam’s Razor, locating the city of Gadiandi in the wilderness in proximity to the land of Moronihah and the land southward requires the fewest assumptions based on the information available.
Commentaries (
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III NEPHI 4:34 [9:8]: And behold, the city of Gadiandi, and the city of Gadiomnah, and the city of Jacob, and the city Gimgimno, all these have I caused to be sunk, and made hills and valleys in the places thereof,
Commentary: This verse references the places of Gadiandi, Gadiomnah, Gimgimno, and Jacob. They are listed in geographic order and each city shares a border with the others listed next to it. The cities are not near the seashore since the sea did not destroy them. The city of Moronihah and the land southward also met the same fate. Using Occam's Razor, these cities could be in proximity of the city of Moronihah and the land southward.
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