Proof the Book of Mormon Is True --- from Beginning to End
The Book of Mormon is actually a very complex book, its beginnings in the Middle East, with its story moving across an ocean and changing through many lands in the Americas. What is remarkable is that there is now significant evidence to support every part of these vastly changing settings --- from beginning to end. Here is a summary of some of those evidences.
The House of Lehi: While most of us assume Lehi lived inside Jerusalem, the scriptures say he lived at Jerusalem (1 Ne 1:4). Dr. Hugh Nibley suggested his “lands of inheritance” were outside of Jerusalem proper, where he was able to amass his wealth. He argued that his was a wealth that exceeded what could ordinarily be obtained as a shopkeeper in Jerusalem. There is now a good possibility we might have the actual setting where Lehi lived. Excavations have revealed a very large community existed southwest of Jerusalem. Very importantly, local Bedouins call the site "Beit [or House of] Lehi.” These Bedouins share their tradition that before Mohammed there was a prophet named Lehi who lived there. They say this Lehi warned the Jews and people of Ishmael of destructions to come. Then he disappeared. No one knew where he went. They regard this site as sacred. While the Beit Lehi site hosted peoples during many centuries, it is believed its relation to a specific person named Lehi is dated at 600-650 B.C.
This site contained an extremely large olive press and facilities for olive oil storage. This may tell us how Lehi obtained his wealth. It may also tell us why he had tents ready and knew things Egyptian. Dr. Nibley suggested he conducted caravan trade of his goods into Egypt.
Israeli archaeologists connect this site to Samson due to Judges 15. For Samson, previously conquered by the Gentiles, is revived through water drunk from the jawbone of an ass at a place called Lehi (verse19).
Actually, the Samson story adds additional evidence this site was the home of the prophet Lehi. Prominent Biblical scholars believed Samson was in many ways a “type” for future events in Israel. Both Irenaeus and John Foxe contended Samson’s use of the “jawbone” prophesied that some form of the word of God would revive Israel in the future. [A jawbone is the speaking part of a deceased being]. The name Lehi means jawbone or cheek! It truly has been the testimony of Lehi and his descendants in the Book of Mormon which has revived Israel in these Latter-days.
Latter-day Israel has been restored in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because of the specific “word of God” that came through the prophet Lehi. Lehi did not disappear from the sight of God, only from sight of those in the Old World. But he apparently left an archaeological record of his existence there, which is now discovered. And his descendants have left many real witnesses of their existence in the New World, which are continuing to be discovered.
Because of the Book of Mormon, Israel has received back the blessings of the Gospel from the Gentiles. Thus we can understand why the word of God that revived Israel truly is connected to the mouth ["jawbone" or “cheek”] of Lehi.
Lehi’s Journey Through the Wilderness: In the last twenty-five years, two sets of exploratory travels have helped reveal the likely path Lehi took through the Middle Eastern wildernesses. Dr. Hugh Nibley’s research began by suggesting Lehi most likely followed the anciently established Frankincense Trail. The first attempt to follow this trail and compare it to Nephi’s account was undertaken by Lynn M. and Hope Hilton at the request of Church Magazines and with the blessings of General Authorities. The results of their journey were published in the September and October, 1976 issues of the Ensign. Later, a group sponsored by the Neal Maxwell Institute made a similar journey and reached similar conclusions. Both groups found coordinating features in the real wilderness landscape to Lehi’s account.
Nephi says they first began moving southeast, along the borders of the Red Sea. In retracing this route, the Hiltons found explanations to such things as why Nephi’s bow broke (1 Nephi 16:18) and his brothers’ lost their spring (1 Ne. 16:21). The air along that route, pregnant with heat, humidity, salt and sand, is highly corrosive to steel and affects most wood as well (1 Ne. 16:23, 32). The Hiltons found cars could develop holes in fenders in just a few months. Seeking to understand how Nephi’s newly made wooden bow served them better, they found that pomegranate wood growing there would have made a bow of much better quality for that area.
The Hiltons also found that along the Red Sea there were many areas where people hand built ships as they had for centuries. Thus as they slowly travelled, Nephi would have come to know the manner in which ships were usually built, and would have gained confidence that building one by hand is possible.
Lehi and his family traveled southeast until they reached a place called Nahom (1 Ne. 16:34; 17:1), then turned and headed East. One of the most exciting finds along this route is a desolate outpost called Nahom, just as the Book of Mormon speaks. It is however, too isolated for someone like Joseph Smith to have found on a map. It is where the Frankincense Trail goes East.
It is believed Lehi’s group continued to follow Eastward on the Frankincense trading route. The Hiltons found that by doing so they avoided trying to cross the largest sand desert on earth, which was absolutely perilous. There was a great need to follow a path where there were known watering places. Even so, the crossing of this part of the desert has always been extremely difficult. And this crossing was not made by a band of hardened caravaners, but by Lehi and his family, with wives and children. They would have had many causes to speak of their great afflictions in its crossing 1 Ne. (17:1).
The Hiltons also found that a special form of raw meat is eaten throughout these wilderness areas, again as Nephi described (1 Ne. 17:2).
Bountiful: The research of Dr. Nibley, the Hiltons, and the Maxell Institute all agree on the site of Bountiful. At the end of this long desert is a marvelous site on the seacoast. It is full of fruits; among them limes, oranges, bananas, grapes, apricots, and melons. They found many wild flowers and many honey bees with an abundance of honeycombs in hollow trees (1 Nephi 17:5-6). And it surely could be described as being on “Irreantum,” the ocean.
The Hiltons found this area had very rich soil and was watered by periodic monsoons, which water no other place in the 1400 mile desert along the southern coast. There Lehi and his family could have obtained all the supplies they needed for their journey to the Promised Land.
Above all, there they would have found a large form of sycamore tree. Some reached 50 feet. Its wood is strong and interestingly, resistant to sea water. Even today it is used for making ships as has been done for centuries. There was nowhere else in all the desert to obtain an abundant supply of wood, let alone such marvelous wood for ship building. The Hiltons also found sources to make the tools to make the ships.
The Sea Journey: There is not as much unanimity as to which direction Lehi and his family sailed after leaving Bountiful. The scriptures do not say except that they were “driven before the wind.” In that case, it is most likely they sailed West. It is reasonably argued that Lehi’s family would have waited for a completed harvest to maximize their supplies of food and seed. At that time of the year both the wind, as well as the sea currents, from Bountiful would have blown them naturally southwest and around the tip of Africa. These same wind and sea currents would have taken them automatically to the Gulf Coast of North America. Such a course could have been completed around the time to plant seeds in the southern climate of the new Promised Land, which Lehi immediately did (1 Nephi 18:24).
Significant supportive evidences to such a voyage came through the recent sailing of a ship, the Phoenecia. It was built like others in the Mediterranean area around 600 B.C. The plan was to sail from East of Africa, around its tip, and up to the Mediterranean. However, the sea and wind currents were so strong, they naturally carried them towards North America. In spite of fighting against the currents, they came within 350 miles of the North American coast. And only with great effort were they finally able to adjust their course and sail back towards the Mediterranean.
Furthermore, as the Phoenecia sailed around the tip of Africa, it encountered a great storm, as currents and winds from opposite sides of that continent clashed into each other. This storm was so strong, for a time, it drove the ship backwards. They were in time able to overcome it and to be carried northwest again. This very same sailing experience occurred to Lehi’s families, as they likely encountered the very same clash of wind and sea currents (1 Ne. 18:8-23).
Some argue Lehi sailed east. But route to the Americas is an extremely long distance, crossing the widest part of the widest ocean. Scholars of the world claim no sea goers of that period could have survived such a long journey. Furthermore, there was no real need to undertake that most difficult of all journeys. For it appears the Lord had already prepared a simpler, more natural one. (For more details, see Rod Meldrum, The Book of Mormon in America’s Heartland, pp. 63-65).
The New Promised Land : Archaeological evidence abounds that there were settlers in the Gulf States of America around 600 B.C. They left burial mounds and mounds of shells [whose contents were a natural fool supply] as witness of their presence. Because of these and thousands of other mounds they left, they were given the name The Moundbuilders. The record of their existence has been recorded by many archaeologists, surveyors, etc. Among them were E. G. Squier and E. H. Davis as representatives of the Smithsonian.
In the mid 1800’s, Squier and Davis were sent to survey and diagram as many of the remaining sites left by the Moundbuilders throughout the United States as they possibly could, although only about a tenth remained of the many thousands that had once existed. They later wrote the following in comparing what they found in North America to that found in Mesoamerica: “We find nevertheless, within these [sacred] enclosures, the altars upon which the ancient people performed their sacrifices. We find also pyramidal structures … which correspond entirely with those of Mexico and Central America, except that, instead of being composed of stone, they are constructed of earth” (Squiers and Davis, Ancient Monuments of The Mississippi Valley, p. 103).
The reality is that the Book of Mormon, when it speaks of building materials, almost always speaks of earth and wood.
Furthermore, Jewish experts point out that the Jews built ramps to their temples, never stone steps! And it was due to a prohibition in the Mosaic Law they did so. So it is fascinating that Squiers and Davis noted, “instead of broad flights of steps, [the North American sites] have graded avenues and spiral pathways leading to their summits” (ibid).
So these two recorders of sites say the North American sites are similar to those found in Mesoamerica, except for two major differences.
(1) They were made of earth and wood and not stone.
(2) They always used ramps to high elevations, never steps.
But both these differences actually substantiate they are true Israelite and true Nephite constructions.
The archaeological record would support that Lehi’s family first settled in the southern part of the United States. The settlements there are the earliest of the Moundbuilder sites, which means the Moundbuilders spread north from there.
“In northeast Florida along the St. Johns River were numerous sand and shell mounds. Mound internments in this area were similar to [those found in Ohio]…. Some of these burials date as early as 500 B.C., 300 years earlier than the first burial mounds in the Ohio Valley” (Fritz Zimmerman, Mounds and Earthworks 1000 BC.-500 A.D., p. 11.)
The Settlement of Nephi: After Lehi died, the movement north began. The Nephites slipped away for protection from the Lamanites in a journey which took many days (2 Nephi 5:5-7). The archaeological and other evidences indicate they moved into the more central regions of the United States.
It is fascinating that at some time after their move into what would have been the more central part of the United States, Nephi is recorded as reading Isaiah’s prophecies that their Promised Land would be a land of liberty, and that the Law would eventually go out of a New Jerusalem which would be established there (2 Nephi 12).
Joseph Smith revealed this New Jerusalem will eventually be established in the center place of the United States. When in this central place himself, he came to understand both the past and future significance of this area. He was led by revelation to discover Nephite altars left by its previous inhabitants, so we know the Nephites were there. In fact, Joseph Smith said altars at Adam-ondi-Ahman were first built by Adam, but then were found and reconstructed by the Nephites (Documentary History of the Church, Vol. III, p. 35).
Nephi, as prophet, had previously seen visions of the Promised Land and of its future and Eternal destiny too. It is possible that he was also led to visit and see those same sacred places which once contained the Garden of Eden, and will become the even more sacred center of the future Zion. Who knows but that it was he himself who rebuilt Adam’s altar for Nephite worship there. But if not, Joseph Smith testified his people did.
The Temple in Nephi: We know that there was at least one temple built in the land of Nephi (2 Nephi 5:16; Jacob 1:17; 2:2, 11). Archaeology supports the possibility this structure may have been found.
Construction of dams in Tennessee in the 1930’s led archaeologists on a mad race to explore as many Native American sites as possible before being flooded. One site amazed them. It was actually three sites, two mounds built on top of a first. The bottom layer, though damaged from the weight of the others, was once a large rectangular structure with several stone altars. It also had once contained large blocks and columns. Note that Nephi had written they had built the temple as best as they could like Solomon’s Temple, which would have contained large blocks, columns and stone altars.
So unusual was this find, The New York Times photographed these ruins and later printed that photo on July 1, 1934. The heading over the photo read, “Egyptian Temple.” And below was printed this description. “The stone ruins of a large stone and wood structure uncovered beneath a [Moundbuilders] Mound…” When they excavated the burial mound next to this “temple,” over half were buried during the time of the Nephites.
One prominent English scholar, James Rendal Harris, had influenced some to believe that Egyptians had come to the United States because there were Egyptian place names still in use in this Tennessee area. Thus it was called an “Egyptian Temple.” However, the Book of Mormon constantly tells us that Lehi was familiar with things Egyptian, such as their writing, and even giving his son, Sam, an Egyptian name. Dr. Hugh Nibley pointed out that many Book of Mormon names had Egyptian structures: Korihor, Pahoran and Paankhi, are a few examples. So the supposed Egyptian influence was also the Nephite influence!
At any rate, the discovery of this temple site was suppressed and neglected, and eventually flooded. But photos of its existence remain.
There is one other interesting item about it, however. East Tennessee was one of only two sites in the United States at that time which was known to be rich in copper. Nephi specifically mentioned that they had used copper to decorate their temple (2 Nephi 5:15). (For the photo of this site and more information see, Wayne May, ed., Ancient American: Archeology of the Americas Before Columbus, LDS, Special Edition IV).
We must remember that the Nephites lived in this area for around 400 years. This was plenty of time to spread into many parts of central United States.
Zarahemla and the Jaredite Ruins: After that 400 years, the Nephites moved north once again to escape advancing Lamanite incursions into their areas. Archaeological evidence would suggest their civilization spread into such places as northern Illinois and Southern Ohio. There the Nephites discovered the Mulekites who had come into the land from the North. Many believe the Mulekits came into the upper Midwest through the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. Their cultures merged and became as one.
The work of one dedicated researcher, who lives in the Midwest, Wayne May, has produced significant evidence that might identify ancient Zarahemla. It is on the Mississippi, directly across from Nauvoo. Joseph Smith called the site Zarahemla.
May has found much evidence of Moundbuilder earthworks there (See Ancient American: Archaeology of the Americas before Columbus, LDS, Special Edition IV).
We remember that later, some groups who had returned to the land of Nephi, in seeking Zarahemla, became lost. In the process they discovered ruins of the Jaredites with ancient dwellings of many kinds (Mosiah 8:8-11).
Moundsville, West Virginia, is so named because it contains very ancient earth mounds which pre-date those of the Nephites. They are credited to an earlier people, called the Adena, but which many believe were actually the Jaredites. Their timeline matches that of the Jaredites. In the nearby Museum, there are many artifacts, including one with a cross inside a circle. There is also an example of ancient writings. There were differing translations to the writing. It verified this culture, pre-dating the Nephites, had a knowledge of writing.
This site is of interest for many reasons. The group which became lost while trying to return to Zarahemla found instead the ruins of a great civilization. Some have postulated that the reason they might have gotten lost was because they followed the wrong River --- taking the Ohio rather than continuing up the Mississippi. Following the wrong river would have been very easy to do. And if that were true, it would have led them directly to Moundsville. And here indeed they would have found a great area of ruins --- ruins of the Jaredites, just as the Book of Mormon describes. [There may be other possibilities. But seeing the reality of this possibility is very satisfying].
The Defensive Structures and Actions of the Northern Moundbuilders : The archaeological record supports the military history of The Book of Mormon. At least ten physical evidences correlate with the military features described in its pages, which may answer the queston of many, “Why is so much of the Book of Mormon devoted to its wars.”
1. The Book of Mormon says the Nephites made two significant movements away from the Lamanites to protect themselves. The Moundbuilders in the north built the most fortifications. The Moundbuilders in the south left few defensive fortifications. The obvious reason was that the Southern Moundbuilders were not the ones being attacked. They were the attackers!
2. The ancient fortifications in the North are built just as the Book of Mormon describes --- extremely deep ditches before extremely high earthen walls (Alma 48:8; 49:2). One, built in the center of a mountainous area, reminds one of Jerusalem, which was a hilltop fortification. It really was exciting to feel this was likely one of the fortifications built under Captain Moroni. It consisted of a lower fort with the only place of entrance, then a narrow middle, and then a final, upper fortification.
This fort, as others, had places for water storage and could hold up to 60,000 people. It definitely fulfilled the concept of a “place of security” where the Nephites could flee from peaceful homes in the valley and stay for significant lengths of time in a temporary home.
3. As said, the fortifications were built with only one maze-like entrance where an invading army would be trapped by several bottlenecks, thus becoming vulnerable to those shooting weapons at them from above (Alma 49:4-5; 49:18, 20). When I was in Israel, I visited the fort at Megiddo. It too was built with a similar maze-like "place of entrance."
4. The Book of Mormon says when the Lamanites attacked the Nephite fortifications, they were thwarted by the high earth banks because they could not "throw their arrows" (Alma 49:4). The atlatl was indeed a weapon of that time, used, surprisingly to throw arrows. They had weights on the shaft to carry heavier arrow points, to travel further, and to sink deeper into the chest. No wonder the Nephites' built high walls which prevented their usage on them.
5. Each time their enemy came against them, the Nephites tried new tactics. They next learned to protect themselves with copper head plates and copper breast plates (Alma 49: 6.) Examples of such protective gear, made in copper, are on display in Midwestern museums.
6. The Nephites also came to wear garments of skin as protective "thick clothing" (Alma 49:6). This put the Lamanites at a great disadvantage who at first wore little clothing to cover their nakedness (Alma 3:5; 43:20). This would also suggest the Lamanites came from a warmer, more southern climate. If indeed the movements of the Nephites was generally north to separate themselves from the Lamanites, they would have developed the need for heavier clothing in general, as well as for war-time for protection.
7. The Nephites topped their high earth banks with wooden barricades and many watchtowers (Alma 50:2-4). Archaeological evidence supports these descriptions through the discovery and dating of post molds. Some wooden barricades were covered with light cement, most likely to prevent their being burned (Helaman 3:7, 9, 11). Evidences of all these things exist.
8. The Nephites built many fortifications. "Thus Moroni did prepare strongholds against the coming of their enemies, roundabout every city in all the land" (Alma 50:6). It has been pointed out that the building of such fortifications with barricades and watchtowers would have required cutting down a great number of trees, and most likely burning their stumps, as usually done. This is supported by physical evidence today. A stalagmite dated to 100 B.C. is covered heavily with carbon, showing a huge increase in the emission of carbon at that time, a great surprise to scientists. (See Wayne May, ed. "Ancient American: Archaeology of the Americas Before Columbuis, LDS Special Edition IV," p. 14).
9. The archeological record verifies that some of the Moundbuilders deliberately buried their weapons of war. At least two mounds were excavated which contained many buried weapons. They were not the usual burials where weapons were buried with their owners for the afterlife. Bushels of broken weapons were found buried in one mound at Mound City, Ohio. Another great mound, at Hopewell Group, contained 8,000 flint heads initially prepared for war, but never finished for war.
This archaeological record is supported by Native American traditions. The Hopi Indians, whose name means “the peaceful ones” hold the tradition that their ancestors buried their weapons. They also claim their ancestors built the Serpent Mound. Fascinating --- because the great Serpent Mound is in Southern Ohio, near the mounds where these weapons were buried.
While the Hopis now live in the West, many Eastern tribes migrated at some time, and these Hope traditions indicate some of their ancient ancestors once lived in these Eastern areas.
10. The Nephites did not live in the large hilltop forts, for they were "places of resort" only (Alma 52:6) --- places to leave their homes and escape to when the enemy came.
The Special Places for Righteous Lamanites: Before personally visiting Moundbuilder sites, I read of Ammon’s people who had been given a special place to live: in a place called Jershon, described as south of Bountiful.
I feel there is a very special place which fits Jershon.
There are remains of five striking and similar sites of mounds which are all built along the Scioto River in Southern Ohio. These sites were once made up of large earthen squares connected to circles. (Squiers and Davis’ diagrams of these sites are in Ancient Monuments, pp. 56-57, and are reproduced in Wayne May, ed., Ancient American, pp. 38-39).
Fascinatingly, all five sites were built exactly the same distance from each other. The sizes of the squares and the two circles at each site had exactly the same dimensions. These sites were all very carefully planned! The people of Ammon, five tribes of them initially, all moved into the land of Jershon together. Surprisingly, archaeologists have only been able to find evidence of two or three family groups who had lived at each site. And they found very little evidence of agriculture. They puzzled over how so few people could build such big earthworks!
But all these questions are easily answered if they were settled by the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. They likely had help from the Nephites in building their earthworks. This was a very peaceful valley. They had no defensive structures, but they were not far from the fortified “places of refuge” where they could run for safety. As described in the Book of Mormon, they are south of the largest, most complex, and most distinct of all the earthworks (See Squiers and Davis’ diagram of The Great Octagon, p. 66), believed by many to be Bountiful, the Nephite temple site.
The lack of permanent dwelling structures could be explained by the fact that the Lamanites used tents. Also, being formerly Lamanites, who traditionally did not engage in much agriculture, they likely continued to use the river and woods as their major sources for food.
Furthermore, the totally dominant patterns of circles and squares in their earth works indicate they were now a fully devoted people whose life concentrated, not on war or trade or sporting events, but on beautiful truth. This major truth is that a correct life [a life lived in exact righteousness] would lead to Eternal Life. We see this when we understand the symbolism of the earth structures that were built there.
In our Latter-day Saint temples today, we use the same religious symbols of circles and squares. If you look you will find them, although not in such large measures. One of the meanings of the square is a representation of earth. [Scriptures describe the earth as having four corners]. The circle represents heaven and eternity. When these two connect, it is signifying, “Where heaven meets earth.”
The movement of the worshippers is from the square into the circle. There are no other entrances and no other exits out of the circle. “Where Heaven meets earth” is precisely what the temple not only signifies, but “Is.”
Many of the Moundbuilder sites use the patterns of circles and squares. (See Squiers and Davis, “Sacred Enclosures,” in Ancient Monuments, pp. 47-103). However, that this symbolism was the absolutely dominant feature at all these five sites so close together is enormously remarkable. They truly are witnesses of a closely-knit and highly devoted people!
Furthermore, these five mound sites were close to two other mound sites where the people had literally buried thousands of unused arrow heads or bushels of broken up weapons. (The Book of Mormon says other Lamanites continued to join the righteous Nephites).
Seeing these mound sites was an impressive experience. And feeling this may have been where the people of Ammon lived added to its special significance.
The Place of Bountiful: An earthworks called “The Great Octagon’ in Newarks, Ohio, is different than most sites due to its size and its unique construction. It is described as one of the greatest of all religious sites, not only in the United States but in the world. Stonehenge would fit in just one small corner of it. It is unique in that it is an octagon rather than a square which connects to a great and final circle.
Why an octagon?
Those who have studied our own temple symbolism, where the octagon is often used, see it as symbolizing the Melchizidek Seal. But symbols often have more than one meaning. An octagon has eight sides. The number eight also signifies the Abrahamic Covenant. Faithful Latter-day saints should recognize these are both highly charged symbols for Eternal Life and Eternal Lives.
One other significant feature of the Great Octagon is that its features show astronomical alignments (See Meldrum, op.cit., pp. 106-113). Not only did the Moundbuilders keep careful records through calendars, but many Moundbuilder sites were in actually calendars in and of themselves!
Some Sailed Away. Where Did They Go? The Nephites in general continued to spread north, encountering “large bodies of water and many rivers” (Helaman 3:4). Many who place the Nephites in Eastern North America feel such references fit best the Great Lakes. (One would need ships, not canoes, to sail on the Great Lakes).
So, some eventually built large sailing vessels and “sailed forth and took their course northward” (Alma 63:5). Some of them returned briefly. Later more “set out ... to the land northward” (63:7). They were never heard from again. Some who sailed with them were formerly Lamanites.
As told, we do not know where they went. However, many of those who study linguistics and Indian tribal patterns point out that both the Algonkin speaking people and the Iroquoian speaking people are spread not only throughout the Eastern part of the United States, but also into significant portions of Eastern Canada. (See L. Taylor Hansen, He Walked the Americas, p. 200; and Olive Patricia Dickason, Canada’s First Nations, p. 33).
When the Europeans arrived in the New World, they found Native Americans not only in Mesoamerica and in what would become United States lands, but also in Canada. And what the Native Americans in Canada underwent paralleled those of the other parts of this larger continent. We have ignored them, but they too are definitely connected to the Book of Mormon people.
But some of those who sailed away may have sailed further northeast, into the Atlantic and from there to different areas altogether. The traditions of some Mesoamericans is that their ancestors actually came from the north and down along the East Coast. Also, evidences of Moundbuilders have been found in portions of South America.
One thing we should realize is that the Book of Mormon is really not a complete record of the peoples of these continents. There were undoubtedly many migrations, as the seed of Lehi, through over two thousand years, has spread into many parts of both continents. And often their seed has been mixed with that of other peoples also coming to this land at one time or another. The Book of Mormon verifies this when it tells that it has given less than a hundredth part of the record of Lehi's people alone, and that Jesus Christ, before leaving the Nephites who wrote the Book of Mormon, said He would visit “other sheep which are not of this fold.”
The Destructions at the Coming of Christ: Jesus Christ’s coming to the Nephites was accompanied by great destructions. The Book of Mormon ascribes these destructions to two great forces: a great and terrible storm, and a terrible shaking of the earth. However, its description of those earthquakes carries puzzling details.
These puzzling details are clarified however, by a series of earthquakes which occurred on the New Madrid Fault in Missouri in 1811/1812. It verifies all that the Book of Mormon describes for earthquake activity in that area. For one thing, the soil in the Midwestern/Eastern part of the United States allows for much more liquefaction, and thus greater and more unique damages.
Details of those earthquakes were accumulated in The Earthquake that American Forgot. Total similarities between the Book of Mormon account and these earthquakes are documented. The writers, Dr. David Stewart and Ray Knox, remind us that earthquakes release more powerful energy “in less time than any other force of nature” (p. 200). While the reader will find amazing parallels, they should also be advised of two major differences: One, the destructions at Christ’s time were obviously far more severe and total.
Second, the destructions at Christ’s time first began with and included a storm, much like a fierce Midwestern storm complete with tornadoes (3 Nephi 8:6). So some of what was experienced by the Nephites is explained by the results of that storm. Here are the similarities:
1. Thunder: The Book of Mormon said this storm was accompanied by thunder which “did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder” (3 Ne. 8:6). Those who experienced the earthquake of 1812 also said there were sounds like thunder. They described, “Frequent rumbling sounds were heard, resembling distant thunder”’ (p. 159). In their case the thundering was actually a part of the earthquake. For the Nephites, thunder likely came from both the earthquake and an accompanying storm.
2. Lightning: The Book of Mormon describes “exceedingly sharp lightning so that Zarahemla caught fire” (3 Ne. 8:7). This was likely caused by actual lightning accompanying the storm. But lightning was also seen in the 1812 earthquake. That is, a reverse lightning, emitted from earth to heaven. Scientists verify that quartz crystals when pressured can emit light. They can also produce forces which actually result in real lightning (pp. 232-233). But again, the Nephites likely saw lightning caused both by a storm and the earthquake.
3. Some cities burned (3 Nephi 9:9-10). Homes and cities did catch fire and burn in both Nephite times and in 1812. Fire is one of the great dangers of earthquakes. A usual cause are sources of heat or cooking which are broken or disturbed. In Nephite times, there were likely fires caused by both the earthquake and lightning from the storm.
4. Some cities sank into the sea (3 Ne. 8:9). A lot of the Moundbuilder cities were built on bodies of water. The quaking of the earth alone would cause some to sink into that water. During the earthquake of 1812, many places built on the shores of bodies of water did sink into the waters, particularly those built by Native Americans. In yet other cases, earthquakes caused huge waves to be hurled from the river, drowning many (p. 189).
Sometimes land just sank; in one case land sank as deep as twelve feet. Such depressions were then inundated with water as pressure on subterranean waters “caused the water to spout out of the pores of the ground to the height of eight or ten feet” (p. 145). In fact at least ten new earthquake lakes were formed from the earthquake of 1812 (p. 139).
5. Earth was carried up on cities. The Book of Mormon describes one city being covered by earth and becoming a mountain (3 Ne. 8:10). In the 1812 quake, great sand geysers were spewed from the earth, which buried some cities and created new areas of height. One witness said prior to the earthquake he could see level prairies and meadows with small patches of woods. After the earthquake he saw in the same place both ponds and sand hills (p. 157). There were other reports of low places being lifted up to new heights (p. 183).
6. Some people were carried away in the whirlwind (3 Ne. 8:16). Because the earthquakes of 1811/12 were not accompanied by a storm, (Those earthquakes hit in mid-winter), there were no reports of tornadoes. However, the Midwestern area is the major place on earth for tornadoes. They are more frequent in the spring time, the time of Jesus’ crucifixion. This statement in the Book of Mormon does indicate their earthquake really did occur simultaneously with a devastating storm. Thus the terrible destruction of the earthquake was multiplied by the terrible destruction of whirlwinds.
7. The quakings lasted for the space of three hours (3 Ne. 8:19). The time that the Book of Mormon says its earthquakes lasted is astonishing to persons who have experienced much briefer earthquakes and know how much damage can be done in just a few seconds or minutes. But reports of the 1812 earthquake also describe its timing as very long. “The earth was not at rest for an hour” (p. 191). In fact during a period of months, they felt over 2,000 temblors. Some were more destructive and lasted longer than others. Again, the earthquake which occurred at the time of Christ was evidently much stronger and much more devastating, and its length was also much greater.
8. Thick darkness of vapor prevailed Upon all the face of the land the Nephites could feel the vapor of darkness (3 Nephi 8:20). Interestingly, what was described was a “vapor of darkness,” not just heavy dust experienced temporarily in many earthquakes. Descriptions of the 1812 earthquake also spoke of “vapor.” One eyewitness specifically said “a dense black cloud of vapor overshadowed the land.”
9. They could get no light because of the thick darkness: (3 Ne. 8:21). The 1812 earthquake also produced a total dousing of light. One witness said, “Within minutes vapors rising from the ground had produced a thick blanket of fog blotting out the stars. It became pitch black” (p. 144). Another said the darkness was "so dense" any light made no difference (p. 237). Note the description of the darkness as “dense.” The Nephites would have had less protected sources of light, [i.e., no glass covers] which would explain their not being able to ignite any fire at all due to the heavy vapor.
10. Neither the sun, moon or stars could be seen due to the great mists of darkness (3 Ne. 8:22). In 1812, one minister also reported “the sun, moon, and stars were concealed by a mist and fog which dropped like a heavy dew” (p. 237).
11. The Darkness lasted for three days (3 Ne. 8:23). The minister quoted above also reported that this heavy vapor of darkness they experienced lasted from December 16 until December 19, a period of around four days (p. 237).
12. The whole face of the land was changed (3 Ne. 8:12-13). In both accounts, one of the major similarities was the awe of those who survived and saw the land afterwards. Peoples of both times spoke in amazement of how the land was completely changed.
13. Great Loss of Life. Several cities are listed as completely disappearing due to the 1811/12 earthquakes, but this does not include many Indian villages and other white settlements. Note that the population of these lands was not as dense in 1812 as it was at the coming of Christ.
Earthquakes on the New Madrid fault have re-occurred during consistent periods, and the regularity of their timing could have placed them as occurring around the time of Christ. Because of the type of soil in the Midwest and East, it is known that earthquakes in that area have amazingly far-reaching effects. We see here that all of the destructions recorded in the Book of Mormon are compatible with what actually occurred in these same Moundbuilder lands. (For additional details see, The Earthquake America Forgot, compiled by Dr. David Stewart and Dr. Ray Knox, 1995, from eyewitness accounts, newspaper articles, personal journals and correspondence, as well as on location research).
A Great Time of Peace Amid Times of War. The archaeological record verifies there were times of great war and one time of great peace. These periods fit the time-line of the Book of Mormon. Among the greatest times of war was the century just before Christ and after 400 A.D.
Archaeologists have also noted one time of great peace, beginning at a time that parallel’s Christ’s time and lasting a few hundred years. They noted an absence of wounds from fighting in burials in the time between early A.D. and about 400 A.D., called the Middle Woodland time period. (George R. Milner, The Moundbuilders: Ancient Peoples of Eastern North America, London: Thames & Hudson, 2004, pp. 9, 85).
Where the Book of Mormon Ends: There are many evidences that the Hill Cumorah as currently identified is that same one described in The Book of Mormon and that the Book of Mormon ends near it as it also says.
1. The Hill Cumorah was a place where not just one record was kept but wagon loads of records were kept, as was testified to by several of the highest leaders of the church who saw them inside the Hill
2. In one of Squier’s mid 1800 studies of the Moundbuilders, he found in Western New York State many examples of great warfare. The defensive works there, compared to those in the Midwest, were “constructed in haste.” [Suggesting they were built by a people on the run]. Inside the trenches he found “skeletons of adults of both sexes, of children and infants,.… They seem to have been thrown together promiscuously… a scene of one of those indiscriminate massacres so common in the history of savage warfare” (Antiquities
of the State of New York, pp. 24-5).
3. As he went from site to site he wrote of “bone pits,” of “bone hills,” and even of at least one “Bone Fort.” Its name had come from earlier inhabitants who had found inside the fort a mound of bones with a base of thirty feet and an height of six feet (p. 66).
4. In the 1900’s, soil samples stretching out in distances from the Hill Cumorah were scientifically determined by James E. Talmage, while a graduate chemistry student at Cornell University, to still hold unusually high portions of calcium, likely from the decayed bones of the Nephites (Riley L. Dixon, Just One Cumorah, 1958, 147-49).
Thus the tragic end of the Nephites was not hidden under stone structures where their witness could not be read. Rather their bones were left out in the open for us in the modern age to discover --- that we might know of a surety that the warnings to the wicked from the Book of Mormon cannot be ignored.
So many of those joining the Church today come from Latin American countries. Doesn’t that show they are the Lamanites and the Book of Mormon happened there? This question has puzzled me. But let us consider. Because some structures built in Mexico and in Central America are similar to the North American Moundbuilders, all are undoubtedly Lehi’s descendants. The major body of the Lamanites are believed to have remained largely in the southern part of the U.S. where Lehi landed. Meanwhile the Nephites kept moving north to separate from them for protection. If one looks at a map of America, one sees the curvature of the Gulf Coast around to Texas, down to Mexico, and further south. The Lamanites, we know, became more numerous. Those who did not move north would likely have expanded westward along the bountiful coasts where they could harvest fish/shellfish for food. Remember they remained more of a hunting, gathering people, and likely would have generally shunned the land’s interior where growing one’s own food was more necessary. Most would have remained next to the bounteous, large bodies of water. That route would have led them eventually into Mexico and Central America and places further south. (We are dealing with centuries here).
We can see why they would build similar structures, but of stone. The heavy rains and humid climate of that area would have caused earth to erode and wood to decompose very quickly. Stone made much greater sense to them. The traditions among these people are that they eventually became subservient to a culture and a priesthood who introduced human sacrifice.
The Book of Mormon prophecies about the Lamanites in the Latter-days becoming a strong and righteous people in the last days really are being fulfilled by the descendants of the many who migrated into Mexico and Central America and further south.
And it appears the major body of the Nephites, who moved north, was destroyed, and the structures they left of earth became less noticeable than those of stone in Mesoamerica. The wood portions had long before decomposed. Therefore their existence has been overlooked --- until recently.
So precisely what the Book of Mormon prophesied has come to pass. The archaeological record supports that the Nephites were destroyed, but many descendants of the Lamanites who expanded south, have grown in force, and are now being brought into Christ’s fold. It is remarkable to see how these realities fit with Book of Mormon prophecies.
Are all those who live in Latin America descendants of only Lehi? The answer is “definitely not.”
However, because of a consistent pattern of inter-marriage, a great majority likely have Lehi’s blood in them, just as the rest of the House of Israel has been mixed among the Gentiles.
There are some other things we need to know and to consider.
1. The legends of the Native Americans themselves is that there were several invasions of Asiatic peoples which came down among them along the West Coast, particularly in the centuries after Christ (See He Walked the Americas, pp. 107, 128, 200). This Asiatic blood is mixed among the people of Latin America, as is the blood of peoples of many other cultures, such as that of Africa. But as long as the people also contain the blood of Lehi, they should be considered as among Lehi’s descendants.
2. There are many prophecies that Manasseh’s descendants would help carry out the great Latter-day missionary work.
We should recognize that Lehi was only one of the many descendants of Manasseh. I feel an argument can be made that among those who immigrated into Latin America (particularly from Italy, Spain and Portugal but also from Asia), are likely many containing the blood of Manasseh, just as we know that many who immigrated into North America contained the blood of Ephraim. These immigrants, combined with those who are descendants of Manasseh through Lehi, would together make up a great force. So it is possible that when the prophets prophesied, "It is Ephraim and Manasseh who will minister salvation unto the whole house of Israel in the last days,” that prophecy may include immigrants from Manasseh to the New World in addition to Lehi's descendants. (Bruce R. McConkie, Millennial Messiah, p. 190).
Recently Verified Evidences Some Eastern Native American Indians Are Israelites:
1. A stone found at a place called Bat Creek contained verified ancient Hebrew writings. And that writing has recently been verified as set at the time of the Nephites. The inscription itself says “To the Judeans."[i]
2. There was an amazing earthen structure made in the shape of a Middle Eastern olive oil lamp by the Moundbuilders which also contained inside it the shape of an earthen Menorah. [ii] The mound itself was deliberately destroyed in the 1800’s, but the diagrams of it have recently been called to the attention of Latter-day Saints. This evidence alone should be heralded as solid proof of Israelites in North America.
3. There is unique pre-Columbian mitochondrial DNA from northeastern Native Americans of a type (Haplogroup X2) which is most strongly found in the Near East (specifically in Druze populations in Israel, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan). This indicates that the Near East is the geographic origin for this DNA type. [iii]
4. According to research by Geraldine Brooks for a book based upon the story of an early Native American who graduated from Harvard, Caleb's Crossing, the guttural sounds of the Native Americans was considered so much like the guttural sounds of the Hebrew language that this caused many early colonists to believe the Indians were part of the Lost Tribes.
Beyond the Book of Mormon? There are North American Native American traditions, both written and oral, that verify the end of the Book of Mormon as well as its prophecies of what happened next --- after 400 A.D., when the Nephites in general were destroyed and the Lamanites were left on their own.
These fascinating traditions were reviewed by one Native American leader speaking to others at a Great Council.
He first reminded everyone that they were all once one people and had come from the same homeland. He also reminded that they all had the same religious symbols in their clothing.
He also indicated that the Great Fair God had visited them all, had taught them the truth, and had warned them of what would happen in the future if they did not obey.
He said that one group [apparently after 400 A.D.] lived north and his group lived south. He said that eventually due to the storms (apparently hurricanes) and the earth shaking in their southern islands, and one war-like tribe who wanted to conquer the others, his people moved north. Many came in their canoes up the Mississippi River. They also came north to find food, through the herds of bison which roamed the plains in the North.
He admitted that in coming north, they killed or dispossessed some of those who lived there first.
He also said there eventually arose one of their number who wanted to conquer all the Native American peoples throughout the North American lands, from East to West. This great warrior raised great armies, which included many of the tribes of the North.
But he said that unfortunately "more of the hordes of the Northmen [Asians] coming afresh down the West Coast decimated his armies.” The eventual result was, “civil war broke out. Each tribe took to the forest, to raid and pillage and play at war games like naughty children.” In other words, any form of central government ceased. All the Native Americans broke into separate tribes.
He also said that their wise men told them that once the great fair God “Great Waicomah” (likely Christ) predicted that
it would be so. He had even warned of the coming of the White Man as a result, who would eventually overcome them all.
He also said his memory and the memory of most Native American peoples of Great Waicomah is “greatly garbled.”
Interestingly, such prevalent traditions help clarify why so much Asian DNA is among the Native Americans in the Western U.S. and in Mesoamerica. It also verifies what the Book of Mormon warned would be the fate of the descendants of Lehi in the North America --- until the Latter-days. (See “The Voice of the Dacotah", in Taylor L. Hansen, He Walked the Americas, pp. 76-78).
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[i] J. Huston McCulloch, “The Bat Creek Stone Revisited: A Reply to Mainfort and Kwas in American
Antiquity, Feb. 23, 2005, reproduced at http://www.econ.ohio-state.edu/jhm/arch/AmerAntiq.pdf; see also American
Petrographic Services, Inc., “Report of Archaeopetrography Investigation,” July 14, 2010, reproduced at
http://www.ampetrographic.com/files/BatCreekStone.pdf.
[ii] This earthen structure shaped like a Middle Eastern olive oil lamp was diagramed by Smithsonian sponsored scientists Squier and Davis and is in their collection, Ancient Monumets of The Mississippi Valley, p. 95.
[iii] Liran I. Shlush, et al, “The Druze: A Population Genetic Refugium of the Near East,”PLoS ONE 3(5): e2105 (2008) (concluding that the much higher frequency and diversity of subhaplogroup X2 in the Near East points to the Near East as the most likely geographical origin of the DNA type).
The Book of Mormon is actually a very complex book, its beginnings in the Middle East, with its story moving across an ocean and changing through many lands in the Americas. What is remarkable is that there is now significant evidence to support every part of these vastly changing settings --- from beginning to end. Here is a summary of some of those evidences.
The House of Lehi: While most of us assume Lehi lived inside Jerusalem, the scriptures say he lived at Jerusalem (1 Ne 1:4). Dr. Hugh Nibley suggested his “lands of inheritance” were outside of Jerusalem proper, where he was able to amass his wealth. He argued that his was a wealth that exceeded what could ordinarily be obtained as a shopkeeper in Jerusalem. There is now a good possibility we might have the actual setting where Lehi lived. Excavations have revealed a very large community existed southwest of Jerusalem. Very importantly, local Bedouins call the site "Beit [or House of] Lehi.” These Bedouins share their tradition that before Mohammed there was a prophet named Lehi who lived there. They say this Lehi warned the Jews and people of Ishmael of destructions to come. Then he disappeared. No one knew where he went. They regard this site as sacred. While the Beit Lehi site hosted peoples during many centuries, it is believed its relation to a specific person named Lehi is dated at 600-650 B.C.
This site contained an extremely large olive press and facilities for olive oil storage. This may tell us how Lehi obtained his wealth. It may also tell us why he had tents ready and knew things Egyptian. Dr. Nibley suggested he conducted caravan trade of his goods into Egypt.
Israeli archaeologists connect this site to Samson due to Judges 15. For Samson, previously conquered by the Gentiles, is revived through water drunk from the jawbone of an ass at a place called Lehi (verse19).
Actually, the Samson story adds additional evidence this site was the home of the prophet Lehi. Prominent Biblical scholars believed Samson was in many ways a “type” for future events in Israel. Both Irenaeus and John Foxe contended Samson’s use of the “jawbone” prophesied that some form of the word of God would revive Israel in the future. [A jawbone is the speaking part of a deceased being]. The name Lehi means jawbone or cheek! It truly has been the testimony of Lehi and his descendants in the Book of Mormon which has revived Israel in these Latter-days.
Latter-day Israel has been restored in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because of the specific “word of God” that came through the prophet Lehi. Lehi did not disappear from the sight of God, only from sight of those in the Old World. But he apparently left an archaeological record of his existence there, which is now discovered. And his descendants have left many real witnesses of their existence in the New World, which are continuing to be discovered.
Because of the Book of Mormon, Israel has received back the blessings of the Gospel from the Gentiles. Thus we can understand why the word of God that revived Israel truly is connected to the mouth ["jawbone" or “cheek”] of Lehi.
Lehi’s Journey Through the Wilderness: In the last twenty-five years, two sets of exploratory travels have helped reveal the likely path Lehi took through the Middle Eastern wildernesses. Dr. Hugh Nibley’s research began by suggesting Lehi most likely followed the anciently established Frankincense Trail. The first attempt to follow this trail and compare it to Nephi’s account was undertaken by Lynn M. and Hope Hilton at the request of Church Magazines and with the blessings of General Authorities. The results of their journey were published in the September and October, 1976 issues of the Ensign. Later, a group sponsored by the Neal Maxwell Institute made a similar journey and reached similar conclusions. Both groups found coordinating features in the real wilderness landscape to Lehi’s account.
Nephi says they first began moving southeast, along the borders of the Red Sea. In retracing this route, the Hiltons found explanations to such things as why Nephi’s bow broke (1 Nephi 16:18) and his brothers’ lost their spring (1 Ne. 16:21). The air along that route, pregnant with heat, humidity, salt and sand, is highly corrosive to steel and affects most wood as well (1 Ne. 16:23, 32). The Hiltons found cars could develop holes in fenders in just a few months. Seeking to understand how Nephi’s newly made wooden bow served them better, they found that pomegranate wood growing there would have made a bow of much better quality for that area.
The Hiltons also found that along the Red Sea there were many areas where people hand built ships as they had for centuries. Thus as they slowly travelled, Nephi would have come to know the manner in which ships were usually built, and would have gained confidence that building one by hand is possible.
Lehi and his family traveled southeast until they reached a place called Nahom (1 Ne. 16:34; 17:1), then turned and headed East. One of the most exciting finds along this route is a desolate outpost called Nahom, just as the Book of Mormon speaks. It is however, too isolated for someone like Joseph Smith to have found on a map. It is where the Frankincense Trail goes East.
It is believed Lehi’s group continued to follow Eastward on the Frankincense trading route. The Hiltons found that by doing so they avoided trying to cross the largest sand desert on earth, which was absolutely perilous. There was a great need to follow a path where there were known watering places. Even so, the crossing of this part of the desert has always been extremely difficult. And this crossing was not made by a band of hardened caravaners, but by Lehi and his family, with wives and children. They would have had many causes to speak of their great afflictions in its crossing 1 Ne. (17:1).
The Hiltons also found that a special form of raw meat is eaten throughout these wilderness areas, again as Nephi described (1 Ne. 17:2).
Bountiful: The research of Dr. Nibley, the Hiltons, and the Maxell Institute all agree on the site of Bountiful. At the end of this long desert is a marvelous site on the seacoast. It is full of fruits; among them limes, oranges, bananas, grapes, apricots, and melons. They found many wild flowers and many honey bees with an abundance of honeycombs in hollow trees (1 Nephi 17:5-6). And it surely could be described as being on “Irreantum,” the ocean.
The Hiltons found this area had very rich soil and was watered by periodic monsoons, which water no other place in the 1400 mile desert along the southern coast. There Lehi and his family could have obtained all the supplies they needed for their journey to the Promised Land.
Above all, there they would have found a large form of sycamore tree. Some reached 50 feet. Its wood is strong and interestingly, resistant to sea water. Even today it is used for making ships as has been done for centuries. There was nowhere else in all the desert to obtain an abundant supply of wood, let alone such marvelous wood for ship building. The Hiltons also found sources to make the tools to make the ships.
The Sea Journey: There is not as much unanimity as to which direction Lehi and his family sailed after leaving Bountiful. The scriptures do not say except that they were “driven before the wind.” In that case, it is most likely they sailed West. It is reasonably argued that Lehi’s family would have waited for a completed harvest to maximize their supplies of food and seed. At that time of the year both the wind, as well as the sea currents, from Bountiful would have blown them naturally southwest and around the tip of Africa. These same wind and sea currents would have taken them automatically to the Gulf Coast of North America. Such a course could have been completed around the time to plant seeds in the southern climate of the new Promised Land, which Lehi immediately did (1 Nephi 18:24).
Significant supportive evidences to such a voyage came through the recent sailing of a ship, the Phoenecia. It was built like others in the Mediterranean area around 600 B.C. The plan was to sail from East of Africa, around its tip, and up to the Mediterranean. However, the sea and wind currents were so strong, they naturally carried them towards North America. In spite of fighting against the currents, they came within 350 miles of the North American coast. And only with great effort were they finally able to adjust their course and sail back towards the Mediterranean.
Furthermore, as the Phoenecia sailed around the tip of Africa, it encountered a great storm, as currents and winds from opposite sides of that continent clashed into each other. This storm was so strong, for a time, it drove the ship backwards. They were in time able to overcome it and to be carried northwest again. This very same sailing experience occurred to Lehi’s families, as they likely encountered the very same clash of wind and sea currents (1 Ne. 18:8-23).
Some argue Lehi sailed east. But route to the Americas is an extremely long distance, crossing the widest part of the widest ocean. Scholars of the world claim no sea goers of that period could have survived such a long journey. Furthermore, there was no real need to undertake that most difficult of all journeys. For it appears the Lord had already prepared a simpler, more natural one. (For more details, see Rod Meldrum, The Book of Mormon in America’s Heartland, pp. 63-65).
The New Promised Land : Archaeological evidence abounds that there were settlers in the Gulf States of America around 600 B.C. They left burial mounds and mounds of shells [whose contents were a natural fool supply] as witness of their presence. Because of these and thousands of other mounds they left, they were given the name The Moundbuilders. The record of their existence has been recorded by many archaeologists, surveyors, etc. Among them were E. G. Squier and E. H. Davis as representatives of the Smithsonian.
In the mid 1800’s, Squier and Davis were sent to survey and diagram as many of the remaining sites left by the Moundbuilders throughout the United States as they possibly could, although only about a tenth remained of the many thousands that had once existed. They later wrote the following in comparing what they found in North America to that found in Mesoamerica: “We find nevertheless, within these [sacred] enclosures, the altars upon which the ancient people performed their sacrifices. We find also pyramidal structures … which correspond entirely with those of Mexico and Central America, except that, instead of being composed of stone, they are constructed of earth” (Squiers and Davis, Ancient Monuments of The Mississippi Valley, p. 103).
The reality is that the Book of Mormon, when it speaks of building materials, almost always speaks of earth and wood.
Furthermore, Jewish experts point out that the Jews built ramps to their temples, never stone steps! And it was due to a prohibition in the Mosaic Law they did so. So it is fascinating that Squiers and Davis noted, “instead of broad flights of steps, [the North American sites] have graded avenues and spiral pathways leading to their summits” (ibid).
So these two recorders of sites say the North American sites are similar to those found in Mesoamerica, except for two major differences.
(1) They were made of earth and wood and not stone.
(2) They always used ramps to high elevations, never steps.
But both these differences actually substantiate they are true Israelite and true Nephite constructions.
The archaeological record would support that Lehi’s family first settled in the southern part of the United States. The settlements there are the earliest of the Moundbuilder sites, which means the Moundbuilders spread north from there.
“In northeast Florida along the St. Johns River were numerous sand and shell mounds. Mound internments in this area were similar to [those found in Ohio]…. Some of these burials date as early as 500 B.C., 300 years earlier than the first burial mounds in the Ohio Valley” (Fritz Zimmerman, Mounds and Earthworks 1000 BC.-500 A.D., p. 11.)
The Settlement of Nephi: After Lehi died, the movement north began. The Nephites slipped away for protection from the Lamanites in a journey which took many days (2 Nephi 5:5-7). The archaeological and other evidences indicate they moved into the more central regions of the United States.
It is fascinating that at some time after their move into what would have been the more central part of the United States, Nephi is recorded as reading Isaiah’s prophecies that their Promised Land would be a land of liberty, and that the Law would eventually go out of a New Jerusalem which would be established there (2 Nephi 12).
Joseph Smith revealed this New Jerusalem will eventually be established in the center place of the United States. When in this central place himself, he came to understand both the past and future significance of this area. He was led by revelation to discover Nephite altars left by its previous inhabitants, so we know the Nephites were there. In fact, Joseph Smith said altars at Adam-ondi-Ahman were first built by Adam, but then were found and reconstructed by the Nephites (Documentary History of the Church, Vol. III, p. 35).
Nephi, as prophet, had previously seen visions of the Promised Land and of its future and Eternal destiny too. It is possible that he was also led to visit and see those same sacred places which once contained the Garden of Eden, and will become the even more sacred center of the future Zion. Who knows but that it was he himself who rebuilt Adam’s altar for Nephite worship there. But if not, Joseph Smith testified his people did.
The Temple in Nephi: We know that there was at least one temple built in the land of Nephi (2 Nephi 5:16; Jacob 1:17; 2:2, 11). Archaeology supports the possibility this structure may have been found.
Construction of dams in Tennessee in the 1930’s led archaeologists on a mad race to explore as many Native American sites as possible before being flooded. One site amazed them. It was actually three sites, two mounds built on top of a first. The bottom layer, though damaged from the weight of the others, was once a large rectangular structure with several stone altars. It also had once contained large blocks and columns. Note that Nephi had written they had built the temple as best as they could like Solomon’s Temple, which would have contained large blocks, columns and stone altars.
So unusual was this find, The New York Times photographed these ruins and later printed that photo on July 1, 1934. The heading over the photo read, “Egyptian Temple.” And below was printed this description. “The stone ruins of a large stone and wood structure uncovered beneath a [Moundbuilders] Mound…” When they excavated the burial mound next to this “temple,” over half were buried during the time of the Nephites.
One prominent English scholar, James Rendal Harris, had influenced some to believe that Egyptians had come to the United States because there were Egyptian place names still in use in this Tennessee area. Thus it was called an “Egyptian Temple.” However, the Book of Mormon constantly tells us that Lehi was familiar with things Egyptian, such as their writing, and even giving his son, Sam, an Egyptian name. Dr. Hugh Nibley pointed out that many Book of Mormon names had Egyptian structures: Korihor, Pahoran and Paankhi, are a few examples. So the supposed Egyptian influence was also the Nephite influence!
At any rate, the discovery of this temple site was suppressed and neglected, and eventually flooded. But photos of its existence remain.
There is one other interesting item about it, however. East Tennessee was one of only two sites in the United States at that time which was known to be rich in copper. Nephi specifically mentioned that they had used copper to decorate their temple (2 Nephi 5:15). (For the photo of this site and more information see, Wayne May, ed., Ancient American: Archeology of the Americas Before Columbus, LDS, Special Edition IV).
We must remember that the Nephites lived in this area for around 400 years. This was plenty of time to spread into many parts of central United States.
Zarahemla and the Jaredite Ruins: After that 400 years, the Nephites moved north once again to escape advancing Lamanite incursions into their areas. Archaeological evidence would suggest their civilization spread into such places as northern Illinois and Southern Ohio. There the Nephites discovered the Mulekites who had come into the land from the North. Many believe the Mulekits came into the upper Midwest through the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. Their cultures merged and became as one.
The work of one dedicated researcher, who lives in the Midwest, Wayne May, has produced significant evidence that might identify ancient Zarahemla. It is on the Mississippi, directly across from Nauvoo. Joseph Smith called the site Zarahemla.
May has found much evidence of Moundbuilder earthworks there (See Ancient American: Archaeology of the Americas before Columbus, LDS, Special Edition IV).
We remember that later, some groups who had returned to the land of Nephi, in seeking Zarahemla, became lost. In the process they discovered ruins of the Jaredites with ancient dwellings of many kinds (Mosiah 8:8-11).
Moundsville, West Virginia, is so named because it contains very ancient earth mounds which pre-date those of the Nephites. They are credited to an earlier people, called the Adena, but which many believe were actually the Jaredites. Their timeline matches that of the Jaredites. In the nearby Museum, there are many artifacts, including one with a cross inside a circle. There is also an example of ancient writings. There were differing translations to the writing. It verified this culture, pre-dating the Nephites, had a knowledge of writing.
This site is of interest for many reasons. The group which became lost while trying to return to Zarahemla found instead the ruins of a great civilization. Some have postulated that the reason they might have gotten lost was because they followed the wrong River --- taking the Ohio rather than continuing up the Mississippi. Following the wrong river would have been very easy to do. And if that were true, it would have led them directly to Moundsville. And here indeed they would have found a great area of ruins --- ruins of the Jaredites, just as the Book of Mormon describes. [There may be other possibilities. But seeing the reality of this possibility is very satisfying].
The Defensive Structures and Actions of the Northern Moundbuilders : The archaeological record supports the military history of The Book of Mormon. At least ten physical evidences correlate with the military features described in its pages, which may answer the queston of many, “Why is so much of the Book of Mormon devoted to its wars.”
1. The Book of Mormon says the Nephites made two significant movements away from the Lamanites to protect themselves. The Moundbuilders in the north built the most fortifications. The Moundbuilders in the south left few defensive fortifications. The obvious reason was that the Southern Moundbuilders were not the ones being attacked. They were the attackers!
2. The ancient fortifications in the North are built just as the Book of Mormon describes --- extremely deep ditches before extremely high earthen walls (Alma 48:8; 49:2). One, built in the center of a mountainous area, reminds one of Jerusalem, which was a hilltop fortification. It really was exciting to feel this was likely one of the fortifications built under Captain Moroni. It consisted of a lower fort with the only place of entrance, then a narrow middle, and then a final, upper fortification.
This fort, as others, had places for water storage and could hold up to 60,000 people. It definitely fulfilled the concept of a “place of security” where the Nephites could flee from peaceful homes in the valley and stay for significant lengths of time in a temporary home.
3. As said, the fortifications were built with only one maze-like entrance where an invading army would be trapped by several bottlenecks, thus becoming vulnerable to those shooting weapons at them from above (Alma 49:4-5; 49:18, 20). When I was in Israel, I visited the fort at Megiddo. It too was built with a similar maze-like "place of entrance."
4. The Book of Mormon says when the Lamanites attacked the Nephite fortifications, they were thwarted by the high earth banks because they could not "throw their arrows" (Alma 49:4). The atlatl was indeed a weapon of that time, used, surprisingly to throw arrows. They had weights on the shaft to carry heavier arrow points, to travel further, and to sink deeper into the chest. No wonder the Nephites' built high walls which prevented their usage on them.
5. Each time their enemy came against them, the Nephites tried new tactics. They next learned to protect themselves with copper head plates and copper breast plates (Alma 49: 6.) Examples of such protective gear, made in copper, are on display in Midwestern museums.
6. The Nephites also came to wear garments of skin as protective "thick clothing" (Alma 49:6). This put the Lamanites at a great disadvantage who at first wore little clothing to cover their nakedness (Alma 3:5; 43:20). This would also suggest the Lamanites came from a warmer, more southern climate. If indeed the movements of the Nephites was generally north to separate themselves from the Lamanites, they would have developed the need for heavier clothing in general, as well as for war-time for protection.
7. The Nephites topped their high earth banks with wooden barricades and many watchtowers (Alma 50:2-4). Archaeological evidence supports these descriptions through the discovery and dating of post molds. Some wooden barricades were covered with light cement, most likely to prevent their being burned (Helaman 3:7, 9, 11). Evidences of all these things exist.
8. The Nephites built many fortifications. "Thus Moroni did prepare strongholds against the coming of their enemies, roundabout every city in all the land" (Alma 50:6). It has been pointed out that the building of such fortifications with barricades and watchtowers would have required cutting down a great number of trees, and most likely burning their stumps, as usually done. This is supported by physical evidence today. A stalagmite dated to 100 B.C. is covered heavily with carbon, showing a huge increase in the emission of carbon at that time, a great surprise to scientists. (See Wayne May, ed. "Ancient American: Archaeology of the Americas Before Columbuis, LDS Special Edition IV," p. 14).
9. The archeological record verifies that some of the Moundbuilders deliberately buried their weapons of war. At least two mounds were excavated which contained many buried weapons. They were not the usual burials where weapons were buried with their owners for the afterlife. Bushels of broken weapons were found buried in one mound at Mound City, Ohio. Another great mound, at Hopewell Group, contained 8,000 flint heads initially prepared for war, but never finished for war.
This archaeological record is supported by Native American traditions. The Hopi Indians, whose name means “the peaceful ones” hold the tradition that their ancestors buried their weapons. They also claim their ancestors built the Serpent Mound. Fascinating --- because the great Serpent Mound is in Southern Ohio, near the mounds where these weapons were buried.
While the Hopis now live in the West, many Eastern tribes migrated at some time, and these Hope traditions indicate some of their ancient ancestors once lived in these Eastern areas.
10. The Nephites did not live in the large hilltop forts, for they were "places of resort" only (Alma 52:6) --- places to leave their homes and escape to when the enemy came.
The Special Places for Righteous Lamanites: Before personally visiting Moundbuilder sites, I read of Ammon’s people who had been given a special place to live: in a place called Jershon, described as south of Bountiful.
I feel there is a very special place which fits Jershon.
There are remains of five striking and similar sites of mounds which are all built along the Scioto River in Southern Ohio. These sites were once made up of large earthen squares connected to circles. (Squiers and Davis’ diagrams of these sites are in Ancient Monuments, pp. 56-57, and are reproduced in Wayne May, ed., Ancient American, pp. 38-39).
Fascinatingly, all five sites were built exactly the same distance from each other. The sizes of the squares and the two circles at each site had exactly the same dimensions. These sites were all very carefully planned! The people of Ammon, five tribes of them initially, all moved into the land of Jershon together. Surprisingly, archaeologists have only been able to find evidence of two or three family groups who had lived at each site. And they found very little evidence of agriculture. They puzzled over how so few people could build such big earthworks!
But all these questions are easily answered if they were settled by the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. They likely had help from the Nephites in building their earthworks. This was a very peaceful valley. They had no defensive structures, but they were not far from the fortified “places of refuge” where they could run for safety. As described in the Book of Mormon, they are south of the largest, most complex, and most distinct of all the earthworks (See Squiers and Davis’ diagram of The Great Octagon, p. 66), believed by many to be Bountiful, the Nephite temple site.
The lack of permanent dwelling structures could be explained by the fact that the Lamanites used tents. Also, being formerly Lamanites, who traditionally did not engage in much agriculture, they likely continued to use the river and woods as their major sources for food.
Furthermore, the totally dominant patterns of circles and squares in their earth works indicate they were now a fully devoted people whose life concentrated, not on war or trade or sporting events, but on beautiful truth. This major truth is that a correct life [a life lived in exact righteousness] would lead to Eternal Life. We see this when we understand the symbolism of the earth structures that were built there.
In our Latter-day Saint temples today, we use the same religious symbols of circles and squares. If you look you will find them, although not in such large measures. One of the meanings of the square is a representation of earth. [Scriptures describe the earth as having four corners]. The circle represents heaven and eternity. When these two connect, it is signifying, “Where heaven meets earth.”
The movement of the worshippers is from the square into the circle. There are no other entrances and no other exits out of the circle. “Where Heaven meets earth” is precisely what the temple not only signifies, but “Is.”
Many of the Moundbuilder sites use the patterns of circles and squares. (See Squiers and Davis, “Sacred Enclosures,” in Ancient Monuments, pp. 47-103). However, that this symbolism was the absolutely dominant feature at all these five sites so close together is enormously remarkable. They truly are witnesses of a closely-knit and highly devoted people!
Furthermore, these five mound sites were close to two other mound sites where the people had literally buried thousands of unused arrow heads or bushels of broken up weapons. (The Book of Mormon says other Lamanites continued to join the righteous Nephites).
Seeing these mound sites was an impressive experience. And feeling this may have been where the people of Ammon lived added to its special significance.
The Place of Bountiful: An earthworks called “The Great Octagon’ in Newarks, Ohio, is different than most sites due to its size and its unique construction. It is described as one of the greatest of all religious sites, not only in the United States but in the world. Stonehenge would fit in just one small corner of it. It is unique in that it is an octagon rather than a square which connects to a great and final circle.
Why an octagon?
Those who have studied our own temple symbolism, where the octagon is often used, see it as symbolizing the Melchizidek Seal. But symbols often have more than one meaning. An octagon has eight sides. The number eight also signifies the Abrahamic Covenant. Faithful Latter-day saints should recognize these are both highly charged symbols for Eternal Life and Eternal Lives.
One other significant feature of the Great Octagon is that its features show astronomical alignments (See Meldrum, op.cit., pp. 106-113). Not only did the Moundbuilders keep careful records through calendars, but many Moundbuilder sites were in actually calendars in and of themselves!
Some Sailed Away. Where Did They Go? The Nephites in general continued to spread north, encountering “large bodies of water and many rivers” (Helaman 3:4). Many who place the Nephites in Eastern North America feel such references fit best the Great Lakes. (One would need ships, not canoes, to sail on the Great Lakes).
So, some eventually built large sailing vessels and “sailed forth and took their course northward” (Alma 63:5). Some of them returned briefly. Later more “set out ... to the land northward” (63:7). They were never heard from again. Some who sailed with them were formerly Lamanites.
As told, we do not know where they went. However, many of those who study linguistics and Indian tribal patterns point out that both the Algonkin speaking people and the Iroquoian speaking people are spread not only throughout the Eastern part of the United States, but also into significant portions of Eastern Canada. (See L. Taylor Hansen, He Walked the Americas, p. 200; and Olive Patricia Dickason, Canada’s First Nations, p. 33).
When the Europeans arrived in the New World, they found Native Americans not only in Mesoamerica and in what would become United States lands, but also in Canada. And what the Native Americans in Canada underwent paralleled those of the other parts of this larger continent. We have ignored them, but they too are definitely connected to the Book of Mormon people.
But some of those who sailed away may have sailed further northeast, into the Atlantic and from there to different areas altogether. The traditions of some Mesoamericans is that their ancestors actually came from the north and down along the East Coast. Also, evidences of Moundbuilders have been found in portions of South America.
One thing we should realize is that the Book of Mormon is really not a complete record of the peoples of these continents. There were undoubtedly many migrations, as the seed of Lehi, through over two thousand years, has spread into many parts of both continents. And often their seed has been mixed with that of other peoples also coming to this land at one time or another. The Book of Mormon verifies this when it tells that it has given less than a hundredth part of the record of Lehi's people alone, and that Jesus Christ, before leaving the Nephites who wrote the Book of Mormon, said He would visit “other sheep which are not of this fold.”
The Destructions at the Coming of Christ: Jesus Christ’s coming to the Nephites was accompanied by great destructions. The Book of Mormon ascribes these destructions to two great forces: a great and terrible storm, and a terrible shaking of the earth. However, its description of those earthquakes carries puzzling details.
These puzzling details are clarified however, by a series of earthquakes which occurred on the New Madrid Fault in Missouri in 1811/1812. It verifies all that the Book of Mormon describes for earthquake activity in that area. For one thing, the soil in the Midwestern/Eastern part of the United States allows for much more liquefaction, and thus greater and more unique damages.
Details of those earthquakes were accumulated in The Earthquake that American Forgot. Total similarities between the Book of Mormon account and these earthquakes are documented. The writers, Dr. David Stewart and Ray Knox, remind us that earthquakes release more powerful energy “in less time than any other force of nature” (p. 200). While the reader will find amazing parallels, they should also be advised of two major differences: One, the destructions at Christ’s time were obviously far more severe and total.
Second, the destructions at Christ’s time first began with and included a storm, much like a fierce Midwestern storm complete with tornadoes (3 Nephi 8:6). So some of what was experienced by the Nephites is explained by the results of that storm. Here are the similarities:
1. Thunder: The Book of Mormon said this storm was accompanied by thunder which “did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder” (3 Ne. 8:6). Those who experienced the earthquake of 1812 also said there were sounds like thunder. They described, “Frequent rumbling sounds were heard, resembling distant thunder”’ (p. 159). In their case the thundering was actually a part of the earthquake. For the Nephites, thunder likely came from both the earthquake and an accompanying storm.
2. Lightning: The Book of Mormon describes “exceedingly sharp lightning so that Zarahemla caught fire” (3 Ne. 8:7). This was likely caused by actual lightning accompanying the storm. But lightning was also seen in the 1812 earthquake. That is, a reverse lightning, emitted from earth to heaven. Scientists verify that quartz crystals when pressured can emit light. They can also produce forces which actually result in real lightning (pp. 232-233). But again, the Nephites likely saw lightning caused both by a storm and the earthquake.
3. Some cities burned (3 Nephi 9:9-10). Homes and cities did catch fire and burn in both Nephite times and in 1812. Fire is one of the great dangers of earthquakes. A usual cause are sources of heat or cooking which are broken or disturbed. In Nephite times, there were likely fires caused by both the earthquake and lightning from the storm.
4. Some cities sank into the sea (3 Ne. 8:9). A lot of the Moundbuilder cities were built on bodies of water. The quaking of the earth alone would cause some to sink into that water. During the earthquake of 1812, many places built on the shores of bodies of water did sink into the waters, particularly those built by Native Americans. In yet other cases, earthquakes caused huge waves to be hurled from the river, drowning many (p. 189).
Sometimes land just sank; in one case land sank as deep as twelve feet. Such depressions were then inundated with water as pressure on subterranean waters “caused the water to spout out of the pores of the ground to the height of eight or ten feet” (p. 145). In fact at least ten new earthquake lakes were formed from the earthquake of 1812 (p. 139).
5. Earth was carried up on cities. The Book of Mormon describes one city being covered by earth and becoming a mountain (3 Ne. 8:10). In the 1812 quake, great sand geysers were spewed from the earth, which buried some cities and created new areas of height. One witness said prior to the earthquake he could see level prairies and meadows with small patches of woods. After the earthquake he saw in the same place both ponds and sand hills (p. 157). There were other reports of low places being lifted up to new heights (p. 183).
6. Some people were carried away in the whirlwind (3 Ne. 8:16). Because the earthquakes of 1811/12 were not accompanied by a storm, (Those earthquakes hit in mid-winter), there were no reports of tornadoes. However, the Midwestern area is the major place on earth for tornadoes. They are more frequent in the spring time, the time of Jesus’ crucifixion. This statement in the Book of Mormon does indicate their earthquake really did occur simultaneously with a devastating storm. Thus the terrible destruction of the earthquake was multiplied by the terrible destruction of whirlwinds.
7. The quakings lasted for the space of three hours (3 Ne. 8:19). The time that the Book of Mormon says its earthquakes lasted is astonishing to persons who have experienced much briefer earthquakes and know how much damage can be done in just a few seconds or minutes. But reports of the 1812 earthquake also describe its timing as very long. “The earth was not at rest for an hour” (p. 191). In fact during a period of months, they felt over 2,000 temblors. Some were more destructive and lasted longer than others. Again, the earthquake which occurred at the time of Christ was evidently much stronger and much more devastating, and its length was also much greater.
8. Thick darkness of vapor prevailed Upon all the face of the land the Nephites could feel the vapor of darkness (3 Nephi 8:20). Interestingly, what was described was a “vapor of darkness,” not just heavy dust experienced temporarily in many earthquakes. Descriptions of the 1812 earthquake also spoke of “vapor.” One eyewitness specifically said “a dense black cloud of vapor overshadowed the land.”
9. They could get no light because of the thick darkness: (3 Ne. 8:21). The 1812 earthquake also produced a total dousing of light. One witness said, “Within minutes vapors rising from the ground had produced a thick blanket of fog blotting out the stars. It became pitch black” (p. 144). Another said the darkness was "so dense" any light made no difference (p. 237). Note the description of the darkness as “dense.” The Nephites would have had less protected sources of light, [i.e., no glass covers] which would explain their not being able to ignite any fire at all due to the heavy vapor.
10. Neither the sun, moon or stars could be seen due to the great mists of darkness (3 Ne. 8:22). In 1812, one minister also reported “the sun, moon, and stars were concealed by a mist and fog which dropped like a heavy dew” (p. 237).
11. The Darkness lasted for three days (3 Ne. 8:23). The minister quoted above also reported that this heavy vapor of darkness they experienced lasted from December 16 until December 19, a period of around four days (p. 237).
12. The whole face of the land was changed (3 Ne. 8:12-13). In both accounts, one of the major similarities was the awe of those who survived and saw the land afterwards. Peoples of both times spoke in amazement of how the land was completely changed.
13. Great Loss of Life. Several cities are listed as completely disappearing due to the 1811/12 earthquakes, but this does not include many Indian villages and other white settlements. Note that the population of these lands was not as dense in 1812 as it was at the coming of Christ.
Earthquakes on the New Madrid fault have re-occurred during consistent periods, and the regularity of their timing could have placed them as occurring around the time of Christ. Because of the type of soil in the Midwest and East, it is known that earthquakes in that area have amazingly far-reaching effects. We see here that all of the destructions recorded in the Book of Mormon are compatible with what actually occurred in these same Moundbuilder lands. (For additional details see, The Earthquake America Forgot, compiled by Dr. David Stewart and Dr. Ray Knox, 1995, from eyewitness accounts, newspaper articles, personal journals and correspondence, as well as on location research).
A Great Time of Peace Amid Times of War. The archaeological record verifies there were times of great war and one time of great peace. These periods fit the time-line of the Book of Mormon. Among the greatest times of war was the century just before Christ and after 400 A.D.
Archaeologists have also noted one time of great peace, beginning at a time that parallel’s Christ’s time and lasting a few hundred years. They noted an absence of wounds from fighting in burials in the time between early A.D. and about 400 A.D., called the Middle Woodland time period. (George R. Milner, The Moundbuilders: Ancient Peoples of Eastern North America, London: Thames & Hudson, 2004, pp. 9, 85).
Where the Book of Mormon Ends: There are many evidences that the Hill Cumorah as currently identified is that same one described in The Book of Mormon and that the Book of Mormon ends near it as it also says.
1. The Hill Cumorah was a place where not just one record was kept but wagon loads of records were kept, as was testified to by several of the highest leaders of the church who saw them inside the Hill
2. In one of Squier’s mid 1800 studies of the Moundbuilders, he found in Western New York State many examples of great warfare. The defensive works there, compared to those in the Midwest, were “constructed in haste.” [Suggesting they were built by a people on the run]. Inside the trenches he found “skeletons of adults of both sexes, of children and infants,.… They seem to have been thrown together promiscuously… a scene of one of those indiscriminate massacres so common in the history of savage warfare” (Antiquities
of the State of New York, pp. 24-5).
3. As he went from site to site he wrote of “bone pits,” of “bone hills,” and even of at least one “Bone Fort.” Its name had come from earlier inhabitants who had found inside the fort a mound of bones with a base of thirty feet and an height of six feet (p. 66).
4. In the 1900’s, soil samples stretching out in distances from the Hill Cumorah were scientifically determined by James E. Talmage, while a graduate chemistry student at Cornell University, to still hold unusually high portions of calcium, likely from the decayed bones of the Nephites (Riley L. Dixon, Just One Cumorah, 1958, 147-49).
Thus the tragic end of the Nephites was not hidden under stone structures where their witness could not be read. Rather their bones were left out in the open for us in the modern age to discover --- that we might know of a surety that the warnings to the wicked from the Book of Mormon cannot be ignored.
So many of those joining the Church today come from Latin American countries. Doesn’t that show they are the Lamanites and the Book of Mormon happened there? This question has puzzled me. But let us consider. Because some structures built in Mexico and in Central America are similar to the North American Moundbuilders, all are undoubtedly Lehi’s descendants. The major body of the Lamanites are believed to have remained largely in the southern part of the U.S. where Lehi landed. Meanwhile the Nephites kept moving north to separate from them for protection. If one looks at a map of America, one sees the curvature of the Gulf Coast around to Texas, down to Mexico, and further south. The Lamanites, we know, became more numerous. Those who did not move north would likely have expanded westward along the bountiful coasts where they could harvest fish/shellfish for food. Remember they remained more of a hunting, gathering people, and likely would have generally shunned the land’s interior where growing one’s own food was more necessary. Most would have remained next to the bounteous, large bodies of water. That route would have led them eventually into Mexico and Central America and places further south. (We are dealing with centuries here).
We can see why they would build similar structures, but of stone. The heavy rains and humid climate of that area would have caused earth to erode and wood to decompose very quickly. Stone made much greater sense to them. The traditions among these people are that they eventually became subservient to a culture and a priesthood who introduced human sacrifice.
The Book of Mormon prophecies about the Lamanites in the Latter-days becoming a strong and righteous people in the last days really are being fulfilled by the descendants of the many who migrated into Mexico and Central America and further south.
And it appears the major body of the Nephites, who moved north, was destroyed, and the structures they left of earth became less noticeable than those of stone in Mesoamerica. The wood portions had long before decomposed. Therefore their existence has been overlooked --- until recently.
So precisely what the Book of Mormon prophesied has come to pass. The archaeological record supports that the Nephites were destroyed, but many descendants of the Lamanites who expanded south, have grown in force, and are now being brought into Christ’s fold. It is remarkable to see how these realities fit with Book of Mormon prophecies.
Are all those who live in Latin America descendants of only Lehi? The answer is “definitely not.”
However, because of a consistent pattern of inter-marriage, a great majority likely have Lehi’s blood in them, just as the rest of the House of Israel has been mixed among the Gentiles.
There are some other things we need to know and to consider.
1. The legends of the Native Americans themselves is that there were several invasions of Asiatic peoples which came down among them along the West Coast, particularly in the centuries after Christ (See He Walked the Americas, pp. 107, 128, 200). This Asiatic blood is mixed among the people of Latin America, as is the blood of peoples of many other cultures, such as that of Africa. But as long as the people also contain the blood of Lehi, they should be considered as among Lehi’s descendants.
2. There are many prophecies that Manasseh’s descendants would help carry out the great Latter-day missionary work.
We should recognize that Lehi was only one of the many descendants of Manasseh. I feel an argument can be made that among those who immigrated into Latin America (particularly from Italy, Spain and Portugal but also from Asia), are likely many containing the blood of Manasseh, just as we know that many who immigrated into North America contained the blood of Ephraim. These immigrants, combined with those who are descendants of Manasseh through Lehi, would together make up a great force. So it is possible that when the prophets prophesied, "It is Ephraim and Manasseh who will minister salvation unto the whole house of Israel in the last days,” that prophecy may include immigrants from Manasseh to the New World in addition to Lehi's descendants. (Bruce R. McConkie, Millennial Messiah, p. 190).
Recently Verified Evidences Some Eastern Native American Indians Are Israelites:
1. A stone found at a place called Bat Creek contained verified ancient Hebrew writings. And that writing has recently been verified as set at the time of the Nephites. The inscription itself says “To the Judeans."[i]
2. There was an amazing earthen structure made in the shape of a Middle Eastern olive oil lamp by the Moundbuilders which also contained inside it the shape of an earthen Menorah. [ii] The mound itself was deliberately destroyed in the 1800’s, but the diagrams of it have recently been called to the attention of Latter-day Saints. This evidence alone should be heralded as solid proof of Israelites in North America.
3. There is unique pre-Columbian mitochondrial DNA from northeastern Native Americans of a type (Haplogroup X2) which is most strongly found in the Near East (specifically in Druze populations in Israel, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan). This indicates that the Near East is the geographic origin for this DNA type. [iii]
4. According to research by Geraldine Brooks for a book based upon the story of an early Native American who graduated from Harvard, Caleb's Crossing, the guttural sounds of the Native Americans was considered so much like the guttural sounds of the Hebrew language that this caused many early colonists to believe the Indians were part of the Lost Tribes.
Beyond the Book of Mormon? There are North American Native American traditions, both written and oral, that verify the end of the Book of Mormon as well as its prophecies of what happened next --- after 400 A.D., when the Nephites in general were destroyed and the Lamanites were left on their own.
These fascinating traditions were reviewed by one Native American leader speaking to others at a Great Council.
He first reminded everyone that they were all once one people and had come from the same homeland. He also reminded that they all had the same religious symbols in their clothing.
He also indicated that the Great Fair God had visited them all, had taught them the truth, and had warned them of what would happen in the future if they did not obey.
He said that one group [apparently after 400 A.D.] lived north and his group lived south. He said that eventually due to the storms (apparently hurricanes) and the earth shaking in their southern islands, and one war-like tribe who wanted to conquer the others, his people moved north. Many came in their canoes up the Mississippi River. They also came north to find food, through the herds of bison which roamed the plains in the North.
He admitted that in coming north, they killed or dispossessed some of those who lived there first.
He also said there eventually arose one of their number who wanted to conquer all the Native American peoples throughout the North American lands, from East to West. This great warrior raised great armies, which included many of the tribes of the North.
But he said that unfortunately "more of the hordes of the Northmen [Asians] coming afresh down the West Coast decimated his armies.” The eventual result was, “civil war broke out. Each tribe took to the forest, to raid and pillage and play at war games like naughty children.” In other words, any form of central government ceased. All the Native Americans broke into separate tribes.
He also said that their wise men told them that once the great fair God “Great Waicomah” (likely Christ) predicted that
it would be so. He had even warned of the coming of the White Man as a result, who would eventually overcome them all.
He also said his memory and the memory of most Native American peoples of Great Waicomah is “greatly garbled.”
Interestingly, such prevalent traditions help clarify why so much Asian DNA is among the Native Americans in the Western U.S. and in Mesoamerica. It also verifies what the Book of Mormon warned would be the fate of the descendants of Lehi in the North America --- until the Latter-days. (See “The Voice of the Dacotah", in Taylor L. Hansen, He Walked the Americas, pp. 76-78).
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[i] J. Huston McCulloch, “The Bat Creek Stone Revisited: A Reply to Mainfort and Kwas in American
Antiquity, Feb. 23, 2005, reproduced at http://www.econ.ohio-state.edu/jhm/arch/AmerAntiq.pdf; see also American
Petrographic Services, Inc., “Report of Archaeopetrography Investigation,” July 14, 2010, reproduced at
http://www.ampetrographic.com/files/BatCreekStone.pdf.
[ii] This earthen structure shaped like a Middle Eastern olive oil lamp was diagramed by Smithsonian sponsored scientists Squier and Davis and is in their collection, Ancient Monumets of The Mississippi Valley, p. 95.
[iii] Liran I. Shlush, et al, “The Druze: A Population Genetic Refugium of the Near East,”PLoS ONE 3(5): e2105 (2008) (concluding that the much higher frequency and diversity of subhaplogroup X2 in the Near East points to the Near East as the most likely geographical origin of the DNA type).