Abstract:
There exists many differences of opinion about the landing site of Lehi. There has been general agreement that Lehi probably began his exodus to the Promised Land near Khor Karfot, Oman before sailing to the New World. Those who believe in the Mesoamerican theory (M2C) think they sailed east towards India. Those of the Heartland Model (HM) feel Lehi sailed west toward the tip of Africa. You will see more about the discussion below. Those of M2C think Lehi landed somewhere on the west coast of South America and the HM think they landed near Florida. Those of M2C feel Lehi landed amongst a large population of Mayans. They also believe the Mayan civilization absorbed the Lehites and that is why today you find only Asian DNA amongst those people of South America. Those of us in the HM feel that Lehi landed amongst a few native hunter gathers in North America. We also believe there has been found Hebrew DNA in the Natives near the Great Lakes.
As the scripture says, “this land should be kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations; for behold, many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance.” 2 Nephi 1:8. This is why the Vikings and others were not allowed to remain upon the land. We would expect a smaller group that Lehi would greet. I can’t imagine how Nephi could be a King amongst just a few of Lehi’s people, if there was a large contingency of natives on the land previously.
“The Book of Mormon explains that Lehi’s sailing party left a coastline they named “Bountiful” in the Old World. Nephi’s descriptions lead us to believe they left the Arabian peninsula, probably in modern-day Oman or Yemen.
They crossed the “many waters” and landed at the promised land: “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did guide the ship, that we sailed again towards the promised land. And it came to pass that after we had sailed for the space of many days we did arrive at the promised land; and we went forth upon the land, and did pitch our tents; and we did call it the promised land.” (1 Nephi 18: 22-23)
This description is so vague that it leaves readers with many possibilities for the landing site. We know from Moroni’s statements to Joseph Smith that the Book of Mormon is a record of the ancient inhabitants of “this country” meaning the United States, and of “this continent,” meaning the American continent, but that says nothing about where Lehi’s group originally landed.
Nephi does tell us the approximate season of the year when they left the Old World, and knowing when they left tells us something about which direction they would have sailed. He states: “After we had prepared all things, much fruits and meat from the wilderness, and honey in abundance, and provisions according to that which the Lord had commanded us, we did go down into the ship, with all our loading and our seeds, an whatsoever thing we had brought with us, every one according to his age; wherefore, we did all go down into the ship, with our wives and our
children.” (1 Nephi 18:6). In the Oman area (see map on p. 30 above), there are two honey harvests each year, (spring and fall) but most fruit is harvested in the fall. That they gathered much fruit just prior to leaving suggests a fall departure. Nephi’s account continues, “…we did put forth into the sea and were driven before the wind…” (1 Nephi 18:8), which suggests that the ship was not traveling contrary to, but in concert with the Northeast monsoon winds that prevail at this season of the year and would have driven the ship southwest, along the eastern coast of Africa (see map on p. 35 above). This route would have rounded the cape into the Atlantic Ocean and followed the currents and winds across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. Once there, the route picks up the currents that Columbus utilized when he left Spain and sailed to the Canary Islands off the western coast of Africa having the ship proceeding westward.” Annotated Book of Mormon by David Hocking and rod Meldrum page 30, 35, 535
14 FACTORS- APALACHICOLA, FLORIDA AS THE SITE OF LEHI’S LANDING!
- Navigational Proof: Phoenicia 2009 Expedition
- Length of voyage: 4-6 months vs. 14-18 months
- Time of Year: Leave in Sept or Oct. Land in March or April?
- Archaeology: 500-700 BC Mounds and Relics
- Bees and Honey: Only place in the world for Tupelo Honey
- Similar Latitude: Seeds would grow.
30° 26′ 17″ N (Tallahassee, FL)
30° 04’42” N (Cairo, Egypt)
31° 46′ 48″ N (Jerusalem)
19° 43’ 26” N (Mexico City)
15° 30′ 0″ N (Guatemala) - Mostly Unoccupied Area: 2 Nephi 1:8/Not overrun. Nephi=King
- Wind Currents: Leaving Oman in Sept (honey & fruit ripe), wind currents flow toward horn of Africa.
- Promised Land: Book of Mormon speaks of a Land of Liberty. (36 others) USA, not Mesoamerica
- Abundance of Food: Oman and Florida both called “A” Land Bountiful
- Same Land as Jaredites: [Cumorah and Ramah]
- Food prehistoric people needed: Deer, small mammals, Turtles. Bison, Mammoths, Bear, Elk further north.
- Signs of Hebrew writing or relics: Bat Creek Stone, Holy Stones, Hebrew Earthworks, etc.
- Access to Rivers: Chattahoochee only river source brings ice into the gulf.
See blog here for more details about Apalachicola
“The Nephites could not possibly have lived among the Mayans” by Jonathan Neville
covered in trees (left), and with the trees digitally removed. Credit: Ithaca College
Moroni’s America position- If you believe in the New York Cumorah, you will likely view this LiDAR discovery as additional evidence that the Nephites could not possibly have lived among the Mayans.
I think the text shows Lehi’s colony landing in the promised land, planting their own seeds, finding animals and ore in the wilderness, all while completely unimpeded by any existing civilization. (1 Ne. 18:23-5). I think Lehi’s observation that “this land should be kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations” was accurate; i.e., that there were no “other nations” in the promised land where they landed, “for behold, many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance” (2 Nephi 1:8). I do think think there were some indigenous people who went with Nephi when he fled (2 Nephi 5:6), but I infer they were unorganized hunter/gatherers that did not qualify as any sort of “nation” and were impressed by the Jewish immigrants’ technology, language, etc.
In my view, it is difficult enough to believe that Lehi’s family, a relative handful of immigrants from a distant culture speaking a different language, could have arrived and started planting crops on unclaimed land in Mesoamerica, encountering no resistance, but it is even more difficult to believe Lehi’s descendants could have managed to rule as kings and chief judges over even a part of a Mayan civilization, and that in the midst of this Mayan civilization, King Mosiah could have escaped with the Nephites into the wilderness and found a much larger group of illiterate people (the people of Zarahemla) who possessed exactly one engraven stone.
Now that we are learning from LiDAR that the Mayan civilization was even larger, more densely populated, and more sophisticated than we previously realized, the Book of Mormon seems even less plausible in that setting. IOW, the grander the Mayan civilization, the less likely it is that Lehi landed anywhere near that civilization.
This view is based on the text and has nothing directly to do with the New York Cumorah, but it does confirm my bias in favor of the New York Cumorah.
_____
M2C position. If you believe the M2C position that Cumorah is not in New York and that the entire Book of Mormon took place in Mesoamerica, you will likely view this LiDAR discovery as additional evidence that the Nephites must have lived among the Mayans.
The basic M2C concept is described in the Meridian Magazine article. It is the idea that the Nephites were absorbed into Mayan culture. That’s why there is no Israelite DNA in Central America, no traces of Nephite languages or the law of Moses or Christian beliefs and practices, etc. M2C proponents believe there were bottlenecks (both DNA-related and cultural) that screened out Nephite cultural influence.” Jonathan Neville blog here
Annotated Book of Mormon
“Within recent years there has arisen among certain students of the Book of Mormon a theory to the effect that within the period covered by the Book of Mormon, the Nephites and Lamanites were confined almost entirely within the borders of the territory comprising Central America and the southern portion of Mexico—the isthmus of Tehuantepec probably being the “narrow neck” of land spoken of in the Book of Mormon rather than the Isthmus of Panama (See Alma 50:34; 52:9; 63:5; Mormon 2:29; 3:5). This theory is founded upon the assumption that it was impossible for the colony of Lehi’s to multiply and fill the hemisphere within the limits of 1,000 years, or from the coming of Lehi from Jerusalem to the time of the destruction of the Nephites at the Hill Cumorah. Moreover, they claim that the story in the Book of Mormon of the migrations, building of cities, and the wars and contentions, preclude the possibility of the people spreading over great distances such as we find within the borders of North and South America.
“If we are willing to accept the Bible record, which is confirmed by the Doctrine and Covenants, the entire civilization of the earth was destroyed in the flood except Noah and his family (See Gen 6; 7; 8; Moses 7:36–43). Moreover, this destruction took place less than 5,000 years ago, and today the population of the earth, notwithstanding wars and destructions, is estimated [in 1954] at over 2,000,000,000 souls [2018 population estimated at 7,600,000,000, has nearly quadrupled in just 64 years]. The population of Europe, based upon the best records available, is vastly increased over that at the time of the discovery of America; yet upon this hemisphere are to be found hundreds of millions of people, descendants of European and Asiatic ancestors who knew nothing of this land before the discovery by Columbus. The rapid increase of posterity is known to every genealogist who has traced the record of the early settlers in this western country.
“This modernistic theory of necessity, in order to be consistent, must place the waters of Ripliancum and the Hill Cumorah some place within the restricted territory of Central America, notwithstanding the teachings of the Church to the contrary for upwards of 100 years. Because of this theory some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon. It is for this reason that evidence is here presented to show that it is not only possible that these places could be located as the Church has held during the past century, but that in very deed such is the case. It is known that the Hill Cumorah where the Nephites were destroyed is the hill where the Jaredites were also destroyed. This hill was known to the Jaredites as Ramah. It was approximately near to the waters of Ripliancum, which the Book of Ether says, ‘by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all’ – Ether 15:8. Mormon adds: ‘And it came to pass that we did march forth to the land of Cumorah, and we did pitch our tents round about the hill Cumorah; and it was in a land of many waters, rivers, and fountains; and here we had hope to gain advantage over the Lamanites,’ (Mormon 6:4)” –
Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, Edited by Bruce R. McConkie, Vol. 3 [1999] 232–243. As stated on page 441 SPECULATION ABOUT BOOK OF MORMON GEOGRAPHY
Moroni’s America
“In an effort to explain the discrepancy between the enumerated (small) population and the large population implied by having wars and building a temple, proponents of a Mesoamerican setting suggest that–
“When the Book of Mormon peoples entered the not-empty New World, they entered a land that was not only populated, but which already boasted highly developed civilizations. The Book of Mormon does not explain Mesoamerican peoples—but Mesoamerican peoples help explain the Book of Mormon… With such a small Lehite population entering an established region with a significantly larger population, the most logical direction of cultural borrowing would have been from the established indigenous population to the small population that had originated in Jerusalem.[i]
This suggestion contradicts the text, in my opinion. I agree with the likelihood that the Nephites encountered indigenous people, but far from “cultural borrowing” from any “established indigenous population,” Nephi keeps the law of Moses and is soon teaching his people how to build a temple, make weapons, etc., as we’ll see in the next section.
Father Lehi’s statement about “other nations” directly contradicts the idea that the Nephites landed among “highly developed civilizations” that existed in Mesoamerica. On the other hand, Lehi’s statement is compatible with the various hunter/gatherer groups identified in the archaeological evidence in the southeastern United States at the time. Such groups would naturally be attracted to new arrivals who brought with them productive seeds for food, advanced technology for weapons and buildings, a written language and other benefits.
Another possibility for the relatively large population during Nephi’s lifetime is that Lehi brought servants along with him. I consider this likely.
Erastus Snow noted that, “The Prophet Joseph informed us that… Ishmael was of the lineage of Ephraim, and that his sons married into Lehi’s family, and Lehi’s sons married Ishmael’s daughters…these descendants of Manasseh and Ephraim grew together upon this American continent.”[ii]
In his analysis of Lehi’s group, John Sorenson noted that “Nothing is said about Zoram’s ancestry, but it seems statistically likely, given his bureaucratic/military role in Jerusalem, that he was a Jew, while both Lehi and Ishmael counted descent from Joseph.”[iii] This would make all of Lehi’s group “Israelites, principally the descendants of Joseph,” which is how Orson Pratt described them in his 1840 pamphlet.[iv] However, Joseph Smith made a correction to this language when he wrote the Wentworth Letter. Joseph wrote, “They were principally Israelites, of the descendants of Joseph.”[v] It is possible that Joseph Smith was referring to Zoram after all, clarifying he was not a Jew. He may have been referring to those who accompanied the Mulekites (presumably Phoenicians). But it is also possible that he was referring to others who accompanied Lehi.
Here are John Sorenson’s comments on that topic.
Were there servants? No mention is made of male or female servants, yet it is possible that there were some. At first glance, 1 Nephi 2:4 would seem to rule that out, since reference is made only to Lehi’s taking “his family.” Yet Near Eastern usage would not rule out including servants under that heading without specifically distinguishing them. Lehi’s “great wealth” would seem to have called for at least female servants in the household. Nephi’s hesitancy about even adding Zoram to their party would not apply in the case of family retainers, who would have known no other life than service to Lehi and Sariah and had no alternative place in society in the land of Jerusalem even if they dreamed of defecting. I do not consider it likely that there were such people along, but the door should not be shut on the possibility, for they might account for some genetic variety in the colony as well as providing additional hands for the construction of the ship when they reached Bountiful.
Finally, I note that Lynn M. Hilton has proposed in an unpublished paper that Laman and Lemuel took dark-skinned South Arabian women as second wives during the sojourn in Bountiful, thus accounting for the skin color attributed to the Lamanites in the promised land in America. That the party had social interaction with local inhabitants in Bountiful on the south Arabian coast does seem likely, even inevitable. Among other things, Nephi claims “neither did I build the ship after the manner of men” (1 Nephi 18:2), implying that he had knowledge of other ships which almost certainly would have existed on that coast. However, Jacob 3:5, which credits the Lamanites with a tradition of strict monogamy, goes against the Hilton suggestion, but Lehi could have picked up families, or single people who married Lehi’s servants. We simply don’t know.
I think it is likely Lehi brought servants. The journey from Jerusalem through the wilderness would have been arduous for any small group, but also dangerous. Lehi was a wealthy man, and likely accustomed to desert travel; in the context of the times, he would have had servants to assist him in his work, as well as to assist the household. Furthermore, it seems unlikely that Lehi would have sent all of his sons back to Jerusalem, leaving Lehi and Sariah and their daughters alone in the wilderness, if he did not have servants. Perhaps he also sent servants to accompany his sons on their trips to Jerusalem.
Joseph Smith said the group was “principally Israelites,” so some of them were not. Apart from Zoram, the record gives no specifics on the identity of these non-Israelites. Had Zoram been the only exception, would Joseph have used the term “principally?” The term refers to rank or importance, not merely numbers, so even a significant number of non-Israelite servants would leave the group “principally Israelites.”
Mesoamerican advocates have considered but rejected the notion that Lehi’s party included servants or people from Arabia,[vi] but I think that approach reflects a desire to show that Lehi landed among a sophisticated Mesoamerican population. In my view, that idea contradicts the text.
To summarize: I think Lehi brought servants and landed in a mostly uninhabited area in Florida, among a small population of hunter/gatherers who lacked a well-organized society.” Moroni’s America pages 84-85
[i] Brant Gardner, Traditions of the Fathers, pp. 153-4.
[ii] Erastus Snow, “God’s Peculiar People,” Journal of Discourses, 23:184, available online at http://bit.ly/Moroni38.
[iii] John Sorenson, “The Composition of Lehi’s Family,” in By Study and Also by Faith, (Neal A. Maxwell Institute), available online at http://bit.ly/Moroni39.
[iv] Orson Pratt, A[n] Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions, p. 15, available online at http://bit.ly/Moroni40.
[v] The Wentworth letter was published in the 1 March 1842 Times and Seasons. The Historical Introduction in the Joseph Smith Papers explains that the letter echoes some wording from Pratt’s pamphlet. The letter is available online at http://bit.ly/Moroni41.
[vi] E.g., Brant Gardner, Traditions of the Fathers, p. 156.
John H. Gilbert typeset the original 1830 edition for the publisher, Mr. Egbert B. Grandin, printer of the Wayne Sentinel. His recollections of the events are instructive: “After working a few days, I said to [Hyrum] Smith on his handing me the manuscript in the morning, ‘Mr. [Hyrum] Smith, if you would leave this manuscript with me, I would take it home with me at night and read and punctuate it, and I could get along faster in the daytime, for now I have frequently to stop and read half a page to find how to punctuate it.’ [For an example see Background, p. xxvi.] His reply was, ‘We are commanded not to leave it.’ A few mornings after this, when [Hyrum] Smith handed me the manuscript, he said to me, ‘If you will give your word that this manuscript shall be returned to us when you get through with it, I will leave it with you.’ I assured Smith that it should be returned all right when I got through with it. For two or three nights I took it home with me and read it, and punctuated it with a lead pencil. This will account for the punctuation marks in pencil, which is referred to in the Mormon Report, an extract from which will be found below. “Names of persons and places were generally capitalized, but sentences had no end. The character or short ‘&’ was used almost invariably where the word ‘and’ occurred, except at the end of a chapter. I punctuated it to make it read as I supposed the author intended, and but very little punctuation was altered in proofreading. The Bible [Book of Mormon] was printed sixteen pages at a time, so that one sheet of paper made two copies of sixteen pages each, requiring 2,000 sheets of paper for each form of sixteen pages. There were thirty-seven forms of sixteen pages each—570 pages in all.” – Recollections of John H. Gilbert [Regarding printing the Book of Mormon], 8 September 1892, Palmyra, New York, typescript, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT (http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early Saints/JHGilbert.html). Over the years, changes in how The Book of Mormon has been formatted have resulted in several editions being published. Currently, The Book of Mormon has been divided into chapters and verses, and many key words have been marked for cross-referencing, with the original punctuation marks inserted by Mr. Gilbert left largely unchanged throughout the varied publications.
“The following are just 4 of many direct printed quotes from the Prophetic leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints involving the concepts of organic evolution. They were compiled by James Stoddard and shared with his permission. It is hoped that this information will help give insight and perspective on the teaching of evolution being done at nearly every university, college, and public high school across our nation to our most precious treasure, our children. For more detailed information presented in a historical context that provides tremendous understanding of the origins and growth of the theory of evolution and what it’s being taught means to us today and the terrible results it has already produced in this nation and around the world, please see the wonderful film “Creation and Evolution”, by Zion Vision below. Rod Meldrum
Annotated Book of Mormon may be 
3-Gifts for the New Heartlander for Christmas!
Along with “
2. “…This modernistic theory of necessity, in order to be consistent, must place the waters of Ripliancum and the Hill Cumorah some place within the restricted territory of Central America, notwithstanding the teachings of the Church to the contrary for upwards of 100 years. Because of this theory some members of the Church have become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon. It is for this reason that evidence is here presented to show that it is not only possible that these places could be located as the Church has held during the past century, but that in very deed such is the case… It is known that the Hill Cumorah where the Nephites were destroyed is the hill where the Jaredites were also destroyed. This hill was known to the Jaredites as Ramah. It was approximately near to the waters of Ripliancum, which the Book of Ether says, “by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all… It must be conceded that this description fits perfectly the land of Cumorah in New York, as it has been known since the visitation of Moroni to the Prophet Joseph Smith, for the hill is in the proximity of the Great Lakes and also in the land of many rivers and fountains. Moreover, the Prophet Joseph Smith himself is on record, definitely declaring the present hill called Cumorah to be the exact hill spoken of in the Book of Mormon. Further, the fact that all of his associates from the beginning down have spoken of it as the identical hill where Mormon and Moroni hid the records, must carry some weight. It is difficult for a reasonable person to believe that such men as Oliver Cowdery. Brigham Young, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, David Whitmer, and many others, could speak frequently of the Spot where the Prophet Joseph Smith obtained the plates as the Hill Cumorah, and not be corrected by the Prophet, if that were not the fact. That they did speak of this hill in the days of the Prophet in this definite manner is an established record of history.” Doctrines of Salvation Joseph Fielding Smith Chapter 12
4. “Both the Nephite and Jaredite civilizations fought their final great wars of extinction at and near the Hill Cumorah (or Ramah as the Jaredites termed it), which hill is located between Palmyra and Manchester in the western part of the state of New York. It was here that Moroni hid up the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. (Morm. 6; Ether 15.) Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and many of the early brethren, who were familiar with all the circumstances attending the coming forth of the Book of Mormon in this dispensation, have left us pointed testimony as to the identity and location of Cumorah or Ramah.” (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 3, pp. 232-241.) (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine “CUMORAH,” 1966, p. 175)
7. “Millennia ago he declared: “There shall none come into this land [he was speaking of America] save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord… In the western part of the state of New York near Palmyra is a prominent hill known as the “hill Cumorah.” (Morm. 6:6.) On July twenty-fifth of this year, as I stood on the crest of that hill admiring with awe the breathtaking panorama which stretched out before me on every hand, my mind reverted to the events which occurred in that vicinity some twenty-five centuries ago—events which brought to an end the great Jaredite nation… Thus perished at the foot of Cumorah the remnant of the once mighty Jaredite nation, of whom the Lord had said, “There shall be none greater … upon all the face of the earth.” (Ether 1:43.)… This second civilization to which I refer, the Nephites, flourished in America between 600 B.C. and A.D. 400. Their civilization came to an end for the same reason, at the same place, and in the same manner as did the Jaredites… The tragic fate of the Jaredite and the Nephite civilizations is proof positive that the Lord meant it when he said that this “is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.” (Ether 2:9.) This information, wrote Moroni, addressing himself to us who today occupy this land, “cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles” (now, Gentiles is the term used by the Book of Mormon prophets to refer to the present inhabitants of America and to the peoples of the old world from which they came)… Now my beloved brethren and sisters everywhere, both members of the Church and nonmembers, I bear you my personal witness that I know that the things I have presented to you today are true—both those pertaining to past events and those pertaining to events yet to come. The issue we face is clear and well defined. The choice is ours. The question is: Shall we of this dispensation repent and obey the laws of the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, or shall we continue to defy them until we ripen in iniquity That we will repent and obey and thereby qualify to receive the blessings promised to the righteous in this land, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.” America’s Destiny Marion G. Romney Oct 1975
10. [Heber C. Kimball] “prophesied that when the final last struggle came to this nation it would be at the Hill Cumorah where both of the former Nations [Jaredite and Nephite] were destroyed” (abt. Heber C. Kimball) Wilford Woodruff’s Journal 6:305, December 17, 1866
14. McGavin and Bean explain their point of view concerning the identity of the Hill Cumorah as an ancient battlefield. The authors conclude that the scholars “need not search for [Cumorah] in Mexico or Yucatan” E. Cecil McGavin and Willard W. Bean “Cumorah-Land, An Ancient Battlefield,” in The Improvement Era 44, September 1941, 526, 571-72.
21. “On the title page I read that it is “written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile.” In the introduction to the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, it says that the Lamanites “are among the ancestors of the American Indians.” As I read the Book of Mormon, it seemed to me that it was about my American Indian ancestors. It tells the story of a people, a part of which were later described as “Lamanites,” who migrated from Jerusalem to a “land of promise” (1 Nephi 2:20) about 600 B.C.” “Come unto Me, O Ye House of Israel” By Elder Larry Echo Hawk of the Seventy Ensign Oct 2012
23. “From the time Father Bosley located near Avon, he found and plowed up axes and irons, and had sufficient to make his mill irons, and had always abundance of iron on hand without purchasing. In the towns of Bloomfield, Victor, Manchester, and in the regions round about, there were hills upon the tops of which were entrenchments and fortifications, and in them were human bones, axes, tomahawks, points of arrows, beads and pipes, which were frequently found; and it was a common occurrence in the country to plow up axes, which I have done many times myself. I have visited the fortifications on the tops of those hills frequently, and the one near Bloomfield I have crossed hundreds of times, which is on the bluff of Honeyoye River, at the outlet of Honeyoye Lake. In that region there are many small deep lakes, and in some of them the bottom has never been found. Fish abound in them. The hill Cumorah is a high hill for that country, and had the appearance of a fortification or entrenchment around it. In the State of New York, probably there are hundreds of these fortifications which are now visible, and I have seen them in many other parts of the United States. Readers of the Book of Mormon will remember that in this very region, according to that sacred record, the final battles were fought between the Nephites and Lamanites. At the hill Cumorah, the Nephites made their last stand prior to their utter extermination, A. D., 385. Thus was Heber preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, above the graves of the ancients of Israel, whose records with the fullness of that Gospel, and the relics of their prowess and civilization, were now whispering from the dust.” Life of Heber C. Kimball by Orson F. Whitney Mounds at Cumorah
“Soon after Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, the Lord gave them the law of sacrifices, which included offering the firstlings of their flocks in a similitude of the sacrifice that would be made of the Only Begotten Son of God (
Mormon tells us that “it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn” (3 Ne. 11:3). The first time and the second time the voice spoke, the people heard it but could not understand it.
Joseph Smith said, “Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift, and power of God. In this important and interesting book the history of ancient America is unfolded, from its first settlement by a colony that came from the tower of Babel, at the confusion of languages to the beginning of the fifth century of the Christian era. We are informed by these records that America in ancient times has been inhabited by two distinct races of people. The first were called Jaredites and came directly from the tower of Babel. The second race came directly from the city of Jerusalem, about six hundred years before Christ. They were principally Israelites, of the descendants of Joseph. The Jaredites were destroyed about the time that the Israelites came from Jerusalem, who succeeded them in the inheritance of the country. The principal nation of the second race fell in battle towards the close of the fourth century. The remnant are the Indians that now inhabit this country. This book also tells us that our Saviour made his appearance upon this continent after his resurrection, that he planted the gospel here in all its fulness, and richness, and power, and blessing; that they had apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers and evangelists; the same order, the same priesthood, the same ordinances, gifts, powers, and blessing, as was enjoyed on the eastern continent…” The Wentworth Letter, Joseph Smith Jr.
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.
“Good evening. It’s a great honor and privilege to greet you this evening—the beautiful Sabbath evening that is—in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We meet in his name; it’s because of him that we’re here.
We talk of a person having a good spirit or a bad spirit. We talk of the spirit of ‘76. We are going to celebrate our two hundredth national anniversary in the not-too-distant future, and this spirit of ‘76 is to permeate everything that we do. This evening I’d like to talk a bit about the spirit of ‘76 and what we are really dong when we celebrate the Fourth of July.
To everyone the Fourth means parades with marching bands, horses, floats, and beautiful girls such as are here this evening. It also means the flag, Old Glory, the star-spangled banner, the red, white, and blue. There is a poem that says:
I’m proud of the USA because it has provided the means to establish and carry forth the gospel
Calling missionaries from other countries wouldn’t just take the load from the United States, because I don’t anticipate any cutback in the missionary force from the USA. In fact, we need to increase the missionary force here because the Lord is going to open more doors for us and we’re going to go places we’ve never been before. We’re going to need this group that can come from the USA to go into lands that we would consider behind the Iron Curtain or the Bamboo Curtain. When the time comes to go, the Lord will open the curtains. There will be no curtains. We can penetrate them. We need to get ready to do that kind of work because it is vitally important that good people everywhere have an opportunity to hear the gospel. What happens to a young man when he has given the Lord his two years? Well, that’s where we produce future mission presidents and stake presidents and bishops. That’s what happens there. I’ve seen it happen among the peoples of those countries when their own young men have filled missions.
Another reason why I love the USA is that she has produced some great men—great men that you can hold up as an example, that you can look to for leadership. George Washington, whom many call the father of this country, was such a man. In his first inauguration he set a tone that everyone could profitably seek to emulate. After he had accepted the oath of office from Robert Livingston of New York, he added the words “so help me God,” and then he kissed the Bible and went back to work. 
And then, of course, there was Abraham Lincoln, who could not abide that man should be in bondage one to another. Born in a log cabin, he followed the study course of the Bible, the scriptures, and you couldn’t do better than that. He was probably one of the most quoted men of all times. They tell me his words fill fifteen volumes. The 2 1/2-minute talk that he delivered at Gettysburg I presume will stand always and forever as a masterpiece:
The greatest American who has ever lived in this dispensation was the Prophet Joseph Smith, who was raised up by the Lord.
Wherever the old stars and stripes flies or Old Glory waves, there the kingdom of God must be.
Hartman Rector Jr.r., was a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when this fireside address was given at Brigham Young University on 30 June 1974.
“For my first post in 2019, I’m showing another instance of M2C* censorship. This one is from the Brigham Young lesson manual (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church – Brigham Young).
Church historians concede they censored Cumorah in Saints
“From the time Father Bosley* located near Avon [Livingston County, NY], he found and plowed up axes and irons, and had sufficient to make his mill irons, and had always abundance of iron on hand without purchasing. In the towns of Bloomfield, Victor, Manchester, and in the regions round about, there were hills upon the tops of which were entrenchments and fortifications, and in them were human bones, axes, tomahawks, points of arrows, beads and pipes, which were frequently found; and it was a common occurrence in the country to plow up axes, which I have done many times myself. “The hill Cumorah [the Jaredite hill Ramah] is a high hill for that country and had the appearance of a fortification or entrenchment around it. In the State of New York, probably there are hundreds of these fortifications which are now visible, and I have seen them in many other parts of the United States. “Readers of the Book of Mormon will remember that in this very region, according to that sacred record, the final battles were fought between the Nephites and Lamanites. At the hill Cumorah, the Nephites made their last stand prior to their utter extermination, A. D., 385.” – Life of Heber C. Kimball, by Orson F. Whitney, Salt Lake City, UT: Stevens & Wallis, Inc. [1888], 25. 
Near the feet was found a piece of copper, weighing three ounces. From its shape it appears to have been used as a plumb, or for an ornament as near one of the ends is a circular crease, or groove, for tying a thread; it is round, two and a half inches in length, one inch in diameter at the centre and half an inch at each end. It is composed of small pieces of native copper pounded together, and in the cracks between the pieces are stuck several pieces of silver, one nearly the size of a four-penny piece, or half a dime.
“Somewhere in the Mountains of Wyoming, a sheep herder stumbled upon this 24 inch iron sword of unusual workmanship. The sword was sent to the Smithsonian Museum and they put a date upon it between 100 BC and 200 AD, Hopewell timeline. How the test was conducted, we do not know. These photos were supplied by the discoverer and are here for our readers to view.” 
” Lying immediately over, or on the forehead of the body, were found three large circular bosses, or ornaments for a sword-belt or a buckler: they are composed of copper overlaid with a thick plate of silver. The fronts are slightly convex, with a depression like a cup in the centre, and measure two inches and a quarter across the face of each. On the back side, opposite the depressed portion, is a copper rivet or nail, around which are two separate plates, by which they were fastened to the leather. Two small pieces of the leather were found lying between the plates of one of these bosses; they resemble the skin of a mummy and seem to have been pre served by the salts of copper. The copper plates are nearly reduced to an oxyde, or rust. The silver looks quite black, but is not much corroded, and in rubbing is quite brilliant. Two of these are yet entire 5 the third one is so much wasted that it dropped in pieces in removing it from the earth. Around the rivets of one of them is a small quantity of flax or hemp, in a tolerable state of preservation. Near the side of the body was found a plate of silver, which appears to have been the upper part of a sword-scabbard; it is six inches in length and two inches in breadth, and weighs one ounce. It has no ornaments or figures, but has three longitudinal ridges, which probably corresponded with the edges or ridges of the sword; it seems to have been fastened to the scabbard by three or four rivets, the holes of which remain in the silver.
” Two or three broken pieces of a copper tube were also found filled with iron rust. These pieces, from their appearance, composed the lower end of the scabbard, near the point of the sword. No signs of the sword itself were discovered, except the appearance of rust above mentioned. Near the feet was found a piece of copper weighing three ounces [now in the Museum of the Antiquarian Society of Worcester]. From its shape it appears to have been used as a plumb, or for an ornament, as near one of the ends is a circular crease or groove, for tying a thread: it is round, two inches and a half in length, one inch in diameter at the centre, and half an inch at each end. It is composed of small pieces of native copper pounded together; and in the cracks between the pieces are stuck several pieces of silver, one nearly the size of a half-dime. A piece of red ochre or paint, and a piece of iron ore [hematite] which had the appearance of having been partially vitrified [polished.?], were also found.
“The body of the person here buried was laid upon the surface of the ground, with his face upwards, and his feet pointing to the south-west. From the appearance of several pieces of charcoal and bits of partially burned fossil coal, and the black color of the earth, it would seem that the funeral obsequies had been celebrated by fire; and while the ashes were yet hot and smoking, a circle of these flat stones had been laid around and over the body. The circular covering was about eight feet in diameter; and the stones yet look black, as if stained by fire and smoke. This circle of stones seems to have been the nucleus over which the mound was formed, as immediately over them is heaped the common earth of the adjacent plain. At the time of opening it, the height was 6 feet and diameter between 30 and 40. It has every appearance of being as old as any in the neighborhood, and was, at the first settlement of Marietta, covered with large trees. It seems to have been made for this single personage, as the remains of one skeleton only were discovered. The bones were much decayed, and many of them crumbled to dust on exposure to the air.”
Engravings of the silver-plated discs and also of the embossed silver plate, supposed by Dr. Hildreth to have been a sword ornament, are herewith presented. These articles have been critically examined, and it is beyond doubt that the copper ” bosses ” are absolutely plated, not simply overlaid, with silver. Between the copper and the silver exists a connection, such as, it seems to me, could only be produced by heat ; and if it is admitted that these are genuine remains of the mound-builders, it must, at the same time, be admitted that they possessed the difficult art of plating one metal upon another. There is but one alternative, viz., that they had occasional or constant intercourse with a people advanced in the arts, from whom these articles were obtained. Again, if Dr. Hildreth is not mistaken, oxidized iron, or steel, was also discovered in connection with the above remains ; from which also follows, as a necessity upon the previous assumption, the extraordinary conclusion that the mound-builders were acquainted with the use of iron the conclusion being, of course, subject to the improbable alternative already mentioned.
Below is information from Rod Meldrum’s #1 Best Selling LDS book on Geography, “Exploring the Book of Mormon in America’s Heartland”. 
“This past summer (2010), Dr.Harold Alanen from Thunder Bay,Canada, experienced a rare and exciting adventure. Walking private property on Dog Lake, near the north shore of Lake Superior, he chanced upon a big ancient copper tool or weapon, see Fig. 1, Plate I. Nearby he found a cache of 11 smaller copper objects. Dr. Alanen sent pictures of the big artifact, asking me what it could have been used for?…
I hope by now you realize that there 
