Mulekites Voyage? You decide
Personally I feel the possibility of the Mulekites sailing with Phoenician Sailors through Gibraltar and then south to Florida and up the Mississippi River to Montrose, Iowa is more likely (60/40), than the Mulekites through Gibraltar and slightly north west to the mouth of the St Lawrence in America.
However, I have heard from a fellow Heartlander, David Doane the Mulekites could have traveled through Gibraltar, then north to Scotland, and then again south back to the St Lawrence Seaway to the Great Lakes. This possibility to me is (55/45), but I will explore all possibilities, as no one but the Lord knows for sure.
Be sure and see David Doane’s presentation at our Firm Foundation Conference on Fri April 19th at 4 pm on the main stage. His title is: Scriptural, Physical, Linguistic, & Archaeological Evidence of Zedikiah’s son, Nedabiah ben Zedikiah, Prince (Mulek)
Tickets Click the Logo Below:
A Non-LDS Navy Captains Expertise; Mulek- Up the Mississippi or through the St Lawrence?
With newly understood information from English Ship Captain Philip Beale, he has sailed 30,000 nautical miles that may indicate a very likely voyage of the Mulekites of the Book of Mormon traveling from the Old World to America using the southern route to the Gulf of Mexico and up the Mississippi River to Iowa.
The Phoenicia Voyages by Captain Philip Beale and Team are an ideal test of the veracity of the Book of Mormon accounts. Beale’s voyages of 2009 from Oman to Florida and a later voyage in 2020 from Tunisia to Florida, show not only that the materials and technology of 600 B.C. allowed construction of ocean-going vessels for both Lehi’s group and the Mulekites, but that both groups could have crossed the Atlantic and landed in North America, coming from the east.
Captain Beale has also shown to me the likely hood of the Mulekites on Phoenician ships traveling south from Gibraltar to North America.
Our friend and colleague Wayne May believes the Mulekites traveled from Jerusalem to the St Lawrence River and landed near Detroit, MI and continued to the Mississippi River to Montrose Iowa. I believe this is possible, but I lean more towards the theory that Jonathan Neville lays out from his article online, which you can read Moroni’s America by Jonathan Neville page 99-106
Ojibwe Turtle Boat Legend
There is a turtle boat legend of the Ojibway people from 900 to 1400 AD time frame. They lived on the east coast of the United States, north of the St Lawrence seaway. In other words they already lived on the Atlantic Ocean shore of North America. This is likely after the defeat of the Nephites in 400 AD. This group of Lamanites (Ojibwe) may have remained around Cumorah after the battle and traveled north and settled in northern Canada above the St Lawrence. This turtle boat legend describes their journey while still in North America going on their boats further west to the Great Lakes and settling near Wisconsin as their final resting place.
Some people may say this sojourn of the Ojibwe was proof that they came from Old World Jerusalem from the Atlantic Ocean and up the St Lawrence River. Those dates could not be correct as the Lehites came to America first in about 600 BC. I believe the Ojibwe were already in North America as descendants of Laman and Lemuel who first came to America from Florida. As we know the Hopewell Culture began in Florida and it migrated north to Missouri and then east to New York where the Hopewell culture died in about 400 AD according to historians. (See Legend Below which dates from 900 AD to 1400 AD).
The Voice of the Ojibway by Edward Benton-Banai
“One of the prophets long ago had spoken of a turtle-shaped island that awaited them at the end of their journey. The southern group had seen an island fitting this description that lay in the water off of a long point of land. The people sought out this island and placed tobacco on its shore. The Sacred Shell rose up out of the water and told the people that this was the place they had been searching for. Here, the Waterdrum made its seventh and final stop on the migration. The Sacred Fire was carried here and here it burned brightly. This island was called Mo-ning-wun-a-kawn-ing (the place that was dug) by the Ojibway. It was later called Madeline Island (Wisconsin). This name has survived to this day. The main body of the Anishinabe people gathered here and they became strong and powerful. At last the migration to the chosen ground was at an end. It is thought that the migration started around 900 A.D. It took some 500 years to complete. It is amazing that the Sacred Fire could be kept alive for so long. The dream of the original seven prophets was carried for many generations. It was carried along a string of fires with many campfires left behind. That the people were able to accomplish such a thing is truly a miracle of the Creator. We descendants of these great people can gather strength from their strength. We can gather courage for our lives today from their courage of yesterday.” The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway by Edward Benton-Banai https://groups.google.com/g/fladimor/c/XeZdF8MQgu4
Birch Scroll
A wiigwaasabak is a birch scroll, sewn together with cedar roots, used ceremonially by Ojibwe medicine men. They use geometric diagrams to explain many complex things and have been handed down for generations. This particular 2.6-meter long wiigwaasabak was made by Eshkwaykeeshik (James Red Sky). It recounts the historical journey of the Ojibwe people from their home along the Zhiiwitaagani-gichigami (Atlantic Ocean) to the Nayaano-nibiimaang Gichigamiin (Great Lakes) which occurred in the 14th and 15th centuries. See my additional blog here:
This map below from Red Sky Migration Chart: https://decolonialatlas.wordpress.com/2015/05/18/red-skys-migration-chart/
One thing that is wonderful with those of us who believe in the Heartland Model, is we have room to disagree and persuade and find additional information. None of us knows the exact details of most of Book of Mormon Geography. However we have a common belief that there is only one Hill Cumorah in New York, and that Joseph Smith knew the Nephites were in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio based on his letter to Emma and his vision of Zelph. We also feel strongly that D&C 125 tells us the very plausible location of Zarahemla (Montrose, IA) in the Book of Mormon.
Another Mulek Option
Our friend and fellow Heartlander David Doane has shared with me information which I think is credible as well. Mulek could have traveled north by island hopping from Gibraltar up the coast of Spain and into Scotland. Then from Scotland traveled south and into the St Lawrence Seaway. David has archaeological evidence for this possibility.
Quote From David Doane
“After breaking a treaty for the second time with Babylon, king Zedekiah of Judah’s two oldest sons were executed in front of him and his eyes put out, and he was chained in the central square of Babylon until his death. The queen, two daughters and a very young son/prince (mulek in Phoenician) were taken by Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe to Taphines Egypt where Jeremiah met them.
Passage was negotiated with trusted Phoenician merchant agents, and the royal party on those with them departed from Memphis aboard a Greek ship to deceive Babylonian agents. Carthage was a safe port. The party settled into a court in exile in Carthage. As stories of the escape of a prince (mulek), Nedabiah ben Zedekiah, Prince of Judah, increasingly grew amongst the trading ships frequenting the port of Carthage, it became increasingly more dangerous for Prince Nedebiah.
A plan was hatched to relocate Nedabiah across the Atlantic, to a secret destination where the Phoenicians sourced the copper that fueled the Bronze Age. Setting sail for a new world the party first stopped when Baruch died off the coast of Gibraltar, where the younger of the two princes married the local king.
Setting sail from Gibraltar the ship set sail for Gadir [Morocco] to resupply provisions and pick up additional sailors (who called themselves Gaditanians) familiar with the long voyage to the new world.
Setting sail from Gadir for Ireland to pick up a navigator of the North Atlantic, and where some time was spent as Jeremiah became the prophet to the people of Ireland and the oldest princess married the high king who adopted Judaism and the Torah as the basis of Irish law.
Setting sail again to the jump off point across the North Atlantic, the Northern most islands of Scotland then mulek [sailed] across the North Atlantic past Iceland and Greenland and down past the maritime provinces of modern Canada and into the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
Down the Saint Lawrence to the inland seas of the Great Lakes, and the lands to the South, of the Ohio river basin. Prince Nedebiah and those with him ultimately settled in the upper Sidon river, “fish river”, the Mississippi, at Zarahemla which can mean children of the covenant. A map stone carving of the central North America waterways shows the Mississippi, Ohio river and Great Lakes water ways, and includes Phoenician script that includes the letters NDB, Nedabiah.” David Doane Text to Rian Nelson April 2, 2024
Our friend Captain Beale also told me this northern route from Gibraltar is only possible during a specific time of the year and with a better than single square sail, such as a triangle or small carrack type, not a square sail. A carrack is a three-four-masted ocean-going sailing ship that was developed in the 14th to 15th centuries in Europe.
Crossing the Atlantic via Island Hopping
Here is an article speaking about Island Hopping, north from Gibraltar or Morocco, as David Doane speaks about above, and the article also speaks about the Bering Strait. “The implications of locating Atlantis in the Mediterranean go beyond the discovery itself. This find not only substantiates Plato’s claim of prehistoric transatlantic crossings, but may finally help explain how the Mediterranean haplogroup X got to North America 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.
While most geneticists today maintain that haplogroup X walked to America via the Bering Strait, genetic maps show that the furthest region east of the Mediterranean with small traces of haplogroup X, is the Altai Republic in Southern Russia. No traces of haplogroup X exist between Altai Republic and the greater region of the Great Lakes. If haplogroup X infiltrated North America via the Bering Strait, why then does the greatest concentration of haplogroup X (away from the Mediterranean) exist around the Great Lakes and not in Alaska or alongside the west coast? Most importantly, how do we otherwise explain that heavy traces of haplogroup X incidentally also exist in Scotland, Orkney Islands, Faroe islands and Iceland, essentially all the island stops to North America from Europe.” AncientOrigins.net
This quote above shows good support for Haplogroup X to be found in Scotland, Ireland, Israel, and with the Great Lakes in America among the Native Americans. As David Doane says Jeramiah may have traveled to Ireland, he may have done that without Zedikiah’s wife or Mulek. Mulek could have still traveled south through Gibraltar and to Florida and up the Mississippi. That is why you need to do your own research. I still believe with reading Omni 1:16 which says, “And they in the wilderness, and were brought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters, into the land where Mosiah discovered them; and they had dwelt there from that time forth.” The Mulekites were found by Mosiah in the same location where they had always been since they landed. This shows me a direct route from Israel or Egypt, directly across the great waters and then only stopping “into the land” where they were discovered by Mosiah, which to me would be on the Mississippi near Nauvoo, Illinois being stopped by the Des Moines river rapids. Both the St Lawrence seaway entrance and the Mississippi entrance near New Orleans would require a sailing vessel to tack up river. Either route is possible and we all should have an open mind.
Sad Dialogue
I am saddened to see a friend of mine, has chosen to be dismissive of many Heartlanders views, that the Mulekites may have traveled to America using the Mississippi River as a direct route to Illinois near the Des Moines Rapids. I would love to speak with him but my emails have not been returned. I still respect him and hope we can all avoid this type of personal attacks.
I quote my friend from his August 2023 post on Facebook, as he shared the following.
“…Thank you so much for your efforts in finding this map. I talked about it with Wayne last night and he was more that(n) excited. He will be publishing this map and the article in the December issue of the Promised Land (Magazine). This is not a nail in the coffin, but a wooden spike through the heart of the vampires.
Wayne has been producing powerful evidence for years showing the Mulekites came through the St. Lawrence waterway. This DNA work proves Wayne is correct. Anyone teaching differently has had the stake driven through their hearts and needs to repent soon.
Zoom up the attached map and look closely at the black dashed line crossing the Atlantic and entering the US at the St. Lawrence. Notice the line starts in the Middle East and is associated with those of Middle Eastern decent.
Do not allow any misguided individuals to fool you into believing Mulek came up the Mississippi. This theory is not supported by the Book of Mormon and now DNA. This discussion is over.” My friend and fellow Heartlander
Based on the Map above and here: accessgenealogy.com/native/cherokee-dna.htm, some of our Heartland friends as I quote above, have proposed that the Mulekites most likely came from the Mediterranean and then up the St Lawrence Seaway. I think this is because the map shows Haplogroup X in west Eurasia and also near the Great Lakes. This is a possible route.
As in the map below and with Captain Beale’s Sailing knowledge, we believe the most plausible route the Mulekites made from the Old World to America is following the natural current from Gibraltar south and into the Gulf of Mexico, then tacking up the Mississippi River to their forced stopping point at the Des Moines river rapids near Keokuk, Iowa. Those rapids were not opened until the 1840’s. We believe this direct landing near Zarahemla spoken of in D&C 125, is across from Nauvoo, IL, as Joseph’s revelation stated, “Let them build up a city unto my name upon the land opposite the city of Nauvoo and let the name of Zarahemla be named upon it.”
The Book of Mormon says, [Mulekites] “were brought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters, into the land where Mosiah discovered them; and they had dwelt there from that time forth.” Omni 1:16. This land of Zarahemla which is all along the Mississippi River from the Head of Sidon [Confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi River] to the Great Lakes is where the Mulekites lived and where Mosiah joined them in about 300 BC. The Mulekites had “dwelt there [near Nauvoo] from that time forth.”
Our good friend Wayne May believes the Mulekites came the St Lawrence Seaway Route, which is a possibility as I have spoken with him. I just believe for me there is stronger evidence that the Mulekites used the Mississippi as their route. You can decide on your own.
My friend Captain Philip Beale however, going the southern route from Gibraltar said, “Hi Rian, Thanks for your email the other day and sorry for my delayed response.
I think in general the so-called Northern route is a non-starter for an historical/maritime point of view because as you will see from the attached chart (below right), the currents and winds (which have been the same for thousands of years) go against the norther route. Unless the Phoenicians invented the internal combustion engine or sailed to meet the Vikings first in Norway, it just does not make sense.
However, the southern route is just like a conveyer belt all the way to the Caribbean from the Med. For the rivers we would have to look at the distances involved but I think at best you would be looking at 10 miles per day through rowing. Happy to do a bit more work on this but I thought I would send this to get started.” Regards Philip
As the map below shows that crossing through the Gulf Stream and other currents is not feasible, as Captain Beale stated.
Also, if they take the St Lawrence, you would have to avoid or fight the Niagara Falls, and then the end of the water route would have to be near Detroit, MI where the Mulekites would have to travel by land to the next river, or travel all the way to Zarahemla by Land. (Detroit to Nauvoo is over 500 Miles).
The other option for the St Lawrence would be for the Mulekites to travel the Great Lakes up Lake Huron and back down Lake Michigan to land only. They would then need to walk to and travel down the Illinois River which connects to the Mississippi River, and land near the Des Moines Rapids in Iowa from the north. (Chicago to Nauvoo area is 270 Miles).
This St Lawrence scenario makes it unlikely that [Mulekites] “had dwelt there [Nauvoo Area] from that time forth.” Omni 1:16. The Mulekites may have had to dwell neat Detroit, or Indiana, etc. as there were now connecting waterways. Also we read in Heleman 6:10, “Now the land south was called Lehi, and the land north was called Mulek, which was after the son of Zedekiah; for the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north, and Lehi into the land south.” Whether the Mulekites came from the St Lawrence or from the Mississippi, both voyages they would be “north” of where Lehi landed in Florida, as you see in the map below.
This map below from accessgenealogy.com/native/cherokee-dna.htm shows exactly what we already know. That the DNA in the Great Lakes matches that in Western Eurasia. Just because the line on this map shows DNA matching near NE Canada doesn’t mean the Mulekites landed by the Saint Lawrence and stayed there.
In one Heartland theory the Mulekites landed and lived in Montrose just as our theory shows. So, they could have come up the Mississippi. As much as they could have come up the Saint Lawrence.
Haplogroup X found in the Great Lakes of North America is the same marker found in the west Eurasian area of Israel and Turkey. (See nationalgeographic.com/science/article/131120-science-native-american-people-migration-siberia-genetics)
If the Mulekites entered from the St Lawrence Seaway but didn’t stop until they got to Montrose, Iowa, there wouldn’t be found any strong evidence of Haplogroup X left by the Mulekites near the Great Lakes until after their migration through the Great Lakes long after the initial landing in Iowa.
Since the Mulekites place of first landing and settlement was near Montrose Iowa, (See Omni 1:16) and not near the mouth of the St Lawrence Seaway, it seems that the Mulekites joined the Nephites, and both migrated from Illinois toward the Great Lakes over a period of about 300 BC to 100 AD. After the last battles of the Nephites (mixed with the blood of the Mulekites) near Cumorah in 385 AD, surely much of Haplogroup X would be found near the Great Lakes.
Coriantumr Discovered Where?
My great friend and “professor of the heartland” in my opinion, Wayne May feels it is likely that the Mulekites would have picked up Coriantumr who was injured near Cumorah, on their journey west at the St Lawrence Seaway and through the Great Lakes.
Did Ether Remain with Coriantumr?
I don’t think Ether stayed to help or see if Coriantumr lived or died, based on the scriptures below. In that case for Coriantumr to travel to Lake Ontario (Option One above) and be found or to the Genesee River (Option Two above) to travel to be found, Ether was probably not with him.
Remember the Lord said, “And Coriantumr was discovered by the people of Zarahemla; and he dwelt with them for the space of nine moons.” Omni 1:21 That means Ether was not with Coriantumr and either died or was translated, because we hear in the scriptures that Coriantumr would be the last of the Jaredites. (Just the Brother of Jared descendants were utterly destroyed, as they were the ones who made the covenant with the Lord). I believe many other descendants of the Jaredites still remained in all of North and South America who had not made a covenant with the Lord).
“And the Lord spake unto Ether, and said unto him: Go forth. And he went forth, and beheld that the words of the Lord had all been fulfilled; and he his ; (and the part I have not written) and he hid them in a manner that the people of Limhi did find them.
Now the last words which are written by are these: Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am in the kingdom of God. Amen.” Ether 15:33-34
“And after being many days in the wilderness they in the land of Zarahemla, and joined Mosiah’s people, and became his subjects.
And it came to pass that Mosiah them with joy; and he also received their , and also the which had been found by the people of Limhi.” Mosiah 22:13-14
Mulek in Djerba, Tunisia?
John Lefgren of Heartland Research said, “We believe the Phoenicia Ship Replica connects the Bible’s stories to the New World.
We read in Jeremiah 52:12 – 13. Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem, And burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire:
The destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the First Temple had a profound impact on the history of the Jews. This is a point in time from which we connect the ship replica on the west bank of the Mississippi River to the Bible.
About 300 years after the destruction of Jerusalem, we read in Omni 15 Behold, it came to pass that Mosiah discovered that the people of Zarahemla came out from Jerusalem at the time that Zedekiah, king of Judah, was carried away captive into Babylon.
The ship shows that Mulek, the Prince of Judah, could sail across the Atlantic after the burning of the Temple. This is why we are so determined to find sufficient funds to finish the restoration of what was less than two years ago in the mud of Florida. We are sure that as we continue to move forward, we will gain the support of many more people.
Mulek, a son of King Zedekiah, may have come to Djerba, Tunisia with his mother, the Jewish Queen. Jews from Tunisia are sure to be able to tell this story better than anyone else. He wants to hear what the Rabbi has to say. Doug Petty, [who was on one of the Phoenicia Ship voyages with Captain Beale], believes that the power of the Carthaginian Empire protected a remnant of the Jewish royal family. I think that this meeting will have great meaning as we connect the ancient people of Tunisia to the ancient people of America.” John Lefgren PhD
Tunisian Jews Pilgrimage
The siege of Jerusalem (circa 589–587 BC) was the final event of the Judahite revolts against Babylon, in which Nebuchadnezzar II, king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, besieged Jerusalem, the capital city of the Kingdom of Judah.” Wikipedia
History tells us that many Jews fled the destruction of the Jewish Temple of Israel and probably sailed by Phoenician ships to Djerba. Tunisia has one of the oldest Synagogues in the world, called El Ghriba.
Tunisia’s lesson of tolerance in all the forms it takes has been hard-earned. The North African nation offers to the broader communities of Muslims, Jews and Christians across the globe a rare example of tolerance, which the pilgrimage to El Ghriba illustrates to perfection.
El Ghriba Synagogue is located on the island of Djerba in the South of Tunisia. It is situated in the Jewish village of Hara Sghira, a few kilometers southwest of Houmt El Souk, Djerba’s main town. The synagogue is the oldest and most important in Africa, is a site of pilgrimage, one of the legends associated with its founding claims that either a stone or a door from Solomon’s Temple or the Second Temple is incorporated in the building.” Carthage Magazine
The likelihood of the route of the Mulekites from the Gulf of Mexico and up the Mississippi River is a direct route to where the Mulekites landed. (See Omni 116).
Now, I admit, I could be wrong. I have spoken with Rod Meldrum and Jonathan Neville, who believe more in the Mississippi route than the St Lawrence. Our good friends Wayne May and David Doane, feel strongly they traveled by the St. Lawrence. Either way we know the Mulekites are from Hebrew ancestry, mixed with the Nephites and Lamanites ancestry from Joseph of Egypt. The Old World of Israel and the New World or Land of Joseph, has reunited in America.
There should be robust and civil disagreement even in the Heartland Model, as that will help each of us develop even more evidence as we strive to find more truth. You can make your own choice on what you believe, but the critical issue is that we all love the Book of Mormon and it’s spiritual witness we have each received.
“It’s My Truth”
We each believe based on our own bias, study and research. We also learn from personal revelation or until we understand more from God or the Spirit. I will understand certain things as my definition of truth different from you, and it isn’t a matter of who is correct, but who’s personal feelings are correct for them, at the time of their ability to receive and understand. I don’t believe in today’s fad saying of, “It’s my own truth.” My own truth could mean its true to me, but not revealed truth from God. Revealed truth from the Lord is true, no matter what anyone thinks is “their truth.”
You can’t push your feelings about truth on others, as it is personal to you. We each must learn revealed truth by the Spirit. I agree truth is only one way, meaning truth is truth and only God and Christ know all truth. We cant change truth, just understand it more and more. We have different ways of receiving and understanding it completely, or in bits and pieces. That’s why we are taught line upon line until more knowledge or possibly perfect knowledge is achieved in a certain thing.
