Book of Mormon Evidence

Two thousand years ago an ancient army walked across North America’s largest river. In September 1837 Robert E. Lee finished his survey of the Des Moines Rapids. The survey is one of the best surveys ever made in the early 1800s. From thousands of soundings, and measurements for the depth of the river’s water, it is possible to identify a route that a Lamanite Army took when it walked across the River Sidon. (Alma 43) That crossing was close to Zarahemla. Thank you, Robert E. Lee, for helping us to confirm the location of that great city.

It’s a piece of history that you did not know. Why?  Because no one from our Church took the time to study Robert E. Lee’s 1837 Survey and compare it to the text of the Book of Mormon. Why? Because our scholars for the last 50 years spent their time and money looking in the jungles of Central America for evidence of the Book of Mormon. What a sad story. The truth can only come out of the ground if you are looking in the right place.  Moroni knew and he told Joseph Smith. The truth will make us free. The truth will unite us.” John C. Lefgren PhD CEO Heartland Research Group in Pennsylvania.

While Robert E. Lee was near the De Moines Rapids in 1834 doing survey work (His survey ended in Sept of 1837), Joseph Smith was just 90 miles south on the Mississippi River crossing with Zion’s Camp near Louisiana, MO. Also on June 4, 1834 Joseph was writing a letter to his beloved Emma from Atlas, Illinois on the banks of the Mississippi which said, “The whole of our journey, in the midst of so large a company of social honest and sincere men, wandering over the plains of the Nephites, recounting occasionally the history of the Book of Mormon, roving over the mounds of that once beloved people of the Lord, picking up their skulls & their bones, as a proof of its divine authenticity… During our travels we visited several of the mounds which had been thrown up by the ancient inhabitants of this country-Nephites, Lamanites, etc.” Joseph Smith Papers Letter to Emma Smith, 4 June 1834 Page 56

Yes, the evidence for a major city at this location of the Mississippi River continues to mount.  It is a natural place for a city at the end of the “road” where all kinds of trade could transpire.

A Letter to BYU Geography Department

April, 2020
Dr. _____________________________
Department of Geography
Brigham Young University
Provo, Utah

Dear Dr.___________________________

I am writing with a very unusual idea. I have been working with the Heartland Research Group on Book of Mormon Evidences in the US. I am amazed at what we are finding in terms of evidence for Book of Mormon geography. BUT, today we came across survey maps made by General Robert E. Lee of the Mississippi River right next to Nauvoo. This was Lee’s first field assignment after graduating top of his class at West Point. The only place on the Mississippi river where one could walk across the river was at the Des Moines Rapids literally next to Nauvoo. Lee had about 120 men doing surveys and soundings (15,000 soundings) of these rapids for 3 years only a few years before the Mormons settle the area.

We believe these rapids would have been a barrier to ancient people too that were using the river as a navigational route through this part of the US. It is likely that a major city once was located in this area on the Des Moines side of the river and interestingly, in the D&C 125:3 the Lord commanding Joseph Smith to name the city on the opposite side of the river from Nauvoo – Zarahemla. We have found ~20 foot tall earth mounds in the area, hundreds of burial mounds, thousands of arrow heads and battle axes in the area and we are exploring a possible Temple site. This year we will be flying the area with 2 to 3 inch resolution color infrared imagery and if funding permits, we will be flying selected locations with LiDAR imagery. The imagery will be flown with about 70% overlap so that orthomosaics can be created and used as base maps in a GIS for subsequent geospatial analysis. We will be purchasing a magnetometer to collect readings at sub 1.0 inch resolution and we know from past work in Ohio and Europe that fire pits will jump out at us in the subsurface imagery. If there were a major ancient city in this area, we expect to also find hundreds of buried fire pits.

I was asked by my colleagues why has BYU not had any students do a study on the Des Moines rapids to pull together the significance of this area to our early European navigators of the Mississippi (we believe it may have been called the Sidon River anciently), and possibly a critical navigation barrier to the ancient Nephites and Lamanites? The study could be done without any reference to possible Book of Mormon connections, but I am trying to plant some thoughts in your mind. I know we have been taught for 50 years that the Book of Mormon geography took place in Central America, but after considerable study, many are starting to abandon that idea and looking in what we believe is the Land of Promise as Joseph Smith claimed. In the past year, the church took a neutral position on the Book of Mormon geography, and the reason for this is that the evidence for Central America has not been as compelling as one is led to believe, and increasing evidence is mounting for the Hopewell Native Americas (the Mound Builders) being the Nephites in the US. The fact that the church took a neutral stand means our church leadership is not convinced the Hill Cumorah is in Guatemala. I believe it is in New York state. The neutral stand also does not mean that we are not to keep looking.

We are presently in a fund raising effort and are starting to connect with the promising funding possibilities. If all goes as we hope, we will have funding and the possibility of some very interesting aerial photographs and LiDAR data within this year.

I just wanted to see if you think there is any interest in discussing these ideas and maybe developing some interesting project opportunities for faculty and students?

Best wishes,
Kevin Price PhD
Professor Emeritus Kansas State University
Senior Scientist
Heartland Research Group
785-393-5428
[email protected]

A response would be wonderful. Even better a response with a confirmation to throw a few thousand dollars our way along with the giving millions to Book of Mormon Central for the worn out digging for some news about the Book of Mormon in Mesoamerica. What have we found in Mesoamerica. Huge pyramids that aren’t even spoken of in the Book of Mormon. Nephites built with earth and wood. As Hugh Nibley has said,

“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…” Hugh Nibley

The Des Moines Rapids

In Exploring the Book of Mormon in America’s Heartland by Rod Meldrum pg 80-81

“The Des Moines Rapids between Nauvoo, Illinois on the east and Montrose (Zarahemla) and Keokuk, Iowa on the west was formed by a hard natural limestone shelf that extended across an 11 mile stretch of the Mississippi river. It severely limited Steamboat traffic through the earl 19^th century. Prior to the building of locks and dams that have raised water levels 18-20 feet, it was the first location upstream from the Gulf of Mexico where the Mississippi river could be crossed… on foot. Historical records state that these rapids had an average depth of only 2.4 feet*, with most of the crossing being more shallow, especially during late summer, fall and dry seasons…

*”The Mississippi in its natural state widens from 2,500 feet (760 m) to 4,500 feet (1,400 m) in width at Nauvoo as it drops 22 feet (6.7 m) over 11 miles (18 km) over shallow limestone rocks to the confluence with Des Moines. According to records its mean depth through the rapids was 2.4 feet (0.73 m) and “much less” in many places.” Wikipedia

…Why is this important? This would have been one of the most strategic locations in North America due to this crossing of a significant barrier to travel, the Mississippi River. Trade would also occur here bringing goods and people together from across the continent.

This location would also be of strategic importance in securing against foreign invasion. An ancient army would of necessity be faced with either swimming or rowing their men across to launch an attack, which in the case of the Book of Mormon could mean many thousands of men awaiting portage. The element of surprise in battle would be lost if a week were required to ferry men across the river. This major river crossing would, then, be a critical strategic location either to defend of to conquer, by allowing or restricting access to either side.

CROSSING THE MISSISSIPPI ON HORSEBACK

On August 8, 1842, a Warrant was served by Governor Carlin for the arrest of Joseph Smith and Porter Rockwell who had been charged with the near fatal shooting of Gov. Lilburn Boggs. Joseph and Porter went into hiding, knowing their innocence and that this was just another attempt to thwart the work of the Lord.

From Dean C. Jesse’s The Papers of Joseph Smith, in the Illinois journal we read from the entry Aug. 11^th, “It is very evident that the whole business is but another evidence of the effects of prejudice, and that it proceeds from a persecuting spirit, the parties having signified their determination to have Joseph taken to Missouri whether by legal or illegal means.” The journal continued, “12 August 1842 – Friday – This AM it appears still more evident that the whole course of Proceedings of Gov. Carlin and others is illegal”

A stratagem was conceived to trick the Sheriff and his Deputies. The journal states,” Accordingly Joseph’s new horse which he rides, (which he named Joe Duncan after the unsupportive former Governor of Illinois) was got ready and Wm. Walker proceeded to cross the river in sight of a number of Persons. One chief design in this procedure was to draw the attention of the Sheriffs and public, away from all idea that Joseph was on the Nauvoo side of the river.”

The next day, “A report came over the river that there is a several small companies of men in Montrose, Nashville, Keokuk, etc., in search of Joseph. They saw his horse go down the river yesterday and was confident he was on that side.” The Mississippi River was shallow enough on this late summer day to ride a horse across it at this location.” Exploring the Book of Mormon in America’s Heartland by Rod Meldrum pg 80-81

Bruce Lloyd

Bruce Lloyd2 days agohttps://www.loc.gov/resource/g3700m.gct00284/?sp=187&q=mississippi+river+iowa&r=0.021,0.325,0.069,0.044,0 has a detailed map of the survey between Nauvoo/Montrose at the upper end and about 10 miles downstream to Keokuk, IA. About 100 miles north of Nauvoo is the 2nd Barrier of the Mississippi River. It is called Rock Island Rapids between LeClaire, Iowa and Rock Island Illinois (about 14 miles). Robert E Lee also surveyed the Rock Island Rapids in Sep and Oct 1837 using a longer pole of 14 feet vice 10 feet at Nauvoo.

See https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3700m.gct00284/?sp=153&r=0.692,0.154,0.346,0.205,0 Migrating Buffalo could have crossed the Mississippi River at either of these 2 sites. The Nauvoo site is about 10 miles long and the Grand Island Rapids site is about 14 miles.” Bruce Lloyd

The Cherokee Landscape and Buffalo Economy

By Wild South | March 4, 2016 By Lamar Marshall, Wild South Cultural Heritage Director Source

At the dawn of the historical era in North America, perhaps earlier than 1400, several ecological events coalesced to change the way of life for native peoples living east of the Mississippi River.  For centuries, native people created agriscapes across parts of Eastern America, which included clearing fields, creating grasslands and savannas, and promoting rivercane in large canebrakes. 

Rivercane was the highest-yielding native pasturage in the Southeast and provided winter forage for elk, deer, and buffalo. Large savannas along the Mississippi River were maintained by systematic annual burning, with canebrakes being burned every 7 to 10 years.  Open woodlands and park-like savannas were widespread.

At some point in time, buffalo crossed the Mississippi River and filled an ecological niche that spanned at least three or four hundred years. This niche is believed to have resulted from a population crash of Pre-Columbian native peoples by European-introduced disease that may have killed 90% of as many as 1.7 million people. Rivercane likely invaded abandoned fields after the crash of native populations.  The Cherokees were estimated at 32,000 in 1685, 16,000 in 1700, and 11,200 in 1715

The abandoned towns, fields, and grasslands in the East were perfect habitat for migrating Western buffalo (Bison bison bison,), with herds peaking between conservative estimates of 30 million and more popular estimates of between 45 and 60 million.  Records tell that these wild buffalo were shy and advanced away from human settlements.  Several crossing places on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers allowed for eastward expansion through Louisiana and Mississippi to the Gulf States, as well as the Great Lake region and northern states.  Biologists agree that the Eastern Buffalo was the same as the Plains buffalo (Bison bison bison) and crossed the Mississippi several hundred years ago. 

Although archaeological evidence is scant regarding buffalo material remains, there is overwhelming recorded testimony to substantiate its presence across all regions of the Cherokee territorial claim. Besides meat, the Cherokee and all Southeastern tribes utilized the buffalo for leather, war shields, moccasins, robes, sleeping rugs, bull-boats, horned headdresses, horn spoons, and woven wool clothes and accoutrements.

Magnetic Signatures in Ground from Ancient Fires

“First, we are looking for Zarahemla. That is a clear statement required for a thesis. Nothing wrong here. Second, we know where to look. We are looking at the site that Joseph Smith identified as Zarahemla. This then is the test of that hypothesis. Nothing wrong with that approach. We are looking for a confirmation of the truth of Joseph Smith’s statement. Our methods are clear. We know that ancient people kept fires to cook their food, to heat their homes and to bring light to dark places. We know that the heat from these fires changed the magnetic signatures of soil and rock. These changes can be measured with a magnetometer. The SENSYS equipment can survey 100 acres per day within grids that are 1/4″ x 1/4”. Each data point will have GPS coordinates and will measure differences in magnetic forces by +/- 1nT (nanotesla). These readings will be able to identify the location of old fire pits.

The Book of Mormon informs us that in AD 320 there was a Nephite army from the Land of Zarahemla that had 30,000 men. Taking that number as our best indicator, we estimate that the population of Zarahemla was at least 100,000 people. We can find fire pits. We believe that there should be one fire pit for every 10 people or that within a mile or so of the city’s center there would have been 10,000 fire pits. We know that German technology has worked very well on several sites including Stonehenge. We have our own experience with SENSYS from the mounds of Ohio. If we can find anything, we can find fire pits that were kept 1,600 years ago. I like science and I am willing to pay for it. If you can make improvements to our research, I welcome your informed opinion and not just off the cuff speculations. We expect that God’s ancient promises will be fulfilled — “the truth shall spring out of the earth.” Wayne May Ancient America Magazine

Zarahemla, Capital City of a Land that is Choice Above All Other by Wayne May

“You have to look for it before you can find it. We believe that there are good reasons to look on the west bank of the Mississippi in Lee County, Iowa. The reasons come from a reading of the Book of Mormon as it relates to the movements of those ancient people as well as from the surface. We already know that there is ancient human habitation in the area as evidenced by existing earth mounds.

In December 2018 we found 7 roundhouses in Glenford, Ohio that are 2,000 years old. It took less than a day to do this investigation. The results were accepted and printed by the Ohio Archaeological Society. This Society was founded in 1941 and is the oldest and largest archaeological society in the United States. The Society was organized to discover and conserve archaeological sites and material in Ohio; to seek and promote a better understanding among students and collectors of archaeological material, both professional and non-professional; and to disseminate knowledge on the subject of archaeology. The Society’s membership is made up of people from all walks of life, from every state in the nation, many foreign countries, including libraries, historical societies, colleges, and universities. This is the standard of work that the Heartland Research Group has already done. We will apply the same standards of research to our search for the City of Zarahemla. We are working with the best technology in the world coming from Germany. We are ready to begin the search in earnest. Donate $10 a month to help Wayne May find the Lost City of Zarahemla.

There is no other place in the world that can produce more consumable calories of food than the million square miles that are part of the Mississippi and St. Lawrence watersheds. Think of St. Louis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Chicago, Detroit, Madison, and Toronto. North America could not be a great power without its Heartland. Would there be any of the ancient civilizations of Egypt, India, and China without the Nile, Ganges, and Yellow river basins? The Romans were a great empire only as long as they controlled the grain from the Nile and waterways of the European Great Plains. Ancient empires were rooted in soils of riverbasins that provided a surplus of food for the support of large armies. Large armies in the Book of Mormon required good soils and plenty of water from the Heartland.

The large armies in AD 384 at the end of the Book of Mormon required at least 2,000 x 700,000 = 1,400,000,000 pounds of foodstuff to be delivered on the riverways up to Cumorah. That magnitude of food could only have come from the great watersheds of the Mississippi and St. Lawrence. The Great City of Zarahemla was great because it was on the Sidon River. The City of St. Louis is great because it is on the Mississippi River.

My friends, if you want to find the City of Zarahemla, you have to look in a place where a great city would have been supported by great agricultural lands. Those lands, anciently and currently, have soil, water, and climate to produce more than 10 million calories per acre. The early Europeans were surprised to see the tens of thousands of acres of corn that Native Americans cultivated in the St. Lawrence River basin. There are more than 5,000 ancient earth mounds in Ohio which were built by people who controlled the great agricultural regions of the river basins. Of all the places in the world, any good farmer would soon recognize that this place is “bountiful”, “a land of promise”, and “choice above all other”.

We are working with people who have degrees in higher education and have developed the latest technologies for locating the remains of cities and human habitation. 

We are using the tools of modern archaeology to locate evidence for the ancient city of Zarahemla.  We have successfully used SENSYS Technolgies from Germany in discovering six round houses in Ohio that are 2,000 years old.

We are limiting our research to 10,000 acres of farmland that are on the west bank of the Mississippi across from Nauvoo.  Wayne May will take the lead in providing direction for the discovery of the most important city in the Book of Mormon.

D&C SECTION 125

Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Nauvoo, Illinois, March 1841, concerning the Saints in the territory of Iowa.1–4, The Saints are to build cities and to gather to the stakes of Zion.

1 What is the will of the Lord concerning the saints in the Territory of Iowa?

2 Verily, thus saith the Lord, I say unto you, if those who call themselves by my name and are essaying to be my saints, if they will do my will and keep my commandments concerning them, let them gather themselves together unto the places which I shall appoint unto them by my servant Joseph, and build up cities unto my name, that they may be prepared for that which is in store for a time to come.

3 Let them build up a city unto my name upon the land opposite the city of Nauvoo, and let the name of Zarahemla be named upon it.

4 And let all those who come from the east, and the west, and the north, and the south, that have desires to dwell therein, take up their inheritance in the same, as well as in the city of Nashville, or in the city of Nauvoo, and in all the stakes which I have appointed, saith the Lord.

Alma 43- See Map Below

I also include Alma 43 about the battle of Moroni against the Lamanites at the River Sidon. The battle is done in a shallow part of the River, (Maybe Des Moines Rapids or more south towards St. Louis).

Alma 43:25 Now Moroni, leaving a part of his army in the land of Jershon, lest by any means a part of the Lamanites should come into that land and take possession of the city, took the remaining part of his army and marched over into the land of Manti.

26 And he caused that all the people in that quarter of the land should gather themselves together to battle against the Lamanites, to defend their lands and their country, their rights and their liberties; therefore they were prepared against the time of the coming of the Lamanites.

27 And it came to pass that Moroni caused that his army should be secreted in the valley which was near the bank of the river Sidon, which was on the west of the river Sidon in the wilderness.

Alma 43 Continued at the end of the blog:

“What a Beautiful Country It Is”

Robert E. Lee on the Mississippi By Rick Britton

“The old steamboat sat alongside the rapids, perched atop the river rocks that had stoved in her thin hull. The lower deck was partly submerged, but her upper cabin deck, along with its staterooms, was dry and habitable. Yawning holes in the steamer’s flooring, holes through which the engines had been hoisted, gave notice of her recent abandonment. And perhaps served as a reminder that her predicament—along this treacherous stretch of the Mississippi—was not unique

While members of the surveying party fished from the stern for pike and blue catfish, their leader—a thirty-year-old lieutenant of engineers—composed a letter on one of the stranded ship’s few remaining tables. “I assure you we were not modest,” he wrote to a fellow engineer of his appropriation of the vessel, “and [we] helped ourselves to everything that came our way. . . . I need not tell you what a beautiful country it is and I think at some time, some future day, must be a great one. You would scarcely recognize it. Villages have sprung up everywhere and some quite pretty ones too. . . . Some ten years hence, many . . . will have grown into cities. . . . The formation of a good channel through these rapids will be of immense advantage to the country, and great anxiety seems to be felt on the subject.”[note 1] The date was October 11, 1837, the site a section of the Mississippi’s Upper Rapids near the mouth of the Rock River. The letter-writer, of course, was Robert E. Lee, and this letter in particular, to Andrew Talcott, would prove prophetic. Many of the river towns indeed grew into cities for the coming decade of the 1840s would feature a massive boom in Mississippi-borne commerce. Commercial tonnage transported on the upper Mississippi, in fact, tripled in the ten years following 1839 (from 400,000 to 1.2 million).[note 2] Many would later claim that the Virginia engineer’s work on the river played a significant role in that growth.

Robert E. Lee is best remembered, of course, as the commander of the Confederacy’s premier fighting force—the Army of Northern Virginia. At the helm of the A.N.V. for almost three years, he not only turned back several Federal attempts at Richmond but also launched two invasions of the North. Lee’s performance during the May of 1863 Chancellorsville Campaign, despite being outnumbered two-to-one, is still studied as a masterpiece of military science. He is also well remembered for the position he accepted after the war. As president of Washington College, Lee set the standard for the South in terms of acquiescence to the conflict’s outcome, and reconciliation between the previously warring sections. By comparison, however, little is remembered of Lee’s first profession—that to which he devoted the most years of his life—engineering. Perhaps his finest efforts in the Army Corps of Engineers were those directed toward improving navigation on the “Father of Waters”—the Mississippi River.

Born at Stratford Hall in Westmoreland County on January 19, 1807, Robert E. Lee was home-schooled until he was thirteen. At that age he entered the Alexandria Academy and came under the tutelage of William B. Leary, an Irishman who for the next three years provided the young Virginian with a rudimentary classical education. “In mathematics he shone,” wrote biographer Douglas Southall Freeman, “for his mind was already of the type that delighted in the precise reasoning of algebra and geometry.”[note 3]

Seeking to further his education, but not wanting to burden his mother with the expense, Lee then sought an appointment to the United States Military Academy. With the endorsement of five U.S. senators and three representatives to his favor—as well as, of course, the military reputation of his father, General Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee—Robert E. Lee was appointed to West Point in March of 1824. The War Department letter, however—signed by then secretary, John C. Calhoun—notified him that because of the large number of applicants, he could not be admitted until July of the following year. In order to avoid getting rusty, Lee studied mathematics during the intervening period under Benjamin Hallowell, the headmaster of a new boys’ school in Alexandria. “He was a most exemplary pupil in every respect,” Hallowell noted years later. “His specialty was finishing up. He imparted a finish and a neatness, as he proceeded, to everything he undertook. One of the branches of mathematics he studied with me was Conic Sections, in which some of the diagrams are very complicated. He drew the diagrams on a slate: and although he well knew that the one he was drawing would have to be removed to make room for another, he drew each one with as much accuracy and finish, lettering and all, as if it were to be engraved and printed.”[note 4]

Robert E. Lee arrived at West Point in June of 1825. Thirty-seven miles up the Hudson from New York City, the United States Military Academy then consisted of but a handful of fairly plain structures arranged upon a commanding plateau 190 feet above the river. Historian Emory Thomas has called the institution “a military monastery, a single-sex community of vigorous study, rigid discipline, and Spartan living.”[note 5] But it was much more. The Academy was the first and, at the time, the finest engineering school in the United States—the special province of the Army Corps of Engineers. The two, in fact, were inseparable, having been created simultaneously by an 1802 act of Congress which read that the Corps “shall be stationed at West Point . . . and shall constitute a military academy.” The act also stipulated that the Army’s principal engineer would be West Point’s superintendent.[note 6]

During the demanding four-year course of study, Robert E. Lee proved that diligence and self-control were his in abundance. Early on he displayed a special proficiency in mathematics. In his second year, in fact, he was made an acting assistant professor of that subject, and spent many long hours tutoring those cadets who were struggling. Mathematics, naturally, was at the heart of the West Point curriculum and formed the foundation for the courses in engineering and the sciences. At the Academy, Lee studied, among other subjects, chemistry, physics, optics, mineralogy, and astronomy. The courses on advanced mathematics covered trigonometry, calculus, analytical and descriptive geometry, and those pesky conic sections. (One of the math textbooks, by the way, was Treatise on Descriptive Geometry and Conic Sections by French engineer Claudius Crozet, one of the founders of the Virginia Military Institute.)

The final term at West Point featured an intense focus on engineering. The comprehensive course was divided into five sections—field and permanent fortifications, the science of artillery, grand tactics, and civic and military architecture. This last topic covered drafting, the various orders of architecture, the design and construction of arches, bridges, buildings, canals, and other public works, and a detailed description of the machines used in that construction. “In this subject [Lee] found especial satisfaction,” wrote Freeman. “As among the sciences, the applied meant more to him than the theoretical. . . . When he began engineering he may have felt, also, that this more fully than anything else represented the profession he had chosen.”[note 7]

Robert E. Lee graduated second in the class of 1829—without incurring a single demerit—and, exercising the right accorded class leaders, asked to be assigned to the Engineers. Because engineering had fascinated him more than any other subject it would now become his profession. Thanks to his hard work, Lee was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers.

The Army wasted no time in putting the twenty-two-year-old to work. In August of 1829 Robert E. Lee was posted to Cockspur Island in the Savannah River, twelve miles downstream from the port city of Savannah. There he helped prepare for the construction of a large earthwork—eventually named Fort Pulaski—which would command the river. Lee remained at Cockspur for the 1829 and 1830 work seasons, spending much of his time, legend has it, armpit deep in the muddy Savannah. His final months there he was under the command of Lieut. Joseph Mansfield, who was later killed at the Battle of Sharpsburg leading a Union Army corps.

Lee was next assigned to Fortress Monroe in Virginia. Located on Old Point Comfort, a narrow spit of land forming the extreme tip of the peninsula between the James and York Rivers, it had been the site of a military work since 1609. Lee reported for duty in May of 1831. The following month, furlough in hand, Lee was married to Mary Anne Randolph Custis at Arlington. Returning to Fort Monroe with his bride—but a few weeks prior to the slave insurrection led by Nat Turner—Lee went to work as assistant to Captain Andrew Talcott, the post’s constructing engineer. The fort was nearly complete but the outworks and moat needed attention. Additionally, Lee supervised work on Fort Calhoun, a steadily sinking mound of stone just offshore. During his three-year stay on the Virginia Peninsula he designed buildings, wharves, and fortifications; oversaw the preparation of accounts and reports; learned how to deal with laborers; and gained a great amount of experience in estimating construction costs. He had arrived with but limited experience—he was now completely qualified to independently direct a large engineering project.[note 8]

Unfortunately, the Corps of Engineers had other plans. Far from receiving an independent project, Lee was instead ordered to Washington. In November of 1834, he reported for duty in the capital city as assistant to the Army’s chief engineer, Brigadier General Charles Gratiot (pronounced “grass-shot”). Initially excited about the assignment, he quickly discovered that the office work was sheer drudgery—a daily shuffling of accounts, budgets, queries, clarifications, complaints, reports, and vouchers. On the plus side, Lee was in charge of the office whenever the general was away, which was frequently, and the proximity to Arlington meant he could ride to work and back across the Potomac. Despite one shining moment, however—a summer of 1835 assignment surveying the Ohio-Michigan border—Lee became extremely frustrated with his position, as well as with the Corps itself.

“You ask what are my prospects in the Corps?” he wrote Andrew Talcott on February 2, 1837. “Bad enough—unless [the Corps] is increased and something done for us. . . . As to what I intend doing, it is rather hard to answer. There is one thing certain, I must get away from here. . . . I am waiting, looking and hoping for some good opportunity to bid an affectionate farewell to my dear Uncle Sam, and I seem to think that said opportunity is to drop in my lap like a ripe pear.”[note 9] Luckily for Lee, and Uncle Sam, that pear had just ripened.

The independent assignment Lee longed for lay out west, on the mighty Mississippi. In the 1830s the railroads had yet to conquer the West—the region’s rivers, therefore, still served as its principal highways. Only thirty-some years had passed since the Louisiana Purchase, however, and commerce along the upper section of the Mississippi River was just getting up a head of steam. St. Louis had welcomed its first steamboat in 1817, but it was underpowered. Steamboats with more horsepower began plying the “Father of Waters” in the 1830s but the upper Mississippi—the portion above the mouth of the Ohio—posed several significant navigational problems. Specifically, two long sets of dangerous rapids were forcing vessels—at times of low water—to lighten their loads and reduce their draft, before attempting passage. Many steamers, despite this measure, were being lost to the rocks. One of the rapids, eleven miles long, was upstream from where the Des Moines River empties into the Mississippi near Keokuk, Iowa. The other, a fifteen-mile white-knuckler, lay just above the mouth of the Rock River at Rock Island, Illinois.

There was another, entirely different, problem at St. Louis. Founded by the French in the 1760s—on the Mississippi’s right bank where a forty-foot-high limestone bluff commands the water—St. Louis had boasted over 14,000 residents in the census of 1830. River commerce was its lifeblood—the city’s entire riverfront, in fact, was one continuous bustling wharf. By the 1830s, however, that harbor was endangered—the very real possibility existed that St. Louis would become landlocked. Just opposite the city, a large sand and silt island had grown in the Mississippi River. Over a mile in length, 500 yards wide, and thick with cottonwood trees, it was known as Bloody Island because of the large number of duels fought there. In 1830, for example, Maj. Thomas Biddle had faced off against the Hon. Spencer Pettis—a Missouri member of the 21st Congress—after being infuriated over charges Pettis had made against Biddle’s brother, Nicholas Biddle, president of the Bank of the United States. On August 27, the two met on Bloody Island, beyond the jurisdiction of local authorities. Both, unfortunately, were mortally wounded at the first exchange.

The problem with the island, of course, was not the affairs of honor being settled there. By the early 1830s, the Mississippi’s current was beginning to cut along the eastern, or Illinois, side of the island. During any major flood season, it was feared, the mercurial river might shift its main channel in that direction. Additionally, as the river in front of the city slowed and shallowed, another large sandbar—Duncan’s Island, just as big as its bloody brother—was building up below the harbor and fast approaching. When these two land masses merged, St. Louis would be stranded about a mile away from its livelihood.

In 1833, city leaders had paid John Goodfellow almost 3,000 dollars to plow up the islands. It was thought that the river, when high, would then wash away the loosened sand. When that plan failed the mayor wrote to the House Committee on Roads and Canals asking for assistance from the Federal government. Three years later, in 1836, Congress appropriated first $15,000 and then an additional $50,000 to solve the growing problems at St. Louis. That year, too, Robert E. Lee’s superior, General Charles Gratiot—a proud native of St. Louis and one of four Louisiana Territory boys appointed to West Point by President Thomas Jefferson—spent several weeks personally examining the river. Gratiot believed that the Corps of Engineers could solve the problems along the upper Mississippi, the rapids as well as the islands at St. Louis, and at first assigned Captain Henry Shreve to the task. Shreve—who had made a name for himself by developing a steam-driven snagboat—was extremely busy, however, clearing the western rivers. Gratiot then remembered that back east, at Corps headquarters, his assistant was not only very capable but also very eager to get out into the field.[note 10]

Lee’s orders for this, his first independent assignment, were dated April 6, 1837. Because his wife was expecting a baby, however—their third—he did not depart until mid June. From Arlington Lee, now a first lieutenant, journeyed to Philadelphia to purchase the necessary surveying equipment, then by way of the Pennsylvania Canal to Pittsburg, where he boarded a steamer and descended the Ohio to Louisville. His traveling companion—and assistant for this engineering project—was Second Lieutenant Montgomery C. Meigs, but one year out of West Point. (A native of Georgia, Meigs later served as quartermaster general of the Federal Army during the Civil War.) At Louisville Lee met up with Captain Shreve and inspected the equipment the experienced engineer had ordered for improving the rapids. This included two “machine boats” especially designed for raising submerged rocks, and an open barge in which to transport them. These were not quite completed so Lee directed that they follow him to St. Louis. At Louisville, too, First Lieutenant Lee, according to Meigs, “organized and outfitted a strong surveying-party of river-men.”[note 11]

Arriving at St. Louis on August 5, 1837, Lee and Meigs took up rooms in a hotel—“excellently kept though the building itself is bad,” Lee noted—and made a preliminary investigation, on foot, of their immediate surroundings. The Virginian was not impressed with St. Louis. “It is,” he wrote, “the [most expensive] and dirtiest place I was ever in. Our daily expenses about equal our daily pay.”[note 12] A week later he complained to his wife: “It is astonishingly hot here, thermometer 97 degrees in the House.” The dust “is now only ankle deep in the streets,” but “put in motion by the slightest wind . . . penetrates every where.”[note 13] The city’s saving grace, according to Lee, was its pretty girls, which he had yet to encounter but knew must be somewhere.

After sixteen days in St. Louis, Lee and Meigs, along with a fourteen-man surveying party, headed upriver. One hundred and fifty miles upstream, at the Des Moines Rapids, “the party attempted to pass . . . in their steamer,” Meigs wrote in the third person, “and quickly experienced the difficulties of the navigation by finding themselves fast on the rocks. . . . All efforts to float the steamer failed, and the party proceeded to make their survey of these rapids while using the steamer as a base of operations, the surveying-parties leaving the steamer in small boats in the morning and returning at night.”[note 14] Their work involved collecting data at the rapids—sounding the water depth at various intervals, taking sightings for an accurate map, etc.—so that the problem could be approached scientifically. Low water—during three months of the year—made passage all but impossible. Lee planned to blast a permanent, year-long-lasting channel through the white water.

When not working the engineers fished amongst the rocks, and penned long letters home. They also admired the untouched, unimproved countryside. The land along the upper Mississippi had yet to be surveyed or brought into the market. When the party tired of living aboard the steamer Lee quartered the men in an abandoned log cabin nearby. He and Meigs, meanwhile, “took up our blankets and walked a short mile to [a so-called city] composed of the worst kind of a small log cabin which contained the Proprietor and the entire population. Here we were kindly received and accommodated.”[note 15] His host, Lee wrote his wife, “the Nabob of this section of country,” was a “hard featured man of about fifty, a large talker, and has the title of Doctor, whether of Law, Medicine or Science, I have never learned but infer all three.”[note 16] This gentleman told Lee of his plans for a mill, a distillery, and a bridge spanning the Mississippi.

From the Des Moines Rapids the party next proceeded another 100 miles upstream, to the tail end of the Rock Island Rapids. “There they discovered another steamer wrecked upon a rock,” wrote Meigs. “Lieutenant Lee made this wreck his base of operations during the survey of the upper rapids. . . . About the end of October the work on this part of the river was finished and they returned to the Des Moines Rapids on a passing steamer. At these rapids they found the banks lined with birch-bark canoes and Indian tepees, a tribe of Chippewas having assembled there to receive the fall distribution of presents from the agents.”[note 17] Picking up their original steamboat, the party rode the current back to St. Louis.

The Lee-Meigs surveying party returned to the river town on October 8. The surveys of the upper rapids had convinced Lee that channels could be cut through them without too much trouble. Now it was necessary to produce the requisite maps and write up the recommendations. It was also time to tackle the largest portion of Lee’s assignment: the Mississippi at St. Louis. Therefore—after renting the second story of a levee-facing warehouse as an office, and turning over the map illustration to Meigs and Henry I. Kayser, a German-born cartographer—Lee focused his attention on saving the harbor. First, wrote Meigs, “parties were placed in the field on each bank of the river. Signals were established, and the river was thoroughly triangulated and sounded from the mouth of the Missouri to some distance below St. Louis.”[note 18] (Meigs makes the task sound simple, but he is referring here to at least twenty miles of river.)

With the harbor data thus collected, Lee devised a scheme to deepen the original channel in front of the city and wash away Duncan’s Island. Based, in part, upon the investigations performed by Shreve and Gratiot, Lee presented his formal report on December 6, 1837. It was deceptively simple. From the Illinois bank of the Mississippi, a 600-yard-long dam, or dike, would be laid to the head of Bloody Island. Hopefully, this structure would permanently divert the river to the Missouri side of the sandbar and eventually attach Bloody Island to the State of Illinois. The western face of the island below this dam was to be shielded by a stone revetment one-third of a mile long. Additionally, at the foot of Bloody Island another dam—this one at least 1,000 yards long, running parallel with the banks of the Mississippi—would be constructed to throw the full force of the river against the head of Duncan’s Island.[note 19] Lee admitted that the dams could only be built with “great difficulty,” and estimated the total cost at $158, 554.

Lee’s proposal, if it worked, would manhandled the Mississippi into its original channel—by cutting off its alternative route, east of Bloody Island—and then use the river itself for the demise of Duncan’s Island. Obviously, the construction of the two dams was crucial to the plan’s success. For each, Lee proposed driving two parallel rows of pilings, twenty-five feet apart, into the riverbed. The space between them was to be filled with sand and small stones. On both of the outer faces, brush weighted with rocks would be dumped into the water until it extended out a good forty feet. It was anticipated that sand and silt would soon thereafter fill in all the open spaces.[note 20]

Taking stock of the river’s problems, and putting together his report, had consumed the balance of 1837. So, after preparing for the upcoming work season—including ordering four more flatboats—Lee and Meigs headed back east. Henry Kayser, the German mapmaker, would hold down the fort until Lee returned. The trip home to Arlington was memorable for Lee because it included a ride on the newly opened Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. It was Lee’s first. In Washington, Lee and Meigs parted company. Although the two engineers would never again work together Montgomery Meigs would later profoundly affect the Lee family.” Rick Britton

Article Continued Here

Alma 43 Continued

I also include Alma 43 about the battle of Moroni against the Lamanites at the River Sidon. The battle is done in a shallow part of the River, (Maybe Des Moines Rapids or more south towards St. Louis).

Alma 43:25 Now Moroni, leaving a part of his army in the land of Jershon, lest by any means a part of the Lamanites should come into that land and take possession of the city, took the remaining part of his army and marched over into the land of Manti. (Manti dark orange, Zarahemla in bright orange in map below)

26 And he caused that all the people in that quarter of the land should gather themselves together to battle against the Lamanites, to defend their lands and their country, their rights and their liberties; therefore they were prepared against the time of the coming of the Lamanites.

27 And it came to pass that Moroni caused that his army should be secreted in the valley which was near the bank of the river Sidon, which was on the west of the river Sidon in the wilderness.

Alma 43- See Map Below

Alma 43 Continued- See Map Below

Alma 43;30 And he also knowing that it was the only desire of the Nephites to preserve their lands, and their liberty, and their church, therefore he thought it no sin that he should defend them by stratagem; therefore, he found by his spies which course the Lamanites were to take.

31 Therefore, he divided his army and brought a part over into the valley, and concealed them on the east, and on the south of the hill Riplah;

32 And the remainder he concealed in the west valley, on the west of the river Sidon, and so down into the borders of the land Manti.

33 And thus having placed his army according to his desire, he was prepared to meet them.

34 And it came to pass that the Lamanites came up on the north of the hill, where a part of the army of Moroni was concealed.

35 And as the Lamanites had passed the hill Riplah, and came into the valley, and began to cross the river Sidon, the army which was concealed on the south of the hill, which was led by a man whose name was Lehi, and he led his army forth and encircled the Lamanites about on the east in their rear.

36 And it came to pass that the Lamanites, when they saw the Nephites coming upon them in their rear, turned them about and began to contend with the army of Lehi.

37 And the work of death commenced on both sides, but it was more dreadful on the part of the Lamanites, for their nakedness was exposed to the heavy blows of the Nephites with their swords and their cimeters, which brought death almost at every stroke.

38 While on the other hand, there was now and then a man fell among the Nephites, by their swords and the loss of blood, they being shielded from the more vital parts of the body, or the more vital parts of the body being shielded from the strokes of the Lamanites, by their breastplates, and their armshields, and their head-plates; and thus the Nephites did carry on the work of death among the Lamanites.

39 And it came to pass that the Lamanites became frightened, because of the great destruction among them, even until they began to flee towards the river Sidon.

40 And they were pursued by Lehi and his men; and they were driven by Lehi into the waters of Sidon, and they crossed the waters of Sidon. And Lehi retained his armies upon the bank of the river Sidon that they should not cross.

41 And it came to pass that Moroni and his army met the Lamanites in the valley, on the other side of the river Sidon, and began to fall upon them and to slay them.

42 And the Lamanites did flee again before them, towards the land of Manti; and they were met again by the armies of Moroni.

43 Now in this case the Lamanites did fight exceedingly; yea, never had the Lamanites been known to fight with such exceedingly great strength and courage, no, not even from the beginning.

44 And they were inspired by the Zoramites and the Amalekites, who were their chief captains and leaders, and by Zerahemnah, who was their chief captain, or their chief leader and commander; yea, they did fight like dragons, and many of the Nephites were slain by their hands, yea, for they did smite in two many of their head-plates, and they did pierce many of their breastplates, and they did smite off many of their arms; and thus the Lamanites did smite in their fierce anger.

45 Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.

46 And they were doing that which they felt was the duty which they owed to their God; for the Lord had said unto them, and also unto their fathers, that: Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not suffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies.

47 And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion.

48 And it came to pass that when the men of Moroni saw the fierceness and the anger of the Lamanites, they were about to shrink and flee from them. And Moroni, perceiving their intent, sent forth and inspired their hearts with these thoughts—yea, the thoughts of their lands, their liberty, yea, their freedom from bondage.

49 And it came to pass that they turned upon the Lamanites, and they cried with one voice unto the Lord their God, for their liberty and their freedom from bondage.

50 And they began to stand against the Lamanites with power; and in that selfsame hour that they cried unto the Lord for their freedom, the Lamanites began to flee before them; and they fled even to the waters of Sidon.

51 Now, the Lamanites were more numerous, yea, by more than double the number of the Nephites; nevertheless, they were driven insomuch that they were gathered together in one body in the valley, upon the bank by the river Sidon.

52 Therefore the armies of Moroni encircled them about, yea, even on both sides of the river, for behold, on the east were the men of Lehi.

53 Therefore when Zerahemnah saw the men of Lehi on the east of the river Sidon, and the armies of Moroni on the west of the river Sidon, that they were encircled about by the Nephites, they were struck with terror.

54 Now Moroni, when he saw their terror, commanded his men that they should stop shedding their blood.

ALMA 44:21 Now the number of their dead was not numbered because of the greatness of the number; yea, the number of their dead was exceedingly great, both on the Nephites and on the Lamanites.

22 And it came to pass that they did cast their dead into the waters of Sidon, and they have gone forth and are buried in the depths of the sea.“

(Notice here how the word Sea is related with the River. Sea could be a River and a River could be a Sea)

Another Amazing Des Moines River Map of 1829

Map above is an 1829 Survey by Napoleon Bonaparte Buford of the section of the Mississippi River, showing the Des Moines Rapids between Nauvoo, Illinois and Keokuk, Iowa-Hamilton, Illinois.

The Des Moines Rapids was one of two major rapids on the Mississippi River that limited Steamboat traffic on the river through the early 19th century.

The survey was commenced by Napoleon B. Buford of the US Army Corps of Topographical Engineers in 1829 and corrected by Henry Miller Shreve in 1836.

The map was published as part of a concerted effort between 1825 and 1843 to survey and improve commercial navigation and flooding on major American Rivers, undertaken by the US Army

Napoleon Bonaparte Buford (January 13, 1807 – March 28, 1883) was an American soldier, Union general in the American Civil War, and railroad executive. He was the half-brother of the famous Gettysburg hero, John Buford, but never attained his sibling’s military distinction.
Survey Description
Map shows settlements and some structures along the border between Iowa and Illinois during the early nineteenth century. Relief shown by hachures, (short parallel lines used in hill-shading on maps, their closeness indicating steepness of gradient), and contours, (an outline, especially one representing or bounding the shape or form of something). Depths shown by shading and spot heights. Scale not given.
Physical Description
1 map : col. ; 16 x 32 cm.
Creation Information
Shreve, Henry Miller, 1785-1851 1836.
Context
This map is part of the collection entitled: Map Collections from the University of Texas at Arlington and was provided by University of Texas at Arlington Library to The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries. It has been viewed 607 times, with 5 in the last month.

Abraham Lincoln used Robert E. Lee’s 1837 Survey Map

‘Lincoln was already an experienced railroad lawyer when he accepted the case. From 1852 to 1860, he handled cases for the Illinois Central. Three times as an attorney for the Alton & Sangamon Railroad, he won cases that eventually came before the U.S. Supreme Court. He also had previously argued two cases in the U.S. District Court involving the question of the obstruction of navigable rivers by the construction of bridges. In one of these cases, he was legal counsel on the side of the river interests.

Lincoln almost always sought out the fundamental facts on which to base his case. He had a reputation of being very well prepared. He apparently was not satisfied with the explanations of the accident given by the bridge master, bridge engineer, and others. A few days after he took the case, he traveled to Rock Island to see the bridge firsthand. He walked out onto the bridge and, as the story goes, met a boy sitting out on one of the spans. He asked the boy if he lived around here and the boy replied, “Yes, sir. I live in Davenport. My dad helped build this railroad.” Lincoln then asked the boy if he knew much about the river. When the boy answered in the affirmative, Lincoln laughed and said, “I’m mighty glad I came out here where I can get a little less opinion and more fact. Tell me now, how fast does this water run under here?

Lincoln and the boy figured out the speed of the river current under the bridge by timing how fast a log traveled from the island to the bridge. The boy who told this story was Benjamin R. Brayton, son of B. B. Brayton, resident engineer on the project, and who later was also a Rock Island engineer. Lincoln, with his customary thoroughness, studied other information concerning the current, speeds, eddies, and the traffic of the river, including the survey of the river done by Robert E. Lee. During the trial, Lincoln scored points with the jury with his intimate knowledge of the measurements of the bridge and the river.

Rock Island Bridge used Lee’s Survey

The Rock Island Bridge was built for the purpose of uniting the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, which had just reached Rock Island from Chicago in 1854, and the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad in Iowa, which was building from Davenport toward Council Bluffs on the western end of the state during 1853. Proponents of the project touted Rock Island as an ideal location for the bridge as it provided a direct rail link between the city and state of New York, the Mississippi Valley, and the Far West. Project engineers, drawing on an 1837 topographical survey by Lt. Robert E. Lee and other surveys, deemed the site ideal.

Because the boundary between Illinois and Iowa was in the center of the main channel of the Mississippi River and both railroad’s charters differed on their legal origin and terminal points, special legislation and a new charter was necessary to unite the two railroads. The problem was solved by an act of the Illinois legislature in 1853 incorporating the Railroad Bridge Company with the power to “build, maintain, and use a railroad bridge over the Mississippi River . . . in such a manner as shall not materially obstruct or interfere with the free navigation of said river.” This condition would become a crucial point in future litigation.

The construction of the bridge started on July 16, 1853, and lasted for three years. The construction involved three sections—a bridge across a narrow portion of the river between the Illinois shore and the island, a line of tracks across Rock Island, and the long bridge between the island and the Iowa shore.” Prologue Magazine, Bridging the Mississippi The Railroads and Steamboats Clash at the Rock Island Bridge Summer 2004, Vol. 36, No. 2 By David A. Pfeiffer

Thank you Robert E. Lee for helping us find Zarahemla!

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“God has made certain decrees which are fixed and immovable … for instance, the oak of the forest, the fruit of the tree, the herb of the field—all bear a sign that seed hath been planted there; for it is a decree of the Lord that every tree, plant, and herb bearing seed should bring forth of its kind, and cannot come forth after any other law or principle.” Joseph Smith Jr. The Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, Volume 44

We have enough and to spare, at present in these mountains, of schools where young infidels are made because the teachers are so tender-footed that they dare not mention the principles of the gospel to their pupils, but have no hesitancy in introducing into the classroom the theories of Huxley, of Darwin, or of Mill and the false political economy which contends against co-operation and the United Order. This course I am resolutely and uncompromisingly opposed to, and I hope to see the day when the doctrines of the gospel will be taught in all our schools, when the revelations of the Lord will be our texts, and our books will be written and manufactured by ourselves and in our own midst. As a beginning in this direction I have endowed the Brigham Young Academy at Provo.

“The evolution of man has been a topic of debate among Church educators, members, and General Authorities since the early 1900s. The debate continues today.

Where do you stand on this important matter?

In 1954, Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, an Apostle who later became President of the Church, authored the book Man: His Origin and Destiny at the request of other members of the Quorum of the Twelve. This book documents Elder Smith’s position that pre-Adamites and organic (i.e., Darwinian) evolution are “false teachings, so destructive of faith in God.”

Man: His Origin and Destiny has been criticized by certain LDS educators. Elder Ezra Taft Benson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve, offered the following rebuttal to one such criticism at BYU in 1976—

“… Elder Smith’s book, a book I would encourage all to read … It is also apparent to all who have the Spirit of God in them that Joseph Fielding Smith’s writings will stand the test of time.”

Today, 39 years later, Standing the Test of Time ‒ Science Proving Scripture fulfills that prophecy!

Standing the Test of Time – Science Proving Scripture carefully examines the scientific evidence for Darwinian evolution and finds it seriously lacking in actual scientific basis. For example, the book explains how and why the human genome is actually deteriorating over time rather than creating new genes through evolution; why there are no fossils of any real pre-Adam transitional humans to be found anywhere; why radiocarbon and geologic dating estimation methods are consistently unreliable; and when dinosaurs really lived.

In short, Standing the Test of Time provides truthful scientific answers to some of life’s most vexing questions. As Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote, “These are questions to which all of us should find answers. Every person must choose for himself what he will believe.”

Founded on new, groundbreaking science performed by courageous scientists with doctoral degrees, the glorious truths revealed in Standing the Test of Time will increase your faith in God as The Creator. No longer need you be intimidated by the sophisticated but unscientific and untruthful rhetoric of mainstream science that is so pervasive in today’s media!” Source: Available at www.digitalegend.com

Joseph Smith Foundation Commentary

“Can the scientific worldviews of Darwinism or NeoDarwinism be harmonized with the doctrines of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Many seem to feel that Darwinian evolution has been proven to be a scientific fact. These are the base assumptions of NeoDarwinism:

1. All life originated and diversified through chance
2. All organisms are descended from a single common ancestor in the distant past
3. An unguided process of natural selection has the power to produce fundamentally new forms of life through random mutations
4. Uniformitarianism or the principle that the present is the key to the past should be used in understanding the earth and all things in the universe
5. There is no purpose or design in the universe

This FAQ compilation provides statements from presidents of the Church and the standard works to show that each of these foundational principles of NeoDarwinism is in direct conflict with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Additional tenets of Darwinism that are in conflict with the Gospel are:

1. Life originated many millions of years ago
2. Death has been a part of this world for millions of years
3. The earth is billions of years old
4. Spirit matter does not exist
5. Intelligence does not exist
6. Miracles were not involved in the origin of the universe
7. Miracles were not involved in the origin of this earth
8. There are no laws beyond the physical laws that science can comprehend

Darwinism and NeoDarwinism are in complete opposition to the doctrines involving God’s intervention through priesthood power in the history of the universe and life on this earth. For a great example of this please see the Humanist Manifesto. Excerpts can be found here. Darwinian concepts lead to philosophies diametrically opposed to the teachings of the Gospel. Many presidents of the Church have testified of this fact. President Joseph Fielding Smith has made this statement regarding compromise between the theories of Darwinism and the Gospel:

I say most emphatically, you cannot believe in this theory of the origin of man, and at the same time accept the plan of salvation as set forth by the Lord our God. You must choose the one and reject the other, for they are in direct conflict and there is a gulf separating them which is so great that it cannot be bridged, no matter how much one may try to do so. ^[1]

Additionally, President Smith taught that the author of Darwiniam evolution was the adversary of man:

“Organic evolution is Satan’s chief weapon in this dispensation in his attempt to destroy the divine mission of Jesus Christ. It is a contemptible plot against faith in God and to destroy the effective belief in the divine atonement of our Redeemer through which men may be saved from their sins and find place in the Kingdom of God. There is not and cannot be any compromise between the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the theories of evolution. Were evolution true, there could be no remission of sin.” ^[2]

President Smith also taught that one must choose between the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the philosophies of Darwinism:

If life began on the earth, as advocated by Darwin, Huxley, Haeckel (who has been caught openhanded perpetrating a fraud), and others of this school, whether by chance or by some designing hand, then the doctrines of the Church are false. Then there was no Garden of Eden, no Adam and Eve, and no fall. If there was no fall; if death did not come into the world as the scriptures declared that it did—and to be consistent, if you are an evolutionist, this view you must assume—then there was no need for a redemption, and Jesus Christ is not the Son of God, and he did not die for the transgression of Adam, nor for the sins of the world. Then there has been no resurrection from the dead! Consistently, logically, there is no other view, no alternative that can be taken. Now, my brethren and sisters, are you prepared to take this view?” ^[3]

Clearly President Smith felt that compromise was impossible and very dangerous. Some feel that this was just one man’s opinion. Perhaps, they say, President Smith took the scriptures a little too seriously. They feel that Darwinism is a proven fact and that therefore there must be some way to reconcile the Gospel with Darwinism. If indeed President Smith was the only witness then this discussion could be open to debate. But note that nearly every President of the Church has taught that Darwinism is destructive and/or has taught doctrines that completely contradict those found in the evolutionary worldview. In support of Joseph Fielding Smith’s words in denunciation of evolution, Ezra Taft Benson stated:

It is . . . apparent to all who have the Spirit of God in them that Joseph Fielding Smith’s writings will stand the test of time.” ^[4]

President Benson felt that those who live worthy of the Spirit of the Lord will know that the witness of Joseph Fielding Smith regarding Darwinian evolution is inspired of the Lord. President Benson advised members of the Church who became confused by evolutionary teachings while attending Church schools or otherwise to read President Joseph Fielding Smith’s book, Man, His Origin and Destiny. President Benson added further that the Church was under condemnation for treating lightly the words of the Lord as contained in the Book of Mormon.

Surely the Book of Mormon is a sacred thing, and yet many trifle with it, or in other words, take it lightly, treat it as though it is of little importance. . . .If the early Saints were rebuked for treating the Book of Mormon lightly, are we under any less condemnation if we do the same? The Lord Himself bears testimony that it is of eternal significance. Can a small number of us bring the whole Church under condemnation because we trifle with sacred things? What will we say at the Judgment when we stand before Him and meet His probing gaze if we are among those described as forgetting the new covenant? ^[5]

President Benson then added that one way the Church was not using the Book of Mormon correctly dealt with Darwin and evolution. He felt that the Book of Mormon should be used to expose the false doctrines promoted by Darwin and his followers:

We have not been using the Book of Mormon as we should. Our homes are not as strong unless we are using it to bring our children to Christ. Our families may be corrupted by worldly trends and teachings unless we know how to use the book to expose and combat the falsehoods in socialism, organic evolution, rationalism, humanism, and so forth.” ^[6]

As a watchman on the tower, I feel to warn you that one of the chief means of misleading our youth and destroying the family unit is our educational institutions . . . if [parents] become alerted and informed, these parents can help expose some of the deceptions of men like . . . Charles Darwin and others.” ^[7]

Clearly President Benson is a second witness that Darwinian evolution cannot be harmonized with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In addition to President Benson, President Harold B. Lee taught that there can be no compromise with Darwinism. President Lee was always very supportive of President Joseph Fielding Smith and used the book, Man, His Origin and Destiny while teaching. President Lee additionally taught throughout his life that there was no death before the Fall of Adam and Eve. Additionally, in a First Presidency message, while President of the Church, President Lee taught that a belief in pre-Adamites could be equated with weak faith.

I was somewhat sorrowed recently to hear someone, a sister who comes from a church family, ask, What about the pre-Adamic people?” Here was someone who I thought was fully grounded in the faith. I asked, What about the pre-Adamic people?” She replied, Well, aren’t there evidences that people preceded the Adamic period of the earth?” I said, Have you forgotten the scripture that says, ‘And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul, the first flesh upon the earth, the first man also….’” ^[8] I asked, Do you believe that?” She wondered about the creation because she had read the theories of the scientists, and the question that she was really asking was: How do you reconcile science with religion? The answer must be, If science is not true, you cannot reconcile truth with error .” ^[9]

President Lee made it very clear that we can not and should not reconcile false scientific ideas such as pre-Adamites with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Clearly President Harold B. Lee is a third witness that the Gospel cannot be harmonized with Darwinian evolution. In our day President Boyd K. Packer has added his witness of the dangers of compromise with Darwinism.

No greater ideal has been revealed than the supernal truth that we are the children of God, and that by virtue of our creation we differ from all other living things ^[10]. All flesh,” the scriptures teach, is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts” ^[11]… …The knowledge that we are the children of God is a refining, even an exalting truth. On the other hand, no idea has been more destructive of happiness, no philosophy has produced more sorrow, more heartbreak, more suffering and mischief, no idea has contributed more to the erosion of the family than the idea that we are not the offspring of God, but only advanced animals. There flows from that idea the not too subtle perception that we are compelled to yield to every carnal urge, are subject to physical but not to moral law. The man-from-animal theory…is widely taught and generally accepted as the solution to the mystery of life. I know there are two views on the subject. But it is one thing to measure this theory solely against intellectual or academic standards, quite another to measure it against moral or spiritual or doctrinal standards.” ^[12]

The witnesses against Darwinism are clear and numerous. The Prophets of God have warned that there can be no compromise with this false philosophy of origins. Still many say, But evolution has been proven to be a scientific fact.” In answer to these assertions, President Spencer W. Kimball had this to say to those who stack false science against the word of God:

The Gods organized the earth of materials at hand, over which they had control and power. This truth is absolute. A million educated folk might speculate and determine in their minds that the earth came into being by chance. The truth remains. The earth was made by the Gods…opinions do not change that. The Gods organized and gave life to man and placed him on the earth. This is absolute. It cannot be disproved. A million brilliant minds might conjecture otherwise, but it is still true.” ^[13]

Despite the rhetoric, science has not proven Darwinian evolution to be true. There are many scientists who can provide evidence against Darwinian assumptions. For scientific witnesses that show evidence that the Prophets of God are indeed correct please visit our online store. For additional statements of the position of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints please visit this FAQ.”

https://josephsmithfoundation.org/faqs/science/20-harmonize-should-the-gospel-and-evolution-be-harmonized-are-the-conflicts-between-evolution-and-statements-made-by-the-prophets-caused-by-terminology-misuse/

1. Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:141.
2. ↑ Joseph Fielding Smith, Man, His Origin and Destiny, 184-185
3. ↑ Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:143.
4. ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, This Nation Shall Endure [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1977], 27.
5. ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, The Book of Mormon—Keystone of Our Religion,” Ensign, Nov 1986, 4
6. ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, 60-61.
7. ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988], p. 307
8. ↑ Moses 3:7
9. ↑ Harold B. Lee, First Presidency Message: Find the Answers in the Scriptures,” Ensign, Dec. 1972, 2
10. ↑ Moses 6:8-10, 22, 59
11. ↑ 1 Corinthians 15:39
12. ↑ Boyd K. Packer, Things of the Soul, pp. 109-111
13. ↑ Spencer W. Kimball, Absolute Truth”, Ensign, September 1978, p. 3

See another blog here: Was Adam a Cave Man? NO!

A testimony of the Book of Mormon must of necessity embrace the understanding that it came as a “gift” of God, by the “power of God.” It is both the foundation upon which the modern Church is to rest and a miracle. To suppose that in its origin the Book of Mormon is less than a miracle is to attempt to build the house of one’s understanding upon something other than the foundation upon which the Lord placed it. It is not expected that miracles be explained.” The Process of Translating the Book of Mormon by Joseph Fielding McConkie (Professor of Ancient Scripture, BYU) and Craig J. Ostler (Assistant Professor of Church History and Doctrine, BYU) 2010.

Elder Ulisses Soares Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles April 2020

“My dear fellow companions in the gospel, many of today’s discoveries from ancient times occur during an archaeological excavation or even by accident during a construction project. Joseph Smith, however, was directed to the plates by an angel. That outcome by itself was a miracle.

The translation process of the Book of Mormon was also a miracle. This sacred ancient record was not “translated” in the traditional way that scholars would translate ancient texts by learning an ancient language. We ought to look at the process more like a “revelation” with the aid of physical instruments provided by the Lord, as opposed to a “translation” by one with knowledge of languages. Joseph Smith declared that through God’s power he “translated the Book of Mormon from [hieroglyphs], the knowledge of which was lost to the world, in which wonderful event [he] stood alone, an unlearned youth, to combat the worldly wisdom and multiplied ignorance of eighteen centuries, with a new revelation.” The Lord’s help in the translation of the plates—or revelation, so to speak—is also evident when considering the miraculously short time Joseph Smith took to translate them.

Joseph’s scribes testified of the power of God that was manifested while working on the translation of the Book of Mormon. Oliver Cowdery once said: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated … ‘The Book of Mormon.’” Elder Ulisses Soares https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2020/04/23soares?lang=eng

Between the words that Elder Soares quoted above of, “translated…’The Book of Mormon’, the dot dot dot represents the missing words of, “with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called” I think these are important words to include with the complete testimony of Oliver Cowdery as I discuss how the Book of Mormon was translated.

Elder Soares words about the authenticity of the Book of Mormon are wonderful. I know also this book is the word of God. I also have a witness that Joseph Smith translated the plates by the “Gift and Power of God” We may all interpret differently what that means. Did Joseph use a seer stone, did he use the Urim and Thummim, did he dictate words from a shinning stone, did the Lord tell him what to say, etc. etc.

I believe the overwhelming evidence quoted from the only two first hand witnesses, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, is the truth. I don’t believe the second and third hand accounts of David Whitmer, Martin Harris, William McClellin, or Emma Smith. I don’t believe Joseph used a stone in a hat as the words miraculously read as a great tele- prompter in front of his eyes. I don’t believe the Lord just told him what to say. I don’t believe as many intellectuals do, that Joseph never looked at the plates. I don’t believe Joseph dictated or transliterated, but Joseph truly did “Translate” using the Urim and Thummim or Nephite Interpreters. Joseph learned translation from Moroni most likely and other heavenly beings along with his own hard work. Translation means Joseph looked at the plates with the assistance of the Urim and Thummim or Nephite Interpreters, and Joseph used his own memory bank of words he knew or had learned to put what he saw into words written down by Oliver as his scribe. If Joseph would have merely repeated to Oliver the words he saw in a stone, there wouldn’t have been any mistakes in the dictation. I assume the intellectuals who think Joseph read the words off of a stone, that they think those words came from God or an angel and thus Joseph would not have had to translate, but merely repeat the words off of a stone. That to me is silly.

By the way, the words Urim and Thummim are never used in the Book of Mormon. These are words from the Old Testament. The Bible dictionary defines Urim and Thummim as, “Instruments prepared by God to assist man in obtaining revelation and in translating languages. In the Hebrew language the words mean “lights and perfections.” The Urim and Thummim consist of two stones set in silver bows and sometimes used with a breastplate (D&C 17:1; JS—H 1:35, 42, 52).”

“The” Urim and Thummim is different from “a” Urim and Thummim. Things may function as a so called Urim and Thummim but the only item buried with the gold plates was “the” “Nephite Interpreters” sometimes called “a” Urim and Thummim. Why would the Lord have the Brother of Jared bury the breastplate and two stones in a silver bow with the Jaredite records, if the records were not to be translated with the items buried with them? (Ether 3:23-24).

Joseph found a few seer stones of his own as many in his day did, but they weren’t used to translate the plates. Maybe they were used for other promptings or helps to Joseph but. “the” Urim and Thummim” or “Nephite Interpreters” or the “two spectacles in the rim of a bow attached to a breastplate” that were buried with the plates is the only instrument used to translate said plates. No where is scripture can you find anything different. Doesn’t that make sense? Read below as the Lord touched 16 stones for the Jaredite barges, yet He touched two special additional stones to be buried with the Jaredite plates to be used to help Joseph Smith translate.

The Lord Touched 18 Stones not 16

“And behold, when ye shall come unto me, ye shall write them and shall seal them up, that no one can interpret them; for ye shall write them in a language that they cannot be read.

And behold, these two stones will I give unto thee, and ye shall seal them up also with the things which ye shall write.

For behold, the language which ye shall write I have confounded; wherefore I will cause in my own due time that these stones shall magnify to the eyes of men these things which ye shall write.” Ether 3:22-24 

Complete Words of Oliver Cowdery

Oliver Cowdery describes these events thus: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.’ Joseph Smith History

Joseph Fielding Smith

“While the statement has been made by some writers that the Prophet Joseph Smith used a seer stone part of the time in his translating of the record, and information points to the fact that he did have in his possession such a stone, yet there is no authentic statement in the history of the Church which states that the use of such a stone was made in that translation. The information is all hearsay, and personally, I do not believe that this stone was used for this purpose. The reason I give for this conclusion is found in the statement of the Lord to the Brother of Jared as recorded in Ether 3:22–24. These stones, the Urim and Thummim which were given to the Brother of Jared, were preserved for this very purpose of translating the record, both of the Jaredites and the Nephites. Then again the Prophet was impressed by Moroni with the fact that these stones were given for that very purpose. It hardly seems reasonable to suppose that the Prophet would substitute something evidently inferior under these circumstances. It may have been so, but it is so easy for a story of this kind to be circulated due to the fact that the Prophet did possess a seer stone, which he may have used for some other purposes” (Joseph Fielding Smith, “Doctrines of Salvation,” Vol. 3, 225-26).

Here is one of my blogs that go into more detail about the translation:

When we find Zarahemla we will have the key that will unlock the door to the physical truth of the Book of Mormon.

Help Wayne May Find Zarahemla

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Scanning for that Great City Zarahemla

Zelph

As a reader of the Book of Mormon, it is essential to understand the Old World and the Jewish Customs and Laws. We know the Nephites practiced the Law of Moses. Looking in Israel and in North America for similar practices amongst the Jews and the Nephites is critical.

We don’t find connections in Central America to those customs of the Hebrews and Israelites. Mesoamerica obviously contains an Asian race of people, not an Israelite race. We find hewn stone, tropical forests, Jaguars and Jade and monkeys. No wheat or barley, wine, lambs, bullocks, doves, rams and no elephants, mastadons horses etc. North America has all of these animals and items. This is an amazing inditement of where the Book of Mormon events happened. See my detailed article hereabout the Law of Moses:

3 Essential Truths about Nephite Observance of the Law of Moses

“First Truth: Not only did the Nephites “strictly” keep the law of Moses (as indicated in 37 verses in the Book of Mormon (see Alma 30:3, Mosiah 13:29-30, Jarom 1:5), but they did so with delight as it was seen by them as both a collection of types of Christ and a means of coming unto Him. Occasionally even the Lamanites were known to “strictly” observe the law (Hel. 13:1).  Second: In “observing to keep the commandments of the Lord in all things, according to the Law of Moses” (2 Ne. 5:10), the Nephites would have necessarily observed all the feasts or “holy days” given to Moses by Jehovah. These are recorded in Exodus and Leviticus and are known as “holy convocations” or “rehearsals” and they typify the life and mission of Jesus Christ in profoundly beautiful ways. Third: It was absolutely essential for these Jewish Lehites to be brought to a land that would provide an abundance of all the plants and animals required to keep the Law of Moses, with its concomitant Holy Days or festivals. Based on the latest archeological findings, it can now be irrefutably shown that the Heartland of North America is the only location in the Western Hemisphere where all ten of the essential items were found anciently including; lambs, oxen, goats, doves, barley, wheat, grapes, and altars made of stacked, unhewn stones. These aforementioned items have not been found in the archaeological record of the pre-Columbian peoples of Mesoamerica.” Amberli Nelson MBA Hebrew/Jewish Symbology Expert

“An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me… in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar…” Exodus 20:24 – 26

There is a temple mound situated above the Ohio River near Cincinnati. “Fragments of burnt limestone may still be seen on the top. The mound is a rectangle two hundred and twenty-five feet long by one hundred and twenty feet broad, and seven feet high.” In contrast to the hewn stone buildings and altars of Mexico, the Ohio mound has the right dimensions to have accommodated a timber and burnt lime plaster (“cement”) building of the size and proportions of Solomon’s Temple.” J. P.  Maclean, The Mound Builders – Archaeology of Butler County, Ohio, 1904, pp. 222-223.

“Few realize that some of the oldest, largest and most complex structures of ancient archaeology were built of earth, clay, and stone right here in America, in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. From 6,000 years ago until quite recently, North America was home to some of the most highly advanced and well organized civilizations in the world – complete with cities, roads, and commerce.” Dr. Roger Kennedy, former director of the Smithsonian’s American History Museum

“This painting above shows Christ descending in a shaft of light to visit multitudes of Nephites who are streaming up a ramped earthen platform mound reminiscent of other earthen monuments made by the civilization now known as the Hopewell Mound Builders. The background is a vast plain with interspersed massive grass-covered mounds, wooden homes with thatched roofs and hardwood forests, while the foreground shows a large wooden temple atop a monumental ramped earth structure.  The scene is one that is true to the Book of Mormon record, without stone pyramids or thick jungle vegetation since nowhere in the text is there any mention of stone buildings, palm trees, monkeys or a tropical climate. 

The Heartland geography research has overwhelmingly demonstrated through Book of Mormon prophesies, Joseph Smith’s writings, DNA, archaeological, linguistic and cultural evidences that the most likely location for the setting of the Book of Mormon was in America’s Heartland. This painting is consistent with Joseph Smith’s known and historically documented statements and actions in such accounts as the those found in D&C 28, 30, and 32, the Wentworth Letter, the American Revivalist account, the Zelph accounts, Joseph’s hand-written letter to his wife while on Zion’s camp, and many additional sources.” Rod Meldrum, Author “Exploring the Book of Mormon in America’s Heartland”

Contrasting the works of the mound builders with Mesoamerica stone ruins, Hugh Nibley observes: “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 Chichen Itza are surpassed by few buildings in the world in beauty of proportion and grandeur of conception, there is something disturbing about most of these overpowering ruins… The great monuments do not represent what the Nephites stood for; rather they stand for what their descendents, mixed with the blood of their brethren, descended to…” Hugh Nibley, The Prophetic Book of Mormon, pp. 272-273

A Friend Jerrod Wertman Writes,

“In 1980, Professor Adam Zertal, the late Israeli archaeologist, was conducting a detailed archaeological survey of northwestern Samaria. He found a massive altar of burnt offerings dating to the biblical period of the judges. (Deut. 27)

“At first, his findings (archaeologist Adam Zertal) sparked a scholarly firestorm of disagreement, but today it’s generally recognised he did find a cultic site that corresponds to biblical sacrificial restrictions. The altar is made of natural uncut stones (Joshua 8:31,Ex 20:25) and filled with alternating layers of Earth, ash, bone and stone.

Not only is this a known construction style of ancient altars, but the bones are also ritually clean edible animals, pointing to the use as an Israelite cult centre. Unlike pagan altars with stairs, (Ex:20:26) this one was ascended via a ramp, as commanded in Exodus 20

While this is certainly information you already know, I believe it both gratifying and vindicating to have a non-LDS scholar make such matter-of-fact statements that utterly disqualifies ALL of the Mayan, Incan and Aztec temples from being Nephite temples.

This non-invested scholar makes a simple statement of fact that, almost in passing, that was/is common knowledge amongst the Jews: Any temple that has stairs leading up to the altar is Pagan. Period. It cannot be Israelite, and what’s more, the altar itself HAD to be made of natural, uncut stones, according to the requirements given by Jehovah.

All of the the central or South American temple altars are of carved/hewn stone, and according to Mosaic law, are constructed of “defiled”, ritually impure materials. Hence, unfit for worship and sacrifice.

I just wonder how much longer the Meso crowd will ignore such painfully obvious evidence such as this, and take an honest look at where the overwhelming preponderance of evidence actually is.
I have looked at many reconstructed models of this temple mount/altar, and they look so much like the mound builder temple sites.

If you just examine what has been legitimately identified as a genuine Israelite altar and compare it to both the Mayan pyramid temples and the Hopewell temple sites, even a child could pick which one is most likely a Nephite temple site.

I just feel these MesoAmerican BOM scholars are being intellectually dishonest by pointedly avoiding this particular discussion.
I’ve never even heard of this information from anyone at any church seminary, education week, or anything.

I honestly think that the most damning evidence against MesoAmerican BOM Geography is that “Strictly observing” the law of Moses was an impossibility. No wheat, no grapes, no barley, no sheep?! C’mon, guys! They may have been a once mighty civilization, but there ain’t no WAY they were Nephites!” All the best, friend, Jerrod Wertman

Below is more from archaeologist Adam Zertal

Archaeology shock: 2,000-year-old Mount Ebal discovery ‘proves Bible story’

“The Book of Joshua, found in the Bible, tells of how one of Moses’ assistants who built an altar of stones where the Israelites made peace offerings. Much later in the book, when Joshua was old and dying, he gathered the people together at Shechem, and gave a farewell speech. In the Eighties, archaeologists Adam Zertal conducted a land survey in Manasseh, including Mount Ebal, where the team identified an anomaly 150 metres below the peak.

“Secondly, Mount Ebal is the tallest mountain in northern Samaria, demonstrating the importance and commanding a view of nearly all of what would become Israel.

“Also, most Israelite Iron Age archaeological findings come from this territory of Manasseh where Mount Ebal is.”

The series went on to reveal why biblical scholars think there is a link with Joshua’s story and the altar.

It adds: “This gives some evidence to believe that here is where most of Israel resided in the early settlement and into the time of the judges, so a religious centre on Mount Ebal would give access to most of these Israelites.

“After these mentions in Deuteronomy and Joshua, Mount Ebal is never mentioned in the Bible again.

“But, in modern times, Mount Ebal has been the centre of controversy with the findings of the late archaeologist Adam Zertal.

“A pile of stones on Mount Ebal received several seasons of excavations due to Iron Age pottery scattered on its surface.

“Zertal interpreted what he found beneath the pile as a massive altar of burnt offerings dating to the biblical period of the judges.”

But, there is more evidence than just the coinciding story, the series claimed.

It continued: “At first, his findings sparked a scholarly firestorm of disagreement, but today it’s generally recognised he did find a cultic site that corresponds to biblical sacrificial restrictions.

A smaller circle could be the original altar

A smaller circle could be the original altar (Image: BIBLE DISCOVERY TV)
Some argue the rubble had other uses

Some argue the rubble had other uses (Image: BIBLE DISCOVERY TV)
“The apparent altar is made of natural uncut stones and filled with alternating layers of Earth, ash, bone and stone.

“Not only is this a known construction style of ancient altars, but the bones are also ritually clean edible animals, pointing to the use as an Israelite cult centre.

“Unlike pagan altars with stairs, this one was ascended via a ramp, as commanded in Exodus 20.

“While the altar dates to a time after Joshua, Zertal found at the centre of it, an older circular altar dug into the bedrock.

“Could this be Joshua’s construction? The location, timing and archaeological all line up.”

Though some archaeologists agree with the consideration that the site was an altar compound, and some that it was a cultic location, others believe that it was simply a farmhouse, a guard tower.

They argue that the paved areas are simply rooms, the sloping wall simply an eroded partition wall, and the infilled enclosure a room that was later changed into a tower.”

No Tools to Cut Stone-Hebrew Law

The first Nephite Temple would be built on the highest point of the Nephite settlement. (Painting above represents Lookout Mountain above Moccasin Bend on the Tennessee River). It would be facing directly east symbolic of The Savior’s coming. It was to be built like Solomon’s. The altars of the temple were made of stacked stone, not hewn stone. “The word in Exodus 20:25 which is translated as ‘tool’ is the Hebrew חרב which most literally means ‘sword’.  There explains that a sword is designed to shorten life, while an altar is designed to lengthen life by being used to achieve atonement. It makes sense, therefore, that one should not be used in the formation of the other.” Rashi, Medieval French Rabbi.

Do We Really Want to Go Back to Normal?

“Here’s a question that keeps coming up in conversation and online: when will things go back to normal?

It’s natural to long for normalcy during a trial that doesn’t seem to have an end date. If only we knew the future—if only we knew the specific dates when this trial would be over—we could fortify ourselves by looking ahead to that goal. Unfortunately, the aspect of a trial that makes it so, well, trying is that we don’t see as far ahead as we’d like. We don’t know how long it will last. That’s why it’s natural to want what was normal.

But the truth is, whatever will become “normal” on the other side of the coronavirus crisis will not be the old normal. It will be something new. We are not going back.

So here’s the question I hope we will begin to ask instead: Do we really want to go back to normal? Was the old normal good? Were we really flourishing in the old normal? Was the old normal spiritually healthy?

Old Normal
What was the old normal? A world with less and less in-person interaction, looser commitments, increasing polarization, and, above all, loneliness.

Let’s look again at the old normal:
1- Americans have been interacting less with their neighbors as the years go by, choosing instead the virtual neighborhoods of Facebook and Instagram, often at the expense of knowing the names and stories of the people who live only yards away. (It’s hard to follow Jesus’s command to love your neighbor when you don’t know your neighbor’s name.)

2- In the past 30 years, our commitments have grown looser, with civic groups on the decline as well as a drop in church attendance. Fewer and fewer Christians attend church every week, preferring a hit-and-miss pattern that easily allows other responsibilities and leisure activities to impinge upon the regular rhythm of meeting together.

3- Family time has suffered; parents are more and more focused on job security and maximizing their efficiency, while ensuring they have enough time leftover to binge watch the latest offering on Netflix.

4- We are more committed to consuming entertainment than we are to cultivating or creating something. We eat out more and cook less. We are less likely to pick up an instrument or learn a new craft. We play more games on our phone than we do with our families and friends. Reading has shifted away from deep concentration required by books in favor of newsflashes and commentaries we digest as bite-sized chunks of information while scrolling on social media.

5- Political polarization has increased, in part due to an over-focus on national politics to the neglect of the community closest to us and the places we could actually make the most difference. By catastrophizing whatever happens at the national level, the fever of D.C. anxiety spreads to the whole country, leaving us restless and suspicious. The list could go on: the deaths of despair, the opioid crisis, our loss of social solidarity and moral bearings, the evidence of lingering racial disparities, and a weary sense of meaningless across the country. That’s the “old normal.” It’s no wonder studies show a decline in overall happiness among Americans in recent decades, especially among younger Americans who have never known life to be any different and yet who sense that settling for being “lonely together” is not a worthy aspiration.

Building a New Normal
The question we should ask, then, is not when will we get back to normal but should we want to go back to normal? And the follow-up question: What should the new normal be?

What if this crisis is a divine disruption that allows us to rethink ourselves, to rethink our lives, to reconsider our habits?

What if this crisis is a divine opportunity to reflect on what matters most and to order our lives accordingly?

What if we now have the opportunity to make different decisions—to prayerfully discern how to create and cultivate a new and better normal on the other side of this crisis?

What if we now have the chance to reset our expectations, to refocus our attention on what matters most, and to recommit to the people we’re called to love and serve?

What if this season of total reliance on technology for spreading communication helps us see the limits of technology for building and sustaining community?

What if this period of forced isolation can help us see the end result of radical individualism’s trajectory, so that in the end we come out of our enclaves and homes with a stronger commitment to our communities, our churches, and our country?

Let’s not go back to normal. Let’s come away from this challenge with a new vision of what normal could be.” by TREVIN WAX

The President of America
Posted: 23 Jun 2017 12:36 PM PDT by Jonathan Neville HERE

G. Washington, “President of America”
People keep asking about the concept that Lehi’s descendants inhabited all of North America and South America. Some early members of the Church thought this, but Joseph Smith never taught it. Still, it makes sense when we realize that people intermarried and migrated extensively after the Nephite civilization was destroyed in western New York.

A lot of the confusion comes from statements such as this one from Wilford Woodruff’s journal, dated April 1844:

“Conference met at 10 oclok April 8th. President J Smith arose and said it is impossible to continue the subject that I spoke upon yesterday in consequence of the weekness of my lungs. Yet I have a proclamation to make to the Elders. You know the Lord has led the Church untill the present time. I have now a great proclamation for the Elders to teach the Church here after which is in relation to Zion. The whole of North and South America is Zion. The mountain of the Lords House is in the centre of North & South America.”

Mesoamerican activists actually cite this as evidence that the Book of Mormon took place in Central America.

Others read the rest of the journal entry and get a better idea of what was intended.

“When the House is done, Baptism font erected and finished & the worthy are washed, anointed, endowed & ordained kings & priests, which must be done in this life, when the place is prepared you must go through all the ordinances of the house of the Lord so that you who have any dead friends must go through all the ordinances for them the same as for yourselves; then the Elders are to go through all America & build up Churches until all Zion is built up, but not to commence to do this untill the Temple is built up here and the Elders endowed. Then go forth & accomplish the work & build up stakes in all North and South America. Their will be some place ordained for the redeeming of the dead. I think this place will be the one, so their will be gathering fast enough here.”

In modern times, we interpret this to mean the continents of North America and South America, but that’s not how it was meant in 1844.

About a year later, in June 1845, Woodruff was back in England. He visited the exhibition of Madame Tussaud and Sons. One of the exhibits that most impressed him was this:

“George Washington dressed as the President of America taken from A bust executed from Life. This personage bespoke as much dignity as any member of the Group.”

Woodruff used the term “America” interchangeably with the United States, or the United States of America. He referred to it as America three times as often as he did the United States. Like his contemporaries, he was concerned about the division between the northern states and the southern states. For example, he made this comment in Volume 2 of his journal:

“After General Harrison was elected President of the United States A body of citizens suspended a line across the road in which the President was to walk. This line contained or supported 27 flags one for each of the states. As General Harrison was passing under these colors the line parted in the centre. One half fell into the street towards the north & the other half towards the south as much as to say the states would be divided.”
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When we think about Joseph Smith’s statement from the April 1844 conference, he was referring to the Nauvoo temple, which was built “in the centre of North and South America” if we’re referring to the United States of America. It’s nearly as central as possible in a literal sense, given the unknown extent of the western territories.

When Joseph said the Elders were to go through “all America” “& build up stakes in all North and South America,” he was referring to the United States, as we can see not only from the ordinary use of the term “America” at the time, but also from the reality of what actually happened. The Elders were already in Europe. They didn’t go to South America until much later. But it was important for the members to know they would build the Church in both North and South America. They were not going to focus just on the northern states, where most of them had come from.

It’s always important to read historical documents in the context of the times in which they were written.
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The question remains, how could there be descendants of Lehi throughout the western hemisphere if the events of the Book of Mormon took place in North America (using modern terminology).

The quick answer: the Nephite civilization was destroyed in western New York, after years of battles all the way from Zarahemla in Iowa, across the midwest (Bountiful) eastward to New York. Later, after the Book of Mormon record was concluded and Moroni buried the plates, people from the Mayan civilization migrated northward and occupied what is now the Southeastern U.S. and the Mississippi River valleys. After a few hundred years, they left and returned to their homeland in Central America. This explains how Lehi’s blood, however diluted, made its way throughout what today is known as Latin America. For more information about Lamanites in North and South America see our article here!

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THE EVENING AND THE MORNING STAR
“The Evening and The Morning Star was the first newspaper of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was published in fourteen eight-paged, double-columned monthly issues in Independence, Missouri, from June 1832 to July 1833. When the press in Missouri was destroyed by a mob, publication was resumed several months later in Kirtland, Ohio, with ten issues published from December 1833 to September 1834. W. W. (William Wines) Phelps, its editor in Missouri, printed in it a brief History of the Church, a number of LDS hymns, instructions to members of the Church, letters reporting its progress throughout the country, and many of the revelations received by the Prophet Joseph Smith. Oliver Cowdery, its editor in Ohio, printed reports and commentaries about the Saints’ difficulties in Missouri and some of the doctrinal writings of Sidney Rigdon, a counselor in the First Presidency.
Because the circulation of the Missouri-printed Star was small and localized, Cowdery reprinted all the original twenty-four issues in Kirtland between January 1835 and October 1836, in a new sixteen-page format, with numerous grammatical improvements, and a few articles deleted. The Evening and the Morning Star was succeeded by the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate in October 1834 (HC 2:167). [See also Messenger and Advocate.]” RONALD D. DENNIS professor emeritus of Portuguese and Welsh at Brigham Young University

The world thinks the middle of America is “Desolation”, or “Forsaken”, or simply a “Hunting Ground”. The Lord calls it “Choice Land”, “The Land of Joseph or the Indians”, “Centre of America”, and “The Land of Zion”.

THE FAR WEST
“The far west, as the section of country from the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains may justly be styled, is not only distant from the Atlantic States, but different. Its principle river, running rapidly from the 48th to the 39th degree of north latitude, is always rily, always wearing away its banks and always making new channels: It is rightly named Missouri; for in plain English, it looks like the waters of misery,-or troubled water:-even as the sea which the prophet said, Casts up mire and dirt. With the exception of the skirts of timber upon the streams of water, this region of country is one continued field, or prairie, (as the French have it, meaning meadows,) and there is something ancient as well as grand about it, too; for while the eye takes in a large scope of clear field, or extensive plains, decorated with here and there a patch of timber, like the orchards which beautify the farms in the east, the mind goes back to the day, when the Jaredites were in their glory upon this choice land above all others, and comes on till they, and even the Nephites, were destroyed for their wickedness: Here pause and look to the east, and read the words of the prophet: Wo to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a fading flower, which is on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand.-The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet: and the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth it up. In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people, and for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.

To return: this beautiful region of country is now mostly, excepting Arkansas and Missouri, the land of Joseph or the Indians, as they are called, and embraces three fine climates: First, like that of New-York; second, like Missouri, neither northern nor southern; and third, like the Carolinas. This place may be called the centre [center] of America; it being about an equal distance from Maine, to Nootka sound; and from the gulf of St. Lawrence to the gulf of California; yea, and about the middle of the continent from cape Horn, south, to the head land at Baffin’s Bay, north. The world will never value the land of Desolation, as it is called in the book of Mormon, for any thing more than hunting ground, for want of timber and mill-seats: The Lord to the contrary notwithstanding, declares it to be the land of Zion which is the land of Joseph, blessed by him, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, and for the precious things of the earth and fulness [fullness] thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren. His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together from the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.
When we consider that the land of Missouri is the land where the saints of the living God are to be gathered together and sanctified for the second coming of the Lord Jesus, we cannot help exclaiming with the prophet, O land be glad! and O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord: For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou [Jerusalem] shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land [Zion] any more be termed Desolate; but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married, [joined together] so that the land of Zion, and the land of Jerusalem will be one, as they were before the days of Peleg: For in his days the earth was divided or separated to receive the oceans, on account of wickedness. Peleg died 305 years after Noah’s flood: Abram’s father was born 210 years after the flood, and Abram 288 after, which brings to mind Joshua’s words unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor, and they served other gods. The building of Babel was wickedness, and serving other gods was wickedness: so that dividing, or opening the earth to let in the waters, which were in the beginning gathered unto one place, is one of the Lord’s great miracles, and shows to the world that them that look for signs among the wicked, have them to their own condemnation in all ages.
But, reader, stop and pause at the greatness of God; and remember that even Moses, when on the top of Pisgah, lifted up his eyes and looked westward first, to view the promised land.”

http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/28104
Evening and Morning Star Vol. 1 No. 5 October 1832 Page 71