This is something that I have been confused about since I was in Lander, WY on my mission. I was raised believing that the Book of Mormon peoples were on both of the American Continents.
I had a vague understanding that the Nephites were in North America, "The Land Northward" and the Lamanites were in South America, "The Land Southward". Thus meaning that the stories of the Book of Mormon all would have taken place in Central and North America, besides the un-precise geography of the missionary expeditions of Ammon and his brethren.
Then, while watching a movie called, "DNA Evidence for Book of Mormon Geography", I was introduced to a new concept, that the entirety of the Book of Mormon, and its people, were on the North American Continent.
This was troubling for me. I felt like everything I knew or had imagined about the Nephites and Lamanites and their culture was wrong. Thus, it took me to my knees. I prayed for God to give me comfort concerning this matter, at least until after my mission, where I could study it out further.
Thus, I come to my creation of this post. What I shall show hereafter are some of the evidences I have found for and against different locations for the Book of Mormon to have taken place, ultimately summed up by my own belief, after having weighed geography, anthropology/archaeology, scripture, and revelation together.
First of all, I will mention the actual DNA truths that the movie pointed out. I have confirmed these quotes with their sources.
"Science" 2 January 1998: Vol 279 no 5347 pp 28-29
Calibrating the Mitochondrial Clock by Ann Gibbons
"Regardless of the cause, evolutionists are most concerned about the effect of a faster mutation rate. For example, researchers have calculated that “mitochondrial Eve”—the woman whose mtDNA was ancestral to that in all living people—lived 100,000 to 200,000 years ago in Africa. Using the new clock, she would be a mere 6000 years old.
No one thinks that's the case, but at what point should models switch from one mtDNA time zone to the other? “I'm worried that people who are looking at very recent events, such as the peopling of Europe, are ignoring this problem,” says Laurent Excoffier, a population geneticist at the University of Geneva."
Mitochondrial Eve: The Plot Thickens
Trends in Ecology and Evolution (tree) vol 12 issue 11 November 1997 p 422-423
"They sequenced 610 base pairs of 197 individuals from 134 independent mtDNA lineages...and found...such a high mutation rate would indicate that Eve lived about 6500 years ago - a figure clearly incompatible with current theories on human origins."
This is further proof that the Bible is correct, and adds evidence to creation, rather than evolution.
The movie goes on to mention that part of why Rob Meldrum created this presentation, was because of a study conducted that had the results of the American Indians, especially in South and Central America, having Asian ancestry. In conducting his own research inquiry, he discovered these references.
"Science" vol. 280, 24/04/1998, p. 520
Genes May Link Ancient Eurasians, Native Americans
"Anthropologists have long assumed that the first Americans, who crossed into North America by way of the Bering Straight, were originally of Asian stock. But recently they have been puzzled by surprising features on a handful of ancient American skeletons, features that resemble those of Europeans rather than Asians,"
"The new data, from a genetic marker called Lineage X, suggest a 'definite--if ancient---link between Eurasians and Native Americans,' says Theordore Schurr, a molecular anthropologist from Emory University in Atlanta..."
"Now a new genetic study may link Native Americans and people of Europe and the Middle East..."
"Science" vol. 280, 24/04/1998, p. 520
Genes May Link Ancient Eurasians, Native Americans
"Haplogroup X was different... They analyzed blood samples from Native American, European, and Asian populations and reviewed published studies. 'We fully expected to find it [Haplogroup X] in Asia", like the four other Native American markers, says Brown."
"To their surprise, however, haplogroup X was only confirmed in the genes of a smattering of living people in Europe and Asia Minor, including Italians, Finns, and certain Israelis."
Distribution of mtDNA Haplogroup X among Native North Americans
Amerian Journal of Physical Anthropology 110:271-284 1999
"Curiously, haplogroup X is found in modern populations of Europe and Southwest Asia but not in those of Central Siberia, which is now regarded as the source of the peopling of the New World."
Haplogroup X has been confirmed to be an ancient haplogroup, because of its relations to several different peoples related by genetics, but not related in language. This is deduced because of how languages change over time when groups are separated regionally.
All of this helps prove that not only are there "Native Americans" or more accurately "American Indians" that have genes tying them back to Israel and European heritage, but that the Book of Mormon is correct in its cooperation with the Bible and the truths contained therein.
To further prove this, the Prophet Joseph Smith called missionaries in Doctrine and Covenants 28:8, to preach the gospel to the "Lamanites". Those individuals served missions in the Ohio reservations. Having mentioned to you, my readers, the DNA evidences, which have yet to be explained through regular migration means, such as the Bering Straight, could in all likely hood, be the result of boat transportation by Lehi and his family.
In 1 Nephi 2:4-5, Lehi departs from Jerusalem, with his family, into the wilderness, near the shore of the Red Sea. Below is the "possible route" that the Book of Mormon Institute Manual has.
Warren Aston, Lynn Hilton, and Gregory Witt located a stone altar that professional archaeologists dated to at least 700 B.C. This altar contains an inscription confirming “Nahom” as an actual place that existed in the peninsula before the time of Lehi. The Book of Mormon mentions that “Ishmael died, and was buried in the place which was called Nahom” (1 Ne. 16:34).
This is the first archaeological find that supports a Book of Mormon place-name other than Jerusalem or the Red Sea, says Brother Witt. "Thus, with the path fairly confirmed, there is now the means of transportation. Now, the boat was not made after the workmanship of man, but after the design of God. This would mean more function, stability and be very close to the ships that Columbus used with their harnessing of wind. Thus with the world wind currents (below)
The ship would have been propelled by the wind roughly the entire way. Especially with a compass like device such as the Liahona, they would have been able to steer. (1 Nephi 16:10) This course also would take the ship right through the area where storms are formed, near Morocco and Portugal, that can create the hurricanes which devastate the east coast. A ship designed by God would withstand such a storm, while have the people on board severely afraid for their lives. (1 Nephi 18:13)
So, if this is the verified beginning, what about the verified end? We know that both groups of people, the Nephites and the Jaredites, were wiped out at a place called the Hill Cumorah,(Mormon6:4) or Hill Ramah (Ether 15:11), respectively. This is the same hill that Joseph Smith claimed that he received the gold plates (The Book of Mormon) from, being buried under a rock. He did this in upstate New York. This would mean that the Hill Cumorah is roughly here, by the great lakes. (see below)
I found and wonderful website: http://www.mormongeography.com/
A new model for the Book of Mormon Geography
By James Lee Warr
On this site, Mr. Warr takes great effort to prove the geography of the Book of Mormon in Central America, with the landing and etc. Which I was very appreciative of. Sadly, if such a place was the scene of the Book of Mormon, he placed the Hill Cumorah in Cerro San Gil, Guatemala. (See Below)
Thus, it would be like proving the geography of the Book of Mormon by disproving its origin, meaning, the plates being found in upstate New York.
Not to mention the narrow neck of land. In Alma 22:32, it describes this neck of land being a day and a half's journey. Nowhere in Central America is there a narrow enough stretch of land. Panama itself is 40 miles wide, and filled with mountains and forest. In the past, I had dismissed this by saying that this was before Christ's death, and that the mountain range was formed during all of that destruction. This would be true, if it was Aaron who actually recorded this. Instead, it is a written account, that was later abridged by Mormon. Thus it has Mormon's insights and clarity after the destruction at Christ's death.
This means that the purposed stretch of land, from the DNA movie is the next best bet.
Thus, we have proven that my old theory of the Book of Mormon's landscape was quite false. Yet, the purpose of learning about the geography of the Book of Mormon was to help grow a firmer testimony of it and the message it holds. So let us continue.
When Lehi and his family landed, they traveled many days into the wilderness. If they landed in the gulf of Mexico, as depicted above, it is a very marshy, swampy, quagmire area. They would need to travel inland to find a good place to camp, thus the Land of Nephi. Also, it is important to note the use of tents (Mosiah 2:6), very similar to the American Indian teepee.
Here they also built wood buildings, including a temple modeled after Solomon's Temple (2 Nephi 5:16), only not as extravagant. They also made use of gold, silver and precious ores. There were also goats and horses. (1 Nephi 18:25) Now, there are wild goats all over North America. They prefer the mountains, because otherwise they fell prey too easily to the predators.
The horses are quite controversial. Many archaeologists are confident in the fact that horses were not introduced into America until Columbus's time. However, as the movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron indicated so well, the horses thrived in the wild. In the Book of Mormon Institute Manual chapter 5 we find, "There was controversy regarding horses in the Western Hemisphere before Columbus arrived. However, modern archaeological discoveries have shed new light on the subject: “‘Fossil remains of true horses, differing but very slightly from the smaller and inferior breeds of those now existing, are found abundantly in deposits of the most recent geological age, in almost every part of America, from Escholz Bay in the north to Patagonia in the South. In that continent however, they became quite extinct, and no horses, either wild or domesticated, existed there at the time of the Spanish conquest, which is the most remarkable as, when introduced from Europe the horses that ran wild proved by their rapid multiplication in the plains of South America and Texas that the climate, food, and other circumstances were highly favorable for their existence."
Next, in Doctrine and Covenants 125:3 Joseph Smith calls the land on the other side of the river from Nauvoo, Zarahemla. This puts Zarahemla here (see below) across the River Sidon, or Buffalo Creek as we know it today. This is directionally confirmed by Alma 6:7, in which Zarahemla is on the west side of the river.
Another city to mention is the City of Lehi. In Alma 50:15, it is described as being built after a "particular manner" which was "north by the borders of the seashore". Reasonable comparison can be drawn with the ruins of the city in East Fork Works Clermont County, Ohio.
Now, it is obviously not on the seashore of one of the great lakes, but it is on the seashore of a lake, William H. Harsha Lake. There is no doubt that it is made after a "particular manner" with references to a menorah, an oil lamp, and some other symbols found in the Holy Temple.
This city, as well as countless others found in this area, are built with mounds of earth, and were build by those who were called the "Mound Builders".
The Ojibwa Indians, located by the Great Lakes, wear turbans, and are considered the "Mound Builders".
Zelph Mound Account: History of the Church vol 2:79-80 Joseph Smith, during the Zion's Camp march, said:
"During our travels we visited several of the mounds which had been thrown up by the ancient inhabitants of this country--Nephites, Lamanites, etc., and this morning I went up on a high mound, near the river, accompanies by the brethren. From this mound we could overlook the tops of the trees and view the prairie on each side of the river as far as our vision could extend, and the scenery was truly delightful.
On the top of the mound were stones which presented the appearance of three altars having been erected one above the other, according to the ancient order; and the remains of bones were strewn over the surface of the ground. The brethren procured a shovel and a hoe, and removing the earth to the depth of about one foot, discovered the skeleton of a man, almost entire, and between his ribs the stone point of a Lamanitish arrow, which evidently produced his death. Elder Burr Riggs retained the arrow. The contemplation of the scenery around us produced peculiar sensations in our bosoms; and subsequently the visions of the past being opened to my understanding by the Spirit of the Almighty, I discovered that the person whose skeleton we had seen was a white Lamanite, a large, thick-set man, and a man of God. His name was Zelph. He was a warrior and chieftain under the great prophet Onandagus, who was known from the eastern sea to the Rocky mountains. The curse was taken from Zelph, or, at least, in part--one of his thigh bones was broken by a stone flung from a sling, while in battle, years before his death. He was killed in battle by the arrow found among his ribs, during a great struggle with the Lamanites."
Lake Ontario and the other Great Lakes can easily be considered seas, especially when taken in the Jewish idea of sea. Comparing Red Sea, Dead Sea, Sea of Galilee. There are places on Lake Ontario where you cannot see the other side.
In Helaman 3:8, it says, "...from the sea south to the sea north, from the sea west to the sea east." Thus attributing the rest of the great lakes, and no other lake, sea, or ocean formations in such cardinal placements are found in the Americas.
Another memorable body of water was the "waters of Mormon". (Mosiah 18:5) Which had a "fountain of pure water", that was large enough to gather a group of 204 people around and baptize them. (Mosiah 18:16) Brother Meldrum speculates that this fountain is located at Big Springs Missouri. I am inclined to agree with him because of the clearness of the water, and the amount of water that pours out of that spring. I think that it was roughly between 200-800 gallons of water per day.
Not to mention, the scriptures talk about places to hide. There are even remnants of ancient stairs here.
Next, when Christ died, cities were destroyed by fire (3 Nephi 8:8).
Stones don't burn, like this Mayan temple.
But the wood houses in North America burn. Like this longhouse.
There are also references to the use of cement by the Nephites (Helaman 3:7). Amazing how the pueblo resembles cement work.
Then there is the majestic buffalo. I had the opportunity to see a few on my mission in Montana. They migrate, from the north, and are found mostly on the west side of the Mississippi. Thus, they are likely some of the "wild beasts" that the Book of Mormon talks about, also including deer, elk, and moose. I will quickly mention the "Cureloms and the Cumoms" (Ether 9:19) are possibly buffalo, because I am not sure if Joseph Smith knew what a buffalo was called, and possibly the mastodon. Considering both of these were well before the Nephites and the Lamanites.
Including head plates of copper (Alma 43:38)
I realize that what is shown above is not what most of us view as a breastplate. I usually think of medieval knight suit of armor breastplates. This, however, is more like the breastplates that Israel used, form example, the breastplate of Judgment in the tabernacle/temple
arrowheads of both copper and stone (Alma 49:2)
There has also been some controversy over the terms of metals such as "steel" and "brass". For brass, the term bronze was not used until much later and began in England, as reference to a special type of copper tin alloy. The the Book of Mormon, and even Biblical "brass" could also mean bronze, or just a copper tin alloy.
As for "steel". Book of Mormon Institute Manual Chapter 5 says this. "One commentator explained the use of steel in theBook of Mormon: “The overall question of the use of metals by Book of Mormon cultures is an important topic that deserves detailed attention [see John Sorenson, An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon (1985), 277–88]. … There are five explicit references to metal weapons and armor in the Book of Mormon. Two are references to Near East weapons: ‘the blade [of Laban’s sword] was of the most precious steel’ (1 Nephi 4:9), and Nephi’s bow was made of ‘fine steel’ (1 Nephi 16:18). The existence of steel (that is, carburized iron) weapons in the Near East in the early sixth century B.C. has been clearly demonstrated. Robert Maddin writes, ‘To sum up, by the beginning of the seventh century B.C. at the latest, the blacksmiths of the eastern Mediterranean had mastered two of the processes that make iron a useful material for tools and weapons: carburizing and quenching’ [“How the Iron Age Began,” Scientific American, Oct. 1977: 131]” (William J. Hamblin and A. Brent Merrill, “Swords in the Book of Mormon,” inWarfare in the Book of Mormon, ed. Stephen D. Ricks and William J. Hamblin [1990], 345–46)."
There were parts of the middle east that were using steel. Lehi, being a "merchant or smith with ties to Egypt" (http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Lehi), would have easily gotten or made a steel bow for Nephi, and Laban being such a person of nobility could have obtained a sword of steel, either by purchase, or by stealing, as he was so prone to do (1 Nephi 3:26).
Antiquities of the State of New York p 100
"...the area was a depository of the dead. It was a pit excavated to the depth of four or five feet, filled with human bones,... Hundred seem to have been thrown in promiscuously, of both sexes and all ages. Numberous barbs or arrow-points were found among the bones and in the vicinity."
Antiquities of the State of New York p 144
"In excavating the canal through the bank... another burial-place was disclosed, evidently more ancient, for the bones crumbled to pieces almost immediately upon exposure to the air,... The number of skeletons are represented to have been countless..."
Also, the American Indians, more than those located in South and Central America, wore the notorious Lamanite loincloth.(Alma 3:5)
Lastly, I would like to mention, that I was not entirely wrong with my original understanding. My perception was dictated on the possibility of the Lamanites spreading and doing all kinds of things down in South America. Due to those original DNA findings, of those people being of Asian decent, it is likely that the Lamanites found the tribes of Asians that did cross over, either by the Bering Straight or by other means, and had relations with them. This would also account for the Lamanites always having superior numbers when fighting the Nephites (Alm 43:51). Thus I was partly right, that the Lamanites had mingled, at least in part, to the point of being on Central and South America.
I hope that you have enjoyed both my research, and the way in which I have presented it. The facts, the scriptures, and the revelations have convinced me on the Book of Mormon's geography, and I hope that you too find that it strengthens your testimony. As always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to comment them below.
Love,
Jacobugoth
No comments:
Post a Comment