Subtle hints of possible bondage for Nephi/Lehi while traveling in the wilderness



Nephi/Lehi and family traveling in the wilderness



So I recently happened upon an interesting article on the Neal A. Maxwell Institute website called, "A Case For Lehi's Bondage in Arabia" by S. Kent Brown.  In this article he shares points that make a case for Lehi and his family (including Ishmael's family) being possibly subject to the service of tribesmen while making their journey in the wilderness.  This could be something as simple as being employed by a specific tribe to being basically slaves to a tribe.  A timeline of Lehi's travels needs to be taken into consideration for a better understanding as to why this may be so.  If Lehi's family took 8 years to travel from Jerusalem to what they considered "the land of Bountiful" on the Arabian coast probably somewhere in Yemen or Oman (Wadi Sayq).  At most two of those years were taken in the expedition from Jerusalem to Nahom (probably less), I say this because as S. Kent Brown points out there are caravan traders nowdays who can preform this feet in a matter of months.  

Heading eastward from Nahom towards present day Wadi Sayq takes one through territory controlled by warring tribes.  Dr. Brown shows that this has been the way it has been for the last 2000 years.  "Its been a place of inhospitable tribes and slave trafficking. Modern explorers have learned about the hazards of crossing from one tribal area into another.  There is a system known as "rafiq" It means that travelers must be accompanied by a member of a tribe while they are moving throught the tribes territiory.  This is the only way for guarenteed saftey.  This also means bargaining with tribal leaders for safe passage and paying the agreed price for such protection and other services.  However, when travelers reach the tribe's boundary, they have to negotiate with the leaders of the next tribe, again paying an agreed price."

According to S. Kent Brown there are keys or subtle hints that can be found in the Book of Mormon that could lead one to believe or at least speculate that Lehi and his family could have spent a portion of their time while traveling from Nahom to what they considered Bountiful in “bondage” or “captivity”. As stated by Brown,

Arabian Map of Lehi's Travels

“This endlessly nettlesome situation, referred to elsewhere in the Book of Mormon seems to lie behind language about the trek such as “enemies” (Omni1:6; Alma9:10), “battle” and “bondage” (Alma 9:22), and being “smitten with …sore afflictions” (Mosiah1:17). If, of the eight years in the wilderness, only two had passed when the party reached Nahom, do the records themselves say that the party spent a disproportionate amount of time crossing the last 700 miles from Nahom, where they began to “travel nearly eastward” until they reached “the sea” (1 Nephi 17:1,5)?

The first key leading to this conclusion is in regards to Nephi’s use of the phrase, “to sojourn”. He stated that “we did travel nearly eastward…and wade through much affliction... [God] did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness. And we did sojourn for the space of …eight years in the wilderness.” Kent points out that the Bible term to sojourn usually refers to a servile relationship. This in the worst case scenario could be a slave and owner or best case scenario could be an employer and employee relationship. The fact that Nephi modeled his story on the Israelite slaves in Egypt is also a point of consideration. Dr. Brown also noted the phrases used in 1 Nephi 17 when Nephi stated, “we did…wade through much affliction”; “our women did bear children in the wilderness”; “our women have toiled, being big with child”; “it would have been better that [our women] had died” and posed the question of, “Do undocumented challenges lie within these lines?” To me this does bring up the question why did it take Lehi’s family (with Ishmael’s family and any others) 6 years to cross something that most Bedouin tribes can cover in a matter of months?

The next key is when Lehi is blessing his youngest son Joseph. When referring to his families sojourn in the wilderness he describes it as “the wilderness of mine affliction” and “the days of my greatest sorrow” (2 Nephi 3:1). As pointed out by Hugh Nibley, Lehi was more than likely a very prosperous trader and knew the life of traveling in a caravan and the dangers associated with being a trader in the desert. Although his family does complain about his visions they never complain about his ability to survive in the wilderness and this seems to be because it may have been his profession. So traveling through the wilderness shouldn’t have been the cause of his “greatest sorrow”. So we ask the question, was there more to Lehi’s sojourn in the wilderness that caused this sorrow? It seems to be the case. As a matter of fact the case seems to be supported when compared to the language used by Lehi when speaking to his children and grandchildren before his death. He uses language that recalls slavery such as “shake off the awful chains” by which they “are carried away captive,” being “led according to the …captivity of the devil”2 Nephi 1:13, 18).

Nahom

Although Dr. Brown points to a few other keys some of the remaining keys leading to this speculative conclusion include the words of King Benjamin (as abridged by Mormon) both of whom had the full record of the account at their dispose. Both of whom were very familiar with the story. It is subtle hints such as in Mosiah 1:17 when in Mormons words, the party “did not… progress in their journey, but were driven back…and …were smitten with famine and sore afflictions”. These were things that we know did happen in the first two years of their mission but upon reaching Nahom there is no more mention of them being “driven back” and “not progressing” other than when Nephi broke his bow but they were not driven back though. Upon heading east from Nahom they would have found themselves in a more hostile territory with lack of water, lack of population, and little or no law. So the use of phrases such as “driven back” and speaking of “famine and sore afflictions” would fit right into a “sojourn” or “bondage of necessity” in these hostile lands.

The last key that I will touch on is noted in Alma 36 by Alma the younger (who also had access to the records and the full account of Nephi and Lehi) who compared a parallelism between “our fathers of Jerusalem” speaking of Lehi’s generation and that of “our fathers of Egypt” speaking of the Hebrew slaves and he states that the Lord has basically delivered them both out of bondage and captivity from time to time even down to this present day. (Alma 36:28, 29) Alma is speaking about both Lehi’s generation and the history of his people all the way to Alma the younger so the bondage in this statement may be questionable but parallelism is unquestionable.

When we look at the evidence being presented it should be obvious that something does not add up. There had to be something that delayed Lehi and Nephi’s group and caused them to take 6 plus years to cover 700 miles. Even when taking into consideration that they would have probably planted some crops and had to farm the territory to survive (if possible in this area) it still shouldn’t have taken more than two to three years. With that knowledge Dr. S. Kent Brown’s theory does make sense and would add clarity. Unfortunately we will have to put this in our speculation file and wait for further revelation or for the other two thirds of the plates to be translated to know for sure.

Fortifications, Watchtowers and City/State Leadership found in Mayan Civilization and Book of Mormon



Rock Wall covered in vegetation used as a border
marker built by ancient Mayans



For those of you who know me you know that I have a fascination with archaeology and anthropology especially in correlation with Book of Mormon lands. So when I stumbled across an article by Zach Zorich entitled, “Defending a Jungle Kingdom” on http://www.archaeology.org/ I was quite impressed with some of the recent findings that have taken place on the Mexico/Guatemala border.

In the mountainous rainforest’s of Mexico and Guatemala the Usumacinta River forms a natural border. This border was crisscrossed by constantly moving borders and boundries made by different Mayan kings used to mark their kingdom territory. Although these borders were constantly expanding and decreasing due to the size of a kingdoms influence there is still very little evidence of these actual kingdom borders. Little was known until a recent discovery of a series of stone walls about three to six feet tall. These walls extend the better part of a four mile stretch through the rainforest separating the kingdoms of Yaxchilan and Piedras Negras and were used to protect Yaxchilan’s northern border. The team of researchers were able to better understand what they were looking at with the help of the Guatemalan park guides who actually used the same walls when then themselves were participating in the Guatemalan civil war that took place in the 80’s and 90’s (I can almost hear Hugh Nibley asking, then have we progressed at all in the past 1300 years?).I

n the article it states, “The rough terrain limits the routes that a person can easily walk through the area. Once the archaeologists knew what they were looking for, finding the walls became easy. Just outside of Tecolote, an ancient town 10 miles north of Yaxchilan, every path seems to lead to a stone wall between two hills. Evidence of watchtowers on top of the hills indicates that soldiers had a place from which to watch for approaching enemies. “They are not building one super-wall. They are building little walls between all these little hills that they can control very easily,” says Charles Golden of Brandeis University who is one of the research team who came to the region in 2003, “It creates an easy funnel. They can catch anyone going south or north through the valleys.” The walls themselves would block the path of the enemy’s advance. “It’s a natural control point”.

The use of watchtowers in Mayan warfare immediately triggers a knee jerk reaction to the use of these watchtowers in the Book of Mormon. For instance in Mosiah 19: when Gideon is about to slay the fleeing wicked King Noah who flees to the top of the tower where King Noah sees the Lamanites withing the borders of the land of Shemlon. Or in Alma 46:36 where Captain Moroni causes that the Title of Liberty be hoisted on top of every tower in the land. Now whether these towers be Mesoamerican type of pyramid temples or watchtower fortresses both would fit very nicely in a Mesoamerican setting.

Watchtower/Fortress built along Maya border fortifications

Also noted in the article it state, “Near the walls, the team has documented a series of these settlements: Chicozapote, La Pasadita, Tecolote, and El Tunel. The warriors who defended the border probably lived in these settlements with their families. The settlements were ruled by sajals, who were counselors to the king, administrators, and war leaders responsible for defending the border and leading attacks against the kingdom’s enemies.”These sajal’s or administrators to the king also fit very nicely into the Book of Mormon setting especially when we look at the story of Ammon and Lamoni. Lamoni being king in the land of Ishmael and upon his conversion helped Ammon to go to the land of Manti to free his brethren only to run into Lamoni’s father who was king over all the land. Here we see kind of a city/state relationship where Lamoni’s father is the king over all the state while Lamoni is king over the city or land of Ishmael.

Although there have been ancient fortress fortifications found in the new world and the city/state kingship is nothing new I think that the more these types of evidences surface the better our understanding of the Mayan civilization will become and the more correlations we will be able to see to those of the Book of Mormon.

Biblical social networking common at water wells, also a practice common among the Hopi

In biblical times there are many stories who's background settings take place at the local watering well.  Many of these wells in times past would be covered with a cement cover that usually took more than one person to remove.  This stopped the sun from causing too much water from evaporating.  This alone caused the first person at the water well to have to wait for someone else to show up in order to help remove the top before obtaining water.  This was usually done by men so many times there could be a small gathering of people before obtaining water could even start.  The practice of socializing at the well was very common and many of the classic bible stories take place there.  Some of these are the story of Rebecca (Gen. 24:1-27) and the story of Rachel(Gen. 29:1-14) or in the New Testament the story of the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1-42).  It was common practice for the woman to be the one fetching water from the well.

This old world practice was also known to have a new world setting as well.  One in particular was found among he Hopi women.  It was common practice for Hopi women to climb down the mesa in order to obtain water from their local watering hole. These watering holes made for a place of social gatherings for many Hopi women, young and old.  As has been noted by Hugh Nibley not only do the pueblos that make up the Hopi villages look like something right out of Old Jerusalem, but many of the Hopi traditional practices seem to be microcosms of Biblical practices. 

 
The Hopi society is a matriarchal society, the land

that is worked by the man actually belongs to the woman.  The home is usually worked by the woman and it also belongs to the woman as well.  So is it any surprise that so many Old Testament, Law of Moses type practices would be found among the Hopi?  We know that the Law of Moses was observed and followed in the Book of Mormon, and there are many references to it in the Book of Mormon but one in particular that stands out to me is Abinadi's trial by the priests of wicked king Noah (Mosiah 12).  The Book of Mormon stands as a testament that the natives of America (North, Central, and Southern) did in fact have the Law of Moses and even more important, they were visited by none other that Christ himself after he had truly fulfilled that law.  This is why there are many remnants of Biblical practices found among the native populations of the Americas.   

Che Guevara, Guerrilla Warfare and the Book of Mormon!



Daniel C. Peterson



So I finished the Book of Mormon again the other day.  I am the type of reader where I love to read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover and have done it countless times.  Of course I learn something new each and everytime that I read it.  Something that really stuck out this time was the sorry state in which the Lamanites and even more so the Nephites descended too and that later brought about their demise.  Their constant need for warfare and bloodshed never ceases to amaze me.  One of the recent articles that I read and later listened to on youtube was about guerrilla warfare in the Book of Mormon by Daniel C. Peterson.  In his article he talks about how the description of warfare in the Book of Mormon more directly when dealing with the Gadianton Robbers is best described in what we nowdays know as guerrilla warfare.  He then goes on to point out that this method of warfare is something that Joseph Smith jr. wouldn't have been familiar with when compared to warfare in his own day.

In comparing the warfare in the Book of Mormon with modern guerrilla warfare Dr. Peterson notes the similarities between General Vo Nguyen Giap, Ernesto Che Guevara, and Mao Tsetung's use of guerrilla warfare to that of the Gadianton Robbers.  As stated by Dr. Peterson these three are arguably the greatest authorities on guerrilla warfare in our time.  In 52 B.C, a certain group of Kishkumen assassinate the chief judge and place a man by the name of Gadianton in charge.  We don't know a whole lot about this Gadianton other than when he attempted to assassinate Helaman and his attempt failed due to the fact that  one of Helaman's servants was able to penetrate the rank and file of the Gadianton Robbers and was able to learn of the plot to assassinate Helaman.  Thus giving fare warning in time stop the "would be" assassination from taking place.  Of course it was this failed attempt that sent Gadianton and his robbers into flight to the wilderness (Helaman 2:11).  

Che Guevara



It is from the wilderness and mountains that the Gadiantons were able to set up shop and strategically plan their attacks in such a way that they would not only risk losing any of their limited amount of people but to also make it seem as if there were many more to their numbers than there actually were.  Guevara states, "having taken up inaccessible positions out of reach of the enemy ... ought to proceed to the gradual weakening of the enemy."  It is in the favor of those practicing guerrilla warfare to draw out the war as long as possible by making small raids and only when it can win.  This takes a mental toll on the opponent.  This is done by picking your battles, as Guevara notes, "the fundamental principle is that no battle, combat, or skirmish is to be fought unless it will be won,"  The numerical inferiority of the guerrilla makes it a necessity to only attack at the right time, especially when the guerrilla knows he can win.  This is made clear by Giap, "Is the enemy strong? One avoids him. Is he weak? One attacks him."  Those familiar with the history of the Gadianton robbers will know this is exactly what they did. 

The strategy of the guerrilla is not to gather land but just to weaken their enemy at this point.  This technique is practiced until the guerrilla has sufficiently weakened their enemy or have caused the enemy to bring the fight to them.  If the fight is brought to the mountains or wilderness (guerrilla territory) it then highly favors the guerrilla as has been seen in war against terrorism being fought in Afghanistan.  The fact it took 10 years to bring the demise of Osama Bin Laden should be enough evidence that these methods of guerrilla warfare work.  Although these methods can bring success, with that success there is a chance for over compensation and becoming over confident.  This is known as "premature regularization".  This is when the guerrilla's have successfully obtained wins on many fronts and are now faced with the possibility of fighting its enemy army head on and actually battling for land.  The guerrilla army has a chance of completely winning the military and political conflict at this point by making it a "regular battle" the problem is that if it hasn't sufficiently weakend the enemy it's chances in this "regual battle" are very slim....thus "premature regularization".   

Lachoneus and Gidgiddoni

As Dr. Peterson points out, quite possibley the best text book example of "premature regularization" occurs in the Book of Mormon when the Gadianton Robbers lead by Giddianhi in 3 Nephi write an epistle to the governer of the Nephites known as Lachoneus, commanding him to surrender completely to the Gadianton robbers or be visited with utter destruction.  Thus Lachoneus sent a proclimation among all the people declaring that they should gather themselves together in one spot.  He also appointed a chief captain of their military one who had the spirit of prophecy and revelation.  His name was Gidgiddoni and like Lachoneus he was a just man and a prophet of God.  He advised the people that going against the Gadiantons would lead to their utter destruction. Together with the help of the Lord  they devised a plan that litterally turned the tables. 

Their plan was to gather all the people together, it says they marched forth by the thousands and by tens of thousands until they were all gathered in one place which had been appointed to defend themselves agains their enemies.  They had gathered enough supplies to last seven years at this place of defense and then enacted a scortched earth policy that ruined the chance for any crops in the surrounding lands and territory. This plan was known as the "Proclaimation of Lachoneus". They litterally became the guerrilla and picked their opportune moments for battle and left the Gadiantons with little or no way to supply food to their armies.  The Gadianton army had prematurely regularized their robbers into a full blown military operation and it lead to their demise.

There is nothing grand or extravigant with this scene of continual warfare and bloodshed.  As pointed out by Dr. Peterson this goes beyond anything Joseph Smith would have been likely to create out of his own imagination.  This portrayal of warfare is completely foreign to Joseph and his environment while it makes complete sence when compared to the strategies used by those authorities on guerrilla warfare in our day.  While Joseph would not have been fond of battle he loved the parades and the military pageantry as he sat as the Lieutenant General of the Nauvoo Legion on his black stallion (named Charlie) surveying the blue and gold uniformed Legion.  I can only applaud Dr. Petersons wonderful comparison of modern day guerrilla warfare to that in the Book of Mormon by the Gadianton robbers and add my testimony to his that this portrayal of warfare was beyond Joseph's imagination or understanding and only goes to add more authenticity to the Book of Mormon in my eyes.

Hugh Nibley and the Sacred Hopi Stone Tablets

Old Oraibi

This post is out of the Neal A. Maxwell Institutes publication by Hugh Nibley entitled, "Promised Lands".  This is an exerpt directly from that
publication in regards to the times in which Hugh was honored to have been shown the sacred Hopi Stone Tablets.  This is a rare thing even for most Hopi let alone any Pahana (white people). Off of the top of my head I can only think of two other people that I know of who have seen them, one being Lance Richardson author of "The Message" and the other was an early LDS missionary who was a friend of Chief Tuba back in the early 1900's (1921 to be exact) named Elder C.L. Christianson.  Nibley also offers his thoughts on what they are and because I completely agree I will leave it at that and let the reading commence....enjoy I know I did.

One evening as it was getting dark I was passing by their (John and Mina Lansa) house, the northernmost
house in Old Oraibi, when Mina came out and beckoned me vigorously to come in. I wondered what I had done wrong, because new infringements of the whites were causing considerable tension. In the house the chief elders were seated all around the room. A small kitchen table and chair were in the middle of the room and a coal oil lamp was on the table. Mina told me to sit on the chair; then she went out of the room and soon returned with a bundle, something heavy wrapped in a blanket. She put it on the table and then unwrapped it. It was the holy tablet, the Hopi Stone, no less, the most sacred possession of the people. I knew what I was expected to do and started talking.

Anasazi Stone Tablets found at Mesa Verde

By an interesting coincidence I had spent the previous week in Cedar City with President William Palmer, a patriarch as well as stake president, who taught anthropology in the college there. He had been initiated into the Paiute tribe, and took me out to their sacred place in the plain southwest of Parowan. The building of the highway had put an end to the rites of initiation that once took place there, but President Palmer described the teachings and ordinances as far as was permitted. In particular he told the story of the descent of the Lord from heaven as if at that place, an event much like that described in 3 Nephi.

Tobats was the God of all Creation; his son Shinob was the peacemaker full of love and eternally young. One day the Evil One Un-nu-pit killed Shinob. At once a great darkness fell upon "Tu-weap," the whole earth. It was absolute blackness for three days. In this chaos and confusion everyone was groping around in howling and lamentation. Finally, a voice from the top of the mountain spoke; it was Tobats the Father. He told them to move about with outstretched arms, calling out to each other, and joining hands with whoever one touched. Thus they formed lines, and the lines were instructed to join with each other; people in the lines were to cry out for husbands and wives and children until all families had reformed. Then the noise ceased, and a voice told them to climb the mountain or mesa where Tobats was. They worked their way up the mountain, toiling in human chains and finally forming a huge circular formation on the top, with Tobats in the middle. Well, Tobats said he would shoot an arrow straight up (this is the well-known Indian and world-wide theme of the arrow chain to heaven). His arrow produced a tiny spark of light; but the second arrow brought light, which grew like an explosion until it flooded all the land. The blackbird and the flicker have been honored ever since because their feathers were used for the arrows—they are perpetual reminders of the great event. And thus the Indians typically reedit, according to the tribe and the land, those stories whose origin is lost in a distant past.



Hugh Nibley



There were many things on the Hopi Stone that are never shown in the sketchy reproductions of it, but the main items were the wanderings of the people and upheavals of nature, the arrow-chain to heaven and the light descending from the clouds. I started to explain things in terms of what I had learned from President Palmer a few days before. As I talked the elders began whispering among themselves with some animation. Suddenly Mina snatched the stone from the table, clutched it tightly, and said excitedly, "You are a smart man—but you don't know everything!" Was I on the right track? I suspect so, because some years later, in 1965, when I was wandering in the sad desolation of Oraibi, now emptier than ever, I was approached again with an invitation to come to the house and see the Hopi Stone again. When I got there, there was confusion and excitement; something had happened. We would have to call it off. Everyone was going to where the meeting of the Tribal Council had just been held. The Tribal Council was a creation of the BIA, compliant to the will of the powers of the East, whose authority the traditionalists had never recognized. They had just that day leased a tract of the sacred Black Mesa to the Peabody Coal Company. The company had generously offered to provide trailer houses for the entire tribe if they would move to Los Angeles. A more colossal culture gap could not be imagined.

Here it is necessary to speak of that strange passion for the land with which all Indians seem to be obsessed. This state of mind can best be explained by reference to the Book of Mormon. In his great sermon to the Nephites the Lord declares, "Behold, the covenant which I have made with my people is not all fulfilled" (3 Nephi 15:8). "And behold, this is the land of your inheritance; and the Father hath given it unto you" (3 Nephi 15:13). Again he tells them to "write these sayings after I am gone, . . . that these sayings which ye shall write shall be . . . manifested unto the Gentiles, that through the fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed, who shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth because of their unbelief, may be brought in" (3 Nephi 16:4). We are to take note of what they have written, and it is this: "Verily, Verily, I say unto you, thus hath the Father hath commanded me—that I should give unto this people this land for their inheritance" (3 Nephi 16:16). The Hopi Stone, beautifully done on highly polished porphyr, is such a writing as the Nephites were ordered to make—a deed to the land. The Lord concludes with a final repetition: "And the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you this land, for your inheritance. . . . And if the Gentiles do not repent . . . after they have scattered my people, . . . the sword of my justice shall hang over them at that day" (3 Nephi 20:14—15, 20).

What could be clearer? This land has been given to that particular branch of Israel as an inheritance for their children in perpetuity—it is their sacred obligation to hold it for their children; they cannot possibly sell it or allow it to be taken from them. That would be unthinkable, and that we never seem to understand.

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.