How should we assess proposed locations for Zarahemla?

Omni describes Mosiah’s people coming from the land of Nephi and encountering Zarahemla’s people. Alma relates Zarahemla to Sidon and other lands, and Alma 22 gives broader north–south and sea boundaries. None gives modern coordinates.

You pulled together the migration account and relative geography while keeping them distinct from a modern site identification.

Alma 22 names the Mississippi as Sidon and gives Zarahemla’s modern location.

Alma 22 describes relative geography but never names a modern river or country. A proposed Sidon identification needs independent support.

No. It directs Saints to build a city across from Nauvoo and name it Zarahemla. That establishes a nineteenth-century namesake, not an explicit claim that the ancient city stood there.

You recognized the wording as a naming instruction and avoided turning it into a claim the revelation does not make.

Yes. Because Joseph used the name Zarahemla, he revealed that Iowa was the ancient city.

A place-name can honor a scriptural name without identifying its ancient location. The revelation does not say the sites are the same.

Sorenson argues that Santa Rosa in Chiapas fits important textual and regional relationships. That is a published correlation, not a confirmed inscription or Church identification of the ancient city.

You acknowledged the model’s actual argument and kept its evidentiary status clear.

Santa Rosa has been archaeologically proven to be Zarahemla.

The published proposal does not establish an artifact or inscription identifying Santa Rosa by the Book of Mormon name.

A secure archaeological context with dates matching the text, plus independent evidence tying the site’s name, geography, or history to Zarahemla. The comparison should be as demanding as the case for locating Jerusalem.

You named evidence that could discriminate among models rather than counting general similarities as identification.

Any ancient city, fortification, or large population would prove the location.

Those features are common across many ancient societies. They do not identify a specific city without dateable, independent links.