Did the Jaredites bring bees to North America?
Did the Jaredites bring bees to North America? It seems they did if you believe the Jaredites promised land was the USA. Ether 2:3 says, “And they did also carry with them deseret, which, by interpretation, is a honey bee; and thus they did carry with them of bees, and all manner of that which was upon the face of the land, of every kind.”
Are Honey Bees Native to North America?
“Honey bees are not native to North America. They were originally imported from Europe in the 17th century. Honey bees now help pollinate many U.S. crops like fruits and nuts. In a single year, one honey bee colony can gather about 40 pounds of pollen and 265 pounds of nectar. Honey bees increase our nation’s crop values each year by more than 15 billion dollars.” Source
The article below in the Morning and Evening Star says, “The oldest inhabitants say that the first settlers found the bees there, and the Indians told them that their oldest traditions knew nothing of its origin. ‘It was always there.’
This Land = North America
As it says in Ether 13:2-6, “For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; for he truly told them of all things, from the beginning of man; and that after the waters had from off the face of this it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should him who dwell upon the face thereof;
3 And that it was the place of the , which should down out of heaven, and the holy sanctuary of the Lord.
4 Behold, Ether saw the days of Christ, and he spake concerning a upon this land.
5 And he spake also concerning the house of Israel, and the from whence should come—after it should be destroyed it should be built up again, a unto the Lord; wherefore, it could not be a new Jerusalem for it had been in a time of old; but it should be built up again, and become a holy city of the Lord; and it should be built unto the house of Israel—
6 And that a should be built up upon this land, unto the remnant of the seed of , for which things there has been a .”
About The Morning and Morning Star
The Evening and Morning Star was the first periodical of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was published starting in June 1832 in Independence, Missouri, until the mob destroyed the printing press, and was continued in Kirtland, Ohio, until September 1834. Each issue consisted of 8 pages and it was published once a month.
In October 1831, W.W. Phelps was instructed by a Conference to purchase a printing press, and begin printing a monthly paper in Independence, Missouri (RLDS Church History 1:219; Times and Seasons 5:481). The first issue of the Evening and Morning Star was published at the printing office of W.W. Phelps in June of 1832.
THE EVENING AND THE MORNING STAR
Vol. II. Independence, Mo., July 1833, No. 14
“A friend told me the other day a bee story, and were he not a man on whose word I can strictly rely, I should set it down as a real Munchausen. [Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy is a mental illness in which the sufferer fantasizes that others-usually people in their charge, such as children-are suffering from serious illness and require drastic medical intervention.] Such as it is you shall have it.”
Morning and Evening Star continued says, “In Wythe county, in Virginia, in a spur of the Alleghany [Allegheny] Mountains, called the ‘Tobacco Row,’ is a perpendicular ledge of rock fronting the southeast, about fifty feet high-an open sunny situation. About thirty feet from the base, a horizontal crack or fissure opens in the rock, from half an inch to six inches in width, and extending near eighty feet in length. How deep this fissure extends into the mountain is not known, as no one has ever examined it. This fissure is full of bees! Their numbers are so great, that in the summer time they hang out in huge clusters for several feet, above and below the fissure, in its whole length. A short distance above are two other cracks, containing earth, in which grow some little chinquapin bushes, and these are covered with the bees. They frequently go off in huge swarms, like a barrel or hogshead in bulk, and are often compelled to return, finding no place large enough to contain them. In the spring, previous to commencing their labors, the dead bees, remnants of comb, and cleanings of the habitation which are brought out and dropped by them, make a winrow [windrow] of a foot in height the whole length of the opening.
Note: The chinquapin tree or bush will grow to be about 15 feet tall at maturity and will produce nuts at an early age. Spacing should be about every ten feet with rows being spaced 20 feet apart. Cherokee Indians used the leaves to produce a tea to treat headaches and reduce fevers. The leaves contain a high tannin content and make an astringent tea]. Source
Morning and Evening Star continued says, “My informant saw it in the month of June, when immense numbers of bees were out on the surface, making great patches of rock black with their swarming masses. The oldest inhabitants say that the first settlers found the bees there, and the Indians told them that their oldest traditions knew nothing of its origin. ‘It was always there.’
Jaredites Land in North America- Scriptural Evidence
The scripture in ether 13, verifies that the Land of Promise is indeed the United States of America, which is the same land where the New Jerusalem will be built in Independence, Missouri This is the land that the Brother of Jared brought the Bees from Europe to America. That is why the name Deseret meaning honey bee is so important to this land of promise. Also, Elder Perry said, “The United States is the promised land foretold in the Book of Mormon—a place where divine guidance directed inspired men to create the conditions necessary for the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Elder L. Tom Perry Ensign Dec. 2012
Morning and Evening Star continued says, “No one has ever been found bold enough to attempt its plunder, or to examine the place where they are. It is in fact too dangerous an enterprise to meddle with.
If these facts be so, and I cannot doubt it, does it not form rather a new feature from that generally received in the history of the bee? By the way, I fear that I am going to have all this bee discussion to myself. But we’ll see.
Do none of the correspondents of the American Farmer live near this great bee hive? If so I should be much gratified to hear further about it.-[Gen. Farmer.]
ULMUS- North American Elm
“Ulmus americana, generally known as the American elm or, less commonly, as the white elm or water elm, is a species of elm native to eastern North America, naturally occurring from Nova Scotia west to Alberta and Montana, and south to Florida and central Texas. The American elm is an extremely hardy tree that can withstand winter temperatures as low as −42 °C (−44 °F)” Source
Morning and Evening Star continued says, “REMARKS.-To them that believe in the revelations of the Lord, this bee story is no great mystery. The bees may have been there more than three thousand years. When Jared and his brother came from the tower of Babel, to settle the continent of America, they brought bees, as it is written in the book of Ether: And they did also lay snares and catch fowls of the air; and they did also prepare a vessel, in the which they did carry with them the fish of the waters: and they did also carry with them deseret, which, by interpretation, is a honey bee: and thus they did carry with them swarms of bees, and all manner of that which was upon the face of the land, seeds of every kind. See Ether 2:3
What a pity it is that man has strayed so far from the knowledge of the Lord! Created as he was in the image of his Maker, an agent unto himself, and capable, by obeying the commandments of the Lord of receiving the Holy Ghost, which bringeth all things to remembrance, he might let his understanding reach to heaven, and never be at a loss for the truth; but alas he trusts in his own wisdom, and scarcely arrives at certainty.
Before the flood, bees might have been in every part of the world, but since Noah left them on the other side of the Atlantic, unless brought by man they would not have been able to cross it.” [The Brother of Jared brought the honey bee to the Land of Promise or the United States].
Morning and Evening Star continued says, “WHAT a field for reflection does the world now present, to the contemplative disciple of our Savior? A desolating sickness is wasting the inhabitants in many places, while war dreadful war is preparing to destroy his thousands among all nations. The most illiterate; yea, the most careless can see that great things, are about to come to pass.
The Lord has said, that he is holding his Spirit from the inhabitants of the earth, and when we see a robbery in one paper, and a murder in another; yea, and all manner of crimes following each other, in quick succession, we are led to exclaim: The Spirit of God has nearly done striving with man! Surely great things await this generation. The Lord has called servants to publish glad tidings; and them that go forth to bear them unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power given, to seal both on earth and in heaven, the unbelieving and rebellious; yea, verily, to seal them up unto the day when the wrath of God shall be poured out upon the wicked, without measure, unto the day when the Lord shall come to recompense unto every man according to his work, and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow man.
Notwithstanding, man has been laboring for centuries, to preach the gospel to all nations, it has not been done; and the Lord has now commenced his strange act, and he will perform it. He will send forth servants that will preach the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people: yea, and all shall hear in their own tongue and language; so that before this generation passes away, some, out of all nations, may be gathered to Zion, ready to meet Jesus when he comes in the clouds of heaven.
Let us ask, who shall enter into the Lord’s sacred rest, prepared for those that gather faith for a treasure. They that keep all the commandments. They that are ready and willing to give up houses and lands; leave all relatives and friends, and follow Jesus: such shall find rest for their souls.
“The Lord gave a divine promise to the ancient inhabitants of this favored country (the United States): ‘Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ” (Ether 2:12). “Our Heavenly Father inspired the leaders of…the United States of America, that they might together, under His direction, having been raised up by God for the purpose, establish the Constitution of this country and…Bill of Rights, that by the year of our Lord 1805 [there would be] a climate where our Heavenly Father could send into this period of mortality a choice spirit who would be known as Joseph Smith, Jr.” Monson, Thomas S., Teachings of Thomas S. Monson, 2011, pp. 14-15, 157-158