I believe the Mulekites traveled the same path as the Phoenician Expedition has just made. Philip Beale a British sailor and ship arrived in Ft Lauderdale Florida from Tunisia on Tuesday Feb 4th, 2020. It was a voyage of about 4 months It is very probable that the Mulekites traveled into the Gulf of Mexico near New Orleans and traveled up the Mississippi (Sidon) River and stopped near Nauvoo.
Philip Beale in speaking about taking the northern route from Gibraltar to Florida or the southern route, he said,
"It is fairly straight forward I think.. the southern route is by far the easiest because of the prevailing winds and currents.
If you look at the Gulf stream that was first identified by Benjamin Franklin.. from the Med to the Caribbean is a simple conveyer belt."
Benjamin Franklin and James Poupard (according to Library of Congress page, linked above)
Why near Nauvoo? Because the Des Moines River rapids wouldn't allow ships to go further north up the Mississippi. "Various attempts to make the river navigable started in 1837 when a channel was blasted through the rapids by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers team led by Robert E. Lee. A canal around the rapids was built in 1877. It is now obliterated by Lock and Dam No. 19." Wikipedia
I also believe the Phoenicians are related to the Cherokee Indians and many others you may be surprised about.
Mike and Betty LaFontaine Phoenicia Museum Curators
"The Phoenicians’ name in their own Semitic language translates as “Canaanite,” a reflection of their origins in the East Mediterranean. James Adair, who wrote the first book about American Indians in 1775, suggested this ethnonym (national identity) appears in the name of the Kanawha River and as the name of a now-extinct Indian tribe in Kentucky and West Virginia. Phoenicians are probably also the source of haplogroup X in the New World, and they are implicated in the mystery of the Melungeon people, with court cases mentioning them by name." Cherokee DNA Studies by Donald N. Yates
Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.
We are in contact with the people in Carthage (North Africa) who are very familiar with the PHOENICIA ship replica and Philip Beale.
During the last two decades Wayne May has found a half a dozen oil lamps here in the Heartland. Our friends in Carthage recognize them as ancient lamps that their ancestors used to light their homes more than 2,000 years ago. We are going to look closely at this connection. We take it as a confirmation that the Phoenicians were in America in the 6th Century before Christ.
When Joseph Merrick, local farmer and innkeeper, purchased a tract of land in west Pittsfield in 1800, he had no expectation that it would prove such fertile ground for growing mystery. Indeed, it was not until 15 years later that a seemingly innocuous piece of refuse found there would go on to arouse the interest of the town's most prominent citizens, and to serve as a potentially crucial clue in controversy surrounding the origins of the Book of Mormon.
In June of 1815, a boy Merrick had employed to clear a piece of yard presented him with a leather strap found among the debris left by plowing. Merrick at first threw it in a box and paid little attention. Only looking at it later did he realize that there was something inside the strap. He cut it open to find several tightly scrolled pieces of parchment. Each was inscribed with Hebrew characters of some sort. Perplexed, Merrick shared the discovery with some of the most learned men at the First Congregational Church, where he served as a deacon. He didn't have to try very hard to get their attention. He had only barely mentioned the find when he found himself called on by a number of curious visitors. Rumors of the object quickly reached Elkanah Watson, father of the American Agricultural Society and probably Pittsfield's most illustrious citizen at the time. Watson wrote in a letter "immediately on hearing of the discovery, I repaired to the house of Mr. Merrick, where I found several clergymen whose curiosity was [also] greatly excited by the strange incident.."
Among those present when Watson arrived was 20-year-old Sylvester Larned, fresh from seminary but already "greatly distinguished for talents and moving eloquence." Larned, though exceedingly well educated for the times, lacked any knowledge of Hebrew. This required the help of William Allen, son of "Fighting Parson" Thomas Allen, and the minister of First Congregational Church at the time. Allen identified the object as a Jewish phylactery, containing four pieces of parchment inscribed with verses from Deuteronomy and Exodus.
Now that they knew what it was, the question of where it came from became all the more exciting to them. No Jewish family or individual had ever lived at that location, so far as anyone knew. Before Merrick it had been the site of "Fort Hill" or Fort Ashley, a blockhouse built by colonial militia during the French and Indian War. Prior to that the area was called "Indian Hill," in reference to it being the site of a former Mohican settlement, and it was this earlier occupation that most intrigued the Pittsfield scholars. In their mind, the phylactery fit quite perfectly into a debate that had begun more than a century and a half before. The theory that the American Indians were descendants of the lost tribes of Israel had first been advanced in 1650, with the publication of Thorowgood's "Jewes in America" and had been a subject of perennial interest in Puritan New England ever since. Watson had already leaped to this conclusion, stating "the artifact must have found its way into this recent wilderness by the agency of some descendants of Israel. this discovery forms another link in the evidence by which our Indians are identified with the ancient Jews." After his initial inspection, Allen was inclined to agree that the phylactery "furnished proof that our Indians were descendants of the ancient chosen people." Adding weight to this conclusion was the late testimony of Dr. West of Stockbridge that "an old Indian" had told him that his ancestors had once "been in the possession of a book which they had, not long since, carried with them, but having lost the knowledge of reading it, they buried it with an Indian Chief."*
Shortly thereafter, Allen sent the artifact to Abiel Holmes, a scholar in Cambridge. There is no record of Holmes' opinion, only that he delivered the phylactery to the American Antiquarian Society, on Allen's urging. Nothing much was said or done about the phylactery for several years after that. Most of the parties who had viewed it (and many who hadn't) believed it to be evidence of the Hebrew origins of Native Americans, but by 1816 or so no one outside of select sectarian circles seemed much interested in proving that point. In the early 1820s, Ethan Smith, a congregational minister in Poultney, Vt., became interested in the Pittsfield phylactery. Though he never actually saw it personally, he described it in his 1823 book "View of the Hebrews: The Lost Tribes of Israel in America." That same year, a young man in Palmyra, N.Y., announced that he was to receive a set of plates from an angel. The man was Joseph Smith and the plates were said to contain a history of ancient America.
Later, when these plates were being translated, Oliver Cowdery, one of original "Three Witnesses" of Mormonism's Golden Plates, joined Smith and became the major scribe who assisted in Smith's translation. Cowdery hailed from Poultney, where he had been a parishioner of Ethan Smith's congregational flock and quite likely owned a copy of his book. For this reason, nearly two centuries of skeptics and opponents to Mormonism have theorized that Ethan Smith's ideas, along with certain elements of his style (e.g., his heavy quotation of the Book of Isaiah) may have been one of two major sources of influence on the Book of Mormon (the other being a fictional manuscript by Solomon Spaulding that Smith friend and follower Sidney Rigdon may have provided. It is certain that Joseph Smith did become aware of View of the Hebrews at some point, for he cites it and the artifact found in Pittsfield as supporting evidence of the "Lost Tribes" in America. Furthermore, it is entirely conceivable that Smith could have already have heard of the phylactery prior to 1823.
By then, though, no on was sure where the darned thing was. Isaiah Thomas, the first president of the antiquarian society, told Ethan Smith that he didn't know where it was, or even where to go about looking. Several historians have made attempt over the years to track its whereabouts after being delivered to the society, coming up with only fragmentary possible scenarios. It may or may not have been returned to Sylvester Larned, who in 1818 expressed disappointment that nothing had come of the find. Larned may or may not in turn have sent it to Elias Boudinot, another interested scholar. Larned died of Yellow Fever two years later in New Orleans, at the age of 25, and there is no sign of the phylactery in Boudinot's papers, housed at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. I tend to think that the Hebrew inscriptions are still in the hands of the Antiquarians - in fact, one AAS librarian in 1917 said that he seemed to remember seeing the scrolls but not didn't know where. As such, it is one of hundreds of fascinating, potentially paradigm-shaking artifacts which resides in a Library Limbo, lost, uncataloged or misfiled in one of the country's major archives or museums.
What relevance does the Pittsfield discovery have today, anyway? Scientific knowledge has advanced, well, let's say slightly, since the early 1800s, at least to a point where belief in Native American groups as descendants of lost Israelite tribes can be effectively dismissed. On the other hand, scholarly opinion over the past decade has increasingly shifted toward the concept of the Americas being an occasional stopping point of many different world groups prior to Columbus. In 1924, some lead artifacts, mostly crosses and swords, with Hebrew and early Latin inscriptions were dug up in Tucson, Ariz. The inscriptions told of a group of Romanized Jews who left the Empire and whose ship (apparently) came to shore in the Gulf of Mexico, from which point they followed the Colorado River inland, establishing a briefly flourishing colony. Of course, questions were raised about the authenticity of the artifacts and, like the Pittsfield phylactery, the "Tucson Crosses" went missing for many years before finally showing up on display at the University of Arizona campus in 2003.
For those who prefer to get somewhat cleaner shave out of old Ockham's razor, an alternate explanation was offered by William Allen, some time after the object left his care, though no one paid much attention. Allen noted that the strap was found in a place where wood chips and dirt had been collecting for years, and he was unable to find out whether it had come from the old earth beneath or from among the recent debris. He did learn that Merrick had employed British and German prisoners during the War of 1812, one of whom could have dropped it there. For my contribution, I'd append that it could have been lost there even earlier. The entire county was suddenly inundated with Hessian deserters following Burgoyne's defeat at Saratoga in 1777 - some of whom never left - and any one of whom could have been the owner of the 18th-century equivalent of a scriptural fanny pack.
Of course, modern forensics could probably provide snappy answers to almost all of the questions surrounding the legendary scripts, if one could only put one's finger on the troublesome strip. "Or," as Charles Fort more eloquently put it, "there could be a real science, if there were really anything to be scientific about." Full Article here. http://mysterious-hills.blogspot.com/2006/03/pittsfields-hebrew-scrolls-spark.html
Phylacteries and Borders of their Garments (Matt. 23)
Pictures from Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin shows what tefillin are:
In reprimanding the Pharisees, the Savior said: "But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments" (Matthew 23:5). What are phylacteries? What are the borders of their garments?
Phylacteries
The Hebrew word for phylactery is tefillin. In the following command, note that the Lord states that Israel is to keep the law before their eyes and heart. As a sign they are to bind the law on their hand and between their eyes.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; emphasis added)
A tefillin is a literal representation of the Lord's command to bind the law on the hand and between the eyes. In his excellent book, To Be a Jew, Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin describes what tefillin are:
The tefillin (translated phylacteries) consist of two small black boxes, containing small scrolls of parchment upon which are written four Biblical passages [Exodus 13:1-10; 13:11-16; Deut. 6:4-9; and 11:13-21]. These four passages from the Torah [five books of Moses] all include the commandment to don tefillin as a sign, as a symbol of Jewish faith and devotion. Each of the black boxes comes with leather straps (Hebrew: retzuot) so designed as to enable one to be bound upon the hand and for the other to be worn above the forehead. (p. 145)
Borders of the Garments
Pictures from Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin shows what borders of their garments are;
The phrase "borders of their garments" as reference to what is called in Hebrew the tallit or prayer shawls. The Lord gave the following commandment to the children of Israel:
37 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 38 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: 39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: 40 That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. (Numbers 15:37-40)
Rabbi Donnin says of this passage:
The commandment in [Numbers 15:37-40] calls for the attachment of fringes (tzitzit) to four-cornered garments as a reminder of all the commandments of the Lord ... Garments not possessing four or more corners are not required to have the special fringes. ....
Although in ancient times four-cornered garments or robes were common, the development of clothing not having four corners would have rendered this mitzvah [Heb. for commandment] totally obsolete, with the full sanction of the law. To prevent the total disappearance of a mitzvah that possessed such great symbolic significance (since it serves as a reminder to observe all the commandments), the Sages encouraged the wearing of a specially-made four-cornered garments so as to provide the opportunity to observe and implement this commandment.
Says Maimonides: "Although one is not obligated to buy a garment and wrap himself in it just so as to provide it with fringes, it is not proper for a devout or pious person to exempt himself from observing this precept. He should strive to wear a garment that requires fringes so as to perform this precept. And during times of prayer, one should take special care to do so" (Hil. Tzitzit 3:11)
The tallit, a four-cornered robe with the required tzitzit, has thus become the garment traditionally worn by men during morning prayer services. In English, it is commonly called a "prayer shawl." (pp. 155-6) Source: BYU Idaho
The Annotated Book of Mormon by David Hocking and Rod Meldrum page 253
Ancient Hebrew in North America
There is so much Hebrew influence as shown in the chart below, that has been found in North America. Most artifacts are called hoaxes by the intellectuals because is doesn't fit with their theory. Most of these intellectuals still believe the New World was peopled on land via the Bering Strait. We haven't found even one Hebrew item in the Mesoamerica area. An amazing number of ancient Hebrew items are all over the United States.
According to Wikipedia under Bering Strait it says, "The Strait has been the subject of the scientific hypothesis that humans migrated from Asia to North America across a land bridge known as Beringia when lower ocean levels – perhaps a result of glaciers locking up vast amounts of water – exposed a wide stretch of the sea floor, both at the present strait and in the shallow sea north and south of it. This view of how Paleo-Indians entered America has been the dominant one for several decades and continues to be the most accepted one. Numerous successful crossings without the use of a boat have also been recorded since at least the early 20th century."
Most common sense people just don't believe the Bering Strait theory any more. We believe North America was peopled by ocean voyages from the Old World by the Jaredites, Mulekites, and Nephites and others from Asia and Africa voyaged to South and Central America.
From The Annotated Book of Mormon by David Hocking and Rod Meldrum page 546
Broadside used in the early days of the Church to publicize the Book of Mormon reproduces the characters Joseph Smith copied from the plates. The broadside was printed in gold letters on black paper. (Church Archives) CHARACTERS TAKEN FROM THE PLATES THE BOOK OF MORMON!! .... "Our fathers once has a sacred book like the white man have, but it was hidden in the ground, since then Indian no more prevail against their enemies" -- An aged Indian of the Stockbridge tribe.
(* Note from above) 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."
Rabbi Yoni Birnbaum shows us how to put on your Tefillin correctly.
Return of the Phoenicia on the Mississippi River
I believe the Mulekites traveled the same path as the Phoenician Expedition has just made. Philip Beale a British sailor and ship will arrive in Ft Lauderdale Florida from Tunisia on Tuesday Feb 4th. It was a voyage of about 4 months It is very probable that the Mulekites traveled into the Gulf of Mexico near New Orleans and traveled up the Mississippi (Sidon) River and stopped near Nauvoo.
Why near Nauvoo? Because the Des Moines River rapids wouldn't allow ships to go further north up the Mississippi. "Various attempts to make the river navigable started in 1837 when a channel was blasted through the rapids by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers team led by Robert E. Lee. A canal around the rapids was built in 1877. It is now obliterated by Lock and Dam No. 19." Wikipedia
I also believe the Phoenicians are related to the Cherokee Indians and many others you may be surprised about. See my blog here titled, Cherokee/Phoenician DNA Connection
Handmade drum from Mike and Betty to Philip Beale, Captain of Phoenicia 2020
(Quote from my blog above). The Phoenicians’ name in their own Semitic language translates as “Canaanite,” a reflection of their origins in the East Mediterranean. James Adair, who wrote the first book about American Indians in 1775, suggested this ethnonym (national identity) appears in the name of the Kanawha River and as the name of a now-extinct Indian tribe in Kentucky and West Virginia. Phoenicians are probably also the source of haplogroup X in the New World, and they are implicated in the mystery of the Melungeon people, with court cases mentioning them by name. See DNA Blog called, Lamanites are Descendants of the Jews.
Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.
We are in contact with the people in Carthage (North Africa) who are very familiar with the PHOENICIA ship replica and Philip Beale.
During the last two decades Wayne May has found a half a dozen oil lamps here in the Heartland. Our friends in Carthage recognize them as ancient lamps that their ancestors used to light their homes more than 2,000 years ago. We are going to look closely at this connection. We take it as a confirmation that the Phoenicians were in America in the 6th Century before Christ.
In this world of right and left, good and evil, hero and villain, and victim and survivor, it is a good idea to remember our purpose in life. All the Lord wants from us is to be humble and loving. If we focus more on the Lord and less on ourselves, the happier we will be.
When someone is wronged there are two things we can do. Lash out and blame others, or look deep within and see what lesson may be learned. When a tragedy happens we can blame the Lord or love the Lord. When a friend offends us we can become defensive, or humble yourself and try and understand what just happened.
When we are politically correct in this life that is the easy thing to be. To act as the Savior would have us be, is the hard thing and takes a tremendous amount of patience. To be tolerant is a wonderful quality, but not at the expense of tolerating sin or evil.
Victim Mentality
If we think of the victim as being the subject of trauma or violent crime, the opposite is the perpetrator; although, from what we know in today’s world the victim can turn into the perpetrator.
Victim mentality is an acquired personality trait in which a person tends to recognize themselves as a victim of the negative actions of others, and to behave as if this were the case in the face of contrary evidence of such circumstances. Victim mentality depends on clear thought processes and attribution. It is so much easier to turn to the Lord than staying as a victim.
Thank-You, not Why
The influence of Satan is becoming more acceptable. When tragedy happens we always ask, “Why did he do it”, or “What made her act that way”. Remember what the Lord said, “For I say unto you that whatsoever is good cometh from God, and whatsoever is evil cometh from the devil.” Alma 5:40
I feel we shouldn’t say “why” did this happen. That is not the important question. I feel we should always ask “The Lord”, What am I to learn from this experience? Very few of us can explain or define the “why” in most situations. Stuff happens! Life happens! Our test on earth is to remain humble and seek the Lord in all we do. Asking why, becomes not necessary and unimportant. Seek love and understanding and don’t say poor me, look outward and bless the lives of others. There is no one to blame, especially God. He is our creator and loves us.
We just received commitments from the posted speakers
“Sadly enough, my young friends, it is a characteristic of our age that if people want any gods at all, they want them to be gods who do not demand much, comfortable gods, smooth gods who not only don’t rock the boat but don’t even row it, gods who pat us on the head, make us giggle, then tell us to run along and pick marigolds.11
Talk about man creating God in his own image! Sometimes—and this seems the greatest irony of all—these folks invoke the name of Jesus as one who was this kind of “comfortable” God. Really? He who said not only should we not break commandments, but we should not even think about breaking them. And if we do think about breaking them, we have already broken them in our heart. Does that sound like “comfortable” doctrine, easy on the ear and popular down at the village love-in?
And what of those who just want to look at sin or touch it from a distance? Jesus said with a flash, if your eye offends you, pluck it out. If your hand offends you, cut it off.12 “I came not to [bring] peace, but a sword,”13 He warned those who thought He spoke only soothing platitudes. No wonder that, sermon after sermon, the local communities “pray[ed] him to depart out of their coasts.”14 No wonder, miracle after miracle, His power was attributed not to God but to the devil.15 It is obvious that the bumper sticker question “What would Jesus do?” will not always bring a popular response.” Holland, Jeffery R. “The Cost—and Blessings—of Discipleship.” Conference, April 2014.
The fact is that in our world, we are encouraged to worship the God of Political Correctness who has become so large that he entirely eclipses the place of righteous indignation and/or a bold stand for truth. If our world wants a soft god, wouldn’t it make sense that we would also tend to criticize those from the scriptures who are examples of God’s pro-active righteousness and justice?” “Wherefore, take heed … that ye do not judge … that which is good and of God to be of the devil” (Moroni 7:12–14).
Beware of Moral Relativism
“It is well to worry about our moral foundation. We live in a world where more and more persons of influence are teaching and acting out a belief that there is no absolute right and wrong, that all authority and all rules of behavior are man-made choices that can prevail over the commandments of God. Many even question whether there is a God.
The philosophy of moral relativism, which holds that each person is free to choose for himself what is right and wrong, is becoming the unofficial creed for many in America and other Western nations. At the extreme level, evil acts that used to be localized and covered up like a boil are now legalized and paraded like a banner. Persuaded by this philosophy, many of the rising generation—youth and young adults—are caught up in self-serving pleasures, pagan painting and piercing of body parts, foul language, revealing attire, pornography, dishonesty, and degrading sexual indulgence” Truth and Tolerance Elder Dallin H. Oaks September 11, 2011
What does it mean that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true Church?
“Our first responsibility and purpose is to testify of Jesus Christ to a world that suffers to know of His divine mission. As my response to that great responsibility, I will speak about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the only true and living Church. In doing so I know I speak against the powerful tide of what is called “political correctness.”
The fashionable opinion of this age is that all churches are true. In truth, the idea that all churches are the same is the doctrine of the anti-Christ, illustrated by the Book of Mormon account of Korihor (see Alma 30). That account was given to teach us a vital lesson in our day.
A revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1831, soon after the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke of those who had been given “power to lay the foundation of this church.” The Lord then referred to the Church as “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased” (D&C 1:30).
Because of this declaration of the Lord, we refer to this, His Church—our Church—as the “only true Church.” Sometimes we do this in a way that gives great offense to people who belong to other churches or who subscribe to other philosophies. But God has not taught us anything that should cause us to feel superior to other people. Certainly all churches and philosophies have elements of truth in them, some more than others. Certainly God loves all of His children. And certainly His gospel plan is for all of His children, all according to His own timetable.
So what does it mean that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true Church?
Three features—(1) fulness of doctrine, (2) power of the priesthood, and (3) testimony of Jesus Christ—explain why God has declared and why we as His servants maintain that this is the only true and living Church upon the face of the whole earth.” The Only True and Living Church elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles June 25, 2010Complete Article Here
Political Correctness Isn’t Correct, LDS Official Says
By Jeff Vice, Staff Writer Deseret News Published: November 16, 1994
In all the furor over social and political correctness, people may be losing sight of values and what is truly good, Elder James E. Faust said at a devotional at Brigham Young University on Tuesday.
“Your generation lives in a day when many things are measured against the standard of social and political correctness,” warned Elder Faust, a member of the Council of the Twelve of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “I challenge that false doctrine of human behavior. The influence of Satan is becoming more acceptable.” Speaking on “Trying to Serve the Lord Without Offending the Devil,” Elder Faust said that he and other LDS leaders hope young people, “unfamiliar with the sophistries of the world, can keep themselves free of Satan’s enticements and evil ways.”
New York Yankees great Yogi Berra reportedly once said, “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.” However, “It doesn’t work that way,” said Elder Faust during the morning devotional, which was simulcast on both KBYU-FM and KBYU-TV.
By embracing political correctness, unknowing people have been led to accept several actions that could be interpreted as being offenses against God – such as abortion, homosexuality and the so-called “zero population” movement, Elder Faust said.
“Any alternatives to the legal and loving marriage between a man and woman are helping to unravel the fabric of human society,” Elder Faust said. “These so-called alternative lifestyles must not be accepted as right because they frustrate God’s commandments for a life-giving union of male and female within a legal marriage as stated in (The Old Testament). If practiced by all adults, these lifestyles would mean the end of the human family.”
In other cases, the devil “takes some delight every time a home is broken up, even when there is no parent to blame,” Elder Faust said. “This is especially so where there are children involved. The physical and spiritual neglect of children is one of the spawning grounds for so many of the social ills of the world.”
Also, Elder Faust said that many “broad-minded” people are ignoring God’s commandments by taking the guise of “not imposing religious belief” – such as those who are challenging the “sin laws” on gambling, alcohol and drug consumption.
They are ignoring “the health and social costs to society of the vices,” Elder Faust said.
Teach Us Tolerance and Love
Russell M. Nelson Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles April 1994
“I have been impressed to speak on the subject of tolerance—a virtue much needed in our turbulent world. But in discussing this topic, we must recognize at the outset that there is a difference between tolerance and tolerate. Your gracious tolerance for an individual does not grant him or her license to do wrong, nor does your tolerance obligate you to tolerate his or her misdeed. That distinction is fundamental to an understanding of this vital virtue.
I attended a “laboratory of tolerance” some months ago when I had the privilege of participating in the Parliament of the World’s Religions. There I conversed with good men and women representing many religious groups. Again I sensed the advantages of ethnic and cultural diversity and reflected once more on the importance of religious freedom and tolerance.
I marvel at the inspiration of the Prophet Joseph Smith when he penned the eleventh article of faith: “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.” [A of F 1:11]
That noble expression of religious tolerance is particularly poignant in light of the Prophet’s personal persecution. On one occasion he wrote, “I am at this time persecuted the worst of any man on the earth, as well as this people, … all our sacred rights are trampled under the feet of the mob.”
Joseph Smith endured incessant persecution and finally heartless martyrdom—at the hands of the intolerant. His brutal fate stands as a stark reminder that we must never be guilty of any sin sown by the seed of intolerance.” Continued Here.
“Although through the majority of the 1900s controversy existed in the Church and at BYU dealing with the subject of evolution, the Church has officially stated its neutral stance on evolution, and the BYU administration today has been supportive of the teaching of evolution.” Daily Universe by Rachel Keeler July 2019 Source
In 2016, the Church’s youth magazine published articles on the pursuit of scientific truth. These articles reiterated that “the Church has no official position on the theory of evolution” and characterized it as a “matter for scientific study.” Echoing countless statements of Church leaders, the articles once again affirmed God’s role in creation and our relationship to our Heavenly Father as His children.” Gospel Topic Essay’s
I think there is importance in the Brethren being neutral on geography, evolution and other difficult issues. They want us to gain our own witness to secondary information. They have given us sound doctrine and that is what we should focus on. I know through the Spirit that the Book of Mormon is true. However, I love to seek for other truth and as Moroni has said “I may know the truth of all things.”
I believe the Land of Promise spoken of in the Book of Mormon is the United States of America. The Constitution of these United States was created by the Lord, Adam and Eve were placed on this same land and the New Jerusalem will be on this same land in Missouri. No need for me to check out Mesoamerica anymore as I did for 40 years.
Just like evolution. I don’t believe we came from an ape and I know that matter cannot come from nothing. I don’t have to look into science to figure this out, but by the witness of the spirit and of what the scriptures tell us.
I don’t expect President Nelson to come right out and tell the Church where the Book of Mormon events happened, or if we came from an ape, as I know through sound reasoning the answer that makes most sense to me. Now if the Brethren say otherwise as a revelation, I would always listen to them first, and then pray about it, but in my opinion the Church is neutral on difficult issues that exist to help each of us individually come to a knowledge of the “truth of all things” as promised in the Book of Mormon. I don’t need to be commanded in all things!
False Doctrine
“I do not know all of the providences of the Lord, but I do know that he permits false doctrine to be taught in and out of the Church and that such teaching is part of the sifting process of mortality.” Bruce R. McConkie, McConkie’s 1981 letter to BYU
To me this is a very important part of understanding our purpose in life. In order to reach our fullest potential, we must hear other sides of issues. It is a way the Lord prepares us for Godhood. I am just saddened if some of our sweet naïve 18 year old’s become indoctrinated before they have the confidence to push back and pray about whether they are being taught truth or lies.
Darwinian Deceptions – Defending Truth for Today’s Latter-day Saints
Ever since Charles Darwin published his theory on the Origin of Species in 1859, evolution’s influence has steadily grown. Many people no longer even question it’s validity; however, most Christians (including Latter-day Saints) who hold to a biblical view of the Creation and man’s origins have struggled with the Darwinian assertion that all life evolved from a common ancestor over millions of years, and that humans evolved from simpler life forms.
This book cuts through the layers of deception and exposes Darwinian falsehoods cloaked in the sophistry of scientific authority. It contains a wealth of information derived from history, science, scriptures, and teachings of modem-day Prophets and the Restored Gospel. by Dave Collingridge, David M. Barker, Ryan Nilsson, Eric N. Skousen Purchase Here
LDS Professor vs Yale Professor
I like the side that the Yale Professor takes.
Here are two articles that seem out of place in the world today, or are they? The first one speaks of a dedicated Darwinist from Yale leaving those ideas behind and the second one speaks of a BYU professor who embraces Darwinism. It seems BYU professors teach Evolution as a theory, but do they really believe that? It’s up to each of us to decide. In my opinion too many “woke” LDS Professor’s act like they are teaching a theory, but in reality they are embracing Evolution as a fact. This radical doctrine seep’s into our children’s head and they may leave BYU and other schools believing Evolution as a fact and not simply as a theory. God created Man in His own image, period!
He’s not giving up Darwinism without some remorse. “It means one less beautiful idea in our world,” says David Gelernter.
Renowned Yale Computer Science Professor David Gelernter
This isn’t someone you’d expect to reject Darwin. He lives and works at the heart of the intellectual establishment. He’s a renowned computer scientist at Yale University — the New York Times called him a “rock star” — and served on the National Council on the Arts…
Why did Gelernter reject Darwinism? For one thing, he points to the fossils missing from the record…
Perhaps the biggest flaw with Darwinism, he writes, is how hard it would be to randomly make new functional proteins. Darwinian evolution depends a huge number of them…
Gelernter admits intelligent design is an “absolutely serious argument.” It’s the “first, and obviously most intuitive one that comes to mind.” It’s got to be dealt with intellectually. It can’t be dismissed with anti-religious bigotry.
His colleagues have treated him courteously since he changed his position on this issue, he says. Still, for them Darwinism has passed beyond a scientific argument. “You take your life into your hands to challenge it intellectually. They will destroy you.” The Stream, By RACHEL ALEXANDER Published on August 21, 2019Renowned Yale Computer Science Prof Leaves Darwinism
IS EVOLUTION REAL? CHRISTIANS SHOULD EMBRACE DARWIN’S THEORIES, MORMON COLLEGE PROFESSOR SAYS
“An evolutionary biologist who teaches at a college owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said that Mormons should feel comfortable accepting the theory of evolution, the Salt Lake City Tribune reported.
Brigham Young University biologist Steven Peck gave the Eugene England Memorial Lecture at Utah Valley University, a publicly-funded school, on Thursday. At the address, he delved into the rift between science and religion.
Steven L. Peck Associate Professor Biology BYU
Peck does not see science as undermining religion. “The Church has long been interested in education and truth and knowledge,” Peck told Newsweek. “[BYU] itself is a reflection of that interest in gaining knowledge. And from my perspective, evolution is an important part of biology. It’s the foundation of all of biology…
Peck hopes Mormon leadership stays away from promoting an official stance on evolution. If they were to come out against it, that could disrupt his teaching and research. That’s happened before; between 1920 and 1970, evolution wasn’t taught at BYU, Peck said.
“There are a lot of members of the church who aren’t on board with evolution, who see it as a problem, who worry that it isn’t in any way compatible with Mormonism,” Peck said. But despite the potential for controversy, Peck said he hadn’t received much negative feedback from Thursday’s speech.” IS EVOLUTION REAL? CHRISTIANS SHOULD EMBRACE DARWIN’S THEORIES, MORMON COLLEGE PROFESSOR SAYS BY KATE SHERIDANON 3/1/18
Understanding the Principles of Evolution
Article from BYU Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum
What is evolution? How do we observe it in the natural world? Understanding the Principles of Evolution is an exhibit which delves into the theory of evolution, the evidence for evolution, and how scientists use evolution to better understand life on Earth. Often misunderstood, evolution is a fascinating theory used by scientists to explain how life changes and adapts.
Regarding evolution, leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have stated, “The Church has no official position on the theory of evolution. Organic evolution, or changes to species’ inherited traits over time, is a matter for scientific study. Nothing has been revealed concerning evolution. Though the details of what happened on earth before Adam and Eve, including how their bodies were created, have not been revealed, our teachings regarding man’s origin are clear and come from revelation.” (New Era Oct 2016)
The exhibit Understanding the Principles of Evolution is an exploration of how scientists interpret the theory of evolution and does not establish the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Visitors are encouraged to consider how natural selection plays a part in nature to help animals, plants, and other life forms adapt. We at the Bean Life Science Museum hope this exhibit will help to spark conversations among our guests as they ask, “What is evolution?”
More information about how BYU’s Faculty are working to build bridges between religion and science can be found at Reconciling Evolution
New Bean Museum Exhibit Explores Evolution
March 10, 2019 The Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum opens a new exhibit today exploring the theories and observations of evolution, and how evolution changes life on Earth.
Gabriel Mayberry/BYU Photo “There is a plaque posted on the exhibit stating that it is not Church doctrine and the Church has no stance on the issue.” Daily Universe Paper By Rachel Keeler -July 30, 2019
“There’s a lot of confusion out there about what is and is not evolution,” said Travis Schenck, exhibit designer for the Bean Museum. “In designing this exhibit we wanted to be very clear about how science defines evolution.”
While designing the new exhibit, Understanding the Principles of Evolution, Schenck and his design team consulted with BYU professors who teach about evolution so the exhibit would be able to communicate the principles of evolution in the most approachable way. The language used in the displays is more relatable by using everyday language rather than complex scientific terms. Many of the complex words are still there but are explained in an easy to understand way.
“The heart of our mission here at the Bean Museum is to celebrate the role of Jesus Christ as the creator of life on Earth, and to use science to understand His works better.”
Understanding thePrinciples of Evolution is a long term exhibit and will be on display for many years to come, though parts of the exhibit may change over time. The Bean Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., but closed Sundays. Admission is free. For more information about the museum and its exhibits visit mlbean.byu.edu. Article Source: https://news.byu.edu/news/new-bean-museum-exhibit-explores-evolution
Evolution on Display at BYU By Kristen L. Evans (BA ’19)
A new exhibit at BYU’s Bean Museum addresses evolution. BYU also now hosts workshops for religiously affiliated schools on helping students reconcile science and religion. Photo by Bradley Slade.
A tree is depicted in BYU’s Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, but instead of leaves, this tree displays 25 different kinds of hominid skulls, including everything from Australopithecus afarensis to us—Homo sapiens.
The display is part of a new permanent exhibit, Understanding Evolution, and it raises questions. Do members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe in evolution?
For Jamie L. Jensen (BS ’99, MS ’03), Seth M. Bybee (BS ’04), and other evolutionary biologists at BYU, evolution is simple: there is genetic change in populations over time. The world is full of evidence; flu shots change annually because the influenza virus evolves so quickly. That said, Jensen and Bybee understand that evolution is a theological issue too.
Evidence like the hundreds of hominid skulls that suggest humans share a common ancestor with apes often leaves students disconcerted. “They feel like it’s in conflict with their religion,” says Jensen. “So our main motivation is, let’s help save their testimonies.”
Historically, the matter has been explained in an either-or model; that is, either the science is correct or the religion is. But in a video for a Smithsonian Human Origins committee, Jensen says that science and religion answer two very separate sets of questions—both of which get at truth.
“If you’re talking about the origin of life on the planet, then science is answering questions such as mechanisms: How did it happen? When did it happen? How long ago?” says Jensen. “Whereas religion is more interested in answering questions of why did it happen? Why are we here? Who might have been involved? . . . If we respect the fact that these are two different ways of getting at the same truth, then they really don’t have to be in conflict.”
This reconciliation approach is put forth in every BYU Biology 100 class. Along with scientific data, the professors give students every official Church statement on evolution from the 1909 First Presidency essay to a 2016 statement in the New Era, which reads: “The Church has no official position on the theory of evolution. Organic evolution, or changes to species’ inherited traits over time, is a matter for scientific study.” A wide variety of opinions fit within Church doctrine—from denial of human evolution to full acceptance. “I wonder if that’s how God actually did this.” —Seth Bybee
“We’re not out to indoctrinate students one way or another,” Jensen explains. “We’re out to help find ways that they can keep their faith and still be knowledgeable.”
BYU’s reconciliation model is opening minds. Jensen and Bybee coauthored a 2018 study published in the prestigious journal PLOS One, in which they examined BYU-student attitudes toward evolution from the ’80s to now. In the fall of 1988, 10 percent of polled students accepted evolution and believed it was in harmony with their religious beliefs. In 2016 that number jumped to 60 percent.
Both Bybee and Jensen have had spiritual experiences as they’ve sought to understand and explain evolution. “I’m literally praying over essentially understanding evolution better,” Bybee says. “But there’s also those moments where you see something, you discover something, and you’re kind of like, ‘Wow. That’s amazing. I wonder if that’s how God actually did this.’” Evolution on Display at BYU
“The data shown here reveal a shift toward acceptance by LDS youth of evolutionary theory as a valid explanation for current life on earth. While human evolution is still something of an issue, there has been a dramatic decrease in conflict in comparison with the views of college students of two to three decades ago.
As explanations, the data support the influence of an improved K-12 educational experience, a reduction in negative messaging from people in authority within the religious organization, and the positive effects of a strong BYU science education in a faith-friendly manner, which we suggest can be transmitted as a generational legacy.
Students both previous and current have responded with approval of both the theoretical framework and empirical evidence for evolution when presented in an instructional strategy that clarifies the authoritative position of their church and encourages reconciliation of faith and science. These data are specific to those of the LDS faith, some aspects of which may be unique (i.e. close adherence of the membership to authoritative pronouncements of any current church leadership, a unity of belief and standardized religious practice in congregations world-wide, and highly effective programs of religious education for youth at both the family and ecclesiastical levels).
On the other hand, a case can be made for generalization. The BYU population represents students of a Christian faith whose teachings are informed by Biblical scripture (including the precept of divine creation), with notorious cultural (but not doctrinal) barriers to evolution, a case similar to many other conservative religions. As a result, we believe our findings can be applied more broadly, used as an “ecological case study,” whose results can be replicated with students of other religious affiliations. As “nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” [78], the fact that trends are changing among one of the most resistant populations in America should serve as a point of encouragement for life science educators from all institutions.” Bold added The Church and BYU: An evolution — of evolution
The Church’s official magazine for youth, the New Era said this in 2016:
The Church has no official position on the theory of evolution. Organic evolution, or changes to species’ inherited traits over time, is a matter for scientific study. Nothing has been revealed concerning evolution. Though the details of what happened on earth before Adam and Eve, including how their bodies were created, have not been revealed, our teachings regarding man’s origin are clear and come from revelation.
Before we were born on earth, we were spirit children of heavenly parents, with bodies in their image. God directed the creation of Adam and Eve and placed their spirits in their bodies. We are all descendants of Adam and Eve, our first parents, who were created in God’s image. There were no spirit children of Heavenly Father on the earth before Adam and Eve were created. In addition, “for a time they lived alone in a paradisiacal setting where there was neither human death nor future family.” They fell from that state, and this Fall was an essential part of Heavenly Father’s plan for us to become like Him. (See Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet,” Apr. 2015 general conference.)For further reference, see “The Origin of Man,” Improvement Era, Nov. 1909, 78; Ensign, Feb. 2002, 29. See also Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. (1992), “Evolution,” 2:478. [2]
We should be more like the monkey when it comes to social media and TV. It is terrible today.
Many intellectuals and scientists love sharing the quote above which says, “The Church has no official position on the theory of evolution.” The Church has also said they are neutral on the Geography of the Book of Mormon. These statements by the Church don’t say that we have to be neutral about these things. I believe the Church is telling us to search and pray for ourselves. The Church shouldn’t tell us everything as we are accountable for our own intelligence we learn in this life.
Supposedly those writers at FAIR Mormon use Elder Holland’s statement below as he says, “I do not know the details of what happened on this planet before that”, to feel they can tell us all about evolution as they are smarter than the Prophets. This secular society needs to have the faith of the Brethren and end this tremendous amount of time spent in promoting evolution of ape to man and from nothing comes something.
WE DID NOT COME FROM AN APE OF THIS I AM MOST CERTAIN! MAN DID NOT EVOLVE FROM NOTHING! ADAM WAS PLACED ON THE EARTH IN ABOUT 4,000 BC!
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
“In our increasingly secular society, it is as uncommon as it is unfashionable to speak of Adam and Eve or the Garden of Eden or of a “fortunate fall” into mortality. Nevertheless, the simple truth is that we cannot fully comprehend the Atonement and Resurrection of Christ and we will not adequately appreciate the unique purpose of His birth or His death—in other words, there is no way to truly celebrate Christmas or Easter—without understanding that there was an actual Adam and Eve who fell from an actual Eden, with all the consequences that fall carried with it.
I do not know the details of what happened on this planet before that, but I do know these two were created under the divine hand of God, that for a time they lived alone in a paradisiacal setting where there was neither human death nor future family, and that through a sequence of choices they transgressed a commandment of God which required that they leave their garden setting but which allowed them to have children before facing physical death. To add further sorrow and complexity to their circumstance, their transgression had spiritual consequences as well, cutting them off from the presence of God forever. Because we were then born into that fallen world and because we too would transgress the laws of God, we also were sentenced to the same penalties that Adam and Eve faced.
What a plight! The entire human race in free fall—every man, woman, and child in it physically tumbling toward permanent death, spiritually plunging toward eternal anguish. Is that what life was meant to be? Is this the grand finale of the human experience? Are we all just hanging in a cold canyon somewhere in an indifferent universe, each of us searching for a toehold, each of us seeking for something to grip—with nothing but the feeling of sand sliding under our fingers, nothing to save us, nothing to hold on to, much less anything to hold on to us? Is our only purpose in life an empty existential exercise—simply to leap as high as we can, hang on for our prescribed three score years and ten, then fail and fall, and keep falling forever?
The answer to those questions is an unequivocal and eternal no! With prophets ancient and modern, I testify that “all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.” Thus, from the moment those first parents stepped out of the Garden of Eden, the God and Father of us all, anticipating Adam and Eve’s decision, dispatched the very angels of heaven to declare to them—and down through time to us—that this entire sequence was designed for our eternal happiness. It was part of His divine plan, which provided for a Savior, the very Son of God Himself—another “Adam,” the Apostle Paul would call Him—who would come in the meridian of time to atone for the first Adam’s transgression. That Atonement would achieve complete victory over physical death, unconditionally granting resurrection to every person who has been born or ever will be born into this world. Mercifully it would also provide forgiveness for the personal sins of all, from Adam to the end of the world, conditioned upon repentance and obedience to divine commandments.” Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet,” Apr. 2015 general conference.
Origin of Man 1909 First Presidency
“It is held by some that Adam was not the first man upon this earth and that the original human being was a development from lower orders of the animal creation. These, however, are the theories of men. The word of the Lord declared that Adam was “the first man of all men” (Moses 1:34), and we are therefore in duty bound to regard him as the primal parent of our race. It was shown to the brother of Jared that all men were created in the beginning after the image of God; whether we take this to mean the spirit or the body, or both, it commits us to the same conclusion: Man began life as a human being, in the likeness of our Heavenly Father.” The Origin of Man, Improvement Era, Nov. 1909, 78; Ensign, Feb. 2002
Gordon B. Hinckley
“What the church requires is only belief ‘that Adam was the first man of what we would call the human race.’ Scientists can speculate on the rest.” Bold added. Gordon B. Hinckley in 2002; cited in Elaine Jarvik, “Beliefs on Darwin’s evolution vary from religion to religion,” Deseret Morning News (19 January 2006).
And the intellectuals do speculate and theorize as they think they are the smartest ones in the room. This is dangerous.
I believe the Book of Mormon Events began in North America as many prophets and leaders have taught. There are Lamanites in North, South, and Central America through migration, intermarriage and other circumstances. However, through much study and prayer it makes most sense to me that Lehi landed in Florida and Nephi leaving his brethren, ended up in northern Georgia and Tennessee. Mosiah left and went to Iowa and Illinois to join the Mulekites who were already in those areas. Knowing this is important to me as Moroni has said “ye may know the truth of all things.” I have received many personal answers to questions of secondary importance to my spiritual confirmation that the Book of Mormon is true and Joseph translated it using the Interpreters as he said in JSH 1:35, and not by using a silly, in my opinion, stone in a hat. I agree with Joseph Fielding Smith’s wonderful information below. I caution the reader when Elder Smith says, some may be “greatly disturbed in their faith”, quoted below.
Today I discuss more information about location of artifacts that show earlier civilizations here in North America. I love the New York area and today I speak about Lamoka Lake in Tyrone, NY. It is fascinating. I call the New York tribes, “Joseph Smith’s Lamanites” as he lived near them and was taught by many of them in his city and county.
Joseph Fielding Smith” said,
“LOCALE OF CUMORAH, RAMAH, AND RIPLIANCUM. This modernistic theory of necessity, in order to be consistent, must place the waters of Ripliancum and the Hill Cumorah some place within the restricted territory of Central America, notwithstanding the teachings of the Church to the contrary for upwards of 100 years. Because of this theory some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon. It is for this reason that evidence is here presented to show that it is not only possible that these places could be located as the Church has held during the past century, but that in very deed such is the case.
It is known that the Hill Cumorah where the Nephites were destroyed is the hill where the Jaredites were also destroyed. This hill was known to the Jaredites as Ramah. It was approximately near to the waters of Ripliancum, which the Book of Ether says, “by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all.”233. 18 Mormon adds: “And it came to pass that we did march forth to the land of Cumorah, and we did pitch our tents round about the hill Cumorah; and it was in a land of many waters, rivers, and fountains; and here we had hope to gain advantage over the Lamanites.” 233. 19…
“In the Book of Mormon story the Lamanites were constantly crowding the Nephites back towards the north and east. If the battles in which Zelph took part were fought in the country traversed by the Zion’s Camp, then we have every reason to believe from what is written in the Book of Mormon, that the Nephites were forced farther and farther to the north and east until they found themselves in the land of Ripliancum, which both Ether and Mormon declare to us was the land of Ramah or Cumorah, a land of “many waters,” which “by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all. ” 240. 32…
Mesoamerican Quote
Considering the quote above by Elder Smith, the following quote seems very out of place to me. “There remain Latter-day Saints who insist that the final destruction of the Nephites took place in New York, but any such idea is manifestly absurd. Hundreds of thousands of Nephites traipsing across the Mississippi Valley to New York, pursued (why?) by hundreds of thousands of Lamanites, is a scenario worthy only of a witless sci-fi movie, not of history.” John L. Sorenson, Mormon’s Codex (Deseret Book, 2013), p. 688.
I am one of those “Latter-day Saints who insist that the final destruction of the Nephites took place in New York“, as brother Sorensen says. We are all free to chose our own position as our Church has no doctrine on the subject, but I just believe the Heartland setting makes most sense to me.
Waters of Ripliancum, which, by Interpretation, is Large, or to Exceed All;
“RIPLIANCUM. Supposed by some to be lake Ontario, but evidently one of that great chain of lakes. Its meaning is said to be, “large, or to exceed all,” (Ether, 15:8.) Near its waters the opposing Jaredite armies, commanded by Coriantumr and Shiz, camped, and afterwards fought an exceedingly sore battle, in which the latter was defeated and driven southward towards the hill Ramah, or Cumorah.” Dictionary of the Book of Mormon
I would not say as above, “supposed by some“, but that I feel strongly Ripliancum is Lake Ontario. We also know this Hill Ramah for the Jaredites is the exact same hill for the Nephites who called it Hill Cumorah and in Ether 15:11, it says, “the hill Ramah; and it was that same hill where my father Mormon did hide up the records unto the Lord, which were sacred.”
More Joseph Fielding Smith
Joseph Fielding Smith Continues, “This being true, what would be more natural then that Moroni, like his father Mormon, would deposit the plates in the land where the battles came to an end and the Nephites were destroyed? This Moroni says he did, and from all the evidence in the Book of Mormon, augmented by the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, these final battles took place in the territory known as the United States and in the neighborhood of the GreatLakes and hills of Western New York. And here Moroni found the resting place for the sacred instruments which had been committed to his care. 241. 33″ Joseph Fielding Smith Doctrines of SalvationVolume 3 Chapter 12 A VOICE FROM CUMORAH Page 589-599 Compiled by Bruce R. McConkie 1954-56
What are the Finger Lakes?
The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven lakes in upstate New York, United States, named for their long, narrow shape. They consist of Otisco Lake, Skaneateles Lake, Owasco Lake, Cayuga Lake, Seneca Lake, Keuka Lake, Canandaigua Lake, Honeoye Lake, Canadice Lake, Hemlock Lake, and Conesus Lake. https://www.worldatlas.com/lakes/what-are-the-finger-lakes.html
Artifacts at the Finger Lakes
A Facebook friend named Richard Hardesty sent me this article. It is fantastic information all about the range of time of the Native Americans during the Jaredite period of 3500 BC to Fort Stanwix or Historical Natives in the 1600 AD time, in the area of the Finger Lakes of New York. I love this “North Country” as Moroni called it [Ether 1:1] and as Mormon said, “And it came to pass that we did march forth to the land of Cumorah, and we did pitch our tents around about the hill Cumorah; and it was in a land of many waters, rivers, and fountains; as the Book of Mormon describes.” Mormon 6:4
This language of Prophets describes the Great Lakes and Finger Lakes area precisely, especially with Mormon also calling it the Land of Cumorah. I love New York area as I also call it the area of “Joseph Smith’s Lamanites.” [Blog Here]
Carrying Place of the Haudenosaunee or Iroquois
A Carrying Place is an ancient native land pass between the heads of two or more rivers, usually divided by a continental divide or other geological feature. It is a critical strategic area during war and peace to carry and transport goods. It is also a way to get from one large sea to another one. For example at the Oneida Carrying Place at Rome, NY the Natives could navigate after crossing the carrying place towards the St Lawrence Seaway or to the Atlantic Ocean.The Carrying Place near 3 cities of Brookland PA, Ulysses, PA and Raymond, PA is called a “Triple Gap.” (See picture below Sometimes the Triple divide is said to be located in Gold, PA). This is where the head of three rivers can take you to far away destinations by sea. At the Triple gap is the intersection of the St Lawrence Continental Divide and the Eastern Continental Divide, (purple dotted line on map above) a very rare place on earth. At this critical point of the two divides, the Genesee river flows north to Lake Ontario and on to the Gulf of St Lawrence. The Susquehanna River flows from the triple gap to the Atlantic Ocean, and the Allegheny River flows from the triple gap all the way to the gulf of Mexico, with no impediment. (Allegheny River to the Ohio river, to the Mississippi River, to the Gulf). This Triple Gap and the Oneida Carrying Place were significant portals to travel the Land of Promise. (The Oneida Carrying Place crossing by land, would allow travel to the Gulf of St Lawrence all the way to the Atlantic Ocean by continuous river travel). I believe the rivers are the highways of the Iroquois, the Mississippian’s, the Hopewell and of course the Nephites and Jaredites.
In History it is called a Triple Divide. In the Book of Mormon it is called the “Small Neck of Land.” (See pink circle in map above)
The Erie Canal in light green which the Smith Family helped to build
The Oneida Indian Nation, together with officials from Oneida County and the City of Rome, recently unveiled a new bronze sculpture and public artwork that commemorates the historic Oneida Carrying Place, a vital mode of transportation, trade and commerce before and during the Revolutionary War.
The Oneida Carrying Place played an integral role in the success of the Americans in the Revolutionary War. While it was used by the Haudenosaunee well before European settlers arrived, the path became a critical strategic area during the American Revolution when the Oneidas helped the American colonists defend nearby Fort Stanwix from a British siege. The attempted siege failed and the Americans, with their Oneida allies, helped change the momentum of the war.
Ancient Site In New York That Still Baffles Archaeologists To This Day
“There’s a small, crescent-shaped lake in central New York in the Finger Lakes Region called Lamoka Lake. It’s located between Seneca and Keuka Lake actually, but it’s not big enough to qualify as one of the Finger Lakes itself. It’s next to the small town of Tyrone – a town with a population of around 1,600 people – and the lake itself covers just 1.2 square miles.
However, despite its small size, this lake is notable for historical reasons. Archeological excavations in and around this lake found evidence of human habitation going back as far as 3500 BC. This is important in American and world history because the discoveries at this lake were the very first clear evidence of an Archaic hunting and gathering culture living in this part of the United States.
Lamoka Lake is a great place to spend an afternoon. It’s a small lake that is often overlooked due to its proximity to the larger and more popular lakes nearby. That fact makes this lake quiet and serene, and the perfect place for boating, fishing, and relaxing.
The first excavations at this site were conducted between 1925 and 1928. Between 1958 and 1962, scientists from the New York State Museum continued to excavate and research the area. Other groups have continued to dig here since then and all groups have found many interesting things.
These scientists believe that the people that left these things behind likely hunted with spears. They used spear-launchers, or atlatls, like this one pictured, to throw their spears farther, harder, and with better accuracy.
Researchers also found a variety of other tools, including polished stone tools and tools made out of animal bones. They also found evidence of fire pits, possible floors of homes, and burial sites.
Although these researchers have learned a lot about the people who lived in this area long ago through their excavations, many questions remain. It’s likely that we will never know the answers to some of them.
For example, how did the native people of this area get their hands on the ocean seashell beads they used in jewelry, since they lived far from the ocean? Did people live here continuously from the Archaic period onward? If not, why not? Why has so little pottery been found here?
What were the homes of these people like? How was their culture similar and different to others during this period, before this period, and after this period–and to cultures in various places around the world?
These are great questions to contemplate while you relax near Lamoka Lake. This lake is lovely; it’s no wonder so many people have relaxed on its shores for thousands of years.
If you’re interested in the ancient history of New York, Lamoka Lake is as old as human history gets in the Empire State. Although there’s no historic site to actually visit here, just knowing that you are in the same place that history happened is a really special feeling. You can learn a bit more about the lives and culture of the Lamoka people on the Fort Stanwix National Monument website.
Address: Lamoka Lake, Tyrone, NY 14815, USA” Source
Six Miles Shared by Many Nations
For centuries, the Oneida Carrying Place, a six mile portage connecting the Mohawk River and Wood Creek, served as a vital link for those traveling by water from the ocean to the Great Lakes. When Europeans arrived, nations fought for control of the carry, the homelands of the Six Nations Confederacy, and the rich resources of North America. In this struggle, Fort Stanwix would play a vital role. https://www.nps.gov/fost/index.htm
The history of Fort Stanwix is often thought to have begun in the 18th century. In reality, the area has been a special place to many different people over thousands of years. Like many other places around the world, Fort Stanwix has a long, rich period of history with no written record. Artifacts are often the only surviving evidence for these extensive, mysterious lengths of time. Discovered by archeologists after 4,500 years beneath the ground, this projectile point provides but one piece of the puzzle in learning about the many people who predated Europeans at the Oneida Carry.
More on the Oneida Carrying Place
One panel represents the Clans of the Oneida People – Turtle, Wolf and Bear. Another depicts Oneida men physically carrying a boat to shore. The Oneida Carrying Place served as a land bridge between the Mohawk River to the east, and Wood Creek to the west.
The center panel includes depictions of Oneida warriors and of an Oneida leader. The Oneida leader standing in front of the panel, on the stone, is holding a two-row wampum. This belt symbolizes the agreement and conditions under which the Haudenosaunee welcomed the newcomers to this land.
The language on the plaque at the monument reads as follows:
“The Oneida Carrying Place, known to the Oneida people as Deyowainsta (De-o-wain’-sta) or “one picks the boat up,” connected the navigable waters of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers with Wood Creek, and hence to Lake Oneida, the Great Lakes, and the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. This short overland portage opened up trade from the Atlantic Coast all the way to the Rocky Mountains in the west, Canada to the north, and the Gulf Coast to the south.
Long before Europeans arrived, the Six Nations had established trade routes that carried raw copper from around Lake Superior, pipestone from what would become Minnesota, obsidian from Wyoming and Colorado, manufactured goods such as fine hunting bows from the Ohio Valley, and shells and wampum beads from the East Coast. Later, European metal pots, utensils, weapons, and furs were added to the cargo carried on the trader’s large, flat-bottomed boats.
The commerce enabled by the Oneida Carrying Place also encouraged the free exchange of ideas and culture from the Atlantic Coast deep into the interior of the continent, a line of communication that established valuable ties with other Native American people and strengthened the Iroquois Confederacy. So strong were the bonds between the Iroquois nations that Benjamin Franklin and others among the new Americans were inspired by the confederacy when planning for their own union of united, yet free and independent states.”
The new bronze sculpture is located at 301 W. Dominick Street in the City of Rome, on a section of the Oneida Carrying Place which leads to Fort Stanwix. This location is to honor the Oneida people for their sacrifices that helped define the history of the United States.https://www.oneidaindiannation.com/oneida-carrying-place-sculpture-dedication-may-25-2021/
Location Matters, but its not Worth Fighting About
Prophets, Apostles and Leaders speak of “One Hill Cumorah” in many of the quotes below. Are you with the Prophets or Scholars, or can’t make up your mind? To me personally it is exciting to study the secondary evidences of the Book of Mormon and the Heartland just makes sense to me.
I would love a friendly and productive debate with those who believe in Mesoamerica, but they don’t like debating, ignore us, and won’t allow any of our research on their websites, such as Book of Mormon Central, FairLDS or the Interpreter. That’s sad as we all love the Book of Mormon and want to find anything about it that is true or makes sense don’t we?
Many of you reading this blog would probably find it hard to believe that many scholars, seminary and institute teachers, and church employees believe there are two Hill Cumorah’s, one in upstate New York where Joseph found the plates, but it wasn’t necessarily called Cumorah, and one hill in Mesoamerica somewhere where the final battles took place. They believe the hill in Cumorah was too small to have such a great battle and they say the hill doesn’t show any signs of battle artifacts left over. I have several blogs that share with you the many artifacts found and other questions and detailed information about only one Cumorah, here and here and here!
I used to think there were two Cumorah’s 10 years ago, because all of the historians said so. I have really studied however and sincerely feel there is only one Cumorah in upstate NY. There are so many leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that say the Hill in New York is the place that Joseph Smith received the plates and it is also the same hill in New York where the final battles of the Nephites vs Lamanites, and the final battle of the Jaredites (Hill Ramah) occurred. (Ether 15:11 “And it came to pass that the army of Coriantumr did pitch their tents by the hill Ramah; and it was that same hill where my father Mormon did hide up the records unto the Lord, which were sacred.”) I believe the Hill Cumorah and the Hill Ramah are the very same hill in upstate New York, and there is not a second hill in Mesoamerica.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today are “neutral” in where the Book of Mormon events happened and that is fine for me as I follow the Prophet Russell M Nelson and the Twelve in all Church Doctrine. For you and I to take a neutral stand on individual questions is not required. The Lord told us to read and study, and in the promise to Moroni, He said we may know the truth of ALL things, and that would include knowing the location of the Book of Mormon events, especially if I ask in faith. I feel that the location of the many Book of Mormon events happened in the United States of America. I will support and follow the Brethren where ever they say it is located, but what if they never tell us and we find out it was our duty as Latter-day Saints to find this out on our own? What do you think?
Quotes from Prophets, Apostles, and Leaders
Art by Ken Corbett
There Indeed by Clark Kelley Price
1. “If you live into the next century you will see evidence for the Book of Mormon come forth in droves.” Truman G. Madsen, speaking of what the Prophet Joseph Smith said to a colleague, in the opening statement of the 2005 video, “Journey of Faith.” 2. “…When…first commanded to testify of these things they [The Three Witness] demurred and told the Lord the people would not believe them for the book concerning which they were to bear record told of a people who were educated and refined, dwelling in large cities; whereas all that was then known of the early inhabitants of this country was the filthy, lazy, degraded and ignorant savages that were roaming over the land. The Lord told us, in reply that he would make it known to the people that the early inhabitants of this land had been just such a people as they were described in the book, and he would lead them to discover the ruins of great cities, and they should have abundant evidence of the truth of that which is written in the book…” – David Whitmer, Interview with James H. Hart (Richmond, Mo., 21 August 1883), as printed in Deseret Evening News, Salt Lake City, Utah 3. “The Hill Cumorah is situated in western New York. . . . It is distinguished as the great battlefield on which, and near which, two powerful nations were concentrated with all their forces, men, women and children, and fought till hundreds of thousands on both sides were hewn down, and left to molder upon the ground. . . . The Hill Cumorah is remarkable also as being the hill on which and around which, a still more ancient nation perished, called Jaredites. . . . Millions fought millions, until the Hill Ramah, and the land round about, was soaked with blood.” Orson Pratt Millennial Star 28 (16 June 1866) 4. “The Church has long maintained, as attested to by references in the writings of General Authorities, that the Hill Cumorah in western New York state is the same as referenced in the Book of Mormon.” F. Michael Watson, Secretary to the First Presidency, in a letter dated October 16, 1990 5. “The final struggles between Nephites and Lamanites were waged in the vicinity of the Hill Cumorah, in what is now the State of New York, resulting in the destruction of the Nephites as a nation, about 400 A.D. The last Nephite representative was Moroni, who, wandering for safety from place to place, daily expecting death from the victorious Lamanites, wrote the concluding parts of the Book of Mormon, and hid the record in Cumorah. It was this same Moroni who, as a resurrected being, gave the records into the hands of Joseph Smith in the present dispensation.” James Talmage Articles of Faith 6. “For many decades the Nephites retreated before their aggressive foes, making their way north-eastward through what is now the United States. About 400 A.D. the last great battle was fought near the hill Cumorah; and the Nephite nation became extinct. The degenerate remnant of Lehi’s posterity, the Lamanites or American Indians, have continued until this day. Moroni, the last of the Nephite prophets, hid away the record of his people in the hill Cumorah, whence it has been brought forth by divine direction in the current dispensation. That record is now before the world translated through the gift and power of God, and published to the edification of all nations, as the BOOK OF MORMON.” Jesus the Christ, p. 743
7. “Joseph then went to the locality specified by the angel, on the side of a hill called in the record Cumorah, and immediately identified the spot that had been shown him in vision. By the aid of a lever he removed a large stone, which proved to be the cover of a stone box wherein lay the plates and other articles described by Moroni. The angel appeared at the place, and forbade Joseph to remove the contents of the box at that time. The young man replaced the massive stone lid and left the spot. Four years later, the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate were delivered into Joseph’s keeping by the angel Moroni. This Moroni, who now came as a resurrected being, was the last survivor of the Nephite nation; he had completed the record, and then shortly before his death had hidden away the same in the hill Cumorah, whence it was brought forth through his instrumentality and delivered to the modern prophet and seer, Joseph Smith, September 22, 1827. That record, or, strictly speaking a part thereof, is now accessible to all; it has been translated through divine instrumentality and is now published in many languages as the Book of Mormon.” Jesus the Christ, p. 767 8. “I marvel at the miracle of America, the land which the God of Heaven long ago declared to be a land choice above all other lands and concerning which He has made a promise and given a warning in these remarkable words: ‘Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ’(Ether 2:12.) “God bless America, for she is His creation.”Hinckley, Gordon B., National Advisory Council of BYU College of Business November 2, 1973. 9. Certain lands were given to Israel for an inheritance in time and in eternity. America is the land of Joseph; it was the home of Nephite Israel, who were of Joseph, for a thousand years, and it is the headquarters of the Church in this final dispensation in which the church and kingdom of God are in the lands of Ephraim.” McConkie, Bruce R., A New Witness for the Articles of Faith [1985], 511. 10. “The Lord gave a divine promise to the ancient inhabitants of this favored country (the United States): ‘Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ (Ether 2:12).” Monson, Thomas S., Teachings of Thomas S. Monson [2011], 14-15. 11. “In the face of this evidence coming from the Prophet Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer, we cannot say that the Nephites and Lamanites did not possess the territory of the United States and that the Hill Cumorah is in Central America. Neither can we say that the great struggle which resulted in the destruction of the Nephites took place in Central America. If Zelph, a righteous man, was fighting under a great prophet-general in the last battles between the Nephites and Lamanites; if that great prophet-general was known from the Rocky Mountains to “the Hill Cumorah or eastern sea,” then some of those battles, and evidently the final battles did take place within the borders of what is now the United States. There were no righteous prophets, save the Three Nephites, after the death of Moroni, and we learn that Zelph was slain during one of these battles during the great last struggle between the Nephites and Lamanites and was buried near the Illinois River. In the Book of Mormon story the Lamanites were constantly crowding the Nephites back towards the north and east. If the battles in which Zelph took part were fought in the country traversed by the Zion’s Camp, then we have every reason to believe from what is written in the Book of Mormon, that the Nephites were forced farther and farther to the north and east until they found themselves in the land of Ripliancum, which both Ether and Mormon declare to us was the land of Ramah or Cumorah, a land of “many waters,” which “by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all.” This being true, what would be more natural then that Moroni, like his father Mormon, would deposit the plates in the land where the battles came to an end and the Nephites were destroyed? This Moroni says he did, and from all the evidence in the Book of Mormon, augmented by the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, these final battles took place in the territory known as the United States and in the neighborhood of the Great Lakes and hills of Western New York. And here Moroni found the resting place for the sacred instruments which had been committed to his care.” Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation Vol. 3 Ch. 12 12. “At one time a fierce battle was fought near where Buffalo, N.Y., now stands, wherein two million were lying strewn upon the earth, slain in battle and no one to bury them, till the stench drove them southward to the Hill Ramah, which was called Cumorah by the Nephite race.” Reminiscences of Joseph the Prophet, by Edward Stevenson 1893 13. “It was at this time that Mormon deposited in the Hill Cumorah all the records that had been entrusted to him except a few plates that he gave to his son Moroni. (See Mormon 6.) About A.D. 420, Moroni placed these plates with those his father, Mormon, had already deposited in the hill. (See Moroni 10:1-2.)” A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, p. 73. By LeGrand Richards 14. “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, p. 43. 15. “[Joseph] went [into] a Cave in the Hill Comoro with Oliver Cowdry & deposited those plates upon a table or shelf. In that room were deposited a large amount of gold plates containing sacred records… Joseph Smith said that cave contained tons of choice treasures & records.” Wilford Woodruff Journal, 11 December 1869 16. “Joseph and others… went into a cave in the hill Cumorah, and saw more records than ten men could carry… There were books piled up on tables, book upon book. Those records this people will yet have, if they accept of the Book of Mormon and observe its precepts, and keep the commandments.” Heber C. Kimball 17. “Most of the grounds mentioned had undoubtedly been scenes of hard-fought battles, of which the [Iroquois] Indians had preserved unpleasant traditions, for such was their abhorrence of scenes enacted here that never, except in a few rare instances, could they be induced to visit the spot near the old fort and burying ground. They turned from it with a sort of shudder, exclaiming, “Oie-qneh sa-he-eh! — ‘Tis the field of blood!’” – W.W. Clayton, History of Onondaga County, New York, D. Mason & Co., Syracuse, NY, 1878, p. 33. (Pictured is Gadji-Nonda-He (aka Robert David) – Iroquois (Cayuga),1901.) 18. “Just before the Camp passed from Illinois across the Mississippi river into Missouri, Joseph with Brigham Young and others went up on one of the mounds in the neighborhood to obtain a view of the great river, called the Father of Waters. Here they found an altar built according to the ancient style, and from its foot they dug up the skeleton of a man. They were surprised to find an arrow-head between the ribs. It was revealed to the Prophet that this was the remains of Zelph, a white Lamanite and a mighty man of God, who had fought as a chieftain under the Prophet Omandagus [sp]. He was killed in battle during the last great struggle of the Lamanites and Nephites. Of course, we know it was not in the last battle of the struggle because that was fought around the hill Cumorah. What a glorious gift is the inspiration of God!” The Latter-day Prophet, History of Joseph Smith, Written for Young People page 100-101 by George Q. Cannon Illustrated and Published at Juvenile Instructor Office Salt Lake City, Utah 1900 19. “President [Heber C.] Kimball talked familiarly to the brethren about Father Smith, [Oliver] Cowdery, and others walking into the hill Cumorah and seeing records upon records piled upon table[s,] they walked from cell to cell and saw the records that were piled up. . . .” Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 5 May 1867 20. “The passages which I have quoted from the Book of Mormon… definitely establish the following facts: That the Hill Cumorah, and the Hill Ramah are identical; that it was around this hill that the armies of both the Jaredites and Nephites, fought their great last battles; that it was in this hill that Mormon deposited all of the sacred records which had been entrusted to his care by Ammaron, except the abridgment which he had made from the plates of Nephi, which were delivered into the hands of his son, Moroni. We know positively that it was in this hill that Moroni deposited the abridgment made by his father, and his own abridgment of the record of the Jaredites, and that it was from this hill that Joseph Smith obtained possession of them.” President Anthony W. Ivins of the First Presidency, April 1929 General Conference: 21. “Another remark, I would esteem it one of the greatest blessings, if I am to be afflicted in this world, to have my lot cast where I can find brethren & friends all around me, but this is not. thing. I referred to it is to have the privledge of having our dead buried on the land where god has appointed to gather his saints together,— & where there will be nothing but saints, where they may have the privledge of laying their bodies where the Son will make his appearance. & where they may hear the. sound of the trump that shall call them forth, to behold him, that in the morn of the resurrection, they may come forth in a body. & come right up out of their graves. & strike hands immediately in eternal glory. & felicity rather than to be scattered thousands of miles apart. There is something good. & sacred to me— in this thing. the place where a man is buried has been sacred to me.— this subject is made mention of— In Book of Mormon & Scriptures. to the aborigines the burying places of their fathers is more sacred than any thing else.” Journal, December 1842–June 1844; Book 2, 10 March 1843–14 July 1843,” p. [141], The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed November 19, 2017, http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/journal-december-1842-june-1844-book-2-10-march-1843-14-july-1843/149 22.“The Book of Mormon tells us that America is a land of promise, a land choice above all other lands. Nephi said that whosoever should possess it must serve the God of the land or they would be swept off. And we have read in the Book of Mormon of the nations that have been swept off because they ceased to worship the God who had led them and their forefathers here to this land. We have a great responsibility as citizens in this land, for the Lord said that he would fight its battles and be its king, if we will just serve him. So it’s appropriate at this time that we express our appreciation for this great land. I like the words Moses used when he gave a blessing to the twelve tribes of Israel. When he blessed Joseph he promised him a new land in the utmost bowels of the everlasting hills (see Deut. 33:15). Now that isn’t in Jerusalem because they don’t have everlasting hills over there, and the prophets have never predicted a regathering of all nations to the land of Israel. But they have predicted the gathering of Israel to this land of America, which is the land of Joseph. And we are the only people in the world who know what that land is that Moses promised to Joseph. It was so great in his eyes as he received the revelations of the Holy Spirit that in describing the land he used the word “precious” five times in just four verses…We have so much to be grateful for. We are not here by chance. We are here because of the sacrifices of our pioneer fathers who came to this choice land that the Lord, according to the Book of Mormon, had hidden away from the eyes of the world that it should not be overrun. He preserved it for us, for the day and time in which we now live here in these valleys of the mountains.” LEGRAND RICHARDS of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Nov. 18, 1980 • Devotional 23. “Oliver Cowdery, even in that early day, had found the Navajos in the far Southwest, and he reported it to the brethren, feeling that it was a very important thing. Then Wilford Woodruff said this further, as he went down into the southwest, in New Mexico, and visited among the Indians there. He said: “In my short communication of the second inst., I promised to give a fuller account of my visit to the Isletas which I will now endeavor to do. The Isletas are one of the Pueblo groups down in New Mexico. I view my visit among the Nephites one of the most interesting missions of my life, although short. I say Nephites, because if there are any Nephites on this continent, we have found them among the Zunis, the Lagunas, and the Isletas, for they are a different race of people, altogether, from the Lamanites. I class the Navajo, Moquis (Hopis) and Apaches with the Lamanites, although they are in advance of many Indian tribes of America. I class the Zunis, Lagunas, and Isletas among the Nephites. And then he goes on to say, that as soon as they dismissed this particular meeting among the Isletas, and were going to leave, one of the Nephites arose. . . full of the spirit of the Lord and said, “Friends, why do you dismiss us and leave us this way? This is the first time we have heard of our forefathers and the gospel and the things we have looked for from the traditions of our fathers. If our wives and children are weary, let them go home. We want to hear more. We want you to talk all night. Do not leave us so.” The Work Among the Lamanites Elder Spencer W. Kimballl, Conference Report, October 1950, pp. 63-69 24. “And again, I command thee that thou shalt not covet thine own property, but impart it freely to the printing of the Book of Mormon, which contains the truth and the word of God—Which is my word to the Gentile, that soon it may go to the Jew, of whom the Lamanites are a remnant, that they may believe the gospel, and look not for a Messiah to come who has already come.” D&C 29:26-27 25.“It was at this time that Mormon deposited in the Hill Cumorah all the records that had been entrusted to him except a few plates that he gave to his son Moroni. (See Mormon 6.) About A.D. 420, Moroni placed these plates with those his father, Mormon, had already deposited in the hill. (See Moroni 10:1-2.)” A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, p. 73. 26. “As the fighting neared its end, Mormon gathered the remnant of his forces about a hill which they called Cumorah, located in what is now the western part of the state of New York…. When finished with the record, Moroni was to hide it up in that same Hill Cumorah which was their battlefield. It would come forth in modern times as the Book of Mormon, named after Moroni’s father, the historian who compiled it… His people were Americans, too. His words constituted a people-to-people message, ancient Americans speaking to modern Americans.” Mark E. Petersen Oct 1978 27. “The Book of Mormon reveals that Joseph, the son of Jacob who was once sold into Egypt, foresaw the Prophet Joseph Smith and his day (see 2 Ne. 3:6–21) and noted that there would be many similarities in their lives. Centuries later, the Prophet Joseph stated, “I feel like Joseph in Egypt.” (The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, ed. Dean C. Jessee, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1984, p. 409; spelling modernized.) The Book of Mormon reveals that the inheritance of Joseph, son of Israel, was not forgotten when, as promised in the Abrahamic covenant, land was distributed to the tribes of Israel. Joseph’s inheritance was to be a land choice above all others. (See Ether 13:2, 8.) It was choice not because of beauty or wealth of natural resources, but choice because it was chosen. It was to be the repository of sacred writing on plates of gold from which the Book of Mormon would one day come, choice because it would eventually host world headquarters of the restored church of Jesus Christ in the latter days.” A Treasured Testament By Elder Russell M. Nelson Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles JULY 1993 Adapted from an address given 25 June 1992 at a seminar for new mission presidents, Missionary Training Center, Provo, Utah. 28. “I should like to say a few words about America…No land is without its beauty, no people without their virtues, and I hope that you who come from elsewhere will pardon my saying a few words concerning my own native land, America…surely this is a good land, a choice land, a chosen land. To me it is a miracle, a creation of the Almighty.” Elder Gordon B. Hinckley. Oct. 29, 1974 Devotional 29. “Certain lands were given to Israel for an inheritance in time and in eternity. America is the land of Joseph; it was the home of Nephite Israel, who were of Joseph, for a thousand years, and it is the headquarters of the Church in this final dispensation in which the church and kingdom of God are in the lands of Ephraim.” 1985 – Elder Bruce R. McConkie 30. “The Lord gave a divine promise to the ancient inhabitants of this favored country (the United States): ‘Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ” (Ether 2:12). “Our Heavenly Father inspired the leaders of…the United States of America, that they might together, under His direction, having been raised up by God for the purpose, establish the Constitution of this country and…Bill of Rights, that by the year of our Lord 1805 [there would be] a climate where our Heavenly Father could send into this period of mortality a choice spirit who would be known as Joseph Smith, Jr.” 2011 President Thomas S. Monson 31. “I would that all men could believe in the destiny of America as did the early pioneers: that it is the land of Zion; that the founders of this nation were men of inspired vision; that the Constitution as written by the inspiration of heaven must be preserved at all costs. “I make a further plea that the citizens of this favored land live righteously that they might enjoy the fruits of their righteousness in this land of promise.” 1941 Harold B. Lee:
“Most members of the Church believe the Hill Cumorah is in New York. Church leaders have consistently taught this for over 150 years.
However, some intellectuals in the Church—including some faculty at BYU and some at CES—claim there are “two Cumorah’s.” They rationalize that New York is too far from Central America (Mesoamerica) for the hill in New York to be the scene of the final battles of the Jaredites and the Nephites.
Because these intellectuals have trained thousands of LDS students for decades, their ideas have permeated the Church. The “two-Cumorah’s” theory is being taught in some Church media and at Church visitors centers, but it has never been taught by a single member of the First Presidency or Quorum of the Twelve.
The efforts of the intellectuals have caused confusion among members and investigators. Recent discoveries in Church history reaffirm the original teaching that there is one Cumorah and it is in New York. For example, there is a lot of information in the book titled “Letter VII: Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery Explain the Hill Cumorah.” In response, many intellectuals are teaching their students that the prophets and apostles are wrong.
This summary of Church history will help members understand the issue, so they can support the Brethren when confronted with arguments against the New York Cumorah.
In 1834, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery decided to publish a series of letters about Church history in the Church newspaper titled The Messenger and Advocate. This was in response to anti-Mormon publications that were disrupting the missionary effort.
Oliver wrote the letters with Joseph’s assistance. They published eight letters between October 1834 and October 1835.
A section of Letter I is included as a footnote in the Pearl of Great Price at the end of Joseph Smith—History.
In December 1834, Joseph ordained Oliver Cowdery as Assistant President of the Church, explaining that this made him the spokesman. Joseph later referred to these letters as “President Cowdery’s letters.”
In Letter VII, published in July 1835, President Cowdery described the Hill Cumorah in New York. He explained that “at about one mile west rises another ridge of less height, running parallel with the former” and declares it was a “fact that here, between these hills, the entire power and national strength of both the Jaredites and Nephites were destroyed.” He emphasized that “in this valley fell the remaining strength and price of a once powerful people, the Nephites.” “This hill, by the Jaredites, was called Ramah; by it, or around it, pitched the famous army of Coriantumr their tent… The opposing army were to the west, and in this same valley, and near by.” He also explained that Mormon’s depository of Nephite records (Mormon 6:6) was in the same hill.
The entire First Presidency at the time endorsed these letters. Joseph Smith had President Frederick G. Williams begin the process of copying all eight letters into his history, which you can read in the Joseph Smith Papers in History, 1834-1836. (go to www.josephsmithpapers.organd search for “Letter VII.”) President Sidney Rigdon separately approved of them.
All members of the original Quorum of the Twelve (they were called and ordained by President Cowdery and others in February 1835) who ever mentioned Cumorah affirmed what Letter VII teaches, including Parley and Orson Pratt, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and William Smith.
Letter VII was originally published in the Messenger and Advocate(1835) and copied into Joseph Smith, History, 1834-1835, shortly thereafter. It was republished in the Millennial Star(1840), the Times and Seasons (1841), the Gospel Reflector (1841), a special pamphlet in England (1844), The Prophet (1844), and The Improvement Era. Joseph referred to it in D&C 128:20, which was originally a letter published in the Times and Seasons a year after Letter VII was published in the same newspaper.
Over the years, multiple members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve, speaking in General Conference, have affirmed the New York Cumorah. Elder James E. Talmage in Articles of Faith affirmed it, as have other apostles, including LeGrand Richards in A Marvelous Work and a Wonder.
No member of the Twelve or First Presidency has ever said the Hill Cumorah was anywhere else.
Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Wilford Woodruff and others explained that on multiple occasions, Oliver and Joseph had actually visited Mormon’s depository of records in the Hill Cumorah, which explains why President Cowdery wrote that it was a fact that Cumorah was in New York.
The intellectuals nevertheless have framed Letter VII as “Oliver Cowdery’s opinion,” characterizing it as a false tradition that Joseph Smith passively accepted. They claim that all the other prophets and apostles who have affirmed the New York Cumorah were perpetuating this false tradition. They claim that Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Wilford Woodruff and others were mistaken because Oliver had merely told them about a vision of a hill in Mexico.
The intellectuals have rejected the New York Cumorah because they think it contradicts their preferred theory that the Book of Mormon took place in Mesoamerica. To persuade their students to agree with them, they have made a series of claims about archaeology, anthropology, geology, and geography, and they have insisted on an interpretation of the text that, they claim, makes the New York setting impossible. Lately, BYU and CES have been teaching students about the Book of Mormon by using a video-game-like fantasy map (see right) that depicts Cumorah in a mythical setting.
Although the consistent, repeated teachings of the prophets and apostles should be enough to settle this matter, there is evidence from archaeology, anthropology, geology, and geography that supports the New York Cumorah as the scene of the final battles of the Jaredites and the Nephites. There are dozens of archaeological sites in western New York, dating to Book of Mormon times, that contain artifacts from the Ohio Hopewell civilization (the archaeological and anthropological term for the people who correspond to the Nephites). Bushels of stone weapons have been recovered from the vicinity of Cumorah. Research in the area is ongoing.
When the Mesoamerica/two-Cumorah’s theory began to be accepted by LDS intellectuals, Joseph Fielding Smith, then Church Historian and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, released a statement that he later reiterated after he became President of the Quorum of the Twelve. He wrote, “Because of this theory some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon.” His prophetic warning against the efforts of the intellectuals remains as valid today as it was when he originally published it.”
Remember to order our Annotated Book of Mormon. This is the first version of the Book of Mormon that shares with you the many reasons why we feel the Book of Mormon is speaking about North America. Of course we have not changed the text of the BofM but we share with you pictures of head plates, breastplates, swords, and other metal objects that are in museums all over the Heartland, that match the timeline of the Nephites and Jaredites. Read and judge for yourself. You will be amazed.
I love and believe Joseph Smith’s quotes. Joseph knew all about the land of the Nephites. Do you realize Moroni visited Joseph over 20 times?
See aa amazing list of visits and historical references and many other details at my blog called “Moroni, Tutor of Joseph Smith”
“It is impossible to determine the number of “interviews” Joseph had with Moroni, but twenty-two visits are often identified.” “Moroni—Joseph Smith’s Tutor” By H. Donl Peterson
It is not unrealistic to believe that Joseph Smith was visited over 50, maybe 75 times by special witnesses from God. The list at the link above shows over 35 different visits. I am confident that Joseph had to be taught with Spiritual Eyes, and in an extraordinary way. I am confident that when Spirit teaches Spirit, it is far more effective than Spirit teaching flesh. Joseph had to be one of the most intelligent beings in the history of the World. He was literally taught by Gods and Angels.
Joseph Knew Nephite Geography
Historians [See quote by Matthew Roper below], who say that Joseph knew nothing about the Nephite geography or it is just his opinion and not revelation, concern me. If Joseph sent a letter to his wife and we have a copy of it, why do we care whether it is canonized revelation or not? Do we believe Joseph? Did he write said letter? Would he lie to his wife? Would Joseph tell his wife about speculation or truth? I believe Joseph, not historians.
“The preponderance of evidence does not support the claim that Joseph Smith’s revelations included details about Book of Mormon geography, but rather suggest that this, as with many other questions, was an issue in which Joseph Smith, as time allowed him to give it attention, followed the dictates of his own judgement and expressed his own opinion.” Matthew Roper, “Joseph Smith, Revelation, and Book of Mormon Geography,” 84
In Joseph Smith’s Own Words, “Proof of its Divine Authenticity” End of Story. North America is the land of the Book of Mormon.
See Joseph Smith Papers Here:
Wandering over the Plains of the Nephites by Ken Corbett
Joseph’s Letter to Emma
“On the banks of the Mississippi, June 4th. 1834. My Dear Companion, I now embrace a few moments to dictate a few words that you may know how it is with us up to this date. We arrived this morning on the banks of the Mississippi, and were detained from crossing the river, as there was no boat that we could cross in, but expect a new one to be put into the river this evening, so that we are in hopes, to be able to cross tomorrow, and proceed on our journey. A tolerable degree of union has prevailed among the brethren or camp up to the present moment, and we are all in better circumstances of health apparently than when we started from Kirtland… The whole of our journey, in the midst of so large a company of social honest men and sincere men, wandering over the plains of the Nephites, recounting occasionaly 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…” Signed, Joseph Smith Jr. Joseph to Emma, 6.4.1834. Retained copy in handwriting of James Mulholland, Joseph Smith Letterbook 2, pp. 56–58, LDS Church Archives
In this personal love letter to Emma, Joseph says Zion’s Camp traveled on the same plains as those Nephites of the Book of Mormon. Joseph also explains these “once beloved people of the Lord” built these mounds. These are the same lands as the Hopewell Mound Builder Civilization that thrived in the heartland of the United States from 200 BC to 500 AD according to archaeologists and scientists.
What better description from Joseph Smith than “the plains of the Nephites” when speaking about the heartland of North America. Imagine rolling hills, vast prairies, rivers, lakes, streams, majestic meadows, areas of wilderness, pastures, flatlands and timberland, just as spoken of in places of scripture. “…And it came to pass that when they had come to the city of Nephihah, they did pitch their tents in the plains of Nephihah, which is near the city of Nephihah.” Alma 62:18 (see D&C 117:8, Ether 14:15). It seems very unlikely that you could confuse these plains with the jungles of South and Central America.
I Believe Joseph Smith
“Do you who trust and believe Joseph Smith, believe his words when he said to Emma that he was “wandering over the Plains of the Nephites?” Do you trust the fact that Joseph was camped on the Mississippi River near a small landing near the town of Atlas, Illinois? Do you indeed believe Joseph wrote said letter of June 4, 1834 as shown in the Joseph Smith papers? Was Joseph telling Emma the truth? Did he have any reason to be making something up here? Do you really think that Joseph was traveling on the very plains that the Nephites had once walked on, some 2,000 years ago? If he wasn’t why would Joseph say he was walking on those very plains of the Nephites? Was he really roving over the Nephite mounds and was it indeed a proof of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon?
Mark Wright a Mesoamerican friend once wrote while trying to downplay Joseph’s letter, “in a letter to his wife Emma dated June 4, 1834, he gave a general account of what they encountered on their excursion:” Does Mark mean generally true or generally false, or he doesn’t know? What did they encounter on their excursion? Bones of real Nephites? Did they really see physical mounds? Did Joseph really say this, “proof of [the Book of Mormon’s] divine authenticity?” Yes, and Yes. So, Joseph spoke a FACT, not a FEELING. Joseph spoke the truth and I believe Joseph, and I know that Joseph knows that the plains of the Nephites in the Book of Mormon are in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.
Zion’s Camp brethren said they picked up the bones of ancient Nephites on the plains. From the mound they visited just a day or so earlier, they brought with them some bones of Zelph in their wagon. “Some of his bones were brought into the Camp and the thigh bone which was broken was put into my wagon and I carried it to Missouri.” Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, ed. Scott G. Kenney, 1:10. “We took the leg and thigh bones and carried them along with us to Clay County. All four appeared sound.” Heber C. Kimball, Times and Seasons, 6:788. “…We came to the bones of an extraordinary large person or human being, the thigh bones being 2 inches longer from one Socket to the other than of the Prophet who is upwards of 6 feete high which would have constuted some 8 or 9 feete high.” Moses Martin Diary, LDS Church Archives, spelling not corrected).
“As we look into the record, we find that after the first visit to the Hill Cumorah, Joseph told the story of the history of the early American inhabitants to his family. His mother Lucy wrote: “From this time forth, Joseph continued to receive instructions from the Lord, and we continued to get the children together every evening for the purpose of listening while he gave us a relation of the same. I presume our family presented an aspect as singular as any that ever lived upon the face of the earth—all seated in a circle, father, mother, sons and daughters, and giving the most profound attention to a boy, eighteen years of age.” This sounds like the first family home evening of this dispensation.
Art by Val Chadwick Bagley
Then Lucy continued to say: “We were now confirmed in the opinion that God was about to bring to light something upon which we could stay our minds, or that would give us a more perfect knowledge of the plan of salvation and the redemption of the human family. This caused us greatly to rejoice, the sweetest union and happiness pervaded our house, and tranquility reigned in our midst. During our evening conversations, Joseph would occasionally give us some of the most amusing recitals that could be imagined. He would describe the ancient inhabitants of this continent, their dress, mode of traveling, and the animals upon which they rode; their cities, their buildings, with every particular; their mode of warfare; and also their religious worship. This he would do with as much ease, seemingly, as if he had spent his whole life among them.” Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, pp. 82-83.
“This was before he received the plates. He must have received this by revelation, for he knew the whole story of the content of the record that is now the Book of Mormon. He had had five long visits with Moroni, and his mother says he received many revelations.” Eldred G. Smith, Conference Report, October 1967, pp. 82-84
Evidence that Cumorah was in New York
“From the time Father Bosley located near Avon, he found and plowed up axes and irons, and had sufficient to make his mill irons, and had always abundance of iron on hand without purchasing. In the towns of Bloomfield, Victor, Manchester, and in the regions round about, there were hills upon the tops of which were entrenchments and fortifications, and in them were human bones, axes, tomahawks, points of arrows, beads and pipes, which were frequently found; and it was a common occurrence in the country to plow up axes, which I have done many times myself.
I have visited the fortifications on the tops of those hills frequently, and the one near Bloomfield I have crossed hundreds of times, which is on the bluff of Honeyoye River, at the outlet of Honeyoye Lake.
In that region there are many small deep lakes, and in some of them the bottom has never been found. Fish abound in them. The hill Cumorah is a high hill for that country, and had the appearance of a fortification or entrenchment around it. In the State of New York, probably there are hundreds of these fortifications which are now visible, and I have seen them in many other parts of the United States. Readers of the Book of Mormon will remember that in this very region, according to that sacred record, the final battles were fought between the Nephites and Lamanites. At the hill Cumorah, the Nephites made their last stand prior to their utter extermination, A. D., 385. Thus was Heber preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, above the graves of the ancients of Israel, whose records with the fullness of that Gospel, and the relics of their prowess and civilization, were now whispering from the dust.” Life of Heber C. Kimball by Orson F. Whitney Mounds at Cumorah
“Plains of the Heartland”, not the Jungles of Central or South America
Other verses of the Book of Mormon that have “plains of…”:
“The plains of Nephihah.” (Alma 62:18)
“The plains of Heshlon.” (Ether 13:28)
“The plains of Agosh.” (Ether 14:15)
“Not cheap politicians but statesmen are needed today. Not opportunists but men and women of principle must be demanded by the people. In this time of great stress and danger we must place [in office] only those dedicated to the preservation of our Constitution, our American Republic, and responsible freedom under God. “Oh, God, give us men with a mandate higher than the ballot box.”(Source: “A Race Against Time” 20; also in Title of Liberty 85; Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson 685)
Delivered in the 20th ward meeting house printed in Deseret News vol. 8 No. 265 Oct. 2 1875.
“Now I am going to prophesy a little. The time is coming, when we will not be fettered by unjust laws that are imposed upon us. Why? Because the lord intends, by his judgement, by wars among the nations that will not serve him, by famines, and pestilence and by various judgments that will be sent forth, to waste away the nations of the earth that will not repent. This is what the Lord has decreed.
Orson Pratt
God has sent forth his warning message in the midst of this nation, but they have rejected it and treated his servants with contempt. The Lord has gathered out his people from their midst, and has planted them here in the mountains; and he will speedily fulfill the prophecy in relation to the overthrow of this nation and their destruction.
We shall be obliged to have a government to preserve ourselves in unity and peace; for they, through being wasted away, will not have power to govern; for state will be divided against state, city against city, town against town, and the whole country will be in terror and confusion; mobocracy will prevail and there will be no security through this great Republic, for the lives or property of the people.
When the time shall arrive, we shall necessarily want to carry out the principles of out great Constitution and, as the people of God, we shall want to see those principles magnified, according to the order of union and oneness which prevails among the people of God. We can magnify it, and all be united without having Democrats or Republicans and all kinds of religions.
When the time shall come that the Lord shall waste away this nation, he will give commandment to this people to return …. to Missouri.…and when we do we shall begin to carry out, in all its fullness, the celestial law in regard to consecration. Then this people will be united and then will be fulfilled that prayer ‘Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'”
That will be the beginning of it, but there will be an approximation to it, here in these mountains. We will learn many pure principles to enable us to carry out the law as far as we possibly can.”
I say to the Saints, do not look upon us as perfect beings; notwithstanding, if you are perfect yourselves, then look for it in us, and not until then. If any of you are perfect, we want you to come here that we may see such beings, and know how to model ourselves after you; just as I take a piece of clay and shape it after another model more beautiful still.
Some of you think you have passed through awful tribulations in leaving your mothers and friends. I was glad when I got away from mine, because they persecuted me, and lied about me, and persecuted my brethren; so I was glad to get away from them. But they will see the day when they will be glad to come to brother Heber, and say, “Let me black your boots, clean your horse, or drive your carriage,” &c. Prophecy by Orson Pratt September 26 1875 in Union of the Saints, Etc A Discourse by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered at the Special Conference in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, August 13, 1853
I ask again, Is the Commandment to Return to Missouri Near?
Our Blessed Republic
The United States is a free and blessed Nation by God, only if we remain a moral and ethical people. Wasn’t it Benjamin Franklin who emphasized the importance of keeping our Republic?
“As the story was told and retold on the House floor, Franklin was walking out of Independence Hall after the Constitutional Convention in 1787, when someone shouted out, “Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?”
To which Franklin supposedly responded, with a rejoinder at once witty and ominous: “A republic, if you can keep it”…
There’s an extended version of “A republic, if you can keep it,” too. In McHenry’s 1803 account, Powel immediately shoots back, “And why not keep it?”
Franklin responds, “Because the people, on tasting the dish, are always disposed to eat more of it than does them good.”
Members of Congress, interpret that at your peril.” Washington Post By Gillian Brockell December 18, 2019
This article below about Lincoln was sent to me by a good friend named David Crandall, who is a definite good-guy in Utah and National politics. He backs people of honor, and love of country, and sound values in my opinion, and I appreciate his hard work.
Mail-in ballots were part of a plot to deny Lincoln reelection in 1864
By Dustin Waters Washington Post August 22, 2020
An 1864 sketch by William Waud of Pennsylvania soldiers voting. (Library of Congress)
Traveling to Baltimore in the fall of 1864, Orville Wood had no way of knowing he would soon uncover the most elaborate election conspiracy in America’s brief history.
Wood was a merchant from Clinton County in the most northeastern corner of New York. As a supporter of President Abraham Lincoln, he was tasked with visiting troops from his hometown to “look after the local ticket.”
New York legislators had only established the state’s mail-in voting system in April with the intent of ensuring the suffrage of White troops battling the Confederate Army. The results of the 1864 elections would heavily affect the outcome of the war. Lincoln and his supporters in the National Union Party sought to continue the war and defeat the Confederacy outright. Meanwhile antiwar Democrats, also referred to as Copperheads, looked for an immediate compromise with the Confederate leaders and the end of the abolition movement.
Troops from New York were allowed to authorize individuals back home to cast a vote on their behalf. Along with their mail-in ballots, troops would assign their power of attorney on slips that required four signatures: the voter’s, the person authorized as a recipient, a witness to the signed affidavit and a fellow officer. These documents would be sealed in an envelope and shipped back home to be counted in the final vote. This was the process that Orville Wood intended to uphold, he would testify in court later. He quickly found out what a challenge that would be.
Wood arrived at Fort McHenry in Baltimore to visit with the 91st New York Regiment. There, an Army captain suggested that there had been some “checker playing” when it came to the gathering of soldiers’ mail-in ballots. These suspicions of fraud were echoed when Wood visited wounded men at the Newton University Hospital. The rumors of wrongdoing led Wood to the office of Moses Ferry in Baltimore.
Ferry had been selected by New York Gov. Horatio Seymour to help oversee the voting process for New York’s enlisted men. Seymour had vetoed the initial bill to establish mail-in voting and would go on to run against Ulysses S. Grant in the 1868 presidential election.
Wood masked his suspicions as he entered Ferry’s office, portraying himself as a strong supporter of Lincoln’s opponent, George McClellan. This was enough to gain Ferry’s trust, he testified later.
Ferry told Wood that the votes from New York’s 91st Regiment had already been tallied: 400 for McClellan and 11 for Lincoln.
Wood returned to the office later and, following Ferry’s instructions, began forging signatures of the 16th New York Cavalry. Meanwhile, a clerk sat across the room signing ballots from the roster of names Wood had brought with him from home. Wood asked to personally deliver these fraudulent ballots, but Ferry said they would have to receive final approval from his colleague in Washington — Edward Donahue Jr.
Donahue soon arrived in Baltimore and met with Wood. It was revealed during this conversation that around 20 co-conspirators were already at work in D.C. to aid in the plot to deliver votes to McClellan. The following day Wood watched as Donahue and his crew formed a sort of assembly line, passing blank papers along to one another to be signed with the names of active enlisted men, wounded and dead soldiers, and officers who never existed.
President Abraham Lincoln on Feb. 5, 1865. (Alexander Gardner/U.S. Library of Congress/Getty Images)
In addition to operations in D.C. and Baltimore, the scheme extended back to New York. Donahue had received rosters of soldiers from military officials and members of law enforcement. A letter from Gen. J.A. Ferrell read, “Inclosed in this package you will find tickets, also a list of names of the actual residents of Columbia County, now members of the 128th Regiment. With my best wishes for your success.”
A letter from Albany Sheriff H. Cromdell offered to send additional men to assist in Baltimore. The letter read, “All is well here, and we are confident of complete success. It is unnecessary to say that all here have entire confidence in your skill and abetting, and hope you like your help.”
Also discovered in Ferry’s office was a list of around 400 names belonging to sick and wounded soldiers under treatment at a nearby hospital. In reference to the roster, Ferry joked, “Dead or alive, they all had cast a good vote.”
Ferry, Donahue, and their fellow conspirators found humor in their work. One accomplice mocked the outcry he expected from abolitionist newspapers following the corruption of the election. The men bragged about their past successes in fixing local elections back home.
Together, the men had shipped crates of fraudulent votes back to New York. But their scheme was over. Wood reported the operation to authorities. Ferry’s office was searched, and on the morning of Oct. 27, 1864 — less than two weeks before the election — he and Donahue stood trial before a military commission.
Ferry offered a full confession that same day, even offering up the names of others involved in the scheme. Donahue proved more of a challenge.
Following the first day of the trial, a reporter for the New York Times wrote, “The honest electors of the state of New York have escaped an extensive and fearful fraud, a fraud in keeping with the proclivities of the party in whose behalf it was initiated, but one that, if unexposed might have subverted the honest will of the people and left the state and the nation at the mercy of those who would make peace with rebellion and fellowship with traitors.”
Arrests in New York and Washington continued to mount as Donahue returned to trial. Following Wood’s damning testimony and supporting evidence, Donahue begged for mercy from the court. He was a young man, newly married, with no previous record. He visibly wilted as he realized the weight of his current situation, no longer expressing the defiance with which he had entered the proceedings.
The judge advocate addressed the tribunal, saying that Donahue had engaged in one of the most gigantic frauds ever attempted in America — “a fraud which, if it shall be successful, will, in my opinion, have produced a disruption of our entire country, and our war for the preservation of the Union will be practically at an end and futile.”
In the months following Lincoln’s victory — he won 221 electoral votes to McClellan’s 21 — anti-abolitionist newspapers attacked his legitimacy, calling the trial another aspect of a conspiracy conducted by the president to ensure his reelection.
It seems every time we have a national election, citizens from both parties yell, “there was no fraud in our election”, or, “No one has proven any fraud in this election.” But, the biggest out-cry in the 2020 election all over main stream media was, “This is the most secure election ever.” We have lived now for two years and a great many of US citizens now say the 2020 election was stolen, or corrupt. Yes there are many that say the opposite as well, but never before have we had such a battle in our election counting. Our system is ripe with opportunities for errors, manipulation, and fraud.
Looking back now, it seems very likely there has been voter fraud for many many years in our US elections. In my personal opinion I believe Trump probably won and in many other states the down ballots may have been miss-represented as well. It is important to look into it yourself. I watched a documentary called 2000 Mules, and it has really hit home for me on how evil it is to tamper with our most sacred right to vote. See it Here, and make up your own mind. This is simply an opinion and I encourage everyone who loves their country to look into this possible fraud.
Book of Mormon Parallels Our Day
Let us remember what happened to the Jaredites and the Nephites. Wasn’t their downfall consistent with evil Gadianton’s and evil doers who usurped government and killed and lied? That is why we have our Book of Mormon to apply it to our life today, and this is an excellent way to do just that. Why stick your head in the sand and just say “Oh, I don’t want to cause problems so let’s get over the 2020 election and focus on 2022.” We can’t vote honestly in 2022 without figuring out what happened in 2020 can we? Shouldn’t Democrats, Republicans and every other US citizen be happy to verify a truthful vote? Yes!
David O. McKay Anti-Communism
“The position of this church on the subject of Communism has never changed. We consider it the greatest satanical threatto peace, prosperity, and the spread of God’s work among men that exists on the face of the earth.
In this connection,” President McKay continues, “we are constantly being asked to give our opinion concerning various patriotic groups or individuals who are fighting Communism and speaking up for freedom. Our immediate concern, however, is not what parties, groups, or persons, but with principles. We therefore commend and encourage every person and every group who is sincerely seeking to study constitutional principles and awaken a sleeping and apathetic people to the alarming conditions that are rapidly advancing about us. We wish all of our citizens throughout the land were participating in some type of organized self-education in order that they could better appreciate what is happening and know what they can do about it.
Supporting the FBI, the police, the congressional committees investigating Communism, and various organizations that are attempting to awaken the people through educational means is a policy we warmly endorse for all our people….” (President David O. McKay, The Improvement Era, June 1966, p. 477; Conference Report, April 1966, p. 109,)
Joseph Smith’s Historically Verifiable Written Statements
“Nearly all those familiar with the early statements by the Prophet touching on potential Book of Mormon lands know that he clearly indicated them to be in North America. This is evident in the historically verified accounts wherein he declared revelation such as in the Wentworth Letter, the American Revivalist Account, the Zelph Accounts and Joseph’s handwritten letter to Emma Video, and JSP accountwhile on Zion’s camp. In addition, the prophet revealed a Nephite altar at Adam-ondi-Ahman, mentioned the land of Manti was near Huntsville, Missouri, and revealed that this land was “the borders of the Lamanites” (see D&C 54:8). Furthermore he received revelation from the Lord for the location of Zarahemla (see D&C 125:3) and New Jerusalem (see D&C 84:1-6 and Ether 13:3-7), which Christ Himself declared to be on Book of Mormon lands (3 Nephi 20:22), both of which are absolutely located in North America. These accounts and their indications are not speculation based, but historically documented fact.
Mesoamerican theorists are thereby forced to claim that the Prophet Joseph Smith reneged on these early revelations after being introduced to a New York Times best-selling travel book by John Lloyd Stevens called “Incidents of Travels in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan.” They feel that Joseph learned more about Book of Mormon geography from this travelogue than from his angelic visitations by Moroni, other ancient prophets, or his translation of the sacred text itself.” Rod Meldrum
WE HAVE LAYING BEFORE US,” wrote Ebenezer Robinson, editor of the Times and Seasons for January 1, 1842, “a neat little work of 256 pages, 32 mo. entitled ‘Evidences in proof of the Book of Mormon’ &c. By Charles Thompson, minister of the gospel; published at Batavia, N. Y. We are much pleased with the spirit manifested by the writer, and feel to commend him in his laudable undertaking.” Indeed, four and a half pages (more than a quarter of this issue) were devoted to extracts from Thompson’s proofs and comments. (Times and Seasons 3:5; pp. 640-44)
Such a work was needed badly. Thompson took on the project with apologies for his personal limitations, hoping to benefit “the young Elders and Priests who are just commencing in their ministry,” as well as new converts and an uninformed public (Preface, p. [3]). Among the “young” missionaries was Thompson himself, only twenty-seven years of age. He had joined the Church at age 21, was soon appointed a seventy, and in 1838 joined the Kirtland Camp to Far West, Missouri . . .
Charles Thompson’s 1838 signature on the Kirtland Camp constitution as reproduced in Milton V. Backman, The Heavens Resound; A History of the Latter-day Saints in Ohio 1830-1838 (Salt Lake City, 1983), p. 390.
PETER CRAWLEY explains that Thompson then undertook a four-year mission to his native state of New York, and baptized nearly a hundred converts in Batavia who encouraged him in the production of this book. Crawley demonstrates that portions draw upon the Gospel Reflector, an important LDS periodical-format treatise published by Benjamin Winchester in Philadelphia during the first half of 1841.
Native American antiquities, Bible prophecy – even an acrostic-based poem comprise various segments of this handy volume. Pages 235-40 contain Thompson’s own Mormon folk verse, an unnoticed extra! These homely lines will not conceal the exuberance of the early Saints. Two segments caught my attention as particularly interesting . . .
In eighteen hundred thirty-three, As many did most plainly see, Signs in the stars were then shone forth, And plainly seen in all the earth. [p. 236]
EVIDENCES IN PROOF OF THE BOOK OF MORMON By Charles Thompson, minister of the gospel; published at Batavia, N.Y.
From the Times and Seasons 3:5; pp. 640-44 we quote, “We have laying before us, a neat little work of 256 pages, 32 mo. entitled “Evidences in proof of the Book of Mormon” &c. By Charles Thompson, minister of the gospel; published at Batavia, N. Y. We are much pleased with the spirit manifested by the writer, and feel to commend him in his laudable undertaking.
We make the following extracts, commencing on the 97th page.
I will next introduce the description of some of these ancient fortifications and military works of defence [defense], as recorded in the American Antiquities, by Josiah Priest, and also introduce a history of the building of these fortifications and works of defence [defense], as recorded in the Book of Mormon; and I will here remark, that the Book of Mormon was published in A. D. 1830, and the American Antiquities, by Josiah Priest, was not published until A. D. 1833, three years after. Antiquities, page 158 and 159, “Near Newark in the county of Licking, Ohio, is situated one of the immense works or fortifications of the ancient nations of America. It embraces in the whole, a circumferance [circumference] of about six hundred rods, or nearly two miles; a wall of earth about four hundred rods, is raised on the sides of this fort next to the small creek which comes down along its sides from the west and east. It would seem that the people who made this settlement, undertook to encompass, with a wall, as much land as would support its inhabitants, and also sufficient to build their dwellings on, with several fortifications arranged in a proper manner for its defence [defense]. There are within its ranges four of these forts, of different dimensions; one contains forty acres, with a wall of about ten feet high; another containing twenty-two acres, also walled, but in this fort is an elevated observatory, of sufficient height to overlook the whole country; a third fort, containing about twenty-six acres, having a wall around it thrown out of a deep ditch on the inside of the wall. This wall is now from twenty-five to thirty feet in height. A fourth fortification encloses twenty acres with a wall of about ten feet high.”
Book of Mormon, page 378, 2nd Ed., “Now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God, yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts or places of resort, throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle them round about their cities and the borders of their lands.”
Antiquities, page 160, “A second fort siuated [situated] southwesterly from the great works on the Licking, encloses about forty acres; its wall is entirely of stone
Click to Enlarge
Antiquities, page 163, “At Circleville, Ohio, there is a circular fort surrounded by two walls with a deep ditch between them; also, a square foot about eighteen rods in circumference enclosed by a wall with a ditch.”
Book of Mormon, page 382, “Now behold, the Lamanites could not get into their forts of security by any other way save by the entrance, because of the highness of the bank which had been thrown up and the depth of the ditch which had been dug round about, save it was by the entrance.”
Antiquities, page 165, “Near the round fort at Circleville is another fort ninety feet high, and was doubtless erected to overlook the whole works of that enormous military establishment. That it was a military establishment is the decided opinion of the President of the Western Antiquarian Society, Mr. Atwater. He says the round fort was picketed in, if we are to judge from the appearance of the ground on and about the walls. Half way up the outside of the inner wall, is a place distinctly to be seen, where a row of pickets once stood, and where it was placed when this work of defence [defense] was originally erected. These works have been examined by the first military men now living in the United States, and they have uniformly declared their opinion to be, that they were military works of defence [defense].”
Moroni fortifies the lands of the Nephites, by Clark Kelley Price (Alma 50 See explanation at end of blog)
Book of Mormon, page 383, 2nd Ed., (Alma 50) “And now it came to pass that Moroni did not stop making preparation for war, or to defend his people against the Lamanites, for he caused that his armies should commence in the commencement of the twentieth year of the reign of the Judges, that they should commence in digging up heaps of earth round about all the cities throughout all the land which was possessed by the Nephites; and upon the top of the ridges of earth, he caused that there should be timbers, yea, works of timbers built up to the height of a man, round about the cities. And he caused that upon those works of timbers there should be a frame of pickets built upon the timbers, round about, and they were strong and high; and he caused towers to be erected that overlooked those works of pickets. And he caused places of security to be built upon those towers, that the stones and arrows of the Lamanites could not hurt them; and they were prepared, that they could cast stones from the top thereof, according to their pleasure and their strength, and slay him who should attempt to approach near the walls of the city. Thus Moroni did prepare strong holds against the coming of their enemies, round about every city in all the land.
The foregoing is but a few of the corresponding accounts of fortifications and works of defence [defense] there are to be found in the Book of Mormon and American Antiquities, but these are sufficient to show to the public that the people whose history is contained in the Book of Mormon, are the authors of these works.-But again; as we trace the history of this people down through succeeding generations, we find that one Gadianton, a robber, rose up and organized a band to rob and plunder. These robbers prepared strong holds and secret places in the mountains, to which they could flee, and be secure when the armies of the Nephites pursued them. Some of these strong holds and secret places were discovered in 1832–two years after the Book of Mormon was published-by a Mr. Furguson, and communicated to the editor of the Christian Advocate and Journal. This account is recorded on page 169 of the American Antiquities. Mr. Furguson describes this discovery as follows:
Looking from Lookout Mountain down to Moccasin Bend on the Tennessee River
“On a mountain called the Lookout Mountain, (Chattanooga, TN) belonging to the vast Allegany [Allegheny] chain, running between the Tennessee and Coos rivers, rising about one thousand feet above the level of the surrounding valley. The top of the mountain is mostly level, but presents to the eve [eye?] an almost barren waste. On this range, notwithstanding its hieght [height], a river has its source and after traversing it for about seventy miles, plunges over a precipice. The rock from which the water falls, is circular, and juts over considerably. Immediately below the fall, on each side of the river, are bluffs, which rise about two hundred feet. Around one of these bluffs the river makes a bend which gives it the form of a peninsula. On the top of this are the remains of what is esteemed fortifications, which consist of a stone wall built on the very brow of this tremendous ledge. The whole length of the wall, following the very course of the brink of this precipice, is thirty seven rods and eight feet,
(page 641)
including about two acres of ground. The only descent from this place is between two rocks, for about thirty feet, when a bench of the ledge presents itself from two to five feet in width and ninety feet long. This bench is the only road or path up from the water’s edge to the summit. But just at the foot of the two rocks where they reach this path and within thirty feet of the top of the rock, are five rooms, which have been formed by dint of labor. The entrance to these rooms is very small, but when within, they are found to communicate with each other by doors or appertures [apertures].”
Mr. Furguson thinks them to have been constructed during some dreadful war, and those who constructed them, to have acted on the defensive; and believes that twenty men could have withstood the whole army of Xerxes, as it was impossible for more than one to pass at a time, and might by the slightest push, be hurled at least an hundred and fifty feet down the rocks.
I, Nephi, did build a Temple by Ken Corbett at Lookout Mountain, TN
Book of Mormon, page 479, 2nd Ed., “And it came to pass that the ninety and third year (of the reign of the Judges over the people of Nephi) did also pass away in peace, save it was for the Gadianton robbers, who dwelt upon the Mountains, who did infest the land; for so strong were their holds and their secret places, that the people could not overpower them; therefore they did commit many murders, and did so much slaughter among the people.” Again; Book of Mormon, page 481, “And it came to pass in the commencement of the fourteenth year, (form [from] the time the sign was given of the birth of Christ,) the war between the robbers and the people of Nephi did continue, and did become exceeding sore; nevertheless the people of Nephi did gain some advantage of the robbers, insomuch [inasmuch] that they did drive them back out of their land into the mountains and into their secret places.” Again; Book of Mormon, page 485, 2nd Ed., “But it came to pass that in the latter end of the eighteenth year, those armies of robbers had prepared for battle and began to come down and to sally forth from the hills, and out of the mountains and the wilderness, and their strong holds and their secret places, and began to take possession of the lands.” And on the 487 and 488 pages, we are informed how these robbers were finally destroyed; it was by a stratagem. A part of the Nephite armies getting between the robbers and their secret places and strong holds, by which they were cut off in their retreat.
Click to Enlarge
This again, is evidence that the Book of Mormon is true, and that this band of robbers were the constructors of this strong hold and these secret rooms which Mr. Furguson has described; for mark! this discovery was not made untill [until] two years after the Book of Mormon was published, consequently the writer of the Book of Mormon could not have written this tale concerning the robbers, to account for the construction of those caverns, for it was not known that there was such a place in existence, until after the book was written and published. And thus we have abundance of proof from recent discoveries, American Antiquities and prophecy, that the history contained in the Book of Mormon is true.
Again; this history informs us that about four hundred years after Christ, this nation of Nephites were brought down and destroyed by the Lamanites; and this because they became proud and lifted up, practising [practicing] all manner of wickedness and abominations, and they refused to repent and turn again unto God; therefore because they were more wicked than the Lamanites, God stirred up the Lamanites to camp against them round about, and to raise forts against them with a mount, and thus they were brought down. But just before their final overthrow, a man by the name of Mormon took their record containing their history and sacred writings, from the time they left Jerusalem, (the city where David dwelt,) unto his days, and made an abridgement [abridgment] therefrom, and engraved it upon plates which he made out of ore. These plates, after Mormon’s death, fell into the hands of Moroni, his son, who survived the entire destruction of the Nephites, finished the record, and deposited it in a stone box in the earth, that it might not be destroyed; to come forth in due time for a sign to Israel, that the time of their redemption had come. And also, in connection with the Bible, to be set up as an ensign for the nations; and thus, this nation of Nephites possessing the light of God’s revelation, which constituted them Ariel, or Lion of God, and being “of the city where David dwelt,” (that is, having come out from Jerusalem,) was brought down and their words having been written and hid up in the earth and come forth again out of the earth, they “speak out of the ground and their voice whispers out of the dust.”
This account also agrees with the Indian traditions which I have quoted in a former part of this work. It says, that their forefathers were once in possession of a sacred Book, which was handed down from generation to generation, and at last hid in the earth; but these oracles are to be restored to them again and then they shall triumph over their enemies and regain their ancient country.
But again, when this Book was taken from the place of its deposite [deposit], the words thereof were delivered to the learned Dr. Mitchel of New York, with a request that he should read them, but he could not; thus fulfilling the 11th verse of the 29th chapter of Isaiah, which says, the words of a book which is sealed men deliver to one that is learned, saying, read this I pray thee; and he saith I cannot for it is sealed. And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying read this I pray thee; and he saith I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord said, forasmuch as this people, (the people of this generation,) draw near me with their mouths, and with their lips do honor me; but have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the psecepts [precepts] of men; therefore behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, aud [and] the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. And this he has done-
There Indeed by Clark Kelley Price
First; by inspiring the unlearned Joseph Smith, and giving him wisdom and power from on high, with the means which were before prepared, to read and translate the Book of Mormon, the words of which the learned Dr. Mitchel could not read; thus the wisdom of the wise has perished and the understanding of the prudent is hid.
Secondly.-By raising up and inspiring illiterate and unlearned men, and sending them forth with the Book of Mormon in connection with the Bible, as an ensign for the nations, to preach the fulness [fullness] of the gospel, and to build up the kingdom of God on the earth, in direct opposition to all the jarring systems of modern sectarianism, and giving them knowledge and wisdom from on high, insomuch [inasmuch] that they have been enabled to confound, astonish and bring to shame, confusion, and disgrace, every wise and learned man who has dared to oppose them by fair arguments or candid investigation.
Thirdly.-It is a marvel and a wonder to this generation that this work has spread so rapidly under the following circumstances: First, the men who were engaged in preaching this doctrine were men of no influence, being the poor, illiterate, and despised ones of the earth. Second,-they had not the advantages of education which the most of the preachers of the different denominations have.
Third,-the advantages of that mighty engine, the press, which all the Christian world are so highly blessed with, they were almost wholly destitute of, while at the same time its power was put in requisition against them in all parts of the land. It is true, they undertook, and did publish a monthly periodical at diferent [different] times and places, but its circulation was very limited, and their office, press and type have been three times entirly [entirely] destroyed by mobs and incendiaries.
Fourth,-they had to sustain the shock of an overwhelming religious influence opposed to them by the combined powers of every sect in America-they had to contend with the prejudices of the ignorant and the pen of the learned, together with all the lying slanders and misrepresentations which the devil and all his emissaries on earth could invent; while at the same time the combined powers of earth and hell were hurling a storm of persecution unparalelld [unparalleled] in the history of the world. They were insulted by mobs, their houses torn down or burned, their goods destroyed and fields of grain laid waste, some of them were cast into dungeons and there kept for months loaded with chains. Yea more-some of them were shot; others had their brains dashed out; others were whipped to death; others were cut in pieces with swords knives, corn-cutters, &c., while the whole society, at one time amounting to about 12 000 souls, were banished from the State of Missouri and driven two hundred miles from their lands, houses, homes and property, in the winter season, and this by the order of the Executive of Missouri, one of the free and independent states of this boasted republic.
And the blood of many of these people now stains the soil of Missouri because of their religious principles, in this their native land; the land of boasted liberty and equal rights, whose officers, both of the state and nation, have been deaf to the voice of innocence, imploring at their feet for justice and protection in the enjoyment of their rights as American citizens. And no doubt many of the instruments of these diabolical proceedings verily thought they were doing God service, being inspired by the press and pulpit, and encouraged by the officers of state; or what is still worse, by the personal example of both officers of state and professed preachers of the gospel, who were actually the leaders and abettors of all the above horrible deeds.
But under all these conflicting circumstances, this work has spread and has penetrated every state in the Union from Maine to Missouri as well as the Canadies [Canada’s?]. It has reacheed [reached] the islands of the sea-it has spread nearly all over England, and is now preached in Ireland, Scotland and Wales-all this in the short space of ten years. Churches are organized and conferences are held in all these regions, and the number of disciples who have already embraced this work is from an hundred to an hundred and twenty thousand.
What but the arm of the Omnipotent could have moved it forward thus! Under the conflicting circumstances referred to above, surely it is a marvelous work and a wonder, causing the wisdom of the wise to perish and the understanding of the prudent to be hid. But again, another feature about this work which constitutes it marvelous and wonderful among the people of this generation is, these preachers profess no authority from antiquity to administer the gospel ordinances, but say that an angel has come down from the midst of heaven, and conferred on them the priesthood and authority to preach and administer the everlasting gospel unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, sayiug [saying] with a loud voice, fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgement [judgment] is come: and worship him that made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of waters. (See Revelations 14th chap. 6th and 7th verses.)
And they profess to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, all inspired by the Holy Ghost, just like the ancient officers of the church and kingdom of God-(See Ephesions [Ephesians] 4th chap. 11th 12th and 13th verses.) Also the believers in this Book of Mormon, being baptized for the remission of sins and receiving the laying on of hands by these apostles and prophets, they speak with new tongues and prophesy, cast out devils, and sometimes lay hands on the sick and they recover, and thus one has given him by the Holy Ghost the word of wisdom, and another the word of knowledge, and another faith, and another the gifts of healing, and another the working of miracles, and another prophecy, and another the diserning [discerning] of spirits, and another divers kinds of tongues, and another the interpretation of tongues-just as was anciently given to the church of Christ. (See 1st Cor. 12th chap.)
And in consequence of these gifts the blind are made to see, the deaf to hear, the meek increase and their joy is in the Lord, and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. Also, they that erred in spirit come to understanding, and they that murmured learn doctrine. All these things are marvelous to this generation because their fear towards God is taught by the precepts of men, and they know nothing of inspiration or the power of God, therefore they have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. From such says Paul turn away. (See 2nd Timothy iii: 1-9.)”
See 50 pages of the Annotated Book of Mormon. Click here.
Alma 50:1-15
I have a proposition for Alma 50:8 in regard to the “Straight Course.” Jonathan Neville speaks about this in Moroni’s America below.
“A key point here is that the east wilderness was “north of the lands of their own possessions.” This is true whether he refers to the Nephites or the Lamanites; i.e., the east wilderness was south of the narrow strip of wilderness, but because the Ohio and Allegheny rivers flow from the north, the east wilderness is actually north of much of the land of Zarahemla (including the land Bountiful).
When Moroni drove the Lamanites down to the land of Nephi, south of Zarahemla, he extended Nephite territory all the way east to the seashore, in this case the Atlantic. At that point, the land of the Lamanites ran in a straight east/west line instead of following the narrow strip of wilderness northeast.
When Moroni “cut off all the strongholds of the Lamanites in the east wilderness,” it was a smart strategic move because it removed the vulnerability from the small neck of land between the rivers that formed the narrow strip of wilderness. He was then able to fortify the rest of the narrow strip, the “line between the Nephites and the Lamanites, between the land of Zarahemla and the land of Nephi, from the west sea running by the head of the river Sidon” (Alma 50:11).” Moroni’s America pg 179-180
In trying to identify the “Straight Course” in Alma 50:8. I have come up with this map (attached) including latitudes for various cities. Notice how a parallel line is formed from:
1- Philadelphia to Columbus through Moundsville
2- Baltimore to Cincinnati through Parkersburg, WV
3- Washington DC to St Louis through Huntington WV
4- Norfolk, VA to The Head of the River Sidon.
That means the City Moroni may have been either Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC or Norfolk. These are all cities on the shores of the Atlantic and they have a parallel line to other popular mound builder cities either on the Ohio or Mississippi rivers which is quite ironic. Any of these lines could have been the “strait course” referred to in Alma 50. I have found great archaeology in Wash DC., that matches the Nephite timeline. (See additional map below)
Book of Mormon Geography Does Matter
“Does the geography of the Book of Mormon matter? The book is true no matter where it happened. Right? This is a response I have heard many others say and one I have said myself many times. But reading in 3 Nephi this morning made me change my mind. I think the Book of Mormon geography does matter.
When Christ appeared to the Nephites as the resurrected Savior, He blessed them, He taught them He prayed with them and for them. He also quoted to them the words of Isaiah. He reminded them that they had been given THIS LAND for their inheritance and were warned that they would not be allowed to remain on THIS LAND if they did not remain faithful. This emphasis shows the significance of the LAND to the Book of Mormon people, and the people who would be brought by the hand of God to THIS LAND and now occupy THIS LAND.
Christ himself said, “great are the words of Isaiah” and He commanded the Nephites and all who read the Book of Mormon to search his words. If the words of Isaiah are great and we are commanded to read them and study them and ultimately understand them, then I believe we most certainly should understand where THIS LAND is and we should understand who the Lord is taking to when he talks about the inhabitants of THIS LAND. Because he is in fact talking directly to those who are on THIS LAND and if you don’t know where that is you can’t fully understand the message.
Does the geography of the Book of Mormon matter? With over 1400 references to “this land” in the Book of Mormon I’m not sure how the Book of Mormon prophets could have made it clearer. THIS LAND matters. Geography matters. Those of us on THIS LAND the “promised land,” the Land of Liberty, the Land of the New Jerusalem need to know who we are. America is THIS LAND. America is a covenant land. I live on THIS LAND. Even the chapter heading of 3 Nephi also confirms this truth”. Rod Meldrum FIRM Foundation President
Find “This Land” & Find Out Why Geography Matters!
Today July 4th, 2022, we all have the special privledge of remembering the history of this great country called The United States of America and thanking the Lord for the freedoms we are blessed with. Today think of Captain Moroni, Angel Moroni and George Washington.
As you read the visions of George Washington, remember he is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a High Priest since 1877, when his work was completed in the St George Temple with many other Founders, exceptional Women and Native American Chiefs. Blog here titled “Eighty-Five Chiefs, Five High Priests, Hundreds of Prominent Men & Women- Bless Our Lives”
Did the Angel Moroni Appear to George Washington?
by Timothy Ballard, adapted from his book, “The Washington Hypothesis”
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The following excerpt from The Washington Hypothesis is a small piece of what the title describes, a hypothesis about George Washington and what he may have known about America as a land prepared by God. As stated in the Publisher’s Note at the opening of the book, “A hypothesis is not a statement of fact, though it often reads like one. It is, rather, a jumping-off point, a tentative assumption made that provides a framework for examining and organizing facts.” This book includes both “demonstrable facts” and “bold conjecture” based on historical documents, published accounts, the author’s own investigative research and, admittedly, some speculation. The author is not a historian. The following excerpt is speculative, both second-hand and anecdotal, told years later by an aging gentleman whose identity and credibility has been questioned. Whether you agree with the author’s hypothesis or not, we hope that “readers will gain a new appreciation for the events that shaped America as a nation and for the greatness of its first president, George Washington.” LDS Living Magazine
Editor’s Note: In my opinion LDS Living Magazine and Deseret Book are more concerned with their reputation to remain politically correct, than they are with sharing truth. Maybe that is necessary for them as they are a for profit business. In my opinion however I have seen a lot of bias by these companies. For example, Deseret Book would not allow Tim Ballard’s newest book, “Pilgrim Hypothesis” be sold nor published by them. Deseret Book once again was taking a politically correct position of distancing themselves with Mr. Ballard’s opinions. Mr. Ballard was opposed to the editing that Deseret Book would require for his new book to be promoted or sold so he sold it at Seagull Book, which ironically Deseret Book also owned. It was silly.
As a side note, I am one of the Editorial Contributors to the “Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon.” Our book was sold at Deseret Book for a few weeks and then so-called intellectuals like Stephen O. Smoot [Not our fellow Heartlander Stephen Edgar Smoot], Jack Welch, Dan Peterson, Scott Gordon, and Karl Magleby with others convinced Deseret Book that our book was full of lies and misquotes and many pictures weren’t even used with permission. It was not a nice attack and you can still see Mr. Smoot’s critiques here.
Stephen O Smoot said, “While the AEBOM may be popular, it is also deeply and fundamentally problematic.” and also said, “In this review series I have tried very deliberately not to personally attack the editors of what I call the AEBOM. Instead, I am criticizing and attacking their ideas and theories about Book of Mormon geography and “evidence” because I believe their theories aren’t just debatable, but in many cases demonstrably in error” Stephen O. Smoot quoted from the hot link above.
Our book was taken off the shelves of Deseret Book during the busy Christmas season of 2018. We did get it back in Deseret Book where it is today, and we are also selling many in Costco. There are always blessings from opposition.
Anthony Sherman Washington’s Soldier
“On July 4,1859, Anthony Sherman—one of Washington’s soldiers at Valley Forge who was now 99 years old—was one of the last remaining veteran soldiers of the Revolution.
Before he died, he wanted to tell someone of an event he had witnessed at Valley Forge. So he asked his friend and journalist Wesley Bradshaw to meet him at Independence Hall—the place where the Declaration of Independence had been signed.
They sat down on a bench inside the hall, and the old man recounted a vision and prophecy Washington reportedly had received at Valley Forge. The prophecy spoke of a series of conflicts America had faced and would face, including wars and rumors of wars, whose descriptions sounded a lot like the war for independence, the American Civil War, and other future conflicts. The point of the vision was to tell Washington that America was God’s creation and would endure and be victorious over all these conflicts.” LDS Living continued below.
Two of my greatest hero’s along with Joseph Smith, are Moroni and George Washington. Moroni’s Title of Liberty was a motto that Washington lived by also. Washington said, “We have taken up Arms in Defence of our Liberty, our Property, our Wives, and our Children, we are determined to preserve them, or die.”George Washington’s Address to the Inhabitants of Canada (14 September 1775) As written in Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon page 297 seen below.
George Washington’s Vision at Valley Forge
LDS Living continued, “Below is an excerpt from the report entitled “Washington’s Vision,” as told directly from the memory of Sherman while sitting in Independence Hall:
The darkest period we had, I think, was when Washington, after several reverses, retreated to Valley Forge, where he resolved to pass the winter of 1777. Ah! I have often seen the tears coursing down our dear commander’s careworn cheeks, as he would be conversing with a confidential officer about the condition of his poor soldiers. You have doubtless heard the story of Washington’s going to the thicket to pray. Well, it was not only true, but he used often to pray in secret for aid and comfort from God, the interposition of whose Divine Providence brought us safely through the darkest days of tribulation.
One day, I remember it well [in Valley Forge], the chilly winds whistled through the leafless trees, though the sky was cloudless and the sun shone brightly, [Washington] remained in his quarters nearly all afternoon alone. When he came out I noticed that his face was a shade paler than usual, and there seemed to be something on his mind of more than ordinary importance.
Returning just after dusk, he dispatched an orderly to the quarters of the officer I mentioned who was presently in attendance. After a preliminary conversation of about half an hour, Washington, gazing upon his companion with that strange look of dignity which he alone could command, said to the latter: “I do not know whether it is owing to the anxiety of my mind, or what, but this afternoon, as I was sitting at this table engaged in preparing a dispatch, something seemed to disturb me. Looking up, I beheld standing opposite me a singularly beautiful female. So astonished was I, for I had given strict orders not to be disturbed, that it was some moments before I found language to inquire the cause of her presence. A second, a third, and even a fourth time did I repeat my question, but received no answer from my mysterious visitor . . . . By this time I felt strange sensations spreading through me. I would have risen but the riveted gaze of the being before me rendered volition impossible.
“Presently I heard a voice saying ‘Son of the Republic, look and learn’while at the same time my visitor extended her arm eastwardly. I now beheld a heavy white vapor at some distance rising fold upon fold. This gradually dissipated, and I looked upon a strange scene. Before me lay spread out in one vast plain all the countries of the world—Europe, Asia, Africa and America. . . . ‘Son of the Republic,’ said the same mysterious voice as before, ‘look and learn.’ At that moment I beheld . . .[another] angel, standing or rather floating in mid-air, between Europe and America. Dipping water out of the ocean in the hollow of each hand he sprinkled some upon America . . . . A second time the angel dipped water from the ocean, and sprinkled it out as before . . .”
Was the Angel Moroni One of the Angels?
Before continuing with the report of this vision, I want to pause and take you to Salt Lake City. It was July 4, 1854, five years to the day before the old man Sherman recounted his witness of what happened to Washington at Valley Forge. Orson Hyde, an ordained Apostle of God, stood at the pulpit in the Tabernacle and boldly declared that the angel Moroni was in the camp of Washington. He stated:
“It was by the agency of that same angel of God that appeared unto Joseph Smith, and revealed to him the history of the early inhabitants of this country, whose mounds, bones, and remains of towns, cities, and fortifications speak from the dust in the ears of the living with the voice of undeniable truth. This same angel presides over the destinies of America, and feels a lively interest in all our doings. He was in the camp of Washington; and, by an invisible hand, led on our fathers to conquest and victory; and all this to open and prepare the way for the Church and kingdom of God to be established on the western hemisphere, for the redemption of Israel and the salvation of the world . . . . Under the guardianship of this same angel, or Prince of America, have the United States grown, increased, and flourished, like the sturdy oak by the rivers of water.”
Could this corroborate Sherman’s account? The principal angel in Valley Forge was, of course, described as a woman. But it was a male angel (or male angels) who anointed the land.
As Washington’s vision continues, the Moroni hypothesis becomes ever more interesting. After the principal angel described to Washington what sounds like yet another conflict to hit the land—“thundering of the cannon, clashing of swords, and the shouts and cries of millions in mortal combat”—the male angel performed a familiar act, familiar to the LDS student, at least.
“Son of the Republic,” said the female angel, “look and learn.” Washington then beheld a male angel and, according to Sherman, told of how he watched as the angel “placed his trumpet once more to his mouth, and blew a long, fearful blast.”
Washington continued:
“Instantly a light, as of a thousand suns, shone down from above me, and pierced and broke into fragments the dark cloud, which enveloped America. At the same moment the angel . . . who bore our national flag in one hand and a sword in the other, descended from the heavens attended by legions of bright spirits. These immediately joined the inhabitants of America, who I perceived were well nigh overcome, but who immediately taking courage again, closed up their broken ranks, and renewed the battle.
“Again, amid the fearful noise of the conflict, I heard the mysterious voice, saying: ‘Son of the Republic, look and learn.’ As the voice ceased, the shadowy angel for the last time dipped water from the ocean and sprinkled it upon America. Instantly the dark cloud rolled back, together with the armies it had brought, leaving the inhabitants of the land victorious.
“Then once more I beheld the villages, towns, and cities springing up where I had seen them before, while the bright angel, planting the azure standard he had brought in the midst of them, cried with a loud voice: ‘While the stars remain, and the heavens send down dew upon the earth, so long shall the Union last!’ . . . while the people, kneeling down, said ‘Amen.’”
Joseph Smith and the Angel Moroni by Tom Holdman (Stained glass) Hill Cumorah Visitors Center, Palmyra, New York (Photo courtesy of J. Stephen Conn,
I cannot read this account without thinking of the biblical prophecy of the angel Moroni found in Revelation 14:6–7: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”
The Restoration of the gospel did not simply begin in 1820. The foundation was being laid years earlier in the battlefields of America—in Boston, Long Island, Saratoga, and Valley Forge. George Washington was a power player in the story of the Restoration, as he was building the nation, the foundation, for Christ to return, that He might bring His priesthood and truths of salvation.
Indeed, the forthcoming Restoration had nowhere safe to land. God needed to create the asylum, and Washington knew that he was helping God do just that. Writing from Valley Forge, he declared: “Even if the rest of the world continues to ignore us, we will fight on. For we are fighting not only for ourselves, but for all mankind. We are fighting for freedom and human dignity and the right to worship the God of our choice.” [Similar to Washington’s address to Canadians above]
Washington, no doubt, was doing his part to get this message out. Like Joseph at Liberty Jail, and like Lincoln in 1862, Washington was compelled to his knees while in the darkness of Valley Forge. And he was blessed for it. He had received an assurance from the Lord about the fate of America. As he led the nation in righteousness, he would be victorious. He needed to know this. Now he did. Learn more about the inspiration and miracles surrounding George Washington in Timothy Ballard’s new book, The Washington Hypothesis. Available at Deseret Book stores and deseretbook.com.
Also Read Tim’s two volume series called “The American Covenant”
We know that George Washington was a moral man and an inspiring leader, but did he possibly know more than we suppose? Was he a national covenant maker like Moses, Abraham, Lehi, or Captain Moroni? Did he understand that he was fighting for the liberty of a promised land protected by God, a place where the Lord’s holy temples could be built? The Washington Hypothesis explores the intriguing evidence that Washington and the other Founding Fathers knew the Lord had a greater purpose for America. It takes us on a fascinating historical journey through the miracles of the Revolutionary War to the foundational documents of this great nation to the symbolism evident in every corner of the nation’s capital. Exploring how Washington’s beliefs framed his every action, author Timothy Ballard draws compelling conclusions about the divinity of that great leader’s calling. As we see the evidence of the Lord’s hand in Washington’s life, we may discover a much grander design at work in the founding of our nation—and thus a greater desire to strive to preserve those promised blessings.”
Elder Benson said, “To all who have discerning eyes, it is apparent that the republican form of government established by our noble forefathers cannot long endure once fundamental principles are abandoned. Momentum is gathering for another conflict — a repetition of the crisis of two hundred years ago. This collision of ideas is worldwide. Another monumental moment is soon to be born. The issue is the same that precipitated the great premortal conflict — will men be free to determine their own course of action or must they be coerced?
We are fast approaching that moment prophesied by Joseph Smith when he said: “Even this nation will be on the very verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground, and when the Constitution is upon the brink of ruin, this people will be the staff upon which the nation shall lean, and they shall bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction.” (July 19, 1840, Joseph Smith Collection, LDS Church Historical Department.” Source: CHB 27-28; Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson 623-24 )
Other Witnesses of Moroni?
“Indeed this land of America and its leaders have been blessed with the protection of the Lord. ‘As details of the battle emerged, it turns out that either George Washington was extremely lucky, was bulletproof, or was being supernaturally protected. One Indian warrior testified that he had shot at him 17 times. He exclaimed that ‘Washington was never born to be killed by a bullet!’ Another Indian, Red Hawk, had shot and missed him 11 times. He had not missed a shot before, and became convinced that Washington was being supernaturally protected by the Great Spirit. In 1770, fifteen years after the battle, an old Indian told Washington that he had sought out to meet him. He had been fighting in the battle that day, and he had told all the Indians with him to shoot at him, and make sure that he died. When they all missed, he told them to stop. On that evening, he predicted that Washington would never die in battle, and would be ‘the founder of a mighty empire.’ David Barton, The Bulletproof George Washington
“…By whose power victory so often perched on our banner? It was by the agency of that same angel of God that appeared unto Joseph Smith, and revealed to him the history of the early inhabitants of this country, whose mounds, bones, and remains of towns, cities, and fortifications speak from the dust in the ears of the living with the voice of undeniable truth. This same angel presides over the destinies of America, and feels a lively interest in all our doings. He was in the camp of Washington; and, by an invisible hand, led on our fathers to conquest and victory; and all this to open and prepare the way for the Church and kingdom of God to be established on the western hemisphere, for the redemption of Israel and the salvation of the world. This same angel was with Columbus, and gave him deep impressions, by dreams and by visions, respecting this New World…Under the guardianship of this same angel, or Prince of America, have the United States grown, increased, and flourished, like the sturdy oak by the rivers of water… When Justice is satisfied, and the blood of martyrs atoned for, the guardian angel of America will return to his station, resume his charge, and restore the Constitution of our country…One positive decree of Jehovah, respecting this land, is, that no king shall ever be raised up here, and that whosoever seeketh to raise up a king upon this land shall perish…” Moroni Guardian Angel of America Orson Hyde Journal of Discourses 6:65.
“Many locations in this land of America have been blessed by its guardian angel. Moroni had the great privilege, as he walked across this American Continent, of finding a place and designating the place where the St. George temple was to be built. He also designated where the Manti Temple was to be. And it’s been written that he designated Kirtland and Nauvoo and probably others. Moroni appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith 22 different times during the life of the Prophet Joseph that we know of.” The Angel Moroni by Elder Glen L. Rudd
This United States of America is indeed, “A Land of Promise.” Moroni presides over the destinies of the United States, holds the keys of the Stick of Ephraim (D&C 27: 5), and is the guardian angel of this wonderful land. The Lord has said, “…repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon…” (D&C 84:57). As we study The Book of Mormon, we learn to love even more this blessed America we call “A Land of Promise”, and the Land of the Book of Mormon.” Moroni’s America Maps Edition page 123 Rian Nelson/Jonathan Neville
He should have died at the Battle of the Monongahela
Near what we today call Pittsburgh, a British force under General Edward Braddock was soundly defeated by a force of French Canadians and Indians during the French and Indian War. Braddock died of wounds sustained in the fighting, but Washington survived despite having two horses shot out from under him. When all was said and done, he also found four musket-ball holes in his coat.
Like Unto Moroni
“Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.” Alma 48:17
“Traditionalists believe that progressives are destined to inherit ignorance because they reject revelation. Progressives believe that traditionalists are mired in ignorance because they do not fully accept and embrace the philosophies and teachings of the learned. Regardless of which position one takes, nearly all agree—an unbridgeable gulf separates the two.” FAITH CRISIS: Did the LDS Church Lie? (Part 1) We Were NOT Betrayed! By James and Hannah Stoddard
Liberal/Progressive
What is a Liberal? From Oxford Dictionary, “open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values.”
Open to new opinions is good isn’t it? Of course it is. But what if the new opinion is to change a proven or traditional law that God has given us? What if we get a majority of opinion that agree with us and disagree with what a so called God says? Does everyone have a right to their own opinion? Of course. This is the tricky part. Not all people have faith in God and don’t even believe in God. Shouldn’t we respect their opinion? Of course, but we don’t have to agree with their opinion do we? No! There is a God! This is 100% for me, by FAITH and study and prayer.
“When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. …“But to be learned is good if they hearken to the counsels of God.” (2 Ne. 9:28–29.)
A Liberal Country is Necessary to Enjoy a Conservative Country
“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
As both liberals and conservatives live together under the Law of God and continue to be moral, the people will thrive. Benjamin Franklin was walking out of Independence Hall after the Constitutional Convention in 1787, when someone shouted out, “Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?” To which Franklin supposedly responded, with a rejoinder at once witty and ominous: “A republic, if you can keep it.”
Conservative/Traditionalist
What is a conservative? Oxford says, “holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion.”
It seems to me that a Conservative is one who treats values coming from God as traditional. I think a conservative has a strong faith in God and chooses to follow Him, and I believe a liberal can have faith in God but tends to believe in man more than God. Both a liberal and a conservative, sin and make mistakes, but conservatives seem to be more forgiving than a liberal. Conservatives seen to judge others more harshly especially if the other one doesn’t seem to love God. I believe Liberals are more inclusive to anyone regardless of race or religion. These things are very simplified but I find them basically true in the world today.
A Righteous Constitution that Retains its Meaning is Necessary
Ezra Taft Benson said: How then can we best befriend the Constitution in this critical hour and secure the blessings of liberty and ensure the protection and guidance of our Father in Heaven? First and foremost, we must be righteous. . . .
Two great American Christian civilizations — the Jaredites and the Nephites — were swept off this land because they did not “serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ” (Ether 2:12). What will become of our civilization?
Second, We must learn the principles of the Constitution in the tradition of the Founding Fathers.
Have we read the Federalist papers? Are we reading the Constitution and pondering it? Are we aware of its principles? Are we abiding by these principles and teaching them to others? Could we defend the Constitution? Can we recognize when a law is constitutionally unsound? Do we know what the prophets have said about the Constitution and the threats to it? . . .
We, the blessed beneficiaries of the Constitution, face difficult days in America, “a land which is choice above all other lands” (Ether 2:10).
May God give us the faith and the courage exhibited by those patriots who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. May we be equally as valiant and as free. ( Source: Ezra Taft Benson“Our Divine Constitution” 6-7 )
The Point?
As you listen to President Lee below, you will see that he believes in righteous government. I’m sure he loves all people as I do, but there is a profound difference between a conservative and a liberal. They both have good qualities, but I believe that having faith in the Son of God is far more important that believing in the arm of flesh. Whether you are more liberal or more conservative in thought and action, as long as you believe in and follow the Savior with righteous you will be blessed.
“The self-called liberal [in the Church] is usually one who has broken with the fundamental principles or guiding philosophy of the group to which he belongs.” John A. Widstoe
“There are those in the Church who speak of themselves as liberals who, as one of our former presidents has said, “read by the lamp of their own conceit.” Joseph F. Smith
Tradition says, “hold the Rod”
Thank you Kevin Price again for sharing a profound article with me.
The Iron Rod
by Harold B. Lee
“Sometime ago there appeared in the Wall Street Journal a thought-provoking article, written by an eminent theologian at the Columbia University, under the subject heading “An Antidote for Aimlessness,” which you recognize as a condition that is prevalent in the world today. I quote from this article by Rabbi Arthur Herlzterg:
“What people come to religion for, is an ultimate metaphysical hunger, and when that hunger is not satisfied, religion declines … the moment that clerics become more worldly, the world goes to hades the faster.
“… Religion represents the accumulation of man’s insight over thousands of years into such questions as the nature of man, the meaning of life, the individual’s place in the universe. That is, precisely, the question at the root of man’s restlessness.
“Man seeks something to end his state of confusion and emptiness … in the latest parlance, an antidote for aimlessness. We do not know if the truths of religious tradition can be interpreted to satisfy this need, but we are sure that here, not in political activism, is religion’s path to relevance.”
As an answer to those who may be wandering aimlessly, searching for something to satisfy their need and to end their state of confusion and emptiness, I would like to introduce a few thoughts by relating a remarkable vision which came to an ancient prophet by the name of Lehi—600 years before Christ. To the faithful members of the Church this will be an oft-related incident recorded in the Book of Mormon. To those not of our faith this may, if they will ponder seriously, be very significant in the light of many trends in our modern society.
Think of the Rod as God directing you to him.
In this dream, or better called a vision, the prophet Lehi was led by a heavenly messenger through a dark and dreary waste to a tree laden with delicious fruit which proved to be very satisfying to his soul. He beheld a river of water nearby along which was a straight and narrow path leading to the tree laden with delicious fruit. Between the river bank and the path was a rod of iron, presumably to safeguard the travelers from falling off the narrow path into the river.
As he looked, he saw large groups of people crowding forward to gain access to the spacious field where the tree with fruit was located. As they pressed forward along the path, a great mist of darkness arose, so dense that many who started lost their way and wandered off and were drowned in the murky water or were lost from view as they wandered into strange paths. There were others, however, likewise in danger of being lost because of the blinding mist, who caught hold of the iron rod and, by so doing, held their course so that they too could partake of the delicacies which had beckoned them to come, despite the hazardous journey. Across, on the opposite side of the river, were multitudes of people pointing fingers of scorn at those who made the journey safely.
As with many other ancient prophets in biblical history, dreams or visions of this nature were effective means by which the Lord communicated with his people through prophet-leaders. Just so, this dream had great significance, as the Lord revealed to the prophet Lehi. The tree laden with fruit was a representation of the love of God which he sheds forth among all the children of men. The Master himself, later in his earthly ministry, explained to Nicodemus how that great love was manifested. Said he: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”; and then the Master added: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:16–17.)
The rod of iron as seen in the vision interpreted was the word of God, or the gospel of Jesus Christ, which led to the tree of life that the Master explained to the woman at the well in Samaria was as “a well of [living] water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14.)
Those, as seen in the vision, who were across the river pointing fingers of scorn represented the multitudes of the earth which are gathered together to fight against the apostles of the Lamb of God. The scorners, so the Lord revealed, represented the so-called wisdom of the world, and the building itself in which they were gathered was the “pride of the world.” (See 1 Ne. 11–12.)
If there is any one thing most needed in this time of tumult and frustration, when men and women and youth and young adults are desperately seeking for answers to the problems which afflict mankind, it is an “iron rod” as a safe guide along the straight path on the way to eternal life, amidst the strange and devious roadways that would eventually lead to destruction and to the ruin of all that is “virtuous, lovely, or of good report.”
These conditions as they would be found in the earth when these scriptures, now called the Book of Mormon, were to be brought forth were foreseen by the prophets. As I read some of these predictions, I would have you think of conditions with which we are surrounded today:
“And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts; unto … envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities … because of the pride of your hearts.
“… behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.” (Morm. 8:36–37.)
The apostle Paul also spoke of a time of peril when “men [would] be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
“Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those things that are good,
“Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. …” (2 Tim. 3:2–5.)
There are many who profess to be religious and speak of themselves as Christians, and, according to one such, “as accepting the scriptures only as sources of inspiration and moral truth,” and then ask in their smugness: “Do the revelations of God give us a handrail to the kingdom of God, as the Lord’s messenger told Lehi, or merely a compass?”
Unfortunately, some are among us who claim to be Church members but are somewhat like the scoffers in Lehi’s vision—standing aloof and seemingly inclined to hold in derision the faithful who choose to accept Church authorities as God’s special witnesses of the gospel and his agents in directing the affairs of the Church.
There are those in the Church who speak of themselves as liberals who, as one of our former presidents has said, “read by the lamp of their own conceit.”(Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine [Deseret Book Co., 1939], p. 373.) One time I asked one of our Church educational leaders how he would define a liberal in the Church. He answered in one sentence: “A liberal in the Church is merely one who does not have a testimony.”
Dr. John A. Widtsoe, former member of the Quorum of the Twelve and an eminent educator, made a statement relative to this word liberal as it applied to those in the Church. This is what he said:
“The self-called liberal [in the Church] is usually one who has broken with the fundamental principles or guiding philosophy of the group to which he belongs. … He claims membership in an organization but does not believe in its basic concepts; and sets out to reform it by changing its foundations. … “It is folly to speak of a liberal religion, if that religion claims that it rests upon unchanging truth.”
And then Dr. Widtsoe concludes his statement with this: “It is well to beware of people who go about proclaiming that they are or their churches are liberal. The probabilities are that the structure of their faith is built on sand and will not withstand the storms of truth.” (“Evidences and Reconciliations,” Improvement Era, vol. 44 [1941], p. 609.)
Here again, to use the figure of speech in Lehi’s vision, they are those who are blinded by the mists of darkness and as yet have not a firm grasp on the “iron rod.”
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, when there are questions which are unanswered because the Lord hasn’t seen fit to reveal the answers as yet, all such could say, as Abraham Lincoln is alleged to have said, “I accept all I read in the Bible that I can understand, and accept the rest on faith.”
How comforting it would be to those who are the restless in the intellectual world, when such questions arise as to how the earth was formed and how man came to be, if they could answer as did an eminent scientist and devoted Church member. A sister had asked: “Why didn’t the Lord tell us plainly about these things?” The scientist answered: “It is likely we would not understand if he did. It might be like trying to explain the theory of atomic energy to an eight-year-old child.”
Wouldn’t it be a great thing if all who are well schooled in secular learning could hold fast to the “iron rod,” or the word of God, which could lead them, through faith, to an understanding, rather than to have them stray away into strange paths of man-made theories and be plunged into the murky waters of disbelief and apostasy?
I heard one of our own eminent scientists say something to the effect that he believed more professors have taken themselves out of the Church by their trying to philosophize or intellectualize the fall of Adam and the subsequent atonement of the Savior. This was because they would rather accept the philosophies of men than what the Lord has revealed until they, and we, are able to understand the “mysteries of godliness” as explained to the prophets of the Lord and more fully revealed in sacred places.
There were evidently similar questions and controversies in the Master’s time. In one terse answer, he gave the essential ingredients to safety amidst the maze of uncertainty:
To settle an apparent controversy among his disciples as to who would be the greatest in the kingdom of God, he said: “… except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of [God].” (Matt. 18:3.)
To become converted, according to the scriptures, meant having a change of heart and the moral character of a person turned from the controlled power of sin into a righteous life. It meant to “wait patiently on the Lord” until one’s prayers can be answered and until his heart, as Cyprian, a defender of the faith in the Apostolic Period, testified, and I quote, “Into my heart, purified of all sin, there entered a light which came from on high, and then suddenly and in a marvelous manner, I saw certainty succeed doubt.”
Conversion must mean more than just being a “card carrying” member of the Church with a tithing receipt, a membership card, a temple recommend, etc. It means to overcome the tendencies to criticize and to strive continually to improve inward weaknesses and not merely the outward appearances.
The Lord issued a warning to those who would seek to destroy the faith of an individual or lead him away from the word of God or cause him to lose his grasp on the “iron rod,” wherein was safety by faith in a Divine Redeemer and his purposes concerning this earth and its peoples.
The Master warned: “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better … that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matt. 18:6.)
The Master was impressing the fact that rather than ruin the soul of a true believer, it were better for a person to suffer an earthly death than to incur the penalty of jeopardizing his own eternal destiny.
The apostle Paul impressed also the danger of false teachings by bad example. Said he: “But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. …
“And through thy knowledge shall the weak … perish, for whom Christ died?
“But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.” (1 Cor. 8:9, 11–12.)
Speaking to the learned and highly sophisticated generation in his time, the prophet Jacob said something which seems to be so often needed to be repeated today: “… When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. …
“But to be learned is good if they hearken to the counsels of God.” (2 Ne. 9:28–29.)
We fervently thank the Lord for the faithfulness and devotion of many in and out of the Church who are in high places in business, in governmental circles, in the legal profession, doctors, trained social workers, nurses, and those in the fields of the sciences and the arts. Particularly are we grateful for those who accept positions of leadership in the Church, who serve as home teachers or class leaders in the priesthood or in the auxiliaries, who make themselves available for volunteer service in helping to care for the unfortunate in all lands and among minorities within and without the Church, and in giving particular attention to the needs of the widows and the orphans.
I say to all such, as did Jesus to Zacchaeus: “This day is salvation come to [their] house.” (Luke 19:9.) These are they who are holding fast to the “iron rod” which can lead us all, in safety, to the tree of life.
I read recently from a column in the Washington Post, by George Moore, who styled himself as the “hermit of Mount Vernon.” (Mount Vernon, of course, was the ancestral home of George Washington.) In this article he said, “I have spent the last twenty years of my life at Mount Vernon reducing my ignorance.” He claimed that a person never learns anything until he realizes how little he knows. In this article he makes this most illuminating observation about George Washington:
“Washington never went to school. That’s why he was an educated man, he never quit learning.”
What George Moore said of himself I suppose could be said of many of you and of myself: “I have spent more than three score years of my life reducing my ignorance.”
Therein, it is my conviction, is the challenge to all who achieve distinction in any field. Some quit learning when they graduate from a school; some quit learning about the gospel when they have completed a mission for the Church; some quit learning when they become an executive or have a prominent position in or out of the Church.
Remember, as George Moore said of Washington, “We can become educated persons, regardless of our stations in life, if we never quit learning.”
The late President Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote this: “Any man who does his work well, who is justifiably self-confident and not unduly disturbed by the jeers of the cynics and the shirkers, any man who stays true to decent motives and is considerate of others is, in essence, a leader. Whether or not he is ever singled out for prominence, he is bound to achieve great inner satisfaction in turning out superior work.
“And that, by the way, is what the good Lord put us on this earth for.” (“What Is Leadership?” Reader’s Digest, June 1965, p. 54.)
With the restoration of the true gospel of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Church in the dispensation of the fulness of times, we were given instructions by revelation, the magnitude of which, as the late President Brigham H. Roberts explained, was “not merely as to whether baptism should be by immersion or for the forgiveness of sins, but the rubbish of accumulated ages was swept aside, the rocks made bare, and the foundations of the Kingdom of God were relaid.”
It may seem preposterous to many to declare that within the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may be found a bulwark to safeguard against the pitfalls, the frustrations, and the wickedness in the world. The plan of salvation formed in the heavens points clearly to the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life, even though there are many who refuse to follow that way.
In a great revelation, the Lord gave instruction by commandment to the leaders of the Church of that early day that they should be seekers after truth in many fields.
First, of course, he commanded that they should “teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom … in all things that pertain [to] the kingdom of God. …” (D&C 88:77–78.)
The Conservative desires to hold the rod, Liberals don’t think they need a rod.
Then he counsels as to the wide sweep of learning about which we should seek. His church was not to be an ignorant ministry in various fields of secular learning.
And then the Lord addressed his revelation to all others who may not have faith: “… seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” (D&C 88:118.)
One might well ask: How does one get “learning by faith”? One prophet explains the process: First, one must arouse his faculties and experiment on the words of the Lord and desire to believe. Let this desire work in you until ye believe in a manner that you can give place even to a portion of the word of the Lord; then, like a planted seed, it must be cultivated and not resist the Spirit of the Lord, which is that which lighteneth everyone born into the world; you can then begin to feel within yourselves that it must be good, for it enlarges your soul and enlightens your understanding and, like the fruit of the tree in Lehi’s vision, it becomes delicious to the taste. (See Alma 32.)
It was an English novelist who was quoted as saying: “He who seeks God has already found him.”
Let no one think that “learning by faith” contemplates an easy or lazy way to gain knowledge and ripen it into wisdom.
From heavenly instructions and added to which are the experiences of almost anyone who has sought diligently for heavenly guidance, one may readily understand that learning by faith requires the bending of the whole soul through worthy living to become attuned to the Holy Spirit of the Lord, the calling up from the depths of one’s own mental searching, and the linking of our own efforts to receive the true witness of the Spirit.
The mission of this church is to bear witness of the truths of the gospel and put to flight the false teachings on every side that are causing the restlessness and the aimlessness that threaten all who have not found the straight path and that which could be an anchor to their souls.
My fervent prayer is that I may hold up that true Light of Christ to all the world. I would that all may know with assurance, as I, from study, prayer, and faith, know for a certainty, as the Master declared to Martha, who was mourning the death of Lazarus, that the Lord and Master is indeed “the resurrection, and the life; [and] he that believeth in [him], though he were dead, yet shall he live:
“And whosoever liveth and believeth in [him] shall never die. …” (John 11:25–26.)
I thank the Lord that I can answer, as did Martha and as did Peter of old: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16.)
“Yea, Lord: I believe … thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.” (John 11:27.)
To this I do bear my solemn witness, in the sacred name of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, even so. Amen.” The Iron Rod by Harold B. Lee (Color, italics and bold added)
President J. Reuben Clark famously said, “If we have the truth, it cannot be harmed by investigation. If we have not the truth, it ought to be harmed.”
Hugh Nibley said, “The cornerstone of “sound scholarship” in our day is the comfortable doctrine that the answer no can never be quite as wrong as the answer yes, a proposition which to my knowledge has never been demonstrated. Excuse me if I seem recalcitrant, but I find it odd that the one skill most appreciated and rewarded in those circles where one hears everlastingly of “the inquiring mind” and the importance of “finding out for one’s self” is the gift and power of taking things for granted. Even our Latter-day Saint intellectuals are convinced that the way to impress the Gentiles is not to acquire a mastery of their critical tools, (how few even know Latin!), but simply to defer in all things to their opinions.”The WORLD Of The JAREDITES Improvement Era 1951-52 PART II The Tower By Hugh Nibley
Answer to the Question above: “It is easy for one who observes to see how the apostasy came about in the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ.”
On this blog I have been showing you a lot of archaeological artifacts of items found in North America, some with a tie to the Hebrew language. I want to be clear with my readers. Just because I post it on this blog doesn’t mean it is authentic. I share information to expand our desire to view all things that have been found and validate them by means of study and prayer. As Moroni said, “we may know the truth of all things.”
I love what Elder Holland said. “Truly rock-ribbed faith and uncompromised conviction comes with its most complete power when it engages our head as well as our heart… Truth borne by the Holy Spirit comes with, in effect, two manifestations, two witnesses if you will—the force of fact as well as the force of feeling… I believe God intends us to find and use the evidence He has given—reasons, if you will—which affirm the truthfulness of His work… Evidence is still evidence even if it is not immediately observable…” The Greatness of the Evidence By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland August 16, 2017
The Spirit of truth can be physical and spiritual. I feel strongly that this land of the United States is the Promised Land spoken of in the Book of Mormon and this book is the Word of God. Because of that, I believe we will find secondary evidences to assist us if needed. I have seen many in the Church who don’t have a strong witness of the Spirit that have found a new hope in physical evidence of the Book of Mormon as a real history of a real people. I have a friend that has struggled with a testimony, but as soon as I discussed the Mound Builders, an actual real people of history, he began researching and found his knowledge about these Mound Builders to spark a renewed desire to read and pray again about the Book of Mormon.
I am just a typical Saint trying hard to share information whether physical or spiritual that I feel will help each of you study and pray on your own to strengthen your own testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you haven’t read Jonathan Neville’s book titled “Mesomania” it is a great read. As I read it today I remember back to that zeal I had for 40 years about the Mesoamerican Theory. That zeal is now heavily focused in the Heartland and I am blessed to know this great country is indeed the place spoken of in the Book of Mormon.
“Too Much Paganism”
Joseph Fielding Smith Jr. said, “I attended sessions of meetings for the institute teachers, held in the assembly room on the fourth floor of the Church Office Building. I cannot say that I was very greatly edified. Too much philosophy of a worldly nature does not seem to mix well with the fundamentals of the gospel. In my opinion many of our teachers employed in the church school system have absorbed too much of the paganism of the world, and have accepted too readily the views of uninspired educators without regard for the revealed word of the Lord.
What to do about it I do not know. It is a problem for the Presidency to consider. It is a very apparent fact that we have traveled far and wide in the past 20 years [since his father’s death]. What the future will bring I do not know. But if we drift as far afield from fundamental things in the next 20 years, what will be left of the foundation laid by the Prophet Joseph Smith? It is easy for one who observes to see how the apostasy came about in the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ. Are we not traveling the same road? The more I see of educated men—I mean those who are trained in the doctrines and philosophies now taught in the world, the less regard I have for them. Modern theories which are so popular today just do not harmonize with the gospel as revealed to the prophets, and it would be amusing if it were not a tragedy to see how some of our educated brethren attempt to harmonize the theories of men with the revealed word of the Lord. Thank the Lord, there is still some faith left and some members who still cherish the word of the Lord and accept the prophets. Surely the world is ripening rapidly for the destruction, and Satan has power and dominion over his own. If any are saved surely the Lord must soon come and have power over his Saints and reign in their midst, and execute ‘judgment upon Idumea, or the world.” Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr., and John J. Stewart, The Life of Joseph Fielding Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1972], 210 – 211.
“I do not know all of the providences of the Lord, but I do know that he permits false doctrine to be taught in and out of the Church and that such teaching is part of the sifting process of mortality.” Bruce R. McConkie, McConkie’s 1981 letter to BYU
“A desire to follow a prophet is surely a great and appropriate strength, but even this has its potentially dangerous manifestations. I have heard of more than one group who are so intent on following the words of a dead prophet that they have rejected the teachings and counsel of the living ones.… Following the prophet is a great strength, but it needs to be consistent and current lest it lead to the spiritual downfall that comes from rejecting continuous revelation. Under that principle, the most important difference between dead prophets and living ones is that those who are dead are not here to receive and declare the Lord’s latest words to his people. If they were, there would be no differences among the messages of the prophets.” Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall DALLIN H. OAKS Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Mesoamerican Distraction
“By way of explanation, I’m not criticizing any current LDS scholars. I fully respect their efforts and deeply appreciate the good work they’ve done in many fields. Plus, they’re great people. I just think they’re making a fundamental mistake about the geography question and I’m just trying to understand the psychology behind the Mesoamerican theory. It’s a fascinating topic, and I have a much longer manuscript, but everyone wants short books, so I made the Mesomania as short as I could.
Mesomania book is available by clicking on the picture
For those new to this blog, I don’t care what anyone thinks about Book of Mormon geography and historicity so long as it works for them and gets them to read the text and incorporate the teachings.
However, it seems obvious that the vast majority of the people in the world reject the Book of Mormon as a legitimate, authentic history. This includes members of the Church, too many of whom are inactive. Even among active members, many don’t think the Book of Mormon is an authentic history. I do.
And I think the Mesoamerican theory is a distraction that deters people from accepting the Book of Mormon as an authentic history. Of course, there are some people who find great value in seeing Mesoamerican culture in the text. That’s fine. As I said, whatever works. You can apply the scriptures to yourselves by reading into the text attributes of African culture, Chilean culture, etc.
But when the scholars present only the Mesoamerican theory to their students (or, just as bad, an abstract map theory), and seek to present only that theory to the world through missionary work, in my view it’s a serious mistake because, as Joseph Fielding Smith warned, the theory causes members (and investigators) to become confused and disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon.
I think the Mesoamerican distraction originated with Benjamin Winchester, William Smith and others in the 1840s, but it died down until the 1920s when the limited geography setting in Mesoamerica was developed by RLDS scholars. They were the first to reject the New York Cumorah; so far as I can discover, not a single person who knew Joseph rejected the New York Cumorah.
LDS scholars at BYU gradually adopted the RLDS position over the objection of Joseph Fielding Smith, and that’s where we are today.
I’m hoping we can change course, embrace Letter VII and the other early teachings, and become united as LDS who have full faith in the historicity of the Book of Mormon. __________________
In Mesomania, I explain my views on the psychology that drives the effort by modern LDS scholars to promote the Mesoamerican theory. Among other things, they are seeking to accomplish these objectives:
1. Reject Letter VII by characterizing Oliver Cowdery as a speculative, unreliable man who lacks credibility.
2. Reject David Whitmer’s accounts because he, too, was a speculative, unreliable man who lacks credibility.
3. Portray Joseph Smith as an uncertain man who 1) embraced a false tradition about the Hill Cumorah in New York and 2) changed his mind about the North American setting and embraced a Mesoamerican setting with the expectation that modern LDS scholars would answer the questions about Book of Mormon geography. ________________
For me, those objectives undermine faith and are the fulfillment of Joseph Fielding Smith’s warning. [Quote Below]
And it’s all so unnecessary.
Which is why I want to understand the psychology, and why I wrote Mesomania. Blog by Jonathan Neville Visit Here
Joseph Fielding Smith- “Greatly Disturbed in their Faith”
I have a strong belief that there is only one Hill Cumorah in upstate new York. It has been written about by hundreds of Prophets and Apostles. It makes sense and I challenge readers to listen to the words of an Apostle below. Here are hundreds of other quotes!
“This modernistic theory of necessity, in order to be consistent, must place the waters of Ripliancum and the Hill Cumorah some place within the restricted territory of Central America, notwithstanding the teachings of the Church to the contrary for upwards of 100 years. Because of this theory some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon. It is for this reason that evidence is here presented to show that it is not only possible that these places could be located as the Church has held during the past century, but that in very deed such is the case… It is known that the Hill Cumorah where the Nephites were destroyed is the hill where the Jaredites were also destroyed. This hill was known to the Jaredites as Ramah. It was approximately near to the waters of Ripliancum, which the Book of Ether says, “by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all…
It must be conceded that this description fits perfectly the land of Cumorah in New York, as it has been known since the visitation of Moroni to the Prophet Joseph Smith, for the hill is in the proximity of the Great Lakes and also in the land of many rivers and fountains. Moreover, the Prophet Joseph Smith himself is on record, definitely declaring the present hill called Cumorah to be the exact hill spoken of in the Book of Mormon. Further, the fact that all of his associates from the beginning down have spoken of it as the identical hill where Mormon and Moroni hid the records, must carry some weight. It is difficult for a reasonable person to believe that such men as Oliver Cowdery. Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, David Whitmer, and many others, could speak frequently of the Spot where the Prophet Joseph Smith obtained the plates as the Hill Cumorah, and not be corrected by the Prophet, if that were not the fact. That they did speak of this hill in the days of the Prophet in this definite manner is an established record of history.” Doctrines of Salvation Joseph Fielding Smith Chapter 12
The Challenge of Zeal
“Critics of the Book of Mormon point to the lack of physical evidence to corroborate the narrative in the text, but the real problem is choosing among the abundant evidences. Almost no matter where you look in the Americas, scientists are uncovering more and more physical evidence of ancient civilizations that expands our understanding and appreciation of these cultures. These civilizations were more extensive and more sophisticated than previous generations realized.
But that’s a topic for another day.
Here, I want to address the challenge of zeal. Advocates of most theories of Book of Mormon geography have a certain degree of zeal or they wouldn’t be advocates. Nothing wrong with zeal, per se. You need zeal to accomplish anything. But you can also have excessive zeal, and we want to be cognizant of that so we don’t make counterproductive mistakes.
At the same time, we don’t want to dismiss a proposed setting just because some advocates have emphasized artifacts that turn out not to be what they were once thought to be, or are represented to be. That’s just as irrational as relying on the artifacts in the first place.
______________________________
In the area of Book of Mormon archaeology, probably the best-known mistake is Izapa Stela 5, the so-called “Lehi’s Tree of Life” stone. For decades, it was promoted as proof that the Book of Mormon took place in Mesoamerica.
The Church even got involved. An article in the 1985 Ensign evaluates Stela 5 and says, “If this is true—and, again, we must remain cautious and tentative until all the evidence is in—Stela 5 may prove to be the first deciphered artifact from the Nephite civilization.”
That’s some powerful hype.
Stela 5 was again on display in the Liahona magazine in 2010.
Many “isles of the sea” were among places where the gospel began to take root in the 19th century. This replica of Stela 5—one of 80 monuments in Izapa, Chiapas, Mexico—is known as the Tree-of-Life Stone. Some have suggested that it might depict Lehi’s dream (see 1 Nephi 8).
There’s a replica of Stela 5 on display at the Utah Cultural Center. For years, you could buy replicas at Deseret Book and the BYU bookstore. I’ve seen them in the homes of many Latter-day Saints. I’ve seen replicas in offices. Stela 5 has become the emblem of the Mesoamerican theory for many people.
“Based on parallels with traditions originating in the Old World, a few researchers have linked the stone to theories of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact. Mormon theorist M. Wells Jakeman proposed that the image was a representation of a tree of life vision found in the Book of Mormon. Jakeman’s theory was popular for a time among Mormons, but found little support from Mormon apologists. Julia Guernsey finds that Jakeman’s research “belies an obvious religious agenda that ignored Izapa Stela 5’s heritage”.
In fact, I have an article from 2004 titled “Izapa Stela 5: Deception in Stone” by Kathryn Egan that demonstrates the stone has nothing to do with the Book of Mormon, but the myth persisted anyway.
I think it’s fair to say now that the link between Stela 5 and the Book of Mormon has been largely abandoned by LDS scholars, including those who otherwise believe the Mesoamerican setting. I attended a seminar last year when this was announced and the audience seemed upset and disappointed. Nevertheless, the connection persists in LDS culture. Just google “Stela 5” and you’ll find lots of examples.
Does this example of poor evidence invalidate the Mesoamerican theory? Of course not. We should recognize people make mistakes. Research continues throughout the Americas. _____________________
Historical note. The first “proof” artifact from South America was brought to Nauvoo in 1842. These were paper facsimiles taken from a 20-foot long hieroglyphic engraving on a rock in South America. It purported to show Lehi crossing the “large waters” before landing on this continent, as well as their travels and encampments. They were presented to Joseph Smith. If you have never heard about this, it’s because Joseph didn’t give it any credence. Just like we shouldn’t give any credence to physical evidence that doesn’t add up. _____________________
There is unreliable physical evidence everywhere we look, both because of fakes and because of illusory “correspondences” that we hope will validate our expectations.
I’m hoping we can all work together to support evidence that corroborates the Book of Mormon wherever it is found.”
“While the Reformation and the surge for freedom were gaining momentum in Europe and England, events were transpiring that led to the rediscovery of the land of America, for God touched the heart of a mariner by the name of Christopher Columbus, who eventually pioneered a passageway to the promised land in 1492. But neither Columbus, the Nephites, nor the Jaredites were its original discoverers, nor did they establish the purpose of America’s destiny. This had already been established in the infancy of earth’s habitation. In these migrations they were but directed to the land of man’s beginning upon the earth…. In the course of time from the creation, in the days of Peleg (Gen. 10:16 (JST)), or about the year 2200 B.C., Just prior to the confusion of the languages, the single continent of land that had continued from creation was divided to produce the hemispheres as we now know them. But notwithstanding this, the geographic location of the Garden of Eden was made known to the Prophet Joseph Smith by revelation as here in the land of America, in Jackson County, Missouri, with Independence as the center place.” The Destiny of America by President Alvin R. Dyer October 1968
Editors note: To me there is no doubt that the so-called “New World” of the Americas today, was originally the “Newest World “, as here in the United States in the land of Missouri, was Adam placed on the Earth to begin life. America has been rediscovered. It makes sense as this Land of America, Missouri, Land of Joseph, USA, Heartland, or any other name you want to call it, is the Lord’s Promised Land for those who obey Him. It is not chosen to be the best or the most beautiful, but the Lord chose it for His people. I hope we can understand that and quit arguing about which land is better. Are we to question the Lord with His choice of lands? No!
“Ether speaks of a New Jerusalem to be built in America by the seed of Joseph” From Heading to chapter 13 of Ether
“For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; for he truly told them of all things, from the beginning of man; and that after the waters had receded from off the face of this land it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should serve him who dwell upon the face thereof;
And that it was the place of the New Jerusalem, which should come down out of heaven, and the holy sanctuary of the Lord.
Behold, Ether saw the days of Christ, and he spake concerning a New Jerusalem upon this land.” Ether 1:2-4
Why was the United States Chosen?No other land had such liberal institutions!
Thomas S. Monson
“Our Heavenly Father inspired Christopher Columbus in his discovery of America. Our Heavenly Father inspired the leaders of the renaissance period. Our Heavenly Father inspired men and caused that they would dream dreams and see visions and discover marvelous instruments and inventions which would enable them to set forth upon the oceans and to be led to the place where our Father in Heaven would have them led. Our Heavenly Father inspired the man who invented movable type, that His holy word, as found in the Bible, could be printed and disseminated widely to the people. Our Heavenly Father inspired the leaders of . . . the United States of America, that they might together, under His direction, having been raised up by God for the purpose, establish the Constitution of this country and . . . Bill of Rights, that . . . by the year of our Lord 1805 [there would be] a climate where our Heavenly Father could send into this period of mortality a choice spirit who would be known as Joseph Smith, Jr. His life’s mission would alter the course of all future events. Thus, came Joseph into the world.” Teachings of Thomas S Monson 2011 (Twenty-First Annual Joseph Smith Memorial Sermon, December 11, 1963)
“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
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!”
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Janne Mattson Sjödahl (29 November 1853 – 23 June 1939) was a Swedish convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and was the author of influential commentaries on LDS Church scriptures. Sjödahl was among the first commentators to advance a “limited geography model” for the theorized geography of the Book of Mormon.
In 1874, Sjödahl moved to England and enrolled in Spurgeon’s College in London, where he graduated with a degree in divinity in 1876. While in England, Sjödahl mastered English and also specialized in Greek and Hebrew. In addition to knowing Swedish and Norwegian from his childhood, Sjödahl would also master the German, Icelandic, and Arabic languages…
On 8 June 1886, Sjödahl was excommunicated from the Baptist Church, possibly on charges of adultery.[1] Around the same time, Sjödahl became associated with Ferdinand Friis Hintze, a Danish missionary from the LDS Church. Following his excommunication, Sjödahl travelled to Utah Territory to further investigate Mormonism. On the sea journey, his son Janne Jr. died.
After arriving in Utah Territory, Sjödahl settled in Sanpete County, where a large number of Scandinavian Latter-day Saints had settled. On 7 October 1886, Sjödahl was baptized into the LDS Church in Manti.
Life in Manti Upon settling in Manti, Sjödahl became the editor of the Manti Sentinel newspaper.
When the LDS Church’s Manti Utah Temple was completed in May 1888, Sjödahl became the first individual to receive his Endowment in the new temple. On 30 May 1888, Sjödahl and Christina Christofferson were married in the Manti Temple by Apostle Francis M. Lyman; they were the first couple married in the new temple. His second wife died in 1910.
Church translator and missionary In 1888, Sjödahl completed a church-approved translation of the LDS Church’s Doctrine and Covenants into Swedish. In 1927, Sjödahl translated the Pearl of Great Price into Swedish, and in 1935 he completed the third revised translation of the Book of Mormon into Swedish.
Upon the completion of the translation, Sjödahl was asked by church president Wilford Woodruff to go on a mission to Palestine. In January 1889. Sjödahl arrived in Jaffa. He learned to speak Arabic and preached in Palestine for one year, organizing a branch of the church in Jaffa. In January 1890, Sjödahl was asked to go to Bern, Switzerland to complete his mission. He arrived back in Utah Territory in July 1890.
Newspaper editor and publications
Upon returning to Utah, Sjödahl became employed by the Deseret News newspaper in Salt Lake City. From 1906 to 1914, Sjödahl was the chief editor of the newspaper. In 1914, Sjödahl returned to England and became an editor of the LDS Church’s Millennial Star in Liverpool.
In 1917, Sjödahl and LDS Church Apostle Hyrum M. Smith, who was the president of the church’s European Mission, together worked on A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants. While Sjödahl wrote most of the text, it was reviewed and approved by Smith. When Doctrine and Covenants Commentary was first published in 1919 in Liverpool, it was a church-approved publication and only Smith was listed as an author. However, subsequent publication of Doctrine and Covenants Commentary have acknowledged Sjödahl as its coauthor. Doctrine and Covenants Commentary is still cited frequently by Latter-day Saint authors and commentators.
Upon returning to Utah in 1919, Sjödahl became an editor for the church’s Improvement Era magazine, in which he published more than 50 of his own articles. In 1920, Sjödahl worked with George F. Richards and James E. Talmage in revising the footnotes in the Book of Mormon; Sjödahl’s work was incorporated into the LDS Church’s 1920 English edition of that publication. In 1923 and 1924, he assisted Talmage in revising his church-approved book Articles of Faith.
In 1927, Sjödahl published An Introduction to the Study of the Book of Mormon, an apologetic work and one of the founding works in the area of Book of Mormon studies. In this work, Sjödahl advanced an early version of the “limited geography model” of the Book of Mormon, one of the first authors to do so.
Sjödahl was also the editor of the LDS Church’s German, Danish–Norwegian, Dutch, and Swedish newspapers in Salt Lake City from 1919 until they ceased publication in 1935.
When Sjödahl died in 1939, he had partially completed an extensive commentary on the Book of Mormon. In 1955, Sjödahl’s material was taken by his son-in-law, Philip C. Reynolds, and combined with some materials by church general authority George Reynolds and published under their names the seven-volume Commentary on the Book of Mormon. In 1965, Philip Reynolds published under the same names Commentary on the Pearl of Great Price.
Publications George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjödahl (1955) (Philip C. Reynolds, ed.). Commentary on the Book of Mormon (7 vols.) (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News Press)—— and —— (1965) (Philip C. Reynolds, ed.). Commentary on the Pearl of Great Price (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News Press) Janne M. Sjödahl (1927). An Introduction to the Study of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News Press)—— (1913). The Reign of Antichrist, or, The Great Falling Away: A Study in Ecclesiastical History (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News Press) Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjödahl (1955, 2d ed.). The Doctrine and Covenants Containing Revelations Given to Joseph Smith Jr., the Prophet, with an Introduction and Historical and Exegetical Notes (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News Press) [originally published in 1919 as A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants] source: Wikipedia
See my Blog Here about the stories in the D&C Commentary by Sjodahl and Hyrum Smith that support events of the Book of Mormon in North America
In 1927, Janne M. Sjödahl a Swedish immigrant and convert to the LDS church, wrote a book on one of the founding works in the area of Book of Mormon studies. In his book he said; “The Onondagas: These have special interest… It appears from this, that this warrior, Zelph, was an Onondaga, as well as a “white” Lamanite, and that the Onondagas (of New York), consequently must be of Lamanite lineage. It also appears that at least some of the mounds in the Ohio Valley were erected by the descendants of Lehi”J.M. Sjodahl, An Introduction to the Study of the Book of Mormon.
THE LATTER DAY SAINTS MILLENNIAL STAR THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 1917, Editorial by J.M. Sjodahl, CONFIRMING THE BOOK OF MORMON.
According to the belief of the Latter-day Saints, the American continents were inhabited before the Flood. Somewhere in America, they believe, Enoch built his marvelous city, which was taken from the earth before the deluge. Somewhere in that region, Noah built the ark, and preached the gospel of repentance, and from America he was carried across the mighty deep until the vessel in which he and his family had found safety rested on Mount Ararat.
The Book of Mormon tells us that some of those who were engaged in the construction of the Tower of Babel and who were scattered over the face of the earth were brought to America. There they grew to become a mighty nation. In course of time, however, they became exceedingly wicked and destroyed each other. These people are known as the Jaredites.
The sacred record mentioned also tells us that about six hundred years before our era, the Lord brought another colony of settlers to America. They came from Jerusalem. They also increased, prospered, and became wicked. Like the Jaredites, they destroyed each other, and but few remained after their sanguinary wars. From these the Red Indians have descended.
The Book of Mormon teaches, then, that there has been communication between Asia and America during the past ages, and that the American ancient civilization, of which many marvelous monuments still remain, are of Semitic origin, influenced, however, by Egyptian culture. This is implied by Nephi, when he says that he makes his record in the language of his father, “which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians,” and, when the circumstances of the time in which Lehi lived before he emigrated from Jerusalem are considered, it is easily understood that the Egyptian influence must have been considerable upon the Hebrew mind and intellectual life generally. He lived at a time when Babylonia and Egypt were striving for supremacy in Palestine, and when the shortsighted leaders of the people favored the Egyptians in preference to the Chaldean’s, to such an extreme degree that many of them fled to Egypt, when the army of Nebuchadnezzar approached their beloved city. They even forced Jeremiah to accompany them to Egypt. Under the circumstances it is natural that Egyptian influence should have had a strong hold on the leading men among the Jews, as indicated in the Book of Mormon.
Lately, scientists have been inclined to doubt our belief in this respect. They have tried to account for the similarity observed in the civilizations of the Old World and the New, by supposing that similar needs and circumstances in different parts of the world may well lead isolated groups of men to work out systems of civilization of the same type. How much this theory owes to a desire to disprove the Book of Mormon, no one knows. Even scientists may have their prejudices. It is all the more noteworthy that a recent contributor to Science (New York, August 11th. 1910), G. Elliot Smith, contends that the pre-Columbian civilization of the Americas came from Egypt. He places the date of its exodus from that country at 900 B.C. A “cultural migration,” he thinks, took place at that time, which left its influence also in India, China, and Polynesia. On this theory the trek eastward from the Red Sea. of Lehi and his company, would appear quite natural, though miraculously guided by divine power.
As quoted in the Literary Digest, September 9th, 1910, G. Elliot Smith writes
“The proof of the reality of this great migration of culture, is provided, not merely by the identical geographical distribution of a very extensive series of curiously distinctive, and often utterly bizarre, customs and beliefs, the precise dates and circumstances of the origin of which are known in their parent countries, but by the fact that these strange ingredients are compounded in a definite and highly complex manner, to form an artificial cultural structure, which no theory of independent evolution can possibly explain, because chance played so large a part in building it up in its original home.
“For instance, it is quite conceivable (though, I believe, utterly opposed to the evidence at our disposal) that different people might, independently the one or the other, have invented the practices of mummification, building megalithic monuments, circumcision, tattooing, and terraced irrigation; evolved the stories of the petrification of human beings, the strange adventures of the dead in the underworld, and the divine origin of kings ; and adopted sun-worship.
But why should the people of America and Egypt who built megalithic monuments, build them in accordance with very definite plans compounded of Egyptian, Babylonian, Indian, and East Asiatic models? And why should the same people who did so, also have their wives’ chins tattooed, their sons circumcised, their dead mummified ? Or why should it be the same people who worshiped the sun and adopted the curiously artificial winged-sun-and-serpent symbolism, who practiced terraced irrigation in precisely the same way, who made idols, and held similar beliefs regarding them, who had identical stories of the wanderings of the dead in the underworld?
“If any theory of evolution of customs and beliefs is adequate to explain the independent origin of each item in the extensive repertoire, either of the New Empire Egyptian or the pre-Columbian American civilization (which I deny), it is utterly inconceivable that the fortuitous combination of hundreds of utterly incongruous and fantastic elements could possibly have happened twice. It is idle to deny the completeness of the demonstration which the existence of such a civilization in America supplies of the fact that it was derived from the late New Empire Egyptian civilization, modified by Ethiopian, Mediterranean, West Asiatic, Indian, Indonesian, East Asiatic, and Polynesian influences. * * *
“All that I claim, then, is that the influence of Egypt was handed on from place to place ; that the links which all ethnologists recognize as genuine bonds of union can with equal certainty be joined up into a cultural chain uniting Egypt to America.
Its Ancient Egyptian name was Ineb Hedj (“The White Walls”). The name “Memphis” is the Greek deformation of the Egyptian name of Pepi I’s (6th dynasty) pyramid, Men-nefer, which became Menfe in Coptic. According to Herodotus, the city was founded around 3100 BC by Menes, who united the two kingdoms of Egypt.
“In almost every one of the focal points along this great migration route the folklore of today has preserved legends of the culture heroes who introduced some one or other of the elements of this peculiarly distinctive civilization. * * *
“At every spot where they touched and tarried, whether on the coasts of Asia, the islands of the Pacific, or on the continent of America, the new culture took root and flourished in its own distinctive manner, as it was subjected to the influence of the aborigines or to that of later comers of other ideas and traditions ; and each place became a fresh focus from which the new knowledge continued to radiate for long ages after the primary inoculation.
“The first great cultural wave (or the series of waves of which it was composed) continued to flow for several centuries. It must have begun some time after 900 B.C., because the initial equipment of the great wanderers included practices which were not invented in Egypt until that time. The last of the series of ripples in the great wave set out from India just after the practice of cremation made its appearance there, for at the end of the series the custom of incinerating the dead made its appearance in Indonesia, Polynesia, Mexico, and elsewhere.” J. M. S.
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It has always been part of society to claim Satan is make believe, or he isn’t a real person. Or they have made him to look like a Red Devil in costume. This has always been a big part of Satan’s plan, to pretend he doesn’t exist. What a lie. He is real and he must be defeated. We must discern his unrighteous deception. You must know he is real in order to avoid him. He can only affect us if we are willing to allow it. Don’t trifle with him or evil things. As my mother taught me, “An idle mind is the Devil’s workshop.”
Enemy of all Righteousness
“Satan, also called the adversary or the devil, is the enemy of all righteousness and of those who seek to follow God. He is a spirit son of God who was once an angel “in authority in the presence of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:25; see also Isaiah 14:12; Doctrine and Covenants 76:26–27). But in the premortal Council in Heaven, Lucifer, as Satan was then called, rebelled against God. Since that time, he has sought to destroy the children of God on the earth and to make them miserable.
One primary issue in the conflict between God and Satan is agency. Agency is a precious gift from God; it is essential to His plan for His children. In Satan’s rebellion against God, Satan “sought to destroy the agency of man” (Moses 4:3). He said: “I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor” (Moses 4:1).
Satan persuaded “a third part of the hosts of heaven” to turn away from the Father (Doctrine and Covenants 29:36). As a result of this rebellion, Satan and his followers were cut off from God’s presence and denied the blessing of receiving a physical body (see Revelation 12:9).
Heavenly Father allows Satan and Satan’s followers to tempt us as part of our experience in mortality (see 2 Nephi 2:11–14; Doctrine and Covenants 29:39). Because Satan “seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself” (2 Nephi 2:27), he and his followers try to lead us away from righteousness. He directs his most strenuous opposition at the most important aspects of Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness. For example, he seeks to discredit the Savior and the priesthood, to cast doubt on the power of the Atonement, to counterfeit revelation, to distract us from the truth, and to contradict individual accountability. He attempts to undermine the family by confusing gender, promoting sexual relations outside of marriage, ridiculing marriage, and discouraging childbearing by married adults who would otherwise raise children in righteousness.
Individuals do not have to give in to Satan’s temptations. Each person has the power to choose good over evil, and the Lord has promised to help all who seek Him through sincere prayer and faithfulness.Source Gospel Study Manual
THE CHURCH OF THE DEVIL
I sincerely believe this is Satan’s last hurrah. This world is so full of wickedness, it shows up in many places we would never think. Look at the people fighting to take away our freedom of speech and religion. The inordinate amount of abortions, pedophilia, and extreme perversion. Our unalienable rights are being pounced on. Guns, liberty, search and seizure, and our government seeking for power and gain and not for “We the People”.
I believe most of our government today has been seized by the top executives in the FBI, CIA, WHO, CDC, FDA, White House, Congress, IRS, Treasury and Federal Reserve. It is true we have many people that are good unsuspecting people in these organizations, but the system is broken. We indeed are hanging by a thread and we must remain vigilant and follow the Savior in all we do. I believe in what I call a “Second Harvest”, that may come to help our evil government become healed enough to allow the Church to spread the gospel to nations of the world, that have not had the opportunity to hear about the Book of Mormon. We need to prepare to defend our family, children and our rights as Moroni has said in the scriptures. The 2nd coming could be anytime, but I pray for a brief healing so we may share the joy of the gospel before He comes again.
Earthly Governments must be Based on God’s Laws to Endure
“If a nation transgresses wholesome laws and oppresses any of its citizens or another nation, until the cup of iniquity is full, through acts that are perfectly under its own control, God will hurl those who are in authority from their power, and they will be forgotten; and he will take another people, though poor and despised, a hiss and a by-word among the popular nations, and instill into them power and wisdom; and they will increase and prosper, until they in turn become a great nation on the earth.” (DBY, 357).
“Every evil and worldly organization on earth that perverts the pure and perfect gospel and fights against the Lamb of God [is evil]
There are only two churches, one of the Lamb of God and one of the devil, 1 Ne. 14:10 (Alma 5:39).
Contend against no church, save it be the church of the devil, D&C 18:20.
The great and abominable church shall be cast down, D&C 29:21.” Guide to the Scriptures
The article below was shared by my friend Betty Red Ant LaFontaine.
Manifestation of the Spirit
Given at Independence, MO. April 15th, 1917 By Brother J.F. Weston
“O My people, O My people, in as much as you have been warned and re-warned in regard to the conditions of the world, and the destruction that is coming upon the nations of the earth, I give you this to prepare you for what is coming. If my people will be humble and faithful in keeping My commandments, My promises unto them shall be fulfilled. I will protect you from the dangers of the world, but unless united together by the influence of love and unity, you cannot be protected. You need not worry about the nations of the world that are engaged in this conflict, it is but in fulfillment of the scriptures of many years ago, and this is in My hands. But be not afraid, for this shall be the only people not at war. The time shall come when there shall be such a war, as has not been known, when it shall be man for man in the revolution in this country; and thus it behooves My people that they shall stand firm and steadfast for Me.
They need not worry now, for they are in My hands, and it is written in My scriptures that the wicked shall slay the wicked. After this war is over, My gospel shall go forth – My servants shall bear My gospel to the nations of the earth. They shall be endowed with power to the convincing of many people and at that time there shall be peace. Lift up your hearts and rejoice, not because of the destruction of lives, but because you are numbered with My people, and bear My name. And if you are faithful in doing My will and keeping My commandments, I will protect your crops, and the high cost of living will not distress you, for you shall have plenty if you are faithful to me. Have faith in Me and trust, and I will protect you from the dangers of the world. Thus I bid you lift up your heads and rejoice. My servants if faithful, will bring many sheaves unto Me with songs of everlasting joy. Thus My people shall rejoice, saith the Spirit unto you.” J.F. Weston
If I were the Devil would I have your Vote?By Darin Southam Understanding Communism, Socialism and Capitalism
America in Peril; Ten Stages in the Destruction of a Promised Land by Douglas Brinley(Book)
America in Peril
“Satan and his minions will constantly contrive roadblocks to prevent you from understanding the spiritual gifts with which you have been and can be blessed.” Spiritual Treasures 2019 By President Russell M. Nelson
“A study of Satan’s methods can alert us to his seductions.” Ezra Taft Benson “Lucifer is a clever and cunning intelligence. One of the main methods he uses against us is his ability to lie and deceive to convince us that evil is good and good is evil . . . Satan and his minions have their lures all around us, hoping that we will falter and take his flies so he can reel us in with counterfeit means.” M. Russell Ballard
“Satan has a powerful tool to use against good people. It is distraction.” Richard G. Scott “The great question which all men in our day must answer—and that at the peril of their own salvation—is- Was Joseph Smith called of God” Bruce R. McConkie
“God’s ways are not man’s ways, but are infinitely superior thereto.” Elder Delbert L. Stapley
“May we ever choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong.” Thomas S. Monson
“Except in the case of His only perfect Begotten Son, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it. So should we.” Jeffrey R. Holland
At the end of the day, the only way to detect and prevent Satan’s lies are to gain a testimony from God Himself that this work is true. Once you have a testimony don’t let Satan shake it. When he comes saying “Look at this part of Church History you don’t know!” You will be able to reply “I have a witness from God that this Church is true!” And thereby overcome Satan’s efforts to deceive the elect of God. As President Uchtdorf taught “doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.”
From 8 Anti-Mormon Tactics That Satan Uses To Attack The Latter-day Saints by Jeremy Goff.
Learn of Me
Learn of Me by Liz Lemon Swindle
Paul Harvey was an American radio broadcaster. He originally broadcast this on April 3rd, 1965. Watch as you learn about why God must be first in every area of our lives.
“My 15-Year Journey to Prove that the Phoenicians reached the Americas before Columbus”
In 2019 sailor, author, and fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, Philip Beale, set out to prove that the ancient Phoenicians could have crossed the Atlantic 2,000 years before Christopher Columbus. As captain and expedition leader of the Phoenicians Before Columbus Expedition, Beale tells the exciting story of arguably the most ambitious voyage in experimental archaeology since Kon-Tiki.
Coin from Sidon: One side of this mid-fourth century B.C.E. double shekel is engraved with a Phoenician galley riding the waves—a reminder of Sidon’s pre-eminence in maritime commerce and conquest.
“In 2009, The Phoenicia Ship Expedition has now demonstrated unequivocally that Lehi’s voyage could have left the Arabian Peninsula and sailed around Africa to the Americas rather than attempting to cross the earth’s largest ocean at its widest point, as proposed by Mesoamerican theorists.
In 2009, the Phoenicia Expedition supports our vision, that Lehi’s Voyage to America was possible.
In 2020 this same Phoenicia Ship Expedition has also demonstrated that Zedikiah’s son, Mulek escaped the Babylonians and could have left the area of Jerusalem on a Phoenician 600 BC style ship, which may have sailed to the new world and continued near Florida and up the Mississippi (Sidon) River and landing in present day Montrose, Iowa, across the river from Nauvoo, Illinois. This one replica 600 BC ship has proven two very important voyages testified about in the Book of Mormon, that were accomplished. This Phoenician Ship has sailed over 40,000 nautical miles in the past 10 years or so, and the Heartland Group now owns this amazing ship. We are looking for funding or donations to save the Phoenicia and rebuild it and display it near Joseph Smith’s amazing city of Nauvoo.
In 2020, the Phoenicia Expedition supports our vision, that Mulek’s Voyage to America was possible.
Moroni’s America-Heartland Map Package- BOTH MAP Book’s + TRAVEL MAP
Below is a recent update from Mike and Betty LaFontaine and John Lefgren of the Heartland group’s recent email. Join them in Fort Madison near Montrose, Iowa. You can assist in rebuilding the Phoenicia Ship. Email: [email protected]
Photo by Avner Raban. This relief shows a fleet of Phoenician vessels, known as hippos ships, hauling timber by river from Lebanon to Khorsobad for construction of the palace of Sargon II, Assyrian king from 721 to 705 B.C.E. The ships are easily identifiable by their horsehead-shaped prows
Read Rod Meldrum’s blog all about the importance of the Voyages in relationship to the Book of Mormon Evidence: https://wp.me/p8C4C3-2NJ
In this past year or so, the 600 BC replica Phoenicia Ship was purchased by the Heartland Research Group, in order to display the original ship that was sailed by Captain Philip Beale over 40,000 miles to America. It is currently in Montrose, Iowa today and volunteers are assisting the Heartland Research Group to rebuild a display it.
Phoenicia Museum Bookstore
Heartland Research Group is supported by the FIRM Foundation and validates their belief that Lehi and Mulek could very easily have followed the route of the Phoenicia Expedition. Native Americans Mike and Betty LaFontaine have been instrumental along with Dr. John Lefgren in obtaining the purchase of the replica 600 BC ship called Phoenicia, which has been sailed over 30,000 nautical miles by Captain Philip Beale, retired British Navy. Captain Beale took a 2009 voyage from Jerusalem around the Horn of Africa and back to Israel. His goal was to prove the ancient mariner Herodotus could circumvent the African Continent in a trade route. On this voyage the Phoenicia came within 400 miles of Florida and could have easily landed there, where we believe Lehi of the Book of Mormon most likely landed. On a second voyage in 2020, Captain Beale again set sail in the Phoenicia and traveled from Tunisia to Florida, proving the possibility that Mulek could have traveled the same route to North America. Incidentally, Captain Beale is not a member of our Church and his goals of voyage are very different that we Saints. Yet, Captain Beale has assisted us tremendously in his discovery voyages. He is intrigued by our goals and is trying to learn more from us all.
Zarahemla (Montrose Iowa) to Hill Cumorah (NY) Land of Zarahemla and Land Bountiful
Why at Montrose, Iowa? As you read scripture, Joseph Smith received a revelation while in Nauvoo, IL in March 1841 which said, “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.” D&C 125:3 To many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe the “land opposite” is indeed Montrose, IA on the Mississippi River. We believe Montrose to be the very place that the Ancient City of Zarahemla of the Book of Mormon was.
Heartland Research Group has been doing research with magnetometry from Germany, LiDAR, resistivity scanning points from Russia, and dedicated shoe leather from Wayne May and Kevin Price. Information here
Why is Zarahemla in Montrose Iowa?
You can read an amazing article HERE, that was summitted to me to be shared as credible research from a man who wants this information to be known and prayed about. He believes the area of Montrose, Iowa is indeed in the Land of Zarahemla. This information comes from a very studious and spiritual man who has seen, heard, and studied both sides of the Mesoamerica vs Heartland theory’s of the Book of Mormon. He has important and authoritative information from many authorities, leaders, and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We believe the Land Zarahemla of the Book of Mormon is indeed in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana.
Phoenicians Sailing to the New World
Did Phoenicians beat Christopher Columbus to the Americas by thousands of years?
It has already been established that Columbus was not the first European to lead an expedition to the “New World,” across the vast Atlantic Ocean to the continents that later came to be known as the Americas. The Viking Leif Erikson is now accepted to have been the first, establishing a settlement in modern day Newfoundland, Canada, some 500 years before 1492.
Since the 19th century, a claim has been staked on behalf of the Phoenicians. In 2019 The Phoenicians Before Columbus Expedition [Philip Beale’s Website] set sail in a replica of a Phoenician ship from the Mediterranean across the Atlantic in an attempt to establish that the Phoenicians may have reached the Americas as long ago as the 10th-century B.C.E.
Phoenicia Museum Montrose, IA
Undaunted by the lack of evidence, the Phoenicians Before Columbus Expedition set out in 2019 to “prove” that Phoenicians reached the Americas by sailing a traditional Phoenician ship, and blogging their route and experience. The Phoenicia was modeled on a wreck dating to around 600 B.C.E., found in the Mediterranean. It was built using traditional methods and materials that would have been available at the time. The ship had already completed a successful 20,000 mile voyage, circumnavigating Africa in 2010.
The Phoenicia, after 39 days at sea, did in fact reach the Dominican Republic on December 31st, 2019. Even if the actual Phoenicians never reached the Americas, the journey demonstrates their impressive boat-building skills, and their capability to have done so. There is good reason they were famous mariners. Source Bible History Daily
Here is the recent newsletter from our affiliate, Heartland Research Group of June 26, 2022.
The PHOENICIA Ship in Iowa connects 600 years before Christ to the Old World. Today we found an interesting link on the web. Click here to see the video.
On December 13, 2013, this small Gray Jasper Scaraboid was sold from a private collection at Christie’s for $93,750.
We are pleased to bring to your attention the report from the auction house that describes the button-sized artifact with a cut image of the PHOENICIA ship replica we are restoring in Montrose, Iowa. We see a clear connection between the ship image found on the button-size Gray Jasper Stone and the 65-foot, 30-ton PHOENICIA ship coming together in a warehouse across the Mississippi River from the Nauvoo Temple.
We offer the statement from Christy’s Auction House that gives some background on the piece sold in auction nine years ago. We are grateful for this independent confirmation.
BEGIN QUOTE. This seal is extraordinary for both its inscription and its pictorial device. The presence of a realistic rendering of a ship on such a seal is the only one known of its kind. The inclusion of the ship portrayed with such detail has provided a testament for Israelite shipbuilding of the 7th century before Christ., in this case, likely a merchant’s ship. According to Avigad, the Hebrew people of this period were not seafarers, as the Phoenicians and Philistines controlled the waters. Avigad cites Biblical references to show how the northern kingdom of Israel became more experienced in shipbuilding than the more southern Judahites “as a result of the traditional cooperation with the Phoenicians, housing harbors at Dor and Jaffa.
The name of the owner of this seal, Oniyahu, has dual meanings, deriving from the word for strength as well as the word for ship, placed together with the personal name of the God of Israel, Yahweh. Therefore it can be interpreted as “Yahweh is my strength” or “Yahweh is my ship/the ship of Yahweh.” It is possible that the owner of the seal was from a family of ship-owners, using this pictorial rebus as a heraldic design for the seal. Avigad informs that few other Hebrew seals have been found with emblems relating to the name of the owner, including one with a locust and one with a bird.
The iconography of the ship on this seal was used by the State of Israel in 1985 for a commemorative shekel coin. END QUOTE
We marvel how each day we find additional validation for restoring the PHOENICIA. We invite you to see how an ancient Iowa ship connected the Old World to the New World 2,600 years ago.
We are pleased to note that many people worldwide are following what we are doing. We have friends in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa who are familiar with what Captain Philip Beale did when he sailed some 30,000 miles on some of the most turbulent waters around Africa and across the Atlantic. This very ship is now coming together for all to see and enjoy. Come to Iowa. Bring your friends and family. Let them see what we are doing to rewrite America’s ancient history.
HEARTLAND DAGGER READY FOR THE KING OF MOROCCO
Greetings to the King of Morocco.
Before coming to America, the PHOENICIA and her crew were in Tunisia and Morocco. Millions of people in North Africa are proud of their history and the technological achievements of the Phoenicians. Many people know that the PHOENICIA Ship is in Iowa, next to the Mississippi.
We have partners and friends in Carthage, Tunisia, who are close to the seats of government. We are preparing to send the Heartland Dagger to the King of Morocco as a gift from America. Today we noticed from a Carthaginian painting that Hannibal, on his elephant fighting in Rome, is holding a dagger similar to the ancient artifact that came out of the clear waters of Upper Michigan.
Click here to see more information on the Heartland Dagger.
Old Testament Sites Testify of the Gathering
Connecting “We as a People”
The Book of Mormon, as a revelation from God, possesses some advantage over the old scripture: it has not been tinctured by the wisdom of man, with here and there an Italic word to supply deficiencies. It was translated by the gift and power of God, by an unlearned man, through the aid of a pair of Interpreters, or spectacles—(known, perhaps, in ancient days as Teraphim, or Urim and Thummim) and while it unfolds the history of the first inhabitants that settled this continent, it, at the same time, brings a oneness to scripture, like the days of the apostles; and opens and explains the prophecies, that a child may understand the meaning of many of them; and shows how the Lord will gather his saints, even the children of Israel, that have been scattered over the face of the earth, more than two thousand years, in these last days, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount Zion.The Evening and The Morning Star, 1, no. 8 (January 1833): 58
Russell M. Nelson
“Learn for yourself—right now at your age—how to receive personal revelation. And nothing will make a bigger difference in your life than that!” “Hope of Israel,”
President Russell M. Nelson also declared, “Anytime you do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—take a step toward making covenants with God and receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to gather Israel. It is as simple as that” (Russell M. Nelson, “Hope of Israel,
Abraham, Covenant of [Bible Dictionary]
“The portions of the covenant that pertain to personal salvation and eternal increase are renewed with each individual who receives the ordinance of celestial marriage (see D&C 132:29–33). Those of non-Israelite lineage, commonly known as Gentiles, are adopted into the house of Israel and become heirs of the covenant and the seed of Abraham through the ordinances of the gospel (Gal. 3:26–29).
Being an heir to the Abrahamic covenant does not make one a “chosen person” per se but does signify that such are chosen to responsibly carry the gospel to all the peoples of the earth. Abraham’s seed have carried out the missionary activity in all the nations since Abraham’s day. (Matt. 3:9; Abr. 2:9–11.)”
Jacob’s prophecy about Ephraim and Manasseh, the two favorite sons of Joseph and Asenath, as well as the rest of the Tribes of Jacob is found in Genesis 48:21 and Jeremiah 31:10. Although Ephraim and Manasseh were not sons of Jacob like the other tribes of Israel, they were grafted into the Tribes of Jacob-Israel.
“AND ISRAEL SAID UNTO JOSEPH, BEHOLD, I DIE: BUT GOD SHALL BE WITH YOU, AND BRING YOU AGAIN UNTO THE LAND OF YOUR FATHERS.” (GENESIS 48:21)
HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD, O YE NATIONS, AND DECLARE IT IN THE ISLES AFAR OFF, AND SAY, HE THAT SCATTERED ISRAEL WILL GATHER HIM, AND KEEP HIM, AS A SHEPHERD DOTH HIS FLOCK. (JEREMIAH 31:10)
There must be a regathering and a second Greater Exodus out of Egypt once again as Christ must lead us all home to the promised land. I call it a possible Second Harvest.
Joseph and Joseph
As Joseph saved his family anciently, so Joseph of the last days will be a savior to Israel (D&C 86:11). As the Lord said to Jacob who was nearly blind, “Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes” (Genesis 46:4), so he has said to Israel of the last days: “For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith. For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory.” (D&C 21:5-6.) By Bruce Satterfield B.S. in Archaeology; M.S. in Archaeology; M.A. in Ancient Near Eastern Studies; Ph.D Quoting Joseph Smith McConkie
I want to thank ROBERT A GOODWIN ([email protected]) for this information. In the gallery are attached some photos and a brief review of the significance of Mt. Gerizim, Mt. Ebal, Shechem and Sychar, where Jacob’s Well and Joseph’s Tomb are found, which Robert submitted. Read of this historic area in two articles below that Robert shares with us.
Robert had a very strong impression to get it right with this very appropriate ‘rare photo’ (Rare Photo Left)
The Blessings and Cursing’s are found in Deut. 27 and 28. These were read and shouted across the valley and those on the other mountain would shout back their AMEN. then the next curse or blessing was shouted and the amen repeated after each one.
Shechem (Nablus): Joseph’s Tomb
By Nechama Golding
“Joseph’s Tomb” by David Roberts, 1839.
Amidst the mountains of Shomron (Samaria) is a four-thousand year old city named Shechem. (Red Marker Left). Very few biblical locales have as rich a history as this storied city. In fact, when the first Jew arrived in the Holy Land, Shechem was his first stop. In this city, also known as Nablus, lie the remains of Joseph, viceroy of Egypt. In recent times, modern-day Jewish heroes have struggled to maintain a Jewish presence in Shechem and Joseph’s Tomb.
History of Shechem c.1737 BC
When Abraham first entered the Land in 2023 (1737 BCE), his first stop was the “place of Shechem,” where G‑d appeared to him and promised: “To your descendants I will give this land.” This was the first time that G‑d informed our Patriarch of this ultimate intention.
Two generations later, returning from Charan with his wives and children, Jacob came to Shechem and purchased a piece of land on the perimeter of the town. The prince of the town, also named Shechem, abducted and violated Jacob’s daughter, Dina. Her brothers, Simon and Levi, rescued her and killed all the men of Shechem in retaliation.
Sixteen years later, Jacob sent 17-year old Joseph to “check on the welfare of his brothers” who were shepherding their father’s herds near Shechem. When Joseph found his brothers, they sold him into slavery, setting off a chain of events that would lead to the Egyptian exile.
Many years later, when the entire family was already in Egypt, Jacob promised the city of Shechem to Joseph. It would make up part of the territory of Joseph’s son, Ephraim.
Following the Exodus from Egypt, Joshua led the nation into the Land of Israel. As soon as they entered the Land, Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal, one of the two mountains flanking Shechem. (Recently, an archeologist claims to have discovered this altar on Mt. Ebal.)
Half of the nation then stood atop Mount Ebal and the other half atop Mount Gerizim, while the Levites who stood between the mountains shouted the curses they would be subjected to if they disobeyed G‑d the law, and the blessings they would receive if they obeyed.” Golding
Mount Ebal & Gerizim
As Moses was nearing the end of his mortal life, he wanted the Israelites to be able to choose to be blessed instead of cursed. To help the Israelites choose to be blessed, he instructed Joshua to set up a learning experience for Israel.
In Deuteronomy 27 “the Lord gave instructions about what was to happen once the children of Israel entered the promised land. They were to go to Shechem, which was located in a valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. (See map above). Moses instructed that half of the tribes of Israel should stand on Mount Gerizim and the other half should stand on Mount Ebal. The Levites were to stand in the valley between the two mountains and recite the actions that would result in blessings and those that would result in curses as designated by God. When actions resulting in curses were recited, as described in Deuteronomy 27:14–26, the tribes on Mount Ebal were to say “amen.” (See Joshua 8:33–35.) Although not specifically stated in the scriptures, it may have been that when the actions resulting in blessings were recited, the tribes on Mount Gerizim responded with “amen” as well.
Deuteronomy 28 further clarifies what the Lord wanted the Israelites to learn from this experience. Read Deuteronomy 28:1 and read Deuteronomy 28:15 What does the Lord say would bring either blessings or curses upon the people?
What did the Lord command the people to do to obtain the blessings and avoid the curses? The Lord said to keep all of His commandments.
Mount Gerizim represented the consequences for obeying God’s commandments and Mount Ebal represented the consequences for disobeying them.
If we choose to obey all of God’s commandments, He will bless us in all areas of our lives. If we choose not to obey all of God’s commandments, we lose the blessings He desires to give us.
Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, “[Have] faith to keep all the commandments of God, knowing that they are given to bless His children and bring them joy [see 2 Nephi 2:25]. [You] will encounter people who pick which commandments they will keep and ignore others that they choose to break. I call this the cafeteria approach to obedience. This practice of picking and choosing will not work. It will lead to misery. To prepare to meet God, one keeps all of His commandments” (“Face the Future with Faith,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2011, 34).
Although keeping all of God’s commandments may seem overwhelming, President Harold B. Lee said, “The most important of all the commandments of God is that one that you are having the most difficulty keeping today. If it is one of dishonesty, if it is one of unchastity, if it is one of falsifying, not telling the truth, today is the day for you to work on that until you have been able to conquer that weakness. … Then you start on the next one that is most difficult for you to keep” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee [2000], 30). Source
Golding Continues, “The Jews then buried Joseph’s remains – which had been carried along from Egypt – in the plot of land which Jacob had bought, and designated Shechem as a City of Refuge and a Levite city.
Before Joshua died, he gathered the nation in Shechem and made a covenant between them and G‑d. He set up a stone in Shechem, and said, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us; it shall be a witness against you, lest you deny your G‑d.”
Throughout the period of the Prophets and the Kings, the city of Shechem played a pivotal role. When King Solomon died, the people gathered in Shechem, and it was there that the Ten Tribes seceded from Davidic rule and formed the Northern Kingdom.
Eventually, Shechem also served as a stronghold for the Samaritans, an ethnic group that was transferred to the Holy Land by Sennacherib King of Assyria. Though they officially converted to Judaism, they retained their pagan practices and beliefs, and were consistently a thorn in the Jews’ side. [Remember the Good Samaritan Story]
After the destruction of the Temple, the Romans changed Shechem’s name to “Neapolis” (meaning “new city”); this then became “Nablus.” Nevertheless, although the Jewish nation was dispersed and weakened, there remained a continuous Jewish presence in Shechem, and Joseph’s Tomb stayed a focus of Jewish pilgrimage and prayer.
The late Dr. Zvi Ilan, one of Israel’s foremost archeologists, described Joseph’s Tomb as: “…one of the tombs whose location is known with the utmost degree of certainty and is based on continuous documentation since biblical times.”
“( John 4:5John 4:6 ). This is one of the few sites in Palestine about which there is no dispute. It was dug by Jacob, and hence its name, in the “parcel of ground” which he purchased from the sons of Hamor ( Genesis 33:19 ). It still exists, but although after copious rains it contains a little water, it is now usually quite dry. It is at the entrance to the valley between Ebal and Gerizim, about 2 miles south-east of Shechem. It is about 9 feet in diameter and about 75 feet in depth, though in ancient times it was no doubt much deeper, probably twice as deep. The digging of such a well must have been a very laborious and costly undertaking.” Source
Jacob’s Well (Arabic: بئر يعقوب, Bir Ya’qub, Greek: Φρέαρ του Ιακώβ, Fréar tou Iakóv, Hebrew: באר יעקב, Be’er Yaaqov; also known as Jacob’s fountain and Well of Sychar) is a deep well constructed from rock that has been associated in religious tradition with Jacob for roughly two millennia. It is situated inside an Eastern Orthodox church and monastery, in Balata village on the outskirts of the Palestinian city of Nablus in the West Bank.
Jewish, Samaritan, Christian, and Muslim traditions all associate the well with Jacob. The well is not specifically named in the Old Testament, but Genesis 33:18–20 states that when Jacob returned to Shechem from Paddan Aram, he camped “before” the city and bought the land on which he pitched his tent and erected an altar.
The present-day church containing the well has been built close to the archaeological site of Tell Balata, which is thought to be the site of biblical Shechem. Some Biblical scholars contend that the plot of land is the same one upon which Jacob’s Well was constructed. Other Biblical scholars have made note of the well discovered in the “open country” of the “land of the Kedemites” in Genesis 29 where Jacob meets his future bride, Rachel.
Jacob’s Well is mentioned by name once in the New Testament in a passage (John 4:5–6) which says that Jesus “came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the field which Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there.” John’s Gospel goes on to describe a conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman (called Photini in Orthodox tradition), which took place while Jesus was resting at the well after a tiring journey.[4] (John 4:7–15) The site is counted as a Christian holy site. From a Christian perspective, the reference in John’s Gospel to the well seems to hint at a deeper nuptial reading of Jesus as the Bridegroom of Israel come to reunite the divided tribes through a spiritual union with him, the long-awaited Messiah; see St. Augustine’s Tractate 15 on the Gospel of John.” Wikipedia
JACOB LEAVES FOR BETHEL JACOB’S FAMILY GIVE UP THEIR IDOLS [GENESIS 35]
1 God told Jacob, “It’s time to move on. Go to Bethel and live there. Build an altar where you can worship the God who appeared to you there when you were on the run from your brother, Esau.”
2 Jacob told his family, “Get rid of all the idols you’ve accumulated. Purify yourselves by washing your bodies and changing into clean clothes.
3 We’re moving to Bethel. I will build an altar where we can worship the God who answered my prayers and came to my rescue when I was in trouble.”
4 The family gave Jacob all their idols along with their earrings. He buried it all under an oak tree near Shechem.
5 As Jacob’s caravan moved from Shechem to Bethel, all the people in the area became terrified of them, so they stayed away.
6 In time, Jacob’s caravan reached Luz, another name for Bethel, in the land of Canaan.
7 Jacob built an altar in worship of God, who had appeared to him there in a dream years ago when he was on the run from his brother. He named the place God of Bethel.
8 It wasn’t long after this that Rebekah’s elderly nurse, Deborah, died. The family buried her under an oak tree in a valley below Bethel. They named the tree Weeping Oak.
9 Now that Jacob was home from the land of Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again at Bethel with another blessing.
10 God said, “Your name is Jacob, but I don’t want anyone calling you that anymore. They should call you Israel. That’s your new name.” So God renamed him Israel.
11 Then God said, “I am God Almighty. Make yourself into a huge family. Your descendants will become not only a great nation, but many nations. Some of your people will become kings, too.12 I’m also passing onto you and your descendants the land I gave to Abraham and Isaac.” 13 After that, God left.
14 Jacob set up a large stone to mark the place where God spoke to him. He poured some wine over the rock, as an offering of thanks to God. He poured some olive oil, too, anointing the place as sacred.
15 Jacob named the place Bethel since this is where God spoke to him” Source: Casual English Bible
Shechem Today
In 1926, the Jewish inhabitants of Shechem were forced to leave in the face of Arab pogroms. A year later, an earthquake destroyed most of the Old City of Shechem, including the Jewish quarter.
With the Six Day War in 1967, Shechem and the surrounding areas reverted to Jewish control; however, while tourism in the area was encouraged, Jews were not permitted to live there.
The location of where Joseph was buried when the Israelites brought his bones back from Egypt.
Dedicated activists refused to accept this untenable situation, and as a result of their persistence there are now several established Jewish communities on the mountain ranges surrounding Shechem: Kedumim, Yitzhar, Har Bracha and Elon Moreh. Within Shechem itself, a yeshivah was formed at Joseph’s Tomb in 1982, called “Od Yosef Chai” (“Joseph still lives”—the famous words spoken to Jacob following many years that he presumed Joseph to be dead).
Unfortunately, the situation today is far from ideal. In 1996, Shechem was given over the Palestinian Authority. Joseph’s Tomb was to remain in Jewish hands, but in the early days of the 2000 terrorist offensive, that, too, was given up under fire. The Palestinian Authority promised to prevent damage to the site, but within a few hours a mob broke into the compound and destroyed everything. Furniture and holy books used by the yeshivah [A yeshiva is a place where Jews gather to study Torah and rabbinic traditions. Originally referring to an academy for advanced scholars, today the term also refers to Jewish elementary schools where Judaic studies comprise a significant portion of the curriculum] were burned and the place was reduced to rubble.
Joseph’s Tomb in 2014 (credit: Meir Rotter).
Jews weren’t allowed to visit the site again until 2003. Now there are a few visits a year which take place in the middle of the night. Recent visitors found the tomb in ruins and covered with garbage.
Mark Twain on Shechem
In 1867 Mark Twain visited Shechem. He described this visit in his diary which was later published. The following are some interesting excerpts:
“At two o’clock we stopped to lunch and rest at ancient Shechem, between the historic Mounts of Gerizim and Ebal, where in the old times the books of the law, the curses and the blessings, were read from the heights to the Jewish multitudes below.
“About a mile and a half from Shechem we halted at the base of Mount Ebal before a little square area, enclosed by a high stone wall, neatly whitewashed. Across one end of this enclosure is a tomb . . . It is the tomb of Joseph. No truth is better authenticated than this.
“Few tombs on earth command the veneration of so many races and men of diverse creeds as this of Joseph. Samaritan and Jew, Muslim and Christian alike, revere it, and honor it with their visits. The tomb of Joseph, the dutiful son, the affectionate, forgiving brother, the virtuous man, the wise Prince and ruler. Egypt felt his influence – the world knows his history.”
Regarding the city’s Jewish community he writes:
“For thousands of years this clan have dwelt in Shechem under strict taboo and having little commerce or fellowship with their fellowmen of any religion or nationality. For generations they have not numbered more than one or two hundred, but they still adhere to their ancient faith and maintain their ancient rites and ceremonies. Talk of family and old descent! … This handful of old first families of Shechem…can name their fathers straight back without a flaw for thousands [of years]…. I found myself gazing at any straggling scion of this strange race with a riveted fascination, just as one would stare at a living mastodon or a megatherium…”
The courtyard of Joseph’s Tomb in 2014 (credit: Meir Rotter).
Genesis 12:5, 6 – “Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother’s son, all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they went to go into the land of Canaan. They entered into the land of Canaan. Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time, Canaanites were in the land.”
“MOREH, OAK OF (Heb. אֵלֹ֣ון מﯴרֶ֑ה; KJV incorrectly: “Plain of Moreh”), mentioned in Genesis 12:6 as a place near Shechem where Abraham camped on arriving in Canaan from Haran. There God revealed Himself to Abraham with the promise to give Canaan to his descendants, whereupon Abraham responded by building his first altar to the Lord in Canaan. The name “Oak” or “Terebinth of Moreh,” may also be tr. “the teacher’s” or “the Diviners’ Oak.” It must have been a “holy” tree, and the place an old Canaanite sanctuary. Although it is difficult to understand Abraham’s motives for visiting this place, there is no reason to suggest that Abraham recognized the sacred character of the place, and willfully adapted himself to it. The reference to the Oak of Moreh merely serves to indicate the place where Abraham camped, and built his own altar.” Bibliography D. Baly, The Geography of the Bible, (1957); J. Simons, Geographical and Topographical Texts of the Old Testament (1959).
Map of Shechem (Old Testament)
The Location of Shechem
Shechem was located in Central Israel in a beautiful fertile valley between Mount Ebal on the north and Mount Gerizim to the south west with their bases at Shechem. It was about 35 miles north of Jerusalem and about 7 miles to the south east of Samaria.
Abraham and Shechem
When Abraham made his journey to the promised land, the land of Canaan, he came to Shechem and the LORD appeared to him saying “I will give this land to your offspring,” so Abraham built an altar to the LORD under the Terebinth Oak tree of Moreh at Shechem. The Bible says that at that time the “Canaanite was then in the land.”
Jacob and Shechem
Abraham’s grandson Jacob also came to Shechem and build a well there, known in the Bible as Jacob’s Well. When he returned from Paddan-Aram in Mesopotamia and re-entered the land of Canaan he arrived at Shechem (Gen 33:18 and Gen 34). The Bible says that Shechem was a Hivite city and Hamor was chief. Jacob purchased a parcel of a field which contained the well that he had dug there. Later Joseph was buried there (Josh 24:32).
Shechem in Israel’s History
When the land of Canaan was conquered and divided among the Israelites, Shechem was allotted to Ephraim, and finally assigned to the Levites as a city of refuge. It was here at Shechem that Joshua gave his final words before his death (Josh 24). This was of course the place where the blessings and curses were uttered from Mount Gerizim (Blessings), and Mount Ebal (Curses) Josh 8:33-35. Later the judge Gideon’s son Abimelech convinced the Shechemites to revolt and elect him as king (Judges 9:1). Later he destroyed the city and sowed it with salt. Later when Solomon had died all of Israel had assembled at Shechem and his son Rehoboam was made king. It was also here at Shechem that the 10 tribes of Israel rebelled and turned from the House of David to follow Jeroboam (1 Kings 12:16). Shechem was made capital of the northen kingdom of Israel. Later in the New Testament Shechem is mentioned as the place (Sychar) where Jesus met the woman at the well. (John 4).
Genesis 12:9-10 – “And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south. And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.” Shechem – Bible History (bible-history.com)
“Aaron Lipkin is an Israeli archeologist who presented his findings on Joshua’s Alter.
He was born in the US but his parents decided to live in Israel. As a boy, he read the Old Testament stories believing them to be true, so when he attended a high school in Israel, his teachers taught him that all of those Old Testament stories he was taught growing up were just fairy tales. (sound familiar?) He said these teachers were godless Jews and had an agenda. He said over half of the Jews in Israel today are this way which to me is very sad.
He was enraged by this teaching and could not believe these teachers would tell him and his classmates such a thing. He wanted to do something about it. In the mean time, he ends up marrying a Jewish girl who was raised in Egypt as a Jew. Her parents were Egyptians. So my thought was to what we had discussed earlier. He did talk about how there were Egyptians that were Jews over the years–actual Jews but I still don’t believe that those Egyptians were the ones who stayed with the Israelites talking them into creating a golden calf. But I digress….
So he becomes an archeologist by profession and is driven to find physical evidences of these Old Testament stories he believed to be true. It’s pretty involved but ends up finding another archeologist (Adam Zartal site here:) who had been digging for any remnants of biblical evidences in Israel and comes across an area that they find what they believe to be Joshua’s Alter. It was found in an area that had the land divided in 6 pieces that were in the shape of a foot. They don’t know the significance of the land shape.
The alter had a stone roof and floor and the normal stuff you would find in an Israeli temple. This whole temple site was covered in field stones because they believed that if you cut stones for alters or worshiping places with iron tools, it alters their sacredness. He believed it was covered to protect it from robbers and desecrators. He talked about how temples did not have steps leading up into the temple floor and I knew why!! He gave the scripture of why and said there were ramps which this temple site had. His drawing looked a lot like the temple in Zarahemla. So cool.
There is so much detail to what was done which I cannot relay here but it was a fascinating story. Apparently to make findings official in any archeological dig, there has to be an end report submitted to the officials. Aaron said if any Israeli had submitted this end report about Jacob’s alter, their career would be destroyed by the academics in Israel so he found an archeologist in Texas who agreed to take on this project.
Originally Adam Zartal, the original archeologist only did the dry sifting of the dirt in the area of this alter but the Texan archeologist wanted to do a wet sifting as well because you can find a lot more with water and they did. One of the things they found was a very small lead square that was folded over with something in the middle. (Kind of like a mezuzah.) They were able to scan the inside to find old Hebrew (slide attached) writings referring to some of the rules of law from Deuteronomy. They also found the stylist that was used to write the message and the message was in Chiasmus form as well.
The end result being that this end report will be coming out in a few months by the Texan archeologist which will prove that at least one of the stories of the Old Testament is true. He thinks this will unwind the academia in Israel. They might keep it quiet but if Aaron and this Texan guy has anything to do with it–they will broadcast it from the roof tops.
After Aaron’s presentation, I talked with him about our dilemma. Telling him about a group of Jewish people coming to the Americas and how the first belief was that they landed and lived in Central and South America but in actuality they came to the area of the United States and that as a group of Heartland Research people, we are having the same difficulty of helping others know it was in the United States not Central America. We mentioned the relics that had the 10 commandments written on it, etc.
Anyway, he has gone back to Israel now but I have his email address and want to write him more about what we are doing.” Valerie Steimle. We thank Valerie for sharing this information with us.
Pictures from video above:
Why was the Altar in Joshua 22:10–34 such a big deal?
ANSWER
After the conquest of Canaan, while Joshua was still alive, an altar was built that caused quite a stir and almost led to civil war in the newly founded nation of Israel. When God revealed the Law of Moses, God prohibited the building of altars other than those He had commanded (Deuteronomy 12:1–14). Yet the tribes on the east side of the Jordan River—Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh—constructed an altar in Joshua 22. As a result, the western tribes felt the Law had been violated and intended to go to war against their own people.
The western tribes had such a strong response to the altar in Joshua 22 because of the command in Deuteronomy 13:12–16: “If you hear it said about one of the towns the Lord your God is giving you to live in that troublemakers have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, ‘Let us go and worship other gods’ (gods you have not known), then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you, you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. You must destroy it completely, both its people and its livestock. You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. That town is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt.”
The tribal leaders west of the Jordan followed this law exactly. In Joshua 22 they heard of an altar; since there was no Mosaic authorization to build such an altar, the western tribes suspected the altar in Joshua 22 represented the beginnings of idolatry. Fortunately for all involved, the western tribes investigated the allegation to discover the truth of the situation before they went to war. As it turned out, the altar built by Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh was a memorial to the Lord God. The eastern tribes were separated from their brethren by geography, but they wanted to show their spiritual solidarity. They had built the altar on the east side of the Jordan to show their connection to the rest of the Israelites who lived in the Promised Land proper. The altar was a sign of unity, not rebellion.
Joshua 22 concludes the matter of the suspicious altar on a good note: the high priest, Phinehas, says to Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, “Today we know that the LORD is with us, because you have not been unfaithful to the LORD in this matter. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the LORD’s hand” (Joshua 22:31). Phinehas cleared the eastern tribes of all charges of idolatry. Then, “they were glad to hear the report and praised God. And they talked no more about going to war against them to devastate the country where the Reubenites and the Gadites lived” (Joshua 22:33).
The incident of the altar in Joshua 22 points to the importance of not jumping to conclusions or making assumptions not based on fact. In Nicodemus’ defense of Christ before the Sanhedrin, he emphasizes that the Law does not allow for rash judgments: “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?” (John 7:51; cf. Proverbs 18:13).
Later in Israel’s history, after Joshua’s death, idolatry would indeed become a problem for God’s people. The Book of Judges reveals that idol worship soon became common among the Israelites, leading to God’s judgment upon them. Yet, in this early stage of Israel’s possession of the Promised Land, they quickly sought to obey God’s laws and preserve the unity of the tribes (see Psalm 133:1). https://www.gotquestions.org/Joshua-altar.html
“‘You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you.(Exodus 20:24) ‘If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it. ‘And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that your nakedness will not be exposed on it.’ ” (Exodus 20:25-26)
Another Point of View
On April 6, 1980, Adam Zertal, Ph.D, Prof. Of Archeology, Univ. of Haifa was doing a formal archaeological survey of the traditional lands of Manasseh and discovered a Hebrew Altar that dated to 1250 BC. Using pottery to date the site Zertal said: “More important, however, is that they [the pottery] fix a date for the construction of the altar – approximately 1250 B.C.E.” (Adam Zertal 2004 AD) Zertal is the author of “A Nation is Born: The Mt. Ebal Altar and the Beginnings of the Nation of Israel”. See also: (Zertal, A. 1986/87 An Early Iron Age Cultic Site on Mt. Ebal: Excavation Seasons 1982-1987. Tel Aviv 13-14: 105-65. 1993.) and (The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavation in the Holy Land, Vol. 1, ed. E. Stern. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society and Carta. Ebal, Mount. Pp. 375-77)
“We would humbly invite Adam Zertal to read this paper on the Exodus being at 1446 BC, not 1250 BC. The altar changed him from a Bible skeptic to a Bible believer. We suggest that he go all the way and accept the Bible’s date of 1406 BC when Joshua built his altar. Zertal probably knows enough about the site that he could actually make a good case for this round ring of rocks being dated to 1406 BC, but simply could not because he mistakenly believed the exodus happened in 1250 BC. If he accepts the Bible’s date of the exodus of 1446, then he can date the 6.5 foot diameter circle of stones up to 150 years earlier and still be within the time Israel crossed the Jordan. He can contact the author (Steven Rudd) by email here if he wishes further discussion.”
Archaeology of Joshua’s Altar:
Steven Rudd personally met Adam Zertal at the very site of Joshua’s Altar where he discussed the find under the watchful eye of an IDF ground army escort including F-16s in November 2004. Trips are often thwarted by the terrorists in the area. One ill-fated tour, in October 2000, ended with the death of Rabbi Binyamin Herling, one of several hikers who left the main route and were shot at by Palestinian terrorists in Shechem. The army was widely accused of not taking offensive action to save the hikers when the terrorists pinned them down with long-range but accurate fire. A later trip to the same area during Chanukah was canceled by the army with just two days notice, because of intelligence warnings of another planned terror attack. On October 7, 2000, Joseph’s Tomb, the third most holy place in Judaism, was destroyed by Muslims. It is located east of modern Nabulus between Shechem (Tel Balata) and Sychar at the foot of Mt. Ebal. It had come under attack and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew after gaining reassurances from the Palestinian Authority (PA) that they would protect the site in accordance with their obligations under the Oslo Accords to protect holy sites. Two hours after the withdrawal Muslims began destroying the site. Joseph’s Tomb was burned and torn down stone by stone, then bulldozed. It was immediately declared a Muslim holy site. I was extremely fortunate and privileged to be one of the first to visit Joshua’s Altar in AD 2004, although the army did cut short my visit for “security reasons”. I also assisted in reconstruction of the outer temenos wall of the altar under Adam Zertal’s personal supervision. https://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-altar-of-joshua.htm#curse
The gospel and its preaching can prosper only in an atmosphere of freedom. And now in this critical period, when many pulpits are being turned into pipelines of collectivist propaganda – preaching the social gospel and denying basic principles of salvation – is the time for action Ezra Taft Benson Our Immediate ResponsibilityBYU Devotional, October 25, 1966. This was a warning over 55 years ago, when I was only 10 years old. That is hard to wrap my head around. Our dear Prophets of old have been warning and warning us about as Pres Benson says, “collectivist propaganda.’ What is the social gospel Pres Benson speaks of? Is it happening today?
How do you answer the voice of critics? Are you conservative, independent, or liberal? Are you a traditionalist or a progressive? Do you love the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or do you constantly seek to change it’s history? Is your testimony of the Lord growing or remaining neutral? Are you green and growing or ripe and rotten? Do you need to get a check up from the neck up to get rid of stinkin’ thinkin’? Remember, if you do what you’ve always done, you will get what you’ve always got! I know if you read and pray to the Lord for help, He will answer you. don’t get caught up in all this negative revisionist history. Stick to the Lord’s word in scripture and prayer!
The USA, is the only Land where His Work could be Commenced
“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
False Doctrine is Permitted
“I do not know all of the providences of the Lord, but I do know that he permits false doctrine to be taught in and out of the Church and that such teaching is part of the sifting process of mortality.” Bruce R. McConkie, McConkie’s 1981 letter to BYU
“With a trained mind and a skillful manner of presentation, a teacher can become unusually popular and effective in teaching. But Satan will try to use that strength to corrupt the teacher by encouraging him or her to gather a following of disciples. A Church or Church education teacher or LDS university professor who gathers such a following and does this “for the sake of riches and honor” (Alma 1:16) is guilty of priestcraft.” Dallin H. Oaks
“A desire to follow a prophet is surely a great and appropriate strength, but even this has its potentially dangerous manifestations. I have heard of more than one group who are so intent on following the words of a dead prophet that they have rejected the teachings and counsel of the living ones. Satan has used that corruption from the beginning of the Restoration…
Following the prophet is a great strength, but it needs to be consistent and current lest it lead to the spiritual downfall that comes from rejecting continuous revelation. Under that principle, the most important difference between dead prophets and living ones is that those who are dead are not here to receive and declare the Lord’s latest words to his people. If they were, there would be no differences among the messages of the prophets.” Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall DALLIN H. OAKS Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
“A person who engages in self-congratulation over a supposed strength has lost the protection of humility and is vulnerable to Satan’s using that strength to produce his or her downfall.” DALLIN H. OAKS
Brigham Young said: “Some may say, “I have faith the Lord will turn them away.” What ground have we to hope this? Have I any good reason to say to my Father in heaven, “fight my battles,” when he has given me the sword to wield, the arm and the brain that I can fight for myself? Can I ask Him to fight my battles and sit quietly down waiting for Him to do so? I cannot. I can pray the people to harken to wisdom, to listen to counsel; but to ask God to do for me that which I can do for myself is preposterous to my mind.” (Brigham Young Journal of Discourses 12:241.) “Don’t you have faith in America?” say others. But America is made up of people – and only righteous patriotic people work to preserve their freedom. The American people’s blessings are conditioned on righteousness and nothing else. We have faith in a faithful citizenry. https://www.latterdayconservative.com/ezra-taft-benson/our-immediate-responsibility/
Decipher Truth and Error
Can we listen to the teachings of the world and decipher on our own whether it is true or not? Should we never listen to a person who has an opposite view as our own, or should we wait for the Lord to step in and tell us truth? Why is Critical Race Theory taught at the “Lord’s” Universities? What about evolution and pre-Adamites? Can we safely study, read scriptures and go in prayer to determine truth through the Spirit? Yes!
Why would we expect the Lord to only allow righteous things be taught in Higher Education? I fully understand stricter allowance of information with our children and youth, but when our children become adults they must be more adequately tested on their own. Wouldn’t that take away our freedom to choose if we only taught Sunday School lessons in College? I complain a lot about things taught at BYU including Book of Mormon Geography and translation methods, but I know we need to be willing to hear all sides and pray for our own personal revelation.
Do the Things we can Before the Lord Helps
Editors Note: I think of the many stories about prophets of God. Joseph Smith was certainly capable of keeping the plates hidden, which he did without the Lord hiding them for him. Good men like Martin Harris found a way to earn the money to print the first Book of Mormon as he didn’t need the Lord to give him money with out personal effort. Joseph studied Hebrew, and read the Bible and listened to the angels that appeared to him, so the Lord didn’t need to step in and write the words for Joseph on a rock in a hat. The Lord certainly could have destroyed Laman as Nephi needed the brass plates, but because Nephi could draw his sword, he didn’t need the Lord to fight his battles. When Brigham Young says, “to ask God to do for me that which I can do for myself is preposterous to my mind”, Brigham Young Journal of Discourses 12:24, makes tremendous sense to me.
Joseph Hid the Sacred Translation Instruments
The Lord commanded Joseph Smith that “I should not show them to any person; neither the breastplate with the Urim and Thummim; only to those to whom I should be commanded to show them.” JSH 1:42 Joseph translated the Book of Mormon and said, “there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted “seers” in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book.” JSH 1:35
The Lord entrusted Joseph to find a way to hide these articles while he translated. The Lord didn’t do it for him, as Joseph was very resourceful. How did Joseph hide these things during translation?
I have written an entire new book about what makes sense to me. After much study and prayer, I don’t believe Joseph used a seer stone in a hat to translate. Joseph was commanded in many scriptures to use the two stones in a silver bow, FASTENED to the breastplate. I have decided a great option is that Joseph hid the breastplate under his shirt and the Interpreters fastened to the breastplate waere likely hidden from view by Joseph’s large brim farmers hat, as you see below.
“Mother I have got the Key” by Anne Marie Oborn[Glasses not “in” the hat, but being blocked from view by the hat]
Emma Smith said, “I know Mormonism to be the truth; and believe the Church to have been established by divine direction. I have complete faith in it. In writing for your father I frequently wrote day after day, often sitting at the table close by him, he sitting with his face buried in his hat, with the stone in it, and dictating hour after hour with nothing between us.” Last Testimony of Sister Emma. (“Last Testimony of Sister Emma,” Saint’s Herald, Vol. 26, No 19. p. 289. (1 October 1879)
Remember Emma never saw the breastplate nor the Interpreters and she never had a curtain or, “nothing between us”, as Emma said. Emma and many others knew Joseph had a brown and probably a white single seer stone he had found at a younger age in life. Martin Harris, David Whitmer, Emma and many others in my opinion assumed Joseph used his seer stone, but they never claim to have seen Joseph’s translating instruments. They are at best second or third person witnesses. Only Joseph and Oliver were first hand witnesses and we know Oliver in scripture said, “Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.’” JSH 1:75n
Proper View of the Translation
If you look at the picture below as I see it, Emma’s view would have been blocked somehow so Joseph could keep his promise of not showing the articles to anyone. This view shows why I believe Emma said she saw Joseph’s head buried in his hat, as that is what is looks like. But, with the breastplate under his shirt and the large brim farmer’s hat blocking Emma’s view, this is how it may have happened. I also believe many who talk about the stone in the hat saw this same view. Only 3 people ever saw all three items; the plates, glasses, and breastplate. They were Joseph, Oliver and Lucy Mack Smith saw and felt them under a linen.
Constantly Upon His Person
I believe Lucy Mack Smith’s history which was written shortly after the martyrdom. She said, “That of which I spoke, which Joseph termed a key, [Interpreters] was indeed nothing more nor less than a Urim and Thummim by which the angel manifested those things to him that were shown him in, vision; by which also he could at any timeascertain the approach of danger, either to himself or the record, and for this cause he kept these things constantly about his person.” (History of Joseph Smith, Revised and Enhanced, p. 139, 145)
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“Joseph kept the urim and thumim constantly about his person an[d] he could by this means ascertain at any moment whether <if> the plates were in danger or having just looked into them before Emma got there he perceived her coming and came up out of the well and met her. When she informed him of the situ what had occurred he told her that the record was perfectly safe for the pre[s]ent. [Spelling not corrected] See Joseph Smith Papers hereto see how quickly Joseph utilized the breastplate and glasses while digging a ditch, to see if the plates were safe at a moments notice. The word constantly upon his person is very accurate.
Always Consider the Prophets Council
Did you follow the prophet’s council many years ago when he asked the wife or the husband if desired, to remain at home and raise the children? The importance was to have at least one person home for our children to be brought up properly. What about when we were told that Coca-Cola was not good to drink, or we shouldn’t go to “R” rated movies, did we follow the prophet’s council then? Do we have to be commanded in all things? The Lord said, “For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. D&C 58:26. Do you allow your kids to play on Sunday or visit the store or enjoy recreation on the Sabbath? That’s up to you not the Prophet or myself.
Our special witness of Christ is critical in our day-to-day decisions. Revelation flows at every level. During a prolonged health scare is included. May we follow the Lord. “It is now time that we each implement extraordinary measures — perhaps measures we have never taken before — to strengthen our personal spiritual foundations. Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures.” Oct 3, 2021 President Russell M. Nelson [Color and italics added]
“Belief in prophets and apostles at the head of the Church does not mean that members blindly follow their leaders. While the prophet of God receives revelation and inspiration to guide the Church as a whole, revelation flows at every level, including to the leaders of congregations and to individual families and members. In fact, individual members are expected to seek that kind of divine guidance to help them in their own lives, in their responsibilities in the Church and even in temporal pursuits, including their occupations. Members are also expected to prayerfully seek their own “testimony” or conviction of the principles their leaders teach them.” LDS Newsroom Accessed June 23, 2022
Speaking about the method of Translation President Russell M. Nelson said, in a video titled, “The Book of Mormon Is Tangible Evidence of the Restoration, at the 3:30 mark the following: “Quite miraculous really, we have through the gift and power of God, we have a lot of suggestions about how it was done…” The method of Translation is not a question about doctrine but about belief or opinion just like with evolution or geography. We must receive council and where there is no doctrine, study it out and be very prayerful.
Moderation in All Things?
It makes sense to be moderate when all the choices are relatively good ones, but when some of the choices cause death and disease, it does not make sense to include these choices, even in moderate amounts. What if we smoked or drank or did drugs in moderate amounts? How well would that work? “Moderation in all things” is not found anywhere in the scriptures, for good reason.
Complacency
“Mormonism, as it is called, must stand or fall on the story of Joseph Smith. He was either a Prophet of God, divinely called, properly appointed and commissioned or he was one of the biggest frauds this world has ever seen. There is no middle ground. If Joseph was a deceiver, who willfully attempted to mislead people, then he should be exposed, his claims should be refuted, and his doctrines shown to be false…” – PRESIDENT JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH, DOCTRINES OF SALVATION, P. 188
“Watchman, what of the night?” (Isaiah 21:11) is the cry of the faithful. I have tried to warn you of the darkness that is moving over us and what we can do about it if we will only follow the Prophet. “Watchman, what of the night?” (Isaiah 21:11) is the cry of the faithful. I have tried to warn you of the darkness that is moving over us and what we can do about it if we will only follow the Prophet. Have you counted the cost if our countrymen and especially the body of the Priesthood continue to remain complacent, misled through some of our news media, deceived by some of our officials, and perverted by some of our educators? Are you prepared to see some of your loved ones murdered, your remaining liberties abridged, the Church persecuted, and your eternal reward jeopardized? Ezra Taft Benson Our Immediate Responsibility
Art by Ken Corbett
When we don’t stay focused and moving forward, it is easy to become complacent. If our church meetings and Sunday School become too ordinary, maybe we are taking the wrong approach. Do you attend meetings to see what you can get out of them, or do we come prepared to share our testimony with others? What have we learned by recent changes by President Nelson? Reduced to 2-hour meetings. He replaced Home Teaching reports with true Christian Ministering. Missionaries are doing a much greater amount of service projects, rather than knocking on doors. How many referrals have we given the Missionaries lately? I can personally do much better here. Are we on fire with the Book of Mormon?
President Nelson said, “Whenever I hear anyone, including myself, say, “I know the Book of Mormon is true,” I want to exclaim, “That’s nice, but it is not enough!” We need to feel, deep in “the inmost part” of our hearts, that the Book of Mormon is unequivocally the word of God. We must feel it so deeply that we would never want to live even one day without it. I might paraphrase President Brigham Young in saying, “I wish I had the voice of seven thunders to wake up the people” to the truth and power of the Book of Mormon “ President Russell M. Nelson The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like without It?
Yes, the Lord allows false doctrine, tragedy, pedophilia, murder, earthquakes, racism, and every other good and evil in the world. It is because we have been given our freedom to chose liberty or to chose death as the scriptures say. What is the worst thing in life? Death? No! I feel it is Spiritual Death. If we have faith, we will never fear physical death, unless we are not living righteously to believe in a life with God after death.
Don’t blame the Lord, but turn to Him and say, “What can I learn from this event. How can I be more humble?”
There are many differences in thought about where the Book of Mormon events happened. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not have a specific opinion. The main two ideas are, Mesoamerica and Heartland of the United States. There are over 100 other opinions that get a very small following such as Baja, South America and Peru.
The map below compares the two most followed theories and shows them side by side. You have all heard the main reason for even looking at Mesoamerica all these years most likely has to do with the Isthmus of Tehuantepec being misunderstood as the Narrow Neck of Land (Ether 10:20), which is where the “land divides the sea”, not the sea divides the land” as it says correctly in Ether, and that means the two seas, Erie and Ontario divide the land or the Niagara Peninsula. See blog here:
One Cumorah
“Because of this theory [Two Cumorah’s] some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon.”Doctrines of Salvation Vol. III by Joseph Fielding Smith (Author), Bruce R. McConkie (Editor)
This is a prophesy fulfilled in my opinion.
One Hill Testimonies
In this blog I quote over 20 various Prophets, Apostles, and Leaders who all share a witness that there is only one Hill Cumorah in NY where Joseph found the plates, and near that same hill the final battles occurred for both the Jaredites and the Nephites. I have over 200 quotes and if you would like a larger list visit us at: https://bookofmormonevidence.org/quotes/ and at: https://bookofmormonevidence.org/quotes2/
1- J. Golden Kimball is quoted as saying the following: “Heber C. Kimball said it was revealed to him that the last great destruction of the wicked would be on the lakes near the Hill Cumorah.” J. Golden Kimball (abt. Heber C. Kimball) N. B. Lundwall, Temples of the Most High, SLC: Bookcraft, 1941, p. 52.
2- “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
3- “Two great American Christian civilizations—the Jaredites and the Nephites—were swept off this land because they did not “serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ” (Ether 2:12). What will become of our civilization?… I have faith that the Constitution will be saved as prophesied by Joseph Smith. It will be saved by the righteous citizens of this nation who love and cherish freedom. It will be saved by enlightened members of this Church—among others—men and women who understand and abide the principles of the Constitution.
I reverence the Constitution of the United States as a sacred document. To me its words are akin to the revelations of God, for God has placed His stamp of approval upon it.
I testify that the God of heaven sent some of His choicest spirits to lay the foundation of this government, and He has now sent other choice spirits to help preserve it.
We, the blessed beneficiaries of the Constitution, face difficult days in America, “a land which is choice above all other lands” (Ether 2:10)… Ezra Taft Benson “Our Divine Constitution Ensign Oct 1987
By Ken Corbett.
4- “It is as impossible for me to continue the subject of yesterday as to raise the dead. My lungs are worn out. There is a time to all things, and I must wait. I will give it up, and leave the time to those who can make you hear, and I will continue the subject of my discourse some other time. I want to make a proclamation to the Elders. I wanted you to stay, in order that I might make this proclamation. You know very well that the Lord has led this Church by revelation. I have another revelation in relation to economy in the Church–a great, grand, and glorious revelation. I shall not be able to dwell as largely upon it now as at some other time; but I will give you the first principles. You know there has been great discussion in relation to Zion–where it is, and where the gathering of the dispensation is, and which I am now going to tell you. The prophets have spoken and written upon it; but I will make a proclamation that will cover a broader ground. The whole of America is Zion itself from north to south, and is described by the Prophets, who declare that it is the Zion where the mountain of the Lord should be, and that it should be in the center of the land. When Elders shall take up and examine the old prophecies in the Bible, they will see it.” President Joseph Smith’s Remarks–The Whole of America Zion–April Conference, 1844 Section Six 1843-44, p.362
5- “What most impressed me last summer on my first and only expedition to Central America was the complete lack of definite information about anything. Never was so little known about so much… It is just a fact of life that no one knows much at all about these oft-photographed and much-talked-about ruins… Counterparts to the great ritual complexes of Central America once dotted the entire eastern United States, the most notable being the Hopewell culture centering in Ohio and spreading out for hundreds of miles along the entire length of the Mississippi River. These are now believed to be definitely related to corresponding centers in Mesoamerica… One thing that leads us to suspect that most of the great powerhouses whose traces still remain were never anything more than pompous imitations or replicas is their sheer magnificence. The archaeologist finds virtually nothing of the remains of the primitive Christian church until the fourth century, because the true church was not interested in buildings and deliberately avoided the acquisition of lands and edifices that might bind it and its interests to this world. The Book of Mormon is a history of a related primitive church, and one may well ask what kind of remains the Nephites would leave us from their more virtuous days. A closer approximation to the Book of Mormon picture of Nephite culture is seen in the earth and palisade structures of the Hopewell and Adena culture areas than in the later stately piles of stone in Mesoamerica… Though such piles as the great pyramid-temple of Chichén Itzá yield to few buildings in the world in beauty of proportion and grandeur of conception, there is something disturbing about most of these overpowering ruins. Writers describing them through the years have ever confessed to feelings of sadness and oppression as they contemplate the moldy magnificence—the futility of it all: “They have all gone away from the house on the hill,” and today we don’t even know who they were
The great monuments do not represent what the Nephites stood for; rather, they stand for what their descendants, “mixed with the blood of their brethren,” descended to. But seen in the newer and wider perspective of comparative religious studies, they suggest to us not only the vanity of mankind and the futility of man’s unaided efforts, but also something nobler; the constant search of men to recapture a time when the powers of heaven were truly at the disposal of a righteous people.” Ancient Temples: What Do They Signify? By Hugh Nibley September 1972
6- “The passages which I have quoted from the Book of Mormon and the more extended discussion of this subject by Elder B. H. Roberts which was published in The Deseret News of March 3 definitely established the following facts: That the hill Cumorah, and the hill Ramah are identical. That it was around this hill that the armies of both the Jaredites and Nephites fought their great last battles. That it was in this hill that Mormon deposited all of the sacred records which had been entrusted to his care by Ammaron, except the abridgment which he had made from the plates of Nephi, which were delivered into the hands of his son, Moroni. We know positively that it was in this hill that Moroni deposited the abridgment made by his father, and his own abridgment of the record of the Jaredites, and that it was from this hill that Joseph Smith obtained possession of them.” Anthony Ivins Improvement Era June 1928
21. “On the title page I read that it is “written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile.” In the introduction to the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, it says that the Lamanites “are among the ancestors of the American Indians.” As I read the Book of Mormon, it seemed to me that it was about my American Indian ancestors. It tells the story of a people, a part of which were later described as “Lamanites,” who migrated from Jerusalem to a “land of promise” (1 Nephi 2:20) about 600 B.C.” “Come unto Me, O Ye House of Israel” By Elder Larry Echo Hawk of the Seventy Ensign Oct 2012
7. “But while this direct testimony from the Prophet himself is lacking, it is not lacking from those who are competent to speak on the subject–and who did speak of it and who published their statements, and one of these in the life time of the prophet, Oliver Cowdery, close associate with Joseph Smith in bringing forth the Book of Mormon, and his chief amanuensis in the translation of it, declares this hill from which the Book of Mormon was taken to be the Hill Cumorah, the place where Mormon deposited “all the records in his possession, except his abridgment from the plates of Nephi which he gave to his son; and also emphatically declares it to be the scene of the destruction of both the Jaredite and Nephite people. This statement Oliver published in the Church organ at the time, called the “Saints Messenger and Advocate,” Kirtland, Ohio, 1834. There are nine letters published under the title of “Early Scenes and Incidents in the Church.” These letters were reproduced in the Improvement Era, Vol. II, 1898-9”. Written for the Deseret News by B. H. Roberts.
8- “From the time Father Bosley located near Avon, he found and plowed up axes and irons, and had sufficient to make his mill irons, and had always abundance of iron on hand without purchasing. In the towns of Bloomfield, Victor, Manchester, and in the regions round about, there were hills upon the tops of which were entrenchments and fortifications, and in them were human bones, axes, tomahawks, points of arrows, beads and pipes, which were frequently found; and it was a common occurrence in the country to plow up axes, which I have done many times myself. I have visited the fortifications on the tops of those hills frequently, and the one near Bloomfield I have crossed hundreds of times, which is on the bluff of Honeyoye River, at the outlet of Honeyoye Lake. In that region there are many small deep lakes, and in some of them the bottom has never been found. Fish abound in them. The hill Cumorah is a high hill for that country, and had the appearance of a fortification or entrenchment around it. In the State of New York, probably there are hundreds of these fortifications which are now visible, and I have seen them in many other parts of the United States. Readers of the Book of Mormon will remember that in this very region, according to that sacred record, the final battles were fought between the Nephites and Lamanites. At the hill Cumorah, the Nephites made their last stand prior to their utter extermination, A. D., 385. Thus was Heber preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, above the graves of the ancients of Israel, whose records with the fullness of that Gospel, and the relics of their prowess and civilization, were now whispering from the dust.” Life of Heber C. Kimball by Orson F. Whitney Mounds at Cumorah
9- “In his heretofore unpublished letter, Elder Golden Jensen refers to statements made in his presence at the Hill Cumorah by the late Elder James E. Talmage, of the Council of the Twelve, as follows:
Dear Brother Dixon,
In keeping with your request, I will endeavor to give you herein an account of an experience which I greatly enjoyed while laboring as secretary of the Eastern States Mission.
In the summer of 1920, I received an assignment to attend a special meeting with the missionaries laboring in Buffalo, New York. The day following the meeting I met George W. McCune, my mission president, and the late Dr. James E. Talmage who had driven to Buffalo from Detroit, Michigan. At their invitation I accompanied them to New York City. Enroute, however, we proceeded to Rochester, thence to the city of Palmyra, where we visited briefly. We then proceeded to the Joseph Smith Farm, where we left our car and walked to the sacred grove. As we were about to enter the grove, Dr. Talmage stopped, removed his shoes, and requested that President McCune and I remain where we were while he entered and prayed, alone in that sacred and holy spot, to the Living God.
After a while he called us to join him, whereupon he retold the story of the boy Prophet and of the glorious vision which Joseph had beheld, while President McCune and I sat and wept with joy. Leaving the grove, we went immediately to the Hill Cumorah and viewed the spot where the Angel Moroni had, ages before, deposited the golden plates according to the instructions of the Lord. These records were later revealed and delivered to Joseph the Prophet and were translated by him forth to the world The Book of Mormon. All the while I was being thrilled and edified by the continuous flow of information
and wisdom that came from the marvelous store of knowledge of Elder Talmage. I think I shall never forget how he looked, standing with bared head on the crest of the Hill Cumorah and with outstretched arm describing as he seemed to visualize that last great battle between the armies of the Nephites and Lamanites, calling attention to the significance of the hill as a vantage point for the forces who might gain control of possession of it.
At this time, he stated that he had found as a result of a survey and extensive analysis made by him, while a student in an eastern university, the soils of the surrounding area to be very rich in calcium, and phosphate content, in the soils particularly adjacent to the Hill Cumorah. With further investigation he discovered that there was a lack of these elements in the land which lay further than a few miles in radius in any direction from the Hill Cumorah. To him, this discovery was indicative of the fact that there was decaying of bones of the Nephite and Lamanite armies that perished there. To Apostle Talmage there was no doubt as to the reality of those great events as related in the Book of Mormon, nor was there any doubt in his mind as to the place where they had occurred. Sincerely your brother, J. Golden Jensen” JUST ONE CUMORAH by Riley L. Dixon, P. 147-149
THIS LAND: Zarahemla and the Nephite Nation
THIS LAND: Zarahemla and the Nephite Nation by Wayne May and Edwin Goble. Published by Ancient American Archaeology Foundation P.O. Box 370, Colfax, Wisconsin 54730 www.ancientamerican.com
Only One Cumorah
THIS LAND #1: Zarahemla and the Nephite Nation by Wayne May (Book 220 pages) $19.95
“A major question in Book of Mormon studies is, “Where was the Land of Zarahemla really?” There can be no real Book of Mormon Archaeology until the true real-world setting of the Book of Mormon is identified. It will not do to just dig up any archaeological site in the Americas and call it a Book of Mormon site. There have been many theories in the past about this, but none has been able to answer the question to the satisfaction of the authors. The theory that is presented in this book harmonizes things that were previously misunderstood. This book shows that the Hill Cumorah where the Nephites were destroyed really was in New York, and that the heartland of the Nephite culture, being the Land of Zarahemla, was not too far from it.
For over 100 years, the majority of people did not doubt that Cumorah was really in New York, and the prophets were consistent in their teachings about that fact. The only thing that was ever in doubt was how far south the rest of the lands mentioned in the Book of Mormon were from Cumorah in New York. The popular theory that the Land Southward including Zarahemla was in Mesoamerica (Southern Mexico and parts of Central America) started in 1842 with some speculation in the church. Later, certain people identified the Isthmus of Panama as the “obvious” narrow neck mentioned in the Book of Mormon. From this promiscuous mix of speculation spawned the idea that the Book of Mormon Lands covered the whole hemisphere.
Then the Mesoamericanists came along with the idea of a theory that the Book of Mormon Lands only took up a few hundred miles. They believe that Cumorah and all the rest of the lands were actually down in Mesoamerica, so they have dispensed entirely with a Cumorah in New York State.
This book in no way represents the official position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This material is the result of painstaking research and the personal ideas of the authors, which we are solely responsible for. While our theory is different than most in many respects, we cannot take credit for all of the concepts in this book. Much of it builds on research of those who came before. We would like to give credit where credit is due.
First of all, thanks to the many hours of work from the Mesoamerican researchers, one recognizes the Book of Mormon Lands doesn’t take up the whole hemisphere. The text demands a introduction more limited area than that. Delbert Curtis was the first to recognize the Niagara Peninsula as the Narrow Neck of Land. He gave us a reason to “Return to Cumorah.” He was one of the pioneers. It was truly unfortunate, however, that Curtis dismissed the Manti site in Missouri, which could have led him much further along to the whole picture. Duane Aston was the first to recognize that the word Niagara means “neck.” Duane Erickson was probably the first to break away from the extremely limited and untenable models of the New York Geographies. He paved the way for the more broad, but still limited, geographies that fit much better with the internal evidence from the Book of Mormon.
The broader limited geographies help one to understand how people could fill the whole face of the land. One can also understand how there was “an exceedingly great distance” between the Zarahemla/Nephi area and the Land of Many Waters, but it was still a relatively limited area. Duane Erickson was the first to recognize the Sidon as the Mississippi. We have built on his pioneering to demonstrate that the place name indeed shows this to be the case. Duane recognized that Zarahemla, Iowa mentioned in D&C 125 was the ancient site of Zarahemla as well, or at least, was in the area of it.
Ron and Jeff Garff were innovative enough to put this North American story with scriptural support on four video cassettes and make them available to the serious students of the Book of Mormon geography. A wealth of information was laid open for anyone searching for the lands of the Nephites.
Each researcher has had his or her part in putting together puzzle pieces for a true picture of geography. This book may consist of little bits of inspiration here and there. Even so, we do not know our thesis is correct. We cannot make any claims. All we know is that this theory feels right to us. We believe that our book has cemented these puzzle pieces into a coherent whole and added to them. Yet, we are always open to new information as it comes forth.
It is unfortunate that all past researchers have failed to deal with the Manti in Missouri site for one reason or another. Finally, the true nature of the head of the Sidon in its vicinity has been identified. The Manti site is at least as important as Cumorah in New York is. Without the Manti site in Missouri, one cannot come to a correct understanding of where the river Sidon or Land Southward is. We are able to show how that Manti fits with the internal evidences and how it also fits with Erickson’s Zarahemla site in Iowa.
Moroni Fortifies the Lands of the Nephites, by Clark Kelley Price.
Another of our contributions is to further solidify Duane Aston’s completed research on the meaning of the word Niagara; to leave no doubt as to the identity of that landmark as the Narrow Neck of Land. Our theory is the first to show how the whole Great Lakes System is the West Sea spoken of. We have shown that the ancients did not regard these as separate bodies of water, but as one great whole; for it was the “sea” that divided the land, not seas.
Further, we have paved the way for understanding how to correctly identify what evidences can be used in a plausible argument. We have shown that things must actually date to the correct time period. The mistake made by others was to not take into consideration artifact dating. We have shown things are controversial and have not been redeemed by science yet. We recognize that these cannot be regarded as evidence… yet.
In spite of that, the artifacts still demand further research and cannot be dismissed out of hand. They have a high probability of being real. Just test them is all we ask. This book shows that the Adena-Hopewell were indeed the Book of Mormon peoples.
It also shows that the artifacts one uses as potential Book of Mormon artifacts must date to the right time period and be from the right area. Unlike previous researchers, we have directly challenged the notions of the Mesoamerican researchers. We have taken their dogmatism head-on, that it is impossible that Book of Mormon Lands could be in the Great Lakes region. Previous researchers have not dared take on the Mesoamericanists. They seem to pretend that there was no need to challenge them. They seem to believe that it was enough that prophets said Cumorah was in New York, so that was all the evidence they needed, when it was only one of the spices in the soup, not all of the ingredients. The fact is, if the Mesoamericanists are never directly challenged, their theory will always dominate the scholarly opinion in the church. If there is never a paradigm shift in the scholarly opinion of the church towards a Great Lakes setting, the church will forever be held in the clutches of an incorrect theory. If any revelation is ever to be had on the geography by a prophet to tell us finally how it is, surely some kind of research would have to come out some time beforehand to show the plausibility of such a revelation, to prepare the minds of the people for it. Otherwise, such a revelation would probably be doubted because “everybody knows it’s in Mexico.” Such a thing would be a preparatory work. We make no special claims, but we do see the potential need for such a thing. If so, perhaps this book will fill the void, and show the need for further research in this long-ignored area of North America. If the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) is going to spend large sums in their research in Mexico, all we ask is that they spend an equal amount of money on the United States. What they will find may surprise them. Perhaps they don’t take it seriously yet because of their pet theories. Eventually someone will have to give them a good enough reason.
Some people believe that the Lord doesn’t want anything to be found. Our conviction, on the other hand, is that the Lord has complete control over the evidence. They can only be found in His own due time. If we have found anything, it can only be because its time has come. It may be that it was always out there, and the time has just come for this data to be put together. The Lord may have been hiding it, and people’s minds simply needed to be opened to be able to see it.” Edwin G. Goble & Wayne N. May
More Quotes from Apostles, Prophets, & Saints about ONE CUMORAH!
1. “I do not believe that the classrooms or the pulpits of our Church are for laboratory purposes in which to experiment with new doctrines and speculative notions. They are exclusively for the use of those who are willing to convert men and women and boys and girls to the truth. . . . I do not believe we should give credence to the highly speculative theories about Book of Mormon geography. I do not believe that there were two Hill Cumorahs, one in Central America and the other one up in New York, for the convenience of the Prophet Joseph Smith, so that the poor boy would not have to walk clear to Central America to get the gold plates. I do not believe we can be good Latter-day Saints and question the integrity of Joseph Smith. I do not believe we can be good Latter-day Saints and question the testimony of the eleven witnesses of the Book of Mormon. I do not believe you have a testimony of the truth if you question the accuracy of the translation of the Book of Mormon.” Mark E. Petersen LDS Conference Reports, Sunday afternoon, April 5, 1953
2. “…This modernistic theory of necessity, in order to be consistent, must place the waters of Ripliancum and the Hill Cumorah some place within the restricted territory of Central America, notwithstanding the teachings of the Church to the contrary for upwards of 100 years. Because of this theory some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon. It is for this reason that evidence is here presented to show that it is not only possible that these places could be located as the Church has held during the past century, but that in very deed such is the case… It is known that the Hill Cumorah where the Nephites were destroyed is the hill where the Jaredites were also destroyed. This hill was known to the Jaredites as Ramah. It was approximately near to the waters of Ripliancum, which the Book of Ether says, “by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all… It must be conceded that this description fits perfectly the land of Cumorah in New York, as it has been known since the visitation of Moroni to the Prophet Joseph Smith, for the hill is in the proximity of the Great Lakes and also in the land of many rivers and fountains. Moreover, the Prophet Joseph Smith himself is on record, definitely declaring the present hill called Cumorah to be the exact hill spoken of in the Book of Mormon. Further, the fact that all of his associates from the beginning down have spoken of it as the identical hill where Mormon and Moroni hid the records, must carry some weight. It is difficult for a reasonable person to believe that such men as Oliver Cowdery. Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, David Whitmer, and many others, could speak frequently of the Spot where the Prophet Joseph Smith obtained the plates as the Hill Cumorah, and not be corrected by the Prophet, if that were not the fact. That they did speak of this hill in the days of the Prophet in this definite manner is an established record of history.” Doctrines of Salvation Joseph Fielding Smith Chapter 12
3. “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
4. “Both the Nephite and Jaredite civilizations fought their final great wars of extinction at and near the Hill Cumorah (or Ramah as the Jaredites termed it), which hill is located between Palmyra and Manchester in the western part of the state of New York. It was here that Moroni hid up the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. (Morm. 6; Ether 15.) Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and many of the early brethren, who were familiar with all the circumstances attending the coming forth of the Book of Mormon in this dispensation, have left us pointed testimony as to the identity and location of Cumorah or Ramah.” (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 3, pp. 232-241.) (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine “CUMORAH,” 1966, p. 175)
5. “We visited the Hill Cumorah and were accorded the courtesy of going thereon by the wife of Mr. George Sampson, a brother of Admiral Wm. Sampson, who before his death owned the property. When we went up there and looked around, we felt that we were standing on holy ground. The brethren located, as near as they thought was possible, the place from which the plates of the Book of Mormon were taken by the Prophet. We were delighted to be there. Looking over the surrounding country we remembered that two great races of people had wound up their existence in the vicinity, had fought their last fight, and that hundreds of thousands had been slain within sight of that hill. Evidence of the great battles that have been fought there in days gone by are manifest in the numerous spear and arrow-heads that have been found by farmers while plowing in that neighborhood. We were fortunate enough to obtain a few of the arrowheads.” (George Albert Smith, Conference Report, April 1906, Third Day—Morning Session p. 56)
6. “Aug. 11, Wed: President McCune and I went early to the Grove. Later we were conveyed by auto to the Hill Cumorah by Brother Bean. We climbed the hill and traversed it back and fore and examined it with interest and care. It is the largest of the many glacial drumlins of the locality, and is the most prominent of all the elevations in the neighborhood. Aside from the fact that the plates of the Book of Mormon were taken from this hill, I was greatly interested in looking from its summit over the surrounding region and in contemplating the tremendous battle-scenes of the past, whereby first the Jaredites and later the Nephites were exterminated as nations. I believe the Book of Mormon account without reservation or modification. I believe, also, and express it as my personal conviction, that many ancient records, possibly those from which Mormon made his abridgment, are still concealed in that hill. I believe also that they will be brought forth in the Lord’s due time, and that until that time no man will succeed in finding them.” (James E. Talmage Journal Entries, 1920, pg 132-133; Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, BYU: MSS 229, Box 6, Folder 1, Journal 23.)
7. “Millennia ago he declared: “There shall none come into this land [he was speaking of America] save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord… In the western part of the state of New York near Palmyra is a prominent hill known as the “hill Cumorah.” (Morm. 6:6.) On July twenty-fifth of this year, as I stood on the crest of that hill admiring with awe the breathtaking panorama which stretched out before me on every hand, my mind reverted to the events which occurred in that vicinity some twenty-five centuries ago—events which brought to an end the great Jaredite nation… Thus perished at the foot of Cumorah the remnant of the once mighty Jaredite nation, of whom the Lord had said, “There shall be none greater … upon all the face of the earth.” (Ether 1:43.)… This second civilization to which I refer, the Nephites, flourished in America between 600 B.C. and A.D. 400. Their civilization came to an end for the same reason, at the same place, and in the same manner as did the Jaredites… The tragic fate of the Jaredite and the Nephite civilizations is proof positive that the Lord meant it when he said that this “is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.” (Ether 2:9.) This information, wrote Moroni, addressing himself to us who today occupy this land, “cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles” (now, Gentiles is the term used by the Book of Mormon prophets to refer to the present inhabitants of America and to the peoples of the old world from which they came)… Now my beloved brethren and sisters everywhere, both members of the Church and nonmembers, I bear you my personal witness that I know that the things I have presented to you today are true—both those pertaining to past events and those pertaining to events yet to come. The issue we face is clear and well defined. The choice is ours. The question is: Shall we of this dispensation repent and obey the laws of the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, or shall we continue to defy them until we ripen in iniquity That we will repent and obey and thereby qualify to receive the blessings promised to the righteous in this land, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.” America’s Destiny Marion G. Romney Oct 1975
8. “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
9. “We shall now introduce much circumstantial evidence, from American antiquities, and from the traditions of the natives, etc. First, says Mr. Boudinot: “It is said among their principal or beloved men, that they have 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, etc. They also say, that their fathers 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 blessings upon their beloved people; but that this power, for a long time past, had entirely ceased.” Colonel James Smith, in his journal, while a prisoner among the natives, says: “They have a tradition, that in the beginning of this continent, the angels or heavenly inhabitants, as they call them, frequently visited the people, and talked with their forefathers, and gave directions how to pray. 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 that language.” 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 had been under the feet of their enemies. But these oracles were to be restored to them again; and then they would triumph over their enemies, and regain their rights and privileges.” Quoted from A Voice of Warning An introduction to the faith and doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Chapter IV by Parley P. Pratt
10. [Heber C. Kimball] “prophesied that when the final last struggle came to this nation it would be at the Hill Cumorah where both of the former Nations [Jaredite and Nephite] were destroyed” (abt. Heber C. Kimball) Wilford Woodruff’s Journal 6:305, December 17, 1866
11. “In 1873, apostles Brigham Young Jr. and George Q. Cannon visited the New York Hill Cumorah and wrote up an account of the same which was published. “Undoubtedly great changes had occurred in the appearance of the surrounding country[side] since the days when Mormon and [his son] Moroni had trod the spot where we stood. Still we could readily understand, even now, how admirable a position this would be [from the hilltop] for a general to occupy in watching and directing the movements of armies and in scrutinizing the position of an enemy. Around Cumorah is yet a land of many waters, rivers and fountains [just] as Mormon said it was in his day. Our emotions on treading on this sacred hill were of the most peculiar character. They were indescribable. This was the hill Ramah of the Jaredites. In this vicinity, Coriantumr and Shiz, with the people whom they led, fought their last battle. For this great battle they were four years preparing, gathering the people together from all parts of the land, and arming men and women, and even children. The battle lasted eight days, and the result was the complete extermination of the Jaredite nation, none being left but the Prophet Ether and Coriantumr, who succeeded in slaying his mortal enemy Shiz. [Ether] and Coriantumr alone, of all that mighty race which had flourished upwards of fifteen hundred, were left. Who can imagine the feelings which he must have had on such an occasion? From the summit of this hill, Mormon and his great son Moroni had also witnessed the gathering of hosts of the Nephites, and the dusky and myriad legions of their deadly enemies, the Lamanites. Around this hill they had marshaled their forces–their twenty-three divisions of ten thousand men each, commanded by the most skillful of their generals, all to be swept away except Moroni. It was here that [Mormon] hid the abridgement which he made of the records [of his people], and which is know known by his name [Book of Mormon]. And it was here, thirty-six years after this tremendous battle, that his son Moroni also hid his abridgment of the book of Ether, and the record which he had made from which we learn the fate of his father, Mormon, and his other companions It was to this spot that about fourteen hundred years after these events, Joseph Smith, the Prophet, was led by Moroni in person, and here the records, engraved on plates, were committed to him for translation. Who could tread this ground and reflect upon these mighty events, and not be filled with indescribable emotion?” Brigham Young, Jr. and George Q. Cannon The Latter-Day Saints’ Millennial Star,(35 (33): 513-16), Tuesday, August 19th, 1873
12. Just two months and twelve days before his death in 1877, Brigham Young was establishing a new stake in Farmington, Utah. In his discourse, he said the following: “Orrin P. Rockwell is an eyewitness to some powers of removing the treasures of the earth. He was with certain parties that lived nearby where the plates were found that contain the records of the Book of Mormon. There were a great many treasures hid up by the Nephites. Porter was with them one night when there were treasures, and they could find them easy enough, but they could not obtain them. When [Porter] tells a thing he understands, he will tell it just as he knows it; he is a man that does not lie. He said that on this night when they were engaged hunting for this old treasure, they dug around the end of a chest for some twenty inches. The chest was about three feet square. One man who was determined to have the contents of that chest took his pick and struck into the lid of it, and split through into the chest. The blow took off a piece of the lid, which a certain lady [Lucy Mack Smith, Joseph’s mother] kept in her possession until she died. That chest of money went into the bank. Porter describes it so he says this is just as true as the heavens are.” Brigham Young Journal of Discourses (Liverpool, 1878), vol. 19:36-39.
13. “Consider how very fortunate we are to be living in this land of America. Many great events have transpired in this land of destiny. This was the place where Adam dwelt; this was the place where the Garden of Eden was; it was here that Adam met with a body of high priests at Adam-Ondi-Ahman shortly before his death and gave them his final blessing, and the place to which he will return to meet with the leaders of his people (D&C 107:53-57). This was the place of three former civilizations: that of Adam, that of the Jaredites, and that of the Nephites.” The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson pp. 587-588
14. McGavin and Bean explain their point of view concerning the identity of the Hill Cumorah as an ancient battlefield. The authors conclude that the scholars “need not search for [Cumorah] in Mexico or Yucatan” E. Cecil McGavin and Willard W. Bean “Cumorah-Land, An Ancient Battlefield,” in The Improvement Era 44, September 1941, 526, 571-72.
This FIVE book series by Wayne May contains valuable information about Book of Mormon archaeology, Native American oral history, and Church History relating to this subject material. This package includes one (1) each of Volume One; This Land: Zarahemla and the Nephite Nation, Volume Two; This Land: Only One Cumorah, Volume Three; This Land: They Came from the East, Volume Four; This Land: America 2000 B.C. to 400 A.D. and Volume Five; Willards Cumorah.
“Which is my word to the Gentile, that soon it may go to the Jew, of whom the Lamanites are a remnant, that they may believe the gospel, and look not for a Messiah to come who has already come.” D&C 19:27
“And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews.” 2 Nephi 30:4
Annotated Book of Mormon page 253 by David Hocking and Rod MeldrumPurchase here
“The Lord has told Joseph that when we leave here we will go in to the Rocky Mountains; right into the midst of the Lamanites… The Church did move to the Rocky Mountains into the midst of the Indians or Lamanites -or more properly speaking the Jews-and here expect to live until we move to the spirit land or the Lord moves us somewhere else.” Oliver B. Huntington, “Prophecy,” Young Woman’s Journal 2, no. 7 (April 1891)
Into the midst to me would mean, “to the very heart”, or “the middle of” or “into the Heatland of the United States”. As as I look at this today the area of the Heartland of America is where the Book of Mormon began, (the heart) and all around it are the remnants or outskirts, or the hinterlands as we call it. So there are Lamanites all around the heart of the land through marriage and inter mingling. Father Lehi would have distant relatives in South and Central America, but the heartland is where it all began.
“I think it’s important to realize that the title page of the Book of Mormon says, “written to the Lamanites.” That’s one of the very first things it says. I think Latter-day Saints today think well, the Book of Mormon is written for us. Well it was, written for the entire world, but of course Mormon, Moroni in their understanding of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, they fully realized that this book, this record, would eventually come forth to their descendants to the descendants of Lehi, and his family. And, this is clear to Joseph Smith. There’s no question in my mind that Joseph Smith knows from the very beginning this record needs to be received and given to and accepted by Lamanite descendants. And in 1830, to Joseph Smith and the Church members, a Lamanite meant to them, a North American Indian. There’s just no question.”Alexander L. Baugh BYU Church History Department; transcribed from the documentary “History of the Saints” Mission to the Lamanites Part 1.
Editor’s Note: There is much clarity in the Scriptures that indeed the Lamanites and the Hebrew are the same people. We also know that the Promised Land of the Book of Mormon is indeed the United States of America. I understand the quote by Elder Perry who 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.
Where was the repository of sacred writings, and where is the headquarters of the Church?, in other words, what was the Land Chosen by God? The USA. Not Greenland, not Brazil, not, Guatemala, not Quebec, but the land chosen was the heartland in the territory of the United States. It is also a witness that we have found 7 to 8 items in the United States that have Hebrew writing, archaeological menorah shapes, artifacts from Israel and Haplogroup X which matches the DNA of Israel with Native Americans near the Great Lakes. You will love the words of Mordecai Noah from below.
Mordecai Manuel Noah
“Mordecai Manuel Noah (July 14, 1785, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – May 22, 1851, New York) was an American sheriff, playwright, diplomat, journalist, and utopian. He was born in a family of Portuguese Sephardic ancestry. He was the most important Jewish lay leader in New York in the early 19th century, and the first Jew born in the United States to reach national prominence…
In 1811, he was appointed by President James Madison as consul at Riga, then part of Imperial Russia, but declined, and, in 1813, was nominated Consul to the Kingdom of Tunis, where he rescued American citizens kept as slaves by Moroccan slave owners…
In 1825, with virtually no support from anyone — not even his fellow Jews — in a precursor to modern Zionism, he tried to found a Jewish “refuge” at Grand Island in the Niagara River, to be called “Ararat,” after Mount Ararat, the Biblical resting place of Noah’s Ark. He purchased land on Grand Island for $4.38 per acre to build a refuge for Jews of all nations. He had brought with him a cornerstone which read “Ararat, a City of Refuge for the Jews, founded by Mordecai M. Noah in the Month of Tishri, 5586 (September, 1825) and in the Fiftieth Year of American Independence.”
Noah also shared the belief, among various others, that some Native American “Indians” were from the Lost Tribes of Israel, on which he wrote the Discourse on the Evidences of the American Indians being the Descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel. In his Discourse on the Restoration of the Jews, Noah proclaimed his faith that the Jews would return and rebuild their ancient homeland and called on America to take the lead in this endeavor.
The cornerstone was laid on the communion table, and the new proclamation establishing the refuge was read.
On September 2, 1825, soon after Noah’s arrival in Buffalo from New York, thousands of Christians and a smattering of Jews assembled for a historic event. Noah led a large procession headed by Masons, a New York militia company, and municipal leaders to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Here, there was a brief ceremony — including a singing of the psalms in Hebrew — the cornerstone was laid on the communion table, and the new proclamation establishing the refuge was read. “Proclamation – day ended with music, cannonade and libation. 24 guns, recessional, masons retired to the Eagle Tavern, all with no one ever having set foot on Grand Isle. “This was the beginning and the end of Noah’s venture: he lost heart and returned to New York two days later without once having set foot on the island. The cornerstone was taken out of the audience chamber of the church and laid against the back of the building. It is now on permanent display at the Buffalo Historical Society in Buffalo, New York. Afterwards, despite the failure of his project, he developed the idea of settling the Jews in Palestine and, as such, he can be considered a forerunner of modern Zionism.” Wikepedia Mordecai Noah
“It has been the general impression, as before mentioned, that great resemblance existed between some of the religious rites of the Jews, and the peculiar ceremonies of the Indians ; and the belief in one great spirit has tended to strengthen the impression.” Evidences of the American Indians Being the Descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel. By Mordecai M. Noah
OBSERVING THE LAW OF MOSES IN THE BOOK OF MORMON
Nephi recounted when commanded to obtain the Plates of Brass: “Yea, and I also thought that they could not keep the commandments of the Lord according to the Law of Moses, save they should have the Law. And I also knew that the Law was engraven upon the Plates of Brass” – 1 Nephi 4:15-16. The Law of Moses was instituted to bring the children of Israel to Christ, “And for this intent we keep the Law of Moses, it pointing our souls to Him” – Jacob 4:5. The Law provided for seasonal holy ceremonial assemblies whereby specific items were symbolically used to focus the people’s actions and thoughts on the role the Holy One of Israel (Jesus Christ) had on their salvation (see pp. 15, 142, 144, 169 and 300). The Prophet and Historian Mormon, when reviewing the history on the Large Plates of Nephi, noted that “…the Lamanites did observe strictly to keep the commandments of God according to the Law of Moses.” (Helaman. 13:1; p. 369).
Joseph Smith wrote in his Church History to Mr. John Wentworth, “The principal nation of the second race fell in battle towards the close of the fourth century. The remnant [the conquering Lamanites] are the Indians that now inhabit this country.” (See p. 551.) M. Noah (1785-1851), a prominent Jewish lay leader published his, “Discourse of the Evidences of the American Indians Being the Descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel,” New York, James Van Norden, 1837
Mordecai M. Noah
He based his discourse on their religious beliefs and seasonal ceremonies, “In their divisions of the year in four seasons, answering to the Jewish festivals of the feast of flowers [Feast of Weeks; see p. 300], the day of atonement, the feast of the tabernacle, and other religious holydays,” and, “by their laws of sacrifices, ablutions, marriages; ceremonies in war and peace, the prohibitions of eating certain things, fully carrying out the Mosaic institutions.” (p. 8.) He writes, “The most sacred fast day uniformly kept by the Jews is the day of Atonement, usually falling in the month of September or in early October…Precisely such a fast, with similar motives, and nearly at the same period of the year, is kept by the Indian natives generally…[James] Adair (see p. 544) stat[ed] the strict manner in which the [American heartland] Indians observe the revolutions of the moon, and describing the feast of the harvest, and the first offerings of the fruits, gives a long account of the preparations of putting their temple in proper order for the great day of atonement, which he fixes at the time when the corn is fully eared and ripe, generally in the latter end of September.” (p. 14.)
Sun vs Moon Worship
Editor’s Note: Ancient Mesoamerican worship revolved around the Sun and not the Moon like it is with the Jews and the Native Americans. “Maya astronomers had the ability to predict and mark the passage of the seasons by observing the movements of the Sun along the horizon, or the Sun’s movements with respect to the pyramids and other temples. The Sun and its cycles are the foundation for Maya calendar keeping.’ Source
Pres. John Taylor
“…It appears indubitable from the two records, the Bible and the Book of Mormon, that the intent and true meaning of the Law of Moses, of its sacrifices, etc., were far better understood and comprehended by the Nephites than by the Jews. But in this connection, it must not be forgotten that a great many most plain and precious things, as the Book of Mormon states, have been taken from the Bible, through the ignorance of uninspired translators or the design and cunning of wicked men.” – John Taylor, The Gospel Kingdom: Selections from the Writings and Discourses of John Taylor, Third President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co. [2002], 107.
Annotated Book of Mormon
“The Nephites definitely kept and observed the law of sacrifice, yet no procedural explanations of how such sacrifices were performed are presented in the Book of Mormon. However, there are three instances of animal sacrifice offerings recorded that shed some light on this: The first instance was an offering sacrifice performed by Lehi in the Arabian wilderness using an altar of stones in order to give thanks to God for his family’s deliverance: “And it came to pass that he built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord our God.” (1 Nephi 2:7) The second is an animal burnt offering when Lehi and Sariah rejoiced on the return of their sons from Jerusalem: “And it came to pass that they did rejoice exceedingly, and did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto the Lord, and they gave thanks unto the God of Israel.” (1 Nephi 5:9)
The third was also a burnt offering of sheep or goats (flocks) performed in the new land of promise when king Benjamin gathered the people at the temple in Zarahemla and “took of the firstlings of their flocks, that they might offer sacrifice and burnt offerings according to the Law of Moses.” (Mosiah 2:3) Amulek taught that sacrifices were symbolically a reminder of the future great and last sacrifice of Jesus Christ: “And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal.” (Alma 34:14) ” Annotated Book of Mormon David Hocking and Rod Meldrum Page 533
DISCOURSE THE EVIDENCES THE AMERICAN INDIANS BEING THE DESCENDANTS LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL. MERCANTILE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, CLINTON HALL. BY M. M. NOAH. PRINTED BY JAMES VAN NOUDEN,
“Those who study the Scriptures, either as a matter of duty or pleasure — who seek in there divine revelations, or search for the records of history, cannot be ignorant of the fact that the Jewish nation, at an early period, was divided into twelve tribes, and occupied their ancient heritage under geographical divisions, during the most splendid periods under the kingdoms of Judah and of Israel,
Their early history — the rise, progress and downfall of the nation — the proud distinction of being the chosen people — their laws, government and wars — their sovereigns, judges and temples — their sufferings, dispersions, and the various prophecies concerning this ancient and extraordinary people, cannot be unknown to you all. For their history is the foundation of religion, their vicissitudes the result of prophecy, their restoration the fulfillment of that great promise made to the Patriarch Abraham, almost I may say in the infancy of nature.
It is also known to you that the Jewish nation was finally overpowered, and nine and a half of the tribes were carried captives to Samaria ; two and a half, to wit : Judah, Benjamin and half Manasseh, remained in Judah or in the Trans Jordan”* cities.
Editors note: This quote about part of Manasseh joining with the tribe of Judah, makes sense to the Latter-day Saints. We believe that Lehi is from the tribe of Manasseh as stated in Alma 10:3. We also know the people of Zarahemla came from Jerusalem and were from the Tribe of Judah, who intermingled with the Nephites when Mosiah found these people of Zarahemla, or the Mulekites in about 329 BC. At the last great battles of the Nephites, we know the blood of Judah, Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim were flowing through the veins of he Lamanites who remained at Cumorah, NY.
Book of Mormon Student Manuel
“The Book of Mormon is sometimes referred to as the “stick of Joseph” (Ezekiel 37:19) or the “stick of Ephraim” (D&C 27:5). Lehi was a descendant of Manasseh (see Alma 10:3) and Ishmael was a descendant of Ephraim. The prophecies of Jacob (see Genesis 48:16; 49:22) were fulfilled as Ishmael’s family (Ephraim) came to the American continent with Lehi (Manasseh).Elder Erastus Snow (1818–88) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles discussed the importance of Ishmael’s lineage: “Whoever has read the Book of Mormon carefully will have learned that the remnants of the house of Joseph dwelt upon the American continent; and that Lehi learned by searching the records of his fathers that were written upon the plates of brass, that he was of the lineage of Manasseh. The Prophet Joseph informed us that the record of Lehi was contained on the 116 pages that were first translated and subsequently stolen, and of which an abridgment is given us in the first Book of Nephi, which is the record of Nephi individually, he himself being of the lineage of Manasseh; but that Ishmael was of the lineage of Ephraim, and that his sons married into Lehi’s family, and Lehi’s sons married Ishmael’s daughters, thus fulfilling the words of Jacob upon Ephraim and Manasseh in the 48th chapter of Genesis, which says: ‘And let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the land.’ Thus these descendants of Manasseh and Ephraim grew together upon this American continent” (in Daniel H. Ludlow, A Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon [1976], 199). Source
What Became of the Missing Tribes?
The question before us for consideration is, what has become of the missing or dispersed tribes — to what quarter of the world did they direct their footsteps, and what are the evidences of their existence at this day?
An earthquake may shake and overturn the foundations of a city’ — the avalanche may overwhelm the hamlet — and the crater of a volcano may pour its lava over fertile plains and populous villages, but a whole nation cannot vanish from the sight of the world, without leaving some traces of its existence, some marks of habits and customs.
City Ararat at Grand Island NY
It is a singular fact that history is exceedingly confused, or rather I may say dark, respecting the ultimate dispersion of the tribes among the cities of the Medes. The last notice we have of them is from the second Book of Esdras, which runs thus.
” Whereas thou sawest another peaceable multitude : these are the ten tribes which were carried away prisoners out of their own land in the time of Hosea, whom Salmanazar King of Assyria led away captive, and he carried them over the waters, so they came unto another land.”…
On the discovery of America by Columbus, and the discoveries subsequent to his time, various tribes of Indians or savages were found to inhabit this our continent, whose origin was *unknown.
[*Editors Note: Through my research and study I believe the Taino’s and Arawak’s occupied San Salvador where Columbus first landed. See my blog here:
“The history of the archipelago of Puerto Rico before the arrival of Christopher Columbus is poorly known. Current knowledge comes from archaeological research and the first Spanish testimonies. The first in-depth book on the history of Puerto Rico was written by Fray Íñigo Abbad y Lasierra in 1786 , 293 years after the first Spaniards arrived on the island.
The first inhabitants of which there is a trace were Ortoiroides 9 , fishermen and hunters, they had developed a primitive pottery, but not agriculture, they are classified in the archaic period. The Archaics came from Florida. In 1990 , an archaeological dig on the island of Vieques discovered what is believed to be an archaic man (called Puerto Ferro man), dated to around 2000 BC. J.-C.” Source
It is, perhaps, difficult for the human mind to decide on the character and condition of an extreme savage state. We can readily believe that children abandoned in infancy in a savage country, and surviving this abandonment, to grow up in a state of nature, living on herbs and fruits, and sustaining existence as other wild animals, would be stupid, without language, with- out intellect, and with no greater instinct than that which gov- erns the brute creation. We can conceive nothing reduced to a more savage condition ; with cannibal propensities, an ungovernable ferocity, or a timid apprehension, there can be but a link that separates them from other classes of animal creation. So, with herds of men in a savage state, like herds of buffalo or wild horses on our prairies, they are kept together by sounds common amongst themselves, and are utterly unacquainted with the landmarks of civilization.]”
AMERICAN INDIANS BEING THE DESCENDANTS LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL. continues saying, “This, however, was not the condition of the American Indians when first discovered. They were a singular race of men, with enlarged views of life, religion, courage, constancy, humanity, policy, eloquence, love of their families ; with a proud and gallant bearing, fierce in war, and, like the ancients, relentless in victory. Their hospitality might be quoted as examples among- the most liberal of the present day. These were not wild men — these were a different class from those found on the Sandwich and Fiji Islands. The red men of America, bearing as they do the strongest marks of Asiatic origin, have for more than 2000 years (and divided as they are in upwards of 300 different nations) been remarkable for their intellectual superiority, their bravery in war, their good faith in peace, and all the simplicity and virtues of their patriarchal fathers, until civilization, as it is called, had rendered them familiar with all the vices which distinguish the present era, without being able to enforce any of the virtues which are the boast of our present enlightened times. Story of Polynesians and Hagoth here
It is, however, in the religious belief and ceremonies of the Indians that I propose showing some of the evidences of their being, as it is believed, the descendants of the dispersed tribes.” This opinion is founded —
1st. In their belief in one God. 2d. In the computation of time by their ceremonies of the new moon. , . ., , 3d. In their divisions of the year in four seasons, answering to the Jewish festivals of the feast of flowers, the day of atonement, the feast of the tabernacle, and other religious holydays. 4th. In the erection of a temple after the manner of our temple, and having an ark of the covenant, and also the erection of altars. 5th. By the division of the nation into tribes with a chief or grand sachem at their head. 6th. By their laws of sacrifices, ablutions, marriages; cere- monies in war and peace, the prohibitions of eating certain things, fully carrying out the Mosaic institutions; — by their traditions, history, character, appearance, affinity of their language to the Hebrew, and finally, by that everlasting covenant of heirship exhibited in a perpetual transmission of its seal in their flesh.
If I shall be able to satisfy your doubts and curiosity on these points, you will certainly rejoice with me in discovering that the dispersed of the chosen people are not the lost ones — that the promises held out to them have been thus far realized, and that all the prophecies relative to their future destination will in due time be strictly fulfilled.
It has been the general impression, as before mentioned, that great resemblance existed between some of the religious rites of the Jews, and the peculiar ceremonies of the Indians ; and the belief in one great spirit has tended to strengthen the impression ; yet this mere resemblance only extended so far as to admit of the belief, that they possibly may have descended from the dispersed tribes, or may have been of Tartar or Malay origin.
It was, however, a vague and unsatisfactory suspicion, which, having no tangible evidence, has been rejected, or thrown aside as a mere supposition. All the missionaries and travelers among the Indian tribes since the discovery of America — Adair, Heck- welder, Charlevoix, McKenzie, Bartram, Beltrami, Smith, Pena, Mrs. Simon, who has written a very interesting work on this subject, &c., have expressed opinions in favor of their being of Jewish origin — the difficulty, however, under which they all labored was simply this ; they were familiar with the religious rites, ceremonies, traditions and belief of the Indians, but they were not sufficiently conversant with the Jewish rites and cere- monies, to show the analogy. It is precisely this link in the chain of evidence that I propose to supply.
It has been said that the Indians believing in one great Spirit and Fountain of Life, like the Jews, does not prove their descent from the missing tribes, because in a savage state their very ignorance and superstition lead them to confide in the works of some divine superior being. But savages are apt to be idolaters, and personate the deity by some carved figure or image to whom they pay their adoration, and not like the Indians, having a clear and definite idea of one great Ruler of the universe, one great Spirit, whose attributes are as well known to them as to us. But if the continued unerring worship of one God like the Jews prove nothing, where did they acquire the same Hebrew name and appellation of that deity? If tradition had not handed down to them the ineffable name as also preserved by the Jews, how did they acquire it in a wilderness where the word of the Lord was never known?
Adair, in whom I repose great confidence, and who resided forty years among them, in his work published in 1775, says, ” The ancient heathens worshipped a plurality of gods, but these Indians pay their devoir to Lo-ak (Light) Ish-ta-hoola-aba, distinctly Hebrew, which means the great supreme beneficent holy Spirit of Fire who resides above.
They are, says Adair, utter strangers to all the gestures practiced by the pagans in their religious rites — they kiss no idols, nor would they kiss their hands in tokens of reverence or willing obedience.
These tribes, says Adair, so far from being Atheists, use the great and dreadful name of God which describes his divine essence, and by which he manifested himself to Moses ! and are firmly persuaded that they now live under the immediate government of the Almighty Ruler. Their appellative for God is Islo-hoolo, the Hebrew of Esh-Eshys, from Ishto, Great but they have another appellative, which with them as with us, is the mysterious essential name of God, which they never mention in common speech, and only when performing their most sacred religious rites, and then they most solemnly divide it in syllables, with intermediate words, so as not to pronounce the ineffable name at once.
Thus, in their sacred dances at their feast of the first-fruits, they sing Aleluyah and Mesheha, from the Hebrew of Masheach, Messiah, the anointed one. ” Yo mesheha,” ” He mesheha,” ” Wah meshehah,” thus making the Alleluyah, the Meshiah, the Yehovah.”
Can we, for a moment, believe that these sacred well known Hebrew words found their way by accident to the wilderness 1 Or can it be doubted that like the fire of the burning bush which never is extinguished, those words of religious adoration are the sacred relics of tradition, handed down to them from generation to generation 1 In the same manner, says Adair, they sing on certain other religious celebrations, ailyo ailyo, which is the Hebrew el for God by his attribute of omnipotence. They likewise sing heioah, hewah, He chyra, the ” immortal soul.” Those words sung at their religious rejoicings are never uttered at any other time, which must have occasioned the loss of their divine hymns. They on some occasions sing Shilu yo — Shilti he — Shilu wah. The three terminations make up in their order the four lettered divine name in Hebrew. Shilu is evidently Shaleach, Shiloth, the messenger ; ” the peace maker.”
The number of Hebrew words used in their religious services is incredible ; tlius, in chiding any one for levity during a solemn worship they say, Che hakeet Kana, ” you resemble those re- proved in Canaan,” and to convey the idea of criminality, they say Hackscl Canaha, ” the sinners of Canaan.” They call lightning eloah, and the rumbling of thunder yowah, from the Hebrew runch, ” spirit.”
4 Seasons and New Moon
Like the Israelites they divide the year into four seasons, with the same festivals ; (bey calculate by moons and celebrate as the Jews do the berachah halebana, the blessing for the new moon.
[Editors note: Those Natives from Mesoamerica have only two seasons and worship the Sun, very different than the Natives of North America]. Native American’s from the USA have High Priests, temple ceremonies, wear ancient breastplates and worship only One God. To me they are the Israelites. The Asians of Central and south America are very different in their customs and beliefs, they are also much shorter in their stature and resemble the people of Asia not those from Israel or Eastern United States.
The Indians have their prophets and high-priests, the same as the Jews had ; not hastily selected, but chosen with caution from the most wise and discreet, and they ordain their high priests by anointing, and have a most holy place in their sanctuaries, like the Holy of Holies in the Temple. The Archimagus or High Priest, wears, in resemblance to the ancient breast- plate, a white conch-shell ornamented so as to resemble the precious stones on the Urim, and instead of the golden plate worn by the Levite on his forehead, bearing the inscription Kodish Ladonaye, the Indian binds his brows with a wreath of swan’s feathers, and wears a tuft of white feathers which he calls Yatira.
The Indians have their ark which they invariably carry with them to battle well-guarded. In speaking of the Indian places of refuge, Adair says, ” I observed that if a captive taken by the reputed power of the holy things of their ark, should be able to make his escape into one of these towns, or even into the winter house of the Archimagus, he is delivered from the fiery torture, otherwise inevitable. This, when taken in connection with the many other faint images of Mosaic customs, seems to point at the mercy-seat of the sanctuary. It is also worthy of notice, that they never place the ark on the ground. On hilly ground where large stones are plenty, they rest it thereon, but on level prairies, upon short logs, where they also seat themselves. And when we consider, continues Adair, in what a surprising manner the Indians copy after the ceremonial law of the Hebrews, and their strict purity in the war camps ; that opae, “the leader” obliges all during the first campaign which they have made with the beloved ark, to stand every day they are not engaged in warfare, from sunrise to sunset, and after a fatiguing day’s march and scanty allowance, to drink warm water embittered with rattle snake root very plentifully, in order to purification ; that they have also as strong a faith in the power of their ark as ever the Israelites had in theirs, ascribing the success of one party to their stricter adherence to the law, than the other, we have strong reason to conclude them of Hebrew origin. The Indians have an old tradition, that when they left their own native land, they brought with them a sanctified rod by order of an oracle, which they fixed every evening in the ground, and were to remove from place to place on the continent towards the sun rising till it budded in one night’s time. I have seen other Indians, says the same writer, who related the same thing. Instead of the miraculous direction to which they limit it, in their western banishment, it appears more likely that they refer to the ancient circumstance of the rod of Aaron, which in order to check the murmur of those who conspired against him, was in his favor made to bud blossoms and yield almonds at one and the same time. It is a well attested fact, and is here corroborated by Adair, that in taking female captives, the Indians have often protected them, but never despoiled them of honor.
This statement of Adair, in relation to the ark, is corroborated by several travelers. Major Long, a more recent traveler, in his expedition to the Rocky Mountains, says, in relation to the ark, ” It is placed upon a stand, and is never suffered to touch the earth. No person dare open all the coverings. Tradition informs them that curiosity induced three different persons to examine the mysterious shell, who were immediately punished for their profanation by instant blindness.” This is the Jewish punishment pronounced for looking on the holy of holies — even now for looking on the descendants of the High Priest who alone have the privilege of blessing the people.
The most sacred fast day uniformly kept by the Jews is the day of Atonement, usually falling in the month of September or early in October, This is deemed in every part of the world a most solemn fast, and great preparations are made for its celebration. It is in the nature of expiation of sin, of full confession, penitence and prayer; and is preceded by ablution and preparation of morning- prayer for some time.
It is a very sacred fast, which lasts from sunset on one day until the new moon is seen on the succeeding evening. It is not in the nature of a gloomy desponding penance, but rather a day of solemn rejoicing, of hope and confidence, and is respected by those most indifferent to all other festivals throughout the year.
Precisely such a fast, with similar motives, and nearly at the same period of the year, is kept by the Indian natives generally.
Adair, after stating the strict manner in which the Indians observe the revolutions of the moon, and describing the feast of the harvest, and the first offerings of the fruits, gives a long ac- count of the preparations in putting their temple in proper order for the great day of atonement, which he fixes at the time when the corn is full eared and ripe, generally in the latter end of September. He then proceeds:
” Now one of the waiters proclaims with a loud voice, for all the warriors and beloved men whom the purity of their law admits, to come and enter the beloved square, and observe the fast. He also exhorts the women and children, with those who have not been initiated in war, to keep apart, according to the law.
” Four sentinels are now placed one at each corner of the holy square, to keep out every living creature as impure, except the religious order, and the warriors who are not known to have violated the law of the first fruit-offering, and that of marriage, since the last year’s expiation. They observe the fast till the rising of the second sun ; and be they ever so hungry in the sacred interval, the healthy warriors deem the duty so awful, and disobedience so inexpressibly vicious, that no temptation would induce them to violate it. They at the same time drink plentifully of a decoction of the button snake root, in order to vomit and cleanse their sinful bodies.
” In the general fast, the children and men of weak constitutions, are allowed to eat, as soon as they are certain that the sun has begun to decline from his meridian altitude.
” Now every thing is hushed. Nothing but silence all around. The great beloved man, and his beloved waiter, rising up with a reverend carriage, steady countenance and composed beha- viour, go into the beloved place, or holiest, to bring them out the beloved fire. The former takes a piece of dry poplar, willow, or white oak, and having cut a hole, but not so deep as to reach through it ; he then sharpens another piece, and placing that in the hole, and both between his knees, he drills it briskly for several minutes, till it begins to smoke — or by rubbing two pieces together for a quarter of an hour, he collects by friction the hidden fire, which they all consider as proceeding from the holy spirit of fire.
” The great beloved man, or high priest, addresses the warriors and women ; giving all the particular, positive injunctions and negative precepts they yet retain of the ancient law. He uses very sharp language to the women. He then addresses the whole multitude. He enumerates the crimes they have committed, great and small, and bids them look at the holy fire which has forgiven them. He presses on his audience, by the great motives of temporal good and the fear of temporal evil, the necessity of a careful observance of the ancient law, assuring them that the holy fire will enable their prophets, the rain makers, to procure them plentiful harvests, and give their war leaders victory over their enemies. He then orders some of the fire to be laid down outside of the holy ground, for all the houses of the various associated towns, which sometimes lay several miles apart.”
Mr. Bartram, who visited the southern Indians in 1778, gives an account of the same feast, but in another nation. He says, ” that the feast of first fruits is the principal festival. This seems to end the old and begin the new ecclesiastical year. It commences when their new crops are arrived to maturity. This is their most solemn celebration.”
With respect to the sacrifices, we have had none since the destruction of the temple, but it was customary among the Jews, in the olden time, to sacrifice daily a part of a lamb. This ceremony is strictly observed* by the Indians. The hunter when leaving his wigwam for the chase, puts up a prayer, that the great Spirit will aid his endeavors to procure food for his wife and children, and, when he returns with the red deer, whatever may be the cravings of hunger, he allows none to taste until he has cut part of the flesh, which he throws in the fire as a sacrifice, accompanied with prayer. All travelers speak of this practice among the Indians, so clearly Hebrew in its origin.
The bathing’s, anointings, ablutions, in the coldest weather, are never neglected by the Indians, and, like the Jews of old, they anoint themselves with bear’s oil.
Editor’s note: None of the anointing, ceremony, altar, one God, prayers and eating of clean flesh remind me of any tribe in South or Central America. The Native Americans of the Untied States are the Hebrew. The Great Spirit is Jesus Christ.
The Mosaic prohibition of eating unclean animals, and their enumeration, are known to you all. It would be supposed that, amidst the uncertainty of an Indian life, all kinds of food would be equally acceptable. Not so : for in strict conformity with the Mosaic law, they abstain from eating the blood of any ani- mal, they abominate swine flesh, they do not eat fish without scales, the eel, the turtle or sea cow ; and they deem many animals and birds to be impure. These facts are noticed by all writers, and particularly by Edwards in his History of the West Indies. The latter able historian, in noticing the close analogy between the religious rites of the Jews and Indians, says, ” that the striking conformity of the prejudices and customs of the Caribbee Indians, to the practices of the Jews, has not escaped the notice of such historians as Gamella, Du Tertre,and others;” and Edwards also states, that the Indians on the Oroonoke, punished their women caught in adultery, by stoning them to death before the assembly of the people.
Among the Mosaical laws is the obligation of one brother to marry his brother’s widow, if he die without issue. Major Long says, ” if the deceased has left a brother, he takes the widow to his lodge after a proper interval and considers her as his wife.” This is also confirmed by Charlevoix.
It would occupy a greater space of time than I can afford, to trace a similitude between all the Indian rites and religious ceremonies, and those of the Jewish nation. In their births, in their separation after the births of their children, in their daily prayers and sacrifices, in their festivals, in their burials, in the employment of mourners, and in their general belief, I see a close analogy and intimate connection, with all the ceremonies and laws which are observed by the Jewish people ; making n due allowance for what has been lost, and misunderstood, in the course of upwards of 2000 years.
A general belief exists among most travelers, that the Indians are the descendants of the missing tribes.
Manasseh Ben Israel wrote his celebrated treatise, to prove this fact, on the discovery of America. William Penn, who always acted righteously towards the Indians, and had never suspected that they had descended from the missing tribes, says, in a letter to his friends in England, ” I found them with like countenances to the Hebrew race. I consider these people under a dark night, yet they believe in God and immortality, without the aid of metaphysics. They reckon by moons, they offer their first ripe fruits, they have a kind of feast of tabernacles, they are said to lay their altars with twelve stones, they mourn a year, and observe the Mosaic law with regard to separation.” i
Emanuel de Moraez, in his history of Brazil, declares that America has been peopled by the Carthaginians and Israelites, and as to the Israelites, he says, nothing is wanting but circumcision, to constitute a perfect resemblance between them and the Brazilians.
The Rev. Mr. Beatty, a very worthy missionary, says, ” I have often before hinted, that I have taken great pains to search into the usages and customs of the Indians, in order to see what ground there was for supposing them to be part of the ten tribes, and I must own, to my no small surprise, that a number of their customs appear so much to resemble those of the Jews, that it is a great question with me, whether we can expect to find among the ten tribes wherever they are at this day, all things considered, more of the footsteps of their ancestors than among the different Indian tribes.”
Discourse of the Evidences of the American Indians Being the Descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel. By Mordecai M. Noah page 2-15
Jewish Hamsa Symbol found in prehistory Native American Artifacts
The Jewish hamsa is a symbol a hand with the all seeing eye in the palm is used by Jews and Arabians still to this day. This symbol is found in North America specifically the Mississippian native culture. The Mississippian culture is dated after the Hopewell and the Book of Mormon but I believe that they were strongly influenced by the descendants of the Hopewell. The Jewish symbol is shown below as well as the Mississippian hamsa symbol.
A bas relief on the Arch of Titus in Rome depicts the celebratory procession of Titus’s victorious troops after defeating the First Jewish Revolt (66–70 C.E.). They carry the spoils of the Temple on their shoulders: the Menorah, the Showbread table and the trumpets.The Jewish people use the Hebrew word “Hamesh” as an equivalent for “Hamsa.” Hamesh means “five” in Hebrew. Jewish people refer to the five-fingered hand symbol as the “Hamesh” hand. It has been present in Judaism dating all the way back to Biblical times, where it is referenced in Deuteronomy 5:15, stated in the Ten Commandments as the “strong hand” of God who led the Jews out of Egypt.* The eye within the hand represents the all-searching Eye of God. Shown below are artifacts dated to Hopewell time-frames on display at the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site near East St. Louis, Illinois. (*Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamsa)
I just heard a word I had never heard before the other day, Schadenfreude. It is defined as enjoying other people’s mishaps and misery. I can relate to that as often we like to see a person make mistakes or totally fail, especially someone who we think may deserve it. That is part of the physical self we should try and overcome or repent of, as it could lead to a greater sin in the future. Some failures of others seem funny to us, but may be a significant event in that persons life. Personally my weakness is judging too harshly which is in the same category I guess.
Past Feeling
This new word made me think instantly at the words of the Bible and Book of Mormon, “Past Feeling.” A journey towards disobedience to sin to evil to becoming past feeling is frightening to me. But, shouldn’t we understand the evil to understand the good? The Lord said, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Moses 4:11 We also know Alma said, “Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness.” Alma 41:10
What is the Worst Trait in Human Nature?
I propose Schadenfreude or Past Feeling!
The Apostle Paul taught, “Who being pastfeeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.” Ephesians 4:19 I believe this is the searing of conscious. This type of evil is huge in this world today as you look below the surface of our day to day life. We still have Communism, Nazism, Cabals, sex trafficking, terrible drugs prescription and others, Elite people loving slavery, and much more. Look at our government taking away free speech, guns, abortion, open borders, and rampant pedophilia.
What is the Worst Punishment on the Earth?
I propose it is Damnation and the Second Death or remaining with Satan, forever.
“And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.” 2 Nephi 9:9. Not living with my family and Christ forever, is the worst thing for me to think about.
Do We Fear Death?
I feel if we fear death, we actually fear life. In other words if we fail to understand the Lord’s great plan of happiness in this life, we will not strive for Eternal Life with Him again. If we think this life is all there is, then there are no consequences and we may “eat, drink, and be merry” all the time on earth. Don’t accept this lie. When trials happen we can either blame the Lord, or humble ourselves and say, “What can I learn from this experience?”
The Lord does not create evil and he doesn’t cause disaster, disease and death. Why would we ever blame the Lord for doing something evil to his children whom He loves? He said, “This is My work and My glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternallife of man.” Moses 1:39. The Lord has given us agency and with that agency, man will and does cause evil. The Lord allows man to teach evil and to inflict evil, but He is never the cause of evil. He is our Father and loves us.
Moral Agency
“In years past we generally used the term free agency. That is not incorrect. More recently we have taken note that free agency does not appear in the scriptures. They talk of our being “free to choose” and “free to act” for ourselves (2 Nephi 2:27; 10:23; see also Helaman 14:30) and of our obligation to do many things of our own “free will” (D&C 58:27). But the word agency appears either by itself or with the modifier moral: “That every man may act in doctrine and principle … according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment” (D&C 101:78; emphasis added). When we use the term moral agency, we are appropriately emphasizing the accountability that is an essential part of the divine gift of agency. We are moral beings and agents unto ourselves, free to choose but also responsible for our choices.” Ensign 2009 Moral Agency By Elder D. Todd Christofferson
Conscious
Our Conscious is best known as the “Light of Christ.” God has also given us the blessing of the Holy Ghost who is a personage of Spirit separate from the Light of Christ and a member of the Godhead. The Holy Ghost may come and go as we need direction in our lives. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are also given the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost which will be with us forever as we live righteously. To me living righteously means, always striving, trying our best, being kind, and when we make even a little mistake, realize it, and repent quickly. The only difference between a righteous and a wicked person, is the righteous are always repenting.
The Prophet Lehi explained:
Adam-Ondi-Ahman
“And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen [been cut off from the presence of God], but he would have remained in the Garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created. …
“And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.
“But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.
“Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:22–25).
How Will the Righteous be Seen in Today’s World?
I say as we strive to obey God we can become in a small degree even as Joseph Smith would be seen.
“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” (JS—H 1:33).
The Great Battle between Good and Evil
At the end of Revelation 11 we read that after the seventh angel sounded his trump “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (v. 15). This would begin the Millennium, one thousand years of peace that will occur after the wicked are destroyed. During this time Christ will reign on the earth and “the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory” (Articles of Faith 1:10). Revelation 12, however, does not tell about the conditions during the Millennium, as one might expect. Instead, Revelation 12–18 tells more about the battle between good and evil, the growth of the kingdoms of Satan in opposition to the kingdom of God, and the eventual destruction of the kingdoms of Satan in preparation for the Millennium. In fact, Revelation 12 tells that John saw how this great battle between the followers of Satan and the followers of God began back in the premortal life and has continued throughout the history of the earth. Most of the next few chapters, however, refer to what will happen in the latter days (see 1 Nephi 14:18–22, 27)…
The Tree of Good and Evil
“The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “all beings who have bodies have power over those who have not. The devil has no power over us only as we permit him” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 181). He also stated, “Wicked spirits have their bounds, limits, and laws by which they are governed” (History of the Church, 4:576). President James E. Faust, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, testified that there is “an ample shield against the power of Lucifer and his hosts” (“Serving the Lord and Resisting the Devil,” Ensign, Sept. 1995, 7).
“You have come into the world at a most significant time. We are entering the final stages of a great war. This war commenced before the foundations of the world and has been pursued with awful consequence throughout the world’s history. I speak of the war between the followers of Christ and all those who deny Him as their God.
John the Revelator wrote concerning this war:
“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
“And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
It was Satan who instigated this premortal war. He did so by rebelling against our Father’s plan of salvation for His children and rejecting the Christ, who was designated to effectuate the plan. Tragically, a third of our Father’s children followed Satan. Yet two-thirds did not. You, my young friends, were among these, and with them have come to earth to pursue the Father’s plan of happiness.
Unfortunately, Satan’s war did not end with his expulsion from heaven. As John observed, Satan and his followers were “cast out into the earth” and have come here with “great wrath.” The evidence of their wrath can be seen in the blood and horror that has afflicted man from the beginning of time.
So profound and extensive have been the wounds suffered among men that God Himself wept as He surveyed man’s condition.
We now find ourselves in the last days of this earth’s temporal history. In a coming day, our Father’s Son will return to the earth from which He was rejected and reclaim it as His own. In that day, He will subdue Satan and his legions and usher in a thousand years of peace and righteousness. In anticipation of that day, God has restored His kingdom to the earth one last time. That kingdom is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” Winning the War against Evil Elder James J. Hamula Of the Seventy
Critical Questions
“What strong terms did Mormon use to denounce the practice of infant baptism? (see Moroni 8). Why do you think he felt so strongly? Denial of Christ’s Atonement
If the Lamanites and the Nephites were comparable in their wickedness, why were the Lamanites not destroyed as well? (see Moroni 8:27–29). Nephites were blessed with the Gospel and Covenants and will be punished worse. Lamanites won’t be blamed for their fathers wickedness.
What gradual steps mentioned by Mormon in chapters 8–9 led to the eventual depravity of the Nephites? How can we avoid apostasy and wickedness in our own lives?” LDS Student Manual Chapter 55 Moroni 8–9 Not repenting. The love of Victory. Past Feeling
We can learn much from Moroni 8–9
Moroni 8:28–29. “The Spirit Hath Ceased Striving with Them”
“Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained that men and women will lose the companionship of the Holy Ghost if they reject the light and knowledge of the gospel: “Many choose to walk in carnal paths and go contrary to the enticings of the Spirit. It is possible to sear one’s conscience to the point that the Spirit will withdraw its influence [Past Feeling], and men will no longer know or care about anything that is decent and edifying. ‘For my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts.’ (D&C 1:33.)” (A New Witness for the Articles of Faith [1985], 260 (quotes and red added.).
Mormon described to his son Moroni the pathetic spiritual state of their people. He reminded Moroni that they were “without principle, and past feeling” (Moroni 9:20). Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained that failure to respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and failure to keep the commandments of God can lead us to this condition:
“Our capacity to feel controls our behavior in many ways, and by inaction when our feelings prompt us to do good, we deaden that capacity to feel. It was Jesus’ striking sensitivity to the needs of those about him that made it possible for him to respond in action.
“At the other end of the spiritual spectrum are individuals such as Nephi’s erring brothers; Nephi noted their increasing insensitivity to things spiritual: ‘[God] hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words’ [1 Nephi 17:45].
“When we become too encrusted with error, our spiritual antennae wilt and we slip beyond mortal reach. This can happen to entire civilizations. In his lamentation to his son Moroni, Mormon notes the deterioration of the Nephite society. The symptoms include a wickedness so profound that Mormon’s people were described by him as being ‘past feeling’ [Moroni 9:20]. The Apostle Paul lamented the destructive lasciviousness of Church members in Ephesus because they had developed such insensitivity in their satiation that they were ‘past feeling’ [Ephesians 4:19]. A sex-saturated society cannot really feel the needs of its suffering members because, instead of developing the love that looks outward, it turns man selfishly inward. Imperviousness to the promptings of the still small voice of God will also mean that we have ears but cannot hear, not only the promptings of God, but also the pleas of men” (A Time to Choose [1972], 59–60).
President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, warned us of a modern, growing trend that also leads to a loss of the Spirit:
“The world grows increasingly noisy. Clothing and grooming and conduct are looser and sloppier and more disheveled. Raucous music, with obscene lyrics blasted through amplifiers while lights flash psychedelic colors, characterizes the drug culture. Variations of these things are gaining wide acceptance and influence over our youth. …
“This trend to more noise, more excitement, more contention, less restraint, less dignity, less formality is not coincidental nor innocent nor harmless.
“The first order issued by a commander mounting a military invasion is the jamming of the channels of communication of those he intends to conquer.
“Irreverence suits the purposes of the adversary by obstructing the delicate channels of revelation in both mind and spirit” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1991, 28; or Ensign, Nov. 1991, 22).”
Moroni 9:26. The Grace of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
Mormon knew that Moroni faced overwhelming challenges due the wickedness of the Nephites. Nevertheless, Mormon also knew that Moroni could endure with the assistance of divine grace. True to the Faith explains that grace provides strength to persevere in the daily struggles of life:
“The word grace, as used in the scriptures, refers primarily to the divine help and strength we receive through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. …
“In addition to needing grace for your ultimate salvation, you need this enabling power every day of your life. As you draw near to your Heavenly Father in diligence, humility, and meekness, He will uplift and strengthen you through His grace” (True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference [2004], 77–78).
The Japanese have a saying: “The misfortune of others tastes like honey.” The French speak of joie maligne, a diabolical delight in other people’s suffering. In Danish it is skadefryd; in Hebrew, simcha la-ed; in Mandarin, xìng-zāi-lè-huò; in Russian, zloradstvo; and for the Melanesians who live on the remote Nissan Atoll in Papua New Guinea, it is banbanam. Two millennia ago, the Romans spoke of malevolentia. Earlier still, the Greeks described epichairekakia (literally epi, over, chairo, rejoice, kakia, disgrace). A study in Würzburg in Germany carried out in 2015 found that football fans smiled more quickly and broadly when their rival team missed a penalty, than when their own team scored. “To see others suffer does one good,” wrote the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. “This is a hard saying, but a mighty, human, all-too-human principle.”
Can be used for Good or Evil
There has never really been a word for these grubby delights in English. In the 1500s, someone attempted to introduce “epicaricacy” from the ancient Greek, but it didn’t catch on. There could only be one conclusion: as a journalist in the Spectator asserted in 1926, “There is no English word for schadenfreude because there is no such feeling here.” He was wrong, of course.
I’m British, and enjoying other people’s mishaps and misery feels as much part of my culture as teabags and talking about the weather. “For what do we live but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?” proclaims Mr Bennet in that most quintessentially English of novels, Pride and Prejudice. Nothing unites us more strongly in self-righteous joy than an MP caught cooking the books. We’re even not averse to schadenfreude at our own expense: as George Orwell once remarked, the English are unique for celebrating not military triumphs, but disasters (“Into the valley of death rode the 600…”).
We know how to enjoy failures. But ask us to name this enjoyment, and our language falls into a hypocritical silence. It averts its gaze and squirms. And so we adopted the German word. From schaden, meaning damage or harm, and freude, meaning joy or pleasure: damage-joy.
No one likes to think about their flaws, but in them so much of what makes us human is revealed. Enjoying other people’s misfortunes might sound simple – a mere glint of malice, a flick of spite. But look closer and you’ll glimpse some of the most hidden yet important parts of our lives.
Today schadenfreude is all around us. It’s there in the way we do politics, how we treat celebrities, in online fail videos. But these heady pleasures are shot through with unease. Moralists have long despised schadenfreude. The philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer called it “an infallible sign of a thoroughly bad heart and profound moral worthlessness”, the worst trait in human nature. (He also said that anyone caught enjoying the suffering of others should be shunned from human society. Which made me sweat a bit.)
I have come to believe that Schopenhauer was wrong. When the word schadenfreude first appeared in English writing in 1853, it caused great excitement. This was probably not the intention of RC Trench, the archbishop of Dublin, who first mentioned it in On the Study of Words. For Trench, the mere existence of the word was unholy and fearful, a “mournful record of the strange wickednesses which the genius of man has invented”.
“How the adversary tries to mischaracterize and undermine the blessings of living according to the Father’s plan.
One of the most cunning aspects of the adversary’s efforts to thwart our Father in Heaven’s plan of happiness is his deceitful teaching that there is no evil influence or devil (see 2 Nephi 28:22) and his attempt to redefine evil as good and good as evil, darkness as light and light as darkness, and bitter as sweet and sweet as bitter! (see 2 Nephi 15:20).” When Evil Appears Good and Good Appears Evil By Elder Quentin L. Cook Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
My hope and prayer for the world today, is that we listen to our Conscious and the Holy Ghost and not allow the evil to take over. I feel this is Satan’s world, but for you and I we are striving to build up the Kingdom of God. Our governments, businesses, churches, and politicians are much more evil than they have ever been. May we repent daily, not blame our problems on God, but thank him for the opportunity for this to learn and overcome evil, that we may live with Him one day.
When someone is wronged there are two things we can do. Lash out and blame others, or look deep within and see what lesson may be learned. When a tragedy happens we can blame the Lord or love the Lord. When a friend offends us we can become defensive, or humble yourself and try and understand what just happened.
I feel we shouldn’t say “why” did this happen. That is not the important question. I feel we should always ask “The Lord”, What am I to learn from this experience? Very few of us can explain or define the “why” in most situations. Stuff happens! Life happens! Our test on earth is to remain humble and seek the Lord in all we do. Asking why, becomes not necessary and unimportant. Seek love and understanding and don’t say poor me, look outward and bless the lives of others. There is no one to blame, especially God. He is our creator and loves us.
“Our first responsibility and purpose is to testify of Jesus Christ to a world that suffers to know of His divine mission. As my response to that great responsibility, I will speak about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the only true and living Church. In doing so I know I speak against the powerful tide of what is called “political correctness.”
In all the furor over social and political correctness, people may be losing sight of values and what is truly good, Elder James E. Faust said at a devotional at Brigham Young University on Tuesday.
To me this is a very important part of understanding our purpose in life. In order to reach our fullest potential, we must hear other sides of issues. It is a way the Lord prepares us for Godhood. I am just saddened if some of our sweet naïve 18 year old’s become indoctrinated before they have the confidence to push back and pray about whether they are being taught truth or lies.
Ever since Charles Darwin published his theory on the Origin of Species in 1859, evolution’s influence has steadily grown. Many people no longer even question it’s validity; however, most Christians (including Latter-day Saints) who hold to a biblical view of the Creation and man’s origins have struggled with the Darwinian assertion that all life evolved from a common ancestor over millions of years, and that humans evolved from simpler life forms.
BYU’s reconciliation model is opening minds. Jensen and Bybee coauthored a 
On the other hand, a case can be made for generalization. The BYU population represents students of a Christian faith whose teachings are informed by Biblical scripture (including the precept of divine creation), with notorious cultural (but not doctrinal) barriers to evolution, a case similar to many other conservative religions. As a result, we believe our findings can be applied more broadly, used as an “ecological case study,” whose results can be replicated with students of other religious affiliations. As “nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” [
What a plight! The entire human race in free fall—every man, woman, and child in it physically tumbling toward permanent death, spiritually plunging toward eternal anguish. Is that what life was meant to be? Is this the grand finale of the human experience? Are we all just hanging in a cold canyon somewhere in an indifferent universe, each of us searching for a toehold, each of us seeking for something to grip—with nothing but the feeling of sand sliding under our fingers, nothing to save us, nothing to hold on to, much less anything to hold on to us? Is our only purpose in life an empty existential exercise—simply to leap as high as we can, hang on for our prescribed three score years and ten, then fail and fall, and keep falling forever?
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Remember 
“It is impossible to determine the number of “interviews” Joseph had with Moroni, but twenty-two visits are often identified.” “Moroni—Joseph Smith’s Tutor” By H. Donl Peterson
“As the story was told and retold on the House floor, Franklin was walking out of Independence Hall after the Constitutional Convention in 1787, when someone shouted out, “Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?”
Let us remember what happened to the Jaredites and the Nephites. Wasn’t their downfall consistent with evil Gadianton’s and evil doers who usurped government and killed and lied? That is why we have our Book of Mormon to apply it to our life today, and this is an excellent way to do just that. Why stick your head in the sand and just say “Oh, I don’t want to cause problems so let’s get over the 2020 election and focus on 2022.” We can’t vote honestly in 2022 without figuring out what happened in 2020 can we? Shouldn’t Democrats, Republicans and every other US citizen be happy to verify a truthful vote? Yes!
In this connection,” President McKay continues, “we are constantly being asked to give our opinion concerning various patriotic groups or individuals who are fighting Communism and speaking up for freedom. 
“On July 4,1859, Anthony Sherman—one of Washington’s soldiers at Valley Forge who was now 99 years old—was one of the last remaining veteran soldiers of the Revolution.
Returning just after dusk, he dispatched an orderly to the quarters of the officer I mentioned who was presently in attendance. After a preliminary conversation of about half an hour, Washington, gazing upon his companion with that strange look of dignity which he alone could command, said to the latter: “I do not know whether it is owing to the anxiety of my mind, or what, but this afternoon, as I was sitting at this table engaged in preparing a dispatch, something seemed to disturb me. 
Janne Mattson Sjödahl (29 November 1853 – 23 June 1939) was a Swedish convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and was the author of influential commentaries on LDS Church scriptures. Sjödahl was among the first commentators to advance a “limited geography model” for the theorized geography of the Book of Mormon.
Upon the completion of the translation, Sjödahl was asked by church president Wilford Woodruff to go on a mission to Palestine. In January 1889. Sjödahl arrived in Jaffa. He learned to speak Arabic and preached in Palestine for one year, organizing a branch of the church in Jaffa. In January 1890, Sjödahl was asked to go to Bern, Switzerland to complete his mission. He arrived back in Utah Territory in July 1890.
George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjödahl (1955) (Philip C. Reynolds, ed.). Commentary on the Book of Mormon (7 vols.) (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News Press)—— and —— (1965) (Philip C. Reynolds, ed.). Commentary on the Pearl of Great Price (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News Press)
Coin from Sidon: One side of this mid-fourth century B.C.E. double shekel is engraved with a Phoenician galley riding the waves—a reminder of Sidon’s pre-eminence in maritime commerce and conquest.
In this past year or so, the 600 BC replica Phoenicia Ship was purchased by the Heartland Research Group, in order to display the original ship that was sailed by Captain Philip Beale over 40,000 miles to America. It is currently in Montrose, Iowa today and volunteers are assisting the Heartland Research Group to rebuild a display it.
Amidst the mountains of Shomron (Samaria) is a four-thousand year old city named 
Many years later, when the entire family was already in Egypt, Jacob promised the city of Shechem to Joseph. It would make up part of the territory of Joseph’s son, 
12 I’m also passing onto you and your descendants the land I gave to Abraham and Isaac.” 13 After that, God left.
The Location of Shechem
“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. 
I believe Lucy Mack Smith’s history which was written shortly after the martyrdom. She said, “That of which I spoke, which 
21. “On the title page I read that it is “written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile.” In the introduction to the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, it says that the Lamanites “are among the ancestors of the American Indians.” As I read the Book of Mormon, it seemed to me that it was about my American Indian ancestors. It tells the story of a people, a part of which were later described as “Lamanites,” who migrated from Jerusalem to a “land of promise” (1 Nephi 2:20) about 600 B.C.” “Come unto Me, O Ye House of Israel” By Elder Larry Echo Hawk of the Seventy Ensign Oct 2012
8- “From the time Father Bosley located near Avon, he found and plowed up axes and irons, and had sufficient to make his mill irons, and had always abundance of iron on hand without purchasing. In the towns of Bloomfield, Victor, Manchester, and in the regions round about, there were hills upon the tops of which were entrenchments and fortifications, and in them were human bones, axes, tomahawks, points of arrows, beads and pipes, which were frequently found; and it was a common occurrence in the country to plow up axes, which I have done many times myself. I have visited the fortifications on the tops of those hills frequently, and the one near Bloomfield I have crossed hundreds of times, which is on the bluff of Honeyoye River, at the outlet of Honeyoye Lake. In that region there are many small deep lakes, and in some of them the bottom has never been found. Fish abound in them. The hill Cumorah is a high hill for that country, and had the appearance of a fortification or entrenchment around it. In the State of New York, probably there are hundreds of these fortifications which are now visible, and I have seen them in many other parts of the United States. Readers of the Book of Mormon will remember that in this very region, according to that sacred record, the final battles were fought between the Nephites and Lamanites. At the hill Cumorah, the Nephites made their last stand prior to their utter extermination, A. D., 385. Thus was Heber preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, above the graves of the ancients of Israel, whose records with the fullness of that Gospel, and the relics of their prowess and civilization, were now whispering from the dust.” Life of Heber C. Kimball by Orson F. Whitney Mounds at Cumorah
2. “…This modernistic theory of necessity, in order to be consistent, must place the waters of Ripliancum and the Hill Cumorah some place within the restricted territory of Central America, notwithstanding the teachings of the Church to the contrary for upwards of 100 years. Because of this theory some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon. It is for this reason that evidence is here presented to show that it is not only possible that these places could be located as the Church has held during the past century, but that in very deed such is the case… It is known that the Hill Cumorah where the Nephites were destroyed is the hill where the Jaredites were also destroyed. This hill was known to the Jaredites as Ramah. It was approximately near to the waters of Ripliancum, which the Book of Ether says, “by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all… It must be conceded that this description fits perfectly the land of Cumorah in New York, as it has been known since the visitation of Moroni to the Prophet Joseph Smith, for the hill is in the proximity of the Great Lakes and also in the land of many rivers and fountains. Moreover, the Prophet Joseph Smith himself is on record, definitely declaring the present hill called Cumorah to be the exact hill spoken of in the Book of Mormon. Further, the fact that all of his associates from the beginning down have spoken of it as the identical hill where Mormon and Moroni hid the records, must carry some weight. It is difficult for a reasonable person to believe that such men as Oliver Cowdery. Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, David Whitmer, and many others, could speak frequently of the Spot where the Prophet Joseph Smith obtained the plates as the Hill Cumorah, and not be corrected by the Prophet, if that were not the fact. That they did speak of this hill in the days of the Prophet in this definite manner is an established record of history.” Doctrines of Salvation Joseph Fielding Smith Chapter 12
4. “Both the Nephite and Jaredite civilizations fought their final great wars of extinction at and near the Hill Cumorah (or Ramah as the Jaredites termed it), which hill is located between Palmyra and Manchester in the western part of the state of New York. It was here that Moroni hid up the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. (Morm. 6; Ether 15.) Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and many of the early brethren, who were familiar with all the circumstances attending the coming forth of the Book of Mormon in this dispensation, have left us pointed testimony as to the identity and location of Cumorah or Ramah.” (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 3, pp. 232-241.) (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine “CUMORAH,” 1966, p. 175)
7. “Millennia ago he declared: “There shall none come into this land [he was speaking of America] save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord… In the western part of the state of New York near Palmyra is a prominent hill known as the “hill Cumorah.” (Morm. 6:6.) On July twenty-fifth of this year, as I stood on the crest of that hill admiring with awe the breathtaking panorama which stretched out before me on every hand, my mind reverted to the events which occurred in that vicinity some twenty-five centuries ago—events which brought to an end the great Jaredite nation… Thus perished at the foot of Cumorah the remnant of the once mighty Jaredite nation, of whom the Lord had said, “There shall be none greater … upon all the face of the earth.” (Ether 1:43.)… This second civilization to which I refer, the Nephites, flourished in America between 600 B.C. and A.D. 400. Their civilization came to an end for the same reason, at the same place, and in the same manner as did the Jaredites… The tragic fate of the Jaredite and the Nephite civilizations is proof positive that the Lord meant it when he said that this “is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.” (Ether 2:9.) This information, wrote Moroni, addressing himself to us who today occupy this land, “cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles” (now, Gentiles is the term used by the Book of Mormon prophets to refer to the present inhabitants of America and to the peoples of the old world from which they came)… Now my beloved brethren and sisters everywhere, both members of the Church and nonmembers, I bear you my personal witness that I know that the things I have presented to you today are true—both those pertaining to past events and those pertaining to events yet to come. The issue we face is clear and well defined. The choice is ours. The question is: Shall we of this dispensation repent and obey the laws of the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, or shall we continue to defy them until we ripen in iniquity That we will repent and obey and thereby qualify to receive the blessings promised to the righteous in this land, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.” America’s Destiny Marion G. Romney Oct 1975
10. [Heber C. Kimball] “prophesied that when the final last struggle came to this nation it would be at the Hill Cumorah where both of the former Nations [Jaredite and Nephite] were destroyed” (abt. Heber C. Kimball) Wilford Woodruff’s Journal 6:305, December 17, 1866
14. McGavin and Bean explain their point of view concerning the identity of the Hill Cumorah as an ancient battlefield. The authors conclude that the scholars “need not search for [Cumorah] in Mexico or Yucatan” E. Cecil McGavin and Willard W. Bean “Cumorah-Land, An Ancient Battlefield,” in The Improvement Era 44, September 1941, 526, 571-72.
The Jewish people use the Hebrew word “Hamesh” as an equivalent for “Hamsa.” Hamesh means “five” in Hebrew. Jewish people refer to the five-fingered hand symbol as the “Hamesh” hand. It has been present in Judaism dating all the way back to Biblical times, where it is referenced in Deuteronomy 5:15, stated in the Ten Commandments as the “strong hand” of God who led the Jews out of Egypt.* The eye within the hand represents the all-searching Eye of God. Shown below are artifacts dated to Hopewell time-frames on display at the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site near East St. Louis, Illinois. (*Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamsa)
