Wicked King Noah's Towers and the Book of Mormon's Authenticity

Wicked King Noah

Sometimes I design a blog post on what I have been recently studying and sometimes I am able to be inspired in other ways.  I had actually started putting together my own artwork on a Mesoamerican themed wicked king Noah.  It just so happens in my family scripture study we are commencing the chapters that he is involved with.  In my extracurricular reading of John Sorenson's "Mormons Codex" I just happened to stumble across a few interesting insights and possible evidences that revolve around the information shared about king Noah.  So I figured that these three factors pointing towards king Noah were more than enough guidance to put together a wicked king Noah blog post.

 Here is what John Sorenson had to say when speaking about pyramid towers at Kaminaljuyu (LDS scholars top perspective for the Land of Nephi in the Book of Mormon) in the Southern Guatemalan highlands.  He stated that archaeologists De Leon and Valdes suggested that one or more of the pyramid towers in Kaminaljuyu (500-200 BC) may have served as a watchtower to detect "what was going on at a distance."  The Book of Mormon states that during this same time period that Zeniffite king Noah "built a tower near the temple [in Nephi]; yea, a very high tower, even so high that he could stand upon the top thereof and ...look over all the land round about" (Mosiah 11:12).  Both agreeing that pyramid structures at this location could easily have been used as a military watchtower. 

Sorenson continues, "Orellana reports that when war was imminent among the Spanish conquest-period Tzutujils adjacent to the Valley of Guatemala, male warriors (militia) gathered to the ruler's palace where he issued to them bows, arrows, spears, shields, and standards of featherwork that had been stored there. (Orellana Tzutujil Mayas, 59.) King Zeniff in the Book of Mormon (king Noah's father) speaks of an occasion when the Lamanite forces attacked some of his people, whereupon "they fled, all that were not overtaken, even into the city of Nephi, where the king dwelt.  And ...I did arm them with and with arrows, with swords, ...and with all manner of weapons... and I and my people did go forth against the Lamanites to battle" (Mosiah 9:14-16).  Coincidentally, the most plausible geographical reconstruction of where that scene was played out turns out to be no more than 20 to 30 miles from where the Tzutujil Indians did exactly the same thing some 1500 years later!"

Archaeologist Edwin M. Shook

King Noah also caused that a "great tower" was built on a hill north of the land Shilom (Mosiah 11:13).  Sorenson noted that "the hill served as a point of reference for Nephite groups traveling between the land of Nephi and Zarahemla (v. 13; 7:5-6, 17), so it had to be quite a prominent landmark."  He then went on to point out that over 60 years ago archaeologist Edwin M. Shook reported finding the remains of a pyramid that sat up a hill known as Alux that was between Guatemala City and San Lucas Sacatepéquez.  Today apparently it is a major highway between western Guatemala and Mexico, "which follows an ancient route, half encircles its base."   Because of all the correlations between this hill in the land of Shilom and modern day Alux Archaeologist John Clark inspected this hilltop in 2005.  He was unable to find any of the remains spoken of by Shook.  But also advised that the top of the hill which is now known as Cerro Alux and houses communication installations as well as a forest preserve commonly used by bird watchers.  So Sorenson advises that "if remains of the pyramid mound Shook reported should yet be found there and dated to about the second century BC, those facts would make the archaeological correspondence particularly striking.

The above noted correspondences will require more work and research but already show promising insights.  Now due to modern growth and population much of the required research may never take place or may have already damaged or destroyed any traces of these ruins.  Only time will tell.  The Book of Mormon has left enough information to hopefully intrigue future researchers to confirm or deny this possibility.
 

Near Death Experiences, Angelic Visitors The Maya, Hopi And The Book of Mormon

Ammon preaching to King Lamoni

The inspiration behind this blog post was based off of an article written by Mark Alan Wright out of the Studies in the Bible and Antiquity ( According to Their Language, unto Their understanding": The Cultural Context of Hierophanies and Theophanies in Latter-day Saint Canon, Mark Alan Wright Studies in the Bible and Antiquity: Volume - 3, Pages: 51–65 Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, 2011.)  In his article he proposed that the prophets rooted in the Book of Mormon after being well established in the New World (presumably Mesoamerica) received their callings in a different manner than those prophets who were still influenced by the Old World or Jerusalem (namely Lehi and Nephi and Jacob).  The manner that the New World prophets received their callings was to be overcome by the spirit and falling to the earth similar to a near death experience only to be spiritually reborn and come out of the coma like scenario prophesying of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Now this process may seem different or foreign to modern readers but as Mark states, “to the Nephites, living in an ancient Mesoamerican setting, falling to the earth as if dead is pregnant with meaning. Modern Western culture would classify such episodes as near-death experiences, but an examination of the specific cultural context in which the Book of Mormon events likely took place provides a more nuanced understanding of this obscure practice.”

Mark goes on to say, “Ethnographic work among traditional societies has shown that holy men of various types—broadly referred to as shamans—commonly receive their calling near-death experiences. Anthropologist Frank J. Lipp notes in reference to modern Mesoamerican shaman-priests called curanderos (curers or healers): "Divine election occurs within a context of some physical or emotional crisis," such as "a severe, chronic, or life-threatening sickness." While in this state they have a vivid dream where "the individual is informed by a spirit being," such as an angel, that "she or he will receive the divine gift to cure illnesses." The healing process is often aided by the prayers and ritual actions of another curandero on behalf of the critically ill individuals. Once recovered, the newly called shamans possess a power and authority that is recognized by the members of their community because of their shared cultural language. According to Lipp, "During the initiatory dream vision the individual may experience temporary insanity or unconsciousness," and it is through this near-death experience that "he or she is reborn as a person with shamanic power and knowledge." 

The Book of Mormon is full of examples of individuals who experience these near death/healing/voice of warning experiences.  The first example that we encounter is with Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah.  They had been opposing the church and causing contention and their fathers had been praying for some sort of an intervention considering Alma’s father was a prophet and Mosiah was a king in the land.  They (Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah) experienced a visitation from an angel and were threatened with destruction, Alma fell to earth and became so weak that he could neither speak nor move his hands (Mosiah 27:19). After Alma's helpless body was carried back to his home by his friends (who had also fallen to the earth but were not the focus of the angel's rebuke and therefore quickly recovered), Alma's father rejoiced, acknowledging the Lord's hand in what had transpired. What his father did next is significant: "He caused that the priests should assemble themselves together; and they began to fast, and to pray to the Lord their God that he would open the mouth of Alma, that he might speak, and also that his limbs might receive their strength" (Mosiah 27:22). These priests were acting in their capacity as curanderos, or healers. Alma was healed, not just physically, but spiritually as well. His exquisite and bitter pain was replaced by exquisite and sweet joy (Alma 36:21). He clearly linked his physical healing with his spiritual healing when he declared, "My limbs did receive their strength again, and I stood upon my feet, and did manifest unto the people that I had been born of God" (Alma 36:23). 

There are many more examples of this in the Book of Mormon another is that of Zeezrom who was "scorched with a burning heat" that was caused by "the great tribulations of his mind on account of his wickedness" (Alma 15:3) and his fear that Alma and Amulek "had been slain because of his own iniquity" (Alma 15:3). Last but not least Mark points out the experience of Ammon one of the sons of Mosiah saying, “Ammon appears to have fallen to the earth more than any other individual in the Book of Mormon. His initial conversion experience occurred when the angel rebuked him and his brothers along with Alma (Mosiah 27:12). As discussed above, he fell to the earth again when King Lamoni and his wife were converted (Alma 19:14) and once more when he was overcome with joy as he and his brothers chanced upon Alma in the wilderness (Alma 27:17). In his Mesoamerican context, Ammon's experiences—rather than being viewed as a sign of physical weakness or perhaps a case of spiritual hypersensitivity—would actually have imbued him with more spiritual potency as a holy man. Among the modern Tzotzil Maya of Chamula, for example, "the ability to cure illnesses of increasing severity is dependent upon the number of times the shaman has lost consciousness in a trance." 

The Hopi Sun Chief Don C. Tayalesva

What I would like to add is that the same practice was had among the Hopi who are descendents of the Olmec, Maya and Aztec civilizations who had migrated north into what is now southwest United States.  In the autobiography of Don C. Talayesva edited by Leo Simmons called “Sun Chief” Don speaks about his near death experience that was given him as a voice of warning from his guardian spirit lead him to what the Hopi call the House of the Dead.   Don described the experience like this.

 "Then I saw a tall human being standing by my bed in Katcina costume.  He was well dressed in a dancing kilt and a sash, was barefoot, and wore long black hair hanging down his back.  He had a soft prayer feather (nakwakwosi) in his hair and carried a blue one in his left hand-blue being the color which signifies the west and the home of the dead.  He wore beads and looked wonderful as he watched me.  When the nurses brought food, he said, “My son, you had better eat.  Your time is up.  You shall travel to the place where the dead live and see what it is like.” I saw the door swing slowly back and forth on its hinges and stop just a little open.  A cold numbness crept up my body; my eyes closed; and I knew I was dying.  The strange human being said, “Now, my boy, you are to learn a lesson.  I have been guarding you all your life, but you have been careless.  You shall travel to the House of the Dead and learn that life is important.  The path is already made for you.  You had better hurry; and perhaps you will get back before they bury your body.  I am your Guardian Spirit (dumalaitaka).  I will wait here and watch over your body; but I shall also protect you on your journey.” 

In his journey Don saw and was chased by Masau’u the god of Death. Apparently this was a scare tactic according to his guardian Katcina spirit to make him live a better life.  Upon coming out of the experience he states, “The head nurse said, “Sonny, you passed away last night, but did not cool of quite like a dead person.  Your heart kept on beating slowly and your pulse moved a little, so we did not bury you.”  When he explained this to Chief Tewaquaptewa he was advised that his journey was true as it had happened to others.  His mother had a similar experience and his grandfather prophesied that he would become an important man in the ceremonies.    

Apparently the act of having a near death experience or vision upon the sick was a very common form of humbling, teaching and calling someone to become a servant of the Lord.  As can be seen this was practiced among the cultures of Mesoamerica and their relatives cultures such as the Hopi.  When looked upon in these ancient contexts we once again bring better understanding of Nephite and Lamanite practices to our modern comprehension and the Book of Mormon continues to shine.

Jaredite Barges and Noah's Ark Revisited Thanks to Recent Findings

Below is an interesting article about a 4000 year old Mesopotamian (modern day Iraq) tablet about the size of a common cell phone written in cuneiform that shares some insights on Noah's ark. It was brought to Irving Finkel curator of the British museum by a man who advised his father had acquired it in the middle east after World War II.  It advises that the ark would have been a round vessel called a coracle as well as giving instructions for the loading of the animals two by two.  Those who are familiar with the story of the Jaredites and their traveling's to the new world in the book of Ether in the Book of Mormon in round dish shaped barges roughly around 2500 B.C. would instantly see the correlation between the two stories and boat/barge construction.  In the past I had done a post that covers this exact subject in more detail and it can be found here.

 http://inthecavityofarock.blogspot.com/2011/05/jaredite-barges-noahs-ark-book-of.html

Although the recent findings may be interesting we must allow time for the examination of this tablet and its authenticity to be verified before jumping to an immediate conclusions.  Here is the original article.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/british-museum-prototype-noahs-ark-was-round

 

Pre Classic Guatemalan Mayan Figurines and Early Nephite Migrations



Lighter and Darker Mayan
Figurines

I will once again be referring back to John Sorenson's book "Mormons Codex" for this blog post.  Sorenson points out an interesting correlation between ancient figurines found in the Guatemalan highlands and the timeframe of the early Nephite migrations out of the land of Nephi to Zarahemla.   Sorenson states, "In the Pre-Classic Las Charcas and Providencia periods in the Valley of Guatemala around 600-300 BC, nearly all of the figurines had a white surface (either by being made of an unslipped light-colored clay or of a darker clay covered with a white slip).  Yet in the succeeding (Verbena) phase (ca. 200 BC), figurines either were exclusively of unslipped red/brown paste or else were red slipped.  Why the later images were colored differently is hard to explain unless they reflected different skin pigmentations of the original living models.  The systematic change in appearance would appear to mirrored change in the population's predominant pigmentation.  According to the Book of Mormon, the fair-skinned Nephites who dwelt in the land of Nephi from 600 to near 200 BC were replaced by darker Lamanites around the later date.



slipped clay figurine

Most Book of Mormon scholars associate the land of Nephi with the ancient city of Kaminaljuyu which is located in the highlands of Guatemala (southern Guatemala).  From around 600 BC, to around 300-200 BC it would have been the main settlement of lighter skinned Nephites.  In between 300-200 BC the Nephites under the direction on Mosiah (the first) migrated away from their
enemies the darker skinned Lamanites and migrated north to the land of Zarahemla.  At this point the Lamanites inhabited the land of Nephi unto themselves.  This would explain the change of pigmentation on the population around the 200 BC mark.  Sorensen explained that his research on these figurines stems from some of the work from the archaeologist Alfred V. Kidder.  There will need to be further research and studies on these correlations in the future but so far what has been observed seems very promising. 

The Casting Up of Highways In Ancient Mesoamerica as Foretold in the Book of Mormon

"cast up" highway from Dziblchaltun (Yucatan),
1.6 miles long.

It has been well documented for years that the Mayans and Aztecs and other Mesoamerican groups had highways and roads which conforms perfectly with what the Book of Mormon states.  In 3 Nephi 8:13 it speaks of both highways and level roads.  This is interesting because the wording makes them two distinctly different types of roads.  This is confirmed in 3 Nephi 6:8 which states,

"And there were many highways cast up, and many roads made, which led from city to city and from land to land, and from place to place."

John Sorensen speaks of these two scriptures and explains that, "The phrasing indicates at least two levels of technological sophistication - highways were "cast up" while roads were "made".  The most striking roads in the lowland Maya area (less is known for other regions) were "cast up". The principal "sacbe", or highway, at Dziblchaltun (pronounced as zeeb-ill-chal-tune) was 66 ft. (20 m) wide and up to 7ft (2m) high, with edges made of great limestone blocks.  Between the limestone edges, coarse fill was leveled with fine gravel and then paved with plaster.  This highway ran for some 1.6 miles.  Seven such highways led from the site to secondary centers.   Such massive construction qualifies as "cast up".  The date is approximately the same as when the Nephite record mentions highways.  In addition, of course several sorts of roads were "made" as enumerated by Sahgun (Benardo Sahgun)." 

The Future of Book of Mormon Studies by Mark Alan Wright

This was one of my favorite talks from the 2013 BMAF Conference.  Actually I had multiple favorites but I just wanted to share this talk because Mark Alan Wright has offered so many insights to the study of the Book of Mormon with his expert knowledge of Mesoamerica.  Enjoy!

Nephite Costly Apparel, Color Concepts with Phoenician Origins Practiced in Mayan Societies.

Ancient Phoenician and Mayan practice of using
purple Shellfish to make purple dye for clothing.

My recent studies on the Book of Mormon have lead me to John Sorenson's newest book "Mormons Codex" which has proven to be a treasure trove of parallels between the Mesoamerican civilizations and the populations of the Book of Mormon.  This blog post is going to focus on another one of the informative insights found in that book.  It is on correlations between the practice of making certain dyes originating in the Old World (Phoenicia) and the same practice being found in the New World  (Mesoamerica).  Although Sorenson talks about two colors of dyes that have Old World origins (purple and crimson) due to space and time constraints this blog post will only cover one of them.

Sorenson states, "we may presume that Nephite "costly apparel"  would have entailed dyeing, although the text says nothing about colors or techniques.  Two famous dyes were available both in the Near East /Mediterranean area and Mesoamerica.  One is purple derived from small shellfish, and the other is crimson from the cochineal scale insect.  [Wolfgang] Born is one of many observers who have described the intricate process for obtaining purple shellfish dye.  Mexican collectors entered rocky coastal waters where the shellfish are found, picked up each individual mollusk, carefully squeezed out its fluid onto a piece of cloth, and (usually) replaced the mollusk to be "milked" again later.  The purple dye is not obvious at first; the color becomes visible only slowly as the mollusk's body fluid is exposed to the air.  Great effort and endurance are required to harvest the dye; hence cloth so dyed is very expensive.  Purple was considered symbolic of fertility and royalty.  Off the Phoenician coast the exact same process was followed, and the symbolism associated with the dyed fabric was similar.  Because of the extreme unlikelihood that such an intricate combination of concepts and techniques could have arisen twice independently, numerous investigators besides Born (Carter, Jackson, Jett, Nuttall, Johnson, and Gerhard) have believed that this cultural complex represented a transfer of ideas and skills from the eastern Mediterranean (where it was known as early as 1600 BC in the area that became known as Phoenicia) to the New World."

Once again the Book of Mormon does not state anything about "dyes" but the transfer of the ideas and techniques for obtaining some of the colors associated with "costly apparel" in both the Phoenician and Mayan cultures fits well with what we are told about travel between the two continents.  Besides, Sorenson also reminds us that the "Mulekites (from the Book of Mormon) likely traveled in a Phoenician ship."

For more information on the ancient ties to the making of the crimson color please see John Sorenson's "Mormons Codex".


 

Secret Societies of Mesoamerica; The Mayan Nahautlistas/Nonotzaleque, the Hopi Ya-Ya Ceremony and the Gadianton Robbers of the Book of Mormon

Lachoneus and Gidgiddoni
making preparations to battle
the Gadianton Robbers

When we speak of the populations and groups in the Book of Mormon we tend to primarily break them down into two groups of people or societies.  These are the Nephites and Lamanites.  We read in a few placed in the Book of Mormon (4 Nephi 37-38) that these two main groups were broken down into many other groups including Jacobites, Josephites, and Zoramites (all these were considered believers in Christ and thus under the Nephite Umbrella) and also Lemuelites and Ishmaelites  (under the Lamanited umbrella). Throughout the Book of Mormon they both flip-flop from good wholesome people to evil loathsome blood thirsty people and back repeatedly. Including each having numerous fractional groups break off to join their sworn enemies (usually due to political or religious differences or through conversion) .  Usually it is assumed that the Nephites for the most part were good people and the Lamanites were the bad and for most of the timeframe covered in the Book of Mormon this may be the case but we have a tendency to leave out another important group.....the Gadianton Robbers.

The Gadianton Robbers span throughout the entire Book of Mormon history from the precursor Jaredite civilization to the later Nephite and Lamanite civilizations.  At times they disappear only to resurface hundreds of years later.  Without going into a deep chronology of their history it will suffice to say that this group lead to the downfall of both the Jaredite and the Nephite civilizations.  In order to keep this blog post short and sweet it will suffice if we just focus on the Gadianton Robbers among the Nephite/Lamanite civilization and timeframe and their equivalent in the Mayan and Hopi civilizations.

The prophet Mormon first introduces the Gadiantons around 50 b.c. in Helaman Chapter 2.  In their first appearance during the Nephite timeline they succeeded in overthrowing the entire Nephite government only to be defeated by a game plan improvised by Lachoneus and Gidgiddoni the Nephite Chief Judge and Military leader.  At this point they disappear for over 250 years after the coming of the Savior Jesus Christ only to resurface and according to Mormon's account they were in "all the land".  The Gadianton Robbers were known for their secret plots to commit murder, rob, steal "and to plunder that they might get gain".   They mixed and mingled with the general society and  populations of the Nephites and Lamanites and used secret signs to be recognized by other members who would assist in their evil designs.   As their story continues they are known as being a secret warrior type of people after political gain who even used sorcery to achieve their plans.  Mormon informs us that the Gadianton Robbers were included in the northward migrations described in the book of Helaman.

So the question at hand is if there are groups that fit this same description of the Gadianton Robbers in the Mesoamerican area around the same time frames?  Brant Gardner in his article, "The Gadianton Robbers in Mormon’s Theological History: Their Structural Role and Plausible Identification" along with John L. Sorenson in his book "Mormons Codex" give us some prime examples a few groups that seem to be a direct hit.  I will take this one step further by tying in another group that would have been part of the northern migration well beyond Teotihuacan.

Guerrero Jaguar Mural from Cacaxtla 

Brant first advised why the task at hand is hard to do.  This is because we are extremely limited on pre-conquest texts so some of the sources quoted will be from post conquest writings.  We will start of with his first sources which does happen to be pre-conquest source known as the Florentine Codex which Brant informs us is a Nahuatl text written by the native informants of Fray Bernardino de Sahagun.  From these Nahuatl texts father Sahagun created his Spanish-language opus on the history and culture of the Aztecs. In these texts it speaks of a group called the "nonotzaleque who went about carrying its hide [jaguar]-the hide of its forehead and of its chest, and its tail, its nose, and its claws, and its heart, and its fangs and its snout.  Its is said that when they went about their tasks with them-that they did daring deeds, that because of them they were feared; that with them they were daring. Truly they went about restored.  The names of these of the [nonotzaleque], guardians of tradition, debasers of people.

Anderson and Dibble translated nonotzaleque as "conjurers", no doubt because of the connection to the magically  powerful jaguar pelt.  Brant Gardner goes one step further to translate the word to "conspirators" and Sahagun himself translated it as "assassins" and noted that this is a group "accustomed to and daring to kill".  So we have a group of conspiring, conjuring, assassins who secretly murdered and who were know for causing political upheavals who were tied to the jaguar pelt as a sign of affiliation.  This sign of affiliation may even be linked to the later Aztec jaguar warriors of their military.

Both Gardner and Sorenson have tied the nonotzaleque with the post conquest group known as the "nahaulistas" who like the nonotzaleque also were recognized due to the jaguar skin and where accustomed to kill.  Sorenson points out that "to obtain this power, one had to be trained in black magic after undergoing severe initiation." In continuing the pre-Columbian culture they formed a powerful stronghold all throughout Mesoamerica.

This finally brings us to the Hopi Ya-Ya ceremony.  This is an ancient ceremony that dates back to Canyon de Chelly, Chaco Canyon and the Great Kiva at Aztec New Mexico.  It was a ceremony that was initially done in these ancient locations which were inhabited during the ancient migrations from clans moving northward from Mexico, Guatemala and even further down south.  According to Frank Waters in his book entitled "Book of the Hopi", it is said that the name comes from the man who would announce the ceremony singing, "Yah-hi-hi! Yah-hi-hi!" in honor of the chief deity named Somaikoli. It was taught to members who performed this ceremony that Somaikoli  only made the sound of a panting animal "Huh Huh" thus the great powers of the Ya-Ya were invoked from the animal kingdom.  This ceremony and its initiates seem to be more focused on the secret witchcraft side of the Gadianton traditions.

Hopi Village of Walpi where the last known
Ya-Ya ceremony was held in 1961

These great powers according to ancient lore included performing many miracles such as walking and rolling on hot coals, the ability to move people or throw people without hurting them and many other miracles.  Apparently the ceremony eventually got profaned and the power to perform these great miracles ceased.  From this point on it became a secret ceremony that was kept underground and is still said to be practiced by certain initiates in Hopi today.  The last known ceremony was held during the fall of 1961 in Walpi village.

Now with its initiates attempting secret ceremonies underground or in hiding it is said to be a form of  witchcraft were the performers are more like medicine men or shaman who are bent on causing others grief and bringing evil upon society.  These people (male and female) who are said to still practice it are in all clans in Hopi and are said to be "two hearts" or "powaqa" having their own human hearts and that of an animal and are able to perform a transition between human form and that of an animal also known as shapeshifters. The result of this group is to break down Hopi ceremonial and social structure.  As noted by Waters, "there has never been a religion, a mysticism, without its negative side.  So we have among the Hopis a profound religious structure of nine great ceremonies and one extinct ceremony that embodies all the fears and faults of a people whose innate mysticism is being perverted into witchcraft.

Since the workings of these types of  societies was largely kept secret it is highly unlikely that we will ever be able to obtain much more information on their history and practices but when looked at as a larger picture it seems that Mormon's view of secret organizations have a lot of correlations with Mesoamerican secretive structures and those they influenced as well.

Book of Mormon Lands Conference! October 19th 2013

Really looking forward to this.  Check out the flyer and be sure to come and check it out.  Some of the top names in LDS scholarship and a diverse array of topics. 

 

'President Joseph Has Translated a Portion': Solving the Mystery of the Kinderhook Plates by Don Bradley 2011 FAIR Conference

 

This is Don Bradley's FAIR Conference presentation from the 2011 FAIR Conference.  He is presenting on the supposed translation of the Kinderhook Plates by Joseph Smith.  The Kinderhook Plates translation has been used as ammunition against the church for years by those who produce anti-Mormon propaganda but now Don has resolved this issue once and for all and done so in a brilliant manner.  I'm glad he's on our side!