Truth about Joseph Smith's Beliefs on Geography of The Book of Mormon

Recent Blog Updates

So recently I have received some feedback in regards to a blog post I did back in 2010 in regards to comparisons to the Hopi kachina mask and costumes and practices found in the Old Testament.  The feedback I have received was filled will malice and hatred towards me and my religion.  In stead of retaliating back I chose to delete the comments and attempt to be the bigger person.  I have since received a request supposedly from the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office asking that I remove the information regarding the kachina masks immediately.  Anyone reading the post should be able to see that I have never meant harm nor ill will to the Hopi or any of the indigenous of the Americas to whom I have made comparisons and drawn parallels.  I have decided to once again choose the high road and have removed the blog post in respect for sacredness of the information I shared about the Hopi kachina masks.  Now whether  the comments were actually from the HCPO or not does not matter to me.  I will continue to post comparisons and research I find interesting with the Book of Mormon and the Hopi and other civilizations that were contemporaries to the Nephites and Lamanites, I will just have to supply more due diligence in avoiding things held sacred. I would like to note that there are numerous convergences that I have avoided posting on due to the reverence held and the sacredness of the ceremonies.  In return I would hope that those that I may have offended would approach me or any others in my situation in a much, much more professional manner and remember the people and culture they are supposed to be representing.

Book of Mormon and Mesoamerican Military Numbers

Battle of Cumorah aftermath

If the average Mormon was asked about the ending of the Book of Mormon most would speak of the great battle of Cumorah roughly around 380 AD.  Was this a legitimate "final" battle so to speak?  It would appear not.  Although it is considered the end of the Nephite civilization we know that the Lamanites and Gadianton Robbers did survive.  Among those two groups there were many Nephites who found it easier to deny their God and join forces with either the Lamanites or the Gadianton robbers to avoid being targeted for genocide. In the battle at Cumorah Mormon speaks about a massive amount of soldiers who were under his command and the command of 22 other Nephite leaders.  Each of these commanders had a regiment of 10,000 men whom they led to this final battle.  Now the Nephites were decimated but the numbers involved in this war has raised concern for critics of the Book of Mormon.  Because the Book of Mormon never names the modern day land where this takes place most LDS scholars have determined that due to these numbers, the use of a calendar system and a written language (among other geographical correlations) that the most logical location to support these points would be Mesoamerica (modern day Guatemala, Mexico and Belize).

John Sorenson emeritus professor of anthropology at BYU shares some interesting insights on military numbers in Mesoamerica in his book "Mormons Codex" so that we can compare them to the numbers reported in the Book of Mormon.

"Around AD 380, in the final battle that resulted in the extermination of the Nephite people, Mormon reported a Nephite force of 230,000 under his command (Mormon 6:10-15), although it is unclear whether the number referred only to warriors or the total population of the Nephites at the battle.  A legitimate question to ask is whether a quarter-million or even half a million (counting both sides), would make sense in Mesoamerican terms.

One relevant comparative datum comes from a tradition about the Toltecs in the 10th century.  Native historian Alva Ixtlilxochitl reported a tradition proclaiming that a three year war resulted in 5.6 million Toltec deaths.  Even discounting vastly for probable exaggeration, the size of the armies engaged in the conflict in Central Mexico would have been of an order of magnitude that easily encompasses the Nephite figure.  Furthermore, certain peoples in highland Guatemala shortly before the conquest are reported to have fought with armies of up to 200,000 on a side for decade after decade."

Bernal Diaz del Castillo
Conquistador of Spain
 

I share this information on the heels of a previous blog post that I put together entitled, "A couple of Nephite Combat Correlations" (link provided below) just a few short weeks ago.  It includes an insight that when combined with the above links in military numbers gives Mormon's account of Nephite war more probability in the Mesoamerican setting.  It is as follows,

"In correlation with the organization of the Nephite armies in groups of ten thousand as found in Mormon 6:14 in the climactic battle at Curmorah the Tlaxcalan forces whom Cortez met on his approach to the Aztec capital were organized into five armies: "of the followers of the old Xicotenga...there were ten thousand, of another great chief...another ten thousand, and of a third...there were as many more."  All this according to Bernal Diaz del Castillo: The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico."

From the following insights provided by John Sorenson we can see that the numbers provided in the final battle at Cumorah would be more than fitting in a Mesoamerican perspective.  This combined with Bernal Diaz del Castillo's insights on how these armies were divided  and commanded also makes the Mesoamerican connection to the Book of Mormon that much more probable.

http://inthecavityofarock.blogspot.com/2014/05/a-couple-of-nephite-combat-coorelations.html

Book of Mormon Evidences Fireside

This is a fireside that Tyler Livingston who is member of the Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum and a member of the FAIRLDS.org group did a few weeks back in Syracuse UT.  There are some great insights into this presentation.  It doesn't just focus on Book of Mormon lands and evidences although that is the main point to the presentation but he touches on a vast array of topics.  Enjoy!

From Teotihuacan to Tikal: Fire Is Born and the Book of Mormon

Stone Monument from Tikal representing the
arrival of Fire Is Born 378 AD

So I was recently directed to an interesting article from the August 2007 National Geographic titled, "The Maya: Glory and Ruin" by Guy Gugliotta.  In his article he speaks of a few different cases that changed the history and outcome of the Mayans.  One of the occasions was in regards to inscriptions on Stela 31 in Tikal that gives the date of January 8, 378 AD and speaks of four different people.  I will list these for people in hopes to give a better understanding of the circumstances that took place and to hopefully clarify an incorrect assumption I have previously seen tied to this story and to point out a convergence with what is taking place in the Book of Mormon during the exact same timeframe.

Not in any particular order the first person is Spear-thrower Owl who was a king at Teotihuacan (near modern Mexico City).  The second is his son Curled Snout (also known as C'ahc ay ayinon) who was a young man at the time this takes place.  The third is a military regent or commander under Spear-thrower Owl named Fire Is Born (also known as Siyaj K'ak').  And the fourth person is Great Jaguar Paw king of Tikal.  According to what archaeologists and Mayan experts have been able to put together based off of stela inscriptions it appears that on January 8, 378 AD under the instructions of Spear-thrower Owl he sent his military commander Fire Is Born and his army to Waka in central Peten.  Along with Fire Is Born was the kin's son Curled Snout.  Within a week of this date (January 16th, 378 AD) it appears that Fire Is Born and his military regiment along with support from garrisons of fighters from Waka traveled around 50 miles east to Tikal the most influential city in the region and conquered the city.  It is noted that on this same day the king of Tikal Great Jaguar Paw died, more than likely during this conflict. 

At this point a new era begins; Fire Is Born becomes an ambassador in Tikal taking the place of Great Jaguar Paw.  Although he has placed the king's son Curled Snout as the new King of Tikal, he is probably taking an ambassador/king or lord position until Curled Snout is considered competent enough to lead (Curled Snout would have been only 20 years old at the time).  It is during this time that notable changes take place not just in Tikal but also throughout the region.  Stela and shrines erected to previous rulers of Tikal were all defaced and new ones placed which show figures wearing Teotihuacan military regalia.  Fire Is Born spread the influence of Tikal throughout the Mayan lowlands as far away as Palenque, Uaxactun and other cities.  At one location a stela depicting a warrior guard in Teotihuacan garb is placed in front of a tomb in which archaeologists found the remains of two women, one pregnant, a child, and an infant.  Experts have concluded that these were the remains of Uaxactun's royal family, slain by Tikal's forces.  The king of Uaxactun was presumably taken to Tikal and sacrificed there. 



Mormon the Nephite military leader
and prophet

With this great sweep of military conquest from Teotihuacan to Tikal and surrounding areas around 378 AD it has been pointed out that this timeframe correlates well with what is taking place in the Book of Mormon  during this same period.  We read in Mormon 2 around 350 AD that on the heels of winning a few battles and regaining possession of the "lands of our inheritance" Mormon all the sudden makes a treaty with the Lamanites and Gadianton Robbers, "in which we did get the lands of our inheritance divided.  And the Lamanites did give unto us the land northward, yea even to the narrow passage which led into the land southward and we did give the Lamanites all the land southward."


Why would the Nephites on the heels of a victory which gave them there lands of inheritance, then sign a treaty splitting part of their lands of inheritance?  Well if the Mesoamerican LGT (Limited Geography Theory) model is a correct setting for the Book of Mormon this would place the Nephites in or around the narrow neck of land known as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec thus placing them right between the new encroaching superpower of Teotihuacan (Southern Mexico) and the lowland Maya civilizations (lowlands Guatemala) a perfect spot to be wiped away from either side (or both).  Now Fire Is Born is more than likely not anyone of note in the pages of the Book of Mormon but the influence that he brought with his conquering military and the implications that followed more than likely were part of the cause that eventually lead to the treaty and probably the eventual wiping out of the Nephite civilization.  This group of Teotihuacan sounds very similar to what we would know as the Gadianton Robbers also a power from the north (or northwest).   The Book of Mormon notes similar circumstances to those noted above about the handling of royal family of Uaxactun.  It states in Mormon 4:14,

"And they did also march forward against the city Teancum, and did drive the inhabitants forth out of her, and did take many prisoners both women and children, and did offer them up as sacrifices unto their idol gods."

Brand Gardner author and speaker on Book of Mormon and Mesoamerican studies has noted that, "In the greater context of Mesoamerican history, there is every reason to suppose that Mormon was concerned with militaristic influences coming from Teotihuacan.  The time period ascribed to Mormon's last Gadianton robbers directly parallels the time frame for the expansion of Teotihuacan and their particular brand of militarism throughout the Mesoamerican region.  The rise of the Gadianton influence beginning after 200 AD  in the Book of Mormon is a direct parallel to the rise of Teotihuacan's expanding influence, and the time period that saw the construction of many of the cement buildings in that city, including the temple of the feathered serpent which is now understood as dedicated to the cult of war.  This influence increased in geographic spread and physical presence from about this time until the time of Mormon, and continued after the close of the Book of Mormon.

Map of Mesoamerica

The epigraphic record of Tikal records the installation of a new ruler, Siyaj K'ak', who founds a new dynasty in 378 AD.  By iconographic and epigraphic representation, it is absolutely certain that he came from Teotihuacan, and his descendants thereafter ruled in Tikal. Many sites of the time witness either a change in ruling dynasties or an increase in militarism that is represented in new ways that clearly point to Teotihuacan influence.  When we place known Mesoamerican history side by side with Mormon's spiritual history, we find in both accounts militarism exacerbated by a small contingent of a foreign element from the lands northward.  The Book of Mormon timing for this description corresponds directly to the secular history of the expansion of Teotihuacan throughout  all of Mesoamerica, but particularly the Maya region to their south."

I have seen noted that by some LDS Mesoamerican geography followers that the name of C'ahc ay ayinon especially the "ayinon" section is close to the name Aaron who was a Lamanite commander according to Mormon 2:9.  Some have tried to tie him into Fire Is Born but upon further review it appears that C'ahc ay ayinon was not Fire Is Born but was Curled Snout the child king that was placed on the throne in Tikal (Fire Is Born is Siyaj K'ak').  This would place him after the time of Aaron in the Book of Mormon which makes any sort of correlation or convergence on that front highly unlikely.

Stela 31 Tikal

In closing we definitely have some conversion points to look into for further study with the parallel warfare sweep found throughout the land in the Book of Mormon and in Mayan history.  Another interesting thought is that both Fire Is Born and Mormon are from the lands north and would more than likely be from prominent families.  How did this assisted in the influence both held with their contemporaries?  As I noted above although we don't specifically have Fire IS Born named in the Book of Mormon we must also keep in mind that the first thing that he did was to destroy the stela of the conquered cities and deface objects virtually doing away with their previous history.  This would be similar to the burning of records found in the Book of Mormon and also not allowing the enemies history to survive.  Without these surviving histories we would have a hard time confirming any names to Lamanite or Gadianton leaders of the time.  I would also like to note that some Mayan scholars still debate about his role suggesting that Fire Is Born came from Kaminaljuyu (central highlands Maya) and merely had appropriated symbols of prestige and legitimacy from Teotihuacan.  This would make Fire Is Born coming from lands associated with the Land of Nephi which was Lamanite territory (although this seems to be the losing side of the debate).  With that said as believers in the Book of Mormon we should not fear history and should welcome these sparks of light on Mesoamerican history when they come.  They bring excitement and many times further insight and although  they are not the type of things that we should try to build a testimony on, they sure can create an environment that allows for continual study, faith and prayer in order to obtain that testimony.

 

Speculative Insights on How Many Languages Moroni Spoke

Those of you who know me know that I have been a fan of Jerry Ainsworth's way of looking outside the box to find interesting insights that can be obtained from his understanding of the Mayans and how they apply to the Book of Mormon.  I will be posting some of his short videos which really are food for thought.  Enjoy.

A Couple of Nephite Combat Correlations

Battle at Cumorah artwork by Terry Rutledge AD 385.

The aim of this post is in regards to a couple of correlations that the Book of Mormon seems to have gotten right about certain scenarios of military combat between the Nephites and Lamanites and what we know of how combat took place in Central America, mainly in the Mayan and Aztec geographic locations and time frames. In Mormon chapter 6 versus 11-15 it states,

11. And when they had gone through and hewn down all my people save it were twenty and four of us, (among whom was my son Moroni) and we having survived the dead of our people, did behold on the morrow, when the Lamanites had returned unto their camps, from the top of the hill Cumorah, the ten thousand of my people who were hewn down, being led in the front by me.
12. And we also beheld the ten thousand of my people who were led by my son Moroni.
13. And behold, the ten thousand of Gidgiddonah had fallen, and he also in the midst.
14. And Lamah had fallen with his ten thousand; and Gilgal had fallen with his ten thousand; and Limhah had fallen with his ten thousand; and Jeneum had fallen with his ten thousand; and Cumenihah, and Moronihah, and Antionum, and Shiblom, and Shem and Josh, had fallen with their ten thousand each. 

In regards to the above noted verses John Sorenson author of "Mormon's Codex" states,
"In correlation with the organization of the Nephite armies in groups of ten thousand as found in Mormon 6:14 in the climactic battle at Cumorah the Tlaxcalan forces whom Cortez met on his approach to the Aztec capital were organized into five armies: "of the followers of the old Xicotenga...there were ten thousand, of another great chief ...another ten thousand, and of a third...there were as many more."  All this according to Bernal Diaz del Castillo: The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico".

Captain Moroni and the
Title of Liberty by Joseph Brickey

Dr. Sorenson also provides us with another interesting correlation that is paralleled in Alma 46, which speaks of Captain Moroni who upon hearing of dissensions among his people (the Nephites)
he did the following,

12. And it came to pass that he rent his coat: and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it-In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children-and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.
13. And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins: and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land-

Dr. Sorenson then quotes an interesting insight also by Bernal Diaz who reported that commander's lead there men to battle with a "great standard" or flag on a pole strapped to their backs.  This correlates well with the standard erected better known as the, "Title of Liberty" by Captain Moroni as noted above. So in conclusion we have a couple of interesting insights or parallels in regards to the organizing of military forces and the practice of men being led to battle by a "great standard" or flag on a pole by their commander.  Both practices are found conveniently in the Book of Mormon and tend to lend themselves as more evidence of a Mesoamerican setting for the Book of Mormon.

 

Ancient Mesoamerican Political Titles and Leadership Succession and the Book of Mormon

Nephi about to slay King Laban

This blog post is based off of a few insights from John Sorenson's book, "Mormons Codex" that I found rather interesting.  They are parallels that coincide very well with the way that leadership was titled and leadership succession took place in ancient Mesoamerica (Maya and Aztec) and in the Book of Mormon among the Nephites and Lamanites.  The first parallel custom noted by Sorenson is in regards to the formal title of early nephrite kings of which Dr. Sorenson states,

"One of the things a king inherited was a formal title.  According to Quiche Maya tradition, their "first lord" was a man who had six sons.  He "engendered Keh Nay and five other sons, who were provided by this king as governors.  Hence until the Spaniards came the kings had this name [title] of Keh Nay because it is like [the title of many kings] 'Caesars' among the natives."

The Nephite account tells us that Lehi had six sons.  One of them Nephi became king of the Nephite faction of the immigrant population.  After "Nephi began to be old...he anointed a man [presumably a son] to be a king and ruler over his people" (Jacob 1:9).  His people being desirous to retain in remembrance his name, "the succeeding kings" were called by the people, second Nephi, third Nephi, and so forth according to the reigns of the kings; and thus they were called by the people, let them be of whatever name they would" (v.11).  Because of how far they are chronologically, the two instances (Quiche and Nephite) of the same practice are unlikely to be historically connected, but the parallel custom of giving a personal name as a royal title is at least extremely interesting."

The next insight Dr. Sorenson offered is in regards to the succession of leadership in which he advised, "People who are uninformed about the varied patterns of ancient royal succession might suppose that the right to kingship always passed from father to son, but other arrangements were sometimes preferred.  For instance, among the Quiche Maya, "the inheritance of titles usually passed from father to oldest son.  [but] if the older son was not fit to succeed, a brother of the ruler might inherit the office."  For the Chontal Maya of the Gulf Coast, "when a ruler died, he was succeeded by his brothers in turn, if any, before his oldest son succeeded."  The same practice prevailed among the Mexica (Aztecs) and elsewhere in Mesoamerica.

The Nephite pattern was similar: "Pacumeni was appointed, according to the voice of the people, to be a chief judge and governor over the people, to reign in the stead of his [deceased] brother Pahoran; and it was according to his right" (Helaman 1:13).  Seezoram killed his brother, presumably so he could succeed to his brother's office (9:6).  The custom was similar among the Lamanites: in the one case recorded in the Book of Mormon, when Amalickiah, the Nephite defector who had usurped rule over the Lamanites, was killed. "the brother of Amalickiah was appointed king over the people" (Alma 52:3).

So as Dr. Sorenson pointed out we have correlations between the ancient Mesoamerican political layout and that of the Nephite and Lamanite societies in the Book of Mormon.  The more these correspondences are brought to light the easier it will be to see the Book of Mormon in the light of a Mesoamerican setting.  The more we understand the people of the Book of Mormon in their cultural setting the better we can understand the covenants and promises contained therein.
 

Joseph Smith and Book of Mormon Geography

The Unfolding of the Scriptures

So this post is from the above video that was recently posted on the Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum Facebook page.  Its a video of Dr. John Lund speaking about the Dresden Codex and an interesting little insight about how the Mexican codices work in comparison to some of Alma's wording on unfolding the scriptures in the Book of Mormon.  Another insight John Sorenson noted is that "The book of Alma relates an account of book burning.  At the city of Ammonihah, women and children adherent to the church that Alma headed were "cast into the fire" to be burned alive , and their oppressors, who were leaders of the rival religious order of Nehors, "also brought forth their records which contained the holy scriptures, and cast them into the fire also, that they might be burned and destroyed by fire" (Alma 14:8).  From this incident we learn,

1. Multiple sacred records were possessed by lay worshippers
2. Records were combustible, that is, they were of similar material and that documents in everyday circulation were written on paper.

The ancient Pre-Columbian Mayan records known as a codex or codices fit the above description.  They were written in Maya hieroglyphic script on Mesoamerican bark cloth, made from the inner bark of certain trees.  The "paper" was known by the Nahautl word "amalt" and was named by the Mayas "huun".  Most of these books were destroyed in fires in the 16th century by the Conquistadors and Spanish priests.  Bishop Diego de Landa in July of 1562 wrote: "We found a large number of books in these characters and , as they contained nothing in which were not to be seen as superstition and lies of the devil, we burned them all, which they (the Maya) regretted to an amazing degree, and which caused them much affliction." These codices in all likelihood contained the history, traditions, myths and stories, all of which has been lost except what was contained in four remaining codices.  About the loss of these codices and Mayan history archaeologist and anthropologist Michael D. Coe stated, "Our knowledge of ancient Maya thought must represent only a tiny fraction of the whole picture, for the thousands of books in which the full extent of their learning and ritual was recorded, only four have survived to modern times (as though all that posterity knew of ourselves were to be based upon three prayer books and Pilgrims Progress)."

Mesoamerican Codices

Although its a sad loss there seems to be an insight into the workings of these codices and the way the prophet Alma worded his use of Nephite records or scriptures in Alma 12:1 which states, "Now Alma, seeing that the words of Amulek had silenced Zeezrom, for he beheld that Amulek had caught him in his lying and deceiving to destroy him, and seeing that he began to tremble under a consciousness of his guilt, he opened his mouth and began to speak unto him, and to establish the words of Amulek, and to explain the things beyond, or to unfold the scriptures beyond that which Amulek had done."

These ancient codices folded like an accordion so when they were closed they would be compact for carrying or for storage but if someone wanted to read the full history, story, or myth contained in the codex they would have to unfold the codex.  With that said we may have Alma giving us an insight into the setting of the Book of Mormon unknowingly with his wording.  I would like to add a side note, that when this insight started getting some attention Brant Gardner Book of Mormon scholar who has an M.A. in Anthropology advised a word of caution noting that, although the correlation with the word "unfold" is a cool correlation, it wasn't consistent enough in the scriptures (meaning it is only used this once) so since this isn't a foreign English idiom it may not be the most useful connection.