JAREDITE BREASTPLATE AND NEPHITE CEMENT
Breastplates have been used by cultures everywhere for a very long time. Breastplates can be made of many materials. You will find hundreds of copper breastplates all over in museums of the eastern United States. You will find few if any copper breastplates in Mesoamerica. Many breastplates in Mesoamerica seem to be made of wood or shells and some metals. The Nephites made many weapons, breastplates, head plates, and hundreds are found and dated in the United Stated in the time frame of the Nephites and the Jaredites. This blog will show you similarities and differences in breastplates of the Old World and the New World, and even amongst the Historical Native Americans of the United States.
The Jaredite breastplate that Joseph Smith found in the stone box at Cumorah is a very unique one. We speak about cement since this stone box was created by using Nephite Cement. Most homes in the Book of Mormon were made of wood and cement, or wood and dirt. Helaman 3:7. Cement is not “Stone” as many Mesoamerican advocates claim.
Scriptures about Breastplates
Alma 43:38 “…For battle protection, Moroni equipped his army with the use of innovative armor: “they being shielded from the more vital parts of the body, or the more vital parts of the body being shielded from the strokes of the Lamanites, by their breastplates, and their arm-shields, and their head-plates”
Alma 43:19 “And when the armies of the Lamanites saw that the people of Nephi, or that Moroni had prepared his people with breastplates and with arm-shields, yea, and also shields to defend their heads, and also they were dressed with thick clothing”
Mosiah 8:10” And behold, also, they have brought breastplates, which are large, and they are of brass and of copper, and are perfectly sound.”
Bible Dictionary: Breastplate
(1) The front part of a soldier’s dress, worn for protection. In this sense Isaiah and Paul spoke of a “breastplate of righteousness,” which all saints should possess, protecting the vital organs against the evil things of life (Isa. 59:17; Eph. 6:14).
(2) The high priest in the law of Moses wore a breastplate as part of his sacred attire. This was called the “breastplate of judgment” (Ex. 28:13–30; 39:8–21). It was made of linen, very colorfully arranged, bearing 12 precious stones and the Urim and Thummim. Other references to a breastplate are found in 1 Thes. 5:8; Rev. 9:9; D&C 17:1; JS—H 1:35, 42, 52.
From the Old Testament Student Manual, we read:
“The Breastplate. Attached to the ephod with golden chains and ouches (sockets or fasteners) was the breastplate (see vv. 13–29). The breastplate worn by Aaron and subsequent high priests should not be confused with the one used by the Prophet Joseph Smith in translating the Book of Mormon. Aaron’s breastplate was made of fabric rather than of metal and was woven of the same material that was used in making the ephod (see v. 15). It was twice as long as it was wide and when folded became a square pocket into which the Urim and Thummim was placed. Upon the exposed half of the breastplate were precious stones inscribed with the names of each of the tribes of Israel. Thus, the high priest bore “the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart … for a memorial before the Lord continually” (v. 29).
The symbolism of the high priest carrying Israel next to his heart lends added meaning to the promise that the Lord will someday select His “jewels” (D&C 60:4; 101:3).
The Urim and Thummim
As noted above, the Urim and Thummim was carried in the pouch formed when the breastplate was folded over (see Exodus 28:30).
“A Urim and Thummim consists of two special stones called seer stones or interpreters. The Hebrew words urim and thummim, both plural, mean lights and perfections. Presumably one of the stones is called Urim and the other Thummim. Ordinarily they are carried in a breastplate over the heart. (Ex. 28:30; Lev. 8:8.) …
“… Abraham had them in his day (Abra. 3:1–4), and Aaron and the priests in Israel had them from generation to generation. (Ex. 28:30; Lev. 8:8; Num. 27:21; Deut. 33:8, 1 Sam. 28:6; Ezra 2:63; Neh. 7:65.) …
“… Ammon said of these … stones: ‘The things are called interpreters, and no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is called seer.’ (Mosiah 8:13; 28:13–16.)
“The existence and use of the Urim and Thummim as an instrument of revelation will continue among exalted beings in eternity.” (McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, pp. 818–19.)
The Urim and Thummim of Aaron was not the same as that used by Joseph Smith, for the Prophet received the Urim and Thummim used by the brother of Jared (see McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 819).” “Exodus 25–30; 35–40: The House of the Lord in the Wilderness,” Old Testament Student Manual Genesis-2 Samuel (1980), 146–56
Breastplates & Urim & Thummim From Mormon Parallels: A Bibliographic Source
1- A part of the high-priest’s fine apparel. It was about ten inches square, and consisted of a folded piece of the same rich embroidered stuff whereof the robe of the ephod was formed. It was set with twelve different precious stones, fastened in [p]ouches of gold, one for every Hebrew tribe. . . . It is called the breastplate of judgment, as it contained the Urim and Thummim, whereby the Lord directed the Hebrews in difficult cases. Did it not represent Christ’s church and true members, fixed in their new covenant state, and set as a seal on Christ’s heart, and continually presented before God in his intercession! Exod. xxviii. 15.—30.
2- BREASTPLATE, is a piece of defensive armour to protect the heart, 1 Kings xxii. 34. [p. I:112]” Mormon Parallels: A Bibliographic Source Rick Grunder 2014 page 302
URIM and THUMMIM, literally, lights and perfections, mentioned Exo. xxviii. 30, and Lev. viii. 8. It seems probable, that they were the twelve precious stones of the high priest’s breastplate; on which were engraven the names of the tribes of Israel; and that the letters by standing out, or by an extraordinary illumination, marked such words as contained the answer of God to him who consulted this oracle. Many learned men are of opinion that the answer was given in an audible voice from the Shekinah, or that brightness which always rested between the cherubims [sic] over the mercy seat. Ps. lxxx. 1. and xcix. 1. When the Urim and Thummim were to be consulted, it is said, the high priest put on his gold vestment, and in ordinary cases went into the sanctuary, and stood with his face to the Holy of holies, and the consulter stood near him. The Urim and Thummim were never consulted in matters of faith, as in these, the Jews had the written law for their rule; nor in matters of small moment; nor by any but priests, rulers or prophets. 1 Sam. xxii. 10, &c. [p. 249. In addition to obvious parallels, compare Malcom’s allusion to glowing stones, above, to Ether, Chapters 3 and 6]” Mormon Parallels: A Bibliographic Source Grunder page 897
Joseph Discovers Breastplate in the Stone Box
JSH 1:52 “Having removed the earth, I obtained a lever, which I got fixed under the edge of the stone, and with a little exertion raised it up. I looked in, and there indeed did I behold the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate, as stated by the messenger. The box in which they lay was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the bottom of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the plates and the other things with them.
Don’t stop reading here: You have to read THE SKELETON IN ARMOR BY ELDER GEORGE REYNOLDS from The Latter-Day Saints’ Millennial Star. It’s the last article of this blog. ↓
Burnt Lime Plaster (“cement”)
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.
American Cement
“This name has been lately given to a geological compound, so arranged that it crystallizes into pers sect stone. It is now well settled, that we can prepare the constituent parts of various rocks so as to render them subject to the laws of affinity, which soon unites them into their former solid state. It is now generally believed that all rocks were once in a liquid, or semi-liquid state, so as to admit of motion among their particles. As the laws of nature are immutable, it is obvious that if the elements of various rocks are brought into the same state, in which chance often throws them on the surface of the globe, their crystallization is certain. And sometimes we find fragments of different rocks and pebbles united by an intervening formation which has crystallized around them. Hence the production of artificial stone is as much the work of nature as the fruit of an apple-tree. When their natural products are being developed, we may vary the soil which gives nourishment to the latter, and the elements which enter into the composition of the former.—Buffalo Paper.” American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge, Volume 3 Page 76 edited by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Elizabeth Manning
Jonathan Neville about Cement
“I’m getting questions about cement, so I’ll repeat what I’ve said about one of my favorite “Kno-Whys” of all time.
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| The Temple of the Inscriptions, built hundreds of years after Book of Mormon times- Mesomania in all its glory |
You can see it here: https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/when-did-cement-become-common-in-ancient-america
I blogged about it before: http://bookofmormonwars.blogspot.com/2016/11/cement.html. I have a few more comments below, but first, let’s talk about the only known instance of Nephite cement.
The only known Nephite cement was the cement that Moroni used when he built the stone box for the plates, as described by Joseph and Oliver.
Unless by now the Mesomaniacs have talked themselves into disbelieving what Joseph and Oliver said about the box, even they have to admit that Moroni used Nephite cement in New York. There is no other instance of Nephite cement that we can identify with 100% confidence.
“The box in which they lay was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement.” Joseph Smith-History 1:52.
Oliver Cowdery (who, according to Book of Mormon Central, was an ignorant speculator so you won’t find this in any of their no-wise) described the situation on the Hill Cumorah this way:
“First, a hole of sufficient depth, (how deep I know not) was dug. At the bottom of this was laid a stone of suitable size, the upper surface being smooth. At each edge was placed a large quantity of cement, and into this cement, at the four edges of this stone, were placed, erect, four others, their bottom edges resting in the cement at the outer edges of the first stone. The four last named, when placed erect, formed a box, the corners, or where the edges of the four came in contact, were also cemented so firmly that the moisture from without was prevented from entering. It is to be observed, also, that the inner surface of the four erect, or side stones was smoothe. This box was sufficiently large to admit a breast-plate, such as was used by the ancients to defend the chest, &c. from the arrows and weapons of their enemy. From the bottom of the box, or from the breast-plate, arose three small pillars composed of the same description of cement used on the edges; and upon these three pillars was placed the record of the children of Joseph, and of a people who left the tower far, far before the days of Joseph, or a sketch of each…” http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/95
This was in New York, not Mesoamerica.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Moroni knew how to work with cement in New York; he and his father Mormon wrote the Book of Mormon while they lived in what is now New York. Moroni told Joseph that the record was “written and deposited not far from” his home.
The fun part about this no-wise is how the Book of Mormon never mentions the people building with stone (except one wall in Alma 48:8). They built with wood and with wood and cement.
Helaman 3:11 And thus they did enable the people in the land northward that they might build many cities, both of wood and of cement.
That’s right. Wood. Cement.
Not stone.
And yet, all the evidence cited by the no-wise involves ancient Central Americans building with stone and cement.
This might seem like nitpicking, but it’s an essential difference. If we’re looking for the Book of Mormon culture described by the text, we’re not looking for a culture that built with massive stones, engraved their history on stella, etc.
In fact, in a thousand years of history, exactly one engraved stone is even mentioned (Omni 1:20), and that was because its uniqueness made it so remarkable. And it wasn’t even a Nephite or Lamanite who engraved it.
We’re looking for a culture that built with earth and wood, primarily. They only used cement when they needed to let timber grow, because they preferred to build with timber. Only in one instance, Helaman 3, (again, so unusual it deserved special mention) with wood and cement.
IOW, the “cement” requirement describes ancient North American culture and excludes ancient Central American culture.
Of course the Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs advocates cite “cement” as a “correspondence” between the Book of Mormon and Mesoamerica. I’d like to know of any human society that did not use a material that could be called “cement.” It’s another illusory correspondence, designed to support the rejection of what Joseph and Oliver taught about Cumorah in New York.
You can see archaeological reconstructions of ancient wood and cement structures at museums in Ohio.
And they are houses, just as the Book of Mormon describes.
Naturally, we don’t expect much, if any, Nephite cement to exist today. Even modern cement doesn’t last a long time where there is freezing and thawing.
Notice that Moroni knew this when he buried his stone box into the hill Cumorah and kept the moisture from entering.
We all wish Joseph or Oliver had kept a sample of Moroni’s cement. But at least they left us this detailed account of it.
Which, in any rational world, would be enough evidence to tell us where the Book of Mormon actually took place.
Here’s another perspective: http://www.bookofmormonpromisedland.com/nephite%20cement.htm”
Source: Book of Mormon Wars Jonathan Neville
Back to Joseph Smith’s Breastplate
Lucy Mack Smith said, “After bringing home the plates, Joseph commenced working with his father and brothers on the farm, in order to be as near as possible to the treasure which was confided to his care. Soon after this, he came in from work, one afternoon, and after remaining a short time, he put on his great coat, and left the house. I was engaged at the time, in an upper room, in preparing some oilcloths for painting. When he returned, he requested me to come down-stairs. I told him that I could not leave my work just then, yet upon his urgent request, I finally concluded to go down and see what he wanted, upon which he handed me the breastplate spoken of in his history.
It was wrapped in a thin muslin handkerchief, so thin that I could see the glistening metal, and ascertain its proportions without any difficulty.
It was concave on one side and convex on the other and extended from the neck downwards as far as the center of the stomach of a man of extraordinary size. It had four straps of the same material for the purpose of fastening it to the breast, two of which ran back to go over the shoulders, and the other two were designed to fasten to the hips. They were just the width of two of my fingers, (for I measured them,) and they had holes in the ends of them, to be convenient in fastening.
The whole plate was worth at least five hundred dollars. After I had examined it, Joseph placed it in the chest with the Urim and Thummim.” Joseph Smith, The Prophet And His Progenitors For Many Generations Chapter 24 by Lucy Smith (Mother Of The Prophet)
Native American Breastplates; Sacred Garments
“As the high-priest of old was inducted into office by various ceremonies and anointings, so is the Indian high priest by purification and by anointing. When the sacred garments are put on him, bear’s oil is poured on his head. The imitation of the ancient breast-plate is among the other priestly vestments. He appears in the rude temple, arrayed in white deer-skin garments. [p. 127, citing “Dr. Beatty” (i.e. Charles Beatty, The Journal of a Two Months’ Tour . . . London: Printed for William Davenhill and George Pearch, 1768)] It has frequently been stated, that these tribes have a tradition, that they were once, when in a far distant country, in possession of the good book which contains their old divine speech; which they hope to recover, and with which they hope to be happy at a future time. [p. 132] There are those who contend for the utter extirpation of the Indians. The belief that they are descended from the Ten Tribes must have a tendency to soften the minds of mankind towards them. This belief is gaining ground, and even among some of those who once violently contended against the belief. It is a sound truth that the Indians are descended from the Ten Tribes, and time and investigation will more and more enforce its acknowledgment” [p. 194] Mormon Parallels: A Bibliographic Source © 2014 Rick Grunder 1575
Ethan Smith on Native American Breastplates
“A particularly influential work which popularized the standard arguments of the day in favor of Hebrew origins for Native Americans (see MP 1, Adair). Ethan Smith depended heavily upon this book when he wrote View of the Hebrews (MP 399). Indian-Hebrew language tables, traditions, customs, religious beliefs and ceremonies appear here, along with generous citations taken from Isaiah. A breastplate is mentioned, p. 53, with precious stones worn in the temple by the Israelite high priest, and a plate of gold on his forehead, engraved with the inscription “Holiness to the Lord.” And in the New World . . .
In resemblance of the sacred breast-plate, the American priest wears a breastplate, made of a white conck-shell, with two holes bored in the middle of it, through which he puts the ends of an otter skin strap, and fastens a buckhorn white button to the outside of each, as if in imitation of the precious stones of urim and Thummim, which miraculously blazoned on the high priest’s breast, the unerring words of the divine oracle. Instead of the plate of gold which he wore on his forehead, with the words holy, or separated to God, the Indian wears around his temples either a wreath of swan’s feathers, or a long piece of swanskin . . . [p. 200] Even more startling is Boudinot’s reference to certain American Indian traditions about the Bible which sound similar to the Mormon interpretation of Lamanite awareness of the Book of Mormon: “. . . they have it handed down from their ancestors, that the book which the white people have was once theirs.” Mormon Parallels: A Bibliographic Source © 2014 Rick Grunder 273 under the heading of BOUDINOT, Elias, 1740-1821. A STAR IN THE WEST
Ephesians 6
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; 19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. 21 But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: 22 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts. 23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
THE SKELETON IN ARMOR. BY ELDER GEORGE REYNOLDS
The Latter-Day Saints’ Millennial Star, Volume 40 Page 738
In the year 1833, or thereabout, some laborers engaged in removing a mound at Fall River, Mass., unearthed a skeleton clad in armor. The discovery was an unexpected and remarkable one, and gave rise to many speculations in the scientific world. Two theories were especially favored by antiquarians. The first, that the skeleton was that of some adventurous Phoenician seaman, whom adverse winds had carried to the American coast, and wrecked his baroque on the bleak New England shore. The second theory has a somewhat greater show of probability; its advocates contend that in the tenth and immediately succeeding centuries the hardy Norsemen planted colonies- along the coast of Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, which* they maintained for three or four hundred years, giving to the country the name of Vinland, and that this skeleton is that of one of their chiefs, whom it is known was killed by the natives and buried in the neighborhood where the skeleton was found.
The American Magazine, a Periodical published in Boston in 1837, gives the following description of the finding of the body, and of the covering in which it was enshrouded:
“The surrounding earth was carefully removed, and the body found to be enveloped in a covering of coarse bark of a dark color. Within this envelope were found the remains of another of coarse cloth, made of tine bark, and about the texture of a Manilla coffee-bag. On the breast was a plate of brass, thirteen inches Ion”, six broad at the upper end, ‘and five at the lower. This plate appears to have been cast, and is from one-eighth to three thirty-seconds of an inch in thickness. It is so much corroded that whether or not anything was engraved upon it has not yet been ascertained. It is oval in form, the edges being irregular, apparently made by corrosion. Below the breastplate, and entirely encircling the body, was a belt composed of brass tubes, each four and a half inches in length, end three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter, arranged longitudinally and close together, the length of a tube being the width of the belt. The tubes are of thin brass, cast upon hollow reeds, and were fastened together by pieces of sinew. Near the right knee was a quiver of arrows. The arrows are of brass, thin, flat, and triangular in shape, with a round hole cut through near the base. The shaft was fastened to the head by inserting the latter in an opening at the end of the wood, and then tying with a sinew through the round hole— a mode of constructing the weapon never practiced by the Indians, not even with their arrows of thin shell. Parts of the shaft still remain on some of them. When first discovered the arrows were in a sort of quiver of bark, which fell to pieces when exposed to the air.”
Latterly this subject has again come to the surface, through republication of this article in several American newspapers.
To the mind of the believer in the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon, the Phoenician and Scandinavian theories appear, to say the least, very far fetched. But even with such there exists a difficulty to decide to which of the two mighty races which have filled this continent since the flood, this unknown warrior belonged. The great number of years that have elapsed since the first race, the Jaredites, were, by internecine war, swept from the face of the earth, has been urged as an argument against the skeleton having belonged to a chieftain of that race, but the argument would be equally fatal to the Phoenician theory, as the Jaredites and Phoenicians were co-existent powers. The strongest argument in favor of the idea that the skeleton belonged to a Jaredite, is found in the fact that the region of country in which it was unearthed, was for fourteen hundred years (as near as we can calculate from the data afforded in the Book of Ether) one of the principal centers of Jaredite population. Omer, the fourth king of this people, whom we judge to have lived contemporary with Abraham, was driven by a revolution to this locality, where he afterwards dwelt, and we find no reason, from the record of Ether, for believing that this portion of the continent was ever afterwards deserted during the people’s national existence, except perhaps for short periods—once when an overwhelming pestilence destroyed the greater portion of the people, and again when a sanguinary war made much of the land desolate. With regard to king Omer’s flight to those parts, the sacred historian relates, that being warned of the Lord in a dream of the intention of the conspirators to assassinate him, he fled from his kingdom, and after a journey of many days he “came over by the place where the Nephites were destroyed and from thence eastward, and came to a place which was called Ablom, by the sea shore.” The place where this skeleton was discovered was eastward of the hill Cumorah, and was by the sea shore. True, Fall River lies somewhat south of the hill Cumorah, but in as scanty a history as that given of the Jaredites we do not find, nor can we expect, minute details, as to the exact location of places; but, supposing that the ancient Ablom was some few miles north of the modern Fall River, the people doubtless in a generation or two extended along the coast, and its occupancy would be but the matter of a few years at the utmost. As an evidence that this region continued to be inhabited by the descendants of Jared, we note that many of the wars between the rival factions which divided this people appear to have been conducted in this region. This is particularly noticeable in the description given of the last war which ended in the utter destruction of the nation. Ether states (Book of Mormon, page 546) that the last King Coriantumr was pursued by the rebel Shiz ” eastward, even to the borders of the sea shore,” and in a later campaign he “fled to the waters of Ripliancum, which, by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all,” where a battle was fought in which Coriantumr was victorious. Shiz, his foe, fled southward, and pitched his tents in a place which was called Ogath, whilst the victorious army pitched its tents “by the hill Ramah,” the Jaredite name for Cumorah. Here were fought the last series of battles which left Coriantumr alone of all his people, a denizen of this earth. From the above statements we must necessarily come to the conclusion that the waters called Ripliancum were either the Atlantic Ocean or Lake Ontario, with the probabilities in favor of the latter conclusion, as when the coasts of the ocean are intended, they are generally spoken of as the sea shore.
Now, it must be remembered that whilst the Jaredites inhabited this region for some fourteen hundred years, it was not occupied by the Nephites for four hundred. The great migration of that people northward took place in the last half century before the Christian era. It is recorded that at that time (the 46th year of the Judges over the Nephites) an exceeding great many “left the land of Zarahemla, and went forth into the land northward to inherit the land.” After traveling to an “exceeding great distance they came to large bodies of water and many rivers,” and from thence they spread forth into all parts of the land. A little further on, in the record, it is stated that they multiplied and spread so greatly that they began to cover the whole land ” from the sea south to the sea north” and “from the sea west to the sea east.” From that time it appears that the country bordering on the great lakes and the Atlantic Ocean became one of their permanent abiding places, though after the destructions attending the convulsions that occurred at the death of the Redeemer, we judge that the northern portions of the land were for a considerable time but very thinly inhabited ; but, as Mormon relates, as with the Jaredites so with the Nephites this portion of the land ultimately became the scene of the death struggles of the nation.
In the chronicles of the wars between the Nephites and Lamanites, handed down to us in the Book of Mormon, frequent mention is made of the Nephite warriors wearing breastplates and other defensive armor. The soldiers of the armies of Moroni, in the days that the Judges, ruled over the people of Nephi (say 70 to 80 years B. C.) were protected by “breastplates, and with arm shields” and “also shields to defend their heads” and were dressed in very thick clothing,”whilst the Lamanites at the period fought almost entirely naked, their weapons being swords, simetars, arrows and slings. Yet we are told that in one battle, fought near the river Sidon (the Magdalena of to-day) so desperate were the efforts of the Lamanites, that they cut through and pierced the defensive armor of the Nephites, inflicting upon them terrible wounds notwithstanding the protection offered by their shields and breastplates. Some few years later, however, the Lamanites copied the example of their enemies and came up to battle as the historian records “with shields and with breastplates; and they had also prepared themselves with garments of skins; yea, very thick garments to cover their nakedness.”
The material of which the armor and arrow heads were composed afford us no clue to the deceased’s nationality, as both Jaredites and Nephites worked in brass. With regard to the first named people it is recorded (page 537) “and they did work all manner of ore, and they did make gold, and silver, and iron and brass and all manner of metals. * * And they did make all manner of weapons of war; and they did work all manner of work of exceeding curious workmanship. Of the Nephites it is said in the book of Jarom (p. 137) “And we multiplied exceedingly and spread upon the face of the land, and became exceeding rich in gold and silver, and in precious things, * * and also in iron and copper, and brass and steel, making all manner of tools of every kind to till the ground and weapons of war; yea, the sharp pointed arrow and the quiver, and the dart and the javelin.”
There is a striking similarity in the description given by Jarom of the Nephite arrow heads, and those found with the armored skeleton. Jarom states that his people made arrows of brass and particularly refers to the fact that they were “sharp pointed.” In the account of those found at Fall River it is said “the arrows were of brass, thin, flat and triangular in shape,” a most admirable mode of obtaining sharp pointed missiles.
There is one statement made regarding the burial of this warrior that militates somewhat against his Nephite nationality, it is that he was interred in a sitting posture. We think this is exceedingly un-Israelitish, and without the Nephites, had departed far from the traditions of their progenitors, they were not likely to bury in this manner. There is a possibility that he was a Lamanite, for that people appear to have departed from the ways of their fathers in almost every particular. There is also a chance that he was a Lamanite of an era later than the Book of Mormon carries us, but of this we have very grave doubts. Considering how much more lengthily the Jaredites occupied this region, than any other civilized people, we incline to the opinion that the armored warrior belonged to that people. The Latter-Day Saints’ Millennial Star, Volume 40 Page 738
