Zarahemla and Iraq: Did the Nephites Really Have 200 Years of Peace? Could We? Critics of the Book of Mormon argue that it is unrealistic to believe that following four centuries of internecine conflict and violent struggle, peoples as warlike as the Nephites and Lamanites could have had two centuries of peace. The Book of Mormon itself provides the most convincing evidence that such peace is attainable. This paper examines the conditions that led up to that long season of peace and explores the reasons why so many generations refused to go to war. Finally, it attempts to draw parallels between Nephite history before, during, and after the coming of Christ to the New World and what is currently happening in the Valley of the Euphrates and how, at the beginning of the 21st century, we can begin shaping the peace that seems so essential.

ROBERT A. REES and BRYON MARTIN