“One” Cumorah
Why Geography Matters by Rian Nelson

I believe the Hill Cumorah in New York is the only sacred Hill Cumorah spoken of in the Book of Mormon. Many in the Church Education System and BYU Professors for years have taught about the two Cumorah theory, which I believe is just not accurate. I quite a few in the Church like me, have been looking to make sense of why Mexico has anything to do with the Book of Mormon. Many of these members and professors say that Joseph did receive the plates from Hill Cumorah in New York, but the final battles of the Nephites happened somewhere in Mexico. They say that New York Cumorah wasn’t large enough to contain hundreds of thousands of bodies and they say it is a clean hill, meaning no arrowheads have been found. Both assertions are false.

I have researched and studied and found additional insights about the Book of Mormon. I am not trying to prove my point or to prove anyone wrong. It is fine with me for others to believe Book of Mormon geography happened in Central America, and there are those who really don’t care. I have been trying for over 40 years to find the other Cumorah somewhere in Central America and I had become complacent as I had never found any answers. In about 2011, I learned what an Indian Mound was, and since then I have been a solid believer that The Book of Mormon events happened in the Heartland of North America.

There are hundreds of thousands of ancient mounds, fortifications, cities, and artifacts all over the United States that I have researched. I know there are Lamanites in Central America and in other countries, but they are not necessarily the ones spoken of in the Book of Mormon. Time frame. The Book of Mormon only contains a fraction of the history of the Promised Land Lehites. But, I believe that small fraction of history speaks about Lehi, and Nephi, and Alma, and Mormon as they lived and fought in these United States.
Why does the geography matter? Think of that question if we are speaking about Israel. Does it matter where the Savior was born, or where the Biblical events happened? Yes. At Mount Moriah where Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac, the Lord made a special covenant with Abraham. This land around Mt Moriah was a Covenant land and God’s people were given that land as long as they are righteous.

However, if they disobey the commandments, God’s people will be swept off that sacred land. The Jews, Muslims, and Christians fight over control over this one piece of land why? Because it is a beautiful piece of real estate? No, because it is a covenant land. All three religions say Mt Moriah is sacred to them and they are willing to die over it.
In the same token what is the Promised Land spoken of in the Book of Mormon? According to the Book of Mormon this Promised land must meet certain requirements to be the Promised Land. 1. No Kings upon the land 2. Land choice above all other lands 3. Land of Liberty 4. Land where sacred record is kept 5. Land kept from the knowledge of other nations. 6. Land of the New Jerusalem 7. Gentiles to scatter and afflict the Remnant. These are only 7 of 36 prophesies and promises in the Book of Mormon and so only the USA can be the Promised land, not Canada, or Mexico, or South America.

Just as Israel is a Promised Land forever, so the USA is a Promised Land forever and it does matter where this Promised Land is located. It is in the Heartland of North America. The Nephites practiced the Law of Moses. To do this they needed the following plants and animals to keep the Law. Sheep, Rams, Goats, Bullocks, Doves, Wheat, Barley, and Wine. None of these animals or items are found anywhere in Meso-America during the Nephites times, only in the USA. So, the land and where things happen is critical to us and especially to the Lord.
If we in the church cannot even decide among ourselves where the Book of Mormon happened, how confusing is that to our youth and adults? The Anti-Mormons love the idea that we don’t even know where our sacred scriptures happened. There are over 100 theories of where the Book of Mormon happened, including, Baja, Chile, Malaysia, Honduras, Peru, etc.
I know the Brethren of the Church take a neutral position on the geography. There are many CES members and other BYU professors that teach the two Cumorah theory and won’t consider other options. That is not a neutral stand. Many educated people ridicule this Heartland Model and won’t even take time to read about it. That is sad. For you and I to take a neutral stand is not required. The Lord told us to read and study, and in the promise to Moroni, He said we may know the truth of ALL things, and that would include knowing the location of the Book of Mormon events. I feel I know this location to be the United States of America. I will support and follow the Brethren where ever they say it is located, but what if they never tell us and we find out it was our duty as Latter-day Saints to find this out on our own? I would just love for all to consider a North American setting for the Book of Mormon. I believed as many others did about two Cumorahs for 40 years. But, with new information in the Joseph Smith Papers and Letter VII written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1835, I am so excited about the new knowledge the Lord is sending us today to strengthen our testimonies. Another new truth we learn is that Joseph Smith translated two separate sets of plates. Most people have never heard about that. Jonathan Neville is an amazing Church History researcher and he has a new book titled, “Whatever Happened to the Golden Plates”. I believe it is true and it is explained in the new josephpapers.org website. It will make sense to you as you read and pray about it. Is it critical to our salvation? No. But is it cool? Yes. There is so much we can learn and I love it.
I know if you read these few quotes below, you will be able to feel the power of these brethren and as you study and pray about it, I feel you will learn some new truths about the Hill Cumorah. I haven’t found one quote of Joseph Smith speaking about a Hill Cumorah in Mexico, yet I have found hundreds of quotes from Apostles, and Prophets discussing just “One Cmuorah”.

A quote I like from the Church says. “Individual members are encouraged to independently strive to receive their own spiritual confirmation of the truthfulness of Church doctrine. Moreover, the Church exhorts all people to approach the gospel not only intellectually but with the intellect and the spirit, a process in which reason and faith work together.” (Accessed July 6, 2018)

I also like what Jeffrey R. Holland said. 

“Faith and testimony, gospel devotion and Church loyalty, conviction so strong it leads to covenants and consecration are ultimately matters of the Spirit. They come as a gift from God, delivered and confirmed to our soul by the Holy Ghost in His divine role as revelator, witness, teacher of truth. But it should be noted that truly rock-ribbed faith and uncompromised conviction comes with its most complete power when it engages our head as well as our heart.

“Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind,”[1] Jehovah declared to the early Saints, and to Oliver Cowdery specifically He said, “I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost. . . . Behold, this is the spirit of revelation.”[2]

I have always loved that definition of revelation. For one thing, it makes clear that all revelation that can be called revelation comes through the influence of the Holy Ghost—that is to say that the receipt of any truth is ultimately a spiritual experience, an enlightenment facilitated and confirmed by the Holy Ghost. Secondly, that definition makes it clear that truth borne by the Holy Spirit comes with, in effect, two manifestations, two witnesses if you will—the force of fact as well as the force of feeling.” The Greatness of the Evidence By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland Chiasmus 50th Anniversary, JSB, Brigham Young University August 16, 2017

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“In 1835 Oliver Cowdery wrote a series of letters to W. W. Phelps, the editor of the Messenger and Advocate. These were titled,  Letter I, Letter II. Letter III, Letter IV, Letter V, Letter VI, Letter VII, and Letter VIII.  ( Link directs you to the Joseph Smith Papers Online )The Messenger and Advocate was published with the direction and approval of Joseph Smith. In 1841 these same letters were published in Nauvoo in the Times and Seasons (V. 2, p. 379). These letters were again published in  The Improvement Era (1899, Vol. 2, pp. 729-734).

“…Here, between these hills, the entire power and national strength of both the Jaredites and Nephites were destroyed. By turning to the 529th and 530th pages of the Book of Mormon, you will read Mormon’s account of the last great struggle of his people, as they were encamped round this hill Cumorah.  In this valley fell the remaining strength and pride of a once powerful people, the Nephites—once so highly favored of the Lord, but at that time in darkness, doomed to suffer extermination by the hand of their barbarous and uncivilized brethren. From the top of this hill, Mormon, with a few others, after the battle, gazed with horror upon the mangled remains of those who, the day before, were filled with anxiety, hope, or doubt.” Oliver Cowdery’s Letter VII Joseph Smith Papers “Letter VII,” LDS Messenger and Advocate, July 1835, 1:155–159

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Roots of Church History – Prophets vs Scholars –the Hill Cumorah and Letter VII by Jonathan Neville

“Most members of the Church still believe the Hill Cumorah is in New York, a few miles from Palmyra.

Church leaders have consistently taught this for over 160 years. No member of the First Presidency or Quorum of the Twelve has ever taught Cumorah was anywhere other than New York. New discoveries in Church history validate this teaching.

However, some intellectuals in the Church—including faculty at BYU and CES—promote the theory that the Book of Mormon took place in Central America (Mesoamerica). This theory teaches that there are “two Cumorahs.” They admit that Joseph Smith got the plates from the hill in New York (one Cumorah), but they rationalize that New York is too far from Central America (Mesoamerica) to be the scene of the final battles of the Jaredites and the Nephites. They also claim Mormon’s depository (Mormon 6:6) is somewhere in Mexico.

These intellectuals are teaching their students that the prophets and apostles are wrong about the New York Cumorah.

Because these intellectuals have trained thousands of LDS students at BYU and CES, their ideas have permeated the Church. The “two-Cumorahs” theory is on display every time you see a depiction of the Book of Mormon in Mesoamerica. This theory has caused confusion among members and investigators. But the teachings of the prophets are clear and consistent.” Complete article by Jonathan here.

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I now share with you below, many quotes from Church Leaders about the Hill Cumorah.

1. “I do not believe that the classrooms or the pulpits of our Church are for laboratory purposes in which to experiment with new doctrines and speculative notions. They are exclusively for the use of those who are willing to convert men and women and boys and girls to the truth. . . . I do not believe we should give credence to the highly speculative theories about Book of Mormon geography. I do not believe that there were two Hill Cumorahs, one in Central America and the other one up in New York, for the convenience of the Prophet Joseph Smith, so that the poor boy would not have to walk clear to Central America to get the gold plates. I do not believe we can be good Latter-day Saints and question the integrity of Joseph Smith. I do not believe we can be good Latter-day Saints and question the testimony of the eleven witnesses of the Book of Mormon. I do not believe you have a testimony of the truth if you question the accuracy of the translation of the Book of Mormon.” Mark E. Petersen LDS Conference Reports, Sunday afternoon, April 5, 1953

2. “…This modernistic theory of necessity, in order to be consistent, must place the waters of Ripliancum and the Hill Cumorah some place within the restricted territory of Central America, notwithstanding the teachings of the Church to the contrary for upwards of 100 years. Because of this theory some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon. It is for this reason that evidence is here presented to show that it is not only possible that these places could be located as the Church has held during the past century, but that in very deed such is the case… It is known that the Hill Cumorah where the Nephites were destroyed is the hill where the Jaredites were also destroyed. This hill was known to the Jaredites as Ramah. It was approximately near to the waters of Ripliancum, which the Book of Ether says, “by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all… It must be conceded that this description fits perfectly the land of Cumorah in New York, as it has been known since the visitation of Moroni to the Prophet Joseph Smith, for the hill is in the proximity of the Great Lakes and also in the land of many rivers and fountains. Moreover, the Prophet Joseph Smith himself is on record, definitely declaring the present hill called Cumorah to be the exact hill spoken of in the Book of Mormon. Further, the fact that all of his associates from the beginning down have spoken of it as the identical hill where Mormon and Moroni hid the records, must carry some weight. It is difficult for a reasonable person to believe that such men as Oliver Cowdery. Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, David Whitmer, and many others, could speak frequently of the Spot where the Prophet Joseph Smith obtained the plates as the Hill Cumorah, and not be corrected by the Prophet, if that were not the fact. That they did speak of this hill in the days of the Prophet in this definite manner is an established record of history.” Doctrines of Salvation Joseph Fielding Smith Chapter 12

3. “The United States is the promised land foretold in the Book of Mormon—a place where divine guidance directed inspired men to create the conditions necessary for the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Elder L. Tom Perry Ensign Dec. 2012

4. “Both the Nephite and Jaredite civilizations fought their final great wars of extinction at and near the Hill Cumorah (or Ramah as the Jaredites termed it), which hill is located between Palmyra and Manchester in the western part of the state of New York. It was here that Moroni hid up the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. (Morm. 6; Ether 15.) Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and many of the early brethren, who were familiar with all the circumstances attending the coming forth of the Book of Mormon in this dispensation, have left us pointed testimony as to the identity and location of Cumorah or Ramah.” (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 3, pp. 232-241.) (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine “CUMORAH,” 1966, p. 175)

5. “We visited the Hill Cumorah and were accorded the courtesy of going thereon by the wife of Mr. George Sampson, a brother of Admiral Wm. Sampson, who before his death owned the property. When we went up there and looked around, we felt that we were standing on holy ground. The brethren located, as near as they thought was possible, the place from which the plates of the Book of Mormon were taken by the Prophet. We were delighted to be there. Looking over the surrounding country we remembered that two great races of people had wound up their existence in the vicinity, had fought their last fight, and that hundreds of thousands had been slain within sight of that hill. Evidence of the great battles that have been fought there in days gone by are manifest in the numerous spear and arrow-heads that have been found by farmers while plowing in that neighborhood. We were fortunate enough to obtain a few of the arrowheads.” (George Albert Smith, Conference Report, April 1906, Third Day—Morning Session p. 56)

6. “Aug. 11, Wed: President McCune and I went early to the Grove. Later we were conveyed by auto to the Hill Cumorah by Brother Bean. We climbed the hill and traversed it back and fore and examined it with interest and care. It is the largest of the many glacial drumlins of the locality, and is the most prominent of all the elevations in the neighborhood. Aside from the fact that the plates of the Book of Mormon were taken from this hill, I was greatly interested in looking from its summit over the surrounding region and in contemplating the tremendous battle-scenes of the past, whereby first the Jaredites and later the Nephites were exterminated as nations. I believe the Book of Mormon account without reservation or modification. I believe, also, and express it as my personal conviction, that many ancient records, possibly those from which Mormon made his abridgment, are still concealed in that hill. I believe also that they will be brought forth in the Lord’s due time, and that until that time no man will succeed in finding them.” (James E. Talmage Journal Entries, 1920, pg 132-133; Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, BYU: MSS 229, Box 6, Folder 1, Journal 23.)

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7. “Millennia ago he declared: “There shall none come into this land [he was speaking of America] save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord… In the western part of the state of New York near Palmyra is a prominent hill known as the “hill Cumorah.” (Morm. 6:6.) On July twenty-fifth of this year, as I stood on the crest of that hill admiring with awe the breathtaking panorama which stretched out before me on every hand, my mind reverted to the events which occurred in that vicinity some twenty-five centuries ago—events which brought to an end the great Jaredite nation… Thus perished at the foot of Cumorah the remnant of the once mighty Jaredite nation, of whom the Lord had said, “There shall be none greater … upon all the face of the earth.” (Ether 1:43.)… This second civilization to which I refer, the Nephites, flourished in America between 600 B.C. and A.D. 400. Their civilization came to an end for the same reason, at the same place, and in the same manner as did the Jaredites… The tragic fate of the Jaredite and the Nephite civilizations is proof positive that the Lord meant it when he said that this “is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.” (Ether 2:9.) This information, wrote Moroni, addressing himself to us who today occupy this land, “cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles” (now, Gentiles is the term used by the Book of Mormon prophets to refer to the present inhabitants of America and to the peoples of the old world from which they came)… Now my beloved brethren and sisters everywhere, both members of the Church and nonmembers, I bear you my personal witness that I know that the things I have presented to you today are true—both those pertaining to past events and those pertaining to events yet to come. The issue we face is clear and well defined. The choice is ours. The question is: Shall we of this dispensation repent and obey the laws of the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, or shall we continue to defy them until we ripen in iniquity That we will repent and obey and thereby qualify to receive the blessings promised to the righteous in this land, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.” America’s Destiny Marion G. Romney Oct 1975

8. “Oliver Cowdery wrote that the Ephraimites and the Lamanites were the “original settlers of this continent,” and that “an ancient prophet caused the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated to be buried nearly two thousand years ago, in which is now called Ontario County, New York. In this same issue, W. W. Phelps wrote that it was “by that book [the Book of Mormon] I learned that the poor Indians of America were of the remnants of Israel.” Many other times editor Phelps identified the land of America as being the place where at least some Book of Mormon history took place, including the last battles of both the Jaredites and the Nephites (see Messenger and Advocate, vol. 2, October 1835, and the letter of W. W. Phelps to Oliver Cowdery in that same issue.) Oliver Cowdery Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, July 1835, pp. 158-159

9. “We shall now introduce much circumstantial evidence, from American antiquities, and from the traditions of the natives, etc. First, says Mr. Boudinot: “It is said among their principal or beloved men, that they have it handed down from their ancestors, that the book which the white people have, was once theirs: that while they had it they prospered exceedingly, etc. They also say, that their fathers were possessed of an extraordinary Divine Spirit, by which they foretold future events, and controlled the common course of nature; and this they transmitted to their offspring, on condition of their obeying the sacred laws; that they did, by these means, bring down showers of blessings upon their beloved people; but that this power, for a long time past, had entirely ceased.” Colonel James Smith, in his journal, while a prisoner among the natives, says: “They have a tradition, that in the beginning of this continent, the angels or heavenly inhabitants, as they call them, frequently visited the people, and talked with their forefathers, and gave directions how to pray. Mr. Boudinot, in his able work, remarks concerning their language: “Their language, in its roots, idiom, and particular construction, appears to have the whole genius of the Hebrew; and what is very remarkable, and well worthy of serious attention, has most of the peculiarities of that language.” There is a tradition related by an aged Indian, of the Stockbridge tribe, that their fathers were once in possession of a “Sacred Book,” which was handed down from generation to generation; and at last hid in the earth, since which time they had been under the feet of their enemies. But these oracles were to be restored to them again; and then they would triumph over their enemies, and regain their rights and privileges.” Quoted from A Voice of Warning An introduction to the faith and doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Chapter IV by Parley P. Pratt

10. [Heber C. Kimball] “prophesied that when the final last struggle came to this nation it would be at the Hill Cumorah where both of the former Nations [Jaredite and Nephite] were destroyed” (abt. Heber C. Kimball) Wilford Woodruff’s Journal 6:305, December 17, 1866

11. “In 1873, apostles Brigham Young Jr. and George Q. Cannon visited the New York Hill Cumorah and wrote up an account of the same which was published. “Undoubtedly great changes had occurred in the appearance of the surrounding country[side] since the days when Mormon and [his son] Moroni had trod the spot where we stood. Still we could readily understand, even now, how admirable a position this would be [from the hilltop] for a general to occupy in watching and directing the movements of armies and in scrutinizing the position of an enemy. Around Cumorah is yet a land of many waters, rivers and fountains [just] as Mormon said it was in his day. Our emotions on treading on this sacred hill were of the most peculiar character. They were indescribable. This was the hill Ramah of the Jaredites. In this vicinity, Coriantumr and Shiz, with the people whom they led, fought their last battle. For this great battle they were four years preparing, gathering the people together from all parts of the land, and arming men and women, and even children. The battle lasted eight days, and the result was the complete extermination of the Jaredite nation, none being left but the Prophet Ether and Coriantumr, who succeeded in slaying his mortal enemy Shiz. [Ether] and Coriantumr alone, of all that mighty race which had flourished upwards of fifteen hundred, were left. Who can imagine the feelings which he must have had on such an occasion? From the summit of this hill, Mormon and his great son Moroni had also witnessed the gathering of hosts of the Nephites, and the dusky and myriad legions of their deadly enemies, the Lamanites. Around this hill they had marshaled their forces–their twenty-three divisions of ten thousand men each, commanded by the most skillful of their generals, all to be swept away except Moroni. It was here that [Mormon] hid the abridgement which he made of the records [of his people], and which is know known by his name [Book of Mormon]. And it was here, thirty-six years after this tremendous battle, that his son Moroni also hid his abridgment of the book of Ether, and the record which he had made from which we learn the fate of his father, Mormon, and his other companions It was to this spot that about fourteen hundred years after these events, Joseph Smith, the Prophet, was led by Moroni in person, and here the records, engraved on plates, were committed to him for translation. Who could tread this ground and reflect upon these mighty events, and not be filled with indescribable emotion?” Brigham Young, Jr. and George Q. Cannon The Latter-Day Saints’ Millennial Star,(35 (33): 513-16), Tuesday, August 19th, 1873

12. Just two months and twelve days before his death in 1877, Brigham Young was establishing a new stake in Farmington, Utah. In his discourse, he said the following: “Orrin P. Rockwell is an eyewitness to some powers of removing the treasures of the earth. He was with certain parties that lived nearby where the plates were found that contain the records of the Book of Mormon. There were a great many treasures hid up by the Nephites. Porter was with them one night when there were treasures, and they could find them easy enough, but they could not obtain them. When [Porter] tells a thing he understands, he will tell it just as he knows it; he is a man that does not lie. He said that on this night when they were engaged hunting for this old treasure, they dug around the end of a chest for some twenty inches. The chest was about three feet square. One man who was determined to have the contents of that chest took his pick and struck into the lid of it, and split through into the chest. The blow took off a piece of the lid, which a certain lady [Lucy Mack Smith, Joseph’s mother] kept in her possession until she died. That chest of money went into the bank. Porter describes it so he says this is just as true as the heavens are.” Brigham Young Journal of Discourses (Liverpool, 1878), vol. 19:36-39.

13. “Consider how very fortunate we are to be living in this land of America. Many great events have transpired in this land of destiny. This was the place where Adam dwelt; this was the place where the Garden of Eden was; it was here that Adam met with a body of high priests at Adam-Ondi-Ahman shortly before his death and gave them his final blessing, and the place to which he will return to meet with the leaders of his people (D&C 107:53-57). This was the place of three former civilizations: that of Adam, that of the Jaredites, and that of the Nephites.” The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson pp. 587-588

14. McGavin and Bean explain their point of view concerning the identity of the Hill Cumorah as an ancient battlefield. The authors conclude that the scholars “need not search for [Cumorah] in Mexico or Yucatan” E. Cecil McGavin and Willard W. Bean “Cumorah-Land, An Ancient Battlefield,” in The Improvement Era 44, September 1941, 526, 571-72.

15. J. Golden Kimball is quoted as saying the following: “Heber C. Kimball said it was revealed to him that the last great destruction of the wicked would be on the lakes near the Hill Cumorah.” J. Golden Kimball (abt. Heber C. Kimball) N. B. Lundwall, Temples of the Most High, SLC: Bookcraft, 1941, p. 52.

16. “Once the red men were many; they occupied the country from sea to sea — from the rising to the setting sun; the whole land . . .  Thousands of moons ago, when the red men’s forefathers dwelt in peace and possessed this whole land the Great Spirit talked with them, and revealed His law and His will and much knowledge to their wise men and prophets.  This they wrote in a Book . . . written on plates of gold and handed down from father to son for many ages and generations. It was then that the people prospered and were strong and mighty; they cultivated the earth, built buildings and cities and abounded in all good things, as the pale faces now do . . . This Book, which contained these things was hid in the earth by Moroni, in a hill called by him Cumorah, which hill is now in the state of New York, near the village of Palmyra, in Ontario county . . .  Thus ended our first Indian mission, in which we had preached the Gospel in its fullness and distributed the record of their forefathers among three viz.: the Cattaraugus Indians, near Buffalo, N.Y., the Wyandots, of Ohio and the Delawares, west of Missouri.” Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, pp. 56-6; Documentary History of the Church Vol 1: Footnotes 183:2-18

17. “Two great American Christian civilizations—the Jaredites and the Nephites—were swept off this land because they did not “serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ” (Ether 2:12). What will become of our civilization?… I have faith that the Constitution will be saved as prophesied by Joseph Smith. It will be saved by the righteous citizens of this nation who love and cherish freedom. It will be saved by enlightened members of this Church—among others—men and women who understand and abide the principles of the Constitution.

I reverence the Constitution of the United States as a sacred document. To me its words are akin to the revelations of God, for God has placed His stamp of approval upon it.

I testify that the God of heaven sent some of His choicest spirits to lay the foundation of this government, and He has now sent other choice spirits to help preserve it.

We, the blessed beneficiaries of the Constitution, face difficult days in America, “a land which is choice above all other lands” (Ether 2:10)… Exra Taft Benson “Our Divine Constitution Ensign Oct 1987

18. “It is as impossible for me to continue the subject of yesterday as to raise the dead. My lungs are worn out. There is a time to all things, and I must wait. I will give it up, and leave the time to those who can make you hear, and I will continue the subject of my discourse some other time. I want to make a proclamation to the Elders. I wanted you to stay, in order that I might make this proclamation. You know very well that the Lord has led this Church by revelation. I have another revelation in relation to economy in the Church–a great, grand, and glorious revelation. I shall not be able to dwell as largely upon it now as at some other time; but I will give you the first principles. You know there has been great discussion in relation to Zion–where it is, and where the gathering of the dispensation is, and which I am now going to tell you. The prophets have spoken and written upon it; but I will make a proclamation that will cover a broader ground. The whole of America is Zion itself from north to south, and is described by the Prophets, who declare that it is the Zion where the mountain of the Lord should be, and that it should be in the center of the land. When Elders shall take up and examine the old prophecies in the Bible, they will see it.” President Joseph Smith’s Remarks–The Whole of America Zion–April Conference, 1844 Section Six 1843-44, p.362

19. “What most impressed me last summer on my first and only expedition to Central America was the complete lack of definite information about anything. Never was so little known about so much… It is just a fact of life that no one knows much at all about these oft-photographed and much-talked-about ruins… Counterparts to the great ritual complexes of Central America once dotted the entire eastern United States, the most notable being the Hopewell culture centering in Ohio and spreading out for hundreds of miles along the entire length of the Mississippi River. These are now believed to be definitely related to corresponding centers in Mesoamerica… One thing that leads us to suspect that most of the great powerhouses whose traces still remain were never anything more than pompous imitations or replicas is their sheer magnificence. The archaeologist finds virtually nothing of the remains of the primitive Christian church until the fourth century, because the true church was not interested in buildings and deliberately avoided the acquisition of lands and edifices that might bind it and its interests to this world. The Book of Mormon is a history of a related primitive church, and one may well ask what kind of remains the Nephites would leave us from their more virtuous days. A closer approximation to the Book of Mormon picture of Nephite culture is seen in the earth and palisade structures of the Hopewell and Adena culture areas than in the later stately piles of stone in Mesoamerica… Though such piles as the great pyramid-temple of Chichén Itzá yield to few buildings in the world in beauty of proportion and grandeur of conception, there is something disturbing about most of these overpowering ruins. Writers describing them through the years have ever confessed to feelings of sadness and oppression as they contemplate the moldy magnificence—the futility of it all: “They have all gone away from the house on the hill,” and today we don’t even know who they were
The great monuments do not represent what the Nephites stood for; rather, they stand for what their descendants, “mixed with the blood of their brethren,” descended to. But seen in the newer and wider perspective of comparative religious studies, they suggest to us not only the vanity of mankind and the futility of man’s unaided efforts, but also something nobler; the constant search of men to recapture a time when the powers of heaven were truly at the disposal of a righteous people.” Ancient Temples: What Do They Signify? By Hugh Nibley September 1972

20. “The passages which I have quoted from the Book of Mormon and the more extended discussion of this subject by Elder B. H. Roberts which was published in The Deseret News of March 3 definitely established the following facts: That the hill Cumorah, and the hill Ramah are identical. That it was around this hill that the armies of both the Jaredites and Nephites fought their great last battles. That it was in this hill that Mormon deposited all of the sacred records which had been entrusted to his care by Ammaron, except the abridgment which he had made from the plates of Nephi, which were delivered into the hands of his son, Moroni. We know positively that it was in this hill that Moroni deposited the abridgment made by his father, and his own abridgment of the record of the Jaredites, and that it was from this hill that Joseph Smith obtained possession of them.” Anthony Ivins Improvement Era June 1928

21. “On the title page I read that it is “written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile.” In the introduction to the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, it says that the Lamanites “are among the ancestors of the American Indians.” As I read the Book of Mormon, it seemed to me that it was about my American Indian ancestors. It tells the story of a people, a part of which were later described as “Lamanites,” who migrated from Jerusalem to a “land of promise” (1 Nephi 2:20) about 600 B.C.” “Come unto Me, O Ye House of Israel” By Elder Larry Echo Hawk of the Seventy Ensign Oct 2012

22. “But while this direct testimony from the Prophet himself is lacking, it is not lacking from those who are competent to speak on the subject–and who did speak of it and who published their statements, and one of these in the life time of the prophet, Oliver Cowdery, close associate with Joseph Smith in bringing forth the Book of Mormon, and his chief amanuensis in the translation of it, declares this hill from which the Book of Mormon was taken to be the Hill Cumorah, the place where Mormon deposited “all the records in his possession, except his abridgment from the plates of Nephi which he gave to his son; and also emphatically declares it to be the scene of the destruction of both the Jaredite and Nephite people. This statement Oliver published in the Church organ at the time, called the “Saints Messenger and Advocate,” Kirtland, Ohio, 1834. There are nine letters published under the title of “Early Scenes and Incidents in the Church.” These letters were reproduced in the Improvement Era, Vol. II, 1898-9”. Written for the Deseret News by B. H. Roberts.

23. “From the time Father Bosley located near Avon, he found and plowed up axes and irons, and had sufficient to make his mill irons, and had always abundance of iron on hand without purchasing. In the towns of Bloomfield, Victor, Manchester, and in the regions round about, there were hills upon the tops of which were entrenchments and fortifications, and in them were human bones, axes, tomahawks, points of arrows, beads and pipes, which were frequently found; and it was a common occurrence in the country to plow up axes, which I have done many times myself. I have visited the fortifications on the tops of those hills frequently, and the one near Bloomfield I have crossed hundreds of times, which is on the bluff of Honeyoye River, at the outlet of Honeyoye Lake. In that region there are many small deep lakes, and in some of them the bottom has never been found. Fish abound in them. The hill Cumorah is a high hill for that country, and had the appearance of a fortification or entrenchment around it. In the State of New York, probably there are hundreds of these fortifications which are now visible, and I have seen them in many other parts of the United States. Readers of the Book of Mormon will remember that in this very region, according to that sacred record, the final battles were fought between the Nephites and Lamanites. At the hill Cumorah, the Nephites made their last stand prior to their utter extermination, A. D., 385. Thus was Heber preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, above the graves of the ancients of Israel, whose records with the fullness of that Gospel, and the relics of their prowess and civilization, were now whispering from the dust.” Life of Heber C. Kimball by Orson F. Whitney Mounds at Cumorah

Canasatego. An Onondaga chief who played an important role in the proceedings of the council at Philadelphia in 1742. A dispute arose between the Delaware Indians and the government of Pennsylvania concerning a tract of land in the forks of Delaware. It was on this occasion, evidently in accordance with a preconcerted arrangement between the governor of Pennsylvania and the Iroquois chief, that the latter, addressing the Delawares, made the memorable statement: “How came you to take upon you to sell land at all? We conquered you; we made women of you; you know you are women, and can no more sell land than women. We charge you to remove instantly; we don t give you liberty to think of it.” The choice of Wyoming and Shamokin was granted, and the Delawares yielded. Little more is recorded regarding this chief. His son, Hans Jacob, resided on the Ohio in 1758. Source

Native American Contributions to the Constitution

The Great Peace Maker, Deganawodah, appeared as a ‘Heavenly Messenger’ in the eastern forests to the Iroquois Confederacy, a league of nations held together by the sacred teachings of this Holy Man. Benjamin Franklin first learned about these five nations in accounts from the proceedings of the Treaty of Lancaster (PA) in 1744. When the delegates from Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia fell apart in quarrels among themselves, a great Indian Chief by the name of Canasatego ran out of patience. He scolded the colonial delegates for their lack of wisdom and ignorance of good procedures. Ben Franklin then caught an intimation of what made these peoples government work — a religion-based constitution, which he held up in a series of pamphlets as the world’s only available model for a confederation of thirteen contentious colonies. –– Source: God of War, Gods of Peace, Russell Bourne, p91-92, 2002 Brief Video

Canasatego a Prominent Diplomat

Canassatego (c. 1684–1750) was a leader of the Onondaga nation who became a prominent diplomat and spokesman of the Iroquois Confederacy in the 1740s. He was involved in several controversial land sales to colonial British officials. He is now best known for a speech he gave at the 1744 Treaty of Lancaster, where he recommended that the British colonies emulate the Iroquois by forming a confederacy. He was reportedly assassinated, perhaps by sympathizers or agents of New France.
Early career
Canassatego appears in British historical documents only during the last eight years of his life, and so little is known of his early life. His earliest documented appearance is at a treaty conference in Philadelphia in 1742, where he was a spokesman for the Onondaga people, one of the six nations of the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) League. According to most modern scholars, Canassatego did not appear to be one of the fourteen Onondaga hereditary sachems who sat on the Iroquois Grand Council.But Johansen disagrees, saying that Canassatego held the League title of Tadadaho.

In the 1730s, a faction of Iroquois leaders opened a diplomatic relationship with the British Province of Pennsylvania, facilitated by Conrad Weiser, Pennsylvania’s interpreter and agent. Pennsylvania agreed to recognize the Iroquois as the owner of all Indian lands in Pennsylvania; the Iroquois, in turn, agreed to sell lands only to Pennsylvania representatives. Canassatego probably attended a 1736 treaty where some Iroquois chiefs sold land along the Susquehanna River to Pennsylvania, although the territory had traditionally been occupied by the Lenape people.[6

Canassatego served as the speaker for the Onondaga at another conference in 1742, where the Iroquois chiefs collected the final payment for the 1736 land sale. At this meeting, Canassatego managed to convince Governor Thomas Penn to pay more than the original purchase price. Penn, for his part, urged Canassatego to remove the Delaware Indians from what was known as the Walking Purchase of 1737, which was quite controversial. Canassatego complied, berating the Delawares as “women” who had no right to sell land, and ordering them to leave. “You are women; take the Advice of a Wise Man and remove immediately”, he told the Delaware. The Iroquois denigration of the Delaware as “women” has been the subject of much scholarly writing.

Lancaster treaty

In 1744, Canassatego served as a speaker at meetings to negotiate the Treaty of Lancaster. Witham Marshe, a Marylander in attendance, recorded the only written description of Canassatego:

The first of these sachems (or chiefs) was a tall, wellmade man; had a very full chest, and brawny limbs. He had a manly countenance, mixed with a good-natured smile. He was about 60 years of age; very active, strong, and had a surprising liveliness in his speech, which I observed in the discourse betwixt him, Mr. Weiser, and some of the sachems.

At the treaty conference were representatives of five of the Iroquois nations (except the Mohawk, the easternmost tribe), and the provinces of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. With King George’s War underway, the British colonies needed to cultivate a good relationship with their Iroquois neighbors, who might otherwise become French allies. After a speech by Canassatego, officials from Maryland and Virginia agreed to pay the Iroquois for land in their colonies, although they believed that the Iroquois had no legitimate claim to those lands. Virginia got the better part of the deal, however: although Canassatego and other Iroquois leaders believed that they had sold only the Shenandoah Valley to Virginia, the official deed gave Virginia much more land than that.

Near the end of the conference, Canassatego gave the colonists some advice:

We have one thing further to say, and that is We heartily recommend Union and a Good Agreement between you our Brethren. Never disagree, but preserve a strict Friendship for one another, and thereby you as well as we will become the Stronger.

Our wise Forefathers established Union and Amity between the Five Nations; this has made us formidable, this has given us great weight and Authority with our Neighboring Nations.

We are a powerful confederacy, and, by your observing the same Methods our wise Forefathers have taken, you will acquire fresh Strength and Power; therefore, whatever befalls you, never fall out with one another.

Canassatego was concerned that the British colonies lacked a coordinated policy to deal with the military threat coming from New France. He made similar recommendations about colonial unity at another conference in 1745. His words became a central part of the Iroquois Influence Thesis, the controversial proposal that the Iroquois League was a model for the United States Constitution.

Final years

Canassatego’s final appearance at a treaty conference was in August 1749, one year after the end of King George’s War. In Philadelphia, he complained that colonists were settling on Native land along the Susquehanna River. He agreed to sell this land to Pennsylvania, but once again, the written document ceded much more land than what had been agreed upon in negotiations.

Canassatego was reportedly assassinated with poison in September 1750. Contemporary accounts that were recorded said that he was killed for taking bribes in exchange for selling tribal communal lands. Another said that he had been poisoned by agents of New France. Historian William Starna argued that Canassatego was probably assassinated by pro-French Iroquois who wanted to repudiate Canassatego’s diplomatic ties with Pennsylvania.

Legacy

A fictional version of Canasatego was featured in the 1755 novel Lydia: or Filial Piety, by English writer John Shebbeare. Following a literary convention by which Native American characters were used to satirize Europeans, Canassatego was portrayed as wise and honest, in stark contrast to the scheming Englishmen he encounters.

The US Navy named the USS Canassatego (YN-38/YNT-6/YTM-732), a harbor tug, for Canasatego. Wikepedia

Senator Mike Lee:

Utah Senator Mike Lee published a book titled “Written out of History, The Forgotten Founders Who Fought Big Government”. It contains an enitre chapter about the importance of Canesetego as one who assisted the US government in creating a similar style of government as the Iroquois Confederacy already had.

Iroquois Confederacy Culture

Simply put, the Iroquois were the most important native group in North American history. Culturally, however, there was little to distinguish them from their Iroquian-speaking neighbors. All had matrilineal social structures – the women owned all property and determined kinship. The individual Iroquois tribes were divided into three clans, turtle, bear, and wolf – each headed by the clan mother. The Seneca were like the Huron tribes and had eight (the five additional being the crane, snipe, hawk, beaver, and deer). After marriage, a man moved into his wife’s longhouse, and their children became members of her clan. Iroquois villages were generally fortified and large. The distinctive, communal longhouses of the different clans could be over 200′ in length and were built about a framework covered with elm bark, the Iroquois’ material of choice for all manner of things. Villages were permanent in the sense they were moved only for defensive purposes or when the soil became exhausted (about every twenty years).

Agriculture provided most of the Iroquois diet. Corn, beans, and squash were known as “deohako” or “life supporters.” Their importance to the Iroquois was clearly demonstrated by the six annual agricultural festivals held with prayers of gratitude for their harvests. The women owned and tended the fields under the supervision of the clan mother. Men usually left the village in the fall for the annual hunt and returned about midwinter. Spring was fishing season. Other than clearing fields and building villages, the primary occupation of the men was warfare. Warriors wore their hair in a distinctive scalplock (Mohawk of course), although other styles became common later. While the men carefully removed all facial and body hair, women wore theirs long. Tattoos were common for both sexes. Torture and ritual cannibalism were some of the ugly traits of the Iroquois, but these were shared with several other tribes east of the Mississippi. The False Face society was an Iroquois healing group which utilized grotesque wooden masks to frighten the evil spirts believed to cause illness.

It was the Iroquois political system, however, that made them unique, and because of it, they dominated the first 200-years of colonial history in both Canada and the United States. Strangely enough, there were never that many of them, and the enemies they defeated in war were often twice their size. Although much has been made of their Dutch firearms, the Iroquois prevailed because of their unity, sense of purpose, and superior political organization. Since the Iroquois League was formed prior to any contact, it owed nothing to European influence. Proper credit is seldom given, but the reverse was actually true. Rather than learning political sophistication from Europeans, Europeans learned from the Iroquois, and the League, with its elaborate system of checks, balances,, and supreme law, almost certainly influenced the American Articles of Confederation and Constitution.

The Iroquois were farmers whose leaders were chosen by their women – rather unusual for warlike conquerors. Founded to maintain peace and resolve disputes between its members, the League’s primary law was the Kainerekowa, the Great Law of Peace which simply stated Iroquois should not kill each other. The League’s organization was prescribed by a written constitution based on 114 wampums and reinforced by a funeral rite known as the “Condolence” – shared mourning at the passing of sachems from the member tribes. The council was composed of 50 male sachems known variously as lords, or peace chiefs. Each tribe’s representation was set: Onondaga 14; Cayuga 10; Oneida 9; Mohawk 9; and Seneca 8. Nominated by the tribal clan mothers (who had almost complete power in their selection), Iroquois sachemships were usually held for life, although they could be removed for misconduct or incompetence. The emblem of their office was the deer antler head dress, and guided by an all-male council, the sachems ruled in times of peace. War chiefs were chosen on the basis of birth, experience, and ability, but exercised power only during war.

The central authority of the Iroquois League was limited leaving each tribe free to pursue its own interests. By 1660, however, the Iroquois found it necessary to present a united front to Europeans, and the original freedom of its members had to be curtailed somewhat. In practice, the Mohawk and Oneida formed one faction in the council and the Seneca and Cayuga the other. The League’s principal sachem (Tadodaho) was always an Onondaga, and as “keepers of the council fire” with 14 sachems (well out of proportion to their population), they represented compromise. This role was crucial since all decisions of the council had to be unanimous, one of the League’s weaknesses. There was also a “pecking order” among members reflected by the eloquent ritual language of League debate. Mohawk, Onondaga, and Seneca were addressed as “elder brothers” or “uncles,” while Oneida, Cayuga, and Tuscarora were “younger brothers” or “nephews.”

In this form, the Iroquois used a combination of military prowess and skilled diplomacy to conquer an empire. Until their internal unity finally failed them during the American Revolution, the Iroquois dealt with European powers as an equal. The League was a remarkable achievement, but it also had flaws, the most apparent was its inability to find a satisfactory means to share political power with its new members. As mentioned, the Iroquois incorporated thousands of non-league Iroquian peoples during the 1650s. Political power was retained by the original Iroquois to such an extent that the adoptees remained second-class citizens. The resulting dissatisfaction eventually led to the Mingo separating and moving to Ohio to free themselves from League control. Others found refuge with the French at Caughnawaga and other Jesuit missions along the St. Lawrence.

The League’s massive adoptions also explains why it was so relentless in its pursuit of the remnants of defeated enemies. So long as one small band remained free, the Iroquois were in danger of an insurrection from within. Perhaps because they considered themselves “Ongwi Honwi” (superior people), the Iroquois never offered wholesale adoption to the non-Iroquian speaking peoples who came under their control. Instead they offered membership in the “Covenant Chain,” a terminology first suggested by the Dutch at a treaty signed with the Mohawk in 1618. By 1677 the Iroquois had extended this form of limited membership to the Mahican and Delaware and later would offer it to other Algonquin and Siouan tribes. Essentially, the Covenant Chain was a trade and military alliance which gave the Iroquois the authority to represent its members with Europeans, but there was no vote or direct representation in the League council, Worse yet, the Iroquois were often arrogant and placed their own interests first. A system of “half-kings” created to represent the Ohio tribes in the 1740s never really corrected this problem.

Canasatego Temple Work

Editor’s Note 4

“The deep understanding of the proper role and procedures in good government exemplified by Canassatego in his discourses with many of the Founding Fathers may have contributed to his being included in a little-known account in the history of the Church. I have recounted many times this story of how a Native American chief by the name of Canassatego had instructed some of the Founding Fathers during a particularly difficult negotiation, thereby being an instrument in establishing the inspired Constitution of the United States.

Many Latter-day Saints are aware that in August 1877 at St. George, Utah, Wilford Woodruff, the temple president, and his recorder received visions that vicarious temple ordinances for the Founding Fathers and other eminent men and women were to be performed. On August 21, 1877, temple ordinance work was undertaken for them. However, few church members are aware that baptisms by proxy were also performed for 85 Native American Chieftains. That was done August 29, 1877, only a few days following the ordinance work that had been done for the Founders. One of the historically significant chieftains of that illustrious group was Canassatego. The death of President Brigham Young on that same day resulted in the temple presidency leaving for Salt Lake City with only the chieftains’ baptismal work accomplished. Their remaining temple work seems to have been accidentally forgotten until I showed images of the temple registry during a presentation at St. George. In that audience was Delores Kahkonen, a Cayuga of the Six Nations/Iroquois.  She literally jumped from her chair exclaiming, “Those are my people!” During the next two years she would be instrumental in researching each of those chieftains and facilitating the completion of their temple ordinance work including sealings to their spouses.”(January 26, 2019 email to Rian Nelson from Rodney Meldrum.) 

Page 196, St. George Temple Records August 29, 1877, LDS Church Archives, Copied by Rod Meldrum

Canassatego also said, “Our wise forefathers established Union and Amity between the Five Nations. This has made us formidable; this has given us great Weight and Authority with our neighboring Nations. We are a powerful Confederacy; and by your observing the same methods, our wise forefathers have taken, you will acquire such Strength and power. Therefore, whatever befalls you, never fall out with one another.” Canassatego, Lancaster Treaty Council, 1744.

Legends of the Iroquois Nation Allen C. Christensen

Hiawatha

There are intriguing legends and historical traditions attached to the powerful Iroquois Nation or Confederacy.  One such tradition known to some is that before the five tribes became united, there were frequent intertribal conflicts among them which were fierce and deadly.  In the midst of these fratricidal struggles well before the coming of Columbus, two men came to the five nations and declared to them a message of peace.  These two men, Deganawidah or Deganawideh (The Peacemaker) and Hayenwatha (Hiawatha) instructed them that no longer were they to engage in such conduct, but that they were to live in peace one with another. 

Hiawatha had known great personal sorrow and was well acquainted with grief.  According to Iroquois memory his seven daughters had been murdered.  Depravity had come to characterize that society.  There were evil forces who thought that killing his daughters would be an acceptable means of drafting him into their service.  The people had become corrupted to the point they were beyond feeling.  They had lost empathy and the power of grief, because they had so debased the value of a single life. v  Hiawatha wandered the woods seeking consolation.  He devised a ceremony designed to console one who had suffered tremendous loss.  Later, the Peacemaker–one born of a virgin mother who could not be killed, and who taught peace–came to him with a new ceremony.  Known today as the Ritual of Condolence, it symbolically anoints and consoles.  One is helped to recognize grief and the sanctity of life, wherein society acknowledges that when suffering grief, it is hard to hear the laughter of children, hard to swallow and hard to see the sun in the sky.  Using the white fawn-skin of pity, the Ritual of Condolence wipes the ears to hear the laughter of children, the eyes to see the sun, opens the throat to swallow. vi  Outside of the Iroquois “Longhouse ceremonies,” the actual name of the Peacemaker is not used for it is considered sacred. vii

Great Law of Peace

They were given the laws by which they were to conduct their affairs.  Whatever the genesis of that Great Law of Peace, sometimes referred to as the Iroquois Constitution, the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca tribes bound themselves together in a league of confederacy.  Decisions reached in Council meetings had to be unanimous.  The Iroquois believed that it was so important that all be of one heart, one mind, one law, that the Confederacy did not take action without unanimous agreement.  Formal provision was made for women to appoint delegates to the Council of the Iroquois Nation.  No nation of the Confederacy was under the rule of a single leader, although one chief might hold an honored station as the keeper of the sacred artifacts. viii,ix 

Their chieftains were installed by having a headdress of antlers placed upon them.  Impeachment for unacceptable behavior resulted in dehorning or removal of the antlers.  Those acquainted with the Old West’s cattle roundups for purposes of branding and dehorning probably have assumed that “dehorning” was a word unique to the American cowboy or Mexican vaquero.  According to the best information available today, sometime between 800 and 1390 A.D. the Iroquois peoples and their patterns of government were firmly established in what is now New York and Ontario, Canada.  These five nations fared well.  War came only after all efforts at diplomacy failed. 

As an aside, consider what America’s governmental system and the resolution of contentious contemporary problems might be like today were the people’s representatives or delegates removed for acting in self-interest.  What would happen were grandmothers to determine that leaders should be removed where such officials were deemed as not acting in the best interests of the next seven generations?  M. Franklin Keel has written: “From a practical point of view, who better than mothers, grandmothers, and aunts would know the very nature and personality of the many young children.  Knowing them from birth, they were in a unique position to see which children were kind, which ones were bullies, which ones had leadership qualities, which ones were intelligent, which ones were generous, which ones were wise.   Among the Iroquois, there was a governance requirement for considering the long-term consequences of council decisions.  Honestly assessed, the clan mothers knew who would provide the type of leadership that the Great Law required.” x  Clearly the power of incumbency would be held in check.  Truth is like gold.  Neither gold nor truth is confined to a single place or to a single people.  Sometimes great effort is required to extract gold from its ore-bearing rock.  And lest we forget, so it is with truth. 

The councils of the Iroquois were dignified, a stark contrast to the rancor and harsh rhetoric which sometimes were manifest in colonial politics.  Native orators were perhaps among the tribes most eloquent spokesmen.  However, it did not follow that the spokesman was the most influential in the actual decision making.  The colonist wanted to strike deals quickly whereas members of the Confederacy proceeded deliberately.  When they were unable or had not reached consensus, Iroquoian representatives offered polite evasions.  Seemingly, in that regard they were more sophisticated than their colonial counterparts.  Their speech was richly symbolic.  Metaphors such as ‘burying the hatchet” meant to make peace, especially so, when a tree was planted to cover the hole.  “To clear a path” meant the restoration of trade.  “Eating from the same bowl” was to share one’s land resources. xi  There were cultural chasms to be bridged.  It was difficult for the somewhat rough-hewn colonial translators to infuse the fire of native oratory into English expression.  If the most effective communication is not to be misunderstood, then the lack of such linguistic sensitivities on the part of the colonists were a harbinger of difficulties to come.

When expansionist European nations came to America, things changed.  The Iroquoian peoples became involved in the fur trade.  Beaver were not abundantly supplied in their land.  Men began to devote themselves to the quest for beaver beyond their traditional territory.  Beaver skins became the medium of exchange for iron tools and utensils, for cloth and guns.  European powers schemed successfully to promote intertribal tension.  Playing one people against the other is not new in international subterfuge and intrigue.  In the early 1600s, French Jesuits established themselves among the Hurons, where they were well received and became effective missionaries, perhaps due in part to the fact the French were Huron trading partners.  Jesuit records indicate hundreds of Huron converted to Catholicism, most often as the proselyte lay dying from small pox or measles.  Following the destruction of the Huron Confederacy, the Jesuits turned their missionary efforts toward the Iroquois.  While not so well received, they did find some success among the Mohawk tribe.  Adoption of French practices tended to result in rejection of old ways and beliefs. xii

During the numerous wars of America’s colonial period, some tribes had been allied with the French, others with the British.  Those friendship choices frequently were influenced by the European nation that had been their trading partner.  To their disappointment and apparent surprise, the Thirteen Colonies discovered after that poetic moment when “once embattled farmers stood and fired the shot heard round the world,” xiii many of those tribes, who had been British trading partners, continued to ally themselves with Great Britain.  We have learned by sad experience that with quarrels, while blood is said to be thicker than water, it tends not to be thicker than money.  Then and now, people did what they thought to be in their best interest. 

Continental Congress Ask Iroquois Chiefs for help

On June 11. 1776, while delegates to the Continental Congress were debating the matter of independence visiting Iroquois chiefs were invited into the meeting hall.  Addressed as brothers (as used it that context it meant equals), the Iroquois were invited to act with the American Colonists as one people  and have but one heart.  While the sought for military alliance did not happen, the Founding Fathers ultimately gave serious consideration to the Iroquois Constitution as a model of Government, which knowing Iroquoian descendants state had been given by the “Luminous White Being.” xv  Clearly, that model of governance influenced America’s Articles of Confederation.  Benjamin Franklin became one of the proponents of that model.  He is reported to have said that if six nations of unsophisticated people (the Tuscarora had become the sixth member of the Confederacy by that time) “should be capable of forming a Scheme for such Union, and be able to execute it in such a Manner as that it has subsisted for Ages, and appears indissoluble; and yet a like Union should be impracticable for ten or a Dozen English Colonies, to whom it is more necessary, and must be more advantageous; and who cannot be supposed to want an equal Understanding of their Interests.” xvi  Franklin proposed naming the national legislature, “The Great Council.”  He also proposed making America’s wild turkey the National Bird.  Even great men don’t get their way on everything. (See Editor’s Note 2)

Iroquois Nation of the Oneida

From Joseph’s Remnant we read, “The Oneida, an Iroquois nation, played a significant role in the Revolutionary War.  They fought at Oriskany and Saratoga.  Oneida chief, Shenandoah, had prevented a massacre of settlers at German Flats.  It was he who encouraged his people to ally themselves with the Americans.  In the Battle of Oriskany, 800 American militia under the command of Nicolas Herkimer attempted to relieve the British siege of Fort Stanwix.  En-route, they were ambushed by British forces and thrown into confusion.  A sortie from the fort and a party of Oneida came to the rescue.  In that August 6, 1777 battle, 60 or more Oneida warriors fought with the colonists.  The Pennsylvania Journal & Weekly Advertiser of September 3, 1777 described the exploits of Oneida Han Yerry and his family.  It reported that Han was a friendly Indian, with his wife and son, who distinguished themselves remarkably on that occasion.  The Indian killed nine of the enemy, when, having received a ball through his wrist that disabled him from using his gun, fought with his tomahawk.  His son killed two and his wife, on horseback, fought by his side with pistols during the whole action.  Mrs. Yerry’s name was Tyonajanegen.  It was she who loaded his guns and notified the colonists that the American militia had been badly bloodied by the British ambush.  It had cost at least 200 Oneida and Patriot lives.

The Oneida were the first sovereign nation to recognize the United States of America.  They fought alongside the Americans at Saratoga.  That American victory was a turning point in the war and was key in convincing the French that aiding the American effort was both desirable and feasible.    The Oneida were with Lafayette in 1778, and probably saved the young 20-year-old general and his 2,000 troops from being captured or killed at the Skirmish of Barren Hill in May.  Lest one forget, for their population base the Oneida suffered staggering losses in the war.

Oneida Nation Friendship Statue

Polly Cooper, an Oneida woman, walked some 400 miles from her New York home to Valley Forge.  She and others brought 600 barrels of corn to feed Washington’s desperately hungry troops. It was white rather than yellow corn.  White corn requires extended preparation before it can be eaten.  If uncooked, raw-white corn swells in the stomachs and causes death.  Polly Cooper and the others taught the camp cooks the lengthy preparation process.  Following the war, the Army tried to pay her, but she refused stating simply that it was her duty to help her friends in their time of need.  She accepted as a token of appreciation, however, a shawl and bonnet offered by Martha Washington.  Her descendants have treasured that shawl to this day.    

In 1777, the United States Congress recognized the Oneida contribution, stating: We have experienced your love, strong as the oak, and your fidelity, unchangeable as truth.  You have kept fast hold of the ancient covenant-chain, and preserved it free from rust and decay, and bright as silver.  Like brave men, for glory you despised danger; you stood forth, in the cause of your friends, and ventured your lives in our battles.  While the sun and moon continue to give light to the world, we shall love and respect you.  As our trusty friends, we shall protect you; and shall at all times consider your welfare as our own. Sadly, America’s record toward those beautiful words has been one of malicious neglect and frequent betrayal.  

Yes, remarkable bravery had been displayed.  But life was not all about war and bloodshed.  Traditions of faith and the need for spirituality existed among the Iroquois Confederacy.  Handsome Lake was a 60-year-old Seneca when he fell gravely ill in 1795.  For four years he suffered, experiencing periods of delirium and unconsciousness.  In 1799, he seemed to die.  When others had come to mourn his death, he suddenly awoke and announced that he had received a miraculous manifestation.  He had been visited by four messengers from the “Great Creator.”  He had been given a message for the Seneca, a lengthy set of instructions which enumerated their wrong doings.  Commandments or instructions for behavioral change were given.  The Seneca were instructed to live virtuous and peaceful lives.  They were to repair family and community relationships, treat children with patience and love, show kindness to the elderly, and avoid gossip and quarrels. This spiritual announcement followed two centuries of warfare.  It is called by some the prophecy of Handsome Lake.

Handsome Lake also began to teach that the Seneca should adopt the white man’s agricultural methods.  That men rather than women should become the farmers. xxiii  He also exhorted his people to discontinue their abortive and contraceptive practices.  He attempted to make fathers responsible for the welfare and success of their individual families.  He turned the family focus away from matrilineal ties.  He plead for the role of the nuclear family rather than placing the rearing responsibility on the traditional extended-family residences.  Essentially, he argued that father and mother, not the village, were to raise the children.  The debate of whom is responsible for the successful rearing of children continues in contemporary America.  During the initial Latter-day Saint mission to Native Americans, it was to Seneca people that Oliver Cowdery, Parley P. Pratt, Peter Whitmer and Ziba Peterson visited first in the fall of 1830.” Joseph’s Remnant by Allen C. Christensen

Mormon’s Burial Place

As an aside, in a 1979 address to missionaries in training at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, President Murray J. Rawson shared an experience from his time as mission president in Florida. He reported that he had been teaching a group of the Seminole tribe concerning the Book of Mormon, when he was interrupted by their chief, who said: “We had a war a long time ago with a light-skinned people around the Great Lakes. We conquered them, but we had so much respect for their warrior chief that we buried him at the mouth of the Oswego River that is in New York State. We don’t discuss this very much, because it is an embarrassment to us.” President Rawson then asked: “Why is this an embarrassment?” The Chief replied, “Our history is written on metal plates and buried in a hill in New York, but we do not know which hill!” 

The mouth of the Oswego River empties into Lake Ontario. It is northeast of present-day Palmyra and the Finger Lake region of New York. In what some may call the storehouse of legends, it is fascinating that this account makes reference to an event that would have taken place in the lands of the Iroquois Confederacy, and yet, centuries later or a long time ago, was of sufficient significance that it was remembered and treasured among the Seminole of Florida. Murray J. Lawson

Thomas Mayhew Jr. Patriarch to the Inidans

“Governor Thomas Mayhew, the Elder (March 31, 1593 – March 25, 1682) established the first English settlement of Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and adjacent islands in 1642. He is one of the editors of the Bay Psalm Book, the first book published in British North America. His assistant Peter Foulger was the grandfather of Benjamin Franklin. Lloyd C.M. Hare wrote a book about Mayhew titled, Thomas Mayhew, Patriarch to the Indians

Mayhew and his fellow settlers found a large and economically stable native population of about 3,000 living in permanent villages, led by four sachems (chiefs). Relations between the first settlers and their Wampanoag neighbors were peaceful and courteous. Under the leadership of his son, a minister, they instituted a policy of respect and fair dealing with the Wampanoag natives that was unequaled anywhere. One of the first of Mayhew’s orders was that no land was to be taken from the native islanders, the Wampanoags, without their consent or without fair payment. From this time forward, the colonial settlers and Indians lived without the bloodshed that marked the history of European colonies elsewhere in the New World.

From the beginning, Mayhew had worked to preserve the original political institutions of the Indians. Religion and government were distinct matters, he told the Indian chiefs. When one of your subjects becomes a Christian, he is still under your jurisdiction. Indian land was guarded against further encroachment by white settlers. So successful were these policies that during the bloody battles of King Philip’s War, (blog here) in 1675-1676, the Vineyard Indians never stirred, although they outnumbered the English on the island by twenty to one.

By 1660 there were about 85 white people living peaceably among the natives, earning their living by farming and fishing. The Mayhew family, which from that time forth became an integral part of island history, wanted to share its religion with the natives, but the Wampanoags were not too interested, having their own spiritual faith. However, once it was clear that, though Mayhew was the governor, the sachems remained in charge of their people, some became curious about the white man’s God. When a native named Hiacoomes expressed an interest, Mayhew invited him into his home and instructed him in English and Christianity. Hiacoomes, in return, taught Mayhew the native language. As soon as Mayhew could converse with the natives, he would some days “walk 20 miles through uncut forests to preach the Gospel…in wigwam or open field”. Thomas Mayhew is a direct descendent and 8^th great-grandfather of the editor.

”The common wisdom among historians is that the people who wrote the Constitution had no concept of the Indian way of life,” said John Mohawk, a Seneca from the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation near Buffalo, and the organizer, with Professor Lyons, of the project. ”But what made the colonists American as opposed to English was their experiences with the Indians.”

As proof, they cite records kept by the colonists. An Onondaga named Canassatego suggested that the colonists form a nation similar to the Iroquois Confederacy during a meeting of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania in Lancaster on June 25, 1744.

According to the director of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Peter J. Parker, the council minutes show that Canassatego urged the colonists to ”receive these your brethren with open arms; unite yourselves to them in the covenant chain and be you with them as one body and one soul.” Iroquois Constitution: a Forerunner to Colonists’ Democratic Principles, New York Times June 28, 198.

“The Iroquois Confederacy had been a functioning democracy for centuries by Benjamin Franklin’s day. Sometime between 1000 and 1450, the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca Nations came together to become the Iroquois Confederacy, and in the early 18th century they were joined by the Tuscaroras. Referred to as the Six Nations by the English, and the Iroquois by the French, the Confederacy called themselves the Haudenosaunee, or People Building a Long House.” By Cynthia Feathers and Susan Feathers www.upenn.edu/gazette/0107/gaz09.html

“Contrary, then, to widespread assumptions during Joseph Smith’s lifetime that the Onondaga migrated to the New York region, it becomes clear that they originated here as a small, narrowly localized amalgamation of a few villages near Onondaga Lake, during the century before Columbus’ discovery of America” Beauchamp’s Aboriginal Place Names of New York;

Joseph Smith during his life more than likely knew about many of these Indian chiefs below who were from the same vicinity as him. Joseph may have also spent time with many of them.

IROQUOIS INDIAN CHIEF	BORN	PLACE
DEGANAWIDA-Huron/ Onondaga/Mohawk	12th Century	Near Lake Huron
HIAWATHA- Onondaga/Mohawk	12th Century	Onandaga, NY
TADODAHO- Onondaga	12th Century	Onondaga, NY
JIGONHSASEE- Haudenosaunee	12th Century	Cohoes Falls, NY
CANASSATEGO- Onondaga	1684-1750	Onondaga, NY
SAYENQUERAGHTA- Seneca	1707-1786	Geneva, NY
GUYASUTA- Seneca	1725-1794	Conawagus, NY
SKENANDOA- Susquehannock/Oneida	1706-1816	Conestoga, PA
CORNPLANTER- Seneca	1732-1836	Canawaugus, NY
HANDSOME LAKE- Seneca	1735-1815	Conawagus, NY
GOVERNOR BLACKSNAKE – Seneca	1737-1860	Romulus, NY
RED JACKET- Seneca	1750-1830	Canoga, NY
JOHN BRANT- Mohawk	1794-1832	Brant, Ontario
JESSE CORNPLANTER- Seneca	1889-1957	Cattaraugus, NY

 “On the one hand, there are parallels between Handsome Lake’s teachings and Book of Mormon, economic and social interactions between Iroquois and white settlers at the time were still extensive during the early decades of the 19th century, and Lucy Mack Smith wrote that Joseph talked about Indians “as if he had spent his whole life among them.” Lucy Mack Smith, Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations (Liverpool: S.W. Richards, 1853. “Joseph Smith was interested in the people who lived around him. Young Joseph was a member of the juvenile debating club in Palmyra during 1822 when Red Jacket, arguably the most widely-known Seneca of this period, delivered a speech in town. Joseph also liked to hang out on Ganargua Creek (Mud Creek) in the area where Iroquois travelers camped. He had interest and access.” Joseph Smith and the Code of Handsome Lake Lori Taylor, Ph.D.

The Onondaga Nation at the great white pine tree in Syracuse NY on the shores of Onondaga Lake is where the message of peace was planted, and the hatchets were buried according to many researchers. Similarly, the Lamanites ,  “…buried the weapons of war, for peace.” Alma 24:19 (“a peacemaker crossed Onondaga Lake in a stone canoe, how he convinced warring nations to bury their weapons beneath a tree of peace.”) Sean Kirst Syracuse.com

“The Onondagas: These have special interest… this warrior, Zelph, was an Onondaga, as well as a “white” Lamanite, and that the Onondagas (of New York), consequently must be of Lamanite lineage.” J.M. Sjodahl, An Introduction to the Study of the Book of Mormon

 “How America Was Discovered is a story told by Handsome Lake (Seneca Prophet), and documented by Arthur C. Parker, about a young minister who meets the one he perceives to be the Lord, who then asks him to go to a new land and bring with him cards, money, a fiddle, whiskey, and blood corruption. In return the young minister will become rich. The young minister sought out Christopher Columbus, and with the help of his crew, traveled to the Americas. They turned back to report what they had seen, which caused an immigration of people from Europe to the Americas. Along with the people came the five things that aided in destroying the natives. The end reveals that the “Lord” in the gold castle was actually the devil, and that even he knew what he had caused was wrong.” Rudes, B. Tuscarora English Dictionary Toronto.

Over the past few days I have watched the news and heard from many friends, the Republican Convention theme this year is amazing. We as members of the Church in this great United States of America couldn’t have come up with a better theme ourselves.

“Honoring the Great American Story” August 24-27, 2020

Monday “The Land of Promise”
Tuesday “Land of Opportunity”
Wednesday “Land of Heroes”
Thursday “Land of Greatness”

I will share my reasons below of why I am so excited about our government today. I still believe 80% of Democrats and Republicans are terrible, but we do have hope. God is still in control of this great PROMISED LAND!

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Republican convention theme revealed: ‘Honoring the Great American Story’

The Trump campaign on Thursday previewing the themes with GOP lawmakers

By Brooke Singman | Fox News

Will in-person political conventions permanently disappear?

EXCLUSIVE: The theme of the upcoming 2020 GOP convention will be “Honoring the Great American Story” and will highlight America’s “greatness, opportunity and President Donald Trump’s bold leadership,” Fox News has learned.

The Trump campaign on Thursday afternoon had back to back phone calls with Republican members of Congress, previewing the themes for the 2020 Republican National Convention, a source familiar with the calls told Fox News.

The source told Fox News that the GOP’s convention theme is in “stark contrast to the doom and gloom message we expect to hear from career politicians at the DNC convention.”

BIDEN, HARRIS TO DELIVER DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION SPEECHES FROM DELAWARE

Fox News has learned that the first day of the convention, Monday Aug. 24, will focus on “the Land of Promise,” Tuesday will focus on the “Land of Opportunity,” Wednesday will focus on the “Land of Heroes,” and Thursday on the “Land of Greatness.”

Fox News has learned that Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., will speak at the convention.Video

Other speakers include Tanya Weinreis, owner of Mountain Mudd Espresso in Montana, a local espresso drive-thru business with 12 kiosks and about 50 employees.

Weinreis received the PPP loan through her local lender and talked about how significant it is for her business during this time.

“The loss of sales was scary—I was nervous this would ruin the business. The large corporations like Starbucks could withstand it, but I didn’t know if we could,” Weinreis said. “[The PPP loan] will allow us to continue paying our employees, as well as covering other operational costs like rent and utilities. Now we can give back to the community in a meaningful way.”

Also, Sergeant of the St. Louis Metro Police Department, Ann Dorn, and wife of slain retired St. Louis police captain David Dorn, who was killed while protecting a pawn shop during a night of violent looting across St. Louis, will speak at the convention.

The discussions come as the convention details remain in flux, and as the campaign and the Republican National Committee continue to adjust their plans amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Last month, the Trump campaign and the RNC dramatically downscaled the convention by canceling planned celebratory events in Jacksonville, Fla., amid a surge in cases in the state, and refocused their attention to convention business back in the original convention site of Charlotte, N.C.

Meanwhile, the RNC last month said “a few hundred delegates” will be in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Aug. 24 for convention business, which will include the formal nomination of the president.

As Fox News reported in June, the delegates convening in Charlotte will not be voting on a 2020 party platform or even re-adopting the 2016 platform. Since there will be no convening of a platform committee, the 2016 platform will remain in effect. https://static.foxnews.com/static/orion/html/video/iframe/vod.html?v=20200810203603#uid=fnc-embed-1

My Opinion

As I found out that President Trump will be Featured each day of the GOP Convention, I wanted to briefly write down why I love President Trump’s leadership. He has amazed me. When he first joined the race in 2015, I thought he was just another man full of promises he will never keep. I saw him with a huge ego and a desire only for self. I hated his overt agressive behavior and ignorant remarks.

All of that has changed, (he still has a huge ego) because Pres Trump gets the results that my family and I want and need. He loves and serves others and loves God. Without much thought I came up with so many reasons why I support Trump. As I wrote, many other items kept coming to mind and I could have easily written 50 more. That is amazing. Not since Pres Reagan have I respected a President as I do now. I think Trump will go down as one of the best Presidents we ever had.

My List

Made Colleges debate both sides of issues or won’t fund them.
Protects my right to bear arms
Favors the right to life and opposes the partial birth abortion bill
Sisters of the Poor won their lawsuit not forcing them to use contraception
Israel now has its capital in Jerusalem
Israel and UAE have normalized relations
The wall is being built and immigration is granted orderly.
Over 80% of small business and workers received a tax cut
Reduced corporate taxes
We may choose our own health care
Respects the right to protest but not to riot and destroy
Is against sanctuary cities and letting illegals be released
Crime reform bill. First time arrested citizens have opportunity to succeed
Veterens may get health care from anywhere
Right to try bill. People may choose to try a drug not approved by Govt.
Took no money from donors for his campaign.
Killed leading terrorists and wants to get us out of war
America comes first in ALL things.
Left the international organizations that don’t pay their fair share
Left the Paris Climate Accord
Loves families and emphasises a fathers presence
Against Gay marriage but believes in equal rights
Wants small government, more local city and state representaion.
Is holding China and Russia and Iran and North Korea accountable
Respects our right to worship as we please.
Lowest unemplyment for African Americans and other minorities
Economy best ever. See stocks
Wants to open business safely and is sensible with the virus
Wants voter ID enforced and is against general mail in of ballots
Believes God has endowed us with rights to life, libery and property.
Doesn’t need governments money or power.
Keeps his promises on what he said before elected.
Has created self reliance on need for oil and approves fracking
Supports law enforcement.
I believe all lives are important in the eyes of God. He loves us all.

Now think about this. Name two or three things Pres Clinton, Bush, or Obama did for us? What has Biden of Hillary done with their 40 years in government? It’s a challenge to name even one accomplishment for each person. The choice is obvious of who I will vote for in November. It’s not even a close call.

President Benson gave a most wonderful talk below, that everyone of us should share with all those we know. His love for the Promised Land of the United States is such a testimony to me. This talk has strengthened my love for our country and helped me understand our role to spread the Gospel to the world. We have made a Covenant with the Lord to share the Gospel and if we don’t we will be held accountable. Those on other lands of the world have also been blessed as the Lord loves them as much as He love us. President Benson in my opinion, makes it very clear that this land of the United States is the Promised Land spoken of in the Book of Mormon.

President Benson said, “The Constitution of the United States has served as a model for many nations and is the oldest constitution in use today. “I established the Constitution of this land,” said the Lord, “by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose” (D&C 101:80). For centuries the Lord kept America hidden in the hollow of His hand until the time was right to unveil her for her destiny in the last days. “It is wisdom that this land should be kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations,” said Lehi, “for behold, many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance” (2 Ne. 1:8)… Our Father in Heaven planned the coming forth of the Founding Fathers and their form of government as the necessary great prologue leading to the restoration of the gospel. Recall what our Savior Jesus Christ said nearly two thousand years ago when He visited this promised land: “For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that these things might come forth” (3 Ne. 21:4). America, the land of liberty, was to be the Lord’s latter-day base of operations for His restored church…

Only in this foreordained land, under its God-inspired Constitution and the resulting environment of freedom, was it possible to have established the restored church…

“Two great American Christian civilizations—the Jaredites and the Nephites—were swept off this land because they did not “serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ” (Ether 2:12). What will become of our civilization?… I have faith that the Constitution will be saved as prophesied by Joseph Smith. It will be saved by the righteous citizens of this nation who love and cherish freedom. It will be saved by enlightened members of this Church—among others—men and women who understand and abide the principles of the Constitution.

I reverence the Constitution of the United States as a sacred document. To me its words are akin to the revelations of God, for God has placed His stamp of approval upon it.

I testify that the God of heaven sent some of His choicest spirits to lay the foundation of this government, and He has now sent other choice spirits to help preserve it.

We, the blessed beneficiaries of the Constitution, face difficult days in America, “a land which is choice above all other lands. (Ether 2:10)” Ezra Taft Benson “Our Divine Constitution Ensign Oct 1987

Ancient Medicine from Zarahemla AN ANCIENT AND POWERFUL MEDICINAL PLANT FOUND ON THE ZARAHEMLA TEMPLE SITE During the last month, people have become aware of the health benefits from a plant that Dr. Kevin Price discovered six weeks ago growing on the Zarahemla Temple Site. Based on existing literature, the health benefits from the oils of this plant will be significant. At the end of the Heartland Research Group Expedition during the first week of August 2020, volunteers harvested 13 pounds of fresh plant material directly from the center of the sand mound that is the foundation of the Zarahemla temple. The plant material was flown to Utah where its precious essential oils were extracted within 24 hours after harvest by Dana Young, Founder and President of Be Young Total Health. The appearance, smell, and taste of the essential oils confirm that the plant has the properties of world-class essential oils that are used for many medicinal purposes. These expectations, however, can only be confirmed through rigorous tests in a certified essential oils testing laboratory. The extracted essential oil from the first harvest has been hand-delivered to a third-party testing laboratory that specializes in gas chromatography and mass spectrometry analyses to certify its chemical composition and purity. The laboratory report will be completed in the next few weeks. While the chemical make-up of this plant has been reported in another country, we are excited to see how the uniqueness of this area and the preservation by the ancient people have molded the DNA of this plant to produce this exquisite healing essential oil. The report will confirm the essential oil chemistry of the plant found on the Zarahemla Temple site and a summary of the findings will be posted on this Facebook Page and on www.zarahemla.site. We have mounting evidence that this plant was cultivated more than 2,000 years ago by people who are found in the Book of Mormon. The plant is tied to a verse in the 46th chapter of the Book of Alma. Alma was living in Zarahemla at the time when he wrote: “… there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year were very frequent in the land—but not so much so with fevers, because of the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of diseases, to which men were subject by the nature of the climate.” Malaria was a seasonal disease that causes severe fever during certain seasons of the year throughout the Heartland of the US. This dreadful disease was not eradicated from the US until 1951. Seeds from the plant will soon be ready for harvest. In a few weeks, we intend to harvest these seeds under the supervision of a trained botanist. The seeds naturally fall from the plant directly to the ground which means their dispersal method is more in place than plants that use longer distance dispersal mechanisms such as wind and clinging to the fur coats of animals and dropped in more distant locations. Based on the dominance and geographic distribution of this plant, its dispersion seems to have been dependent on the deliberate action and migratory direction of ancient people. None of the plants are noticeable in the fields and roadside areas for miles around the Zarahemla Temple site. Visual areal correspondence analysis shows strong mapping-pattern agreement between the plant distribution and Hopewell cultural settlement sites in the State of Iowa, and authors of newly found documents report that the plant is found abundantly in the sandy areas around the Great Lakes region, another area where Hopewell people were also heavily concentrated. These findings suggest the Hopewell people, were maintaining this plant for its medicinal qualities. We found it thriving in the Zarahemla Temple area, but most strongly associated with the sandy area where the temple was located and along an ancient berm created by the Hopewell people near their temple. The plant appears to be a living artifact from the Book of Mormon. Centuries ago, the Europeans came and gave Native People smallpox while at the same time these intruders ignored the health benefits that the Natives could have given them for the cure of malaria — sickness from the old world and health in the new world. This was an unfortunate situation. For 300 years of European domination, the healing properties of this ancient plant have been hiding in the weeds. It is now time for these benefits to be made available to the world. Published studies have shown that important essential oils also found in this plant are effective against every strain of bacteria for which it was tested, and the EPA recently approved the use of sterilizing compounds that are found in this plant for cleaning surfaces for bacteria and viruses. It is also interesting to note a clear correlation of the plant’s dispersal with locations of those people who are identified in the Book of Mormon. From Florida to Iowa and from Iowa to the Great Lakes the plant is found within the habitation areas of the Hopewell people, whom we believe to have been the Nephites described in the Book of Mormon. These people carried the seeds of the plant in pouches and planted them as they moved from one location to another. We are extremely excited about bringing the plant from the Temple of Zarahemla Site back to the attention and benefit of our time. Heaven knows that we have suffered too much from strange diseases. It is now time for the ancient world of the Nephites to come forth to help us as we try to improve our health and wellness. Please help in our continued search for Zarahemla. If you would like to contribute to these efforts you can do so by going to www.zarahemla.site. Click Here to See YouTube Video

 

Definition of Mobocracy

1: rule by the mob
2: the mob as a ruling class

Mobocracy happens without the rule of law. Look what happened to our beloved Prophet and Hyrum. Mobocracy. We know the pain it can create. Imagine the rule of a mob as in Seattle or Portland or any other city and how it can spread. We need to wake up and protect this great country. The Mob is louder than the civil people and we may pay a price.

At the dedication of the Kirtland Temple Joseph Smith said, “Have mercy, O Lord, upon the wicked mob, who have driven thy people, that they may cease to spoil, that they may repent of their sins if repentance is to be found;” D&C 109:50

The key words are “if repentance.” We must be willing to forgive and yet that doesn’t mean give up. I hope and pray we have “much might” left in us to overcome the adversary in these terrible injustices.

Orson Pratt’s prophecy Posted: 27 Jun 2020 09:29 AM PDT Journal of Discourses, vol. 18, pp. 335-348 Daniel’s Vision—Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream—Its Interpretation—The Coming of the Ancient of Days—Joseph Smith’s Prophecy—Things Yet to Be Fulfilled—The Valley of God Where Adam Dwelt—The Establishment of the Kingdom of God—The Coming Millennium and Triumph of the Saints Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the Eighteenth Ward Meetinghouse, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Feb. 25, 1877. Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs._____ For instance, this great republic must pass away in the manner indicated unless the people repent. There is only one condition by which they can be preserved as a nation, and the Lord himself has decreed it. We can read it in the various revelations which God has given, respecting this land. The Book of Mormon, for instance, speaks in many places, of the overthrow of the government that should exist on this land if they should reject the divine message contained therein. Inasmuch as they repent not, the Lord has said that he would visit them in his anger, and that he would throw down all their strongholds. And he further says, that he will cut off their horses out of their midst. This will doubtless be done through some great calamity or disease. He also says that he will cut off the cities of our land, that all manner of lying, deceits, hypocrisy, murders, priestcrafts, whoredoms and secret abominations shall be done away, having reference particularly to this nation. He says, too, “I will execute vengeance and fury upon them, even as upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.” We are told, too, that the nature of these judgments is to be swift and terrible, coming upon them like a fierce wind, when they expect it not; when they are crying peace and safety, behold sudden destruction is at their doors….It has been revealed that the time will come in the history of our nation, that one State will rise against another, one city against another, even every man’s hand shall be against his neighbor, until the whole Republic will be in general commotion and warfare. How and when this will take place, the Lord, in his wisdom, has not told us; but it is sufficient for us to say, that he has told us of the facts that such and such will be the case.For aught we know, the fulfillment of this prophecy may grow out of politics. If the people are very nearly equally divided in politics, this feeling may run so high, in years to come, as to be the direct cause of war. And if this should be the case, it would very naturally spread to every neighborhood in the Union.  One class of political opponents would rise up against the other class in the same city and country, and thus would arise a war of mobocracy. If a war of this description should take place, who could carry on his business in safety? Who would feel safe to put his crops in the ground, or to carry on any enterprise? There would be fleeing from one State to another, and general confusion would exist throughout the whole Republic. Such eventually is to be the condition of this whole nation, if the people do not repent of their wickedness; and such a state of affairs means no more or less than the complete overthrow of the nation, and not only of this nation, but the nations of Europe, which form the feet and toes of that great image. They are the powers to be first broken; it is not the nation representing the head of gold, the remnant of the Babylonish Empire that still exists in Asia, that will be attacked first, neither is it the Persians and Medes, whose descendants still live; but the Lord will first break up those kingdoms which represent the feet and toes of the image, of which I have been speaking. After that, he will proceed to break in pieces the kingdoms that represent the brass, the silver, and the gold. Some are to be spared for a little season. The kingdom of God is to roll forth… https://jod.mrm.org/18/335Source: Book of Mormon Consensus Jonathan Neville.

https://jod.mrm.org/18/335

By James Rogers, | Fox News

A large jar burial containing the remains of one of the individuals sequenced in the study (Dr. Claude Doumet-Serhal – The Sidon excavation).

DNA research is shining new light on the Biblical Canaanite civilization, which existed thousands of years ago in the Middle East.

The ancient civilization, which created the first alphabet and is mentioned frequently in the Bible, has long fascinated historians. LiveScience reports that, because the Canaanites kept their records on papyrus, rather than clay, relatively little is known about them.

Now, however, scientists have found a genetic ‘trail’ back to the Canaanites’ ancient world.

EXPERTS HUNT FOR BIBLICAL TABERNACLE THAT HOUSED THE ARK OF THE COVENANT

By sequencing the genomes of five Canaanites that lived 4,000 years ago with genomes from 99 people living in modern day Lebanon, researchers identified a strong genetic link to the mysterious civilization.

The results surprised the scientists, whose work was supported by U.K. biomedical research charity The Wellcome Trust.

“In light of the enormously complex history of this region in the last few millennia, it was quite surprising that over 90 percent of the genetic ancestry of present-day Lebanese was derived from the Canaanites,” said Chris Tyler-Smith, senior group leader at The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, in a statement.

EXPERTS UNCOVER EVIDENCE OF ANCIENT JERUSALEM’S DESTRUCTION BY THE BABYLONIANS

In addition to the ancient Canaanite DNA, the analysis of genomes from the modern day Lebanese people also showed a small proportion of Eurasian ancestry that may have come from conquests by Assyrians, Persians or Macedonians, according to the experts.

The researchers also discovered that the ancient Canaanites were a mixture of local people, who settled in farming villages during the Neolithic period, and eastern migrants who arrived about 5,000 years ago. “Using ancient DNA we show for the first time who were (genetically) the ancient Canaanites, how they were related to other ancient populations and what was their fate,” explained Marc Haber, a genetic data expert at The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, in an email to Fox News. “Our work shows the power of genetics in filling gaps in human history when the historical records are absent or scarce.”

ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNEARTH 2,700-YEAR OLD RESERVOIR IN ISRAEL

Haber added that the results complement Biblical accounts of the Canaanites. While the Israelites are commanded to “utterly destroy” the Canaanites in Deuteronomy 20:16-18, Judges 1 describes the survival of a number of Canaanite communities.

Canaanites once lived in what we now recognize as Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. The remains of the five ancient Canaanites studied as part of the DNA research were recovered in the modern-day Lebanese city of Sidon.

The research was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics on July 27.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers

Janne Mattson Sjödahl (29 November 1853 – 23 June 1939) was a Swedish convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and was the author of influential commentaries on LDS Church scriptures. Sjödahl was among the first commentators to advance a “limited geography model” for the theorized geography of the Book of Mormon.

In 1874, Sjödahl moved to England and enrolled in Spurgeon’s College in London, where he graduated with a degree in divinity in 1876. While in England, Sjödahl mastered English and also specialized in Greek and Hebrew. In addition to knowing Swedish and Norwegian from his childhood, Sjödahl would also master the German, Icelandic, and Arabic languages…

On 8 June 1886, Sjödahl was excommunicated from the Baptist Church, possibly on charges of adultery.[1] Around the same time, Sjödahl became associated with Ferdinand Friis Hintze, a Danish missionary from the LDS Church. Following his excommunication, Sjödahl travelled to Utah Territory to further investigate Mormonism. On the sea journey, his son Janne Jr. died.

After arriving in Utah Territory, Sjödahl settled in Sanpete County, where a large number of Scandinavian Latter-day Saints had settled. On 7 October 1886, Sjödahl was baptized into the LDS Church in Manti.

Life in Manti
Upon settling in Manti, Sjödahl became the editor of the Manti Sentinel newspaper.

When the LDS Church’s Manti Utah Temple was completed in May 1888, Sjödahl became the first individual to receive his Endowment in the new temple.[2] On 30 May 1888, Sjödahl and Christina Christofferson were married in the Manti Temple by Apostle Francis M. Lyman; they were the first couple married in the new temple.[2] His second wife died in 1910.

Church translator and missionary
In 1888, Sjödahl completed a church-approved translation of the LDS Church’s Doctrine and Covenants into Swedish. In 1927, Sjödahl translated the Pearl of Great Price into Swedish, and in 1935 he completed the third revised translation of the Book of Mormon into Swedish.

Upon the completion of the translation, Sjödahl was asked by church president Wilford Woodruff to go on a mission to Palestine. In January 1889. Sjödahl arrived in Jaffa. He learned to speak Arabic and preached in Palestine for one year, organizing a branch of the church in Jaffa.[3] In January 1890, Sjödahl was asked to go to Bern, Switzerland to complete his mission. He arrived back in Utah Territory in July 1890.

Newspaper editor and publications
Upon returning to Utah, Sjödahl became employed by the Deseret News newspaper in Salt Lake City. From 1906 to 1914, Sjödahl was the chief editor of the newspaper. In 1914, Sjödahl returned to England and became an editor of the LDS Church’s Millennial Star in Liverpool.

In 1917, Sjödahl and LDS Church Apsotle Hyrum M. Smith, who was the president of the church’s European Mission, together worked on A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants. While Sjödahl wrote most of the text, it was reviewed and approved by Smith. When Doctrine and Covenants Commentary was first published in 1919 in Liverpool, it was a church-approved publication and only Smith was listed as an author. However, subsequent publication of Doctrine and Covenants Commentary have acknowledged Sjödahl as its coauthor. Doctrine and Covenants Commentary is still cited frequently by Latter-day Saint authors and commentators.

Upon returning to Utah in 1919, Sjödahl became an editor for the church’s Improvement Era magazine, in which he published more than 50 of his own articles. In 1920, Sjödahl worked with George F. Richards and James E. Talmage in revising the footnotes in the Book of Mormon; Sjödahl’s work was incorporated into the LDS Church’s 1920 English edition of that publication. In 1923 and 1924, he assisted Talmage in revising his church-approved book Articles of Faith.

In 1927, Sjödahl published An Introduction to the Study of the Book of Mormon, an apologetic work and one of the founding works in the area of Book of Mormon studies. In this work, Sjödahl advanced an early version of the “limited geography model” of the Book of Mormon, one of the first authors to do so.

Sjödahl was also the editor of the LDS Church’s German, Danish–Norwegian, Dutch, and Swedish newspapers in Salt Lake City from 1919 until they ceased publication in 1935.

When Sjödahl died in 1939, he had partially completed an extensive commentary on the Book of Mormon. In 1955, Sjödahl’s material was taken by his son-in-law, Philip C. Reynolds, and combined with some materials by church general authority George Reynolds and published under their names the seven-volume Commentary on the Book of Mormon. In 1965, Philip Reynolds published under the same names Commentary on the Pearl of Great Price.

Publications
George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjödahl (1955) (Philip C. Reynolds, ed.). Commentary on the Book of Mormon (7 vols.) (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News Press)
—— and —— (1965) (Philip C. Reynolds, ed.). Commentary on the Pearl of Great Price (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News Press)
Janne M. Sjödahl (1927). An Introduction to the Study of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News Press)
—— (1913). The Reign of Antichrist, or, The Great Falling Away: A Study in Ecclesiastical History (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News Press)
Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjödahl (1955, 2d ed.). The Doctrine and Covenants Containing Revelations Given to Joseph Smith Jr., the Prophet, with an Introduction and Historical and Exegetical Notes (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News Press) [originally published in 1919 as A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants] source: Wikipedia

See my Blog Here about the stories in the D&C Commentary by Sjodahl and Hyrum Smith that support  events of the Book of Mormon  in North America 

In 1927, Janne M. Sjödahl a Swedish immigrant and convert to the LDS church, wrote a book on one of the founding works in the area of Book of Mormon studies. In his book he said; “The Onondagas: These have special interest… It appears from this, that this warrior, Zelph, was an Onondaga, as well as a “white” Lamanite, and that the Onondagas (of New York), consequently must be of Lamanite lineage. It also appears that at least some of the mounds in the Ohio Valley were erected by the descendants of Lehi” J.M. Sjodahl, An Introduction to the Study of the Book of Mormon.

THE LATTER DAY SAINTS MILLENNIAL STAR  THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 1917, Editorial by J.M. Sjodahl, CONFIRMING THE BOOK OF MORMON.

According to the belief of the Latter-day Saints, the American continents were inhabited before the Flood. Somewhere in America, they believe, Enoch built his marvelous city, which was taken from the earth before the deluge. Somewhere in that region, Noah built the ark, and preached the gospel of repentance, and from America he was carried across the mighty deep until the vessel in which he and his family had found safety rested on
Mount Ararat.

The Book of Mormon tells us that some of those who were engaged in the construction of the Tower of Babel and who were scattered over the face of the earth were brought to America. There they grew to become a mighty nation. In course of time, however, they became exceedingly wicked and destroyed each other. These people are known as the Jaredites.

The sacred record mentioned also tells us that about six hundred years before our era, the Lord brought another colony of settlers to America. They came from Jerusalem. They also increased, prospered, and became wicked. Like the Jaredites, they destroyed each other, and but few remained after their sanguinary wars. From these the Red Indians have descended.

The Book of Mormon teaches, then, that there has been communication between Asia and America during the past ages, and that the American ancient civilization, of which many marvelous monuments still remain, are of Semitic origin, influenced, however, by Egyptian culture. This is implied by Nephi, when he says that he makes his record in the language of his father, “which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians,” and, when the circumstances of the time in which Lehi lived before he emigrated from Jerusalem are considered, it is easily understood that the Egyptian influence must have been considerable upon the Hebrew mind and intellectual life generally. He lived at a time when Babylonia and Egypt were striving for supremacy in Palestine, and when the shortsighted leaders of the people favored the Egyptians in preference to the Chaldean’s, to such an extreme degree that many of them fled to Egypt, when the army of Nebuchadnezzar approached their beloved city. They even forced Jeremiah to accompany them to Egypt. Under the circumstances it is natural that Egyptian influence should have had a strong hold on the leading men among the Jews, as indicated in the Book of Mormon.

Lately, scientists have been inclined to doubt our belief in this respect. They have tried to account for the similarity observed in the civilizations of the Old World and the New, by supposing that similar needs and circumstances in different parts of the world may well lead isolated groups of men to work out systems of civilization of the same type. How much this theory owes to a desire to disprove the Book of Mormon, no one knows. Even scientists may have their prejudices. It is all the more noteworthy that a recent contributor to Science (New York, August 11th. 1910), G. Elliot Smith, contends that the pre-columbian civilization of the Americas came from Egypt. He places the date of its exodus from that country at 900 B.C. A “cultural migration,” he thinks, took place at that time, which left its influence also in India, China, and Polynesia. On this theory the trek eastward from the Red Sea. of Lehi and his company, would appear quite natural, though miraculously guided by divine power.

As quoted in the Literary Digest, September 9th, 1910, G. Elliot Smith writes 

“The proof of the reality of this great migration of culture, is provided, not merely by the identical geographical distribution of a very extensive series of curiously distinctive, and often utterly bizarre, customs and beliefs, the precise dates and circumstances of the origin of which are known in their parent countries, but by the fact that these strange ingredients are compounded in a definite and highly complex manner, to form an artificial cultural structure, which no theory of independent evolution can possibly explain, because chance played so large a part in building it up in its original home.”

“For instance, it is quite conceivable (though, I believe, utterly opposed to the evidence at our disposal) that different people might, independently the one or the other, have invented the practices of mummification, building megalithic monuments, circumcision, tattooing, and terraced irrigation; evolved the stories of the petrification of human beings, the strange adventures of the dead in the underworld, and the divine origin of kings ; and adopted sun-worship.

But why should the people of America and Egypt who built megalithic monuments, build them in accordance with very definite plans compounded of Egyptian, Babylonian, Indian, and East Asiatic models? And why should the same people who did so, also have their wives’ chins tattooed, their sons circumcised, their dead mummified? Or why should it be the same people who worshiped the sun and adopted the curiously artificial winged-sun-and-serpent symbolism, who practiced terraced irrigation in precisely the same way, who made idols, and held similar beliefs regarding them, who had identical stories of the wanderings of the dead in the underworld?

“If any theory of evolution of customs and beliefs is adequate to explain the independent origin of each item in the extensive repertoire, either of the New Empire Egyptian or the pre-Columbian American civilization (which I deny), it is utterly inconceivable that the fortuitous combination of hundreds of utterly incongruous and fantastic elements could possibly have happened twice. It is idle to deny the completeness of the demonstration which the existence of such a civilization in America supplies of the fact that it was derived from the late New Empire Egyptian civilization, modified by Ethiopian, Mediterranean, West Asiatic, Indian, Indonesian, East Asiatic, and Polynesian influences. * * *

“All that I claim, then, is that the influence of Egypt was handed on from place to place ; that the links which all ethnologists recognize as genuine bonds of union can with equal certainty be joined up into a cultural chain uniting Egypt to America.

“In almost every one of the focal points along this great migration route the folklore of today has preserved legends of the culture heroes who introduced some one or other of the elements of this peculiarly distinctive civilization. * * *

“At every spot where they touched and tarried, whether on the coasts of Asia, the islands of the Pacific, or on the continent of America, the new culture took root and flourished in its own distinctive manner, as it was subjected to the influence of the aborigines or to that of later comers of other ideas and traditions ; and each place became a fresh focus from which the new knowledge continued to radiate for long ages after the primary inoculation.

“The first great cultural wave (or the series of waves of which it was composed) continued to flow for several centuries. It must have begun some time after 900 B.C., because the initial equipment of the great wanderers included practices which were not invented in Egypt until that time. The last of the series of ripples in the great wave set out from India just after the practice of cremation made its appearance there, for at the end of the series the custom of incinerating the dead made its appearance in Indonesia, Polynesia, Mexico, and elsewhere.” J. M. S.

In the Book of Mormon and other scripture, it is important to know and understand directions as the people of that day and place understood certain directions.

For example in the USA we think of North, South, East and West in our own unique way. For my example lets assume I am in Utah and speaking with a friend. When we are talking or communicating I may say to my friend, “I would love to go “back east” one day.” Or, I am discussing my family in California and I say, “I need to go “out west” to see my family. If I want to travel to Arizona on a vacation I might say, “I would love to go “down south” to see the desert. If I wanted to go to Canada I would say, “Let’s go “up North” to Vancouver.

Out West
Back East
Up North
Down South

We must understand the culture and environment in which we are. In the Book of Mormon, whenever it says something about travel to from the land of first inheritance to Zarahemla, it says, “down to Zaraemla” or down into, etc. On a map as we see it today that would seem incorrect as Tennessee is down to and Zarahemla is up to, right? Well, in the Book of Mormon they are referring to elevation, not direction. Going from Tennessee down to Missouri is related to elevation, not direction.

“The Book of Mormon was engraved onto metal plates in a modified/reformed Egyptian language because it took less space than Hebrew writing. So, the Nephite historians new the customs of both Hebrew and Egyptian cultures. Note in the reference below that, in Hebrew, the direction of west may be referred to as ‘back’, as in “the back pass”. Also note that, in Egyptian, the direction of south is ‘upwards’ (up to the land of Nephi) and the direction of north is ‘lower’, so travel north would involve going down (down to the land of Zarahemla). Up and down may also refer to elevation changes in parts of the Book of Mormon, but generally, “going up” means going south and “going down” means going north. So yes, the river Sidon can flow south through one or more heads, because ‘head’ can mean ‘conflux’ (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary) which equals a confluence.”

“The name of the Khar, which occurs also in the Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions as the designation of a people and country, is undoubtedly connected with the Semitic root achur or achor, which signifies ‘back or hinder side, behind, backwards,’ and hence also the West quarter of a region, in opposition to qadam, the ‘front side, the East quater.’ As is well known, the Semitic nations used to turn the face to the East, the quarter of the rising sun, and accordingly they called the East the ‘front side’ the West the ‘hinder side,’ the South therefore the ‘right’ (yamin), and the North the ‘left’ (shemol, shamel). In opposition to all this the ancient Egyptians regarded the Western side as the right (unim), the Eastern as the left (semah, whence the word Asmach cited by Herodotus as meaning ‘those who stand on the king’s left hand’). Consequently they turned the face to the South, or, as they used to say, ‘upwards’ (hir) or ‘forwards’ (khhont), so that the North lay at their back, and hence its appellation of the ‘lower’ (khir) or ‘hinder’ (pehu) region.”

Reference:
“A History of Egypt Under the Pharaohs, Derived Entirely from the Monuments, Volume 1”, by Heinrich Karl Brugsch, Henry Danby Seymour – Egypt – 1881, (p254+255, Footnote 6)

Book of Mormon Language

Author: Stubbs, Brian Darrel

The language of the Book of Mormon exhibits features typical of a translation from an ancient Near Eastern text as well as the stamp of nineteenth-century English and the style of the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. That the language of the Book of Mormon should resemble that of the KJV seems only natural, since in the time of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the KJV was the most widely read book in America and formed the standard of religious language for most English-speaking people (see CWHN 8:212-18). Furthermore, the Book of Mormon shares certain affinities with the KJV: both include works of ancient prophets of Israel as well as accounts of part of the ministry of Jesus Christ, both are translations into English, and both are to become “one” in God’s hand as collections of his word to his children (Ezek. 37:16-17; 1 Ne. 13:41; D&C 42:12).

LANGUAGES USED BY THE NEPHITES. Statements in the Book of Mormon have spawned differing views about the language in which the book was originally written. In approximately 600 B.C., Nephi1-the first Book of Mormon author and one who had spent his youth in Jerusalem-wrote, “I make a record [the small plates of Nephi] in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians” (1 Ne. 1:2). One thousand years later, Moroni ₂, the last Nephite prophet, noted concerning the plates of Mormon that “we have written this record…in the characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech. And if our plates [metal leaves] had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also…. But the Lord knoweth…that none other people knoweth our language” (Morm. 9:32-34). In light of these two passages, it is evident that Nephite record keepers knew Hebrew and something of Egyptian. It is unknown whether Nephi, Mormon, or Moroni wrote Hebrew in modified Egyptian characters or inscribed their plates in both the Egyptian language and Egyptian characters or whether Nephi wrote in one language and Mormon and Moroni, who lived some nine hundred years later, in another. The mention of “characters” called “reformed Egyptian” tends to support the hypothesis of Hebrew in Egyptian script. Although Nephi’s observation (1 Ne. 1:2) is troublesome for that view, the statement is ambiguous and inconclusive for both views.

Nephite authors seem to have patterned their writing after the plates of brass, a record containing biblical texts composed before 600 B.C. that was in the possession of descendants of Joseph of Egypt (1 Ne. 5:11-16). At least portions of this record were written in Egyptian, since knowledge of “the language of the Egyptians” enabled Lehi, father of Nephi, to “read these engravings” (Mosiah 1:2-4). But whether it was the Egyptian language or Hebrew written in Egyptian script is again not clear. Egyptian was widely used in Lehi’s day, but because poetic writing are skewed in translation, because prophetic writings were generally esteemed as sacred, and because Hebrew was the language of the Israelites in the seventh century B.C., it would have been unusual for the writings of Isaiah and Jeremiah-substantially preserved on the brass plates (1 Ne. 5:13;19:23)-to have been translated from Hebrew into a foreign tongue at this early date. Thus, Hebrew portions written in Hebrew script, Egyptian portions in Egyptian script, and Hebrew portions in Egyptian script are all possibilities. If the brass plates came into being while the Israelites were still in Egypt, then earlier portions (e.g., words of Jeremiah) in Hebrew.

Concerning Book of Mormon composition, Mormon 9:33indicates that limited space on the Gold Plates dictated using Egyptian characters rather than Hebrew. In Lehi’s day, both Hebrew and Egyptian were written with consonants only. Unlike Hebrew, Egyptian had bi-consonantal and even triconsonantal signs. Employing such characters-particularly in modified form-would save space.

Written characters were handed down and altered according to Nephite speech (Morm. 9:32). This observation suggests that at least later generations of Nephites used Egyptian characters to write their contemporary spoken language, an altered form of Hebrew. It is extremely unlikely that a people isolated from simultaneous contact with the two languages could have maintained a conversational distinction between, and fluency in the two languages over a thousand-year period. Thus, if Egyptian characters were altered as the living language changed, then the Nephites were probably using such characters to write their spoken language, which was largely Hebrew.

Though some of Lehi’s group that left Jerusalem may have spoken Egyptian, a reading knowledge of the script on the brass plates would have allowed them to “read these engravings” (Mosiah 1:4). But the possibility that Lehi’s colony could maintain spoken Egyptian as a second language through a thousand years without merging it with Hebrew or losing it is beyond probability. Therefore, the fact that the Nephites had “altered” the Egyptian characters according to their “manner of speech” underscores the probability that they were writing Hebrew with Egyptian characters. In addition, Moroni’s language (c. A.D. 400) was probably different enough from that of Lehi (c. 600 B.C.) that reading Lehi’s language may have required as much study in Moroni’s day as Old English requires of modern English-speaking people.

LANGUAGE AMONG NATIVE AMERICANS. Because Moroni’s time represents a near midpoint between Lehi and the present, a consideration of the near end of the continuum could be helpful. The vague picture presented by statements in the text might be brought into focus by examining American Indian languages. The time depth from Latin to modern Romance languages is only slightly less than that from Lehi to the present. Similarities among Romance languages are plentiful and obvious. Though some professionals have alluded to similarities, no study has yet convinced scholars of Near Eastern links with any pre-Columbian American language.

One study, however, holds promise for demonstrating links to the Uto-Aztecan language family (Stubbs, 1988). Though other language groups offer suggestive leads, Uto-Aztecan yields more than seven hundred similarities to Hebrew, in phonological, morphological, and semantic patterns consistent with modern linguistic methods. While a handful of Egyptian words are identifiable, they are minimal compared to their Hebrew correspondents.

HEBRAISMS IN THE BOOK OF MORMON. Many typical Hebrew language patterns have been identified in the Book of Mormon, though several are also characteristic of other Near Eastern languages. For example, the cognate accusative, literarily redundant in English, is used in Hebrew for emphasis: “They feared a fear” (Ps. 14:5,Hebrew text). Similar structures appear in the Book of Mormon: “to fear exceedingly, with fear” (Alma 18:5), another possible translation of the same cognate accusative (cf. 1 Ne. 3:2;8:2; Enos 1:13).

Hebrew employs prepositional phrases as adverbs more often than individual adverbs, a feature typical of Book of Mormon language: “in haste” (3 Ne. 21:29) instead of “hastily” and “with gladness” (2 Ne. 28:28) instead of “gladly.”

Tvedtnes has noted a possible example of Hebrew agreement: “This people is a free people” (Alma 30:24; emphasis added). In English, “people” is usually considered grammatically plural, but in Hebrew it is often singular. While this phrase in Alma may have been verbless, it may also have contained the third-person singular pronoun /hu/ placed between the two noun phrases or at the end as a anaphoric demonstrative functioning as a copula verb. Uto-Aztecan indian languages also have the word /hu/, which is a third-person singular pronoun in some languages but a “be” verb in others.

Possession in English is shown in two constructs-“the man’s house” and “the house of the man”-but only the latter construct is employed in Hebrew. The lack of apostrophe possession in the Book of Mormon is consistene with a translation from the Gebrew construct. Further, the “of” construct is common for adjectival relationships in Hebrew. Correspondingly, the Book of Mormon consistently employs phrases such as “plates of brass” (1 Ne. 3:12) instead of “brass plates” and “walls of stone” (Alma 48:8) rather than “stone walls.”

Sentence structures and clause-combining mechanisms in Hebrew differ from those in English. Long strings of subordinate clauses and verbal expressions, such as those in Helaman 1:16-17 andMosiah 2:20-21 and 7:21-22, are acceptable in Hebrew, though unorthodox and discouraged in English: “Ye all are witnesses…that Zeniff, who was made king,…he being over-zealous,…therefore being deceived by…king Laman, who having entered into a treaty,…and having yielded up [various cities],…and the land round about-and all this he did, for the sole purpose of abringing this people…into bondage” (Mosiah 7:21-22).

Frequent phrases such as “from before” and “by the hand of” represent rather literal translations from Hebrew. for example, “he fled from before them” (Mosiah 17:4), instead of the more typically English “he fled from them,” portrays the common Hebrew compound preposition/millifne/.

While many words and names found in the Book of Mormon have exact equivalents in the Hebrew Bible, certain others exhibit Semitic characteristics, though their spelling does not always match known Hebrew forms. For example, “Rabbanah” as “great king” (Alma 18:13) may have affinities with the Hebrew root /rbb/, meaning “to be great or many.” “Rameumptom” (Alma 31:21), meaning “holy stand,” contains consonantal patterns suggesting the stems /rmm/ramah/, “to be high,” and /tmm/tam/tom/, “to be complete, perfect, holy.” The /p/ between the /m/ and /t/ is a linguistically natural outgrowth of a bilabial /m/ in coluster with a stop /t/, such as the /p/ in /assumption/ from /assume + tion/, and the /b/ in Spanish /hombre/ from Latin /homere/.

Claims that Joseph Smith composed the Book of Mormon by merely imitating King James English, using biblical names and inventing others, typically exhibit insensitivities about its linguistic character. Names such as “Alma” have been thought peculiar inventions. However, the discovery of the name “Alma” in a Jewish text (second century A.D.), the seven hundred observed similarities between Hebrew and Uto-Aztecan, literary patterns such as chiasmus, and numerous other features noted in studies since 1830 combine to make the fabrication of the book an overwhelming challenge for anyone in Joseph Smith’s day. [See also Book of Mormon Authorship; Book of Mormon Literature; Book of Mormon Names; Book of Mormon Near Eastern Background; Book of Mormon Translation By Joseph Smith.]

Bibliography

Hoskisson, Paul Y. “Ancient Near Eastern Background of the Book of Mormon.” F.A.R.M.S. Reprint. Provo, Utah, 1982.

Nibley, Hugh. Lehi in the Desert and the World of the Jaredites. CWHN 5.

Nibley, Hugh. An Approach to the Book of Mormon. CWHN 6.

Sperry, Sidney B. “The Book of Mormon as Translation English.” IE 38 (Mar. 1935): 141,187-88.

Sperry, Sidney B. “Hebrew Idioms in the Book of Mormon.” IE 57 (Oct. 1954): 703, 728-29.

Sperry, Sidney B. Book of Mormon Compendium. Salt Lake City, 1968. Stubbs, Brian D. “A Creolized Base in Uto-Aztecan.” F.A.R.M.S. Paper. Provo, Utah, 1988.

Tvedtnes, John A. “Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon: A Preliminary Survey.” BYU Studies 11 (Autumn 1970): 50-60.

BRIAN D. STUBBS

Minnesota-based forensic geologist Scott Wolter, investigates mysteries and artifacts believed to reveal an alternative history of the North American continent before the United States.

Scott Wolter wants to know if an inscribed rock found in Wyoming is a good-luck charm left by Phoenician explorers more than 2,000 years ago.

Although this story may not have an ending that I would have hoped for, it is very telling how much information there is out there that just has not been told or found. In the field of history and archaeology we are either “green and growin’ or ripe and rotten” Are we making progress? Yes! Are most scientists looking only for things that validate their theory? Yes!

I believe the Lord is sharing so much knowledge with us and we just aren’t looking for it. In D&C 121:33 it says, “…What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.” Who is the Lord pouring down knowledge to? We Latter-day Saints. Take a look at all the new information in science, archaeology, geography, anthropology and more. We are finding new truth every day from the most unique and inspirational sources.

You will see in this video, Scott Wolter uses our friend Philip Beale’s (Builder and Captain of the Phoenicia Ship) knowledge to answer a few questions.

Wolter asked, “Do you think the Phoenicians made it to North America? Beale answered, “Yea I do believe they made it there. They had the ability, they had the means, and undoubtedly they had the ships that have done it, what we need is to find the proof”

Wolter asked, Could your ship go up a river and how far? Beale says, “It undoubtedly could go up a river and a very long ways and I am out to prove the Phoenicians made it to America.” Philip Beale has made it seem very feasible that the Mulekites cold have traveled up the Mississippi to the Des Moines River rapids, or even to Wyoming copper mines by utilizing the Missouri River also.

America Unearthed S04E05 Phoenicians in America

Heritage is defined as:
a) Something that is handed down from the past, as a tradition:
b) Something that comes or belongs to one by reason of birth; an inherited lot or portion:
c) Something reserved for one:

Lineage is defined as:
a) direct descent from an ancestor
b) ancestry; family; stock
c) descendants from a common ancestor

Below is some very interesting information about heritage and lineage. Just as Lehi may have several heritages, Joseph Smith in a like manner has several heritages. There is also some interesting information about Joseph Smith’s DNA and showing he is of Irish descent.

LEHI’S MANY HERITAGES by Hugh Nibley.

“The caravans of Egypt and Israel pass each other, guided through the sands by those men of the desert (Arabs) who were the immemorial go-between of the two civilizations.

1. ARAB: Arab designates a way of life, and was applied by the Jews to their own relatives who remained behind in the wilderness. , Manasseh lived furthest out of Jerusalem and had contact with Arabs the most.
2. ISRAELI: Of Manasseh through Joseph and the 12 tribes of Israel.
3. EGYPTIAN: Language of Lehi consists of learning of Jews and language of Egyptians: Heritage, culture. Ammon was Manasseh’s nearest neighbor and is an Egyptian name.
4. HEBREW: Lehi means Jaw Bone in Hebrew. From Eber, Jewish because they live near and around Jerusalem. Learning of the Jews.
5. CHRISTIAN: Through Christ, and lived the law of Moses

Arabic Names: LAMAN, LEMUEL
Egyptian Names: NEPHI, SAM
Israeli Names: JACOB, JOSEPH”

Lehi in the Desert by Hugh Nibley Chapter 2 (numbering and subheadings added)

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Conference Features Glenn Beck, Tim Ballard, and David Barton

Joseph Smith was a pure Ephraimite

“It is the house of Israel we are after, and we care not whether they come from the east, the west, the north, or the south; from China, Russia, England, California, North or South America, or some other locality. … The Book of Mormon came to Ephraim, for Joseph Smith was a pure Ephraimite, and the Book of Mormon was revealed to him.” (Brigham Young Journal of Discourses 2:268–69.)

“Is it possible for the same person to be an Israelite by birth and yet be considered a Gentile?”

Although President Young identified Joseph Smith as a “pure Ephraimite” in the above quotation, so far as the Prophet’s family or blood lines were concerned, Brigham Young and others have recognized that (1) Joseph Smith was from a Gentile nation and (2) some of Joseph Smith’s progenitors may have come from bloodlines other than that of Ephraim. (See Journal of Discourses, 2:268.)

President Joseph Fielding Smith also provided insight on how the term Gentile could apply to Joseph Smith even though he was a descendant of Jacob (Israel) through Joseph, the father of Ephraim:

“In this Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, the gospel came first to the Gentiles and then is to go to the Jews. However, the Gentiles who receive the gospel are, in the greater part, Gentiles who have the blood of Israel in their veins. There is a very significant statement in the words of Moroni as recorded on the title page of the Book of Mormon that it was ” … ‘To come forth … by way of the Gentile. …’

“How did the Book of Mormon come forth? By the hand of Joseph Smith. Yet we read in the Book of Mormon [see 2 Ne. 3:7–15] that Joseph Smith is the descendant of Joseph who was sold into Egypt by his brethren, nevertheless he came by ‘way of the Gentile,’ according to Moroni’s prediction.” (Answers to Gospel Questions, 4:39.)

Thus, Joseph Smith was of the house of Israel so far as his family or blood lines were concerned, but he came from a Gentile nation and thus might also be considered a Gentile in the political or geographical sense.

Lehi= Manasseh; Ishmael= Ephraim; Mulek= Judah;

“Whoever has read the Book of Mormon carefully will have learned that the remnants of the house of Joseph dwelt upon the American continent; and that Lehi learned by searching the records of his fathers that were written upon the plates of brass, that he was of the lineage of Manasseh. The Prophet Joseph informed us that the record of Lehi, was contained on the 116 pages that were first translated and subsequently stolen, and of which an abridgement is given us in the first Book of Nephi, which is the record of Nephi individually, he himself being of the lineage of Manasseh; but that Ishmael was of the lineage of Ephraim, and that his sons married into Lehi’s family, and Lehi’s sons married Ishmael’s daughters, thus fulfilling the words of Jacob upon Ephraim and Manasseh in the 48th chapter of Genesis, which says: “And let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the land.” Thus these descendants of Manasseh and Ephraim grew together upon this American continent, with a sprinkling from the house of Judah, from Mulek descended, who left Jerusalem eleven years after Lehi, and founded the colony afterwards known as Zarahemla and found by Mosiah—thus making a combination, an intermixture of Ephraim and Manasseh with the remnants of Judah; and for aught we know, the remnants of some other tribes that might have accompanied Mulek.” (Erastus Snow, JD 23:184) Also see page 9 of the Annotated Book of Mormon by David Hocking and Rod Meldrum Purchase Here

“Speaking about Lehi’s people, “Joseph wrote, “They were principally Israelites, of the descendants of Joseph.” It is possible that Joseph Smith was referring to Zoram after all, clarifying he was not a Jew. He may have been referring to those who accompanied the Mulekites (presumably Phoenicians). But it is also possible that he was referring to others who accompanied Lehi… To summarize: I think Lehi brought servants and landed in a mostly uninhabited area in Florida, among a small population of hunter/gatherers who lacked a well-organized society.” Jonathan Neville Moroni’s America page 84-86

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I have watched many films, videos, and productions about the Life of Christ. My expectations to watch another film on Jesus was very high. I usually have something to say about the set or the person or the props etc. I never seem satisfied, especially with other faiths not of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who portray the Savior on film.

This movie, “The Chosen” is flat out the best I have ever seen and it is made by a great Evangelical man named Dallas and distributed by a team of Mormons called Vid Angel. I sat down with my wife and we watched the first 3-episodes and we just looked at each other and cried. It was an awesome Spirit and I have to share it with you.

The Chosen starts off very differently and initially I have a hard time knowing who I am watching and when. One of the first scenes is about Mary of Magdala, who at first I had forgotten she was possessed with seven devils. The first time I see Jesus in this movie is when He heals Mary Magdala. Wow! What a powerful scene. That’s what caught my eye. Then it goes on and shows the life of Simon Peter, Andrew, Matthew, and Nicodemus and it gets better and better. Don’t trust me watch it now at:

https://studios.vidangel.com/the-chosen

From LDS Living we read, “The Chosen” explores the life of Christ through the eyes of those who knew Him. The narrative multi-season show has received high praise from viewers and critics alike, earning a 9.8 out of 10 rating on IMDB. But with the praise, it has also attracted skeptics. Some don’t believe evangelical Christians should be working with Latter-day Saints on a show about Jesus or vice versa, and others believe scripture should only be portrayed exactly as it is written without creative liberties. The show’s writer and director, Dallas Jenkins, believes that exploring faith, especially in relation to the Savior, is something that requires trust. On this week’s episode, he shares the triumphs as well as the challenges of depicting the life of the Son of God.

“Even though He spoke to crowds, He was always talking personally, and He was always seeking that personal relationship. And that’s what He wants from your heart. He wants that more than your accomplishments, and He wants that more than any kind of mass movement. He wants the personal.”

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Th Chosen is the first-ever-multi-season TV show about the life of Jesus. Created outside of the Hollywood system, The Chosen allows us to see Him through the eyes of those who knew him. No matter where you are at in your journey with Jesus Christ, this TV show is for you. Source LDS Living

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EPISODE REFERENCES: 

Video: Can you trust The Chosen? – The Chosen Youtube Channel

Watch Episode One: The Chosen: Complete Episode One 

Video: Behind the scenes: The Miracle of the Miracle of the Fish

Book: The Chosen Devotional Book

Video: Season 2 update: “I’m in a tough spot” 2020 Chosen update

Video: Interview with Jonathan Roumie: The immense weight of playing Jesus

Video: Vertical Worship – Faithful Now (Live)

Video: Season 2 Sneak peek:  Chosen cast reads scene from Season 2

https://www.ldsliving.com/pages/allin-e90-dallas-jenkins-behind-the-scenes-of-the-chosen

Words of the Producer Dallas Jenkins

“And in the last week and a half since that video, I don’t even have time on an entire podcast episode to tell you what God has been doing in the last week and a half, including in my life. Just a couple of days ago, I experienced the sunrise in Goshen, Utah, where the beautiful Jerusalem set is located. I just went there and watched the sunrise and prayed with a couple of my friends, my brothers and sisters from VidAngel. And God has shown up. I mean, He has been answering prayers and making things clear and releasing doors to be opened, so fast that I can’t even believe it. Miracles have taken place just in the last week and a half. And at the end of the day, it’s not about the miracles of the show that is moving me so much, it’s just what He keeps teaching me over and over on a personal level. So many different lessons. As I’ve talked about publicly before, it’s not your job to feed the 5000, it’s only to provide the loaves and fish. Another lesson that was learned just two days ago, I was standing there, staring at the horizon, waiting for the sunrise. And that’s why we had gone out to this place that was just out in the middle of nowhere, just to watch the sunrise. I’m standing there staring at the horizon, and I don’t stand still for anything. I had my phone in my hand, actually, because I was going to take some pictures. And we sped out there because we started to see the light emerge, like, “Oh, we’re gonna miss it.” We get out there and we stood there, and for like, 30 minutes, the sun just wouldn’t come up over the mountains. It was ridiculous. I’m thinking, “What am I doing? I’m just standing here, staring at the horizon.” And at one point I actually started to walk away, because I’m like, “I have to leave soon.” I was gonna go do kind of a walk around the area that we were in, and I was gonna look at some things. I just felt this “No, no, stay here. Just be quiet for just a minute. Just be quiet and be still, and just look at the horizon and rest and abide and don’t do anything else. Don’t look at your phone or anything else.” So I did. And eventually the sun came over the mountains way after the app had said it would. One of the women that we were with when we gathered together to pray, because we’d kind of split up to watch the sunrise, she started sharing what God taught her during that moment and she said, “You know, where I’m from the originally, the sun rises immediately. I was sitting there, just waiting for the sun to come up.” And I’m like, “Me too!” I was just like, what is happening? She’s said it was taking so long, and God just knocked her out and said, “This is about my timing. My timing and my will is what I want you to submit to.” It was like He was just clearly teaching all of us that same lesson in that moment. And that has been the lesson of this show, is we are not on our own timing. We are on God’s plan, and I am happy to submit that. It’s what my wife calls “the manna program,” where God gave manna to the Israelites, just enough for that day. He even said, “If you try to store up more than I’m giving you, I’m going to make it rot.” He wanted them to be hands outstretched to God every day for their daily manna, and not any more than that. And that’s what he’s been teaching us every single day on the show. It’s been a beautiful lesson for me to learn, and my life has changed because of it. Source: Words by Dallas Jenkins

https://www.ldsdaily.com/entertainment/the-chosen-brings-christ-to-life-in-visceral-beautiful-new-show/

Comment Section (I Love this Exchange)

Glenda Shaw du Toit My concern is that you have made Mary Magdala to be a Prostitute! That is a Catholic interpretation. She was NOT a prostitute!! And Mathew the Tax Collector looks like a 14 year old boy. Why couldn’t you use a man for that part? I have only watched one episode. I hope there are not going to be too many “in the dark” scenes. But I am really really upset that you made Mary of Magdala to be a prostitute. You are LDS. Why did you do that??? And who’s idea was it to also make her “mad. Like · Reply · 10w

Charity Angelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_MagdaleneLike · Reply · 10w

Neal Harmon Glenda, thanks for voicing your concern and I’m glad you brought this up because there may be others who share your distrust of the content. I have a few thoughts on your comments.

First off, where in season one of The Chosen does it suggest that Mary is a prostitute? I saw abuse, I saw sadness and a broken life, I saw possession and then I saw her redemption. But I never saw Mary agree to what was happening to her for pay. Quite the opposite. Go back and watch those scenes and lines carefully. It seems you are imposing that interpretation of prostitute onto the script yourself.

Secondly, to clarify my role: I don’t write the scripts. I don’t direct the show. I’m in a supporting roll as the CEO of the distributor of the show, VidAngel. And VidAngel’s goal as a distributor is not to control what creators make, but to provide audiences the ability to skip stuff they find objectionable so that the creators know where they are getting off track from the audience. If the creators make stuff you want to watch in its entirety, then they get bonuses. We’re attempting to solve this as a market rather than dictating what the creators have to do. Dallas Jenkins, an Evangelical, and his team are the creators of The Chosen, not me. Here’s how Dallas Jenkins responds to people who are wary of the content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1E-gFGKVWw

Additionally, there were a few things that I disagree with in Season one and there will be more in the future. For example, I don’t like the line from the kids hiding from their parents that they’re going to visit a traveler in the wilderness in Episode 3. I asked Dallas to consider removing that line. He didn’t. There will be scenes and lines in this show that I will likely not agree with as a Latter-day Saint.

That said, our life is definitely better for having watched The Chosen (and admittedly episode 1 is the darkest of the entire season – please give the rest of the season a chance before making your final judgment on the show). Our family has enjoyed separating fact from fiction in the show by combing back over the lines from the New Testament and comparing them with what we watched. We’ve been surprised at how many times we thought something was creative license and it actually appears in the New Testament.

In conclusion, The Chosen is so beautifully done and I’m personally very grateful for it. VidAngel is thrilled to distribute it. Please watch it with an understanding of what it is and what it is not. It is a show, created by a faithful Evangelical, who is trying to tell the stories of those who walked with Jesus from a fresh perspective. It is not scripture; it’s a show. It is entertainment based on the Bible. Hopefully The Chosen draws you closer to the scriptures and ultimately to Jesus Christ as a Latter-day Saint.

Thank you again for expressing your concern so I could address this point for you and others who will feel similarly.

What stands out to me from this project is, when it comes to Jesus Christ, how much we of all different faiths share in common. That is what is so beautiful, to me, about The Chosen.Like · Reply · 9 · 10w

The Shepherd (Pilot Episode of The Chosen)

Now, “The Chosen” team is working on funding season 2 and sharing their energized message of Jesus with the world.

“This series is in over 180 countries and being translated into 52 languages currently, and we are just getting started,” Harmon said. “Our goal is to reach the world with this show, and specifically we would like to break the 1 billion view record set by HBO’s Game of Thrones.”

How often have we heard the media or a progressive person say the Founding Fathers weren’t Christian. They didn’t even believe in God. They had slaves so they are evil and don’t deserve recognition and are all racist? It goes on and on demeaning our founders. I guess we understand this, as our Savior went through the worst of anyone ever born. He did it for us, that we may not have to suffer.

Today in this mixed up world we are feeling a greater sense of ridicule, opposition, hate and immorality, every day. This is some of the worst of times in the World. Yet, why do we suffer and still hold our head high? Because we believe we will be saved in God’s Kingdom as long as we are repenting and endure to the end.

I received some amazing pictures printed by the Sons of the American Revolution, from my friend Robert Goodwin and I was simply amazed. Here I see one of my heroes, George Washington being baptized? That’s right a painting of Washington being baptized into the Baptist Church in 1783, just six years before he would take his oath of office. You also remember Washington took that oath and prayed at the St Paul Cathedral in NY the same site of the World Trade Center bombings. The St. Paul Church was not harmed as that was a sacred place that the Lord protected. To read more about his see my blog here, and here!

We off course understand George Washington was also baptized for the dead as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the St George Temple by Wilford Woodruff on Aug 21, 1877 along with many other worthy men and women in history. See blog here:

Painting hanging in Gano Chapel, William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, Showing Baptism By Immersion of George Washington By John Gano {Photo Used By Permission}

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Robert Goodwin sent me an email saying, “I thought you might be interested in this discovery I found digitizing books for the church.  There were some skeptics who didn’t think this took place.  I have an additional 6 page official congressional acknowledgement of the event entitled “George Washington’s Baptism, An Official Act of Congress 7-16-1894 Accepts Evidence.  When I began to share this with fellow ODPC missionaries in the lunchroom, an Elder from the ROC unit spoke up and continued the story as a second witness- he was a resident of Liberty, Missouri where the college and special chapel is located where the portrait hangs.  He knew even more about the whole story  Nice to have a second witness of the story I was trying to tell.” Robert Goodwin

Immersion vs. Sprinkling

“IS IT PROBABLE THAT WASHINGTON, SPRINKLED IN INFANCY,BRED IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND AND CONTINUED TO THE END IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH, COULD AT ANY TIME HAVE SEEN IT TO BE HIS DUTY TO BE BAPTIZED, I.E. IMMERSED?

It will be recognized at once (that the improbability would be far greater than it is, if he had been reared in almost any of the other Pedobaptist churches, e.g., the Presbyterian. But immersion continued to be the common practice of the Church of England till within less than one hundred years of the birth of Washington…

“Washington speaks in one of his letters of the fact that his stepson had begun the study of the Greek New Testament with a tutor at Mt. Vernon. Is it possible that, at meal time, or of an evening in that farmer’s mansion, the actual meaning of the word strong>“baptize” may have been discussed. At any rate, Washington doubtless knew enough of his English Bible to know that it spoke of “one baptism” only, and did not contain the “or pour” of his prayer book. It may not have needed the instruction of a Dean or even of a Baptist minister, to convince his well-balanced, conscientious and fearless mind that he must himself obey the command, ”Repent and be baptized,” and that it would not answer to change it into a command, “Repent and have been baptized (in infancy) or poured.” We have reasonably gathered that the Episcopalian atmosphere which Washington breathed may have been, if not favorable, at least not hostile to a correct view as to that was the primitive act of baptism…

IS IT PROBABLE THAT A BAPTIST MINISTER WOULD HAVE BAPTIZED WASHINGTON WITHOUT THE VOTE OF A CHURCH AND WITHOUT HIS BECOMING A MEMBER OF A BAPTIST CHURCH?

Such certainly would not be the ordinary method of procedure. Exceptions however have always been sanctioned in emergencies. During the war of 1861- 65, hundreds of soldiers were baptized by Baptist chaplains, many of them during active campaigns, far from settled quarters and formalities, some of them in plain sight and range of the pickets on the opposite side. But apart from exceptional emergencies, there have been some Baptist ministers who have habitually baptized every one who applied and gave evidence of being a genuine Christian, whatever his former or subsequent church relations might be.

We have no direct evidence as to the views of John Gano on this subject. But it is, at least, interesting to note the views and practice of his son Rev. Stephen Gano, M. D., who was for thirty-six years pastor of the First Baptist church in Providence, R. I. In a pamphlet register of members of that ancient church, published in 1832, four years after his death, is a biographical sketch of Pastor Gano. It contains this paragraph,

“As to his denominational views and attachments, Dr. Gano was a Baptist of the o1d school, of the true, regular and orthodox cast, be was also a thorough-going adherent to all the peculiarities of his favorite sect, with the exception of the treatment of persons baptized by immersion in other communities. He had no scruples at administering the ordinance of baptism to all in whom he could recognize the characteristics of genuine discipleship to our blessed Lord, whether they were about to become church members with his own denomination or to unite in other communities. He was also fully settled in the belief that Baptist churches ought, in consistency with their principle, to admit to their communion table all real Christians who have been baptized by immersion on a profession of their faith, to whatever denomination they might belong. Many were the cases of his performing the baptismal rite to members of Pedobaptist churches.” Circumstantial Evidence of Washington’s Baptism by John Gano

Baptist vs Episcopalians

“IS IT PROBABLE THAT WASHINGTON’S KNOWLEDGE OF BAPTISTS AND RELATIONS WITH BAPTISTS WERE SUCH AS TO FAVORABLY DISPOSE HIM TOWARD THE PRACTICAL ADOPTION OF ONE OF THEIR VIEWS? Baptists were at that time generally despised and spoken against.

One thing, however, was greatly in their favor. They were true to the American cause. In view of some of the circumstances in the case this was a remarkable fact, which must have impressed intelligent observers. They them- selves felt called upon to explain, Isaac Backus said, “Since the Baptists have often been oppressed in this land, and would have suffered more than they did had it not been for restraints from Great Britain, how came they to join in the war against her? Many have wondered at it, and some have censured them severely therefore. But they had the following reasons for their conduct.

1. Where Episcopalians have had all the power of government, they have never allowed others so much liberty as we have enjoyed. In England all are taxed to their worship, while none are admitted into civil offices both communicants in their church. In Virginia they cruelly imprisoned Baptist ministers, only for preaching the gospel to perishing souls without license from their courts, until this war compelled them to desist there from. Of this we had incontestable evidence. Therefore we had no rational hopes of real advantage in joining with them.”

Mr. Backus proceeds with four other reasons of different kinds, laying hold of the deepest principles of both religious and civil liberty, “the immutable rules of truth and equity.” Long lists of Tories are in print containing many hundreds of names, one of them 926 names but so far as is known, there are no names of Baptists among them. There is no need of discussion on this subject, for Washington himself said in his address to the Baptist Churches of Virginia,

“l recollect with satisfaction that the religious society of which you are members have been, throughout America, uniformly and almost unanimously the firm friends of civil liberty and the persevering promoters of our glorious revolution.” George Washington’s Baptism By Lemuel Call Barnes – Richard St. James, Editor Research performed by Richard St. James at William Jewell College Library Liberty, Missouri March 21, 2008

John Gano 1736-1804

John Gano was a famous Baptist Preacher who’s claim to fame begins with the baptism of George Washington. Gano was Washington’s personal chaplain during the Revolutionary War. His grandson, John Allen Gano was one of the greatest gospel preachers of the Restoration Movement in Kentucky. It was said that John Allen baptized more people in Kentucky than any other man. Some years after the death of his grandfather, John Allen wrote attempting to prove that his grandfather had actually baptized George Washington for the remission of his sins. This was disputed by many. One other claim to fame in John Gano is that he was a direct ancestor to the billionaire, Howard Hughes. John Gano is buried in the Daughters Of The Revolutionary War Section of the Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, Kentucky. The cemetery itself is one of the most beautiful settings in America. It is located on the cliffs overlooking the Kentucky River and the downtown area of Frankfort, Kentucky. The cemetery’s greatest claim to fame is that it is the location of the grave of Daniel Boone. When you enter the cemetery follow the directions leading to the grave of D. Boone. Continue past his grave until you see the Daughters Of The Revolutionary War Section on the right. (Section 22-A on the map at the entrance of the Park. See Map Here!) Stop the car, and you will notice how the section descends in tiers. Go down to the second tier and you will find the grave of John and Sarah Gano. Note also, that next to Gano’s grave is the founding father of the Forks Of The Elkhorn Baptist Church, William Hickman (1747-1831).

Biographical Sketch On John Gano

John Gano was the most learned and distinguished of the pioneer Baptist preachers of Kentucky. And, although he was far advanced in life before he came to the West, and had but a few years to labor among the Baptists of Kentucky, his matured wisdom, long and varied experience, and eminent piety and consecration, made him of incalculable benefit to the cause of the blessed Redeemer, in the new country. He had spent his youth and the prime of his life in building up the cause of Christ along the Atlantic slope, from Rhode Island to South Carolina, and few men were ever better fitted for the work of a pioneer preacher. He was well educated and well skilled in the gospel. He was easy and agreeable in conversation, his wit and humor were rarely at fault, he could readily accommodate himself to any grade of society, and any contingency, his courage was dauntless, and, above all, he loved the cause of Christ, his brethren in the Lord and the souls of men, with an unquenchable ardor. He brought all these excellent gifts and graces into requisition among the pioneers of Kentucky, according to the measure of physical strength, which still remained to him. He visited and encouraged the young churches and preachers, hastened to adjust difficulties among the brethren, went far to attend the new associations, guided their counsels and corrected the crudities of their doctrines, and pushed out into the very remotest settlements in the midst of fierce Indian wars, to lift up and establish the feeble infant churches. It is not wonderful that he was greatly loved and much lamented by the Baptists of Kentucky.

John Gano was born at Hopewell, New Jersey, July 22, 1727. His father was of French extraction. His great-grandfather, Francis Gano, fled from France in the night, to avoid martyrdom. On his arrival in America he settled at New Rochelle, a few miles above New York City, where he lived to the age of 103 years. His son, Stephen Gano, raised six sons (Daniel, Francis, James, John, Lewis and Isaac) and three daughters. Daniel married Sarah Britton, by whom he raised five sons, (Daniel, Stephen, John, Nathan and David), and three daughters. Of these parents, both of whom were eminently pious, the father being a Presbyterian and the mother a Baptist, John was the fifth child and third son.

In early life John Gano professed conversion, and was strongly inclined to unite with the Presbyterian church; but, doubting the scriptural authority for infant baptism, he entered into an elaborate investigation of the subject. He read many books on the subject, and had many conversations with Presbyterian ministers. He only became more and more convinced of the truth of Baptist principles. Finally he had an extended conversation with the renowned Gilbert Tennant. At the close of this interview, Mr. Tennant, seeing he was not convinced, said to him: “Dear young man, if the devil cannot destroy your soul he will endeavor to destroy your comfort and usefulness, and, therefore, do not be always doubting in this matter. If you cannot think as I do, think for yourself.” Some time after this, having obtained the consent of his father, who had had him “christened” in infancy, he united with the Baptist church, at Hopewell, and was probably baptized by Isaac Eaton, who established the first school for educating young men for the Baptist ministry in America, and whose descendants have been so conspicuous as preachers and educators in this country.

Soon after he was baptized Mr. Gano became much exercised in mind on the subject of preaching Christ to dying sinners. His mind became so much absorbed on this subject that he was almost incapacitated for his ordinary business. “One morning after he began plowing in his field the passage, `Warn the people, or their blood will I require at your hands,’ came with such weight upon his mind that he drove on till 11 o’clock utterly insensible of his employment. When he came to himself he found he was wet with the rain, his horses were excessively fatigued, and the labor he had performed was astonishingly great.”

After becoming convinced that the Lord had called him to the work of the ministry, he applied himself with great diligence to study, preparatory to entering upon this duty. Before he had been licensed to preach he accompanied Benjamin Miller and David Thomas, who were among the most eminent ministers of their day, on a missionary tour into Virginia, whither they had been sent by the Philadelphia Association. The principal object of this mission was to visit and set in order a little church on Opecon Creek, which had been constituted by the notorious impostor, Henry Loveall. (Note: This Loveall was from New England. His real name was Desolate Baker. He was excluded from Opecan church for licentiousness.) On reaching the place, and visiting this little church, the ministers found it in a deplorable condition. Only three of its members could give a satisfactory account of their conversion. These were constituted a new church, and the rest of the members of the old church were exhorted to seek the salvation of their souls. Mr. Gano, in his Autobiography, gives the following account of the part he took in this work:

“After the meeting ended a number of old members went aside and sent for me. They expressed their deplorable state, and asked me if I would meet with them that evening and try to instruct them. They were afraid the ministers blamed them. They had been misled, but it was not their fault, and they hoped I would pity them. I told them I would with all my heart, and endeavored to remove their suspicion of the ministers. They met and I spoke to them from these words: “They, being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. ” I hope I was assisted to speak to them in an impressive manner; and they to hear, at least some of them, so as to live. They afterwards professed conversion and became zealous members and remained so, I believe, until their deaths.”

This occurred in 1751. This was the first time Mr. Gano attempted to preach, and this, it will be remembered, was before he was licensed by his church. The attentive reader will also remember that William Hickman commenced his ministry in a similar manner, at Harrodsburg, Kentucky, just twenty-five years later.

Before Mr. Gano returned home the news reached Hopewell that he had been preaching in Virginia. Some of the brethren deemed it disorderly, and were aggrieved about it. As in the case of Peter’s preaching at Ceasarea, when John (Gano) was come up to Hopewell the brethren that were offended said unto him, “Thou didst go in unto the Virginians, and didst preach unto them, without authority from the church.” John demanded evidence to sustain the accusation. They informed him that they had only heard it from travelers, but desired him to give them a relation of the matter. He replied that it was the first time he had known the accused called on to give evidence against himself, but that he was willing to give them an account of his conduct. Then John rehearsed the matter from the beginning. They then asked him what he thought of his conduct. He replied that he thought this question more extraordinary than the former. He had given evidence against himself, and was now called on to adjudge himself guilty. This is a specimen of that self-possession, readiness of mind, and ingenuity which characterized him through life. At length he informed the church that he did not mean to act disorderly or contrary to their wishes. That the case was an extraordinary one, that was not likely to occur again. But if it should, he would probably act in the same way. The church now appointed a time to hear him preach. He gave satisfaction, and was soon licensed to exercise his gift. About this time he moved his residence to Morristown. Up to this period he had, with brief interruptions, devoted himself to close, systematic study. But the calls on him to preach became so frequent that he entered regularly into his holy calling. There being a call on the Philadelphia Association for a missionary to go to Virginia, he was ordained for that work in May, 1754, and soon afterwards set out on his mission. On this journey he went as far as Charleston, S. C. The following extracts, giving some account of this missionary tour, condensed from Mr. Gano’s journal, will give some insight into the character of that good and great man:

On the frontier of Virginia this zealous missionary, while conversing with some people where he lodged, in an affectionate manner, respecting their religious concerns, overheard one of the company say to another, “This man talks like one of the Joneses!” On inquiring who the Joneses were he was informed that they were distracted people, who did nothing but pray and talk about Jesus Christ, and that they lived between twenty and thirty miles distant on his route. “I determined,” said he, “to make it my next day’s ride, and see my own likeness.” When he arrived at the house he found there a plain, obscure family, which had formerly lived in a very careless manner, but a number of them had lately been changed by grace, and were much engaged in devotional exercises. As he entered the house he saw the father of the family lying before the fire, groaning with rheumatic pains. He inquired how he did. “O,” said he, ”I am in great distress.” “I am glad of it,” replied the stranger. The old gentleman, astonished at this singular reply, raised himself up and inquired what he meant. “Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son he receiveth,” answered Mr. Gano. From this they proceeded to religious conversation, and he soon found that this pious family, whom the world accounted mad, had been taught the words of truth and soberness. They asked him many questions, and were much pleased to find one who was acquainted with the things they had experienced.

From this place he proceeded on toward North Carolina, having a young man with him, who chose to bear him company. “We arrived at a house just at dusk, the master of which gave us liberty to tarry. After we had conveyed our things into the house, the following dialogue occurred:

“Landlord — “Are you a trader?”
“Mr. Gano — “Yes.”
“L. — “Do you find trading to answer your purpose?”
“G. — “Not so well as I could wish.”
“L. — “Probably the goods do not suit.”
“G. — “No one has complained of the goods.”
“L. — “You hold them too high.”
“G. — “Any one may have them below his own price.”
“L. — “I will trade with you on these terms.”
“G. — “I will cheerfully comply with them. Will not gold tried in the fire, yea, that which is better than the fine gold, wine and milk, durable riches and righteousness, without money and without price, suit you?”
“L. — “Oh, I believe you are a minister.”
“G. — “I am, and I have a right to proclaim free grace wherever I go.”

“This,” says Mr. Gano, “laid the foundation for the evening’s conversation, and I must acknowledge his kindness, though he was not very desirous of trading, after he discovered who I was.”

Our itinerant continued southward till he arrived at Charleston, and there, and in its vicinity, he preached to good acceptance. His account of his first sermon for Mr. Oliver Hart, at that time pastor of the Baptist Church in Charleston, is as follows: “When I arose to speak, the sight of so brilliant an audience, among whom were twelve ministers, and one of whom was Mr. [George] Whitefield, for a moment brought the fear of man upon me; but blessed be the Lord, I was soon relieved from this embarrassment; the thought passed my mind, I had none to fear and obey but the Lord.”

On his return from Charleston to the northward he visited an island where he was informed there never had been but two sermons preached. The people soon collected, and he preached to them from these words: “Behold, the third time l am ready to come to you, and I will not be burdensome to you.”

When he arrived at Tar River, in North Carolina, he found that a report had gone forth that some of the principal men in the county had agreed that if he came within their reach they would apprehend him as a spy; for, by his name he was judged to be a Frenchman, and this was in the time of the French war. Some of these people lived on the road he was to travel the next day. His friends urged him to take a different route, but he replied that God had so far conducted him on his way in safety, and he should trust Him for the future. When he got near the place where the men who had threatened him lived, he was advised to go through it as secretly as possible; but that by no means accorded with his views. He replied he should stop and refresh himself in the place. He stopped at one of the most public houses, and asked the landlord if he thought the people would come out to hear a sermon on a week day. He informed him he thought they would; but observed, that on the next Monday there was to be a general muster for that county. He therefore concluded to defer the meeting till that time, and requested the landlord to inform the colonel of the regiment, who, he had learned, was one of those who had threatened him, of his name, and desire of him the favor of preaching a short sermon before military duty. The landlord promised to comply with his request.” On Monday I had twenty miles to ride to the muster, and by ten o’clock there was a numerous crowd of men and women. They had erected a stage in the woods for me, and I preached from Paul’s Christian armor. They all paid the most profound attention, except one man, who behaved amiss. I spoke, and told him I was ashamed to see a soldier so awkward in duty, and wondered his officer could bear with him. The colonel, as I afterwards understood, brought him to order. After service I desired a person to inform the commander that I wanted to speak with him. He immediately came, and I told him that, although I professed loyalty to King George, and did not wish to infringe upon the laudable design of the day, yet I thought the King of kings ought to be served first, and I presumed what I had said did not tend to make them worse soldiers, but better Christians. He complacently thanked me, and said if I could wait, he would make the exercise as short as possible, and give an opportunity for another sermon, for which he should be much obliged to me. I told him I had an appointment some miles off to preach the next day. Thus ended my chastisement and the fears of my friends.

“From hence I returned by way of Ketocton, on Blue Ridge, where the inhabitants are scattered. On my road I observed a thunder-storm arising, and rode speedily for the first house. When I arrived the man came running into the house, and, seeing me, appeared much alarmed, there being at that time great demands for men and horses for Braddock’s army. He said to me, `Sir, are you a press-master?’ I told him I was. `But,’ said he, `you do not take married men?’ I told him surely I did; and that the Master I wished him to serve was good, His character unimpeachable, the wages great, and that it would be for the benefit of his wife and children if he enlisted. He made many excuses, but I endeavored to answer them, and begged him to turn out a volunteer in the service of Christ. This calmed his fears, and I left him, and proceeded on my way to Ketocton, where I spent some time, and baptized Mr. Hale.”

Soon after Mr. Gano’s arrival at home, after this tour, he was married to Sarah, daughter of John Stites, of Elizabethtown, New Jersey, and sister of the wife of the celebrated James Manning, the founder and first president of Rhode Island College-now Brown University.

Mr. Gano remained at home but a short time before he set out on another preaching tour through the Southern Colonies. This trip occupied him eight months. He was rejoiced to learn that his labors during the former tour had produced good fruits, and many people had turned to the Lord. Many striking incidents occurred on this tour, a few of which may be related:

Calling at a house on his route, he asked the man to have his horse fed. The man ordered his son to go at once and feed the horse. Meanwhile, ascertaining that his guest was a minister, he began to speak to him about baptizing his child.” I have been waiting some time,” said he, “for a priest to come along, that I might have my child baptized, and now I wish to have it attended to.” Mr. Gano signified his willingness to serve his host in any way that he could. The boy stood staring at “the priest,” and neglected feeding Mr. Gano’s horse. The father, observing this, said to the boy, “You son of a b—h; why don’t you feed that horse, as I told you?” The boy started on his errand, and the father resumed his conversation about baptizing his child. “What are you going to call it?” said Mr. Gano. “That boy, I perceive, is named son of a b—h.” After this singular reproof nothing more was said about baptizing the child.

Preaching at a place in Virginia one day, where the people were very wicked, two young men, believing that he was directing his censures against them, came forward at the close of the sermon and dared him to fight. “That is not the way I defend my sentiments,” said he, “but, if you choose it, I will fight you, either both at once, or one after the other. But as I have to preach again very soon, I prefer putting it off till after meeting. To this they agreed. At the close of the meeting they came forward to engage in the fight. “If I must fight,” said Mr. Gano, ”I perfer a more retired place, and not before all these people.” With this he walked off, bidding the young men follow him. When they were away from the crowd he said: “Young men, you ought to be ashamed of your conduct. What reason have you to suppose I had particular reference to you? I am an entire stranger here, and know not the character of any. You have proved, by your conduct, that you are guilty of the vices I have censured. If you are so much disturbed at my reproofs, how will you stand before the bar of God?” “I beg your pardon,” said each of the young men. “If you are beat, gentlemen, we will go back,” said Mr. Gano. Thus ended the fight.

On another occasion, hearing that there had been a revival at a certain place on his route, he made an effort to reach it that night. It was after dark when he reached the place. Knocking at the door of a house, with which he was unacquainted, and a woman answering the call, he said to her: “I have understood, madam, that my Father has some children in this place, and I wish to learn where they are, that I may find lodgings for the night.” “I hope I am one of your Father’s children,” said the woman; “come in, dear sir, and lodge here.”

In this manner, with his apparently exhaustless resources, did this eminent man of God find his way to all homes and hearts, and then, with equal wisdom and readiness, apply the blessed truth of the Gospel. After spending a few years in the manner above related, he was waited on at Morristown, N. J. by some messengers who came a distance of about eight hundred miles, to solicit him to take charge of an infant church in North Carolina. After a brief consideration, he accepted the call, and moved his family thence. At the “Jersey settlement” in North Carolina, he remained about two years. The church grew to be large, and his labors were abundantly useful throughout an extensive region of country. But a war breaking out with the Cherokee Indians, he moved back to New Jersey.

June 19, 1762, the first Baptist church in the city of New York was constituted by Benjamin Miller and John Gano, and the latter, who had recently moved from North Carolina to New Jersey, immediately became its pastor. He also accepted the pastoral care of the church in Philadelphia, and for a number of years was pastor of all the Baptists in the largest two cities on the American Continent.

At the breaking out of the war between England and the American Colonies, Mr. Gano warmly espoused the cause of the latter. In 1776, he entered the army as chaplain, and continued in the service till the close of the war. In this position he maintained the same purity of character, and the same zeal and energy in the cause of Christ, that he exhibited on the missionary field and in the pastoral office. Some specimens of the many incidents related concerning him, while in the army, may be interesting.

On one occasion, the General informed him, on Saturday, that the army would move on the following Monday, but requested him not to speak of it till after religious services next day. On Sunday morning he preached from the words: Being ready to depart on the morrow. Immediately after the sermon, orders were given to prepare for the march. On another occasion, as he was going to pray with the regiment, an officer, who did not observe him, was swearing profanely. Saluting the officer cheerfully and politely, he said to him : “You pray early this morning.” “I beg your pardon, sir,” said the officer. “Oh I cannot pardon you,” replied the chaplain; “carry your case to your God.”

One day, standing near where some soldiers were disputing as to whose turn it was to cut wood, he heard one of them say he would be d—nd if he would cut it. Soon, however, the profane soldier was convinced that the task was his, and took up the ax to perform it. Immediately Mr. Gano stepped up to him and said: “Give me the ax.” “Oh no,” said the soldier, “the chaplain shall not cut wood.” “Yes, I must,” said Mr Gano, “But why,” said the soldier. “Because,” said Mr. Gano, “I just heard you say you would be d—nd if you cut it; and I would rather take the labor off your hands than that you should be miserable for ever.”

At the close of the war, Mr. Gano resumed his labors as pastor of the church in New York city. He continued in this position till about the year 1786. At this time William Wood, pastor of Limestone church in Mason county, Ky., visited New York, and made such flattering representations of the western country, both for ministerial usefulness, and temporal advantage, as induced Mr. Gano to call a church meeting, and consult the church about his going to Kentucky. Mistaking his motive, and supposing that he only desired them to increase his salary, they treated the matter with apparent indifference, leaving him to the free exercise of his own judgment. He at once determined to go. Learning this, the church offered to raise his salary, and made an earnest effort to retain him. But it was now too late. He had formed his resolution, and could not be changed. He soon sold his small possessions, paid off some debts that had been embarrassing him, and started to Kentucky. He came to Redstone in wagons, and there took a boat. There was still much danger to be apprehended from the savages along the Ohio river; and, on the way their boat was partially wrecked. However, Mr. Gano and his family landed in safety at Limestone, June 17, 1787. He proceeded to Washington, where he preached his first sermon in Kentucky from the words” So they all got safe to land.” Some time after this, his son Stephen, then pastor of the Baptist church in Providence, Rhode Island, paid him a visit, on which occasion he preached from the words: I am glad of the coming of Stephanas. After remaining a short time at Washington, Mr. Gano moved to the neighborhood of Lexington, and became pastor of Town Fork church. Here he became the co-laborer of Craig, Taylor, Hickman, Dudley, and others of that noble band that were in Kentucky before him. Among these brethren who recognized him as a father in the gospel, he labored with faithfulness and efficiency, about ten years, when, in 1798, he had his shoulder broken by a fall from his horse. Before he recovered from this, he had a paralytic stroke, which deprived him of the power of speech. From this he so far recovered as to be able to preach. During the “Great Revival,” it is said, he preached in an “astonishing manner.” While Elkhorn Association was much agitated by the appearance of Arianism in some of the churches about the year 1803, Mr. Gano was carried to Lexington, and assisted into the pulpit, where he preached a masterly discourse on the Deity of Christ, which was thought to have a salutary effect in checking the spread of that baleful heresy. The next year, August 9, 1804, this venerable servant of Christ departed this life at his home near Frankfort, Kentucky, in the 78th year of his age.

This great and good man had some marked eccentricities; but they were such as heightened his efficiency, without detracting from his piety, and illustrate the important truth that God adapts all the means he uses in the accomplishment of his purposes, to the ends they are designed to subserve. The following observations from the pen of his personal friend, Richard Furman, long the distinguished pastor of the Baptist church at Charleston, South Carolina, will appropriately close this sketch of Mr. Gano:

“The late Rev. John Gano will be long remembered with affection and respect in the United States of America. He was a person below the middle stature, and, when young, of a slender form; but of a firm vigorous constitution. His mind was formed for social intercourse and friendship. His passions were strong, and his sensibilities could be easily excited, but so chastened and regulated were they, by the meekness of wisdom, that he preserved great composure of spirit and command of his words and actions.

“As a minister of Christ, he shone like a star of the first magnitude in the American churches, and moved in a widely extended field of action. For this office, God had endowed him with a large portion of grace and excellent gifts. `He believed and therefore spoke.’ His doctrines were those contained in the Baptist (Philadelphia) Confession of Faith, and are commonly called Calvinistic.

“Like John the harbinger of our Redeemer, he was a burning and a shining light, and many rejoiced in his light. Resembling the sun, he rose in the church with morning brightness, advanced regularly to his station of meridian splendor and then gently declined with mild effulgence, till he disappeared without a cloud to intercept his rays or obscure his glory.”

—History Of Kentucky Baptists, J.H. Spencer, Vol. 1c.1886, Chapter 10, Pages 116-127

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Even when I was a small boy I kept hearing older people say that they had heard that George Washington had been immersed in the Potomac River. Still later, some one said that he had been baptized by a preacher by the name of Gano.

An article on this subject appeared in the news-magazine, Time, Issue of September 6, 1932. Soon the Christian Standard, in its issue of October 15, 1932, presented to its readers some information assembled by Ira M. Boswell, minister of the Christian church at Georgetown, Kentucky.

Inasmuch as many readers of the Firm Foundation have not had access to these publications, it might be interesting to give them the opportunity to learn just what others have said along this line.

The man who is supposed to have baptized Washington was John Gano, a Baptist minister. It was he who helped to organize the First Baptist church of New York City, and he was the pastor of that church for some time. This church was founded in June, 1762. Mr. Gano also did some preaching in Philadelphia. If we may rely on the evidence, he was a man of great power and influence. It is said that the old records of his New York church are still preserved.

At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, John Gano became a chaplain in the continental army, and continued to serve in that capacity until the close of hostilities. George Washington seems to have had a high regard for this chaplain, and is reported to have paid Gano a compliment for his ”bravery while encouraging the troops in a very severe conflict.” When peace had been declared, Washington selected Gano to conduct a thanksgiving service at the General’s headquarters, neat Newburgh, New Jersey, on April 19, 1783. Upon leaving the army, John Gano returned to his ministerial field of labor in the city of New York.

Now the tradition of the actual baptism of General Washington is this:

John Gano had been conducting a Sunday morning service in his capacity as chaplain. At the close of the service, he was engaged in a private conversation with a number of the soldiers who were Baptists in their religious belief. George Washington approached the group, and was drawn into the discussion. It seems that John Gano and the others of the group were talking about the “mode” or action of baptism. Washington said, “I am convinced that immersion is the baptism taught in the scriptures, and I demand baptism at your hands.” He further said that he wanted no parade made over it. In the presence of forty-two witnesses, he was led into the waters of the Potomac River, and there baptized.

(According to the article in the Baptist Argus, March 24, 1904, Washington first expressed his belief that immersion was the apostolic mode. Thereupon Chaplain Gano asked, “General Washington, if you believe that you have been improperly baptized, why don’t you secure proper baptism?” Washington replied by asking, “Do you think I am a fit subject for baptism?” The chaplain then proceeded to “examine” General Washington; and, at the conclusion of the examination, announced his readiness to attend to the ordinance. Washington was baptized in an adjacent river, and he and the chaplain returned dripping to their respective tents.) Upon what records and upon whose testimony is this story based?

1. General R. M. Gano, whom many of our older Texas brethren still remember as an early leader In the church in Dallas, has given his testimony. General R. M. Gano was 2. gospel preacher who baptized thousands. He was the great grandson of the Chaplain John Gano above mentioned. ln order to answer the many inquiries he received on this subject, he prepared a letter on the subject, in or about the year 1899. He said in this letter: “The parties from whom I received my information have all crossed over the river. My father, John A. Gano, named for his grandfather, who did the baptizing, I often heard speak of it. He was a minister in the church of Christ.”

2. Brother R. M. Gano also cited the testimony of his uncle, Dr. Stephen F. Gano, of Georgetown, Kentucky. Dr. Gano was the grandson of Chaplain Gano. He died at Georgetown, Kentucky, at the age of ninety-four, in the year 1901. This Dr. Gano claimed to have received the facts from his uncle, Colonel Daniel Gano. Daniel Gano was the son of Chaplain John Gano, and is supposed to have been a witness of the immersion. He was an officer in the continental army.

3. General R. M. Gano of Dallas also has the testimony of his father’s oldest sisters, Mrs. Mary Buckner and Mrs. Margaret Ewing. The elder of these sisters had conversed with her grandfather, who immersed General Washington.

4. When a boy of twelve years, R. M. Gano had also heard the story from his great-uncle, Daniel, to whom we have referred above. (This Daniel Gano was born about 1750 and died at the age of ninety-two. He had served in the same army where his father, John, was chaplain.)

5. R. M. Gano also had the testimony of an old Baptist minister from Virginia who visited his father’s home in Kentucky, while he was still a boy. This Baptist minister told R. M. Gano the circumstances of Washington’s baptism.

6. Once while in Corsicana, Texas, R. M. Gano heard Richard Bealle, an attorney, speak of the matter. This Mr. Bealle had a brother who was a Baptist minister residing in Virginia. This brother had often related the same story to Mr. Bealle.

7. Mrs. Mary Gano Cobb, a granddaughter of Chaplain Gano, wrote a letter dated Russiaville, Indiana, some time in 1898, in which she said, “My grandfather, Rev. John Gano, baptized General Washington. They were close friends. My father has often spoken of the circumstances.” At the time of this writing, Mrs. Cobb was nearing her ninety-seventh birthday.

1932 being Washington’s bi-centenary year, an unusual amount of attention was paid to digging into old material relating to the life of our first president. Many details, formerly unknown or almost forgotten, were brought to light. The above-mentioned details concerning Washington’s baptism were among the historical incidents rediscovered and brought to light. Wide-spread interest in this story was aroused by Charles Edward Thomas, editor of The Delta, Publication of Sigma Nu fraternity, some time in August, 1932.

The article in Time, issue of September 5, 1932, was based on the article which bad previously appeared in The Delta. In part, the Time article said: “When he was almost two months old, Washington was sprinkled in the ‘orthodox Episcopal manner.’ At thirty-three years of age, be took oath to conform to the doctrine or the church of England ‘as by law established.’ Throughout his life he was seen regularly in church though he did not often kneel or partake of the communion. Washington’s reputation, like that or such Deist as Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and Benjamin Franklin, is one of coolness and moderation In religion. But through his time swept a hot blast of evangelism, chiefly In the Methodist and Baptist faiths. General Washington one day went to Rev. John Gano, chaplain in the Continental Army, and exclaimed: ‘I have been Investigating the Scripture, and I believe immersion to be the baptism taught in the word of God, and I demand It at your hands. I do not wish any parade made or the army called out, but simply a quiet demonstration of the ordinance.’ In the presence or forty-two witnesses, George Washington was immersed in the Potomac; but he did not give ‘personal testimony’ which would have made him a member of the Baptist Church.’‘ It Is also interesting to note that a minister named E. T. Sanford, in 1908, commissioned a painting of Washington .and Chaplain Gano, both standing waist deep in the Potomac. This painting was taken to the Baptist Church of Asbury Park, New Jersey, where it hung until 1926. It was then presented by John Gano’s great granddaughter, to William Jewell College, located at Liberty. Missouri, where it hangs In a John Gano Memorial Chapel.

To be perfectly fair, it might be well to add that E.C. Riley, or Midway, Kentucky, in a letter to Ira M. Boswell, said that he had read in the Louisville Public Library a volume entitled, “Biographical Memoirs of the Late Rev. John Gano, of Frankfort, Kentucky, formerly of New York. Written principally by himself. Printed by Southwick & Hardcastle, 1806.” This is a little book of 151 pages. In this there is no reference made to the alleged baptism of George Washington. However, it might have been omitted because the baptism {if it occurred) was not in accord with Baptist usage. Washington was not voted on by a Baptist church nor did he ever consider himself a Baptist. Perhaps Chaplain Gano, who was a Baptist minister, felt It best not to discuss the matter in his book of memoirs. Certainly, the Episcopal church would hardly have cared to publish the matter.

After weighing the matter carefully, It seems not at all unreasonable to suppose that Washington really may have been immersed. If he did so, he did not become a Baptist even though he was immersed by a Baptist preacher. (Alexander minister, but not according to Baptist custom and usage.) To say the least, it is very doubtful that General Washington had any very clear conception of gospel obedience. But it may be that he lived up to what light he did have.

To say the least, the tradition is an interesting one. However, whether Washington was really baptized or not, it still remains the duty of penitent believers to “arise, and be baptized,” being buried with Christ in the Waters of baptism-simply because Christ commanded baptism and his apostles thus instructed men and women who sought tor divine guidance.-James H. Childress, Firm Foundation, Vol. 50, No. 15, April 11, 1933, p.1,3

Directions to the Grave Of John Gano

John and Sarah Gano are buried in the Frankfort Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky. They are buried in the Revolutionary War section of the cemetery. Frankfort Cemetery is one of the oldest and most impressive cemeteries in all North America. It lies upon the cliffs above the Kentucky River, in the Kentucky’s capital city, Frankfort. Buried in the cemetery are former governors, state and U.S. representatives, and even Vice-President Richard M. Johnson, the brother of the restoration preacher, John T. Johnson. The most noted person buried in the cemetery is Daniel Boone. See map of including locations of others more directly connected to the Restoration Movement here.

In central Kentucky, take the Blue-Grass Parkway, I-64 to Exit 53A and go north on Hwy. 127/Lawrenceburg Rd. Turn right on the East-West Connector. After crossing the river, turn left on Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Go to E. Main St. and turn left. Then enter the cemetery to your left. You can get a map at the office, or See Map below for location of grave in the cemetery.

GPS Location of Grave 38.192361,-84.865258 View Larger Map

Old Markers

New Marker Placed

Sacred in the Memory of John Gano Who departed this life August 10, A.D. 1804 In the 78th year of his age

Sarah Gano Who departed this life April 22, 1792 in the 57th year of her age

Of Huguenot descent, John Gano was born July 22, 1727 in Hopewell, New Jersey to Daniel and Sarah Britton Gano.

Afer his conversion, he was baptized and united with the Baptist church
at Hopewell. His call to preach the gospel came while he was plowing a field. Among the texts that took hold of his mind was: “Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel,” 1 Corinthians 9:16. He was ordained May 28, 1754 at Hopewell, and for fifty years plowed the eternal fields of the souls of men. As a minister of Christ, he shone like a star of the first magnitude in the American churches, and moved in a widely extended field of action.

The churches he pastored include:
Morristown Baptist Church – New Jersey 1755-1757
Jersey Baptist Church – North Carolina 1757-1760
First Baptist Church – New York City 1762-1788
Town Fork Baptist Church – Kentucky 1788-1798

During the Revolution, his services to his country were conspicuous. He entered the army as a chaplain to General Clinton’s New York Brigade. In the fierce conflict on Chatterton’s Hill, when he saw more than half the army flying from the sound of cannon, others abandoned their pieces without firing a shot, and a brave band of six hundred maintaining a conflict with the whole British army, being filled with chivalrous and patriotic sympathy for the valiant men who refused to run, he could not resist the strong desire to share their perils and he eagerly pushed to the front.” Of his conduct, Gano said, “My station in time of action I knew to be with the surgeons, but in this battle I somehow got in front of the regime, yet I durst not quit my place for fear of dampening the spirits of the soldiers or of bringing on myself the imputation of cowardice.

Also during the Revolution, his friend, General George Washington demanded the ordinance of immersion at the hands, to which he consented on April 19, 1783 when Washington proclaimed peace, he called upon his friend, John Gano, who offered a prayer of thanksgiving to the Almighty Ruler of the world. He lived to a good old; saw his posterity multiplying around him. His country independent and thus he closed his eyes in peace; his heart expanded with the sublime hope of immortality and heavenly bliss.

“May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, Amen.” https://www.therestorationmovement.com/_states/kentucky/gano,john.htm

George Washington Loved Christ

Here are a few quotes from George Washington that will validate that Washington was indeed a follower of Christ and one who knew he needed forgiveness and help. The quotes were sent to me again by Robert Goodwin and Robert told me they are from a handwritten journal that Washington wrote when he was 20 years old, very profound for a 20-year-old.

“ O Most Glorious God, in Jesus Christ, my merciful and loving Father; I acknowledge and confess my guilt in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day. I have called on Thee for pardon and forgiveness of my sins, but so coldly and carelessly that my prayers are become my sin, and they stand in need of pardon.”

“ I have sinned against heaven and before Thee in thought, word, and deed. I have contemned Thy majesty and holy laws. I have likewise sinned by omitting what I ought to have done and committing what I ought not. I have rebelled against the light, despising Thy mercies and judgment, and broken my vows and promise. I have neglected the better things. My iniquities are multiplied and my sins are very great. I confess them, O Lord, with shame and sorrow, detestation and loathing and desire to be vile in my own eyes as I have rendered myself vile in Thine. I humbly beseech Thee to be merciful to me in the free pardon of my sins for the sake of Thy dear Son and only Savior Jesus Christ who came to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Thou gavest Thy Son to die for me.”
[George Washington; from a 24 page authentic handwritten manuscript book dated April 21-23, 1752 by George Washington, at age 20, William J. Johnson George Washington, the Christian (New York: The Abingdon Press, New York) 

“Almighty God,… I beseech thee, my sins, remove them from thy presence, as far as the east is from the west, and accept of me for the merits of thy son Jesus Christ, that when I come into thy temple, and compass thine altar, my prayer may come before thee as incense; and as thou wouldst hear me calling upon thee in my prayers, so give me grace to hear thee calling upon me in thy Word…for his sake, who lay down in the Grave and rose again for us, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.”  (Ibid, William J. Johnson, George Washington’s Prayer Journal-written in 1752 at age of 20) read entire prayer at missionariesofprayer.org)

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Pictures provided by Robert Goodwin

Our great friend David Allan has shared his articles with us in the past. Here is a very appropriate blog about the Last Days. We are thankful to David for sharing his thoughts with us as we pray we all may be ready when the Lord comes again.

I truly believe the Prophet of the Lord Russell M Nelson is leading us in the Covenant Path and we need to get behind him. We have other evangelists and preachers that are trying to help as well. Anything that is Good is of God. May we utilize our stewardship the Lord has give us to further the work of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and serve the entire world in sharing our witness of the truth that Christ is coming again.

What Will It Take To Save America? by David W. Allan

What will it take to save America? If this nation goes down, there also goes liberty for the world.

Jonathan Cahn, wrote The Harbinger, a book about 9/11, which opened up to the world the great significance of many last day prophecies being fulfilled right before our eyes.  We presently are on the brink of disaster.

What Can Be Done?

Cahn, and other spiritual leaders have called, all who will, to turn to prayer for the greatest nation in history. There will be ten days of prayer and repentance that coincide with the Biblical Feast of Trumpet and ending with the Day of Atonement (September 18th to September 28th.)

The Return

The Return is a  joint national and global day of prayer and repentance that will be held on Saturday, the 26th of September 2020. They are asking as many as can to gather on the Washington D.C. Mall for this day of prayer – believing this is our last opportunity for this nation to receive the promise in the scriptures.  Those who can’t make it there can, of course, have their own day of prayer wherever they are.  The goal is to invoke the Lord’s blessing, if we do our part, which America critically needs:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14

The Mayflower

On the 26th of September, we are looking back at our marvelous history, where God has greatly blessed us in the “Promise Land” of America. This September celebrates the 400th year of the sailing of the Mayflower. The event is 38 days before the election. It is a pivotal time for Americans. Will they choose God or continue on a path to moral decay and destruction?

The scriptures are clear: “…it is a land of promise, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when… they are ripened in iniquity.” (Ether 2:9)

The repentance of the citizens of America is critical for the temporal salvation of this Promised Land.

The Importance of Individual Repentance for Spiritual and Physical Safety

We know because of the infinite atonement that all of us are saved from the spiritual and physical deaths brought about by the fall of Adam and Eve. However, the extremely important conditional part of the infinite atonement depends upon each of our choices to repent of our sins and accept Christ or not.

Even though this nation will be saved in glory in due process, how it gets there is totally a function of the collective choices of each of us individually as Americans. We can choose wickedness or righteousness. We cannot be luke-warm (Rev. 3:16). No unclean thing can enter heaven; if that were so, it would not be heaven.  We are all sinners, but through the cleansing power of the amazing infinite atonement, we can all be clean, as we come unto Him, who can and will perfect us, as we “come unto Christ.” (Moroni 10:32-33)  We are in the valley of DECISION.

Righteous Leadership Has Made A Difference

George Washington, the father of our nation and our first President, led our troops to win the Revolutionary War, a fledgling nation defending our love of liberty against the greatest army on the planet.  At the time, all conditions pointed to certain failure. However, Washington continually petitioned our troops to be moral and to seek the blessings of heaven, while the British troops had major problems with immorality.  We won that war and Washington summarized it well. It was clearly by “Divine intervention.”

And again, we saw Divine intervention as we won the War of 1812 because of the blessings of heaven, as a Christian motivated nation. This was greatly evidenced during the British relentless barrage against Ft. McHenry, where Francis Scott Key composed our National Anthem; the third verse of which reads:

Oh, thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

In this “Promised Land,” our inspired Declaration of Independence and Constitution made the individual sovereign and open to the blessings of liberty, according to Biblical ethics, which guided its foundation. Fortunately, we have had some incredibly moral presidents that gave us our beginnings and led us through difficult times: Washington, Adams, Jefferson… Lincoln.

But, this free nation, who knew better, had to be purged again by the bloodiest war we have ever fought because of the sin of slavery. In the end, the Civil War purging actually brought us closer to the freedom and liberty we all seek.  How are we progressing in keeping these freedoms?

Where Are We Now?

Much of our government’s leadership and our education system have been liberalized and have moved more and more toward socialism and communistic-atheistic philosophies – where the state is sovereign and “God is dead!”.  Because organic evolution has permeated our education system, atheism continues to increase, and this Christian based nation has moved far from its foundational moorings. In such a state, we cannot expect the “blessings of heaven.”

The Critical Need for Righteous Leadership Now

The United States of America and Israel are the only two nations founded on Biblical ethics.  Materialism and secularism tend toward having science solve our problems and forgetting God.  Jonathan Cahn shares how Benjamin Netanyahu was given a word from God to keep Israel’s Biblical covenant to be part of the coming restoration of the Tabernacle of David.  Similarly, President Trump by his oath of office is under Biblical covenant.  Regardless of their personal problems and life’s challenges, we need to pray for them to look to God in all they do.  Watch the amazing movie documenting a true story: “The Trump Prophecy,” available on Amazon Prime.

Back To Our Christian Values

We were raised up as a Christian nation but have, in large measure, turned from Him.  Let us join with Jonathan Cahn, and others on Saturday, Sept. 26th, in his invitation to invoke the Lord’s promise given in 2 Chronicles 7:14, and encourage as many as we can to do the same.  We needn’t go to Washington D.C to join in effective prayer by calling on His name, humbling ourselves, seeking His face, and turning from all our wicked ways.

If you desire, you can participate in this event by way of Live Simulcast wherever you are, in your home, Church, town, or city. Notice, the invitation is to those who “are called by [His] name” that we might receive His promise.

We have a Living, Loving God

We have a living loving God who wants to protect us. As we are in the valley of decision, let each of us personally repent, turn to Him, and love Him with all our heart, might, mind, and strength by keeping His commandments, which includes loving our neighbors as our selves.  Only then we will be entitled to receive the “blessings of heaven” and the “healing of our land.”  God Bless America.

David W. Allan

See David’s Website here: https://itsabouttimebook.com/what-will-it-take-to-save-america/

I found this wonderful story about the faith of people all over the world. The Lord continues to inspire and direct His work on this earth. Think of all the miracles He has done in this world. When it comes to the miracles surrounding the coming forth of the Book of Mormon I am in awe of all the Lord does for us.

The Translation of the Book of Mormon into Afrikaans

By Lawrence E. Cummins

One of the greatest single achievements of the South African Saints was the translation of the Book of Mormon into Afrikaans. At a meeting in Johannesburg on May 14, 1972, when the Afrikaans Boek van Mormon was introduced to the South African Saints, it was a happy and, at the same time, an emotion-packed experience for those in attendance. A missionary who attended the landmark event said that “to sit in that meeting and observe the rapt attention and subsequent tears in the eyes of the audience when the first few pages of Die Boek van Mormon were read aloud was one of the greatest spiritual experiences of my mission.”

Bishop Johan Brummer of the Johannesburg Second Ward, one of those who shepherded this valuable and important translation, told of the divine guidance that made its publication possible. He had translated about a third of the Book of Mormon into Afrikaans, but it had been a long, tedious effort, and it was imperative that the translation be completed without further delay so that the building up of the Church in South Africa could progress with greater speed and with every possible advantage. But where could a person be found with the necessary academic excellence and sufficient spirituality to complete such a task?

One day an acquaintance of Bishop Brummer brought his friend, Felix Mynhardt, a language teacher from Pretoria, to meet him. The man not only had a consuming interest in everything related to the scriptures, but he also had been raised in a home with a spiritual atmosphere. His father, the Reverend C. F. Mynhardt, compiled the first concordance of the Afrikaans Bible.Felix’s facility with languages was phenomenal. When he was a young boy he could read Latin text; at nine, he read Latin and Greek fluently; by sixteen, he had mastered English, Afrikaans, Aramaic, and Hebrew; then he took up other languages —German, French, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. Finally, he gained a reading skill in Chinese.

Bishop Brummer bore testimony of divine intervention in the translation: “I can tell you that I have no doubt about this that when Felix Mynhardt made his appearance in my office on a given day, it was not just a coincidence. He was sent to us by the Lord. This has been confirmed to me on many occasions since then. You might well ask the question whether a man of such academic pre-eminence and authority would have the necessary humility of spirit to enable him to do work of this nature.”

Felix Mynhardt, a non-member, provided the answer to that question himself. During a difficult period in the translation Felix said: “It’s as though darkness seems to settle on my mind when I get down to work so that I just cannot get the translation done. On some occasions I have in absolute despair gone down onto my knees and asked the Lord to help me. I have come to you today to tell you that I think you folks are just not praying for me.”

Felix was blessed as he worked on the translation so that the Afrikaans speaking people can read the Book of Mormon in their own language, just as members around the world can read it in any of 110 languages. The Lord said, “For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language…” (D&C 90: 11). Die Boek van Mormon was published in 1972.

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1973/03/the-saints-in-south-africa?lang=eng

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Another Version by John Pontius

“I was searching through my books in storage a few days ago and came across a first edition of the Book of Mormon in Afrikaans. I served a mission in South Africa from 1971 to 1973. It was an interesting and challenging experience.

I attended the Stake Conference in Johannesburg on May 14, 1972 when the new translation of the Book of Mormon into Afrikaans (Die Boek van Mormon) was presented. It was an electric moment. People wept. Some had waited all of their lifetimes to read the Book of Mormon in Afrikaans. Many people had learned English for the sole purpose of reading this scripture.

The Spirit was strong among us as we rejoiced. Remembering back more than 50 years, I can still remember Professor Felix Mynhardt [not a member of our church] as he spoke of his experience in translating that sacred book. I will retell it as best I can recall. Professor Mynhardt was invited to come to the stand and speak about his experience in translating the Book of Mormon. He recounted how he had been given a gift of languages from God from his youth. He said that he was fluent in many languages, including English, Afrikaans, Hebrew and Egyptian, as well as many others. He was presently employed as a language professor. He said he had been praying that the Lord would give him some task, some divinely important task, that would justify his having this gift of language from God.

He said in about 1970 that he had visited with a group of Mormon leaders, who sought to commission him to translate the Book of Mormon from English into Afrikaans. He said that he knew of the Book of Mormon from his religions studies, and his initial reaction was that he did not want to be involved in translating it. However, that evening, as he prayed upon his knees, as was his habit, he said the Spirit of the Lord convicted him. The message was something on the order of, “You asked me for a great, divinely inspired task of translation, I sent it to you in the form of translating the Book of Mormon, and you declined.” Professor Mynhardt said he could not sleep through the night because he knew that translating the Book of Mormon would get him into trouble with his university, which was owned and operated by the Dutch Reformed Church.

When morning came he telephoned Elder Clark to inform him that he would begin the translation immediately. He stood at the pulpit and described the experience. He said, “I never begin translating a book at the beginning. Writing style usually changes through a book, and becomes more consistent toward the middle. Accordingly, I opened to a random place in the middle of the Book of Mormon, and began translating.” He said, “I was startled by the obvious fact that the Book of Mormon was not authored in English. He said, “It became immediately apparent that what I was reading was a translation into English from some other language. The sentence structure was wrong for native English. The word choices were wrong, as were many phrases.” He said, “How many times has an English man said or written, ‘And it came to pass?’” We all laughed, and knew he was right, of course.

He continued, “When I realized this, I knew that I had to find the original language, and translate it back into the original language, or a similar language to the original, and then proceed to translate it into Afrikaans. He listed a half-dozen languages he tried, all of which did not accommodate the strange sentence structure found in the Book of Mormon. He said, “I finally tried Egyptian, and to my complete surprise, I found that the Book of Mormon translated flawlessly into Egyptian, not modern, but ancient Egyptian. I found that some nouns were missing from Egyptian, so I added Hebrew nouns where Egyptian did not provide the word or phrase. I chose Hebrew because both languages existed in the same place anciently.” “I had no idea at that time why the Book of Mormon was once written in Egyptian, but I can tell you without any doubt, that this book was at one point written entirely in Egyptian.” I heard him say this over and over. Then, he said, “Imagine my utter astonishment when I turned to chapter one, verse one and began my actual translation and came to verse two, where Nephi describes that he was writing in the language of the Egyptians, with the learning of the Jews!” He said, “I knew by the second verse, that this was no ordinary book, that it was not the writings of Joseph Smith, but that it was of ancient origin and was in fact scripture. I could have saved myself months of work if I had just begun at the beginning. Nobody but God, working through a prophet of God, in this case Nephi, would have included a statement of the language he was writing in.

Consider, how many documents written in English, include the phrase, “we are writing in English!” It is unthinkable and absolute proof of the inspired origins of this book. He paused, then noted, “I am one of the few people in the world that is fluent in ancient Egyptian. I am perhaps the only person fluent in ancient Egyptian who is also fluent in Afrikaans and English. And I know for a fact, that I am the only person alive who could have translated this book first into Egyptian, and then into Afrikaans.

If your church ever needs an Egyptian translation of the Book of Mormon, it is sitting in my office as we speak.” We all laughed. Professor Mynhardt spoke of many other things regarding the translation of this book, and then said, “I do not know what Joseph Smith was before he translated this book, and I do not know what he was afterward, but while he translated this book, he was a prophet of God! I know he was a prophet! I testify to you that he was a prophet while he brought forth this book! He could have been nothing else! No person in 1827 could have done what he did. The science did not exist. The knowledge of ancient Egyptian did not exist. The knowledge of these ancient times and ancient peoples did not exist.

The Book of Mormon is scripture. I hope you realize this. “I will keep promoting this book as scripture for the remainder of my life – simply because it is scripture, and I know it.I haven’t studied your doctrine or your history since Joseph Smith. The only thing I know about the Mormon religion is that you have authentic, ancient scripture in the Book of Mormon, that your church was begun by a living and true prophet of God, and that all of the world should embrace the Book of Mormon as scripture. It simply can’t be denied.” This was written by John Pontius, who was a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Africa from 1971–73.), about Prof. Mynhardt, not a member, who translated the Book of Mormon into Afrikaans. He was quoting some things that Mynhardt said at the conference in 1972. The words in quotes are Mynhardt’s.