“Brigham Young over time grew to become an important Indian ally,” Elder Jensen said, noting that the church president, as territorial governor and superintendent of Indian affairs, exerted considerable influence over Indian-settler relations. “On balance, it appears that in those early years, Indians got along better with Mormons than they did with other white people,” he said. “Indian and Latter-day Saint relations with the United States government provided some common ground. At that time, government officials were concerned with the ‘Mormon question’ and the ‘Indian problem.’ So sometimes having a common enemy can produce a good relationship. Some Indians distinguished between what they called ‘Mormonees,’ whom they considered friendly, and other American settlers known as ‘Mericats.’ ” Remembering American Indian population of 1847 is important, Elder Marlin K. Jensen says by R. Scott Lloyd Deseret News 2010

More than 80 letters to Native American leaders provide great insight into the heart of President Brigham Young. June 1, 2001, is the 200th anniversary of the birth of President Brigham Young. An early convert to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, he served as a missionary and an Apostle. He oversaw the westward migration of thousands of Latter-day Saints and by doing so helped to colonize the American West. A teacher of righteousness, he instructed Church members in the doctrines of the kingdom of God. And for more than 30 years, he presided over the Church as its prophet. One of President Young’s lesser-known contributions is his extensive communication with the Native American people as Church President, governor of Utah Territory, and superintendent of Indian Affairs.

He met with Native American leaders in his office, toured their settlements, negotiated major and minor treaties, and sent missionaries to them. In addition, he spoke dozens of sermons in their behalf. His many sermons and hundreds of letters to and about the Native Americans reveal his interest and commitment to them. The detail and content of these documents have few equals in American history. Now at the 200th anniversary of his birth, President Young’s work with Native Americans deserves to be highlighted. “There [is] no people—no political party, no religious sect—that places the aborigines of this continent so high in the scale of humanity, as we do,” President Young wrote near the end of his life to one Native American leader. President Young believed that he and the Latter-day Saint people were the spokesmen, defenders, and “unflinching friends” of a people who, at the time, had few friends. It had not always been that way. At first, President Young, like many Americans at the time, misunderstood the Native American people, whose culture was so different from their own. Yet the gospel eventually gave him a different view. It taught him, he believed, that Native Americans were descendants of the Book of Mormon people and therefore a “remnant” of the house of Israel. Indeed, the Book of Mormon had been written partly to show to the remnant of the house of Israel “what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever.”

Thus, President Young taught that the Native Americans were children of the Old Testament prophet Joseph—largely through his son Manasseh, but some through his son Ephraim. President Young believed this ancient heritage was the key to their eventual religious redemption and that a renewed belief in the gospel and right doing could make them again a “delightsome” people.

A Personal Charge to Help

During the 1830s, before Brigham Young started on a mission to Native Americans in the state of New York, the Prophet Joseph Smith laid his hands on Brigham’s head and committed unto him the keys necessary to open the “gospel to every Lamanite nation.” This priesthood blessing, which surprised and unsettled Elder Young, weighed heavily on him for the rest of his life. It gave him a lifelong duty to help the Native American people. One of President Young’s first opportunities to fulfill this responsibility came in 1846 as he led the first group of Saints (known as the “Camp of Israel”) west from Nauvoo. As they traveled among the Otoes, Potawatomi, and Omaha tribes, President Young needed to obtain permission to occupy Indian lands. One of the first encounters took place in western Iowa, where Church members put together two tents as a meeting place for President Young and leaders of the Potawatomi. There was plaintive and picturesque talk.

Would the “Great Spirit” always require us to be driven off our lands? asked the Native Americans, who were bedecked with beads and brass ornaments. President Young, the “white man’s Big Chief,” answered no and promised to help them. The Potawatomi reportedly responded, “We have both suffered. We must keep one another, and the Great Spirit will keep us both.” President Young obtained Potawatomi assurances that the Saints could use their land.

Land for Winter Quarters

Soon it became clear that the Saints would need to spend the winter of 1846–47 on the banks of the Missouri River. Some Saints stayed on the eastern side of the river in Iowa; however, most stayed on the western side of the river in what is now Nebraska but what was then Indian Territory. President Young negotiated with Big Elk, leader of the Omahas, for use of the land that became known as Winter Quarters and that served for two years as an established camp for Latter-day Saints en-route to the Great Basin. President Young suggested an agreement that traded permission for Latter-day Saints to use Indian lands for Mormon schools, employment, and farming in behalf of the Native Americans. “We can do you good,” the President said. “We are your friends and friends to all mankind.” Big Elk, speaking for the 80 assembled Native Americans, agreed to the compact.

Despite the best intentions of President Young and Big Elk, the agreement did not turn out to be entirely successful. The needy Omahas, who were rapidly breaking up as a community, showed little interest in the “white man’s” learning, or for that matter, in cooperating with the emigrants. Instead, many of the Omaha men raided the Saints’ livestock, which for these hungry men seemed a proper payment for the game, timber, and land the pioneers were using. However, Native Americans were not the only ones responsible for the growing tension between these two groups.

Although some Church members helped the Omahas harvest and mill their grain, repair their arms, and gave them provisions for their hunting parties, other emigrants were not respectful of the Omahas or their culture. When President Young learned that Church members had taken Indian property, he was quick with a reproof: “Brethren, this thing is not right,” he said. “We must show ourselves of more noble spirit.” In spite of these challenges, relationships between the two groups were good enough to have some outsiders comment about it.

The St. Louis newspaper the Missouri Republican reported: “It is represented that the Mormons are on friendly terms with the Indians and [the latter] rarely molest them, although they are accused of occasionally stealing cattle.” So unusual was the relationship that some outsiders began to spread the unfounded rumors that Church members and the Native Americans were cooperating in attacks on frontiersmen and that they were “conniving” against the U.S. government.

Building Relationships with the Utes

After the pioneer party reached the Great Salt Lake Valley, President Young set out to establish a peaceful relationship with the Indians of the Great Basin. During this process, President Young was sometimes impatient, as his language showed at times. In 1850, after repeated tension between settlers and Indians, he approved a military campaign against some of the Utes living near Utah Lake. In addition, President Young consistently encouraged the Native Americans to give up their hunting and food-gathering ways and become farmers, which, he believed, offered them the best hope for the future. In spite of these things, President Young’s policy and views toward Indians were uncommonly kind, especially for a man living in the 19th century.

From the outset, President Young sought to teach the Native Americans the restored gospel. In 1847, as many as 300 to 500 natives made their seasonal rounds through the Salt Lake Valley. President Young walked among them, raising his hand to greet them and later lowering it into a “white man’s” handshake. He then taught them about the Book of Mormon and suggested that they do “right.” He encouraged them to be baptized, and some were. A few even took President Young’s surname as a token of his teachings. The use of land was always a concern. “There was enough [land] for both them and us, that [instead of paying for the land] we would teach them to labor and cultivate the earth.” This promise of cooperation apparently was pleasing to two local leaders—Goship and Wanship. The remnants of these Salt Lake Valley bands continued to receive food from the settlers for at least a decade, in spite of the fact that “white man’s” diseases such as the common cold, smallpox, diphtheria, and the measles took a fearful toll among the Native Americans.

Urging Peace

Many of President Young’s ideas about the Native Americans were contained in a letter he wrote to Wakara, or Walker, as he was sometimes known. When the Saints were ready to explore and colonize southern Utah, President Young wanted Wakara’s support. He wrote: “We wish you to understand decidedly that if your Utahs [Ute Indians] and the different nations in this country do not injure any of our people, in any of our settlements, that you will all be blessed, for we are sent here by the Great Spirit to teach you and do all of you good. Be at peace one with another—don’t fight, but love one another, and you will soon be taught to become a great, united, and good people, and you will realize all the blessings that have been told you by your forefathers—and you will prove that we are the people whom you have long waited and looked for.”

The peace that President Young hoped to achieve was difficult to secure. Despite the good desires of both parties, different traditions and the desire of each to control the region’s resources sometimes brought strife. Wakara said, “There are bad Mormons as well as bad Indians.” The Sanpete County Church leader who recorded Wakara’s words added, “Too much truth for a smile.” When conflict did erupt between the old and new citizens, President Young usually urged peace.

In 1851 the settlers in Ogden and their Native American neighbors seemed ready for war. Each side had taken horses belonging to the other, and as tensions increased, an Indian had been killed, and local leaders were urging that the Indians be given “a good whipping.” While this kind of policy was used elsewhere on the frontier, President Young strongly rejected it. Could the loss of “a few horses” justify the killing of a single Indian? he asked. Why had not the settlers done a better job of guarding the animals? Was not a part of the problem the Saints’ own making? And did the stealing by a few Indians warrant an attack upon an entire people? To resolve the crisis, President Young urged the settlers to send out a peace party and not a war party. Perhaps 50 men might return the horses, explain the death of the Indian, and make amends by giving presents. “Do not the people know that it is cheaper by far, … to pay such losses than raise an expedition?” he wrote. President Young’s policy became a famous maxim, “It is cheaper to feed than fight the Indians.”

War and Forgiveness

Two years later, a conflict broke out in Utah County, the so-called Walker War. Members of Wakara’s band had attacked several Latter-day Saint settlements before fleeing into the mountains. Once more, President Young refused to fight. “I have not made war on the Indians, nor am I calculating to do it,” he told the Saints. “My policy is to give them presents and be kind to them. … [Wakara] is now at war with the only friends he has upon the earth.” To Wakara, President Young sent a letter that invited him, despite the recent conflict, to come into the settlements for “beef cattle and flour.” There was also a reproof and a reminder: “When you get good-natured again, I should like to see you. Don’t you think that you would be ashamed? You know that I have always been your best friend.”

At times, President Young’s letters had a note of weariness about them, a recognition that his own people were sometimes responsible for the conflicts that took place with the Native Americans. “I feel just as well with you as I ever did,” he reassured Arapeen, another Ute headman, when war threatened again in the mid-1850s. “I sometimes think that if we could get a valley a way off alone and could get all the Mormons that want to fight Indians and won’t hear, and all the Indians that want to fight and won’t listen to good talk such as you give them, and let them fight till they were satisfied, that it would be the means of making a good peace.”

Even during the Black Hawk War (1865–68)—the most costly of Utah’s Indian conflicts—President Young continued his policy of peacemaking. “The plan we now propose to adopt is to stop fighting altogether,” he said at the start of the war, “and as soon as possible establish communication with the disaffected Indians and endeavor to make peace with them by means of presents.” When this strategy failed to achieve a quick peace, President Young urged the settlers in the outlying areas to uproot their families and return to safer villages. This defensive policy emptied several Utah counties of most of their citizens and left the neutral observer John Wesley Powell “astonished” by the Latter-day Saints’ self-inflicted losses.

President Young understood that many settlers were impatient with his policy. “The evil passions that arise in our hearts would prompt us to do this,” he acknowledged, “but we must bring them into subjection to the law of Christ.” He then asked the Saints to forgive past depredations and allow the Indians to resume a place in the Utah communities. “When they come to live in your vicinity again, let them come in peace. … We should now use the Indians kindly, and deal with them so gently that we will win their hearts and affections to us more strongly than before; and the much good that has been done them, and the many kindnesses that have been shown them, will come up before them, and they will see that we are their friends.”

Praising Their Character

As the years progressed, President Young seemed to look upon the Native Americans with increasing favor, saying that they had as “noble spirits among them as there are upon the earth.” On other occasions, President Young praised the character of Native Americans. Their “simple heartedness and honesty” seemed superior to that of many whites, and he believed that their speech had not been profane until it had been corrupted by white men. Moreover, many had an “innate sense of honor,” he said. Especially, he admired many of their leaders. He called Wakara “a brave and shrewd man equaled by few” and, noting his dreams and visions, thought that the Indian leader had “the Spirit of the Lord” although without fully understanding it himself.

In turn, President Young thought Arapeen was a good man who talked straight and was industrious and friendly. Arapeen was in “every way worthy to secure the respect and esteem of all men.” The magisterial and intelligent Washakie, perhaps the leading man of the Shoshone people, was “one of the best Indians.” In making these judgments, President Young had his own gauge. He believed that men and women should be judged by how closely they lived according to their own thoughts and traditions, and he believed many Native Americans met this standard. “There is perfection among them,” he said, citing the example of Peteetneet, a chief who lived near Utah Lake. “He is perfect, and I do not believe a better man lives on earth. He will do good all the time and will not do an evil if he knows it.”

President Young, then, was a man who stood out among the men and women of his time by his good words and acts toward Native Americans. He wrote, “The ‘Great Spirit’ has a future for the red man and that is not in their grave, I as sincerely believe as the Indians do themselves.” Article above, “We Must Keep One Another” By Ronald W. Walker  https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2001/06/we-must-keep-one-another?lang=eng

Tribe Joining the LDS Church by Baptism

On April 30, 1851, Brigham Young called [Welcome] Chapman to be part of the first High Council of the Manti Area Branch in Manti, Utah. On July 8, 1854, the High Council installed Chapman as the colony leader, replacing Isaac Morley, who had been “called to Salt Lake.” The next day, the settlers unanimously approved him as their leader. Later that month, on July 27, a stake was organized and Chapman was chosen as its president. That same day, the Mormons baptized (or rebaptized) Chief Wakara into the LDS Church in Manti’s City Creek, along with 120 other members of his tribe (103 males, 17 females).[20] After the Walker War had ended, on July 27, 1854, under the direction of stake president Welcome Chapman, 120 members (103 males, 17 females) of Walkara’s tribe were baptized as members of the LDS Church in Manti’s City Creek. Walkara was possibly re-baptized at this time. After his baptism, he was renamed Joseph Walker. After Wakara died in 1855, his brother, Arapeen, succeeded him as war chief. Although the brief Wakara War was over, tensions between the Mormons and the Ute Indians in Sanpete still existed. In early 1857 Arapeen reported having a vision in which Wakara came to him with a message of peace. In the vision Wakara specifically instructed him to pass this message on to Chapman and two others. B.H. Roberts believed it was the peace that ensued that enabled Arapeen to accompany Brigham Young on an expedition to present-day Idaho, where Young made peace with the Bannocks. Wikipedia Walkara

Brigham Young’s Council

“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.)

What is happening in America today? Are you concerned that you won’t be able to afford your car? Are you nervous that inflation is eating up your money? Are your children being taught wisely at school? Are you fearful that you will not have the right to control your own body, or that we are be flooded with people entering the country illegally?This is Pamela Romney Openshaw, professional speaker and author of Promises of the Constitution: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow and its accompanying constitution curriculum. I am deeply concerned about these things as well.

These problems originally began with John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, two of our greatest founding fathers. Both were intimately involved in writing the Declaration of Independence but neither attended the constitutional convention in Philadelphia in 1787. Both were emissaries for the colonies in Europe with John Adams in Great Britain and Thomas Jefferson in France. Adams served as our second president after George Washington with Thomas Jefferson as his vice president and the conflict between them developed at that time. Adams favoured a powerful federal government to control states that might rebel against federal law and Jefferson favoured strong states to protect themselves from federal overreach. History has proven that today Thomas Jefferson’s perspective was accurate. Political parties developed around each of these philosophies with Federalists favouring the central government and Anti-Federalists favouring strong states. I discuss this topic in greater detail in my first book, Promises of the Constitution. Through their conflict, Adams and Jefferson became political and personal enemies.

Adams served only one presidential term because many disagreed with the Federalist philosophy and Jefferson replaced him for two terms as president. They remained enemies for years after both left political office. They were reunited when Benjamin Rush, the surgeon general to the continental army during the Revolutionary war, and their mutual friend, encouraged them to begin writing letters to each other. Through more than a decade of their mutual exchange of letters, the two rebuilt their friendship. They discussed their activities in Europe, the writing of the Declaration of Independence, where John Adams was the Mouth and Thomas Jefferson the Pen of Independence, and their wives and children. They wisely avoided mention of topics that might disrupt their friendship again. More details are provided in podcasts on my website at promisesoftheconstitution.com.

A sweetness developed through their letters because of their love for their wives. Jefferson’s wife, Martha, known to him as Peggy, died in 1782; John Adams’ wife, Abigail, died in 1818. They shared in their letters their beliefs that they would see their wives and be with them after their deaths, and this information comforted and sustained both of them. Each deeply loved his spouse; each missed her terribly, and neither remarried.

It is a tender point of history that each of these presidents died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence—that profound document that began our origination as a nation. Many, viewing this history, acknowledge their deaths as a testament to God’s acceptance and validation of our American independence.

Knowing these touching elements in the lives of two essential founding fathers helps us understand the power from which we came as a nation. Just as we learn to love our family ancestors through family history, we do the same with our founding fathers. We value the sacrifices they made and the love they had for those who would follow them in this great nation.

It is a tragedy today to see the rights and the protections of the Constitution being violated. It is also a tragedy that we and our children are not learning the sacrifices made by those who established our nation. The protections of our national law are sound, but the Constitution is being alternately re-written and ignored.

We will find safety through a return to our original document and its protections. It is essential that we each study and understand our United States Constitution and the God-given rights and protections it secures. We gain wisdom and protect ourselves through this understanding. It is also essential that we teach our families the Constitution and the principles of freedom upon which we are founded.

We are hearing multiple reports of teaching materials used in school that damage our children and that destroy their patriotism for the nation, and for God. This explains the movement towards homeschooling that is sweeping the nation. Parents everywhere are realizing that they can best teach their own children, whether through homeschooling or through independent family study in the home.

We urge you to review our website, promisesoftheconstitution.com to see our constitution materials. This includes our complete constitution curriculum for families and homeschools which is also popular with parents and senior citizens. This complete curriculum consists of Promises of the Constitution as a textbook, with an accompanying workbook and a resource volume which answers questions from the workbook and provides additional study. Thousands of families across the country are using this curriculum and applaud its success. There are also three DVD’s to accompany and expand our materials.

Christmas specials on our website make your Christmas shopping easy. Buy Promises of the Constitution by the case at wholesale prices for convenient gift-giving. Call us at 801-373-0240 for these bulk orders.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and pray for a patriotic New Year for all of us. May our rights, our liberty, and our security be preserved. God bless us all, and God bless America!

Pamela Romney Openshaw
www.promisesoftheconstitution.com
801-373-0240Current Streaming Subscribers Click Here to Watch       New Subscribers Click Here

About Pamela:

I found my passion for the Constitution and developed a yearning for the politics of good, moral government serving as an elected delegate from Nebraska to President Carter’s 1980 White House Conference on Families.

I saw then, with fascination, how political forces can distort procedures and policies so they appear to represent the will of the American people. It became obvious to me that powerful forces for both good and evil operate in the hearts of those who lead.

My love of country, family, and life itself led me to do public speaking for the Right to Life movement and into a private study of the morality of public policy. It has been a fascinating journey-one that has left me concerned, yet hopeful, for the future of my country. I remain optimistic about the strength, integrity, and willingness to act of my fellow Americans in the conservative Christian cause.

My great desire is to plant a love of liberty, and the document that enshrined it, in the hearts of all Americans-to help them understand The Promises of the Constitution: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.

To book Pamela Romney Openshaw as a speaker for your group, call 801-373-0240 or email [email protected].

“It is proper here to observe, that at the time of the reformation, when religion began to revive, nothing contributed more to facilitate its reception and increase its progress than the violence of its persecutors...

There is not a greater evidence either of the reality or the power of religion, than a firm belief of God’s universal presence, and a constant attention to the influence and operation of his providence. It is by this means that the Christian may be said, in the emphatical scripture language, “to walk with God, and to endure as seeing him who is invisible.” John Witherspoon 1776 “Dominion of Providence over the Passions of Men (Sermon)”

This quote above lets us know that evil persecutors facilitate reformation, (Deep State or Cabal today Dec 2022), as we sustain our moral character. In the midst of all this government turmoil, illegal immigration, riots, mandating, unconstitutional laws, and a Deep State, our mission as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has not changed. We must serve the Lord our God with all our heart. Christ’s mission hasn’t changed which says, “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” Moses 1:39

We make a covenant with the Lord to obey His commandments and in return we receive Freedom, Protection, a Posterity, and a blessed country called the United States of America. The Book of Mormon Covenant Land is the United States of America Read Rod Meldrum’s The Scriptural Basis for Book of Mormon Geography

Book of Mormon Prophets and Covenants

The Lord covenanted with Enos to bring forth the Book of Mormon to the Lamanites. “And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which he had made; wherefore my soul did rest.” (Enos 1:17).

“…King Benjamin thought it was expedient, after having finished speaking to the people, that he should take the names of all those who had entered into a covenant with God to keep his commandments. Mosiah 6:1

Captain Moroni said …”whosoever will maintain this title [Title of Liberty] upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord, and enter into a covenant that they will maintain their rights, and their religion, that the Lord God may bless them.” Alma 46:20

Nephi said… ”we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord. 2 Nephi 1:5

The Lord has said …”repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon…” D&C 84:57

“…I, the Lord, will make known unto you what I will that ye shall do from this time until the next conference, which shall be held in Missouri, upon the land which I will consecrate unto my people, which are a remnant of Jacob, and those who are heirs according to the covenant.” D&C 52:2

“And this shall be my covenant with you, ye shall have it for the land of your inheritance, and for the inheritance of your children forever, while the earth shall stand, and ye shall possess it again in eternity, no more to pass away.” D&C 38:20

Mosiah 12:32 “And now since the coming of Ammon, king Limhi had also entered into a covenant with God, and also many of his people, to serve him and keep his commandments.”

Even the Puritans who came from Holland to England and then to America made covenants with God. The Book of Mormon speaks of the Pilgrims and Puritans who landed in 1620 at Plymouth, MA.

“17 And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them.
18 And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle.
19 And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations.” 1 Nephi 13:17-19

The Pilgrims’ Mayflower Compact as a Covenant

“When the Pilgrims came to America, they landed in unchartered territory, in present-day Massachusetts.  Realizing they were outside England’s chartered bounds, some non-Pilgrims or “strangers” on board the Mayflower talked of leaving the group and venturing out on their own.  But the Pilgrims had selected every man on the trip according to his particular skills.  They depended on one another for survival.  So, while aboard the Mayflower vessel, they made an unprecedented decision to draft and sign their own charter.  The “Mayflower Compact,” as it became known, was a written agreement or covenant among themselves under God to stick together, create a civil body, and enact just laws in their new colony of Plymouth.  The contract was signed on November 11, 1620, by all heads of households, Pilgrims and non-Pilgrims alike.

With their Mayflower Compact, the Pilgrims applied the principle of covenants to found their new colony of Plymouth in America.  A covenant is a voluntary, moral agreement or pact between two or more free and consenting parties, usually for a religious or civil purpose.  The Pilgrims derived this idea from the Bible—which tells the story of the ancient Israelites in the Old Testament and the early Christians in the New Testament.  Covenants are the means by which God often relates with humans and how humans may effectively relate with one another.  They are found in the Bible, for example, in Genesis, Exodus, Matthew, and Hebrews.

Moses Descends from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments by Ferdinand Bol, 1662 In the Old Testament, for example, God covenants with Moses and the Israelites.  The Israelites receive from God at Mount Sinai the terms of this covenant to be God’s people.  These terms—the Ten Commandments—are found in Exodus 20 and 34.

The Pilgrims had, for a long time, practiced covenants in their churches, and they applied this principle when creating their first civil covenant, the Mayflower Compact, in America.”  American Heritage Education

Mayflower Compact

In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, defender of the Faith, etc.:

Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith, and the honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another; covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering, and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.

In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, 1620.

The Fog That Saved An Army

John Witherspoon’s The Dominion of Providence Over the Passions of Men caused a great stir when it was first preached in Princeton and published in Philadelphia in 1776, about a month before he was elected to the Continental Congress on June 22. He reminds his auditors that the sermon is his first address on political matters from the pulpit: ministers of the Gospel have more important business to attend to than secular crises, but, of course, liberty is more than a merely secular matter.

“Incredibly, yet again, circumstances – fate, luck, Providence, the hand of God, as would be said so often – intervened.” –  Historian David McCullough from his book 1776.

Most Americans are not aware of how precarious the situation was at times for the American Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.  I wrote about one such time during the Battle of Trenton December 1776: The Month That Saved America.  Four months before the Battle of Trenton, the Continental and British armies met in the Battle of Brooklyn, or what is also called the Battle of Long Island or the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, in one of the largest battles of the Revolutionary War.  The fate of the American Revolution and the future of our planet were forever changed by what transpired.

After the British abandoned Boston in March 1776, their next campaign was in New York. Their plan was to isolate New York and New England from the rest of the colonies.  A large British force of approximately 32,000 soldiers opposed about 19,000 soldiers of the Continental Army. After the British force landed on Stanton Island, General George Washington moved much of his army across the East River from Lower Manhattan to defend Brooklyn.

A map of the battle

On August 27, 1776, the British attacked Brooklyn on three fronts.  The British attacked American forces directly on two fronts, but sent a force of about 10,000 men through a little used pass and outflanked the Americans.  Caught off guard and outnumbered, only a series of fortuitous events saved the American Revolution.

First, a small group of 400 soldiers from Maryland were able to fight and save the army from a complete rout.  This allowed a larger group of Americans to retreat to Brooklyn Heights and avoid capture.  Rather than press their advantage, British General William Howe ordered his men to stop the attack and instead dig trenches around the Continental Army.  He expected the Americans to surrender.  He also expected British ships to sail around and cut off the Americans from their only line of retreat across the river to Manhattan.  But the ships never came.  Why?  Because there was not enough wind to get them there.

Washington had the night to secretly get 9,000 men to safety and keep his army intact.  He ordered every available boat to be taken and used to get his army across the East River. Working throughout the rainy night, the oarsmen in the boats crossed the river multiple times to deliver soldiers across to the other side.  The only problem was that as the sun rose, there was still a large part of the Continental Army left in Brooklyn.  These men likely would have been killed or captured if they did not cross the river, losses the Americans could not afford.

But the final fortune would smile down on the Americans from Above. A heavy fog settled over the area and the rest of the Continental Army was able to conceal their movements from the British.  As the fog lifted, the British were left in amazement as the Continental Army was gone.

The British went on to capture New York on September 15, 1776, but they did so without destroying the Continental Army.  The Revolutionary War would continue and with it ultimate American victory.  Without a few hundred soldiers, a lack of wind and some heavy fog, there may have never been a United States of America. Source

Three times strange weather saved America The Washington Post

Three times weird weather saved America

On the first day of spring, a look back at a heavy fog, a propitious hurricane and a sound-sucking heat that changed the course of the American Revolution , the War of 1812 and the Battle of Gettysburg.

But sometimes, weird weather can be a boon, particularly when it comes to the existence of one United States of America. Here are three times when the movements of the heavens helped Americans here on earth. This isn’t really what the secret evacuation of Brooklyn on Aug. 30, 1776, looked like, because that torch would have been seen by British troops and foiled the plot. (Library of Congress/Library of Congress) The fog of (Revolutionary) war.

On the face of it, it may not look like America was “saved” during the Battle of Long Island; Gen. George Washington and the Continental Army he commanded lost badly. They were outnumbered by the British 2 to 1. One-fifth of Washington’s force had been lost to death, injury or capture. And on the evening of Aug. 29, 1776, they were pinned down in Brooklyn between the East River and the British army.

Though rain had ruined Washington’s earliest military pursuits, on this night, Mother Nature did him a solid — in the form of liquid and gas. First, rain slowed down the British advance. That gave Washington time to plot an escape. As the sun went down, Washington gathered every boat available to the shore and began to — very quietly — evacuate his men across the shore. As Ron Chernow describes in “Washington: A Life,” cloth was wrapped around oars to mute their sound, and winds miraculously shifted so sailboats could silently glide across the river. Washington ordered campfires to stay lit all night to trick British guards into thinking they hadn’t moved.

[The plot to assassinate George Washington — and how it was foiled] But they still weren’t fast enough to beat the sun, which, in these pre-daylight-saving years, rose at about 5:20 a.m. Dozens of men were still waiting to leave, including Washington, when a glorious fog rolled in. It was so thick, one soldier reported, that you couldn’t see more than 20 feet away. That was all the Americans needed to evacuate the rest of their troops. Washington was the last one to board a boat to safety, and he and his army were free to fight another day.

“Say, do you smell rain?” (Library of Congress/Library of Congress) The singeing of Washington Frequently, when an invading army captures a city, they occupy it. (For example, when Washington’s troops evacuated New York, the British occupied it for seven years.) But not so when the British invaded Washington during the War of 1812.

Why? The weather, probably. Sure, when the British invaded on Aug, 24, 1814, they set the Capitol building on fire — which at the time housed not only Congress, but the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress. Then they set the White House alight, famously sending first lady Dolley Madison running (though not with a painting in hand, as you may have heard).

[Canada didn’t burn the White House. And Dolley Madison needs a fact check, too.] The next morning, with the previous day’s fires still smoldering, British troops continued their arson. And that’s when a severe thunderstorm, possibly a hurricane, came barreling in. A pounding rain put all the fires out. Wind sent debris flying, killing several British soldiers. Then a tornado touched down in the middle of Constitution Avenue, sending cannons into the air, which landed right on top of them.

Terrified British troops regrouped on Capitol Hill and decided to bail. The wind and rain continued, and as they headed for their damaged ships to sail away, a British admiral exclaimed to a resident: “Great God, Madam! Is this the kind of storm to which you are accustomed in this infernal country?”

Some historians say the British never intended to occupy the city, only to raze it; others disagree. In any case, they were in and out in 26 hours, and the incident soon became known as “the storm that saved Washington.”Two children play by a cannon on Little Round Top Hill on Nov. 18, 2013. (Michel du Cille/The Washington Post) Longstreet’s silent charge

Heading into the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was aiming for a decisive win, one so big it would drive the Union to seek peace terms. Among Lost Cause apologists, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet is the villain whose dawdling foiled that plan.

But, according to one theory, a bizarre phenomenon known as an “acoustic shadow” may have played a bigger role in the defeat. As the summer heat bore down on the second day of fighting, Lee ordered Longstreet to attack Union troops at Cemetery Hill and take the virtually empty Little Round Top. Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell’s men were to make a show of force opposite them to split the Union troops and draw them away from the hill. Ewell was to begin his action at the sound of Longstreet’s artillery barrage.

Yes, Longstreet did take a long time to gather his men before attacking in the late afternoon. But, according to physicist and military expert Charles D. Ross, “for a long time after Longstreet had begun his attack, Ewell heard nothing and hence did not move his troops.” When the fighting that day was over, Longstreet’s men were narrowly defeated, and the Union had yet another high tactical advantage.

[Her image had been buried near a Civil War battlefield for 100 years. Then I found her.] So why didn’t Ewell hear Longstreet’s barrage? According to Ross, Ewell was likely in the middle of an acoustic shadow, an atmospheric phenomenon caused by a combination of geography, heat and wind by which sound is “stopped” from traveling in one direction, even while it travels perfectly well in others.

The hillsides of Gettysburg are just the sort of place where acoustic shadows can develop. “More importantly, the hot temperatures near the ground probably caused a dramatic upward refraction of sound waves,” wrote Ross.The next day, when Maj. Gen. George Pickett went on his doomed charge, his men were cut down by Union troops positioned perfectly on Little Round Top, the very place Longstreet had barely lost. From then on, the Union had the upper hand in the Civil War.

Because of this and other acoustic shadows during the war, Ross wrote, “One might even go so far as to say the acoustical shadows determined the course of the entire war.” Read more Retropolis The truth about Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee: He wasn’t very good at his job.

The worst Fourth of July George Washington ever had — and how it led to a new nation The rise, set and rise of daylight saving time.

1776: Witherspoon, Dominion of Providence over the Passions of Men (Sermon)

“Religion began to revive, nothing contributed more to facilitate its reception and increase its progress than the violence of its persecutors.”

In all after ages, in conformity to this, the deepest laid contrivances of the prince of darkness, have turned out to the confusion of their author; and I know not, but considering his malice and pride, this perpetual disappointment, and the superiority of divine wisdom, may be one great source of his suffering and torment. The cross hath still been the banner of truth, under which it hath been carried through the world. Persecution has been but as the furnace to the gold, to purge it of its dross, to manifest its purity, and increase its lustre. It was taken notice of very early, that the blood of the martyrs was the seed of Christianity; the more abundantly it was shed, the more plentifully did the harvest grow.

So certain has this appeared, that the most violent infidels, both of early and later ages, have endeavored to account for it, and have observed that there is a spirit of obstinacy in man which inclines him to resist violence, and that severity doth but increase opposition, be the cause what it will. They suppose that persecution is equally proper to propagate truth and error. This though in part true, will by no means generally hold. Such an apprehension, however, gave occasion to a glorious triumph of divine providence of an opposite kind, which I must shortly relate to you. One of the Roman emperors, Julian, surnamed the apostate, perceiving how impossible it was to suppress the gospel by violence, endeavored to extinguish it by neglect and scorn. He left the Christians unmolested for sometime, but gave all manner of encouragement to those of opposite principles, and particularly to the Jews, out of hatred to the Christians; and that he might bring public disgrace upon the Galileans, as he affected to stile them, he encouraged the Jews to rebuild the temple of Jerusalem, and visibly refute the prophecy of Christ, that it should lie under perpetual desolation. But this profane attempt was so signally frustrated, that it served, as much as any one circumstance, to spread the glory of our Redeemer, and establish the faith of his saints. It is affirmed by some ancient authors, particularly by Ammianus Marcellinus, a heathen historian, that fire came out of the earth and consumed the workmen when laying the foundation. But in whatever way it was prevented, it is beyond all controversy, from the concurring testimony of heathens and Christians, that little or no progress was ever made in it, and that in a short time, it was entirely defeated.

It is proper here to observe, that at the time of the reformation, when religion began to revive, nothing contributed more to facilitate its reception and increase its progress than the violence of its persecutors. Their cruelty and the patience of the sufferers, naturally disposed men to examine and weigh the cause to which they adhered with so much constancy and resolution. At the same time also, when they were persecuted in one city, they fled to another, and carried the discoveries of popish fraud to every part of the world. It was by some of those who were persecuted in Germany, that the light of the reformation was brought so early into Britain.

The power of divine providence appears with the most distinguished lustre, when small and inconsiderable circumstances, and sometimes, the weather and seasons, have defeated the most formidable armaments, and frustrated the best concerted expeditions. Near two hundred years ago, the monarchy of Spain was in the height of its power and glory, and determined to crush the interest of the reformation. They sent out a powerful armament against Britain, giving it ostentatiously, and in my opinion profanely, the name of the Invincible Armada. But it pleased God so entirely to discomfit it by tempests, that a small part of it returned home, though no British force had been opposed to it at all.

We have a remarkable instance of the influence of small circumstances in providence in the English history. The two most remarkable persons in the civil wars, had earnestly desired to withdraw themselves from the contentions of the times, Mr. Hampden and Oliver Cromwell. They had actually taken their passage in a ship for New England, when by an arbitrary order of council they were compelled to remain at home. The consequence of this was, that one of them was the soul of the republican opposition to monarchical usurpation during the civil wars, and the other in the course of that contest, was the great instrument in bringing the tyrant to the block.

The only other historical remark I am to make, is, that the violent persecution which many eminent Christians met with in England from their brethren, who called themselves Protestants, drove them in great numbers to a distant part of the world, where the light of the gospel and true religion were unknown. Some of the American settlements, particularly those in New-England, were chiefly made by them; and as they carried the knowledge of Christ to the dark places of the earth, so they continue themselves in as great a degree of purity, of faith, and strictness of practice, or rather a greater, than is to be found in any protestant church now in the world. Does not the wrath of man in this instance praise God? Was not the accuser of the brethren, who stirs up their enemies, thus taken in his own craftiness, and his kingdom shaken by the very means which he employed to establish it.* https://oll.libertyfund.org/page/1776-witherspoon-dominion-of-providence-over-the-passions-of-men-sermon

I believe in the truthfulness of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe there are many things in this world that attempt to imitate the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Whenever there is truth there is error and the adversary has a desire to make evil look good. We read in Alma 41:10, “Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness.” We also know there are symbols of light and darkness. We see the beautiful stars around the Salt Lake and Nauvoo Temple as a reflection of Heavenly things. We understand the significance of the Holy Priesthood and yet we understand that Evil has tried to develop its own false priesthood. Deception is slight, and we must be in tune with the Spirit to discern good vs evil.

A connection between the “inverted pentagram” and Satan “is almost certainly a 19th century invention by Eliphas Levi”

“Some critics of the LDS Church claim that the inverted five-pointed star on some of its temples are a symbol of evil and thereby demonstrate that Mormonism is not really a Christian religion.

The Prophet Joseph Smith indicated that he received the pattern for the Nauvoo Temple by revelation (cf. D&C 124:42). He told the architect of the project, “I have seen in vision the splendid appearance of that building illuminated, and will have it built according to the pattern shown me.” The Prophet also stated that he had seen at least one of the exterior symbols of that temple in this vision.

The inverted five-pointed star was first displayed on the exterior of an LDS temple in Nauvoo, Illinois in the early 1840s. One of the foremen who helped to build the Nauvoo Temple recorded what the emblems on its exterior represented. He said,

“The order of architecture was unlike anything in existence; it was purely original, being a representation of the Church, the Bride, the Lamb’s wife. John the Revelator, in the 12 chapter [and] first verse of [the book of Revelation,] says, ‘And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.’ This is portrayed in the beautifully cut stone of this grand temple.”

Joseph Smith revealed the connection between the heavenly woman of the apostle John’s vision and the restored Church. In the Prophet’s revision of the King James Bible he modified Revelation chapter 12 verses 1 and 7 to read: “And there appeared a great sign in heaven, in the likeness of things on the earth; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars . . . the woman . . . was the Church of God.” (JST Revelation 12:1,7).

This is the same arrangement of the symbols on the exterior pilasters of the Nauvoo Temple — moon (bottom), sun (middle), and stars (top).

The stars are associated in the book of Revelation passage with a “crown” which is a symbol of royalty. In another section of the book of Revelation Jesus Christ proclaims His descent through the royal lineage that is within the house of Israel and then pronounces one of His titles: “I am the . . . offspring of David, and the bright . . . morning star” (Revelation 22:16). This is the title that nineteenth century Latter-day Saints assigned to the inverted five-pointed star. One of these emblems was put into place on the east tower of the Logan, Utah temple in 1880. An eyewitness to the event reported the following which was printed in a major newspaper: “Carved upon the keystone is a magnificent star, called the Star of the Morning.”

In 1985 LDS Church Architect Emil B. Fetzer stated that the inverted stars on early LDS temples were not sinister but were “symbolic of Christ.” He said that when the LDS Church “uses the pentagram or sunstone in an admirable, wholesome and uplifting context, this does not preclude another organization’s using the same symbols in an evil context.”

A connection between the “inverted pentagram” and Satan “is almost certainly a 19th century invention by Eliphas Levi,” who was a “defrocked priest.” He did not begin publishing references to this idea until 1854, a decade after the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith.” Source

Follow the True Priesthood

I feel there are important reasons to seek the good things of this world and try and understand the counterparts as to avoid evil. Understanding Freemasonry and some of the good contained in this organization can benefit us as long as we understand without the Priesthood of God there are many things it does not have truth in it. All truth the Lord has given us from the beginning is constantly under attack from the other side. It’s important we learn to discern truth from error in all that we study. I offer some information below about Freemasonry that may assist you in understanding why some early Church leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints respected many tenets of this ancient fraternity.

“Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and Lorenzo Snow all were members of the fraternity. All joined while living with the Saints in Nauvoo… Joseph Smith joined the Masons in Nauvoo in March 1842…” LDS Living “Mormons and Masons: 5 Fascinating Connections

Masonry and the Endowment

On May 3, 1842, Joseph Smith enlisted a few men to prepare the space in his Red Brick Store in which the Nauvoo Masons met, “preparatory to giving endowments to a few Elders. ”The next day, Joseph introduced the temple endowment for the first time to nine men, all of whom were also Masons. One of these men, Heber C. Kimball, wrote of this experience to fellow Apostle Parley P. Pratt, who was on a mission in England. “We have received some precious things through the Prophet on the priesthood,” Kimball wrote of the endowment, noting that “there is a similarity of priesthood in masonry.” He told Pratt that Joseph believed Masonry was “taken from priesthood but has become degenerated.” Joseph Fielding, another endowed Latter-day Saint and a Mason, noted similarly in his journal that Masonry “seems to have been a Stepping Stone or Preparation for something else,” referring to the endowment…

Masonic ceremonies promote self-improvement, brotherhood, charity, and fidelity to truth for the purpose of making better men, who in turn make a better society.During temple ordinances, men and women covenant with God to obey His laws for the purpose of gaining exaltation through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.“Masonry,” Church History Topics, saints.lds.org

This articles covers the history and significance of the Nauvoo Temple.  It covers the miracles, sacrifice and visions connected with this temple of the Restoration. https://josephsmithfoundation.org/nauvoo-temple/#easy-footnote-bottom-13-435

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Masonry is a Product of Apostasy

Early Church leaders agreed that Freemasonry could be traced back to the priesthood. In his book Exploring the Connection Between Mormons and Masons, Matthew B. Brown includes several statements from prominent Latter-day Saints in the early Church. He writes: “[Such quotes] establish the viewpoint of some 19th century Mormons with regard to the origin of Freemasonry. The first statement comes from Joseph Smith’s scribe Willard Richards and was written by him on or very near the day when the Prophet was raised to the degree of Master Mason. The statements by Heber C. Kimball (a contemporary record) and Benjamin F. Johnson (a reminiscent account) reflect the thought of Joseph Smith on the matter. 

“The message behind all of these statements is consistent—there are similarities between Freemasonry and the Mormon endowment because Masonry is a product of apostasy or degeneration from a priesthood-based prototype. Latter-day Saints possess the authentic version.” Consider the following examples: Willard Richards (16 March 1842): “Masonry had its origin in the Priesthood. A hint to the wise is sufficient.” 

Heber C. Kimball (17 June 1842):“ There is a similarity of priesthood in Masonry. Brother Joseph [Smith] says Masonry was taken from priesthood.” Benjamin F. Johnson (1843): Joseph Smith “told me Freemasonry, as at present, was the apostate endowments, as sectarian religion was the apostate religion.” Joseph Fielding (December 1843): The LDS temple ordinances are “the true origin of Masonry.” Heber C. Kimball (9 November 1858): “The Masonry of today is received from the apostasy. . . . They have now and then a thing that is correct, but we have the real thing.” Complete Article LDS Living.com See my Detailed Blog about Masonry here:

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Symbolism Inverted Pentagram by Joseph Smith Foundation

Following the announcement of President Hinckley architects and designers began working to rebuild this magnificent pioneer temple.  Charles W. Allen was commissioned to construct the glass star windows that encircle the structure. True to the design revealed by the Prophet Joseph Smith, Allen placed the stars in their original position, inverted.

” …Ron Prince, Cory Karl and Keith Stepan were in the shop this morning to see how I [Charles W. Allen] was doing and to take a look at the colored glass in the star sash. They really liked what they saw. Keith asked me whether, if President Hinckley wanted to have the star pointed in an up position, that would be possible? I said yes, that all I had to do is to rotate the sash. He made a recorded note of that for his next meeting with President Hinckley. There is some concern by members of the Temple Committee that the upside down star would be interpreted as a Satanic symbol which some cults believe in today.”

The inverted pentagram remained on the temple.  Many were and are confused as to why a symbol, connected to Satanism and the occult, could be found on our temple.  However, when one studies the history behind this ancient symbol, one understands that it is truly a symbol of the Savior and Divine Revelation to man.  Lucifer simply hijacked the pentagram, mocking a very sacred symbol by corrupting it for his own purposes.  (See Trailer Video Below)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=90OThOa59cI%3Frel%3D0

Nauvoo Temple- Physical and Historical Description

After the exterminating order of Governor Lilburn W. Boggs of Missouri which was dated October 27, 1838 (see History of the Church, Vol. 3, p. 175), the Saints were compelled to flee from that State, and made Illinois their refuge from the blood-thirsty Christian mobocats who had burned, pillaged and destroyed thousands of homes and murdered many hundreds of men, women and children. Coming to Commerce, Illinois, later named Nauvoo, in 1839, the swampy and uninhabitable regions were soon reclaimed and Nauvoo became a thriving, prosperous and beautiful commonwealth.¹

On October 30, 1842, the construction of the walls of the Temple had so far progressed that the first meeting was held in it. On May 24, 1845, the capstone was laid under the direction of President Brigham Young and the other members of the Twelve, the Prophet Joseph and Hyrum having been murdered in cold blood on June 27, 1844. By October 5, 1845, the construction had progressed to the extent that the autumnal conference was held within its walls. During the month of December, 1845, and the early months of 1846, many of the Saints received their blessings and endowments, and on April 30th of that year, the Temple was privately dedicated by Joseph Young, senior president of the First Seven Presidents of Seventy, now known as the First Council of the Seventy. On the following day, May 1st, the building was officially dedicated by Apostles Orson Hyde and Wilford Woodruff according to the order of the Holy Priesthood as revealed through Joseph the Prophet. The approximate cost of this magnificent structure was $1,000,000, paid for by tithing of money, labor, and from free will offerings.

After the Saints had left Nauvoo, in the severity of winter, in February and March, 1846, enroute to the Rocky Mountains, the mob took possession of Nauvoo and the Temple. The Temple was most sacred to the Saints and the mobocrats feared that if it continued to stand it would be a bond between its exiled builders and the city from which they had been so cruelly driven. On November 18, 1848, one Joseph Agnew set fire to this sacred structure, at which time all was destroyed except the walls. An attempt was made by the Icarians, a French communistic society, to rebuild the walls, but on May 27, 1850, a tornado leveled them completely, and the stones were removed to other places for building and souvenir purposes, until not one stone was left upon another. After the removal of the Saints from Nauvoo the fields and gardens reverted well nigh to the primitive wilderness and swampy conditions which the Saints had first met with in the settling of this beautiful location.

The Temple was 128 feet long by 88 feet wide and 65 feet high in the clear. The top of the spire was 165 feet above the ground and bore the figure of a flying herald sounding a trumpet. The plan of construction was that of a solid and stable four walled building, two and a half stories high, with a hexagonal tower at the front rising in four terraces and a dome. It was constructed of a light-gray limestone, of a hardness that permitted it to be easily tooled and adapted to ornamental finish.

On the outside were thirty pilasters, nine on each side and six at each end. At its base each pilaster presented in hewn relief the crescent moon, and ended above in a capital of cut-stone depicting the face of the sun allegorically featured, with a pair of hands holding horns. Above the capitals was a frieze or cornice in which appeared thirty star stones. Further details of construction are incorporated in the other articles in this Chapter.

The architecture of the Temple was revealed of God to Joseph as will be noted in the revelation that is herein printed. On pages 196-7 of the Documentary History of the Church, Vol. 6, is the following interesting item:

“In the afternoon, Elder William Weeks (whom I had employed as architect of the Temple), came in for instruction. I instructed him in relation to the circular windows designed to light the offices in the dead work of the arch between stories. He said that round windows in the broad side of a building were a violation of all the known rules of architecture, and contended that they should be semi-circular — the building was too low for round windows. I told him I would have the circles, if he had to make the Temple ten feet higher than it was originally calculated; that one light at the center of each circular window would be sufficient to light the whole room; that when the whole building was thus illuminated, the effect would be remarkably grand. I wish you to carry out my designs. I have seen in vision the splendid appearance of that building illuminated, and will have it built according to the pattern shown me.” ² The Lord gave a commandment that a Temple should be built to His name. It seemed almost impossible for so poor a people to build such a temple in their poverty, but the Lord never requires more of men than they can perform if they will go to with their might and trust in Him. At the conference on the 6th of April, I witnessed the laying of the cornerstones of the Temple which was done according to the order of the Priesthood. An immense crowd of people were present on that occasion—all filled with joy and rejoicing. The Temple progressed with the Saints that could work at it steady. The Prophet Joseph worked with his own hands, quarrying the stone for its walls when his enemies were not pursuing him. No man knows what he suffered through persecution.

Joseph Smith did more for the salvation of the human family in the short time that he lived than any other man that ever lived in the world, Jesus Christ excepted. He lived to be 39 years old and endured a continued scene of persecution and oppression from the time that the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, until the time of his death. He bore testimony to the work of the Lord through life and sealed his testimony with his own blood. I have been with the Prophet Joseph and heard his instruction weekly and sometimes daily. The last time I heard him speak in public he spoke to the Legion (Nauvoo Legion). After telling what he had passed through and what he had suffered from men because he preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he said: “From my boyhood up to the present time I have been hunted like a roe upon the mountains. I have never been allowed to live like other men. I have been driven, chased, stoned, whipped, robbed, mobbed, imprisoned, persecuted, accused falsely of everything bad. I have suffered till the Lord knows I have suffered enough.”

The teaching of the Twelve was to build the Temple and finish the work that Joseph had begun. The people were obedient to counsel and exerted themselves to do all they could do to accomplish the work. Our enemies were not satisfied with what they had done, so they continued their depredations. In the small settlements in the country the mobs collected, drove our brethren from their homes, burned their houses and grain and killed some who could not get out of the way. In the fall, the mob collected in the south part of the country and in about two weeks they burned 200 houses to ashes. The inhabitants had to flee to Nauvoo to save their lives. A great amount of grain and property was destroyed, cattle and hogs were stolen and killed almost without number. Old Father Durfee was shot and killed by the mob while he was trying to save his property from the flames. Many others died from exposure after being robbed and driven into the wood. Their sufferings were so great that they could not endure it.

The Saints gathered into Nauvoo, labored and toiled to finish the Temple. Our enemies at the same time were planning to drive us from our city and from the United States. In the fall the Temple was dedicated to the Lord, thus far completed. Prayer pronounced by President B. Young. The building was finished with the exception of a little inside work which was done during the winter.

Most of the Saints, men and women, had the privilege of receiving their endowments, learning the order of the Priesthood, the fall and redemption of man, in the Temple, in the city of Joseph. Nauvoo was called by that name after the death of Joseph. I think it was in the month of January that I and my brother, Charles, received our endowments. The building was filled up in the nicest style. It was built according to the pattern that the Lord gave to Joseph. It was accepted of the Lord, and His holy angels have ministered unto many therein and now because of persecution we must leave it and in leaving it we leave a monument of our industry which was reared in our poverty. It was the finest building in all the western country.

At the west end about one hundred feet from the ground was the following inscription in large gold letters:
THE HOUSE OF THE LORD, BUILT BY THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
COMMENCED APRIL 6TH, 1841.
HOLINESS TO THE LORD

At the east end of the House, inside, was arched the following sentence:
“THE LORD HAS BEHELD OUR SACRIFICE, COME AFTER US” ³

Laying of Cornerstones

On the eleventh anniversary of the organization of the Church, April 6, 1841, approximately 10,000 people from Nauvoo and surrounding sections were present to witness the laying of the four cornerstones of this Temple. It was an occasion marked by military display, sixteen companies of the Nauvoo Legion being assembled about the Temple foundation in a hollow square, within which were the visitors, the choir and band. The First Presidency of the Church laid the southeast cornerstone, the Prophet Joseph laying the stone in its proper place, and saying:“This principal cornerstone in representation of the First Presidency, is now duly laid in honor of the Great God; and may the same be accompanied speedily; that the Saints may have a place to worship God, and the Son of Man have where to lay His head.

The southwest cornerstone was placed by officers of the High Priests; the northwest cornerstone was laid by the High Council, and the northwest stone by the Bishops.⁴

Baptismal Font

The Lord had revealed that baptisms for the dead in the Mississippi River were acceptable only in the days of their poverty when no baptismal font was available for that purpose, but as soon as the font was available in the Temple, baptisms in the river should be discontinued. At the conference of the Church held in Nauvoo, on October 2, 1841, the Prophet made this announcement: “There shall be no more baptisms for the dead, until the ordinance can be attended to in the Lord’s House, and the Church will not hold another General Conference until they can meet on said house, for thus saith the Lord.”

On November 8, 1841, the baptismal font was ready for dedication in the Temple, baptisms in the river having been discontinued.

On Sunday, November 21, 1841, “The council met in council at Brigham Young’s house, and at four o’clock they repaired to the baptismal font in the Temple, where President Brigham Young, Elders Heber C. Kimball and John Taylor baptized about forty persons for their dead, Elders Willard Richards, Wilford Woodruff and George A. Smith confirmed them. These were the first baptisms for the dead in the font in the Lord’s House. From this time forth, as long as the Saints remainded in Nauvoo, baptisms for the dead were performed in the Temple.” ⁵

Sacred Experiences in the Nauvoo Temple

“After the dancing had continued about an hour, several excellent songs were sung, in which several of the brethren and sisters joined… I called upon Sister Whitney who stood up and invoking the gift of tongues, sang a beautiful song of Zion in tongues. The interpretation was given by her husband, Bishop Whitney, and me, it related to our efforts to build this house to the privilege we now have of meeting in it, our departure shortly to the country of the Lamanites, their rejoicing when they hear the gospel and of the ingathering of Israel. I spoke in a foreign tongue; likewise, Brother Kimball. After a little conversation of a general nature I closed the exercises of the evening by prayer.” ⁶

“I stayed all night in the Temple of the Lord. The Spirit of God seemed to fill the House and cause every heart to rejoice with a joy unknown to the world of mankind, for the Lord manifested himself to his saints.” ⁷

“I labored in the Temple assisting in the endowments. The Spirit of the Lord filled the House insomuch that the brethren shouted for joy. Brother Orson Spencer said he could no longer contain himself. President Young told him to speak; and he opened his mouth and spake in power and demonstration of the Spirit of God.” ⁸

“At sundown went to the Temple. 14 partook of the Sacrament after which we had a most glorious time. Some of the brethren spoke in tongues. Bro. Z. Coltrin and Brown held a talk in tongues which was afterwards interpreted and confirmed. Some prophesied. Bro. Anderson related a vision. And all of us rejoiced with exceeding great gladness. A light was flickering over br. Anderson’s head while relating his vision, Phinehas Richards face shone with great brightness. Two men arrayed all in priestly garments were seen in the n.e. corner of the room. The power of the Holy Ghost rested down upon us. I arose full of the Spirit and spoke with great animation, which was very cheerfully responded to by all, and prophesied of things to come. A brother testified that our meeting was accepted of God. And we continued our meeting until after midnight, which was the most profitable, happy, and glorious meeting I had ever attended in my life, and may the remembrance be deeply rooted in my soul for ever and ever. Beautiful day.” ⁹

“At sundown went to the Temple to pray. While there heard last night Chester Loveland was called out of bed by his mother in Law stating that the Temple was again on fire. He dressed as quick as lightening and ran out of doors and saw the Temple all in a blaze. He studied a few seconds, and as it did not appear to consume any, and there was no others running, he was satisfied it was the glory of God, and again went to bed. Another brother saw the belfry all on a fire at a 1/4 to 10. He ran as hard as he could, but when he came to the Temple he found all dark and secure…. Thus was the Spirit, power and glory to God manifest, not only at the Temple while we were there but also in our families for which my soul rejoices exceedingly.” ¹⁰

“About the same time Sister Almira Lamb while in her own room saw a vision of her dead child. It appeared to her in great glory and filled the room with light. She was afraid. It went away and after she was calmed down, her child appeared again to her and told the mother to remove her bones from where they were buried among the Gentiles, and bury them among the Saints, and again disappeared.” ¹¹

“At sundown went to the Temple to pray…. The Spirit was upon me and we all had a most glorious meeting. The glory of God again resting on the Temple in great power.” ¹²

“Sunday, March 22nd, 1846. I went to my Seventies Quorum meeting in the Nauvoo Temple. The whole Quorum being present consisting of fifteen members…. Dressing ourselves in the order of the Priesthood we called upon the Lord, his spirit attended us, and the visions were opened to our view. I was, as it were, lost to myself and beheld the earth reel to and fro and was moved out of its place. Men fell to the earth and their life departed from them, and great was the scene of destruction upon all the face of the land, and at the close thereof, there appeared a great company as it were of saints coming from the west, as I stood with my back passing to the east and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, `Come, see the desolation which the Lord hath made in the earth’; and the company of the saints who had been hid as it were, from the earth; and I beheld other things which were glorious while the power of God rested down upon me. Others also beheld angels and the glory of God…. The sacrament was administered. Our joy increased by the gift of tongues and prophecy by which great things were spoken and made known to us.” ¹³

Inverted Stained Glass Star Windows

The beautiful inverted stained glass star windows that adorn the top of the Nauvoo Temple have a very meaningful history dating back to the early Christian church. Known as the “Morning Star” in Rev 22:16 it is a symbol of Jesus Christ. When the actual Morning Star’s (Venus) orbit is tracked each morning it creates a mathematically perfect inverted five-point star. Read entire article here.

Hand Effigy Symbol: Bringing Cultures Together!
Adena/Jaredites
Hopewell/Nephites
Mississippian/Historical Native Americans

The Righteous Nephites and Lamanites are Spared Destruction

And it came to pass that in the ending of the thirty and fourth year,* behold, I [Mormon] will show unto you that the people of Nephi, who were spared, and also those who had been called Lamanites, who had been spared, did have great favors shown unto them, and great blessings poured out upon their heads, insomuch that soon after the ascension of Christ into heaven He did truly manifest Himself unto them, showing His body unto them [Symbolic Hands] and ministering unto them; and an account  of  His  ministry  shall  be  given  hereafter; therefore for this time I make an end of my sayings.” 3 Nephi 10:18

“The first month, Nisan, of the Hebrew Calendar is fixed so that the first full moon of the year will be after the spring equinox. When Mormon wrote that in the ending of the 34th year Christ came to America, he was using the language of Moses to describe that it is was at the time of the Feast of Ingathering or Tabernacles” –  John C. Lefgren Ph.D.

“The world’s largest earthen temple complex is located in Newark, Ohio (see p. 250 below from the Annotated Book of Mormon). The central axis of the portion known as the Great Octagon (Fig. 6 on p. 250) is fixed at 58.1 degrees east of true north which is the azimuth for the maximum northern moonrise. This event occurs only once every 18.6 years. The moon rise for Saturday, October 3rd, A.D. 33 was in alignment with the central line of the earthwork. At this time the Calendar of Moses required the Children of Israel to gather at the temple.  On the rising of the sun of the next morning, the Nephites gathered at the temple in Bountiful (3 Nephi 11:1, p. 399) to observe the 7th day of the Feasts of Tabernacles. This alignment points to Christ coming to the Nephites in His resurrected glory on this day.” – John C. Lefgren, Ph.D. page 408 Annotated Book of Mormon Digital image by CERHAS, University of Cincinnati Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Purchase John Lefgren’s 44-Page PDF titled “The Sign before the Birth of Christ- As Witnessed at the Newark Earthworks in Ohio” HERE

Hopewell/Nephites Important Similarities

The Hopewell Culture describes the common aspects of the Native American culture that began in the Florida panhandle in 600 – 500 BC that flourished along rivers in the northeastern and Midwestern United States from 300 BC to 400 AD, in the Middle Woodland period.

As you can see in the map below, and as you read history, the proven historical location and timelines of the Hopewell Culture are facts. Just think about it. If we found a people that had a history following this same beginning and ending pattern in North America and we called it the Book of Mormon, we would have validation that indeed the Hopewell people are the same as the Nephites. So as we surmise, Lehi landed in Florida, Nephi was chased by his brothers into Tennessee, then Mosiah left and went north on the Tennessee River (which by the way, flows north) to Missouri and Illinois where he met up with the Mulekites near the Mississippi River. Remember the Mulekites began their civilization at the same place they were found by Mosiah. (read here) “And they [Mulekites] journeyed in the wilderness, and were brought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters, into the land where Mosiah discovered them; and they had dwelt there from that time forth.” Omni 1:16

Because of being found where they landed, (See Omni 1:16), we show a great probability that the Mulekites followed the same path as Lehi to the Gulf of Mexico, with the Mulekites following the Mississippi River all the way up to Montrose Iowa, where the Des Moines river rapids halted their journey, as was restricted boat traffic until the Army Corps of Engineers opened that waterway in the 19th century.

The area of Ohio is known as the Cultural Center of both the Adena and the Hopewell People with the Great Hopewell road running from Chillicothe, OH to Newark OH, the place of the amazing Newark Earthworks.

In the Land Zarahemla (WI, IA, MO, IL), there were many battles as well as in the Land Bountiful, (IN, OH, PA, NY) from Illinois to Indiana to Ohio and finally at Cumorah. What happened near Cumorah historically? Historians have found a sudden end to Hopewell civilization and pottery in that area from about 400-500 AD. We Latter-day Saints know what happened in that time range as the Lamanites destroyed the Nephites.

For a Full Nephite Time-Line visit: https://bookofmormonevidence.org/nephite-timeline/

The 300-acre Hopewell Mound Group

The 300-acre Hopewell Mound Group is the type site for the Hopewell culture. Early archeologists named the site for its owner, Mordecai C. Hopewell. The artifacts in the picture below were found in Mound 25 called a double burial site in the Hopewell Mound Group in Ross County, OH. The significance of the better known mica hand placed between the skulls of the double burial and two mica eagle talons which were placed on each chest is not understood.

Hopewell Mica Cutouts

The native peoples of Ohio may have begun to use mica during the Early Woodland period, but its use in the crafting of ceremonial objects became especially important during the Middle Woodland period. 

Mica is a shiny mineral that occurs in layers, which can be split apart into thin, translucent sheets. Sometimes called isenglass, plates of mica have been used historically as windows for stoves. 

Hopewell culture spiritual leaders used small slabs of mica for a kind of mirror, possibly used in divination ceremonies, and artisans cut sheets into a variety of delicate shapes that may have been sewn onto garments to serve as personal ornaments.

Mica does not occur naturally in Ohio. Its source is in the Appalachian Mountains of North and South Carolina. Ohio’s Hopewell people may have obtained the mica in trade with the Middle Woodland cultures in this region, or perhaps pilgrims brought offerings of mica and other rare and precious materials to the great earthwork centers of southern Ohio.

Mica continued to be used by some Late Woodland cultures in Ohio, but only in much smaller quantities and these later peoples did not cut it into the elegant effigies so characteristic of the Hopewell culture.

Human Hand Effigy, Hopewell Culture, Hopewell Mound Group

Human Hand Effigy, Hopewell Culture, Hopewell Mound Group,
Ross Co., A 283/000294
Hopewell Culture: Double Burial Mica Set artifacts
Time period: 100 BC-AD 400
Provenience: Hopewell site (Mound 25), Ross County, Ohio USA
Original artifact size: 8-31 cm (3-12 inches)
Original artifact material: Mica

Hopewell Double Burial Context and Interpretation:

“Mica cutouts were produced by the Hopewell culture (100 BC-AD 400) which thrived in the American Midwest and southern Ohio more than two thousand years ago. The artifacts that the replicas pictured above were based upon were excavated from a double burial in Mound 25 that was part of a complex of earthworks known as the Hopewell site. The site name honored Mordecai C. Hopewell who in the 1800s owned the farm which the 44.5 hectare (110 acre) mound complex was located. Since excavations on the Hopewell site produced artifacts that were previously unknown, the culture was also named after Hopewell.  Complex geometric earthworks, some the largest in the world, were a trademark of the Hopewell culture. Usually Hopewell mound complexes comprise of very regular geometric shapes: a combination of circular, square and octagonal earthen walls that lined the site perimeter. The Hopewell site is unusual in that it has a mound geometry that is irregular in shape. The site has two orthogonal walls on the south and east sides with a j-shaped curve forming the remaining north and western walls. There is however a smaller square walled complex sharing the eastern wall of this larger complex that conforms to the classic Hopewell plan. A survey of the Hopewell site in 1847 described more than 20 smaller mounds within the enclosure of the perimeter walls. Many contained multiple burials with abnormally large amounts of burial objects.

In 1891, Warren K. Moorehead was employed by Harvard University to excavate the site. His methods have been described euphemistically as “cavalier” by modern standards.  Mosaics of colored sand, one represented a panther, were uncovered and then destroyed as his investigation cut through stratigraphy of the mounds. Mound 2 had 8,000 palm-sized discs of flint, about 5.4 metric tons (6 tons) uncovered. He must have been overwhelmed by the shear number of artifacts for a famous picture taken at the time (right) showed these discs recklessly piled outside one of his field camp tents. Mound 17 had 3,000 sheets of mica excavated, “enough to fill two barrels”. The same mound had 5,000 copper objects, of which Moorehead thought 4,000 were copper ear spools, 100 were breast plates, and another 120 were “cut into numerous designs”. He also found in Mound 17 by his estimates over 100,000 fresh water pearls from the various species mussels and clams that inhabit Ohio streams (they were at the time worth one million dollars).

Mound 25, the largest in the Hopewell site enclosure, was composed of the Central Mound and two side mounds that over time, due to additional burials, merged to become one conjoined mound  9 m (30 ft) high and 152 m (500 ft) long. There were a total of 69 copper and (meteoritic) iron celts and 92 copper breastplates found in all the features of this mound. The significance of the better known mica hand placed between the skulls of the double burial and two mica eagle talons which were placed on each chest is not understood. Evidence of incising has been found on one of the mica talons. No pigment is observed on the surface of these artifacts as has been found on painted mica artifacts. The burial also had smaller two mica circular discs, a pierced claw and two other mica geometric forms placed at their waist. The photograph (above right) has the mica replicas positioned as they were found in the Hopewell grave (relative distances between replicas not accurate). The geographical origins of grave goods from this and other excavations indicated the Hopewell culture had trade sophisticated trade networks extending to the Gulf of Mexico (marine shells), Rocky Mountains (obsidian), and Michigan (native copper). North Carolina is one source of mica where one pre-Columbian mine was reported to have blunt excavation makings on its wall characteristic of stone tools. Cause for the Hopewell culture decline about AD 400 is not known.” Jack Corbo Cleveland Ohio

The subject of the disappearance of the Hopewell in 400 AD is well understood by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We believe the Hopewell are the same Nephites of the Book of Mormon who where destroyed about 400 AD. Some coincidences are just to wonderful, as we understand the lands of the Book of Mormon. According to some historians, “little is known about why Hopewell mound-building ended, either about AD 200 in the lower Illinois Valley and about AD 350-400 in the Scioto river valley. There is no evidence of failure, no evidence of widespread diseases or heightened death rates: basically, the smaller Hopewell sites simply aggregated into larger communities, located away from the Hopewell heartland, and the valleys were largely abandoned.” Why Did the Hopewell People Build Enormous Mounds? John Weinstein © The Field Museum by K. Kris Hirst Updated March 08, 2017

“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

Hand Effigy Symbol: Bringing Cultures Together!
Adena/Jaredites
Hopewell/Nephites
Mississippian/Historical Native Americans

First Americans Museum Brings Dignity to Indigenous Art and History

After many years of sitting partially finished, the grand opening is Sept 18-19By Devraat Awasthi -September 5, 2021 Share11 minute read

OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) — Crowning the southern skyline of Oklahoma City with an epic half-dome, the First Americans Museum will open its doors to the public this month in a much-anticipated grand opening.

The millennia-long history of America’s Indigenous people will be jointly told in a place built by them and for them – making the museum a unique historical moment in itself. 

The museum leaves no stone unturned in its effort to elucidate the stories of First Americans. Artifacts from ancient sources stand only feet away from art made by contemporary creators, and the stories of the Modoc Nation from the Pacific Northwest are told right next to the Great Plains tribes of the Comanche and Kiowa. 

Together, the thirty-nine tribes that form the core of the First American Museum have created a place of dignified reflection that promises a thorough and respectful survey of the history of the First Americans…

…“Thank goodness for a subsidiary of the Chickasaw Nation!” said Wasserman. After the various failings of federal, state, and local governments, the Chickasaw Nation agreed to fulfill the operating deficit of the museum and received the right to purchase and develop the surrounding property. Wasserman credits Governor Bill Anoatubby of the Chickasaw Nation, who is also the chair of the NACEA with saving the project, saying he “has been steadfast all these many years in making sure that this is a world-class institution, that it never lost its original mission or intent, and what it set out to do. We’re eternally grateful.” 

Wasserman also expressed the museum’s excitement for the planned development in the area, and although exact details were withheld, she described future plans in which the museum would be an anchor for a nationally oriented destination. First Americans Museum 8-31-21 (BRETT DICKERSON/Okla City Free Press)

Arrival

Today, the joint venture of the Oklahoma City government and the Chickasaw Nation stands proudly along the southern bank of the Oklahoma River. The glittering glass and steel that now adorns the southside, however, took more than a decade to complete. The land on which the museum sits has a story as well. “This was oil field number one!” explains Executive Director James Pepper Henry (Kaw/Muscogee). Thirty percent of the world’s oil supply and 60% of the nation’s oil came from the Oklahoma City Oil Field. 

This history entailed ecological and ethical difficulties that the First Americans Museum undertook. “By building this center, we’ve healed the land. We mitigated all those issues, cleaned up this site, and so in a way, it’s kind of beautiful that it took Native people to come in here, to heal this place, and get it back into balance,” said Henry. According to Wasserman, “We had to cap oil wells to current standards, we had to locate oil wells . . . it took a full year to do the site remediation. We removed over 7,000 tires, box springs, all kinds of things. It became a dumping ground for a period of time.” 

Part of the process of reclaiming the land was a ground blessing ceremony in 2005, where 39 tribes brought ashes from the ceremonial fires of their original homelands as a new fire was lit, the ashes of which now sit in the OKLA HOMMA exhibition.

Architectural symbolism

The history of the First Americans Museum enhances the physical beauty of its building. “A lot of symbolism has gone into the design of this building,” said Henry. The building was co-designed by Johnson Fain of Los Angeles and Hornbeek Blatt of Edmond, Oklahoma. 

The gigantic mound feature recalls the ancient cities of the Caddo people in eastern Oklahoma, most prominently featured in the Spiro Mounds site. “Spiro was bigger than London at the time of the arrival of the Europeans!” said Pepper Henry. The mound was built with over 500,000 cubic yards of earth capped at an apex that gives visitors a unique view of downtown Oklahoma City. The mound, planted with indigenous grasses like buffalo grass and bluestem in terraced baskets, is mirrored by the glass and steel building in an effort to merge the past and present. Executive Director James Pepper Henry (Kaw/Muscogee) explains the symbolism of the circular layout of the entire grounds. First Americans Museum 8-31-21 (BRETT DICKERSON/Okla City Free Press)

The most remarkable aspect of the museum’s design, however, is the “cosmological clock.” According to Pepper Henry, on the winter solstice every year, the setting sun will shine perfectly through a tunnel cutting under the mound. On the summer solstice, the sun will set at the peak of the mound. On the equinoxes, the sun will shine through a hand symbol marking the entrance and center of the museum. “The amazing thing about it is the architects and the engineers were trying to figure all this out, and even with all the computers they had, it was still very difficult to figure this out, and they were amazed at how the ancients could figure this out, without sophisticated computers.”

The entrance to the museum is marked by the Remembrance Walls, which “acknowledges that there were always original Native inhabitants here, living in this place, there were several tribes that have always been here,” said Wasserman. “It also acknowledges those that were on the Removal – many different removal paths here – and did not survive, and it celebrates those of us that are the descendants of those who made that courageous journey and are here today.” 

Past the Remembrance Walls and inside the museum is the signature half-dome of the museum, known as the Hall of the People. Modeled after the grass lodges of the Caddo people, the Hall stands 90 feet tall and is shielded with 800 panes of inch-thick glass. “In theory, it’s weather-proof,” according to Henry. The half-dome entry hall, First Americans Museum 8-31-21 (BRETT DICKERSON/Okla City Free Press)

Groundbreaking curation methods

The beauty and history of the museum, however, are overshadowed by the groundbreaking curation methods that the museum has developed. As Wasserman points out, the museum prioritizes a “first-person” perspective to curation and emphasizes storytelling from primary sources. 

Like clockwork: First Americans Museum’s design tells more than time

Brandy McDonnell Oklahoman

The First Americans Museum’s time has finally come. 

And the long-awaited landmark boasts a built-in mechanism for keeping that time. 

“This whole complex is a giant cosmological clock — and it’s really ingenious,” said James Pepper Henry, the museum’s director and CEO and a member of the Kaw Nation. “I love to talk a little bit about the symbolism.” 

Conceived in the 1990s as the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum, the $175 million, 175,000-square-foot First Americans Museum, or FAM, celebrated its grand opening Sept. 18-19 with two days of celebrity speakers, Native dancers and musicians, cultural demonstrations and more.   

The museum is expected to be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. It will be closed on Tuesdays. 

‘Momentous occasion’: People from all 39 Oklahoma tribes celebrate OKC’s new First Americans Museum

“We want local Oklahomans to shop with us and to come and eat with us and to come to our demonstrations,” said Ginny Underwood, the museum’s marketing and communications manager, who is Comanche. “So, you don’t have to have a ticket to enter … through the Xchange gate.” 

That entrance leads into the 75-seat Xchange Theater, so named because it’s envisioned as a space where an exchange of cultures will take place. 

“We can get schoolkids in here and do storytelling. We can have dance demonstrations in here. We have cameras up here, and if somebody is doing a basket-weaving demonstration, we can zoom in on their hands and put it up onscreen so people can see the detail,” Pepper Henry said. “At night, we’ve got this incredible lighting system in here. … We can turn it into a dance floor; we can put a small band in here. It’s a really great, flexible space for us. But the idea is for this place to come alive with programming — and this is all free in this part.”

Story continues below.

What is the symbolism of the museum’s design? 

The original design of the First Americans Museum was conceived in the late 1990s. In the Community Gallery, an exhibition and model show the symbolism that was planned into the design for the building and grounds. 

“We broke ground in 2006 … and you can see, there’s basically two circles that intersect with each other,” Pepper Henry explained during a recent preview tour. “The first circle is made of earth, and that is our mound.” 

Accessible from the museum’s second floor, the mound is made of 500,000 cubic yards of earth.

“It’s an homage to our ancestors that were here before us. One of the great civilizations of North America was right here in Oklahoma before the Europeans arrived, and that was the Spiro Mounds,” Pepper Henry said. “Spiro Mounds was bigger than London before the arrival of Europeans. And we wanted to honor our ancestors and remind people that there have been great cities — and this land has been occupied — for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans.”

The second circle is formed by the steel-and-glass building itself.

“So, we’ve got the ancient world and the modern world intersecting with each other. And that intersection point is the Hall of the People, this glass structure,” Pepper Henry said. “The Hall of the People is a modern version … of a Wichita grass lodge. And the reason why we picked that particular structure is because the Wichitas, along with the Caddo and a few other tribes are indigenous to Oklahoma. … And we wanted to honor the original peoples of this land.”

MORE:First Americans Museum spent years learning from Oklahoma tribes before opening

How do the FAM grounds function like a clock? 

Photographs displayed in the Community Gallery — including some taken by Pepper Henry — foreshadow how the design of the FAM complex allows for people to track the seasons. For instance, a winter solstice tunnel, which is large enough to accommodate a semi-trailer truck, has been built through the mound. 

“On Dec. 21 of every year, which is the shortest day of the year, the sun will set perfectly in that tunnel, and it’ll shine a light through. So, that’s the winter solstice,” Pepper Henry said. “In the wintertime, the sun tracks to the south and then it starts to move to the north. So, on the summer solstice, on June 21, the sun will reach its apex … and set perfectly on the point of the mound on the longest day of the year.”

The fall and spring equinoxes will silhouette Cherokee artists Demos Glass and Bill Glass Jr.’s outdoor artwork “Touch to Above” a towering metal arch topped by an open hand. 

“So, we have this seasonal clock that tells us when the equinoxes are and then when the solstices are. It’s really amazing engineering when you think about it. The architects were trying to figure this out, and engineers were like, ‘How do we make this happen? How did the ancients figure this out without all the computers and everything?'” Pepper Henry said. 

“They were able to figure it out. But they had much more respect for our ancestors after going through this process and understanding the complexities of trying to make something like this work.”

MORE: 10 highlights of Oklahoma City’s new First Americans Museum

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/entertainment/2021/09/20/oklahoma-city-first-americans-museum-now-open-time-has-come/5674735001/

Hopewell Mica Hand Context and Interpretation:

Mica cutouts, specifically this hand-shaped cutout is iconic of all the artifacts produced by the Hopewell culture (100 BC-AD 400) that thrived in southern Ohio more than two thousand years ago. The original artifact the replica pictured above is based was excavated from a double burial in Mound 25 that was part of a complex of earthworks known as the Hopewell site.

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HOPEWELL EFFIGY OF A HUMAN HAND

“The scriptures show the convincing power of nail prints in the hands of Christ. It is important to develop the Fibonacci Series and the Golden Spiral so as to show how the Hopewell used this framework to cut the mica sheet with precision and exactness.” John C. Lefgren.

(See 3 Nephi 11: 13-17, Zechariah 13:6, John 20:24-29, and D&C 45:52). In July of 2018 Dr. John C. Lefgren of Bethlehem, PA was the person who first made the association of the Fibonacci Series to this Hopewell artifact which shows the nail print in the hands of Christ. Of course this is a plausible possibility and I urge all to read, study and pray about this information. To me it makes sense and that is why I share it.

“In mathematics, the Fibonacci numbers are the numbers in the following integer sequence, called the Fibonacci sequence, and characterized by the fact that every number after the first two is the sum of the two preceding ones: 1,1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144… Fibonacci numbers appear to have first arisen in perhaps 200 BC in work by Pingala on enumerating possible patterns of poetry formed from syllables of two lengths.” Wikipedia (To understand the Fibonacci, see videos at the end of this blog)

“Effigy of a human hand cut from sheet mica, Ohio Hopewell culture, 100 BC-500 AD. Excavated from Hopewell Mound Group, Ross County, Ohio ca.1922-1925. The Hopewell obtained mica from western North Carolina. This object is 11” x 7” and is held in the Ohio History Connection Archaeology Collection. Hopewell culture spiritual leaders used small slabs of mica for a kind of mirror, possibly used in divination ceremonies, and artisans cut sheets into a variety of delicate shapes that may have been sewn onto garments to serve as personal ornaments. Around 400 A.D Hopewell culture began to decline  for an unknown reason according to archaeologists.”  Ohio History Connection Archaeology.

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In addition to the Human Hand Effigy, there have been thousands of artifacts found from mounds all over the United States including pearls, breastplates, pottery, etc. From page 429 of the Annotated Book of Mormon you will read the following information;

https://bookofmormonevidence.org/the-saviors-hands-in-hopewell-artifacts/