Samuel The Lamanite

In Helaman 13: 32-33 Samuel the Lamanite uses a poetic structure known as "parallelism of specification" that is a very common form of biblical poetry.  It states "O that I had repented, and had not killed the prophets, and stoned them and cast them out."  Its obvious that Samuel was influenced by Nephi's earlier description of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, only he did his in reverse order.

Biblical scholars have recently recognized this literary device used in times of old to draw attention.  So litteraly samuel as well as writers and biblical poets of old hoped that the reader would recognize the obvious error, thus causing the reader to pay more attention to the text as a whole. 

Samuel the Lamanite

Were the Jaredites and the Olmecs the same people?

Were the Jaredites the "first Americans"?  The Jaredites fit in the Book of Mormon timeline roughly 1500-400B.C.  This timeline fits nicely with the Olmec civilization commonly known by their giant rock head sculptures.   So were the Jaredites non other than the Olmecs?

If the Jaredites were infact the Olmecs then what can we gather about the Olmecs that corresponds with what we know about the Jaredites?  Carlos De Siguenza y Gongorra (1645-1700) gave us some interesting information abut the original settlers of Mexico.  Gongorra said that he "arrived at the curiously definite results that the original settlers descended from Naphtuhim, son of Mizraim and grandson of Noah, who left Egypt for Mexico shortly after the confusion of the tongues."  Naphtuhim is the plural form of "Nephet" which means honeycomb.  It means honeycomb people or beekeepers, or people of deseret.  In Ether 2:3 speaking of Jaredite preperation it states "and they did also carry with them deseret, which, by interpretation, is honeybee; and thus they did carry with them swarms of bees."

Jaredite and Olmec Territory

King Benjamin's Address

A list of features associated with the Feast of the Tabernacles that are also found in connection with the Nephite assembly  and address under King Benjamin.
- The people assemble at the templs
- King or political leader reside on a raised platform
- Special sacrifices are offered
- Exhortations addressed to the adults specifically excludes children
- The law is read (specifically the paragraph of the king)
- Gods mercy and salvation are mentioned
- Recitations are made of Gods dealings with his people, his commandments, cursings and blessings of the law.
- People are exhorted to love and serve God , and promised prosperity if they do
- Sometimes the coronation of a king is involved and he blesses the people
- These and many more correlations exist between the address of Benjamin and the Feast of Tabernacles.

King Benjamin Addressing his people

Nephi's Bow

When Nephi broke his bow (and his brothers bows lost their spring) he didn't break the arrows.  Why does he specifically mention making a wooden bow and arrows in (1 Nephi 16:23)?  If the bows draw weight and the arrows stiffness are not matched then the arrow will stray off course.  Nephi's steel bow would have used heavier arrows thus the need to make new arrows.

The weakening of Nephi's bow would have been compounded by changing ecology.  Composite bows were blued together and bound in certain ways.  Moisture in the air can cause expansions and contractions which weaken the bow.  So one assumes Nephi's bow is a metal inforced composite bow rather than 100% metal.  If this is the case it would have broke along major stress points.

-William Hamblin

Nephi and his bow

Cumorah's Hill

Know one doubts that the hill where Joseph Smith received the plates is known as Cumorah but is the hill where the final battles between the Nephites and Lamanites took place another Cumorah?  The Book of Ether tells us that Omer traveled to this place of the last battles of the Nephites, and that the relatively short duration of this journey would not account for 3000 miles from middle America to New York.  A similar journey was undertaken by Lemhi's men, of equally short duration.  The description of the geographical features around the final battle site is also at odds with the topography of present day Cumorah. 

For many years now a number of Book of Mormon students have held that the Cumorah of the Book of Mormon, the one in which Mormon originally hid the records of his people (Mormon 6:6), and the one around which the final battles between the Nephites and Lamanites took place (Mormon 6:8-15), was located somewhere in the area of Mexico and Guatemala, not in New York.

The Hill Cumorah

Abinadi and the message

If we compare the speech given by Abinadi to wicked King Noah to that of King Benjamin to the Nephites from his tower on high, you'll notice 25 distinct teachings not only taught by both of the prophets, but given in the same order at times and almost verbatim.  If we compare their time lines you'll notice that Abinadi was dead for 36 years by the time King Benjamin gave his famous speech.
In Mosiah 3:3 we find that King Benjamin was visited by an angel who stated, "awake and hear the words which I shall tell thee; for behold, I am come to declare unto you glad tidings of great joy."  Is it possible that this angel is none other than Abinadi?  They sure taught the same things.  Notice what Benjamin says, "the things which I shall tell you are made known unto me by an angel" (Mosiah 3:2)...its almost scripted all the way through.  Well you can make your own decision but I think there's a correlation between these two messages.

Abinadi

Christ in the Americas

In 3 Nephi 11:13-15 it states, "and it came to pass that the Lord spoke unto them saying; arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.  And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands nad in his feet: and ths they did do going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record that it was he of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.
In 3 Nephi 17:25 we seethat more than 2500 felt the prints in the Saviors hands, feet and side at Bountiful.  If each person took on average 15 seconds to do so, this would have roughly taken about 10 hours and 45 minutes, which is quite an accomplishment when compared to our average 8 hour work day, just so the Savior could prove to each individual who he truly is.

Christ at Bountiful

Ancient Cement Cities (in the lands Northward)

Helaman 3:9,12

9. and the people who were in the land Northward did dwell in tents, and in houses of cement, and they did suffer whatsoever tree should spring up upon the face of the land that it tshould grow up, that in time they might have timber to build their houses, yea, their cities, and their temples, and their synagogues, and their sanctuaries, and all manner of their buildings.
12. and it came to pass that there were many of the people of Ammon, who were lamanites by birth, did also go forth into this land.

If the Book of Mormon did in fact take place in Mesoamerica one can follow the cement cities of Palenque, Monte Alban, El Tajin, Teotihuacan, La Quemada, and Paqime all the way to modern day Arizona and the lands of the Hopi and other Pueblo tribes who are a peaceful people like the people of Ammon and who dwell in a form of cement pueblos.  Of course many of these cities do date to Book of Mormon times and many others are after but one has to take into consideration the migration timeframes and understand that the Pueblo people (Hopi) are a migrating people. 

Ancient Cement Cities Map

Urim and Thummim

"on the morning of September 22nd, after Joseph had returned from the hill, he placed the article (Nephite interpreters) of which he spoke into my hands, and, upon examination, I found that it consisted of two smooth three cornered diamonds set in glass, and the glasses were set in silver bows, which were connected with each other in much the same way as old fashioned spectacles." -Lucy Mack Smith (History of Joseph Smith by his Mother Lucy Mack Smith)

The meaning of the words Urim is rendered as haw-oo-reem, or lights; Thummim is rendered veh-hat-toom-meen, or perfections; the septuagint render them as revelation and truth. - Popular Bible Encyclopedia

Urim and Thummim

Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent)

The story of the life of the Mexican divinity, Quetzalcoatl, closely resembles that of the Savior, so closely, indeed, that we can come to no other conclusion than that Quetzalcoal and Christ are the same being.  But the history of the former has been handed down to us through an impure Lamanitish source, which has sadly disfigured and perverted the original incidents and teachings of the Savior's life and ministry. (President John Taylor)

The symbolism behind the Feathered Serpent as Quetzalcoatl makes more since when we look at what it actually is.  The feathers represet the macaw bird common among Mesoamerica who flies in the sky.  And the serpent represents the snake that lives below the ground.  This symbolism is that of Jesus who ascened above all things (like a bird) and below all things (like a snake).  I find this as great imagery...with purpose.

Quetzalcoatl the Feathered Serpent

Lachoneus and Gidgiddoni

Lachoneus and Gidgiddoni were some of the greatest political and military leaders of the Nephites and kind of go under the raidar when compared to other heroes of the scriptures.  They were able to devise a plan that single handedly put an end to the Gadianton robbers. Unfortunatly they Nephites and Lamanites eventually sunk back into sin and pride which lead to the Gadianton robbers forming and prospering again. 

In 3 Nephi 3:16,19 it says, " and so great and marvelous were the words and prophecies of Lachoneus that they did cause fear to come upon all people; and they did exert themselves in their might to do according to the words of Lachoneus.

and in verse 19 it says, now it was the cusom among all the Nephites to appoint for their Chief Captains (save it were in their times of wickedness) someone that had the spirit of revelation and also prophecy; therefore, this Gidgiddoni was a great prophet among them, as also was the Chief Judge. (meaning Lachoneus).

Lachoneus and Gidgiddoni

And It Came To Pass (uitya)

The phrase "and it came to pass" occurs in the english translation of the Book of Mormon 1,381 times.  Add to this derivatives of the phrase such as "now it came to pass", "for behold it came to pass", "but behold it came to pass", and "it shall come to pass", and it adds to over1500 times.  The phrase is not unique to the Book of Mormon.  It occurs 526 times in the Old Testament and 87 times in the New Testament.  This fact suggests tht the phrase "and it came to pass" is hebrew in orgin and correlates with 1 Nephi 1:2.

Glyphs of the 7th century AD Maya ruins at Palenque, as well as the ruins of Copan which date to at least 426 AD both have been found to contain the "and it came to pass" "i-u-ti" and "utiya" glyphs...as well as many other locations according to Daniel Johnson, author of "An LDS Guide To Mesoamerica".  The great american author Mark Twain said that if you took out all of the "and it came to pass(es)" out of the Book of Mormon you would only have a pamphlet.

"And It Came To Pass" Maya Glyph "utiya"

Abish

Abish is distinguished because she is one of only three women named in the Book of Mormon.  One sentence found in Alma 19:16 is very informative, "she having been converted unto the Lord for many years, on account of a remarkable vision of her father." As Daniel H. Ludlow explains in his book "A Companion To Your Study of The Book of Mormon" this statement may have two possible interpretations.  One is that Abish had a vision and in her vision she saw her father, the other is that the vision is actually had by her father.  Regardless of which is corect this conversion of Abish plays an important role in a large number of Lamanites.

Abish

Father Lehi

We honor father Lehi as one of the great and noble ones; as the head of a major dispensation of the gospel of Jesus Christ; the father of a multiude of nations; as a prophet, seer, and revelator; a loving, caring parent and husbandk; a man of courage and convictions; one given a land inheritance forever for himself and posterity; a pioneer and explorer, a patriarch and inspired scribe; an examplar and a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.  As his vision extended forward, may hiposterity of today extend their visio backward to the greatness of this exemplary patriarch.

                                                                                               - H. Don L Peterson

Father Lehi