“There has been a lot of talk from intellectuals about various hoaxes purported to be associated with ancient Hebrew stones and script found in North America. It makes sense that when Lehi landed in North America he and his culture would have left behind evidence of his Jewish and Israelite heritage. Since nothing has been found in South and Central America, the intellectuals want to condem anything that may have been found in North America. Of the 8-10 evidences found in North America related to Hebrew, the scholars refute ALL OF THEM as hoaxes!. That seems way to easy to just out of hand condemn any evidence. That’s what people do when they can’t explain things. Today’s science is not engaged in finding new truths, but in finding new pet theories. Since no new “Scientific Law” has been discovered and proven in over 100 years, the scientists are now propping up their new “theories” as if they are true. Take for example the theory of evolution. Last time I heard it is still a theory and has never been proven to be a law. What about the theory of magma in the center of the earth? It has been shown in Dean Sessions book that it is more likely that water is at the center of the earth? I’m not a scientist but just an ordinary man who likes to have science and history just “make sense”. What about the intellectuals that say Noah’s flood was not universal and was a myth? What about those who say Adam was not the first man created on this earth? I would rather ask the simple question of, “does it make common sense” rather than listen to many intellectuals who claim to know the unknown.

I offer this information below as wonderful information to take to heart. Learn and listen, search and pray and things will make sense to you. By all means I don’t want you to believe me as I like you am only one who loves the Lord and tries daily to learn His truths that He is sharing with us. Stay close to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and follow the Prophet and Apostles in all you do. I have a witness that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and I also know as Moroni promised that I. “may know the truth of all things.” Rian Nelson FIRM Foundation

Below is an article from the FIRM Foundation

Since the coming forth of the Book of Mormon there has never been more profound evidence of its authenticity than today.  Arguably among the two greatest linguistic discoveries relating to the authenticity of the Book of Mormon are two ancient stones bearing Hebrew inscriptions that can now finally take their rightful place in the history of the world! Many, if not hundreds of stones inscribed with ancient characters and symbols have been summarily dismissed as fakes and forgeries because it was against the official policy of the scientific community under the Smithsonian Institution, and because linguistic evidence cannot be supported by one or two random artifacts.  Recent scientific verifications of several sites and artifacts – numbering eight as of this writing – now establish that people with a knowledge of ancient Hebrew written language and culture were in America during Book of Mormon time frames!  Read on for the entire history making story…the case for Book of Mormon written language in America’s Heartland! 

Dr. Huston McCullough of Ohio State University has an article all about the authenticity of these many Hebrew artifacts found in North America. Article Here.

The Book of Mormon claims to be a history of several groups of people from the Old World who were lead to the America’s by the Lord and came by ship.  At least one of these groups, known as the Nephites, kept a written history of their people on metal plates which were passed down through their prophets for nearly a thousand years. According to the Book of Mormon account, these plates were written in a language they called “reformed Egyptian,” a departure from their more familiar Hebrew language.

“And now, behold, we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech.

 “And if our plates had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also; and if we could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no imperfection in our record.” Mormon 9:32-33

From the text we learn that if there would have been more space on the plates, they would have preferred writing in their native Hebrew language and had they been able to do so there would have been “no imperfection” in their record.

Many of those critical of the Church have pointed to the lack of written Hebrew language in the America’s as evidence against the historicity of the Book of Mormon. Some LDS students of the Book of Mormon contend that the rather sophisticated glyph language system of the Maya civilization in Mesoamerica is evidence that the Book of Mormon history occurred there.  However, the written language of the Maya is neither Hebrew or Egyptian – the only two languages mentioned in the text.  Mayan is as unrelated to Hebrew or Egyptian as Chinese is to Latin. Still some tenaciously hold that at least there was a written language.  While true, that language was emphatically neither of the languages specified in the Book of Mormon, which does not help in validating any Book of Mormon claims and in fact may rule out the Maya of Mesoamerica as candidates to be those people or lands.  There has never been found any evidence for ancient Hebrew or Egyptian written language in Mesoamerica or South America and this archaeologically well established fact has been used to dismiss and reject the Book of Mormon.

There are several links to Mayans’ presence in Georgia, USA. After about 750 AD the Mayan civilization virtually collapsed. Where did they go? It seems they went to the USA. The Ocmulgee Mounds, and Track Rock Gap in Georgia have the influence of the Creek Indians and the Mayan Indians. There is further evidence of the Hinterland Hypothesis (DVD here), which means that the Lamanites of the Book of Mormon in the USA, intermarried with the Mayans who came up from Central America. The blood of the Lamanites then is present in North and South America. (Click image below for Preview of the America Unearthed Series!) Full Video Here

In the opening episode of the second season of the History Channels America Unearthed TV series, aired Nov. 30th, 2013, forensic geologist Scott Wolter (pictured above) traveled to Newark, Ohio to meet with Ohio State University professor J. Huston McCulloch to conduct an analysis of the famed Newark Holy Stones held in the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum. Their scientific investigations and findings using scanning electron and 3D microscopy of several stones with ancient Hebrew are now validating linguistic claims of the Book of Mormon. See  this episode by watching r directly on YouTube HERE.

Only Two Written Language Forms

Only two written languages are mentioned as in use during the Nephite period of the Book of Mormon; Reformed Egyptian and Hebrew (Mormon 9:32-33).  Yet, entire Book of Mormon geography theories have been proposed based on the erroneous assumption that no written language existed in ancient North American civilizations. It was mistakenly thought that the only literate culture in the Americas were the Maya of Mesoamerica, but scholars know that the Mayan glyph system originated from Asiatic writing systems, which have nothing to do with either of the languages specified by the Book of Mormon – thus eliminating any linguistic connection between the Maya and the Nephites.

Today, non-LDS scientists have verified two stones having Hebrew inscriptions in America’s Heartland, thereby validating the January 1st, 1842 issue of the Times and Seasons (Vol. 3, No. 5) article, Evidences In Proof of the Book of Mormon, which records descriptions of the ancient fortifications “Near Newark in the county of Licking, Ohio” which are “but a few of the corresponding accounts of fortifications and works of defense there are to be found in the Book of Mormon and American Antiquities, but these are sufficient to show the public that the people whose history is contained in the Book of Mormon, are the authors of these works.”

In contrast to the lack of evidence for Hebrew or Egyptian language in Mesoamerica, many artifacts have been found in North America bearing Hebrew and other Old World inscriptions.  These have been met with skepticism, overwhelming bias and even contempt by archaeological and scientific communities.  They hold that no written language was had by the aboriginal inhabitants of North America until after European exploration.  John Wesley Powell while at the Smithsonian even went so far as to claim it was “illegitimate” to even consider any written language before Columbus (see The Lost Civilizations of North America documentary clips here. Thus the vast majority of these artifacts, numbering in the tens of thousands by some estimates, were summarily dismissed and pronounced as hoaxes or fraudulent efforts to uphold theories of the day.  Many people of the late 1700’s believed that the evidence from the artifacts being dug from the ground supported an occupation of North America by one or more of the lost tribes of Israel.

Until now, such artifacts have been relegated to the realm of forgeries and fakes, most often by individuals and organizations having an agenda to maintain the status quo against any evidence suggesting advanced civilization or capabilities of the ancient Native American peoples.  This has been well documented in the film, The Lost Civilizations of North America (click on the image below), which won best of show at the International Cherokee Film Festival in 2010, and the book by S. Edgar Smoot, Lost American Antiquities; A Hidden History (DVD Here, and Book Here.  Until now there has been no verification or acceptance of any of these artifacts bearing Hebrew inscriptions as being ancient, authentic or linguistically accurate.

Now, a second independent scientific analysis of a stone having ancient Hebrew inscribed into its surface has been completed in the America’s.  And where was this stone recovered?  In a Hopewell burial mound in Ohio in 1860.

The Newark Holy Stones – The Decalogue Stone
A Second Validation of Ancient Hebrew, Confirming its Use in America’s Heartland

In June and November of 1860 respected Licking County, (Newark), Ohio surveyor, David Wyrick, unearthed two stones bearing Hebrew inscriptions.  The first was a triangular shaped  “keystone” (#2 in photo above) and the second was  called the “Decalogue” stone (#1) – encased in a sandstone “sarcophagus” (#3-4) and accompanied by a small stone bowl (#5) nearly the size and shape of Hebrew temple ritual bowls.

The Keystone & Decalogue Stone

Photo’s from Exploring the Book of Mormon in America’s Heartland, page 167

The Keystone inscription translates as “The Holy of Holies, The Law of God, The King of the Earth, The Word of the Lord”

The black Decalogue stone depicts a man in full length robes, a sash and Jewish temple ceremonial hat along with the name of Moses above the image. The inscribed writing has been determined to be an ancient script now called “Block Hebrew,” or “Monumental Hebrew” because of its being found in Jerusalem near the 4th century, A.D. (Biblical Archaeology Review Nov./Dec. 1986, p. 33). Upon translation it was found to be a complete rendition of the 10 commandments.  The robed figure on the front is identified by three characters above the head, identifying the figure as “Moses.”  To learn more visit the Holy Stones page on professor J. Huston McCulloch’s website.  See correlations between the Hebrew characters on the Decalogue stone, Monumental Hebrew found in Israel, and Roman characters with their Hebrew letter names in photo below.  Photo from Exploring the Book of Mormon in America’s Heartland, page 168

In Sept. 2013, following his examination of the Decalogue stone at the Johnson Humrickhouse Museum in Coshocton, Ohio as aired on America Unearthed, Scott Wolter declared,
“Geologically, I don’t see any problems here that would make these things obvious hoaxes. The evidence seems clear, there’s no reason not to accept these as genuine, legitimate artifacts.” – Scott Wolter, American Petrigraphic Services, St. Paul, MN

 The Bat Creek Stone

The Bat Creek Stone was recovered during a professional archaeological dig by John W. Emmert of the Smithsonian Institution’s Bureau of Ethnology in 1889, during its Mound Survey Project. The inscribed stone was found in an undisturbed Hopewell burial mound along the Little Tennessee River near the mouth of Bat Creek.  Additional Hopewell diagnostic artifacts recovered with the stone include bone and wood pieces and two brass bracelets whose metallurgical properties nearly match those of ancient Jews in the Levant (Israel) portions of the Mediterranean (see video of Dr. Wolter’s presentation and analysis HERE.  The inscription on the stone was assumed to be “Paleo-Cherokee,” and was subsequently published by the Smithsonian in their Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1890-1891 on page 392.

In 1964, Chicago patent attorney Henriette Mertz and Hebrew linguistics expert Dr. Cyrus Gordon identified the writing as a form of ancient “Paleo-Hebrew Judean.” They discovered that the stone had been published by the Smithsonian upside down and that it was legible Hebrew, once the stone was rotated 180 degrees.

 The Inscription’s Translation

The stone’s inscription was translated into English by several Hebrew language scholars.  What was the translation?;  ”For the Judeans,” or “For Judea,”  a clear reference to ancient Israel.

History of the Bat Creek Stone by non-Mormon Historian for BTN-TV

For a concise, well researched history of the Bat Creek Stone, click on the image of forensic geologist Scott Wolter below.

History Channel Documentary, A Historical Account of the Bat Creek Stone

The History Channel began showing a new documentary in 2010 titled Who Really Discovered America in which they explore the many possible excursions to ancient America before Columbus, including a segment on Lehi’s voyage of the Book of Mormon. Unfortunately, because of incorrect assumptions by Mesoamerica Book of Mormon geography theorists, they dismiss the Book of Mormon and the Church… (more on this in an upcoming presentation by Rod L. Meldrum on Lehi’s voyage).  This documentary is now available on DVD. In it the narrator states, “Another stone with a mysterious seemingly Hebrew inscription was found here, along the Bat Creek in eastern Tennessee.  Some say the inscription translates to ‘For Judea,’ a reference to ancient Israel.  It was found in 1889 along with wood fragments that were carbon 14 dated to sometime between the first and eighth century AD.  It was found in a Cherokee burial mound.”

To watch this clip simply click on the image below to see the Cherokee DNA information from the History Channel.  The Bat Creek Stone information in the video is at 2:34 is you want to skip to it.  Regarding the Los Lunas Stone in New Mexico, which also has ancient Hebrew writing. you can purchase the new video (June 2018) called “Mystery Stone: Was Columbus really the first?” It explores the possibilities of Pre-Columbian migration to the New World by evaluating ancient artifacts from the Old World discovered here in the Americas. In addition to archaeological evidence, it also examines cultural characteristics as well as groundbreaking discoveries in the DNA of certain Native American tribes. “Mystery Stone” also addresses how racist sentiments in the 19th Century played a role in the history we’re taught today.”

Glenn Beck “Blown Away” by Bat Creek Stone & Lost Civilizations of North America

Former Fox News commentator Glenn Beck, after having his research team conduct a thorough review of the materials and quotations in the new documentary, The Lost Civilizations of North America, claimed he was “blown away” by what had been found by the experts in the film regarding the highly advanced ancient Hopewell Mound Builder civilization with special emphasis on the Bat Creek stone.  Watch the Glenn Beck videos  Here, and Here

Dating the Inscription

 Because of the style of writing, Dr. Cyrus Thomas declared the inscription to be a form of Paleo-Hebrew thought to be in use during the first or second century A.D.  Hebrew scholar Robert Stieglitz confirmed Gordon’s translation.  Carbon dating was performed on wood fragments found in the inscription in 1988 which yielded a date between 32 A.D. and 769 A.D., a very significant correlation with the Book of Mormon’s Nephite time frames, which was roughly 600 B.C. to 400 AD.

What Happened to the Stone and Where is it Now?

The Smithsonian held the stone for many years until recently when it was moved from the National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. to the McClung Museum of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.  The stone was then submitted for examination by American Petrographic Services of Saint Paul, Minnesota who, upon completion of their analysis, returned the stone for prominent display at the McClung Museum where it is located currently.

Comprehensive information about the excavation, the find, the publication and the controversy, can be obtained from the fully referenced article by Professor J. Huston McCulloch at Ohio State University.  Click HERE to read this important article.

The Petrographic Analysis

 In June 2010 the stone underwent Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) examination by Forensic Geologist Scott Wolter of American Petrographic Services at the McClung Museum on the campus of the University of Tennessee.  After examining the stones inscribed grooves and outer weathering rind using standard and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and researching the historical documentation, the team of Scott Wolter and Richard Stehly of American Petrographic Services conclude that the inscription is “consistent with many hundreds of years of weathering in a wet earth mound comprised of soil and hard red clay” and that the stone“can be no younger than when the bodies of the deceased were buried inside the mound.” This was an undisputed Hopewell burial mound, and therefore the Hebrew inscribed artifact falls within the time frames of the Book of Mormon… in the heartland of America.

Their findings were subsequently published and an online version is available on their website at http://www.ampetrographic.com/files/BatCreekStone.pdf .

Watch Scott Wolter explain the petrographic analysis performed at the McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee HERE or click the image below.

Such findings may finally provide precedent to re-examine the Newark Holy Stones which also bear ancient Hebrew inscriptions and were recovered from a Hopewell burial mound near Newark Ohio.  One of the arguments against the authenticity of these stones is the supposed lack of corroborating evidence for Hebrew language.  Together, these stones may work in concert to verify the presence of ancient Hebrew civilizations in the heartland of America.  Many previously declared “hoaxes” may be reanalyzed using more objective observations and scientific analysis and less simple blind bias and dogma.  An excellent example of this is the Kensington Rune Stone of Minnesota which was almost immediately declared by “experts” as a fake or forgery prior to any actual examination of the stone.

Such reversals of previous unsubstantiated and bias claims is especially exciting when considered in the context of the DNA evidence, Joseph Smith’s statements, and all the other archaeological evidence for highly advanced civilizations in the heartland of America during the Book of Mormon epic.

8 Locations in North America Having Evidence of Hebrews

In two America Unearthed episodes several other sites having either actual Hebrew inscriptions or indications of Hebrews in North America are mentioned.  These include:

1. Newark Decalogue Stone (discussed above) with inscription having an ancient form of Hebrew characters that, when translated, were found to be a complete rendition of the Ten Commandments.

2. Bat Creek Stone (discussed above) with its ancient Hebrew Inscription that translates to “For the Judeans” and has been scientifically verified as ancient and thus authentic.

3. Los Lunas Decalogue Stone, an 80 ton boulder southwest of Los Lunas, NM with inscribed ancient Hebrew characters again translated to the Ten Commandments.  Watch the first few minutes of this non-Mormon video HERE for amazing details about the antiquity of the stone, its inscription and its importance.  Another interesting video about the stone by non-Mormon’s is HERE.

4. Hebrew Petroglyph Panel at Conchas Lake, New Mexico, which was found by Ron Rigoni on his 10,000 acre ranch and examined by Scott Wolter in an episode of America Unearthed.

5. Tucson Lead Artifacts with Hebrew inscriptions which were found in Tucson, Arizona in the late 1800’s and were declared as authentic following a scientific investigation by Wolter in another episode of America Unearthed.

6. Hanukkia Earthworks, a massive earthen mound structure erected by the ancient Hopewell civilization in central Ohio which was surveyed by Squier and Davis and published in the very first book by the Smithsonian Institution, Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi River Valley, in 1848.  The earthworks include such Hebrew symbols as a Hanukkia, an oil lamp, a compass and a square as well as outer ditches in the form of the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the “Shin” (pronounced sheen).

7. Newark Keystone, one of the Newark Holy Stone collection found around 1860 at the Great Octagon/Great Circle complex of Newark, Ohio.  The shape of the stone is reminicent of the keystone used at the top of stone arches anciently and it is inscribed on all four sides with ancient Hebrew characters translated to such ritual phrases as “The Holy of Holies, The Law of God, The King of the Earth, The Word of the Lord.”

8. Newark Stone Bowl, another artifact discovered along with the Newark Holy Stone collection now displayed in the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum of Coshocton, Ohio.  Bowls of this shape and size were used in temple rituals in Israel prior to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD and because of purity laws had to be made of stone rather than pottery which was believed to harbor impurities and could not be used to hold sacred oils used in temple ceremonies.

Mesoamerica Bias Withholding Facts from Church Membership

Why has information of this magnitude not been featured on the front page headlines of LDS related new articles, magazines and websites?  While this new evidence should certainly be exciting news for all LDS faithful, there are likely a few in the LDS scholarly community who will, like anti-Mormon critics, try to find some way to discredit or dismiss this evidence that so powerfully corroborates the claims of the Book of Mormon, because it does not support their preferred Mesoamerican geography paradigm.

One might ask, if an archaeological finding was made in Mesoamerica of a stone inscribed with ancient Hebrew and then verified scientifically to be authentic and within Book of Mormon times, what would be their reaction?  Wouldn’t they be broadcasting such wonderful news to show forth this marvelous evidence on the front pages of their websites and publications, or would their response be to attempt to dismiss the finding?

While no one knows what the reaction the Mesoamerican leaning portions of the LDS scholarly community will have to this news, it will be interesting to watch their reaction and by it we will be able to know of their proclaimed neutrality on this subject.  It is expected that rather than seeing the plausibility of the Book of Mormon occurring in America’s heartland, and being excited about having new evidence supporting it, those entrenched in their Mesoamerican theories will try to discredit the only known archaeological finding verified through scientific rigor to confirm the existence of ancient Hebrew written language in the Americas during Book of Mormon time frames.  There has never before been such profound evidence with such powerful implications in support of the Book of Mormon. The position they take will tell volumes of their openness to alternative theories for Book of Mormon lands.

What would be the effect on the world if efforts, similar to those that have been amassed in looking for evidences for the Book of Mormon in Mesoamerica by LDS scholars, were now applied toward America’s heartland?  Is it possible that far more evidence in support of its historicity and truthfulness could be found with their help, combined knowledge and resources?  There is an ongoing hope that those in the Mesoamerican leaning LDS scholarly community may determine to subjectively reexamine the possibilities and join with us in helping to show forth the evidence for the Book of Mormon where Joseph Smith indicated by his words, writings and actions for it to have been… in the Heartland of North America. The evidences continue to build for the Heartland geography model.

More on the Decalogue Stone

Speaking of the Newark Decalogue Stone, Orson Pratt said, “Five years after the discovery of this remarkable memento of the ancient Israelites on the American continent, and thirty-five years after the Book of Mormon was in print, several other mounds in the same vicinity of Newark were opened, in several of which Hebrew characters were found. Among them was this beautiful expression, buried with one of their ancient dead, ‘May the Lord have mercy on me a Nephite.’ It was translated a little different—’Nephel.’ Now we well know that Nephi, who came out of Jerusalem six hundred years before Christ, was the leader of the first Jewish colony across to this land, and the people, ever afterwards, were called ‘Nephites,’ after their inspired prophet and leader. The Nephites were a righteous people and had many prophets among them; and when they were burying one of their brethren in these ancient mounds, they introduced the Hebrew characters signifying ‘May the Lord have mercy on me a Nephite.’ This is another direct evidence of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon, which was brought forth and translated by inspiration some thirty-five years before this inscription was found.” Orson Pratt JD 13:16 Page131

“Five Hebrew letters are cut in the forehead. When Dr. Lillenthal saw it, he instantly decided the last three letters were nun, pe, lamed…” Dr. Bernard Illowy gives it as his judgement that the words are Yerachamehu Adonai Nephel, May the Lord have mercy on him, an untimely birth, or an abortion.” This Land: by Wayne May America 2,000 B. C. to 500 A. D. (Source The Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, Volume 28)

Our New Annotated Book of Mormon includes much of the information above as well as over 600 pages of the complete Book of Mormon text with archaeology, maps, paintings, and prophetic statements about the  Book of Mormon. Pre- Order today here! See page 544 of our new book below.

Firm Foundation complete article is found here.

“Indians of America” WORDS AND PHRASES “…we should have written in Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also.” (Mormon 9:33)

“Among the class of writers aforesaid is Mr. James Adair, who resided forty years among the American tribes, and who wrote a book on the subject, which was published about the year 1775, in which he, without hesitation, declares that the American aborigines are descendants from the Israelites, and so complete is his conviction on this head, that he declares he finds a perfect and undisputable similitude in each. He says: ‘From the most accurate observations I could make, in the long time I traded among the Indians of America, I was forced to believe them lineally descended from the tribes of Israel,’ History of the American Indians, London: Edward and Charles Dilly [1775] p. 13.

“A table of words and phrases is furnished by Dr. Boudinot, Adair and others, to show the similarity, in some of the Indian languages, to the Hebrew, and that the former must have been derived from the latter” – Haines, Elijah M., The American Indian (UH-XISH-IK-XA-BA), The Whole Subject Complete in One Volume, Chicago: The MAS-SIX-XA’-GAX Company [1888], 98; 100. Annotated Book of Mormon page 544

Native American Jews? A Fulfillment of Prophecy? By HaRav Ariel Bar Tzadok

Submitted by Quest-News-Serv… on Wed, 05/18/2011 – 02:09.
Native American Jews? A Fulfillment of Prophecy? By HaRav Ariel Bar Tzadok

In 1650, Rabbi Menashe Ben Israel, Chief Rabbi of Amsterdam recorded an incredible story in his book
Mikveh Yisrael. He relates a conversation that he had with a Jewish Dutch explorer of the Americas.
The explorer related how he made contact with the Native Americans but after trying to communicate
with them in every possible European language, he had no success. Being a Jew, as was his first mate,
these two began to talk amongst themselves in Hebrew. To his utter amazement, upon hearing him
speak Hebrew to his first mate, the Native American chief responded in kind and stated, “Shema
Yisrael.”
This is only one of the very numerous instances that seem not only to suggest, but to actually prove that
indeed, somehow, in some way, a number of Biblical Israelites managed to leave the Holy Land, over
two thousand years ago and by the Hand of G-d found their way to the shores of what today we call the
Americas. It was known in Talmudic times that the world was indeed round and some Sages suggest that
there is hints to the existence of what today we call the Americas in some of the oldest Rabbinic
literature.
Archeological evidence to establish this claim is rather significant and wide spread. There are numerous
archeological artifacts that have been found throughout the Americas, specifically here in the United
States that are clearly thousands of years old and written in either Biblical Hebrew or later block
(modern) Hebrew script. These include full inscriptions of the Ten Commandments, etched in stone and
written in Ktav Ivrit (original pre-Babylonian Biblical Hebrew script). There is even one claim made that
an ancient pair of Tefillin have actually been found buried in an Indian burial ground.

In 1775, Englishman James Adair, after living with Native Americans for 40 years, recorded his
experiences and published a book about them in London entitled, “The History of the American
Indians.” Almost his entire work is dedicated to document and prove that the Native American tribes of
the central and southern territories, soon to become the U.S.A. were definitively of Jewish origins and
to his day maintained a sizable amount of their ancient Israelite heritage. He goes so far as to say that
the tribes that he knew worshiped a single God Creator who they called in their language Ye’ho’wah.
Adair’s book created quite a stir and was widely read.

Even President Thomas Jefferson in 1803 was aware of Adair’s book and made mention of it in one of his
letters to John Adams. Jefferson quotes Adair’s belief that, “all the Indians of American to be
descended from the Jews: the same laws, usages; rites and ceremonies, the same sacrifices, priests,
prophets, fasts and festivals, almost the same religion, and that they all spoke Hebrew.”

The belief of the Native American/Israelite connection proliferated widely in the early 1800s. Even a
new religion was founded upon the belief. We have all heard of the Mormons, famously of Utah. But
many (non-Mormons) do not know that Mormon founder Joseph Smith was originally from the North East and proclaimed that his “Book of Mormon” (which serves as a Mormon Bible) claims to tell the history of a family of Jewish refugees who fled Jerusalem prior to the Babylonian exile. Smith claims that this history was revealed to him from special writings given to him by an angel. Yet, regardless of Mormon theology, the Native American/Israelite concept was alive and thriving at that time and many believed it, not needing Joseph Smith to establish a religion based on it.

I will leave it to my readers to explore the evidence for themselves. James Adair’s book, The History of
the American Indians, written in 1775 is still available today. A copy of the original London publication
can be found on Amazon.com. I also recommend to everyone a very interesting DVD also available from
Amazon.com entitled Lost Civilizations of North America. This production also claims that DNA
testings have shown a positive match between certain Native Americas and inhabitants of Holy Land
from over 2000 years ago. One can also do a web search for the Los Lunas Ten Commandments Stone
in New Mexico. One can further see that certain websites presenting themselves as teaching Cherokee
Spiritual Traditions certainly look suspiciously similar to ancient Torah teachings.

In these days, when we believe Biblical prophecies are being fulfilled around us and how in the End of
Days many of the “lost tribes” would rejoin the Jewish nation, I would love to pursue the possibility of
locating those Native American elders who may still have safeguarded their ancient and sacred histories
and who may be able to shed some light on this wondrous revelation.

I once spoke with an elder of a southwestern Native American tribe. He told me how during the Second
World War he had served in the armed forces, which brought him for the first time in his life to New
York City. While there having time to look around, he related to me how in one set of buildings he
recognized what for him were ancient Native holy symbols. He concluded that there must be a lost
segment of his “Indian” tribe in New York. He told me the symbol that convinced him of such is what
we know as the Menorah and the set of buildings he mentioned were synagogues. The Lost Civilizations
of North America does show an ancient Native symbol which, in my opinion could be nothing other than
a menorah. So, apparently the Native chief knew something 70 or more years before the producers of
the DVD did.

Rabbi Menashe Ben Israel understood the discovery of lost Israelites to be a clear and immanent sign
that we are living close to the days of the coming of Mashiah. While I cannot say with certainty that all
Native Americans are of Israelite stock, nonetheless the way they suffered under the dominion of
European oppressors certainly makes them no different from Jews who lived in European lands for
centuries. Both Jews and Native Americans suffered similar oppression under the boot of Europeans.
The similarities of our sufferings under the boot of the same oppressors certainly adds to the evidence
that not only are these people historically Israel, but they remain spiritual Israel to this day, suffering as
all Jews do. Maybe their Jewish identity may be lost to our eyes, but apparently it is not lost to the
eyes of Heaven.

I am presently conducting an in-depth study into the ancient spiritual traditions of the Native peoples
whose land I presently inhabit. I want to learn everything about them, good or bad, Israelite or
otherwise. If there is any real connection between our peoples, if we truly are one, then I believe we
should make every effort to discover this, validate it and proceed from there to reach out to our lost
family and help reintroduce them to the Boreh Olam, Creator of the Universe (the Great Spirit?) and to
reunite them with their lost ancient past and their even better most promising future.

If any of my readers know any leaders among the Native American elders who would be willing to meet
with and dialogue with me as an Orthodox Rabbi, I would love the opportunity to hold such a meeting
and see where we can build common foundations and from there, see what Heaven has in mind.
I do believe we are ever so close to the dawn of a new era in human history where our old idols and self deceptions will finally be broken forever. Maybe by finding lost family and reuniting with them, we can move this great process along. At least, that is my hope.

Copyright © 2010 by Ariel Bar Tzadok. All rights reserved.

Complete Article here 

I invite anyone reading this to say hi to this Rabbi as I have done and tell him all you know about the Book of Mormon. He also quotes from our fellow member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Steven E. Smoot who is the author of “Lost Civilizations of North America” which the Rabbi is fascinated by. You can purchase Steve’s book here: 

The Rabbi can be reached by email here: [email protected]

Another great article here

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/native-americans-jews-the-lost-tribes-episode/

The American Indian: Descended From The Ten Lost Tribes? (Part I)

The American Indian: Descended From The Ten Lost Tribes? (Part II)

Last December Heartland Research Group and other scientists, archaeologists and supporters gathered in Ohio to do magnetometry research attempting to locate ancient evidence of human activity in Ohio over 2,000 years ago. The company SENSYS, from Germany was hired to utilize their state of the art equipment. Heading this research was John Lefgren PhD and longtime scientist. He said the following:

“On Friday evening, December 14th, 2018, at the Frisch’s Big Boy Family Restaurant near the AmeriStay Motel in Batavia, Ohio I was eating a buffet and sitting with Richard Moats, Kirk Magleby, Hu McCullough, and Jeffery Wilson. It was a pleasant evening. There were other people at the table. In our table conversation, I turned to the aforementioned people and I said that I wanted each one of them to answer a plain and simple question. Were there ancient Hebrews in Ohio? Richard Moats said absolutely yes. Hu McCullough said yes. Jeffery Wilson said yes. Kirk Magleby said no.

How about that?”

John Lefgren PhD, President Heartland Research Group

Who said yes and who said no to the question, “Hebrews in Prehistoric America?”

“Absolutely”, says Richard Moats Ordained Evangelist in the Church of Jesus Christ International. and Avocational Archaeologist, Archaeoastronomer who has lived in Ohio all his life.

“Yes”, says J. Huston McCulloch Professor of Economics and Finance The Ohio State University and Ohio Avocational Archaeologist for 40 years.

“Yes”, says Jeffery Wilson the director/manager of the Serpent Mound in Ohio. Friends of Serpent Mound, or FOSM for short, is made up of individuals, organizations, and businesses that care about and see the value in preserving the Great Serpent Mound Park. He knows Ohio Archaeology very well.

“No”, said Mesoamerican advocate and Executive Director of Book of Mormon Central Kirk Magleby.

Richard Moats about Hebrews in Ohio

“I am an Ordained Minister in the Church of Jesus Christ International. I am also an Avocational Archaeologist specializing in Archaeoastronomy. It may seem strange to some people that I am both a student of the Bible and Scientist. The pre-history of America has not been fully understood. Every year, new tools of science push back the curtain of understanding into the lifeways of early Native Americans.
This is expected of science because, unlike the Bible, there are no written records. The only record of the peoples living here are prior to discovery is written in the artifacts left behind and the DNA that has moved forward.

Frequently I am asked, “Do I believe Hebrews were in prehistoric America”. My answer is always yes.
Of course the next question is “why”. But, because this is a short essay, I cannot give the four hour lecture with supporting evidence and pictures. So I will give simple answers to what is a complex question.

The evidence has been rejected by so called scientists for over 150 years. The Newark Holy Stones were discovered in a Hopewell burial mound near Jacksontown, Ohio. The Newark Holy Stones were declared fake by the “scholars” of the day. But, if the truth be known about those who declared them fake, you would find they are all atheists. The Holy Stones were too much for their paradigm to handle.
But, a scientist by the name of Scott Wolter, a Geologist and Petrologist, recently studied the stones and said “there is no evidence to suggest the stones are not as old as the Hopewell context in which they were discovered.

Wolter also studied the Bat Creek Stone and said “the Hebrew writing on the stone is as old as the Hopewell burial in which it was discovered. The evidence from the Newark and Bat Creek stones demonstrates Hebrews made contact with the Native Americans we call the Hopewell prior to 500 AD.

The other evidence is from a discovery of Haplogroup X Mitochondrial DNA marker found in Hopewell skeletal remains in mound number 25 at Mound City near Chillicothe, Ohio by Dr. Lisa Mills. HgX originated in Galilee, the land of the Hebrews. The concentration of HgX in the area around Galilee is 27%. The next highest concentration in the world is in Nova Scotia, Canada at 25%. As HgX is over the globe, it could not have come into south east Canada by any route other than by sea. (See National Geographic Article Here)

The sphere of influence of the pre-Algonquin people of southeast Canada extended into what is now New York, Maine, and Vermont. The sphere of influence of the Hopewell extended into southern Canada as well as what is today New York State. This suggests the Hopewell and the pre-Algonquin interfaced sometime before 500 AD; thus, the exchange of HgX DNA.

The Hopewell belief system was a three tier system where they lived in the terrestrial world but believed in an underworld and an upper world. The constructed massive geometric earthworks to align with celestial events. They viewed the upper world as the destination of the souls of their ancestors and themselves in the “Pathway of Souls”. The “Pathway of Souls” or “River of Souls”, is the Milky Way Galaxy band of stars. The parallels between our Judeo Christian worldview is the same. We view the lower world as a very bad place, and the upper world as Heaven.

Lastly there is the enigmatic East Fork Earthworks which in fact existed in Clermont County, Ohio. It is also called the “Menorah site” after the configuration found inside the earthen walls of the enclosure appearing to be that of a Nine Candle Menorah. This massive earthwork was destroyed for some unknown reason early in the 19th century. But, there is no doubt it did exist. Only Hopewell built massive geometric earthworks. Therefore, the East Fork Works appears to be the “smoking gun” to prove contact into the Hopewell Native Americans sometime before the Hopewell disappeared before 500 AD.

There is a concerted effort to relocate the East Fork Works by a group of researchers known as the Heartland Research Group. By using cutting edge magnetometry surveying, the group will scan hundreds of acres in south west Ohio in an effort to find the “lost menorah”. When it is relocated, possibly the proof of Hebrews contacting the Hopewell in Ohio will be discovered.

There is a megalithic structure on Oak Island, Nova Scotia named Nolan’s Cross. It is formed by huge stones placed on the island to form a Christian Cross. Who built it? When was it built? Why was it constructed? I do not know. But, is it possible that Hebrews which came to Mahone Bay Nova Scotia Canada and placed a stone memorial to their entry into the “Promise Land”? I say yes because it is what Joshua did when he led the Hebrews across the Jordan River into the promised land of today’s Israel. (Joshua Chapter 4).

Hopefully the Newark Holy Stones and the Bat Creek stone will be subjected to today’s best analytical tests and declared authentic by science. Hopefully HgX is scientifically proven to have come into the Americas between 0 and 500 AD by the geneticists. And the East Forks Works are determined to be influenced by the Hebrews thus proving cultural contact.

For your own study and research, use the key words from this essay to search the net for knowledge and revelation.”

Richard D. Moats, Rev./Avocational Archaeologist/Archaeoastronomer

https://bookofmormonevidence.org/bookstore/product/understanding-hopewell-adena-earthworks-in-ohio/

Hebrews in Prehistoric America?

There is a concerted effort to relocate the East Fork Works by a group of researchers known as the Heartland Research Group. By using cutting edge magnetometry surveying, the group will scan hundreds of acres in south west Ohio in an effort to find the “lost menorah”. When it is relocated, possibly the proof of Hebrews contacting the Hopewell in Ohio will be discovered.

There is a megalithic structure on Oak Island, Nova Scotia named Nolan’s Cross. It is formed by huge stones placed on the island to form a Christian Cross. Who built it? When was it built? Why was it constructed? I do not know. But, is it possible that Hebrews which came to Mahone Bay Nova Scotia Canada and placed a stone memorial to their entry into the “Promise Land”? I say yes because it is what Joshua did when he led the Hebrews across the Jordan River into the promised land of today’s Israel. (Joshua Chapter 4).”

Richard D. Moats AA, Archaeoastronomer

At the 24th Book of Mormon Evidence Conference yesterday, I shared some information with our guests about how the Nephite Culture of the Book of Mormon from 600 BC to 400 AD, has so many amazing similarities to the Hopewell Culture in the United States. Many archaeologists, scientists and historians who aren’t members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, know and believe the history of the Hopewell Culture and verify the dating which parallels the Book of Mormon. Below you will also find the fantastic article I referenced of a discussion between Archaeologist of Ohio William Mills in 1917 with James E. Talmadge.

My talk along with all of those from this last conference will be streaming on our new online streaming service in a few weeks. Currently we have over 200 fantastic videos you can choose from. Visit HERE or the click on the picture below.

The Hopewell & Nephites- Parallel Histories

“The Hopewell culture describes the common aspects of a segment of Native American culture that flourished along rivers in the northeastern and Midwestern United States from approximately 400 B.C. to 500 A.D., a time period that nearly matches the span of the developed Nephite societies. The Hopewell peoples were not a single culture or society, but a widely dispersed set of related populations as shown on the map on the left. They were connected by a common network of trade routes, in what is known as the “Hopewell exchange system.” The name ‘Hopewell’ was chosen by Warren K. Moorehead, known as the ‘Dean of American archaeology,’ after his explorations in 1891 and 1892 of a group of mounds in Ross County, Ohio. He named the mounds after Mordecai Hopewell, the owner of the land. Subsequently all mounds that have similar identifications are named as the Hopewell Mound Builders within an interaction sphere.Currently, the Hopewell interaction sphere has come to encompass regions from the Southeastern United States as far south as the Crystal River Indian Mounds in Florida up to the southeastern Canadian shores of Lake Ontario in the north. Within this geographic area, inter societal exchanges were common along major waterways. The Hopewell exchange system received materials from all over what is now the heartland of the United States. Many objects created by the Hopewell cultures have been excavated and show a remarkable degree of commonality to items described within the text from the Nephite and Lamanite civilizations. In 1848, Ephraim George Squier, A.M., and Edwin Hamilton Davis, M.D., published the book, Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley: Comprising the Results of Extensive Original Surveys and Explorations. The work was a landmark in American scientific research and was the genesis of archaeology as a scientific discipline. More importantly, the book was the first volume of the Smithsonian Institution’s Contributions to Knowledge series and the Institution’s first publication. Among Squier and Davis’ most important achievements was their systematic approach to analyzing and documenting the sites they surveyed, including Seip Mound, southwest of Chillicothe, Ohio (survey Plate XXI, No. 2 shown below on the left), which they discovered in 1846, and the mapping of the Mound City Group, also in Chillicothe, Ohio, which has been restored using their data and is now part of Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. Squier and Davis collection of ancient Mound objects can now be seen at the British Museum in London, England. A few of their maps will be used in this edition as most of those mounds they identified have been destroyed by population growth that demanded land as the United States expanded westward. Their drawings are left to us to study of what was a highly educated, cultured and civilized society with roads, highways and cities rivaling the sizes of those in Europe.

The Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon highlights various excavated artifacts throughout the text that come from the “Mound Builder’s” earth or “dust” (Isaiah 29:4), like those found at Zelph’s Mound, providing physical or “circumstantial evidences” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Five [1842-43], 267) showing those mound builders shared common associations with the Nephite cultures. Lehi’s party arrived in the Promised Land in roughly 590 B.C. as a small group. Within a few years, those who followed Nephi separated themselves from those who followed Laman and Lemuel. By 570 B.C. the two groups, the Nephites and the Lamanites, were then living in separate geographical regions with different lifestyles. The Nephites settled in a small region maintaining their flocks, herds and crops while the followers of Laman lived as wanderers feeding off of wild animals, “becoming wicked and wild and ferocious, yea, even becoming Lamanites” (Helaman 3:16). By 500 B.C., one hundred years after leaving Jerusalem, the populations were now well into the second and third generations and growing rapidly. In 279 B.C., king Mosiah leaves the land of their first inheritance, the land of Nephi, and finds the people of Zarahemla, who are more numerous than his group (Omni 1:17), and joins with them. After learning their language, he discovers that their history parallels their arriving in the land at about the same time period when both founding groups fled Jerusalem. It is quite reasonable then, that by 200 to 100 B.C., the best dating of the beginning of the Hopewell societies, that the population within the Hopewell interaction spheres parallels the history and culture within the pages of the Book of Mormon (see Appendix, pp. 538-539, for a list of 50 correlations). Moroni, the last Nephite prophet and historian to write on his metal plates, describes the destruction of his people in about 421 A.D. Remarkably, the culture of the Mound Builders suddenly collapses between 400-500 A.D. Those groups of “Mound Builders,” who exhibited similar characteristics of the Nephites, in the working in metals, in making fine jewelry and cloth, in implementing battle armaments such as head-plates, arm-shields, breastplates, etc., and engaging in similar military tactics of digging ditches around high banks of earth such as this recorded event: “Now behold, the Lamanites could not get into their forts of security by any other way save by the entrance because of the highness of the bank, which had been thrown up and the depth of the ditch, which had been dug round about, save it were by the entrance” (Alma 49:18), have all disappeared from history. The early European settlers of North America observed Native American Indians as just savages, yet in a revelation given through the prophet Joseph Smith to Parley P. Pratt, Oliver Cowdery and Ziba Peterson, in Manchester, NY, early October 1830 the Lord declared: “And now concerning My servant Parley P. Pratt, behold, I say unto him that as I live I will that he shall declare My gospel and learn of Me, and be meek and lowly of heart. And that which I have appointed unto him is that he shall go with My servants, Oliver Cowdery and Peter Whitmer, Jun., into the wilderness among the Lamanites. And Ziba Peterson also shall go with them; and I Myself will go with them and be in their midst; and I am their advocate with the Father, and nothing shall prevail against them” (Doctrine and Covenants Section 32:1-3: emphasis added). The Lord has declared where some of the surviving Lamanites were and are—and He will be a personal guide to the help His servants in teaching them their House of Israel heritage.” Annotated Book of Mormon by David Hocking and Rod Meldrum pages 536-537. Charts below are from page 538 and 539 of the same book. Purchase Here

Parallels of the Hopewell Culture as described by William C. Mills, Chief Archaeologist of Ohio, with the Book of Mormon [May 20, 1917; Sunday] by James E Talmage

“Attended Sunday School and afternoon service in Hawthorne Hall, and was a speaker at each assembly. Evening meetings here, as also in Brooklyn, have been discontinued for the summer. The attendance both at Sunday School and afternoon meeting was surprisingly large in view of the fact that many of the Utah college students have left for the vacation period. This evening at the hotel I had a long and profitable consultation with Professor Wm. C. Mills, State Archaeologist of Ohio. He is continuing his splendid work of exploration in the Ohio mounds, and I went over with him again the remarkable agreement between his deductions and the Book of Mormon story. He has reached the following (10) conclusions: The area now included within the political boundaries defining the State of Ohio was once inhabited by two distinct peoples, representing two cultures, a higher and a lower.

These two classes were contemporaries; in other words, the higher and the lower culture represented distinct phases of development existing at one time and in contiguous sections, and furnish in no sense an instance of evolution by which the lower culture was developed into the higher.

These two cultural types or distinct peoples were generally in a state of hostility one toward the other, the lower culture being more commonly the aggressor and the higher the defender.

During limited periods, however, the two types, classes, or cultures, lived in a state of neutrality, amounting in fact to friendly intercourse.

The numerous exhumations of human bones demonstrate that the people of the lower type, if not indeed both cultures, were very generally affected by syphilis, indicating a prevalent condition of lasciviousness.

Their (are) two peoples or cultures…the lower culture was most commonly the assailing party, while the people of the higher type defended as best they could but in general fled.

As a further consequence of this belligerent status they buried their dead, with or without previous cremation, in such condition as to admit of expeditious covering up of the cemeteries by the heaping of earth over the sepulchers [sic], in which hurried work the least skilled laborers and even children could be employed.

From a careful collating of data it is demonstrated that the general course of migration through the area now defined as the State of Ohio was inward from the west and outward toward the east.

Professor Mills states that no definite data as to the age of these peoples have as yet been found, but that the mounds may date back a few hundred years or even fifteen hundred or more.

Several years ago I placed a Book of Mormon in the hands of Professor Mills and, while he is reticent as to the parallelism of his discoveries and the Book of Mormon account, he is impressed by the agreement.”

James E. Talmage 20 May 1917 See copies below from William Mills 1914 publication called Archaeological Atlas of Ohio

William Mills 1914 publication called Archaeological Atlas of Ohio

Chart above courtesy of Wayne May Ancient American Magazine here William Mills 1914 publication called Archaeological Atlas of Ohio. Entire book here:

DOES THE GEOGRAPHY OF THE BOOK OF MORMON MATTER?

When Christ appeared to the Nephites as the resurrected Savior, He blessed them, He taught them He prayed with them and for them. He also quoted to them the words of Isaiah. He reminded them that they had been given THIS LAND for their inheritance and were warned that they would not be allowed to remain on THIS LAND if they did not remain faithful. This emphasis shows the significance of THIS LAND to the Book of Mormon people, and the people who would be brought by the hand of God to THIS LAND and now occupy THIS LAND.
  
With over 1400 references to “this land” in the Book of Mormon,
I’m not sure how the Book of Mormon prophets could have made it clearer. THIS LAND matters. Geography matters. Those of us on THIS LAND the “promised land,” the Land of Liberty, the Land of the New Jerusalem need to know who we are. America is THIS LAND. America is a covenant land. I live on THIS LAND. Even the chapter heading of 3 Nephi also confirms this truth. The geography of the Book of Mormon matters to me.” Rod Meldrum FIRM Foundation President

Find More Information

You can discover more information about the connection between the Hopewell, Nephites, and Jews in Ohio in the my book, Moroni’s America-Land Bountiful Edition seen below. This 60 Map Bountiful Edition is available in a great package below.

Heartland Map Package:
Moroni’s America-Maps Edition 150 Pages, AND Moroni’s America-Land Bountiful Edition 60 Maps. 210 Total Maps, PLUS receive the All-New 20″ x 30″ Folding Travel Map. Buy ALL THREE and Save 18% here.

Below is some information from the Bountiful Edition map book.

“There was a wall at the Great Circle at the Hopeton site. For those of you interested in dry archeological research, here is more about an interesting and recent discovery at the Hopeton Great Circle (adjacent to the Cedar Bank site near Chillicothe OH and also adjacent to the Chillicothe Ward building). Typically, I try to remain abreast with the research happening each year in Ohio and nearby. I spoke with an archaeologist last summer [2017] at the site, and learned of his confirmation of anomalies indicated by a an extensive magnetometry survey. The other day in conversation, we discussed more details regarding the findings. It appears the Great Circle has evidences of a wooden fence, where the at least 6 ft height 1050 ft diameter earthen wall (enclosing 20 acres) was located. Indications are a pattern of very large posts spaced every 6 meters. This excavation last season revealed a post mold to be 96cm (about 38 inches) in diameter and 1.13 meters deep. One can estimate the height from that data. Indications are that smaller posts existed between the larger ones. The Hopeton site is significant in its location in relation to Cedar Bank, Sugarloaf, Mound City, and Dunlap Works and likely others. The current Chillicothe Ward building aligns with the Cedar Bank site (specifically the platform mound) and is within sight of Sugarloaf and in association with other major earthworks, including Hopeton. I am pretty sure Church engineering had not considered the earthworks when the building was designed.” Anthony George Lifelong Resident of Chillicothe, Ohio and Archaeological Researcher as quoted in Moroni’s America Land Bountiful Edition by Rian Nelson and Jonathan Neville

Hebrew & Hopewell DNA
“A lady by the name of Lisa Mills did her doctoral thesis on the Hopewell. She sampled 49 Hopewell burials from Mound City in Chillicothe, Ohio. They were originally excavated by Shetrone in the mid-20th century. Of the 49 she extracted Mt/DNA from 64% of them. What is significant is she found Haplogroup X in several remains. Haplogroup X is a marker that originated in Galilee. This in my opinion strongly suggests contact by the Hebrews with Hopewell.  Richard D. Moats, Avocational Archaeologist, Archaeoastronomer

Purchase the New Annotated Book of Mormon here