ZELPH IN VISION
The primary source for the information about Zelph comes from diaries kept by members of the 1834 Zion’s Camp including, Wilford Woodruff, Heber C. Kimball, George A. Smith, Levi Hancock, Moses Martin, and Reuben McBride.
This Hopewell culture mound site is located in Pike County, Illinois three miles east of the city of Griggsville. The mound today is known as Naples-Russell Mound #8, or Zelph Mound.
A scientific excavation of this mound was carried out in 1990 by The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in cooperation with the Center for American Archaeology at Kampsville, Illinois. The dig was funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation and supervised by archaeologist, Ken Farnsworth. The artifacts found during the excavation confirmed the mound to be a Hopewell burial mound, dating from 100 B.C. to 500 A.D. The artifacts are now located in the Illinois State Museum.
From the volume titled History of the Church Volume 2: pp.79-80, we read; “During our travels we visited several of the mounds which had been thrown up by the ancient inhabitants of this country—Nephites, Lamanites, etc., and this morning I went up on a high mound, near the river, accompanied by the brethren. From this mound we could overlook the tops of the trees and view the prairie on each side of the river as far as our vision could extend, and the scenery was truly delightful.
On the top of the mound were stones which presented the appearance of three altars having been erected one above the other, according to the ancient order; and the remains of bones were strewn over the surface of the ground. The brethren procured a shovel and a hoe, and removing the earth to the depth of about one foot, discovered the skeleton of a man, almost entire, and between his ribs the stone point of a Lamanitish arrow, which evidently produced his death. Elder Burr Riggs retained the arrow. The contemplation of the scenery around us produced peculiar sensations in our bosoms; and subsequently the visions of the past being opened to my understanding by the Spirit of the Almighty, I discovered that the person whose skeleton was before us was a white Lamanite, a large, thick-set man, and a man of God. His name was Zelph. He was a warrior and chieftain under the great prophet Onandagus, who was known from the Hill Cumorah, or eastern sea to the Rocky mountains. The curse was taken from Zelph, or, at least, in part—one of his thigh bones was broken by a stone flung from a sling, while in battle, years before his death. He was killed in battle by the arrow found among his ribs, during the last great struggle of the Lamanites and Nephites.”
In LDS Church History we hear about a similar ancient altar found near Adam-Ondi-Ahman in Missouri. In Orson F. Whitney, Life of Heber C. Kimball, page 209, we read; “The Prophet Joseph called upon Brother Brigham, myself and others, saying, “Brethren, come, go along with me, and I will show you something,” He led us a short distance to a place where were the ruins of three altars built of stone, one above the other, and one standing a little back of the other, like unto the pulpits in the Kirtland Temple, representing the order of three grades of Priesthood; “There,” said Joseph, “is the place where Adam offered up sacrifice after he was cast out of the garden.” The altar stood at the highest point of the bluff. I went and examined the place several times while I remained there.”
In another account of the History of Church 3:35 it says, “we arrived at Colonel Lyman Wight’s home. He lives at the foot of Tower Hill (a name I gave the place in consequence of the remains of an old Nephite altar or tower that stood there), where we camped for the Sabbath.”
Today’s Adam-Ondi-Ahman is just a little over 200 miles from the location of Zelph Mound in Illinois, both of which fit within the geography of the Heartland Model of The Land of Zarahemla.
Remarkably, items discovered in the Zelph Mound area fit precisely within the parameters of the Book of Mormon historical chronology. (100 B.C. to 500 A.D.) This general collection of evidence points to a strong possible North American Book of Mormon geographic location.
According to Wilford Woodruff, “I brought the thigh bone to Missouri. I desired to bury it in the Temple Block in Jackson County; but not having this privilege, I buried it in Clay County, Missouri, near the house owned by Col. Arthur and occupied by Lyman Wight. The arrowhead referred to is now in the possession of President Joseph F. Smith, Salt Lake City, Utah.” Wilford Woodruff Journal Page 41.
“While on our way we felt anxious to know who the person was who had been killed by that arrow. It was made known to Joseph that he had been an officer who fell in battle, in the last destruction among the Lamanites, and his name was Zelph. This caused us to rejoice much, to think that God was so mindful of us as to show these things to His servant. Brother Joseph had enquired of the Lord and it was made known to him in a vision.” Life of Heber C. Kimball, by Orson F. Whitney.
Zelph Mound History
“The Naples Mound 8 (also Naples-Russel Mound 8 or Illinois Archaeological Survey #PK 335) is a Havana Hopewell culture mound site located in Pike County, Illinois three miles east of the city of Griggsville. The mound was given the name Naples Mound #8 in 1882. The mound was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975
First recorded visit by Latter Day Saints: The Zelph Mound
In May and June 1834, Joseph Smith led a Latter Day Saint group of 150 men known as Zion’s Camp on a march from Kirtland, Ohio, to Jackson County, Missouri. On June 3, while passing through west-central Illinois three miles east of Griggsville, Illinois, some men discovered a large burial mound on the west side of the Illinois River one mile south of present-day Valley city.
On the top of the mound were …the remains of bones were strewn over the surface of the ground. The brethren procured a shovel and a hoe, and removing the earth to the depth of about one foot, discovered the skeleton of a man, almost entire, and between his ribs the stone point of a Lamanitish arrow, which evidently produced his death… The visions of the past being opened to my understanding by the Spirit of the Almighty, I discovered that the person whose skeleton lay before us was a white Lamanite, a large thick-set man, a white Lamanite, and a man of God…He was a warrior and chieftain under the great prophet Onandagus, who was known from the Hill Cumorah [Ontario County, New York], or eastern sea to the Rocky Mountains…He was killed during the last great struggles of the Lamanites and Nephites”.
The Book of Mormon identifies the last struggles or battles between the Nephites and the Lamanites as occurring between 375 A.D. and about 385 A.D. The leg bones of “Zelph” were carried in Wilford Woodruff’s wagon and reburied near Liberty, Missouri, but the arrow head was retained. The Zelph Mound incident was recorded by six men of Zion’s Camp in their journals: Woodruff, Heber C. Kimball,Levi Hancock, George A. Smith, Moses Martin, and Reuben McBride. The Zelph Mound incident was formally recorded in church history from available sources in 1842 by church historian, Willard Richards.
First recorded visits by local settlers
Illinois was made a state in 1818 and white settlers came in and opened some of the burial mounds in the former Native American lands. Judge John G. Henderson of Winchester, Illinois, was impressed by beautifully carved stone smoking pipes a friend showed him which were obtained from burial mounds in Naples, Illinois. Accordingly, he and a Mr. Merrill, in 1876, did some excavations and documentation of some of the Naples mounds in which were found a raccoon and a turtle pipe, copper axes, and human skeletal remains. Henderson also mapped the location of fifteen mounds near Naples, including Naples Mound #8. A map he made shows Naples Mound #8 as being a mile south of Valley City, Illinois and across the Illinois River from Naples, Illinois. Being impressed with mound #8, Henderson illustrated an Eagle pipe unearthed from the mound about 40 years earlier by a Daniel Burn, John W. Windsor and others. In describing Naples Mound #8 Henderson states, “On the right bank of the Illinois river about 300 yards below [south of] Griggsville Landing, rises a lofty bluff fully 300 feet above the level of the river. On the summit is a beautiful, oval mound, 150 long, 92 feet wide in the middle, and 25 or 30 feet high….within a radius of 5 miles from Naples there are a least fifty mounds, very few of which have ever been opened”. After Henderson wrote an article describing the Naples mounds and the relics found in them, the Smithsonian Institution, in December 1879 began a thorough exploration of them, furnishing six laborers to help with the excavations. Afterwards, Henderson authored the article describing the results in the Smithsonian Annual Report.
Rediscovery of the Mound
The mound was forgotten after 1882 and no records of visits have been found until 1974. Due to the Central Illinois Expressway bridge being planned across the Illinois River, the river bluffs were again visited by archaeologists. A team of graduate students from Northwestern University led by Archaeology Professor Jane E. Buikstra combed the bluffs of the Illinois River a mile South of Valley City, Illinois mapping burial mounds. They located an extraordinarily large mound and were excited to inform local historian, Warren Winston, about it. James Bradley, a Mormon Historian from Utah, who had been searching for Zelph Mound for 25 years, visited Warren Winston the day after Professor Buikstra’s visit and the connection was made. The Zelph Mound, was re-identified using historic journals, historic landmarks and mound surveys. The archaeological name Naples Mound #8, which archaeologist Henderson had given it over ninety years earlier, was changed by Professor Buikstra in 1974 to Naples-Russell Mound #8 (RN8). The name “Russell” was added due to the mound being on private land owned by a Mr. Roy Russell. Shortly after that event, in 1975, Buikstra applied to have the mound placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Seven years later, in 1988, The State of Illinois purchased 280 acres of Illinois River frontage land, including the mound.
Scientific investigation of the Mound
Archaeologists, after excavating in the Elizabeth Mounds and Napoleon Hollow for ten years where the expressway bridge was to be built, received permission to do excavations in Naples-Russell Mound #8, located just a hundred and fifty yards to the north of the Elizabeth Mound group. A scientific excavation of RN8 was carried out in 1990 by The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in cooperation with the Center for American Archaeology at Kampsville, Illinois. The dig was funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation and supervised by archaeologist, Ken Farnsworth. The artifacts found during the excavation confirmed the mound to be a Hopewell burial mound, dating from 100 B.C. to 500 A.D. The artifacts are now located in the Illinois State Museum. The artifacts of the RN8 Mound were found to be from many parts of the eastern two thirds of United States or east of the Rocky Mountains, illustrating the wide trade network of the Hopewell culture. Photographs of the artifacts from NR8 have recently been published. The mound is located at the Roy Norbut Fish and Wildlife Area, overseen by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.” Sourced at Wikipedia/Naples Mound 8
