Who were the Jaredites?

The Brother of Jared or Mahonri Moriancumur

I have been reading in the book of Ether lately and a long with that have been reading up on the Jaredites through miscellaneous articles.  A few that I have been particularly impressed with have been by Grant Hardy via Meridian Magazine and another was by David Stewart entitled "Jaredites: The First Americans".  The Jaredites fit in the Book of Mormon timeline roughly 1500 BC-400 BC.  This time period fits nicely with the Olmec civilization commonly known by their giant rock head sculptures found roughly in southern Mexico in the Vera Cruz and Tabasco area.  One question that usually comes to mind when looking at those giant headsculptures is, who were these people?  Who were the Olmecs?  Who were the Jaredites?



If the Jaredites were the Olmecs then what can we gather about the Olmecs that corresponds with what we know about the Jaredites?  First if we follow the lines that David Stewart put forth we will see that Carlos de Siguenza y Gongorra [1645-1700] gave us some interesting information about the original settlers of Mexico.  David suggests that he would have had access to ancient Aztec records that were later burned by "zealot Catholic padres" because they spoke of Christianity which was not known to Rome and therefore considered heretical.  Gongorra said that he "arrived at the curiously definite result that the original settlers were descended from Naphtuhim, son of Mizraim and grandson of Noah, who left Egypt for Mexico shortly after the confusion of tongues"

Naphtuhim is the plural form of "nephet" which means honeycomb.  It means the honeycomb people, or in other words, the beekeepers, or the people of Deseret.  In Ether 2:3 when speaking of the Jaredites preparations to go to "the promised land" it states,


Olmec Head



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.

Thus we see that both the Olmecs or original settlers of Mexico and the Jaredites were known as keepers of bees.  But lets take a further look at who the Naphtuhim where.  As descendents of Ham they were a mixture of Egyptian, Hittite, Phoenician, Libyan and other Hamitic tribes but were primarily Naphtuhim or honey raisers.  Josephus calls the Naphtuhim the Nedim.  He admits that nothing is known of these people except for the name, as their Old World cities were overthrown in the Ethiopic War during the times of Moses.  Also of note is that all Jaredite kings descended from the first pharoah of Egypt, called Menes by the historian Manetho and AHA in the heiroglyphs.  This name Aha is what Menes translates into from Greek.  Aha or Ahah is also the name of a Jaredite king. (Ether 11:10-11)

Stewart than goes on to point out that these Hamatic tribes or people were from North Africa.  As seen on the Olmec statues, they had broad, flat, Negroid noses, this lips and eyes closer to the horizontal with an epicanthic fold of the upper eyelid like many modern East Asians.  It would be through these linages that the ancient empires such as Cush came to their great status. So the question arises, how did these Jaredites or Olmecs gain the knowledge needed to become one of the greatest civilizations the world has "never" known?

Stewart points out that certain vocations were held in expertise in the ancient world, such as shipbuilding and sailing.  The Phoenicians and Egyptians were the experts in that catagory as well as glassmaking or glassworks.  The Hittites were the expert metallurgists during this time and bee keeping was extremely important as noted earlier to the Egyptians and the Ethopians, so much so that they would even pay their tribute in honey.  What do all these nations (Egypt, Phoenicia, the Hittites, and Ethiopia) have in common? They are all descended from Ham.  Stewart also points out that Ironworking, and glassworking expertise acutally go further back to Tubal Cain, "an instructor of every artificer in glass and iron" (Genesis 4:22).  Hebrew tradition as recorded in the Genesis Rabba midrash and eleventh century Jewish commentator Rashi maintains that Naamah, sister of Tubal-cain was taken by Noah as a second wife to preserve Cain's posterity, and that she became the mother of Ham.  All these expertises and knowledge being found among the Jaredites litteral descendents of Ham would not only follow ancient customs of the transmission of knowledge and techniques of trade but also answers the above question of, how did these Jaredites or Olmecs gain the knowledge needed to become one of the greatest civilizations the world has "never" known? This also explains the scripture in Ether 1:43 were the Lord states while speaking of the Jaredites,

And there will I bless thee and they seed, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And there shall be none greater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed, upon all the face of the earth. 

So basically we end with a great Hamatic civilization in the Western Hemisphere (Southern Mexico and Guatemala) that originated in Africa.  This group was known as the Jaredites in the Book of Mormon or the Olmecs to the rest of the world.  They are of the lineage of Ham in the Bible and apparently mastered the many trades that were practiced by its brother and sister tribes.  The fact that they had acquired this knowledge along with being highly favored of the Lord (mainly due to the righteousness of the brother of Jared also known as Mahonri Moraincumur) allowed them the ability to avoid the confounding of tongues at the tower of Babel, also allowed them to be lead to the "promised land" by the hand of the Lord thus being assisted by many mighty miracles, and also be considered a "great nation" in the sight of God.  Of course many of these things apply to the Nephites and modern day America so needless to say much can be learned by looking and the growth and demise of these two great civilizations.

Pueblo and Mayan art of "caching" provides insights into the People of Ammon burying their weapons of war

People of Ammon burying their weapons of war

There are a handful of stories in the Book of Mormon that the average reader can read and say these just don't seem to make much sense...or these just don't sound right.  Both Brant Gardner and John E. Clark authors on Book of Mormon evidences and geography have pointed out that these stories as outlandish as they may seem are the best to use as evidence for the books authenticity.  The reason being that when something is so out of place that there is no way that it could possibly fit or possibly be correct or true and then evidence shows that sure enough it is correct or understandable than you have little room for disputations in regards to that evidence.

This is just the case with the "people of Ammon" who in Alma 23-25 come to an understanding of their Savior and a knowledge of their wrong doings and bury their weapons of war as a token or covenant to never shed blood of mankind again and dedicate their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ.  For such a blood thirsty war mongering people to do such a 180 degree turnaround may seem unheard of.  Especially to bury their weapons of war in order to covenant with their Lord that they have had this change of heart and will never take up their weapons to war again...no matter the circumstances.  When this practice of burying their weapons of war is compared to the practice of "cache or caching" pottery performed by the Anasazi or their modern day counter parts the Hopi and other Pueblo tribes we can gain a better understanding into this exercise.

Anasazi Pottery Shards (cache)

The practice of "cache or caching" was to break or bury something upon the beginning or ending of something such as an event.  This would explain the burring of the weapons of war by the Anti Nephi Lehites better known as the people of Ammon.  This would explain why they couldn't just dig up their weapon of war once they were needed again.  They had actually destroyed them, thus rendering them useless.  This is still a common practice by the Pueblo Indians. These caches of partially buried pottery shards can still be seen at almost all Anasazi ruins including Mesa Verde, Canyonlands, Chaco Canyon, Keet Seel, Awatovi and numerous others.  In the history of the Hopi or Anasazi upon leaving a village they break lots of pottery and either bury it or spread it in the direction they will be migrating. This not only showed the next group of migrating tribes the direction that the previous tribe exited the premises but also caused the need for new pottery upon arriving at the new village plot, deterring the thought of returning to the previous village. The Mayans would cache pottery and other relics in the same manner.

Thus we see that something as out of place as a once blood thirsty people who buried their weapons of war upon making a covenant or promise to never go to war or shed the blood of mankind again actually is not out of place and makes complete sense when viewed with the understanding of caching or rendering something useless especially in helping to separate ones self from that item or what it represents.  This also made keeping the covenant that much easier to keep by eliminating the temptation of being able to dig up the weapon or item at a later date if need be.  To this day it is still a major offense and extremely looked down upon at ruin sites to take or mess with these pottery shards or cache due to the sacred nature involved in the practice of caching the pottery that was performed by their ancestors.

Do the Mayan and Hopi traditional stories support the idea that the Nephites and Lamanites remembered Bountiful the point of departure?

Wadi Sayq possible location for place
of departure (Bountiful)

In 1950 Elder Milton R. Hunter wrote that Tula or Tulan was Maya for "Bountiful or Abundance".  The literal translation  of Tula is "place of reeds" or "land of abundance". When compared there are obvious correlations between having an abundance or bountiful amount of something. There are two seperate recordings of the Quiche-Maya that make reference to their ancestors' old world point of departure.  These Quiche-Maya historical documents are, "The Title of The Lords of Totonicapan" and "The Popol Vuh".  The Quiche-Maya say that the old world point of departure  was Civan-Tulan, or as rendered in English, "Bountiful-in-the Ravine".  The Maya Cakchiquel, a close brother tribe of the Quiche-May also claim that their ancestors came from Tulan in the west.  The west correlation could be the direction that was traveled by Lehi and his family upon leaving Tulan or land of abundance better known as Bountiful. 

As we learn upon reading the Book of Mormon there was a land of Bountiful and a City of Bountiful that were made by the Nephites.  It was at the temple grounds in this city where the Savior descended in 3 Nephi 11.  The fact that these lands and cities were named after the original point of departure shows that the Nephites remembered and held the name and the original land of Bountiful in high esteem.  The links between some one having abundance or bountiful to me is an obvious correlation between the two words.  Also in L. Taylor Hansen's "He Walked The Americas" there are numerous traditional stories from many Native American tribes speaking of the great bearded one (that went by many names) visiting Tula or Tulan.

 

Masau Kachina Doll

I personally find the correlation between the other meaning for Tula "The place of the reeds" very interesting when compared to Hopi traditional stories.  In the Hopi traditional stories the creation to some degree began when the 3rd world was corrupted due to the actions and beliefs of the people.  When that world was destroyed the righteous people went to live with the ant people (this part of the story changes depending on what Mesa and who is telling the story). Eventually the world was flooded and destroyed and the righteous people sent a bird up out of a reed to get permission to live with Maasaw in the new world. They eventually were given permission and had to climb out of the reed into the new world.  Upon exiting the reed into the new world (The reed through which they emerged into this world is called the sipaapuni and is said to exist and be marked by a shrine along the Little Colorado near the Grand Canyon.  Symbolic sipaapunis are part of every kiva in each village.) the great Maasaw laid out multiple forms of corn on the cobb and had the different tribes of people pick one cobb.  It was at this point that there seem to have been some sort of confounding of races including caucasions which may directly have affected their languages.  The Hopi were given the last pick for corn and took the smallest and shortest corn on the cobb.  At this point they were given many promises due to their humble pick by the great Maasaw. 

That was obviously a very abbreviated version of the creation story to some degree but it seems to have ties to Bountiful due to the people climbing out of the reed as a beginning of their world or people.  This seems to have a possible tie to Bountiful or place of reeds and the beginning of the Nephite and Lamanite people.  The Hopi creation story also has ties to the Jaredite confounding of the tongues or creation of multiple races of people.  One can't help but picture people climbing out of a reed that is rounded like the inside of a plant and be able to compare that shape to a sphereical shape of the tower of babel that the people were attempting to climb when their languages were confounded in Jaredite times.  For more on the sphereical shape of the temples in Mesoamerica see the video by Jerry Ainsworth called, "Finding Moroni".  It seems that a sliver of truth can befound in many Native American traditional stories..the problem can be trying to decypher the myths that have created an apostate version of these stories.  Athough that can be a problem the more important thing is recognizing that there is truth in these stories that have been passed down from generation to genertion for hundreds upon hundreds of years via word of mouth.  I find that even more amazing.

Peculiar People Illustrations blog

I have recently put together another blog just to display my artwork.  I will try to update it regularly with new Book of Mormon related artwork.  Because I am in the process of moving from Utah to Arizona so it will probably be a week or so before I can update either of these blogs.  I hope you enjoy the newly established blog and my Book of Mormon insights artwork...enjoy

http://www.peculiarpeopleillustrations.blogspot.com/

The Name Moroni in Mayan Stone pt.2

Moroni burying the plates

After showing the origins of the name Moroni in Mayan stones Dr. Robert Pate then offers an interesting but speculative theory on Moroni. Shortly after the death of his father Moroni states that he was alone and would write more if he had more room on the plates but he can’t because he has no ore to make more plates and can’t get more because he is alone. Moroni then went on to finish his father section of the Book of  Mormon (Mormon 8:5-Mormon 9:37) which was about 7 more pages followed by the book of Ether which is 31 pages and then does his own account (the book of Moroni) which is 13 pages. This total’s up to 51 more pages to complete what we know of as the Book of Mormon. We know that we have only a portion of the sealed plates, roughly one third of the plates (531 pages worth). This would mean that there was still roughly double that amount that were written to complete the other two thirds of the “golden plates” after Moroni finished his portion.

 We know that the sealed portion contain the writings of the brother of Jared which were written in a confounded language (ether 3:24) and the sealed interpretation thereof (Ether 4:5). This includes the vision of the brother of Jared of the history of the earth from the beginning to the end. So if we add it all up we have the 51 finish pages of the Book of Mormon plus the sealed portion roughly 1062 for a total of 1,113 pages written after Moroni says that he is out of ore and is alone and has basically run out of room on the plates. What changed to allow his situation to all of the sudden be able to add about 1,113 pages. How did he get more ore? It sounds like he was no longer all alone.

Dr. Pate professes that in order for Moroni to have stumbled into 50-pounds of gold that he would have stumbled into friendly Nephites but even more so he would have to have become the King of this group of people in order to obtain that amount. He states that he realized how this took place when he stumbled across “The Rulers of Tikal” (Michel 1989). He said, there was a section about Frog Sky Mah K’ina who due to the name Mah K'ina could easily be our Moroni.  And look at the years he was the ruler, 406 AD to about 426 AD. Moroni was still making entries into the Book of Mormon through about 421 AD.

Angel Moroni appears to the boy Joseph Smith jr.

He then goes on to state that according to the history shown in stele 31 at Tikal that Frog Sky Mah K’ina came to power in Long-Count date 8.18.10.0.0, which is 19 November, 406 AD. His predecessor was Ruler 9 which is Curl Nose and his successor was Ruler 11, Stormy Sky. Ruler 9 was the father of Ruler 11. Ruler 10, Mah K’ina, just shows up in between these two and somehow obtains the throne. This is accounted for because the Maya practiced primogeniture. The closest male descendant became king-(this dates back to Nephi). Dr. Pate supports his theory about kingship with Mormon Moroni’s father. Mormon states he was a direct descendent of Nephi (Mormon 8:13). He also states that it is very possible that

Mormon was a king because the not only does he refer to the Nephites as “my people” but because the Lamanite king communicated directly with Mormon which is something he wouldn’t have done if Mormon were not the king (Mormon 6:2-3). If this is the case, being a pure descendent of Nephi, Maya primogeniture would make Moroni the next king. He could walk into town and declare who he was showing the records the sword of Laban and his Nephite armor and this would allow him to obtain kingship especially since he and his father were known from Cumorah.

Since reading Dr. Robert Pates book "Mormon Names in Mayan Stone" and writing these last two blog posts it has been pointed out to me that understanding of Mayan heiroglyphics has grown in leap and bounds.  Although the last two posts are completely speculative theories there are interpretations that Dr. Pate has since come to understand that he was incorrect.  His theory is still interesting none the less although I would suggest reading Dr. Jerry Ainsworths theory as well...there is no doubting their passions to gain a better understanding of the Book of Mormon.

The name Moroni in Mayan Stone pt.1

Moroni

So I recently finished reading Dr. Robert Pate's book "Mormon Names in Mayan Stone".  I have to admit that I like this book a lot but it seems like I may be missing some of the basic understanding on Mayan glyph reading that may have allowed some of these ideas to sink in a bit easier.  There are a few sections that I really liked especially the portion on the different versions of the name Moroni.  Here's briefly what Dr. Pate had to say about the Mayan interpretations of the name Moroni. 

In Guatemalan geography and history one finds two villages named Almolonga by the Spaniards, which Recinos (1953, 127n) says the Mexicans called Atmulaunca from the word moloni. As we know, the Nahua people did not use the letter “R” in their spoken language, Nahuatl. They were aware of the letter and the sound but they did not like the people or the language of the people who used the letter “R”. Bernardino de Sahagun wrote that the Aztec people referred to the people who used the “R” in their language as those who spoke with a “barbarous tongue”. This may have referred to some Chinese intrusion. The Chinese do an “R” for “L” switch on their spoken language. It has been documented that the Chinese were in the Americas. The only question is how soon. The evidence would indicate that it was prior to Lehi’s arrival. We know that the Chinese sailors frequented the Americas. We have also seen the “L” for “R” among the Chorti Maya branch of the Cholan group of Maya. Thus, Moloni is exactly Moroni.

 Bernardino de Sahagun

Moloni (Moroni) has reference to the hot water thermals in volcanic regions and translates into Mek’ina or “hot water” in Quiche.  Thus, we have two forms of the name Moroni, one from Nahuatl and one from Maya, Moloni and Mek’ina’ respectively. The Mek’ina form shows up in the Hopi language of Arizona where mukina means “to warm up”. It is the Mek’ina form of Moroni that we find extensively in Maya stone. 

Now that we have a basic understanding of the Moloni and Mek'ina interpretation for the name Moroni in part 2 of this post you will get to see Dr. Pates speculative theory on the golden plates and how Moroni was able to finish writing what we know as the Book of Mormon and the remaining sealed portion which is twice the size of the Book of Mormon even though just prior to all of this he states that he is running out of room on the plates, and is all alone and has no ore to make more plates.  I know it sounds like quite the mystery but when taken into context this theory will spark your interest....stay tuned for part 2.

Further Light and Knowledge on Christ's visit to the Americas

So we know that the pinnacle of the Book of Mormon takes place in 3rd Nephi Chapter 11 when the Savior visits the Americas thus fulfilling the prophecy he made previously while dwelling among his apostles in Jerusalem, when he stated in John 10:16,

"other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd."

In that statement he was speaking of his children who were the natives here in the America's and as far as I know probably elsewhere too. I have come to an absolute love of the account of the Savior's visit in 3rd Nephi as have many million other people. I just thought that I would give a few tid-bits of added insight that may get over looked when we read through the events that lead of to this account and the actual account itself.

Starting with the catastrophic events that lead up to the Saviors visit we read of not only an apostasy of the people but a great storm that eventually brought much destruction. Although there is a lot of speculation of whether this was caused by a vol canoe or earthquakes or probably both, we do know that in places where cities once stood they had now been covered by earth. Other great cities were completely buried in the sea, and many others burned including the great city of Zerahemla only to be rebuilt later. The common misconception is that as soon as these destruction's took place they were immediately followed by three days of darkness which lead directly into the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Unfortunately this is not the case. Further study of these breathtaking chapters shows that in 3 Nephi 8:5 it states,

"And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month on the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land."This verse lets us now that the year 34 (from which the sign had been given according to Samuel the Lamanite) in the first month and fourth day there arose a storm. So this great storm arose in the beginning of the year, on the first month. Now if we examine 3 Nephi 10:18 it states,

"And it came to pass that in the ending of the thirty and fourth year behold, I will show unto you that the people of Nephi who were spared, and also those who had been called Lamanites, who had been spared, did have great favors shown unto them, and great blessings poured out upon their heads, insomuch that soon after the ascension of Christ into heaven he did truly manifest himself unto them."

From this verse we see that Christ did not appear unto those who had been spared until the ending of the 34th year. This would have allowed the people not only a greater part of a year to start rebuilding cities but also to marvel at the destruction and the previous voice of the Lord that they heard explaining the destruction during 3 Nephi 10. Thus we see that in Chapter 11 when Christ appears they are in this same manner of "marveling and wondering one with another". So although there was great destruction that was followed by three days of darkness, the Savior did not appear unto the remaining Nephites and Lamanites until end of the year.

The second added insight that I would like to share takes place immediately upon Christ descending to the Temple of Bountiful. In 3 Nephi 11: 13-15 it states,

"And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them saying: Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side , and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet: and this they did do going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record that it was he of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come."

So in this verse we see that every single soul of those who were spared and at the temple in Bountiful did go forth and take the time to feel the prints in the Saviors hands and feet and in his side until they could bear record and know with a surety that this was the Lord of whom the prophets had spoken. So the next question is how many people where there that day that had this opportunity? Well in the end of 3 Nephi 17 this question is answered for us in verse 25 which says,

"And the multitude did see and hear and bear record; and they know that their record is true for they all of them did see and hear, every man for himself; and they were in number about two thousand and five hundred souls: and they did consist of men, women, and children."

So if we break the amount of people down with the time line, supposing that on average each person took about 15 seconds to feel the prints in his hands, feet and side and multiplying that by the 2500 people and dividing it by 60 twice to break down minutes and hours. It roughly comes to about 10 hours and 45 minutes that the Savior stood there allowing everyone there to feel the prints and to know for sure that this was the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When compared to most of our average 8 hour work days we realize that even something as small as allowing people to feel the prints from the nails was quite an accomplishment that when read in the correct context allows the reader to gain added insight and a better perspective for the love that the Savior has for each and every one of us.

Seven Tribes, Caves and Boats, Do these Mesoamerican Oral Histories Trace Back to the Book of Mormon?

In the Book of Mormon there are seven groups or tribes that formed with the original group that came from Jerusalem. The first mention of these tribes is 544BC when Lehi is acting as Jacob of old pronouncing blessings upon his entire household. These tribes or “ites” remained the central structure even after political collapse and the instatement of a tribal structure almost 700 years later (4 Nephi 1:37-38). In Jacob 1:13 it states,

Now the people which were not Lamanites were Nephites; nevertheless, they were called Nephites, Jacobites, Josephites, Zoramites, Lamanites, Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites.

Now within these seven tribes an important piece of their oral history was their genealogy This is made evident by the prophet Mormon who makes it known that he is a direct descendent of Lehi of old and a Nephite. There are many other evidences of the importance of genealogy or tribe relationship found in the pages of the Book of Mormon. The last reference to these tribes is in Mormon 1:8 about 322 AD as the final scenes of war were wrapping up between the Nephites and Lamanites.
According to Diane E. Wirth in her article “Seven Primordial Tribes” this genealogy continued to be important to Mesoamerican culture. Traditions passed orally from one generation to another spoke of seven primordial tribes who were their ancestors. These legends can be found in Mesoamerican stelae, murals, monuments, carvings and codices. Many Spanish clergy who recorded some of the oral history of the natives spoke of the seven tribes as well. One was Bernardo de Sahagun. He learned that they would also correlate caves and boats with these seven ancestral tribes. He suggested that these tribes crossed the waters in search of terrestrial paradise. He wrote:

Concerning the origin of these peoples, the report that old men [of central Mexico] give is that they came by sea…in some wooden boats...But it is conjectured by a report found among all these natives that they came from seven caves, and that these seven caves are the seven ships or galleys in which the first settlers of this land came…[Bernardino de Sahagun, Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva Espana, Introduccion al Pri Libro, Mexico, 1946, cited in Archaeology and the Book of Mormon, by Milton R. Hunter( Sa city: Deseret Book Company, 1972),44].

These seven ancestral groups could actually be speaking about the voyage of the Jaredites in the Book of Mormon. We know that the Jaredites traveled in 8 barges one being filled with fish according to Ether 2:2 this would leave 7 remaining barges. Dr. Jerry Ainsworth gives a speculative theory that according to the History of Mexico the seven families or tribes from the “Great Tower” came from Chicomoztoc, which means seven families in seven caves. He states that these people were the Jaredites and that they landed at Tampico Mexico which is a land that is commonly associated with the Olmec civilization which many LDS scholars assume is the Jaredite civilization. From here they sailed upstream on one of the seven rivers in the Tampico area to a mountain which he associated with Mt. Zerin in the Book of Mormon. From this mountain with all 8 barges and 7 families he fulfilled another commandment that may have been associated with the 8th barge full of fish. He was able to restock the fresh water fish on this continent. He was able to do this through his complete faith by moving Mt. Zerin to the Mexico continental divide because from that location it would be much easier to restock the rivers with the fish. To correlate with this theory he states there is a mountain range about fifty miles inland from the Gulf coast, where the Jaredites landed. In fact the History of Mexico states that these early inhabitants, upon landing at Tampico, took their boats up the Panuco River to a place called Altamera, (high lookout), which is about twenty miles up this river. This theory at least offers a reason for the eighth barge full of fish and for the brother of Jared to move Mt. Zerin which we know he did according to Ether 12:30. It also suggests that the seven tribes, caves, or boats referred to earlier may be speaking of the Jaredites rather than the seven groups that formed out of Lehi’s blessed posterity.

According to Frank Waters author of “Book of the Hopi”, the Hopi’s first lived in seven puesivi, or caves. From there they migrated northward, establishing their people and villages in accordance with the names of the “caves or womb-caverns” [Frank Waters, Mexico Mystique (Chicago: Swallow Press, 1975), 168-170]. The Hopi were once part of this great complex civilization but eventually migrated northward. There are still many traces of the pre-Columbian culture still within the Hopi today. They still practice many religious rituals observed by the Aztecs and state that the Mayans, Aztec, and Toltec’s are Hopi’s who failed to complete their fourfold migrations. I like Frank Waters believe this may be a case of the tail wagging the dog. The Popul Vuh, the Sacred Book of the Quiche’ Maya in Yucatan also states that the Maya ancestors originated in seven womb-caves or ravines, left Tulan Pa Civan, and crossed the sea on stones placed in a row-similar to the steppingstones by which the Hopis crossed the sea. The Codex Vaticanus, which pictures four previous “worlds,” and the Codes Telleriano-Remensis, containing a chronology of Aztec history from 1197 to 1592 A.D. both name the seven migrating clans and state that they originated from the seven caves in Aztlan.

As has been pointed out by Diane E Wirth, Dr. Jerry Ainsworth, and Frank Waters these traditions of seven families, tribes, boats and caves are deeply rooted in Pre-Columbian oral history but do they refer to the same long held traditions of seven lineages and boats and families in the Book of Mormon? All we can do is speculate but we do know that after the Book of Mormon times these oral traditions were commonly used among the natives for many centuries.

Jaredite Barges, Noah's Ark, and the Book of Mormon's Brilliance

So the information for this blog post has been found on a few other blogs and websites, but as far as I have been able to research I am pretty confident that we've all gotten it from the same source. It is originally from Michael Ash's article out of Mormon Times entitled,"Ventilators and Illuminators in Noah's Ark and Jardite Barges". This article shows how the story of the Jaredites shared by Ether gives us added insights and understanding into the Bible story of Noah and his ark.

Jared and his brother most commonly referred to as "The Brother of Jared" or also known by modern day revelation as Mahonri Moriancumer were commanded to build 8 barges to be able to be lead to a promised land during the confounding of the tongues (or languages) at the Tower Babel. According to the description given by Ether these were patterned after Noah's Ark, (Ether 6:7) and were "tight like unto a dish," peaked at both ends an had holes that could be unplugged to allow ventilation. (Ether 2:17,20)

Because the story of Noah's Ark or the equivalent is found so commonly in ancient literature it could have easily been known to the Jaredites. There are also some traditions about the ark that are not found in the Bible. Dr. Hugh Nibley shares some of the oddities with us. He noted that the ark or deluge boat was peaked at both ends forming a "crescent shape" like the Jaredite barges. The word "ark" originally meant "a box" such as a "chest or coffin-that covered with a lid". He also noted that the Bible never mentions that the ark had sails, so like (Ether 6:5-9) it was probably driven by furious winds and took on a submarine like nature often being completely submerged by water and violent waves during their voyage.

The Jaredite barges had ventilation holes, the ark had not only one door that could be shut but at least one "nappashu" which is translated as "air-hole" or "window" but means "breather or ventilator" and was not an ordinary window. The brother of Jared was worried about lighting or illuminating the insides of these barges and took the matter to the Lord, who told him that windows would break and that he couldn't start a fire in the barges so he left the matter at the brother of Jareds hands. The brother of Jared returned to the Lord after climbing a mountain and moltening 16 transparent stones, wherein he asked the Lord to touch them so they would shine in the barges.

Now this story of shining stones has caused a lot of laughs from critics of the Book of Mormon but we'll see that the story actually fits in very well with ancient lore. According to the Palestine Talmud the ark was illuminated by a miraculous light-giving stone. This precious stone supposedly glowed for 12 months inside the ark and would dim during the day so that Noah knew if it was day or night outside. The above information was not available to Joseph Smith. As Hugh Nibley explains, of the four copies of the Palestine Talmud that mention the arks shining stones, two appeared 30 years after Joseph had already translated the Book of Mormon. When the Book of Mormon was translated there was not a single version of the Palestine Talmud available in any modern language.

Another name for this precious stone or gem was "Moonfriend" or "Jalakanta" which interprets as, "that which causes the waters to part." Thus this gem or stone had the power to allow the possessors to pass through waters safely. The ark was also called a "bright house" or "moon-boat" because it was crescent shaped and wandered through space for 12 months. Also because it was illuminated by a miraculous light. While the Ancient Babylonian texts, tell us that the deluge-boat had a window or nappashu, the window in Genesis comes from the Hebrew "tsohar", which also translates as "shiner" or "illuminator". The Book of Mormon gives us these added insights and contain a fuller version with the ideas that the barges had a ventilator as well as an illuminator a design apparently shared by Noah's ark.

Possible Insights on the sailing route of Lehi and Nephi's Ship

While recently attending a Book of Mormon Evidence Conference that was put on by the FIRM Foundation which included presentations from Rod Meldrum and Wayne N. May and a few others, I was impressed by some of the findings in particular of one of Rod Meldrum’s presentations entitled, “The Phoenicia Expedition: New Evidence for Lehi’s Ocean Voyage”. Although it is known that I support a Mesoamerican setting for the Book of Mormon, I do think that there is sufficient evidence for a Heartland” or North American setting that as sincere seekers for additional truths from the Book of Mormon we need to take an investigative look at all perspectives.
In this presentation Meldrum used a recent expedition put on by Philip Beale and his crew of Mariners who took the time to build a replica of an ancient Phoenician Ship that would date back to 600BC. They would then attempt to sail from Syria down the east coast of Africa and around the Horn of Africa and back up the west coast of Africa through the Straights of Gibralter and through the Mediterranean and back into Lebanon and Syria. Basically sailing all the way around Africa.
The crew made this trip in just shy of a year (two weeks shy). They did have to add a few extras to make their ship a bit more safe to sail and living conditions easier for the team of mariners such as a small engine that made it easier for going into and coming out of docking areas (instead of manually paddling) and an oven for cooking food and a navigational system to be able to track the journey for research purposes. The thing that I found most interesting in this journey was the route they sailed. When heading down the east coast of Africa and then sailing around the Horn or Mozambique area they found themselves in an ocean current that helped them start back up towards the west coast of Africa instead of keeping them along the coast of Africa it took them in a north western direction. Although they tried to fight against it for a few days they eventually had to ride it out. It actually lead them right past Central American and towards the Florida Coast.

I find this particularly interesting because it has been a common thought that Lehi and his family landed somewhere on the west coast of South or Central America. This would have meant that they sailed in an eastward direction and would have been sailing against ocean currents. Even if this had been during an El Nino type of season it would have pushed then in a southerly direction. With this said we are able to get some very insightful information on Nephi and Lehi's boat from the Book of Mormon. In 1 Nephi chapter 18 we learn how Nephi's ship was made. Nephi said,

"and we did work the timbers of curious workmanship. And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship. Now I Nephi did not work the timbers after the manner of which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men: but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me: wherefore, it was not after the manner of men."

So basically we know that the Lord completely guided Nephi in the process of building the ship so there is a possibility that it was nothing like manner of ships that were being built in Nephi's day. The best sea farers in Nephi's day were the Phoenicians who would have been in the same vicinity of Nephi's youth in Jerusalem. They are the ancestors of modern day Palestinians. What we are to understand about the manner of ship Nephi built is still up for speculation. We don't know if it was built in a manner that required them to have to follow the ocean currents or if the curious workman ship allowed a keel which would have allowed Nephi and his family and friends to have tacked against the wind allowing them a better ability to move and reguardless of the ocean current. This keel technology was not in use at Nephi's time with the Phoenicians but the Lord works in mysterious ways.

I submit this evidence as an added idea for the route which Nephi and Lehi's boat could have traveled to the Western Hemisphere. This route works as a landing spot for both those who support the Mesoamerican setting or Heartland North American setting because it literally sails right by one into the other. I have included a video link that is directly off of the website of the Phoenician Expedition that shows some of the building of the ship. As you can see it would have been quite the undertaking. Maybe we can cut Laman and Lemuel a little bit of slack as far as the murmuring is concerned. The video is one of 8 clips on the expedition so feel free to watch them all if you would like. I would recommend at least the first two. For more information on the Phoenician Expedition check out their website at http://www.phoenicianexpedition.org.uk/. Of course these travel routes are all speculation and there is evidence that they may have sailed to the Pacific coast which is the more common theory. I just add this post in support of Rod Meldrums evidence that it is at least possible for a vessel constructed in the like manner of 600BC to make it via the Atlantic coast route no matter which geographic location best suites you.

for the video click below:

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TsEgnbGEVI
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v3YMn5o5cM&feature=related