Words from Elder McConkie
“We have the fulness of the everlasting gospel, meaning that we have all that is needed to gain the fulness of salvation. We have every truth, doctrine, and principle, every rite, power, and ordinance — all that is needed — to gain exaltation in the highest heaven of the celestial world. But we do not know all things; there are doctrines in endless array of which we know next to nothing; indeed, there are more things in the darkness of the unknown than there are in the light of the known. We do not even know what the faithful knew in Enoch’s Zion, nor among the Nephites when they dwelt in righteousness for generations. We do not know what is on the sealed portion of the plates from which the Book of Mormon came. Ours is a day for drinking milk; the day when we, as a people at least, can partake of the meat of the word is in the future.
That future is millennial. In that day, “all things shall become new,” saith the Lord, “that my knowledge and glory may dwell upon all the earth. . . . Yea, verily I say unto you, in that day when the Lord shall come, he shall reveal all things — Things which have passed, and hidden things which no man knew, things of the earth, by which it was made, and the purpose and the end thereof — Things most precious, things that are above, and things that are beneath, things that are in the earth, and upon the earth, and in heaven.” (D&C 101:25, 32-34.) As we ponder these heaven-sent words, we are led to exclaim: Thanks be to him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, who knows all things and who seeks to pour out his revelations, and all the knowledge of eternity, upon all who will receive them. Ere long the dark veil of ignorance and unbelief that covers the earth and blinds the minds of men shall be pierced. Light and truth will fall from heaven as does rain from the clouds above.
The knowledge of God, the knowledge of those Gods whom it is life eternal to know, shall be in every heart. No longer will theologians suppose that God is a spirit essence that fills immensity while he dwells in the human heart. No longer will philosophers pontificate about some great first cause that inexplicably brought order into a chaotic universe. No longer will Babylonish churches place crucifixes in the hands, or the images of Diana of the Ephesians, as it were, and no longer will they worship the works of their own hands in the great cathedrals of Christendom. The knowledge of God, the truth about God, the fact that he is a Holy Man, will come by revelation into every human heart. The knowledge of God will cover the earth.
All things are to be revealed in the millennial day. The sealed part of the Book of Mormon will come forth; the brass plates will be translated; the writings of Adam and Enoch and Noah and Abraham and prophets without number will be revealed. We shall learn a thousand times more about the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus than we now know. We shall learn great mysteries of the kingdom that were not even known to those of old who walked and talked with the Eternal One. We shall learn the details of the creation and the origin of man and what fools mortals are to follow the fads of the evolving evolutionary nonsense that litters the textbooks of academia. Nothing in or on or over the earth will be withheld from human [kind], for eventually man, if he is to be as his Maker, must know all things.
Hear in this connection these words of Nephi: In that day, “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Wherefore, the things of all nations shall be made known; yea, all things shall be made known unto the children of men. There is nothing which is secret save it shall be revealed; there is no work of darkness save it shall be made manifest in the light; and there is nothing which is sealed upon the earth save it shall be loosed.
Significant Cities of Today and During Book of Mormon Times
Wherefore, all things which have been revealed unto the children of men shall at that day be revealed.” (2 Ne. 30:15-18.) Surely man could not ask for more than this in the way of light and truth and knowledge, and yet expect to remain in the flesh as a mortal and be in process of working out his salvation. Surely this is the day in which the Lord shall fulfill the promise of holy writ that says: “God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost, [knowledge] that has not been revealed since the world was until now; which our forefathers have awaited with anxious expectation to be revealed in the last times, which their minds were pointed to by the angels, as held in reserve for the fulness of their glory; a time to come in the which nothing shall be withheld, whether there be one God or many gods, they shall be manifest.” (D&C 121:26-28.) That this outpouring of divine goodness has already commenced is not open to question. That it will continue, in far greater measure, after our Lord comes again, who can doubt?” (Bruce R. McConkie The Millennial Messiah, pp.675-677)
MUST READ:
Dr. LARISA GOLOVKO from Russia article by Dr. John Lefgren, PhD of the Heartland Research Group at the end of this blog.
I believe in what the Heartland Group is doing. They are faithful Saints who love the Lord and they are endeavoring to bring things from the ground that will (help validate, or reshape ones focus, or get a person to look deeper) into the truth of the Book of Mormon to receive a Spiritual confirmation. The Book of Mormon needs only validation of the Spirit which I have received and which the Heartland Research Group have received.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, “…Truly rock-ribbed faith and uncompromised conviction comes with its most complete power when it engages our head as well as our heart… Truth borne by the Holy Spirit comes with, in effect, two manifestations, two witnesses if you will—the force of fact as well as the force of feeling… I believe God intends us to find and use the evidence He has given—reasons, if you will—which affirm the truthfulness of His work… Evidence is still evidence even if it is not immediately observable… “My testimony to you tonight is that the gospel is infallibly true and that a variety of infallible proofs supporting that assertion will continue to come until Jesus descends as the ultimate infallible truth of all. Our testimonies aren’t dependent on evidence—we still need that spiritual confirmation in the heart of which we have spoken—but not to seek for and not to acknowledge intellectual, documentable support for our belief when it is available is to needlessly limit an otherwise incomparably strong theological position and deny us a unique, persuasive vocabulary in the latter-day arena of religious investigation and sectarian debate.” The Greatness of the Evidence By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland August 16, 2017
This quote by Elder Holland is very significant. The Heartland Research group along with each of us individually must seek for “the force of fact as well as the force of feeling“ as Elder Holland has said. They don’t need to have physical evidence that the most correct book is indeed true, they just seek additional answers that very well could be shown to assist others, if the good Lord desires us to know them. By faith are all things possible. It never hurts to attempt and it never hurts to try hard, in the end it is always up to what the Lord wants to reveal and does reveal that makes all the difference. The Light of Christ gives me hope and desire to look into truth. Common Sense tells me if I should pursue that truth then Personal Revelation may be given to me PERSONALLY, not necessarily for the benefit of others or for the benefit of the Church, but just to assist me in my journey on this earth.
“And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me” D&C 18:15-16. I can also say if just one artifact or one pile of dirt or one huge temple is found and assists just ONE Person and it assists that person exercise faith into believing, and common sense into striving towards, how great will be John and Wayne’s reward in heaven if just one soul is helped by this physical evidence.”
I believe the Book of Mormon which speaks of Zarahemla, is near Montrose, Iowa, just as I believe there is only one Hill Cumorah in upstate New York. Rian Nelson
Kevin Price, PhD Biogeography (Plant Ecology)
Dr. Kevin Price grew up in the small town of Green River, Utah (watermelon country). He served as a missionary for two years in the California, Anaheim mission under the leadership of Elder Rex C. Reeves. He attended Rick’s College (now BYU-Idaho), then transferred to BYU in Provo where he met his wife, Melinda and was married in the Salt Lake Temple. He has two daughters; Kaylie is director of marketing for a company in Wisconsin and Julia is in her last semester at BYU in the School of Business. Kevin severed in his Kansas ward as the High Priest’s Group Leader, Gospel Doctrine Instructor and Secretary to the Young Men’s program. He now serves as the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator.
He did his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at BYU in Rangeland Ecology and Ph.D. at the University of Utah in Geography specializing in biogeography (plant ecology), remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) (or computerized mapping and analysis). He was a professor for 3 years at Utah State University, 19 years at the University of Kansas and 6 years at Kansas State University. He has conducted research throughout the world and has been the Keynote or Invited speaker on drone applications in agriculture and natural resource management throughout the world at over 100 conferences. He served as a scientific advisor to NASA, NOAA and a former US Secretary of State.
Kevin is currently the Chief Emerging Technologies Officer for Air Data Solutions with offices throughout the US. He analyzes drone and airplane acquired imagery including natural color, color infrared, thermal and LiDAR.
During his presentation (above) he will introduce you to emerging mapping technologies and demonstrate how they can be applied to a variety of challenges with emphasis in archaeology. His ultimate desire is to help find the Great City of Zarahemla which he believes to be in the US.
Update from Dr. Kevin Price
“As many of you know, this week (Nov 14-18, 2021) the Heartland Research Group has been in the Montrose/Fort Madison area working with the Landviser (See Company Information Below) scientists who are collecting the most advanced electroconductivity data possible. Electroconductivity is used in this case to measure how electricity conducts through the soil profile down to as much as 90 feet.
As many know, Wayne May with others in the area including the Curlees and Cal Christensen started looking for the Zarahemla Temple site years ago and Wayne identified a very specific location in a field just west of the Mississippi River about ½ mile. This site has been the source of much controversy and so research has continued to try and prove or disprove the location. Today, the evidence appears to be sustaining the site as the Zarahemla Temple site (the conductivity data alone is not proof, but there are many other supporting fact and evidence that need to be taken into consideration).
This picture I have attached (above), you see back over 5 years ago, actual excavation work on the site was undertaken and the site was excavated down to over 20 feet (not shown in the attached picture) and it was pure unsorts sand not deposited by wind or water, but laid in place by something not natural (we believe Hopewell people). Some have suggested it was a Sand Blow, but I personally strongly reject this idea because the sand of the sand deposit is not natural in the way it is deposited, and Sand Blows do not blow up only sand of the same particle size and there are no sorting layers as the sand would have fallen in place, but the biggest reason I reject it is because there are no recorded sand blows in Iowa. They are found in southeast Missouri but not Iowa or Illinois.
I have also attached a picture (above) of the Zarahemla site that shows a rectangular area in the area many believe is the temple site. This image is an enhanced Color Infrared Image to which I applied a vegetation index that enhanced subtle differences in vegetation.
Electroconductivity Data Below by Landvisor
Finally, the last attachment is my crude attempt to help others visualize what they MIGHT be seeing, but this is VERY early, and I wanted to share with you early possibilities, but much more analyzes remaines to be done by our Russian Scientist friends. This graphic (Pictured Above) should not be assumed to be an official graphic of the Heartland Research Group or Landviser, it is my personal interpretation of what I think I am seeing.” Advisory: We are this very day creating pictures from the actual Electromagnetic data and Lidar data still being processed as this is written.
November 19, 2021 Best wishes, Kevin Price
[email protected] Mobile 785-393-5428
Dr. LARISA GOLOVKO article by Dr. John Lefgren, PhD of the Heartland Research Group Below!
Our unique LandMapper device was featured in 2nd edition of Solid Earth Geophysics Encyclopedia as the best small scale portable and accurate electrical resistivity/conductivity meter. To cite this publication use: Loke, M.H., J.E. Chambers, and O. Kuras. “Instrumentation, electrical resistivity.” In Solid Earth Geophysics Encyclopedia (2nd Edition), Electrical & Electromagnetic, Gupta, Harsh (ed), 599–604. 2nd ed. Berlin: Springer, 2011.
Landviser develops innovative non-invasive technologies (geophysical equipment and software) for mapping and monitoring core biosphere components: soils, plants, groundwater, and climate. We deliver efficient strategic geospatial solutions through our proprietary hardware and software combined with expertise in:
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- Crop Modeling – focus on GxE – linking GIS, Climatology, Bio-Informatics & Genomics
LARISA GOLOVKO
PhD (Env Biology) & PhD (GeoScience), PGDIP AI/ML
Larisa invented (2001) and marketed first in industry hand-held geophysical meter –LandMapper® – for precision agriculture, environmental assessment, archaeology & civil engineering, and founded Landviser LLC in USA. During her career she worked as a researcher and geo-data scientist for Moscow State University (Russia), Rutgers University (NJ), hybrid rice seed company RiceTec, Inc (TX), and, currently, Bayer Crop Science IT.
Dr. Larisa Golovko – Recognized World Leader in GEODATA SCIENCE (20+ Years) and Artificial Intelligence for Remote Sensing.Some time ago, Dr. Larisa Golovko came to Salt Lake City to present her paper at an international conference of scientists. Before this conference, she had attended other conferences to discuss the development of Python Apps for image processing and feature recognition. While in Utah, she was with her peers. She was surprised when the state’s major newspaper wanted to interview her. The newspaper wanted to print an article about Larisa as a Russian scientist who had come to Utah for an international conference. The Utah newspaper wrote about Russian technology for the preservation of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra near the Church of Holy Cross. A place that is known by over 100 million Russian Orthodox believers as the Monastery of Caves. The is the center place of Russian Christianity. The church was built in 1700 above the holy caves, a place of pilgrimage of Russian Christians since the 11th Century. The caves have historical treasuries including 1,000-year-old frescoes, the living cell of Nester, the first annalist, as well as the burial niches for the remains of civil and religious leaders. In Soviet times, there was groundwater seepage into the caves. It became necessary to analyze accurately hydrological conditions in the Patriarch garden to prevent any damage to the historical artifacts. With Larisa’s father’s help, the Orthodox Church was able to protect their sacred site. The site is now on the UNESCO Heritage List and is considered one of the 7 Wonders of Ukraine. This story was of sufficient interest that the major newspaper in Salt Lake City presented to thousands of its readers. Last week Dr. Larisa Golovko from Landviser LLC brought even better technology to the Zarahemla Site on the west bank of the Upper Mississippi. Utah newspapers have shown total indifference to the possibilities that Russian technology could discover Zarahemla. It is as though too few people in Utah are interested in discovering North America’s largest city of the 4th Century. We are happy to report that other scientists are interested in what we have done. Professor Loke, the developer of RES2DINV/RES3DINV software, wants to use the ERT images from the Zarahemla Temple Site in his presentation at a virtual conference from Asia where he will promote SibER to a gathering of geophysical scientists. We regret that there are so few scientists in Utah who have any interest in finding Zarahemla. We are grateful to receive recognition from a virtual gathering of world experts in Malaysia, India, and China. Fortunately, professionals will have a chance to become familiar with the first results from Zarahemla at the International Conference on Recent Advances in Geotechnics sponsored by INDIAN SOCIETY OF ENGINEERING GEOLOGY.” Dr. John Lefgren PhD Heartland Research Group |
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Zarahemla According to Jonathan Neville
“When Joseph Smith purchased the land for Nauvoo, he actually purchased far more land across the river in Iowa, as this map (left) from the Joseph Smith papers shows. If this area–designated in the 1800s as the “half-breed tract”–was the location of the ancient city of Zarahemla, the location could explain why the people were wealthy and why they had problems with pride, etc. (Of course, every human society has problems of pride, envy, etc.
However, Alma focuses particularly on this when he’s in the city of Zarahemla.) People ask if there is archaeological evidence for a city in this area. There is archaeological evidence of settlements along the river, north and south of this site, that date to Book of Mormon times, but nothing that can be identified as the city of Zarahemla, per se. The city of Zarahemla and its inhabitants were burned (3 Nephi 8:8). Later, the city was built again (4 Nephi 1:8) but the city is not mentioned afterward. It could have been destroyed again, of course. The river could have flooded the city, deposited sand over it, or any number of other possibilities.”
[The Heartland Research Group headed by Wayne May, John Lefgren PhD, and Kevin Price PhD, have been doing research near Nauvoo and Montrose, Iowa for several years now looking for evidence of Zarahemla. They have found evidence for ancient fires pits in the area and a possible location of a temple mound. See their website here: https://zarahemla.site/]
Neville continues, “For now, I note that it’s a location that seems to fit the text nicely. Another consideration is that D&C 125 hints at this site as the location of ancient Zarahemla. Another interesting aspect of Alma 5 is the mention of sheep, shepherds, and wolves. There must have been sheep in the city of Zarahemla. We’ve already stipulated that, because the Nephites “strictly” observed the Law of Moses, but Alma emphasizes the point is repeated here.
v. 37: ye that have professed to have known the ways of righteousness nevertheless have gone astray, as sheep having no shepherd,
v. 38: ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd.
v. 39: And now if ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd, of what fold are ye?
v. 59: For what shepherd is there among you having many sheep doth not watch over them, that the wolves enter not and devour his flock?
v. 60: if you will hearken unto his voice he will bring you into his fold, and ye are his sheep; and he commandeth you that ye suffer no ravenous wolf to enter among you, that ye may not be destroyed.
These metaphors would be ineffective if the people living in Zarahemla did not have sheep. In verse 59, Alma abandons the metaphorical use and speaks directly to actual shepherds. Some species of sheep that are indigenous to North America have survived to the present day, including the Bighorn and Dall. Anciently, their populations were in the millions. Although confined mainly to the western US, Canada, and northern Mexico. Wolves are indigenous to North America and were ubiquitous throughout North America before the Europeans arrived. They were part of Native American Indian legends and mythology. Their devastating impact on domesticated animals led to federal government programs to eradicate wolves from grazing areas. See this article.
Because Alma discussed wolves in this sense, I think it’s possible that whatever domesticated sheep the Nephites had–whether related to the other indigenous North American species or species Lehi brought with him–were killed off after the destruction of the Nephite society. The situation could be similar to that of horses, where recent research has shown the traditional explanation for horses–that the Spanish brought them all–is not consistent with the actual records. See excellent article on horses: https://byustudies.byu.edu/system/files/pdfs/54_3JohnsonHard.pdf.”
Source: 2016 Gospel Doctrine Resource by Jonathan Neville
