tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31693496761661160622024-03-13T05:09:00.454-07:00MORIANCUMERCommentaries on Book of Mormon Geography from a lower Central American perspective. Refer to http://www.mormongeography.com/ for a full treatment. This is not an apologetics site and hostile anti-Mormons are not welcome.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-2477411985135532292022-06-16T10:02:00.035-07:002023-01-17T19:05:58.439-08:00Sites or Characteristics Defining Book of Mormon Geography<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtxmRtdM4h_QM0lVLq1PYphxgNjxOIEhG5alFhwUKanVlsj82KE3Jrn1X45fOTN4Zi2Eb29CAmjtVa6WXNGEQLjrrwHuJqcY1JqKqd9MyTKnN7HCP2hxj7pdjCwuAhceipe0ZqjrzUyaIgHKe0tfe5x2_D436SairZweU7FedR7pOvs3PF1eSQJh2xAw/s811/33claytonstitlep.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="811" data-original-width="523" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtxmRtdM4h_QM0lVLq1PYphxgNjxOIEhG5alFhwUKanVlsj82KE3Jrn1X45fOTN4Zi2Eb29CAmjtVa6WXNGEQLjrrwHuJqcY1JqKqd9MyTKnN7HCP2hxj7pdjCwuAhceipe0ZqjrzUyaIgHKe0tfe5x2_D436SairZweU7FedR7pOvs3PF1eSQJh2xAw/w129-h200/33claytonstitlep.jpg" width="129" /></a></div><br /><div><p>William Clayton, one of the original pioneer company of 1847, is probably best<br /> known for his writing of the well known pioneer hymn <i>Come, Come, Ye Saints</i> composed while crossing Iowa on April 15, 1846. A less known contribution to the pioneer trek was his publication of <i>The Latter-day Saints' Emigrants' Guide: being a table of distances...</i>published in St. Louis, Missouri in 1848. After staying in the Salt Lake Valley for the summer of 1847 he returned to Winter Quarters in the fall and compiled this "Emigrants' guide" from entries made in his detailed diary. (See: https://net.lib.byu.edu/imaging/into/pco1847/Clayton%27s/Claytonfs.html)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwPrdi_0ZcHMtKyFf6yzCBhdsHmrHmweMBu_kqYI_R1r5JYiEBpk7tb1HOqEIbCyUaLf2pkAfKsy4EbywrP9LZWnzj-yrjTmbAP0e_TOANDFNhWDGv4Drmr8y3jtcmb7RL6ZYTpOIApxdfv0kSY32fPHaipquSnax11LK7UMK72lyfJBBbjY0RQJZuYA/s850/33claytons05.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="552" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwPrdi_0ZcHMtKyFf6yzCBhdsHmrHmweMBu_kqYI_R1r5JYiEBpk7tb1HOqEIbCyUaLf2pkAfKsy4EbywrP9LZWnzj-yrjTmbAP0e_TOANDFNhWDGv4Drmr8y3jtcmb7RL6ZYTpOIApxdfv0kSY32fPHaipquSnax11LK7UMK72lyfJBBbjY0RQJZuYA/w130-h200/33claytons05.jpg" width="130" /></a></div><p></p><p>Clayton's guide is the best of its time for the Mormon route and includes numerous pieces of valuable information to emigrants. It lists the names and occasional locations of prominent points, the distances in miles between the points listed, the distance from Winter Quarters, and the distances from Great Salt Lake City. So the emigrant reading this guide always knew how far he had come, how far to the next camp site and how far it was to the valley of the Great Salt Lake.</p><p>There was only one route matching Clayton's description. Any deviation would have not corresponded to his guide. In a similar manner Mormon has given us a guide to Book of Mormon geography and has provided us with a very precise description. It must be matched exactly in every detail or the proposed geography is in error.</p><p>An example from Clayton's handbook: Independence Rock and ford. On the north side of the river-about 600 yards long and a hundred and twenty wide, composed of hard granite. From Winter Quarters 698 miles. From Great Salt Lake 332 miles. (page 15).</p><div> The following are descriptions of sites that define, either by geography or characteristics, the Book of Mormon geography in chronological order.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jacob 2:12 <span face=""Ensign:Serif", McKay, "McKay ldsLat", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino-Roman, Pahoran, "Pahoran ldsLat", "Noto Sans Myanmar", NotoSansMyanmar, SaysetthaldsLao, NotoSerifTamil, serif" style="background-color: white;">gold, and for silver, and for all manner of precious </span><a class="study-note-ref" data-scroll-id="note12a" href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/jacob/2?lang=eng#note12a" style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Ensign:Serif", McKay, "McKay ldsLat", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino-Roman, Pahoran, "Pahoran ldsLat", "Noto Sans Myanmar", NotoSansMyanmar, SaysetthaldsLao, NotoSerifTamil, serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><sup class="marker" style="border: 0px none; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Ensign:Serif", McKay, "McKay ldsLat", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", "Palatino Italic", Palatino-Italic, Pahoran, "Pahoran ldsLat", "Noto Sans Myanmar", NotoSansMyanmar, SaysetthaldsLao, NotoSerifTamil, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">a</sup>ores</a><span face=""Ensign:Serif", McKay, "McKay ldsLat", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino-Roman, Pahoran, "Pahoran ldsLat", "Noto Sans Myanmar", NotoSansMyanmar, SaysetthaldsLao, NotoSerifTamil, serif" style="background-color: white;">, in the which this land, which is a </span><a class="study-note-ref" data-scroll-id="note12b" href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/jacob/2?lang=eng#note12b" style="background-color: white; border: 0px none; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Ensign:Serif", McKay, "McKay ldsLat", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino-Roman, Pahoran, "Pahoran ldsLat", "Noto Sans Myanmar", NotoSansMyanmar, SaysetthaldsLao, NotoSerifTamil, serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><sup class="marker" style="border: 0px none; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Ensign:Serif", McKay, "McKay ldsLat", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", "Palatino Italic", Palatino-Italic, Pahoran, "Pahoran ldsLat", "Noto Sans Myanmar", NotoSansMyanmar, SaysetthaldsLao, NotoSerifTamil, serif; font-stretch: normal; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 0; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">b</sup>land of promise</a><span face=""Ensign:Serif", McKay, "McKay ldsLat", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino-Roman, Pahoran, "Pahoran ldsLat", "Noto Sans Myanmar", NotoSansMyanmar, SaysetthaldsLao, NotoSerifTamil, serif" style="background-color: white;"> unto you and to your seed, doth abound most plentifully.</span></div><div><span face=""Ensign:Serif", McKay, "McKay ldsLat", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino-Roman, Pahoran, "Pahoran ldsLat", "Noto Sans Myanmar", NotoSansMyanmar, SaysetthaldsLao, NotoSerifTamil, serif" style="background-color: white;">One of the things mentioned is that they encountered gold and silver shortly after they landed in the promised land. Would have been near sea shore. <br /></span></div><div><span>Words of Mormon 1:13 And it came to pass that the armies of the Lamanites came down out of the land of Nephi ... . The book uses up and down to indicate respective elevations. <br /></span></div><div><span>Mosiah 7:1 Up to city and land of Lehi-Nephi. See Words of Mormon 1:13. <br /></span></div><div><span>4 Knew not the course they should follow in the wilderness.</span></div><div><span>They had not traveled north of their land for several generations. The geography was totally unknown. <br /></span></div><div><span>5 They wandered for 40 days in wilderness. Hill north of land of Shilom. See verse 1 above. <br /></span></div><div><span>9 Up out of land of Zarahemla to land of Lehi-Nephi.</span></div><div><span>The route to the land of Lehi-Nephi was up from land of Zarahemla. <br /></span></div><div><span>10 City of Lehi-Nephi had walls and a gate.</span></div><div><span>13 Up out of land of Zarahemla. See verse 1 above.<br /></span></div><div><span>16 Hill north of Shilom. There was a hill north of the city of Shilom.<br /></span></div><div><span>21 Cities of Lehi-Nephi and Shilom.</span></div><div><span>Mosiah 8:2 Up out of the land (Zarahemla). See verse 1 above.<br /></span></div><div><span>8 43 were lost in wilderness for many days. Found remnants of Jaredite destruction. Found ruins of buildings and evidence of large population. See verse 4 above. They were not familiar with the geography of land of Zarahemla and were lost.<br /></span></div><div><span>9 Found 24 gold record plates.</span></div><div><span>10 Found breastplates of brass.</span></div><div><span>11 Found swords with decaying hilts. Wooden hilts would decompose in 15-20 years in tropics.<br /></span></div><div><span>Mosiah 9:3:Go thru wilderness from Zarahemla to land of Nephi. Wilderness between two lands.<br /></span></div><div><span>4 Wander in wilderness many days. Were lost in extensive wilderness for extended time.<br /></span><div>6 Nephites possess land of Lehi-Nephi and the land of Shilom. These cities were in land southward.<br /></div><div>8 City of Lehi-Nephi and Shilom had walls.</div><div>14 Nephites pasturing flocks and tilling land south of city of Shilom.</div><div>Mosiah 10:8 Lamanites came up upon land north of Shilom.</div><div>9 Nephites hide in wilderness.</div><div>18 Brought people up into land of Lehi-Nephi.</div><div>Mosiah 18:4 Place of Mormon named after king. In the borders of land (Lehi-Nephi) infested by wild animals.</div><div>5 A fountain of pure water there. There was a forest of trees, it was a wooded area.</div><div>8 Called Waters of Mormon.</div><div>31 Waters of Mormon in the borders of land Lehi-Nephi. Was within days journey of that city.</div><div>Mosiah 19:6 There was a tower in land of Lehi-Nephi which looked into land of Shemlon.</div><div>9 Wilderness near city of Lehi-Nephi.</div><div>23 Flee farther into wildeness.</div><div>Mosiah 20:4 Shemlon next to wilderness.</div><div>8. Tower looks down on land of Shemlon.</div><div>Mosiah 21:19 City of Lehi-Nephi had a wall and gates.</div><div>24 Ammon and his brethren came from land of Zarahemla.</div><div>25 King Limhi sent men to look for land of Zarahemla.</div><div>26 They found a land covered with dry bones and people who had been destroyed. They went far enough north to discover land of former Jardites.<br /></div><div>Mosiah 22:7 Secret pass on left of Lamanite camp.</div><div>8 Nephites travel around land of Shilom.</div><div>11 They traveled around land of Shilom in the wilderness. Bent course toward land of Zarahemla.</div><div>13 Many days travel between Lehi-Nephi and Zarahemla.</div><div>16 After 2 days Lamanites could not follow tracks of Nephites.</div><div>Mosiah 23:1 Alma and people flee into wilderness.</div><div>3 Flee 8 days journey into wilderness.</div><div>4 Arrive at beautiful land of pure water.</div><div>5 Till the land.</div><div>19 Called the land Helam.</div><div>20 Built a city called Helam.</div><div>30 Armies of Lamanites lost many days in wilderness.</div><div>31 Lamanites find Amulonites in wilderness.</div><div>35 Amulonites join Lamanites, travel in wilderness searching for home, find land of Helam.</div><div>36-37 People of Alma show Lamanites way to land of Nephi.</div><div>Mosiah 24:20 Alma and people depart into wilderness. Come to valley of Alma one days journey.</div><div>25 After 12 days in wilderness come to land of Zarahemla.</div><div>Mosiah 25:1 All Mosiah's people gathered together in one place.</div><div>4 Gathered in 2 bodies (Mulekite and Nephite?).</div><div>23 Seven churches in land of Zarahemla.</div><div>Mosiah 27:6 people inhabit land <span face=""Ensign:Serif", McKay, "McKay ldsLat", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino-Roman, Pahoran, "Pahoran ldsLat", "Noto Sans Myanmar", NotoSansMyanmar, SaysetthaldsLao, NotoSerifTamil, serif" style="background-color: white;">on the north and on the south, on the east and on the west, building large cities and villages in all quarters of the land.</span></div><div><span face=""Ensign:Serif", McKay, "McKay ldsLat", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino-Roman, Pahoran, "Pahoran ldsLat", "Noto Sans Myanmar", NotoSansMyanmar, SaysetthaldsLao, NotoSerifTamil, serif" style="background-color: white;">Mosiah 28:1 go u</span><span style="background-color: white;">p to land of Nephi.</span></div><div><span face=""Ensign:Serif", McKay, "McKay ldsLat", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino-Roman, Pahoran, "Pahoran ldsLat", "Noto Sans Myanmar", NotoSansMyanmar, SaysetthaldsLao, NotoSerifTamil, serif" style="background-color: white;">5 Up to land of Nephi.</span></div><div><span face=""Ensign:Serif", McKay, "McKay ldsLat", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino-Roman, Pahoran, "Pahoran ldsLat", "Noto Sans Myanmar", NotoSansMyanmar, SaysetthaldsLao, NotoSerifTamil, serif" style="background-color: white;">6 Up among the lamanites. Mentions going up 2 more times.</span></div><div><span face=""Ensign:Serif", McKay, "McKay ldsLat", Palatino, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino-Roman, Pahoran, "Pahoran ldsLat", "Noto Sans Myanmar", NotoSansMyanmar, SaysetthaldsLao, NotoSerifTamil, serif" style="background-color: white;">Mosiah 29:3 Aaron had gone up to land of Nephi.</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Alma 2:6 The people hold a national referendum. Amlici rejected. </div><div>15 People of Amlici are gathered in one body on the Hill Amnihu which was east of the Sidon River where it ran by the Land of Zarahemla. </div><div>16 Alma with Nephite army goes from Zarahemla up to Hill Amnihu. </div><div>20 Nephites pursue Amlicites from Amnihu to the Valley of Gideon all on same day. </div><div>24 Nephite spies follow Amlicites to the Land of Minon. </div><div>25 Spies return to Valley of Gidion next morning pursued by Amlicites and Lamanites. </div><div>27 Nephites all flee toward Zarahemla. As they are crossing the Sidon their enemies catch up to them. Battle ensues on the banks and in the river. </div><div>34 Cross river (apparently on foot) fight on west side of river. </div><div>36 Amlicites/Lamanites flee to wilderness. </div><div>37 Wilderness called Hermounts. Infested by wild beasts.</div><div><br /></div></div></div><blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsAXwA7cxivIqIdoBSOxRPZbOfIQr2Me7LwgkFku8SymML6UBjCNk8RCjY8J5PbASLpr82eCwXd9CKCOOcG3B5YWWs0bwjSlcSdc_K-HeCk8o9GayUR8Pl2_4eV_KC1fIXRa69PDsqoyPhEbQQyVGW1fouXvwfutnasj0A9Rk3BNKDl1IXLP_UYi9qA/s3325/088_TUCURRIQUE.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2303" data-original-width="3325" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsAXwA7cxivIqIdoBSOxRPZbOfIQr2Me7LwgkFku8SymML6UBjCNk8RCjY8J5PbASLpr82eCwXd9CKCOOcG3B5YWWs0bwjSlcSdc_K-HeCk8o9GayUR8Pl2_4eV_KC1fIXRa69PDsqoyPhEbQQyVGW1fouXvwfutnasj0A9Rk3BNKDl1IXLP_UYi9qA/w200-h139/088_TUCURRIQUE.jpg" width="200" /></a></div></div></div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><div><div>Alma 8:3 Alma goes from Zarahemla to Land of Melek, on the west of Sidon, west by borders of wilderness.</div><div>6 Alma travels 3 days journey on north of Land of Melek to city of Ammonihah.</div><div>13 Alma goes from Ammonihah toward city of Aaron. </div><div>18 Alma returns to Ammonihah through south entrance.</div><div>Alma 16 Lamanites attack Ammonihah from wilderness side and destroy it. Zoram attacks Lamanites east side Sidon south of Manti.</div><div>Alma 17:1 Alma goes from Gideon south to Manti.</div><div>Alma 17:8-9 Sons of Mosiah go up to Land of Nephi. Travel in wilderness many days. </div><div>Alma 17:13 borders land of Lamanites. Ammon goes to Land of Ishmael. 26 Water of Sebus. A unique place where all went to water.</div><div>Alma 20:1-4 Relationship of cities Ishmael, Nephi and Middoni.</div><div>Alma 21:1-2 Borders of the Lamanites, to city Jerusalem, near borders of Mormon. Amalakites and Amulonites after order of Nehors. 11 From Jerusalem to village of Ani-Anti. 12 From Ani-Anti to Middoni.</div><div>Alma 22:1 go from Middoni to Nephi. </div><div>Alma 22:27 Sea east to sea west, narrow strip wilderness north by land of Zarahemla, goes from east to west, mentions Manti and head of river Sidon.</div><div>Alma 22:28 Lamanites in wilderness west of land of Nephi and west of land of Zarahemla by the seashore. Mentions land of first inheritance. 29 Nephites had north lands from head of Sidon to Bountiful. 30 Bountiful borders on land of Desolation. Bones of Jaredites discovered by people of Zarahemla. Land north place of first landing. 31 People of Zarahemla came to south wilderness from land northward. Land northward called Desolation, land south called Bountiful, filled with wild animals which came from north for food. </div><div>Alma 22:32 Day and a half journey from east to sea west on line of Bountiful and Desolation. Land of Nephi and Zarahemla nearly surrounded by water. Small neck of land separates north from south. 33 Nephites inhabited Bountiful from east to sea west. Lamanites limited to land of Nephi.</div><div>Alma 23:9-12 Area cities where Lamanites were converted: Ismael, Middoni, Nephi, Shilom, Shemlon, Lemuel, Shemnilom.</div><div>Alma 24:1 Group of cities, Helam, Amulon and Jerusalem. 5 from Land of Midan to Land of Ishmael.</div><div>Alma 25:2 Lamanites capture borders of land, to Ammonihah. 5 Lamanites flee to east wilderness. 8 Seed of Amulon flee to east wilderness. 13 Believing Lamanites gather to land of Ishmail and land of Nephi. </div><div>Alma 27: go down from Land of Nephi to Zarahemla. 14 go from area around Nephi to Wilderness separating Land of Nephi from Land of Zarahemla (narrow strip of wilderness). 22 Defines Land of Jershon, south of Bountiful, north of Nephi, by sea coast. 26 go from wilderness down to Jershon.</div><div>Alma 31:3 Antionum east of Zarahemla, bordering on seashore, south of land of Jershon, bordered on the wilderness south.</div><div>Alma 35:1 Go from Land of Zoramites to Land of Jershon. 13 Ammonites leave Jershon and go to Melek.</div><div>Hel. 1:18 Zarahemla heart of the land.</div><div>Hel. 3:4 Many leave Land of Zarahemla and go to land northward. 5 They go a long way and find lakes and rivers. 5 Land desolate because of former inhabitants. 6 Called desolate because of former destruction. Little timber or trees. 7 became expert in use of adobe and built houses of adobe. 8 mentions sea south, north, east west. 9 built all buildings with wood. 10 shipped wood north for buildings. 11 built cities of wood and adobe. </div><div>Hel. 4:5 Lammanites drive Nephites to Land of Desolation. 7 fortify Narrow Neck from east sea to west sea to preserve north country. Days journey across. 8 Lammanites gain possesion of all Nephite lands in land southward. 10 Nephites regain half their lands (the land of Bountiful?). 13 Nephites lost possession of almost all their lands.</div><div>Hel. 5:14-16 Nephi and Lehi teach in lands of Nephites beginning city of Bountiful, to city of Gid, to city of Mulek, to all cities in Bountiful, then to Land of Zarahemla among Lamanites. 20 go from Land of Zarahemla to Land of Nephi. 52 Lamanites yield lands to Nephites. </div><div>Hel. 6:6 Lamanites go into land northward. 9 & 11 Abundance of gold and silver in both land northward and southward. 10 Land south called Lehi, land north called Mulek. Mulek into land north and Lehi to land south.</div><div>Hel. 7:1 Nephi returns to Zarahemla from land northward.</div><div>Hel. 11:20 People spread over all land from sea east to sea west. 25 Robbers retreat back into mountains.</div><div>3 Ne. 1:27 Gadiantons hide in mountains (near population centers).</div><div>3 Ne. 2:17 Nephites/Lamanites drive robbers back into mountains.</div><div>3 Ne. 3:13 All people gathered to one place. 14 Fortified land. 21 Located in center of land. 22 All went to place appointed. 23 Land appointed was Land of Zarahemla, land between land of Zarahemla and land Bountiful, to boundary of Bountiful and land of Desolation. 24 Was in land southward not land northward. 25 All in one land in one body. </div><div>3 Ne. 4 All people in one body. Robbers come down out of mountains and wilderness. Nephites pursue robbers to border of wilderness. Robber lay siege and surround Nephites on every side. 23 Robbers try to escape to lands farthest north. </div><div>3 Ne. 6:2 People return to possessions in land northward and southward. 7-8 Many cities built over and many repaired. Many highways built. </div><div>3 Ne. 8:8 Destruction at death of Christ. City of Zarahemla burns. 9 City of Moroni submerged in sea. 10 Moronihah covered by mountain. 11 Terrible destruction in land southward. 12 Worse destruction in land northward. 13 Highways broken up. 14 Many cities burned, buried or destroyed. 18 Rock formations shattered and broken up. 19-22 Thick darkness for 3 days. Descriptive of volcanic eruption.</div><div>3 Ne. 9:3 Zarahemla burned. 4 Moroni sunk in sea. 5 Moronihah covered with mountain. 6 City of Gilgal buried in earth. 7 Cities of Onihah, Mocum and Jerusalem covered with water. 8 Cities of Gadiandi, Gadiomnah, Jacob and Gimgimno sunk in earth. 9 City of Jacobugath burned with fire. 10 Cities of Laman, Josh, Gad and Kishkumen burned with fire. 12 Many great destructions.</div><div>3 Ne. 19:1-3 People gathered during night to temple in Bountiful. Indicates a limited area.</div><div>Mormon 1:3 Land of Antum, hill Shim (records deposited there). 6 Mormon carried from land northward to Zarahemla. Land covered with inhabitants. 10 War began in borders of Zarahemla by River Sidon. </div><div>Mormon 3:5 Gather at land of Desolation, to city (of Desolation ?) near narrow pass leading to land southward. 6 Fortified that place (had to have been a strategic location). 7 Lamanites come down to city of Desolation. 8 come down again. Dead were cast into sea (had to have a sea nearby). 10 Nephites go up to battle against the Lamanites. </div><div>Mormon 4:1 go up out of land of Desolation. 2 Nephites driven back to city of Desolation, Lamanites take possession of Desolation. 3 Nephites flee to city of Teacum. Teacum near Desolation on borders of the sea. 7-8 Lamanites attack Teancum but repulsed. Nephites retake city of Desolation. 13-14 Lamanites take Desolation and Teancum. 15 Nephites drive Lamanites out of their lands. 19 Lamanites come down against Desolation and retake it. 20 Nephites retreat to city Boaz. 22 Nephites flee before advancing Lamanites. 23 Mormon retrieves records from Hill Shim.</div><div>Mormon 5:3 Nephites flee to city of Jordan. 4 Nephite cities by Jordan block passage of Lamanite in land of Desolation. 5 Nephite cities burned. 7 Nephites lose cities flee north from Lamanites.</div><div>Mormon 6:1-4 Nephites gather to Cumorah. Cumorah a land of waters, rivers, fountains, etc. Provided an advantage over Lamanites. 6 Hides all Nephite records in hill Cumorah. About a million people lived there for 4 years. Million or more killed there. Should be evidence of warfare and bodies.</div><div>Mormon 8:2 Some Nephites escape to south countries.</div><div>Ether 7:6 Land of Moron of Jaredites was near Land of Desolation of the Nephites.</div><div>Ether 9:3 Travel many days from Moron to seashore (Ablom). Passes by Hill Shim and Cumorah (Ramah). 31 Flee from Moron toward land of Zarahemla. 32 Animals flee to land southward.</div><div>Ether 10:19 Lib destroys plague of serpents blocking Narrow Neck and goes to land southward. 20 Lib builds great city by Narrow Neck, by place where sea divides the land.</div><div>Ether 13:27 Battle in Valley of Gilgal. 28 To Plains of Heslon. 29 Back to Valley of Gilgal. </div></div><div>Ether 14:3 Pursues to wilderness of Akish. 6 From wilderness of Akish to Moron. 11 From wilderness of Akish to Moron. 12 From Moron to seashore. 14 From seashore to wilderness of Akish. 15 From wilderness of Akish to plains of Agosh. 26 From Agosh passing many cities eastward to seashore. 27 Flee from seashore to land of Corihor. 28 Valley of Corihor near valley of Shurr, valley of Shurr near hill Comnor. Battle on hill Comnor. 31 Return from Comnor to valley of Corihor. </div><div>Ether 15:8 Flee to Ripliancum (probably eastern coast of Guatemala or Honduras). 10 Flee southward to Ogath. 11 Coriantumr follows to Ramah. 33 Ether hides records where people of Limhi find them.</div><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-76166803918567724392021-08-05T18:14:00.001-07:002021-08-05T18:14:43.376-07:00Make Your Own Liahona<br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KKVZhptTniE/T8U93Qq4d8I/AAAAAAAAAcg/C5V645S2Ezg/s1600/88459.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="124" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KKVZhptTniE/T8U93Qq4d8I/AAAAAAAAAcg/C5V645S2Ezg/s200/88459.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>"And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment, he beheld upon the ground a round ball, of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness" (1 Nephi 16:10). <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/video/1-nephi-16/2019-07-0620-the-lord-provides-the-liahona-1080p-eng?lang=eng">See video</a>.</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">I have always wanted to have a replica of the true Liahona but have had difficulty visualizing what the real one might have looked like. The normal artistic renderings of the Liahona have done little to clarify my vision of this instrument. They all seem awkward and unwieldy, and ofttimes rather delicate. Not something that would survive 8 years in the deserts of Arabia, or an extended period of sea travel, and a thousand years as a national treasure of the Nephite people. The above picture illustrates such an imaginary design.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEDbzIkHHIQ/T8U-Hh2V9mI/AAAAAAAAAco/e9hb1_jbLeI/s1600/image+liahona.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEDbzIkHHIQ/T8U-Hh2V9mI/AAAAAAAAAco/e9hb1_jbLeI/s200/image+liahona.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">To the right is another such design with an open top with fragile supports. But how else could one see the operations of the “compass” if it were not open?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">The image below is how I have come to visualize the Liahona. I believe that it is a “ball” or sphere just as the Book of Mormon describes it. It doesn't need openings to make visible its workings. It doesn't need a spindle or shaft protruding from the top or bottom. It would feature writing (probably Hebrew) and various messages. Such a sphere is very sturdy and would stand years of wear and even heavy abuse.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-22YpzOf947o/T8U-WyujSdI/AAAAAAAAAcw/cVKxmqLZQ0k/s1600/images+(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-22YpzOf947o/T8U-WyujSdI/AAAAAAAAAcw/cVKxmqLZQ0k/s200/images+(1).jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: black;">I recently figured out how to make a “toy” Liahona that allows one to practice and experience exactly how the instrument functioned (without the miraculous results of course). I am going to show you how you can make one for yourself.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">But first we need a little background on the Liahona, what it was, and how it functioned. This from none other than Hugh Nibley whose insight was indeed far reaching. But if you don't want the background, you can skip to the end of this blog and go right to it.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">For a long time Bro. Nibley was puzzled by the Liahona and didn't know what to make of it. But let's let him tell his own story.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">“<span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">We have in the Book of Mormon a most interesting apparatus called the Liahona. Now the chances of finding a genuine Liahona are, to say the least, remote; but what if something just like it showed up in the hands of Lehi's relatives? That should certainly come as a surprise, and even provoke some thought …</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">“<span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The present writer, for all his curiosity about Book of Mormon oddities, has always passed it [the Liahona] by in an abashed silence—it was like nothing he ever heard or read of—until the year 1959. For it was in that year that an Arabic scholar by the name of T. Fahd published the hitherto scattered, scanty, and inaccessible evidence that makes it possible for the first time to say something significant about the Liahona ...</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">Nibley notes that Mr. Fahd studied the practice of belomancy in the ancient Near East. “Belomancy is the practice of divination by shooting, tossing, shaking, or otherwise manipulating rods, darts, pointers, or other sticks, all originally derived from arrows.” When Nibley read Fahd's study it “dawned upon him that these old practices might have some connection with the Liahona. For the most common use of divination arrows, and probably their original purpose, was, according to the forgotten evidence unearthed by ... Fahd, the direction of travelers in the desert.”</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">“<span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The 'arrows' used in divination … were devoid of heads and feathers, being mere shafts or pointers.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">He then quotes Edward Lane regarding this subject.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">"</span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>Zalam ...</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"> arrows by means of which the Arabs in the Time of Ignorance [i.e, before Islam] sought to know what was allotted to them: they were arrows upon which the Arabs … wrote 'Command' and 'Prohibition'; or upon some of which was written 'My Lord hath commanded me'; and upon some, 'My Lord hath forbidden me' ... and they put them in a receptacle, and took forth an arrow; and if the arrow upon which was 'Command' came forth, he went to accomplish the purpose; but if that upon which was 'Prohibition' came forth, he refrained</span><span style="color: #33496d;">.”</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">“<span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">But why arrows? Because ... the shooting of arrows is a universal form of divination … The consultation of the arrows by one about to marry was, according to Gaster, also an old Jewish custom; the parties concerned would throw rods into the air, "reading their message by the manner of their fall; this, Gaster observes, is 'tantamount' to the shooting of arrows."</span></span><span style="color: black;"> Other substitutes for shooting were shaking or drawing from a bag or quiver, "balancing on the finger, or spinning on a pivot.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">“<span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">More often than not, the arrows in question were mere sticks or pointers ... There was no more popular form of divination among the magic-minded Babylonians than arrow-lottery, and ... "casting lots" in Babylonian ... refers to an original shaking or shooting of arrows.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">“<span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">All this shaking, tossing, and shooting emphasizes the divinatory office of arrows as </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>pointers ...</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"> it is certain that men from the earliest times have sought guidance by consulting the pointings and the inscriptions of headless and tailless arrows.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">“<span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The word for "divination-arrow" in the above proverb was </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>qidh</i></span></span><span style="color: black;">, defined in Lane as one of the "two arrows used in sortilege." The original and natural number of arrows used in divination seems to have been two.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">“<span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The reason for the two basic staves is apparent from their normal designation as 'Command' and 'Prohibition' ... the original arrangement was that </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>two</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"> arrows designated the advisability or inadvisability of a journey; they were designated as 'the </span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>safr</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"> [Go ahead!] and the </span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>khadr</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"> [Stay where you are!].' From passages in Lane it is clear that the regular consultants of the arrows were those faced with travel-problems—all others are secondary.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">“<span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">It would be an obtuse reader indeed who needed one to spell out for him the <i>resemblance</i> between ancient arrow-divination and the Liahona: two 'spindles or pointers' bearing written instructions provide superhuman guidance for travelers in the desert. What more could you want? But what is the <i>relationship</i> between them? On this the Book of Mormon is remarkably specific. Both Nephi and Alma go out of their way to insist that the Liahona did not work itself, i.e., was not a magic thing, but worked only by the power of God and only for appointed persons who had faith in that power.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">“<span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Moreover, while both men marvel at the wonderful workmanship of the brass ball in which the pointers were mounted, they refer to the operation of those pointers as "a very small thing," so familiar to Lehi's people that they hardly gave it a second glance. So contemptuous were they of the 'small means' by which 'those miracles were worked' for their guidance and preservation that they constantly 'forgot to exercise their faith,' so that the compass would work. This suggests that aside from the workmanship of the mounting, there was nothing particularly strange or mystifying about the apparatus, which Alma specifies as a 'temporal' thing.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">“<span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Here we have an instructive parallel in the ship and the bow that Nephi made. Without divine intervention those indispensable aids to survival would never have come to the rescue of Lehi's company—their possession was a miracle. Yet what were they after all? An ordinary ship and an ordinary bow. Just so, the Liahona was 'a very small thing' for all its marvelous provenience, having much the same relationship to other directing arrows that the ship and the bow did to other ships and bows ...</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">“<span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Was the Liahona, then, just old magic? No, it is precisely here that Nephi and Alma are most emphatic—unlike magic things, these pointers worked solely by the power of God, and then, too, for only those designated to use them. </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>Anybody</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"> about to make a journey could consult the mantic arrows at the shrines, and to this day throughout the world mantic arrows are still being consulted. But it is clear from Alma's words that in his day the Liahona had been out of operation for centuries, having functioned only for a true man of God and only for one special journey ...</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">“<span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Where, then, does one draw the line between the sacred and the profane? Religion becomes magic when the power by which things operate is transferred from God to the things themselves ... When men lack revelation they commonly come to think of power as residing in things [in this case the Liahona]. Did the staff of Moses make water come from the rock or cause the Red Sea to part? Of course not; yet in time the miraculous powers which were displayed through its agency came to be attributed by men to the staff itself. It became a magic thing ...</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The practice [of using divination arrows] quickly degenerated to magic.<span style="color: #33496d;"> </span></span><span style="color: black;">That is why it is so important to understand, and why the Book of Mormon is at such pains to make perfectly clear, that the Liahona was </span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>not</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"> magic. It did not work itself, like other divination arrows, in any sense or to any degree.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">“<span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">And yet it seems to have been an ordinary and familiar object, a "temporal thing," which could also serve as "a type and a shadow," teaching us how God uses "small things" to bring about great purposes …”</span></span></div><div><span style="color: black;">What does the word Liahona mean? “Fortunately the Book of Mormon has ... given us the answer: 'Our fathers called it Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass' (Alma 37:38). Liahona is here clearly designated as an Old World word from the forgotten language of the fathers, which must be interpreted to present readers. But what is a compass? According to the Oxford Dictionary, the derivation of the word remains a mystery; it has two basic meanings, but which has priority nobody knows: the one is 'to pass or step together,' referring always to a </span><span style="color: black;"><span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><i>pair</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"> of things in motion; the other refers to the nature of that motion in a circle, 'to pass or step completely,' to complete a 'circumference, circle, round,' to embrace or enclose completely. Thus whether it refers to the ball or the arrows, 'compass' is the best possible word to describe the device</span><span style="color: #33496d;"> ...” </span><span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">(From Hugh Nibley, Since Cumorah<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><a href="http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=74&chapid=917" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=74&chapid=917</span></a><span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span>Also in the Improvement Era Feb. 1961: pp. 87-89, 104, 106, 108-109.)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black;">One of the definitions of compass from Websters 1828 dictionary is also instructive.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;">Compass or compasses, [or a pair of compasses, so named from its legs, but pair is superfluous or improper, and the singular number compass is the preferable name,] an instrument for describing circles, measuring figures, &c., consisting of two pointed legs or branches, made of iron, steel or brass, joined at the top by a rivet, on which they move. There are also compasses of three legs or triangular compasses, cylindrical and spherical compasses with four branches, and various other kinds.”</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span face=""verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>Make Your Own Liahona</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">After reading Nibley's original article (Liahona's Cousins, see above reference) I was impressed that the Liahona was an extraordinary object used for a very common practice, but it facilitated divine direction. The ancient peoples used similar devices for magical purposes, much as someone would shake a pair of dice in a cup. But in the case of the Liahona, it wasn't magic and it didn't depend upon chance. If faith were exercised, the Lord manipulated the results. If not, it was just an exercise in “casting lots.” It was a very common practice used for uncommon ends. I could visualize two arrows or spindles inside a brass ball which would be shaken and then the ball separated to see the results. It all seemed very simple if my logic were correct.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">I wanted to try and make one for myself, but what to use. I am not skilled in metal work so ruled that out. I found a hard plastic ball and made one from that, but it wasn't satisfactory. Then one day while splitting a coconut, it occurred to me that I could use the two halves of the coconut for my "ball" after cleaning the meat out.</span></span></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tedsGmmQ15I/T8VFwxBcCCI/AAAAAAAAAc8/U-RGKuBV80A/s1600/CIMG1207.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tedsGmmQ15I/T8VFwxBcCCI/AAAAAAAAAc8/U-RGKuBV80A/s200/CIMG1207.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to enlarge. This means stay.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">After preparing the coconut, I cut two Popsicle sticks into 2.5 inch lengths with one end pointed. One I colored red and the other green. These I placed inside the coconut shells, which fit together nicely to form a ball. Then the sticks inside are shaken vigorously. After shaking, the two halves are separated and the results observed. One must be careful to maintain the shells in the same position or direction when opening them. </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">The green stick stands for “go” and the red for “stop” or “stay.” If the green lands on top of the red, it means go in the direction indicated by the arrow. If the red is on top, it means stay. If they are equal, or on the same level, I arbitrarily decided that the red would prevail.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">It has been quite entertaining and I have enjoyed spending some time observing the repeated results and imagining how Nephi and Lehi would have done it. Even if the design is not completely accurate, I think it is probably in the ball park judging from Nibleys research and comments.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">One additional thing: you may be wondering how to crack the coconut without destroying it completely. I was taught this trick by a fellow missionary who had served in Micronesia and learned the technique. After draining the milk, the coconut is held in the left hand and hit repeatedly on the equator of the nut as it is gradually turned. Ideally this is done with the back edge of a machete. But if a machete is not available, any heavy metal object will do. The north pole is where the 3 eyes are located, and the south at the opposite end. If it is done correctly, the nut will crack right around the equator with enough irregularities that the two halves can be matched easily. The meat is removed by cutting into sections while still in the shell, and then prying each individual section out with a dull knife or spoon.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">There you have your own Liahona. Have fun with it. I imagine that all kinds of games could be invented to play with it.</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">Related blog: The Liahona and the Stone Balls. </span></span></span><a href="http://moriancumr.blogspot.com/2009_08_22_archive.html">http://moriancumr.blogspot.com/2009_08_22_archive.html</a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;">. </span></span></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-12685426048083962642021-02-03T20:21:00.003-08:002021-02-03T20:27:22.969-08:00Till We Build Jerusalem<div style="text-align: justify;">The poet William Blake was inspired to recount the ancient English legend of Christ visiting the Isle and establishing a Christian community there. This poem was later set to music which has almost become the national anthem of Britain. It is sung at royal events, concerts, and sporting events. It seems that a wide array of people join in sing it, be they religious, worldly, atheist, or patriot. Whether they understand its meaning, or comprehend that they are really repeating a yearning prayer, is questionable. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Two things are important for understanding. First, did Christ really visit the British Isles. And second, what does it mean to build Jerusalem.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Christ certainly foretold visits to other people and other lands. John, quoting the savior said "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd (Jn. 10:16)." </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Later Christ, speaking to disciples on the American continent, expands on his earlier statement: "I have other sheep, which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister. For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them. But I have received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore I go to show myself unto them (3 Ne. 16:1-3)." England was likely one of those places, and early Englishmen some of those other sheep. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">What does Blake mean to build Jerusalem? Is he suggesting that a replica of Jerusalem be constructed in England. Not at all. I suggest that he was referring to establishing a community where Christian values and culture would dominate society, in other words a Zion. Two such societies are mentioned in scripture. The first was one established by the prophet Enoch. "And the Lord called (this) people ZION, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them (Moses 7:18)." After a long period of time that group was taken up to heaven.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The second example were the American Christians following the resurrection of Christ. They were some of His "other sheep" and he appeared to them, taught them, and healed their sick. For two hundred years these people maintained a Zion society and lived in peace and love and harmony (4 Nephi).</div><div>This is what Blake means by building Jerusalem. It must have been a Zion in England.</div><div><br /></div><div>Blake's poem is as follows:</div><div><br /></div><i><a href="#" name="ToggleMore">J</a>erusalem by William Blake</i><div><i><br /></i></div><div><div class="bbVIQb" jsname="Vinbg" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div class="ujudUb" jsname="U8S5sf" style="line-height: 1.58; margin-bottom: 12px;"><i><span jsname="YS01Ge">And did those feet in ancient time</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">Walk upon England's mountain green?</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">And was the holy Lamb of God</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">On England's pleasant pastures seen?</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">And did the countenance divine</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">Shine forth upon our clouded hills?</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">And was Jerusalem builded here</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">Among those dark satanic mills?</span></i></div></div><div class="bbVIQb" jsname="WbKHeb" style="background-color: white;"><div class="ujudUb WRZytc u7wWjf" data-mh="-1" jsname="U8S5sf" style="color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.58; margin-bottom: 0px;"><i><span jsname="YS01Ge">Bring me my bow of burning gold!</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">Bring me my arrows of desire!</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold!</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">Bring me my chariot of fire!</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">I will not cease from mental fight,</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">Till we have built Jerusalem</span><br /><span jsname="YS01Ge">In England's green an pleasant land.</span></i></div><div class="ujudUb WRZytc u7wWjf" data-mh="-1" jsname="U8S5sf" style="color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.58; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span jsname="YS01Ge"><br /></span></div><div class="ujudUb WRZytc u7wWjf" data-mh="-1" jsname="U8S5sf" style="color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.58; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span jsname="YS01Ge"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">So we are left to consider the question, will the English descendants of Ephriam chose Jerusalem, or the Dark Satanic Mills. It is a question worth considering. One with eternal consequences. </span></span></div><div class="ujudUb WRZytc u7wWjf" data-mh="-1" jsname="U8S5sf" style="color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.58; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span jsname="YS01Ge"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="ujudUb WRZytc u7wWjf" data-mh="-1" jsname="U8S5sf" style="color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.58; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span jsname="YS01Ge"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;">A Google search for Jerusalem the hymn gives many results. Several are listed below.</span></span></div><div class="ujudUb WRZytc u7wWjf" data-mh="-1" jsname="U8S5sf" style="line-height: 1.58; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span jsname="YS01Ge">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT1HEXNI9c4</span></div><div class="ujudUb WRZytc u7wWjf" data-mh="-1" jsname="U8S5sf" style="line-height: 1.58; margin-bottom: 0px;"><span jsname="YS01Ge">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKRHWT6xdEU</span></div><div><span jsname="YS01Ge"><br /></span></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-72986122017360951142020-05-23T16:27:00.001-07:002020-05-26T18:14:19.391-07:00The City of Desolation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The city of Desolation (as referenced in Mormon 3:5,7 and 4:2-3,8,13, and 19) was located on the border between the Land of Desolation and the Land of Bountiful. It was situated at a strategic point in, or near, the Narrow Pass leading northward to the Narrow Neck of Land.</div>
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In my model of BofM geography it would be located in the valley of the Sapoa River, in Costa Rica, near it's border with Nicaragua. This location would be in-between the city of La Cruz and Lake Nicaragua. The modern village of San Dimas is near where the ancient city would have been located. </div>
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This city was the site of a number of decisive battles between the Lamanites and Nephites during the prophet Mormon's lifetime, and prior to the Nephite retreat to Cumorah. </div>
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The accompanying photo shows the cluster of archaeological sites which I feel mark the ancient occupations in this area. The photo is a service of <a href="http://origenes.museocostarica.go.cr/">Origines</a>, a branch of the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, which has maps and information on archaeological sites in Costa Rica. Lake Nicaragua is in the upper right corner of the picture, and the Pacific Ocean in the lower left corner. The vertical distance is approximately 25 miles.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Sapoa River itself forms the ancient boundary between the Land of Desolation and the Land of Bountiful, and the river valley itself forms the route referred to in </span><a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/alma/22?lang=eng" style="font-size: medium;">Alma 22:32 </a><span style="font-size: small;">which took a Nephite a day and a half to travel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">A number of important Book of Mormon events took place in this area.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Jaredite King Lib was able to destroy the plague of poisonous serpents that had blocked the Narrow Neck of Land (Isthmus of Rivas). This opened up the land southward which was full of wild beasts. They reserved this south wilderness as a hunting preserve (Ether 10:18-21. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">King Limhi's 43 explorers passed through here in their fruitless and unsuccessful search for the city of Zarahemla, discovering instead the Jaredite destruction and the plates of Ether (Mosiah 8:7-11).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Teancum and his army chased Morianton and his group of rebels north to Desolation, killing Morianton and bringing the rest back to their homeland in Jershon (Alma 50:25-36).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Chief Judge Lachoneus gathered the entire Nephite nation to the head of the Sapoa River where they fortified themselves against the attacks of the Gadianton robbers. The Nephite general Gidgiddoni subsequently captured the Gadianton armies as they tried to escape by way of Desolation into the land Northward (3Nephi 3&4).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Nephites lost all their lands in the land southward to the armies of the Lamanites and were driven north to the Narrow Neck of Land. Later the Nephite general Moronihah regained half of the Nephite lands (probably the land of Bountiful) (Helaman 4:1-9).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Sometime around 326 A.D. the Lamanites drove the Nephites north from the land of Zarahemla clear into the land of Desolation, almost to the Hill Shim. This is on the way to Cumorah. Mormon later inspired his troops and they drove the Lamanites south back past the city of Desolation. A treaty was arranged and the Lamanites gave the Nephites all the land northward starting at the city of Desolation. The treaty lasted for 10 years, but then the war flared up again. The Nephites won the first 2 battles but were then driven north from city to city. They finally arranged a truce so that they could gather all the remaining Nephites to the Hill Cumorah (Mormon 2 thru 6). </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-85635649417479049212020-03-26T14:41:00.000-07:002020-03-26T20:36:47.198-07:00Cerro Bernal as Cumorah<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I first heard of Cerro del Bernal in 1960 while serving as a missionary in Laredo, Texas. Jose Davila <br />
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had come up from Puebla, Mexico and gave a series of firesides on archaeology and the Book of Mormon while there. Davila was a former guide for Milton R. Hunter during his explorations of ancient ruins in Central America. He was very intelligent and had mastered the Nahuatl language.</div>
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One of his theories that impressed me was that the Cerro del Bernal, northwest of Tampico, Mexico, was the Book of Mormon Hill Cumorah. </div>
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Later, following my mission, I traveled by bus down to Mexico City. The highway passes within 10 miles of Bernal and I remember being emotionally drawn to it as we drove by. The bus didn't stop of course, and I had to wait until years later to visit the hill up close. </div>
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Cerro del Bernal is a prominent landmark in the extensive flat plains of the region. It is the stump of an extinct volcano with only the hard volcanic core now exposed. It seemed like an ideal candidate for Cumorah, but my subsequent explorations there dissuaded me from accepting it as such. Nevertheless, others, such as Jerry Ainsworth, in his book Mormon and Moroni, have seriously championed it as the famous hill. </div>
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In 2002 my wife and I were serving as missionaries in Monterrey, Mexico, several hundred miles north of the hill. During Easter Break we had a week off and we decided to drive down and see the hill close up. It was still very impressive as we got near. We stopped at the nearby village of Graciano Sanchez and inquired about a guide. We were directed to the home of Gustavo Cano who was familiar with the hill and agreed to guide us there. The next morning we picked him up and drove to the wooded area surrounding the hill. We had to hike in about three miles with Gustavo cutting a trail with his machete. My wife, Myrna, stayed at the bottom of the cliffs while Gustavo and I went up the steep hill. There were narrow chutes and rock slides cutting up the side. We choose one of these and went up. It took us about an hour to get near the top, but unfortunately we had chosen the wrong chute and it ended in a sheer cliff 200 feet from the top. But I had seen most of what I had wanted to see, and we went back down. </div>
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My conclusions were that it was not a good choice for the hill. It was much too rugged and an army of Mormon's size could not have fought there (although they could have fought in the plain at the base). There were no evidences of a battle fought in the area. It didn't seem to provide any special advantage for offense or defense, any more than hundreds of other mountains around. Later investigations didn't reveal any archaeological evidence that there had been a battle there, or a nearby large settlement. I still favor my later theory of the<a href="https://mormongeography.com/hill-cumorah/"> Cerro San Gil in Guatemala.</a></div>
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We returned to the car weary and worn from the adventure, but happy that it had turned out well. We took Gustavo home and talked about our interest in the hill on the way. He seemed interested, so we left him with a Book of Mormon. His wife had prepared a nice dinner and invited us to eat with them. Then we drove back to our motel.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gustavo and Myrna Warr at base of hill. Notice the strange trees with a triangular base. Gustavo said they were soyate palms.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the steep rock face during the ascent.</td></tr>
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The following Facebook videos show different expeditions to Cerro de Bernal. The first 5 are a continuous series, and the last 2 are separate expeditions. These are all in Spanish.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-34319590559412286542020-03-13T15:14:00.001-07:002020-03-13T15:14:11.890-07:00Cumorah en Espanol<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>Cumorah</b></span></div>
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<i>Y ocurrió que cuando hubimos reunido en uno a todo nuestro pueblo en la tierra de Cumorah, he aquí que yo, Mormón, empezaba a envejecer; y sabiendo que iba a ser la última lucha de mi pueblo, y habiéndome mandado el Señor que no permitiera que los sagrados anales transmitidos por nuestros padres cayesen en manos de los lamanitas (porque los lamanitas los destruirían), hice, por tanto, esta relación de las planchas de Nefi, y escondí en el cerro de Cumorah todos los anales que se me habían confiado por la mano del Señor, con excepción de cestas pocas planchas que entregué a mi hijo Moroni.(Mormón 6)</i></div>
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Cumorah o Ramah es el enigmático cerro donde las culturas Jaredita y Nefita fueron exterminadas. Fue el lugar donde Mormón reunió a su pueblo para la última confrontación con sus enemigos. Es el cerro donde se escondió los registros más sagrados del mundo. Por muchos años se suponía que Cumorah era el monte en Nueva York donde el profeta José Smith encontró las planchas de oro. Pero recordemos que el portador de estas planchas era Moroni, quien viajo 36 anos y finalmente depósito los registros en el cerro de Nueva York. En mi punto de vista, es poco probable que el haya vuelto al lugar original de la batalla para enfrentar a sus enemigos. Además un meticuloso estudio del Libro de Mormón ilustrara que las distancias viajada por participantes en la historia no era grande, y ciertamente no lo suficientemente grande para cruzar un continente. Entonces queda concluir que las tierras Nefitas eran pequeñas. Ahora dejemos a consideración algunos de los requerimientos para el Cerro Cumorah.</div>
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Criterio para la Tierra y el Cerro Cumorah</div>
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1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Estaba localizada a “muchos días” de la ciudad Jaredita Morón (Éter 9:3)</div>
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2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Estaba en una tierra de muchas aguas, fuentes, ríos , etc. (Morm. 6:4)</div>
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3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Estaba cerca al mar del este. La orilla hacia el este (distancia desconocida) de Cumorah (Éter 9:3)</div>
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4.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>El cerro Ramah de los Jareditas y el cerro Cumorah de los Nefitas, donde Mormón escondió los sagrados registros , es el mismo (Éter 15:11)</div>
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5.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Estaba localizado en la tierra Nefita hacia el norte , siendo el norte de la tierra que ellos llamaban Desolación, y al norte de la estrecha lengua de tierra (Mormón Cap. 4 y Cap. 5:3-7)</div>
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6.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Estaba localizado en un área la cual era lo suficientemente grande para albergar 230,000 Nefitas, mas una armada Lamanita mas grande, y además albergar a los nefitas por cuatro anos mientras se preparaban para la batalla final (Mormón 6).</div>
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7.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>El cerro era lo suficientemente alto, y situado de cierta manera que Mormón podía mirar hacia abajo y ver la matanza desde la cima (Morm. 6:11).</div>
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8.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>El cerro era lo suficientemente amplio y de tal naturaleza que pudo ocultar a los veinticuatro sobrevivientes Nefitas de sus enemigos los Lamanitas (Morm.6:11).</div>
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9.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>El cerro Cumorah probablemente estaba compuesto de materiales (como piedra caliza) donde una caverna puede ser encontrada, en la cual se podía esconder los registros Nefitas (Morm. 6:6).</div>
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10.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>El cerro estaba situado de cierta manera que los Nefitas pudieron tomar ventaja sobre los Lamanitas (Morm. 6:4). Esta ventaja pudo haber sido estratégica con barreras naturales como ríos, lagos, etc. Tierras altas pudieron también haber ofrecido ventaja. Posiblemente habrían existido fortificaciones dejadas por las guerras Jareditas. También habrían habido ventajas logísticas tales como buen suplemento de comida y agua para resistir el bloqueo. Podría haber allí habido un gran número de evidencias de puntas de flechas, hachas, etc. Los cuales pudieron haber sido re usados, si los Jareditas hubieran usado armas hechas de piedra.</div>
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11.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>El cerro estaba geográficamente situado para que los sobrevivientes Nefitas pudieran escapar con dirección sur de la armada Lamanita. (Morm. 6:15; 8:2) pero aparentemente no con dirección norte, la cual habría sido la decisión lógica.</div>
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12.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Deben de haber restos de batallas, o gran destrucción. tales como armamento (puntas de flechas, hachas, etc.), fortificaciones, u otros artefactos pertenecientes a los muertos. Debe además de haber restos de una gran población que dura solo por un corto tiempo.</div>
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13.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Estaba cerca a los lugares Jareditas llamados Ablom y Ogath (Éter 9:13,15:10).</div>
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14.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Estaba cerca del océano llamado Ripliancum (grande en exceso) nombre dado por los Jareditas (Éter 15:8).</div>
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15.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Algunos han sugerido que el cerro debe de estar cerca de la lengua de tierra aunque no lejos al norte por lo que sabemos de experiencia del pueblo de Limhi (Mosiah 21:25-27). Este pequeño número de hombres fue con dirección norte en busca de Zarahemla pero en vez de encontrarla, se encontraron con la tierra de Desolación descubriendo evidencia de las guerras Jareditas y su destrucción, también las veinticuatro planchas de Éter. Algunos investigadores han asumido de la historia del pueblo de Limhi que ellos llegaron hasta la tierra de Cumorah. Sin embargo este no es el caso. Las tierras Jareditas del sur, también como la capital Morón, estaban cerca de la tierra de Desolación y las primeras batallas de los Jareditas dejaron millones de muertos por toda la faz de la tierra mucho antes de que ellos llegaran a Ramah (Cumorah) (Eter 14:22-23; 15:2). En adición a esto, Éter no enterró las 24 planchas en el lugar de la última batalla, pero a propósito las escondió en el lugar en que el Señor le indico, para que en el futuro, la gente de Limhi las encontrara (Éter 15:2).</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Cerro San Gil, Guatemala: Un Candidato para ser Cumorah</b></span></div>
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El cerro San Gil es una montaña prominente localizada al sudeste de Guatemala, se levanta a 1267 metros sobre el nivel del mar, yace en la extensión este de la mayor cadena montañosa, La Sierra de las Minas. Su frente da al Caribe, a la bahía de Amatique en la Bahía de Honduras. Yace entre dos valles, El Valle del río Motagua, y el Valle de Polochic, el cual incluye un gran lago, Lago Izabal. Estos valles son la expresión de dos grandes fallas continentales de tierra que separan a las placas continentales de Chortis y Maya. La montaña cubre un área aproximada de 450 kilómetros cuadrados y por lo que yo he podido determinar, esta principalmente compuesta por sedimentos de roca del periodo pre- Jurasico. Esta cubierta por vegetación semi-tropical, muchas de estas áreas han sido removidas para el cultivo y pastoreo. Hay un numero de riachuelos que van cuesta abajo, todos son alimentados por al menos 27 manantiales. También hay un pequeño número de cuevas encontradas en la región.</div>
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Su ubicación es ideal para una defensa natural. Al norte está aislado por el Lago Izabal y el río Dulce, cuyas aguas fluyen en el Caribe. El lado este bordea la Bahía de Amatique. Al oeste es compuesto por una llanura bordeando el Lago Izabal. Esta planicie está protegida por la montaña y el l río Dulce al norte, un contra fuerte de la montaña al oeste, y el frente este de la montaña se inclina hacia la Bahía de Amatique.</div>
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El área ha sido explorada [arqueológicamente] solo superficialmente, probablemente porque no contiene espectaculares ruinas Mayas como otras áreas de Guatemala. Sin embargo lo que se ha encontrado allí en interesante. En el lado este de la montaña, a lo largo del valle , hay cientos de “montículos” (pequeñas pirámides) en las cuales los habitantes erigieron sus casas de paja. Estos montículos son evidencia de una gran actividad humana. Esta ocupación, ha sido tentativamente datada de los tiempos pre clásico y clásico tardío (300-900 DC). Una interesante anomalía es que los artefactos hechos de piedra son más numerosos que los hechos en cerámica, infiriendo la presencia poco normal de número de armas2 de piedra.</div>
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¿Cuán bien el cero Gil concuerda con el criterio? , Esta localizado a “muchos días” de viaje a pie de mi localización propuesta de la Capital Jaredita (Morón) en la costa del Pacifico entre Nicaragua o El Salvador.</div>
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Está en una “tierra de muchas aguas” con el Caribe al este, El río Dulce al Norte , El Lago Izabal al oeste, El gran río Motagua al sur, y muchos riachuelos y fuentes en la montaña.</div>
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Es adyacente al mar del este (Bahía de Amatique) y a pequeña distancia de la gran Bahía de Honduras.</div>
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Esta al noroeste de lo que yo he propuesto ser la estrecha lengua de tierra (El istmo de Rivas) así como la tierra de Desolación.</div>
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Habría sido lo suficientemente grande para sostener a la población Nefita (235,000 a 1, 000,000) tanto en la planicie sudeste del Lago Izabal o en la planicie en medio de la montaña y río Dulce. Los muchos montículos en la planicie oeste del Izabal dan prueba de una numerosa población, puede inferir que la presencia de estas personas fue de poco tiempo.</div>
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Con respecto a sostener a un grupo tan grande personas, el área es muy fértil para la agricultura, y debe de haber habido abundantes peces y otras especies marinas, así como también vida animal en los bosques cercanos.</div>
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La montaña es lo suficientemente grande para esconder a los sobrevivientes de la ultimas batalla en sus cuestas, y desde sus prominentes cordilleras e incluso desde la misma cima, uno puede ver el área circunvecina, los valles y colinas cercanos.</div>
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La montaña está compuesta (al menos en parte) de piedra caliza lo cual hace posible la presencia de cuevas y cavernas, en realidad, un gran número de estas han sido descubiertas.</div>
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Como anotado anteriormente, El cerro San Gil provee una fuerte natural con dos valles protegidos rodeados por agua, cerros y colinas. Si una posición estaba perdida, sería posible emprender la retirada a otro lugar. Logísticamente, el área hubiera podido ofrecer todos los recursos necesarios para sostener a una población por un tiempo. Un hecho interesante es que parece que hay una preponderancia de artefactos de piedra en los sitios que generalmente no se encontrarían si no hubieran sido lugares habitables. Esto indica que hubo una sociedad que se estaba preparando o participando en una ofensiva de guerra.</div>
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El valle de Motagua , el cual bordea la montaña por el sur , es un corredor natural desde las tierras altas de Guatemala y la costa del Pacifico, hacia la costa del Caribe , y probablemente fue usada con los tiempos de los habitantes de Olmec . La zona alta del valle de Motagua también contiene famosos depósitos de jade conocidos desde la antigüedad, donde se origino3 el jade de los maya y de Costa Rica. Uno de las importantes fuentes de obsidiana de América Central se encuentra en la cuenca del río Motagua.</div>
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Más allá de la evidencia de fortificaciones, armas, artefactos, etc. Hasta ahora no he podido explorar y evaluar el lugar de batalla. Pase todo mi tiempo en la montaña explorando otras áreas que erróneamente pensé eran las áreas de batalla, y no reconocí lo que ahora creo que era la real área de batalla justo antes de mi salida.</div>
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Algunos sobrevivientes que escaparon de la batalla final habrían viajado con dirección sur o este y no habrían sido capaces de viajar al norte (la dirección lógica de escape de los Lamanitas, su invasión fue de sur u oeste) a menos que tuvieran botes.</div>
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Mientras visitaba el área tuve la oportunidad de hablar con uno de los indígenas locales. Le pregunte si el sabia de alguna leyenda o tradiciones sobre guerra en el área. El dijo que su abuelo le comento de una gran batalla que tomo lugar allí, sin embargo, él no sabía hace cuanto esta habría sucedido.</div>
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En resumen, el cerro San Gil parece encajar el criterio requerido, y como resultado, este debe ser considerado como uno de los principales candidatos para ser el cerro Cumorah, el sitio donde el profeta Mormón escondió los registros nefitas, y donde las batallas finales de Jareditas y Nefitas tomaron lugar.</div>
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Notas.</div>
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1 “El Projecto Arqueologico Izabal”. Elsa Chang Lam. Also “Nuevas Evidencias</div>
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Arqueologicas en la Cuenca del Lago de Izabal”. Luis E. Cruz and Juan Luis Velasquez.</div>
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Both in “Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueologicas en Guatemala” Vol. 1</div>
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and 2 (1989 and 2004). Museo Nacional de arqueologia y Etnologia.</div>
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2 Ibid. p. 284.</div>
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3 “Guatemala’s Olmec Jade”. Geotimes. Aug. 2002.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-27996457030035764362020-03-13T07:35:00.002-07:002020-03-29T12:01:52.639-07:00Mormon's camp at Cumorah<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Mormon and his large group of Nephite refugees camped near the<a href="https://mormongeography.com/hill-cumorah/"> Hill Cumorah</a> for four years while they awaited the attack of the Lamanite hordes. This attack came in 385 AD (see Morm. 6). What did they do during this time that they were waiting? Perhaps they farmed. Perhaps they built homes or shelters. They probably foraged for food. They must have made a significant, although short term, impact on the environment.</div>
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In 1991 a group of archaeologists from the Guatemalan National Museum did a survey of the area <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-auI8O-DfUjU/Xmv5vKuij9I/AAAAAAAABuI/57K2fVYvcKYpRERUheBx4qsmE8LK7fuHQCEwYBhgL/s1600/rio-dulce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="770" height="103" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-auI8O-DfUjU/Xmv5vKuij9I/AAAAAAAABuI/57K2fVYvcKYpRERUheBx4qsmE8LK7fuHQCEwYBhgL/s200/rio-dulce.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rio Dulce looking west toward Izabal</td></tr>
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around Lake Izabal in east central Guatemala. They were originally looking for the lost early colonial city of Nito but instead found a large, short term, prehispanic habitation site. This find is just west of the Cerro San Gil. I have proposed that hill as the ancient Nephite/Jaredite Hill Cumorah, or Ramah.</div>
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During this survey the archaeologists discovered thousands of prehistoric "monticulos" (mounds) and plazas along both sides of the major rivers flowing down from the mountain (Cerro San Gil) to the lake. These rivers flow for a distance of 10-12 kms. This region has had minimal study, so the archaeologists were surprised at the number of mounds and plazas that were found. These finds indicate a large population for a short period of habitation. They assigned a preliminary date for the finds to the Late Classic period which ranges from 400 BC to 250 AD.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">I have included a </span><a href="https://www.asociaciontikal.com/simposio-05-ano-1991/27-el-proyecto-arqueologico-izabal-interesantes-hallazgos-de-las-temporadas-1990-1991-elsa-chang-lam-simposio-05-ano-1991/" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">copy of the original report </a><span style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">in Spanish below. If necessary, you can get a rough translation of the report using Google Translate. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MuYAuIbMJ2U/Xmv5jF9SIkI/AAAAAAAABuE/zn-dhVXxAoI1upRH6z26rBGE01K3A8awwCEwYBhgL/s1600/Lake-Izabal2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="576" height="250" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MuYAuIbMJ2U/Xmv5jF9SIkI/AAAAAAAABuE/zn-dhVXxAoI1upRH6z26rBGE01K3A8awwCEwYBhgL/s400/Lake-Izabal2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Physical map of Izabal region with Cerro San Gil to the middle right</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ELjHrgiQoek/Xmv7i2JQHgI/AAAAAAAABuQ/A-HZB0cV1hUqrw9p56ay_Q6jXKwMObwAgCEwYBhgL/s1600/Mapa_de_Izabal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1104" data-original-width="1600" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ELjHrgiQoek/Xmv7i2JQHgI/AAAAAAAABuQ/A-HZB0cV1hUqrw9p56ay_Q6jXKwMObwAgCEwYBhgL/s400/Mapa_de_Izabal.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of Izabal area showing roads, towns, and geographical boundaries</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TDoBsXoYT14/Xmv-OAOByNI/AAAAAAAABvE/g3R0yaYpyMIC0GLwLcPoPgjPZ-RsuoWeQCEwYBhgL/s1600/CIMG0168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TDoBsXoYT14/Xmv-OAOByNI/AAAAAAAABvE/g3R0yaYpyMIC0GLwLcPoPgjPZ-RsuoWeQCEwYBhgL/s400/CIMG0168.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artificial mounds along the Rio Amatillo showing plaza area in the middle left.<br />
The region has been cleared and planted with grass for cattle grazing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LMehxV0JQoI/Xmv96Rfc89I/AAAAAAAABvA/SAwwOtKToo8iwg7QRvDUnJYl0_SF6jlsQCEwYBhgL/s1600/CIMG0104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LMehxV0JQoI/Xmv96Rfc89I/AAAAAAAABvA/SAwwOtKToo8iwg7QRvDUnJYl0_SF6jlsQCEwYBhgL/s400/CIMG0104.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rio San Marcos looking westward</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George Warr and Warren Ashton exploring mounds area. Cerro San Gil in<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another plaza outlined by mounds on four sides<br />
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<strong style="color: grey; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">EL PROYECTO ARQUEOLÓGICO IZABAL:</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">INTERESANTES HALLAZGOS DE LAS TEMPORADAS 1990‑1991</span></strong></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: inherit;">Elsa Chang Lam</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">El interés arqueológico en la región del lago de Izabal, fue iniciado por el grupo de arqueólogos del Proyecto Arqueológico Izabal, con la inquietud de encontrar el legendario puerto prehispánico y asentamiento español de Nito, el cual, a pesar de estar localizado en los mapas del país, aun no se ha determinado su verdadera ubicación geográfica. Este sitio, así como otros coloniales mencionados en las Cartas de Hernán Cortés y algunos cronistas españoles del siglo XVI (Nueva Sevilla, Chacujal, Bodegas), ha hecho necesaria la realización de un estudio formal e integral para el conocimiento del desarrollo histórico‑cultural de la región.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Así, el Proyecto Arqueológico Izabal, con la participación de un equipo de arqueólogos norteamericanos y la colaboración de algunos guatemaltecos, inicia su primera fase de estudio exploratorio subacuático en 1990, en la ribera sur del lago de Izabal, en donde se encontró un ancladero histórico en lo que fue el antiguo puerto de Izabal, con numeroso material de origen británico del siglo XIX.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Este hallazgo significativo pone de manifiesto la necesidad de crear una propuesta formal de investigación en la región. De esta forma, para la presente temporada, la continuidad de los estudios se orientan al reconocimiento arqueológico, el cual se ve favorecido con el patrocinio de la Compañía Shell Exploradora y Productora de Guatemala, la cual se interesó en la investigación arqueológica que se estaba realizando, como un componente importante de los estudios de impacto ambiental requeridos en la zona.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">El inicio de una segunda fase de investigación incluyó un reconocimiento exploratorio en la ribera norte del lago, con rumbo este‑oeste (desde Punta Pedernales hasta Punta Salamacueco) y en la ribera sur del mismo (desde Cayo Piedra‑El Golfete hasta el río Amatillo).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">El descubrimiento de miles de montículos prehispánicos en ambas zonas recorridas y las evidencias de la presencia colonial e histórica tanto sobre tierra firme como dentro del lago, ponen en relevancia la importancia de la zona en cuanto a que ésta, dada su ubicación geográfica, fue marco de una larga e intensa ocupación humana, cuyas distintas actividades de intercambio, comercio y subsistencia, presentarán una nueva perspectiva sobre el desarrollo de la cultura Maya con sus áreas circunvecinas y los primeros contactos con las culturas del Viejo Mundo.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Descripción del proyecto y sus objetivos</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">El Proyecto Arqueológico Izabal trabaja bajo los auspicios de la Fundación para la Conservación “La Ruta Maya” y está integrada por arqueólogos guatemaltecos y norteamericanos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Básicamente, los objetivos e intereses del proyecto para la realización de los trabajos en esta temporada, estuvieron dirigidos a:</span></div>
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<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Obtener más información a través de las evidencias arqueológicas para la unificación de datos en la interpretación del desarrollo cultural de la región a lo largo de toda su historia.</span></li>
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<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Continuar el inventario y registros arqueológicos en la región con la identificación y localización de sitios tantos prehispánicos, coloniales, como históricos.</span></li>
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<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Determinar el estado de conservación de éstos y su potencial cultural y turístico para su proyección en la educación como para el beneficio socio-económico local.</span></li>
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<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Desarrollar el interés por la arqueología subacuática como un importante campo en la localización de naufragios o evidencias arqueológicas y así obtener una mejor interpretación de los acontecimientos históricos en la región.</span></li>
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<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">ÁREA explorada y metodología</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">El recorrido exploratorio de esta temporada se inició en la ribera norte del Lago de Izabal, cubriendo sistemáticamente con caminamientos, desde el Castillo de San Felipe hacia el sur hasta Punta Salamacueco. La extensión recorrida fue aproximadamente de 30 km y de la orilla del lago tierra adentro entre 1‑5 km. Asimismo también se realizaron exploraciones subacuáticas en la zona de la actual finca Jocoló, finca Paraíso y El Estor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">El lado de la ribera sur también se recorrió con caminamientos desde el río Amatillo en el oeste, hasta Cayo Piedra hacia el este, cubriendo así un área de aproximadamente 20 km. Se tomó la carretera asfaltada CA‑13 como punto de partida y de rápido acceso en la ejecución del recorrido.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Los caminamientos efectuados extensivamente a lo largo de las cuencas fluviales principales de los ríos Amatillo, San Marcos, Juan Vicente y Colorado abarcaron desde la orilla del lago tierra adentro con una extensión de hasta 10 km. La exploración subacuática en este lado, se efectuó frente a las actuales aldeas Santa Isabel La Bacadilla, San Francisco, Guapinol y Mariscos, las fincas Colorado Creek, Carolina y en la ensenada Playa Escondida.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">También se realizó un diagnóstico en otras áreas y que en próxima temporada de trabajo se reconocerán más sistemáticamente: aldea Ciénaga, finca La Gloria y los proyectos de reforestación La Esperanza y Santa Isabel, entre los ríos Ciénaga y Branche; la finca San Gerónimo Las Conchas (la cual tiene un sitio arqueológico bastante grande de varios centenares de montículos y fue descubierto y reportado al IDAEH en 1987 por miembros del presente proyecto) y Punta Herrería (entre Livingston y Puerto Barrios).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">La localización de todos estos asentamientos arqueológicos fue debidamente registrada en una ficha elaborada por el mismo proyecto y que serán posteriormente entregadas al IDAEH con su respectiva ubicación en el mapa.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">En esta ficha se contemplan diferentes aspectos desde la forma de acceso al sitio, el estado de conservación, descripción de su ubicación en cuanto a las características topográficas, etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tanto la recolección de muestras de material de superficie sobre tierra y sobre el fondo del lago fue de mayor consideración para poder determinar en forma preliminar la ubicación cronológica de los asentamientos arqueológicos. Todo el material recolectado fue lavado, identificado y analizado en el mismo lugar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">De la misma forma, el levantamiento topográfico de aquellos sitios o agrupaciones de montículos con características relevantes fue realizado simultáneamente.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Descubrimientos y resultados preliminares de la investigación</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">La región de Izabal ha sido, arqueológicamente hablando, poco estudiada. Previo al inicio de esta fase de trabajo, fue de gran importancia conocer y reunir la información de las anteriores investigaciones arqueológicas realizadas en el lago. Todas estas constituyen una fuente base para la interpretación y comparación de datos. Las notas de campo de 1949 de Edwin Shook, quien visitara la zona sureste (Golfete) y reportara el hallazgo de varios sitios arqueológicos entre los que figura San Gil de Buena Vista y el legendario Nito.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">La tesis doctoral de Barbara Voorhies, quien trabajó en la región entre 1964‑65 realizando un recorrido extenso por todo el lago, y concentrándose después con excavaciones en San Felipe. Ella reportó 64 sitios arqueológicos. Este reporte fue básico para intentar buscar y determinar el estado de conservación de los sitios localizados por ella. Lamentablemente, casi la mitad de ellos no se pudieron encontrar debido a que la descripción y el mapa que ella utilizó para ubicarlos no es muy preciso y la información ambigua; además se pudo comprobar que muchos de los sitios que reportó no existen, sino más bien se designaron como tal solo en base al disperso y escaso material de superficie visible encontrado en milpas o senderos (algunos ni siquiera presentaban la evidencia física de estructuras), por ejemplo la localización de sitios designados como D‑10, D‑12, E‑5, E‑7, E‑8, (Voorhies 1969:76‑79).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Aunque estas apreciaciones no pretendieron criticar el trabajo realizado por Voorhies, si fue necesario verificar la localización de algunos de los sitios como parte de los estudios del registro arqueológico que se encuentra realizando este proyecto. Es importante mencionar que las limitaciones que ella encontró hace más de 25 años atrás, como la inaccesibilidad a muchas áreas cubiertas por densa vegetación y falta de mapas adecuados (debido a las restricciones por el problema de la guerrilla), incidieron en la calidad de su investigación. Sin embargo, su trabajo tiene grandes méritos en cuanto a que es la fuente de información arqueológica más extensa que cubre una gran parte de la región (su investigación también incluye cuevas con material y dibujos prehispánicos) y la información sobre la situación de la cobertura boscosa en ese entonces (determinada por la fotografía aérea), también ofrece una útil referencia para poder comparar y determinar cómo esos cambios en la vegetación y en el uso de la tierra han repercutido sobre los ecosistemas de la región.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Finalmente, los trabajos de tesis publicados por la Escuela de Historia, de la USAC, también constituyeron una buena y útil referencia, en cuanto a que la localización y el reporte de las investigaciones (excavaciones) en sitios arqueológicos prehispánicos de gran tamaño, proporcionan un panorama más completo sobre el patrón de asentamiento, la arquitectura y la secuencia cerámica como producto de las diversas actividades de las sociedades prehispánicas Mayas. Estas investigaciones fueron realizadas durante la temporada 1974‑79 como parte del programa arqueológico financiado por la empresa Exmíbal y el área de concentración de los trabajos fue en el noroeste y suroeste del lago de Izabal.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Los hallazgos del Proyecto Arqueológico Izabal en esta temporada</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Durante nuestro extenso recorrido localizando sitios arqueológicos, hemos descubierto con mucha satisfacción una cantidad sorprendente de montículos prehispánicos principalmente a lo largo de los ríos mayores: Amatillo, San Marcos, Colorado y Juan Vicente, los cuales están ubicados al sur del lago de Izabal; también se encontraron agrupaciones menores de montículos sobre colinas en las áreas noroeste del lago, río Ciénaga y río Frío.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Asimismo también se encontraron evidencias de artefactos coloniales (fragmentos de ánforas, tiestos de cerámica mayólica) dentro del agua en la aldea Santa Isabel la Bacadilla, finca Jocoló y a escasos metros de Mariscos; lo que sugieren en el segundo caso, la localización de la reducción dominica de indios Ch´ol conocida como Santa Catarina de Jocoló durante el Siglo 16 y el tercero, el asentamiento colonial de la misma época, Bodegas Bajas. El hallazgo de artefactos históricos (siempre de origen británico, Siglo 19), se localizaron dentro del agua frente a la finca Colorado Creek, aldea Santa Isabel La Bacadilla nuevamente, y frente a la finca Jocoló.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ha sido difícil determinar exactamente los límites de los sitios prehispánicos encontrados. El descubrimiento sucesivo de miles de montículos en ambos lados de los principales ríos recorridos (tal es el caso de los ríos San Marcos y Amatillo) hasta donde llegó nuestra investigación, 10 km de extensión desde la orilla del lago hacia la montaña, presentó este mismo patrón de ocupación extensiva.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">La mayor parte de veces, una serie continua o concentración de grupos de montículos separados por un par de metros se interrumpía por 200‑300 m, para luego continuar apareciendo más. Este patrón nos ha sugerido hacer una analogía con el patrón de asentamiento actual en el que un poblado principal mayor está rodeado de grupos de aldeas o caseríos menores.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Por esta razón, separar la extensa franja de grupos de montículos en sitios, sin haber hecho investigaciones con excavaciones y aun más desconocer bajo qué estructura socio-política se regían, era hacer una clasificación muy rígida y poco realista de estos asentamientos. Por lo tanto, prefiriendo ser más objetivos y lógicos en la interpretación del tamaño de los asentamientos en la región, se ha preferido utilizar preliminarmente las siguientes definiciones:</span></div>
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<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Zona arqueológica: se llama así a una extensa franja que presenta una ocupación sucesiva de montículos (estructuras) de diversos tamaños y agrupados con un arreglo de manera formal o informal. Podría incluir sitios y conjuntos arqueológicos.</span></li>
</ol>
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<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sitio arqueológico: tradicionalmente el uso de esta definición se dirige a aquellas agrupaciones de montículos que presentan una concentración en su ubicación, con una plaza mayor o principal y otras menores. Sus límites son más fáciles de determinar cuando la frecuencia de estructuras desaparece sin que se encuentren más en un radio de extensión significativo.</span></li>
</ol>
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<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Conjunto arqueológico: se designa como tal a aquel grupo reducido de montículos juntos que se encuentran aislados de otros. Pueden estar arreglados formalmente o informalmente.</span></li>
</ol>
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<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Depósito cultural: es aquella área con presencia en superficie de material arqueológico y que visiblemente no presenta vestigios de estructuras.</span></li>
</ol>
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<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Cuevas arqueológicas: son aquellas cavidades subterráneas o interiores dentro de formaciones rocosas (montañas, colinas, mogotes), de origen natural o artificial, con un tamaño más o menos extenso y limitado que presenta vestigios arqueológicos en forma de artefactos, entierros o pinturas, indicando así actividades de la presencia humana dentro de ellas.</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Considerando las definiciones anteriores, se puede decir que durante la temporada de exploración arqueológica en la región del lago de Izabal, se han encontrado los siguientes tipos de asentamientos:</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ribera Noroeste</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">La zona arqueológica de Sumache con una extensión aproximada de 3 km este-oeste, que abarca una franja desde la finca Miralá hasta el noreste de la aldea Sumache. Esta zona presenta más de un centenar de montículos ubicados sobre los cerros, formando sea plazas o conjuntos de estructuras menores en arreglo informal. La evidencia de material cultural lítico y de construcción (cantos rodados) en algunas de sus estructuras fue encontrado.</span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ribera Suroeste</span></strong></div>
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<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Amatillo, con alrededor de 1000 montículos en una franja que cubre ambos lados del río con el mismo nombre, aproximadamente de 7 km de extensión. Fueron numerosos y evidentes una cantidad significativa de montículos destruidos por actividades agrícolas, ganaderas o por el saqueo.</span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="2" style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-size: 14px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;">
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">San Marcos, zona que se extiende más de 12 km este-oeste cruzando la carretera a Modesto Méndez (CA‑13) e incluye las fincas San Marcos, Las Vegas, aldeas Buenos Aires, San Marcos, El Milagro y varios parcelamientos. Se calcula la presencia de alrededor de 2000 montículos desplazados en ambos lados del río con el mismo nombre. El material cultural fue muy escaso y no diagnóstico en su mayoría, sin embargo para una de las parcelas se pudo determinar que el material cerámico pertenece a la época Clásica Tardía.</span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="3" style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-size: 14px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;">
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Juan Vicente, zona que en vez de extenderse a lo largo de ambas riberas del río con el mismo nombre, tiende a presentar una concentración mayor de montículos con la presencia de algunas plazas.</span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="4" style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-size: 14px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;">
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Colorado, la cual incluye centenares de montículos dentro de las fincas de propiedad privada: Colorado Creek, Colorado y San Felipe ‑ Colorado, así como también puede ser que esta misma zona conforme solo una con la de San Marcos.</span></li>
</ol>
<div style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Además fueron determinados 10 sitios arqueológicos: La Gloria, Centro 1, San Gerónimo las Conchas, Boca Ancha, Berlín, Lote 6, Joya de Oro, Miramar, Santa Isabel La Bacadilla, Mariscos‑Bodegas.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">También se consideraron 20 conjuntos arqueológicos: Las Ilusiones, Jocoló, Los Ángeles, La Laguna, Paraíso, Hacienda Río Dulce, Santa Cruz‑Manaca Creek, Tijax, Tatín, Vidales, El Nanzal, La Colocha, Río Frío, Cayo Piedra, Ranchería Las Vegas/La Gloria, Oleoducto Río Frío, Oleoducto Joya de Oro, Punta Herrería, Playa Escondida y San Francisco.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Simultáneamente se realizó el mapeo y levantamiento preliminar de casi todos los grupos principales o arreglos sobresalientes de estructuras, tal es el caso de los complejos cuadrangulares encontrados en la zona del Amatillo (tipo de patrón de asentamiento ya mencionado por Schortman (1986:132) como característico del valle del bajo río Motagua); las plazas cerradas con más de cuatro montículos de forma alargada; o los arreglos poco usuales de un montículo grande rodeado de varios de menor tamaño como en la finca La Colonia (perteneciente a la zona de San Marcos); o en Lote 6, el cual presentó alrededor de un centenar de montículos de diferentes formas y tamaños sobre una colina rodeada y sin ningún arreglo formal.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">El material arqueológico recolectado generalmente fue escaso, muy erosionado y en la mayoría de casos no diagnóstico (pequeños tiestos de cuerpos de vasijas). En algunos casos se encontraron mayormente bordes o soportes y algunas figurillas con un fechamiento para el Preclásico Tardío. Las muestras analizadas sugieren que en base a su forma, la tendencia de ocupación mayor fue durante el Clásico Tardío, aunque no se descarta la posibilidad de que haya habido ocupaciones anteriores.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Es interesante señalar que la frecuencia de material lítico (fragmentos de obsidianas, pedernal y caliza principalmente) fue mayor que el de la cerámica. Algunos fragmentos de manos de moler se encontraron, así como dos artefactos completos y algunos fragmentos de cuchillos de pedernal y sílex.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Conclusiones</span></strong></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Las presentes conclusiones son de carácter preliminar ya que aun falta reunir mayores datos para poder hacer una mejor interpretación sobre el desarrollo del patrón de asentamiento de la región en sus diferentes períodos culturales.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">En base a los descubrimientos en esta temporada de 1991, se puede determinar que:</span></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-size: 14px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;">
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">La región del lago de Izabal, dadas sus condiciones ecológicas, (con el más grande cuerpo de agua en el país, de abundante biodiversidad en especies de flora y fauna tanto terrestre como acuática), su ubicación geográfica en una zona intermedia del desarrollo de la cultura Maya, su topografía montañosa y con abundancia de diversos minerales rodeando el lago y su acceso y salida hacia el mar Caribe, la hizo marco de selección y sostenimiento de una densa población prehispánica, principalmente para la época Clásica Tardía. Todo lo contrario a lo que Voorhies y Leventhal sugirieron, al decir que existe una escasez de asentamientos imponentes o extensivos en el lago debido a la marginalidad de suelos y el terreno, lo cual en consecuencia inhibió cualquier ocupación extensiva (Leventhal 1981:191; Voorhies 1972, 1987).</span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="2" style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-size: 14px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;">
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Estas mismas condiciones ambientales favorecieron el desarrollo de diversas actividades humanas, comercio e intercambio, producción y subsistencia, etc.</span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="3" style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-size: 14px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;">
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Debido al sistema de arreglo informal y la abundancia de estructuras arqueológicas de menor tamaño encontradas en la mayoría de asentamientos descubiertos, sugieren que las poblaciones Mayas de la región del lago de Izabal se dedicaban básicamente a actividades de producción y subsistencia (caza, pesca, agricultura, comercio, intercambio), a manera de poseer una estructura socio-económica menos compleja y diferenciada de aquella desarrollada en las Tierras Bajas Mayas, en donde lo monumental denota otra forma o sistema de organización socio-económica.</span></li>
</ol>
<ol start="4" style="background-color: white; color: grey; font-size: 14px; margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 40px;">
<li style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Por último, quisiera enfatizar que estos nuevos descubrimientos, vienen a cambiar la perspectiva del desarrollo de la cultura Maya en relación con las Tierra Bajas, la periferia sureste, el Altiplano central y la región de las Verapaces y probablemente con la región de Yucatán y las islas del Caribe, con las cuales seguramente existieron importantes y dinámicas relaciones.</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">REFERENCIAS </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Leventhal, Richard M. </span></div>
<div data-canvas-width="409.9105376470589" style="color: transparent; cursor: text; font-size: 15.4721px; left: 111.176px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 242.815px; transform-origin: 0% 0%; transform: scaleX(0.978792); white-space: pre;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1981 Settlement Patterns in the Southeast Maya Area. En </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lowland Maya Settlement Pattern</span></div>
<div data-canvas-width="88.82199529411764" style="color: transparent; cursor: text; font-size: 15.4721px; left: 747.945px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 242.815px; transform-origin: 0% 0%; transform: scaleX(0.974373); white-space: pre;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">(editado por </span></div>
<div data-canvas-width="239.5755476470589" style="color: transparent; cursor: text; font-size: 15.4721px; left: 166.768px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 260.608px; transform-origin: 0% 0%; transform: scaleX(0.978808); white-space: pre;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Wendy Ashmore):187-209. Universi</span></div>
<div data-canvas-width="370.61460264705886" style="color: transparent; cursor: text; font-size: 15.4721px; left: 406.352px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 260.608px; transform-origin: 0% 0%; transform: scaleX(0.977467); white-space: pre;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">ty of New Mexico Press, School of American Research </span></div>
<div data-canvas-width="230.44548573529414" style="color: transparent; cursor: text; font-size: 15.4721px; left: 166.768px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 278.401px; transform-origin: 0% 0%; transform: scaleX(0.981521); white-space: pre;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Advanced Seminar, Albuquerque. </span></div>
<div data-canvas-width="148.15115205882356" style="color: transparent; cursor: text; font-size: 15.4721px; left: 111.176px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 313.875px; transform-origin: 0% 0%; transform: scaleX(0.979086); white-space: pre;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Schortman, Edwin M. </span></div>
<div data-canvas-width="704.4010636764706" style="color: transparent; cursor: text; font-size: 15.4721px; left: 111.176px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 331.571px; transform-origin: 0% 0%; transform: scaleX(0.978658); white-space: pre;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1986 Interaction Between the Maya and Non-Maya Along the Late Classic Southeast Maya Periphery: </span></div>
<div data-canvas-width="389.82161647058837" style="color: transparent; cursor: text; font-size: 15.4721px; left: 166.768px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 349.363px; transform-origin: 0% 0%; transform: scaleX(0.983397); white-space: pre;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The View from the Lower </span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">Motagua Valley, Guatemala. En </span></div>
<div data-canvas-width="208.68558220588235" style="color: transparent; cursor: text; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15.4721px; left: 556.54px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 349.363px; transform-origin: 0% 0%; transform: scaleX(0.978568); white-space: pre;">
The Southeast Maya Periphery</div>
<div data-canvas-width="62.87689985294119" style="color: transparent; cursor: text; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15.4721px; left: 765.18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 349.363px; transform-origin: 0% 0%; transform: scaleX(0.97482); white-space: pre;">
(editado </div>
<div data-canvas-width="328.9607258823529" style="color: transparent; cursor: text; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15.4721px; left: 166.768px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 367.156px; transform-origin: 0% 0%; transform: scaleX(0.979303); white-space: pre;">
por Patricia Urban y Edwin Schortman):115-137. </div>
<div data-canvas-width="233.92205735294124" style="color: transparent; cursor: text; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15.4721px; left: 495.75px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 367.156px; transform-origin: 0% 0%; transform: scaleX(0.982265); white-space: pre;">
University of Texas Press, Austin. </div>
<div data-canvas-width="126.02301352941177" style="color: transparent; cursor: text; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15.4721px; left: 111.176px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 402.631px; transform-origin: 0% 0%; transform: scaleX(0.983529); white-space: pre;">
Voohries, Bárbara </div>
<div data-canvas-width="46.18254838235295" style="color: transparent; cursor: text; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15.4721px; left: 111.176px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 420.419px; transform-origin: 0% 0%; transform: scaleX(0.976193); white-space: pre;">
1969 </div>
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San Felipe: A Prehistoric Settlement in Eastern Guatemala</div>
<div data-canvas-width="256.7371552941177" style="color: transparent; cursor: text; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15.4721px; left: 559.588px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 420.419px; transform-origin: 0% 0%; transform: scaleX(0.991056); white-space: pre;">
. Tesis Doctoral, Yale University, New </div>
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Haven. </div>
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1972 Settlements Patterns in Two Regions of the Southern Maya Lowlands. </div>
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American Antiquity</div>
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37 </div>
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(1):115-126. </div>
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1987 The Prehistory of San Felipe. En </div>
<div data-canvas-width="373.28508000000005" style="color: transparent; cursor: text; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15.4721px; left: 389.117px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 526.963px; transform-origin: 0% 0%; transform: scaleX(0.977771); white-space: pre;">
The Periphery of the Southeastern Classic Maya Realm</div>
<div data-canvas-width="62.93724088235294" style="color: transparent; cursor: text; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15.4721px; left: 762.21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 526.963px; transform-origin: 0% 0%; transform: scaleX(0.975755); white-space: pre;">
(editado </div>
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por Gary Pahl):153-167. Latin Americ</div>
<div data-canvas-width="410.7274623529413" style="color: transparent; cursor: text; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15.4721px; left: 416.92px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 544.663px; transform-origin: 0% 0%; transform: scaleX(0.974817); white-space: pre;">
an Center Publications, University of California, Los Angeles.</div>
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REFERENCIAS
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Leventhal, Richard M.
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
1981 Settlement Patterns in the Southeast Maya Area. En
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
Lowland Maya Settlement Pattern</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
(editado por
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
Wendy Ashmore):187-209. Universi</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
ty of New Mexico Press, School of American Research
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
Advanced Seminar, Albuquerque.
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
Schortman, Edwin M.
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
1986 Interaction Between the Maya and Non-Maya Along the Late Classic
Southeast Maya Periphery:
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
The View from the Lower Motagua Valley, Guatemala. En
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
The Southeast Maya Periphery</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
(editado
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
por Patricia Urban y Edwin Schortman):115-137.
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
University of Texas Press, Austin.
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
Voohries, Bárbara
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
1969
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
San Felipe: A Prehistoric Settlement in Eastern Guatemala</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
. Tesis Doctoral, Yale University, New
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
Haven.
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
1972 Settlements Patterns in Two Regions of the Southern Maya
Lowlands.
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
American Antiquity</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
37
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
(1):115-126.
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
1987 The Prehistory of San Felipe. En
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
The Periphery of the Southeastern Classic Maya Realm</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
(editado
</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
por Gary Pahl):153-167. Latin Americ</div>
<div style="border: none; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; padding: 0in; widows: 2;">
an Center Publications, University of California, Los Angeles.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-34923150862257904222020-03-09T12:11:00.002-07:002020-03-12T11:06:15.654-07:00Views of Bountiful<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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For many years it was assumed by critics of the Book of Mormon that Nephi's description of the Land of Bountiful in 1st Nephi 17 was false and impossible. This was used as an argument against the veracity of the book. How could there be such an environment in all of the bleak and forbidding desert of Saudi Arabia. </div>
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But now we know, thanks to the discoveries of men such as Warren Aston, that there are such lands on the coastal plains of Oman. These things were completely unknown to even the learned at the time of Joseph Smith. This is one of the proofs of the book that are gradually accumulating as more discoveries are made as the results of diligent searching.</div>
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I have decided to assemble a series of photos from Google Maps that illustrate the lush environment of modern Bountiful. Most of these are from populated places (Dhalkut and Rayhkut) to the east and west of what has been identified as Bountiful or Khar Kharfot</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y8EmnMp1VGs/XmaBPGaZNuI/AAAAAAAABoQ/Tr5H80fOsn4VjWO5TL5IeTmhZd_9nRlqACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Satellite%2Bimage%2Bof%2BWestern%2BOman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="743" data-original-width="1492" height="198" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y8EmnMp1VGs/XmaBPGaZNuI/AAAAAAAABoQ/Tr5H80fOsn4VjWO5TL5IeTmhZd_9nRlqACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Satellite%2Bimage%2Bof%2BWestern%2BOman.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the immediate area around Bountiful. The red dot is Kharfot at the mouth of Wadi Sayq. The wadi can be<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">seen as the dark line trending westward. The diagonal line in the south west corner is the Yemen/Oman border. You may be able to distinguish the green tint along the coastal lowlands that is the vegetation resulting from the monsoon storms that bring moisture to this otherwise barren land. Below is a shot of the mouth of Wadi Sayq looking eastward.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zWPEvaCPaYs/XmlJmre9-3I/AAAAAAAABtg/ilKXuqRLP3077P5VHT4H_ixZ-egzT2nhwCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Seashore%2BKhor%2BKhorfot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="1289" height="258" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zWPEvaCPaYs/XmlJmre9-3I/AAAAAAAABtg/ilKXuqRLP3077P5VHT4H_ixZ-egzT2nhwCPcBGAYYCw/s400/Seashore%2BKhor%2BKhorfot.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GAZmjwB4--A/XmaBZrT45HI/AAAAAAAABoc/m9fJeuo_NhM_UsIa8aQJJS7AXM9MRdXFwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Dhalkut4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1237" height="290" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GAZmjwB4--A/XmaBZrT45HI/AAAAAAAABoc/m9fJeuo_NhM_UsIa8aQJJS7AXM9MRdXFwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Dhalkut4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo shows the lush vegetation near Dharkut westward along the coast toward the Yemen border. Trees, grass and shrubs are abundant.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b6JlU1FfHzg/XmaBZy6hXMI/AAAAAAAABog/Bv2djU5YMpQaBo4JVziMgknPP8fYi_w2gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Dhalkut6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="939" data-original-width="543" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b6JlU1FfHzg/XmaBZy6hXMI/AAAAAAAABog/Bv2djU5YMpQaBo4JVziMgknPP8fYi_w2gCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Dhalkut6.jpg" width="231" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Near Dhalkut. Showing lush vegetation and precipitous drop down to the ocean.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gMOm3RE6Tug/XmaBaZLYjII/AAAAAAAABok/lctrx8Hkiwk_itSJ64EXVo5MDW4wyzlFQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Dhalkut8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="722" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gMOm3RE6Tug/XmaBaZLYjII/AAAAAAAABok/lctrx8Hkiwk_itSJ64EXVo5MDW4wyzlFQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Dhalkut8.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another shot near Dhalkut with steep cliffs and ocean side.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_nzE--74-yc/XmaBZc37s7I/AAAAAAAABoY/HLfIItdlL1Y7NM5H_qVcnikR2oVwE6HhgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Dhalkut10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="1184" height="301" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_nzE--74-yc/XmaBZc37s7I/AAAAAAAABoY/HLfIItdlL1Y7NM5H_qVcnikR2oVwE6HhgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Dhalkut10.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inland from the sea showing lush vegetation.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tGOXCTOfigQ/XmaBnrac1JI/AAAAAAAABos/ctuPTJ8NrAgLIe7KN2uUch-NsUkfOmD7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Dhalkut12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="1234" height="275" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tGOXCTOfigQ/XmaBnrac1JI/AAAAAAAABos/ctuPTJ8NrAgLIe7KN2uUch-NsUkfOmD7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Dhalkut12.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Near Dhalkut showing coastal topography and seashore.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SpIRy-jKddE/XmaBpOjk9bI/AAAAAAAABo4/XYUoHZXgV0g0-nsZ2oUedM2QOcPlSgj0wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Dhalkut13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="885" data-original-width="1193" height="296" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SpIRy-jKddE/XmaBpOjk9bI/AAAAAAAABo4/XYUoHZXgV0g0-nsZ2oUedM2QOcPlSgj0wCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Dhalkut13.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pasture land near Dhalkut. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_HxJs-RLuxA/XmaBpLpxjMI/AAAAAAAABo8/X5IQyMJgg_Q36P0PR8WnwT5dd5k1dBuogCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Dhalkut14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1192" height="282" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_HxJs-RLuxA/XmaBpLpxjMI/AAAAAAAABo8/X5IQyMJgg_Q36P0PR8WnwT5dd5k1dBuogCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Dhalkut14.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rugged coastal area near Dhalkut.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DMJkdxDypJo/XmaBq5QDbbI/AAAAAAAABpI/u2Q8vOoksu8fEJi_kv7VXChsnhkSRTVTACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Dhulkut2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="925" data-original-width="1190" height="310" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DMJkdxDypJo/XmaBq5QDbbI/AAAAAAAABpI/u2Q8vOoksu8fEJi_kv7VXChsnhkSRTVTACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Dhulkut2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cliffs and sea Dhalkut area.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q1D0FC74UT4/XmaBqAYQcyI/AAAAAAAABpE/G3Kc4MmQXtYgsuWuTn2koyyHxnVQVW3RwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Dhulkut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1204" height="297" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q1D0FC74UT4/XmaBqAYQcyI/AAAAAAAABpE/G3Kc4MmQXtYgsuWuTn2koyyHxnVQVW3RwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Dhulkut.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pasture land in Dhalkut region.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ngXSVs9XSU/XmaBrD1o_nI/AAAAAAAABpM/wOI0C6dvA7U5cmVrAhWD9dGpx7WE5x34QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Inland%2Bfrom%2BRayhkut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="1198" height="275" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ngXSVs9XSU/XmaBrD1o_nI/AAAAAAAABpM/wOI0C6dvA7U5cmVrAhWD9dGpx7WE5x34QCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Inland%2Bfrom%2BRayhkut.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A short way inland from the coast one is back in the harsh desert climate of interior Saudi Arabia.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--QCgIdKCx3I/Xmfa472ELZI/AAAAAAAABrk/IIvz3puBD2skyYkR1TznKoBwDIj3vIJdQCPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Upper%2BWadi%2BSayq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="520" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--QCgIdKCx3I/Xmfa472ELZI/AAAAAAAABrk/IIvz3puBD2skyYkR1TznKoBwDIj3vIJdQCPcBGAYYCw/s400/Upper%2BWadi%2BSayq.jpg" width="386" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Upper Wadi Sayq showing desolate landscape.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yr7JtYW6SIU/XmaB2TW-IlI/AAAAAAAABpY/Nx4ewM3rCUshlwjW0aiYlcHOsm0H0KRgQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Dhalkut5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="1176" height="298" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yr7JtYW6SIU/XmaB2TW-IlI/AAAAAAAABpY/Nx4ewM3rCUshlwjW0aiYlcHOsm0H0KRgQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Dhalkut5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Highway in Dhalkut region.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FFdpJ3liO_8/XmaB2Xy29fI/AAAAAAAABpc/aclIMQPP1SU45cyJ8q-APHyDj0jWiaQmgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Dhalkut7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="921" data-original-width="1243" height="296" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FFdpJ3liO_8/XmaB2Xy29fI/AAAAAAAABpc/aclIMQPP1SU45cyJ8q-APHyDj0jWiaQmgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Dhalkut7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scenic view near Dhalkut.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4vgzBTukmrQ/XmaB3uw8-RI/AAAAAAAABpg/l3XLhhu2Q4Ejsekxd2_miMbLZlCeRZ2XgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Dhalkut9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1290" height="248" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4vgzBTukmrQ/XmaB3uw8-RI/AAAAAAAABpg/l3XLhhu2Q4Ejsekxd2_miMbLZlCeRZ2XgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Dhalkut9.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rugged coastline Dhalkut area. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4KXr1SDM84Q/XmaPsKAKjOI/AAAAAAAABqk/mA8rSeDGLs4yTqZCDKrf6ZQb3xqDncZcwCEwYBhgL/s1600/Rayhkut%2BBeach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="1448" height="195" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4KXr1SDM84Q/XmaPsKAKjOI/AAAAAAAABqk/mA8rSeDGLs4yTqZCDKrf6ZQb3xqDncZcwCEwYBhgL/s400/Rayhkut%2BBeach.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Areal view of Rayhkut Beach east of Khar Kharfot.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NUsxdGBu85Y/XmaPrfxczHI/AAAAAAAABqg/5Vo25ECaI_EpT6WYlROL1VuCZTluzbaAgCEwYBhgL/s1600/Raykhut2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="960" height="191" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NUsxdGBu85Y/XmaPrfxczHI/AAAAAAAABqg/5Vo25ECaI_EpT6WYlROL1VuCZTluzbaAgCEwYBhgL/s320/Raykhut2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Rugged coastal area near Rayhkut. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Omani Boabab tree showing large size of some trees in area.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dIFp7tsBjr4/XmaTEh48moI/AAAAAAAABrA/iw0rqb6EqiAR3DDe6lZZUf4YZqR8cErLACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Wadi%2BSayq%2Bat%2BKhar%2BKharfot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="857" data-original-width="1206" height="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dIFp7tsBjr4/XmaTEh48moI/AAAAAAAABrA/iw0rqb6EqiAR3DDe6lZZUf4YZqR8cErLACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Wadi%2BSayq%2Bat%2BKhar%2BKharfot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inland view of mouth of Wadi Sayq.</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-5775116850755440842020-02-29T13:36:00.000-08:002020-02-29T13:50:35.576-08:00On Reading Arabia Felix<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I just finished reading the book Arabia
Felix by Thorkild Hansen. It is one of the better books I have </div>
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read. It is an account of the Danish Expedition of 1761-1767.
The purpose of this royally sponsored expedition was to explore and
obtain information on the relatively unknown country and region of
Yemen. The group consisted of five principal members and two
servants. Unfortunately, some of the leading members of the team
clashed seriously because of pride, arrogance, motivation and
personality differences. This led to serious drama on a number of
occasions.</div>
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The group consisted of various
specialties: a linguist, a botanist, a cartographer, a medical
doctor, and an artist. Their assignment was to explore and evaluate
the area in question according to their respective specialties, write
up their findings, keep a detailed journal, and report back to the
Danish court. Being thrust together, and somewhat isolated
culturally, they gradually learned to tolerate and rely on each
other.</div>
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One of their questions related to the
name Arabia Felix which roughly means “happy Arabia.” They
wondered why this name? It turned out that it was a poor translation.
The Arab orients himself to the east (in contrast to the westerner
who is oriented to the north) and to the right of east was south.
Yemen meant right, or south Arabia, not “happy” Arabia. In fact
not much that the team encountered in Arabia was happy.</div>
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Some of the team relished the adventure
while others only complained and endured. Several of the team
members were just good followers, while others showed developing
leadership skills. In addition to the scientific information the
book reports, it is an excellent character study of the participants
in differing circumstances, and under varying conditions. It caused
me to reflect on my own interactions with those I might disagree
with, but must work with. </div>
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In the end it was definitely not Arabia
Felix. Six of the team members die of malaria leaving only the
cartographer, Carsten Niebuhr, alive. He travels alone from Bombay,
India, back to Denmark, mostly overland. He finds that traveling
alone, or in a small group, is much safer and successful that
accompanying a large group. He learns to blend in with the natives,
eating their food, and wearing their clothes. This was the identical
approach that the explorer Leonard Clark latter used in his exploration of the
upper Amazon.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Niebuhr accomplishes some amazing
things during, and following, the expedition. He mapped and<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gWYwlCgH-zE/XlrcTmQwZJI/AAAAAAAABnY/8MAjtpp645Iwm-ssIOQVcvXMgqDd-EPwgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Map_of_Yemen%252C_prepared_by_Niebuhr.tif.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1099" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gWYwlCgH-zE/XlrcTmQwZJI/AAAAAAAABnY/8MAjtpp645Iwm-ssIOQVcvXMgqDd-EPwgCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/Map_of_Yemen%252C_prepared_by_Niebuhr.tif.jpg" width="145" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of Yemen by Niebuhr<br />Courtesy of Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
charted
much of the Red Sea and the Yemen region. He mapped and recorded
wherever he went, including India, Iraq, Turkey and eastern Europe.
He studied and recorded the ruins of Persepolis, and copied all the
cuniform writings he found there. These cuniform copies later
resulted in the decipherment of the ancient Assyrian and Sumerian
languages.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Niebuhr's persistence, skill, and
tenacity result in his triumph, and he becomes the hero of this
history. Of course this became likely because he was the lone
survivor. But one can see his personal development from the poor,
uneducated, farm boy to the savant that he eventually becomes.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Many times a translated work loses much
of the original artistry and beauty of the original. But in this
work the translators have skillfully been able to retain the beauty,
clear language and meaning of the author. It is as if one is reading
the original text.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Unfortunately, much of the expeditions
work was ignored for years. The old king had died, as well as the
original promoters, and it was years before true recognition was
given. Niebuhr had to publish his own reports and books, and died in
relative obscurity in a small village in Denmark. But I believe that
he was satisfied with his life's accomplishments and the adventures
that he lived.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
I would recommend this book and think
you will find it enjoyable especially if you have an adventurous
spirit.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-32415291942140480012020-02-18T14:41:00.001-08:002022-08-28T06:23:10.633-07:00Who Could Read the Brass Plates?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I have<a href="https://moriancumr.blogspot.com/2020/01/laban-and-brass-plates.html"> suggested earlier</a> that the Brass Plates of Laban were written in an Egyptian script that was used by the Hebrews of that time as a "shorthand" for their written language. I also theorized that Nephi had been taught this abbreviated writing as a youth. This would have occurred when he was instructed in the "learning of the Jews (1 Ne. 1:1)." Nephi's "goodly" parents had the resources to provide him with an advanced education not available to most "common" Jews. He later made use of this skill in studying the scriptures on the Brass Plates, as well as in the historical and spiritual writings of his own.</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a-6sJjZJg40/XkxrPzY29hI/AAAAAAAABlw/hDaAbA0bVKskutRMpkzmJYSYxZarHNEugCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Heratic.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1384" data-original-width="1040" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a-6sJjZJg40/XkxrPzY29hI/AAAAAAAABlw/hDaAbA0bVKskutRMpkzmJYSYxZarHNEugCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/Heratic.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Egyptian Heratic Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Now, this being the case, the question arises, who else in Lehi's family could read and write the Egyptian script? Obviously Lehi could because immediately upon receiving the plates he began to study them. Nephi, of course, could as he quotes from the plates, studies them, and understands the prophecies. How about Laman, Lemuel and Sam? How about Sariah and her daughters, or the children of Ishmael? It appears that they could not read them. We see that Lehi had to read and explain these writings to them. On several occasions the brothers had to ask Nephi for an explanation of what Lehi had been teaching them from the plates. This may have been part of the reason that Laman and Lemuel resented Nephi so much. It may have been part of the "cunning arts (1Ne. 16:38)" that they accuse him of using. Ignorance tends to breed jealousy.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Jacob, who was born in the desert, after the family left Jerusalem, did not have an opportunity to study as the older siblings had. Yet he seems to have the skill necessary to read the plates. In the later part of Second Nephi, and in his own writings in Jacob, he appears to quote from the plates, and teach many of the specific writings. Where did he learn this skill? I would suggest that Nephi probably taught him, as well as others, following their separation from the Lamanites. It was a skill possessed by all the Nephite record keepers after this time period.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Many of the later generations of Nephites had the ability to read the sacred records. These may have been written in Hebrew, but it is likely that the were in the Reformed Egyptian. This was apparently the common form of record keeping.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">An interesting account is related in the Book of Mosiah. The same Amulonites that had enslaved Alma and his people, had also been appointed by the Lamanite king to be official teachers of his people in all their lands. We read: "And he appointed teachers of the brethren of Amulon in every land which was possessed by his people; and thus the language of Nephi began to be taught among all the people of the Lamanites. And they were a people friendly one with another; nevertheless they knew not God; neither did the brethren of Amulon teach them anything concerning the Lord their God, neither the law of Moses; nor did they teach them the words of Abinadi; But they taught them that they should keep their record, and that they might write one to another (Mosiah 24:4-6)."</div>
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Were the Amulonites teaching the Reformed Egyptian, or Hebrew? It is an interesting thing to consider. Reformed Egyptian may have been more common than I first thought.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-40817033120477117642020-02-13T10:45:00.000-08:002020-03-29T12:02:56.198-07:00Isaiah: Quoting the Lord<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
“When I get to the Isaiah chapters, I
just skip over them.” Is that your response to the writings of
Isaiah? Are you in the dark when you encounter his prophesies? If
so, you may be missing the best part of the Book of Mormon.</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Christ certainly didn't ignore Isaiah.
His counsel: “B<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">ehold,
I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a
commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently;
for great are the words of Isaiah (3 Ne. 23:1).” And our hero
Nephi certainly appreciated the prophet: “I, Nephi, write more of
the words of Isaiah, for my soul delighteth in his words (2 Ne.
11:2).”</span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Consider
Joseph Smith. Would we even have the Book of Mormon if he had said
“The reformed Egyptian is to hard to understand. Why should I even
try?” But of course he had the Urim and Thummin to assist him.
Wouldn't it be great if we had our own personal Urim and Thummin?
Then we could understand Isaiah.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But
perhaps we do have our own Urim. “Because the words of Isaiah are
not plain unto you, nevertheless they are plain unto all those that
are filled with the spirit of prophecy (2 Ne. 25:4).” That appears
to be the key. Interpret Isaiah by means of the Spirit.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
problem seems to be that most of us attempt to understand those
scriptures literally. We attempt to reason them out logically.
Instead we should be trying to feel the meaning of his words. The
Spirit communicates through our thoughts and feelings. Instead of
trying to understand the meaning, we should try and feel Isaiah's intent. </span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For
example, what do you feel when you read “And it shall come to pass
in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be
established in the tops of the mountains.” Do you just visualize a
physical temple being built by the early pioneers in Salt Lake City.
Or do you feel the Lord moving in history, preparing the world for
the Second Coming, including the initiation of vicarious work for the
dead. </span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-raKj-HSm4h4/XkYe3G0xH2I/AAAAAAAABlE/aL8OTPNGM5Q_prlbTm3DqJxb-vk_TocDQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Isaiah2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="490" height="115" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-raKj-HSm4h4/XkYe3G0xH2I/AAAAAAAABlE/aL8OTPNGM5Q_prlbTm3DqJxb-vk_TocDQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/Isaiah2.jpg" width="200" /></a>What do you understand by the poetic
scripture “Can a woman forget her suckling child? They may forget,
but I have not forgotten thee. I have graven thee on the palms of my
hands.” Do you only think of a helpless babe being abandon by it's
mother? Or of Christ's suffering during the crucifixion? Rather, can you
feel the atoning anguish of Christ for the billions of His father's
children who would have been lost without His intervention? Can you
feel the painful nails being driven through his palms while He took
upon himself the sins of us all?</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Try to feel the Spirit in Isaiah. I would
suggest that there is more Spirit in pondering his writings that in
most other scripture. <b>Isaiah didn't compose his writings, so much as
quote God.</b> His writings mirror the beautiful symbolic language of the Lord which was revealed to him. Celestial language seems to be
characterized by symbolism. If we skip over that, it is like
ignoring the symbolism in the temple ceremonies.</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Some examples of Isaiah's symbolism:
the cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan (referring to the mighty and proud men of the earth); the historical image of Babylon (the wicked later
day nations); the historical image of Egypt (for the modern nations
of Africa-Ch.19); the symbolism of Israel as a divorced and rejected
wife; Christ's disciples as sheep; and of course the symbolism of
Christ (as the Comforter, a root out of dry ground, the sacrificial
lamb, etc.)</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Elder Bruce R. McConkey wrote an essay
providing us with ten keys to unravel the mysteries of Isaiah. It can be
found at the<a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1973/10/ten-keys-to-understanding-isaiah?lang=eng"> following website </a>and is definitely worth studying.
</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-11020711723495194932020-01-11T16:55:00.004-08:002020-12-28T07:40:22.033-08:00Laban and the Brass Plates<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Brass Plates were an important resource for Lehi, Nephi, and the generations that followed. So it is important to have a basic understanding of of them and their history. They were apparently begun by Joseph the son of Jacob while he resided in Egypt, and contained some of his writings and history. Later writers added the books of Moses which included an account of the creation and the subsequent history through the exodus. Subsequent additions included the histories of the kings and prophets down through Isaiah and Jeremiah.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The plates also included other writings not found in our Bible. Prophets such as Zenos, Neum and Zenock whose teachings are quoted in the Book of Mormon. They also contain some of the writings and history of Joseph son of Jacob which was never available to the biblical scribes. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Brass Plates were written in the Egyptian script which was used by the Jews to write Hebrew, much as we used the Arabic alphabet to write English. It was an abbreviated script which was easier to write than was the Hebrew. It was something that had to be learned much as shorthand is learned in our day. Apparently Lehi knew how to read and write the script, and taught Nephi to use it as well (see 1 Ne. 1:1.) It does not appear that Laman and Lemuel had learned the Egyptian script as Lehi and Nephi had to read and explain the writings on the plates to them. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This Egyptian script was used by Nephi and the subsequent Nephite prophets to record their prophecies, teachings and histories over the years. It eventually evolved into the "reformed Egyptian" of the Gold Plates (see Mosiah 1:3-4).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
At the time of Lehi the Brass Plates were in the possession of Laban who was apparently a Jewish leader and a military official with authority under the king. He was of the linage of Joseph so had legal right to the plates. He was wealthy and had servants and soldiers at his command. He was unprincipled and likely used his position to his advantage. We are not told how long he had possessed the plates, but he apparently valued them, if not for their spiritual value, at least as an heirloom and kept them with his treasures.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The plates had been kept up to date by various unknown scribes and were current at the time of Lehi, including recent teachings and prophecies of Jeremiah. It seems ironic that Laban would have included the writings of Jeremiah as he probably didn't believe any of his prophecies, and may have actually been involved in the persecution of the prophet. Jeremiah was highly unpopular among the political leaders of Jerusalem and was viewed as a traitor as he favored the Babylonians. But whether Laban caused Jeremiah's writings to be included or not, they were there. Perhaps Laban had just recently come into possession of the plates, and they had earlier been kept by someone who believed Jeremiah. It is likely that Laban read and wrote the Egyptian script, and may have even studied the writings on the Brass Plates.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As a result of Laban's deceit and dishonesty it became necessary for the Lord to deliver him into Nephi's hands to be slain. It is obvious that Nephi could not have obtained the plates in any other way, and it was vitally important for Lehi's group to have them. So Laban was killed in the dead of the night and Nephi and his brothers fled with the plates and with Laban's servant. It was important for them to take Zoram with them as he could have notified the authorities of the death and they would have surely pursued them even down into the interior of Saudi Arabia. The prophet Urijah had been pursued down into Egypt and brought back and killed for a much minor offense.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Once the brothers return to their family, who were camped on the shore of the Red Sea, Lehi read the records (in the Egyptian script) and found that he was a descendant of Joseph. Apparently he had not known this before. He prophesied that the Brass Plates should never perish (this requires a miraculous preservation as brass would normally corrode over time), and that they should eventually go forth to all nations and peoples who would be his descendants (this will be a future event). Over time Lehi's descendants were taught the gospel from the records contained on the plates. Nephi took the plates with him when he and his people separated from his brothers. This caused his brothers and their posterity to hate him and his descendants for hundreds of years. The plates were kept by the Nephites as a national treasure (along with the sword of Laban and the Liahona) and handed down from one prophet/leader to another until they were buried by Mormon with all the other accumulated records in the original Hill Cumorah.</div>
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For reference I have included below all the references to the Brass Plates which are found in the Book of Mormon.<br />
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1 Ne. 5:10 Lehi, took the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, and he did search them from the beginning.<br />
11 And he beheld that they did contain the five books of Moses, which gave an account of the creation of the world, and also of Adam and Eve, who were our first parents;<br />
12 And also a record of the Jews from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah;<br />
13 And also the prophecies of the holy prophets, from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah; and also many prophecies which have been spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah.<br />
14 And it came to pass that my father, Lehi, also found upon the plates of brass a genealogy of his fathers;<br />
18 That these plates of brass should go forth unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people who were of his seed.<br />
19 Wherefore, he said that these plates of brass should never perish; neither should they be dimmed any more by time.<br />
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1 Ne. 13:23 The book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles.<br />
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1 Ne. 19:21 And he surely did show unto the prophets of old all things concerning them; and also he did show unto many concerning us; wherefore, it must needs be that we know concerning them for they are written upon the plates of brass.</div>
<div>
22 Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, did teach my brethren these things; and it came to pass that I did read many things to them, which were engraven upon the plates of brass, that they might know concerning the doings of the Lord in other lands, among people of old.</div>
<div>
23 And I did read many things unto them which were written in the books of Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.</div>
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1 Ne. 22:1 AND now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had read these things which were engraven upon the plates of brass, my brethren came unto me and said unto me: What meaneth these things which ye have read? Behold, are they to be understood according to things which are spiritual, which shall come to pass according to the spirit and not the flesh?</div>
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2 Ne. 4:1 AND now, I, Nephi, speak concerning the prophecies of which my father hath spoken, concerning Joseph, who was carried into Egypt.</div>
<div>
2 For behold, he truly prophesied concerning all his seed. And the prophecies which he wrote, there are not many greater. And he prophesied concerning us, and our future generations; and they are written upon the plates of brass.</div>
</div>
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<div>
2 Ne. 5:12 And I, Nephi, had also brought the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass; and also the ball, or compass, which was prepared for my father by the hand of the Lord, according to that which is written.</div>
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Omni 1:14 And they discovered a people, who were called the people of Zarahemla. Now, there was great rejoicing among the people of Zarahemla; and also Zarahemla did rejoice exceedingly, because the Lord had sent the people of Mosiah with the plates of brass which contained the record of the Jews.</div>
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Mosiah 1:3 And he also taught them concerning the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, saying: My sons, I would that ye should remember that were it not for these plates, which contain these records and these commandments, we must have suffered in ignorance, even at this present time, not knowing the mysteries of God.</div>
<div>
4 For it were not possible that our father, Lehi, could have remembered all these things, to have taught them to his children, except it were for the help of these plates; for he having been taught in the language of the Egyptians therefore he could read these engravings, and teach them to his children, that thereby they could teach them to their children, and so fulfilling the commandments of God, even down to this present time.</div>
</div>
<div>
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Mosiah 10:16 And again, they were wroth with him because he departed into the wilderness as the Lord had commanded him, and took the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, for they said that he robbed them.</div>
<div>
17 And thus they have taught their children that they should hate them, and that they should murder them, and that they should rob and plunder them, and do all they could to destroy them; therefore they have an eternal hatred towards the children of Nephi.</div>
</div>
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<div>
<div>
Alma 37:3 And these plates of brass, which contain these engravings, which have the records of the holy scriptures upon them, which have the genealogy of our forefathers, even from the beginning—</div>
<div>
4 Behold, it has been prophesied by our fathers, that they should be kept and handed down from one generation to another, and be kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord until they should go forth unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, that they shall know of the mysteries contained thereon.</div>
<div>
5 And now behold, if they are kept they must retain their brightness; yea, and they will retain their brightness; yea, and also shall all the plates which do contain that which is holy writ.</div>
<div>
6 Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.</div>
<div>
7 And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.</div>
<div>
8 And now, it has hitherto been wisdom in God that these things should be preserved; for behold, they have enlarged the memory of this people, yea, and convinced many of the error of their ways, and brought them to the knowledge of their God unto the salvation of their souls.</div>
<div>
9 Yea, I say unto you, were it not for these things that these records do contain, which are on these plates, Ammon and his brethren could not have convinced so many thousands of the Lamanites of the incorrect tradition of their fathers; yea, these records and their words brought them unto repentance; that is, they brought them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and to rejoice in Jesus Christ their Redeemer.</div>
<div>
10 And who knoweth but what they will be the means of bringing many thousands of them, yea, and also many thousands of our stiffnecked brethren, the Nephites, who are now hardening their hearts in sin and iniquities, to the knowledge of their Redeemer?</div>
<div>
11 Now these mysteries are not yet fully made known unto me; therefore I shall forbear.</div>
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12 And it may suffice if I only say they are preserved for a wise purpose, which purpose is known unto God; for he doth counsel in wisdom over all his works, and his paths are straight, and his course is cone eternal round.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-81488564420298097252019-01-23T14:24:00.001-08:002019-01-25T07:56:32.821-08:00The Lion and the Sheep<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
</h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
The five prophecies of the destruction of the gentiles.</h2>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As we see the Mexican and other Central American people pushing at our borders it brings to mind the prophecies mentioned in the scriptures about the remnants of the House of Israel harassing and ravaging the latter-day gentiles. Are we approaching the fulfillment of those prophecies? This article will analyze these six prophecies.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There is a period of time between Christ's ministry, and the present, known in the scriptures as "The Times of the Gentiles." This has been an epic in which the gentile nations achieved world ascendancy and dominion over the other nations of the world; in power, knowledge, wisdom and wealth. These nations correspond to the peoples referred to in Daniel 2:41-45 and consist mainly of the European nations, those countries proceeding from them, and those characterized by their culture. We are witnessing the termination of this time period referred to as "The End of the Times of the Gentiles."</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-akdJoeUYYHc/XEjn5Yayf4I/AAAAAAAABSw/wT2LKP2at1soxF0MIbxOzl_IRcE-0hY-gCLcBGAs/s1600/lion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-akdJoeUYYHc/XEjn5Yayf4I/AAAAAAAABSw/wT2LKP2at1soxF0MIbxOzl_IRcE-0hY-gCLcBGAs/s1600/lion.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lion courtesy Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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What does the Lord have in store for these latter-day gentiles? Those who were the last, but are now the first and foremost. There are six separate and specific prophecies relating to these nations which are very interesting, but sobering. One is from the Old Testament prophet Micah. Four are found in the Book of Mormon, and one is found in the revelations of the prophet Joseph Smith (D&C 87: 5). Interestingly, three of these prophecies were given by Jesus Christ after his resurrection, during his appearance among the New World Nephites. I will present each prophecy separately, and then discuss each one.<br />
But first we need to define the term "remnant" as it is used in the prophecies. In general the term remnant refers to any of the descendants of the House of Israel. But there is a more specific definition as used in the Book of Mormon. In 1Ne.13:34 Nephi tells us that an angel revealed to him that the remnant would be the posterity and descendants of his father Lehi.</div>
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In the first prophecy the Lord is speaking to the Nephites at their temple in the Land of Bountiful. He gives the future gentiles the option of repenting and being numbered among the House of Israel, or of being trodden down by the surviving remnants of the tribes of Jacob. In the latter case they will be destroyed ignominiously by the once hated, persecuted, and despised remnants of Israel.</div>
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<i>If the Gentiles will repent and return unto me, saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my people, O house of Israel. And I will not suffer my people, who are of the house of Israel, to go through among them, and tread them down, saith the Father. But if they will not turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, I will suffer them, yea, I will suffer my people, O house of Israel, that they shall go through among them, and shall tread them down, and they shall be as salt that hath lost its savor, which is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of my people, O house of Israel (3 Ne 16:13).</i></div>
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In the second of Christ's prophecies we are told that the remnant will initially be scattered and persecuted by the gentiles. But in the latter days the remnant will rise up and become a scourge to their oppressors. They are compared to a ravaging lion among a flock of sheep which has no defense against such a powerful predator. None of the gentiles allies, friends or associates can deliver them from this foe. Any enemies of the remnant will be defeated, and finally the remnant will destroy many nations. The remnant will consecrate the spoil gained from the gentiles to the Lord. The warning is that the Lord's sword will hang over all the gentile nations that don't repent and turn unto him. The Times of the Gentiles will end with the ruin and destruction of all the unrepentant gentiles.</div>
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<i>And I say unto you, that if the Gentiles do not repent after the blessing which they shall receive, after they have scattered my people—Then shall ye, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, go forth among them; and ye shall be in the midst of them who shall be many; and ye shall be among them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. Thy hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off. And I will gather my people together as a man gathereth his sheaves into the floor. For I will make my people with whom the Father hath covenanted, yea, I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass. And thou shalt beat in pieces many people; and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. And behold, I am he who doeth it. And it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that the sword of my justice shall hang over them at that day; and except they repent it shall fall upon them, saith the Father, yea, even upon all the nations of the Gentiles (3 Ne. 20:15).</i></div>
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In the third reference, the Lord reiterates the previous prophecies using the visual imagery of the ravenous lion among the defenseless herds and flocks. Then he repeats the words of the prophet Micah, that the Lord will destroy the horses and chariots of the gentiles (does this refer to modern transportation?). In addition he will cut off their cities and strongholds; eliminate their witches and soothsayers; destroy any idolatrous images including possessions that might be worshiped; and destroy the groves (or places of idolatrous worship) and even destroy the gentile cities. All lyings, deceit, envy, strife, priestcraft, and whoredoms will disappear as the millenial reign begins. He concludes with the warning that he will execute vengeance and fury on the unrepentant gentiles, as has been unheard of in the past. </div>
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<i> Therefore it shall come to pass that whosoever will not believe in my words, who am Jesus Christ, which the Father shall cause him to bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that he shall bring them forth unto the Gentiles, (it shall be done even as Moses said) they shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant. And my people who are a remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, yea, in the midst of them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. Their hand shall be lifted up upon their adversaries, and all their enemies shall be cut off. Yea, wo be unto the Gentiles except they repent; for it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Father, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots; And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strongholds; And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thy land, and thou shalt have no more soothsayers; Thy graven images I will also cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee, and thou shalt no more worship the works of thy hands; And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee; so will I destroy thy cities. And it shall come to pass that all lyings, and deceivings, and envyings, and strifes, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, shall be done away. For it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that at that day whosoever will not repent and come unto my Beloved Son, them will I cut off from among my people, O house of Israel; And I will execute vengeance and fury upon them, even as upon the heathen, such as they have not heard (3 Ne 21:11). </i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now let us consider the other prophecies of the destruction of the unrepentant gentiles, beginning with that of the prophet Micah. Here we need to point out that all these prophecies refer to all the nations of the gentiles worldwide. However the prophecies from the Book of Mormon seem to specifically speak of those gentiles inhabiting the former lands of the Lamanites and Nephites.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Micah's prophecies were given between 700-600 BC, shortly before Lehi left Jerusalem. His was the original prophecy, and the others (including Christ's) use his imagery and words. He first calls the gentiles to repe<span style="font-family: inherit;">ntance. He says that when attack they shall be as ashes under the remnants fee</span>t. The remnant will have superior strength (imaged as horns of iron and hoofs of brass) and conquer and destroy many peoples and nations. The spoil from these conquests will be consecrated to the Lord. This would seem to indicate that they will be a righteous people at this point in time. Micah seems to suggest that the remnant will be scattered among the gentiles like dew in the morning, or raindrops after a shower (perhaps not concentrated in a central army). He then goes on to prophecy about the horses, chariots, witches, etc. that have been discussed above.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.01); color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the </span><span class="deity-name" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lord</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.01); color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.01); color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.01); color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off. </span><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.01); color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the </span><span class="deity-name" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lord</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.01); color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots: </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.01); color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds: </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.01); color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no </span><span class="clarity-word" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">more</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.01); color: #333333; font-size: 16px;"> soothsayers: </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.01); color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.01); color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.01); color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard (</span></span></i><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="verse-number verse" style="background-position: 0px 0px; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Micah 5:7 )</span></span></i><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.01); color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">.</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.01); color: #333333; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0.01); color: #333333; font-size: 16px;">Now we will conclude with the final two prophecies making five in all. These last two are not as specific and detailed as the other, but are nevertheless significant. Mormon's reference is only a brief reference to the prophecy, mentioning the lion and sheep imagery. The last one is from the prophecy on war in D&C 87 and mentions that the remnant will marshal thenselves (organize for war?) In their great anger (what will provoke this anger?) they will harass and disturb the gentiles</span></span></div>
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<i>And then, O ye Gentiles, how can ye stand before the power of God, except ye shall repent and turn from your evil ways? Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God? Know ye not that he hath all power, and at his great command the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll? Therefore, repent ye, and humble yourselves before him, lest he shall come out in justice against you—lest a remnant of the seed of Jacob shall go forth among you as a lion, and tear you in pieces, and there is none to deliver (Morm. 5:22 ).</i></div>
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And it shall come to pass also that the remnants who are left of the land will marshal themselves, and shall become exceedingly angry, and shall vex the Gentiles with a sore vexation (D&C 87:5).</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">An excellent article on this subject can be found at <a href="https://www.mormonchronicle.com/a-lion-among-sheep/" target="_blank">Mormon Chronicle</a> written by H. Verlan Andersen, a former Seventy</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-15345908948633554532017-12-08T11:25:00.000-08:002017-12-09T14:32:39.195-08:00Significant Insights<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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During my studies of Book of Mormon
geography I have had a number of significant insights which have help
me develop my theory of the book's geography. The following are a
summary of these insights. Some are still tentative, but most are
solid. I have not listed the related references, but if any of you
has a specific request, please email me and I will send them to you.
</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Regarding the Jaredites:</span></div>
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The Jaredites traveled eastward through
Asia until arriving at the coast of the Pacific. Their intermitant
travel lasted for over 100 years.
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The main Jaredite settlement in the New World was Moron
which I feel was near the Bay of Fonseca.</div>
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Over the years, various groups of
dissident Jaredites separated from the original group forming separate ethnic groups.</div>
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About 900 BC the Narrow Neck of Land
was blocked by an infestation of poisonous snakes. After about 400
years King Lib finally destroyed the snake infestation, and the land
southward was opened, but not for settlement. It was reserved for
hunting. As a result, no Jaredite cities were built south of the
narrow neck.
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King Lib built a great city at the
place where the “sea divides the land.” This feature is located between
Zapatera Island and the mainland on Lake Nicaragua.
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The Jaredite destruction occurred about
200 BC; later than is generally supposed.</div>
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Jaredite-Nephite geography is connected
at four locations, The Narrow Neck of Land, the Hill and Land of
Cumorah, the Land of Desolation, and the city of Moron.</div>
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The Jaredites built pyramids, or
ziggurats, in the Sumerian style.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Regarding the Nephites:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Learning that the ship that the Lord
designed for Nephi was a catamaran. This design was copied by Hagoth
and it was passed on to the Polynesians.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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Identifying the Istmus of Rivas in
Nicaragua as the Narrow Neck of Land.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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Identifying the site of Barriles in
western Panama as the former city of Nephi.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Identifying Las Lagunas in western
Panama as the Waters of Mormon.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Realizing that the Nephites primarily
built with wood, while the Jaredites built their ceremonial centers
with stone.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Realizing that the unique Costa Rican
stone balls were Lamanite imitations of the Liahona, a sort of totem.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Realizing that finding placer gold
deposits on the coast, where the Nephites landed, is unique to the
Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica, and Nome, Alaska.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Learning of the Pacific Counter Current
as the means that the Nephites used to come eastward to the Americas.
This current flows directly to the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Discovering that the Judgements seats
used by the Nephite judges were stylized metates which were buried
with their owners upon death. These artifacts are unique to Costa
Rica.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Realizing that the so called Mulekites
had been subservient to the remnant Jaredites in the land northward,
had adopted their language, had lost their original Hebrew, and had
adopted their culture. This culture included weights and measures,
religion, a preference for monarchy, and a high regard for gem
quality jade.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Learning that the jade traditon was
preiminent among the Nephites while the Lamanites preferred gold. In
Costa Rica the jade preference is manifest until about 500 AD when it
shifts to gold following the elimination of the Nephite culture.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Realizing that the majority of the
lower judges among the Nephite/Mulekite group were Mulekites.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Realizing that the Mulekites were of
Judah and that the Brass Plates specified that the right to rule
pertained to Judah (at least in the Old World). This resulted in
considerable conflict.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Becoming aware of the Mulekite
Connection and the influence that the majority population of the Jaredite
tainted Mulekites had upon the Nephite culture.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Realizing that Christopher Columbus was
the fulfillment of Nephi's prophecy and that he only made land fall
in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Venezuela. Therefore
the fullfilment of the prophecy would have to be among the peoples of
one of those countries.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The notion is prevalent that the
Spaniards destroyed most of the Indian records containing their
histories. While they did burn many of these records, the Indians
mainly relied on oral traditions and used the written records as
mnenomic devices to remind them of the stories and events. Thus even
though the physical records may have been destroyed, they all lived
on in the minds of the trained scribes, at least for one generation.
Many of these histories were later recorded but in general are
discounted by the scholars.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The Nephites did not have an areal
concept of geography. They saw everything from ground level.
Mountains were separating lines, and valleys and river basins were
seen as lands, great and small.
</div>
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The Book of Mormon uses “up or down”
to describe the travel or the relation of one place to another. This is
very evident in mountainous places such as Costa Rica.</div>
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Captain Moroni fortified the Nephite
cities with mounds of earth topped by a palisade of timbers. This
was surrounded on the outside by a deep trench or dry moat. The
remnants of each of these cities should be easily identified using
infrared aereal photography.
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The directions given in the Book of
Mormon should be precise and related to our modern concept of
direction, as do the Old and New Testaments. They were not changed by
Indian tradition, or if they had been would have been translated to
our understanding during Joseph Smith's translation process.
</div>
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The Brass Plates were written in the
revised or reformed Egyptian language. Nephi and Lehi had learned
this shorthand language, could read and write it, and it became the
pattern for all their subsequent recording.
</div>
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The Nephites had other writings which
were not on metal plates. Many, if not all, Nephites were literate
and had copies of some or all of the scriptures. These were written
on some kind of perishable material and were probably in the Reformed
Egyptian. This means that the children were probably taught and
instructed.
</div>
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The Nephite climate was mild and
temperate. They likely were able to grow two or more crops each
year.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-2189764305377696542017-06-27T17:29:00.000-07:002017-09-04T11:19:47.906-07:00Book of Mormon Places<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Book of Mormon Geographical Place Names</span></b></div>
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As mentioned in a <a href="http://moriancumr.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-importance-of-place.html" target="_blank">previous blog,</a> places names are important and tend to witness to the truthfulness of an event, happening, or teaching. In my recent reading of the book, I decided to identify each place name mentioned in the text. As can be seen from the following, there are numerous references to places which help define that particular event. I believe I have been quite thorough, however may have overlooked some places as a result of forgetfulness or tiredness while reading, so beg your indulgence. I have omitted symbolical places such as the Great and Spacious Building. </div>
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The first part of the book (to 1 Ne. 18:7) deals with Lehi's travels from Jerusalem to the Land of Bountiful on the seashore. From there through the book of Omni the references are from Nephi and the subsequent prophets and scribes who succeeded him. From The Words of Mormon through the Book of Mormon most of those geographical details result from Mormon's abridgement of these records. The last three books are the work of Mormon's son Moroni. </div>
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Some place names tend to be mobile such as "the tent of my father." Others are more general, such as the "wilderness" which I have included as it generally designates unoccupied places near or surrounding specific places. Places related to bodies of water, such as oceans or seas (i.e. East Sea), have been included as they generally relate to specific places on land and may define a route of travel or a specific campsite. Overall areas have been included, such as the "land northward" as they give a broad relationship to the various lands. </div>
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I have listed the various places as they occur in the text ordering them by book, chapter and verse. If a chapter did not include as least one place name it was omitted. One looking for a specific reference should be able to do a "find" search and locate all the references to that place name. I hope you find this resource useful. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Book of 1<sup>st</sup> Nephi</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 1</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, city of (1:4, 7, 13, 18)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Babylon, carried away into (1:13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 2</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, depart into (2:2, 4-6, 11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Red Sea, borders near the shore of
(2:5, 8-9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
River of water, valley by the side of
(2:6) three days travel in the wilderness (from Jerusalem?)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
River Laman (2:8) empties into the Red
Sea, valley was in borders near mouth of river.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, land of (2:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lemuel, valley of (2:14)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of promise (2:20) Lord prepared,
choice above all other lands.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 3</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, return to (3:2</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, hither down into (3:4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, took journey in the (3:9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, land of (3:9-10, 29) gone up
to, go up to again.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, return unto (3:14-15, 27)
down to, flee into.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of father's inheritance (3:16, 22)
go down to.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem (3:17) must be destroyed.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 4</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, go up unto (4:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Red sea, waters of (4:2) armies drown
in waters of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, walls of (4:4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, Lord spake to Nephi in
(4:14)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of promise, they shall prosper in
(4:14)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Walls (of Jerusalem) (4:24, 27)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, return to city of (4:30)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, down into (4:33-36, 38)
flight into, departed into.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 5</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, down into (5:1-2, 5, 8, 22)
perish in, flee into, journeyed in.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of inheritance (5:2) led forth
from. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, tarried at (5:4, 6) up to.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of promise, obtained a (5:5)
journeyed towards.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Egypt, sold into (5:14, 15) led out of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 7</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, into the (7:1-3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of promise, raise up seed in the
(7:1, 13) obtain land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, land of (7:2-3) up to.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, down into from Jerusalem
(7:5-6, 16) journeyed in, leave in the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, return to from wilderness
(7:7, 13, 15) destruction of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tent, of our father, of my father
(7:22) down to.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 8</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, tarried in (8:2)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 9</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lemuel, valley of (9:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 10
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, great city (10:3-4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Babylon, carried away captive into
(10:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bethabara, beyond Jordan (10:9) baptize
in.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of promise, led to (10:13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lemuel, valley of (10:16) dwelt in.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 11
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, great city of (11:13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nazareth, city of (11:13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 12</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of promise, beheld the (12:1, 4)
mists of darkness on face of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 13</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Promised land, crossed many waters to
(13:12, 14) gentiles upon the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of inheritance (13:30) Lehi's seed
should have as></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
(Note: remnant is the seed of Lehi)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 16</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lemuel, valley which he called (16:6)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, journey into (16:9-12, 14,
16, 20, 35, 38) more fertile parts of, afflictions in the, wandered
in, perish in, lead us away into some strange.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Laman, across the river (16:12)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shazer, called the place (16:13-14) the
place of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Red Sea, in the borders near (16:14)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mountain, into the top of the (16:30)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nahom, place called (16:34) Ishmael
buried there.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, brought them out of land of
(16:35-36) return again to.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 17</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, take journey in (17:1-4,
21, 28, 41, 44) tribulation in, bear children in, suffered in, fed
manna in, straiten them in the, depart into.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bountiful, land which we called
(17:5-7)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Irreantum, sea which we called (17:5)
many waters.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Promised land, led toward (17:13-14)
arrived in.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, land of (17:14, 20, 22)
bring you out of, led us out of, people who were in.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Inheritance, land of (17:21) might have
enjoyed.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Red sea, waters of (17:26-27) were
divided.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jordan, crossed the river (17:32</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Promise, land of (17:33, 42) (referring
to Land of Jerusalem).</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Egypt, land of (17:40) bring them out
of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 18</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mount, the (18:3) go into the often.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, fruits and meat from
(18:6-7, 25) father begat two sons in the, journeyed in the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Promised land, driven towards the
(18:8, 22-23, 25) sailed towards the, arrive at the, called it the,
find upon the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, land of (18:24) brought
seeds from the.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch.19</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, journeyings in the (19:1-2,
10) proceedings in the, preserved in the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Isles of the sea (19:10, 12, 16) those
who should inhabit the, kings of the, will he remember.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, those who are at (19:13, 20)
shall be scourged, those who are at.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 22</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, those who are at (22:4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Isles of the sea, to and fro upon the
(22:4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nation, a mighty (22:7) among the
gentiles, upon this land.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Inheritance, lands of their (22:12)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Book of 2<sup>nd</sup> Nephi</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 1</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, out of land of (1:1, 3, 9,
24, 30) flee out of, is destroyed, also should have perished, that we
left, brought out of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of promise, which they had
obtained (1:3, 5-8, 10, 20, 24, 31-32) choice above all other lands,
land of inheritance for Lehi's seed, for others who are led by Lord,
none to come but those led by Lord, consecrated to hose who He will
bring, shall be land of liberty, iniquity brings curse on land,
blessed forever to righteous, kept from knowledge of other nations,
other nations would overrun, keep commandments shall dwell safely
forever, into this precious, bring other nations unto them, shal
proper in or be cut off, bringing us forth into, dwell in prosperity
in, consecrated to seed of Zoram.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, perished with hunger in
(1:24)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch.2</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, born in the (2:1-2, 11)
first born in the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Eden, garden of (2:19, 22) driven out
of, would have remained in.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 3</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, born in the (3:1, 3) of
(Lehi's) afflictions.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Precious land, for thine inheritance
(3:2) and of thy seed.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Egypt, carried captive into (3:4, 10)
deliver out of land of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch.4</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, he hath led me through
(4:20)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Great deep, water of the (4:20)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
High mountains, exceedingly (4:25)
carried away upon.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 5</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, flee into the (5:5, 7, 24)
journey in the many days, seek in the for beast of prey.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, call the name of the place (5:8)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, from the time we left (5:28)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 6</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, those who were at (6:8)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lands of their inheritance, gathered
again to (6:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 7</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of promise, raise up seed in the
(7:2, 13) we shall obtain the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusaslem, land of (7:2-3, 7, 13)
return unto the, to go up to, destruction of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, go forth into the (7:3, 5,
6, 16) down into the, as we journeyed in the, leave in the.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ishmael, house of (7:4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 8</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, stand up O (8:17, 24-25) the
holy city, arise sit down O.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 9</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lands of inheritance, gathered home to
(9:2)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lands of promise, established in all
their (9:2)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, from whence we came (9:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 10</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, they at will stiffen their
necks (10:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lands of their inheritance, restored to
(10:7, 8, 19) carrying them forth to, consecrated to thy seed.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Isles of the sea, gathered in from
(10:8, 20-21) we are upon an, promises unto them who are upon.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of thine inheritance, this land
shall be (10:10) gentiles shall be blessed upon, land of liberty, no
kings upon, fortified against other nations.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of our inheritance, driven out of
(10:20)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 12</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, saw concerning Judah and
(12:1, 3) the word of the Lord from.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zion, shall go forth the law (12:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bashan, oaks of (12:13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lebanon, cedars of (12:13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tarshish, ships of (12:16)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 13</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, doth take away from (13:1,
8) is ruined.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sodom, sin to be even as (13:9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zion, daughters of are haughty
(13:16-17)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 14</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zion, they that are left in (14:3, 4)
washed away the filth of the daughterd of, dwelling place of mount,
shall be a defence.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, remain in (14:3) among the
living in, purged the blood of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 15</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, O inhabitants of (15:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 16</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Temple, (Jerusalem temple) his train
filled the (16:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 17</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Judah, Uzziah king of (17:1, 6) go up
against</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Syria, Rezin king of (17:1, 2, 4, 5, 8)
for the head of is</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Israel, Remaliah king of (17:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ephriam, confederate with (17:2, 5, 8,
9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Samaria, head of Ephriam is (17:9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Damascus, head of Syria is (17:8)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Assyria, the king of (17:17, 18, 20)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Egypt, in the uppermost part of (17:18)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 18</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Damascus, before the riches of (18:4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Samaria, spoil of (18:4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Assyria, the king of (18:4, 7)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Judah, he shall pass through (18:8)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zion, which dwelleth in Mount (18:18)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 19</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Samaria, the inhabitants of (19:9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 20</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Calno, is not as Carchemish (20:9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Carchemish, is not Calno as (20:9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hamath, is not as Arpad (20:9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Arpad, is not Hamath as (20:9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Samaria, is not as Damascus (20:9, 10,
11) did excel them of, as I have done unto.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Damascus, is not Samaria as (20:9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, did excel them of (20:10,
11, 12, 32) so do to, performed whole work upon, hill of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zion, mount, performed whole work upon
(20:12, 24) that dwelleth in.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Assyria, the king of (20:12)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Egypt, after the manner of (20:24, 26)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Oreb, rock of (20:26) slaughter of
Midian.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Aiath, He is come to (20:28)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Migron, he is passed to (20:28)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Michmash, he hath laid up his carriages
at (20:28)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Geba, taken up their lodging at (20:28)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ramath, is afraid (20:29)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gallim, O daughter of (20:30)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Laish, cause it to be heard unto
(20:30)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Anathoth, O poor (20:30)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Madmenah, is removed (20:31)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gebim, inhabitants gather to flee
(20:31)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nob, as yet shall he remain at (20:32)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mount, of the daughter of Zion (20:33)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lebanon, shall fall by a mighty one
(20:34)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 21</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Assyria, people which shall be left
from (21:11, 16)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Egypt, left from (21:11, 16) came up
out of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Pathros, left from (21:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Cush, and left from (21:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Elam, and left from (21:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shinar, and left from (21:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hamath, and left from (21:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Island of the sea, and left from the
(21:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Edom, lay their hands upon (21:14)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Moab, lay their hands upon (21:14)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Egyptian sea, destroy the tongue of
(21:15)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 22</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zion, inhabitant of (22:6)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 23</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Babylon, the burden of (23:1, 19) the
glory of kingdoms.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sodom and Gomorrah, as when God
overthrew (23:19)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 24</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Babylon, against king of (24:4) the
golden city.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Palestina, cry thou whole (24:31)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 25</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, that I came out from
(25:4-6, 10, 11, 14, 19) I have dwelt at, after my father left,
possess land of, shall be destroyed again, from the time that my
father left.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Babylon, carried away captive into
(25:10, 15) shall be destroyed.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Egypt, up out of the land of (25:20)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 27</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lebanon, shall be turned into a
fruitful field (27:28)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 28</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zion, all is well in, zion prospereth
(28:21, 24) at ease in.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Book of Jacob</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 1</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, time that Lehi left (1:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, children of Israel were in
the (1:7)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 7</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, wanderers, cast out from
(7:26)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, born in tribulation in a
(7:26)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Book of Enos</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, our father Lehi left (25)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Book of Omni</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, land of (12-13, 24, 28) land
which is called, drive them out of the, returned to the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, land of (12, 27) return to the
land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, into the (12-13, 16, 27,
28, 29) through the, journeyed in the, went up into, slain in the,
journey again into the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, came out from (15)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Babylon, carried away captive into (15)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tower, first parents came out from (22)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land northward, bones lay scattered in
the (22)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Words of Mormon</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, came down out of land of (13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lands of their inheritance, had driven
them out of all the (14)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Book of Mosiah</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 1</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, from the time they left
(1:6, 11) brought out of the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, who were in the land of
(1:18)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 2</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, brought them out of the land
of (2:4, 34) our father Lehi left.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, established peace in the
land of (2:4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 6</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, time that Lehi left (6:4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 7</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lehi-Nephi, up to dwell in the land of
(7:1, 2, 4) to go up to the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lehi-Nephi, city of (7:1, 21)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, they left the land of (7:1,
9, 13-14) who came up out of the land of, brethren who were in the
land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, should travel in the (7:4,
19) might not perish in the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shilom, hill which is north of the land
of (7:5, 7, 16) the people who were in the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, went down into the land of (7:6,
7) the people who were in the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Egypt, children of Israel out of the
land of (7:19)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Red Sea, should walk through the (7:19)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, brought our fathers out of
the land of (7:20)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shilom, city of (7:21)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 8</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, who were in the land of
(8:1, 5, 7, 8, 14) time that they left the land of, might find the
land of, found not the land of, people who are in the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, should take a journey into
the (8:7, 8) lost in the w. for the space of many days.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 9</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, land of (9:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of first inheritance (9:1, 3-4)
over-zealous to inherit the land of our fathers, near to the land
of..</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, contended with my brethren
in the (9:2, 3) destroyed in the, journey into the. ,many days
wandering in the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, we returned to the (9:2)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lehi-Nephi, possess the land of (9:6,
8) repair walls of city of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shilom, possess the land of (9:6, 8,
14) repair walls of city of, on the south of the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, the land of (9:14)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, the city of (9:15)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 10</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of our fathers, we did inherit for
many years (10:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shemlon, land of (10:7-8) came upon the
north of the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, driven out of land of
(10:12)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, wronged in the (10:12-13,
16) journey in the, departed into the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of first inheritance, wronged
while in the (10:13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 11</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shilom, overlook the land of (11:12,
13) buildings built in land of, on the hill north of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shemlon, land of possessed by the
Lamanites (11:12)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 12</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, waste places of, Lord hath
redeemed (12:23)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 13</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sinai, while in the mount of (13:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 15</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, waste places of (15:30) he
hath redeemed</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 18</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mormon, a place called (18:4, 5, 7, 16,
30) a fountain of pure water, gathered together at the place of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Waters of Mormon, here are the (18:8,
16, 30) baptized in the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Forest of Mormon (18:30)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 19</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shemlon, towards the land of (19:6)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, flee into the (19:9, 18,
23, 28) sent men into the, farther into the, depart into the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, back to the land of (19:15, 19,
22, 24) return to the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 20</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shemlon, there was a place in (20:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, return to the city of (20:3, 7)
went up to the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, having tarried in the
(20:4-5, 18, 23) they carried into the, are they not it the, that had
fled into the.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 21</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, returned to the city of (21:1,
12, 21, 26) had come into the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, priests who fled into the
(21:20, 24, 34) lost in the, fled into the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, come from the land of
(21:24, 25, 26) to search for the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 22</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, depart into the (22:2, 6,
8, 11, 12-13, 15-16) drive them into the, with them into the, army
into the, lost in the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shilom, travel around the land of
(22:8, 11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, course towards the land of
(22:11, 13) arrived in the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 23</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, departed into the (23:1, 3,
30, 35) fled 8 days journey into the, lost in the w. for many days,
traveling in the w. for many days..</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Helam, they called the name of the land
(23:19-20, 25-26, 35, 37-39) they built a city which they called,
discovered the land of, round about the land of, returned to the land
of, were in the land of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Amulon, a place which they called
(23:31)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, in search of the land of
(23:35-38) the way which led to the land of, went to the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch 24</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shemlon, in the land of (24:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shilon, in the land of (24:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Amulon, in the land of (24:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, departed into the (24:20,
24) he led their way in the, took their journey into the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Alma, they called the valley (24:20-21)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, arrived in the land of
(24:25)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch 25</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, left the land of (25:5-6,
19, 23) throughout all the land of, seven churches in the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mormon, baptize in the waters of
(25:18)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch 27</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Helam, in the land of (27:16)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, in the land of (27:16)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, traveled throughout all the
land of (27:35)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 28</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, go up to the land of (28:1, 5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Great tower, the building of the
(28:17)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, from the time that Lehi left
(28:20)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 29</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, go up to the land of (29:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, thoughout all the land of
(29:44)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, from the time that Lehi left
(29:46)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Book of Alma</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 1</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Manti, top of the hill (1:15)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 2</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Amnihu, came upon the hill (2:15)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sidon, east of the river (2:15, 17)
upon the hill east of, as they were crossing the river, which was on
the west of the river, into the waters of, on the west side of the
river, when they had all crosse the river.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, which ran by the land of
(2:15, 24,) above the land of, which was the city of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gideon, pitch their tents in the valley
of (2:20, 26) departed out of the valley of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Minon, in the land of (2:24)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, in the course of the land of
(2:24)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, which was west and north
(2:36, 38) many died in the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hermounts, wilderness which was called
(2:37) wilderness infested by wild and ravenous beast.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 3</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sidon, slain upon the bank of the river
(3:3) cast into the waters of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, brought out of land of
(3:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, battle which was fought in
the land of (3:20)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 4</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, wars in the land of (4:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sidon, baptized in the waters of (4:4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 5</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, first in the land of (5:1-2)
in the city of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, in the borders of (5:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mormon, was called the land of (5:3) in
the waters of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, bondage in the (5:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 6</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, established in the city of
(6:1, 4) the order of the church in the city of, which was in the
city of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sidon, east of the river of (6:7)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gideon, into the valley of (6:7-8)
which was called the city of, in the valley called, establish in the
valley of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 7 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, our brethren were in at
(7:3, 5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, born of Mary at (7:10)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 8</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gideon, returned from the land of (8:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, in the land of (8:1) to his
own house at.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Melek, over into the land of (8:3-4, 6)
throughout all the land of, finished his work at, on the north of the
land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sidon, on the west of the river (8:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, on the west by the borders
of the (8:3, 5) which was by the w. side.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ammonihah, to a city which was called
(8:6-9, 14, 16, 18) with the land of, had come to the city of, who
were in the city of, return to the city of, returned speedily to the
land of, which is on the south of the city of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Aaron, city which was called (8:13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 9</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ammonihah, who were in the city of
(9:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, was brough out of (9:9, 22)
out of the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, led by him through the
(9:9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 10</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ammonihah, who were in the land of
(10:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, came out of land of (10:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Egypt, who was sold into (10:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 13</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Salem, was a king over the land of
(13:17-18)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 14</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ammonihah, over the land of (14:23)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 15</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sidom, into the land of (15:1, 3, 4,
11, 13-14, 17) lay sick at, were in the land of, thoughout all the
land of, establish a church in the land of, region round about,
establish the church at.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ammonihah, who had departed out of the
land of (15:1, 15-16) that were in the land of, which were in the
land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, came over to the land of
(15:18)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 16</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, peace in the land of (16:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, come in upon the w. side
(16:2, 3-4, 5, 8, 10) taken captive into the, carried away captive
into the. Should go into the, in the south w, into the south w,
driven into the w, wild beast of the w.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ammonihah, even intothe city of
(16:2-3, 9, 11) who were in the city of, people of a. were destroyed,
go in to possess the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Noah, around the borders of (16:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sidon, will cross the river (16:6, 7)
on the east side of the river.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Manti, beyond the borders of the land
of (16:6-7) beyond the borders of m.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Desolation of Nehors, it was called
(16:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 17</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gideon, journeying from the land of
(17:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Manti, away to the land of (17:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, journeying towards the land
of (17:1, 7) departed out of the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, while in the (17:7-8, 9)
departed into the w, many days in the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, go up to the land of (17:8)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ishmael, went to the land of (17:19-21)
entered the land of, who was over the land of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sebus, called the water of (17:26, 34)
who stood by the waters of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 18</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sebus, stand by the waters of (18:7)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, conduct him forth to the land of
(18:9) at the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, journeyings of their
fathers in the (18:37)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, from the time that Lehi left
(18:38)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 19</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sebus, scattered at the waters of
(19:20-21)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 20</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, not go up to the land of (20:2)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Middoni, go to the land of (20:2-5, 7,
14-15, 28, 30) brethren in prison at, go with thee to the land of,
the king of the land of, I go to the land of, in prison in the land
of, down to the land of, not go to the land of, go to the land of,
towards the land of, they had arrived in the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ishmael, return to the land of
(20:14-15)
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 21</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lamanites, in the borders of the land
of the (21:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, the land which was called by
the Lamanites (21:1-2, 4) built a great city which was called, came
to the city of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mormon, joining the borders of (21:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ani-Anti, a village which was called
(21:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Middoni, came over into the land of
(21:12-13, 18) fled out of land of, returned from the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ishmael, to the land of (21:18, 20-21)
synagogues built in the land of, who were in the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 22</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Middoni, departed from the land of
(22:1, 3) why he has not come up out of m. with thee.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, led by the Spirit to the land of
(22:1, 28, 32) on the west, in the land of, on the west in the land
of, land of N. nearly surrounded by water, only in the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ishmael, save it were the land of
(22:1, 4) he has gone to the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, out of the land of (22:9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, divided from the land of
(22:27-29, 32) on the north by the land of, also on the west of the
land of, discovered by the people of, land of Z. nearly surrounded by
water.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sea east, which ran from the (22:27)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sea west, even to the (22:27, 32-33)
from the east to the west sea, even from the east unto the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Seashore, round about on the borders of
the (22:27-28) in the borders by the, and thus bordering along by
the, on the east by the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, a narrow strip of
(22:27-29, 34) the borders of the, lived in the, spread through the,
all the northern parts of the land bordering on the, round about on
the w. side on the north, it being the w. filled with all manner of
wild animals, and the w. round about.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Manti, through the borders of (22:27)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sidon, by the head of the river (22:27,
29) at the head of the river.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
First inheritance, in the place of
their father's (22:28)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bountiful, the land which is called
(22:29, 31-33) the land on the southward was called, on the line B.
and the land Desolation, Nephites had inhabited the land B.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Desolation, it bordered upon the land
which they called (22:30-31) the land on the northward was called, on
the line Bountiful and the land D.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land peopled and destroyed, of whose
bones we have spoken (22:29) it being the place of their first
landing, which was discovered by the people of Zarahemla.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
South wilderness, came up from there
into the (22:31)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land northward, had come from the
(22:31, 33) that they might not overrun the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Small neck of land, between the land
northward and the land southward (22:32)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 23</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ishmael, Lamanites who were in the land
of (23:9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Middoni, Lamanites who were in the land
of (23:10)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, Lamanites who were in the land
of (23:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shilom, Lamanites who were in the land
of (23:12)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shemlon, who were in the land of
(23:12)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lemuel, in the city of (23:12)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shimnilom, in the city of (23:12)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 24</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Amulon, in the land of (24:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Helam, in the land of (24:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, in the land of (24:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Midian, came forth to the land of
(24:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ishmael, came to the land of (24:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 25</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, into the borders of the land
of (25:2)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ammonihah, who were in the land of
(25:2)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
East wilderness, fled into the (25:5-6,
8) many were converted in the w, began to be contenion in the w., and
they fled into the east w.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ishmael, dwell in the land of (25:13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, and the land of (25:13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 26</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, started out from the land of
(26:1, 9, 23) come up out of the land of Z, we said unto our brethren
in the land of Z.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, we go up to the land of (26:23)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, we came into the (26:26)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 27</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, they returned again to the land
of (27:1, 14, 20) which divided the land of N., happened unto them in
the land of N.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, let us go down to the land
of (27:5, 14) which divided the land of N. from the land of Z, go
forth into the land of Z, back to the land of Z.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, came into the (27:14, 25)
returned –into the w.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jershon, give us the land of (27:22-24,
26) which is on the south of the land of B, between the land J. and
the land Nephi, that they may inherit the land J, went down into the
land of, took possesion of the land of J.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bountiful, which joins the land (27:22)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 28</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jershon, establish in the land of
(28:1, 8) set round about the land of, safety of the brethren in the
land of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, in all the borders round
about the land of (28:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, followed their brethren
into the (28:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, from the time that Lehi left
(28:2)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, their journeyings in the land of
(28:8)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 29 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, who have been up to the land of
(29:14)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 30</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jershon, established in the land of
(30:1, 19) went over into the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, there came a man into the
land of (30:6, 29) sent him to the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gideon, came over into the land of
(30:21, 30) as he did in the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 31</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Antionum, in a land which they called
(31:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, which was east of the land
of (31:3, 6) did leave in the church in.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jershon, which was south of the land of
(31:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness south, which bordered upon
the (31:3) which w. was full of the Lamanites.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Melek, who were at (31:6)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Rameumptom, now the place was called by
them (31:21)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 32</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Onidah, the people upon the hill (32:4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 33 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, when I was in the (33:4,
19) a type was raised up in the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 34</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, pour out your souls—in
your w. (34:26)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 35</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jershon, came over into the land of
(35:1, 6, 8, 13, 14) people of Ammon who were in, departed out of the
land of, gave place in the land of, their inheritance in the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Melek, came over into the land of
(35:13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, returned to the land of
(35:14)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 36</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Egypt, brought our fathers out of
(36:28)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Red Sea, has swallowed up the Egyptians
in the (36:28)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Promised Land, led them by his power
into the (36:28)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, brought our fathers out of
the land of (36:29)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 37 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, the course which they
should travel in the (37:39, 42) they tarried in the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Promised land, point—a straight
course to the (37:44-45) did bring our fathers—to the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 39</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Siron, go over into the land of (39:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 42</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Eden, sent forth from the garden of
(42:2) at the east end of the garden of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 43 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jershon, gathered together their armies
in the land of (43:4, 15, 18, 22, 25) meet them in the land of, in
the borders of, leaving part of his army in the land of, take
possession of the city.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Antionum, they came into the land of
(43:5, 15, 22) which is land of the Zoramites, gathered together in
the land of, departed out of land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, departed into the (43:22,
23, 24, 27) round about in the, they had departed into the, sent
spies into the, marching round about in the, on the west of the river
Sidon in the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sidon, away by the head of the river
(43:22, 27, 32, 35, 39-41, 50-51, 53) valley which was near the bank
of the river, on the west of the river, on the west of the river,
began to cross the river, flee toward the river, driven into waters
of, crossed the waters of, upon the bank of the river, on the other
side of the river, fled even to the waters of, upon the banks by the
river, on the east and on the west of the river s.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Manti, come into the land of (43:22,
24, 25, 32, 42) come over into the land of, marched over into the
land of, into the borders of the land, toward the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Riplah, the hill of (43:35, ) on the
east and on the south of the hill.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Valley, over into the (43:31-32, 35,
41, 51) concealed in the west v.. came into the, met in the, gathered
together in the.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 44</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, depart into the (44:15, 20)
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 45</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, he departed out of the land
of (45:18)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Melek, to go into the land of (45:18)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 46</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Desolation, land which was south of
land of (46:17)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land northward, even as our brethren in
the (46:22)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, departed into land of (46:29)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, to cut off the course of
Amalikiah in the (46:31-32) march forth into the.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, taken back into the land of
(46:33)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 47</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, fled with him into the
(47:1, 29) fled into the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, up in the land of (47:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Onidah, the place which was called
(47:5) they fled to O, to the place of arms.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Antipas, upon the top of the mount
which was called (47:7, 9-10) valley which was near the mount, sent
into the mount.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, marched to the land of (47:20,
31) to the city of, which was the chief city, he entered the ciy N.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, came over into the land of
(47:29)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 48</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, the land of, in the
wilderness (48:6)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 49</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ammonihah, towards the land of (49:1,
3, 10-11, 14-15) the city of A. had been rebuilt, attack the Nephites
at the city of, attack at the city of, exceed the strength of the
city A, frightened at the city A.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, come down out of the land of
(49:10, 25) they returned to the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, retreated into the (49:12,
25) fled into the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Noah, marched towards the land of
(49:12-15) marched forward to the land of, the city of, as the city
of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sidon, in the valley on the east of the
river (49:16)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 50</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, the east (50:7, 9, 11) who
were in the east, driven all the Lamanites out of the east, go forth
into the, cut off all the strongholds of the Lamanites in the east.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, which were south of the land
of (50:7, 9, 11) who were in the land of, between the land of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, land of N. did run in a straight
course (50:8, 11) and the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sea east, from the (50:8, 13, 34) it
(Bountiful) was by the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sea west, to the (50:8, 11, 34) from
the west S.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sidon, running by the head of the river
(50:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land northward, the Nephites possessing
all the (50:11, 29, 31, 33) they should flee to the land which was
northward, take possession of the land which was northward, flee into
the, stop their flight into the.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bountiful, all the land which was
northward of the land (50:11, 32) who were in the land B.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Moroni, they called the name of the
city (50:13-14) between the city of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Aaron, and the city of (50:14) joining
the borders of A. and Moroni.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephihah, they called the name of the
city, or the land (50:14)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lehi, which they called (50:15, 25-28,
36) concerning the land of, did claim a part of the land of, people
who possessed the land of, found that the people of, and the people
of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Morianton, and the land of (50:25-26,
28, 36) people who possessed the land of, that the people of, when
the people of, were restored to the land of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Desolation, had come to the borders of
the land (50:34)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Narrow pass, which led by the sea
(50:34)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 51</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, come down to land of (51:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Moroni, come into the land of
(51:22-24) which was in the borders by the seashore, in the city of,
fled out of the city of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephihah, came to the city of
(51:24-26) go against the city of, taking possession of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lehi, the people of the city of (51:24,
26) the city of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Morianton, the city of (51:26)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Omner, the city of (51:26)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gid, the city of (51:26)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mulek, the city of (51:26)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
East borders, were on the E B by the
seashore (51:26)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bountiful, they marched to the borders
of the land of (51:28, 30, 32) take possession of the land, in the
borders of the land B.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land northward, take possession of the
(51:30)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Beach, in the borders by the seashore
(51:32)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 52</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land northward, marching into the
(52:2)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mulek, retreated into the city of
(52:2, 16-17, 19-20, 22, 26, 28, 34) an attack upon the city of, take
again the city of, which protected the city of, on the west of the
city M, obtained possession of the city, not obtain the city, though
to the city of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bountiful, fortify the land (52:9, 15,
18, 27, 39) march towards the land, arrive at the land of, near the
city B, left the protect the city, march forth into the land.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Narrow pass, secure the (52:9) which
led into the land northward.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, departed out of the land of
(52:12)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
West sea, in the borders of the land by
the (52:11-12) on the borders by the.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
East sea, on the borders by the (52:13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 53</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mulek, went to the city of (53:2, 6)
obtained possession of the city of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bountiful, marched back into the land
(53:3-4) digging at ditch round about the land or city, encircled the
city of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, in the land of (53:6)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
West sea south, on the (53:8, 22) in
the borders of the land on the south by the W S.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, brought down into the land
of (53:10, 12)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 54</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, which is the land of (54:6)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
First inheritance, which is the land of
our (54:12-13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, brought out of (54:23)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch.55</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gid, guarded in the city of (55:7, 16,
25-26) he went to the city G, round about the city, fortified the
city.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bountiful, taken to the city (55:26)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Morianton, to attack the city (55:33)
fortified the city M.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 56</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Judea, march … to the city of (56:9,
15, 18, 57) arrived at the city of, not to come against the city of,
took our march back to the city of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, they are now at this time in the
land of (56:12)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Manti, the land of , or the city of M.
(56:14)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zeezrom, the city of (56:12)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Cumeni, the city of (56:12)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Antiparah, the city of (56:12, 31,
33-34) march near the city of, came near the city, in the city.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, march down against the city
of (56:25, 28, 57) from the land of, sent them to the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sidon, cross the head of (56:25)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephihah, over to the city of (56:25)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, took our march into the
(56:39-40) flee all that day into the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 57</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Antiparah, deliver up the city of
(57:1-4) forces sufficient to take city of, go against the city of,
the people of, the city of A. fell into our hands.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, from the land of (57:6, 11,
15-16, 28, 30) send prisoners to land of, down to the land of, send
them down to the land of, to go down to the land of Z. with, we did
start to go down to the land of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Cumeni, placed to protect the city
(57:7-8, 23, 31, 34) surround the city C, accomplished designs in
obtaining the city C, retained our city C, marching towards the city
of, towards the city.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Judea, send provisions to (57:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Manti, driven back to the city of
(57:22)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 58</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Manti, to obtain the city of (58:1, 13,
25, 39) who were in the city of, concerning the city of, towards the
land of, did arrive before them at the city of, take possession of
the city of, with me in the city of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, receive more strength from
the land of (58:3-4, 23-28) from the land of, towards the land of,
marching towards the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, pitch our tents by the W.
side (58:13-14, 16, 18-19, 22-24, 29) in the borders by the, should
secrete himself in the W., retreat into the, follow us into the, to
be led away into the, having traveled much in the, began to retreat
into the, did flee into the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, have fled to the land of (58:38)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 59</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, to the land of (59:4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephihah, the people of (59:5, 7-9, 11)
against the people of, the remainder of the people of, men sent to
the city of, the city of N was lost.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Moroni, from the city of (59:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lehi, and the city of (59:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Morianton, and the city of (59:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Manti, flee from the land of (59:6)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 60 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, in the city of (60:1, 30)
come unto you in the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 61</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gideon, fled to the land of (61:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, of the land or the city of
(61:8, 18) to maintain the city of, take possession of the city of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 62</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gideon, towards the land of (62:3-4, 6)
he came to the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, out of the land of (62:6-7,
11, 14, 42) into the land of, restored peace to the land of, in the
land of, returned to the city of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephihah, towards the land of (62:14,
18, 26, 30) had come to the city of, in the plains of, near the city
of, possession of the city of, obtained possession of the city of,
went forth from the land of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Moroni, fled into the land of (62:25,
32-34) until they came to the land of, in the land of, in the borders
of the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lehi, to the land of (62:30)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, in the borders by the
(62:34)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 63</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, departed out of the land of
(63:4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Northward, into the land which was
(63:4-5, 7, 9-10) which led into the land, set out again to the land,
went forth into the land, had gone forth to the land N. in a ship.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bountiful, on the borders of the land
(63:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Desolation, by the land (63:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
West sea, launched it forth into the
(63:5) </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Narrow neck, by the (63:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Book of Helaman</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 1</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, march down to the land of
(1:17-18, 22-23, 27, 29, 33) had not kept sufficient guards in the
land of, to attack that great city, in possession of the city of, did
not tarry in the land of, the capitol city which was the city of,
retreat back towards the land of, took possession of the city of Z.
again.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bountiful, towards the city of (1:23,
28-29) should come to the land, before they came to the land.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 2</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, into the (2:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 3</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, departed out of the land of
(3:3, 31) rejoicing in the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land northward, went forth unto the
(3:3, 8-11) to the, who were in the, timber was … scarce in the,
the people in the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land southward, go forth from the (3:8)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sea south, from the (3:8)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sea north, to the (3:8)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sea west, from the (3:8)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sea east, to the (3:8)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 4</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, obtaining possession of the
land of (4:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bountiful, the land which was near the
land (4:5-6) driven … into the land.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
West sea, from the (4:7) even unto the
east (sea ?).</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
North country, to defend their (4:7)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land southward, which was in the (4:8)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, deserting away into the land of
(4:12)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 5 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, who came out of the land of
(5:6)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ammonihah, in the city of (5:10)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bountiful, beginning at the city (5:14)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gid, to the city of (5:15)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mulek, from the city of Gid to the city
of (5:15)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land southward, who were in the (5:16)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, into the land of (5:16, 19)
who were in the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nephi, to go to the land of (5:20)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 6</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, come down into the land of
(6:4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land northward, did go into the (6:6)
went into the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lehi, land south was called (6:10)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mulek, the land north was called (6:10)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 7</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, returned to the land of
(7:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land northward, returned … from the
(7:1-2) who were in the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, came out of the land of
(7:7)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Garden of Nephi, tower which was in the
(7:10)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 8</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Red Sea, smite the waters of the (8:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, lifted up the brazen
serpent in the (8:14)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, testified of the destruction
of (8:20-22) we know that J. was destroyed, driven out of the land
of, Lehi was driven out of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 9</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Garden of Nephi, gathered together at
the (9:8, 11) who were at the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 11</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sea west, from the (11:20)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sea east (11:20</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, into the (11:25, 28, 31,
33) sent … into the, return out of the, who infested the mountains
and the, carry away captive into the.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 13</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, came into the land of (13:2,
12) wo unto this great city of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gideon, wo be unto the city of (13:15)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 16</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, who shall be at (16:18-19)
as well as in the land of.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Book of 3rd Nephi</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch.1</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, time that Lehi left (1:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, departed out of land of
(1:2)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 2</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, since Lehi left (2:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, return to the land of (2:9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 3</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, go up upon the mountains
and into the (3:20)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, the land of (3:23) land
which was between the land.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bountiful, and the land (3:23) line
which was between the land.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Desolation, and the land (3:23)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land southward, gather themselves
together in the (3:24)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land northward, curse which was upon
the land (3:24)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 4</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, sally forth from...the
(4:1-3, 13, 19-20) save it were in the, the borders of the, did
obtain in the, became scarce in the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land south, which were in the (4:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land north, which were in the (4:1, 23)
furthermost parts of the land northward.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, since he left (4:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 5</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mormon, after the land of (5:12)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, that Lehi left (5:15, 20)
out of the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 6</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land northward, both on the (6:2)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land southward, and on the (6:2)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, came up unto the land of
(6:25)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 8</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, the city of Z did take fire
(8:8, 24) burned in that great city.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Moroni, the city of M did sink into the
depths of the sea (8:9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Moronihah, upon the city of (8:10, 25)
buried up in that great city.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land southward, terrible destruction in
the (8:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land northward, terrible destruction in
the (8:12)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 9</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, that great city (9:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Moroni, that great city (9:4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Moronihah, that great city (9:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gilgal, the city of (9:6)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Onihah, the city of (9:7)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mocum, the city of (9:7)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, the city of (9:7)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gadiandi, the city of (9:8)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gadiomnah, the city of (9:8)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jacob, the city of (9:8)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gimgimno, the city of (9:8)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jacobugath, that great city (9:9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Laman, the city of (9:10)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gad, the city of (9:10)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Kishkumen, the city of (9:10)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 10</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, dwell at (10:5, 17) brought
out of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 11</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bountiful, which was in the land (11:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 15</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of your inheritance, this is the
(15:13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, tell it unto your brethren
at (15:14)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 16</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, of the land of (16:1, 4, 19)
my people at, waste places of, he hath redeemed.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zion, shall bring again (16:19)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 20</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, it shall be a New (20:22,
29, 33-34, 36-37, 46) which is the land of, give unto them, ye waste
places of, he hath redeemed, put on thy beautiful garments O, arise
sit down O, then shall J be inhabited again.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 21</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, which shall be called the
new (21:23-24, 26) in unto the new, hath led away out of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of their inheritance, gathered
home to (21:28)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Book of 4th Nephi</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, even that great city (8)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Book of Mormon</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch.1</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Antum, go to the land (1:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shim, a hill which shall be called
(1:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land southward, carried … into the
land (1:6)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, even to the land of (1:6,
10) in the borders of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sidon, by the waters of (1:10)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 2</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
North countries, retreat toward the
(2:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Angola, we did come to the city of
(2:4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
David, out of the land of (2:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Joshua, came to the land of J. which
was in the borders west by the seashore (2:6)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jashon, came even to the land of
(2:16-17) city of J. was near the land where.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shem, northward to the land which was
called (2:20-21) we did fortify the city of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lands of our inheritance, taken
possession of the (2:27-28) we did get the … divided.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land northward, did give unto us the
(2:29)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land southward, did give untot the
Lamanites all the (2:29)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 3</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Desolation, gather themselves together
at the land (3:5, 7) down to the city of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Narrow pass, which led into the land
southward (3:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land southward, led into the (3:5)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, in the land of (3:18-19)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch.4</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Desolation, out of the land of (4:1-3,
8, 13, 19) back again to the land of, take possession of the city,
was also near the city, took possession again of the city, take
possession of the city, come down against the city, battle fought in
the land.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Teancum, the city … lay in the
borders by the seashore (4:3, 6-7, 14) come against the city, take
possession of the city, march forward against the city.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Boaz, they came to the city (4:20)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shim, I did go to the hill (4:23)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 5</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jordan, fled to the city of (5:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 6</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Cumorah, unto the land of (6:2, 4-6,
11) by a hill which was called, march forth to the land of, around
about the hill, unto the land of, around about the hill, gathered …
to the land of, hid up in the hill, from the top of the hill.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
South countries, escaped into the
(6:15)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Book of Ether</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 1</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
North country, upon the face of this
(1:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tower, even to the great (1:3, 5, 33)
from the T. down until they were destroyed, came forth … from the
great.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Valley, the V. which is northward
(1:42)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land, a L. which is choice above all
the lands of the earth (1:42)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 2</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nimrod, valley of, which was northward
(2:1, 4) come down into valley of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, go forth into the (2:5-7)
did travel in the, beyond the sea in the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land of promise, come forth … unto
the (2:7-8-9) whoso should possess this, concerning this land, that
it is a.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Great sea, which divideth the lands
(2:13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Moriancumer, they called the name of
the place (2:13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Seashore, dwelt in tents upon the
(2:13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 3</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shelem, they called the mount (3:1)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, we have been in the (3:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sea, while we shall cross the (3:4)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 6</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Promised land, blow towards the (6:8,
12) land upon the shore of the, feet upon the shores of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 7</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Nehor, dwelt in the land of (7:4, 9) he
returned to the city N.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Moron, came up unto the land of (7:5-6,
17) land of M. where the king dwelt, carried him away … into.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Desolation, near the land which is
called (7:6)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ephraim, came to the hill (7:9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
First inheritance, he did obtain the
land of their (7:16)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Great deep, bringing them across the
(7:27)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Promised land, into the (7:27)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 8</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Heth, dwelt in the land of (8:2)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 9</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shim, by the hill of (9:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The place, where the Nephites were
destroyed (9:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ablom, which was called A. by the
seashore (9:3)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Inheritance, the land of his (9:13)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land, which was choice above all other
lands (9:20, 22, 26, 28, 30-31) he saw peace in the L., over all the
face of the L., great wickedness upon the face of the L., there came
prophets in the L., a curse upon the face of the L., a great dearth
upon the L., serpents … upon the face of the L.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land southward, towards the (9:31-32)
some which fled into the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Zarahemla, which was called by the
Nephites (9:31)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
North countries, began to be fruit in
the (9:35)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 10</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land southward, they did go into the
(10:19, 21) they did preserve the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
City, they built a great (10:20)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sea divides the land, by the place
where the (10:20)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, for a (10:21)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land northward, whole face of the
(10:21)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Land, that was choice above all lands
(10:28)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 13</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Choice land, it became a (13:2) a
chosen land of the Lord.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
New Jerusalem, it was the place of the
(13:3-4, 6, 10) he spake concerning a, a N J should be built, then
cometh the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jerusalem, the house of Israel and the
(13:5, 7-8, 11) it could not be a new, out of land of, like unto the
J of old, then also cometh the.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Egypt, down into the land of (13:7)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
North countries, from the (13:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Gilgal, valley of (13:27, 29-30) back
to valley of, in the valley of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Heshlon, came to the plains of (13:28)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 14</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Akish, to the wilderness of (14:3-4,
14) in the wilderness of, fled again to the wilderness of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wilderness, did lay siege to the (14:5,
7) march forth out of the, dwelt with his army in the.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Moron, came forth to the land of (14:6,
11) came up unto the land of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Seashore, to the borders upon the
(14:12-13, 26) battle unto him upon the, eastward even to the borders
by the.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Agosh, came to the plains of (14:15-16)
he had come to the plains of.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Corihor, they fled to the land of
(14:27-28) pitched their tents in the valley of.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Shurr, pitched his tents in the valley
of (14:28) now the valley of S was near.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Comnor, was near the hill (14:28)
together upon the hill.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 15</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ripliancum, came to the waters of
(15:8)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ogath, in a place which was called
(15:10)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ramah, by the hill (15:11)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Book of Moroni</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ch. 9</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sherrizah, took from the tower of (9:7,
16-17) who remain in, armies of the Lamanites are betwixt S and me.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Moriantum, that of our people in (9:9)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-90687790047173093042015-11-19T14:10:00.001-08:002020-03-29T11:59:02.326-07:00Nephi and the Sindbad Voyage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Yesterday I finished reading the exciting book
The Sindbad Voyage. It was written by the <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MsYE-aGAxW4/Vk5KEqwrq_I/AAAAAAAABAc/2jfLdi2yI9A/s1600/the-sindbad-voyage-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MsYE-aGAxW4/Vk5KEqwrq_I/AAAAAAAABAc/2jfLdi2yI9A/s200/the-sindbad-voyage-cover.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
explorer/adventurer Tim
Severin and describes his voyage from the country of Oman on the
Arabian Peninsula, to China in 1980 using a traditional Arab sailing vessel. He
constructed the ship using the ancient sewn plank method and
followed ancient historical records in preparing and charting his
route. It is a very well written and interesting book, and I would
recommend it to anyone interested in adventure and sailing, and
especially to those interested in a more detailed comparison of
Nephi's voyage from Oman to the New World.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
The latter topic is what really
interested me and I found it very informative. Severin sailed from
the city of Muscat, which is on the northeast coast of Oman, while
Nephi embarked from the Dhophar region of Oman (probably the mouth of the Wadi Sayk) on the southwest coast, about 500 miles southwest of Muscat. However their voyages must have
been relatively parallel at least until they arrived near Borneo.
From Borneo Severin turned north to China. Nephi probably sailed
around the north tip of Borneo, then turned dead east into the broad Pacific. He would have had to follow this route if he were to
connect with the<a href="http://moriancumr.blogspot.com/2011/11/and-counter-current-ocean-currents-of.html"> Equatorial Counter Current</a> which begins at about
Borneo and flows directly east to Central America. The Counter
Current is especially pronounced during periods of the El Nino
phenomenon. All other currents in the region of the equator flow west and would have made their voyage impossible.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Severin found that travel eastward from
Oman is very seasonal and depends on the monsoon winds to travel east
to India. Off the tip of India he ran into a month of becalming
doldrums where he made no progress. These doldrums resulted
from a seasonal change as the northeast monsoon winds shifted to the
southwest monsoons. Once the shift occurred he had no difficulty
sailing eastward, through the Malacca Strait between Malaysia and
Sumatra, and then northward to China. His description of the passage
through the strait is informative as Nephi would likely have followed
the same route. His description of stopping for supplies and water
would probably have been similar to Nephi's as Nephi could not have gone the entire trip without some stops to resupply.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
Once he moved out into the Pacific
region Severin was in danger of typhoons which normally occur<span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"> during the period from May through October. Severin's voyage barely missed a</span> major typhoon which struck three days later. Severin finally arrived in China after a voyage of seven months.<br />
It is likely that Nephi and his party were also exposed to
severe weather and the description of such a storm is found in 1 Ne.
18. However, most severe typhoons occur north of the equator between 5 and 25
degrees north latitude so if the Lehites were riding the counter current
east after leaving Borneo they would have been out of this danger
zone.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-23mGL85pBcc/VlC_VTtXTII/AAAAAAAABA0/D1D6sX4Oanw/s1600/ocean%2Bcurrents.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="85" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-23mGL85pBcc/VlC_VTtXTII/AAAAAAAABA0/D1D6sX4Oanw/s200/ocean%2Bcurrents.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
All the details, mechanics and routine
tasks that Severin describes would have been similar to those things
that would have been required for Nephi's party as they traversed the
ocean. His story definitely gave me a greater appreciation and
understanding of the sacrifice and adversity that Nephi's family
endured as they crossed the sea. Severin's voyage to China lasted
about seven months and Nephi's must have been closer to a year; all this
detail condensed into no more than 15 verses in the Book of Mormon.
I think I have had my eyes opened to the real experience of Nephi's
voyage.<br />
<br />
A similar voyage is shown on a Timeline video "When China Ruled the Waves. This is a reverse <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TvcuD20c6J0/XGc9WzQkleI/AAAAAAAABWQ/YT-DCW2QkQYSVEOom0rcE0ovHGqwOT5owCLcBGAs/s1600/Admiral_Zhenghe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TvcuD20c6J0/XGc9WzQkleI/AAAAAAAABWQ/YT-DCW2QkQYSVEOom0rcE0ovHGqwOT5owCLcBGAs/s200/Admiral_Zhenghe.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zheng He (Courtesy Wikipedia)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
direction from China to Oman in a modern day Chinese Junk named the Precious Pearl. Most of it is about the Chinese explorer Zheng He, but the modern voyage is woven into the story. the url is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4YEADagu0o<br />
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</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-65823628375311696922015-03-13T10:54:00.000-07:002015-12-02T06:26:50.788-08:00Lamanite Culture<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In addition to the detailed historical
and spiritual information found in the Book of Mormon, there is also
present an interesting sociological study on the diversification of
culture over time. The Lamanites and Nephites both originated from
the same Hebraic source, but over time differentiated into much different
cultures. Much of this differentiation resulted from the Lamanite's
overt rejection of their original Hebrew traditions and values. In
addition, this rejection was colored by their deep animosity toward
their perceived enemies, the Nephites.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In this blog, I will attempt to
reconstruct the Lamanite culture, although the source material,
provided by Nephite authors is obviously biased against the Lamanites
in most instances. The Lamanites are perceived as barbaric, savage,
murderous, and deceptive, with few values or positive traits. Often
they are depicted as ruthless enemies who should be destroyed.
However, there are several examples of positive critiques, such as
Zeniff's defense of the Lamanites, and the sons of Mosiah's
experience with Lamanite converts.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Zeniff (Mos. 9:1) was sent as a spy
among the Lamanites, to learn of their weakness in order to come upon
them and destroy them. However, when he observed their positive
qualities, he changed his mind. So much so that he was willing to
shed the blood of his fellow Nephites in order to defend them and
prevent their destruction.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The sons of Mosiah went as missionaries
among the Lamanites. The general Nephite attitude was expressed in
response to their planned mission. In Alma 26:23-25 we read: “Now
do ye remember, my brethren, that we said unto our brethren in the
land of Zarahemla, we go up to the land of Nephi, to preach unto our
brethren, the Lamanites, and they laughed us to scorn? For they said
unto us: Do ye suppose that ye can bring the Lamanites to the
knowledge of the truth? Do ye suppose that ye can convince the
Lamanites of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers, as
stiff necked a people as they are; whose hearts delight in the
shedding of blood; whose days have been spent in the grossest
iniquity; whose ways have been the ways of a transgressor from the
beginning? Now my brethren, ye remember that this was their
language. And moreover they did say: Let us take up arms against
them, that we destroy them and their iniquity out of the land, lest
they overrun us and destroy us."</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But after suffering some initial
trials, the sons of Mosiah were able to convert a great number of the
Lamanites, after which they abandoned their evil traditions. The sons of Mosiah spent 14 years among the Lamanites and came to regard them as the
best of people.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another positive portrayal of the Lamanites is given by Mormon in his account of the history of the people of Alma. They had been enslaved by the Lamanites who put the Nephite apostates, the Amulonites, over them as overseers. The Amulonites had also been appointed as teachers and instructors of the Lamanites and began to pass some of the positive culture of the Nephites on to their Lamanite bethren. We read: </span> "it came to pass that Amulon did gain favor in the eyes of the king of the Lamanites; therefore, the king of the Lamanites granted unto him and his brethren that they should be appointed teachers over his people, yea, even over the people who were in the land of Shemlon, and in the land of Shilom, and in the land of Amulon. For the Lamanites had taken possession of all these lands; therefore, the king of the Lamanites had appointed kings over all these lands. And now the name of the king of the Lamanites was Laman, being called after the name of his father; and therefore he was called king Laman. And he was king over a numerous people. And he appointed teachers of the brethren of Amulon in every land which was possessed by his people; and thus the language of Nephi began to be taught among all the people of the Lamanites. And they were a people friendly one with another; nevertheless they knew not God; neither did the brethren of Amulon teach them anything concerning the Lord their God, neither the law of Moses; nor did they teach them the words of Abinadi; But they taught them that they should keep their record, and that they might write one to another. And thus the Lamanites began to increase in riches, and began to trade one with another and wax great, and began to be a cunning and a wise people, as to the wisdom of the world, yea, a very cunning people, delighting in all manner of wickedness and plunder, except it were among their own brethren (Mos. 24:1-7)."<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In the following sections, we will
examine what evidence we have of the various aspects of Lamanite
culture. This evidence comes from the Book of Mormon itself, as well
as accounts of the early Spanish conquistadors, and the few records
that we have of the Indian histories that survived the conquest. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Religion and beliefs</span></b></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Following Laman and Lemuel's rebellion,
they undoubtedly neglected any teaching of the scriptures or the need
for faith in God. Although they were familiar with Jewish religion,
and had a first hand knowledge of God's power and miracles, it is
unlikely that they ever taught these things to their posterity. They
may have even persuaded their descendants to disbelieve in God and
the “traditions of their fathers.” After about 400 years the
Book of Mormon demonstrates that there was little of the original
knowledge of the gospel to be found among their descendants.
</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Mormon, writing in 90 BC, comments “Now
this was the tradition of Lamoni [and by extension, the rest of the
Lamanites], which he had received from his father, that there was a
Great Spirit. Notwithstanding they believed in a Great Spirit they
supposed that whatsoever they did was right (Alma 18:5).”
Essentially, they believed in an amorphous, undefined, supreme being
who did not give his creations commandments or restrictions, and who
had no expectations for their behavior.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ammon,
in teaching King Lamoni, elicited the following information regarding
Lamanite beliefs:</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lamoni
did not know the Nephite word for God. He believed that the “Great
Spirit” created all things on the earth, but he did not know
anything about the heaven or its location (Alma 18:24-32). It
appears that the Lamanites had not been exposed to the teachings of
the scriptures (from the Brass Plates) and were not familiar with
their precepts. Many of the Lamanites worshiped idols (Alma 17:15).</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lamoni's father gives us a good example of the prevailing Lamanite attitude toward their perceived enemies, the Nephites. Ammon and Lamoni were traveling to Middoni to rescue Ammon's brethren when they encounter the father who is the king over all the land. He challenges Lamoni asking him "Whither art thou going with this Nephite, who is one of the children of a liar (liar referring to the Lamanites original complaint against Nephi)?" Lamoni's explanation is rejected by his father who counters with "Lamoni, thou art going to deliver these Nephites, who are sons of a liar. Behold, he robbed our fathers; and now his children are also come amongst us that they may, by their cunning and their lyings, deceive us, that they again may rob us of our property (Alam 20:10, 13)." This attitude was apparently widespread and explains a lot of the hostility which existed between the two groups.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It
is not clear whether the early Lamanites had places of worship and
held religious services, but they did allow others among them (such
as the Amalekites) to construct synagogues for religious purposes.
However, in at least one reference we are told that they had
synagogues, temples, and sanctuaries (Alma 23:2).</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Much
later (at the time of the conquest), the Lamanites (or the Native
American Indians) seemed to have developed various belief systems
which reflected shadows of the truth, but were mostly superstitious,
pagan beliefs.
</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://moriancumr.blogspot.com/2012/10/bobadilla-in-nicaragua-early.html" target="_blank">Franciscode Bobadilla</a>, one of the early Spanish Catholic priests to work in
Nicaragua (in an account written by Gonzalo Oviedo about 1540),
interviewed some of the Indians of Nicaragua regarding their beliefs
and religion. These Indians were mostly Nicaro (who were possibly
Neo-jaredites from Mexico) and Chorotega (the original indigenous inhabitants of the Nicaragua area). He found that:</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;">The
Indians worshiped two principal gods named Famagostad and Zipaltonal,
the first male and the second female.</span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="color: #333333;">There
were other minor gods who controlled many of the natural phenomena.
These gods were male and female, had bodies, were immortal, and dwelt
in heaven. They had personal gods which they could call on for
assistance. </span><span style="color: #333333;">They
had public images of these gods, and also had small personal images
of them for their homes. </span>
</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">They
had a vague knowledge of the flood, but believed that all men and
animals had been destroyed during this event, and then the gods
recreated mankind and the animals. Those
who died in battle went with the gods, while they who died a normal
death went to a “hell-like” place under the earth. They believe
that their ancestors had become gods. They were uncertain about the
resurrection. Only certain individuals would be resurrected. The
resurrection would not be universal.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;">They
did not practice fasting. They practiced a rite similar to the
Catholic confession. Their traditions were kept orally and passed
from generation to generation. The essence of life was something
like the spirit and dwelt in the heart. When this left the body it
resulted in death. They had a tradition that the gods anciently
communicated with man, but no longer did so. </span>
</span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;">There
were special temples which only the priests, chiefs and young boys
could enter. Other common temples were provided for the general
population but only males were admitted. The Indian temples were
large buildings built of wood with thatched roofs. None but the
priests and current chief were allowed entrance.</span>
</span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;">Bobadilla
was told that the Indians practiced human sacrifice. They believed
that human blood nourished the gods. People were sacrificed to
propitiate the gods. Their blood was sprinkled on the idols in the
temples. Young children were sacrificed to induce the gods to send
rain. The people also offered animals, garden produce, etc. as
sacrifices in the temples. The people made self sacrifices by
cutting the tongue or genitals to produce drops of blood. The
Indians practiced certain formalized burial rites. </span>
</span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;">There
were twenty one religious festivals held every year with certain rites and
practices associated with each. The Indians had a well established
rite corresponding to the confession of the Catholic Church. These
confessions were heard by senior, single men chosen by the “council”
for this purpose. Everyone above the age of puberty was expected to
confess. </span>
</span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">Another
Spaniard (Andres de Cerezeda) describes the Indian temples. He informs us that
they were built of timber, and thatched; but large, with many low,
dark, inner chapels. These, it seems, were surrounded by large
courts, beyond which none except the priests and the cazique [were
allowed] ... Besides these, there were what the Indians called
Tezarit oratorios, or "high places," which stood before or
around the temples, and which [are] described as being conical or
pyramidal in shape, ascended by steps. Upon these high places the human victims
were sacrificed.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"> </span>
</span></b></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lamanite Agriculture</span></b></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We read that “the
more idle part of the Lamanites lived in the wilderness, and dwelt in
tents (Alma 22:28).” We can infer from this that there was a “more
ambitious” group of Lamanites as well. I would suggest that this
group would have been in the majority. These are the ones who would
have populated the towns and villages. Hunters and gatherers (to use
a term of the anthropologists), which the more idle part of the
Lamanites surely would have been, cannot maintain a settled
lifestyle, and have to keep moving and wandering in order to find
enough food to subsist. Such groups would have difficulty
establishing any type of government or organized community, and would
have had difficulty mobilizing for war, as the Lamanites did on many
occasions. So it seems obvious that the Lamanites must have had an
agricultural base to maintain their settled (although primitive in
comparison with the Nephites) lifestyle, however, there are few
references to such practices.
</span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We
are told that <span style="color: black;">the
Lamanites kept flocks (see Alma ch. 17). We aren't told what kind of
animals they were, but they were herded in groups, were driven to the
watering hole, and could be scattered and then rounded up. Crops
aren't mentioned in the text, but provisions were sent to the
Lamanite armies which were undoubtedly produced by Lamanite agriculture. One example, “t</span><span style="color: black;">hey
(the Lamanites) were continually bringing new forces into that city
(Morianton), and also new supplies of provisions (Alma 55:34).”</span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">Although
there are not many references to Lamanite agriculture in the Book of
Mormon, this is not the case with the later Lamanites at the time of
the Spanish conquest. </span><span style="color: black;">Throughout
the Americas the Europeans discovered substantial crops, fields and
harvests. In fact their survival, in many cases, depended on the
bounteous Indian stores. </span>
</span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">Christopher
Columbus, and his crew members, observed many of the Indian communities
practicing an efficient and productive form of agriculture. On his
fourth voyage of exploration, in what is now Panama, his son
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Life-Admiral-Christopher-Columbus/dp/0813518016" target="_blank">Ferdinand </a>wrote of the harbor that they called Portobelo; “</span><span style="color: black;">he
(Columbus) gave it that name because it is very large, beautiful,
thickly populated, and surrounded by cultivated country … The
country about the harbor is well tilled and full of houses only a
stone's throw or crossbow shot apart, all as pretty as a picture, the
</span><span style="color: black;">fairest
thing one ever saw (Ferdinand p. 243-4)</span><span style="color: black;">” Another place nearby was named Puerto de Bastimentos
“</span><span style="color: black;">because
all the land about and the islets were full of maize fields (p. 244).” </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On another expedition into the interior of Panama Ferdinand reports;
“Next day the Adelantado (an officer, Columbus' brother Bartolomeo) sent most
of his men overland back to the ships while he continued with thirty
men to a village called Cobrava, where were cornfields stretching
over an extent of six leagues (about 15 miles), and then he proceeded
to Cateba. In both places they met a friendly reception and were
given much food (p. 253).”</span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gil_Gonz%C3%A1lez_D%C3%A1vila" target="_blank">Gil Gonzalez,</a> who in 1522 was the first Spanish conquistador to explored
Costa Rica and Nicaragua, traveled approximately 580 miles along the
Pacific coast (from Panama to Nicaragua). In this journey he encountered 50 major Indian towns
with their chiefs and inhabitants. Many souls were baptized in each
location indicating major populations, and these populations would have
required an established agriculture to maintain themselves. </span>
</span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">Recent
archaeological work at the Salvadoran site of Joya de Ceren has given
us a clear view of native agricultural practices of about 500 AD.
This village was buried by a thick layer of volcanic ash in about 490 AD following a
major eruption of a nearby volcano. The village was
covered quickly and the evidence of everyday living, and farming
practices were well preserved. Gardens, near the homes, and farming areas
farther away, have been uncovered during the excavations. The main crops were corn and manioc,
and were productive enough to support a population of 200-400 people
per square kilometer. Evidence indicates that the manioc crops of this village were more robust that our modern varieties. Other crops, such as beans and squash, were
also grown. </span>
</span></div>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">From
the above information, I think we can conclude that although the
Lamanites were not as advanced agriculturally as the Nephites, they
certainly had much of the same knowledge, and were able to produce
and store a surplus, as well as support a substantial population. In
fact, on many occasions during the Colonial Period, the Spaniards
relied heavily on the abundant Indian stores, begging for them,
buying them, or stealing them if necessary. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 0.19in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-5313075240335343272015-02-08T18:18:00.000-08:002015-02-08T18:18:54.814-08:00My Witness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
I have been wanting to bear my testimony of the Book of Mormon for some time, but have neglected to do so. This morning I was impressed that I should at least write it down, so here goes. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
After my relationship with God, my strongest testimony is about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Ever since I received a witness from the Spirit of it's correctness, just before leaving on my mission at age 20, I have know that it is a true and divine record. It is the anchor that brings me back every time I have any doubts. For since it is true, then everything else must be true as well, and the prophet who reveal it must be God's messenger as claimed.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
And since I have studied the geography of the book for the last 20 years, my witness has been strengthen. For a history to be true it must have a location, and I have been blessed to have been there and witnessed the places. I have walked across the Narrow Neck of Land. I have swam in the lovely Waters of Mormon. I have surveyed the broad Valley of Helam, and watched them harvest bananas in the beautiful Valley of Alma. I have traveled the Land of Nephi and visited Nephi's gold mines. I have contemplated the Nephite/Lamanite battles near Manti, while sitting on the banks of the River Sidon. I have driven by the city of Zarahemla during a rainstorm. I have swam in the east sea near Moroni, and waded in the west sea where Hagoth built his ships. I have lived for a year and a half in the Land of Melek. I have driven through the Narrow Pass a number of times, and last year my brother and I located the city that Lib built, near the Place Where the Sea Divides the Land. All these experiences, and many others, have built a more sure foundation for my testimony of the Book of Mormon. It is true! The places were real, the history is true and the authors of the book were faithful disciples of the living Christ.</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-23740791079868170542014-04-09T07:20:00.000-07:002014-04-09T08:16:54.584-07:00The Importance of Place<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yJstwrwc-5w/U0VV51Z0gvI/AAAAAAAAA-M/O-nOHmUjED8/s1600/Garden+tomb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yJstwrwc-5w/U0VV51Z0gvI/AAAAAAAAA-M/O-nOHmUjED8/s1600/Garden+tomb.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Garden Tomb from Wikipedia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Recently Daniel Peterson (who incidentally is one of my favorite
authors and lecturers) wrote a piece on the </div>
current status of Book of
Mormon geography in the Mormon community. He wrote: “One of the
issues over which I've recently been saddened to see impassioned
strife among some members of the church ... is Book of Mormon
geography. I find it almost unbelievable. Surely this is a secondary
issue, at most. Nothing very important — certainly not our
salvation — hangs upon having the precise GPS coordinates of the
Jaredite city of Lib. Although an interesting topic for discussion,
knowing exactly where the narrative of the Book of Mormon took place
is far less momentous than believing that it did, in fact, take
place.” (Daniel Peterson)<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I too am distressed by the contention that this subject often
seems to generate. Obviously it is not as important as the doctrine
itself. However, is it fair to relegate the subject to the dustbin
of irrelevance? I think it is going too far to say that it is of
“secondary importance” or that “nothing very important” hangs
on the precise location of a Book of Mormon city. While Christ has
forbidden us to contend over such matters, He has encouraged us to
seek out the truth of all things through His Spirit. And He inspired
His prophet Mormon to include descriptions of Nephite geography in
his condensed version of the ancient records, recorded in considerable detail,
and using precious room on the plates to do so.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
What was Mormon's purpose in including the geographical material
in the Book of Mormon? Certainly not to pad the record. And he was
not writing for his fellow Nephites, but for us, the future gentiles.
I believe that his sincere desire was that we might know where the
events that he wrote about actually took place. Is that important?
Not as important as the doctrinal message. However, the doctrinal
message is strengthened by the witness of time and place. Without
these the message is limited.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If we didn't have the Sacred Grove, would Joseph's first vision
carry as much weight? If we didn't have the site of the Kirtland
Temple, would D&C 110 be as impressive? Was it important
that Joseph knew the location of the hill where the plates were
buried? Consider these additional questions: Would the Bible have as
much power if we had no idea where biblical events took place—perhaps
in Egypt or even Persia? Is it important where Christ ministered,
taught, suffered and was resurrected? Certainly the Garden Tomb
inspires Christians, and the Jews are spiritually strengthened by
having the Western Wall. The place focuses their spiritual
yearnings. Knowing the location of Armageddon helps us understand
prophecy, and having visited Adam ondi Ahman prepares one for future
events. Yes, place is important!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In a court setting, would a criminal trial proceed on a firm
footing if the location of the crime scene were unknown? Not likely.
The location is an important part of the evidence. In the same way,
location is vital in understanding history, including the history of
the Nephites.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is interesting to note that in compiling the revelations for
the Doctrine and Covenants, the date and place are generally given to
strengthen the witness of the truth, for place is indeed a type of
witness. Just as the testimonies of the three and the eight
witnesses are important in establishing the truth of the Book of
Mormon, so the witness of location is necessary to firmly establish the historical veracity of the Book of Mormon record.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The church leadership obviously values location. We have seen great
effort and expense put forth to secure historical sites, and to
beautify and restore them. In addition, the church has invested a
great deal of money in sponsoring archaeological research through a
department of BYU. I assume that the original intent of this effort
was to identify culture related to the Book of Mormon peoples.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Within the last several decades the place identified as Nahum in
the Book of Mormon has been located through the personal efforts of
Warren Aston. Was this of no value in vindicating the claims of the
book? Obviously it was! It is of great import and was worth all the
effort spent in locating the site. Someone could have accused Aston
of wasting his time and of pursuing frivolous goals, but I doubt that
anyone would accuse him of that now. Why? Because place is
important. While it is true that doctrine is of primary value,
location's witness is one of the legs that supports the doctrine. Doctrine residing in an environmental limbo is not nearly as strong as one originating in time and place. </div>
<span class="collapse">
</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-37701554784701020432013-07-13T18:04:00.000-07:002014-08-07T04:17:49.307-07:00Columbus' Revelation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
It is fas<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">hionable today to minimize the
accomplishments of Christopher Columbus and dethrone him as the hero
of the discovery of the Americas. All manner of evil is attributed
to him, and his critics dredge up all </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4duvqGbYiOI/UeH44xw6KQI/AAAAAAAAA5A/-T0YzAfCzrE/s1600/Ships_of_Christopher_Columbus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4duvqGbYiOI/UeH44xw6KQI/AAAAAAAAA5A/-T0YzAfCzrE/s200/Ships_of_Christopher_Columbus.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">sorts of rumors and innuendos
to blacken his name. He is even seen as the responsible party for the later genocide and enslavement of the Indians. Yet the Lord seemed to favor him and blessed
him with success in his endeavors. In fact, God probably used him as
an instrument in accomplishing His purposes on this chosen land, and
his discoveries fulfilled prophecies relating to the Indian
descendants of Father Lehi.</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The prophet Nephi was shown a vision of
Columbus' future voyages of discovery. He prophesied “I
looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from
the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit
of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth
upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in
the promised land (1 Ne. 13:12).”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This
being true, we can assume that Columbus, although a mortal with
faults common to man, was chosen and accepted of God. In fact, from
his record we read that he felt that he was inspired in his quest (1), and he may have even received a direct revelation from
the Lord. Many biographers ignore this incident, but in my opinion
it was more than a simple random dream, and was an answer to his
fervent prayers.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">From
a letter that he penned to the sovereigns of Spain on July 7, 1503 he
tells of this incident, an incident that occurred as he was severely ill and
separated from the other members of his expedition.
</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"I
was outside [of the harbor] on so dangerous a coast [the coast of Panama], utterly alone,
in a high fever and in a state of great exhaustion. Hope of escape
was dead. I toiled up to the highest point of the ship, calling in a
trembling voice, with fast falling tears, to the war captains of your
highnesses, at every point of the compass, for succour, but never did
they answer me. Exhausted, I fell asleep, groaning."</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"I
heard a very compassionate voice, saying: 'O fool and slow to
believe and to serve thy God, the God of all! What more did He for
Moses or for His servant David? Since thou wast born, ever has He had
thee in His most watchful care. When He saw thee of an age with which
He was content, He caused thy name to sound marvellously in the land.
The Indies, which are so rich a part of the world, He gave thee for
thine own; thou hast divided them as it pleased thee, and He enabled
thee to do this. Of the barriers of the Ocean sea, which were closed
with such mighty chains, He gave thee the keys; and thou wast obeyed
in many lands and among the Christians thou hast gained honourable
fame. What did He more for the people of Israel when He brought them
out of Egypt? Or for David, whom from a shepherd He made to be king
in Judea? Turn thyself to Him, and know now thine error; His mercy is
infinite; thine old age shall [not] prevent thee from achieving all
great things; He has many heritages very great. Abraham had passed a
hundred years when he begat Isaac, and was Sarah young? Thou criest
for help, doubting. Answer, who has afflicted thee so greatly and so
often, God or the world? The rewards and promises which He gives, He
does not bring to nothing, nor does He say, after He has received
service, that His intention was not such and that it is to be
differently regarded, nor does He inflict suffering in order to
display His power. His deeds agree with His words; all that He
promises, He performs with interest; is this the manner of men? I
have said that which thy Creator has done for thee and does for all
men. Now in part He shows thee the reward for the anguish and danger
which thou hast endured in the service of others.'”</span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"I
heard all this as if I were in a trance, but I had no answer to give
to words so true, but could only weep for my errors. He, whoever he
was, who spoke to me, ended saying: 'Fear not; have trust; all
these tribulations are written upon marble and are not without
cause (2, 3).'” </span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 0.24in;">Such an answer would be a great blessing to any mortal, and any of us would be honored to be so acknowledged by the Lord. Perhaps
this is why, when all the noble deceased founders of the United States were
baptized in the Saint George temple, under the direction of President
Wilford Woodruff, Christopher Columbus was among the number. Not only that, but he was honored with the calling of a high
priest in the Lord's kingdom to assist in the Lord's work in the spirit world. As for me, I would be honored to have Columbus as an acquaintance and friend. </span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 0.24in;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 0.24in;">(1) "</span><span style="color: #444444; line-height: 0.27in;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">With
a hand that could be felt, the Lord opened my mind to the fact that
it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies. . . . This was
a fire that burned within me who can doubt that this fire was not
merely mine, but also<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Lucida Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 0.27in;">of the Holy Spirit." Columbus.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 0.24in;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 0.24in;">(2) </span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 0.24in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Bitstream Charter, serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> From </span></span></span><a href="http://earlyamericas.wordpress.com/anthology/columbus-letter-from-the-fourth-voyage/" style="line-height: 0.24in;">http://earlyamericas.wordpress.com/anthology/columbus-letter-from-the-fourth-voyage/</a></div>
<div style="border: none; line-height: 0.24in; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Bitstream Charter, serif; font-size: x-small;">Original Source: The Voyages of Christopher Columbus, Being the Journals of his First and Third, and the Letters Concerning his First and Last Voyages, to Which is Added the Account of his Second Voyage Written by Andres Bernaldez. Now newly Translated and Edited, with an Introduction and Notes, by Cecil Jane. London: The Argonaut Press, 1930.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Bitstream Charter, serif;">(3) Orson Hyde, an early apostle of the restoration, identifies this messenger as Moroni. </span></span><span style="color: #545454; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 0.27in;">In
a patriotic disscourse in the original tabernacle on July 4, 1854 he </span><span style="color: #545454; line-height: 0.27in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;">called Moroni the “guardian angel of America.” He
said, “That same angel of God that appeared to Joseph Smith
presides over the destiny of the United States of America.” Elder
Hyde said that he [Moroni] was in the camp with George Washington. He
[Moroni] helped George Washington when he had trouble. He said
that same angel was with Christopher Columbus and gave him deep
impressions and dreams and visions respecting the new world. He said
that same angel was with Columbus on the stormy deep.</span></span><span style="color: #545454; line-height: 0.27in;"> </span><span style="color: #545454; line-height: 0.27in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;">He
guided his frail vessel to the desired haven, and he calmed the
troubled elements. (</span></span><em style="line-height: 0.27in;"><a href="http://www.latterdayconservative.com/articles/other/the-angel-moroni" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1982d1;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><u>The
Angel Moroni</u></i></span></span></a></em><span style="color: #545454; line-height: 0.27in;"> </span><span style="color: #545454; line-height: 0.27in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;">by
Elder Glen L. Rudd. Brigham Young University-Idaho Devotional, March
11, 2003 )</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Bitstream Charter, serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-83798816402533888812013-02-09T10:25:00.000-08:002013-02-09T10:46:37.106-08:00Seeing Through a Glass Darkly<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">When I was a young man I would sometimes visit the city dump with my father as he disposed of a load of trash. This was before the dump was regulated or supervised, and one could wander around and collect items of interest to a young boy. I often wondered where the various things came from and what they had meant in someones life. One might guess, but you could never know the whole picture, only an inferred imagining of the article's importance in an individual life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is a lot like archaeology. As one investigates the ruins and debris of a long dead culture, remnants of daily life are found -- shards of pottery, crumbling walls, or decaying grave sites. What can one know from such meager clues. Inferences can be made of course, but few clues of the feelings, thoughts or personalities of those ancient ones can be known. If only they had left a written record of their lives and activities so we could have a better understanding. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Fortunately, in some cases, we do have written records to clarify the shadowy archaeological finds, but to often these accounts are disregarded or ignored as being of no worth. Sadly, the Holy Scriptures are often relegated to this dust bin of history. The scientific world regards them as myth, or unsubstantiated legend, and won't even consider the clues they provide to the past. In addition, there are many legends and oral histories still alive among the descendants of the ancients, but too often the researchers regard these as unreliable or tainted, so we are unable to benefit from the kernels of truth found therein. </span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jWucNZmG27Q/URaT-9plBAI/AAAAAAAAA0E/YXCv14dW4xs/s1600/384px-Amarna_Akkadian_letter.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jWucNZmG27Q/URaT-9plBAI/AAAAAAAAA0E/YXCv14dW4xs/s200/384px-Amarna_Akkadian_letter.png" width="127" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Amarna Tablet<br />From Wikipedia</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was reminded of this conundrum recently while reading an article from the Biblical Archaeology Review. The article was entitled The Trowel vs. the Text and related conflicting accounts between some recent finds of written records and previous archaeological findings. It brings up the question, which is more reliable, the archaeology or the written record? If we had a written record of an archaeological site, would it corroborate the researcher's findings?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This article centered around the discovery of the Amarna Tablets. These are inscribed clay tablets, discovered south of Cairo in 1887, not by professional archaeologists, but by a poor Bedouin woman. These tablets are written in Akkadian cuneiform and contain the official correspondence between the Egyptian king, his subjects, and his outlying domains. They were written circa 1400 BC. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Over the years hundreds of these tablets were discovered by the Bedouin who tried to sell them to whoever might be interested, without much success. Many were broken or lost over time. Years later several museums finally noticed the tablets and purchased some of them. When they were finally translated, they were found to contain much valuable historical information. Unfortunately, much of this information conflicted with previous findings of archaeological studies in the area. The archaeology only revealed part of the truth. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some examples from the article:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Biblical accounts suggest that Canaan was heavily populated during this time period (1500-1150 BC). However, archaeological studies only found evidence of a sparse population. The Amarna Tablets support the Biblical account describing a thriving and large population. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Jerusalem of this time period should have been a large, thriving, fortified city. Archaeological studies have only found meager remains of what they felt was a small settlement (and a Canaanite one at that). The Amarna Tablets reveal the large and populous Jewish city described in the Bible. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Archaeological studies of the Canaanite city of Shechem found a medium sized royal stronghold, which was not particularly important. The textual evidence from the tablets reveals a large, flourishing city, powerful and important, wielding considerable influence over the entire region. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Excavation at the site of Lachish produced only meager finds. The tablets speak of the city as the seat of three different rulers and was ranked alongside Gezer and Ashkelon as a regional power.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">From the evidence uncovered, we would conclude that Gezer was at best, an unimportant city-state, yet the textual record indicates that it was one of the leading Canaanite city-states involved in important alliances with prominent regional governments. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The northern Canaanite city of Megiddo is one of the most studied sites in the Mideast. The excavations have been rewarding and a rich archaeological record has been revealed. However, the archaeologists have concluded that the city was unwalled and unfortified during this time period. On the other hand, the tablets describe this city as heavily fortified and walled. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">During this time period, Egypt ruled over Canaan and established six government centers in the conquered territory. They had extensive contact with the Canaanite rulers and their armies passed through, or were stationed in Canaan. Yet there has been very little archaeological evidence uncovered that would reveal an Egyptian presence there. Only the tablets reveal that these events did occur. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">From these examples we can conclude that archaeological evidence is at best partial and fragmentary. When we read an archaeological study, it is not safe to assume that we have the complete picture. Wherever possible, written records should be used alongside the scientific evidence. Where these records conflict, it is very likely that the written record is correct and should be given precedence. To give too much credence to partial evidence is to look through a glass darkly, to use Paul's phrase. The vision of the past is obscured.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-45244083696774628832012-10-07T16:46:00.002-07:002013-06-17T12:15:00.639-07:00Bobadilla In Nicaragua<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XUfXZ8NcrXw/UHHUbqpxqVI/AAAAAAAAAdg/J41f1q9WGkg/s1600/garay2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="125" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XUfXZ8NcrXw/UHHUbqpxqVI/AAAAAAAAAdg/J41f1q9WGkg/s200/garay2.jpg" width="200" /></a><em><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"></span></span></span></em></div>
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The early chroniclers of the Spanish conquest have left us invaluable information as to the circumstances, culture and lives of the Indian peoples of that era. In my opinion, their observations and histories are of much more value than tentative theories derived from limited archaeological evidence.</div>
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<em><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">One of these early Spanish historians, who arrived in the new world shortly following its discovery, was Gonzalo</span></span></span></span></em><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Fernández de </span></span><em><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Oviedo</span></span></span></span></em><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">y Valdés.</span></span> He later wrote a very detailed (fifty volumes to be exact) account of all that he observed. Unfortunately these writings seem to be only available in Spanish. A portion of his writings deal with his time spent in Nicaragua. These are of particular interest to me.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r6l9-DXgayM/UHHQ-Inag4I/AAAAAAAAAdI/KLnByuN0nSU/s1600/Francisco_de_Bobadilla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r6l9-DXgayM/UHHQ-Inag4I/AAAAAAAAAdI/KLnByuN0nSU/s200/Francisco_de_Bobadilla.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Francisco Bobadilla</td></tr>
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Up to the present I have been under the impression that there were very few accounts of the early Indians of Nicaragua. However, in reading the book Nicaragua, its people, scenery, monuments, and the proposed interoceanic canal by E. G. Squier, I found a number of lengthy quotations from Oviedo in English. Either Squier had access to an English translation of the work, or he translated the material himself. One section of these Oviedo quotations deals with a series of interviews that a Francisco de Bobadilla had with the early native Americans of Nicaragua. In this interview he questioning them on their beliefs, religion and culture. I have found this information to be very informative.</div>
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These interviews were mostly with the Nicaro Indians who had immigrated to Nicaragua from Mexico around 700 AD. As a result, they mainly reflect Nahuatl or Mexican religion and culture. I will include a copy of Bobadilla's interview below, but first let me summarize some of the details I gleaned from his questioning.</div>
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The Indians were reluctant to share their beliefs and traditions with the Spanish.</div>
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Many Indians were “baptized” who had no idea what they were committing themselves to, or had no intention of changing their beliefs – conversions of convenience.</div>
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The Indians worshiped two principal gods named Famagostad and Zipaltonal, the first male and the second female.</div>
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They had other minor gods who controlled many of the natural phenomena. They also had personal gods which they could call on for assistance.</div>
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These gods were male and female, had bodies, were immortal, and dwelt in heaven.</div>
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The images of the gods had been carved in stone by their ancestors and left for them. They made small images of these original idols to place in their homes.</div>
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They had a vague knowledge or tradition of the flood, but believed that all men and animals had been destroyed during this event, and then the gods recreated mankind and the animals.</div>
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Those who died in battle went with the gods, while they who died a normal death went to a “hell-like” place under the earth.</div>
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They believe that their ancestors had become gods.</div>
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They were uncertain about the resurrection. Only certain individuals would be resurrected. The resurrection would not be universal.</div>
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They did not practice fasting.</div>
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They practiced a rite similar to the Catholic confession.</div>
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The traditions of the Indians were kept orally and passed from generation to generation.</div>
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The essence of life was something like the spirit, which they called “julio” and which dwelt in the heart. When this left the body it resulted in death.</div>
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They had a tradition that the gods anciently communicated with man, but no longer did so.</div>
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Although they had been baptized and had become “Christians”, they understood very little of Christian doctrine, scriptures, or history.</div>
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There were special temples which only the priests, chiefs and young boys could enter. A chief would spend a year at a time in the temple petitioning for the needs of the people. At the end of the year he would leave and another chief would take his place.</div>
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Other common temples were provided for the general population but only males were admitted.</div>
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They practiced human sacrifice and believed that human blood nourished the gods.</div>
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People were sacrificed to propitiate the gods. Their blood was sprinkled on the idols in the temples. The sacrificed</div>
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bodies of the men were eaten, but not the bodies of the women or children.</div>
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Young children were sacrificed to induce the gods to send rain.</div>
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Sacrificial victims were normally slaves or war captives, however certain children were raised specifically to be sacrificial victims and receive special treatment and privileges during their lives prior to the sacrifice.</div>
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The people also offered animals, garden produce, etc. in the temples.</div>
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The people made self sacrifices by cutting the tongue or genitals.</div>
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The Indian temples were large buildings built of wood with thatched roofs. None but the priests and residing chief were allowed entrance.</div>
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Around the temples were high places in the shape of small pyramids or cones, eight to fifteen steps in height. The human sacrifices were conducted on the top of these pyramids. The top of these platforms was flat, with some large enough to hold as many as10 men. In the center of this platform was the large sacrificial stone. as long as a man.</div>
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On the appointed day of sacrifice, the victim was taken to the top and placed on the stone altar. The chief observed the rite from an adjacent pyramid, while the people watched from below. The priest cut open the abdomen and tore out the heart, then anointed the idols with the blood. The body was cut in pieces and distributed among those appointed to receive a portion, while the head was severed and hung in a special tree as a trophy.</div>
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One additional rite was observe. During certain ceremonies the participants would draw a little blood from the genital organs and sprinkle this on corn which was then eaten with great solemnity.</div>
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Now quoting from Squier's book:</div>
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Among these [the writings of Oviedo] is a transcript of the proceedings of a commission, of which the Fray Francisco de Bobadilla, Provincial of the Order of Mercy, was the head, delegated by Pedro Arias de Avila, Governor of Nicaragua, in 1528, to procure an exact account of the condition of the Indians, to ascertain the nature of their religion, and to discover how far they had been affected by the introduction of Christianity. It was on the 28th of September of the same year that Bobadilla arrived in the province of Niquira, and commenced his investigation.</div>
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The first who appeared before him was a chief named Chichoyatona, whom Bobadilla piously proceeded to baptize, naming him Alonzo de Herrera. He then inquired of him if he knew there was a God who had created man, the world, and all things. But Chichoyatona either did not know, or else did not care to answer questions, and the friar got nothing from him. He next tried an old man named Cipat, but he replied to the same question that he neither knew nor cared, and was accordingly dismissed. It is not, however, to be supposed that Cipat was really so ignorant; for the Indians of Nicaragua, in common with those of every part of the continent, were extremely jealous of all things relating to their religion.</div>
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Bobadilla, no wise discouraged, tried another chief, named Mizeztoy, and this time with better success. Mizeztoy stated that he was a Christian; that is to say, had had water poured on his head by a priest, but had really quite forgot what name had been given to him. The result of his examination is given by the chronicler as follows:</div>
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Friar, Do you know who made heaven and earth?<br />
Indian, My parents told me, when I was a child, that it was Famagostad and Zipaltonal, the first male and the second female.<br />
F. What are they, men or animals?<br />
I, I do not know; my parents never saw them; nor do I know whether they dwell in the air or elsewhere.<br />
F. Who created man, and all tilings?<br />
I, As I have already said, Famagostad and Zipaltonal, a younger named Ecalchot, a Guegue (or very old personage), and the little Ciagat.<br />
F. Where are they?<br />
I, I do not know, except that they are our great gods, whom we call Teotes. <br />
F. Have they parents or ancestors?<br />
I, No; for they are gods.<br />
F, Do the Teotes eat?<br />
I, I do not know; but when we make war, we do so that they may eat the blood of our enemies whom we have slain or taken prisoners. We scatter the blood on all sides, in order that the Teotes may make sure of it; for we know not on which side they dwell, nor even that they do really consume it.<br />
F. Do you know, or have you even heard, that the world has been destroyed since the creation?<br />
I, I have heard our fathers say that it was destroyed by water, a very long time ago.<br />
F. Were all men drowned ?<br />
I, I do not know; but the Teotes rebuilt the world, and placed upon it men and animals again.<br />
F. How did the Teotes escape ? upon a mountain or in a canoe ?<br />
I, They are gods, how could they drown. <br />
F. Were all animals and the birds drowned ?<br />
I, Those now existing were created anew by the Teotes, as well as men and all things.<br />
F. Are all the Indians acquainted with what you have just told me ?<br />
I The priests of the temples and the caziques know it.<br />
F. By whom are the Teotes served ?<br />
I, The old men say that those who are slain in battle serve the Teotes, and that those who die in the natural way, go under the earth.<br />
F. Which is most honorable, to go under the earth, or to serve the teotes?<br />
I. By far to serve the Teotes, because we shall then meet with our fathers.<br />
F, But if your fathers have died in their beds, how can you meet them ?<br />
I, Our fathers are themselves Teotes, <br />
F. Can the Teotes bring the dead lo life, and if so, where are the reawakened dead ?<br />
I, All that I know is, that infants who die before they are weaned, and before they have tasted maize, will be raised again, and return to their fathers' houses, where their fathers will recognize and provide for them; whilst, on the other hand, those who die at a more advanced age will never come to life again.<br />
F. But if the father should die before his children come to life again, how can he recognize or provide for them?<br />
I, If the fathers die, I know not what becomes of the children.<br />
F. Finally what is their destiny? I, I know only what I have told you; and it must be true, because our fathers have told us so."</div>
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The Fray Bobadilla next questioned the cazique Abalgoalteogan, who also bore the name of Francisco, and who said he was a Christian. The Fray asked him, " if he was glad that he was a Christian ?" to which he replied that, " he thought he was," and gave as a reason for his felicitation that only Christians went to heaven, while "all others went to hell with the devil." Being a more hopeful subject than the rest, the Fray proceeded to interrogate him. His testimony, as to the gods, coincided with that of Mizeztoy, and with him he affirmed that all knowledge concerning them was perpetuated by oral tradition; that formerly the priests had converse with the gods, but that since the arrival of the Christians, the latter had withdrawn from earth; that although the Teotes are of flesh, and male and female, yet that they are uncreated, immortal, enjoy eternal youth, and reside in the heavens. That the earth was once destroyed by water, and became a great sea, and that afterwards Fanagostad and Zipaltonal descended, dispersed the waters, and recreated all things. That of the dead, the good alone go above with the Teotes, the bad to a subterranean abode named Miquetanteot; that there is no resurrection of the body, but by the act of death "there comes forth from the mouth something which resembles the person, called julio which goes to the place of the Teotes, It is immortal: but the body decays forever." The good are those " who take care of the temples, and observe the laws of friendship; the wicked are those who do differently, and they are sent under the earth."</div>
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The Fray next interrogated an old man, past sixty years of age, named Tacoteyda, who was a priest in one of the temples of Nicaragua. When he was asked if he was a Christian, he said No, that he was old, and why should he become a Christian? Whereupon the Fray told him, that if he became a Christian, it would be a source of great good to him here and hereafter; but that if he did not, he would inevitably go to the devil. But the old priest was firm in his own faith, and would not be baptized. He concurred entirely with the others, in representing Famagostad and Zipaltonal as themselves uncreated, the creators of heaven and earth, and the greatest of gods. He added, that they were like the Indians themselves, forever young, dwelt in the heavens towards the rising of the sun, and that their aid in war, or for other purposes, previously to the arrival of the Christians, was procured by addressing petitions to heaven. Tacoteyda testified that Famagostad and Zipaltonal received to themselves, at their abiding place in the eastern heavens, those who had lived worthily, or had been slain in battle, but that all others were sent under the earth; that those who went above did not carry their bodies with them, but only a heart or rather that which was the cause of life, and which in departing from the body caused death. The Fray asked him what the gods would do when all men ceased to live. To which the Indian priest replied, very frankly, that he did not know; nor did he know anything of a flood which had destroyed the world.</div>
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Altogether, his examination does not appear to have been satisfactory to the Fray Bobadilla, who dismissed him, and sent for an Indian named Coyen, who was very aged, exceeding eighty years, and whose head was white as cotton wool. He said he was a Christian, or rather that water had been poured on his head, and he had had a new name given him, which, however, he had forgotten. His testimony, in respect to the gods, confirmed what had been said by the others; they were immortal—resembled the Indians—were ever young—dwelt on high—anciently communicated with the priests in the temples, but did so no longer, and loved the blood and hearts of children, and the ' perfume of resins. He had heard, from his ancestors, that the world had been destroyed by water in remote times, and that none were saved, but that the gods had created the world anew. The good went on high with the Teotes, the bad below the earth. The body putrefied in the ground, but the principle of life, which dwelt in the heart, and which was immortal, went above.</div>
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Upon the 30th of the same month, the Fray resumed his inquiries, and called up the chief of Xaxoita, whose name was Quibiat, a comparatively young man, who was not a Christian, but desired to become one, whereat Bobadilla was so delighted, that he not only baptized him, but gave him his own name. The Fray undoubtedly thought he had found a profitable subject, but Quibiat answered every question with " I do not know!"</div>
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So he was sent off and an Indian named Atochinal called in, who, although but a sorry Christian, nevertheless answered all the questions put to him, in precisely the same way with those who had been previously examined, except that he did not know whether the world was destroyed by fire or water, only that his fathers said that it had been destroyed.</div>
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The Fray afterwards collected thirteen Indians, priests, caziques, and others, and made various inquiries of them, which, with their answers, are given below. It should be remembered, however, that the Fray was now amongst the Niquirans, or people of Mexican stock.</div>
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The Fray first asked them if they were the original inhabitants of the country; to which they answered, that although their ancestors had been here from time immemorial, they were not the true aborigines, but came originally from a distant country called Ticomega Emaguatega which was situated towards the west, i. e. N. W. They quitted because they had masters who ill treated them. "<br />
Friar. Were these masters Indians or christians ?<br />
Indian. Indians.<br />
F, What was the service which was required of your fathers?<br />
I, They tilled the ground, and served their masters as we now serve the Christians. Their masters overtasked, abused, and even ate them. It was fear which induced them to emigrate. Their masters came from another country, and by numbers and force overcame them.<br />
F. What is your religion? Whom do you worship?<br />
I. We adore Famagostad and Zipoltonal, who are our gods,<br />
F. Who sends you rain and all other things?<br />
I. The rain is sent by Quiateot son of the god Home-Atelite and the goddess Home-Ateciguat. They dwell at the extremity of the world, where the sun goes. <br />
F. Have they ever lived on earth?<br />
I. No.<br />
F. From whence do they come.<br />
I. We know not.<br />
F. Who made the heavens and earth, and all things else?<br />
I. Famagogtad and Zipoltonal.<br />
F. Did they make the father and mother of Quiateot?<br />
I. No; what relates to water is an entirely different thing, but we know very little of the matter.<br />
F. Has Quiateot a wife?<br />
I. No.<br />
F. Who serve him?<br />
I. We think he ought to have servants, but we know not who they are.<br />
F. What does he eat?<br />
I. What we do; for our food has come from the gods.<br />
F. Which do you regard as the most powerful, the father, mother, or son?<br />
I. They are equal to one another.<br />
F. When do you ask for rain, and what do you do to obtain it?<br />
I. We go to the temple dedicated to him, and sacrifice some young children. After having cut off their heads, we sprinkle the blood on the images and stone idols in the house of prayer consecrated to our gods, and which, in our language, is called Thobat. <br />
F. What do you do with the bodies of the sacrificed?<br />
I. Those of the children we bury; those of the men are eaten by the caziques and chiefs, but not by the rest of the people.<br />
F. When this is done, does the god send you rain?<br />
I. Sometimes he does, but sometimes not.<br />
F, Why do you go to the temples, and what do you say and do there?<br />
I. The temples are to as what the churches are to Christians; there are our gods, and there we bum perfumes in their honor; we ask of them health if we are sick; rain if it is needed, for we are poor, and if the earth should be parched we can have no fruits;—in short, we ask of them all things of which we stand in need. The principal cazique enters the temple and prays in the name of all; the rest of the Indians do not enter. The cazique remains there for prayer an entire year, and during that time never leaves the temple. When he comes forth a great festival is celebrated in his honor, with dancing and feasting. His nostrils are then pierced, to show that he has been pontiff of the temple, which is esteemed to be the greatest of honors. Another chief is then sought to take his place, so that there may always be one in the temple. As to those temples, which are only a kind of oratorio, any one can place in them one of his children; and any one who desires may enter, provided he is unmarried, and on condition of not having had connection with any woman for an entire year; that is to say, until the caziques and priests who are in the temple shall have come out.<br />
F. Are married persons who are willing to quit their wives and go into the temples, suffered to do so?<br />
I. Yes, But at the expiration of the year they must return to their wives, and if caziques, resume their government.<br />
F. How are they provided with food?<br />
I. It is brought to them by children from the house of the priests, and during all the time they are in the temple no one can enter it beyond the vestibule, except those young persons who carry provisions.<br />
F. While in the temple do they converse with the gods?<br />
I. For a long time our gods have not visited or conversed with us. If our ancestors may be believed, they were once in the habit of doing so. All that we know is, that the person charged with praying to the gods, asks of them all things needful.<br />
F. In time of war, do they come forth from the temple?<br />
I.. No. The vestibule of the temple is very convenient for meeting.<br />
F. Who clean and sweep the temples?<br />
I. Young boys only; married or old men take no part in the matter.<br />
F. Have you, during the year, any prescribed days of general attendance at the temple?<br />
I. We have twenty-one festival days for amusement, drinking and dancing around the court, but no one is permitted to enter the temple.<br />
F. Do the women take any part in collecting the straw, bringing wood, or anything else which may be of use either in building or repairing the temple?<br />
I. The women can take no part in anything which concerns the temple, and are never admitted within it.<br />
F. Since you sometimes sacrifice women, do you not violate the law which forbids them from entering the temple?<br />
I. When women are sacrificed in the temples or principal houses of prayer, they are first put to death in the court; but it is allowable to introduce them into the ordinary temples.<br />
F. What do you do with the blood of those who are sacrificed in the courts of the principal temples?<br />
I. It is brought into the temple, and the priest sprinkles it on the idols with his hands.<br />
F. What do you do with the body ?<br />
I. It is eaten; except the bodies of females, which are not touched. When the victim is a man, the priest has his share.<br />
F, Are those who are sacrificed voluntary victims? Are they selected by lot? or is it a punishment inflicted upon them?<br />
I. They are slaves, or prisoners of war.<br />
F. As you esteem your gods so much, how can you sacrifice persons of infamous condition to them?<br />
I. Our ancestors did so, and we do likewise.<br />
F, Do you make any other offerings in your temples ?<br />
I. Every one brings such offerings as he pleases, such as fowls, maize, fish, fruits, etc They are carried to the temple by the young people.<br />
F Who eats these offerings?<br />
I. The priests of the temple; and if any remains, it is eaten by the boys.<br />
F. Are the provisions cooked before being carried to the temple?<br />
I. Always.<br />
F. Does any one taste of these offerings before the priest?<br />
I. No one presumes to touch or taste of them before him; for this is considered one of the most important regulations of the temple.<br />
F, Why do you make a self-sacrifice by cutting the tongue?<br />
I. We always do this before we purchase, sell, or conclude a bargain, because we believe it will bring us a fortunate result. The god we invoke on such occasions is named Mixcoa. <br />
F. Who is your god Mixcoa?<br />
I. Carved stones, which we invoke in his honor.<br />
F How do you know this god will aid your bargains?<br />
I. Because when we invoke him, we make good bargains.<br />
F. Has Nicaragua ever been visited by any other nation than the Spaniards, who might have taught you all these ceremonies, ordered you to pour water on your heads, or to cut off the foreskin? and did you know that the Christians were on the eve of coming to your country?<br />
I. We know nothing of all this; but since you have come among us, you have told us it was good to pour water on the head, and to be baptized.<br />
F, What is it that is cleansed by pouring water on the head?<br />
I. The heart.<br />
F. How do you know that the heart is cleansed?<br />
I. We only know that it purifies us; it is the duty of your priests to explain how.<br />
F. At your death how do you dispose of your property, and what precautions do you take for another life?<br />
I. When we die, we recommend our children and property to our survivors, that they may not perish, but be taken care of after we are dead. He who lives a good life, after death goes on high among the Teotes; if a bad one, below the earth.<br />
F. Who are your gods? I. Famogostad and Zipaltonal; and when we go to them they say, "here come our children!"<br />
F. Why do you break the idols upon your tombs?<br />
I In order that they may think of us for twenty or thirty days; after that they forget us.<br />
F, Why, at the death of any one of you, do you paint yourselves with red paints, decorate yourselves with plumes, singing, playing on instruments, and celebrating festivals?<br />
I. We do nothing of the kind. When our children die, we envelop them in cotton cloth, and bury them before our door. We leave all our property to our children, who are our heirs, if legitimate; that is to say, the children of a husband and wife, and born in the house; but they are not our heirs, if born of other women, or out of the house ; for those only are legitimate, who are born in the house. If we die without children, all we possess is buried with us.<br />
F, What are your funeral ceremonies?<br />
I. Upon the death of a chief or cazique, a large quantity of cotton cloth, shirts, cloaks, plumes, hunting horns, and all sorts of articles belonging to the dead, a portion of each kind, is burned with the body, together with all the gold he possessed. Afterwards all the ashes are gathered together, placed in an earthen vase, and buried before the house of the deceased.<br />
F. Why do you not bury them in your temples?<br />
I. Because it is not customary.<br />
F. Do you place provisions in the vase?<br />
I. At the time of burning, a little maize is placed in a calabash, by the side of the dead body, and burned with it.<br />
F. The heart, julio, or soul, does it die with the body?<br />
I. If the deceased has lived well, the julio goes on high with the gods; if not, it perishes with the body and is no more.<br />
F. Do the Indians see anything at the moment of dying?<br />
I. They have visions of persons, lizards, serpents, and many things which fill them with fear. They know thereby that they must die. The objects which they see do not speak, but strive to frighten them. Sometimes the dead return to this world, and appear to the living for the same object.<br />
F, Do not the crosses placed above the dead, by the Christians, protect them ?<br />
I. Much; for since this practice of the Christians was introduced, we have no more visions.<br />
F, Who taught you to give your idols the form which they have?<br />
I. Our fathers left us idols of stone, and from them, as models, have we made those in our houses.<br />
F. Why do you have them in your houses?<br />
I. That we may easily invoke them when necessary.<br />
F. Do you sacrifice to the idols in your houses?<br />
I. No.<br />
Friar. Before your temples stand earthen huts of a circular form, and terminating in a point; they resemble a sheaf of grain in appearance; the summit is reached by a stairway through the middle of the hut: what is the name of these huts, and what is their use?<br />
Indian, Their name is Tezarit; the priest of the temple, whose name is Tamagoz, ascends to the summit of the hut, and there makes the sacrifices of the victims, sprinkling their blood on the stone idols."</div>
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The Fray Bobabilla afterwards continued his inquiries in respect to other matters, with what results will be seen elsewhere. He ascertained that the god of hunger was called Vizetot, and the god of the air Chiquinau or Hecact, which last was probably intended for Eltecatl, the Mexican name for air or wind. He also ascertained the names of the days of their months, which entirely coincided with those of Mexico, as also many interesting facts connected with their religious ceremonies. They affirmed that they had twenty-one principal festivals each year, on which occasions no work was done, but the entire people surrendered themselves to rejoicing, and the observance of the rites prescribed for these occasions. During these periods they abstained from all connection with their wives; the females sleeping within the houses, and the males without. This abstinence was deemed most essential, and any infraction, it was supposed, would be summarily punished by the gods. It does not appear that fasting was enjoined on any occasion.</div>
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The Spaniards were very much surprised, both here and in Mexico, at finding a well-established rite, corresponding entirely with that of confession, as it existed in the Catholic Church. The confession was not, however, made to the priests, but to certain old men, who always maintained the strictest reserve, in respect to what was communicated to them. The penances were imposed for the benefit of the temple. These old men were chosen by the council, and wore a calabash suspended from their necks, as a mark of dignity. It was requisite that they should be unmarried, and distinguished for their virtues. Neglect of religious ceremonies and blasphemy of the gods, were regarded as offenses requiring early confession and absolution, lest they should entail sickness or death on the offender. No person was required to confess himself, however, until after he had attained the age of puberty.</div>
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They seem to have had a great variety of superstitious notions, corresponding generally with those prevailing amongst the other Indian nations, both to the northward and southward. Amongst these was the practice of throwing sticks or grass upon certain stones at the road side, in passing; by which they thought they would be less subjected to hunger and fatigue. They had also a superstition something like that of the "evil eye," amongst the Arabs and some other Oriental nations. They supposed that there were persons whose looks were mortal, and whose eyes were fatal to children. They had, also a great fear of sorcerers, whom they called texoxes.</div>
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Oviedo has not described the temples to which he so frequently refers, but Cerezeda informs us that they were built of timber, and thatched; but large, with many low, dark, inner chapels. These, it seems, were surrounded by large courts, beyond which none except the priests and the cazique during his year's novitiate, dared to pass. Besides these, there were what the Indians called Tezarit oratorios, or "high places," which stood before or around the temples, and which Oviedo describes as being conical or pyramidal in shape, ascended by steps. Upon these the human victims were sacrificed.</div>
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“Within view of their temples," says Cerezeda, who is more explicit, "there were divers bases or pillars like pulpits, erected in the fields, of unburned brick, and a certain kind of clammy earth, called bitumen, which are from eight to fifteen steps in height. The summit is flat, and varies in size, according to the purposes for which it is designed. Some are broad enough to hold ten men. In the middle of this space standeth a stone, higher than the rest, equaling a man's body in length ; and this accursed stone is the altar of their miserable sacrifices. Upon the appointed day of sacrifice, the king ascendeth another of these altars, whence he may view the ceremony, and the people gather about; when the priest, in full view of all, from this eminent place, performeth the office of preacher, and shaking a sharp knife of stone which he holds in his hand, proclaims that a sacrifice is to be made, as also whether it is to be a prisoner, or one who is a slave, or has been kept from infancy for this purpose. For every chief maintains certain persons for sacrifice, who are fed daintily, and so far from being sad and sorrowful, in anticipation of their fate, are persuaded that, by this kind of death, they shall be turned into gods and heavenly creatures. They are reverently received wherever they go, and whatever they ask is given to them. Those to be sacrificed are stretched out flat on the stone whereof I have spoken, and the priest, cutting open the breast, plucks out the heart, wherewith he anoints the mouths of the idols. The body is then cut in pieces, and distributed amongst the priests, nobility, and the people. But the head is hung, as a trophy, upon the branches of certain small trees, which are preserved for that purpose near the place of sacrifice. The parts which are distributed they partly bury before their doors, but the rest they burn, leaving the ashes in the field of sacrifice."</div>
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According to Herrara, the high-places above described, stood within the courts of the temples. He also informs us, that the sacrifices were frequently attended by ceremonies, in which all the people joined,—by dances, penances, and processions. In these processions, the priests wore cotton surplices, sometimes short, and sometimes long, hanging to the ground and heavily fringed. They carried also little bags of powdered herbs. The people followed, each person bearing a little flag, "with the representation of the idol which he most venerated," and carrying also their weapons of war.</div>
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"Their standard," quaintly observes the chronicler, “was the picture of the devil set on a spear, and carried by the eldest priest, the religious men singing the while, to the place of worship. The ground was then covered with carpets, and strewed with flowers. When the standard halted, the singing ceased, and all commenced praying. At a signal from the chief priest, they punctured various parts of their bodies, and receiving the blood on paper, rubbed it on the face of the idol; and, in the mean time, the youths skirmished and danced in honor of the festival. The wounds were cured with the powder and herbs carried by the priests." " The ceremonies ended," says Cerezeda, " the priests bow down the spear a little, at which time, the priests first, and then the nobles, and lastly the people, whisper the idol in the ear, and every one uttereth the tempestuous outrage of his mind, and bending the head to one shoulder, with reverent trembling and mumbling, they humbly beseech that, luckily and happily, he would favor their desires."</div>
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There was another rite, practiced at certain times, connected with a worship which prevailed to a greater extent in America than has generally been supposed, and which discovers to us the rationale of many remarkable observances otherwise inexplicable. It consisted in sprinkling blood, drawn from the organs of generation, upon maize, which was afterwards distributed, and eaten with great solemnity. This scenical rite, under one form or another, may be traced through the rituals of all the semi-civilized nations of America, in strict parallelism with certain Phallic rites of the Hindus, and of those other numerous nations of the old world, which were devoted to a similar primitive religion.</div>
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The Fray Bobadilla was piously indignant at the practices of the Indians, and longed to be able to prove to them how insignificant their Teotes were as compared with the God and his subordinates whom he worshiped. In this respect he was favored, for there were several manifestations from above in his behalf, hardly less extraordinary than those which befell the Spaniards in Mexico, where the Virgin and the archangel Michael visibly, and in person, assisted in the fights against the Indians. Thus, there had been no rain in Nicaragua for a long time; but upon the Fray's arrival at the Indian towns, it rained for five consecutive days, which he regarded as a miracle, and straightway assured the Indians if they would become Christians, "it would rain whenever it was wanted, the seasons always be good, and that, besides, they would thereby save their souls. "The Indians approved of the rain, and in order to secure it, allowed the Fray to collect "a large number of idols, heads of deer, and parcels stained with blood, in the public square, and give them to the flames. "They even allowed him to convert their temple into a Christian church, which he did by sprinkling it with holy water, and setting up within it a cross and an image of the Virgin, which last he especially enjoined them to keep clean.</div>
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According to the notary of Granada, quoted by Oviedo, the Fray baptized not less than 43,000 Indians within the space of nine days; this was at the average rate of about 5,000 a-day, and may be called a " fair business." But the miracle of the five days' steady rain was nothing compared with what happened to the Fray in the province of Matearas, where he found a child dying, to which he administered the rite of baptism, whereupon the babe ejaculated "cruz!" and died! This so astonished the mother, that she requested to be baptized also, which was no sooner done, than she exclaimed that she saw her child ascending to heaven. The child had a magnificent funeral in consequence, and the Fray made the most of the miracle, inducing not less than ten thousand Indians to be baptized on the strength of it.</div>
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But the zeal of Bobadilla did not stop here; he burned "a vast number of idols, temples, and oratorios, erected crosses on their ruins, as also on the roads and elevations, and gave the Indians images of the Virgin and a quantity of holy water."</div>
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But the chronicler did not put much faith in these conversions; for he says that he would agree to give a peso de oro for every Indian able to tell his baptismal name, and repeat the Pater and Ave, and take a maravedi for every one who could not, and make money by the operation. In his opinion these baptisms did no good, and were only valuable to swell reports to be sent to Spain. " Far better," he sensibly ejaculates, "is it to instruct and truly Christianize one Indian, than to baptize thousands, who know not what it is to be a Christian, or what to do to be saved. I should like to ask those," be continues, " who have been god-fathers to four and five hundred Indians, what they have done for their godchildren?"</div>
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(Squier, E. G. (Ephraim George), 1821-1888. Nicaragua, its people, scenery, monuments, and the proposed interoceanic canal (Kindle Locations 5793-5799). New York, D. Appleton.)</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-44621345536015558512012-05-29T15:05:00.004-07:002020-01-25T17:20:43.675-08:00Make a Liahona<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KKVZhptTniE/T8U93Qq4d8I/AAAAAAAAAcg/C5V645S2Ezg/s1600/88459.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="124" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KKVZhptTniE/T8U93Qq4d8I/AAAAAAAAAcg/C5V645S2Ezg/s200/88459.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment, he beheld upon the ground a round ball, of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness" (1 Nephi 16:10). <a href="https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/video/1-nephi-16/2019-07-0620-the-lord-provides-the-liahona-1080p-eng?lang=eng">See video</a>.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have always wanted to have a replica of the true Liahona but have had difficulty visualizing what the real one might have looked like. The normal artistic renderings of the Liahona have done little to clarify my vision of this instrument. They all seem awkward and unwieldy, and ofttimes rather delicate. Not something that would survive 8 years in the deserts of Arabia, or an extended period of sea travel, and a thousand years as a national treasure of the Nephite people. The above picture illustrates such an imaginary design. </span></span> </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEDbzIkHHIQ/T8U-Hh2V9mI/AAAAAAAAAco/e9hb1_jbLeI/s1600/image+liahona.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEDbzIkHHIQ/T8U-Hh2V9mI/AAAAAAAAAco/e9hb1_jbLeI/s200/image+liahona.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To the right is another such design with an open top with fragile supports. But how else could one see the operations of the “compass” if it were not open?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The image below is how I have come to visualize the Liahona. I believe that it is a “ball” or sphere just as the Book of Mormon describes it. It doesn't need openings to make visible its workings. It doesn't need a spindle or shaft protruding from the top or bottom. It would feature writing (probably Hebrew) and various messages. Such a sphere is very sturdy and would stand years of wear and even heavy abuse. </span></span> </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-22YpzOf947o/T8U-WyujSdI/AAAAAAAAAcw/cVKxmqLZQ0k/s1600/images+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-22YpzOf947o/T8U-WyujSdI/AAAAAAAAAcw/cVKxmqLZQ0k/s200/images+(1).jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I recently figured out how to make a “toy” Liahona that allows one to practice and experience exactly how the instrument functioned (without the miraculous results of course). I am going to show you how you can make one for yourself.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But first we need a little background on the Liahona, what it was, and how it functioned. This from none other than Hugh Nibley whose insight was indeed far reaching. But if you don't want the background, you can skip to the end of this blog and go right to it. </span></span> </div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For a long time Bro. Nibley was puzzled by the Liahona and didn't know what to make of it. But let's let him tell his own story. </span></span> </div>
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<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We have in the Book of Mormon a most interesting apparatus called the Liahona. Now the chances of finding a genuine Liahona are, to say the least, remote; but what if something just like it showed up in the hands of Lehi's relatives? That should certainly come as a surprise, and even provoke some thought … </span></span> </div>
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<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The present writer, for all his curiosity about Book of Mormon oddities, has always passed it [the Liahona] by in an abashed silence—it was like nothing he ever heard or read of—until the year 1959. For it was in that year that an Arabic scholar by the name of T. Fahd published the hitherto scattered, scanty, and inaccessible evidence that makes it possible for the first time to say something significant about the Liahona ... </span></span> </div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nibley notes that Mr. Fahd studied the practice of belomancy in the ancient Near East. “Belomancy is the practice of divination by shooting, tossing, shaking, or otherwise manipulating rods, darts, pointers, or other sticks, all originally derived from arrows.” When Nibley read Fahd's study it “dawned upon him that these old practices might have some connection with the Liahona. For the most common use of divination arrows, and probably their original purpose, was, according to the forgotten evidence unearthed by ... Fahd, the direction of travelers in the desert.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The 'arrows' used in divination … were devoid of heads and feathers, being mere shafts or pointers.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He then quotes Edward Lane regarding this subject.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Zalam ...</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> arrows by means of which the Arabs in the Time of Ignorance [i.e, before Islam] sought to know what was allotted to them: they were arrows upon which the Arabs … wrote 'Command' and 'Prohibition'; or upon some of which was written 'My Lord hath commanded me'; and upon some, 'My Lord hath forbidden me' ... and they put them in a receptacle, and took forth an arrow; and if the arrow upon which was 'Command' came forth, he went to accomplish the purpose; but if that upon which was 'Prohibition' came forth, he refrained</span></span><span style="color: #33496d;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But why arrows? Because ... the shooting of arrows is a universal form of divination … The consultation of the arrows by one about to marry was, according to Gaster, also an old Jewish custom; the parties concerned would throw rods into the air, "reading their message by the manner of their fall; this, Gaster observes, is 'tantamount' to the shooting of arrows."</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Other substitutes for shooting were shaking or drawing from a bag or quiver, "balancing on the finger, or spinning on a pivot.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">More often than not, the arrows in question were mere sticks or pointers ... There was no more popular form of divination among the magic-minded Babylonians than arrow-lottery, and ... "casting lots" in Babylonian ... refers to an original shaking or shooting of arrows.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All this shaking, tossing, and shooting emphasizes the divinatory office of arrows as </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>pointers ...</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> it is certain that men from the earliest times have sought guidance by consulting the pointings and the inscriptions of headless and tailless arrows.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The word for "divination-arrow" in the above proverb was </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>qidh</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, defined in Lane as one of the "two arrows used in sortilege." The original and natural number of arrows used in divination seems to have been two. </span></span> </div>
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<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The reason for the two basic staves is apparent from their normal designation as 'Command' and 'Prohibition' ... the original arrangement was that </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>two</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> arrows designated the advisability or inadvisability of a journey; they were designated as 'the </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>safr</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> [Go ahead!] and the </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>khadr</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> [Stay where you are!].' From passages in Lane it is clear that the regular consultants of the arrows were those faced with travel-problems—all others are secondary. </span></span> </div>
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<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It would be an obtuse reader indeed who needed one to spell out for him the <i>resemblance</i> between ancient arrow-divination and the Liahona: two 'spindles or pointers' bearing written instructions provide superhuman guidance for travelers in the desert. What more could you want? But what is the <i>relationship</i> between them? On this the Book of Mormon is remarkably specific. Both Nephi and Alma go out of their way to insist that the Liahona did not work itself, i.e., was not a magic thing, but worked only by the power of God and only for appointed persons who had faith in that power.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Moreover, while both men marvel at the wonderful workmanship of the brass ball in which the pointers were mounted, they refer to the operation of those pointers as "a very small thing," so familiar to Lehi's people that they hardly gave it a second glance. So contemptuous were they of the 'small means' by which 'those miracles were worked' for their guidance and preservation that they constantly 'forgot to exercise their faith,' so that the compass would work. This suggests that aside from the workmanship of the mounting, there was nothing particularly strange or mystifying about the apparatus, which Alma specifies as a 'temporal' thing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here we have an instructive parallel in the ship and the bow that Nephi made. Without divine intervention those indispensable aids to survival would never have come to the rescue of Lehi's company—their possession was a miracle. Yet what were they after all? An ordinary ship and an ordinary bow. Just so, the Liahona was 'a very small thing' for all its marvelous provenience, having much the same relationship to other directing arrows that the ship and the bow did to other ships and bows ...</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Was the Liahona, then, just old magic? No, it is precisely here that Nephi and Alma are most emphatic—unlike magic things, these pointers worked solely by the power of God, and then, too, for only those designated to use them. </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Anybody</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> about to make a journey could consult the mantic arrows at the shrines, and to this day throughout the world mantic arrows are still being consulted. But it is clear from Alma's words that in his day the Liahona had been out of operation for centuries, having functioned only for a true man of God and only for one special journey ...</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Where, then, does one draw the line between the sacred and the profane? Religion becomes magic when the power by which things operate is transferred from God to the things themselves ... When men lack revelation they commonly come to think of power as residing in things [in this case the Liahona]. Did the staff of Moses make water come from the rock or cause the Red Sea to part? Of course not; yet in time the miraculous powers which were displayed through its agency came to be attributed by men to the staff itself. It became a magic thing ...</span></span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The practice [of using divination arrows] quickly degenerated to magic.<span style="color: #33496d;"> </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That is why it is so important to understand, and why the Book of Mormon is at such pains to make perfectly clear, that the Liahona was </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>not</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> magic. It did not work itself, like other divination arrows, in any sense or to any degree.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">“<span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And yet it seems to have been an ordinary and familiar object, a "temporal thing," which could also serve as "a type and a shadow," teaching us how God uses "small things" to bring about great purposes …”</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What does the word Liahona mean? “Fortunately the Book of Mormon has ... given us the answer: 'Our fathers called it Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass' (Alma 37:38). Liahona is here clearly designated as an Old World word from the forgotten language of the fathers, which must be interpreted to present readers. But what is a compass? According to the Oxford Dictionary, the derivation of the word remains a mystery; it has two basic meanings, but which has priority nobody knows: the one is 'to pass or step together,' referring always to a </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>pair</i></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> of things in motion; the other refers to the nature of that motion in a circle, 'to pass or step completely,' to complete a 'circumference, circle, round,' to embrace or enclose completely. Thus whether it refers to the ball or the arrows, 'compass' is the best possible word to describe the device</span></span><span style="color: #33496d;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> ...” </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">(From Hugh Nibley, Since Cumorah </span><a href="http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=74&chapid=917" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left;">http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=74&chapid=917</a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"> Also in the Improvement Era Feb. 1961: pp. 87-89, 104, 106, 108-109.)</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the definitions of compass from Websters 1828 dictionary is also instructive.</span></span></div>
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“<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Compass or compasses, [or a pair of compasses, so named from its legs, but pair is superfluous or improper, and the singular number compass is the preferable name,] an instrument for describing circles, measuring figures, &c., consisting of two pointed legs or branches, made of iron, steel or brass, joined at the top by a rivet, on which they move. There are also compasses of three legs or triangular compasses, cylindrical and spherical compasses with four branches, and various other kinds.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Make Your Own Liahona</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After reading Nibley's original article (Liahona's Cousins, see above reference) I was impressed that the Liahona was an extraordinary object used for a very common practice, but it facilitated divine direction. The ancient peoples used similar devices for magical purposes, much as someone would shake a pair of dice in a cup. But in the case of the Liahona, it wasn't magic and it didn't depend upon chance. If faith were exercised, the Lord manipulated the results. If not, it was just an exercise in “casting lots.” It was a very common practice used for uncommon ends. I could visualize two arrows or spindles inside a brass ball which would be shaken and then the ball separated to see the results. It all seemed very simple if my logic were correct. </span></span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I wanted to try and make one for myself, but what to use. I am not skilled in metal work so ruled that out. I found a hard plastic ball and made one from that, but it wasn't satisfactory. Then one day while splitting a coconut, it occurred to me that I could use the two halves of the coconut for my "ball" after cleaning the meat out. </span></span></span></span> </div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tedsGmmQ15I/T8VFwxBcCCI/AAAAAAAAAc8/U-RGKuBV80A/s1600/CIMG1207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tedsGmmQ15I/T8VFwxBcCCI/AAAAAAAAAc8/U-RGKuBV80A/s200/CIMG1207.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to enlarge. This means stay.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After preparing the coconut, I cut two Popsicle sticks into 2.5 inch lengths with one end pointed. One I colored red and the other green. These I placed inside the coconut shells, which fit together nicely to form a ball. Then the sticks inside are shaken vigorously. After shaking, the two halves are separated and the results observed. One must be careful to maintain the shells in the same position or direction when opening them. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The green stick stands for “go” and the red for “stop” or “stay.” If the green lands on top of the red, it means go in the direction indicated by the arrow. If the red is on top, it means stay. If they are equal, or on the same level, I arbitrarily decided that the red would prevail.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It has been quite entertaining and I have enjoyed spending some time observing the repeated results and imagining how Nephi and Lehi would have done it. Even if the design is not completely accurate, I think it is probably in the ball park judging from Nibleys research and comments. </span></span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One additional thing: you may be wondering how to crack the coconut without destroying it completely. I was taught this trick by a fellow missionary who had served in Micronesia and learned the technique. After draining the milk, the coconut is held in the left hand and hit repeatedly on the equator of the nut as it is gradually turned. Ideally this is done with the back edge of a machete. But if a machete is not available, any heavy metal object will do. The north pole is where the 3 eyes are located, and the south at the opposite end. If it is done correctly, the nut will crack right around the equator with enough irregularities that the two halves can be matched easily. The meat is removed by cutting into sections while still in the shell, and then prying each individual section out with a dull knife or spoon. </span></span></span></span> </div>
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<span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There you have your own Liahona. Have fun with it. I imagine that all kinds of games could be invented to play with it. </span></span></span></span> <br />
<span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span>
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<span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Related blog: The Liahona and the Stone Balls. </span></span></span></span><a href="http://moriancumr.blogspot.com/2009_08_22_archive.html">http://moriancumr.blogspot.com/2009_08_22_archive.html</a></div>
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<span style="color: #3d2d1f;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , , "georgia" , serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. </span></span></span></span> </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-68811307648726184222012-05-25T10:21:00.002-07:002019-10-07T06:15:39.189-07:00Zarahemla<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large; text-align: justify;">In a </span><a href="http://moriancumr.blogspot.com/2011/05/zarahemla-and-bountiful-based-upon-my.html" style="font-size: x-large; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">previous blog</a><span style="font-size: large; text-align: justify;"> I discussed my proposal that the city of Zarahemla was located in Costa Rica in the Turrialba Valley. I would like to expand on that theme, and give a few more details, as this was such an important site in Book of Mormon history. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-duKdV_Jg7dU/T75rCFiLlDI/AAAAAAAAAa0/6Q0cqpl81Ao/s1600/Sites+in+Turrialba.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-duKdV_Jg7dU/T75rCFiLlDI/AAAAAAAAAa0/6Q0cqpl81Ao/s400/Sites+in+Turrialba.tif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Concentration of archaeological sites in Turrialba region.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For those who think that Costa Rica didn't have a large enough population to qualify as the Nephite homeland, the above picture should dispel some of the doubt. This is a satellite view of the Turrialba region with the discovered archaeological sites pinpointed as yellow dots. There are 270 sites identified on this map with the highest concentration in what I have proposed as the Zarahemla - Gideon corridor. This mapping is a service provided by the National Museum of Costa Rica under their <a href="http://origenes.museocostarica.go.cr/" target="_blank">Origines project.</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The four main sites, which I feel represent the ancient city of Zarahemla, are La Isabel (C-4LI), La Zoila (C-5LZ), </span><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">El Mora (C-3EM), and Azul (C-23A2). These are shown on the accompanying map with related archaeological features (however the Azul site is located off the map to the right). They are actually one unified site, but were divided up according to the farm on which they were located.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">These sites have only been superficially investigated. They were found to be extensive sites, dating back to Book of Mormon times. However, as the area consists of prime agricultural land, the sites have been basically destroyed by the overprint of agricultural activity (plowing, leveling, and years of planting). In addition there has been a lot of construction activity in the building of local homes, as well as years of looting.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H38kg9n-oDE/T76G0XeWb_I/AAAAAAAAAbA/mR-I_s38Sn8/s1600/La+Isabel.tif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H38kg9n-oDE/T76G0XeWb_I/AAAAAAAAAbA/mR-I_s38Sn8/s200/La+Isabel.tif" width="145" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Archaeological map of<br />
Turrialba area</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The accompanying site map is an overview of the archaeology of the area. This is an older map that doesn't show the great increase in housing, principally along the roads. The main road is that laterally traversing the map and listed as the "road to Guayabo." Among the archaeological features listed on the map are tombs, a cemetery, a portion of a stone road, and various mounds. The area is littered with broken pottery shards, and many fine artifacts were apparently removed earlier by looters. We would not expect to find any monumental architecture here as the <a href="http://www.mormongeography.com/a-comparision-of-nephitejaredite-cultures.html" target="_blank">Nephites did not build</a> stone structures (under heading Building and Construction), but used wood for the homes and public buildings. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As can be noted, the sites lie between two small rivers - the Aquiares, and the Azul. This was a feature noted by archaeologists for this time period - the ancients tended to locate their towns and villages along, or between, small streams which were sufficient to supply water for their needs, but were not large enough to cause problems with flooding. Small stone-lined aqueducts would be built, leading off from the main river channel, to supply the various parts of the town. Such aqueducts have been found and restored at the site of ancient Guayabo, located about 20 miles away. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mLJYgP6SwRo/T7-9SBEhjcI/AAAAAAAAAbM/0mS37QNwY3M/s1600/Zarahemla.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mLJYgP6SwRo/T7-9SBEhjcI/AAAAAAAAAbM/0mS37QNwY3M/s320/Zarahemla.tif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Section of Tuccurique map showing geography and locations.<br />
Click to enlarge.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">These proposed Zarahemla sites lie about 3 miles east of the main modern city of Turrialba, which is built on the main Turrialba River to the west, in the central part of the Turrialba Valley. They are about 5-10 miles away from the proposed site of the city of Gideon, which would have been </span><span style="font-size: large;">near the city of La Suiza on the Tuis River. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> Gideon would be located on</span><span style="font-size: large;"> the south side of the Reventazon River, the river that I have identified as the Sidon River. The above sites are about 5 miles to the west of the Reventazon which makes an abrupt turn to the north at the mouth of the Tuis River. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I am including some pictures of this area from my last trip there in March of 2012. It was cloudy and raining at the time. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rt0rTSIGTik/T7-_LapKj0I/AAAAAAAAAbU/sSBvX-oqUTw/s1600/IMG_0208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rt0rTSIGTik/T7-_LapKj0I/AAAAAAAAAbU/sSBvX-oqUTw/s400/IMG_0208.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture of Aquiares River from main road looking north-east.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R6cVPb9NFxM/T7_BLan0ZqI/AAAAAAAAAbc/KXIPyo0qmtI/s1600/IMG_0212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R6cVPb9NFxM/T7_BLan0ZqI/AAAAAAAAAbc/KXIPyo0qmtI/s400/IMG_0212.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from main road looking east.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YIX7N17URuo/T7_CPEyZuLI/AAAAAAAAAbs/zbooguvLOns/s1600/IMG_0214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YIX7N17URuo/T7_CPEyZuLI/AAAAAAAAAbs/zbooguvLOns/s400/IMG_0214.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Main road looking east.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yEzU2mjpis8/T7_CxJ3hI0I/AAAAAAAAAb0/1L_FVDKrBlc/s1600/IMG_0216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yEzU2mjpis8/T7_CxJ3hI0I/AAAAAAAAAb0/1L_FVDKrBlc/s400/IMG_0216.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Main road looking south-west.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_1Xa237epAU/T7_DCsfE34I/AAAAAAAAAb8/ybmfXtU6fyE/s1600/IMG_0217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_1Xa237epAU/T7_DCsfE34I/AAAAAAAAAb8/ybmfXtU6fyE/s400/IMG_0217.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking east on side street.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SlUL6UWeUo0/T7_DR1-MxiI/AAAAAAAAAcE/pwTZH9h7eBo/s1600/IMG_0227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SlUL6UWeUo0/T7_DR1-MxiI/AAAAAAAAAcE/pwTZH9h7eBo/s400/IMG_0227.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Turrialba Valley looking north-west along main road.<br />
Turrialba in the distance.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MC1Rh7OeFa4/T7_Dmuqs_ZI/AAAAAAAAAcM/puR8KFIxqgk/s1600/IMG_0229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MC1Rh7OeFa4/T7_Dmuqs_ZI/AAAAAAAAAcM/puR8KFIxqgk/s400/IMG_0229.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View to the west.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D019irJBzik/T7_D3_0tPEI/AAAAAAAAAcU/9PgWHdCfPDg/s1600/IMG_0231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D019irJBzik/T7_D3_0tPEI/AAAAAAAAAcU/9PgWHdCfPDg/s400/IMG_0231.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View to the north.</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3169349676166116062.post-90689493397625677772012-04-19T08:52:00.005-07:002019-10-17T19:56:41.818-07:00Nephite Writing and Maya Glyphs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mDJQZgRuuKQ/T5Ay0pbsplI/AAAAAAAAAT8/qGSJZuGTpdA/s1600/Coristone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mDJQZgRuuKQ/T5Ay0pbsplI/AAAAAAAAAT8/qGSJZuGTpdA/s200/Coristone.jpg" width="159" /></a></div>
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Those advocating the Mesoamerican theory of Book of Mormon geography insist that there must be evidence of a written script in the ancient lands of the Nephites. In this way they arbitrarily dismiss any location that has no such evidence, and champion the Mesoamerican one because of the Maya script found there. However, I think their reasoning is in error.</div>
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Several reasons lead me to this conclusion. The Mayan glyphs are often chiseled into stone. The Nephites never wrote on stone. The Mayan glyphs are completely different than the script written on the Anthon Transcript, which is an accurate sample of Nephite Reformed Egyptian. Lastly, there should be no surviving Nephite records other than those written on metal plates. Let me explain these conclusions. (I have discussed this issue in an<a href="http://moriancumr.blogspot.com/2011/06/nephite-and-jaredite-records-one.html" target="_blank"> earlier blog</a>.)</div>
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It appears that the <b>Nephites</b>, while being aware of the practice of inscribing stone, did not write any of their records on stone. I infer this from the following scripture found in Jacob 4:1‑4.</div>
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"Now behold, it came to pass that I, Jacob, having ministered much unto my people in word, (and I cannot write but a little of my words, because of the difficulty of engraving our words upon plates) and we know that the things which we write upon plates must remain; but whatsoever things we write upon anything save it be upon plates must perish and vanish away; but we can write a few words upon plates, which will give our children, and also our beloved brethren, a small degree of knowledge concerning us, or concerning their fathers—now in this thing we do rejoice; and we labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates, hoping that our beloved brethren and our children will receive them with thankful hearts, and look upon them that they may learn with joy and not with sorrow, neither with contempt, concerning their first parents. For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us."<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--xL5I3Hr2Os/T5AzU2rJfdI/AAAAAAAAAUM/nofuoIhQdps/s1600/799px-Prisse_papyrus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--xL5I3Hr2Os/T5AzU2rJfdI/AAAAAAAAAUM/nofuoIhQdps/s200/799px-Prisse_papyrus.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Sample Egyptian Heiratic</td></tr>
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No where in this scripture, or in the rest of the Book of Mormon, is there mention of Nephite writing on stone. The Nephite records were written on metal plates, or on perishable materials such as skins, bark paper, etc. Only those records which were engraven on metal plates were expected to survive. All their other records (i.e. the common everyday writings which were in regular use) would have decayed like any other organic material within a relatively short time. Thus we can expect to find no Nephite writings other than those written upon plates and hidden away, not left in the open on public display. In other words, there will be little evidence of their written language until some of those hidden records are discover or revealed. Our Book of Mormon came from one such source. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cXJdN6xw9LI/T5AzEUxF00I/AAAAAAAAAUE/rChpeYQ7tqM/s1600/Anthon_transcript_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="94" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cXJdN6xw9LI/T5AzEUxF00I/AAAAAAAAAUE/rChpeYQ7tqM/s200/Anthon_transcript_1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Anthon Transcipt</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">The Nephite records were written in an abreviated script called Reformed Egyptian (Ether 12:23-25). This writing may have been similar to, or derived from, ancient Egyptian scripts such as the demotic or heiratic. The reformed Egyptian had been passed down and altered by the Nephites for a thousand years, so had evolved over time into something different from the original.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman";">This writing was probably similar to that found on the Anthon Transcript (1). This small document is supposed to be the original, or a copy, of the paper Martin Harris took to various scholars to assure himself that the Book of Mormon text was indeed ancient and authentic. Joseph Smith had copied the characters from the original gold plates at Martin's request. The writing on the Anton Transcript is completely unlike any of the Mayan script. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PZDTpvFXZLk/T5Az23GbfzI/AAAAAAAAAUU/Xz0g7yv63LY/s1600/400px-Palenque_glyphs-edit1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="139" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PZDTpvFXZLk/T5Az23GbfzI/AAAAAAAAAUU/Xz0g7yv63LY/s200/400px-Palenque_glyphs-edit1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">Maya Script</td></tr>
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On the other hand, the Jaredites, and their descendants, did write on stone as the following scripture illustrates. "And it came to pass in the days of Mosiah, there was a large stone brought unto him with engravings on it; and he did interpret the engravings by the gift and power of God. And they gave an account of one Coriantumr, and the slain of his people. And Coriantumr was discovered by the people of Zarahemla; and he dwelt with them for the space of nine moons. It also spake a few words concerning his fathers. And his first parents came out from the tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people; and the severity of the Lord fell upon them according to his judgments, which are just; and their bones lay scattered in the land northward." (Omni 1:20‑22.)</div>
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This stone appears to have been very similar to the stelae, or stone monuments, found at many archeological sites in Mesoamerica. It was written in a language foreign to the Nephites, and had to be translated with the aid of the Urim and Thumim. We could reasonably expect to find other examples of the Jaredite stone engravings, as it was likely a common practice with them.<o:p></o:p><br />
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(1) The so called "Anthon Transcript" has been discussed, and a translation attempted, by Jerry Grover and can be found at <a href="https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/translation-%E2%80%9Ccaractors%E2%80%9D-document">https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/translation-%E2%80%9Ccaractors%E2%80%9D-document</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2