In The Cavity of a Rock

In The Cavity of a Rock
Father Lehi

Friday, June 25, 2010

My research of the Hopi

I would like to start off by letting you all know the extent of my studies and roots of this fascination I have with the Hopi. I guess it started about 10 years ago while reading some of Nibley's books and articles and I found him sharing stories of the Hopi and their ceremonies and traditions. I never really paid much attention to them until a few things happened in my life last summer (09). It started off with my first ever visit to go and watch the Manti pageant. I know it is pathetic to be a Mormon in Utah and never visit the Manti pageant but either way I finally made it and loved it. I began to read everything I could about Mormon(he dedicated the lands of the Manti Temple as well as a few others of which I will share later) from Ether to Moroni as well as all the added commentary he added in the pages of the Book of Mormon. I became fascinated with him and his son Moroni.

One day while surfing the Internet at work I stumbled across the website for "The Life and Travels of Mormon and Moroni" book by Dr. Jerry Ainsworth. On the website he asked a handful of questions and gave partial answers to them but for more on the answers it suggested purchasing his above mentioned book...so I did. It changed the way I look at the Book of Mormon. Later that summer I was able to take my little family and go camping on Black Mesa on the Navajo Nation reservation. I
can say that I felt the spirit while I was there and it was different than I have ever felt it in my life. During our stay we were able to visit some Anasazi ruins that I found very intriguing. Once I got home I did some research on the Anasazi and found out that they are thought of as possible ancestors to the Pueblo Indians, mainly the Hopi and date back to late BOM times. At this point it seemed that everywhere I turned there was something pointing me to research possible Book of Mormon lands and people, especially the Hopi.

In Dr. Ainsworths book at one point while he is speaking of the People of Ammon (also known as the Anti Nephi Lehies) he suggested that the some of the verses in Helaman when it is speaking of the migrations north it specifically mentions the People of Ammon as being among those who migrated north. If the Book of Mormon lands took place in what is now days Mesoamerica (Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize etc.) than to migrate north (depending on the distance) would put the peaceful People of Ammon in the modern day four corners area of the Unites states of course there were many stops for long periods of time during these migrations and many civilizations built from the possible ruins of Teotihuacan to various Pueblo ruins all the way to the modern day Hopi Nation surrounded by the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona. Upon further research of both the People of Ammon and Hopi I have found numerous ties and correlations between the two starting off with the simple fact that Hopi means "Peaceful People" which is exactly what the People of Ammon (Anti Nephi Lehies) were known for being. Of course it goes a lot deeper than this so I will attempt in my next few posts and as I find more evidence that supports this theory to paint the picture to the best of my ability.














Teotihaucan-The city was thought to have been estableshed between 200BCE and the 7-8th century. This city is approximatly 25 miles northeast of present day Mexico City, Mexico.













Walpi village mainly inhabited by Hopi (and Tewa) Pueblos. Walpi is on the tip fo the First Mesa and is one of the oldest inhabited villages in the United states second only to Old Oraibi which is on the Third Mesa (only miles away) which is also a Hopi inhabited village.

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