Hagoth was a Nephite ship builder and sailor who led the expansion of the Nephite settlements northward in the 37th and 38th year of the reign of judges (circa 55 b.c.). The time frame was marked by relative peace in the land, allowing for a northern expansion of people. Hagoth built a large ship and launched it on a northern course into the west sea by the lands of Bountiful and Desolation. A year later, the ship returned and Hagoth continued to build more ships until a second voyage of ships left on the same course. The ships never were seen nor heard of again. Alma 63:5-8
There has been much speculation on what exactly happened to the Hagoth and his people. The Nephites concluded that the voyage had ended with the party drowning in the sea. Spencer W. Kimball referred to the Polynesian people numerous times as the people of Hagoth, including at the groundbreaking of the BYU-Hawaii library in 1976. (See: "The Destination of Laie and its Entities" from the Journal of William Cluff, by Fred G. Beede)
Corianton, a son of the prophet Alma the Younger, notably, was among those who sailed north, as is known from Alma 63:10, which absence is mentioned in the was of explaining who received the sacred records. (Corianton did not receive them because he had left in one of the ships.)
This article related to a Book of Mormon Character is a stub. You can help MormonWiki by expanding it.