We have spoken a lot about DNA Haplogroup X found in the Great Lakes of North America among the Algonquian and Iroquois nations which matches the DNA found in Turkey and Israel. For the past 14 years or more Rod Meldrum has discussed this North American DNA at length.
After many years of study and research I was just made aware of this exciting new information on April 17th, 2024 from Betty Red Ant, who had received the link from a heartlander named Thomas Mitchell.
This research was done in 1998 about additional evidence of Haplogroup X among many other Native American Tribes. I asked Rod about this and he said he had already read about it many years ago. I said, “This is HUGE, why haven’t you told me about this before?” He said, “I don’t know” Well I am going to explain how significant this new awareness is.
Rod Meldrum said, “Having a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and knowing it is true, leaves little doubt that the Book of Mormon is an historical record. Its words are a foundational pillar upon which much of the gospel rests. Its truths are fundamental to our belief in the prophet Joseph Smith and the commencement of the restoration of the gospel. It is not possible that the Book of Mormon could be spiritually true and historically false.
Knowing the book to be spiritually true, its historical account must also be true. Since it is an historical record, then naturally there should be evidences that support it. How are such evidences found? There must be a starting point: a method that begins from a solid foundation of truth upon which to build further understanding that will withstand the tempests and storms of challenge. This DNA section is only one of the many areas of exploration and research that is beginning to unfold the strength of the claims of the Book of Mormon as an historical text.” Rod Meldrum Rediscovering the Book of Mormon Remnant through DNA (Download his complete 180 page book in PDF here)
President Hinckley 2002 Olympics DNA Question
Rod continues, “In Winter of 2002, prior to the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, a German television reporter had a chance to interview LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley. Previous to this interview, as DNA research was in its infancy, it was shown by DNA results that the people of South and Central America had Asian DNA, not Hebrew. Because of this many in the world were pointing fingers at the Church for lack of evidence of DNA that was Hebrew in Mesoamerica.
Well off course, if the Book of Mormon happened in Mesoamerica, then there would not be any DNA evidence for Hebrew DNA. But the events of the Book of Mormon did happen in North America and there is evidence that Hebrew DNA is present in the Great Lakes area, that is consistent with DNA found in Israel, Turkey and other parts of west Eurasia.
I quote from this interview by the German reporter:
“German Reporter: Now, Mr. President, one of…one question which is a little bit complicated for me to understand, but I heard it and one colleague asked me to ask it. What will be your position when DNA analysis will show that in the history never have been an immigration from Israel to the north…to north America? It could be that the scientists will find out…
President Hinckley: Well, it hasn’t happened. That hasn’t been determined yet. All I can say is that’s speculated. No one really knows the answer to that, not at this point.”
Well, in 2002 DNA had not been determined yet, as the Prophet said. But shortly later we found and continue to find remarkable evidence of Hebrew DNA in North America. The Lord is sharing this wonderful news.”
Below is new awareness of information that was first posted in 1998 about many other Natives Americans whose DNA has Haplogroup X markers like the Hebrews of Israel. This is fascinating! See our blog article here for more information.
Navajo, Sioux, Yakima Haplogroup X- Wow!
On April 18, 2024 I gave a presentation at our Firm Foundation Conference called, “Jaredites Land in America from the Pacific-Ether 2 Explained.” I spoke about the Jaredites landing near Seattle, Washington. I believe there is strong evidence about this you can view my 60 slides and a complete podcast HERE
As I study and now and read about the Navajo, Yakima and Nuu-Chah-Nulth and Sioux tribes of Northwest North America I get excited. Could the Haplogroup X be found among the Jaredites as well as from the Lehites?
Remember the Brother of Jared most likely came from a descendance of Shem (the Priesthood Lineage after the flood), then came Eber (Hebrew) who had Abraham in the Old World. Abraham of course was Hebrew as was Joseph and Judah through the lineage of Israel. Lehi was a direct descendant of Manasseh through Joseph. This lineage of both the Jaredites and the Lehites would likely be found many places in the Promised Land of North America. The Lehites beginning in Florida, and the Jaredites beginning in Washington State. Both of their civilizations of course ended at the exact same place, called Ramah by the Jaredites and Cumorah by the Nephites.(Ether 15:11)This DNA evidence has huge possibilities which I am just now exploring.
Now I am finding the Lamanites Haplogroup X found in the Great Lakes (and in Israel) can be linked to Haplogroup X also found on the west coast of North America with the Ojibway, Navajo and Yakima, and with Kennewick man from Kennewick Washington. An admixture of all these tribes is intriguing and a totally new focus for me.
As you read the condensed version of the article below, just ponder about this exciting new information that is being shared today as the Lord says, “pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.” D&C 121:33. This is exciting.
mtDNA Haplogroup X: An Ancient Link between Europe/Western Asia and North America?
“Our analysis confirmed that haplogroup X is present in both modern Native American and European populations. For the Native Americans, this haplogroupencompasses ∼25% of the Ojibwa, 15% of the Sioux, 11%–13% of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth, 7% of the Navajo, and 5% of the Yakima . Thus, with the exception (see below) of the Na-Dene–speaking Navajo, the distribution of this haplogroup among the Native Americans appears to be restricted to northern Amerindian populations… Since haplogroup X appears to be a pre-Columbian, founding Native American mtDNA lineage, the question remains: Where did this haplogroup originate? Thus far, haplogroup X has not been detected in numerous Asian/Siberian populations…
Its presence in the Navajo but not in other Na-Dene populations suggests that, in a manner similar to that characterizing some nuclear-gene markers (Schell and Blumberg 1988), the Navajo have acquired haplogroup X through admixture with northern Amerindian populations. This could have occurred during or after the recent migration (1,000 years ago) that brought the ancestors of the Navajo from the Athapaskan homeland (Alaska and western Canada) to the southwestern United States (Haskell 1987). An Amerindian origin of the Navajo haplogroup X mtDNAs is also supported by the fact that the Navajo sequences are very similar, if not identical, to those observed in some Ojibwa (fig. 1). Also, the homogeneity of the Navajo sequences (table 1 and fig. 1) suggests that the Navajo acquired haplogroup X very recently…
Then it is possible that this mtDNA was brought to Beringia/America by the eastward migration of an ancestral Caucasian population, of which no trace has so far been found in the mtDNA gene pool of modern Siberian/eastern Asian populations… Haplogroup X is remarkable in that it has not been found in Asians, including Siberians, suggesting that it may have come to the Americas via a Eurasian migration. ..”
[Editors Note: National Geographic also has a very good article about West Eurasians (Israel) with the same Haplogroup X DNA as the Native Americans near the Great Lakes HERE!
Rod Meldrum takes a deep dive into the Nauvoo property purchased by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from the Community of Christ. We are so thankful to our friends in the Community of Christ for all their hard work and dedication in taking care of these historic sites all these years. See the video below:
The rest of this comprehensive blog shares many things about Nauvoo, the Mounds, and Church History that most of you have never heard.
Sacred Mounds of Nauvoo Quotes
“Mormonism sprang from the mounds,”wrote Roger Kennedy, former director of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
“In the early 1970’s, when they were re-building Joseph’s Red Brick Store, while digging a trench for spot light wiring, they hit some artifacts, which resulted in calling in the archaeologists who then unearthed more artifacts and bones, all carbon dated to the Hopewell civilization of at least 2000 years ago..”Lachlan McKay quoted by Wilson Curlee
“Joseph Smith, his wife Emma, his brother Hyrum and his parents are buried in a Hopewell burial site.” Jonathan Neville
“We learned later that there were ten main mounds that were recognized by the State of Illinois as ancient burials.” Jenny Curlee
“The Mounds, for their part are “steadfast and immovable”, and always greet us with a tender spirit each time we spend time in their presence, which is almost daily from Spring until Fall. To us, and many others, it feels very much like being in the Sacred Grove.”Jenny Curlee
“No other Land fits all the prophecies. And the Book of Mormon happened right here in United States of America. I bear such a powerful testimony of that, and the evidence is all around us.”Jenny Curlee
He [Wayne May] took in everything I told him about the recent information we learned from Lach regarding the burial sites around the Red Brick Store, the tumuli on the old map [Pictured Below] and about us buying some mounds, with enthusiasm. He said, “I’m coming down in a couple of weeks, and we will have some fun!” Jenny Curlee
THREE SPECIFIC MOUNDS FIGURE PROMINENTLY IN LDS HISTORY
Zion’s Camp March May 5th to July 3rd, 1834 Nauvoo Mounds Now Enter Current History
“Mormonism sprang from the mounds,” wrote Roger Kennedy, former director of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Even before the Book of Mormon was published, Mormonism was linked to the Moundbuilder civilizations of North America. One man who claimed to have heard a reading of the lost 116 pages said “It was a description of the mounds about the country and similar to the Book of Mormon. In 1843, Joseph Smith apparently alluded to the 116 pages when he said the Book of Mormon spoke about sacred burial places. Several authors have placed the Book of Mormon among other 19th century books about the origins of the Moundbuilders. At one time, there were over a million ancient earth mounds in North America; approximately 100,000 remain today. Many of these mounds are located in the territory from western New York through western Missouri where early Mormon history took place. Three specific mounds figure prominently in LDS history: Zelph’s mound in Illinois, the Kinderhook mound, also in Illinois, from which the six brass plates were taken, and Enon mound in Ohio. Until the early Saints leveled them to build homes and farms, Indian mounds dominated Nauvoo. Joseph Smith purchased one and resorted to it from time to time. Less well known are the mounds located just north of Nauvoo that have recently been discovered and preserved. The connections between Mormonism and the mounds of North America have yet to be fully explored. …The increasing awareness of the numerous Hopewell mounds in the Nauvoo area may give renewed attention to the connection between Mormons and the mounds. When workers dug a utility trench between the Red Brick Store and the Joseph Smith Homestead, the equipment churned up Hopewell bones and artifacts. This area is adjacent to the Smith Family Cemetery, leading to the possibility that Joseph Smith, his wife Emma, his brother Hyrum and his parents are buried in a Hopewell burial site.”The Mormons and the Mounds – Jonathan Neville Mormon History Association June 2017.
[Read more about Joseph’s burial mound from Jennice Curlee below]
LIVING AMONG THE MOUNDS
Ten Years of Care-taking sacred Nephite/Hopewell Mounds
Life had a way of helping us discover answers to questions we didn’t know we were supposed to ask. Some people call this serendipity, or a fortunate accident. Our plans can get broken midstream by something unexpected, but if we look at it with an open mind and heart, it is really what we were meant to do all along. Sometimes we resist and sometimes we are just half-heated, but then if we allow ourselves to accept the change, we will not want to turn back. Does this mighty change happen in days, months or years? In my case, it happened almost instantly. This change can be spiritual, physical, mental or emotional, or it can be all combined into one. In this case, it was the latter. Our new relationship required a total commitment, as well as rearranging our retirement finances and dedication to long days of physical labor. Whatever could cause such a shift in mere hours to change our lives so totally? We had met the MOUND BUILDER CULTURE of NORTH AMERICA. Specifically a group of mounds outside of Nauvoo, Illinois, and it was love at first sight!
Beginning in 1998, Wilson and I had felt a gravitational pull to Nauvoo from our home in Helena, Montana, and began making yearly trips there, usually in conjunction to see family in other states. Without having a concrete plan, we decided in 2005 to buy a small second home in Navuoo for retirement in a few years, and in the meantime, a place to spend our summers. And so it came to be that in 2009 when we retired and semi-relocated to Nauvoo that we were introduced to Heartland Model of the Book of Mormon geography. We were invited to a small gathering of people to hear a presentation about the possibility of the ancient city of Zarahemla having been located across the Mississippi from Nauvoo, near Montrose, Iowa, with the Mississippi River being the River Sidon. It was as if that night I began wearing a new pair of glasses. My view was broadened, clarified and in focus. I felt the hand of the Lord was in this, much like when I learned about the True Gospel taught by the Missionaries when I was 19 years old in Billings, Montana. At that time it was less than 12 hours later that I gained a testimony that the Gospel had been restored to the earth in these last days.
After hearing the presentation that summer night, I went home with my head spinning. As I was getting ready for bed, I had many thoughts about the years I had spent reading about Mesoamerica supposedly being where the Book of Mormon happened, although I never doubted that there was just one Hill Cumorah. I was sort of muttering to myself and to God at the same time, saying that I didn’t like this feeling of my “head being messed with”. Then very quickly and emphatically a voice came into my mind saying “You were always into archaeology and history, and wanted to go to Central America, but I put you in the MIDDLE of it here!!”. From the bathroom I called out to Wilson, “It’s True”! Once the Spirit answers, the discussion is over. It was the same voice that spoke when I knew the Restored Gospel was true. Was this the main reason we felt pulled to move to Nauvoo after all? Since that night it has been one roller-coaster ride after another. I have been writing significant things down as they happened, and then at the end of each fall I have typed them up to make a ruining log of the year’s events. If I had not actually lived it, I would think I was writing a novel made up out of my own imagination. That eventful summer ended with sharing this new information with like-minded friends and family; buying books and videos on the subject, and looking forward to the next summer when we would once again immerse ourselves in the spirit of Navuoo, and see more of what the Midwest and the Nauvoo area would reveal regarding Book of Mormon evidence.
The next summer, on July 9, 2010, we were walking through the woods outside Nauvoo with our son and his wife. Joseph and Emily Abercrombie and children were visiting us from Idaho. Joe had heard about some mounds located outside of Nauvoo, and wanted us all to see them. Our friend Cal, a long-time resident knew of them and initially took Joe and Wilson up to a bluff where they were, even though it was raining and they could only walk in through the unimproved dirt trail. A few days later when the sun partially dried the trail, Emily and I went back with Wilson and Joe. That is a day and a moment that is frozen in time for me. As we walked into the dense, shaded and still humid woods, tears welled up in my eyes and the first words out of my mouth were “I need to take care of these”. Those words came from somewhere deep inside of me, a spiritual place that even I was not expecting. I knew at that moment, without being to able to explain it, that we were called to be there at that time of life.
These woods and mounds were definitely in very sad shape with overgrown vegetation and downed trees by the hundreds, many laying across the mounds themselves in haphazard fashion, making it difficult to see the mounds themselves. We learned later that there were ten main mounds that were recognized by the State of Illinois as ancient burials. At that time we did not even know who owned the land or if it could be considered for sale, which was a moot point anyway because we did not have enough money for such an undertaking.. Nevertheless, I knew instantly that we were to pursue such a course. On the surface it really sounded insane because we were both 67 years old, on a fixed income, and had our main year-around home still in Montana. But because of the powerful urge to take care of these mounds, we decided to turn our life upside down just as we were retiring, to answer the siren call of a “supposed serendipitous” encounter. I felt it was much deeper, it was God calling us.
Our kids had to leave the next day (Saturday) for Idaho, but they encouraged us in our intentions to pursue this calling. We asked around and were told that an acquaintance owned the property, so I spoke to her at church Sunday and thanked her for allowing up to go up on that property. She told us that there were 70 more acres connected to what we had seen, and all of it was for sale, but the very land we were interested in (about 25 acres) had all been subdivided into building lots many years before, therefore each lot (many with mounds on them) was to be priced separately according to its size. Supposedly a hunter and his family were already interested in one chunk of 70 acres for a lower price, but there was still room for negotiation on the platted lots. The plan was for her to build homes on each of these lots once they were sold (not our intent). We immediately began to make plans for what we thought was within range of our financial possibility. We later learned that she was the partner of the owner who was an investor who lived in Las Vegas. She was actually the builder. A few days later when we finally reached him by phone, we learned the price of the individual lots kept changing and going up each time we thought we had settled on the few lots we might buy. One of the lots was owned by the man who did the original surveying back in the mid 1970’s. After going to the courthouse to find the man, we learned his widow now lived in Texas with married children. We were able to locate her and purchase that first lot in August, 2010. It had two large mounds on it and we named it “The Homestead” appropriately. By late October we were able to arrange financing to buy 3 more lots that were connected to the Homestead, so now we had a total of 4 of the possible 23 lots for sale. As it was, the owner had raised enough money by selling those lots, and the 70 acres across the creek to meet his immediate need to pay off some debts after the housing crash of 2008, and he decided he could now wait until the housing market improved. So it looked like we were at a dead end.
But as you read on, you will see how God’s plans are not necessarily what we see from our vantage point. We could not imagine early in this experience how God would go about fulfilling his will through ordinary people like us, as instruments in His hands as he worked his wondrous ways.
Before we even had the paperwork finished on the first of the lots (1 ¾ acre), I received another of those unexpected, yet powerful directives from the Lord, that we were to “protect the whole hill”. That Heavenly charge laid the foundation for everything else that happened between 2010 to current (2019).
Now something greater than ourselves and of our primary goal was in store. Instead of just being able to clean up a few acres of woods so people could come and enjoy the peace and serenity, a whole new story was being written. Within just a few short months, we went from being jubilant that we could save a few mounds, to being overwhelmed at what God was asking of us. We were willing to obey, “line upon line, precept upon precept”, and I suspect the learning and discovering is still not over.
Little by little, over the course of the next few years, we were able to buy 16 lots or about 20 acres just North of Nauvoo about 2 miles, in order to care-take not just 10 large mounds, but literally dozens of burials that were discovered as the woods were cleaned up, in order to save them from a planned housing development. That simple statement is laced with years of intense planning, reshuffling finances, selling our home, trying to interest others to help us secure the property, misinformation as to who owned what, and what it would take to buy it. Misunderstandings, lots of intrigue as to who was to blame and “who did it”, fighting with loggers, working with country and state officials, getting cemetery status, defeatist thinking that all was lost many times, arranging for loads of dirt and gravel, opening up spaces for parking, taking down dead trees, cutting and stacking firewood walking with a spray canister for hours up hill and down killing noxious weeds, getting Poison Ivy, insect bites, slivers and thorns in spite of long sleeves and gloves, intense heat and long hours between meals with aching backs and feet. And I might add, just the two of us for the most part, with blessed periodic summer help from kids and grand-kids when they could make the trip from the west for a week or two. But it has all been so worth it, and we count ourselves most blessed, although there have been trials.
We have a solid relationship with the Mounds. With all good relationships we stay true to the knowledge we have been given, stay committed and open-minded, and get up and go to work whether we feel like it or not. And like other relationships, the love, devotion, hurts and thrills keep growing, and we know we are in it for the long haul. Our prayers every day, as with all good causes are “God, please help us to make it better” The Mounds, for their part are “steadfast and immovable”, and always greet us with a tender spirit each time we spend time in their presence, which is almost daily from Spring until Fall. To us, and many others, it feels very much like being in the Sacred Grove, and we try hard to keep the area feeling pristine and away from the world so that others can come and feel that same peace. With any relationship, there are so many payoffs. The months and years have gone by like a dream, with many rich friendships of like-minded people, Native American Ceremonies, uplifting church meetings, weekly temple attendance, new archaeology discoveries and for the most part, beautiful weather, and the ever-present spirit of Nauvoo.
As time went on, we were able to break through barriers of all manner. We realized with acuteness that we were particularly suited to this calling and God had been grooming us through the years to answer this very call. I could think of no one else who loved the outdoors and the almost torturous work it required, any more than me, and Wilson is not far behind in that passion. I have been almost driven through the years on many other projects where we invested ourselves in bringing life back to the outside as well as the inside or older homes. I had joked with my family that the reason I was sent to earth (other than to raise our family) was to destroy/pull weeds, and to beautify the earth. I can spot a noxious weed from a distance, and seem to know what is out of place. One day a few years ago I had an epiphany that “weeding” was not a joke. With my love of history, especially of the Church and the Book of Mormon, old things and beautifying the earth, it is no mistake that this was/is my calling.
We finally sold our Nauvoo home in 2013 after three years of trying, and we are in awe at how the timing worked out for us to pay off the 2nd mortgage we took out so we could offer on the rest of the lots we felt we should secure. That timing was far better than what we had planned and were able to buy the modular home on the river that backed up to the mounds hill. What happened and will be written about was a culminating event, but since then even more has been revealed, and I suspect the Lord still has more surprises in store since the directive in 2010 was “protect the whole hill”. As this story unfolds, our hope is that the reader senses the awe and wonder that God is so mindful of all of us, and he is sending his “love letters” to us in these last days, if we ask with faith, nothing wavering and endure to the end. He wants to show us what has been hidden, it is time. This hill and the whole area around it are sacred places for reasons that will be shown in this story. Our part is not over until we have shared it with you, those of us who are searching, know that God will reveal these sacred places to us in His time if we stay humble and teachable, for that is what He is asking of us, to be humble, submissive and open. Those who want to contend with each other will have their hearts closed.
As a sneak preview, I will tell you that in October 2010, we had the enjoyable experience of our first meeting with the Editor and Publisher of “Ancient American Magazine”, who came to Nauvoo to spend a few days with us. During this time we explored the “Hopewell” burials that are on the property owned by the Community of Christ, notably those in the area of the Red Brick Store, and the Smith Cemetery, along with the 20 or more mounds that once existed within the town of Nauvoo, going north along Partridge St., back when the early Saints were here. We also had an adventure exploring across the river near Montrose, Iowa, searching for evidence of the ancient city of Zarahemla. As the discoveries and sacred places are revealed, my goal in writing at this time is to lift all of our testimonies of the Book of Mormon to a higher, holier ground, to show that God really does want us to know where it happened. We are all inspired when we walk where the Prophet Joseph and early members of the Church lived. The Church expends much effort and money to improve these sites for the “Strengthening of the Saints”. We all long to walk where the Savior, Jesus Christ walked and gave His life for us, and so we dream about a trip to the Holy Land. Likewise, it is not necessary to know where the Book of Mormon happened in order to know that it is true, but because of the Love our Heavenly Father has for us, He knows how thrilling it would be for us to walk where the Prophets and Christ walked here in America. Experience through our eyes and my writing, the things that are right before us, waiting the right time to be shared and rejoiced in. This really is the Promised Land, it is the Land of the New Jerusalem, the land of Liberty where the Gospel was restored and where our founding fathers fought and died for us and for this land to be free so the church would be restored and taken to the world. No other Land fits all the prophecies. And the Book of Mormon happened right here in United States of America. I bear such a powerful testimony of that, and the evidence is all around us.
Jennice and Wilson Curlee Caretakers of the Sacred Nauvoo Mounds
“The days that Sister Sandie was with us were filled with a variety of activities around Nauvoo, but mostly were centered on the mounds. One afternoon Wilson stayed home with the two dogs while Sandie and I went to the Community of Christ tour of the Joseph Smith home and Mansion House. While we were standing outside of the “Homestead” house next to the fence that enclosed the Smith family cemetery, the guide was saying that this was not the first time that the cemetery had been used as a burial ground; that many years before it was an Indian Burial Ground. Both of us looked at each other signaling what we had just picked up on. Later, having left the tour early, because Sandie said she had something on her mind, she told me that at the moment that the guide said that about it being an ancient burial ground, she heard a soft whisper saying “You’ve got to find us”. This certainly did add another dimension to our searching for answers. Either that afternoon or the next day I took her over to Susan’s house for introductions. As soon as Susan saw Sandie she said she had the vibrations that Sandie was “a Grandmother”, meaning in the Native American sense, as Susan also is one. They felt like kindred spirits. We talked about numerous things, as well as what had just happened at the Smith family cemetery. Sandie showed her the carved rock that she found in a field in North Dakota many years ago, and which she always carries with her. It was undoubtedly an anciently carved rock. We all bonded in a special way. On Saturday the 18th we took her back to St. Louis to the airport to return to Colorado Springs. We hope she can return next summer or fall. It was on one of these afternoons that Emma, my cat was killed by a car by our house, and as hard as it was on me, Sandie, Wilson and Susan’s company helped. It is hard to explain many shared memories, I just skim over it.
On Monday morning, Sept 20, 2010, Wilson [Curlee] took a bike ride around Nauvoo, which he often does before I am even fully awake. This time he rode over to the Community of Christ visitor’s center to ask Lach [*Lachlan McKay. See profile in blue text below], the director, where this one particular guide got her information about it being a burial ground for ancient American Indians. He shared with Wilson how in the early 1970’s, when they were re-building Joseph’s Red Brick Store, while digging a trench for spot light wiring, they hit some artifacts, which resulted in calling in the archaeologists who then unearthed more artifacts and bones, all carbon dated to the Hopewell civilization of at least 2000 years ago.. He also said the 1840’s map of Nauvoo has the legend showing ancient “tumuli” [Map Below] within the city of Nauvoo at that time. When Wilson got home he shared this information with me, and you would know for a certainty that I went right over to talk to Lach myself and to buy a copy of that map!! We talked for about an hour and he brought out two binders that were given to them from the University of Missouri that detailed the dig, sketching out the artifacts. He said most of the artifacts were still with the university, but that they held a real treasure in their vault, which was a Cardinal Platform Pipe, which was dated to middle woodland, or Hopewell era (100 BC to 400AD). He said the bones were sent off to the Archaeology museum in Kampsville, which is a very small village on the Illinois River, not far from Zelph’s mound. I found out by researching it that there are major archaeology digs around that area because of the high density of ancient mounds on the Illinois River, so Kampsville is a summer training place for students and they have a nice little museum there. So the very next day Wilson and I drove to Kampsville, enjoyed the trip and the museum, but they said “no, any bones would have been sent to the Chicago or the Springfield museum”. Now, many months later, we have talked to other archaeologistswho say that those bones have been re-interred in Nauvoo.
*Lachlan Mackay is a member of the Council of Twelve Apostles, for the Community of Christ Church assigned to the Northeast USA Mission Field. He also serves as Historic Sites director and Church History and Sacred Story Ministries Team lead.
A native of Independence, Missouri, Lach received a bachelor of arts in economics and Russian arts studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is active in the John Whitmer Historical Association; the Mormon History Association; and the Nauvoo, Illinois, Chamber of Commerce.
He co-authored A Time of Transition: The Kirtland Temple, 1838–1880. He was the winner of the John Whitmer Historical Association’s Best Article award for 1999. He also has published articles in Mormon Historical Studies, The Encyclopedia of Latter-day Saint History, The Journal of Mormon History, and Religion in Ohio: Profiles of Faith Communities.
Community of Christ has 250,000 members in more than 60 nations. The church’s mission is to “proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace.” Community of Christ International Headquarters is located in Independence, Missouri.
Jennice Curlee continues, “I shared all of this information with Susan and Sandie and also Joe and Emily. In turn, Joe had filled Alan and Jane in on everything that was going on, so little by little our support network was growing. By now we had talked to Jared and James about it as well, and feel they are with us. Susan felt sure that we should call Wayne May and tell him of the new discoveries and that we had bought some of the mounds on the hill. Wayne is the Editor/Publisher of “Ancient American Magazine”. He had been here in the spring, and that is when Susan had met him, and had been up on the hill to see the mounds himself. He has been doing his own discoveries and seminars for most of his adult life. He is a convert to the church (as a young adult) and lives in Wisconsin. He was on hand to see a mound excavated when 7 years old, and was hooked. He has a gift for discerning the truth about who the Hopewell Indians were, long before he was a member. He says he has somehow always known it and it surprises him that other did not see and understand what he has naturally known. He writes books and compiles information for the rest of us to enjoy. He puts on wonderful lectures. Much of what was presented at Book of Mormon evidence conferences at that early date came from Wayne. When I called him to introduce myself, he was so down to earth and genuine that I was very comfortable talking to him. He [Wayne] took in everything I told him about the recent information we learned from Lach regarding the burial sites around the Red Brick Store, the tumuli on the old map [Pictured Below] and about us buying some mounds, with enthusiasm. He said, “I’m coming down in a couple of weeks, and we will have some fun!”
When I shared all this with Joe by phone, he got on the computer and while we were talking he pulled up a copy of the Nauvoo 1840’s Map and enlarged it to see the “tumuli”[Map Above] He also googled articles on the church and ancient mounds during the early saints time here, and had them forwarded to me in just a few minutes. Wow! Such great information. We live in such times that communication is instant! We then bought a second map for Joe, but had to wait until December to take it to him, as it is big. Wilson counted the “tumuli” on the map and then drew them on a “tourist’s map” of Nauvoo. [Map Below]
That map was made from a copy of the old map, and if looked at closely you could see the mounds drawn in the background of the copy. So he used that to draw them in and counted 20 of them, beginning at the corner of Mulholland and Partridge St., and running north to Carlos Street. They of course, are no longer there, and are covered up by the pavement and even the parking lot of the Church’s Visitor Center! Mystery! When/who took down the mounds? Again Joe did some research and sent us a page from the biography of Parley P. Pratt, which quotes him saying that upon his return from his 3 year mission in England, Nauvoo had changed dramatically, and the “hills had been leveled”. Obviously to make room in the growing city to house more of the Saints moving there.
With the beautiful Month of October upon us, on Oct 6-9th, we took a side trip on our way to Dubuque, Iowa to see Vaughn, Christine and grandkids. We drove up the Illinois side of the Mississippi to see mound sites in Albany (pretty little river town) and in East Dubuque at Gramercy Park. While visiting with V & C, we went to “Mines of Spain” park which was very interesting, and which history I had never known before. There were also mounds there, but they were a mile hike off the road, so we didn’t see them. Then when we left we drove down the Iowa side of the river and went off the main road to see the Toolesboro mound site [Map Below] and there they told about some little known about and not very accessible mounds (56) known as the Malchow mounds. They are outside a very little town just north of Burlington (30 miles from Nauvoo). It was almost dark when we got there, and they were located up a very steep trail. At the top of the bluff was tall grass with no paths, but you could see them along the ridge. We plan to go back there in the summer and spend more time. But it was a lovely and well spent trip all around.
We were able to buy more lots that adjoined our original purchase yet that fall. On October 14, we signed the papers to buy three adjoining lots, one beside and two in back of our first lot, the Homestead, but we had no immediate hope of buying more. In two days we would be learning so much more, with more to rejoice over. I think the Lord knew we needed to pause and regroup to get a new perspective, but the year had already brought us more than we ever dreamed of when we first asked.” Jennice Curlee Nauvoo Mounds Owner
Indian mounds near Nauvoo are believed to be battle burial sites
By Mississippi Valley Publishing Alan Moberly Jun 3, 2019
Native Americans lived in the Nauvoo area for centuries. Illinois resident and American researcher and writer Janice K. Patterchak writes that from 10,000 BC to 8,000 BC, Paleo peoples roamed this area, briefly occupying small camps in coniferous forests and subsisting on large game and wild plants.
From 8,000 BC to 500 BC, archaic period peoples inhabited deciduous forests in small groups, hunted deer and small game, wove baskets, and ground seeds with stones. More recently, from 500 BC to 900 AD, she writes that woodland culture “Indians” developed maize agriculture, built villages and burial mounds, invented the bow and arrow for hunting, and began making pottery.
Some things these woodland culture people left behind are the Hopewell Burial Mounds. These mounds are part of the Hopewell culture which flourished from around 550BC to 400AD.
These mounds were first discovered in Ohio during the early 1800s on land owned by a Mr. Hopewell. The mounds that he found were the first to be excavated publicly by “archeologists” who documented their findings.
Early settlers in our country found mounds all over the East and Midwest, and often took them down for farming purposes.
Today mounds are found between the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Missouri River.
These mounds were built by the Woodland Culture people, who were part of the ancestors of today’s Native Americans.
Just like the ancient pyramids of Egypt or Peru, Hopewell mounds are in existence and visible along the Mississippi River just north of Nauvoo.
In 2005 Wilson and Jenny Curlee came to Nauvoo to purchase property so they could spend their retirement years in Nauvoo. They discovered Hopewell mounds near their property on Sycamore Haven Road.
Jenny Curlee was awed and told her husband Wilson, “I gotta take care of these!”
During the next few years, the Curlees purchased the adjoining property that contained some of the mounds. Since purchasing the land, the Curlees have worked hard to clear out brush and dead trees.
A local Boy Scout chose to help with the effort as his Eagle Scout Project. Many people, as well as representatives of the Standing Bear Council, came to assist.
A state archaeologist came to Nauvoo, identified the mounds as Hopewell Indian burial sites and placed protective archaeological signs around them.
According to Jenny Curlee the State of Illinois had certified the largest mounds back in the 1970s, but since they were on private property they did not have any other contact through the years, and they were not kept up or taken care of until the Curlees purchased the land and called the State ourselves to come and oversee how they were protecting them.
The State of Illinois then gave the Curlees official signs/markers to place throughout the area. They also helped them to apply for “cemetery status” so that the mounds would be further protected and exempt from real estate taxes.
The mounds are like “grave stone markers” that we use today. Hopewell people build mounds over their dead. It was a sacred place for them.
The Curlees continue to treat the mounds that way and hope to preserve this site for the future. Visitors are welcome to walk through the land and see the mounds located about 2 miles north of Nauvoo on Sycamore Haven Drive. Source:
Why Do Nauvoo’s Historic Burial Mounds Matter?
Meridian Magazine By Rosemary G. Palmer · June 9, 2013
On Memorial Day, which we recently observed, we honor those who died while serving in the U.S. military, and we often remember our own family members by visiting cemeteries and placing flowers on their graves. “The place where a man is buried is sacred to me,” the Prophet Joseph Smith said. Each cemetery forms a chapter in the history of our human past. What about burial sites from many years ago which have no visible markers and are hidden from view?
Centuries ago, the Hopewell culture flourished in central and eastern North America. Hopewell people lived and farmed along the Mississippi River, and many chose bluffs along the river to build earthen mounds to bury their dead. A group of these mounds is located along the Mississippi River north of Nauvoo. Some 40 years ago, many of the mounds were attacked by looters seeking artifacts. Later, the area became neglected, and brush, brambles, and dead trees concealed these burial spots.
Wilson Curlee in brush hiding a mound
Then, a few years ago Wilson and Jennice (Jenny) Curlee moved to Nauvoo and discovered the mounds. When they first walked into the area, “it was an overwhelming moment,” Jenny Curlee said. She felt they had stepped on sacred ground. “The first thing out of my mouth besides Wow’ was “I wish I could take care of them.” During the next few years, the Curlees purchased property that contained some of the mounds. “One is struck by the serenity and spirituality this place evokes,” Jenny Curlee said. “It is like being in another time and place.”
Jenny and Wilson felt compelled to preserve this chapter of the Hopewellian past by keeping the area pristine and making it a retreat for visitors who appreciate nature, tranquility, and those who lived and had been forgotten. Since purchasing the land, the Curlees have spent hours clearing out brush and dead trees. The prospect of restoring the mounds seemed overwhelming–until they met Joseph Petersen, a young man from Nauvoo looking for an Eagle Scout service project.
Joseph and the Curlees’ make plans
Eagle Project Proposal
Carrie Petersen, Joseph’s mother, said that Joseph’s journey began last fall when the former owner of the land mentioned to Joseph’s father the possibility of an Eagle Scout project. Joseph’s father suggested this to Joseph who contacted the Curlees and they agreed. “Throughout the years these sacred grounds have been pillaged and vandalized,” Joseph wrote in his project proposal. “To honor the deceased,” Joseph chose to restore several mounds to their original appearance by refilling them with dirt. He noted that the beneficiaries of this project would be Native Americans of the Standing Bear Council as well as the local and surrounding communities when the area becomes a public archaeological park.
Mound to be restored Tom Simpson Photo
Preparation for the Project
Before Joseph could submit his proposal to the Boy Scouts of America, the local Native American Council representatives needed to approve the project. A meeting was organized; and on October 26, 2012, the Curlees, several Native American Grandfathers and Grandmothers, Joseph’s family, and other guests met at the mounds site to join in a healing ceremony to restore harmony and balance to the land and mounds before Joseph began the restoration project.
Preparing for healing ceremony
During the last fall and winter, Native American men tutored Joseph and gave him instructions to complete his project. “In following these instructions, Joseph learned more about an ancient culture and was brought into a fellowship of something he had only heard about,” Jenny Curlee said.
In addition, Joseph needed to receive permission from the State of Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and Dawn Cobb, Human Skeletal Remains Protection Act Coordinator of the same agency. According to Dawn Cobb, “this Act protects from disturbance all graves, grave markers, and grave artifacts that are over 100 years old and not located in a registered cemetery.” Prehistoric burial mounds are both a cemetery and a grave marker, and the mounds on the Curlee’s property met the criteria.
The Day of the Project
At 10:00 a.m. on Easter weekend March 30, 2013, approximately 33 people met on the bluff near the mounds to assist Joseph Petersen with his Eagle project. Carrie Petersen “was in awe to see everyone who came and gave up their holiday Saturday morning to help.”
Tom Simpson Photography
With a cloudy sky and forecast of rain, “many prayers went up for us to accomplish the project before it rained, and that was exactly what happened,” Jenny Curlee said. “Wilson and I were the last ones off the hill when it started to rain.”
Ceremonial Protocol
Observing Native American protocol, the participants gathered in a circle for an opening ceremony and instructions before entering the project site. Susan Stanton of the Turtle Island Council and Monica Thompson of the Hummingbird Council drummed and led the group in the Cherokee morning song, a lyrical prayer which greets the new day with gratitude to the Creator.
Larry Cooper of the Standing Bear Council told of his personal history around Nauvoo and the many years he visited this mound group and hundreds more in the Mississippi River vicinity.
He honored Joseph and offered a prayer. Others in the circle spoke, and Joseph gave instructions. Jenny Curlee told the volunteers “not be surprised at what they might feel or learn, but be aware that they will have an experience meant just for them.”
Sage smudging before entering the site Tom Simpson Photo
Later, Carrie Petersen shared her impressions and said, “This has been no ordinary Eagle Scout project. From the beginning of the customary healing ritual after everyone was smudged with sage to cleanse came a peculiar and powerful spirit that was unexpected. We came to a revived awareness that the desire to restore and preserve Native American history and culture is similar to ours as members of the LDS Church. We feel a connection with those who once lived where we now live.”
Restoration of Two Mounds
Dawn Cobb from Springfield, Illinois, identified many mounds on the Curlee’s property “and nearly all of them were damaged decades ago when someone dug into the tops of them, most likely in search of prehistoric artifacts. Joseph Peterson’s Eagle project began the process of repairing damage to two of the mounds.”
Joseph and Scouts fill buckets Tom Simpson Photo
On the day of the project, the previous owners of the property used their heavy equipment to haul dirt to a location where volunteers could access it with wheelbarrows and buckets and carry it to the mounds. Joseph’s Native American tutors requested that the mounds be filled in by hand as they had originally been built. Joseph honored the tradition. Although he planned to repair several mounds that day, Joseph discovered how long it took to finish the first mound. Time would only permit the restoration of two mounds following these steps:
Rake the mounds of leaves before placing ground fabric on the mounds.
Lay the ground fabric according to state law to separate existing dirt from new dirt on the mounds.
Fill the mounds with dirt using shovels, buckets, and wheelbarrows.
Clear the area of tools and materials.
After the opening ceremony and smudging with sage, the volunteers headed to the project site. “We had to carry our tools, rakes, shovels, buckets, and wheelbarrows along the sides of the road, walking in the leaves because of the muddy ground from the recent snow melt and torn-up road,” Jenny Curlee said. “No one seemed to mind the mud or the chill as they focused on the higher reason they had come together. There was an air of excitement, of oneness of purpose and fellowship.”
Walking on muddy ground to the site Tom Simpson Photo
When the group reached the project site, volunteers first raked leaves off the mounds. Then Dawn Cobb taught them “how to install landscape fabric in the holes before backfilling them with clean fill.” She explained that “landscape fabric covers the old disturbance (the looter’s pit) as a visible separation between the mound and the new fill.”
After the fabric was in place, boys and men filled buckets with dirt and carried them up the sides of the mound to dump the dirt. “The teamwork was awe-inspiring,” Jenny Curlee said. “Dawn Cobb urged them to fill in just a little more here or a little more there.”
Putting dirt on the mound Tom Simpson Photo
At noon the volunteers took a lunch break with homemade chili, cookies, and Indian fry bread. After lunch they finished the first mound and started on the second one. When it was time to leave, the second mound still needed dirt to round the top, and the Curlees offered to finish it during the week. “No doubt all who picked up their shovels and other tools and buckets walked more slowly down the lane than when they came in,” Jenny Curlee said. “Tonight there will be aching backs and knees and probably deep sleep, but peace of mind and a sense of accomplishment.”
In Joseph’s final report he expressed gratitude that “everyone was willing to help. They were dressed properly, brought tools, and worked until the end of the project even though it was a holiday weekend.”
The Project’s Impact
What impact did this Eagle Scout project have on its participants?
Dawn Cobb from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency said, “Joseph Peterson’s Eagle project has a greater depth of meaning because a variety of groups were interested in helping him succeed. Everyone had the same goal – to repair the damage and to right a wrong. His project began the healing process that these mounds and the community needed. I hope that other Scouts look to this project as an example of a community working together towards a positive goal.”
Eagle project volunteers Tom Simpson Photo
Joseph’s mother observed that “Scouts from Troop 110 learned something by the service they gave and hopefully will continue to reverence that place.” She reported that even though Joseph is normally shy, he always has been service-oriented. “This experience will continue to shape the way he views himself and his ability to accomplish something extraordinary.”
Jenny Curlee noticed that “Joseph’s face almost radiated, and he looked and acted like a leader. He seemed to have grown up since we first met him last fall at the onset of the Eagle project.” She added, “As for us, we felt the Spirit radiate through the trees, on the mounds, in the faces of all who came and shared. Many remarked to us how they felt something they had not known they would feel. It was far more than an Eagle Scout project; it was service to each other, to those who built these original mounds, and to God.”
As stewards of the land, the Curlees plan to repair other mounds. One they recently restored is “turnaround mound.” “And for the first time we can walk right up to it, and it is clean and visible,” Jenny said. “Before, it was covered with brambles, honeysuckle, and dead trees. Also the trail by the children’s mound’ is almost cleaned out and looking good.” After a wet Nauvoo spring, visitors to the site were amazed to see beautiful ferns growing prolifically on the tops of mounds and no other place in the area.
Mound with ferns growing on it
Besides restoring mounds on their property, the Curlees hoped to preserve the burial sites in the future. Before Joseph began his Eagle Scout project, Dawn Cobb and a state archaeologist came to Nauvoo, identified mounds, and placed protected archaeological signs by some of them. The Curlees also requested cemetery designation, and a week after the Eagle project, the State of Illinois granted the property cemetery designation.
President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “Each of us has a small field to cultivate. While so doing, we must never lose sight of the greater picture . . . Weave beautifully your small thread in the grand tapestry, the pattern for which was laid out for us by the God of Heaven.” (Ensign, Nov. 1989)
Thanks to the Curlees’ and Joseph Petersen’s small threads, Nauvoo’s diverse history is expanding for visitors to learn more about Nauvoo’s historic past. By keeping this area pristine, individuals and families can roam through the trees, appreciate nature, and contemplate the lives and history of those who built the earthen mounds and were forgotten but can be remembered again. Source:
We are excited to announce pre-orders for the New “Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon.” They continue to be popular as gifts and for individuals. Rod Meldrum’s previously best selling book titled, “Exploring the Book of Mormon in America’s Heartland”, had 5 Editions and sold over 50,000 copies from 2009 to 2023.(Currently out of Print). The Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon already has its 3rd Edition and over 35,000 printed copies in less than 5 years. We appreciate your valued support.
Thanks to David Hocking and Rod Meldrum with the Editorial Team
Managing Editor David Hocking, has spent countless hours beyond what one would think, to make the new 3rd Edition, worthwhile for those who have previous editions. This New 3rd Edition “Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon” will arrive soon. Same great cover with 5 all-new pages, 8 new inserts with quotes or pictures, and dozens of edits and updates are included. This 3rd Edition, 1st printing should be available by the end of April 2024 and shipped in May.
Additions for the 3rd Printing
In this new first printing of the 3rd Edition, Brother Hocking makes several notes from the Book of Jasher and the Book of Enoch passages, that validate that the presence and validity of the Plates of Brass had other Biblical-era records not found in the Bible record or Stick of Judah.
‘Phoenicia’
The ‘Phoenicia’ ship owned by Heartland Research with John Lefgren and Mike and Betty LaFontaine, is a 600 BC replica ship that was sailed by British Navy Captain Philip Beale over 30,000 nautical miles, proving a plausible route for Nephi and Mulek to sail from the Old World to North America. Brother Hocking has updated route information on a map that may have brought Mulek to America. He added insight pages about Phoenician names showing up in the books of Mosiah and Alma after King Mosiah meets the people of Zarahemla, suggesting that it was a Phoenician ship that brought Zedekiah’s family with Mulek to the Land of Zarahemla near Montrose, Iowa. Also see an article from a BYU professor in 1973 that affirms a Heartland theory about the route and landing of Mulek and or Nephi, here: https://bookofmormonevidence.org/ross-t-christensen-of-byu-1973-plausible-mulek-routes-tunisia-gathering-2024/ Pictures of Phoenician boat anchors have been found in North America’s rivers and lakes add support Mulek arriving in one of their ships. Brother Hocking says, “The Mississippi, Ohio, Allegheny, and Missouri Rivers were the common waterways for transportation of the Hopewell culture.”
Interpreters
Did you know that the words, Urim and Thummim, do not appear in the translated text of the Book of Mormon? Instead these instruments are called “Interpreters” or Nephite interpreters. The term Urim and Thummim is found in the Bible but it is speaking of different tools, and are not the same tools Joseph found in the stone box with the gold plates. Brother Hocking has included additional insight pages relating the use of the Interpreters (“these stones fastened to a breastplate” JSH 1:35), as the proper tools Joseph used to translate the ancient inscriptions. A statement from Lucy Mack Smith who said Joseph marveled at the Interpreters, calling them as she quotes Joseph saying, “I have got the Key”, and how Lucy also said that Joseph “had these things (Spectacles & Breastplate), constantly upon his person.” This suggests Joseph may have worn the breastplate under his shirt, for constant usage during the translation period and to keep it out of sight. Joseph could have possibly hid the Interpreters (Spectacles) from Emma’s view and other scribes by using his farmers hat to block their view. (See picture above). Blog here: https://bookofmormonevidence.org/scriptural-translation-method-2/
Solar Eclipse Stone
Another insight page highlights a Michigan artifact that suggests it was made in a Book of Mormon time period. Brother Hocking says, “Measurement on the face of the stone shows the sun’s altitude from the earth’s horizon at an angle of 67 degrees (Fig. 1). This is precisely the angle that the NASA program connected to the Fourth Century solar eclipse.”
Spotted Bee Balm
Spotted beebalm has been located across from Nauvoo, which adds credence to having reduced fevers of the Nephites due to the change in climate. (Alma 46:40) “Descendants of Native Americans returned to a place where their ancestors 16 centuries ago may have grown and harvested Spotted Bee Balm (Monarda punctata var. villicaulis; a medicinal herb).” Special thanks to John Lefgren, Ph.D., Kevin Price, Ph.D. Photos courtesy of Kevin Price, Ph.D.), and Wayne May. Another artifact, is shown (left) that was found in Alabama. It is a “Hopewell dated etched shell of an All Searching Eye symbol in a Hamsa five-fingered hand pattern. Moundsville was a village built using ‘Wall-Trench’ architecture.” Department of Research and Collections, University of Alabama Museums.
Check out Rod Meldrum’s New 2024 Come Follow Me, Supplemental Videos on YouTube, posted every week now! Watch Here!
The Book of Mormon in North America
“The United States is the promised land foretold in the Book of Mormon—a place where divine guidance directed inspired men to create the conditions necessary for the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Elder L. Tom Perry Ensign Dec. 2012
“The prophecies pertinent to this holy land of America were not just directed to the ancient saints, but those of our day as well, that we, too, might know of our responsibility to keep the Promised Land free from sin.Thus, knowing which land is the Promised Land is far more important than we might otherwise have supposed. Not only is such information vital to our understanding of where Book of Mormon activity took place, but learning that those activities took place in what has since become known as the United States of America is therefore critical to our very survival as a nation and as individuals who may just suffer untold misery in years to come if we allow the nation to become ripe in iniquity. The Lord’s decree that all who inhabit this promised land must serve Him or be wiped away is an everlasting decree, and just as pertinent to those of our day as it was to the Nephites or Jaredites, for according to the Lord Himself, this glorious land of America, the place of the New Jerusalem, is the land of promise, and who shall dispute His word.” From Ezra Taft Benson: Source
The Book of Mormon in Moroni’s America
Previous Editions of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon
Here is some information about the previous two printings of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon. As you may remember, we printed our first 5,000 copies in Sept 2018. Those were gone in less than one month. We then had another 10,000 printed and available for Christmas 2018. Those were all sold by April of 2019. We had another 10,000 arrive in Nov. of 2019. We call this last shipment the 2nd Edition. The first 5,000 and first 10,000 we call the first printing.
You can see on the inside cover of your copy of the Annotated Book of Mormon, the following ways to determine what version you have.These editions below are now out of print.
Thanks to each of you, and your friends for supporting this amazing new 3rd edition of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon. We feel grateful that so many wonderful people are reading the Book of Mormon. Pre-Order 3rd Edition Here
There are a few differences between the 2nd edition and the new 3rd edition I will explain. Obviously, the Book of Mormon text is the same, with only a couple minor corrections. Page numbers are the same up to page 561.
This painting is included in all versions. I love it.
“Truly this man was the Son of God” by Clark Kelley PricePrints Here: After Jesus was put upon the cross to be crucified, there was darkness over all the land, and when He died, there was a great earthquake. A Roman centurion standing guard at the foot of the cross witnessed these events and, sensing the reality of who was on the cross above him, testified, “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39). The powerful testimony of the Savior spoken by this centurion who oversaw the Crucifixion now echoes through time and throughout eternity. 3rd Edition, 1st Printing April 2024
Slide Presentation by Rian Nelson April 18, 2024 From Firm Foundation Conference.
Titled: Jaredites-Two Sets of Barges-Pacific Landing, Ether 2 Explained
How could Joseph not know the actual location of the Nephites or its geography, as many Mesoamericanists say? I don’t think that was possible. I love believing Joseph Smith and not listening to many so-called scholars.
Wandering over the Plains of the Nephites by Ken Corbett
Joseph had at least 20 meetings with Moroni alone, you know. I’m confident Moroni showed Joseph the Nephites location. After all Joseph is quoted as saying while in Atlas, Illinois on the Mississippi River, “wandering over the plains of the Nephites, recounting occasionally the history of the Book of Mormon, roving over the mounds of that once beloved people of the Lord, picking up their skulls & their bones, as a proof of its divine authenticity…” Joseph Smith Papers Letter to Emma Smith, 4 June 1834 Page 56
John Clark an avid Mesoamericanist said, “One thing all readers share with Joseph is a partial understanding of the book’s complexities. Indeed, many things about the book were simply unknowable in 1830. Over the last sixty years, Hugh Nibley, John Sorenson, and other scholars have shown the Book of Mormon to be “truer” than Joseph Smith or any of his contemporaries could know. Consequently, what Joseph Smith knew and understood about the book ought to be research questions rather than presumptions. Thanks in large part to his critics, it is becoming clear that Joseph Smith did not fully understand the geography, scope, historical scale, literary form, or cultural content of the book.” See Jonathan Neville’s blog here for quote and details. https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2021/06/the-worlds-of-joseph-smith-updated.html
President John Taylor said, “the principles which [Joseph Smith] had, placed him in communication with the Lord, and not only with the Lord, but with the ancient apostles and prophets; such men, for instance, as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, Adam, Seth, Enoch, and Jesus and the Father, and the apostles that lived on this continent as well as those who lived on the Asiatic continent. He seemed to be as familiar with these people as we are with one another” (in Journal of Discourses,21:94). Elder Orson Pratt of the Quorum of the Twelve added that Joseph Smith “often received visits from Nephi, Moroni, Peter, James, John (the beloved), John (the Baptist), Elijah, Moses, the three Nephites, etc. etc.”1
On at least twenty-two occasions, the former-day prophet Moroni came as a resurrected being to instruct, reprimand, or bless the latter-day prophet Joseph Smith.4
Elder Orson Pratt of the Quorum of the Twelve added that Joseph Smith “often received visits from Nephi, Moroni, Peter, James, John (the beloved), John (the Baptist), Elijah, Moses, the three Nephites, etc. etc.”1
The sources History of the Church and Journal of Discourses are abbreviated as HC and JD. The Prophet Joseph communicated with other messengers who previously had lived righteously on earth, but the precise nature of these visits is not known. These personages include Seth, Isaac, Jacob, and the Jewish and Nephite Apostles (see Journal of Discourses,21:94). In addition, Joseph Smith saw other angels in vision, some of whom are identified in recorded revelation (see, for example, D&C 107:53; compare History of the Church, 3:388).
A very large stone ax* was recently found in the state of New York by a man from the Seneca
Nation. It weighs 20 pounds and must have been used by “a large and mighty man.”
(Photo courtesy of Wayne N. May)
The Nephilim (/ˈnɛfɪˌlɪm/; Hebrew: נְפִילִים Nəfīlīm) are mysterious beings or people in the Hebrew Bible who are large and strong; the word Nephilim is loosely translated as giants in some translations of the Hebrew Bible but left untranslated in others. Jewish explanations interpret them as fallen angels. The main reference to them is in Genesis, but the passage is ambiguous and the identity of the Nephilim is disputed. Wikipedia
According to the Book of Numbers 13:33, they later inhabited Canaan at the time of the Israelite conquest of Canaan. A similar or identical biblical Hebrew term, read as “Nephilim” by some scholars, or as the word “fallen” by others, appears in the Book of Ezekiel 32:27.[3][4]
Unusually large, tall persons, apparently having great physical strength. They are mentioned both before the Flood (Gen. 6:4; Moses 8:18) and after (Num. 13:33; Deut. 2:10–11, 20; 3:11–13; 9:2; Josh. 15:8; 18:16). Raphah of Gath was said to be the father of several giants of whom Goliath was one (1 Sam. 17:4–7; 2 Sam. 21:16–22; 1 Chr. 20:6). A 12-fingered, 12-toed giant is also mentioned as one of the sons. The giants in Palestine were also known as Anakims, Emims, and Zamzummims. Source
Let’s see what others say about the Sons of God, or Nephilim, or Fallen Angels, from the Old Testament. I think the quotes below from members of our Church are most likely to be correct. Many other Christians say the Nephilim are the Fallen Angels or Spirits who had relationships with women on the earth. I am confident that spirits, or those who have not come to this earth to receive a body, cannot have sexual relationships with those who have a physical body.
JOSEPH SMITH DIDN’T BELIEVE IN WATCHERS
“Hidden in our scripture reading for this week is a strange little passage which many modern Biblical scholars say was originally intended to explain the rise of the giant race of antiquity by the union of angelic beings with human wives. These verses in Genesis stirred a lively debate among early Christian theologians as they struggled to explain why God felt it necessary to cleanse the Earth with a worldwide Flood. It all starts with this odd passage inserted in the account before Noah built his vessel, the great ark.
“And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose…There were giants (Nephilim) in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:1-5)
This small passage has been the subject of much dispute in Christendom, and two main schools of exegesis have formed. The first and most popular explains this passage as descriptive of disobedient angels (sometimes called Watchers) who descended from celestial realms and cohabitated with human women, producing a race of giants. Pseudopigraphic literature such as the Book of Enoch are dedicated to expanding this particular incident and serve as proof-tests for this theory. It is also similar in many respects to various myths of Near Eastern peoples. This interpretation has spawned all kinds of new-age speculation on alien races, their interaction with antediluvian human beings, and modern-day abductions — but is actually the more conservative and accepted interpretation by the higher critics.
An alternate explanation results by understanding the term “sons of God” to be the pious race descended from Seth, who sinned by marrying descendants of Cain, who would have been pagans. This is favored by some Christian groups who object to the idea that angels are physical or sexual beings. Many Jewish Biblical authorities prefer this explanation as well, to maintain an emphasis on one God.
The first explanation is definitely the cool one. I would have thought that Joseph Smith would have been all over fallen angels, with his emphasis on the corporeality of divine beings. But it turns out that Joseph didn’t believe in Watchers. Hugh Nibley wrote an article explaining how Joseph’s theology in the Book of Moses provides a solution to the dilemma called, A Strange Thing in the Land: The Return of the Book of Enoch, Part 8 By Hugh Nibley Professor Emeritus of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University which continues below:
“Adam, having lost Abel, got another son, Seth, to carry on his work. (Moses 6:2.) From him comes that line of successors in the priesthood, duly registered in the Book of Life, from which the wicked were excluded. (Moses 2:5–8.) After Seth came Enos, who decided to make an important move. Since “in those days Satan had great dominion among men, and raged in their hearts,” causing “wars and bloodshed … in administering death, because of secret works, seeking for power” (Moses 2:15)—exactly as in the modern world—Enos gathered together “the residue of the people of God” and with them migrated out of the country “and dwelt in a land of promise,” named Cainan after his son (Moses 2:17). The line is Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah. (Moses 6:16–21; Moses 8:2, 5–11.)
*[Remember the earth had no division between the old and new world. There was no Atlantic Ocean]
Cainites Lived Near Jerusalem
Sethites Lived Near Eden which was near the Garden of Eden.
Jerusalem was very far distant from Eden. They were the as wide apart as Pangea or as Elder Holland calls it, the Continent of Genesis. See map above before the Atlantic Ocean arrived.
In The Combat of Adam with Satan, as Migne observes, “the author depicts the descendants of Adam as divided into two separate and distinct branches: the Cainites dedicated to following Satan, who lived in a fertile country but very far distant from Eden, and who devoted themselves to all the pleasures of the flesh and all manner of immorality,” and the Sethites who “dwelt in the mountains near the Garden, were faithful to the divine law and bore the name of the Sons of God.”
The occurrence of like names in the two genealogies should not surprise anyone who does much genealogy, where the same family names keep turning up in an endless round. The thing to notice is that there are two lines and that Enoch is seen as a stranger and a wild man only when he leaves his native colony in Cainan,[Western near the Garden of Eden]“a land of righteousness unto this day” (Moses 6:41), to sojourn as a missionary among the wayward tribes. And so the stage is set for Enoch.
Another Expo is here. Register today.
The Wicked World of Enoch
The wickedness of Enoch’s day had a special stamp and flavor; only the most determined and entrenched depravity merited the extermination of the race. In apocryphal Enoch stories we are told how humanity was led to the extremes of misconduct under the tutelage of uniquely competent masters. According to these traditions, these were none other than special heavenly messengers who were sent down to earth to restore respect for the name of God among the degenerate human race, but instead yielded to temptation, misbehaved with the daughters of men, and ended up instructing and abetting their human charges in all manner of iniquity. They are variously designated as the Watchers, Fallen Angels, Sons of God, Nephilim, or Rephaim, and are sometimes confused with their offspring, the Giants.307 Other candidates for this dubious honor have been suggested by various scholars, the trouble being that more than one category of beings qualify as Fallen Angels and spectacular sinners before the time of the Flood.308 The Bible uses the title sons of God—were they different from the Watchers of tradition?
“The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare … to them … mighty men, … men of renown.
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth.” (Gen. 6:2, 4–5.) The idea of intercourse between heavenly and earthly beings was widespread in ancient times. Thus, in the newly discovered Genesis Apocryphon, when Lamech’s wife bears him a superchild (Noah), he assumes almost as a matter of course that the father is “one of the angels” and accuses her of faithlessness until his grandfather, Enoch, whose “lot is with the Holy Ones” and who lives far away, clears up the misunderstanding. Significantly, the name of the child’s mother is Bit-enosh, i.e., she is one of the “daughters of men.”309 The Cedrenus fragment avoids the problem of heavenly origin by identifying the sons of God and the daughters of men with the descendants of Seth and Cain respectively, and he specifically designates the sons of God as the Watchers.310 Recently M. Emanueli has suggested that the various terms are merely “a figure of speech in order to express the depth of the deterioration of that generation.”311
While the sons of God have been identified with both angels and the Watchers, the Greek Enoch does not identify the Watchers with Satan’s hosts who fell from heaven from the beginning—they are another crowd.312
“It is the Joseph Smith Enoch which gives the most convincing solution: the beings who fell were not angels but men who had become sons of God. From the beginning, it tells us, mortal men could qualify as “sons of God,” beginning with Adam. Moses 6:68 How? By believing and entering the covenant. Moses 7:1Thus when “Noah and his sons hearkened unto the Lord, and gave heed … they were called the sons of God.” Moses 8:13In short, the sons of God are those who accept and live by the law of God. When “the sons of men” (as Enoch calls them) broke their covenant, they still insisted on that exalted title: “Behold, we are the sons of God; have we not taken unto ourselves the daughters of men?” Moses 8:21(Hugh Nibley, “A Strange Thing in the Land: The Return of the Book of Enoch, Part 8,” Ensign, Dec 1976, 73)
Joseph Smith’s unique Mormon spin on the b’nei ha-Elohim was that they were priesthood holders, and the covenant people of the Lord, who were defiling themselves by marrying out of the covenant. Their resulting progeny were “Nephilim,” or “fallen ones.” Joseph Fielding Smith later clarified the LDS interpretation of Genesis 6 when he scolded:
“There is a prevailing doctrine in the Christian world that these sons of God were heavenly beings who came down and married the daughters of men and thus came a superior race on the earth, the result bringing the displeasure of the Lord. This foolish notion is the result of lack of proper information, and because the correct information is not found in the Book of Genesis, Christian peoples have been led astray. The correct information regarding these unions is revealed in the inspired interpretation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Book of Moses. Without doubt when this scripture was first written, it was perfectly clear, but scribes and translators in the course of time, not having divine inspiration, changed the meaning to conform to their incorrect understanding. These verses in the Prophet’s revision give us a correct meaning, and from them we learn why the Lord was angry with the people and decreed to shorten the span of life and to bring upon the world the flood of purification. (Answers to Gospel Questions, 5 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1957-1966], 1: 136.)
The doctrine is repeated in sermons in the Journal of Discourses, such as this one by Charles W. Penrose:
“It is stated that the iniquity of man was great, and God brought a flood on the earth. Now, to understand that correctly we have to know what kind of position those persons were in, and why they were called the “Sons of God.” Those men were in the same position as the Latter-day Saints. They were heirs to the Priesthood. They were the sons of God. They had obeyed the holy covenants. They had received the word of the Lord. They were consecrated to the Almighty. But they went outside of their covenants and their engagement with the Lord, and took wives of the daughters of men that were not in the covenant, and thus transgressed the law of God. The law of God in relation to this has been the same in all ages, and has been given to this people—that the sons of Israel shall wed the daughters of Israel, and shall not go out to wed with the stranger. These men did that, and God was displeased, as He is today with Latter-day Saints, who are called out of the world to be His servants, to be holy unto the Lord, to be clean because they bear the vessels of the Lord, when they go outside and wed with the stranger. (Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. [London: Latter-day Saints’ Book Depot, 1854-1886], 25: 228 – 229.)
Perhaps because of its controversial nature Genesis 6:1-4 is often ignored when discussing the causes of the flood, even though the strong link between them has been noted in the past. More fundamental religionists believe that this type of explanation of the Flood underscores the importance of maintaining racial and spiritual purity. God’s believing remnant must be preserved. When men failed to perceive the importance of this, God had to judge them severely. In a Pearl of Great Price Institute Manual, President John Taylor is quoted, describing the Flood as an act of love, done for the benefit of that generation. By taking away their earthly existence God prevented them from entailing their sins upon their posterity and degenerating them. An additional quotation from Joseph Fielding Smith applies this lesson to our day, saying:
“Because the daughters of Noah married the sons of men contrary to the teachings of the Lord, his anger was kindled, and this offense was one cause that brought to pass the universal flood. . . . The daughters who had been born, evidently under the covenant, and were the daughters of the sons of God, that is to say of those who held the priesthood, were transgressing the commandment of the Lord and were marrying out of the Church . Thus they were cutting themselves off from the blessings of the priesthood contrary to the teachings of Noah and the will of God. . . .Today there are foolish daughters of those who hold this same priesthood who are violating this commandment and marrying the sons of men; there are also some of the sons of those who hold the priesthood who are marrying the daughters of men. All of this is contrary to the will of God just as much as it was in the days of Noah” (Pearl of Great Price Student Manual – Religion 327)
Now, the Church still teaches that it is preferable not to marry outside of the covenant. But we’re usually not so un-PC as to suggest that marrying non-members is an abominable sin that may cause mankind to be swept off the earth. Some of you reading this post may not even agree that marrying outside the covenant is what brought a great judgment upon these people. Once again, we’re seeing a shift in doctrine, to the point that some Latter-day Saint thinkers are again putting credence in the “Watcher” theory of Genesis 6. Recent examples are posts by Yellow Dart at Faith Promoting Rumor, Seth P. at his blog, and David Larsen at Heavenly Ascents. In this, we’re not so different than the Christian world, where the debate continues.
Robert C. Newman points out some interesting facts concerning the current controversy:
The present form of the debate is rather paradoxical. On the one hand, liberal theologians, who deny the miraculous, claim the account pictures a supernatural liaison between divine beings and humans. Conservative theologians, though believing implicitly in angels and demons, tend to deny the passage any such import. The liberal position is more understandable with the realization that they deny the historicity of the incident and see it as a borrowing from pagan mythology. The rationale behind the conservative view is more complex: though partially a reaction to liberalism, the view is older than liberal theology.”
FRANKLIN, TENNESSEE WESTERN WEEKLY REVIEW, NOVEMBER 11, 1845
There have been recently dug up in Williamson county, Tennessee, seven miles from Franklin, the bones of a giant and no mistake. We have conversed with an intelligent and enterprising gentleman of our city, who has seen, examined, and purchased an interest in the skeleton. From him we derive the following facts: A Mr. Shumate was boring for water near his residence, upon a hill of considerable extent and eminence, situated in a rocky, mountainous section country, where the bones were discovered about 60 feet beneath the surface. They were immediately exhumed, and were found embedded in a strata of the hardest kind of clay which had apparently filled an extensive cavern or opening in the rock. The position of the skeleton was that of a recumbent, making an angle of the horizon. The bones are not at all petrified as in the case with most of the skeleton monsters of animals which have been discovered in our country, but are, nevertheless, in a most perfect state of preservation, and weigh in the aggregate about 1500 pounds!No doubt rests in the minds of any who have seen or examined them, that these bones belong to the genus homo. All the larger and characteristic bones are entire, and the skull, arms and thigh bones, knee pans, shoulder sockets and collar bones remove all skepticism as to their humanity. The whole skeleton, we are informed, is about 18 feet high , and must have stood full 19 feet ‘in his stockings’ (if he wore any.). The bones of the thigh and leg measure 6 feet 6 inches, so that our friend, ‘the General,’ could have marched erect, in full military costume, between the giant’s legs.The skull is described as being about 2-3 the size of a flour barrel, and capable of holding in its cavities near two bushels; a coffee cup of good size could be put into the eye sockets—and the jaw teeth, which are all perfect even to the enamel, would weight from 3½ to 6 pounds, some of the smaller ones which were loose have been weighed—the front teeth are missing.—These teeth bear the evidence of extreme age, from their cavities are apparent diminution from use in wearing away. An eminent physician and anatomist, properly assisted, is engaged in having the skeleton put together and the small deficiencies supplied by art.We are further informed by our fellow citizen, who has purchased an interest of one fourth in this interesting and wonderful curiosity, that it will be ready for exhibition in about one month’s time, when it will start on its tour thro’ the civilized world, and proceeding from New Orleans will shortly be among us here. Our fellow townsman keeps the price he paid for his interest a secret, but says that $50,000 has been offered and refused for the whole of this curiosity. https://www.jasoncolavito.com/newspaper-accounts-of-giants.html
THE GIANT SKELETON
NEW YORK HERALD, DECEMBER 12, 1845
The skeleton discovered in Williamson county in this State, and supposed to be that of a human being, has frequently been referred to, within a few days past, in the House of Representatives. Notwithstanding the description given of it, as Wouter Van Twiller would say, “we have our doubts about the matter.” This skeleton was found about sixty feet beneath the surface of the earth, embedded in a stratum of the hardest kind of clay. The bones are said to be in a perfect state of preservation, and weigh in the aggregate fifteen hundred pounds. All the large and characteristic bones are entire, and the skull, arms, and thigh bones, knee pans, shoulder sockets and collar bones remove all doubts, and the animal to whom they belonged has been decided “to belong to the genus homo.” This gentleman, when he walked the earth, was about eighteen feet high, and when clothed in flesh must have weighed not less than 3000 pounds. “The bones of the thigh and leg measure six feet six inches; his skull is said to be about two-thirds the size of a flour barrel, and capable of holding in its cavities near two bushels. (He must have had a goodly quantity of brains, and if intellect be in proportion to the size of the brain, he must have possessed extraordinary intellectual powers). The description further states, that “a coffee cup of good size could be put in the eye-sockets.” The jaw teeth weight from 8 ½ to 6 pounds. It is stated that an eminent physician and anatomist is engaged in putting the skeleton together, and that is will shortly be ready for public exhibition.—Nashville Orthopolitan.
Giant Human Skeletons Found Buried in Mounds Across North America
By Gaia Staff December 7, 2020
Around the turn of the 19th century, there were hundreds of reports from reputable sources of giant skeletons unearthed from ancient burial mounds across America. Human giants are not entirely a product of legend in our history.
André the Giant is a known example of a man with superhuman proportions and strength, reaching 7 feet 4 inches tall. But André’s size was the result of gigantism and acromegaly, disorders caused by an overactive pituitary gland, which releases too much growth hormone. And with the average human height at 5 feet 6 inches for men and 5 feet 2 inches for women, it’s rare to find someone of André’s height, let alone his stature.
With the extreme rarity of gigantism, affecting roughly three in a million, it’s surprising how often giants are spoken of in the Bible and North American folklore. David and Goliath, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Paul Bunyon are familiar examples of tales involving giants. But while these are thought to be myths or legends, is there any possibility that a race of giants once existed or were there humanoid ancestors significantly larger than us?
The Mound Builders: Unusual Burial Sites
Across the United States, there are burial mounds, or at least their remnants, some as extensive in size as the Great Pyramid of Giza. The Cahokia and Monk’s mounds in Illinois and Missouri are two thought to have been built before the arrival of Columbus. The Cahokia mound is 100 feet tall with a 14-acre base, almost an entire acre larger than the pyramid at Giza. Monk’s Mound is just as tall with a 1,000-foot-wide base. But what makes these and other mounds of their kind even more intriguing is what has been found buried inside of them.
Jim Vieira has made it his mission to explore the mystery behind these mounds and others where there is documentation of unearthed skeletons, often of gigantic proportions. Vieira, a stonemason by trade, found himself intrigued after finding a plethora of mysterious stone mounds throughout New England.
I felt inspired to paint the scene in the New Testament when the Roman Centurion stands at the foot of the cross and looks up at the Savior, who has already died and who knows all the thoughts and feelings the soldier was experiencing at that moment. The soldier had participated in the crucifixion. Being a Roman Army Officer, a centurion, he was in command of 100 men, so he very likely was in charge of the crucifixion, although it doesn’t say for sure.
As he was looking up at Jesus he spoke out loud and said, “truly this man was the son of God” (Mark 15:39). He must have felt something very strong to have made such a declaration loud enough to be heard over the thunder, lightning, and wind, which was already engulfing Golgotha.
It was a difficult painting to create and took me over a year to complete. I worked on it one or two days a week, but had other paintings I also had to work on during that period so I could not spend full time on it. That is why it took over a year to finish.
Sometime during the year, I become so busy with my other paintings, that I stopped working on the centurion all together. I noticed a void in my life during that period. Things were not going as well as they should have been, and the difficulty kept increasing. I became perplexed and somewhat depressed. I turned to the Lord for answers. I received a distinct feeling that I needed to return to the centurion as I had been neglecting Him.
The next day, I set the canvas up on the easel and started to paint where I had left off. At one point in the painting I had a very good feeling about the face of the centurion. It seemed to me to have the right expression and look, I was happy about it. My sister Dixie saw it one day and was moved to tears, and told me, “do NOT change his face – it is just what it ought to be.” I was impressed with the emotion in her voice.
It isn’t perfect I know, but there is something in his expression which is supposed to be there or as my sister Dixie put it, it is “what it ought to be.” Someday I hope to meet that Roman soldier. He may or may not look like the one I painted, but it was his spirit and testimony I felt that was captured with the paint and the brush.
Personally I feel the possibility of the Mulekites sailing with Phoenician Sailors through Gibraltar and then south to Florida and up the Mississippi River to Montrose, Iowa is more likely (60/40), than the Mulekites through Gibraltar and slightly north west to the mouth of the St Lawrence in America.
However, I have heard from a fellow Heartlander, David Doane the Mulekites could have traveled through Gibraltar, then north to Scotland, and then again south back to the St Lawrence Seaway to the Great Lakes. This possibility to me is (55/45), but I will explore all possibilities, as no one but the Lord knows for sure.
Be sure and see David Doane’s presentation at our Firm Foundation Conference on Fri April 19th at 4 pm on the main stage. His title is: Scriptural, Physical, Linguistic, & Archaeological Evidence of Zedikiah’s son, Nedabiah ben Zedikiah, Prince (Mulek)
Tickets Click the Logo Below:
A Non-LDS Navy Captains Expertise; Mulek- Up the Mississippi or through the St Lawrence?
With newly understood information from English Ship Captain Philip Beale, he has sailed 30,000 nautical miles that may indicate a very likely voyage of the Mulekites of the Book of Mormon traveling from the Old World to America using the southern route to the Gulf of Mexico and up the Mississippi River to Iowa.
The Phoenicia Voyages by Captain Philip Beale and Team are an ideal test of the veracity of the Book of Mormon accounts. Beale’s voyages of 2009 from Oman to Florida and a later voyage in 2020 from Tunisia to Florida, show not only that the materials and technology of 600 B.C. allowed construction of ocean-going vessels for both Lehi’s group and the Mulekites, but that both groups could have crossed the Atlantic and landed in North America, coming from the east.
Captain Beale has also shown to me the likely hood of the Mulekites on Phoenician ships traveling south from Gibraltar to North America.
Our friend and colleague Wayne May believes the Mulekites traveled from Jerusalem to the St Lawrence River and landed near Detroit, MI and continued to the Mississippi River to Montrose Iowa. I believe this is possible, but I lean more towards the theory that Jonathan Neville lays out from his article online, which you can read Moroni’s America by Jonathan Neville page 99-106
Ojibwe Turtle Boat Legend
There is a turtle boat legend of the Ojibway people from 900 to 1400 AD time frame. They lived on the east coast of the United States, north of the St Lawrence seaway. In other words they already lived on the Atlantic Ocean shore of North America. This is likely after the defeat of the Nephites in 400 AD. This group of Lamanites (Ojibwe) may have remained around Cumorah after the battle and traveled north and settled in northern Canada above the St Lawrence. This turtle boat legend describes their journey while still in North America going on their boats further west to the Great Lakes and settling near Wisconsin as their final resting place.
Some people may say this sojourn of the Ojibwe was proof that they came from Old World Jerusalem from the Atlantic Ocean and up the St Lawrence River. Those dates could not be correct as the Lehites came to America first in about 600 BC. I believe the Ojibwe were already in North America as descendants of Laman and Lemuel who first came to America from Florida. As we know the Hopewell Culture began in Florida and it migrated north to Missouri and then east to New York where the Hopewell culture died in about 400 AD according to historians. (See Legend Below which dates from 900 AD to 1400 AD).
The Voice of the Ojibway by Edward Benton-Banai
“One of the prophets long ago had spoken of a turtle-shaped island that awaited them at the end of their journey. The southern group had seen an island fitting this description that lay in the water off of a long point of land. The people sought out this island and placed tobacco on its shore. The Sacred Shell rose up out of the water and told the people that this was the place they had been searching for. Here, the Waterdrum made its seventh and final stop on the migration. The Sacred Fire was carried here and here it burned brightly. This island was called Mo-ning-wun-a-kawn-ing (the place that was dug) by the Ojibway. It was later called Madeline Island (Wisconsin). This name has survived to this day. The main body of the Anishinabe people gathered here and they became strong and powerful. At last the migration to the chosen ground was at an end. It is thought that the migration started around 900 A.D. It took some 500 years to complete. It is amazing that the Sacred Fire could be kept alive for so long. The dream of the original seven prophets was carried for many generations. It was carried along a string of fires with many campfires left behind. That the people were able to accomplish such a thing is truly a miracle of the Creator. We descendants of these great people can gather strength from their strength. We can gather courage for our lives today from their courage of yesterday.” The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway by Edward Benton-Banai https://groups.google.com/g/fladimor/c/XeZdF8MQgu4
I quote The Voice of the Ojibway by Edward Benton-Banai. “It is thought that the migration started around 900 A.D. It took some 500 years to complete.” This map reflects a time period no earlier than 900 AD.
Birch Scroll
A wiigwaasabak is a birch scroll, sewn together with cedar roots, used ceremonially by Ojibwe medicine men. They use geometric diagrams to explain many complex things and have been handed down for generations. This particular 2.6-meter long wiigwaasabak was made by Eshkwaykeeshik (James Red Sky). It recounts the historical journey of the Ojibwe people from their home along the Zhiiwitaagani-gichigami (Atlantic Ocean) to the Nayaano-nibiimaang Gichigamiin (Great Lakes) which occurred in the 14th and 15th centuries. See my additional blog here:
This map below from Red Sky Migration Chart: https://decolonialatlas.wordpress.com/2015/05/18/red-skys-migration-chart/
Ancient peoples arrived at the “lake country of America” by way of the St. Lawrence Channel. (Wayne May, THIS LAND – They Came from the EAST, pg. 220)
One thing that is wonderful with those of us who believe in the Heartland Model, is we have room to disagree and persuade and find additional information. None of us knows the exact details of most of Book of Mormon Geography. However we have a common belief that there is only one Hill Cumorah in New York, and that Joseph Smith knew the Nephites were in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio based on his letter to Emma and his vision of Zelph. We also feel strongly that D&C 125 tells us the very plausible location of Zarahemla (Montrose, IA) in the Book of Mormon.
Another Mulek Option
Our friend and fellow Heartlander David Doane has shared with me information which I think is credible as well. Mulek could have traveled north by island hopping from Gibraltar up the coast of Spain and into Scotland. Then from Scotland traveled south and into the St Lawrence Seaway. David has archaeological evidence for this possibility.
Quote From David Doane
“After breaking a treaty for the second time with Babylon, king Zedekiah of Judah’s two oldest sons were executed in front of him and his eyes put out, and he was chained in the central square of Babylon until his death. The queen, two daughters and a very young son/prince (mulek in Phoenician) were taken by Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe to Taphines Egypt where Jeremiah met them.
Passage was negotiated with trusted Phoenician merchant agents, and the royal party on those with them departed from Memphis aboard a Greek ship to deceive Babylonian agents. Carthage was a safe port. The party settled into a court in exile in Carthage. As stories of the escape of a prince (mulek), Nedabiah ben Zedekiah, Prince of Judah, increasingly grew amongst the trading ships frequenting the port of Carthage, it became increasingly more dangerous for Prince Nedebiah.
A plan was hatched to relocate Nedabiah across the Atlantic, to a secret destination where the Phoenicians sourced the copper that fueled the Bronze Age. Setting sail for a new world the party first stopped when Baruch died off the coast of Gibraltar, where the younger of the two princes married the local king.
Setting sail from Gibraltar the ship set sail for Gadir [Morocco] to resupply provisions and pick up additional sailors (who called themselves Gaditanians) familiar with the long voyage to the new world.
Setting sail from Gadir for Ireland to pick up a navigator of the North Atlantic, and where some time was spent as Jeremiah became the prophet to the people of Ireland and the oldest princess married the high king who adopted Judaism and the Torah as the basis of Irish law.
Setting sail again to the jump off point across the North Atlantic, the Northern most islands of Scotland then mulek [sailed] across the North Atlantic past Iceland and Greenland and down past the maritime provinces of modern Canada and into the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
Down the Saint Lawrence to the inland seas of the Great Lakes, and the lands to the South, of the Ohio river basin. Prince Nedebiah and those with him ultimately settled in the upper Sidon river, “fish river”, the Mississippi, at Zarahemla which can mean children of the covenant. A map stone carving of the central North America waterways shows the Mississippi, Ohio river and Great Lakes water ways, and includes Phoenician script that includes the letters NDB, Nedabiah.” David Doane Text to Rian Nelson April 2, 2024
Our friend Captain Beale also told me this northern route from Gibraltar is only possible during a specific time of the year and with a better than single square sail, such as a triangle or small carrack type, not a square sail. A carrack is a three-four-masted ocean-going sailing ship that was developed in the 14th to 15th centuries in Europe.
Crossing the Atlantic via Island Hopping
Here is an article speaking about Island Hopping, north from Gibraltar or Morocco, as David Doane speaks about above, and the article also speaks about the Bering Strait. “The implications of locating Atlantis in the Mediterranean go beyond the discovery itself. This find not only substantiates Plato’s claim of prehistoric transatlantic crossings, but may finally help explain how the Mediterranean haplogroup X got to North America 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.
While most geneticists today maintain that haplogroup X walked to America via the Bering Strait, genetic maps show that the furthest region east of the Mediterranean with small traces of haplogroup X, is the Altai Republic in Southern Russia. No traces of haplogroup X exist between Altai Republic and the greater region of the Great Lakes. If haplogroup X infiltrated North America via the Bering Strait, why then does the greatest concentration of haplogroup X (away from the Mediterranean) exist around the Great Lakes and not in Alaska or alongside the west coast? Most importantly, how do we otherwise explain that heavy traces of haplogroup X incidentally also exist in Scotland, Orkney Islands, Faroe islands and Iceland, essentially all the island stops to North America from Europe.” AncientOrigins.net
This quote above shows good support for Haplogroup X to be found in Scotland, Ireland, Israel, and with the Great Lakes in America among the Native Americans. As David Doane says Jeramiah may have traveled to Ireland, he may have done that without Zedikiah’s wife or Mulek. Mulek could have still traveled south through Gibraltar and to Florida and up the Mississippi. That is why you need to do your own research. I still believe with reading Omni 1:16 which says, “And they journeyed in the wilderness, and were brought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters, into the land where Mosiah discovered them; and they had dwelt there from that time forth.” The Mulekites were found by Mosiah in the same location where they had always been since they landed. This shows me a direct route from Israel or Egypt, directly across the great waters and then only stopping “into the land” where they were discovered by Mosiah, which to me would be on the Mississippi near Nauvoo, Illinois being stopped by the Des Moines river rapids. Both the St Lawrence seaway entrance and the Mississippi entrance near New Orleans would require a sailing vessel to tack up river. Either route is possible and we all should have an open mind.
Sad Dialogue
I am saddened to see a friend of mine, has chosen to be dismissive of many Heartlanders views, that the Mulekites may have traveled to America using the Mississippi River as a direct route to Illinois near the Des Moines Rapids. I would love to speak with him but my emails have not been returned. I still respect him and hope we can all avoid this type of personal attacks.
I quote my friend from his August 2023 post on Facebook, as he shared the following.
“…Thank you so much for your efforts in finding this map. I talked about it with Wayne last night and he was more that(n) excited. He will be publishing this map and the article in the December issue of the Promised Land (Magazine). This is not a nail in the coffin, but a wooden spike through the heart of the vampires.
Wayne has been producing powerful evidence for years showing the Mulekites came through the St. Lawrence waterway. This DNA work proves Wayne is correct. Anyone teaching differently has had the stake driven through their hearts and needs to repent soon.
Zoom up the attached map and look closely at the black dashed line crossing the Atlantic and entering the US at the St. Lawrence. Notice the line starts in the Middle East and is associated with those of Middle Eastern decent.
Do not allow any misguided individuals to fool you into believing Mulek came up the Mississippi. This theory is not supported by the Book of Mormon and now DNA. This discussion is over.” My friend and fellow Heartlander
Based on the Map above and here: accessgenealogy.com/native/cherokee-dna.htm, some of our Heartland friends as I quote above, have proposed that the Mulekites most likely came from the Mediterranean and then up the St Lawrence Seaway. I think this is because the map shows Haplogroup X in west Eurasia and also near the Great Lakes. This is a possible route.
As in the map below and with Captain Beale’s Sailing knowledge, we believe the most plausible route the Mulekites made from the Old World to America is following the natural current from Gibraltar south and into the Gulf of Mexico, then tacking up the Mississippi River to their forced stopping point at the Des Moines river rapids near Keokuk, Iowa. Those rapids were not opened until the 1840’s. We believe this direct landing near Zarahemla spoken of in D&C 125, is across from Nauvoo, IL, as Joseph’s revelation stated, “Let them build up a city unto my name upon the land opposite the city of Nauvoo and let the name of Zarahemla be named upon it.”
The Book of Mormon says, [Mulekites] “were brought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters, into the land where Mosiah discovered them; and they had dwelt there from that time forth.” Omni 1:16. This land of Zarahemla which is all along the Mississippi River from the Head of Sidon [Confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi River] to the Great Lakes is where the Mulekites lived and where Mosiah joined them in about 300 BC. The Mulekites had “dwelt there [near Nauvoo] from that time forth.”
Our good friend Wayne May believes the Mulekites came the St Lawrence Seaway Route, which is a possibility as I have spoken with him. I just believe for me there is stronger evidence that the Mulekites used the Mississippi as their route. You can decide on your own.
My friend Captain Philip Beale however, going the southern route from Gibraltar said, “Hi Rian, Thanks for your email the other day and sorry for my delayed response.
I think in general the so-called Northern route is a non-starter for an historical/maritime point of view because as you will see from the attached chart (below right), the currents and winds (which have been the same for thousands of years) go against the norther route. Unless the Phoenicians invented the internal combustion engine or sailed to meet the Vikings first in Norway, it just does not make sense.
This is the chart Captain Beale sent me in his email.
However, the southern route is just like a conveyer belt all the way to the Caribbean from the Med. For the rivers we would have to look at the distances involved but I think at best you would be looking at 10 miles per day through rowing. Happy to do a bit more work on this but I thought I would send this to get started.” Regards Philip
As the map below shows that crossing through the Gulf Stream and other currents is not feasible, as Captain Beale stated.
Also, if they take the St Lawrence, you would have to avoid or fight the Niagara Falls, and then the end of the water route would have to be near Detroit, MI where the Mulekites would have to travel by land to the next river, or travel all the way to Zarahemla by Land. (Detroit to Nauvoo is over 500 Miles).
The other option for the St Lawrence would be for the Mulekites to travel the Great Lakes up Lake Huron and back down Lake Michigan to land only. They would then need to walk to and travel down the Illinois River which connects to the Mississippi River, and land near the Des Moines Rapids in Iowa from the north. (Chicago to Nauvoo area is 270 Miles).
This St Lawrence scenario makes it unlikely that [Mulekites] “had dwelt there [Nauvoo Area] from that time forth.” Omni 1:16. The Mulekites may have had to dwell neat Detroit, or Indiana, etc. as there were now connecting waterways. Also we read in Heleman 6:10, “Now the land south was called Lehi, and the land north was called Mulek, which was after the son of Zedekiah; for the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north, and Lehi into the land south.” Whether the Mulekites came from the St Lawrence or from the Mississippi, both voyages they would be “north” of where Lehi landed in Florida, as you see in the map below.
This map below from accessgenealogy.com/native/cherokee-dna.htm shows exactly what we already know. That the DNA in the Great Lakes matches that in Western Eurasia. Just because the line on this map shows DNA matching near NE Canada doesn’t mean the Mulekites landed by the Saint Lawrence and stayed there.
In one Heartland theory the Mulekites landed and lived in Montrose just as our theory shows. So, they could have come up the Mississippi. As much as they could have come up the Saint Lawrence.
If the Mulekites entered from the St Lawrence Seaway but didn’t stop until they got to Montrose, Iowa, there wouldn’t be found any strong evidence of Haplogroup X left by the Mulekites near the Great Lakes until after their migration through the Great Lakes long after the initial landing in Iowa.
Since the Mulekites place of first landing and settlement was near Montrose Iowa, (See Omni 1:16) and not near the mouth of the St Lawrence Seaway, it seems that the Mulekites joined the Nephites, and both migrated from Illinois toward the Great Lakes over a period of about 300 BC to 100 AD. After the last battles of the Nephites (mixed with the blood of the Mulekites) near Cumorah in 385 AD, surely much of Haplogroup X would be found near the Great Lakes.
Coriantumr Discovered Where?
My great friend and “professor of the heartland” in my opinion, Wayne May feels it is likely that the Mulekites would have picked up Coriantumr who was injured near Cumorah, on their journey west at the St Lawrence Seaway and through the Great Lakes.
It is possible that Coriantumr could have walked injured or after healing a bit, from Cumorah to Lake Ontario 30 miles north (See Map Below) to meet the Mulekites. The Mulekites could have found Coriantumr on that huge Lake Ontario somewhere I guess. But, this is not that likely in my opinion. The Book of Mormon says nothing about Coriantumr riding in a ship with the Mulekites as he goes with them to Zarahemla. It says, “And Coriantumr was discovered by the people of Zarahemla; and he dwelt with them for the space of nine moons.” Omni 1:21
As you see in the map below, you can read Option One in a Yellow Box and Option 2 in the Green Box and decide on your own. Either way Coriantumr could have healed and traveled either direction for the Mulekites to pick him up. Also don’t forget the record of the Jaredites was originally written by the Prophet Ether and even though we don’t hear in the Book of Mormon about his whereabouts, I believe Ether helped Coriantumr heal and get into a canoe to travel directly down the Genesee River to the Allegheny River which continues as the Ohio River, right to the Land of Zarahemla in Illinois or Indiana, which is the heart of the Heartland.
(I believe Coriantumr once able to physically move after his wounds, would naturally head toward a close river like the Genesee or the Ganargua and get in a canoe to finish healing up, as he traveled toward where the Mulekites were, not to a body of water where the Mulekites [could have picked him up]. Ganargua River was later used to assist in the Erie Canal construction. These rivers are near Palmyra and Rochester. From the Genesee River, Coriantumr could have connected to the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers and was picked up somewhere in the Land Zarahemla Ohio or Mississippi River, which would be bordering Indiana and Illinois, where the Mulekites would have lived since the day they landed. As it says the Mulekites, “were brought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters, into the land where Mosiah discovered them; and they had dwelt there from that time forth.” Omni 1:16.
It would be easy to spot a man in a boat from a river and not amongst the huge Lake Ontario. As my friend Wayne says, We report, you decide. I would love your feedback either way.
Did Ether Remain with Coriantumr?
I don’t think Ether stayed to help or see if Coriantumr lived or died, based on the scriptures below. In that case for Coriantumr to travel to Lake Ontario (Option One above) and be found or to the Genesee River (Option Two above) to travel to be found, Ether was probably not with him.
Remember the Lord said, “And Coriantumr was discovered by the people of Zarahemla; and he dwelt with them for the space of nine moons.” Omni 1:21 That means Ether was not with Coriantumr and either died or was translated, because we hear in the scriptures that Coriantumr would be the last of the Jaredites. (Just the Brother of Jared descendants were utterly destroyed, as they were the ones who made the covenant with the Lord). I believe many other descendants of the Jaredites still remained in all of North and South America who had not made a covenant with the Lord).
“And the Lord spake unto Ether, and said unto him: Go forth. And he went forth, and beheld that the words of the Lord had all been fulfilled; and he finished his record; (and the hundredth part I have not written) and he hid them in a manner that the people of Limhi did find them.
Now the last words which are written by Ether are these: Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am saved in the kingdom of God. Amen.” Ether 15:33-34
“And after being many days in the wilderness they arrived in the land of Zarahemla, and joined Mosiah’s people, and became his subjects.
And it came to pass that Mosiah received them with joy; and he also received their records, and also the records which had been found by the people of Limhi.” Mosiah 22:13-14
Mulek in Djerba, Tunisia?
John Lefgren of Heartland Research said, “We believe the Phoenicia Ship Replica connects the Bible’s stories to the New World.
We read in Jeremiah 52:12 – 13. Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem, And burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire:
The destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the First Temple had a profound impact on the history of the Jews. This is a point in time from which we connect the ship replica on the west bank of the Mississippi River to the Bible.
About 300 years after the destruction of Jerusalem, we read in Omni 15 Behold, it came to pass that Mosiah discovered that the people of Zarahemla came out from Jerusalem at the time that Zedekiah, king of Judah, was carried away captive into Babylon.
The ship shows that Mulek, the Prince of Judah, could sail across the Atlantic after the burning of the Temple. This is why we are so determined to find sufficient funds to finish the restoration of what was less than two years ago in the mud of Florida. We are sure that as we continue to move forward, we will gain the support of many more people.
Mulek, a son of King Zedekiah, may have come to Djerba, Tunisia with his mother, the Jewish Queen. Jews from Tunisia are sure to be able to tell this story better than anyone else. He wants to hear what the Rabbi has to say. Doug Petty, [who was on one of the Phoenicia Ship voyages with Captain Beale], believes that the power of the Carthaginian Empire protected a remnant of the Jewish royal family. I think that this meeting will have great meaning as we connect the ancient people of Tunisia to the ancient people of America.” John Lefgren PhD
Tunisian Jews Pilgrimage
The siege of Jerusalem (circa 589–587 BC) was the final event of the Judahite revolts against Babylon, in which Nebuchadnezzar II, king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, besieged Jerusalem, the capital city of the Kingdom of Judah.” Wikipedia
History tells us that many Jews fled the destruction of the Jewish Temple of Israel and probably sailed by Phoenician ships to Djerba. Tunisia has one of the oldest Synagogues in the world, called El Ghriba.
Tunisia’s lesson of tolerance in all the forms it takes has been hard-earned. The North African nation offers to the broader communities of Muslims, Jews and Christians across the globe a rare example of tolerance, which the pilgrimage to El Ghriba illustrates to perfection.
El Ghriba Synagogue is located on the island of Djerba in the South of Tunisia. It is situated in the Jewish village of Hara Sghira, a few kilometers southwest of Houmt El Souk, Djerba’s main town. The synagogue is the oldest and most important in Africa, is a site of pilgrimage, one of the legends associated with its founding claims that either a stone or a door from Solomon’s Temple or the Second Temple is incorporated in the building.” Carthage Magazine
The likelihood of the route of the Mulekites from the Gulf of Mexico and up the Mississippi River is a direct route to where the Mulekites landed. (See Omni 116).
Now, I admit, I could be wrong. I have spoken with Rod Meldrum and Jonathan Neville, who believe more in the Mississippi route than the St Lawrence. Our good friends Wayne May and David Doane, feel strongly they traveled by the St. Lawrence. Either way we know the Mulekites are from Hebrew ancestry, mixed with the Nephites and Lamanites ancestry from Joseph of Egypt. The Old World of Israel and the New World or Land of Joseph, has reunited in America.
There should be robust and civil disagreement even in the Heartland Model, as that will help each of us develop even more evidence as we strive to find more truth. You can make your own choice on what you believe, but the critical issue is that we all love the Book of Mormon and it’s spiritual witness we have each received.
“It’s My Truth”
We each believe based on our own bias, study and research. We also learn from personal revelation or until we understand more from God or the Spirit. I will understand certain things as my definition of truth different from you, and it isn’t a matter of who is correct, but who’s personal feelings are correct for them, at the time of their ability to receive and understand. I don’t believe in today’s fad saying of, “It’s my own truth.” My own truth could mean its true to me, but not revealed truth from God. Revealed truth from the Lord is true, no matter what anyone thinks is “their truth.”
You can’t push your feelings about truth on others, as it is personal to you. We each must learn revealed truth by the Spirit. I agree truth is only one way, meaning truth is truth and only God and Christ know all truth. We cant change truth, just understand it more and more. We have different ways of receiving and understanding it completely, or in bits and pieces. That’s why we are taught line upon line until more knowledge or possibly perfect knowledge is achieved in a certain thing.
This pile of bones comes from 200+ small Hopewell forts around Cumorah
Now in March of 2024 the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon by David Hocking and Rod Meldrum has become very popular with over 40,000 now printed. We are still attacked with an unusually heated fervor by some of our fellow members of the Church who believe the Mesoamerican theory. I would like to respond briefly.
Lucy Woodruff Smith standing on top of the Hill Cumorah with Pliny T. Sexton
There is really only one big difference between the Heartland theory and the Mesoamerican theory. It has to do with the location of Cumorah. NY or Mexico? The Mesoamericans believe the plates Joseph Smith found in a hill was not necessarily “the Hill Cumorah.” They also believe the final battles of the Nephites occurred somewhere in Mexico.
Editorial Position of the Annotated Book of Mormon
From: David Hocking, Rod Meldrum, Jonathan Neville, Boyd Tuttle, Wayne May, and Rian Nelson
Whatever you feel is fine with us, but but we strongly believe the Book of Mormon plates were buried in the Hill Cumorah in upstate New York and the last battles of the Nephites happened near that same hill. Hill Ramah where the Jaredites were destroyed is also the exact same hill. (Ether 15:11) See more at the blog here:
Here is what the Editors of the Annotated Book of Mormon shared with the Mesoamericans, who attacked our book.
We still believe the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah; and
We trust people to make their own informed decisions.
The prophets have been clear about two points:
(i) the Hill Cumorah of Mormon 6:6 is in New York and (ii) we don’t know for sure the locations of other Book of Mormon events.
Email to Mesoamerican believers: “We have adopted the above in red as our editorial position, as anyone who reads the book can see. If you were confident in your position, you would encourage all to read the Annotated Edition and see the flaws for themselves, but instead you warn your readers to “stay away” and then stand before them as their “truth filters” and “Interpreters” thus preventing them from ever entering in.” Annotated BofM Editors
Why do many insist that the final battle of the Nephites and Lamanites didn’t happen at the one and only Hill Cumorah? Many yell the words, “It’s a clean hill”, meaning there are no arrowheads found there, or they say, “where are all the bones?” Bones from 1,400 years ago that weren’t even buried? No breastplates or head plates? Ever hear of spoils of the war. Too small of a hill? The final battles didn’t happen just on a little hill, but in the Land of Cumorah. See Mormon 6:2. Oliver Cowdery said in Letter VII it was the hill of the final battles. Good enough for me. It makes sense. I believe the final battles happened in the Land of Cumorah, near the hill.
The purpose of the information below is to share with you significant archaeological evidence for the ancient Hopewell and Adena Culture in the Hill Cumorah Land. There is evidence of fortifications, pottery, copper, weapons, palisades, forts, mass burials, mounds, tools and other artifacts all around this land in Upstate NY. I believe the Hopewell culture matches up with the Nephite culture extraordinarily well. The Hopewell originated in 600 BC at the panhandle of Florida from Crystal River to Pensacola, Florida. History documents this. The Hopewell then traveled north into Georgia and Tennessee. There is evidence of a huge society of the Hopewell from Missouri to Illinois to Indiana and then to Ohio which was the dominant historical area of this people. History shows the end of the Hopewell civilization around the year 400 AD near Hill Cumorah in New York. Historians say the Hopewell just disappeared and historians have no idea what happened. I feel I have a good idea. The final battle at Cumorah was 385 AD. This is some of the best evidence of a possible link to the Hopewell and the Nephites.
Cumorah Question
A series of objections to Mormonism were emailed by a professor friend of music superstar Jay Osmond (drummer of the world famous Osmond Brothers and Osmond family musical dynasty) requesting Jays response and answers to his challenges. The questions, which were to be used in conjunction with a course being taught by professor D. Kline in a prominent eastern university, were forwarded to researcher and author Rod L. Meldrum, an advocate for the Book of Mormon who has also conducted scientific research in several related fields of science and DNA, for a response. [All Questions and Answers here]: Below is just one of those questions and its answer.
Question from Dr. D. Kline:There should be over 230,000 bodies around the Hill Comorrah [Cumorah]. The place Joseph Smith saw his vision, and the one geographical site confirmed by the Mormon Church. There should be mass burial sites, steel swords, bones, and much more. Such an epic battle would have left behind vast amounts of archaeological evidence, yet all that has been found is a few stone weapons. And as if the lack of archaeological confirmation is not enough of a problem, the LDS Church refuses to allow outside excavation. Contrast this with Biblical archaeology, where any known Biblical sites have been excavated and verified.
Answer by Rod Meldrum: Really? There were 60,000,000 bison exterminated on the plains, most of which were left where they lay when they died. Where is the evidence for this massive slaughter, today? And these were not small 150 pound human’s but 1800 pound animals with much heavier bones and bodies. Yet there is nothing left of them today to show they were indeed here. Any dead body quickly deteriorates to nearly nothing in short order in these wet/humid climates. The only way anything from a human body would be preserved is through burial and the Nephites specifically record that the Lamanites left the bodies of the fallen Nephites “and their flesh, and bones, and blood lay upon the face of the earth, being left by the hands of those who slew them to molder upon the land, and to crumble and to return to their mother earth.” This is clearly indicative of non-burial and therefore no one should expect such remains.
Some have incorrectly assumed that the final battles of the Book of Mormon occurred in one single relatively small location or even on the Hill Cumorah itself, but the book, as well as the archaeological evidence, suggests otherwise. In 1851, the Smithsonian Institution published the book Antiquities of the State of New York which provides overwhelming evidence of massive burials all over the western portion of the state of New York. Here are a few quotes from this authoritative and informative book.
Quotes Below
PAGE 79 “A MILE TO THE EASTWARD…IS ANOTHER OF THE ‘BONE PITS,’ ALREADY SEVERAL TIMES REFERRED TO, WHICH IS ESTIMATED, BY THOSE WHO EXCAVATED IT ORIGINALLY, TO HAVE CONTAINED FOUR HUNDRED SKELETONS HEAPED PROMISCUOUSLY TOGETHER. THEY WERE INDIVIDUALS OF EVERY AGE AND SEX.”
PAGE 99 “THE “BONE PITS” WHICH OCCUR IN SOME PARTS OF WESTERN NEW YORK, CANADA, MICHIGAN, ETC., HAVE AN UNQUESTIONABLY CORRESPONDING ORIGIN. THEY ARE OF VARIOUS SIZES, BUT USUALLY CONTAIN A LARGE NUMBER OF SKELETONS. ONE OF THE PITS DISCOVERED SOME YEARS AGO, IN THE TOWN OF CAMBRIA, NIAGARA COUNTY, WAS ESTIMATED TO CONTAIN THE BONES OF SEVERAL THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS…”
PAGE 100 “…THE AREA WAS A DEPOSITORY OF THE DEAD. IT WAS A PIT EXCAVATED FOUR OR FIVE FEET DEEP AND FILLED WITH HUMAN BONES… HUNDREDS SEEM TO HAVE BEEN THROWN IN PROMISCUOUSLY, OF BOTH SEXES AND ALL AGES. NUMEROUS BITS OF ARROW-POINTS WERE FOUND AMONG THE BONES AND IN THE VICINITY…”
PAGE 103 “AMONG THEM WERE A FEW FETAL BONES. MANY OF THE SKULLS BORE MARKS OF VIOLENCE, LEADING TO THE BELIEF THAT THEY WERE BROKEN BEFORE BURIAL…”
PAGE 144 “IN EXCAVATING THE CANAL [ERIE CANAL] THROUGH THE BANK… ANOTHER BURIAL PLACE WAS DISCLOSED, EVIDENTLY MORE ANCIENT, FOR THE BONES CRUMBLED TO PIECES ALMOST IMMEDIATELY UPON EXPOSURE TO THE AIR… THE NUMBER OF SKELETONS IS REPRESENTED TO HAVE BEEN COUNTLESS…”
Below are some articles from local newspapers near Palmyra from 1818 to 1822.
Vol. XIV. Geneva, N. Y., August 7, 1822. No. 10.
Osco Indian Mound Auburn, NY
A Mound, of extraordinary dimensions, has been recently discovered & opened in the southeast part of this county. It is about fifty feet in length and eighteen in breadth at one extremity, and gradually terminating to a complete point at the other. Within this space large quantities of human bones have been dug up, apparently of all ages. Some of the skull bones are very large, and one thigh bone in particular is said to be much too large for the present race of men. The bodies appear to have been thrown in without any order or regularity, as the bones are found cross-wise and in every form. No relics of utensils or implements have been found with them, and whether they were the victims of a battle, or from what cause they were disposed of in this manner, we pretend not to say, but from the works in the vicinity of the mound resembling fortifications, we should judge that to have been the case. Large trees have grown directly over the mound, and the bones on being exposed to the air soon become calcareous. After giving this statement, we leave it to the curious, and those better skilled on this subject, to make such speculations as these facts render deductible.(A large number of human bones in the last stage of decay, were lately found in the town of Nunda — Allegany Co. — promiscuously covered over in a field; near which, on the top of a hill, were the remains of an old fort, inaccessible on every side but one, which appears to have been the work of a civilized people; but tradition even does not point to the time about which it was erected.)
Note: This article was reprinted in the Aug. 14, 1822 issue of the Palmyra Herald and Canal Advertiser.
Vol. XIV. Geneva, N. Y., September 18, 1822. No. 16.
Indian Mound At Fort Hill, NY
Circleville, O., Aug. 20. Our Antiquities. — A few days since while some mechanics were digging near the north west corner of the “square fort” in this place, they came to a strata of earth, differing in quality and color from that which composed the wall generally — on which reposed the skeleton of a human being which had probably been mouldering there for centuries. The skeleton was discovered about ten feet from the summit of the wall, and four from its base, or common level of the adjacent earth. The bones are said by those who first discovered them, to have extended nine or ten feet, from head to foot!They immediately crumbled on exposure to the air. The wall is composed of clay, which is readily converted into bricks — for which purpose it is rapidly disappearing before the devouring hand of man. The layer of earth on which the skeleton was found, was composed of dark fine sand, much resembling alluvial soil; it extended three or four rods in length, and is totally unfit for the purposes for which the remainder of the wall is using. — Olive Branch.
Vol. I. Palmyra, N. Y., Wednesday, January 21, 1818. No. 9.
From the North American Review. [ Nov. 1816 ].
LITERARY.
Indian Antiquities. — The following account, which we take from the Western Gazetteer, adds something to our former knowledge of those hitherto inexplicable wonders, that are found in such abundance in our western country. We have not room to examine any of the speculations, which have entered the heads of our philosophers and antiquarians on the subject; and if we had, we should hardly expect, where all is conjecture and uncertainty, to afford much amusement or profit to our readers. There is something, however, extremely curious in the inquiry itself; although we cannot hope, that any very important or certain results can be drawn from the few facts, which have as yet been given to the world. We can safely infer from them nothing more, than that this immense tract of country, which has every mark of having been for centuries past a desolate wilderness, has been thickly inhabited at some former period by a warlike people,who had made much greater advances in the arts of civilized life, than any of the aboriginal inhabitants of North America, who have been. known since its discovery by Europeans. The mounds described below are situated in the town ot Harrison, Indiana Territory. ‘We examined from 15 to 20. In some, whose heights was from ten to fifteen feet, we could not find more than four or five skeletons. In one, not the least appearance of a human bone was to be found. Others were so full of bones, as to warrant the belief, that they originally contained at least one hundred dead bodies; children of different ages, and the full grown, appeared to have been piled together promiscuously. We found several scull, leg and thigh hones, which plainly indicated that their possessors were men of gigantic stature. The scull of one skeleton was one fourth of an inch thick; and the teeth remarkably even, sound and handsome, all firmly planted. The fore teeth were very deep, and not so wide as those of the generality of white people. Indeed, there seemed a great degree of regularity in the form of the teeth, in all the mounds. In the progress of our researches, we obtained ample testimony, that these masses of the earth were formed by a savage people. Yet, doubtless possessing a greater degree of civilization than the present race of Indians. We discovered a piece of glass weighing five ounces, resembling the bottom of a tumbler, but concave; several stone axes, with grooves near their heads to receive a withe, which unquestionably served as a helve; arrows formed from flint, almost exactly similar to those in use among the present Indians; several pieces of earthen ware; some appeared to be parts of vessels holding six or eight gallons; others were obviously fragments of jugs, jars, and cups: some were plain, while others were curiously ornamented with figures of birds and beasts, drawn while the clay or material of which they were made was soft, and before the process of glazing was performed. The small vessels were made of pounded or pulverized muscle shells, mixed with an earthen or flinty substance, and the large ones of clay and sand. There was no appearance of iron; one of the sculls was found pierced by an arrow, which was still sticking in it, driven about half way through before its force was spent. It was about six inches long. The subjects of this mound were doubtless killed in battle, and hastily buried. In digging to the bottom of them we invariably came to a stratum of ashes, from six inches to two feet thick, which rests on the original earth. These ashes contain coals, fragments of brands, and pieces of calcined bones. From the quantity of ashes and bones, and the appearance of the earth underneath, it is evident that large fires must have been kept burning for several days previous to commencing the mound.
High Tor’s Stone Mounds – Life in the Finger Lakes
Almost every building lot in Harrison village contains a small mound; and some as many as three. On the neighboring hills, northeast of the town, is a number of the remains of stone houses. They were covered with soil, brush, and full grown trees. We cleared away the earth, roots and rubbish from one of them, and found it to have been anciently occupied as a dwelling. It was about twelve feet square; the walls had fallen nearly to the foundation. They appeared to have been built of rough stone, like our stone walls. Not the least trace of any iron tools have been employed to smooth the face of them, could be perceived. At one end of the building, we came to a regular hearth, containing ashes and coals; before which we found the bones of eight persons of different ages, from a small child to the heads of the family. The positions of their skeletons clearly indicated, that their deaths were sudden and simultaneous. They were probably asleep, with their feet towards the fire, when destroyed by an enemy, an earthquake, or pestilence.”
Vol. I. Palmyra, N. Y., Wednesday, January 28, 1818. No. 10.
Extract from the Western Gazeteer.
The author of this interesting and valuable work, in speaking of the antiquities of the state of Indiana that now exist near Vincennes, County of Knox, says that “On the hills, two miles east of the town, are three large mounds; and others are frequently met with on the prairies, and upland, from White-river to the head of the Wabash. They are in every respect similar to those in Franklin county, already described.
Indian Mound Cemetery in Moravia, New York –
The French have a tradition, that an exterminating battle was fought in the beginning of the last century, on the ground where Fort Harrison mpw stands, between the Indians living on the Mississippi, and those of the Wabash. The bone of contention was the lands lying between those rivers, which both parties claimed. There were about 1000 warriors on each side. The condition of the fight was, that the victors should possess the lands in dispute. The grandeur of the prize was peculiarly calculated to inflame the ardor of savage minds. The contest commenced about sunrise. Both parties fought desperately. The Wabash warriors came off conquerors, having seven men left alive at sunset, and their adversaries but five. The mounds are still to be seen where it is said the slain were buried.”
Artifacts at Hill Cumorah
Danny Lawson (Friend of Wayne May) …Adena point on top of Cumorah
By D. C. Miller. Batavia, N. Y., October 18, 1822. Vol. 11, No. 553.
AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES.
To the editors of the Louisiana Republican.
Gentlemen: — In the course of my observation & travels through several parts of the United States, I have kept minutes of the most remarkable events which have occurred under my own observation, extracts from which I design, occasionally, to submit to you, and if you think them worthy of insertion in your useful paper, you are at liberty to use them accordingly.
Indian Burial Mound – Cooperstown, New York – New World
All accounts extant, relative to the size of the ancient settlers of our country, agree that this race of beings must have been larger than the present; but none that I have seen give any evidence of this fact. From my own observation, I have evidence at least of one person of gigantic stature.
In the year 1810, I opened, with several other persons who accompanied me for the purpose, one of the flat mounds common in the western country. It was built of regular layers of flat stones, and covered lightly with earth. This was 4 miles west of the town of Worthington, in Ohio, and within a few rods of the banks of the river Scioto. — In this mound we found the skeletons of a number of bodies, some of a very large size, they were deposited directly due east and west, the heads to the west; precisely as is the practice in Christian burials.
After several hours fatigue in opening & examining this mound, we retired to a house of a Mr. Miller, about 200 yards from the spot, who informed us that he had taken a skeleton from the mound adjoining the one we had examined, which was supposed to be, when living, a man of at least 7 feet 4 inches. He stated that such was the opinion of all who had seen the bones in his possession — that the bone of the leg, which had lost a little at each end, was then longer than the bone of the tallest man in the settlement, measuring from the heel to the cap of the knee.
Mr. Miller stated that he had also in his possession, the jaw bone of this skeleton, which he said, would cover loosely the face of any of his neighbors; and that, when he found the skeleton, he picked from one of the joints of the neck bone, (which was also much larger than any he had seen before,) a stone arrow point; from which circumstances, it was thought his death had been occasioned. I made many inquiries of Mr. Miller, who seemed to be a very intelligent man. He informed me that he had been living at his residence on the Scioto, for many years; — that when he first settled there, he was told by all the old Indians that these mounds existed at a period beyond the recollection of the oldest of them, and that the tribe of Indians before them could give no account of the mounds, other than that they were burying places before they inhabited the country.
From these circumstances, together with some others, which have come under my observation, I have been of opinion, that the bones frequently found in these mounds, must have been the skeletons of a race of beings inhabiting the country, of whom the Indians had no knowledge. The most remarkable circumstance stated by Mr. Miller was, that when ploughing his field, he traced plainly the remains of an ancient building in the form of a house, as there was a manifest difference in the appearance of the earth; and pointing at the same time to the hearth stone in his fire-place, he observed “the hearth-stone which you see there, I took myself from the place where I suppose the fire-place was in the ancient building of which I speak.” The Indians, he added, gave him the same account of the appearance of this old building as they had of the mounds; that it existed before their time. During the war, and while on my way to Detroit, I intended calling on Mr. Miller, for more particular information, but upon my arrival at Worthington, I learned that he was dead.
Every information tending to prove the existence of a vast ancient population of any part of our country, ought to be preserved — but few persons can or will afford to spend time and money to the attainment of such an object. I have occasionally noted what had passed under my observation since the year 1807 in the western country; and, as I find leisure, will transmit them to you to be filed away through the medium of your paper, till better proof can be obtained of the existence of a vast ancient population of our country.
It would, in my opinion, be a very laudable act in the general government to encourage or authorize some competent person to collect the most important facts in relation to this subject. And the present state of profound peace and tranquility of our country is, perhaps as favorable as any other in the history of our national affairs for such an undertaking. A TRAVELLER.
Note 1: This article was also reprinted in the Oct. 30, 1822 issue of the Palmyra Herald and Canal Advertiser, along with an article on Mordecai M. Noah’s scheme for a gathering of Israel in America.
Note 2: Early settlers moving into the western country once frequently encountered burial mounds and graves containing the bones of such ancient giants, but evidence of these exceptionally tall and robust Indians is rarely uncovered today. The prevalence of these reports during the 1820s and 1830s lead some Americans to speculate that their land had once been inhabited by a civilized (perhaps white) race of “mighty men of yore.”Mormon writers have often pointed out the evidence of these large skeletons as supporting the story of the Jaredites or Nephites in the pre-Columbian Americas. LDS author Phyllis C. Olive, on pages 30-34 of her 2001 book, The Lost Tribes of the Book of Mormon, sets forth her evidence that the Book of Mormon people were not only the “Mound-Builders,” but that they were also a “large and mighty nation living in the near vicinity of the Hill Cumorah and throughout the entire mound building region — the giant, Mound Builders so long sought for; a people who bear remarkable similarities to those described in the Book of Mormon.” See also the same writer’s 1998 book, The Lost Lands of the Book of Mormon, where she expresses the same ideas. The thought does not seem to have occurred to these Mormon writers, that pre-1830 reports of American antiquities could have influenced the writing of the Book of Mormon itself.
This pile of bones (above) comes from 200+ small Hopewell forts around Cumorah, but mostly east of the Hill, which would be the direction that the Lamanites would come from the Ohio collapse. Squire did the survey work uncovering numerous bones in piles in the ditches around the forts and some mound piles of stack bones with swallow dirt cover. Aboriginal Monuments of Western New York (below)……Wayne May has it for sale on his site. wwwancientamerican.com first and second edition. Both are good. Bone piles are in the Holland Purchase book as well, any early book on western New York, mentions the antiquity of numerous bones around the small enclosures of western N.Y. See Wayne’s DVD on this subject (above).
VARIOUS references to mounds or tumuli, resembling those found in the Valley of the Mississippi, have been made in the preceding pages. These mounds are far from numerous, and hardly deserve a separate notice. It is nevertheless an interesting fact to know that isolated examples occur, in situations where it is clear no dependence exists between them and the grand system of earth-works of the Western States. It serves to sustain the conclusion that the savage Indian tribes occasionally constructed mounds; which are however rather to be considered as accidents than the results of a general practice. The purposes of the mounds of New York, so far as can be determined, seem uniformly to have been those of sepulture. They generally occur upon commanding or remarkable positions. Most of them have been excavated, under the impulse of an idle curiosity, or have had their contents scattered by “money-diggers,” a ghostly race, of which, singularly enough, even at this day, representatives may be found in almost every village. I was fortunate enough to discover one upon Tonawanda Island, in Niagara River, which had escaped their midnight attentions. It was originally about fifteen feet in height. At the base appeared to have been a circle of stones, perhaps ten feet in diameter, within which were several small heaps of bones, each comprising three or four skeletons. The bones are of individuals of all ages, and had evidently been deposited after the removal of the flesh. Traces of fire were to be discovered upon the stones. Some chippings of flint and broken arrow-points, as also some fragments of deers’ horns, which appeared to have been worked into form, were found amongst the bones. The skulls had been crushed by the superincumbent earth.
The mounds which formerly existed in Erie, Genesee, Monroe, Livingston, St. Lawrence, Oswego, Chenango, and Delaware counties, all appear to have contained human bones, in greater or less quantities, deposited promiscuously, and embracing the skeletons of individuals of all ages and both sexes. They probably all owe their origin to a practice common to many of the North American tribes, of collecting together at fixed intervals the bones of their dead, and finally depositing them with many and solemn ceremonies. They were sometimes heaped together so as to constitute mounds; at others placed in pits or trenches dug in the earth; and it is probable they were in some instances buried in separate graves, but in long ranges, or deposited in caverns, either promiscuously or with regularity.
A massive heap of giant mound builder skeletons were found in what we call Pittsburgh, The Pittsburgh Press on September 13, 1932.
The period when this second burial took place occurred at different intervals amongst the different tribes, but was universally denominated the “Festival of the Dead.” Bartram, speaking of the burial customs of the Floridian Indians, says: “After the bone-house is full, a general solemn funeral takes place. The nearest kindred and friends of the deceased, on a day appointed, repair to the bone-house, take up the respective coffins, and, following one another in the order of seniority, the nearest relations and connections attending their respective corpses, and the multitude succeeding them, singing and lamenting alternately, slowly proceed to the place of general interment, when they place the coffins in order forming a pyramid. Lastly, they cover all over with earth, which raises a conical hill or mount. They then return to town in order of solemn procession, concluding the day with a festival which is called the ‘Feast of the Dead?‘”13 The author here quoted adds in a note, that it was the opinion of some ingenious men with whom he had conversed, “that all those artificial pyramidal hills, usually called ‘Indian Mounts,’ were raised on such occasions, and are generally sepulchres;” from which opinion he takes occasion to dissent. There is no doubt a wide difference between the mounds thus formed and the great bulk of those connected with the vast ancient enclosures of the Western States.
The large cemeteries which have been discovered in Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Ohio, seem to have resulted from a similar practice. In these the skeletons were generally packed in rude coffins composed of flat stones, placed in ranges of great extent. The circumstance that many of these coffins were not more than two or three feet in length, gave rise to the notion of the former existence here of a pigmy race. The discovery of iron and some articles of European origin in one of these cemeteries in the vicinity of Augusta, Kentucky, shows that this mode of burial existed at a late period among the Indians in that direction.
The “bone-pits” which occur in some parts of Western New York, Canada, Michigan, etc., have unquestionably a corresponding origin. Several of these have been described in a previous chapter. They are of various sizes, but usually contain a large number of skeletons. In a few instances the bones appear to have been arranged with some degree of regularity.
“The Bones of Several Thousand Individuals”
One of these pits discovered some years ago, in the town of Cambria, Niagara county, was estimated to contain the bones of several thousand individuals. Another which I visited in the town of Clarence, Erie county, contained not less than four hundred skeletons. A deposit of bones comprising a large number of skeletons was found not long since, in making some excavations in the town of Black Rock, situated on Niagara River, in Erie county. They were arranged in a circle, with their heads radiating from a large copper kettle, which had been placed in the centre, and filled with bones. Various implements both of modern and remote date had been placed beside the skeletons.
In Canada similar deposits are frequent. Accounts of their discovery and character have appeared in various English publications, among which may be named the “British Colonial Newspaper,” of September 24th, 1847, and the “Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal,” for July, 1848. From a communication in the latter, by Edward W. Bawtree, M. D., the subjoined interesting facts are derived.
A quantity of human bones was found in one spot, in 1846, near Barrie, and also a pit containing human bones near St. Vincent’s. Great numbers were found in the latter, with several copper and brass kettles, and various trinkets and ornaments in common use among the Indians. This discovery led to the examination of a similar pit, about seven miles from Penetanqueshene, in the township of Giny. “This pit was accidentally noticed by a Canadian while making sugar in the neighborhood. He was struck by its appearance and the peculiar sound produced at the bottom by stamping there; and, in turning up a few spadefuls of earth, was surprised to find a quantity of human bones. It was more accurately examined in September, 1847, and found to contain, besides a great number of human skeletons, of both sexes and all ages, twenty-six copper and brass kettles and boilers; three large conch-shells; pieces of beaver-skin in tolerable preservation; a fragment of a pipe; a large iron axe, evidently of French manufacture; some human hair (that of a woman); a copper bracelet; and a quantity of fiat auricular beads, perforated through the centre.
“The form of the pit is circular, with an elevated margin; it is about fifteen feet in diameter, and before it was opened was probably nine feet deep from the level of its margin to its centre and bottom; it was, in one word, funnel-shaped. It is situated on the top of a gentle rise, with a shallow ravine on the east side, through which, at certain seasons, runs a small stream. The soil is light, free from stones, and dry. A small iron-wood tree, about two inches in diameter, is growing in the centre of the pit.
Fig. 4. Copper Kettle.
“The kettles in the pit were found ranged at the bottom, resting on pieces of bark, and filled with bones. They had evidently been covered with beaver-skins. The shells and the axe were found in the intervals between the kettles. The beads were in the kettles among the bones, generally in bunches of strings.
“The kettles, of which Fig. 4 is an example, resemble those in use at the present day, and appear to be formed of sheet copper, the rim being beaten out so as to cover an iron band which passes around the mouth of the vessel. The iron handle by which they were suspended hooks into eyes attached to the band above mentioned. The smallest holds about six gallons; the largest not far from sixteen gallons. The copper is generally very well preserved; the iron, however, is much corroded. Two of the kettles were of brass.
Fig. 5. Conch Shell
“The largest of the conch-shells, Fig. 5, weighs three pounds and a quarter, and measures fourteen inches in its longest diameter. Its outer surface has lost its polish, and is quite honey-combed by age and decomposition; the inside still retains its smooth lamellated surface. It has lost its color, and appears like chalk. A piece had been cut from its base, probably for making the beads that were found in it.14 From the base of the columella of the smallest shell a piece had been cut, evidently for the purpose of manufacturing beads. The extreme point of the base of each shell had a perforation through it.
Fig. 6. Axe.
“The axe, Fig. 6, is of nearly the same model with the tomahawk now in use among the Chippeway Indians, though very much larger, measuring eleven inches in length and six inches and a half along its cutting edge. Numbers of these have been found in the neighborhood on newly cleared land.
“The pipe is imperfect. It is made of the earthenware of which so many specimens are found in the neighborhood, in the form of vessels and pipes. The spots where the manufacture of these articles was carried on are still to be seen in some places.
“The beads are formed of a white chalky substance, varying in degree of density and hardness; they are accurately circular, with a circular perforation in the centre; of different sizes, from a quarter to half an inch, or rather more, in diameter; but nearly all of the same thickness, not quite the eighth of an inch. They may be compared to a peppermint lozenge with a hole through the centre. They were found in bunches or strings, and a good many were still closely strung on a fibrous woody substance. The bracelet is a simple band of copper, an inch and a half broad, closely fitting the wrist. The hair is long, evidently that of a woman, and quite fresh in appearance.
“Another pit, about two miles from that just noticed, was also examined in September. It is considerably smaller, being not more than nine feet in diameter, by about the same original depth. It is situated on rising ground, in a light sandy soil, and there is nothing remarkable in its position. A beech-tree, six inches thick, grew from its centre. It contained about as many skeletons as the other pit, but had no kettles in it. The bones were of individuals of both sexes and of all ages. Among them were a few fetal bones. Many of the skulls bore marks of violence, leading to the belief that they were broken before burial. One was pierced by a round hole, like that produced by a musket ball. A single piece of a brass vessel was found in the pit; it had been packed in furs. A large number of shell beads, of various sizes, were also found here. Besides these, there were some cylindrical pieces of earthenware and porcelain or glass tubes, from an eighth to a quarter of an inch in diameter, and from a quarter to two inches long.15The former had the appearance of red and white tobacco-pipes, worn away by friction, the latter of red and white glass. A hexagonal body, with flat ends, about an inch and a half in diameter, and an inch thick, was also found. It was composed of some kind of porcelain, of hard texture, nearly vitreous, and much variegated in color, with alternate layers of red, blue, and white. It was perforated through the centre.
“The third of these pits was examined in November, 1847. It is situated in the township of Oro, on elevated ground. The soil is a light sandy loam. It measures about fifteen feet in diameter, has the distinctly defined elevated ring, but the centre less depressed than in those before examined, which may have resulted from the greater bulk of its contents. On its margin grew formerly a large pine, the roots of which had penetrated through the pit in every direction.The bones, which were of all sizes, were scarcely covered with earth. The skeletons amounted to several hundreds in number, and were well preserved. On some, pieces of tendon still remained, and the joints of the small bones in some cases were unseparated. Some of the skulls bore marks of violence.
“As in the first noticed pit, so in this, were found twenty-six kettles—four of brass and the rest of copper, one conch-shell, one iron axe, and a number of the flat perforated shell beads. The kettles were arranged in the form of a cross through the centre of the pit, and in a row around the circumference. The points of this cross seem to have corresponded with the cardinal points of the compass. All except two of the kettles were placed with their mouths downwards. The shell was found under one of the kettles, which had been packed with beaver-skins and bark. The kettles were very well preserved, but had all been rendered useless by blows from a tomahawk. The holes were broken in the bases of the vessels. Should any doubt exist as to the purposes of these pits, the fact that the kettles were thus rendered unserviceable would tend to increase that doubt, as it appears to have been a proceeding so very contrary to the habits and ideas of the Indians in general.16
“A pipe was found in this pit, described as having been composed of blue limestone or hard clay. On one side it had a human face, the eyes of which were formed of white pearly beads. An iron axe and sundry beads were also found here.
Fig. 7. Clay pipe.
“A fourth pit was opened in December, 1847. It is situated on a gentle slope, in the second concession west of the Penetanqueshene road, in the township of Giny. In size it corresponds very nearly with the two first described, and probably contained about the same number of skeletons. In it were found sixteen conch-shells; a stone and clay pipe; a number of copper bracelets and ear ornaments; eleven beads of red pipe-stone; copper arrow-heads; a cup of iron resembling an old iron ladle; beads of several kinds, and various fragments of furs. The shells were arranged around the bottom of the pit, not in a regular row, but in threes and fours; the other articles were found mixed with the bones. The bones were of all sizes, and the skulls uninjured except by time. The accompanying sketch (Fig. 7) will sufficiently indicate the character of the pipes. The arrow-heads, as they are supposed to have been, were simple folds of sheet copper, resembling a roughly-formed ferule to a walking stick. Besides the flat circular beads, which were found in great numbers, were a few cylindrical porcelain beads, etc. The red-stone beads were five eighths of an inch broad, and three eighths thick, with small holes at one end, uniting with each other.
“There is reason to believe that the above constitute but a very small proportion of the pits that may be found in this neighborhood. The French Canadians, now that their attention has been directed to the subject, say that they are of frequent occurrence in the woods. But besides these larger and more evident excavations, smaller ones of the same shape and apparent character are often met with. They are usually called ‘potato-pits.’ So far as they have been examined, they do not contain deposits. Some appear to have been covered with bark at the bottom. One was examined in which were found some pieces of pottery and one or two human bones mixed with stones and black mould; which seemed to strengthen the supposition previously formed, that they were Indian graves from which the bones had been removed for interment in the large pits.
“A fifth pit has also been examined. It occurs about eight miles from Penetanqueshene, near the centre of the town of Giny. Close by its side is another pit, which is not circular but elongated, with a mound on each side. At the brow of the hill, if it may be so called, and commencing about twenty yards from the pits, there is the appearance of a long ditch extending in a southwestern direction; another ditch about half the length of this meets it at right angles on the top of the rising ground, and is continued a few yards beyond the point of junction; a third ditch intersects the short one, as shown in the following plan.
Figure 8.
“The two first ditches form two sides of a parallelogram; but there is no sign of an enclosure at the other sides, where the ground is low and nearly level. The long ditch is seventy-five paces in length, the other half that length. The first terminates at a moderate sized gum-tree, the latter at the foot of a large birch. These ditches appear to be a succession of small pits or graves, and have an average depth of from one to two feet. Excavation disclosed no bones. Upon the north side of the shorter and upper ditch, several Indian graves were found, not placed in any order, but scattered around at various distances apart. Three of these were examined and found to contain human bones. In one was an entire skeleton. No implements or ornaments accompanied the bones.
“The bones in the large pits were covered with three or four feet of earth, which is more than is usually found over them, and the marginal ring was in consequence less apparent. It contained very few relics besides the bones, which, from their decayed condition, seemed to indicate that burials here were made at a very remote period.”
In Isle Ronde, situated near the extremity of Lake Huron, is a burial-place of the aborigines corresponding generally with those just described. It was visited in 1843 by Mr. Schoolcraft, who states that the human remains appeared to have been gathered from their original place of sepulture and finally deposited here. The bones were all arranged longitudinally, from north to south, in a wide grave or trench. There is upon the same island an Indian cemetery of comparatively modern date, in which the interments were made in the ordinary way. Another similar burial-place was visited by Mr. Schoolcraft, in the town of Hamilton, seventeen miles west of the head of Lake Ontario. The burials had been made on a high, dry ridge, in long trenches and rude vaults; the bones being piled upon each other longitudinally as at Isle Ronde. The trenches extend over the entire ridge; and one of these examined by Mr. Schoolcraft was estimated to include not less than fifteen hundred square feet. Various remains of art, pipes, shells, beads, etc., were found with the bones, and among them several brass kettles, in one of which were five infant skulls.
The origin of the various cemeteries above noticed admits of no doubt. The same practice which Bartram described as existing among the Floridians, and which we have reason to believe prevailed among the Indians of Tennessee, Kentucky, etc., also existed in a slightly modified form among the more northern tribes. They, too, had their solemn “Festival of the Dead,” which is minutely described by Charlevoix, Brabeuf Creuxius, and other early writers. Says Charlevoix: “This grand ceremony, the most curious and celebrated of all connected with the Indian religion, took place every eight years among some of the tribes, every ten years among the Hurons and the Iroquois. It was called the ‘Féto dos Morts,’ Festival of the Dead, or ‘ Festin des Ames.’
“It commenced by the appointment of a place where they should meet. They then chose a president of the feast, whose duty it was to arrange every thing and send invitations to the neighboring villages. The appointed day arrived, all the Indians assembled and went in procession, two and two, to the cemetery. Among some tribes of stationary habits, the cemetery was a regular burial-ground outside the village. Some buried their dead at the foot of a tree, and others suspended them on scaffolds to dry; this last was a common proceeding among them when absent from home on a hunting expedition, so that on their return they might more conveniently carry the body with them.
“Arrived at the cemetery, they proceeded to search for the bodies; they then waited for some time to consider in silence a spectacle so capable of furnishing serious reflections. The women first interrupted the silence by cries of lamentation, which increased the feeling of grief with which each person seemed over- come. They then used to take the bodies, arrange the separate and dry bones, and place them in packets to carry on their shoulders. If any of the bodies were not entirely decomposed, they separated the flesh, washed the bones, and wrapped them in new beaver-skins. They then returned in the same procession in which they came, and each deposited his burden in his cabin. During the procession the women continued their lamentations, and the men testified the same marks of grief as on the death of the person whose bones they bore. This was followed by a feast in each house, in honor of the dead of the family. The succeeding days were considered as public days, and were spent in dancing, games, and combats, at which prizes were bestowed. From time to time they uttered certain cries, which were called ‘les cris des âmes.’
“They made presents to strangers, and received presents from them on behalf of the dead. These strangers sometimes came a hundred and fifty leagues. They also took advantage of these occasions to treat on public affairs or select a chief Every thing passed with order, decency, and moderation; and every one seemed overcome with sentiments suitable to the occasion. Even the songs and dances expressed grief in some way. After some days thus spent, all went in procession to a grand council-room fitted for the occasion. They then suspended the bones and bodies in the same state as they had taken them from the cemetery, and placed there the presents intended for the dead. If among the skeletons there happened to be one of a chief, his successor gave a grand feast in his name. In some cases the bodies were paraded from village to village, and every where received with great demonstrations of grief and tenderness, and every where presents were made to them. They then took them to the spot designated as their final resting-place. All their ceremonies were accompanied with music, both instrumental and vocal, to which each marched in cadence.
“The last and common place of burial was a large pit, which was lined with the finest skins and any thing which they considered valuable. The presents destined for the dead were placed on one side; and when the procession arrived, each family arranged itself on a sort of scaffold around the pit; and as soon as the bodies were deposited, the women began again to cry and lament. Then all the assistants descended into the pit, and each person took a handful of earth, which he carefully preserved, supposing it would serve to give them success in their undertakings. The bodies and bones were arranged in order, and covered with furs and bark, over which were placed stones, wood, and earth. Each person then returned to his home, but the women used to go back from day to day with some sagamatie (pounded parched corn).” 17
14. Dr. Bern W. Budd, of New York, states that this shell, the pyrula perverse, abounds in the Gulf of Mexico and particularly in Mobile Bay. It has also been found by the officers of the U. S. Coast Survey as far north as Cape Fear, in North Carolina.
15. These were clearly the European imitations of the much prized Indian wampum.
16. Dr. Bawtree is mistaken in supposing this practice uncommon. The Oregon Indians invariably render useless every article deposited with their dead, so as to remove any temptation to a desecration of the grave which might otherwise exist. A similar practice prevailed among the Floridian Indians.
17. Charlevoix, Vol. II., p. 194, ubi supra; Creuxii Historia Canadensis, p. 97.
If you are willing and able, you can find thousands of references to mounds, bones, artifacts, and remnants of ancient Nephites and Lamanites all over the area of New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Only a fool will not look for evidence but simply close their mind and complain.
“And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our words.” Ether 1:34
“AND for a testimony that the things that they had said are true, they have brought twenty-four plates, which are filled with engravings, and they are of pure gold. And behold, also, they have brought breastplates, which are large, and they are of brass and of copper, and are perfectly sound.” Mosiah 8:9-10
Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon by David Hocking and Rod Meldrum
Species of Extinct Giants whose Bones fill the Mounds of America
“Niagara Falls! By what mysterious power is it that millions and millions are drawn from all parts of the world to gaze upon Niagara Falls? There is no mystery about the thing itself. Every effect is just as any intelligent man, knowing the causes, would anticipate without seeing it… Yet this is really a very small part of that world’s wonder. Its power to excite reflection and emotion is its great charm. The geologist will demonstrate that the plunge, or fall, was once at Lake Ontario, and has worn it’s way back to its present position; he will ascertain how fast it is wearing down now, and so get a basis for determining how long it has been wearing back from Lake Ontario, and finally demonstrate by it that this world is at least fourteen thousand years old. A philosopher of a slightly different turn will say, ‘Niagara Falls is only the lip of the basin out of which pours all the surplus water which rains down on two or three hundred thousand square miles of the earth’s surface.’ He will estimate with approximate accuracy that five hundred thousand tons of water fall with their full weight a distance of a hundred feet each minute — thus exerting a force equal to the lifting of the same weight, through the same space, in the same time.
But still there is more. It calls up the indefinite past. When Columbus first sought this continent — when Christ suffered on the cross — when Moses led Israel through the Red Sea — nay, even when Adam first came from the hand of his Maker; then, as now, Niagara was roaring here. The eyes of the species of extinct giants whose bones fill the mounds of America have gazed on Niagara, as ours do now. Contemporary with the first race of men, and older than the first man, Niagara is strong and fresh to-day as ten thousand years ago. The Mammoth and Mastodon, so long dead that fragments of their monstrous bones alone testify that they ever lived, have gazed on Niagara — in that long, long, time never still for a single moment (never dried), never froze, never slept, never rested …” Abraham Lincoln (September 25, 1848)
Joseph Smith, Zelph’s Mound, and the Armies of Zion: The Construction of American Indians from Archaeological Evidence in Illinois in the Nineteenth Century by Thomas J. Riley
“They crossed the river at what was called Phillips Ferry [Illinois] and camped there for a few days. It was here on the bluffs above the Illinois River about a mile downstream from Phillips Ferry that the first reported archaeological excavations on the lower Illinois River valley occurred on June 3, 1834 (Jelks 1984). This is a fascinating article by Kenneth Godfrey recently published in BYU Studies (1989) has collected seven of the known descriptions of the events that transpired there.
Zelph, a Man of God by Ken Corbett
The seven stories of the finding of Zelph differ significantly from one another, but the one that is the official ‘History of the Church” contains most of the details that are known of the excavation:
“Tuesday the 3rd during our travels we visited several of the mounds which had been thrown up by the ancient inhabitants of this country, and this morning I went up on a high mound near the river, accompanied by several. From this mound we could overlook the tops of the trees and view the prairie on each side of the river as far as our vision could extend and the scenery was truly delightful.
On the top of the mound were stones which presented the appearance of three alters, one above the other, according to ancient order and the remains were strewn over the surface of the ground. The brethren procured a shovel and a hoe, and removing the earth to a depth of about one foot discovered the skeleton of a man, almost entire, and between his ribs was the stone point of a LAMANITE arrow which evidently produced his death. Elder Burr Riggs retained the arrow. The contemplation of the scenery around us produced peculiar sensations in our bosoms and subsequently the vision of the past being opened to my understanding by the Spirit of the Almighty, I discovered that the person whose skeleton we had seen was a White Lamanite, a large thickset man and a man of God. His name was Zelph. He was a warrior and chief under the great ONANDAGUS who was known from the Eastern Sea to the Rocky mountains. The curse was taken from Zelph, or at least in part. One of his thighbones was broken by a stone flung from a sling, while in battle years before his death. He was killed in battle, by the arrow found among his ribs, during a great struggle with the Lamanites. Elder Woodruff carried the thigh bone to Clay County” (Smith 1902:78-80)
The excavation into the “Zelph Mound” was not an isolated case for the Mormons in the nineteenth century. They were surrounded in Ohio with the remains of Earthworks, mounds, circles, etc. On the trip to Zion, Godfrey (1989:31) notes, Joseph Smith wrote:
“The whole of our journey, in the midst of so large a company of social honest and sincere men, wandering over the plains of the NEPHITES, recounting occasionally the history of the Book of Mormon, roving over the mounds, of that once beloved people… and gazing upon a country the fertility, the splendor and the goodness so indescribable, all serves to pass away time unnoticed.” After the above ellipses in red, The author Thomas J. Riley left out the following, “of the Lord, picking up their skulls & their bones, as a proof of its divine authenticity…” Joseph Smith Papers Letter to Emma Smith, 4 June 1834 Page 56. [Most likely the author left that part out, as he didn’t want to tie Joseph’s words as truth or him as a Prophet?]
Riley continued, “Of the very early history of the region which now embraces Lake County but little can be written. The Mound Builders had occupied this area, but little written language or oral tradition is left to use as accounts. I did however find the following:
Excavations…have revealed the crumbling bones of a mighty race. Samuel Miller, who has resided in the county since 1835, is authority for the statement that one skeleton which he
assisted in unearthing was a trifle more than eight feet in length, the skull being correspondingly large, while many other skeletons measured at least seven feet…” (Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Lake County and edited by Newton Bateman, LL.D. and Paul Selby, A.M. (1902) https://ilarchsurv.org/Resources/Documents/ias_journal_index.pdf
Mounds at Dunleith, Illinois – Smithsonian Excavation No.5
“No. 5, the largest of the group was carefully examined. Two feet below the surface, near the apex, was a skeleton, doubtless an intrusive Indian burial… Near the original surface, 10 or 12 feet from the center, on the lower side, lying at full length on its back, was one of the largest skeletons discovered by the Bureau agents, the length as proved by actual measurement being between 7 and 8 feet. It was clearly traceable, but crumbled to pieces immediately after removal from the hard earth in which it was encased….
Pike County – Smithsonian Excavation
The other, situated on the point of a commanding bluff, was also conical in form, 50 feet in diameter and about 8 feet high. The outer layer consisted in sandy soil, 2 feet thick, filled with slightly decayed skeletons, probably Indians of intrusive burials. The earth of the main portion of this mound was a very fine yellowish sand which shoveled like ashes and was
everywhere, to a depth of 2 to 4 feet, as full of human skeletons as could be stowed away in it, even to two and three tiers. Among these were a number of bones not together as
skeletons, but mingled in confusion and probably from scaffolds or other localities. Excepting one, which was rather more than 7 feet long, these skeletons appeared to be of medium size and many of them much decayed…
Metal Coin
“At Lawn Ridge, 20 miles north of Peoria, Illinois, in August of 1870, three men were drilling an artesian well, when – from a depth of over a hundred feet – the pump brought up a small metal medallion to the surface. One of the workmen, Jacob W. Moffit, from Chillicothe, was the first to discover it in the drill residue. A noted scholar of the time, Professor Alexander Winchell, reported in his book Sparks From a Geologist’s Hammer, that he received from another eye-witness, W.H. Wilmot, a detailed statement, dated December 4, 1871, of the deposits and depths of materials made during the boring, and the position where the metal “coin” was uncovered. The stratification took this form: Soil – 3 feet; yellow clay – 17 feet; blueclay – 44 feet; dark vegetable matter – 4 feet; hard purplish clay – 18 feet; bright green clay – 8 feet; mottled clay – 18 feet; paleosol (ancient soils) – 2 feet; coin location; yellowish clay – 1 foot; sand, clay and water – 11 feet. The strange “coin-medallion” was composed of an unidentified copper alloy, about the size and thickness of a U.S. quarter of that period. It was remarkably uniform in thickness, round, and the edges appeared to have been cut. Researcher William E. Dubois, who presented his investigation of the medallion to the American Philosophical Society, was convinced that the object had in fact passed through a rolling mill, the edges showed “further evidence of the machine shop.” Despite its “modern characteristics”, however, Dubois plainly saw that, upon the object, “the tooth of time is plainly visible.”
Both sides of the medallion were marked with artwork and hieroglyphs, but these had not been metal engraved or stamped. Rather, the figures had somehow been etched in acid, to a remarkable degree of intricacy. One side showed the figure of a woman wearing a crown or headdress; her left arm i
s raised as if in benediction, and her right arm holds a small child, also crowned. The woman appears to be speaking. On the opposite side is another central figure, that looks like a crouching animal: it has long, pointed ears, large eyes and mouth, claw-like arms, and a long tail frayed at the very end. Below and to the left of it is another animal, which bears a strong resemblance to a horse. Around the outer edges of both sides of the coin are undecipherable glyphs – they are of very definite character, and show all the signs of a form of alphabetic writing..
As a sidelight, the enigmatic coin was not the only item that came from deep levels in Illinois. In 1851, in Whiteside County, another well-drilling bit brought up from a sand stratum 120 feet deep two copper artifacts: What appears to be a hook, and a ring. Their age is thought to be the same as that of the coin – about 150,000 years old.” 12th Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1890-1891 (published in 1894)
GIANTS OF INDIANA
“In 1879, some Indiana archaeologists dug into an ancient burial mound at Brewersville, Indiana, and unearthed a human skeleton that measured nine feet eight inches in length. A mica necklace still hung around the giant’s neck. The bones, which were stored in a grain mill, were swept away in the 1937 flood.
In 1925, several amateurs digging in an Indian mound at Walkerton, Indiana, eight skeletons were uncovered measuring in height from eight to almost nine feet. All eight giants had been buried in substantial copper armor.
Clay Township – John Stucky, Mr. Osborn and a few others were digging a grave on top of a mound near Siple’s and reaching the depth of about three feet came upon the remains of
three persons. The first was a huge being, the lower maxillary being large enough to pass over that of a living person, flesh and all. Mr. Stucky further said that the femur bone was several inches longer than that of an ordinary man.
Mrs. Alice Taylor recorded an interesting story of Pike County as follows: “My mother, Clarissa Brenton Laws’ grandfather was George Parker, who died at an early age in Pike County. He was buried in a cemetery on a knob about three miles below Petersburg Indiana. When they thought the grave was dug, one of the men sounded his pick down and it sounded hollow; so they dug some more and found a metal casket with a skeleton between eight and NINE FEET LONG, WITH RED HAIR AND TEETH FILLED WILL GOLD.. This was an account of a burial of the great grandfather of Mrs. Taylor and she was born in 1856. https://burlingtonnews.net/giants2.html
“Wherefore, the remnant of the house of Joseph shall be built upon this land; and it shall be a land of their inheritance; and they shall build up a holy city unto the Lord, like unto the Jerusalem of old; and they shall no more be confounded, until the end come when the earth shall pass away.” Ether 13:8
The Land of Joseph is the United States of America where the Native American Indians, or Hopewell or Nephites and Lamanites lived.
“Joseph’s inheritance was to be a land choice above all others”-Pres. Russell M. Nelson
Historians and archaeologists all over the world have known for years about the existence and cultures of Native Americans in North America. See the chart below:
Important Similarities The Hopewell Culture describes the common aspects of the Native American culture that began in the Florida panhandle in 600 – 500 BC that flourished along rivers in the northeastern and Midwestern United States from 300 BC to 400 AD, in the Middle Woodland period.
As you can see in the map below, and as you read history, the proven historical location and timelines of the Hopewell Culture are facts. Just think about it. If we found a people that had a history following this same beginning and ending pattern in North America and we called it the Book of Mormon, we would have validation that indeed the Hopewell people are the same as the Nephites. So as we surmise, Lehi landed in Florida, Nephi was chased by his brothers into Tennessee, then Mosiah left and went north on the Tennessee River (which by the way, flows north) to Missouri and Illinois where he met up with the Mulekites near the Mississippi River. Remember the Mulekites began their civilization at the same place they were found by Mosiah. (read here) “And they [Mulekites] journeyed in the wilderness, and were brought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters, into the land where Mosiah discovered them; and they had dwelt there from that time forth.” Omni 1:16
Because of being found where they landed, we show a great probability that the Mulekites followed the same path as Lehi to the Gulf of Mexico, with the Mulekites following the Mississippi River all the way up to Montrose Iowa, where the Des Moines river rapids halted their journey, as it restricted boat traffic until the Army Corps of Engineers opened that waterway in the 19th century.
The area of Ohio is known as the Cultural Center of both the Adena and the Hopewell People with the Great Hopewell road running from Chillicothe, OH to Newark OH, the place of the amazing Newark Earthworks.
In the Land Zarahemla (WI, IA, MO, IL), there were many battles as well as in the Land Bountiful, (IN, OH, PA, NY) from Illinois to Indiana to Ohio and finally at Cumorah. What happened near Cumorah historically? Historians have found a sudden end to Hopewell civilization and pottery in that area from about 400-500 AD. We Latter-day Saints know what happened in that time range as the Lamanites destroyed the Nephites.
Serpent Mound, Ohio
“The Hopewell tradition was not a single culture or society, but a widely dispersed set of related populations. They were connected by a network of trade routes, known as the Hopewell Exchange System.At its greatest extent, the Hopewell Exchange System ran from the Southeastern United States as far south as the Crystal River Indian Mounds into the southeastern Canadian shores of Lake Ontario up north. Within this area societies participated in a high degree of exchange with the highest amount of activity along waterways.
The Hopewell Exchange System (Map Above) included copper from the Great Lakes, mica from the Carolinas, obsidian from the Rocky Mountains, and shells from the Gulf Coast. These people then converted the materials into products and exported them through local and regional exchange networks. Although the origins of the Hopewell are still under discussion, the Hopewell culture can also be considered a cultural climax, ending suddenly in about 400 AD. Hopewell populations originated in western New York and moved south into Ohio where they built on top of the local Adena mortuary tradition. Hopewell was also said to have originated in western Illinois and spread by diffusion … to southern Ohio. Similarly, the Havana Hopewell tradition was thought to have spread up the Illinois River and into southwestern Michigan, spawning Goodall Hopewell. The name “Hopewell” was applied by Warren K. Moorehead after his explorations of the Hopewell Mound Group in Ross County, Ohio in 1891 and 1892. The mound group itself was named for the family that owned the earthworks at the time.
The Hopewell location in the Mississippi Valley, plains of Illinois, and Indiana and locations in Ohio match up with the location of the Nephites in the Book of Mormon. The time period also shows a great correlation, especially as both the Hopewell and Nephite civilization abruptly ended in about 400 AD.” Rod Meldrum Exploring the Book of Mormon in America’s Heartland.(This book is out of stock. You may do a search on Amazon or Ebay for a used copy).
In America there is a “multitude of nations,” called by us “Indians.” These Indians evidently sprang from the same source as is indicated by their color, features, customs, dialects, traditions, &c.; that they are of Israelitish origin is also evident from their religious ceremonies, their language, their traditions, and the discovery of Hebrew inscriptions, &c.
If America is not the land given to a branch of Joseph, where, or in what part of the globe shall that tribe receive the fulfillment of Jacob’s prediction? where, if not in America, has a land been peopled by a multitude of the nations of Joseph? Can a multitude of the nations of Joseph be found in Europe, Asia, or Africa, or in any of the adjoining islands? If not, then America seems to be the only place where that great prediction could receive its accomplishment. The Book of Mormon testifies that America is “the land of Joseph,” given to them by promise. Is not this an additional evidence that Mr. Smith was sent of God?
If Mr. Smith was an impostor, how came he to discover that the tribe of Joseph was to be favored so much above all the other tribes of Israel? Perhaps it may be replied, that it was easy to discover that from the scriptures; but, we ask, why did not Swedenborg, Wesley, Irving, or some of the other impostors of former times, make this scriptural discovery, and incorporate it in their pretended dispensations?
It would be, at first, thought far more natural to suppose the American Indians to be the ten lost tribes of Israel; indeed, this is the opinion of many of the learned at the present day. Why did not this modern prophet, if a deceiver, form his deceptive scheme more in accordance with the opinions of the learned? or why should he choose a remnant of the tribe of Joseph to people ancient America?
Out of the twelve tribes of Israel, why did he select only a branch of one tribe to people this vast continent? All can now perceive why the Book of Mormon should profess to be the history of a remnant of one tribe, instead of being the history of the ten tribes.
Orson Pratt
All can see, why America should be represented as a promised land to Joseph, instead of being given to Reuben, Simeon, or any of the other tribes. All can now see, though it was not seen at the first, that if the Book of Mormon was different from what it now is; that is, if it professed to contain a history of the ten lost tribes; or if it had given the great western continent to any other people, or to any other tribe than that of Joseph, that it would have proved itself false–it would not have been the book or record which the prophets predicted should come forth to usher in the great work of the last days. An impostor would be obliged to take into consideration all these minute circumstances, many of which are in direct opposition to the established traditions of the day; yet none of them could be neglected without proving fatal to his scheme. But Mr. Smith, with all the accuracy of a profound mathematician, has combined all the minute elements of both doctrine and prophecy in his grand and wonderful scheme–nothing is wanting. Whatever department of his system is examined it will be found invulnerable. What an invaluable amount of evidence to establish the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith! Divine Authority Or the Question: Was Joseph Smith Sent of God? Orson Pratt
This Land-United States of America
“…in culmination of the grand scheme of schemes, this great nation, the Republic of the United States, might be established upon this land as an asylum for the oppressed; a resting place, it might be said, for the Ark of the covenant, where the temple of our God might be built; where the plan of salvation might be introduced and practiced in freedom, and not a dog would wag his tongue in opposition to the purposes of the Almighty. We believe that this was His object in creating the Republic of the United States; the only land where his work could be commenced or the feet of his people find rest. No other land had such liberal institutions, had adopted so broad a platform upon which all men might stand. We give glory to those patriots for the noble work they did; but we give the first glory to God, our Father and their Father, who inspired them. We take them by the hand as brothers. We believe they did nobly their work, even as we would fain do ours, faithfully and well, that we might not be recreant in the eyes of God, for failing to perform the mission to which He has appointed us.” Bishop Orson F. Whitney, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, April 19, 1885. Reported by John Irvine. Journal Discourses Volume 26 Page 201
Over 1,000,000 Mounds? Incredible!
America is God’s Land
Mark E. Petersen said: “You from other lands don’t need to become jealous of America. Who is jealous of Palestine, where Jesus was born? We are not jealous of the country; we merely recognize the hand of God in sending him there. We must also recognize the hand of God in sending the gospel to this land. We learn to love America because it is God’s land!
“Choice Because it was Chosen”
“Now, what of the promise of possession of certain lands? Territorial inheritance destined for the sons of Israel provided property in the Holy Land for Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Gad, Asher, Dan, Naphtali, and Benjamin. But where was the inheritance for Joseph? From the Book of Mormon we learn that his inheritance was this land in the American hemisphere (see Ether 13:8)—identified as being choice above all other lands (see Ether 1:42, 10:28, 13:2; D&C 38:20). It was choice, but not necessarily from the standpoint of scenery or wealth. It was choice because it was chosen. America was to serve as the repository of sacred records written on metallic plates. It one day was to become the location for the restoration of the gospel. It was to host headquarters of the Lord’s restored church”. Russell M. Nelson was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when this devotional address was delivered at Brigham Young University on 22 November 1988.
Follow the known archaeological facts about the Hopewell Culture and compare it with the text and the Spirit found in the Book of Mormon and you will gain a greater sense of understanding that as Elder L. Tom Perry said, “The United States is the promised land foretold in the Book of Mormon—a place where divine guidance directed inspired men to create the conditions necessary for the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Elder L. Tom Perry Ensign Dec. 2012
If you want to read more about many of the Native American Tribes of the United States, visit my website below and hover over the tab called “Lamanites”
Many proposed Book of Mormon geography theories were originated using a method proposed by Dr. John Sorenson and others who taught that the first step was to create a hypothetical or “internal” map using the 500+ geography related passages. This has lead to more than 150 different proposed geographies. The book was not written for its geography, but for its prophecies. Can we learn more about its geography through its prophecies than we can by speculating using hypothetical maps? Following is a brief synopsis of the scriptural basis for the Heartland Model geography of the Book of Mormon.
How Many Promised Lands Are There, When Were They Established, And Where Are They Located?
The First Recorded “Land of Promise” in Scripture
The first recorded instance of a “land of promise” in scripture is a land called Cainan, named after a great-grandson of Father Adam (PGP Moses 6:17). Three years prior to his death, Adam called his righteous posterity together, specifically including Cainan by name, and gave them his last blessing in the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman (D&C 107:53). Interestingly, the original or pre-flood “land of promise” was a land in the vicinity of Adam-ondi-Ahman which is known by modern revelation to be within the state of Missouri, USA (D&C 116:1).
Blessings of the Promised Land Covenant
Once Adams posterity rebelled against God, they were swept from this Promised Land by the the great flood. After the flood, Noah’s three sons, Ham, Shem, and Japeth, and their families dispersed from Turkey’s Mount Ararat into three regions roughly known as Egypt, Canaan and Asia respectively. Following their departure from righteousness, Abraham, a descendant of Shem, left his homeland of Canaan for Egypt for a time, returning again to the lands of his ancestors. Upon his return he was commanded to sacrifice that which was most precious to him, his son Isaac, on what today is Mount Moriah, or the temple mount of Old Jerusalem. Because of his unflinching obedience to God, Abraham was promised a land known as Canaan (Gen. 13:14-15, Abraham 2:18-19), which is present day Israel (see map), for his posterity, together with a covenant that as long as his children would keep His commandments, they would be blessed in the land by covenant.
Promised Land Covenant Established To Bless All God’s Children
This covenant, according to Abraham, “came down from the fathers…before the foundation of the earth” (Abraham 1:2-3) and was provided by God for the purpose that His covenant people, whilst they lived righteously on their covenanted and promised lands, would be a blessing to “all the nations of the earth” (Gen. 22:18). The Lord covenanted with Abraham that “in thy seed after thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal” (Abraham 2:11, 3 Nephi 20:25-27). The primary responsibility is to use the covenant blessings provided to bless all God’s children with the gospel.
These two covenant lands, one New World and one Old World, would be provided with the necessities for their success in blessing God’s children with the gospel and would be located conducive to the fulfillment of this responsibility. Just as ancient Israel was situated amidst the civilizations of Egypt, Babylon, Assyria and Persia, yet remained among the later civilizations of Rome and Greece at the time of Christ, so too the New World covenant land would be provided with all things necessary for its success. It would also be situated to best take advantage of its location to bless other nations and peoples, to become a shining beacon of hope and light and bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world as had ancient Israel. These two lands were covenanted and promised by God for the inheritance of His covenant people throughout the history of mankind and these same two promised lands are designated as the final gathering place for God’s chosen people, Israel. They are, namely, Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem. Both of these physical locations are known through history and through revelation respectively, and are not speculative (D&C 84:1-4).
The Book of Mormon is Consistent With Recorded Old Testament History
Nephi knew of the Promised Land Covenant made and claimed by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Old World (1 Nephi 17:40). According to Christ’s recorded words to the Nephites in the Book of Mormon, there are only two mentioned covenant lands of promise for the house of Israel; Jerusalem (3 Nephi 20:29) and New Jerusalem (3 Nephi 20:22). Through modern revelation the location where the New Jerusalem will be built is today known as the state of Missouri, USA (D&C 84:1-4). This is also the revealed location of the Garden of Eden. Therefore following the expulsion of Adam and Eve, this is where they began their family, built an altar later located by Joseph Smith, and blessed his righteous posterity (D&C 107:53) in the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman, making the region the most likely location of the ancient land of Cainan, the original “land of promise.” The scriptures have been consistent throughout time because these covenant lands of promise were established before the foundations of the world.
Jaredites Invoke the Promised Land Covenant
Prior to Lehi’s arrival, the Jaredites, another people led to a promised land by the Lord (Ether 1:42-43, Ether 2:7-10 ) invoked the Promised Land Covenant. They record that “this land” the land their civilization occupied, was reserved for the “remnant of the house of Joseph” and that this same land will be the location of the “Holy City,” the New Jerusalem of the latter days (Ether 13:8). Ether confirms that after the waters of Noah’s flood receded off the face of this land, it became a “choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord” and then affirms that “it was the place of the New Jerusalem…” Moroni, the narrator of the record of Ether, then proclaims that “Ether saw the days of Christ, and he [Christ] spake concerning a New Jerusalem upon this land” (Ether 13:2-4). Therefore, the lands of the Jaredites were the same as those of the Adamic land of promise, and, according to Christ, on the New Jerusalem lands of the latter days. Ether also reiterates that the knowledge of the Father’s covenant with the house of Israel, that has been “hid up from the foundation of the world,” will be remembered (Ether 4:14-15). Ether acknowledges God’s Promised Land Covenant blessings upon them (Ether 10:28).
What Was the “Covenant” Spoken Of?
Both of these covenant lands were established before the foundations of the world. The covenant was initiated by Adam in the Garden of Eden on the American land of promise (Moses 5:11-12). It was invoked anew in the Mediterranean region by Noah and Abraham (Gen. 6:18, 8:20, 9:9, Abraham 1:2-3, Ether 13:10-11). Those brought by the Lord back to His land of promise in the America’s re-invoked the covenant upon the people through their prophet leaders, the brother of Jared of the Jaredites (Ether 2:7-12, 15), and Lehi, father of the Nephites and Lamanites (2 Nephi 1:5-9).
Lehi Invokes the Promised Land Covenant
The prophet Lehi and his son Nephi invoked the Promised Land Covenant or promise with God anew for themselves and their posterity. They record Gods promised blessings they are to receive and reiterate their willingness to obey His commandments in accordance with their part of the covenant. Lehi proclaims that he invoked and obtained God’s Promised Land Covenant.
2 Nephi 1:5 speaks directly of a “land of promise” that is “choice above all other lands” that the “Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me and to my children forever.” Christ reiterates His commitment to Lehi’s posterity as He again proclaims, “And behold, this is the land of your inheritance; and the Father hath given it unto you.” (3 Nephi 15:13)
For an overview of Lehi’s American Promised Land Covenant read 2 Nephi 1
An “American” Promised Land (a specified land or location), (see 2 Nephi 1:5, 7, 9, 3:2 )
The Lord’s only requirement, in order to receive all the promised blessings of the promised land, along with the posterity, prosperity and security associated with the covenant, is simply this…obey His commandments. Societies who will live by these rules of conduct provided by the Lord cannot help but enjoy the associated blessings since their people would not be bearing false witness, they would be honoring their fathers and mothers, refraining from stealing, not committing adultery or coveting another’s possessions and so on. However, only certain specified lands are involved with the covenant blessings and associated requirement of blessing the other nations of the earth with the gospel.
Nephi records that “if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath give, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity (security); if so, it shall be because of iniquity” (2 Nephi 1:7). Lehi “obtained a promise” that as long as his people would keep His commandments they “shall prosper upon the face of this land: and they shall be kept from all other nations” and have the land for themselves. If they will but keep those commandments they “shall be blessed upon the face of this land” and no one will molest or be given power to take away their covenanted lands and “they shall dwell safely forever.” (2 Nephi 1:9)
Breaching of the Covenant, Judgments of God and Subsequent Re-Invoking of the Covenant
Each time that the singular requirement – obeying the commandments – is ignored by the people under the covenant, the Lord allows judgments to come upon them (see listing of judgments, Deut. 28:15-68). These covenant blessings are generally revoked sequentially in reverse order of how they were given in a merciful effort by the Lord to turn His children’s hearts and minds back to Him; to cause the covenant people to repent and ask for His protection and guidance. Their blessings are revoked in reverse order.
Security is breached; helping them realize their lack of security without God’s protection.
Prosperity removed; humbling them into the realization that prosperity is a blessing from God, not man.
Posterity is taken away, usually through internal conflict and war; helping them realize God’s blessing of having children.
Swept from the sacred land; God’s final consequence for disobedience – for God will not suffer unrighteous people to occupy His Promised Lands.
Each time the covenant is ignored and the judgments of God fall upon the people, in order for the covenant to be reinstated, the people and their leaders must humble themselves, repent, vow to obey the commandments of God, and re-invoke the covenant. Such has been the case with prophets throughout Old Testament history as well as those who were directed to the American promised land. The Book of Mormon provides multiple examples of such re-invocations such as Limhi (Mosiah 21:32) Lachoneus (3 Nephi 3:12-25) and Captain Moroni (Alma 46:10-13).
Only Two Promised Covenant Lands
There are only two “Promised Lands” mentioned by Christ in the Book of Mormon; Jerusalem of the Old World (3 Nephi 20:29) and New Jerusalem of the New World (3 Nephi 20:22). Both of these covenant lands of promise were given by the Lord to the house of Israel for their latter day gathering place. The New World Promised Land would be the location of the gathering place for the House of Israel in the America’s. Where is this gathering place? It will be at the New Jerusalem. And where is the New Jerusalem going to be located? We know through revelation that the New Jerusalem will be built in Jackson County Missouri, in the Heartland of North America (D&C 84:1-4). Did the Book of Mormon history take place on the same land as the New Jerusalem? Multiple passages establish that Lehi’s family was lead to and remained on this Promised Land throughout their entire history (1 Nephi 13:30, 22:7, 2 Nephi 1:5, 3 Nephi 20:22, 21:2-4,21:22-23, Ether 13:2-6). Therefore the land the Nephites, Jaredites, Mulekites and Lamanites lived upon was their “covenanted” land of promise and must – by covenant – include the Heartland of North America because it is the revealed location of the New Jerusalem by the Lord Himself.
Promised Land Limitations
The Book of Mormon text limits the Nephite “Promised Land” to a latter-day “nation” (1 Ne. 13:30) that would be “set up,” (3 Ne. 21:4) “lifted up,” (1 Ne. 13:30) “raise[d] up,” (1 Ne. 22:7) “established,” and “delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations” (1 Ne. 13:19) in the latter days. Eight times the text refers to this particular nation as being a “land of liberty” (2 Ne. 1:7, 10:11, Mosiah 29:32, Alma 46:10, 16, 17,3 Ne. 21:4, Ether 2:12), which would become a “mighty Gentile nation” (1 Ne. 22:7) “above all other nations” (3 Ne. 20:27). Being a “nation” is the scriptural limiting factor. It is not referencing an entire hemisphere or a particular nationality of people, but a new nation that would be among other nations. That it is speaking of this nation as a political entity is also clear because it states that this nation will be raised up within the population known as the Gentiles on the face of this land (1 Ne. 22:7) and it will have “no kings upon the land” and the Lord “will fortify this land against all other nations” (2 Ne. 10:10-12) such that it would be “delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations” in order to establish a “land of liberty” upon the land.
Gathering of Israel To Their Covenant and Promised Lands
Since these are the latter-days, as indicated by the official name of the Church, is there any evidence of this gathering of the House of Israel to these two covenant and promised lands, now latter-day nations? Could the nations where the prophesied gatherings are taking place provide additional clues regarding these two Promised Lands and their associated nations? According to research on religion and global migration, conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and released March 2012, Jews have the highest rate of migration of any religion. To what nations do they tend to migrate? An article by The Salt Lake Tribune religion specialist, Lauren Markoe quotes Jonathan Sarna, a professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University as saying “the vast majority of world Jewry lives in one of two countries. Of the 13.3 million Jews worldwide, 43 percent live in Israel and 39 percent live in the United States.” Fully 82% of all Jews worldwide have already gathered (as of 2012) to these two covenant lands of promise. This is significant considering the many prophecies of the gathering of the house of Israel to their two respective Promised Lands in the latter days and it is also clear that the United States of America again fulfills the Book of Mormon prophecies (2 Nephi 1:5, 1 Ne. 13:30, 3 Ne. 21:4) better than any other nation in the Americas.
America’s Founding Fathers, George Washington and President Abraham Lincoln Invoke the Covenant
These prophecies are clearly making reference to the establishment of the United States of America on what was then the Nephite land of promise. This is the only nation wherein the Lord raised up men “for the very purpose” of its establishment (D&C 101:80) so that the gospel could be restored again to the earth as so many ancient (3 Ne. 21:22) and latter-day prophets have prophesied and testified (D&C 10:53). Amazingly many of the Founding Fathers of the united States believed that they were establishing a new Israel as attested by the seals proposed by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson for the new nation. Both proposed seals depict the Children of Israel being led by a pillar of fire into a Promised Land. They believed that they were also of the covenant people of the Lord, and thus the American Covenant, as it is now being called, was invoked by the Founding Fathers in their inspired masterpiece, the United States Constitution. Embedded within the Preamble to the Constitution are all four of the blessings promised by God for a covenant people on their Promised Lands. They boldly proclaim the Promised Land Covenant with its associated blessings.
The Promised Land and its people under covenant – “We the People of the United States…for the United States of America“,
Posterity – “to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity“,
Prosperity – “establish justice…and promote the general welfare“, and
Security – “provide for the common defense…insure domestic tranquility“, and this they did by ordination as their sacred covenant with God.
This was also demonstrated by the nation’s first president as his first official act. George Washington’s inaugural address was the invocation of the covenant on the land and people of America. That he believed that this nation was a new Promised Land of Israel is historically verified through his turning to Genesis 49:22 in the Old Testament and placing his left hand upon that very verse as he lifted his right arm to the square to take his oath of office as the nations first president. The verse is from the blessing by Jacob (Israel) to his son Joseph wherein he prophesies that “Joseph is a fruitful bough,even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall” indicating that the descendants of Joseph (Ephraim & Manasseh) would leave the original Promised Land to establish a new Promised Land “over the wall” or ocean. They believed it to be America. (for more information read the book, The American Covenant by Timothy Ballard, available in the Bookstore).
Following the security, prosperity and posterity breaches caused by the sin of slavery and the ensuing Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln again invoked the American Covenant in his second inaugural speech which was given shortly after the end of the war. Incredibly, President Lincoln may have gained profound insights into the covenant during the time that he was undergoing his “process of crystallization” as it has been called, wherein he went to the Library of Congress and checked out a book filled with information about the covenant…the book he signed out and then returned several months later when he announced the Emancipation Proclamation…was none other than the Book of Mormon. (read Timothy Ballards book, The American Covenant Vol. 2 for more information, available in the Bookstore).
Joseph Smith Receives The Promised Land Covenant Through Revelation
The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith that the New Jerusalem will be built in Missouri, USA, on the same promised lands of previous peoples (3 Ne. 20:22, Ether 13:2-6, D&C 57:1-3). He then invokes a covenant with Joseph Smith, revealing to the Prophet that, like all peoples before him on this same sacred ground, he is to be a recipient heir of this “land of promise” for an inheritance for his posterity forever…even in eternity. Again the Lord sets forth this same sacred ground as His promised land to His covenant people.
18. And I hold forth and deign to give unto you greater riches, even a land of promise, a land flowing with milk and honey, upon which there shall be no curse when the Lord cometh;
19. And I will give it unto you for the land of your inheritance, if you seek it with all your hearts.
20. And this shall be my covenant with you, ye shall have it for the land of your inheritance, and for the inheritance of your children forever, while the earth shall stand, and ye shall possess it again in eternity, no more to pass away.” – D&C 38:18-20
These lands are the same sacred sites of history and prophecy, from the Garden of Eden and the first land of promise (Cainan) to the Jaredite and Nephite covenant lands and the latter day restoration of the gospel, as well as the future locations of the New Jerusalem and the priesthood gathering at Adam-ondi-Ahman. They are all New World sacred sites, and all of them are located within what is now the nation called the United States of America.
The discussion above, because it is entirely scriptural prophecy based, is undeniable. This very robust scripture chain does not promote any one geography theory, but scripturally indicates that the original promised land of Father Adam’s great grandson Cainan, as well as the later Jaredite nation, the Nephites and the inspired Founding Fathers are all histories that occurred on the same land where the future New Jerusalem will be built, which has been absolutely established through revelation to be in what is now known as the “Heartland” of North America. Therefore the Book of Mormon lands had to have been located here.
Would Christ’s statement make any sense when he said that “this people (the Gentiles) will I establish on this land (the land of the Nephites) and it (this land) will be a New Jerusalem (3 Nephi 20:22), if those lands were located in Japan, Russia or Central or South America? No, simply because it has been revealed that the New Jerusalem will be built in North America and will never be on those lands, therefore those lands cannot have been the primary lands of the Book of Mormon. There has never been any scriptural indication that the Promised Lands included all of the Western Hemisphere. The same is true of the Old World Promised Land of Canaan or the Levant Region. They were specific lands in the midst of much broader lands or continents. The land Promised to Abraham did not extent throughout the entire hemisphere. It had limits. Why would the American Promised Land be different?
A Prophetic Warning To A Specific Latter Day Nation – The United States of America
While an understanding of the physical location where the Book of Mormon history actually took place may not be essential for individual salvation, it was certainly considered of sufficient importance to the ancient prophets to warrant significant space on the plates in forewarning a specific nation that would one day occupy those same lands. Knowledge of the location of the Promised Land with its associated covenants may very well be essential to the “salvation” or continuation of that nation.
In order to make it perfectly clear so that no one could misunderstand which latter day nation they were warning, the ancient Book of Mormon writers offered 36 prophetic descriptions of that nation, prophesying it to be a “mighty Gentile nation above all other nations” and eight times referencing it as the “land of liberty.” They gave indication of the covenant by prophesying it would be a land of “prosperity and security.” They also claimed it to be where the gospel would be restored (the marvelous work and a wonder would occur, 2 Nephi 25:17, 27:26) and the New Jerusalem built (D&C 84:1-4), both of which are known respectively through historical fact and prophetic revelation. These facts remove the actual geography of the Book of Mormon from the realm of speculation, conjecture and theory to a firm foundation of fact and truth, upon which a better understanding of the Book of Mormon lands can be built.
Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles published in the December 2012 issue of the Ensign magazine an article in which he states that,
“The United States is the Promised Land foretold in the Book of Mormon–”
Continuing, he wrote, “…a place where divine guidance directed inspired men to create the conditions necessary for the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was the birth of the United States of America that ushered out the Great Apostasy, when the earth was darkened by the absence of prophets and revealed light. It was no coincidence that the lovely morning of the First Vision occurred just decades after the establishment of the United States.”
Thus modern Church leadership is completely consistent with and supportive of the scriptures and Joseph Smith’s statements.
The following table provides a comprehensive listing of the 36 prophecies and promises included within the text of the Book of Mormon as pertaining to its Promised Land. Any latter day nation proposed as being the lands of the Book of Mormon must, of prophetic necessity, be able to fulfill each and every prophecy. As the list is read, ask which latter day nation(s) has fulfilled or has the highest potential to fulfill that prophecy.
Mother Gentiles to battle against Gentiles who came out of captivity
1 Ne. 13:17.
It is critical to understand the precise nation the ancient prophets were desperately trying to warn so that those people would know of a surety which nation’s future had been seen in vision in order to take corrective action to avoid or at least prepare for the impending destruction. It is certain that the ancient prophets who saw our day in vision would have known that should the United States of America fail as a nation it would directly impact the latter-day Church’s divine mandate and mission to proclaim and spread the gospel throughout the world.
Blessing All of God’s Children With The Gospel Through Missionary Work
Since the restoration of the gospel, one nation has consistently provided and sent more missionaries than any other nation, and that nation is the United States. Today the Church has the largest missionary force the world has ever known scattered throughout the world, yet 80% of all missionaries worldwide come from the United States, and of the 20% serving missions from other nations nearly half receive financial assistance from Church members in the U.S.
Is it any wonder, then, why the ancient prophets spent valuable time, effort and space on the gold plates warning this specific nation not to allow the secret combinations that destroyed their civilization to get above it? It should be absolutely clear, based solely on the source of the missionary effort stemming from one latter day nation, that the United States of America is that blessed, prosperous and covenant nation on the American Promised Land. To this same land the Lord’s covenant Book of Mormon people were directed and upon this same land their ancient civilizations flourished so long as they remained righteous. The lands of the Book of Mormon prophets are today the lands now occupied by that covenant nation that God established by “wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose” (D&C 101:80) in order to “bless the nations of the earth.” That latter-day nation, according to the 36 prophecies and promises contained in the Book of Mormon, is none other than the United States of America…God’s covenant and Promised Land of liberty.
The ancient prophets knew that should this nation, the United States of America, fall into unrighteousness, God’s judgments and subsequent removal of His covenant blessings of security, prosperity, and posterity would result in its collapse, which would have a direct and devastating impact on the latter-day Church’s ability to carry out its mission of spreading the gospel. Missionary families in a collapsing economy would likely find it impossible to support their sons and daughters, making it necessary to return them home. Such an event would undoubtedly render the Church’s missionary effort to be unable to continue to bless the other nations of the earth.
Accordingly, this nation’s covenant and founding principles must be vigorously upheld through righteous leaders in order for it to carry on its sacred responsibility to “bless the nations of the earth” with the gospel. That is why it is absolutely critical that righteous, God-loving and covenant keeping leaders be chosen to lead and guide it. And that is why it is critical to understand “where” the covenant and promised lands of the Book of Mormon were located. That nation today is the United States of America. The warnings are clear…and eminent. Therefore, based on these prophecies, it should also be absolutely clear where the lands of the Book of Mormon were actually located. It was established before the foundations of the world, it was the original Promised Land of Cainan in scripture, it became the lands that the Jaredites were lead to, and then the Nephites and then the Founding Fathers. Upon this sacred land the gospel was restored and the future New Jerusalem will be built. The pattern is absolutely clear, scripturally and prophetically consistent and profoundly important for every single Latter-day Saint
“It has been borne in upon my soul that one of my descendants will promulgate a work to revolutionize the world of religious faith.” Statement of Asael Smith before his grandson Joseph Smith was born (quoted in George Q. Cannon, Life of Joseph Smith, the Prophet [1986], 26).
The Prophet Joseph Smith wrote:
Joseph’s Personality by Clark Kelley Price
“My grandfather, Asael Smith, long ago predicted that there would be a prophet raised up in his family, and my grandmother was fully satisfied that it was fulfilled in me. My grandfather Asael died in East Stockholm, St. Lawrence county, New York, after having received the Book of Mormon, and read it nearly through; and he declared that I was the very Prophet that he had long known would come in his family” (In History of the Church, 2:443).
President Brigham Young said, “The Lord had his eye upon him, and upon his father, and upon his father’s father, and upon their progenitors clear back to Abraham, and from Abraham to the flood, from the flood to Enoch, and from Enoch to Adam. He has watched that family and that blood as it has circulated from its fountain to the birth of that man. He was foreordained in eternity to preside over this last dispensation” (in Journal of Discourses, 7:289–90).
For Good and Evil
Why is it that so many people in the world only know Joseph Smith as a fallen prophet, or a storyteller, or a money digger, or a fake, or a deceiver? It was all prophesied as you know.
Why is Joseph Smith’s name known among all nations and all people? He must be a very influential person. Think of the name of Adam, or Noah, Moses, Abraham, or Peter. They are also very important people who are known for good and evil among the entire planet. Why? Because the mission of Joseph Smith was to be the Prophet of the at Dispensation to cry a final repentance among the people of this earth’s final existence.
Joseph Smith said, “He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.” Joseph Smith—History 1:33.
“How could a farm boy, largely without formal education, have dared to say such a thing? And yet it has all come to pass and will continue to increase as this restored gospel is taught across the world” (President Gordon B. Hinckley in Conference Report, Apr. 1998, 4; or Ensign, May 1998, 6).
I had the opportunity to serve my Mission in the Fiji, Suva Mission from 1975 to 1977. This included service in Fiji,Kiribati, formerly known as the Gilbert Islands, and Tuvalu, formerly known as the Ellice Islands. During this incredible time amongst the Children of Israel my testimony was strengthened. I also had the privledge of meeting Elder Groberg in 1976, as he visited our small mission. I then at the end of my mission in Nov 1977 left from Kiribati. and flew to Honolulu to receive my mission release from Elder Groberg who was a Regional Representative serving in Hawaii. I love this great man, Elder Groberg.
Testing the Prophesy
While serving a mission in Tonga [1953], Elder John H. Groberg of the Presidency of the Seventy decided to test that prophecy about the name of Joseph Smith.
“Elder Groberg and his companion sailed to the island of Tafahi, located about eight miles from their home island of Niuatoputapu. About 80 people lived on Tafahi. Like the people on Niuatoputapu, the people on Tafahi had no running water or electricity, but they were even more isolated from the outside world since they had no telegraph or scheduled boats.
When Elder Groberg visited, the island had only 18 homes, and the missionaries visited each one. He wrote: “At the last home, a strange thought occurred to me, ‘Why don’t you test the prophecy that the name of Joseph Smith should be known for good and evil throughout the world?’ I don’t know why the thought came, but it did.”
The missionaries asked the family if they had ever heard of the president of the United States. “Who’s he?” and “Where’s the United States?” was their response. Elder Groberg reported: “I tried to explain where it was, but they couldn’t understand. They asked how big an island it was. I replied that it was a very big island, thousands of miles away with millions of people living on it. I told them that many people there had never even seen the ocean and that many people didn’t know one another. They couldn’t comprehend that.”
He then asked if they had heard of Russia and France and their leaders; he asked about movie stars, sports figures, and world political leaders. They knew nothing of these places or people, nor of world events such as the Depression and the Korean War.
Elder Groberg recalled: “There was not a member of the Church living on this island, although there were two other churches there. I took a deep breath and said, ‘Have you ever heard of Joseph Smith?’”
“Immediately their faces lit up. Everyone looked at me, and the father said, ‘Don’t talk to us about that false prophet! Not in our home! We know all about him. Our minister has told us!’ I could hardly believe what I was hearing. The scripture … sounded in my mind that Joseph’s name should be had for good and evil among all nations. … To me this was a direct fulfillment of prophecy.
“I am convinced that you could hardly get a place more remote, more out of touch with modern civilization, than the little island of Tafahi. The people there knew nothing of the great leaders of the day—political, economic, or otherwise—but they knew the name Joseph Smith. In this case they knew it for ill, at least to begin with. I spent the next few days explaining more of the mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and before we left, a few of them knew his name for good” (In the Eye of the Storm [1993], 104–6). https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/presidents-of-the-church-teacher-manual-religion-345/joseph-smith-first-president-of-the-church?lang=eng
More About Groberg
“Groberg was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, in 1934 and was reared there after the Great Depression. After a year at Brigham Young University, and shortly after the Korean War, he served a mission to Tonga.
After much difficulty in getting to Tonga with strikes, visa problems, and problems finding boats, he served briefly in Los Angeles, Samoa, and Fiji while waiting to get to Tonga. When he finally arrived in Tonga, his first assignment was on a remote isolated island called Niuatoputapu, which with neighboring Tafahi, was a place whose contact to the outside world was an occasional telegraph and visiting boat. On this Island he suffered mosquitoes, a typhoon, and starvation. He spent nearly a year there.
He then returned to more developed islands and served as a district president supervising smaller congregations called branches. The branches he dealt with lacked unity and morality. He had little contact with his mission president. He nearly drowned when pushed out of a boat during a major storm and suffered exhaustion many times. He was denied an extension so he could take a group of Latter-day Saint converts to the Hamilton New Zealand Temple. He flew home, and shortly after married Jean Sabin; together, they have had 11 children.
Groberg received his bachelor’s degree from BYU and an MBA from Indiana University. He was then involved in real estate in the Idaho Falls area. Groberg also served for five years as a bishop of a ward in Idaho Falls.
He returned to the islands of his mission ten years later as a mission president and, since his release as mission president, has been there many times as a regional representative. He is beloved by the people of that region.
With much coaxing, he wrote a book about his mission from his memoirs called In the Eye of the Storm. His missionary experiences in Tonga became the subject of the film The Other Side of Heaven (released by Disney, 2001) and the sequel The Other Side of Heaven 2 (2018).
John Groberg, center, with actors Christopher Gorham (right, as Groberg) and Joe Folau (left, as Feki)
In April 1976, Groberg was called to be a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ. The changes he saw in Tonga from a missionary to church leader were documented in his book The Fire of Faith. He had other assignments besides Tonga as a general authority.” https://www.mormonwiki.com/John_H._Groberg
A Cree Chief. Not Yellow Face, but an impressive Warrior, don't you think?
The Dream of Yellow Face- “His Book”, is a blog about an amazing life experience about the Chief of the Cree Nation when he and his people were given a place to live and hunt in Mountain View, 20 miles east of Cardston, Alberta, Canada on Latter-day Saint property. You will greatly enjoy knowing a bit about Elder Wood, the Cree Nation and the inspirational dream of Chief Yellow Face.
The devoted friendship between Elder Wood and Chief Yellow Face is an impressive story of a strong faith, and amazing example of Christian values in the Cardston, Alberta area of Saints. The first temple outside of the United States was just across the border of Montana, when the Cardston Temple opened in 1923.
You will also see a 1960 video from the Church about this incident. It has a great message, and a fun movie to see from my past.
THE STORY OF CHIEF YELLOWFACE – BY EDWARD J WOOD IS BELOW
Edward J. Wood
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edward James Wood (October 27, 1866-April 24, 1956) was a prominent leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in Alberta, Canada and was the founder of Glenwood, Alberta and Hillspring, Alberta.
Wood was born to Mormon parents in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory. At age 21, he was sent to Samoa as a missionary for the LDS Church, where he served from 1888 to 1892. Upon returning to Utah in 1892, Wood married Mary Ann Solomon. In 1896, Wood was again sent to Samoa, this time to be the president of the Samoan Mission of the church.
After Wood returned to Utah in 1898, Charles O. Card invited him to move to Canada in order to take over management of the management of Card’s mercantile store in the Latter-day Saint settlement of Cardston, in the Canadian North West Territories. Wood accepted and moved to Cardston with his family in September 1901.
In 1903, Wood became the president of the Alberta Stake of the LDS Church, which was headquartered in Cardston. In 1906, Wood organized the church’s purchase of the 66,500-acre (269 km2) Cochran Ranch for $6 an acre. On this land, Wood founded the Latter-day Saint settlements of Glenwood (1908) and Hillspring (1910).
In 1923, Wood became the first president of the LDS Church’s Cardston Alberta Temple. He simultaneously served as temple president and stake president until 1942, when he was released from his duties as stake president. In 1948, Wood asked to be released as temple president due to ill health. Shortly thereafter, he was ordained the patriarch of the Alberta Stake, a position he held until his death at age 89. At his death, the president of the LDS Church, David O. McKay, said to apostle Hugh B. Brown, “We have never had a greater President of a Stake than Edward J. Wood.”
“The Cree Indians are a vast tribe of Native Americans who reside in various parts of North America. These locations include the Rocky Mountain and areas along the Atlantic Coast. In Canada, the Cree Indians heavily populate Quebec and Saskatchewan. Similar to other Indian tribes, there are several bands of Cree Indians. These bands consist of the James Bay Cree, Woodland Cree, Plain Cree Indians, etc.
Within Canada, there are over 135 different bands of Cree Indians. Between Canada and the United States, there are approximately 200,000 Cree Indians. Of course, this number is only equivalent to the amount of registered Cree Indians. Hence, the number may be slightly larger.
Cree Indians were a first nation of Canada. Today, several members of the Cree tribes reside on reservations. Within the reservation, each Cree Indian tribe governs themselves separately from the rest of the nation.” https://kingstonyouthlacrosse.org/about-all/native-american-cree-the-life-of-the-cree-indians.html
My great friend, Mike Lafontaine is a Chippewa/Cree Native American. Here is a picture of his father.
Chief Mel LaFontaine, Ojibway/Chippewa/Cree
THE DREAM OF YELLOW FACE
By President Edward J. Wood President of the Alberta Temple
“About the year 1910, a very fine looking Indian, calling himself Yellow Face, called in Cardston, and said he had with him 20 families of the Cree nation from Eastern Canada, and that they were wandering over the country to find a good trapping country. As they liked the look of this corner of Alberta, they requested permission to camp on some of the vacant lands in our vicinity.
Yellow Face had fairly well educated young men in his company who could talk pretty good English. These acted as interpreters. They had a written language the characters resembling very much the characters seen on the facsimile cuts shown in the Pearl of Great Price. Yellow Face had rather sharp features, a well-shaped forehead, with deep-set eyes. His color was a lighter brown than that of our Blood Indians, he was nearly six feet tall, was very dignified and seemed highly intelligent…Continued below
We directed him and his company to the west section where there were lands with many lakes and plenty of grass for their horses. In a few days, Yellow Face sent word to me that they preferred the upper parts of the Cochrane Ranch lands, [Mountain View, Alberta] and that his company had encamped on the Belly River near the bridge, waiting to hear from me as to their trapping on our Church lands. I sent word that if they would go on the hay lands and do some work in grubbing out a lot of low willows, they might earn a little money that way and also earn the right to do sonic trapping; to which proposal they willingly assented.”
“Mountain View is a hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Cardston County. It is located along Highway 5 approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Cardston and 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Waterton Lakes National Park near the United States border. It is also a kickoff point for visitors to Police Outpost Provincial Park, 18 kilometers to the south.” Wikipedia
Continued “They wasted no time, and soon went to the store at Mountain View, a town five miles from their camp, and brought some fine muskrat hides to sell and also some finely beaded moccasins, well tanned rugs, and Indian curios. They did a lot of buying and selling in the Mountain View stores and some trading in Cardston during the trapping season.
While in Mountain View, they seemed very curious about our meetings and asked to attend public services, and also ward reunions of any kind; but while in attendance they would talk very little. When the season was about over for trapping, they came and very politely said Goodbye, and seemed to appreciate our allowing them to use the Church lands.
They came back the next year, and again the third year, and traded and acted much as they did before and never seemed to wish to get acquainted with us, until one day near the close of the season, Yellow Face and his Council of Chiefs, comprising the head of each family, making 20 Chiefs, sent to Mountain View for the Church Chief Bishop to come at once to their camp and meet with their Council.
The Bishop went and found them all seated around the edge of the tent, and wondered what they might desire of him. When the Bishop entered, Yellow Face stood up and asked the Bishop to stand in the center of the circle and address them. The Bishop hardly knew what to say, but tried to explain, through their interpreter, the first principles of the Gospel, and other truths he thought they would understand about our revealed Gospel. He spoke over half an hour, and realized they did not seem much interested, so he sat down and talked briefly on local matters, invited them to come to Mountain View to the meetings, and left feeling he had not made much of an impression.
About a week after, they sent for him to come among them again and talk to them once more. He wondered more than ever at their inviting him to talk to them so soon for he knew he had done very little good before. But as he entered the tent he noticed a fine looking Indian woman, whom Yellow Face introduced as his daughter.
The Bishop states that as soon as he saw this woman, the feeling came upon him to talk on the Book of Mormon. Before he began to speak to the assembled Indians, Yellow Face asked him if he had anything new to tell them, saying that they did not care to hear again what he had told them before. When he said he would tell then about a book, every eye was on him and the young woman seemed very nearly white. They all paid marked attention as he spoke and interrupted so frequently through the interpreter, that it was difficult for him to finish. They were much enthused, and pointed for him to be seated where Yellow Face had been sitting, then Yellow Face in his dignified way said he would now tell his story. As he did so every eye was upon him:
“The year before our tribe first came here, I was taken very sick. Some of my Indian friends who had been dead for many years came and told me that I would soon be better, but would get sick again someday, and that I would die, but my family must not think I was dead and bury me, for I was not to be buried until my body was cold all over.
When I woke up, I called my family together and also the Counsel of Five Chiefs (of which I was a member) for our tribe that then lived in Manitoba was large, and I told them of my dream, and they laughed at me and did not believe it. But, nevertheless, I feared my dream was true.
Time went on, and one day sometime afterward, I was taken very sick, and I at once feared my dream would come true, so I warned my family not to be in a hurry to bury me, even though I died, until they were sure that I was cold all over.
I got weaker and weaker until I left my body, and I went away among a lot of Indians that I knew were dead, some I knew and some I did not know, as they had been dead so long. But they were not dead at all, and told me to die was only to leave the body for your people to take care of, and to come where they were.
As for me, they said that I had to go back and use my body again for several years. THEY SAID I WAS TO GO AMONG THE WHITE PEOPLE UNTIL I FOUND A BOOK THAT TOLD OF THE HISTORY OF THESE DEAD INDIANS WHO WERE NOT DEAD.
I asked them how I would know the people who had the book that would tell my live Indian friends all about who they were and about their dead relatives; and they gave me these five keys:
They will let you camp on their own lands, and trap and hunt.
They will treat you like one of them in your business dealings with them.
They will invite you to their meetings and ask you to speak.
They will invite you to sit with them at their tables to eat.
They will visit you in your camp, and their men will not bother your women nor molest any of you.
When you find this kind of people, have them meet in your Council, and have them tell you what they believe, and they will tell you about this book.
I then woke up and found my wife and my friends had about decided to bury me as I had been dead several days and was cold all over, except a small place over my heart, but when I came back to life and told them where I had been and that our Indian relatives were not dead at all, they wondered at me. And when I told them that I would pick about 20 families and travel until I found the Book, they again wondered, but as they all believed in a God, they said they would follow me.
So in due time we formed our company and started. We made many camps, and traveled many seasons. But there are not many people who are true friends of the Indian; and it was hard to find a people who answered to the five keys until we landed among you.”
Yellow Face had grown quite eloquent in telling of his wonderful experience among the dead-yet-living Indians, as he termed them, and before he sat down, he asked for the Book. The Bishop went and got a Book of Mormon and gave it to him. He took it as though it had always belonged to him, and said to the Bishop that it was his Book because it was the history of his people, both of the dead and of the living.
After this very interesting experience of the Bishop, I met Yellow Face at the home of the Bishop and he told us of how he had watched us and of his sitting by my side at a certain reunion of the ward the year before, and of how he had taken note of our treatment of him, and of his great surprise when I told him his company could camp on the Church lands, and of his object in camping on the main road, so that all of our people going to and from several of our main wards, had to pass through this Indian village, and of his coming the three times—a year apart—as he wanted to see if we would change in our treatment of his company. He also told us of many principles of religion that he said his tribe believed in, which were very interesting to us.
He then took the Book of Mormon, calling it their long lost Book, and wrapped it among their valuables, which they always carry in a separate buckskin sack, and hang it apart from any other belongings on a tripod in front of the head Chief’s lodge. These articles are held sacred by the tribe and are exhibited only on rare occasions.
Yellow Face and his company now seemed satisfied, and having no further desire to stay among us, soon left. We heard many times afterward of how they would camp along the highways, and Yellow Face would take his own interpreter and call upon a family, and would hand “His Book” to the family and ask them to read it for him. We heard of this being done and the Book being read to him by many people who wondered at what the book contained, and seemed quite interested when he would tell them it was the history of his people.“Source
A Chosen People (1960) – Intended for young Indians, this tells the true story of an Indian Chief who dreams about a people who have a record of his ancestors. Based on an incident taken from the diary of President Edward J. Woods (1866-1956).
Edward J. Wood Gave All to Cardston
After Charles and Zina Card, there is perhaps no individual with a more prominent role in the history of Cardston, Alberta, than Edward J. Wood.
Born in Salt Lake City in 1866, Wood had already proved his devotion to the Lord by the time he arrived in Cardston in 1901. At the age of 21, after becoming engaged to be married, he was called on a mission to the Samoan Islands, delaying his marriage several years. He returned in 1892 and married Mary Ann Solomon, and they already had two children in 1896 when he was again called to Samoa. This time, at the age of 29, he served as mission president there for two years without his wife and family.
Edward J. Wood, Cardston Alberta Temple President 1939.
A year after his return, family members who had moved to Alberta, Canada, convinced Edward and Mary Ann to join them, and by September 1901 the Woods had arrived in Cardston. The town’s aging founder, Charles O. Card, invited Edward to assume management of the Cardston Mercantile, and Wood soon also found himself heavily engaged in Church work there.
Beginning with missionary work among less active members , in his first year Wood also served as Sunday School president and before long was called as the second counselor in the Cardston Stake presidency. Less than a year later – and less than two years after his arrival in Canada – Edward Wood was called to preside over the newly created Alberta Stake.
In addition to his leadership, Wood was also responsible for the colonization of 67,000 acres of Church land northwest of Cardston. He oversaw surveys of the land, identified town sites, and was the Church’s agent in selling the land. The towns of Glenwood and Hill Spring were the result of his labors.
Cardston Temple Workers 1938
When the Church built a tabernacle in Cardston, they asked Wood to oversee its construction. Plans for a temple soon followed, and Wood was again called upon to chair the committee that oversaw its construction. When the temple was finished in 1923, Wood was called as its president. Having already served twenty years as the stake president, Wood filled both roles for another nineteen years, until he was released from his stake duties at the age of 76. It would be another six years before he was released, in 1948, as the president of the Cardston Temple. Before long, he was called to be the patriarch of the Alberta Stake. Wood died in 1956, just half a year shy of his 90th birthday. https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/content/historic-sites/cardston/alberta/edward-wood-cardston-alberta?lang=eng
In about 592 BC near Khor Kharfout, Oman in the Old World, a Prophet named Nephi was commanded to build a ship to take his family to a New Promised Land, which was the New World in North America. The Lord said, “Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters.” Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 17:8
Nephi said, “Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men.” 1 Nephi 18:2 About 590 BC
How would this sailing vessel be built? How would it be different than other ships built around 600 BC, since the Lord said it should be “after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me?”
As I research I found the earliest known ships were built anciently as early as 5500 BC, as you will read below here: “Visual depictions of sailing boats have been dated as far back as 5500 BCE, discovered on painted discs from ancient Mesopotamia found in modern day Kuwait.” Jamey Bergman ybw.com
Bering Strait?
Now I believe Adam was placed on the earth in about 4,000 BC and the Jaredites left the Old World to America in about 2200 BC, so the 5500 BC may be dated incorrectly, but we know ships were built near the beginning of this earths existence after Adam.
I don’t believe the old myth about the peopling of the New World over the Bering Strait. I believe the Lord gave all mankind the knowledge to build ships similar to those of today. Sure each ship progressed from century to century, with the inspiration of the Lord to man, but the Lord created us all and gave us knowledge and abilities that are powerful at different points of time, as we needed, or as we most importantly asked, and researched on our own.
Sailboat Inventions 100 BC to 1500 AD:
Could these items below have been shown by the Lord to Nephi, near 590 BC to build after the manner of the Lord? The following are ship improvements after 600 BC.
1- The Lateen (triangular) sail: 100 BC 2- Steering Oars and Rudders 100 AD 3- The Keel: 700 – 900 AD 4- Carrack Sail: 1500 AD
Now, if the above improvements that were man-made inventions for ships and sailing in these time periods, what makes us think that the Lord could not have inspired Nephi to add some of these things to ships in 600 BC, or that Nephi asked the Lord how to do things and received inspiration to help his family arrive in North America near Florida? Before discussing the above 4 items I want to explain a few other things about boats sailing from the Old to the New Worlds.
An example of “Working the Timbers”. “I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me.” 1 Nep 18:2
“A sewn boat is a type of wooden boat which is clinker built with its planks sewn, stitched, tied, or bound together with tendons or flexible wood, such as roots and willow branches. Sewn boat construction techniques were used in many parts of the world prior to the development of metal fasteners, and continued to be used long after that time for small boats to reduce construction costs where metal fasteners were too expensive.” Wikipedia
Working the Timbers?
“Most of the joinery among the timbers was accomplished through means that allowed the hull to be deconstructed without destruction, “a deliberate goal of pharaonic shipbuilders… Joggled scarf joint of Khufu I (author’s photo right); Inset: joggled strakes of Khufu I. (courtesy Paul Lipke Collection).” Ship Timber and the Reuse of Wood in Ancient Egypt Pearce Paul Creasman University of Arizona
Jerusalem Destroyed
“The siege of Jerusalem (circa 589–587 BC) was the final event of the Judahite revolts against Babylon, in which Nebuchadnezzar II, king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, besieged Jerusalem, the capital city of the Kingdom of Judah.” Wikipedia
Remember about this same time somewhere near Jerusalem after the Temple was destroyed, a the last Prophet of Judah, named Zedikiah lived.”
The Plates of Brass is a history of the Hebrew people which was brought by the people of Lehi and Nephi from Jerusalem in 600 BC to North America. These contained “the five books of Moses, as we read:
“And he beheld that they did contain the five books of Moses, which gave an account of the creation of the world, and also of Adam and Eve, who were our first parents; And also a record of the Jews from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah; (1 Nephi 5:11–13).
Phoenicia Ship 600 BC
John Lefgren of Heartland Research said, “We believe the Phoenicia Ship Replica connects the Bible’s stories to the New World.
We read in Jeremiah 52:12 – 13. Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem, And burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire:
The destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the First Temple had a profound impact on the history of the Jews. This is a point in time from which we connect the ship replica on the west bank of the Mississippi River to the Bible.
About 300 years after the destruction of Jerusalem, we read in Omni 15 Behold, it came to pass that Mosiah discovered that the people of Zarahemla came out from Jerusalem at the time that Zedekiah, king of Judah, was carried away captive into Babylon.
The ship shows that Mulek, the Prince of Judah, could sail across the Atlantic after the burning of the Temple. This is why we are so determined to find sufficient funds to finish the restoration of what was less than two years ago in the mud of Florida. We are sure that as we continue to move forward, we will gain the support of many more people.
Mulek, a son of King Zedekiah, may have come to Djerba with his mother, the Jewish Queen. Jews from Tunisia are sure to be able to tell this story better than anyone else. He wants to hear what the Rabbi has to say. Doug believes that the power of the Carthaginian Empire protected a remnant of the Jewish royal family. I think that this meeting will have great meaning as we connect the ancient people of Tunisia to the ancient people of America.” John Lefgren PhD
Below, embark on an Epic Journey Through Time! Join us in reliving the 6th Century BC Phoenician Ship Expedition, sailing from Syria to America and back. Witness the incredible seafaring prowess of the Phoenicia, a 2600-year-old replica ship inspired by the Jules Verne 7 Shipwreck. Support the reconstruction of this historic vessel in Montrose, Iowa, and be a part of something truly special. Phoenicia.Rocks
Two Hebrew Voyages to North America
We read in the Book of Mormon there were two groups that left the Old World Jerusalem area, about the same time frame that Jerusalem was destroyed. The Mulekites and the Lehites. See their potential routes below.
“Now the land south was called Lehi, and the land north was called Mulek, which was after the son of Zedekiah; for the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north, and Lehi into the land south. Helaman 6:10
I believe that Lehi landed near Tallahassee, FL, and Mulek sailed up the Mississippi River and stopped at the Des Moines river rapids where as the scripture says, “And they journeyed in the wilderness, and were brought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters, into the land where Mosiah discovered them; and they had dwelt there from that time forth.” Omni 1:16
This means Mulek’s voyage was most likely a continuous voyage to the place they had been discovered by Mosiah. If Mulek had have gone up the St Lawrence seaway, if you look at a direct route to Montrose, Iowa where the Mulekites lived, would not be continuous. Sailing over the Great Lakes and the Niagara Falls would have been difficult, and they they would have had to stop near Detroit, and then find the Illinois river, then connect to the Mississippi river and then south to Montrose, Iowa. I feel up the Mississippi river from the south to the north makes more sense to me, but other people I love such as Wayne May believe the St Lawrence route. Either way is fine with me.
The First Sailing Boats: 5500 BC
“Visual depictions of sailing boats have been dated as far back as 5500 BCE, discovered on painted discs from ancient Mesopotamia found in modern day Kuwait.” Source
This quote above validates my personal belief that the Jaredites “did build [Their First Set of] barges, in which they did cross many waters, being directed continually by the hand of the Lord.” Ether 2:6. They crossed “many waters” (Not Great Sea, Ocean) but beginning near (Kuwait), or many waters like the Persian Gulf. After sailing through this Gulf, they continued eastward (possibly with sailing barges?), through the Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, Laccadive Sea, Bay of Bengal, Gulf of Thailand, South China Sea and the Philippine Sea. See my full blog here: They ended up in China or Japan to build their “2nd Set” of barges Ether 2: 16-17, before their 344 days on the Pacific, landing near Seattle, WA.
First Sail Boats More
“Sailing was invented more than 7000 years ago. The first presented model of a ship under sail appears on a painted disc found in ancient Mesopotamia between 5500 and 5000 BCE. In modern-day Iraq-Kuwait. Another record appears on an Egyptian vase about 3500 BC. These sailing ships sailed on the Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates River.” Source
“4000 BC First Sailing Vessels: The ancient Egyptians develop the first sailing vessels. These vessels are probably only used for sailing in the eastern Mediterranean and near the mouth of the Nile river.” Source
Celestial Navigation by the Stars:
“The prospect of navigating through a featureless landscape – like the sea at night – is still a daunting one for the uninitiated, and the fact that ancient cultures were able to achieve it is a testament to human ingenuity…
The Lateen (triangular) Sail: 100 BC
One of the biggest jumps in the history of sailing technology was the invention of the lateen or latin-rig sail. The lateen is a triangular sail mounted at an angle and running in a fore-and-aft direction. With a maneuver called ‘tacking,’ the sail allows boats to make way to windward in a zig-zagging fashion. Though its exact origin is unknown, the lateen sail is the earliest-known fore-and-aft rigged sail and was in use in Greece in the first century BC. It is believed to have been introduced to the Mediterranean region by Arabic or Persian sailors. Polynesians also invented a mastless lateen-rigged sail that is very different in construction from that used in the Mediterranean…
Steering Oars and Rudders 100 AD
Art by Joseph Brickey
The invention of the stern-mounted rudder is credited to the Chinese, who came up with the idea of affixing a maneuverable steering apparatus to the back of a ship’s hull during or before the first century AD during the Han Dynasty. It took Western civilizations another thousand years to affix a stern-mounted rudder to ships…
The Keel: 700 – 900 AD
A structural beam that runs from a ship’s bow to its stern and sits lower than the rest of the hull, the keel was first invented by those intrepid Norse sailing men known as Vikings. Because their sailing ships were square-rigged, they were prone to making a lot of leeway when tacking close to the wind. The addition of a keel prevented this lateral movement, increased speed and made Viking ships more stable…
The carrack and the first circumnavigation of the earth: 1500 AD It was a carrack ship that completed the first full circumnavigation of the world. It took the Spanish expedition two captains and nearly four years to make the voyage. Portuguese captain Ferdinand Magellan, who initially led the expedition, set off from Spain in 1519 and died in the Philippines in 1521. Juan Sebastian Elcano brought the carrack ship Victoria – the only one of five ships that started the expedition to survive the trip – back to Spain in 1522. Carracks were three- to four-masted sailing ships developed by Genoan sailors in the 15th century for use in commerce. Their spacious cargo holds made them good for long-distance exploration and they were important in advancing European colonial expansion leading up to the Age of Discovery. Ocean-going ships that were large enough to be stable in heavy seas, carracks were square-rigged on the fore and main masts and lateen-rigged on the mizzenmast. “https://www.ybw.com/features/10-top-innovations-in-the-history-of-sailing-17358
Lehi’s Voyage
Conclusion: After All We Can Do!
It is my opinion that the Lord may have given Nephi instructions to build his ship by utilizing some of the inventions I mention or with Nephi using some of his own reflections and ideas that he had prayed about. I don’t believe the Lord would just make Nephi’s trip easy by simply allowing the Lords miracles to happen. The Lord has told us time and time again that he will step in after all we can do. Just like Joseph Smith and the translation of the Gold Plates. Joseph did not simply read words off of a rock in a hat, but by the gift and Power of God, which allowed Joseph to use his own mind, his ability to learn translation and utilize the two stones attached to a breastplate. JSH 1:35. Like with the Brother of Jared, God did not just make the stones shine, but it was the Brother of Jared who asked the Lord to touch the stones, as he had done all he could do, by molting the stones and then the Lord made them shine.
Nephi built a ship not after the manner of men, but after the manner the Lord instructed him. When we exercise faith, we don’t usually know what will happen next, but it just happens as the Lord directs.
Just as the Book of Mormon tells the story of two main societies at war, Nephites vs. Lamanites, there are many instances historically of the same thing, as some are called the Iroquois vs. the Algonquian, or the Tallegwi (Iroquois) vs the Leni-Lape (Algonquian), or the Cherokee (Iroquois) vs the Delaware (Algonquian). These tribes seem to have always be at war with each other. Sometimes in history writers have used various names for the same group of people without understanding the differences. It seems possible that these historical tribes could be one in the same with ancient Book of Mormon Nephites and Lamanites.
Elder James E. Talmage had a conversation with Professor William C. Mills the Ohio State Archaeologist in 1917. They both seem to have believed the nature of the ancient people in Ohio, were very similar to the Nephite and Lamanite story of the Book of Mormon.
“I had a long and profitable consultation with Professor Wm. C. Mills, State Archaeologist of Ohio. He is continuing his splendid work of exploration in the Ohio mounds, and I went over with him again the remarkable agreement between his deductions and the Book of Mormon story. He has reached the following conclusions.” James E. Talmage 20 May 1917
“The area now included within the political boundaries defining the State of Ohio was once inhabited by two distinct peoples, representing two cultures, a higher and a lower… These two classes were contemporaries; in other words, the higher and the lower culture represented distinct phases of development existing at one time and in contiguous sections and furnish in no sense an instance of evolution by which the lower culture was developed into the higher… There (are) two peoples or cultures…the lower culture was most commonly the assailing party, while the people of the higher type defended as best they could but in general fled… From a careful collating of data it is demonstrated that the general course of migration through the area now defined as the State of Ohio was inward from the west and outward toward the east.” Professor Wm. C. Mills, State Archaeologist of Ohio
“Cherokee, North American Indians of Iroquoian lineage who constituted one of the largest politically integrated tribes at the time of European colonization of the Americas. Their name is derived from a Creek word meaning “people of different speech”; many prefer to be known as Keetoowah or Tsalagi. They are believed to have numbered some 22,500 individuals in 1650, and they controlled approximately 40,000 square miles (100,000 square km) of the Appalachian Mountains in parts of present-day Georgia, eastern Tennessee, and the western parts of what are now North Carolina and South Carolina.
Traditional Cherokee life and culture greatly resembled that of the Creek and other tribes of the Southeast. The Cherokee nation was composed of a confederacy of symbolically red (war) and white (peace) towns. The chiefs of individual red towns were subordinated to a supreme war chief, while the officials of individual white towns were under the supreme peace chief. The peace towns provided sanctuary for wrongdoers; war ceremonies were conducted in red towns.” Source
Great Spirit Appears to the Onondagas (Iroquois)
“On the authority of some older inhabitants of Onondaga, New York, it is stated that on a ledge of rocks, about a mile south of Jamesville, (Near Syracuse and Oneida Castle) is a place which used to be pointed out by the Indians as a spot where the Great Spirit once came down and sat and gave good advice to the chiefs of Onondagas. That there are the prints of his hands and his feet, left in the rocks, still to be seen. In the former years the Onondagas used annually to offer, at this place, tobacco and pipes, and to burn tobacco and herbs as a sacrifice to the Great Spirit, to conciliate his favor and which was a means of preventing diseases.” Author L. Taylor Hansen He Walked the Americas
The Great Law of Peace
“Centuries before the creation of the United States and its Constitution, democracy had already taken root in North America—among a handful of Indigenous nations. Known as the Iroquois Confederacy, or Haudenosaunee, this league of nations emerged among five northeast woodlands tribes that had been plagued by wars of retribution and violence for many generations. The Haudenosaunee (“people of the longhouse”) originally included the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca nations. In the 1700s, the Tuscarora became the sixth. Guided by the Great Law of Peace—their own constitution—this league came to jointly govern, while recognizing the sovereignty of each nation. The Great Law of Peace, credited largely to two visionary culture heroes, Hiawatha and Deganawida (a.k.a. “The Peacemaker”), established a model for federalism, separation of powers and participatory democracy that would inspire leaders like Benjamin Franklin and James Madison during the formation of the United States. It also conferred significant power and status to women in Iroquois culture…
The ‘Words of Condolence,’ in Wampum
Hiawatha then gathered shells for the wampum strings and composed the “words of condolence” that would one day be central to the Great Law of Peace. “If I should see anyone in deep grief, I would take these shell strings from the pole and console them,” he said. “These strings would become words that would lift away the darkness with which they are covered.”
These words and others would eventually become the Great Law, codified in wampum shell strings for communication to future generations.
Hiawatha soon encountered members of the Oneida Nation, who had heard of him and of the dream that he would one day meet The Peacemaker. After sitting with them in council for seven days, Hiawatha traveled with their chief until he came to the Mohawks, where he would first encounter Deganawida.” https://www.history.com/news/iroquois-confederacy-hiawatha-peacemaker-great-law-of-peace
Condolence Ceremony
The Cherokee Nation Lands in 1830 Georgia, before the Trail of Tears
“The condolence ceremony or condolence council is a part of the Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace. It governs succession to political offices after a leader dies. The ceremony is held in the community whose leader has died. Attendees are divided into two moieties: the clear-minded and the downcast or bereaved. The ceremony progresses through several stages, including a recitation of the Great Law. Through the ceremony, new leaders are appointed to replace those who have died. It was typically the first item on the agenda when a Haudenosaunee council met. Among other things, the ceremony recalls the Great Peacemaker’s condolence of Hiawatha and the “transformation” of Tadodaho from a state of confusion and disorder to a state of peace.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condolence_ceremony
Early Bird Tickets Now
Great Law of Peace/Temple Ceremony
A great Native American friend of mine, indicated that he/she had not heard of the origin of the condolence ceremony, but “that today it is used by the Haudenosaunee in the official appointment of chief or clan representatives. Parts are also used to welcome guests.” On one occasion, my friend met one of the traditional Haudenosaunee chiefs in his office in Virginia. He informed my friend that were they in his territory, “he would take a piece of eagle down and clean my ears so that I could hear clearly, then he would wipe my forehead with soft doeskin so that I could think clearly and have the ‘Good Mind.’ Then he would use eagle down to clean my eyes so that I could see clearly. He would also use the doeskin to clean my lips and give me a drink of pure spring water to cleanse my mouth so that I would speak the truth. This was the traditional greeting before important meetings.” He then added: “The ‘Good Mind’ is more than just intelligence; it refers to a process of thinking that is highly moral and pure, all in accordance with the Great Law of Peace.” 2010 email from my Native friend.
Haudenosaunee CeremonyAs you see in this map, the parallels between the Hopewell Culture and the Trail of the Nephites is almost identical.
The symbolism is wonderful and seems to be a very important part of the Iroquois Nation of old, and the sacred Temple of today. It seems to me the Hopewell are the Nephites and the Adena are the Jaredites. It just makes sense.
Are Written Records Found Among the Original Lamanites?
I have spoken with many Historians and Scholars who believe the Mesoamerican Theory. One of their main reasons they tell me that the Mesoamerica Theory makes sense, and Heartland Theory does not, is the written language of the Mayans and Olmecs and other ancient civilizations is so critically important to any theory of the Book of Mormon, and the Heartland clearly shows no ancient written records about ancient people in North America.
The traditions of Nephites was about writing things of God on plates of ore to keep records for their posterity and have shared later with their Lamanite brethren. In fact written records were so important to God’s people, Lehi had the Brass Plates retrieved from Jerusalem, and every prophet of God after, kept records as we know. Lamanites or people of the world who had fallen from the true gospel did not normally keep records but maintained oral traditions. It also is very significant that the language of the Nephites and Lamanites would have to be patterned after Hebrew, since Lehi was a Hebrew and descendant of Manasseh through Joseph. “And Aminadi was a descendant of Nephi, who was the son of Lehi, who came out of the land of Jerusalem, who was a descendant of Manasseh, who was the son of Joseph who was sold into Egypt by the hands of his brethren.” Alma 10:3
Joseph’s Remnant by Allen C. Christensen
“I have a 6th great-grandmother who was a member of the Iroquois Confederacy. It is probable she was a Mohawk. In the early 1700s, her tribe lived along the Mohawk River. Her tribal name was Josnorum Scoenonti—her English name, Running Deer.
Tod S. served a mission among the Navajo people in the later 1970s. He said one day that he and other missionaries saw their mission president, George P. Lee, come out of his office, looking as white as a ghost. President Lee informed them that he had been visited by Chief Joseph, Sitting Bull and a number of important Native American chiefs, and that he, George Lee, had been given their genealogy.
The written record never forgets. In a small way, Joseph’s Remnant is a personal attempt at helping correct that oversight. There are marvelous people, wonderful heroes among the greatgrandchildren of Father Lehi. They are those who have been asked to forgive and pray for those who have despitefully used and persecuted them.” Allen C. Christensen Author, Joseph’s Remnant
Below is what Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum defines as Records and Writings in their A to Z glossary.
“RECORDS- Nephites kept extensive records (Hel. 3:13). There were also a great many RECORDS kept by the Mesoamericans. [Editors note; No equivalence here]. The central Mexican cultures and the Maya to their east made picture books on animal skins known as codices. Codices have accordion-like pages that run many feet in length. These codices contained genealogies, history, mythology, and astronomical information. At the time of the Spanish Conquest, mounds of these codices were cast into bonfires by Catholic clergy.” BMAF[Editor: What were the dates these codices were written?]
“WRITING In 1 Ne. 1:2 we learn that the record of the Nephites was written in Reformed Egyptian, consisting “of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.” Maya hieroglyphs differ from Egyptian hieroglyphs, but[Editor, there should be no “but] the individual glyphs were pronounced in a similar way, in other words, they both used a phonetic system to pronounce syllables. The Mayan written language wasn’t the only one used in Mesoamerica, in fact, some scripts have not yet been deciphered.41″ BMAF http://www.bmaf.org/articles/traditions_only_mesoamerica__wirth
[Editor: The Gold Plates have been deciphered and they are Reformed Egyptian]
Oral Traditions of Native Americans
My mother and my father both served the Native Americans on the Southwest Indian Mission of 1949-51 under Pres. Golden Buchanan. They have told me wonderful stories and oral traditions about the Hopi, Navajo and Apache all my life. I came across this Improvement Era article just a few years ago and as a lover of Lamanite Tradition and one who desires to share the Gospel with our Native brothers and sisters, I wanted to share this with you.
Golden R. Buchanan was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He devoted 16 years to missionary service as president of the Southwest Indian Mission and Salt Lake Regional Mission. He was Indian coordinator for the church and was known for his work with the Indian people. He was known by some as the “father of the Indian Placement Program,” a program in the LDS Church in which thousands of Indian youngsters came to live for a time with LDS families. Pres Buchanan was the first one to invite these wonderful Native Americans to live in his home as the Placement Program began.
These many Native American Oral Histories, are consistent with the truths we find in the Book of Mormon, in Church History, and in our Sacred Temples today. You can read more about the Cherokee Temple Ordinance similarites here: https://bookofmormonevidence.org/cherokee-temple-ordinances-2/
Pres. Buchanan said the following:
“The Hopis say that they came across the ocean. The Navajos believe they came up from the other side of the earth through a tube. The Papago’s believe they were guided to this land by divine means. Recently I was on the Papago Reservation. One of our new converts to the Church there told me this story: “I had never joined any church because the ministers and the priests did not teach the Bible as I read it. I couldn’t read it and make it say the same things the other churches said it did. I speak the Papago language. I have lived among them all my life. I know their story and their traditions. And as I read the Book of Mormon that was placed in my hands by missionaries, I recognized the stories of the Papagos, and I knew the book was true. Your missionaries read the Bible the same way I did. These are the reasons I joined the Church. The Papago’s believed they crossed the ocean and came to this land, that in the ships and on the trails, they were guided by a ball. In this ball was a needle that pointed the direction they were to go. In the Papago language yet today, the name of this ball is ‘Liahona.’ Navajo tradition tells that a man and his wife and four sons came to this land a long time ago. They have, in their native language, the names of these four sons, but I cannot write them. The oldest two of these sons rebelled against the youngest two who were the appointed leaders. The older sons and their children lived in the forest. They made their living by hunting and by the use of the weapons of warfare. They warred and preyed upon their two younger brothers. They covered their bodies with mud and thus became a dark people. The two younger sons became builders and built cities and houses of stone. They planted gardens and fields. They did not place mud upon themselves and thus remained white. For generations there were fighting, wars, and difficulties, the children of the older sons being the aggressors. Then came a night in which the sun didn’t go down, and it was light all night, and the people were much disturbed and’ distressed. But still there were troubles. Some years after this, came an extended period of darkness…Indian tribes have their own ceremonies. They have their own religions. This was particularly true before the advent of the so-called Christian churches among them. Even today the faithful still cling to their native tradition. Some of them profess Christianity and give token obedience to the so-called Christian churches, but deep in their hearts they still are waiting for the return of the Great White Spirit and the truth. In many dances, which are largely prayers, significant handclasps are sometimes given. Connected with some of these kiva ceremonies is the wearing of certain types of clothing, and in these clothing are certain marks sacred to the people. I have been told that only the faithful may wear these marks in their clothing, and that only the very good and true may receive these ordinances.Certain washings and anointings are common in many tribes. Usually these are done with water and corn pollen or corn meal, all of which are sacred to the Indian. If it were not for violating confidences, I could take you among the Utes and Paiutes, and tell of certain “ordinances for the dead.” Among many of the tribes there is a tradition that some day the people will lose their dark color and become white…It is interesting to note, in closing, that I know of no Indian language in which one can take the name of the Lord in vain. Indeed, I do not know of an Indian language in which they can even swear. They have to learn English or some white man’s language before they can defile the name of Deity.” Lamanite Tradition By Golden R. Buchanan President, Southwest Indian Mission. Improvement Era April 1955
The oral traditions of nearly all North American Natives, have been shared and kept for many years. These are not normally myths, but deeply held truths of earlier times.
Han Nei Oral Traditions
“The Navajo cosmology comes from the oral traditions of the creation and the emergences through previous worlds before coming to this place where the modern day Navajo live. Navajo children are taught that they are special because they come from a special people. It was a great undertaking for the Navajo people to be. The Navajo have oral traditions to tell them who they are.
NIGHT HOGAN
According to Ella M. Ben of “Beauty Under the Pinon Trees” (Tsaile, Arizona), who is Will Tsosie’s grandmother, one late summer day in the mountain fields, she was sorting corn from the fall harvest. She piled corn by white, yellow, blue, red, black, striped, and finally, the ear of corn of many colors (called Indian corn by the non-Navajo). I asked about the ear of corn of many colors. Grandmother Ella said that this ear of corn of many colors was the most special corn of all. In the first world after A[tse H1stiin and A[tse Asdzaan were created, there is a story that all of the different colors of mist were mixed by Diyin7. Then another beautiful ear of corn appeared, and this was the ear of corn of many colors. This ear of corn of many colors was so beautiful that raven flew down from the sky and stole it.
As raven flew off with the ear of corn of many colors, corn kernels fell out of it. These kernels of corn became the “others.” The others were the other human beings of this world. Where white corn fell it became white people, yellow corn became yellow people, red corn became red people, and black corn became black people. All human beings of this world came from the beautiful ear of corn of many colors. Different languages, history, and lifeways make us beautiful human beings.” https://woodscanyon.net/Navajo/People/Oraltraditions.html
Oral Traditions Validate Hard Science
McPherson Takes a Serious Look at the Oral Traditions of the Southwestern United States.
We are excited to announce pre-orders for the New “Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon.” They continue to be popular as gifts and for individuals. Rod Meldrum’s previously best selling book titled, “Exploring the Book of Mormon in America’s Heartland”, had 5 Editions and sold over 50,000 copies from 2009 to 2023.(Currently out of Print). The Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon already has its 3rd Edition and over 35,000 printed copies in less than 5 years. We appreciate your valued support.
Thanks to David Hocking and Rod Meldrum with the Editorial Team
Managing Editor David Hocking, has spent countless hours beyond what one would think, to make the new 3rd Edition, worthwhile for those who have previous editions.
This New 3rd Edition “Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon” will arrive soon. Same great cover with 5 all-new pages, 8 new inserts with quotes or pictures, and dozens of edits and updates are included. This 3rd Edition, 1st printing should be available by the end of April 2024 and shipped in May.
Additions for the 3rd Printing
In this new first printing of the 3rd Edition, Brother Hocking makes several notes from the Book of Jasher and the Book of Enoch passages, that validate that the presence and validity of the Plates of Brass had other Biblical-era records not found in the Bible record or Stick of Judah.
‘Phoenicia’
The ‘Phoenicia’ ship owned by Heartland Research with John Lefgren and Mike and Betty LaFontaine, is a 600 BC replica ship that was sailed by British Navy Captain Philip Beale over 30,000 nautical miles, proving a plausible route for Nephi and Mulek to sail from the Old World to North America.
Brother Hocking has updated route information on a map that may have brought Mulek to America. He added insight pages about Phoenician names showing up in the books of Mosiah and Alma after King Mosiah meets the people of Zarahemla, suggesting that it was a Phoenician ship that brought Zedekiah’s family with Mulek to the Land of Zarahemla near Montrose, Iowa. Also see an article from a BYU professor in 1973 that affirms a Heartland theory about the route and landing of Mulek and or Nephi, here: https://bookofmormonevidence.org/ross-t-christensen-of-byu-1973-plausible-mulek-routes-tunisia-gathering-2024/
Pictures of Phoenician boat anchors have been found in North America’s rivers and lakes add support Mulek arriving in one of their ships. Brother Hocking says, “The Mississippi, Ohio, Allegheny, and Missouri Rivers were the common waterways for transportation of the Hopewell culture.”
Interpreters
Did you know that the words, Urim and Thummim, do not appear in the translated text of the Book of Mormon? Instead these instruments are called “Interpreters” or Nephite interpreters. The term Urim and Thummim is found in the Bible but it is speaking of different tools, and are not the same tools Joseph found in the stone box with the gold plates.
Brother Hocking has included additional insight pages relating the use of the Interpreters (“these stones fastened to a breastplate” JSH 1:35), as the proper tools Joseph used to translate the ancient inscriptions.
A statement from Lucy Mack Smith who said Joseph marveled at the Interpreters, calling them as she quotes Joseph saying, “I have got the Key”, and how Lucy also said that Joseph “had these things (Spectacles & Breastplate), constantly upon his person.” This suggests Joseph may have worn the breastplate under his shirt, for constant usage during the translation period and to keep it out of sight. Joseph could have possibly hid the Interpreters (Spectacles) from Emma’s view and other scribes by using his farmers hat to block their view. (See picture above). Blog here: https://bookofmormonevidence.org/scriptural-translation-method-2/
Solar Eclipse Stone
Another insight page highlights a Michigan artifact that suggests it was made in a Book of Mormon time period. Brother Hocking says, “Measurement on the face of the stone shows the sun’s altitude from the earth’s horizon at an angle of 67 degrees (Fig. 1). This is precisely the angle that the NASA program connected to the Fourth Century solar eclipse.”
Spotted Bee Balm
Spotted beebalm has been located across from Nauvoo, which adds credence to having reduced fevers of the Nephites due to the change in climate. (Alma 46:40) “Descendants of Native Americans returned to a place where their ancestors 16 centuries ago may have grown and harvested Spotted Bee Balm (Monarda punctata var. villicaulis; a medicinal herb).” Special thanks to John Lefgren, Ph.D., Kevin Price, Ph.D. Photos courtesy of Kevin Price, Ph.D.), and Wayne May.
Another artifact, is shown (left) that was found in Alabama. It is a “Hopewell dated etched shell of an All Searching Eye symbol in a Hamsa five-fingered hand pattern. Moundsville was a village built using ‘Wall-Trench’ architecture.” Department of Research and Collections, University of Alabama Museums.
Check out Rod Meldrum’s New 2024 Come Follow Me, Supplemental Videos on YouTube, posted every week now! Watch Here!
The Book of Mormon in North America
“The United States is the promised land foretold in the Book of Mormon—a place where divine guidance directed inspired men to create the conditions necessary for the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Elder L. Tom Perry Ensign Dec. 2012
Click the logo above for over 500 questions and over 500 answers to your questions!“The Book of Mormon reveals the inheritance of Joseph, son of Israel, who was not forgotten when land was distributed to the tribes of Israel. This was promised in the Abrahamic covenant. Because… Joseph’s inheritance was to be a land choice above all others. It was choice not because of beauty or wealth of natural resources, but because it was chosen to be the repository of sacred writings on golden plates from which the Book of Mormon would one day come. Choice because it would eventually host the world headquarters of the Restored Church of Jesus Christ in the latter days. And it was choice because it was a land of liberty for those who worship the Lord and keep His commandments” – President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, Yes, Mormons are Christians, Legends Library [2017], 60; emphasis added. Art by Ken Corbett
“The prophecies pertinent to this holy land of America were not just directed to the ancient saints, but those of our day as well, that we, too, might know of our responsibility to keep the Promised Land free from sin.Thus, knowing which land is the Promised Land is far more important than we might otherwise have supposed. Not only is such information vital to our understanding of where Book of Mormon activity took place, but learning that those activities took place in what has since become known as the United States of America is therefore critical to our very survival as a nation and as individuals who may just suffer untold misery in years to come if we allow the nation to become ripe in iniquity. The Lord’s decree that all who inhabit this promised land must serve Him or be wiped away is an everlasting decree, and just as pertinent to those of our day as it was to the Nephites or Jaredites, for according to the Lord Himself, this glorious land of America, the place of the New Jerusalem, is the land of promise, and who shall dispute His word.” From Ezra Taft Benson: Source
Previous Editions of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon
Here is some information about the previous two printings of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon. As you may remember, we printed our first 5,000 copies in Sept 2018. Those were gone in less than one month. We then had another 10,000 printed and available for Christmas 2018. Those were all sold by April of 2019. We had another 10,000 arrive in Nov. of 2019. We call this last shipment the 2nd Edition. The first 5,000 and first 10,000 we call the first printing.
You can see on the inside cover of your copy of the Annotated Book of Mormon, the following ways to determine what version you have.These editions below are now out of print.
Thanks to each of you, and your friends for supporting this amazing new 3rd edition of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon. We feel grateful that so many wonderful people are reading the Book of Mormon. Pre-Order 3rd Edition Here
There are a few differences between the 2nd edition and the new 3rd edition I will explain. Obviously, the Book of Mormon text is the same, with only a couple minor corrections. Page numbers are the same up to page 561.
This painting is included in all versions. I love it.
“Truly this man was the Son of God” by Clark Kelley PricePrints Here: After Jesus was put upon the cross to be crucified, there was darkness over all the land, and when He died, there was a great earthquake. A Roman centurion standing guard at the foot of the cross witnessed these events and, sensing the reality of who was on the cross above him, testified, “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39). The powerful testimony of the Savior spoken by this centurion who oversaw the Crucifixion now echoes through time and throughout eternity.
Within the traditions of the Native Americans of North America (Lamanites) you will find hundreds of stories about a “sacred book”, or “a book”, or ” a record”, or “a history of our forefathers”, or “a book of plates”, or “a history of our people”, and many times these Natives talk about it being buried in a hill or the ground. There is such a connection between these Native American Lamanties and the Book of Mormon which was written by their forefathers.
There is such a familiar story comparing these Native American traditions with the story we know about the Lamanites seeking to destroy these records kept by the Nephites. It should be remembered that these records of the Nephites ultimately became the records of the Lamanites also. After all who was this record speaking of; both Nephi a Nephite, and Samuel a Lamanite.
These “Sacred Book” stories are heard of from Native Americans from North America and seldom heard about from those of South and Central America. This is not a proof that the Book of Mormon events happened in North America, but it is a very powerful indication that these Native Americans have incredibly similar stories as found in the story of the Book of Mormon.
Below you will find many references to “this Sacred Book” or the Lamanite traditions about this book.
MORMON APOLOGIST E. Cecil McGavin, in relating to his readers some ancient traditions of the North American Indians, made this remarkable statement in 1947:
The American aborigines, “assert that a book was once in possession of their ancestors; and along with this recognition they have traditions that the Great Spirit used to foretell to their fathers future events; that he controlled nature in their favor; that angels once talked with them; that all the Indian tribes descended from one man who had twelve sons; that this man was a noble and renowned Prince, having great dominions; and that the Indians, his posterity, will yet recover the same dominion and influence. They believe by tradition that the spirit of prophecy and miraculous interposition once enjoyed by their ancestors will yet be restored to them, and that they will recover the book, all of which have been so long lost.” Mormonism & Masonry, (Salt Lake City: Stevens & Wallis, Inc., 1947), pp. 154-155.
If true, this old tradition provides a potentially important link between the American tribes and a (presumably) non-American “renowned Prince” who had “twelve sons,” and whom the heavenly angels hold in great respect. McGavin insinuates that the prince was the Patriarch Jacob and that the native Americans are descended from one of his sons — Joseph to be exact — and that the lost book was a volume of divinely revealed prophecies and holy records. In short, the lost book the Indians expect to recover is the Book of Mormon, that improbable 1830 publication of Joseph Smith, Jr.
Is it true?
Perhaps that question is still a bit premature. Perhaps the more useful question at this point would be, Where did the author come across this wonderous nugget of supposedly ancient information? Tracking the Source of the “Lost Book”
Elder McGavin was not the first LDS writer to relate this unusual story. A very similar quote (with a reference citation matching one of McGavin’s) can be read in a Mormon magazine published in 1886. There the writer, George Reynolds, the former private secretary to Brigham Young, has this to say:
A book published in London, England, in 1833, by a Mr. C. Colton, on the origin of the American Indians bears testimony to this same tradition. It is therein stated: “They assert that a book was once in possession of their ancestors, and along with this recognition they have traditions that the Great Spirit used to foretell to their forefathers future events; that he controlled nature in their favor; that angels once talked with them; that all the Indian tribes descended from one man, who had twelve sons; that this man was a notable and renowned prince, having great dominions, and that the Indians, his posterity, will yet recover the same dominion and influence. They believe, by tradition, that the spirit of prophecy and miraculous interposition, once enjoyed by their ancestors, will yet be restored to them, and that they will recover the book, all of which has been so long lost.” “View of the Hebrews” Juvenile Instructor XXXVII:19 (Oct. 1, 1902)
Elder Reynolds is not exactly specific about which “Mr. C. Colton” he is quoting from. He says he is referring to a certain 1833 “book published in London… on the origin of the American Indians.” Luckily only one book fits that description. Two other LDS writers provide its title, after quoting from the same text:
Jacob and his twelve sons are found in the legends of the American Indians. Some of the tribes “used to build an altar of twelve stones in memory of a great ancestor of theirs who had twelve sons.”
“They have traditions that all Indian tribes descended from one man who had twelve sons. That this man was a notable and renowned prince, having great dominion; and that the Indians, his posterity, will yet recover the same dominion and influence.” (Calvin Colton, Origin of the American Indians, London, 1833., cf. Mill. Star 6:67.) John A. Widtsoe and Franklin S. Harris, Jr. Seven Claims of The Book of Mormon Independence: Zion’s Printing and Pub. Co., 1935, 1937, p. 101
The Rev. Calvin Colton (1789-1857) is not known to have ever produced a book called Origin of the American Indians, but he did write one with this lengthy title: “Tour of the American Lakes, and among the Indians of the North-west territory, in 1830: disclosing the character and prospects of the Indian race.” Since that book was published (in two volumes) in London in 1833, it appears to be the work cited by McGavin, Reynolds, Widtsoe and Harris.
The next question that might be asked is, Where did Rev. Colton get his information? According to his book, he conducted research into the situation and background of the American Indians during his 1830 “Tour of the American Lakes.” He then sailed off to London to work as a correspondent for the New York Observer, during which time he published a plethora of books on America.
It appears, however, that Colton did not glean all of his information on this topic from interviews with the Indians and their neighbors. He himself admits to deriving part of his material from a previously published source. In the case of the “lost book” story, Colton does his reporting in the first chapter of the second volume of Origin of the American Indians. That particular chapter is sub-titled “The Honourable Elias Boudinot’s theory…” and in it Colton agrees with practically everything Boudinot (the celebrated Presbyterian statesman and author, 1740-1821) said about the Indians in his 1816 book, in support of the conclusion, “that they are Hebrews.” Although Colton does not give his readers a precise citation from Boudinot’s 1816 A Star in the West, it is obvious that the former author appropriated the “lost book” story from the former. On page 11 of vol. 2, Colton says:
The offer of Christianity and of the Bible to the Indians of North America, with an account of its origin and claims, has, in several instances quite remote from and independent; of each other, met this remarkable reception: “This book once belonged to our ancestors!” And along with this recognition, they have traditions, that the Great Spirit used to foretell to their fathers future evens; that he controlled nature in their favour; that angels once talked with them, that all the Indian tribes descended from one man, who had twelve sons; that this man was a notable and renowned prince having dominion over all the earth; and that the Indians, his posterity, will yet recover the same dominion and influence. They believe by tradition, that the spirit of prophecy and of miraculous interposition, once enjoyed by their ancestors, will yet be restored to them, and that they shall recover the book — all of which have been so long lost. Rev. Calvin Colton’s 1830 book (Above articles compiled by Dale R. Broadhurst These articles are written from Mr. Broadhurst’s position as one who wants to tie the Book of Mormon with the Spaulding manuscript which I don’t believe. He quotes some great information however from reliable sources which speak about the traditions of Native Americans with this Sacred Book.)
Below you will find articles about the Sacred Book of the Native Americans.
1- Cattaraugus/Wyondat/Delaware/Shawnee
“Once the red men were many; they occupied the country from sea to sea — from the rising to the setting sun; the whole land . . . Thousands of moons ago, when the red men’s forefathers dwelt in peace and possessed this whole land the Great Spirit talked with them, and revealed His law and His will and much knowledge to their wise men and prophets. This they wrote in a Book . . . written on plates of gold and handed down from father to son for many ages and generations. It was then that the people prospered and were strong and mighty; they cultivated the earth, built buildings and cities and abounded in all good things, as the pale faces now do . . . This Book, which contained these things was hid in the earth by Moroni, in a hill called by him Cumorah, which hill is now in the state of New York, near the village of Palmyra, in Ontario county . . . Thus ended our first Indian mission, in which we had preached the Gospel in its fullness and distributed the record of their forefathers among three viz.: the Cattaraugus Indians, near Buffalo, N.Y., the Wyandots, of Ohio and the Delawares, west of Missouri.” Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, pp. 56-6; Documentary History of the Church Vol 1: Footnotes 183:2-18
2- Blackfoot/The Three Nephites
“When Elder Melvin J. Ballard visited the Ft. Peck and Blackfoot reservations he said he met many who knew him as soon as they saw him and asked for the “Book” which he was to bring them. They said they had seen him in dreams, bringing to them a “Book.” When he handed them the Book of Mormon they adopted it gladly, and could read and understand it. He declared that it was his belief that one of the “Three Nephites” had been laboring among them for years teaching them the gospel and preparing them for our missionaries when they should come.” Redemption of the Lamanites By Annie W. Holdaway Genealogist and Recorder, Lamanite Genealogical Society
3. Stockbridge/Hebrew
In 1837, Elder Parley P. Pratt, one of the early defenders of the church, wrote a work entitled, “A Voice of Warning,” which has been published in many different editions in Europe and America. In the edition of 1885, published at Lamoni, Iowa, page 82, there is a quotation from Mr. Boudinot, which reads as follows:
Mr. Boudinot in his able work, remarks concerning their language: “Their language in its roots, idiom, and particular construction, appears to have the whole genius of the Hebrew; and what is very remarkable, and well worthy of serious attention, has most of the peculiarities of the language, especially those in which it differs from most other languages. There is a tradition related by an aged Indian of the Stockbridge Tribe, that their fathers were once in possession of a ‘Sacred Book‘ which was handed down from generation to generation, and at last hid in the earth, since which time they have been under the feet of their enemies. But those oracles were to be restored to them again, and then they would triumph over their enemies and regain their ancient country, together with their rights and privileges.” — An aged Indian of the Stockbridge tribe.” See Broadside Picture above Quoted as the last line.
4. Cherokee/Liahona and Ark
“We had a war long ago with a light skinned people around the Great Lakes. We conquered them but we had so much respect for their warrior chief that we buried him at the mouth of the Oswego River that is in New York State. We don’t discuss this very much because it is an embarrassment to us.” President Rawson then asked why this is an embarrassment, and the Chief replied, “Our history is written on metal platesand buried in a hill in New York, but we don’t know which hill… It is the belief of the Cherokee People that they came to the land of the New World from the direction of the East Ocean riding on a white cloud. There seems to be in the legend, the existence of some type of round instrument which directed the voyage. Although not totally clear, it seems that the instrument which directed the voyage was ball-shape and contained another like it within itself. It contained a liquid, making the floating devices within to congregate at times to give direction to the eyes of the beholder…In those days when the Cherokee were a God-loving people, living in peace among themselves, they lived as one people, dwelling in half-moon shaped council houses. They had gone from living in caves to living in log-cabins. They still kept the sacred records of metal, some of which had come across the ocean waters with them, and others which they had continued keeping and making, scribing upon them as had been done before by the leaders of the People. They, too, had possession of the Ark of the Covenant, which they also had brought with them from their place of origin, existing across the eastern waters.” Talk given to missionaries in training at the MTC, Provo, Utah 1979, by President Murray J. Rawson. Purchase complete copy here: https://www.bookofmormonremnants.com/store.html
5. Tohono O’odham Nation (Papago)/Liahona/Stone Book
The Liahona by Ken Corbett
“The Papagos believed they crossed the ocean and came to this land, that in the ships and on the trails they were guided by a ball. In this ball was a needle that pointed the direction they were to go. In the Papago language yet today, the name of this ball is ‘Liahona…
Among the Hopis, too, at the present time, is a “stone book.” I have seen it, but only a few white men have had that privilege. I cannot describe it because I have promised not to speak of it. I can only say that at a distance of four or five, feet anyone would easily take it for a modern book. Their stories say that the mate to this book will be brought back to them. The books will be opened, and someone will be able to read the message in them.” Indian Tradition by Golden Buchanan Read more HERE:
6. Delaware/Hill Cumorah
According to Parley P. Pratt, in 1831 some early elders of the Church were discussing the Book of Mormon with the Delaware Indians of Kansas, the first such meeting with Indians since the Restoration. The spokesman was Oliver Cowdery, who included in his remarks the following:
“Once the red men were many; they occupied the country from sea to sea–from the rising to the setting sun; the whole land Thousands of moons ago, when red men’s forefathers dwelt in peace and possessed this whole land the Great Spirit talked with them, and revealed His law and His will and much knowledge to their wise men and prophets. This they wrote in a Book, . . . written on plates of gold and handed down from father to son for many ages and generations. . . . This Book, which contained these things, was hid in the earth by Moroni, in a hill called by him, Cumorah, which hill is now in the state of New York, near the village of Palmyra, in Ontario County.” Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, SLC, 1938, pp. 55-56
7. Ephraimites and Lamanites/Remnant of Israel/Original Settlers/Ancient Plates
Oliver Cowdery wrote that the Ephraimites and the Lamanites were the “original settlers of this continent,” and that “an ancient prophet caused the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated to be buried nearly two thousand years ago, in which is now called Ontario County, New York.
In this same issue, W. W. Phelps wrote that it was “by that book [the Book of Mormon] I learned that the poor Indians of America were of the remnants of Israel.” Many other times editor Phelps identified the land of America as being the place where at least some Book of Mormon history took place, including the last battles of both the Jaredites and the Nephites (see Messenger and Advocate, vol. 2, October 1835, and the letter of W. W. Phelps to Oliver Cowdery in that same issue.) Oliver Cowdery Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, July 1835, pp. 158-159
8. Lamanites/Native American chiefs/Joseph Presides over Day of the Lamanite/Blossom as the Rose/ A People of Destiny
“Ultimately, what did Joseph accomplish? By the gift and power of God, he translated the Book of Mormon which revealed who the Native Americans are, their heritage of prophets and priests, of repentance and righteousness, and of pride and destruction. It discloses promises to this remnant of Israel, so diligently sought by their ancestors and vouchsafed by the covenants of the Lord. It proclaims their glorious future in the face of their state of poverty. In a personal way, Joseph seemed to feel a kinship to this people whose culture was so very distant from his own. He knew he and they were both descendants of Joseph of old, the son of Israel. He knew that Joseph of old, their prophet ancestor, had foretold that a mighty seer would be raised up from his posterity to bring to pass much restoration to the remnant of his seed (2 Nephi 3:6–12). From his early tutoring by Moroni to his personal visits with numerous Native American chiefs, Joseph Smith sought to bring to this chosen people the glad tidings of the restoration.But what did he see in the way of fulfillment for his efforts? In mortality he saw very little, but in vision he must have seen the Lamanites “blossom as a rose”(D&C 49:24)…Joseph Smith stands at the head of this last, greatest of all dispensations (see JD 8:224). From his position today in the spirit world, he undoubtedly presides over the day of the Lamanite which now has arrived (see Kimball “The Day of the Lamanites”). In that sphere, with the cultural biases, the language difficulties, and the centuries of tradition put aside, one wonders if Joseph is not now preaching those very words and seeing the budding and blossoming of that rose which will, in due course, both there and here, reach the perfection of its bloom. Let us be true to the Book of Mormon, true to the revelations and efforts of the Prophet Joseph regarding the Native Americansas a people of destiny, and thus true to the Lord God who gave Joseph the vision of the blossoming rose and who will, assuredly, lead us to its fulfillment.” Byron R. Merrill, “Joseph Smith and the Lamanites,” in Joseph Smith: The Prophet, The Man, ed. Susan Easton Black and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1993), 187–202
9. American Aborigines/Prince and 12 Sons/Lost Book
MORMON APOLOGIST E. Cecil McGavin, in relating to his readers some ancient traditions of the North American Indians, made this remarkable statement in 1947:
The American aborigines, “assert that a book was once in possession of their ancestors; and along with this recognition they have traditions that the Great Spirit used to foretell to their fathers future events; that he controlled nature in their favor; that angels once talked with them; that all the Indian tribes descended from one man who had twelve sons; that this man was a noble and renowned Prince, having great dominions; and that the Indians, his posterity, will yet recover the same dominion and influence. They believe by tradition that the spirit of prophecy and miraculous interposition once enjoyed by their ancestors will yet be restored to them, and that they will recover the book, all of which have been so long lost.”Mormonism & Masonry, (Salt Lake City: Stevens & Wallis, Inc., 1947), pp. 154-155.
If true, this old tradition provides a potentially important link between the American tribes and a (presumably) non-American “renowned Prince” who had “twelve sons,” and whom the heavenly angels hold in great respect. McGavin insinuates that the prince was the Patriarch Jacob and that the native Americans are descended from one of his sons — Joseph to be exact — and that the lost book was a volume of divinely revealed prophecies and holy records. In short, the lost bookthe Indians expect to recover is the Book of Mormon, that improbable 1830 publication of Joseph Smith, Jr. Is it true? Perhaps that question is still a bit premature. Perhaps the more useful question at this point would be, Where did the author come across this wonderous nugget of supposedly ancient information?
10. American indians/Will recover the Book/Natives descendants from Jacob and 12 sons/Altar of 12 Stones
Tracking the Source of the “Lost Book”
Elder McGavin was not the first LDS writer to relate this unusual story. A very similar quote (with a reference citation matching one of McGavin’s) can be read in a Mormon magazine published in 1886. There the writer, George Reynolds, the former private secretary to Brigham Young, has this to say:
A book published in London, England, in 1833, by a Mr. C. Colton, on the origin of the American Indians bears testimony to this same tradition. It is therein stated: “They assert that a book was once in possession of their ancestors, and along with this recognition they have traditions that the Great Spirit used to foretell to their forefathers future events; that he controlled nature in their favor; that angels once talked with them; that all the Indian tribes descended from one man, who had twelve sons; that this man was a notable and renowned prince, having great dominions, and that the Indians, his posterity, will yet recover the same dominion and influence. They believe, by tradition, that the spirit of prophecy and miraculous interposition, once enjoyed by their ancestors, will yet be restored to them, and that they will recover the book, all of which has been so long lost.” “View of the Hebrews” Juvenile Instructor XXXVII:19 (Oct. 1, 1902)
Elder Reynolds is not exactly specific about which “Mr. C. Colton” he is quoting from. He says he is referring to a certain 1833 “book published in London… on the origin of the American Indians.” Luckily only one book fits that description. Two other LDS writers provide its title, after quoting from the same text:Jacob and his twelve sons are found in the legends of the American Indians. Some of the tribes “used to build an altar of twelve stonesin memory of a great ancestor of theirs who had twelve sons.”
“They have traditions that all Indian tribes descended from one man who had twelve sons. That this man was a notable and renowned prince, having great dominion; and that the Indians, his posterity, will yet recover the same dominion and influence.” (Calvin Colton, Origin of the American Indians, London, 1833., cf. Mill. Star 6:67.)
11. Origin of the American Indian/They are Hebrews/Tour of the American Lakes/This Book once Belonged to our Ancestors
The Rev. Calvin Colton (1789-1857) is not known to have ever produced a book called Origin of the American Indians, but he did write one with this lengthy title: “Tour of the American Lakes, and among the Indians of the North-west territory, in 1830: disclosing the character and prospects of the Indian race.” Since that book was published (in two volumes) in London in 1833, it appears to be the work cited by McGavin, Reynolds, Widtsoe and Harris.
The next question that might be asked is, Where did Rev. Colton get his information? According to his book, he conducted research into the situation and background of the American Indians during his 1830 “Tour of the American Lakes.” He then sailed off to London to work as a correspondent for the New York Observer, during which time he published a plethora of books on America.
It appears, however, that Colton did not glean all of his information on this topic from interviews with the Indians and their neighbors. He himself admits to deriving part of his material from a previously published source. In the case of the “lost book” story, Colton does his reporting in the first chapter of the second volume of Origin of the American Indians. That particular chapter is sub-titled “The Honourable Elias Boudinot’s theory…” and in it Colton agrees with practically everything Boudinot (the celebrated Presbyterian statesman and author, 1740-1821) said about the Indians in his 1816 book, in support of the conclusion, “that they are Hebrews.” Although Colton does not give his readers a precise citation from Boudinot’s 1816 A Star in the West, it is obvious that the former author appropriated the “lost book” story from the former. On page 11 of vol. 2, Colton says:
The offer of Christianity and of the Bible to the Indians of North America, with an account of its origin and claims, has, in several instances quite remote from and independent; of each other, met this remarkable reception: “This book once belonged to our ancestors!”And along with this recognition, they have traditions, that the Great Spirit used to foretell to their fathers future events; that he controlled nature in their favour; that angels once talked with them, that all the Indian tribes descended from one man, who had twelve sons; that this man was a notable and renowned prince having dominion over all the earth; and that the Indians, his posterity, will yet recover the same dominion and influence. They believe by tradition, that the spirit of prophecy and of miraculous interposition, once enjoyed by their ancestors, will yet be restored to them, and that they shall recover the book — all of which have been so long lost. John A. Widtsoe and Franklin S. Harris, Jr. Seven Claims of The Book of Mormon Independence: Zion’s Printing and Pub. Co., 1935, 1937, p. 101
Wolf Point Montana Branch
Elder and Sister Melvin J. Ballard and missionaries meeting with Montana Native Americans. (Unfortunately the tribal name was not recorded) Photo Courtesy Ballard Family.
“Today there are about 400-500 members in the Wolf Point Branch but only 100 regularly attend church meetings. Their conversions were prompted not only by the temporal assistance the Church gives, but also by belief in those who came to teach them. On Chicken Hill, there is a Mormon church building today, but many years ago, when Melvin J. Ballard was traveling through on train, he asked the train to stop so he could get out. There he had a vision in which he saw many Indians on the hill and among them stood Christ. Another legend attributes one of their Indian wise men with having a dream and prophesying to his people that there would be a great book that would come to them. And there were also healings and a miracle; Looking, a blind Indian, was given a blessing and received his sight. Sheldon Headdress enthusiastically stated that the Mormons were a very positive presence but when questioned more, he conceded that not all of his Indian acquaintances have appreciated the Christian influences” Sheldon Headdress, interview by author, 28 April 2000, Ft. Peck Reservation/Missoula, phone interview. Sheldon Headdress was recently the Branch President of the Wolf Point branch and being a Mormon is unsurprisingly very positive in his views about the religion.University of Montana Scholar Works at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2004 Mormon movement to Montana Julie A. Wright The University of Montana Page 84
“A star in the West : or, A humble attempt to discover the long lost ten tribes of Israel, preparatory to their return to their beloved city, Jerusalem” BY ELIAS BOUDINOT, L L.D. Chapter IV
Our southern Indians have also a tradition among them which they firmly believe, that of old time, their ancestors lived beyond a great river. That nine parts of their nation, out of ten, passed over the river, but the remainder refused, and staid behind. That they had a king when they lived far to the west, who left two sons. That one of them, with a number of his people, travelled a great way for many years, till they came to Delaware river, and settled there. That some years ago, the king of the country from which they had emigrated, sent a party in search of them. This was at the time the French were in possession of the country on the river Alleghany. That after seeking six years, they found an Indian who led them to the Delaware towns, where they staid one year. That the French sent a white man with them on their return, to bring back an account of their country, but they have never been heard of since.
It is said among their principal, or beloved men, that they had it handed down from their ancestors, that the book which the white people have was once theirs. That while they had it they prospered exceedingly but that the white people bought it of them, and learnt many things from it; while the
Annotated Book of Mormon. Purchase here.
Indians lost their credit, offended the great spirit, and suffered exceedingly from the neighboring nations. That the great spirit took pity on them and directed them to this country. That on their way they came to a great river, which they could not pass, when God dried up the waters and they passed over dry shod. They also say that their forefathers were possessed of an extraordinary divine spirit, by which they foretold future events, and controlled the common course of nature, and this they transmitted to their offspring, on condition of their obeying the sacred laws. That they did by these means bring down showers of plenty on the beloved people. But that this power for a long time past, had entirely ceased.
The reverend gentlemen mentioned in the introduction, who had taken so much pains in the year 1764 or 5, to travel far westward, to find Indians who had never seen a white man, informed the writer of these memoirs, that far to the northwest of the Ohio, he attended a party of Indians to a treaty, with Indians from the west of the Mississippi. Here he found the people he was in search of — he conversed with their beloved man who had never seen a white man before, by the assistance of three grades of interpreters. The Indian informed him, that one of their most ancient traditions was, that a great while ago, they had a common father, who lived towards the rising of the sun, and governed the whole world. That all the white people’s heads were under his feet. That he had twelve sons, by whom he administered his government. That his authority was derived from the great spirit, by virtue of some special gift from him. That the twelve sons behaved very bad and tyrannized over the people, abusing their power to a great degree, so as to offend the great spirit exceedingly. That he being thus angry with them, suffered the white people to introduce spirituous liquors among them, made them drunk, stole the special gift of the great spirit from them, and by this means usurped the power over them, and ever since the Indians heads were under the white people’s feet. But that they also had a tradition, that the time would come, when the Indians would regain the gift of the great spirit from the white people, and with it their ancient power, when the white people’s heads would be again under the Indian’s feet.
Mr. McKenzie in his History of the Fur Trade, and his journey through North-America, by the lakes, to the South-Sea, in the year , says, ” that the Indians informed him, that they had a tradition among them, that they originally came from another country inhabited by wicked people, and had traversed a great lake, which was narrow, shallow and full of islands, where they had suffered great hardships and much misery, it being always winter, with ice and deep snows — at a place they called the Coppermine River, where they made the first land, the ground was covered with copper, over which a body of earth had since been collected to the depth of a man’s height. They believe also that in ancient times their ancestors had lived till their feet were worn out with walking, and their throats with eating. They described a deluge, when the waters spread over the whole earth, except the highest mountain, on the top of which they were preserved. They also believe in a future judgment.” McKcnzie’s history, page 113.
The Indians to the eastward say, that previous to the white people coming into the country, their ancestors were in the habit of using circumcision, but latterly, not being able to assign any reason for so strange a practice, their young people insisted on its being abolished. Source: https://archive.org/details/starinwestorhumb00boud
Priest’s American Antiquities
If such may have been the fact, that a part of the Ten Tribes came over to America, in the way we have suposed, leaving the cold regions of Assareth behind them [p. 813] in quest of a milder climate, it would be natural to look for tokens of the presence of Jews of some sort, along countries adjacent to the Atlantic. In order to this, we shall here make an extract from an able work: written exclusively on the subject of the Ten Tribes having come from Asia by the way of Bherings Strait, by the Rev. Ethan Smith, Pultney, Vt., who relates as follows: Joseph Merrick, Esq., a highly respectable character in the church at Pittsfield, gave the following account: That in 1815, he was leveling some ground under and near an old wood shed, standing on a place of his, situated on Indian Hill.
He ploughed and conveyed away old chips and earth to some depth. After the work was done, walking over the place, he discovered, near where the earth had been dug the deepest, a black strap as it appeared, about six inches in length, and one and a half in breadth, and about the thickness of a leather trace to a harness.
He perceived it had at each end a loop of some hard substance, probably for the purpose of carrying it. He conveyed it to his house, and threw it into an old toolbox. He afterwards found it thrown out of doors, and he again conveyed it to the box. After some time he thought he would examine it; but in attempting to cut it found it as hard as bone; he succeeded, however in getting it open, and found it was formed of two pieces of thick raw-hide, sewed and made water tight with the sinews of some animal; and in the fold was contained four folded pieces of parchment. They were of a dark yellow hue, and contained some kind of writing. The neighbors coming in to see the strange discovery, tore one of the pieces to atoms, in the true Hun and Vandal style. The other three pieces Mr. Merrick saved, and sent them to Cambridge.—where they where examined, and discovered to have been written with a pen in Hebrew, plain and legible.
The writing on the three remaining pieces of parchment, was quotations from the Old Testament. See Deut. vi. chap. from the 4th to the 9th verse, inclusive—also, xi. chap. 13–21, and Exodus, chap. 13—13—11,—16 inclusive, to which the reader can refer, if he has the curiosity to read this most interesting discovery. These passages as quoted above, were found in the strap of raw hide; which unquestionably had been written on the very pieces of parchment now in the possession of the Antiquarian Society, before Israel left the land of Syria, more than 2,500 years ago.
Dr. West of Stockbridge, relates that an old Indian informed him, that his fathers in this country, had not long since, been in the possession of a book, which they had for a long time, carried with them, but having lost the knowledge of reading it, they buried it with an Indian chief—View of the Hebrews, p. 223.
It had been handed down from family to family, or from chief to chief as a most precious relic, if not as an amulet, charm, or talisman, for it is not to be supposed, that a distinct knowledge of what was con[t]ained in the strap could have long continued among them, in their wandering condition, amid woods and forests.
“It is said by Calmet, that the above texts are the very passages of Scripture, which the Jews used to write on the leaves of their phylacteries. These phylacteries were little rolls of parchment whereon were written certain words of the law. These they wore upon their forehead, and upon the wrist of the left arm.”—Smith’s view vf the Hebrews. p. 220.
The following month, the Times and Seasons cited yet more from Priest, but also quoted from Ethan Smith’s View of the Hebrews, concerning some pieces of old parchment that had been discovered in the summer of 1815 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, that appeared to have writing on them. The parchment pieces were said to have been sent by their discoverer, Joseph Merrick, Esq., “a highly respectable character,” to Cambridge, where they were examined, and discovered to have been “written in Hebrew with a pen, in plain and intelligible writing.”[39] The article continued with an account of one “Dr. West of Stockbridge,” who “relates that an old Indian informed him, that his fathers in this country had not long since, been in the possession of a book, which they had for a long time, carried with them, but having lost the knowledge of reading it, they buried it with an Indian chief.”[40] For obvious reasons this account resonated with the Saints; it spoke of antiquated records, supposedly written in Hebrew, which were buried in the earth by a people who had lost their knowledge. As to the actual origin of the parchment, one of the first scholars to examine it was the Reverend William Allen, president of Bowdoin College (and former minister of the First Congregational Church in Pittsfield). He noted in a letter dated March 30, 1821, that the Joseph Merrick farm, where the parchment was discovered, had employed German and British prisoners during the War of 1812, and it was likely dropped by “a concealed Jew” among the prisoners as they worked his land. Allen opined that the general lack of deterioration of the phylactery and its contents indicated that they were relatively recent rather than ancient productions.[41]From Priest’s American Antiquities.
“In the forepart of the last month, about three hundred and sixty Indian, of the Kickapoos and Pattowattamies, pitched their tents on the east before this town, and tarried one night. They were on their way to the place assigned them for the land of their inheritance, being gathered by the government of the United States, fulfilling that scripture spoken by the mouth of Isaiah, which says, Behold thus saith the Lord God, I lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people, and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. Their agent remarked that “they drunk no spiritous liquors,” and those who saw them can bear testimony that they were quiet and inoffensive, and different from any other tribes that have been gathered.
They have a prophet, in whom they place great confidence, and he instructs them that the day is nigh, when the Great Father will send his Son on the earth; then (as he says) white man and red man be one. Their idea of what is to come to pass in the last days, the resurrection of the righteous, and their living on earth with the Lord while wickedness ceases to trouble the saints, seem to be correct as far as we could ascertain. They are very devout apparently and pray night and morning; even children and all.
They have two flat sticks about one foot long, tied together, on which are several characters, which, they say, the Great Father gave to their prophet, and mean as much as a large book. They say one of these sticks, is for the old book that white man has, (the Bible) the other for the new book, (Book of Mormon) white man has it written on paper, Great Father writes it in red man’s heart. They seem to Pray from these sticks– and worship on the Sabbath with great solemnity, commencing with a salutation from the greatest or oldest to the least that can walk, and ending with the same token of friendship. Should we have time to make them a visit, we may be more particular hereafter. *From Arkansas to the Missouri, the remnants are gathering together in rapid succession, and all, as far as we have been able to ascertain, have an idea that the Great Spirit is about to do something great and good for the red man.” Evening and Morning Star (Kirtland 1835-1836 ISRAEL WILL BE GATHERED. Page 201For more about the Lamanite traditions see my two blogs below:
I believe Critical Race Theory (CRT), the 1619 Project, Woke-ism, Equity, are all being taught at nearly all Universities including BYU. If Professors could teach ideology and show all sides in the world, and allow us our freedom to choose, that would be fine. We should know there is Religion and its values and we should know there is CRT and what it teaches as well. BUT, professors have no right to persuade or to cram down students throats their personal ideology. Teach and let the student decide. Sadly that does not exist in our Great and Spacious Universities any more. It is the Progressive ideology that is tells our students what to believe. That is wrong.
In my opinion (CRT) is a deceptive theory and so is the term “Equity.” We are fighting Satan and CRT and Equity is from Satan. CRT states that every white person is an oppressor and every black person is a victim. That is racist in and of itself. The Progressives in the world today and the “Woke” society want race to divide us like it did in our early history. “Equity to me means, we should all have the same amount of stuff or privledge, but who cares if it is fair? We all have freedom of opportunity, but because of this wonderful gift of Free Agency, we can’t have equal outcomes. The Savior will judge each of us individually and appropriately based on righteous principles. Remember Alma 40-41, “For I say unto you that whatsoever is good cometh from God, and whatsoever is evil cometh from the devil. Therefore, if a man bringeth forth good works he hearkeneth unto the voice of the good shepherd, and he doth follow him; but whosoever bringeth forth evil works, the same becometh a child of the devil, for he hearkeneth unto his voice, and doth follow him.”
This article below from good friend’s, will help you understand better how the Lord works in our lives and how Satan continues to deceive.
HEART OF THE MATTER? WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CTR AND CRT? by Richard & RuthEllen Wood
“What are the values, beliefs, goals and ideals parents want their children to embrace? Almost all parents want their children to be happy, successful, productive and in that desire, hope that supportive institutions like schools would have similar goals. Consider the following-what do you think about these situations for your children?
In Cupertino, CA, an elementary school forced first graders to deconstruct their racial and sexual identities to rank themselves according to their level of “power and privilege.”
In Springfield, MO, a middle school forced teachers to identify themselves on an “oppression matrix” based on the belief that straight, white, English speaking Christian males are members of the oppressor class and must atone for their sins by denouncing practices of white supremacy.
In Philadelphia, PA, an elementary school forced fifth graders to celebrate “Black Communism” and simulated a Black Power rally to free the 1960s radical Angela Davis from prison, where she was incarcerated.
In Seattle, WA, the school district told white teachers they were guilty of “spirit murder” against black children and must bankrupt their privilege status by acknowledging their thieved wealthy inheritance. There are more than 1000 stories of similar nature in America today. And the less parents know the better.
Indoctrination into schools about Critical Race Theory (CRT) conditions the thinking of our youth. Consider a high school senior, William Clark, whose mother, Gabrielle, is black and deceased father is white, filed a lawsuit against the State of Nevada Public Charter School Authority on Dec. 22, 2020, claiming “coercive, ideological indoctrination” included in the CRT curriculum.
Gabrielle Clark filed a lawsuit through Schoolhouse Rights, which supports “civil rights litigation in defense of students’ freedom of conscience in public education and the rights of parents to direct the upbringing of their children.”
William claimed the classroom was a hostile environment and felt discriminated against in the mandatory, year-long “Sociology of Change” course required for graduation. In another required class, “Change the World,” students were required to carry out an activist political or social work project for credit.
These courses were under the old name of civics curriculum, but parents were not aware of the Critical Race Theory shift to coercive ideological indoctrination until students complained about the content, their experience and course requirements. “The new curriculum inserted consciousness raising and conditioning exercises under the banner of intersectionality and Critical Race Theory.” Teachers greeted their students with “Hello, my wonderful social justice warriors!”
These classes required pupils to unlearn and fight back against oppressive structures allegedly implicit in their family, and religious beliefs about racial, sexual and gender identities. William was directed in class to “unlearn the basic Judeo-Christian principles taught at home. But he refused, and the school retaliated against him. “
The school principal told Mrs. Clark, “That the theoretical basis of the new curriculum was “intersectionality” or life at a crossroads, but the definition used was not to stop, look, listen and proceed, rather, reverse course, reframe history, shift family values to activism and turn from an intended course to a new direction imposed by Critical Race Theory indoctrination. This false theoretical Marxist indoctrination deceived parents and students. Teaching by demanding obedience to Marxist theory is deception, indoctrination and propaganda.
Two families were close friends, one was black the other white. Their pre-adolescent boys were best friends and played sports together, were in each other’s homes and felt like brothers. Then the black parents were called to a meeting at the school and CRT was explained that they, as black people, were victims of “white supremacy” and should not associate with white people. The black boy was not allowed to play with his white friend again. The white parents were stunned as they looked at people through a color-blind lens and loved this little boy being with their son. This is an example of the divisiveness caused by CRT.
CRT claims there is no such thing as ‘absolute truth’ but rather a social construct of Godless Marxist socialism which homogenizes humanity and says everyone is equal. But beware of the ruling oligarchs because they rule and everyone below them is equal. In other words, in a world where truth does not exist, all that is left is power and control. Critical Race Theory builds contention, distrust, hate and envy and false reasoning of Marxist oppressor-oppressed binary thinking. Welcome to the theory of life imposed on public education.
If truth does not exist, it does not matter what else we believe. We resort to tribalism or collectivism for preservation, and we lose individualism and the uniqueness of being human. Welcome to the hierarchy of controlled life in China, where 80 million Chinese Communist Party members control 1.4 billion people and there are 600 million peasants. Ever see anyone step out of order in North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, or other countries where varying degrees of authoritarianism rules and truth is what you are told in their schools and over their propaganda infused media.
The Heritage Foundation discovered 79% of school districts with 100,000 students have hired a “Chief Diversity Officer” and implemented university style “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” programming. Seattle Public Schools which have 52, 000 students and a $1Billion budget has created departments of Racial Equity Advancement, Division of Equity, Partnerships and Engagement, a Department of Ethnic Studies an Office of African American Male Achievement and an Equity and Race Advisory Committee whose role is to “actively dismantle the systems of oppression, implementing Critical Race Theory and building leadership for racial capacity in every school.
Teachers are taught that the United States is a “race based white supremist society and schools are guilty of ‘spirit murder’ against minorities and that white teachers must confront their ‘thieved inheritance’ in order to rectify these injustices School employees must embrace ‘anti-racist pedagogy’, support current social justice movements and work toward the ‘abolition of whiteness’.
The history of Diversity, Inclusion and Equality evolved from the creation of Critical Race Theory by Marxist activists, Herbert Marcuse and his followers and Derrick Bell, who as a Harvard law professor, ‘loved to harass white people’, and wanted to kill the Harvard President, formed the theory based on hate, envy, and white atonement for past slavery sins. The unproven theory has masqueraded as truth by the infusion into our government, businesses, schools and higher education. Truth be known, this is an American Marxism replay of the bourgeois vs proletariat social revolt of every communist country since 1900. Where this has evolved, you don’t see people trying to cross the borders into China, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela or other countries in various forms of dictatorships around the world! Nor is there a mass exodus to return home to Africa.
For those who believe in absolute truth, it superimposes a different perspective to the interaction of man, God and society to the conversation of Marxism’s social egalitarianism. Can the quest for righteous living, principle-based thinking, and the reality of decisions based on who we are be compromised with non-God-fearing socialism? For those of this persuasion CTR effectively says “Choose The Right.”
The question for parents is, what do you want your children to believe and live? Is there such a thing as ultimate truth, or are humans just an advanced evolution of protoplasm seeking meaning to life? Is collective good the ultimate egalitarian society, where the only god is conformity, equality, inclusion and self-indulgence for hedonic pleasure. The question cannot be left to chance because the indoctrination bandwagon will not let that happen. Always present, are the powerful lobbies to discount and supplant family values and the desire to indoctrinate every public school and university. Consider USU’s sustainability program manager, “The time is now to change the world and we’re here to help you do it.” If you understand the double meaning for Diversity, Inclusion and Equity you realize it is not the common definition but rather to advance American Marxism. Be careful what you think this means.
Can oil and water be mixed? Can the social justice revolution shake up society to see what chaos creates? Will window dressing of revolutionary fervor cover the failures and hollowness and lack real inner personal change because discussion about who we really are is avoided? Can the principles of freedom, democratic self-governance, faith, self-reliance, equality of opportunity based on merit, and the conflict between human dignity and slavery to government handouts, poverty of thinking about who am I, and can external dependence emancipate the soul from its handlers?
We cannot allow our American heritage birthright which starts with self-identity, obedience to laws upon which all growth is predicated and the quest to be one’s best be sold for a pot of rotten porridge proliferated by the government. Five states have said, enough is enough and stood up and refused the federal government infusion of Marxist philosophy into their schools. Parents, this is a war to indoctrinate your children and to captivate their thinking, values, morals, and future into social order conformity.
Marxism wants to enslave individuals so they cannot think, reason or determine their future. It is your time to be the voice for your children. Don’t leave this to society. Do you believe in principles that uplift, encourage goodness, honesty, obedience to laws and the courage to live them or do you want infiltration, indoctrination of Marxist anti-Christ, anti-God propaganda to saturate your child’s impressive mind?
D. Todd Christofferson delivered a conference address in October, 2020 entitled, Sustainable Societies from which this is quoted.
Sustainable societies identified and lived the fundamentals that sustain a flourishing society, one that promotes happiness, progress, peace and well-being among its members…However, sustainability is not guaranteed, and a thriving society can fail if it abandons the cardinal virtues that uphold its peace and prosperity…I think it safe to say that when people turn from a sense of accountability to God and begin to trust in the ‘arm of flesh’ disaster lurks. Trusting in the arm of flesh is to ignore the divine Aurhor of human rights and human dignity and to give highest priority to riches, power, and the praise of the world.
The institutions of family and religion have been crucial for endowing both individuals and communities with the virtues that sustain an enduring society. These virtues, rooted in scripture, include integrity, responsibility and accountability, compassion, marriage and fidelity in marriage, respect for others and the property of others, service, and the necessity and dignity of work, among others.
As secularism divides personal and civic virtue from accountability to God, it cuts the plant from its roots. Reliance on culture and tradition alone will not be sufficient to sustain virtue in society. When one has no higher god than himself and seeks no greater good than satisfying his own appetites and preferences, the effects will be manifest in due course.
A society, for example, in which individual consent is the only constraint of sexual activity is a society in decay. Adultery, promiscuity, out-of-wedlock births, and elective abortions are but some of the bitter fruits that grow out of the ongoing sexual revolution and produce consequences that work against sustainability of a healthy society…include children raised in poverty without the positive influence of fathers…and women bearing alone what should be shared responsibilities, and serious deficient education as schools…are tasked to compensate for failure in the home. Added to these social pathologies are the incalculable instances of individual heartbreak and despair—mental and emotional destruction visited upon both the guilt and innocent.
Previously life was defined primarily by duty, not by entitlement, by social responsibilities, not personal privileges. The primary animating principle throughout this century has been the sense of obligation-to family, God and country.
The contrast between a sustainable and unsustainable society. Our country was created by the sustainable foundation beliefs in God, universally applicable commandments, moral ethics, a collaborative union solidified by the principles of the Constitution and Bill of Rights and the determination to remove the prior control imposed by government aristocracy.”
This year, 2024, will chart the course for your family and our republic. Rise up to voice your opinion for freedom to learn, think, reason, for your children and the nation’s children to become all they are capable of becoming without the indoctrination of godless Marxist false beliefs. Be certain about what you want your children to know, be able to do, and to believe what is truth about life on Earth and its purposes. Richard and RuthEllen Wood- Celebrate America, the birthright of freedom, independence and individuality to become all we are capable of becoming.” Richard and RuthEllen Wood
Richard Wood- Psychologist, Administrator, Professor
RuthEllen Wood- MS Genetics, Musician, Autistic Educator
They will speak at our Firm Foundation Conference with 80 others. April 18th, 19th, and 20th of April 2024 Early-Bird Tickets here:
The Wood’s served under President Patrick Kearon in Frankfurt, Germany as directors of Family Services in Western Europe. Richard served in the Central Office of the Veterans Administration in Washington, DC. Character Counts was designed and implemented in local schools and communities. We taught doctoral students at Beijing University in China for two years, served ecclesiastically in a county jail and a member leadership training mission in Blowing Green, KY. We now serve in the Pathway Connect program with students from eight African countries.
Indoctrination
Today, your children are subjected to indoctrination from ideologies that challenge and contradict your proven family beliefs and values. Wanted is the heart, mind, and soul of your children. Social collectivism, group identity, and social egalitarianism create an homogenized society where everyone is equal, where power and control by oligarchs rule with impunity. Countries with these philosophies include China, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and others where engineered political systems act as quasi dictatorships.
Your child’s identity, an eternal noble birthright to freedom and agency, and light and truth are being undermined and transformed. Individual identity defers to collective social unity led by social justice warriors who want to rewrite history and define the American future. The quest for academic excellence is not as important as social activism. Our American heritage is under attack.
Today parents are considered old-fashioned, out of touch, unaware of contemporary issues and sidelined by the professionals who know how to teach and control your children. American Marxist is in our schools.” Bio from Richard and RuthEllen Wood