Ether 10:12; “And it came to pass that Morianton built up many cities, and the people became exceedingly rich under his reign, both in buildings, and in gold and silver, and in raising grain, and in flocks, and herds, and such things which had been restored unto them.”
Ether 10:19; “And it came to pass that Lib also did that which was good in the sight of the Lord. And in the days of Lib the poisonous serpents were destroyed. Wherefore they did go into the land southward, to hunt food for the people of the land, for the land was covered with animals of the forest. And Lib also himself became a great hunter.”
Ether 10:21; “And they did preserve the land southward for a wilderness, to get game. And the whole face of the land northward was covered with inhabitants.”
So which of these scenarios doesn’t fit with the others? You got it – all of them!
You can’t have a severe drought that caused a famine and then expect a robust economy with plenty of animals and forests within the hundred or so years they’ve claimed here.
Furthermore, how can the whole land be covered with inhabitants and animals at the same time?
How can they have numerous buildings and people and raise grain at the same time?
How can they raise grain, have lots of buildings, maintain large forests, and build numerous buildings and raise cattle?
The land mass it’d take to do all these things would be outrageously huge. It takes large amounts of land to raise sheep and/or cattle (we’ll forego the argument those animals weren’t in America at that time) and it takes enormous amounts of land and water to support a forest…you get the idea I’m sure!
To raise livestock you’d need:
1 horse or 1 cow – 2 acres
1-2 sheep – 1 acre
1 pig – 1 acre (they don’t graze or roam but you need space to grow their feed)