One of the great mysteries of history is how the existence of the great north and south American continents could be kept from the knowledge of the inhabitants of the Old World (Europe, Asia, and Africa). However, with the Lord all things are possible, and the Lord revealed to Lehi that it was wisdom in Him that the existence of this land should be kept from the knowledge of other nations; otherwise "many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance" for Lehi and his descendants. (2 Nephi 1:8.)