What is the "east wind" in the Book of Mormon? Why would it have struck terror into King Noah's people? On the surface, Abinadi's warning that the people would "reap the east wind which bringeth immediate destruction" (Mosiah 7:31) sounds almost forgettable. But this detail turns out to be one of the most quietly powerful pieces of evidence for the Book of Mormon's ancient origins.
In this episode, Jasmin, Neal, and Stephen unpack a fascinating paper by BYU professor Kerry Hull titled "An East Wind: Old and New World Perspectives," published in the volume Abinadi: He Came Among Them in Disguise (Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University). The east wind in the Hebrew Bible is consistently used as an instrument of divine judgment — drying out crops, bringing locusts, parting seas, and famously blighting the wheat in Pharaoh's dream. It's a wind of destruction, even when biblical authors apply it to regions where the geographical direction wouldn't literally make sense.
But the real surprise comes when you cross over to the New World. Among the Yucatec, Zeltal, and Zotzil Maya, "evil winds" were believed to be punishments sent by the gods, with the east wind singled out as especially destructive — the Zotzil and Zeltal literally calling it "fiery wind." John Sorensen documented a Zeltal prayer that almost mirrors Abinadi's prophecy: "let no hail come, let no wind come, let no locusts come." That's the exact constellation of calamities listed in Mosiah 12:6.
The geography deepens the case. In highland Guatemala; where most Mesoamerican Book of Mormon models place the city of Lehi-Nephi — a hot northeast wind clashing with humid Pacific air actually produces hailstorms, and locusts naturally migrate down from the nearby Motagua River Valley. Jerry Grover has also connected Abinadi's prophecy to Mayan New Year rites, where year bearers were tied to specific cardinal directions and warnings of famine, locusts, war, and the violent death of a ruler were part of the ritual prophetic tradition.
===Informed Saints Credits===
Produced by The Ancient America Foundation
Producer: Spencer Clark
Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye
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Read the full volume: Abinadi: He Came Among Them in Disguise at the BYU Religious Studies Center
Sources discussed:
Kerry Hull, "An East Wind: Old and New World Perspectives"
John Sorensen, An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon and Mormon's Codex
Jerry Grover, Evidence of the Nehor Religion in Mesoamerica
John W. Welch, scholarship on Pentecost and Abinadi's trial
Further Readings Links:
https://rsc.byu.edu/abinadi/east-wind
https://scripturecentral.org/knowhy/why-did-abinadi-warn-the-people-of-an-east-wind
https://scripturecentral.org/archive/books/book-chapter/abinadi-andpentecost
https://scripturecentral.org/archive/media/chart/did-abinadi-prophesy-against-king-noah-pentecost
https://interpreterfoundation.org/journal/nephite-daykeepers-ritual-specialists-in-mesoamerica-and-the-book-of-mormon
Study deeply. Believe boldly.
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Chapters
(00:00:00) - The East Wind: An Ancient Phenomenology
(00:00:34) - Where Does The East Wind Show Up in The Old Testament?
(00:06:41) - Bad Wind: The East Wind
(00:12:38) - The East Wind in The Book of Mormon
(00:16:13) - Isaiah 7:1-2 New Year Prophecies
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