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Book of Mormon Geography

Book of Mormon Geography Found- Mexican Highland Continental Model (summary)

by Lance Weaver

Main complex of Teotihuacan. Built up in response to Gadianton aggression circa 17 AD when Lachoneus moved the capital from Cholula (Zarahemla), gathering the Nephite nation from the surrounding lands to create the largest and most impressive multicultural urbanization endeavor the North American continent had ever known.
Monte Alban Temple Complex. Circa 550 BC, Nephi led the natives of the Oaxaca Valley to create one of the most impressive temple complexes ever attempted, by shearing off the top of a 1000 foot hill they created a new-world ‘Mount Zion’. Patterned after Jerusalem with large promenades, tombs, massive side-walls and several large east facing two room-two columned temples placed before large alters and basins.

Outline

This article is only a very rough draft summary of a much larger book I’m writing which I don’t expect to finish for at least a decade. The basic outline of this model came to my brother and I in a series of dreams/morning visions and research about 20 years ago shortly after returning from our LDS missions. Since those initial experiences a continual stream of incredibly insights, dreams/visions and ideas have come to me which have helped me unravel and understand parts of this model which not even I believed early on. Since those initial experiences I’ve been through the up and downs of life and have even done my best to lose faith and run from the calling I believe I received to reveal the correct Book of Mormon geographic model and help convince the Natives Americans of Oklahoma, the US Southwest, and West/South-central Mexico of the truth of these ancestral groups of theirs. Ultimately this convincing will be done the same way it was for me–through dreams and visions where ancestors visit their progeny and pass onto them the riches of their heritage through spiritual means.

And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams (Acts 2:17)
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. (Romans 11:25)
But they shall be gathered again; but they shall remain until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And in that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars, and the whole earth shall be in commotion, and men’s hearts shall fail them, and they shall say that Christ delayeth his coming until the end of the earth. (D&C 45:25–26)


  1. Introduction
    1. Summery of what sets this model apart.
  2. Internal Model. (compare a bit to heartland and Mesoamerica)
  3. The Continental Model of Joseph Smith
  4. The writings of Ixtlilxochitl
  5. The Caractors document.
  6. The Narrow Neck.
  7. Arrival of the Jaredites (put after Nephites?)
  8. Omer and his household
  9. Post Dearth Jaredite culture
  10. Colonial arrivals (arrival writing, pyramids)
  11. Olmec or Zapotec as the mother culture? (Emergence of Zapotec hieroglyphic writing and calendrics to Mesoamerica)
  12. The move the Zarahemla
  13. The Seven Tribes of Early athors (find quotes) Matching BOM seven tribes.
  14. Zeniff and the City of Nephi
    1. Towers AND temple matching so well Noah’s building project.
  15. The emergence of the Zapotec Military State. (skull racks & warefare)
  16. Captain Moroni: Fortifying the Balsas Basin & Mexican Highland
    1. Mixtec sites move to fortresses & garrisons on East Coast.
  17. The people of Ammon in Jershon, linguistics matching matriarchal society of…
    1. Could the major Burial of Chiape de Corzo be Lamoni’s father?
  18. Lachoneous and the Founding of Teotihuacan
  19. Cataclysms at the coming of Christ
    1. Ixtextla records. Known volcanism and destruction of towns. PROBLEMS WITH RADIOCARBON DATING. (see txt file ‘anomalous old c14 dates in archaeology papers folder in drive)
    2. Tetimpa, Cuicuilco and Cholula were covered with volcanic ash like Pompaii right near the time of Christ. Zarahemla of Sorenson or Usamacinta models are 100 miles or more from the single active volcanic center. [make map of mexico’s active volcanoes]
  20. The tents, houses of cement (adobe) and shipping of timber in the desolate southwest.
  21. The golden or ‘Classic’ age of Zion
  22. Was Mormon Anasazi? A case for time discrepancies in 4rth Nephi
  23. The land of Desolation (matching accounts of Aztlan so well)
  24. The destruction of American Civilization
Book of Mormon Geography Continental Model

 

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Introduction

This article presents the new Mexican Highland-continental model Book of Mormon Geographic correlation. With this model, essentially every culture the texts mentions end up being a major culture found by modern archaeologists. In fact, essentially all the largest North American prehistoric cultures are represented in this model of the Book of Mormon text. This unique continental model also correlates incredibly closely to the beliefs of Joseph Smith and other early LDS prophetic figures.

Far from sticking the Book of Mormon location into a small Mesoamerican or Heartland corner, our model correlates the texts most mentioned cities with the most influential Mesoamerican archaeological ruins. Zarahemla and the Nephites are correlated with arguably the largest cities and most dominate, powerful prehistoric culture on the continent — Teotihuacan/Cholula and the Mexican Highland/Balsas Basin culture. The Lamanites are correlated with what was likely the most sophisticated and populous culture in American prehistory — the Maya. The City of Nephi with its towers, priest cult and expensive public works correlates with the great Zapotec fortress of Monte Alban, which sat between the Maya (Lamanite) and Highland (Nephite) cultures. The River Sidon matches with what many consider Mexico’s most economically important & strategic water way– the Rio Balsas.

The book of Mormon’s ‘Land Northward’ stretches from the rock & cement great-houses of the ancient Puebloan peoples in the desert southwest, where Joseph Smith taught “the Nephites lost their power”, all the way through Mississippian and Hopewell peoples of the Eastern United States.

The early Jaredites end up largely corresponding to not only the first inhabitants on the continent but also the only North American culture that archaeologists have found to have coexisted with elephants and other extinct mega-fauna (Paleoindian, Clovis & Folsom cultures). They expanded to cover both Northern America and Mexico instead of just a part of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (proto-Adena as well as Olmec & all other archaic to early formative/woodland groups). And the destruction of the Nephite culture described in the text, corresponds to the well-known collapse of essentially half the major cultures on the North American continent between the radiocarbon dates of 1050-1150 AD from Tula to West Mexico and the Anasazi/Ancient Puebloans as well as Cahokia and Cumorah (peoples of the ‘Land Northward).

Truly all the main events of the Book of Mormon have been found by archaeologists and correspond with the most notable events in North American prehistory. However, most LDS scholars have overlooked these amazing correlations because of hang-ups involving their mistaken narrow neck and radiocarbon/timeline issues which we explain in detail.

 

 

The Failure of All Other Models

LDS scholars have tried to find a convincing correlation between the Book of Mormon narrative and archaeological evidence for 150 years and yet are still squarely split between three predominate models. Why? Simply put, there is no perfect match to the geography described in the Book of Mormon. All models contain a number of substantial problems between the text and available archaeological evidence.

In my model I believe this failure has been the result of most models being primarily based on two things that ancients were typically VERY bad at. A solid understanding of the geography of sparsely populated regions and shorelines such as the Book of Mormon narrow neck — and keeping highly accurate long-term calendar systems. Just a cursory look at maps made before the revolutionary charting technology of the Renaissance age helps one to understand how differently ancient people saw the world. Cultures without pervasive sea-going capabilities and nautical instruments simply could not accurately map many shorelines. Calendars and succession chronologies also, were typically anchored to partially mythic or random historical events such as a king’s assertion to the throne or a natural disaster—and often historical texts and genealogies contained large gaps or false interpolations between these events. Modern Mormon scholars have simply expected too much of the past prophet/historians who compiled the Book of Mormon.

REWRITE THIS. PART OF IT IS MISUNDERSTANDING PART MIGHT BE POOR WORDING BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE. In a following chapter we provide overwhelming evidence that most early geographers had rudimentary knowledge of shorelines in the places where few people ventured. We suggest that because of the impassible nature of the Great Salado Basin & Chihuahua Desert, Mormon similarly believed the East & West Sierra Madre Mountain Ranges to be the same single range. [shortly discuss the fact that only ONE of the seven references seems to suggest this, the others suggest Baja as the narrow neck] Mistaking the narrow east & west Mexico travel corridors for another ‘narrow neck of land’ or “narrow pass” like many of the others found in Central America.

We also devote a chapter to explaining why the radiocarbon techniques used to date the North American post-classic cultural collapses do not seem to correspond with the Book of Mormon dates. [reword. They might, its just not nearly as good a match as the post classic collapse, which matches in EVERY regard]. Even though the evidence of cultures, populations, settlement patterns, war, cannibalism, cultural destruction and abandonment and desolation stretching all the way from the Toltec and Maya through the Anasazi lands and Cahokia seem to match amazingly with what is described in the book of Mormon text. For this discrepancy we give two possible explanations. One being skewed radiocarbon dates caused by a type of marine reservoir effect of excess carbon 14 introduced by a massive comet and CME hitting the Pacific Ocean at the time of Christ (much like the similar but smaller documented 774 AD event). And the other being a rather convincing argument that there were actually two large comet impacts in the Pacific Ocean which corresponded with two separate Quetzalcoatl figures in the Nephite (and Aztec) annals. One at the death of Christ and one at 774 AD which combined with a few other calendrical issues, caused Mormon to mistakenly believe he lived around 400 years after the death of Christ, when in fact he actually lived 400 years after 774 AD and Lord Quetzalcoatl the ruler of _____. [express that this is the far more convincing possibility, although we should hold space for both camps of thought.]

This model is different than most others in that it focuses on correlating cultures, events and actual archaeological cities instead of focusing so much on radiocarbon dates and the narrow neck. We also show the significance of considering the Book of Mormon a ‘channeling’ instead of a ‘translation’. Channeling, or the act or practice of a mystic somehow ‘seeing’ events across space and time and/or serving as a medium through which an angel or spirit purportedly communicates with living persons was very common during the Second Great awakening, and far better explains the anachronisms and issues which exist in the Book of Mormon text. By looking at the text as a more fluid product of visionary ability instead of a literal translation, amazing correlations become apparent. Book of Mormon events begin to align with all the major cultural movements & conflicts found in North American prehistory, and a [there’s complexities that I may or may not want to mention here of Medieval/Norman influence being the primary lens through which BOM translation occurred].

Book of Mormon Geography
Illustration depicting the actual geography of North America versus what the ancient authors of the Book of Mormon may have thought the geography looked like [add the Early Spanish map showing the Spanish made the same mistake]

Illustration depicting the actual geography of North America versus what the ancient authors of the Book of Mormon may have thought the geography looked like. {Change defense line to names of cultures/bom peoples with dates of existence.}

The Continental Model of Joseph Smith

From the available documented evidence, it is apparent Joseph held a continental view of Book of Mormon Geography.  Quotes by Joseph Smith or statements attributed to him point to a belief in four major areas of Book of Mormon happenings.

  • He believed the Lehites to have landed in South America (refs)
  • He believed them to have travelled to Central America to settle (with cities like Zarahemla being there). (refs)
  • He believed them to have ‘lost their power’ (i.e. the Land Desolation) in the U.S. Southwest. (refs)
  • He believed Cumorah and the final battle to be in New York, and much of North America to be the Book of Mormon ‘Land Northward’. (refs)

-quote of landing in Chile or a bit south of the isthmus of Darian

-quote of Land of Lehi (lands of Nephi, Zarahemla and Bountiful) was in Mesoamerica

-quote of Desolation being the Desert Southwest (ancient Puebloan cultures)

-quote of Cumorah and final battle being in New York.

Use my article AND the farms ones.  http://mormonuniversalism.com/449/joseph-smith-quotes-on-book-of-mormon-geography/, https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Book_of_Mormon/Geography/Statements/Nineteenth_century/Joseph_Smith%27s_lifetime_1829-1840, https://www.fairmormon.org/blog/2010/04/02/book-of-mormon-geography-in-joseph-smiths-day

 

 

 

An Internal Model

Go through and do a one-page summary of needed internal model aspects.  Get from intro to my already done internal model web article.

[pic of internal model]

The Narrow Neck

A study of ancient maps and geographies suggests that modern LDS Scholars have expected too much from ancient Book of Mormon authors by supposing pre-Columbian cultures had a modern understanding of continental geography and shorelines. Indeed, although many ancients understood well the spatial relationships for populated places, or places they had been, the understanding of uninhabited wildernesses and continental shorelines seems to have been very poor among cultures without widespread use of boats containing some type of nautical navigation technology.

Our model proposes that much like Sabastian Munster’s early map of the New World, Book of Mormon authors seemed to have thought there to be another ‘narrow neck’ between the narrow coastal ‘passes’ of Northern Mexico. A misunderstanding likely caused by a belief that the Eastern and Western Sierra Madre mountain ranges were one and the same range. An easy mistake to make given their lack of travel through the nearly impenetrable and uninhabited Mapimi Basin of the Chihuahua Desert. Indeed historical texts show that essentially ALL travel & trade instead, occurred along the ‘narrow passes’ between the coasts and the steep mountain ranges, with only a few sparsely inhabited mining communities existing in the Deserts of the northern interior.

Note that Cabeza De Vaca, after being marooned in the New World and living with the Natives for years in regions all the way from Florida to West Mexico, still though late in life that northern California somehow shared the continent with Asia. He describes the mental geography he had created in his mind after living with the natives thusly.

These people [Southwest Natives] … must come from that part of Greater India, the coast of which lies to the west of this country, for they could have come down from that country, crossing the mountain chains and following down the river… As they multiplied, they have kept on making settlements until they lost the river when it buried itself underground, its course being in the direction of Florida. It [the Rio Grande] comes down from the northeast, where they [Coronado’s army] could certainly have found signs of villages. He [Coronado] preferred, however, to follow the reports of the Turk, but it would have been better to cross the mountains where this river rises. I believe they would have found traces of riches and would have reached the lands from which these people started, which from its location is on the edge of Greater India, although the region is neither known nor understood, because from the trend of the coast it appears that the land between Norway and China is very far up [in the North/Arctic]. The country from sea to sea is very wide, judging from the location of both coasts, as well as from what Captain Villalobos discovered when he went in search of China by the sea to the west, and from what has been discovered on the North Sea concerning the trend of the coast of Florida toward the Bacallaos, up toward Norway.

(The Narrative of Alvara Nunuz Cabeza de Vaca. Ch 6. v. 3)
[Pictures of the coastal passes from my 3d map with exaggeration.]

REWRITE THIS ENTIRELY…  The problem, of course, is that these overwhelmingly obvious correlations do not work with Mormon’s ‘narrow neck’, which is said to be north of Zarahemla and Bountiful. (As well as a few radiocarbon dating issues we cover in another section). Because of this, most serious LDS scholars have looked south of the isthmus of Teohuantepec, isthmus of Guatemala, or isthmus of Panama. A correlation which forces one to ignore EVERY major culture in North America apart from the Maya (the Lamanite core in our model). But of course, because essentially ALL the greatest Mayan cities are east of the possible candidates for the River Sidon, as well as significant issues with Moroni’s ‘east sea cities’ (ref), these models must throw out even the largest and most influential Mayan cities from any possible correlation with the Book of Mormon. With our continental model, essentially EVERY significant ancient culture in the North American continent, as well as their largest cities, are part of the Book of Mormon narrative. From the Maya to the Zapotec, Huestec to Mixtec, Teotihuacan and the Mexican Highland to the Toltec and Chichimec to the Ancient Puebloan/Anasazi to the Hopewell. The list goes on and on, of overwhelming correlations between the Book of Mormon text and archaeological ruins, geographic relationships, language relationships, Native American mythologies, settlement patters and more.

Arrival of the Jaredites

Start by talking about how it’s a channeling of a channeling.

The Book of Mormon narrative explains that the Jaredite civilization was the first culture to inhabit North America and the only to coexist with elephants and other megafauna early in their history. (Ether 9:19, Note that for the early Jaredites, these megafauna were ‘especially useful for the food of man’.) It further states that a great dearth or climatological shift caused massive fauna migrations which the people followed, hunting them to extinction. (Ether 9:30,34)

Shouldn’t it be obvious that the only plausible archaeological correlation for the pre-dearth Jaredites is with the North American Paleo-Indians? (C14 dated from between 14,000BC to 7000BC) These were the first inhabitants of North America, and are the only North American cultures to interact with elephants (Mammoth and Mastodon). There are also many other correlations between these cultures but none have seen the similarities because of the difference between carbon dates obtained for these cultures and the dates inferred from the scriptural record.

The cultural center for two of the most notable Paleo-Indian peoples (the Clovis & Folsom) are located in the North American Southwest, which as both the Book of Mormon and our model show, matches with the Nephite land of Desolation.

Although modern scientific consensus is that these groups migrated from Asia to North America across the bearing straights, we believe that the Book of Mormon account of ship travel is equally plausible (given the 40,000 BC in-habitation of Australia). Diverse groups of ‘Jaredites’ spread out to cover North & South America, and we propose also migrating back into Siberia, Asia and parts of Europe.

We also suggest that the Jaredite account, like the Book of Mormon itself, was ‘channeled’ by the ancient author Alma from some ancient record which acted as a talisman or prop. In doing so, the ancient author projected his own biases and beliefs on the Jaredite record in the same way Joseph would have later done with the ‘translation’ (channeling) of the Book of Mormon.

Map of known ancient migrations, overlaid with possible path of Jaredite migration.

Omer and the Bull Brook Complex

As the early Book of Mormon ‘pre-dearth’ period in American prehistory was coming to a close, a small group of families left the core area and settled ‘by the seashore’ directly east of the hill Cumorah (Ether 9:1–13). The group of sites, in and around northeastern Massachusetts, are called the Bull Brook Complex by archaeologists. Clovis points found at several of the sites tie it to the Southwest.

Building on excavations by D.S. Byers in the mid-50s, archaeological societies in the Northeast have pieced together the history of the Bull Brook Complex. Their findings and subsequent analysis have shown the interactions of a system of organized, interdependent groups with specialized work force networks. It is recognized as containing the highest level of social structure in America at that time, which would be expected in a ‘refugee camp’ of the royal household.

As Moroni attests, the next archaeological period saw the rise of a richer and more diversified culture / . The Plano and Early Eastern Archaic Cultures fanned across the continent (S/H: around 1600-1200 BC; A/C: around 8500-6000 BC). Scientists have found the full spectrum of plants and animals corresponding to the days of Emer. See animals in the book of Mormon

Post-Dearth Jaredite Culture (Lib’s Empire & ____)

Moroni’s next exposition on culture comes in the days of Lib (Ether 10:18–28), who is based in the Land Northward [Adena culture of the Ohio Valley] but builds a southern outpost at a ‘Narrow Neck’ [Olmec culture of Mexico]. My corresponding period is labeled by archaeologists as the Middle and Late Archaic. Often indistinguishable from one another, these two cultural periods represent a major advancement over the preceding culture. Again the culture spread across North America from coast to coast. There were villages, agriculture, and widespread trade networks. South of the narrow neck, in the Mexican highland and beyond, the only inhabitants we find are organized hunting parties, which ‘coincidentally’ brought spear points of North American manufacture and style.

Scientists recognize metallurgy from this time period, and copper is the most common metal found. Many fine textiles have also survived from this period. Moroni says they made ‘all manner of tools to till the earth, both to plow and to sow, to reap and to hoe, and also to thrash’. He also says they had, ‘all manner of tools with which they did work their beasts’ (Ether 10:26–27). Most of the tools on this list have been found by archaeologists at sites dating to the Middle and Late Archaic. New weapons were also invented and manufactured, although archaeologists currently view them only as hunting weapons. Another major industry of the Jaredites was wood exploitation. A huge assortment of woodworking tools has been found at archaic period sites across the Nation.

This ‘southern outpost’ built in Mexico, which grew into the Olmec culture, to facilitate trade between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans even captured some trade from Asia. The ‘Jade Masks’ of the Olmec have obvious similarities and cultured ties to Chinese art and Jade work. We believe these ‘Jade Masks’ came from Chinese trade ships and will one day be conclusively tied to Chinese jade mines, and the ‘jade emperor’, through isotope studies. Archaeologists will slowly come to realize that ancient seafaring and trade was more widespread than currently thought.

 

Olmec & the Fall of the Jaredites

Many Book of Mormon model’s attempt to match the Olmec with the Jaredites. In my model the correlation is more complex with the Olmec matching only the southernmost branch of the late Jaredite civilization; San Lorenzo corresponding to the ‘great city’ which Ether 10:19–28 says Lib built by the narrow neck. The culture that rose from Lib’s city is separate from the Jaredite heartland in the Land of Desolation [Southwest U.S.] as well as Lib’s capital which was likely in the Adena heartland of the Ohio valley (thus the similarities between Adena & Olmec mound structures). The ‘narrow neck’ mentioned in Ether is different from the defensive ‘narrow pass’ between Bountiful and Desolation mentioned by Mormon elsewhere in the Book of Mormon. There is no need for any ‘two Cumorah’ theory and most of the traditional issues with an Olmec/Jaredite correlation are removed.

From as early as the time of Nephi and Jacob, the Nephites of San Jose Mogote [city of Nephi] heavily influence the Olmec. As the Jaredite civilization collapses around 300 BC with the exodus of the elite to join the great Adena war, the new Zapotec/Olmec mix is called Epi-Olmec and is largely defined by the spread of the new Nephite (Zapotec) writing system. Before the Olmec collapse, their influence is seen readily in the early colonies of Izape and Chiapa de Corzo (Lamanite core), San Jose Migote (city of Nephi) and Mexican Highland (Mulekite core). In fact the early mixture of Nephite outliers and Lamanites with the epi-Olmecs sets the stage for the Book of Mormon’s Zoramites, Amalekites, Amulonites and other Nephite dissenters who effectually take control of remnant Olmec cities like Tres Zapotes after the Olmec collapse.

The Amulonite priests (Zapotec/epi-Olmec group of Oaxaca) were likely responsible for appointing teachers who began to train the Maya [Lamanites] in the same language and learning of Zapotec [Lemhites] and Mexican highland people [the Nephites]. With this new education the Maya began to prosper and make many technological advances. The sparsely-populated Mayan lands were soon covered with huge temples and city-centers with art and architecture reminiscent of the Zapotec and epi-Olmec style.

Colonial Arrivals & The Rise of the ‘Epi-Olmec’

In our article on the scattering of Israel, we detail how the Babylonian empire initiated a global colonial movement, matching closely with the European Colonial era 2000 years later.

In our model, colonies started in South America, the Zapotec of San Jose Migote [Nephites], and the Otomangue-speaking people of the Mexican highland [the Mulekites], who brought new and unique pottery & practices to the Americas; in each culture the pottery was already well-developed even at the earliest sites. (These new cultures can often be associated with skewed or erratic carbon dates going as early as 1500-4000 BC) The architecture and burial customs of these groups can easily be tied to the Old World. (Although nothing convincing enough has yet to be found to overturn the predominate belief of American/Eurasian no contact.) Square waddle and daub homes with storage pits in the floor dotted their lands. Their temples and public buildings are extremely similar to those of Egypt and Israel. Subfloor burials and burial positions also match those of the Middle East.

The Land of Nephi

San Jose Migote and the appearance of the 2 room temple and ‘men’s houses’. Also new religion. Find the article on this.  The development of a valley separation.

The Move to Zarahemla

At the dawn of the formative period there were several major demographic shifts which set the stage for the developing cultures. First, King Mosiah I and his people left the Land of Nephi [San Jose Migote/Monte Alban] and traveled to early Zarahemla [central Mexico, Likely Cholula at that time] to join the Mulekites (S/H: around 200 BC; A/C: around 1400 BC). This is seen archaeologically as an influx of Mixe-zoquean culture brings new advances to central Mexico, and public buildings begin to appear in the larger villages.

Archeological evidence in the Valley of Mexico also shows the appearance of epi-Olmec influence in sites such as Tlatilco and Tlapacoya. In our research, the early Nephite Zapotecs of Oaxaca effectively merge with the late Olmec [left over Jaredites from Great City of Ether 10:20] and are thus outlier Nephite peoples from before the move to Zarahemla, the late epi-Olmec may also be associated with the Amulonites who enslave the people of Limhi & Alma and build a short lived empire by teaching and exploiting the Lamanites (early Maya).

Zeniff Rebuilds Monte Alban, the City of Nephi

Back in San Jose Mogote [the city of Nephi], the city falls from its preeminence as the ruling elite leave [Moroni I] and those remaining are almost indistinguishable from their epi-Olmec trading partners. Shortly, however, high culture returned to the valley as Zeniff and his people arrive and begin to build anew a fortified city with public buildings and towers overlooking its neighbors [Monte Alban].

The new inhabitants of Monte Alban [people of Zeniff] were an elitist group which maintains strong ties to the Mexican Highland [Zarahemla] for hundreds of years afterward. Initially their culture was very similar to that of central Mexico (from which they had come), but the similarities decreased as time went on and they (the people of Zeniff, now led by King Noah) became extravagant in their prosperity. Lavishness dominates the architecture and material culture of this period. With the influence of Alma the younger, and his companions, and their conversion of Lamoni and his Father (and the expulsion of their loyalists who were likely centered in Mitla), the land eventually becomes a strong trading partner and vassal to Teotihuacan [Zarahemla].

Robert Zeitlin in his book “Questions about Zapotec Imperialism in Formative Period Mesoamerica highlights the research and archaeological evidence that Monte Alban was the center of an early conquest oriented empire. He says, “Recent Archaeological and epigraphic research suggests the existence of what could be Mesoamerica’s first conquest state centered at Monte Alban” (read this talk about how Nephi started the Empire, but when fighting with Mitla got to great they fled. However Monte Alban

Questions about Zapotec Imperialism in Formative Period Mesoamerica: https://www.jstor.org/stable/281646

The emergence of the Zapotec Military State

Give a bunch of quotes and data here.

The evidence for the emergence of the Zapotec military state in the later formative is an AMAZING match to what we expect from the Book of Mormon text after Lemhi abandons

Make a time line chart of events of city of Nephi from first to second abandonment and reoccupation by Lamanites.

See Military Expansion outside the Valley of Oaxaca: (C14 dates on burning of monte alban & surrounding fortresses) https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/208841

Alma 22’s General Geography of Book of Mormon Lands

In Alma 22, we are given perhaps the most comprehensive general overview of Book of Mormon geography…. (he wants us to find it? Go over piece by pieace.

Captain Moroni: Fortifying the Mexican Highland & Mixtec Synoecism

Outline: Although scattered walled or fortified cities occur throughout the mayanlands, perhaps no where in Mesoamerica was it as ubiquitous as the Mixtec & Huestec lands. The string of fortified cities matches perfectly with the ‘backwards L’ laid out in Book of Mormon’s internal geography. But perhaps more impressive is the way that archaeological digs shows these fortifications came about.  Authors like x,y & z suggest that warfare likely caused hundreds of hamlets in the Mixtec regions to consolidate into walled hilltop fortresses during the later formative precisely when the book of Mormon says…  (get archawolocical quotes and bom quotes)

Mixtec Highland cities in our Manti region like Monte Negro, Huamelupan, Cerro Jazmin, Yucuita, all consolidate around the same time in the late formative. Also cities of the lower Verde Valley like Rio Viejo, Cerro de la Cruz, Yugue and Cerro de la Virgen and San Francisco de Arriba. (add map of all these cities.  In the west Cerro de las Mesas was built during this time and is almost certainly associated with the city of Moroni (which was inundated at the death of Christ). La Coyotera & Quiotepec Fortress in the Teuacahn Valley are almost certainly Nephihah and date to right around the time of Moroni. These cities changed hands multiple times and were likely held by the Zapotec/Lamanite regime of Monte Alban more often than the Nephites of Cholula.

These two great nations, the Nephites on the Mexican Plateau and the Lamanites [Maya] in Southern Mexico, Guatemala and Yucatan, began to experience greater conflicts. Foreseeing the coming challenges, Captain Moroni prepared his people and their lands. First, the weak lands were fortified and the southern frontier was strengthened. Hilltop fortifications began to dot southern Mexico in Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Guerrero. Great urban fortresses were created. No wonder Mormon venerated the leadership, courage and vision of Captain Moroni and the manner in which he prepared his people for war.

After Amalickiah’s first attack, a second phase of construction was begun in which fortified cities and hilltop fortresses were built throughout the land of Zarahemla which appears to have stretched from Oaxaca to Jalisco and from southwestern Michoacán to northern Veracruz. Also, the Book of Mormon records Moroni pushing the Lamanites out of the east wilderness and on the west, then building new cities in these areas in order to create a more defensible border. Excavations in southern and western Oaxaca and Guerrero, as well as central Veracruz are now showing such movements of peoples and the construction of new large defensive cities and fortresses.

During the time that fortifications were being built in the Mexican highland, a massive weapons production industry commenced throughout Mesoamerica, both in the Mexican Highland [Zarahemla] and in Maya [Lamanite] lands. To accommodate these war preparations, the peoples of the Mexican Highland [Nephites] made major breakthroughs in agriculture and built massive irrigation systems. From that time forward, urbanization and trade specialization, with accompanying prosperity, enveloped the Nephite lands.

The great war of Moroni’s time, and the wars that followed, are seen archaeologically in demographic and cultural movements of this time period, and in numerous monuments depicting warriors and captives in both Highland Mexico and Maya lands. The Lamanites displaced and jumbled the Nephites numerous times. There was also a great cultural mixing when groups of Lamanites converted to the Nephite religion and went to live among the Nephites, and also when groups became captives. Cities experienced occasional upheavals, but most of them changed hands without noticeable ruin.

War on the east & southern fronts

Add section. Map movements

References.

The People of Ammon in Jershon

Book of Mormon says the people of Ammon were mostly women.  After the death of most the men among Ammon’s converts the remaining people buried their swords and fled for refuge among the Nephites. After travelling to Zarahemla they were given the land of Jershon, the location of which was said to be,

…on the east by the sea, which joins the land Bountiful, which is on the south of the land Bountiful; and this land Jershon is the land which we will give unto our brethren for an inheritance. (Alma 27:22)

Later when the armies of Zoramites prepare to battle the people of Ammon (because they had given refuge to the Zoramites who were expelled), the people of Ammon flee “over into the land of Melek” (Alma 35:13).

Our model places the eastern coast cities of Bountiful, Melek, Moroni, Aaron, Nephihah and Jershon on the east Coast of Mexico stretching somewhere between Tampico on the north and Veracruz (or more likely El Tajin) on the south. Many fortified settlements, castles and towers are found within the small stretch of coastline. Among them lies a coincidental correlation between the city of Tamtoc (aka Tamtok) and the people of Ammon.

Although Tamtoc reached its zenith in the late classic, archaeological evidence has determined the city was founded as early as 600 BC by Olmec (Jaredite) peoples. If a correlation to the people of Ammon is to be made, better dating of the mostly female remains would need to be found to fit into a window of closer to 100BC to 200AD.  The latter date assuming that the early Book of Mormon women of this community started a legacy of feminine predominance which lasted at least a few centuries after its establishment.

Approximate routes and dates of the proto-Huastec and other Maya-speaking groups

One of the characteristics that distinguish Tamtoc is the remarkable female presence. To date, 90% of the burials discovered there are of women. Furthermore, they are represented in most of the clay and ceramic figurines found here and that are thought to have a high rank in the social division of the community. The sites iconography touts a sculpture of a “priestess” (dated to as early as 600 BC) and “the Scarified Woman or Venus of Tamtoc”, which has been interpreted as glorifying…

Perhaps one of the most striking correlations between this city and the Book of Mormon narrative is the linguistic evidence which suggests that the language of the “Huestec” culture which permeated Tamtoc came from the Putin Maya region of Oaxaca and Southern Mexico (our land of First Inheritance). ref.

https://wikivisually.com/lang-es/wiki/Tamtoc

Lachoneous and the Founding of Teotihuacan

Just before the time of Christ, the combined guerrilla forces of ‘The Gadianton Robbers’ became so numerous as to warrant an unprecedented sociological experiment. All the people of Nephi temporarily abandoned their cities and moved to a new area in ‘The Land of Zarahemla’ (3 Ne 3:13–23). In our model, the urban city built for these immigrants was the great city of Teotihuacan. The old city of Zarahemla (likely Cholula or Cuicuilco) was too exposed and near the forests where Guerrilla fighters could hide, as well as being threatened by volcanic eruptions. So with hundreds of thousands of refugees and immigrants, what was likely the largest pre-planned city in the world was born. In the middle of a large open defensible valley, Teotihuacan was built with the refugee cultures in mind, with defined quarters for each major culture. The Zapotec from the land of Nephi, the Mixtecs from Gideon, and the Totonac and epi-Olmec from the lands of Melek and Jershon, and even Nahua peoples from the land of Desolation and fleeing Lamanites from the Mayan lands.

The city contains some of the largest structures on earth, with the pyramid of the Sun and Moon rivaling the Great pyramids of Egypt. At its zenith a hundred or so years after the time of Christ there were likely up to 250,000 inhabitants in the 11+ square miles urban area, not counting the many, many satellite communities.

The city would soon come to be the de-facto political and religious capital of Mesoamerica, holding rule and influence of peoples from the Lamanites of Guatemala to Anasazi of Arizona and New Mexico (land of Desolation).

Cataclysms at the Coming of Christ

The Book of Mormon suggests a global reaching cataclysm at the death of Christ, causing large scale destructions to North America and “the isles of the sea” (3 Nephi 8-9, 1 Ne. 19:10–13, Hel 14:20–24, 1 Ne. 19:10) which are contrasted with more the minor phenomena of an earthquake and three hours of darkness in Israel and Eurasia at the same time in the Bible (Matt 27:51–53, Mark 15:33, see also Phlegon, Thallus, Africanus and Tertullian).

Many authors have shown how some of the destructions described in 3 Nephi 8-10 in the Book of Mormon could be attributed to a large volcanic eruption. However, the shear extent of cataclysms in MULITIPLE lands seemingly involved not only volcanic phenomena such as earthquakes, lightning, darkness, tempests and fire from heaven. But also regional tectonic and coastal changes where ‘cites… had been sunk, and waters came up in the stead thereof [which]… could not be renewed” (4 Ne 1:9). As also unprecedented tectonic changes to some degree which caused the “whole face of the land [to be] changed” (3 Ne 8:12), wherein the “highways were broken up” (v.13) and “many notable cities” were sunk, burned, shaken to the ground and left desolate (v14), with mountains and valleys left in their place (Hel 8:23). In one instance the texts states that the “earth was carried up upon the city… that in [its] place there became a great mountain” (3 Ne 11:10). This language is quite different from what one might expect from landslides or volcanic ash flows where earth would be carried down upon a city.

Such overwhelming natural disaster reminds one of the mythical tales of destruction common in historical literature and are nearly ubiquitous in Mesoamerican codices involving their gods and cultural heroes (ref).  Reasonably, one must accept the possibility that Book of Mormon authors used hyperbole and mythical embellishment in their records to explain the destructions which preceded the coming of Christ to America.

If, however, we would seek to take the Book of Mormon text at face value and propose a literal, unembellished nature to these destructions, we must become inventive in our theories and turn to what we know of astronomical physics to suggest a few possibilities. Many authors have suggested a simple volcanic eruption, which of course falls short of the kind of widespread global darkness, volcanic, atmospheric and tectonic destruction described in the text. Instead, we must find a mechanism which could cause global darkness and seismic activity and widespread volcanism, yet affecting one hemisphere far greater than the other—and likely a correlation or relationship to a ‘new star’ appearing some 30 years earlier.

The most likely suspect would be some type of pulsar or large supernova at Christ’s birth, which in turn knocked local cosmic debris into the path of earth causing an asteroid impact to hit the Pacific Ocean some distance off the West Coast of Northern Mexico just after His death. This atmospheric and seismic waves from this impact (as well as a possible accompanying CME from solar impacts) then was responsible for the simultaneous atmospheric and tectonic cataclysms mentioned in the Book of Mormon, ancient Mesoamerican codices the Bible and early Christian historians (Phlegon, Thallus, Africanus and Tertullian).

The effects of such an event have been modeled to show that it could indeed account for many of the destructions described in the Book of Mormon. Galen Gisler and scientist at Los Alamos laboratories have created a visualization which shows.

-supernova, pulsar, asteroid, MOON hit, and tidal effect on both water & land/tectonic shift. Use this study/visualization by Galen Gisler at LANL & los Alamos … awesome! https://gizmodo.com/heres-what-would-happen-if-a-giant-asteroid-struck-the-1790084340 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95z0qRNFFxs use this in your videos and presentations!  Make an image, to put in book (with notes explaining the tsunami, seismic waves, atmospheric compression waves, heat wave and water vapor. Also radiocarbon introduction & production in ocean & atmosphere.

Not hard to believe given Meteor Crater Arizona (dated to 50,000 BP) and Sirente crater Italy, dated to 412 AD, or the Tunguska event

2 Simulation of an asteroid impact over the ocean done by Galen Gisler and scientist at Los Alamos labs. Finding show that tsunami danger is not as large as before suspected, but significant danger exists from seismic waves (if contact is made with ocean floor), atmospheric compression waves, atmospheric heat wave and ejected water vapor. Weather disruption is inevitable. Our model also theorize substantial radiocarbon production and a lasting marine reservoir exchange downwind from the affected ocean water.

-be sure to hit the idea that the pre-Christ land of desolation would have been DESTROYED by the west coast tidal waves in the scenario.  Also that it would affect radiocarbon dates…

[You need to make an illustration showing radiocarbon spike of BOTH the atmosphere and ocean area, and show on the graph lines correlation what 4 points on the line would do to correlated dates—on both the up and down (atmospheric up would be instantaneous, marine carbon exchange would be gradual up and down. And point out that nuc tests increased CO14 100%!  Even a 20% increase would mean a date adjustment of ___ years. (calculate it). Put it next to the graph of what nuclear testing did. Note its different that marine reservoir effect, which has to do with eating marine animals, the marine exchange is when high atmospheric levels are absorbed into surface waters (and worked deeper), and then recursively contaminate atmospheric carbon levels for possibly hundreds of years even after the atmospheric levels have mixed back to normal (a process only taking 100 years or so, as seen with 20th century atmospheric nuclear testing)]

WORK IN?  In our model, we put forward two theories to explain the cataclysms at the death of Christ mentioned in the text. The first involves a massive astronomical event such as a supernova or pulsar (seen as a ‘new star’) began a chain reaction of plasma and debris which reached earth around 34 AD. This massive plasma stream and debris in turn caused meteorites, as well as a possible impact large enough to cause very slight changes in the earth’s angular momentum (see nutation or ‘chandler wobble’) which was responsible for driving a pulse of increased flex and subduction pressure on the Pacific, Cocos and Nazca Plates at the time of Christ. This minor tectonic pulse event initiated an unprecedented earthquake, widespread volcanism, orogenic movement and thrusting which were recorded in the Book of Mormon as regional destructions in both their land Northward and Southward.

Radiocarbon Dates & The Mayan Calendar

OULINE OF SECTION

-two possibilities of why things don’t line up.  ONE is radiocarbon dates are wrong. TWO is that Mormon & moroni made a mistake in their timeline. There is good evidence of both.

-The dates of ‘record keepers’, in 4 Nephi/Mormon 1 would require each person to live to preposterously old ages; and moreso, to sire children at absurdly old ages.  Note that about 110 years after Christ’s coming Nephi gives the record to his son “Amos” (4 Ne 1:19–21), who keeps it for 84 years before dying in 194 AD!  Since we know Nephi was old enough to take charge of the Church at Christ’s coming we can suppose he was between 25-40 at Christ’s coming in 34 AD. This means that he would have had to been at least 100 years old when he gave the records to his young son Amos who then lives at least another 84 years himself before dying. So if Amos was 12-20 when he got the records, Nephi would have had to father him at the ripe old age of at least 80-88 years of age!

This gets worse in the next generation as Mormon writes in 4 Ne 1:47 that Amos dies in 308 AD and gives the record to his brother Ammaron.  But this doesn’t work at all since 4 Ne. 1:20 told us Amos kept the record 84 years (after about 110 AD) which should put us around 194 AD when Amos gives up the record and dies. So we have at least 114 years unaccounted for. Because of this discrepancy, some have speculated that Amos had a son which the text does not mention, who was also named Amos, so Mormon is simply talking about 2 different Amos’s.  However, even this theory would require Amos I having Amos II at over 100 years old!  This leads us to draw a more natural conclusion that there was simply a “break” in the record which Mormon glosses over in order to make sense of the “400 year prophesy” and his belief that he lived around 400 years after Christ.

However, what if there were TWO Quetzalcoatl’s?  Many archaeologists and Mesoamerican historians believe that a King took over the title Lord Quetzalcoatl nearly 700 years after Ixtloltalx tells us that the true Lord Quetzalcoatl came…. finish

Our model suggests two possible reasons for why the dates for the collapse of the continent doesn’t line up….

[MAKE AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE SIMILARITIES….]

-Both have a start date known to be somewhere around 3-4,000 BC.  (the Hebrew calendar ‘Ano Mundi’ is currently believed to be 7 October 3761 BCE, although some ancient scholar placed it as early as 4500? BC. The Mayan calendar also has an ano mundi start date. I originally had several theorized start dates, ranging from xxx to yyyy (ref).  With radiocarbon dating (ref) it was placed at 3114 BCE, but by putting it closer to the accepted ‘Hebrew Calendar’s start date of 3761 BCE, the Stella dates seem to ‘coincidentally’ ALL fall into the window of Book of Mormon history (reword).

-They both use a type of ‘Jubilee’ year of remarkably similar duration. 49/50 years in the case of the Hebrew Calendar and 52 year ‘Haab’ in the case of the

-They both also have a lunar calendar of ‘weeks of the moon’, which realigns with the solar calendar every ~70 years (52 Haabʼ cycles of 365 days equals 73 Tzolkʼin cycles of 260 days:  or 520 years)  Is AMAZINGLY similar to the biblical calendar given in Daniel/etc where 10×49 Jubilees equals 70×7 Sabbaticals (490 years).   NOTE Ixtlilxochitl says one epock is 520 years which is 5 ages (10×52 yr cycles)

-They both have an important cycle of 40 (for maya its 20 or a ‘score’). Using columns it ends up being 7 columns of 40 (for 260 completion) and 10 columns of 40 (for 360 day completion). See- https://youtu.be/1qLraLs8Y14?t=714

Just like in Egyptian archaeology, We might assume that archaeologist were once again misled to using an incorrect date to the beginning of the Mayan calendar.  Their C14 dates leading them to utilize a date of 3114 BCE, when in fact the correct date is something far closer to the beginning of the Jewish calendar of 7 October 3761 BCE. This would put their long count dates off by approximately 647 (~650) years!  Thus the earliest dates of 36 BCE at Chiapa de Corzo and Tres Zapotes would actually be a date of 683 BC (Putting us in the neighborhood for Mesopotamian colonization. Perhaps marking yet ANOTHER middle eastern group coming to the New World after the Assyrian regional wars.)  This would also put some of the latest dates closer to 400 AD?  (find some of the latest dates)

3 Changes in atmospheric and oceanic radiocarbon caused by nuclear testing. by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

————————-

The Golden Age of Zion

Major population centers

As the ash settled, a new culture spread across the land. In some ways, this new culture was more monolithic; in other ways it was more diverse. Throughout the Americas a new two-room temple replaced varying former styles. A utopia of peace and prosperity is spoken of in legends. There is less evidence of weapons being used at this time, and the murals, figurines, and architecture show designs of nature, lines of symmetry and harmony, and displays of pleasant animals and domestic life. Gone are all signs of a military elite, governmental force, and coercion. The Hopewell, the Anasazi, the Mogollon, Teotihuacan, and the Maya; continent-wide the traits are the same. The great peace resulting ‘because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people’ (4 Nephi 1:15).

The people were united in righteousness, yet at the same time, the culture became more diverse, as the focus turned from making a profit to making quality products and upholding the ideals of family and community. Local artisans replaced the mass-production and expansive trade networks of the preceding period. Thus there was no need to travel extensively ‘on business,’ so people could spend more time with their families. Family gardens replaced mass-produced food. People ate a greater variety of food, but their food was of more local origin. Analysis of skeletons shows that the people were healthier and enjoyed longer life spans than during the preceding period. The arts flowered during this period. The number and variety of musical instruments greatly increased. Pottery and other goods became more useful and more beautiful, and less ornamental and extravagant. A much greater variety of artifacts is found, but in much smaller quantities than before, and with much less waste. The prosperity was great throughout all of the Americas and in all areas of human development, ‘because of their prosperity in Christ’ (4 Nephi 1:23).

In the early classic period the church became very wealthy. The people donated their time and skills to the creation and maintenance of beautiful temples and public centers. The population exploded, but at the same time, the cities became less dense as the communities were reorganized and the people spread out across the land. Even the biggest ‘cities’ were only lightly populated, yet they contained ceremonial centers and public buildings large enough to accommodate all the people of the surrounding villages. Social classes disappeared, yet the standard of living increased everywhere; And ‘they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God’ (4 Nephi 1:17).

The Land of Desolation

There is no other region in North America which matches so perfectly the Book of Mormon’s description of the land of Desolation than the desert southwest and its ancient Puebloan cultures. From its desolate, treeless landscape to its ubiquitous use of cement, rock and adobe to build its ‘houses, cities, temples and synagogues’ (Helaman 3:9), there is simply not a single aspect of

  • Extensive trade and cultural integration with Mesoamerica. With over 200 Mesoamerican ball courts in the region, as well as caged McCaw found in Paquime, countless shells from the West Mexican coast and overwhelming use of Mesoamerican Cocoa and Agave.
  • Even into colonial times the predominate travel and trade corridor from the desert southwest into the Mesoamerican lands went through the ‘Narrow Pass’ or 15-20 mile wide narrow coastal zone of West Mexico between the narrow sea of Cortez and the sharply raising Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. (In fact, the identical names of the mountains, and the impassible nature of the Mapimi Basin between, gives evidence to the idea that the natives believed the east and west Sierra Madre Mountains were one and the same. Creating a mountainous ‘narrow neck of land’ between the Southwest and Mesoamerican cultures. With ‘narrow coastal passes’ of about 15-20 miles or a days journey on either side)
  • The most extensive use of ‘cement’ (Helaman 3:9) or adobe on the continent. Also directly next to the region with the most extensive use of ‘tents’ (ref) or teepees on the continent.
  • The Southwest Kivas are likely the most widespread evidence of local religious rooms or ‘synagogues or sanctuaries’ (Helaman 3:9) in North America.
  • Widespread evidence of war, massacre and cannibalism. (see Moroni x;z)
  • Mosiah Hancock even quotes Joseph Smith as saying the desert southwest was ‘where the Nephites lost their power’. (ref)
  • When a tree would spring up, they would preserve it.
  • The ‘Las Trincheras’ Line of defenses from Sonoran coast to Paquime. Exactly what we’d expect after the treaty made with the Lamanites (ref).
  • Overwhelming evidence of warfare, massacre, regional burning, cannibalism and even towers and heaps of earth with dead bodies and remains (refs). Exactly what might be expected from a massive

Could there be any better match to what the Book of Mormon says about the land of Desolation than that of the Desert Southwest of the U.S. and Northwest Mexico?

5 Yea, and even they did spread forth into all parts of the land, into whatever parts it had not been rendered desolate and without timber… And now no part of the land was desolate, save it were for timber; because of the greatness of the destruction of the people who had before inhabited the land it was called desolate…

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 should 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.

10 And it came to pass as timber was exceedingly scarce in the land northward, they did send forth much by the way of shipping.

11 And thus they did enable the people in the land northward that they might build many cities, both of wood and of cement.

Note what southwest archaeologist, Allen Denoyers, writes about the construction of Hohokam and other ancestral Puebloans of the Southwest. “They wouldn’t pull out the plants [trees]. which grew along side of the [sic] River which provided [sic] willows, for the necessary wall and roof support, for the Hohokam pit house, instead they would cut the plant and it would grow back the next year and more homes could then be built. And… the wood was carried a great distance, climbing into the Catalina Mountains and carrying it many miles home.”  This practice was fairly ubiquitous in the desolate landscape of the Southwest, where pit houses and Great Houses alike competed for scarce trees which grew only along river channels and in near-by Mountains.  (Reference: https://southwestphotojournal.com/tag/honey-bee-village/)

The Collapse of Classic Ancient American Civilization

The peace was not to stay. Midway through the Classic social classes appeared again. An extravagant upper class emerged; churches began to decorate their temples with riches; idol worship commenced; mass production and long distance trade networks appeared. Gambling, tattoos, body-piercing, and drugs became vogue, enveloping society. The gods and culture of the Pre-Classic Maya returned in places and Teotihuacan responded by exercising harsh dominion. Wars spread across the land. Soon two distinct super-powers emerged: the Quetzalcoatl Cult centered at Teotihuacan and the Jaguar Cult of southern Yucatan. Mayan frescos paint the conflicts. In Maya lands they portray early local victories. As the Jaguar Cult grew in numbers and power they began conquering Central Mexico: at Xochicalco archaeologists have found a mural depicting the Eagle Warriors of the Jaguar Cult crushing the feathered serpent, Quetzalcoatl. It dates to just before Teotihuacan was abandoned.

War moved in succession from Teotihuacan to the Chichimec lands, to the coast of West Mexico, then north across a ‘narrow ecological strip’ in the Sierra Madre Occidental to the Southwest. The amazing burst of economic activity in the Anasazi lands followed, corresponding with the build-up of the Toltec Kingdom and the evacuation of the upper class in Maya lands. Then came the great slaughter. Starting in the south and moving north the entire Southwest was desolated. Smaller sites were abandoned and great defensive cities were built but to no avail. Archaeologists find site after site burnt, abandoned, or covered with unburied bodies. The destruction is staggering. It moved to a line of sites from Mesa Verde, Colorado to Albuquerque, New Mexico but then these too were abandoned. Then the entire Midwest was abandoned and the Mississippian culture collapsed.

Archaeologists are at a loss to explain why these cultures collapsed. Drought is a common (but poor) explanation, but evidence of war is present although often ignored or explained away. We believe the social fabric of these cultures was destroyed as the Lamanite armies chased the Nephites from the Valley of Mexico, to the American Southwest, and finally up the Ohio arm of the Mississippi (the main travel corridor) to its end in the Land of Cumorah in Western New York.

The Land of Cumorah and the Final Battle

This paper might be one of the best I’ve found so far in mapping funerary mound complexes in New England. Note carefully in the text where it talks about skull fragments being common in the Allegeny complex area, and Adena Points being common in the Pittsburgh mound cluster. (Likely the Jaredite battle was in the Pittsburgh area?). Be sure to talk about how radiocarbon dates in the east vary in older or newer dates depending on the way the weather patterns came. If they came from the pacific, the dates would be diluted like the Anasazi, but if they came from the gulf or Atlantic, they’d be more accurate. So just like the mayanlands we get bimodal dates. (this will be proven or disproven by the presence of ‘anomalous’ dates and sequences in sites known to have many layers inhabited over long periods.

The Caneadea Mound: A Look At The Middle Woodland Period In The Northeast by Steven Paul Howard ….. https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=osu1419266234&disposition=inline

-should hold that the actual final battle scene, much like the part of Zarahemla under the ash, is being held in reserve to be found only after the end of the times of the gentiles.

Under Construction:

Summary of strong evidences for the Continental Geographic Model correlation:

-It is the ONLY model that closely matches with the view of Joseph Smith & other contemporary early LDS leaders.

– It is really the only model which matches well with early Spanish chronologist like Ixtlilxochitl, which place the Mexican Highland (especially the Cholula region) as the place of Quetzalcoatl’s coming as well as the place of the mythical seven caverns, and golden culture of Tollan.

  1. Beginning of Egyptian style hieroglyphic writing and stone pyramids to replace the mounds and early Olmec script. 2. Monte Alban and its two room temple, alter, towers overlooking neighboring lands, new religious social structure, division of the valley, 3. Cholula/Teotihuacan/Tula matching Zarahemla as the most populous and influential population center in North America. 4a. Destructions4. The destruction of every major culture on the continent.

-mammoths and ‘ate them all’.

-Monte Alban 1. Earliest writing, 2. Social stratification. 3. Two room temple and alters, 4. Tower that could see an adjoining kingdom 5. Prison.

-Cholula. A great match for Zarahemla. 1. Largest temple complex on Earth. And one of the largest cities of pre-Aztec Mesoamerica. 2. Many ancient codices name it as the place of the seven caverns and the birth place of the Tolteca or Mesoamerican mother culture. 3. A suburb is still to this day called Zerexotla (Zera-hem-la vs. Zere-xot-la) 4. Eruption of Popocatepetl around the time of Christ buried the nearby city of Tetimpa in Ash, and thus very likely could have set fire to Cholula, and been part of the impetus for the growth of Teotihuacán. 5. It is just east of our River Sidon (rio Balsas), and the hill/volcan Malinche makes a perfect setting for hill –Amnu–? 6. The book of Mormon consistently refers to the LAND of Zarahemla as ‘down’, but NEVER refers to the city of Zarahemla as down (in fact says ‘up’ to the city, matching perfectly as Cholula is the population center on the edge of the Balsas Basin where many corn was domesticated.

-PROMBLEMS WITH RADIOCARBON DATING.   775 AD event. Marine reservoir exchange. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/774%E2%80%93775_carbon-14_spike

Great paper on it found here. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2017GL074208

Tree ring dating. (Find references here https://creation.com/evidence-for-multiple-ring-growth-per-year-in-bristlecone-pines)

(see txt file ‘anomalous old c14 dates in archaeology papers folder in drive)

-Caractors Document and Fernando Ixtlalapa are amazing proofs of BOM. But only prove my model a bit, so maybe put those at end?  (

Main complex of Teotihuacan. The Nephite capital after Lachoneus moved it circa 17 AD.

Ixtlilxochitl & Evidence for the Book of Mormon in Mesoamerican Codices

Ixtlilxochitl & Evidence for the Book of Mormon
Codex Ixtlilxochitl, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Ms. Mex. 65-71 − Photo 7. Siguenza Map. A cartographic history of the migration of the Aztec from Aztlán to Tenochtitlan. Several maps of this style exist and can be viewed here. A later, more legible version is available here. Codices like these undoubtedly formed the source material for Ixtlilxochitl. (read summaries here)

16. “It had been 166 years since they had adjusted their calendar with the equinox and 270 years since the [first inhabitants] had been destroyed when the sun and the moon eclipsed and the earth quaked and rocks were broken into pieces and many other signs that had been given came to pass, although man was not destroyed. This was in the year CE Calli, which, adjusted to our calendar, happened at the same time that Christ, our Lord, was crucified. And they say that this destruction occurred in the first few days of the year.” (Fernanado Ixtlilxochitl, Summaries, Obras históricas ~1620)

Background of Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl (1578-1650)

There may be no better evidence for the historicity of the Book of Mormon than that from the writings of the controversial early Aztec historian Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl (pronounced: EEsh-leal-sho-cheat-l. 1578-1650). Born roughly 60 years after Cotez’ conquest of the Aztec, Ixtlilxóchitl was a mixture of Aztec royalty and Spanish nobility. He was fluent in both the history and language of the Aztec as well as Latin and Spanish. His works, read much like the Book of Mormon itself, coming from the pen of one trying their best to FIND biblical Christianity in the records of the ancient Mixteca peoples. He chooses interpretations of ancient Mexica stories and myths which adhere closely to Biblical stories of the creation, global flood and tower of Babel.

Following is a precursor summary of common elements between Ixtlilxochitl’s writings of Toltec history and the Book of Mormon quoted later in the article. (Clicking on the link will scroll to sample verses).

  1. They both tell of a prophet/historian who wrote their scriptures.
  2. They both tell a story of a war of annihilation where two kingdoms fight to the death with men, women & children until they one is annihilated.
  3. They both speak of a creation from a primordial male and female couple. (Adam & Eve vs.
  4. They both speak of a flood which destroyed the world by water. (1.4-5)
  5. They both speak of a first king and civilization coming from the great tower at the time of the confusion of tongues. (1.5, Brother of Jared & Jaredites from the Tower of Babel vs. Chichimecatl & Chichimecs from the Zacualli)
  6. They both speak of a white god who was born of a virgin and who ascended to heaven after teaching his people. (Christ vs. Quetzalcoatl)
  7. They both record the date of a great destruction occurring in the first month of the 34th year, or at the death of Christ.
  8. They both use the same terminology in describing the manner in which cities were named.
  9. They both speak of three distinct civilizations that predate the coming of Christ. (one from the east in 6 ships, one the west and one unspecified). They also each consistently mention seven tribes/brothers.
  10. They both record the destruction of the first civilization that predates the coming of Christ, who lived in the northern lands, or the Land Northward.
  11. They both speak of a nation whose principal area meant “land of abundance” or “Bountiful.”
  12. They both mention multiple migrations to and from a far northern land. (2600 miles in one case).
  13. They both give stories of a group escaping bondage by intoxicating their captors. In conjunction, they also mention only one river (Sidon/Atoyac) which flows between two principle cities (Zarahemla/Gideon vs. Cholula/Los Angeles)
  14. Plus many more commonalities…

Much as they do with the Book of Mormon, modern historians tend to dismiss the biblical similarities of Ixtlilxóchitl‘s histories as attempts to twist the ancient stories he translated in order to fit a Christian biblical narrative. But for LDS adherents, his methods are informative as they show us precisely what we would expect from the translation process of the Book of Mormon’s ancient authors, if it is to be believed as a legitimate translation of ancient records (or work of mediumship based on ancient records). In comparison of the two, we should suppose in the translation or ‘channeling’ of the Book of Mormon text that the authors involved took liberties to convert the words and ideas of the ancient people, not just from their ancient languages to English, but from their ancient cultural contexts into that of 19th century New England just as Ixtlilxóchitl did. (And often stretching the ancient concepts to their limits to emphasize correlations.) Thus we see mammoths called ‘elephants’ in the Book of Mormon, antelope called ‘sheep’, deer called ‘horses’, macahuitl called ‘swords’, pyramids called ‘towers’ and god’s like Quetzalcoatl or Kukulkan changed to Jesus Christ. As also many ancient stories, myths and ideas mixed in with more “modern” sermons on infant baptism, Catholic Church apostasy, New World exploration, prophesies about Joseph Smith and King James Isaiah or Pauline quotes.

Indeed to believe in the Book of Mormon as historical, this idea of a loose translation of words and culture must go considerably farther than simply a ‘dynamic equivalence’ translation. Exactly like the writings of Ixtlilxóchitl, we must suppose that the spiritual translators took great liberties, relying heavily on Biblical sermons, idioms, wording and even concepts to change the ancient stories and ideas as fully as possible into 19th century religious ideals — and making the ancient concepts relevant to 19th century readers.

In this regard the writings and even phraseology of Ixtlilxóchitl are so similar to the Book of Mormon that were it not that his works WERE UNPUBLISHED until a few decades after the Book of Mormon was written, many (including myself) would have trouble not believing it was copied in part to create the Book of Mormon. Because of the similarity, and its correlation to provable archaeology & linguistics, its hard not to speculate that Ixtlilxóchitl wasn’t involved in the translation/channeling process of the Book of Mormon as a disincarnate spirit. (as crazy as that sounds) And also that ubiquitous usage of European Christian concepts in the Book of Mormon were included largely to prove to people that the translation was divinely inspired instead of just dumbly copied from Ixtlilxóchitl or the ancient Aztec, Toltec & Mixtec records and legends.

Incredible matching religious motifs of anthropomorphized birdmen (Quetzalcoatl) found in both Mesoamerica AND Assyria from around 800 BC, legitimizing the Near-eastern similarities given in Ixtlilxochitl’s Mesoamerican History


following section taken from http://www.ancientamerica.org/  Read original of Ixtlilxochitl's book here.  Or my complete Google document English translation here. And finally an annotated web version of only the summaries here.

AFTER THE EARTH BEGAN AGAIN to be populated, they built a Zacualli very high and strong, which means the very high tower, to protect themselves against a second destruction of the world.

As time elapsed, their language became confounded,  such that they did not understand one another; and they were scattered to all parts of the world. (Ixtlilxochitl:6-7)

The above statement was recorded c 1600 AD by a native born scholar of Mexico named Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl (EEsht-leal-sho-cheat-el). He is considered by many to be the most prolific early writer on the history of Mexico. In a sense, he may be considered to be the Josephus of Mexico.

One biographer, Dr. Jose Maria Beristain y Souza, said that Ixtlilxochitl was one of the most distinguished students at the Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco and that he was the most knowledgeable in the language, history, and antiquities of his people. (Biblioteca Hispano-Americana-Septemtrional, p. 58, as quoted in Chavero 1965)

The author Clavijero called Ixtlilxochitl “the truly noble Indian concerning the antiquities of his nation.” (Historia Antigua de Mexico 1:37, as quoted in Chavero 1965)

Dr. Lara Pardo called Ixtlilxochitl a man of great talent and deep intellect and said that Ixtlilxochitl possessed a most excellent library containing the paintings and hieroglyphic history of pre-conquest Mexico. (Leduc-Lara Pardo, Diccionario de Geogrqfia e Historia y Biografias Mexicanas, p. 492, as quoted in Chavero 1965)

Early writers placed the birth date of Alva Ixltilxochitl somewhere near the year 1568 AD. Edmundo O’Gorman, who published the writings of Ixtlilxochitl in 1975, with an update in 1985, determined that the date of Ixtlilxochitl’s birth was in the year 1578 AD. The place of birth was Texcoco, which is now a suburb of Mexico City. (O’Gorman 17)

Ixtlilxochitl was born of royalty, being a descendant of both the last king of Texcoco and the next-to-the-last Emperor of Mexico, Cuitlahuac. Ixtlilxochitl was also of Spanish descent,  as his grandfather on his mother’s side was the Spaniard Juan Grande.

The writings on the history of Mexico, according to Ixtlilxochitl, consisted of many manuscripts that were first circulated in the year 1600 AD. His works, Sumaria Relacion de la Historia General, were completed about 1625 AD-more than 200 years prior to the publication of the Book of Mormon. Traditionally, the date of the death of Ixtlilxochitl has been placed around 1648. O’Gorman’s research indicates that Ixtlilxochitl died in 1650 at the age of 72. (O’Gorman 36)

Regarding the sources for his history of Mexico, Ixtlilxochitl wrote the following:

… of a truth I have the ancient histories in my hand, and I know the language of the natives, because I was raised with them, and I know all of the old men and the principals of this land…. It has cost me hard study and work, always seeking the truth on everything I have written…. (Chavero 62)

Alfredo Chavero wrote in the preface of his two volumes follows:

Ixtlilxochitl is the original chronista of the Texcucanos [from Texcoco, a suburb of Mexico]. Few of our writers have enjoyed the fame and reputation that he has. Nevertheless, his numerous works are unknown. (Chavero 5)

And that is certainly an understatement. To this very day, the works of Ixtlilxochitl are hardly known in the United States. Even Latter-day Saint writers who have a high interest in the history of the Book of Mormon have basically ignored the works of Alva Ixtlilxochitl.

I suspect that part of the reason for the Latter-day Saints’ lack of knowledge about Ixtlilxochitl is that the works of Ixtlilxochitl have not been readily available in the English language. Hunter and Ferguson, in their 1950 book, Ancient America and the Book of Mormon, did, however, publish segments of Ixtlilxochitl’s works in English-segments that appeared to them to correlate with the Book of Mormon history. Wells Jakeman and Thomas Ferguson acquired the services of a man named Arnulfo Rodriguez to translate segments of the 1892 publication of Alfredo Chavero. (Hunter 1950:14)

Although Ixtlilxochitl wrote in the 1600s, his work was not circulated widely until Lord Kingsborough of England published nine volumes of work entitled Antiquities of Mexico. Kingsborough included the writings of Ixtlilxochitl in Spanish, having obtained those writings from the National Library of Madrid.

Kingsborough’s material on Ixtlilxochitl is similar to that of an early Mexican writer by the name of Boturini, who said that he copied his account of the writings of Alva from the handwriting of Alva Ixtlilxochitl. Kingsborough’s works were published between 1832-1848, but because of the extensive cost, his Antiquities of Mexico were never widely circulated.

Under the mandate of Mexican President Porfirio Diaz, Alfredo Chavero edited and footnoted a compilation of Ixtlilxochitl by Jose Fernando Ramirez. This edition was published in 1892 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the New World by Columbus.

This same edition, consisting of two volumes of approximately 500 pages each, was republished in 1965 with a preface by Lic. J. Ignacion Davila Garibi. Chavero called the books Obras Historicas de Don Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl. The works of Ixtlilxochitl have been published as various editions in Spanish as follows:

List of editions and printings of Ixtlilxochitl’s work. (Note Joseph Smith couldn’t have access to any of these)

  • Original written manuscript: Ixtlilxochitl, Fernando de Alba. Historia Chichimeca, ~1580-1615 (lost and never published, archived in Spain or Italy until found by Kingsborough)
  • First official printing: Kingsborough. Antiquities of Mexico. Vol. IX London 1848 (in Spanish, available here)
  • Chavero, Alfredo (ed.), Obras históricas de D. Fernando de Alba Ixtlilxochitl. México, 1891-92. (in Spanish, available here)
  • Chavero, Alfredo & Garibi pologue, Obras históricas de don Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl, 1958. (in Spanish)
  • Reediciones de la anterior: Editora National. Mexico. 1952 y 1965. (in Spanish)
  • O’Gorman, Edmundo (ed.), Obras históricas de Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxóchitl, México, 1975, UNAM. (in Spanish)
  • Vázquez Chamorro, Germán (ed.), “Historia de la nación Chichimeca”, México, 1985. (in Spanish)
  • Brian, Benton, Villella & Loaeza. History of the Chichimeca Nation: Don Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl’s Seventeenth-Century Chronicle of Ancient Mexico, 2019 (in English available here)

It is from Chavero’s 1965 edition that I have translated into English the first section of Ixtlilxochitl’s works called “The Summary Account” (Sumaria Relacion).

Ramirez and Chavero divided the works of Ixtlilxochitl into two main parts: (1) Diverse Accounts and (2) The History of the Chichimeca.

The latter receives the most attention, as Ixtlilxochitl was a descendant of the Chichimeca people and, as a result, he follows the Chichimeca trail right up through the Conquest of Mexico.

The first part, “Diverse Accounts,” deals with the origin of the first settlers, called Quinametzin or giants. They came from the great tower. The first part also discusses a group of people called the Tulteca. They were wise men who worshipped a god they called Quetzalcoatl. A great dispersion among the Tultecas took place in the 4th Century AD.

The “Diverse Accounts” section is the section that attracts the interest of students of the Book of Mormon, as a common trail appears in both accounts. Ixtlilxochitl called this section “Sumaria Relacion de todas las cosas que han sucedido en La Nueva Espana y de muchas cosas que los Toltecas alcanzaron.”

That’s rather a long title patterned after the manner of the native Mexicans. It means “A summary account of all the things than happened in New Spain and many things that the Toltecs accomplished.”

Overview/Table of Contents of Ixtlilxochitl’s Works: Kingsborough & Chivero arrange these slightly differently.

  • The first chapter (“Primer Relacion”) of Chavero’s works is only 11 pages, and that portion is what I have included in its entirety in this text. The “Primmer Relacion” covers the history of Mexico from the time of the great tower to about 439 AD.
  • Chapter 2, or”Segunda Relacion,” provides dates of 466 AD to 543 AD. It also provides summary statements of the early history, typical of the way that Ixtlilxochitl wrote. He wrote, “The Tultecas were the third settlers of this land, counting the giants as the first, and the Ulmecas and Xicalancas as the second.” (Chavero 28)
  • Chapter 3 of Chavero consists of seven pages and covers the period of time from 556 AD to 826 AD.
  • Chapter 4 provides only one date, 880 AD, but the chapter provides a summary of the nature and characteristics of the Tultecas. “The Tultecas were great architects, carpenters, and workers of arts such as pottery: They mined and smelted gold and silver, and worked precious stones . . . .” (Chavero 40)
  • Chapter 5, or “Quinta Relacion,” covers about 30 pages and terminates with page 108 and the year 958 AD. With the exception of a summary section at the end of Volume One, the remainder of the works of Ixtlilxochitl deals with the history of Mexico from 1000 AD to 1600 AD. The majority of the history is centered in the 16th Century.

Don Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl indeed makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the pre-Conquest civilizations of Mexico. His writings have been criticized, however, because they contain much repetition and because his chronology and dating often lack consistency. One writer said, “It would have been better if Alva Ixtlilxochitl had written less, and paid more detail and attention to the chronology.” (Garcia Icazbalceta, Bibliography de Autores Mexicanos, VIII,271; as quoted in Chavero in the “Prologo”)

We could perhaps defend Ixtlilxochitl by noting that he was only writing down what he read in the different native records he was translating.


Explore and read the ORIGINAL Ixtlilxochitl text at this link of Archive.org. And see my direct translation of the text in this Google Document. This section in the online original of Chaveros version can be found here. And the earlier Kingsborough account here. Another translation can be found here. Some footnotes and commentary with maps are also added by Allen, the rest by Weaver.


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Selected Excerpts from the ‘Primer Relacion’ and Other Pertinent Sections

On Huematzin the Prophet/Historian

Incredibly, Ixtlilxochitl gives an account of a prophet/historian (prophet translated as astrologer) who lived sometime between 388 & 439 AD. (Note: there is some confusion in Ixtlilxochitl’s dates covered elsewhere. As given they match the Book of Mormon dates. However if as we hypothesize, Ixtlilxochitl should have been using the Chichimeca calendar which reset around 774 the date would be closer to 1162 AD). Either way, both of these dates correspond nearly exactly with our two possible timelines for the life of Mormon & Moroni, the prophet/historians. Ixtlilxochitl says this prophet is said to have compiled the Tulteca scriptures, EXACTLY as the Book of Mormon attests!

2:4. And before going on, I want to make an account of Huematzin the astrologer [prophet]….

2:5. Before dying, he gathered together all the histories the Tultecas had, from the creation of the world up to that time and had them pictured in a very large book, where were pictured all of their persecutions and hardships, prosperities and good happenings, kings and lords, laws and good government of their ancestors, old sayings and good examples, temples, idols, sacrifices, rites and ceremonies that they had, astrology, philosophy, architecture, and the other arts, good as well as bad, and a resume of all things of science, knowledge, prosperous and adverse battles, and many other things; and he entitled this book calling it Teoamoxtli, which, well interpreted, means Various Things of God and Divine Book.

2:6. The natives now call the Holy Scriptures Teoamoxtli, because it is almost the same, principally in the persecutions and hardships of men.

On the traditions of Native Warfare

Ixtlilxochitl also gives insight into the warfare described concerning the final battles of the Nephites and Jaredites in the Book of Mormon. Particularly why they wage war of total annihilation. The following is one of several wars of annihilation that are described in detail by Ixtlilxochitl (compiled from both ancient Aztec records and oral accounts from native historians)

5.23 … the three competitor kings of the great Topiltzin came into the city of Tula with a great army. 5.24 They told him to get his people ready, that they would understand each other with arms. 5.25. Topiltzin, seeing himself so oppressed and that there was no way out, asked for time, for it was a law that before a battle they would notify each other some years in advance so that on both sides they would be warned and prepared. The idea was that their descendants, at some future time, could with just reason do the same. This custom was adhered to up to the time the Spaniards came to this land. They answered Topiltzin, telling him that they would give him ten years, and on the last of the ten years they would engage in battle at Tultitlan…
6:4. They engaged in battle, innumerable people dying on both sides. The war lasted three complete years. Those of Topiltzin had few reinforcements, while the three chieftains, their competitors, every day received great numbers of people. The Tultecs were vanquished and nearly all the people were killed in the battle. Many Tultec matrons fought very bravely, helping their husbands. Many of them died.

1 Note the similarity to Mormon 6:2–6 “And I, Mormon, wrote an epistle unto the king of the Lamanites, and desired of him that he would grant unto us that we might gather together our people unto the land of Cumorah, by a hill which was called Cumorah, and there we could give them battle. 3 And it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites did grant unto me the thing which I desired… 6 And it came to pass that [after four years] when we had gathered in all our people in one to the land of Cumorah, behold I, Mormon, began to be old; and knowing it to be the last struggle of my people… 7 And it came to pass that my people, with their wives and their children, did now behold the armies of the Lamanites marching towards them…9 And it came to pass that they did fall upon my people… and were hewn down…”

Creation of the world in Toltec records

Both the Book of Mormon and writings of Ixtlilxochitl speak similarly about the ancient records containing an account of the creation of the world down to the flood and tower

1:1. A history of the events in New Spain including many things regarding the knowledge and accomplishments of the Tultecas from the creation of the world to its destruction, and up to the arrival of the third inhabitants called Chichimecas, and on up to the arrival of the Spanish, taken from the original history of New Spain.
1:2. The creation of the world and things pertaining thereto, including the origin of man. The omniscience of God and what He has revealed to the Tultecas.
1:3. The Tultecas had a knowledge of the creation of the world by Tloque Nahuaque, including the planets, mountains, animals, etc. They also knew about how God created a man and a woman from whence all mankind descended and multiplied. They recorded many other events that are not included in this account, inasmuch as the same events are recorded by other nations in the world. 2

  • 2 Moroni wrote, “And as I suppose that the first part of this record, which speaks concerning the creation of the world, and also of Adam, and an account from that time even to the great tower, and whatsoever things transpired among the children of men until that time, is had among the Jews-Therefore I do not write those things which transpired from the days of Adam until that time . . . .” (Ether 1:3–4)

Global Flood in Toltec Records

Both the Book of Mormon and writings of Ixtlilxochitl speak similarly about the Flood

1:4. The records indicate that the world was created in the year Ce Tecpatl, and the period of time from the creation to the flood is called Atonatiuh, which means the age of the sun of water because the world was destroyed by the flood. And it is recorded in the Tulteca history that this period or first world, as they called it, lasted for 1,716 years, after which time great lightning and storms from the heavens destroyed mankind, and everything in the earth was covered by water including the highest mountain called Caxtolmolictli, which is 15 cubits high.3

  • 3 Genesis states that “Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.” (Genesis 7:20) Whether Ixtlilxochitl was quoting from the native records or was influenced by the Biblical account cant be known for sure, although the context would suggest he is seeing this clause in the Aztec records somewhere.

Tower of Babel in Toltec Records

Both the Book of Mormon and writings of Ixtlilxochitl speak similarly about the Tower of Babel

1:5. To this they recorded other events, such as how, after the flood, a few people who had escaped the destruction inside a Toptlipetlacalli, which interpreted means an enclosed ark, began again to multiply upon the earth.

1:6. After the earth began again to be populated, they built a Zacualli very high and strong, which means the very high tower, to protect themselves against a second destruction of the world. 4

  • The wording is surprisingly similar to that referenced by Josephus in Antiquities of the Jews, where he explains why Nimrod build the tower of Babel. “He also said he would be revenged on God, if he should have a mind to drown the world again; for that he would build a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach!”

1:7. As time elapsed, their language became confounded, such that they did not understand one another; and they were scattered to all parts of the world.

1:8. The Tultecas, consisting of seven men and their wives, were able to understand one another, and they came to this land, having first crossed many lands and waters, living in caves and passing through great tribulations. Upon their arrival here, they discovered that it was a very good and fertile land.5

  • 5 It appears here that Ixtlilxochitl confuses the record-keeping Tultecas with the first civilization, whom he consistently calls Quinametzin or giants/tall ones (see verses 16, 25, 32, 37). The Quinametzin are probably the same people as the Jaredites in the Book of Mormon: “Which Jared came forth … from the great tower … the language of Jared . . . and his brother were not confounded … And they did land upon the shore of the promised land . . . .” (Ether 1:33, 35; 6:12)

1:9. It has been reported that they wandered for 104 years in different parts of the land until they settled in Huehue Tlapallan, their homeland. 6 This was in the year Ce Tecpatl and 520 years had elapsed since the flood, which represent five periods of time. 7

  • 6 Huehue Tlapallan is mentioned 6 times in Ixtlilxochitl’s Sumaria Relaciones. (sometimes as one word, sometimes as two). Moreover Tlapallanconco (Tlapallancinco or zinco) is the beginning place of the Toltec Exile, which (cinco) means ‘new tlapallan’ so obviously named after Huehue Tlapalla, and was said to be ‘close to their homeland’ or 60 leagues (180 miles) from it.
  • 7 A period of time refers to the 52-year calendar cycle. In this case, however, Ixtlilxochitl apparently is calling two calendar cycles a period of time. Hence, five periods of time equal 520 years. The 104 years that they wandered represents one period of time or two 52-year calendar cycles.

1:10. And 1,715 years after the flood, the people were destroyed by a very great hurricane that carried away trees, rocks, houses, and large buildings. Many men and women escaped the storm by hiding in caves and other places where the great hurricane could not reach them.

  • 8 Today, hurricane winds are common to the coasts of Mexico. The great hurricane destruction referred to by Ixtlilxochitl may be the same destruction referred to in the days of Shiblom in the Book of Ether: there was a great destruction, such an one as never had been known upon the face of the earth . . . .” (Ether 11:7)

1:11. After a short period of time, they left the caves to see how much damage had taken place in the land. They discovered that it was populated and covered with monkeys that had been driven by the winds, as they had been in darkness all this time without being able to see the sun or the moon.

1:12From this event, the saying came about that men had turned into monkeys. This period became known as the second period, or the second world, called Ehecatonatiuh, which means sun of wind. After the destruction, men began again to rebuild and to multiply upon the face of the land.

1:13In the year 8 Tochtli, 9 which was 1,347 years after the second calamity and 4,779 years since the creation of the world, it is recorded in their history that the sun stood still one natural day without moving, and a myth evolved wherein a mosquito saw the sun suspended in the air in a pensive mood and said, “Lord of the world, why are you standing still and why are you in such deep thought? Why are you not doing the work you are supposed to do? Do you want to destroy the world as before?” And the mosquito said many other things to the sun, but the sun still did not move. The mosquito then stung the sun on the leg, and seeing that his leg had been stung, the sun began again to move along its course as before.

  • 9 Anytime a number is in front of a name such as 8 Tochtli, the number refers to the day and the month and is correlated with a year. The date in which the sun stood stilt corresponds with 52 BC in the dates given by Ixtlilxochitl.

1:14It had been 158 years since the great hurricane and 4,964 years since the creation of the world, when there occurred another destruction in this land. 10   The people who lived in this corner of the land, which they now call New Spain, were giants [tall ones] called Quinametzin. The destruction consisted of a great earthquake that swallowed up and killed the people when the high volcanic mountains erupted. All of the people were destroyed and no one escaped; or if anyone did escape, it was those who were in the internal parts of the land. Many Tultecas, along with the Chichimecas, who were their neighbors, were killed. This was in the year Tecpatl, and they called this time period Tlacchitonatiuh, which means sun of the earth.

  • 10 (This destruction appears to be the same referred to in verse 16, which dates to the exact time the destruction occurred at the death of Christ. (3 Nephi 8:5) The dating here, however, is inconsistent.

Calendar Adjustment & Destruction at time of Christ

The dates on these two verses do not agree. However this council and calendar Adjustment sounds an a lot like the beginning of the reign of the Judges. The destructions sound like the death of Christ. The Book of Mormon gives this Calendar base date change at the Reign of the judges a date of 91 BC or 126 years before Christ’s coming to Bountiful. Note however that King Benjamin’s address occurred 166 years before the destructions of Christ.

1:15In the year Ce Tecpatl, which was 5,097 years since the creation of the world and 104 years after the total destruction of the giant Quinametzin, all of the land of this new age being at peace, a council was held of the leading scientific, astrological, and artistic scholars of the Tultecas in their capital city called Huehuetlapallan. Here they discussed many things, including the destruction and the calamities that had taken place, as well as the movements of the heavens since the creation of the world. They also discussed many other things; but because of the burning of the records, we do not know or understand any more than what is written here. Among other things, they added the leap year to the calendar to adjust it with the solar equinox; and they discussed many other interesting things as will be observed from their records and laws regarding the years, months, weeks, days, signs, and planets. These, along with other interesting things, were understood by them.

1:16It had been 166 years since they had adjusted their calendar with the equinox and 270 years since the giants [tall ones] had been destroyed — when the sun and the moon eclipsed and the earth quaked and rocks were broken into pieces and many other signs that had been given came to pass, although man was not destroyed. This was in the year CE Calli, which, adjusted to our calendar, happened at the same time that Christ, our Lord, was crucified. And they say that this destruction occurred in the first few days of the year. 11

  • 10 This ‘council’ sounds a lot like the beginning of the Reign of the judges in Mosiah 29:39–47, “39 Therefore, it came to pass that they assembled themselves together in bodies throughout the land, to cast in their voices concerning who should be their judges, to judge them… in the whole, five hundred and nine years from the time Lehi left Jerusalem. 47 And thus ended the reign of the kings over the people of Nephi [and began the new Calendar of the reign of the Judges]”.
    However, its timing actually matches perfectly with King Benjamin’s address in 130 BC. in Mosiah 1:10 “My son, I would that ye should make a proclamation throughout all this land among all this people, or the people of Zarahemla, and the people of Mosiah who dwell in the land, that thereby they may be gathered together”
  • 11 The wording here could be ambiguous being unclear whether the destructions mentioned happened at the Time of Christ or if its referring to the destruction of the giants/Jaredites 270 years earlier. We will suppose the former since the Book of Mormon records the same date for the great destruction at the time of the crucifixion of Christ: “And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such as one as never had been known in all the land… 17 And thus the face of the whole earth became deformed, because of the tempests, and the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the quaking of the earth. 18 And behold, the rocks were rent in twain; they were broken up upon the face of the whole earth, insomuch that they were found in broken fragments, and in seams and in cracks, upon all the face of the land.” (3 Nephi 8:5,17–18)

1:18.It had been 305 years since the time of the eclipsing of the sun and the moon, 438 years since the time of the destruction of the large Quinametzin (giants), and 5,486 years since the creation of the world, when Chalcatzin and Tlacamihtzin, chief leaders and descendants of the Tulteca royal lineage, following many years of quiet peace, commenced to desire the usurpation of the kingdom, desiring to overthrow the legitimate successor. This was the year 13 Acatl.

1:19. They were exiled, and there began to be wars, and they cast them out of the City of Tlachicalzincan, in the region of Hueytlapallan, their homeland. And they were cast out with their families and allies, their men as well as their women, and a great number were exiled. They left in the year following CE Tecpatl, banished from all that land, as you will see in that which follows. And this transpired, according to our calculations, 449 years after the birth of our Christ the Lord. 13

  • 13 If the date of the exile of the Tultecas is 305 years from the 34 AD eclipse, then the above date would be 339 AD instead of 449 AD. If we attempt to correlate the record-keeping Tultecas with the record-keeping Nephites, the 339AD exile date is close to the exile of the Nephites from the Land Southward at 350 AD. (Mormon 2:28–29), the 449 AD date is closer to the 385 AD battle at Cumorah and the 421 AD closing date in the Book of Mormon.

The Chichimecs came from Babel in Asia.

Although the Toltecs and Chichimec titles seem to be claimed by many different tribes and peoples in early codices, here they seem to be associated with the Jaredites. Coincidentally in the highland model, the Jaredite heartland is the narrow coastal pass of central Sonora near Culiacan which is where archaeologist often place the early chichimecs. (Early Spanish conquires associate the tribes of the Taramara region of Sonora with the Chichimec’s). Perhaps then, after the final battle Lamanites who fought over and settled the Land of Desolation where the treaty was signed end up claiming those ancestral Jaredite lands as their own and associating themselves with the Jaredite remnants and pictographs (of which their are thousands).

1:20The ancestors of the natives of this land that is now called New Spain, according to the common and general opinion of everyone, as well as that which appears demonstrated in their paintings, came from the Occidental [western] areas.

1:21And all who are now called Tultecas, Aculhuas, and Mexicanas, as well as the other people in this land, boast and affirms that they are descendants of the Chichimecas. The reason, according to their history, is that their first king, whose name was Chichimecatl, was the one who brought them to this new land where they settled. And it was be, as can be deduced, that came from the great Tartary, and was part of those who came from the division of Babel. This account is described in great detail in their history, and it tells how he, their king traveled with them crossing a large part of the world. arriving at this land, which they considered to be good, fertile, and abundant for human sustenance. As mentioned earlier, they populated the major part of the land, and more particularly that which falls along the northern part. And the Chichimecatl called the land by his own name.14

  • 14 Verse 21 is a repeat of verses 6-8, as it describes the first settlers who came from the great tower at the time of the confusion of the languages. The Book of Ether records that the first king, Jared, and those who traveled with him traveled in “that quarter where there never had man been”, and they traveled “many years” in the wilderness. (Ether 2:5; 3:3; 6:8-12) The Book of Ether does not tell which ocean the Jaredites crossed. However, from the above information, they apparently crossed the Pacific after wandering through the ‘Tartary’, which is the general area of South Russia & China where the Black & Caspian seas could match well with the inland seas mentioned in Ether 2:5.
    Ixtlilxochitl said that the first inhabitants settled primarily along the “northern part”… and Moroni records the account of the “ancient inhabitants who were destroyed by the hand of the Lord upon the face of this north country.” (Ether 1: 1)

On Lands being named after the one who first ‘possessed’ them

1:22In each place where the Chichimecatl settled, whether it be a large city or a small village, it was their custom to name it according to the first king or leader who possessed the land. This same custom prevailed among the Tultecas. The general area was called the Land of Tollan, after the first king who was so named. Be that as it may, this custom was prevalent in naming other cities and villages throughout the land. 15

  • 15 This same custom is mentioned by Mormon wherein he writes, “Now it was the custom of the people of Nephi to call their lands, and their cities, and their villages, yea, even all their small villages after the name of him who first possessed them; and thus it was with the land of Ammonihah.” (Alma 8:7)

1:23Notwithstanding that some were called Tultecas, others Aculhuas, Tepanecas and Otomites, they all were proud to be of the lineage of the Chichimecas, because they all descended from them. However, it is true that there were divisions among the Chichimecas themselves. And some were more civilized than others, such as the Tultecas. And others were more barbaric. such as the Otomites, and others like them. Those who are pure Chichimecas, whose kings were direct descendants of the first king and founder Chichimecatl, were bloodthirsty men, warriors, and lovers of power, holding other nations in bondage. 16

  • 16 Regarding the 190 BC Lamanites, Mormon wrote. “They were a wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, believing in the tradition of their fathers . . . .” And . . . “they were desirous to bring us [the Nephites] into bondage . . . .” (Mosiah 10: 12; 9:12)

1:24. Although one nation was inclined to righteousness and another nation was full of mischief idleness, being exceedingly haughty and proud and being warmongers, or although one nation was virtuous and another full of iniquity, both, as recorded in their history, came from the same lineage, the Chichimecas. And all are descended from the same forefathers; and as it has been said, they came from the Occidental [Western] areas. 17

  • 17 Apparently Ixtlilxochitl traces his lineage, through the Chichimeca lineage, all of the way back to the first settlers who came from the tower. The Book of Mormon may clear up this issue. Some of the 588-570 BC Lamanites, “the people who were now called Lamanites,” (2 Nephi 5:14) were in all probability descendants from the Jaredite Tower of Babel people. Hence, the Chichimeca in Ixtlilxochitl’s history may be the same as the Lamanites in Book of Mormon history, and yet many would have descended from the original Jaredite or Quinametzin king.

1:25. In this land called New Spain [Mexico], there were giants [tall ones], as demonstrated by their bones that have been discovered in many areas. The ancient Tulteca record keepers called them Quinametzin. They became acquainted with them and had many wars and contentions with them, and in particular in all of the land that is now called New Spain. They [the Quinametzin] were destroyed, and their civilization came to an end as a result of great calamities and punishments from heaven for some grave sins that they had committed. 18

  • 18 When Mosiah fled to the Land of Zarahemla about 200 BC and encountered the people of Zarahemla, they informed him that they had “had many wars and contentions, and had fallen by the sword from time to time.” (Omni 1: 17) The Mulekites had landed in the land of the Jaredites approximately 400 years prior to the uniting of the Nephites and the people of Zarahemla. (Alma 22:30; Omni 1: 19) An expedition dating to 121 BC, sent out by Limhi in search of the Land of Zarahemla, discovered the Jaredite ruins, including bones of men and breastplates that were large. (Mosiah 8:8) The above statement of Ixtlilxochitl may have reference to these accounts. This possibility suggests that the Quinametzin, who were large people, were the same people known as the Jaredites.

1:26It is the opinion of some of these ancient historians that these giants [tall ones] descended from the same Chichimecas mentioned earlier, and they say that in these northern lands, where the ancient Chichimeca Empire was located that there are villages where there are still men living who are over thirty hands tall. And it is of no wonder, that even our own Spaniards have not yet entered into the interior of the lands, but have only traveled along the coastal areas such as the lands of the Chicoranos and the Duharezases, and they have found men in these parts who are eleven and twelve hands in height, and have been told that there are others even taller.

  • 19 One hand is considered equivalent to 4 inches, in which cases the extremes of the above measurements are 4 feet to 10 feet. From an archaeological point of view, the Otmec were large people–but not necessarily tall people. (See Figure 11-2.) Many scholars brush off the comment about giants as being Indian superstitions, saying that the large bones are remains of elephants. Too much consistency is evident, however, to ignore the idea of a large race of people. Although a discrepancy exists between 30 hands and 11 or 12 hands tall, the facts that the Book of Mormon Jaredites, the archaeological Olmecs, and the Quinametzin of Ixtlilxochitl are all large people and that they all lived in the Land Northward, the northern country, or the northern lands lend credibility to the above statements. The northern lands of both the Olmecs and Ixtlilxochitl are the area along the Gulf of Mexico (or Texas, New Mexico, etc?). This area appears to be the same area as the Land Northward in Jaredite history.

1:27. The greatest destruction that occurred among the Quinametzin [elsewhere called Philistines or giants] was in the year and date that the natives call CE Toxtli, signifying the date 1 Rabbit, 299 years after the birth of Jesus Christ, and with them ended the third age, which was called Ecatonatiuh, because of the great winds and earthquakes. And almost everyone was destroyed. 20

  • 20 The above date is obviously a transcription error as it’s given different dates elsewhere. This destruction appears to be referring to the second period because of the context in which it is written. Four basic ages or periods of destruction are constantly referred to by Ixtlilxochitl and are also recorded by other early Mexican writers. The Aztec calendar stone also reflects four periods of destruction. The first period relates to the flood and appears to date to 3114 BC. The second is the great hurricane, which has been dated to 1399 BC in this account as outlined in verse 10. The third age correlates to the death of Christ in 34 AD and consisted of great earthquakes and storms. The fourth age usually refers to the time when the world will be destroyed by fire and is still in the future.

Nephites & Toltecs are both industrious record keepers

1:28. The Tultecas were the second civilization in this land after the destruction of the giants [Quinametzin: just discussed] . . ., and they had a knowledge of the creation of the world and of how the world had been destroyed by the flood; and many other things are recorded in their history and paintings.

1:29. . . . the word Tulteca means men of the arts and sciences, because those of this nation were great artisans, as you can see today in many parts, and especially in the ruins of buildings, such as Teotihuacan, Tula, and Cholula.

21 The Tolteca or second civilization sound a lot like Helaman 3:15 which says “15 But behold, there are many books and many records of every kind, and they have been kept chiefly by the Nephites. 16 And they have been handed down from one generation to another by the Nephites”. Being the one’s who brought the records (unlike the Jaredites and Mulekites)

1:30. The most serious authors and historians of the ancient pagans included Quetzalcoatl, who is considered to be the first. Some of the modem pagans include Nezahualcoyotzin, king of Texcuco, and the two infants of Mexico, Itzocatzin and Xiuhcozcatzin, sons of King Huitzilihuitzin. And there are many others I could mention if it were necessary. 21

  • 21 The name Quetzalcoatl is prominent in the ancient histories of Mexico. The origin of the name dates back to the advent of Christ. Others were given the name of Quetzalcoatl, including a 10th Century AD Toltec leader. The 16th-Century Catholic priests made serious attempts to obliterate the name and power of Quetzalcoatl from the minds of the people. (See Chapter 12, “Fray Bernardino de Sahagun.”)

1:31. It is declared through their histories about the god Teotloquenahuaque, Tlachihualcipal Nemoanulhuicahua Tlaltipacque, which, according to the correct interpretation, means the universal god of all things, creator of them and in whose will lives all creatures, lord of the heaven and of the earth, etc. After having created all things, he created the first parents of men, from whence came forth all others; and the dwelling place and habitation that he gave them was the world.

1:32. It is said that the world had four ages. The first, which was from the beginning, was called Atonatiuh, which means sun of water, signifying that the world was terminated by a flood. The second, called Tlachitonatiuh, means sun of earth, because the world came to an end by great earthquakes, in such a manner that almost all of mankind was destroyed. This age or time occurred during the time of the giants [tall ones], who were called Quinametintzoculihicxime.

1:33. The third age, Ecatonatiuh, means sun of air, because this period came to an end by winds that were so strong that they uprooted all of the buildings and trees and even broke the rocks in pieces; and the majority of mankind perished. And because those who escaped this calamity found a large number of monkeys that the wind must have brought from other parts, the survivors said man must have been changed into monkeys. 22

  • 22 Verse 33 apparently is the same destruction referred to in verses 10-12, in which case it is the second age or period of time instead of the third. The confusion may lie in the name of Ecatonatiuah, which is either transcribed wrong or which Ixtlilxochitl confuses with Ehecatonatiuh. Sometime after the great destruction at the time of Christ, as recorded in some of the traditions, the name of Ehecatl, which means wind, became part of the title of Quetzalcoatl-that is, Ehecatl Quetzalcoatl.

1:34Those who possessed this new world in this third age were the Ulmecas and Xicalancas; and according to what is found in their histories, they came in ships or boats from the east to the land of Potonchan, and from there they began to populate the land. 23

  • 23 Potonchan is near the present-day City of Veracruz, Mexico. It is the same place where the Spanish conquerors landed in the 16th Century AD. LDS writers commonly agree that the Mulekites came from the east across the Atlantic. Cacaxtla was said to be the capitol of the Olmeca-Xicalanca people by Diego Muñoz Camargo. It is the site of the famous ‘Battle Mural’ depicting warriors with dark and lighter skin. Cacaxtla was likely founded around 400 AD by a group of Mayan settlers (possibly after sacking Chula?) but is essentially the sister city to Xochitecatl and Moyotzingo, formative sites with early ties to the Olmec of Veracruz, Chiapas and the Mexican Highland. Here we presume that the Olmeca are Lehites and Xicalancas Mulekites. Note Mariano Veytia in Historia antigua de México (p. 150) says the Zapotecs/Mixtecs are kindreds with Olmeca and Xicalancas.

Does Ixtlilxochitl explain why the Mulekites make Mosiah I their king?

The book of Mormon does not explain why the people of Zarahemla so eagerly appointed Mosiah I their king, except perhaps that the Nephites had writing. (Omni 1:15–24) This section of Ixtlilxochitl gives a convincing explanation that perhaps Mosiah and his people freed the Mulekites from bondage when they arrived by killing the Jaredite overlords who were holding the Mulekites in bondage. Perhaps Omni 1:24 is speaking of this battle, with Mormon calling the enemy “Lamanites” and Ixtlilxochitl calling them Quinametzin or giants.

1:35. On the banks of the Atoyac River, which is the one that passes between Puebla and Cholula, there were found some of the giants [tall ones] who had escaped the destruction and extermination of the second age. Taking advantage of their size and strength, they oppressed and enslaved their new neighbors.

1:36The principal leaders of the new settlers determined to liberate themselves, and the means they employed were to invite the old settlers to a very solemn feast. After the old settlers became full and intoxicated, they were killed and destroyed with their own weapons, with which feat the new settlers remained free and exempt from bondage, and this increased the domain and command of the Xicalancas and Ulmecas. 24

  • 24 This makes an amazing explanation for Mosiah’s quick ascension to rule the people of Zarahemla. The only detail the Book of Momron gives after talking about Coriantumr and the Jaredites is Omni 1:24 “And behold, I have seen, in the days of king Benjamin, a serious war and much bloodshed between the Nephites and the Lamanites. But behold, the Nephites did obtain much advantage over them; yea, insomuch that king Benjamin did drive them out of the land of Zarahemla.” Note this tactic is strikingly similar to the 121 BC account of Gideon & Limhi escaping from Lamanite bondage by getting their guards drunk in the Land of Nephi. Mosiah 22:3–13, explains that Gideon would “go according to thy command and pay the last tribute of wine to the Lamanites, and they will be drunken; and we will pass through the secret pass on the left of their camp when they are drunken and asleep” (v. 7). Perhaps Gideon learned this trick by the Nephite stories of what had been done a century earlier. Or perhaps even this account by Ixtlilxochitl is a corrupted version of the escape in Mosiah 22.

    The largest-based pyramid in the world is Cholula (verse 35). It covers over 40 acres of ground and dates to the Preclassic Era (200 BC — about the time the Nephites moved from the City of Nephi to Zerahemla). It was covered in a thin ash layer around the time of Christ and has subsequently been rebuilt/added to several times. A Catholic church sits peacefully on top of the pyramid today. (See Figure 11-4.) The State of Puebla borders the east ports mentioned earlier as landing spots for the Mulekites.

Diego Duran gives a separate account of the above event in his book “The History of the Indies of New Spain“, in it he seconds that the Quinametzin lived near Cholula and were considerably taller than the majority of natives.

“It cannot be denied, nor do I deny, that there have been giants in this country. I can affirm this because I have seen them, I have met men of monstrous stature here. I believe there are some in the city of Mexico who will remember as I do, a gigantic Indian who appeared in a procession of the feast of Corpus Christi. He was dressed in yellow silk with a halberd at his shoulder and a helmet on his head. And was all of a vara [2.7 feet] taller than the others [of the natives]. (p. 9)

“When the six tribes and different peoples had settled, they recorded [in their painted books] the type of land and kind of people found here. Among these there are two paintings that show two types of people, one from the west of the snow-covered mountains toward Mexico city, and the other to the east, where Puebla and Cholula are found. The people from the first region (west) were the Chichimecs and those from the east were “giants”, the Quiname, which means “men of great stature”. (p. 17)

…These giants while fleeing from the Cholultecs, flung themselves from the precipices and were killed, in order to keep from falling into the hands of the others. The Cholutecs had been extremely cruel to them… pursuing them from hill to hill.. until they were destroyed. (p. 17)

Quetzalcoatl and the Tree of Life

Its important to understand that Quetzalcoatl was a title used by Mexican Highland people very much like the prefixes/sufixes of ‘el’ and ‘jah’ in Hebrew. Thus it seems likely that Mesoamerican spiritual and kingly figures had variations of Quetzalcoatl attached to their names much like biblical kings or prophets like Eli’jah’, Dan’el’, Adoni’jah’ actually had the title of Jehovah attached to their names. Ixtlilxochitl notes at least two or three different characters who are called Quetzalcoatl and several other varients. Care must be taken in deciphering which historical figure is being referred to under the title Quetzalcoatl. I believe that prophets named ‘Nephi’ in the Book of Mormon actually have some variation of Quetzalcoatl in their native names. See here.

1:37. The people were living in a time of great prosperity, when there arrived in this land a man whom they called Quetzalcoatl. Others called him Hueman because of his great virtues. He was considered just, saintly, and good, teaching them by deeds and words the road to virtue. He instructed them to refrain from vices and not to sin, and he gave them laws and sane doctrine. He told them to constrain their appetites and to be honest, and he instituted the law of the fast.

1:38. And [He was] the first to be worshiped and to be placed in authority, and for that reason [He] is called Quiauhtzteotlchicahualizteotl and Tonaceaquahuitl, which means god of the rains and of health and tree of sustenance or of life. 25

  • 25 The Spanish translation at the beginning of verse 38 states: “el primero que adoro y coloco la cruz.” (literally: the first who I adore & placed the cross). I have translated it as referring to Quetzalcoatl inasmuch as that is consistent with the context of the verses preceding and following the statement. I have translated “coloco la cruz” as “placed in authority.” Quetzalcoatl has been given many names, including the two above. The “tree-of-life” motif is associated with Christ and is prevalent throughout Mesoamerica. Quetzalcoatl is afforded the prominent position of all of the gods of Mesoamerica. The original Quetzalcoatl is considered by most Latter-day Saint writers to be the same person as Jesus Christ. (See Chapter 14, “The White God Quetzalcoatl.”

1:39. After he [Quetzalcoatl] had preached the above mentioned to all of the other Ulmeca and Xicalanca cities, and especially in the City of Cholula, where he spent a great deal of time, and seeing the small amount of fruit that resulted from his doctrine, he returned to the same place from whence he had come, which was to the east, disappearing at Coatzacoalco. 26

  • 26. Coatzacoalco(s) (Co-ought-saw-co-all-cos) has grown into a modem oil refinery city located in the State of Veracruz near the border of the State of Tabasco. The Coatzacoalcos River empties into the Gulf of Mexico at the top of the gulf by the City of Coatzacoalcos. The Aztec meaning of the word Coatzacoalcos is “the foundation of the religion of the feathered serpent.” Cholula is a city just over the mountain from Mexico City and is the original city of Zarahemla in our continental model. (3 Nephi 11: 1; see Figure 11-5)

1:40. And at the time of his farewell from these people, he told them of times to come. He said that in the year that would be called CE Acatl, he would return and then his doctrine would be accepted, and his children would be lords and heirs of the earth. He also told them that they and their descendants would pass through great calamities and persecutions. He prophesied of many other things that would surely come to pass.

1:41. Quetzalcoatl, by literal interpretation, means serpent of the precious feathers, with an allegoric meaning of, man of exceeding great wisdom. And Huemac (Hueman), some say, was the name given to him because his hands were printed, or stamped, on a rock, like a very fine wax, as testimony that what he prophesied would come to pass. Others say that (Hueman) means, he with the great or powerful hand.

1:42. A few days after he left, a great destruction and devastation took place, which is referred to as the third period of the world. At that time, the great building and tower of Cholula, which was so famous and marvelous, was destroyed. It was like a second tower of Babel that these people had built, with virtually the same idea in mind. It was destroyed by the wind. 27

  • 27. This “3rd period” destruction appears to be the same as those mentioned in verses 14 and 16. Verse 16 gives the same date as the date recorded in the Book of Mormon-that is, the first month of the 34th year. (3 Nephi 8:5) Verse 42 says that the destruction took place a few days after Quetzalcoatl left. It seems quite likely that this is confustion in the translation or myth and it should instead read, “at the time of his death.” Especially in light of verse 43 which records the destruction as occurring some years after the birth of Christ.

1:43. And later, those who escaped at the end of the third age, in place of the ruins, the people built a temple to Quetzalcoatl, whom they named the god of wind, because it was destroyed by the wind. They understood that this calamity was sent by his hand. And they called it CE Acatl, which was the name of the year of his coming. According to the history referred to, and from the records, the foregoing took place a few years after the birth of Christ our Lord.

 1:44.After this age had passed, beginning at this time, entered the fourth age called Tletonatiuh, which means, sun of fire, because it is said that this fourth and last age will end by fire.

1:45. Quetzalcoatl was a man of comely appearance and serious disposition. His countenance was white, and he wore a beard. His manner of dress consisted of a long, flowing robe. 28

  • 28. This verse concludes the first chapter, or Sumaria Relacion, as edited by Alfredo Chavero. The historical era covered in this first chapter was from the flood called the first age, and terminates with a great storm that occurred around the time of Christ, called the third age, or from approximately 3114 BC to ~34 AD. It is interesting that the Aztec legends prophesy that the current age will end by “fire” just as the Book of Revelation and many other Middle Eastern traditions. The second chapter of Chavero provides us with a beginning date of 466 AD, with intermittent statements dating back to the 3rd Century AD.

After the Book of Mormon Final War

The similarity between what’s described here and the Book of Mormon is remarkable. The dispersion of the war-like Chichimeca at 387 AD correlates with the same time period directly after the Nephites/Lamanite final battle at Cumorah in 385 AD presumably in New England. This description of “Journeying along the coast” from their “home land” (perhaps Nephites and/or Lamanites in the Hopewell lands of Ohio in the Land Northward) back to “California” or the southwest and down the sea of Cortez to the Colorado (reddish) river in order to arrive at the legendary city of Tollan (called Tollanzinco or New Tollan in the next verse).

2:40. Banished from their homeland, the Tultecas undertook their journey along the coast. Traveling through the country, they arrived at California by the sea, which they called Hueytlapallan, which today is called Cortez, which name was given because of its reddish [colorado] color. The date of their arrival was in the year CE Tecpatl, which corresponds to 387 AD. 29
2:41. Following along the coast of Xalixco (Jalisco) and all along the south, leaving from the port of Huatulco 30 and traveling through diverse lands, they arrived at the province of Tochtepec, which is located along the sea north. And after walking and exploring, they settled in the Tolantzinco, leaving colonies in the places where they made Great Houses (hecieron mansion).

  • 29. Mormon 8:2–3 tells us “2 And now it came to pass that after the great and tremendous battle at Cumorah [in 385 AD], behold, the Nephites who had escaped into the country southward were hunted by the Lamanites, until they were all destroyed. 3 And my father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment of my father. And whether they will slay me, I know not.” Note the above quote from Ixtlilxochitl is not of the Toltec but the war-like Chichimeca. So it seems more likely that this group is the returning army of Lamanites (although perhaps some Nephites not known to Moroni as well?)
  • 30. Huatulco is in Southern Oaxaca and in our model this area is directly seaward from the Land/city of Nephi (Monte Alban, Oaxaca) and would have been their principle sea port. Xalisco is modern Jalisco and likely a name for the entire West Coast of Mexico from the Sea of Cortez south to Oaxaca. Tochtepec is a city in Puebla (our Zarahemla)

On the three settlers of the Americas and the 7 tribes

Just like the Book of Mormon Ixtlilxochitl speaks of 3 settlers in the Americas (Jaredites, Mulekites & Lehites). Elsewhere these three groups are spoken of in more detail. The seven founding tribes is also a very pervasive myth in early writings and match incredibly with the Book of Mormon 7 groups of Lehites.

2:42. The Tultecas were the third settlers of this land, counting the giants [tall ones] as the first, with the second being the Ulmecas (olmecs) and Xicalancas. While in Tolantzinco (Tollan?) they counted one hundred and four years of having left their homeland. The names of the seven leaders/chieftains who led them, and among whom the government took turns, were ‘: 1- Tlacomíhua that others call Ácatl: 2- Chalchiuhmatzin: 3- Ahuecatl: 4- Cóatzon: 5- Tiuhcoatl: 6- Tlapalhuitz: 7- Huitz: whom later populated the city of Tollan, head of the monarchy. Seven years after it was founded, they elected king and supreme lord, the first being Chalchiuhmatzin Chalchiuhtlatanac which was in the year Chicome Acatl and in our dates, 510 AD. (Chavero 1965:28)

31  Note the Book of Mormon repeatedly mentions the seven tribes. (see Jacob 1:13, Mormon 1:8, 4 Ne 1:36–37) “13 Now the people which were not Lamanites were Nephites; nevertheless, they were called Nephites, Jacobites, Josephites, Zoramites, Lamanites, Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites. 14 But I, Jacob, shall not hereafter distinguish them by these names, but I shall call them Lamanites that seek to destroy the people of Nephi, and those who are friendly to Nephi I shall call Nephites.” Third Relacion begins with the founding of the legendary city of Tula by the Toltecs (prosperous and abundant empire–a city “that was the head of its kingdoms and lordships for many years”). Combining the mythology of the story with what we know of the archaeology seems to paint a believable narrative suggesting that perhaps after the Nephite destruction, some of the treasonous Nephite defectors, combined with the Lamanite army returned to Tula (a little North of Teotihuacán and Mexico City) and founded the final Toltec empire the immediate precursor to the Aztec.

On the long distance migration (of the Toltecs), 2700 miles from the land Northward to Southward

Many codices speak of the famous Toltec migration myth. Most Hispanic historians reference Ixlilchotil’s history as his account stands out in its use of dates. Most authors place their homeland either in West Mexico, Sonora or the Southwest. Several very early Spanish maps also place it in the US southwest. (Some confusion exists in the date of this account. And later authors go with the 439 date instead of the 388. When I get some time I’ll explain how this migration might relate to the Book of Mormon (being Lamanites and/or Nephite dissenters coming home after the final battle) and go through the differing accounts of it.)

Overview of the Toltec migration as related by Ixlilchotil.

2:1. In the year 1 FLINT [439 or perhaps 388? see note 8], as has been said [in 1:19], the Tultecs [Nahuatls] were banished from their country and nation. They left fleeing and as they could, while the followers of Tlaxicholiucan, their kindred, came following, harassing them, until they arrived at a point more than sixty leagues away from their lands, where they stayed, reorganizing themselves and cultivating the land and doing other things for their sustenance. 2:2. This land they called Tlapallanconco and the discoverer of this land was called Cecatzin. 2:3. … they were near their country eight years making war, until they were entirely driven out….

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FOR THE REST OF IXLILXOCHTL’S ACCOUNT GO TO this page.

Authors Note: Coming Soon/Still to do

-Go back through these and put the Book of Mormon quotes of verses and refs in the footnotes to compare and contrast whats said in the two books.
-Add references to the ‘high priest of cholula’ that are everywhere to show that there’s a distinct religion with a leader (quote b.o.m. – leader of their church)
-Add refs to ‘bandits’ that are all over the chapter section. “Huetzin was upon him and they had a very cruel battle in which many people died on both sides until the bandits were defeated, and their leader Yacanex fled without stopping to Panuco, because there was the sierra where they tried to take refuge and they had that strength” (see also “Chichimecas rebels”)
-Compare this section to the b.o.m. sections of ferocious lamanites… “These Chichimecas dressed in their nature, and today they wear the marinated skins of martens, lions, tigers and other animals: the…”
-Another explanation on how the 4rth Nephi genealogy lived so long… Ixlolchitl says, “how could they live so long? To this the answer is that even today many natives live almost a hundred years, and others spend a hundred years… (get quote)
-In history chichmeca, Ixlilchotil seems to use Chichimecas and Toltecas like B.O.M. uses Nephites and Lamantes. Get some examples and make section on it (maybe just contrast the idleness of chichimecs w/ the resourcefullness? or however he says it, of totecs. “1:29. … the word Tulteca means men of the arts and sciences, because those of this nation were great artisans, as you can see today in many parts, and especially in the ruins of buildings, such as Teotihuacan, Tula, and Cholula” whereas the Chichimec were “dressed in their nature, and today they wear the marinated skins of martens, lions” and “very great idolaters”

Redefining the LDS (Protestant) View of the “Great Apostasy”

In this article I hope to unravel some of the contradiction found it the current LDS perspective on the “Great Apostasy“, which I believe is for the most part a popular protestant view adopted by church leaders during Joseph Smith’s time. Instead of ‘great’ or universal apostasy, LDS scriptures seem to support a dispensationalist view of apostasy. In other words, at no time was there a world-wide or universal apostasy or loss of priesthood and truth. Instead God simply took those things from one people, and gave them to another.

Despite their wickedness God allowed ‘Israel’ to be his ‘church’ or archetype of how heaven operates to the world from Abraham to Christ. After Christ, Israel fell into apostasy as the gospel and job of being Jehovah’s church or archetype passed to the Gentiles and Catholic Church. Joseph Smith’s ‘restoration’ heralds the message that the priesthood and truth is about to be taken from the gentiles (as they fall into apostasy) and given back to gathered Israel (Middle Eastern & Latin peoples).  Old Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism & Traditional Chinese religion too. In the end, the renewal of the covenant and religious priesthood keys, is part of a repeated pattern wherein Israel’s “God” or the “heavenly church” takes turns establishing new covenants and symbolic systems with each of the world’s peoples at assorted key times and seasons of human history. (And has nothing to do with truth, priesthood, the gospel or church being taken completely from the earth.)

The Great Apostasy doctrine was conceived by 16th century reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin, Thomas Cranmer, John Thomas, John Knox, and Cotton Mather. It is a necessary pillar in the protestant idea of the universal priesthood of all believers, and was used to justify the protestant view of salvation without need for Catholic priesthood or apostolic succession. For early Mormon’s the doctrine was seen as an effective backdrop to show a need for priesthood restoration and exclusivity claims. However, I hope to show how adopting this doctrine has caused us to misinterpret the Bible and modern scripture and actually weaken the LDS position. It causes many to lose faith in the WEAK, illogical, contradictory and inconsistent ‘God’ that this doctrine requires. As an example I offer the following logical contradictions and inconsistencies that are caused by mixing the idea of Universal Apostasy with LDS theology.

  1. Why would divinity reject the religious priesthood (or keys) of the Gentile Medieval Church for their possible small succession breaches and doctrinal corruptions, when he supposedly continued to honor the priesthood of ancient Israel despite their enormous repeated succession crises, repeated disobedience, doctrinal corruptions with neighboring false religions, idol worship (including the promotion of the ashterah sex cults and the sacrifice of their children to Baal), as well as killing of the prophets and even their national destruction and captivity?
  2. If God’s priesthood and ordinances are so important, why did God wait nearly 2000 years to restore them after they were supposedly lost? If God’s church plays such a huge role in salvation, why has it always had such a minimal (or non existent) role in human affairs (according to the great apostacy model)? Why couldn’t God select a few people to go 2000 miles into middle of uninhabited Asia and reestablish his Church like he did with the early LDS Saints? If we think the devil would have destroyed any attempts, then doesn’t that make God weaker than the devil? Couldn’t He have preserved the church with his “matchless power” as He did over and over with the tiny (and usually wicked) nation of Judah? (Or as we suppose He did with early Mormonism.)
  3. Why would God have ancient prophets prophesy that the gospel & kingdom would be taken from the Jews and given to the Gentiles, and later command the apostles to preach his gospel to the ends of the earth— just to let that kingdom completely fail within a few hundred years? Didn’t he say to Peter “thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it” (Matt 16:16–19). So why did the gates of Hell prevail within a few hundred years? Especially when history shows there were so many scattered groups of good (priesthood authorized) people doing their best to live this newly formed Christian faith throughout the history of the Gentile church.
  4. Suggesting that the Catholic/Orthodox Church, which is by many standards the largest and most influential, globally civilizing church that the world has ever known, was completely rejected by God because of its numerous issues and evils (or in fact is the Church of the Devil as some have suggested)—requires the logical thinker to draw the same conclusions about the ancient Israelite religion, and also modern Mormonism when presented with the repeated episodes of internal conflict, church endorsed brutality, succession crises and doctrinal corruptions that each of these organizations have experienced.
  5. LDS scripture suggests that God “restored” gospel knowledge and a new priesthood covenant to many different dispensations throughout the scriptural history (such as Abraham, Moses, Nephi and the Jaredites). None of these restorations were the result of universal apostasy. In each of these cases OTHER priesthood holders and ‘branches’ of the church existed simultaneously. What evidence is there that Joseph Smith’s case was any different?
  6. Why does close examination of the most prominent scriptures which have been used to support a universal apostasy, show that they make little sense in such a context?

I believe these issues come from a fundamentalist interpretation of restorationism, history and scripture. Instead of seeing Biblical prophets as religious archetypes and messengers of a heavenly church, and seeing the Israelite and Christian priesthood covenants as divinely created symbols or shadows of what heaven is planning for the whole of society; fundamentalist interpretations get caught up in narrow-minded and overly-literal scriptural interpretations that end up destroying faith in god and dividing groups and distorting the heavenly system they are supposedly meant to display to the world.

As a beginning proof of divinity’s guiding hand in both the history of Israel and the European Gentile Church (which includes protestant Christianity), I offer this comparison of the unbelievable symbolism, historical typology, and repeated patterns displayed in the histories of Israel and the Gentile Church. In this article I will attempt to show those patterns as proof of heaven’s influence on human affairs, as well as taking another look at the scriptures used to uphold the misunderstood doctrine of universal apostasy. (This historical dualism concept comes from the recently “revealed” Jewish revelation, The Book of Ben Kathryn — and is suggested to be the key to unraveling Daniel’s 70 weeks prophesy concerning the Restoration of Israel and end of the Times of the Gentiles)

Timeline summarizing the historical correlations or types between the times of Israel and the times of the Gentiles. Redraw this to show correlations better.

Timeline summarizing the historical correlations or types between the times of Israel and the times of the Gentiles.  Note the similarities in the upper timeline (spanning from Abraham to Christ), and the lower timeline (spanning from Christ to present). The following section will show how each “age” or “time” followed a divinely guided blueprint in order to create a group capable of having the largest possible impact on human evolution and history.

14 And again, I will give unto you a pattern in all things, that ye may not be deceived (D&C 52:14)

The Divine Pattern of Western Civilization & Global Advancement

People tend to find meaning and patterns in the strangest things. Apophenia, which is the human tendency to perceive meaningful patterns within random data, is something I’m all too aware of.  But as I’ve studied religious history over the last decade or so I have been amazed by the striking patterns and types that I myself (and thousands of others) have seen between the biblical narrative of Israel’s history and the Gentile Christian Dispensation. In my opinion, self fulfilling prophesy seems a far stretch to account for all the correlations. To begin with, as shown in the above diagram, both dispensations were started by a “King of Righteousness” known as a “Son of God” (Melchizedek vs. Christ). Both involved an early period of 12 closely related tribalistic factions. Both tribal groups were brought into special position and growth within a major southern global empire, only to later be enslaved by the arrangement (Joseph of Egypt vs Constantine of Rome). Both were freed from that arrangement about the same time that a spirit of legal codification swept the region. (The Mosaic code, with Hammurabi’s code and others matching with Justinian’s code, Sharia law and the host of legal codes which swept through the Germanic nations almost exactly 2000 years later.)

Both of these periods of codification (legal codes which strongly shaped the future of civilization) were accompanied by a type of imperial Holy War to help bring those legal codes to a larger populous. Joshua and Hammurabi’s conquest of the Holy Land and Mesopotamia corresponding to Belisarius’ and Muhammad’s conquest of the Mediterranean & Middle East (where Belisarius expanded the rising Christian Byzantine Empire to double its size). Just as Joshua’s conquest occurred nearly the same time as Babylon’s first major burst of expansionism, Belisuarius’ campaigns match very closely with the rapid growth of early Islam. The rise of Islam from Judaic & Christian roots in the 6th and 7th centuries AD, matching the raise of proto-Indo-Aryan religion out of Babylonian and Egyptian traditions 2000 years earlier. This indo-Aryan religion would go on to spread into Rome, Greece, Persia and India and was the base for the pantheons of Vedic/Hindu, Zoroastrian, Akkadian and Greek religions.

Each of these dispensations went through a centrally defining period of religious imperialism, where the religious leader began to anoint the emperor (Samuel anointing Saul in the case of Israel and Pope Leo II anointing Charlemagne in the case of the Gentile Church/Holy Roman Empire). Both of these religious empires shortly thereafter experienced a major schism. The division of the kingdom of Judah & Israel in the dispensation of Israel, and the Great East-West Schism which split the Roman & Eastern Orthodox Church. And not too long after that, both dispensations faced a radical destruction of their power and authority. Israel’s ‘Babylonian Captivity’ matching with the 70 year Avignon Papacy, called the ‘Babylonian Captivity of the popes’ by many. In both cases this destruction of power created a dissatisfaction with authoritarian/priesthood abuse and gave rise to a spirit of protestant or sectarianism. Ezra’s reforms matching those of Luther, where scripture was rewritten, translated and recanonized–accompanying fundamental shift in the way authority was viewed. In both cases this pluralistic religious sectarianism (called ‘Second Temple Sectarianism’ in Israel, or ‘schools’ by Josephus) seemed to accompany a similar spirit in the regional political arena where democracy and republics began to replace monarchies.

Also during this period, each dispensation went through a matching colonial phase where people from the region began to colonize the entire world. Although 15th-20th century European expansionism and colonialism is well known, fewer are aware of the massive Phoenician, Greek, Roman and Jewish colonial efforts which took place 2000 years earlier. Apart from the well known colonies of the Mediterranean, Britain, Scandinavia, Crimea, India and central Asian (Scythian) colonies, Mormon theology proposes that at least three distinct and influential colonies to non-eurasian continents or “isles of the sea” (2 Ne 10:21, Jacob 5) existed—suggesting that the Israel/Gentile Church pattern or analog may be even stronger than modern archaeology is willing to currently accept.

In my article Parallels between the Times of Israel and the Times of the Gentiles, I detail many additional types, patterns and parallels many of which are inevitably a product of confirmation bias, but given as a whole the correspondence is not easily dismissed. Indeed LDS and other restorationism scriptures are replete with allusions to the parallelism between dispensational ages. (see Ether 13:2–12, JS-Matt 1:32–33, 3 Ne 8, 2 Ne 21:1, D&C 113:3, Deut 8:15, Acts 3:22, 3 Ne 21:8–11, D&C 103:16, etc)  By comparing the dispensation of Israel with the dispensation of the Gentiles, we can see how a Universal Apostasy in either of these dispensations makes little sense given scriptural and historical accounts. I think these strong parallels and the doctrinal contradictions which they help clear up are a solid reason to take another look at the scriptures which we use to support the old protestant Great Apostasy doctrine promoted in modern LDS theology. I propose that just like throughout the Dispensation of Israel, priesthood continued in the Catholic Church throughout the Dispensation of the Gentiles. However, much like the forerunner John the Baptist, Joseph Smith was one of many restorationism mystics who felt “called” to announce the End of the Gentile Dispensation and its coming fall (its fullness), and the restoration of the Lord’s covenant to Israel.

Clearing up Misunderstandings in the LDS View of the Afterlife

Note

This article is Under Construction.

It is an excerpt from my larger treatise on Eternal Progression, Degrees of Glory, and the Resurrection: A Comparative Cosmology.

Perhaps more than any other area of religious theology, understandings of the afterworld have repeatedly been used by fundamentalist traditions and individuals to manipulate adherents into conformity with their assorted religious and cultural mores, laws and customs. From the practice of some Evangelical fundamentalists of condemning to Hell those who don’t “profess Jesus as Lord”, to the past practices of some Catholic literalists of condemning even children who die without baptism to Limbo—nearly all the world’s large religious traditions develop popular myths and egocentric beliefs about what it takes to go to a good place when we die. Like Muslims, Catholics and Jews, Mormonism also, has our own similar cultural teachings and mores which often suggest that only the faithful of our own religion who receive all the needed LDS ordinances (personally or vicariously) get to make it to the highest heaven.

In this article I hope to show that like most inspired religious canons, LDS scriptures on the afterlife are deliberately ambiguous about such matters. They are divinely designed to allow the freedom of exclusivist interpretation, while at the same time hiding a more broad pluralistic or universalist perspective within their metaphors. Churches are allowed to piece together a theology according to their agency (which often tends to be egocentric early in a religion’s lifespan). In this article we will show how by looking closely at LDS scripture and comparing Joseph Smith’s revelations to those of other mystics of the restorationist movement and near-death experiences, a far more open and common sense view of the afterworld in LDS scripture becomes apparent. A view showing that the same principles that make a nation or kingdom strong, advanced and free from corruption, moral decay and division in this life — are the same principles which classify nation’s in the afterworld as heavens. And conversely the same exclusivists fundamentalism which make nations and religions weak, divided and self-deceived in this world, makes those cultures hells in the afterworld.

The LDS View of the Afterlife

The plan of salvation

typical LDS view of eternal progression

Although LDS theology on eternal progression has changed fairly radically over time, for the typical LDS adherent the view of eternal progression and the afterworld goes something like this. After death all souls go to either the Spirit World or Spirit Prison. In some of the more egocentric LDS views, all those who reject the LDS gospel go to spirit prison until they accept the LDS version of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (see Gospel Principles, Encyclopedia of Mormonism). In other more pluralistic LDS interpretations the divisions have less to do with religious affiliations and more to do with right living. In the Spirit World, both those of paradise and prison await the resurrection which reunites one’s spirit with a physical body. In the most accepted LDS theology, individuals are resurrected into one of three degrees of glory as delineated by Joseph Smith in D&C 76. The highest degree, called the Celestial Kingdom is for the most faithful who receive all the necessary LDS ordinances and live the LDS commandments. The middle degree, called the Terrestrial Kingdom is more ambiguously defined as the abode of good-hearted people who rejected the Gospel in life, but accepted it in the Spirit World. The lowest degree is typically defined as bad people and those who rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ in both life and after death.

In the first part of this article, I both challenge and expland on some of these interpretations in order to show that LDS scripture teaches that placement in the afterworld has less to do with one’s religious membership—and more to do with one’s desires, character and social connections. In the second part, I’ll attempt to show the similarities and differences of the after-world according to other mystics who claim to have seen it. And show how Joseph’s vision of the three glories in D&C 76 is actually an expanded dualistic view of the both the spirit world, as well as a outline of possible places people go after the resurrection.

Requirements for Entrance into Heaven

Although I’ll show in a minute how such a belief is contradictory, it’s easy to see why many (if not most) LDS people believe that the highest heaven or Celestial Kingdom is reserved for only faithful LDS members who receive (either in life or vicariously after death) all the necessary LDS ordinances and live the LDS commandments. In Joseph’s vision of the Celestial Kingdom given in D&C 76, it begins right off the bat by saying,

51 They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given—
52 That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power
54 They are they who are the church of the Firstborn. (D&C 76:51–54)

D&C 88  & John 3:5 follows in a similar fashion saying,

21 And they who are not sanctified through the law which I have given unto you, even the law of Christ, must inherit another kingdom, even that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom. 22 For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory. (D&C 88:21–22)

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)

At first glance, it’s easy to assume these scriptures are saying that LDS ordinances like baptism and confirmation by a living LDS priesthood holder is required for admittance into the highest heaven.  Although a careful reading shows that no LDS scripture specifically says any such thing.  A careful reading does show that the scriptures ALWAYS deliberately use carefully worded dualistic metaphors when talking about such matters. The need to study out these metaphors to find out why they are so purposefully vague and full of symbol becomes more apparent when we look into scriptures like the one’s we’re about to go through.

In fact, it’s easy to see how Joseph himself might have been troubled by a simple unnuanced reading of the above scriptures when considering the death of his brother Alvin–who died without receiving baptism or any of the LDS or christian ordinances. Perhaps in response to this apprehension, Joseph received a vision in 1936 concerning the afterworld. Here, Joseph saw Alvin in the Celestial Kingdom with God and the Holy Patriarchs of the Bible, and was assured that all are judged and exalted “according to the desires of their hearts” and not simply according to whether they received “saving ordinances”.

The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God…
6 And [I] marveled how it was that [Alvin] had obtained an inheritance in that kingdom, seeing that he had departed this life before the Lord had set his hand to gather Israel the second time, and had not been baptized for the remission of sins.
7 Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God;
8 Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom;
9 For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.
10 And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven. (D&C 137:6–10)

Some modern LDS orthodoxy might be surprised that the answer wasn’t, “Don’t worry Joseph, Alvin is in spirit prison right now with every member of humanity whose lived outside the Gospel Covenent since the beginning of time, but he will be saved just as soon as you baptize him vicariously.”  Instead the revelation essentially says, “baptism is not the prime consideration… people are judged and placed in the afterworld “according to their works, according to the desires of their hearts.”  This revelation was given shortly after the completion of the Kirtland Temple, but nothing is said of vicarious temple work.

Despite the contradiction to this scripture (and those we’re about to cover) many LDS adherents then and now still insisted on using the verses from John 3:5 and D&C 76:51–52 (given four years earlier), to reason that physical baptism was absolutely necessary for anyone to be exalted to the highest heaven [1].  This inability to see past rigid, cultural scriptural interpretations seems quite likely the impetus for the eventual revelation on vicarious temple work completely absent in the Kirtland era and then finally revealed years later in Nauvoo. Much like Christian’s who condemned unbaptized children to hell, many church members couldn’t get past the idea that Christ might have been alluding to a deeper metaphorical meaning when he said all men must be “born of water and of the Spirit, [or they] cannot enter into the kingdom of God” or that “baptism and laying on of hands” might be symbolic of more important spiritual ordinances administered by the Heavenly church.  So revelation provided an ancient symbolic ordinances of baptizing the dead to help literalists overcome their stumbling block.  Apparently many Saints then and now, just couldn’t wrap their head around the idea that scripture might require nuanced interpretation to get past its use of tricky metaphors, complex wordplays and even scare tactics. For example, consider this revealed nuanced interpretation of the Bible’s true meaning of “endless torment”, where D&C 19 explains that this phrase is a metaphorical construct meant to put the fear of God into causal readers, but in reality had nothing to do with unending punishment.

6 Nevertheless, it is not [literally] written that there shall be no end to this torment, but it is written endless torment.
7 Again, it is written eternal damnation; wherefore it is more express than other scriptures, that it might work upon the hearts of the children of men, altogether for my name’s glory.
8 Wherefore, I will explain unto you this mystery, for it is meet unto you to know even as mine apostles.
9 I speak unto you that are chosen in this thing, even as one, that you may enter into my rest.
10 For, behold, the mystery of godliness, how great is it! For, behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand is endless punishment, for Endless is my name. Wherefore—
11 Eternal punishment is God’s punishment.
12 Endless punishment is God’s punishment. (D&C 19:6–12)

There is no doubt that throughout the scriptures, the importance of following prophets, keeping ordinances and obeying political and religious law is emphasized (Alma 13:16D&C 84:21; 124:38-39, Isa. 24.5; Mal. 3:7, etc). LDS scripture also makes clear the importance of baptism for those within our religious covenant (see 2 Nephi 31:5–9). However, leaders or members who take those allusions too far, and pridefully try and suggest that obedience to LDS ordinances are absolutely necessary or the primary requirement for anyone to be exalted in the highest heavens are reading undue literality into metaphorical scriptures. By teaching things that contradict both LDS scripture (as we’ll see in the next section) and the conscience of so many good people on earth, they harm the church and drive away righteous members whose hearts tell them that it makes no sense to send good people to lesser eternal abodes simply because they did not receive the ordinances of an earthly religious sect. Or as some LDS traditions suggest, to have wait outside the highest heaven until their temple work is done.

The Scriptural Case for Salvation without Ordinances

In reality Joseph Smith should have never had the concern which necessitated his vision of his brother Alvin in Doctrine & Covenants 137, because the Book of Mormon already cleared this issue up.  Like most Mormons today, Joseph must not have noticed that Nephi 9:25–26, Mosiah 15:21–25 and Moroni 8:20–24 all teach clearly that those who die “without law”, are saved without baptism by the atonement. The picture painted in all three of these verses is that every good person is saved and exalted except those who specifically transgress the laws they have access to. Nephi says of those without law.

25 Wherefore, he has given a law; and where there is no law given there is no punishment; and where there is no punishment there is no condemnation; and where there is no condemnation the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him.
26 For the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given to them, that they are delivered from that awful monster, death and hell, and the devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the Holy One of Israel. (2 Ne 9:25–26)

And Abinidi echos this sentiment in Mosiah 15 saying children and those “not having salvation declared unto them” are redeemed to eternal life in the First Resurrection.

 23 They are raised to dwell with God who has redeemed them; thus they have eternal life through Christ, who has broken the bands of death.
24 And these are those who have part in the first resurrection; and these are they that have died before Christ came, in their ignorance, not having salvation declared unto them. And thus the Lord bringeth about the restoration of these; and they have a part in the first resurrection, or have eternal life, being redeemed by the Lord.
25 And little children also have eternal life. (Mosiah 15:23–25)

Later in the Book of Mormon, the prophet Mormon sharply rebukes not only those who believe children are in need of baptism, But also those who believe baptism is required for the eventual salvation of those outside the Jewish religious law or gospel covenant.  Note verse 22, where “all they that are without the law” are made synonymous with children. Bracketed text is mine.

 13 Wherefore, if little children [and also they that are without the law- as per verse 22] could not be saved without baptism, these must have gone to an endless hell… 15 For awful is the wickedness to suppose that God saveth one child because of baptism, and the other must perish because he hath no baptism. 19 [But] Little children [and those without the law. ibid] cannot repent; wherefore, it is awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they are all alive in him because of his mercy. 20 And he that saith that little children [and those without the law. ibid] need baptism denieth the mercies of Christ, and setteth at naught the atonement of him and the power of his redemption.  21 Wo unto such, for they are in danger of death, hell, and an endless torment. I speak it boldly; God hath commanded me. Listen unto them and give heed, or they stand against you at the judgment-seat of Christ.
22 For behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also all they that are without the law. For the power of redemption cometh on all them that have no law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under no condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth nothing
23 But it is mockery before God, denying the mercies of Christ, and the power of his Holy Spirit, and putting trust in dead works.  24 Behold, my son, this thing ought not to be; for repentance is unto them that are under condemnation and under the curse of a broken law.  25 And the first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins; (Moroni 8:13–25,  see also Romans 5:13)

Phrases in these verses like “dead works”, “alive in Christ”, and “without the law” parallel Paul’s writings in the New Testament (fn) which denounce the legalistic ideas of Pharisaical Jews who insisted salvation came by fulfilling the “outward ordinances” of ancient Jewish religious law. The same ideas that caused legalistic Christians of the middle ages to believe children or non-Christians would be damned without baptism or Christian ordinances—or legalistic Mormons to mistakenly believe that the purpose of baptisms for the dead is to save those who died without knowledge of the gospel law. (fn) Like Paul, Mormon explains that baptism is a physical symbol which is only for those Jews & Christians in the covenent and under condemnation of “a broken law” or under the curse of “dead works”.

Paul emphasizes over and over in his epistles the idea that outward ordinances of religious law (though vitally important as symbols) are not strictly required for salvation — and are not at all required for Gentiles unfamiliar with them (Gal 2:16-21; Eph 2:8–18, Rom 3-8; Acts 15:1–10; 1 Cor 15:56). In his epistle to the Romans he reminds the Roman Jews that circumcision (the ancient Jewish ordinance equivalent to Christian christening and baptism) was a symbol which did not have saving power in and of itself as the Jews thought it did. In fact he says those who are “circumcised of heart” fulfill the law without the physical ordinance. While those who receive the temporal ordinance without fulfilling the spiritual counterpart, receive no saving benefit. Simply replace the word “circumcision” in the following verses with “baptism”, “confirmation”, or any of the LDS “saving ordinances” to see how what Paul says in Romans applies to LDS theology.

25 Circumcision [baptism] has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised [baptized]. 26 So then, if those who are not circumcised [baptized] keep the [spirit of the] law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised [baptized]? 27 The one who is not circumcised [baptized] physically and yet obeys the [spirit of the] law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision [baptism], are a lawbreaker. 28 A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision [baptism] merely outward and physical. 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision [baptism] of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. (Romans 2:25–29)

Peter, the leader of the Church after Christ’s death appears to have not understood this principle, just as modern church leaders don’t. In fact it took a sharp confrontation with Paul, to get Peter and his brethren to stop requiring church members to keep many Jewish traditions, laws and ordinances which Paul knew were unnecessary under Christ (see Gal 2:11–19; Acts 15:5–20).

Baptism is a rich metaphor, and is meant to represent an inflection point of spiritual transformation from old to new or from dead to living in one’s personal and social evolution. Likely based on the Mosaic purification rite of Tvilah (which was especially required for those who had come in contact with a dead body), it was made to represent the point where one dies to selfishly living after the manner of the beast, the flesh, a ‘dead law’ or a religious system that had become a lifeless idol to an individual— and is then purified and reborn as the Spirit of God or Holy Ghost is breathed into their body and a new life and new communion established. Christ’s sacrifice and crucifixion obviously echoed this same eternal metaphor for Israel, representing an infection point of their culture— where the dead, corrupted religious system or law of the Jewish people was destroyed and reborn into a new Christian covenant of love, life and selfless service.

The Book of Mormon gives several examples of this group ritual where a new generation reinvented and renewed their religious system and commited to living the new transformed version (see Mosiah 6; 18; 21; Alma 7). So although the Book of Mormon emphasizes the importance of baptism within a particular religious communion or covenant (2 Ne 31-32),  Mormon’s point in his letter quoted above seems to be that neither children nor those without or outside of a particular religious culture are capable of repenting and renewing a covenant with God they know nothing about. So it is a mockery (defined as a misrepresentation) of the ordinance to use it to condemn them. Especially since baptism’s primary purpose was to renew and free people who were already condemned by the “dead works” of a broken, misunderstood or distorted religious law (v. 23) — by turning baptism into a ‘dead work’ used to condemn others, followers twist its purpose into the exact opposite of its original design! Baptism, like other Jewish or Christian outward ordinances, has no saving power of itself, it is simply a symbol pointing our minds toward these sublime concepts of personal and social reform which bring true salvation. It is spiritual baptism into the Heavenly Church which saves… not the physical counterpart which is given to symbolize it.  (see Romans 3:20, 4:14-20, 5:20, 6:14, Romans 7:1–13,8:2-3, Acts 15:101 Cor 15:562 Cor 3:7–10).

10 The law [ie. the Jewish outward ordinances] is only a shadow of the good things that are coming–not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices [or ordinances] repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. (Hebr 10:1 NIV)
6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant–not of the letter [γράμμα: that which is drawn or written] but of the Spirit; for the letter [of the law] kills, but the Spirit [meaning behind the symbols] gives life. (2 Cor 3:6 NIV, compare NLT))
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Gal 5:14)

A Better Model for the Three Degrees of Glory

Joseph’s revelations were meant to reconcile the seeming contradictions in salvation and prescribed Christian ordinances, not perpetuate them as they ended up doing. Christian theologians have argued for centuries over how to reconcile Paul’s words which suggest that there IS salvation for those who die without the Christian gospel law or ordinances (ie. Rom 2:25–29)— with scriptures which at first glance seem to say there is NO salvation without the Christian Gospel and ordinances (ie. John 3:52 Thes. 1:8–9, Rev 20:6–15). So D&C 76 canonizes and expands the early Christian concept of Purgatory by describing a “third heaven” (2 Cor 12:2), situated between the heaven and hell of the Bible and Book of Mormon. This Terrestrial glory is defined as a sort of doorstep or subsphere of heaven, where those who “died without law” (v 72), and “received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh” (v 74), could go to get taught the same Gospel law so they “might be judged according to (or like unto) men in the flesh” (v 73) and be heirs of the first resurrection and Celestial glory (Mosiah 15:24). Thus there is salvation for non-believers—they go to heaven. But their place in heaven often is still lacking the law & understanding present in the highest parts of heaven.

However, from the early days of the church, LDS leaders misunderstood the revelation in D&C 76, believing these “glories” to be abodes of the dead AFTER instead of BEFORE the resurrection. (ie. Teaching the Terrestrial & Celestial glories as being completely separate resurrected heavens, instead of just two sub-glories of the same spirit “heaven” of the bible.)  This was an easy mistake to make, since as we will cover in more detail later, the Spirit World is a microcosm or dualistic shadow of the earth’s eternal progression (D&C 128:13, Alma 40:15). In fact the revelation seems to have been written to purposefully allow for a partially dualistic interpretation — as seen in other parts of the Doctrine and Covenents usage of the three degrees of glory (see D&C 63:20–21; 130:8–11; 77:1; 29:23- fn). But, the problem with interpreting D&C 76 as predominately POST-resurrection is that it directly contradicts modern scriptures like Mosiah 15:23–252 Ne 9:25–26 and Moroni 8:22, destroying universal salvation. Now instead of sharing an equal eternal reward with those who “died without law”— Mormons relegate non-Mormons to a lower eternal kingdom. In D&C 76, the Terrestrial glory, like purgatory, was meant to be only a temporary subset of spirit heaven where EVERYONE  who “died without law” and thus “didn’t obtain a crown” in Gods kingdom could eventually be “raised to dwell with God” before the final judgement and resurrection, thus having “part in the first resurrection”.[3]  This, opposed to those evil-loving beings who repeatedly transgress the law given to them, causing them to be without civility and “without light and knowledge” and thus “cast down to hell”, which D&C 76:106 says IS the Telestial Kingdom which are only resurrected after the blissful Millennium (ie. “these are they who are thrust down to hell”. v 84,106).

The Post-resurrection model for the three degrees of Glory is simply not supported by scripture or the LDS endowment. Instead the scriptures and endowment show that the three degrees of glory are primarily an expansion of the ancient heaven/hell view of the Spirit World, with only a subtle dualistic allusion to the state of the earth after the resurrection.

Interpreting D&C 76 as POST-resurrection, requires you to ignore nearly EVERY VERB TENSE in the section, which clearly indicate Joseph was seeing the abode of spirits (compare v. D&C 76:73,69,88; to Heb 12:23 & D&C 129:3) in heaven & hell (see v.84, 106, 66-68), awaiting the resurrection, NOT the abode of resurrected beings! (The resurrected beings were to abide together ON transfigured EARTH during and after the archetypal Millennium once time is no longer). It also requires LDS theologians to invent wacky explanations like there being two paradises, two hells, and two prisons and explain away scriptures which suggest the righteous dwell with God after death (Mosiah 2:41, Mosiah 15:21–25, Luke 23:43, Luke 13:28–29/16:19-31) . Not to mention how ridiculous it is to suggest that D&C 76 quotes 1 Peter 3:19 & 1 Peter 4:6 in describing the Terrestrial world — verses obviously talking about spirits in the spirit world.

Behold, these [Terrestrial World beings] are they who died without law. And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them [as spirits], that they might be judged according to men in the flesh; Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it [ie. Spirits in Hell or the Telestial World that accept the Gospel in death & are thus raised to the Terrestrial glory to dwell in heaven/paradise with Christ and all those who died without law]. (D&C 76:72–74. compare 1 Peter 4:6)

Likewise D&C 76 equates the Celestial Glory world with the “Church of the Firstborn”, which Hebrews 12:23 makes clear is composed of “the spirits of just men made perfect”.

22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, (Heb 12:22–23)

D&C 76:69 specifically says of those in the Celestial Kingdom, “these are they who are just men made perfect.” (Using the language of Hebrews to affirm that it’s talking about SPIRITS.) It’s a bit hard to believe so many Mormon’s have come to believe that D&C 76’s three degrees of glory are referring simply to resurrected abodes when there are so many scriptures making it clear that these are primarily descriptions of the spirit world. Even D&C 129 specifically explains that a “just man made perfect” refers to A SPIRIT BEING! (It also shows the dualism in these terms explaining that spirits can attain the same glory as resurrected beings).

1 There are two kinds of beings in heaven (ie. the celestial kingdom), namely: Angels, who are resurrected personages, having bodies of flesh and bones—
2 For instance, Jesus said: Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
3 Secondly: the spirits of just men made perfect, they who are not resurrected, but inherit the same glory.
4 When a messenger comes saying he has a message from God, offer him your hand and request him to shake hands with you.
5 If he be an angel he will do so, and you will feel his hand.
6 If he be the spirit of a just man made perfect he will come in his glory; for that is the only way he can appear—
7 Ask him to shake hands with you, but he will not move, because it is contrary to the order of heaven for a just man to deceive; but he will still deliver his message. (D&C 129:1–7)

Joseph’s revelation’s go even further to destroy exclusivists views of salvation in elaborating on the Biblical concept of  “Christ & law” and how it is taught to mankind. Christian exclusivists use scriptures like John 14:6 and Acts 4:12 to suggest that Salvation is only available to mortal Christians. They use scriptures like Romans 10:14 and 2 Thes. 1:9 to suggest those those who don’t “know” Christ or haven’t been preached the Gospel will be damned. But Joseph’s revelation in D&C 84 & 88, harmonize these concepts with universalism by teaching first that eventually “ALL shall know [Christ]… even from the least unto the greatest, and shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord.” Secondly D&C 88 goes one step further in broadening any narrow cultural concepts of what Christ’s law is and how it’s taught. It teaches that the archetypal Spirit or “light of Christ”, permeates the entire universe, and can teach the Christian Gospel law of love to the inhabitants of the earth without any need of a preacher. It suggests that Gospel law transcends time, culture, language and religion and is passed throughout the universe just like light is. Thus there is no such thing as an individual who has not been taught the law of Christ because it is passed to all sentient beings in the form of conscience (called the “light of Christ”). This echoes Paul’s teachings in Romans 2:25–29 that all humanity is taught God’s law whether they know it or not, and each will be judged and rewarded according to how they obey that spiritual knowledge, NOT simply according to whether they receive symbolic ordinances or the teachings of a human preacher.

11 And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings;
12 Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—
13 The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things.

36 All kingdoms have a law given [through the light of Christ];
37 And there are many kingdoms; for there is no space in the which there is no kingdom; and there is no kingdom in which there is no space, either a greater or a lesser kingdom.
38 And unto every kingdom is given a law [invisibly through the light of Christ. v12]; and unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions.
39 All beings who abide not in those conditions are not justified. (D&C 88:11–13;36-39. Bracketed text mine)

After chastising the Jews for their “stiffneckedness and unbelief”, Christ builds on the idea we’re discussing in his sermon to the Nephites in the Book of Mormon, by stating that it was never part of the plan that the pre-Christian Gentiles or non-Jewish Nations should receive the gospel, except by the invisible Spirit which informs all human conscience.

And they understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the Gentiles should not at any time hear my voice—that I should not manifest myself unto them save it were by the Holy Ghost. (3 Ne 15:23)

In fact he calls the non-Christian people of the world (or Gentiles) “blessed… because of their belief in [him], in and of the Holy Ghost, which witnesses unto them of [him] and of the Father.” (3 Ne 16:6)  In other words he’s saying blessed are the people of the world who have learned about Christ’s gospel of love and freedom through the Spirit even though no one has ever preached Christ to them! (see v.7)

Thus the picture drawn by LDS revelation in D&C 76 is that the same sociality (130:2) and divisions which exist on earth will exist in heaven. The vast majority of earth’s good hearted inhabitants will end up with Christ in the Terrestrial (earth-like) glory of heaven directly after death; including all those who die without law and all Saints who are not “sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise” (v. 53, 71-80). Where they will be taught the Celestial law and given the chance to live it (just like we are here). Those who are sealed by living a Celestial law on earth, following Christ’s example of self-sacrifice or true baptism, regardless of religion or temporal baptism (as per D&C 137:6–10; 88:2-4,29 ) will directly inherent Celestial Glory in the Spirit World or Heaven.

The main body of Terrestrial spirits in heaven will continue to learn and progress until “everyone knows the Lord from least to greatest” (Heb 8:11, Jer 31:34), and will finally all be equally exalted when the “kingdom is ready to be presented to the father” after the second resurrection (D&C 76:107). Likewise those in Telestial Hell will continue to be preached to, but inevitably with less success.  Hell being composed of a smaller group of evil and deceived individuals who “choose darkness” (2 Ne 26:10. Hell/prison and the Telestial Glory all being synonymous: see D&C 76:81–85). Up until the final judgement hour, angels will work to exalt souls to the highest heaven possible. At the final hour, some dimension of physical earth will be transfigured to a Terrestrial glory, time as we understand it will be no more there, and the Celestial and Terrestrial glories of spirits will be resurrected together to live physically on the Millennial Paradise Earth (An earth that’s been essentially dimension shifted by its position in the Galaxy). After a period of time symbolized by the “thousand years”, the earth will again cycle back down to a Telestial glory and the remaining Telestial spirits in hell will then resurrect for a “short time” (likely through mortal birth / reincarnation. See To Go no More Out). After that unspecified time, the earth will again cycle up toward the Terrestrial glory, never to cycle back down again. By the end of that short Telestial period, all spirits who still haven’t progressed to a Terrestrial glory will have to go to another planet to live as the Telestial earth as we know it will pass away/end. A new heaven and a new earth of Celestial Glory will then eventually be created (dimension shifted) on a higher plane for all earth’s inhabitants. (see Law of One and Oahspe for detailed cosmological descriptions of this process)

LDS Eternal Progression

#1 Very little is known about the premortal life. See To Go no More Out for conjectures concerning it. #2 Earth has two primary dimensions, the physical dimension we live in, and a spiritual dimension we go to after death. The spiritual dimension is often arbitrarily separated into three realms which are symbolized by #3, these were simplified by certain ancient writers into two principle realms of paradise and prison, but expounded into three degrees of glory by early Christian writers and Joseph Smith. Many other writers have further divided this realm into seven or nine divisions. The Spirit world or metaphysical realm is essentially the earth’s history separated spatially instead of temporally. Time as we know it does not exist there. #4 The earth in its orbit around the galactic core moves into energy densities which affect the intelligence and evolution of its inhabitants. On this journey, technologically advanced 4th density (terrestrial) beings move inhabitants to and from earth’s spirit dimensions and off planet locations. (5th density celestial beings can do this by thought without the use of technology.) #5 As the earth moves into higher energy densities and mankind evolves into greater levels of harmony, beings from earth’s higher spirit realms can resurrect back into the physical plane as it’s vibratory level comes to match the spirit world glory in which they reside.

Sectarians Who Brag or Argue Over Baptism Go To Hell

Perhaps nowhere else in scripture is the inefficacy of ordinances alone to save taught than in Joseph’s description on Hell or the Telestial World in D&C 76. … Like Paul’s teachings, Joseph Smith’s revelation of the afterworld in D&C 76 hits the point home by specifically pointing out that religious groups who accept Christ or Peter or any true prophet and their outward ordinances, but misunderstand or don’t actually follow the spirit of the unifying “gospel” those prophet’s revelations teach will take their place in the lowest afterword abode with liars, adulterers and whoremongers.

98 And the glory of the telestial is one..  99 For these are they who are of Paul, and of Apollos, and of Cephas.  100 These are they who say they are some of one and some of another—some of Christ and some of John, and some of Moses, and some of Elias, and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch; [might we add, some of Joseph Smith, some of Brigham Young here?]  101 But received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets, neither the everlasting covenant.  102 Last of all, these all are they who will not be gathered with the saints, to be caught up unto the church of the Firstborn, and received into the cloud.  103 These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie. (D&C 76:98–103)

Like most of the descriptions in D&C 76, these statements concerning some “of Paul and of Apollos”, is an allusion to Paul’s writings in the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians chapter 3 he chastises the Corinthians for their divisions relating to baptism, where “there is jealousy and quarreling” among them (1 Cor 3:3 NIV). Just like the modern sects of Christianity it seems that the early Corinthians were already pridefully dividing themselves according to which apostle they considered greatest or who they were baptised by. Paul says,

11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas ”; still another, “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name… 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel…  (1 Cor 1:11–17 NIV)

Paul seems horrified by the idea that the early Saints were using baptism of all things as a tool for divisive pride (suggesting the authority of the one who baptized them makes them more legitimate than others). His letter is a strong rebuke reminding the Corinthians that the gospel is what’s important, not baptism or sectarianism! And D&C 76 seems to use this as a perfect example of the Telestial mindset. Those individuals, churches and religions which get caught up in the mindset of divisive sectarianism cannot produce the harmony and universal love necessary for exaltation. They are counted among “liars, sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers” because their fruits are equally divisive on a society.

This important lesson is explicitly taught in the Book of Mormon’s appearance of Christ in 3 Nephi. The very first order of business in Christ’s visit to the Lehites after proving his divinity is to chastise the people for their “contentions” specifically concerning baptism. Given that pride and ‘inequality’ are said to have caused the church to be “broken up in all the land” some four years earlier (3 Ne 6:14), we can assume that a spirit of sectarianism promoted by both politicians and the religious ‘high priests’ (v. 21,22,27) had over taken the people. Christ’s rebuke echo’s Paul’s… that disputations concerning baptism are a tool of the devil, and have no place in Christ’s spiritual church— nor anyone wishing to call themselves after his name.

28 And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.
29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away. (3 Ne 11:28–30)

So although Joseph Smith seems to be specifically instructed in D&C 22 to re-baptize converts from other Christian churches, it is clear that such baptism in itself should never be a source of dispute between Mormons and those of other sects or faiths. Nor should it be a source of pride or religious exclusivism. In addition to Joseph Smith’s revelation of his unbaptised brother Alvin, the scriptural stories of the criminal on the cross in Luke 23:43 who is assured of paradise; and the beggar in Christ’s parable of Luke 16:19–31 who goes to “Abraham’s bosom” suggest no absolute need for personal or vicarious baptism or other ordinances to make it to heaven. As mentioned in the article ____ it seems more than reasonable to assume from the account of Christ’s coming to the Nephites that when Christ comes in unmistakable glory to found his kingdom both on earth and in heaven, he will gather all the righteous together and help them fulfill any needed outward ordinances of the Gospel, while making any and all needed exceptions in the name of mercy.

So then why the LDS practice of vicarious temple ordinances some might ask? To give an answer to that, it might help to consider the influence of the afterworld on the mortal world.

Understanding the Afterworld

If you are interested in a more detailed picture of the afterworld as well as detailed quotes and diagrams from the many channeled works I have read (which aided me in working out this model), please see my article “Eternal Progression, Degrees of Glory, and the Resurrection: A Comparative Cosmology”.

 UNDER  CONSTRUCTION 

Emmanuel Swedenborg

Eman lived in…

Oahspe

Oahspe, a channeled text written by John Ballou Newbrough’s work in ~1870 claims to be a book of scripture revealed by higher dimensional light-beings. In its view of the afterworld, beings pass from life into a realm which he refers to as “atmospherea”. (roughly analogous to the LDS concept of the Spirit World)  This realm is said to be more subtle than

John Ward, Gone West Series

John Sebastian Ward (1885-1949) was a British authority on Masonry who wrote a series of channeled texts concerning life after death. In his Book “Gone West”, he receives descriptions from his dead brother about a Spirit Realm divided into “seven planes” (p. vi). He suggests that higher beings are unwilling to communicate knowledge of the higher planes to those of the lower planes. And concerning “resurrection” and forewards a dual view where “the most exalted spirits rise [or resurrect] higher and higher without the need of reincarnation, whereas more lowly spirits need to return to earth to develop certain characteristics.” (p. vi)

Urantia Book

Law of One

I want to show you first the differing models and scriptures… and then spend the last section clearing things up.

Any way you look at it there is a good amount of contradiction in our understanding of these models that needs to be addressed. The LDS endowment and numerous other scriptures support paradigm #1 shown above, where the Telestial kingdom IS “the world in which we now live”. Perhaps confusingly, D&C 76:84,106 echoes this understanding by describing the Telestial World as those “who suffer the wrath of God on earth” (although it also supports model 2). Later in the Temple endowment we are taught that the earth will become a Terrestrial world when Satan “is cast out of our midst” (as in at the beginning of the Mellinium when Christ comes to reign on earth and Satan is bound and earth receives its paradisaical glory. 1 Nephi 22:15, 26; Revelation 20:1–3; D&C 88:110; 101:28. D&C 63:20–21; Articles of Faith 1:10; 2 Peter 3:10–14 ). D&C 76:77 seems to somewhat support this paradigm by saying of Terrestrial souls “these are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the fulness of the Father” (but then it goes on to also support model 2). The doctrine and Covenents ALSO teaches that the earth WILL become a Celestial world which is “crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father; That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever” (D&C 88:17–20).  When earth become a Celestial world, it “in its sanctified and immortal state, will be made like unto crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants who dwell thereon, whereby all things pertaining to an inferior kingdom, or all kingdoms of a lower order, will be manifest to those who dwell on it”. (D&C 130:9. see also D&C 77:1)

NOW HERE’S THE PROBLEM WITH THE PREDOMINATE MODEL, AND ITS A BIG ONE. The entire vision of the Three degrees of glory in the Doctrine and Covenents is framed around the question of who would come forth in the ‘resurrection of the just’ and the resurrection of the unjust. In D&C 76 (v. 17,50,65) we are told that BOTH Celestial and Terrestrial souls will be be resurrected at the beginning of the Millennium during the resurrection of the just. But how is that possible if the earth is only to have attained a terrestrial glory at that time? Most people say, “well, they don’t get resurrected to earth, they resurrect to other worlds or reams”. But that simply does not work, it contradicts D&C 88:17–20 which says says that this earth is..

D&C 76 can’t be states AFTER the resurrection if it teaches that both Celestial and Terrestrial spirits will come forth in the Resurrection of the just at the same time. But that Resurrection is said by some scriptures to be on earth (refs) and other to be in heaven (ref). In either case it occurs at Christ’s coming at the beginning of the Millennium.  Joseph Smith in the x article of faith states that the resurrection is to mellenial earth..   So if the earth is going to be the Celestial glory one day “like unto a sea of glass glass”

[http://www.phildrysdale.com/2013/10/37-scriptures-that-prove-christians-are-not-under-the-law/]
-born again of water and spirit is refering to the two states

-when scriptures talk of flying “in the air” or “from the sea”, they are making this distinction

Look at nearly every allusion to  in the description of the Celestial world of D&C 76. The “general assembly and church of Enoch and the Firstborn” is an allusion to Hebrews 12:23, which clarifies that these are “the SPIRITS of just men made perfect”. In fact D&C 76:69 quotes this phrase as well in describing Celestial Beings, “These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant”.

In the description of terrestrial world, the clarification of what type of beings we are talking about is made again. “And also they who are the SPIRITS of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh” (D&C 76:73). Isn’t it clear that this is equating the terrestial world to the Spirit Prison of 1 Peter 3:19, Rev 20:7, and Alma 40:14?

Even the description of the telestial world seems pretty clear that it is speaking of beings in hell or prison BEFORE the resurrection of the dead.

84 These are they who are thrust down to hell. 85 These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb, shall have finished his work. 86 These are they who receive not of his fulness in the eternal world, but of the Holy Spirit through the ministration of the terrestrial; (D&C 76:84–86)

However, these descriptions are dualistic….  (how do I summarize that…?)

D&C 129:1–3 explains it clearly, there are two different kinds of beings in “heaven”, resurrected angels and disembodied spirits. Both, it says, can inherit the same glory.

1 There are two kinds of beings in heaven, namely: Angels, who are resurrected personages, having bodies of flesh and bones—
2 For instance, Jesus said: Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
3 Secondly: the spirits of just men made perfect, they who are not resurrected, but inherit the same glory [as resurrected personages]. (D&C 129:1–3)

The term “just men made perfect” in verse 3 is an allusion to both Hebrews 12:23 and D&C 76:69 which speaks of Celestial beings saying, “These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant”

D&C makes this dualistic distinction as well saying “88 And also the telestial receive it of the administering of angels who are appointed to minister for them, OR who are appointed to be ministering spirits for them; for they shall be heirs of salvation.”  The telestial glory can receive the gospel from terrestrial ministering resurrected angels OR terrestrial ministering spirits.

-temple work’s purpose (which is an important one) is to make a “welding link” between the living and the dead.   does it say it is to fulfill the law?—the law never required baptism while alive. It’s silly to suggest that baptism can’t occur in heaven just as easily as it can occur on earth.

Outline of Points

-at the end you need to summarize as succinctly as possible the symbolic nature of christian eschatology as clarified in Oahspe and the Law of One. The seven thousand years is symbolic for a complete ‘time’ or harvest from Oahspe. Cycle times in scripture is highly symbolic because of its complexity and relativity. Almost ALL the supernatural events in biblical eschatology occur in the afterworld. Even Christ’s second coming occurs predominantly in the afterworld. (don’t get caught up in timeframes). Paint the picture, we live on earth, we go to the afterworld and continue almost the exact same system of veiled progression with minimal difference. The afterworld can be seen as a composite of the earth through all its progression and times. Thus the future celestial earth, is in the afterworld now. So also the past hellish societies of earth’s past, are in the afterworld now. (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVSe8JZ_eag)  Societies are subject to rises and falls in heaven just as they do on earth. Christians are prodded to avoid the falls by making the small windows of resurrection which allow societies to rise to higher levels before a heavenly or earthly collapse. Resurrection is a dual term and occurs between major levels of the afterworld occur only at Dans or minor cycles. The biblical resurrection which occurs when Christ comes, is also dualistic. One meaning has to do with Christ coming in heaven, the other with the time the earth finally rises to the level of glory matching the saints in heaven (terrestrial/celestial). The nature and timing of that transition is not clear, however it appears that there will be birth but no death and thus after the transfiguration of the earth to a higher plane and different order of natural law. When it occurs, the saints will re resurrected back to earth.

-The Telestial World Church is in reality two churches. Both the Church of God and the Church of the devil—the wheat and the tares, the goats and the lambs—all huddled together in one organization. This telestial world (and the church as the living metaphor of this world) is the place where people are tested and polarized into choosing which path they will follow in the next round of progression. The church’s purpose is to train and polarize the elect of both the left and right hand path.

-Most LDS people (as well as the orthodox of every major religion) view the “faithful” of their church as being holy and good, and view the unfaithful, lackadaisical, and unorthodox as being more or less “evil”.  (rewrite this paraphrased content) D&C 76 subtly alludes to the truth that the sons of perdition, or the devil and his angels, are actually among the most faithful and orthodox of the church in every dispensation. The son’s of perdition (those who will be taken with “Satan” off-planet at the judgement) are “all those who know my power, and have been made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves through the power of the devil to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy my power— They are they who are the sons of perdition” (D&C 76:31–32)…Having denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves and put him to an open shame (D&C 76:35).

-A proper understanding of the afterlife helps us to see how the only true church doctrine (although having a semblance of truth) is actually Satan’s most important tool in creating the pride necessary for the physiological captivity which maintains the structure of the church of the devil.

It’s fairly obvious that this is talking about those faithful enough to have been made “partakers” of God’s covenant and power. Those who have received the Holy Ghost, which is a conscience that has been properly informed as to right and wrong by God’s law. But the part here which is most important to church goers is the reference to “having crucified [the Son] unto themselves and put him to an open shame”. So in figuring out what type of individual this is talking about just ask yourself who did that historically? Was it the Samaritans?  Was it the harlots? Was it the Romans? No, it was Judas Iscariot and the Jewish priesthood. It was those who by every indication where the elect of God, and yet they denied what the Spirit or Holy Ghost told them was right (that Christ was a good man and that to kill him was completely unjustified), and they had him, his gospel and his followers shamed and killed.

LDS people generally believe that the three realms or degrees of glory spoken of in D&C 76 are separate planets or realms of sorts–separate from the Spirit World—which the righteous will inherit AFTER the “resurrection of the dead”; the first of which is said to occur at Christ’s return to the mortal earth. Comparison with other available revelatory texts suggest this is in some ways a misunderstanding of our own revelations. We see this not only from Oahspe and other more descriptive texts, but by the revelation itself (as we will address in a moment). Comparative analysis shows that the three degrees of glory shown in Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon’s vision, are actually just a more detailed description of the earth’s spiritual dimension or “Spirit World” where souls await the various resurrections. Although, because of the fractal relationship (see main article) they could also be used as dualistic descriptions of a future state of earth when it will obtain these glories by virtue of its orientation in the galactic energy field (see main article for details). Oahspe and JS Ward’s works spend hundreds and hundreds of pages describing these same 3 degrees of glory in detail, making it clear that they are principally realms within the current ‘spirit world’ or spirit dimension of earth.

The fact that Joseph Smith’s vision is speaking principally of souls in the spirit world before the physical resurrection is clear from a careful reading of the revelation, as it consistently speaks of “those who SHALL [at a point future to the revelation] hear the voice of the Son of Man; and SHALL [at a future point] come forth in the resurrection” (D&C 76:15–17). The entire vision is of the inhabitants of the heavenly realms BEFORE their resurrection at Christ’s second coming and is correspondingly framed with the resurrection in future tense. Notice for instance at the end of the description of the Celestial Glory, it says that this was a description of “they who SHALL [in the future] have part in the first resurrection.” or “they who SHALL come forth in the resurrection of the just” (D&C 76:63–65).

  50 And again we bear record—for we saw and heard, and this is the testimony of the gospel of Christ concerning them who shall come forth [not those who “have” come forth, but those who shall come forth at a point future to this revelation] in the resurrection of the just—
62 These shall dwell in the presence of God and his Christ forever and ever [after they are resurrected].
63. These are they whom he shall bring with him [not those whom he did bring], when he shall come in the clouds of heaven to reign on the earth over his people
64 These are they who shall [in the future] have part in the first resurrection.

Not those who have come forth or did come forth or do come forth, but those who shall in the future. As opposed to the next verses which explain that these celestial spirits “are those who ARE [currently] come up to Mont Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly place, the holiest of all” (D&C 76:66). Which Oahspe explains in detail is the name to the highest realm of earthe’s Spirit dimension where the currently acting god of earth dwells (see next section for misunderstandings in the concept of resurrection). Likewise in the description of the inhabitants of the telestial kingdom it says its inhabitants are “they who ARE thrust down to hell” (D&C 76:84).

81 And again, we saw the glory of the telestial, which glory is that of the lesser…
83 These are they who deny not the Holy Spirit.
84 These are they who are thrust down to hell.
85 These are they who shall not be redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection, until the Lord, even Christ the Lamb, shall have finished his work.

It does not say the Telestial Kingdom is those who were or shall be, but instead speaks of those who “ARE” [currently] in the telestial realm—which IS hell or spirit prison. It continues to say that those in hell or the telestial kingdom “are they who SHALL [future tense] not be redeemed from the devil until the last resurrection” (D&C 76:85) which is after the millennium. There are literally dozens of references where the verb tense shows clearly that these visions were not so much of a future state of people after the resurrection, but the current state of those in the Spirit World awaiting the resurrection; the time in which they are raised or will come back to a physical plane of earth when it has attained a glory equal or greater than their own.

Now this is where the confusion comes in, because these realm names are often used dualistically. They can refer both to a realm within the earth’s spirit world (as in D&C 76) OR to the earth itself at a future state when it reaches that same glory (as in D&C 77:1, 88:18-31, D&C 130:9). In fact the term resurrection (which comes from the latin, ‘raise or appear again’) can also be used dualistically. It can refer to an ascension within the earth’s spirit planes (as in Alma 40:15, or Oahspe which ubiquitously uses it in this sense.). Or to the return of an individual to the physical dimension of earth, which occurs when earth has risen to a density/glory or vibratory level which matches that of their spirit world abode. For instance, terrestrial souls would wait in the terrestrial realm of the Spirit World until a Physical Dimension of the earth attains an equal energy density; which then allows them to be either resurrected (in the case of the 4rth density earth plane) or reincarnated (in the case of the 3rd density earth plane) back to earth’s “physical plane” or dimension (for more information on reincarnation, see the article, To Go No More Out).

Hopefully this will all become a bit more clear in the next sections, where we will describe how for the last few thousand years, the earth has been at or below a telestial glory. But it is currently moving into a terrestrial level as well as activating a physical 4th density (or a parallel physical plane that is roughly a Terrestrial glory) which will climax during the prophesied “millennium”. This will be followed by other raises and falls, until the earth one day far in the future is irradiated sufficiently to contain a dimension where it is a celestialized star (D&C 88:18–20, 130:9).

[Put in footnote. Misinterpretation of D&C 76:106–112 is a big part of LDS people’s incorrect views. verse 106 steps out of the vision and begins to talk about the telestial glory (a state which the physical realm of our earth currently exists) after the fulness of times or the end of the millennium. It is after that future date that Christ shall deliver His kingdom to the Father (at which time all remaining terrestrial glory people of earth will be “caught up” or translated to the “new” 4rth density parallel “heaven and earth”. Leaving the Telestial glory inhabitants of earth’s corporal and spirit dimensions to be judged and transplanted or “cast out” to a telestial sphere in the Galaxy which because of laws of divergence will entail that “where [our] God and [his] Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end” (D&C 76:112, Rev 12:10). ]

[Also might want to note the discrepancy between sources concerning whether our current 3rd density/telestial earth will fluidly transition into the 4th density/terrestrial world (as oahspe suggests) or whether the 4rth density is activating in parallel with this 3rd density existence and all will have to die or be translated to make the transition. (Law of One states this emphatically and LDS suggests it with scriptures such as “there will be a new heaven and new earth, like unto the old, save that the old has passed away”. There are far more witnesses suggesting the latter, which also seems more logical. This is where many of the misunderstandings in Christianity come with groups mistakenly believing they will suddenly disappear in a “rapture” or that Jesus will come flying through heaven with his Saints in a grand mystical experience which defies all the current laws of physics. ].

Misunderstandings in the Concept of Resurrection

There are a few complicated concepts which make understanding the earth’s Spirit World and the Christian “Resurrection” very difficult. The first has to do with the ambiguous meaning of the words “physical” and “spiritual” in relation to bodies and realms. Most Christians view the “Spirit World” as somehow inferior to the “Physical World” (because people only have spirits there). Mormon’s especially, because of statement like those in D&C 45:17 & D&C 138:50, see the Spirit World as an inferior “state of bondage” where beings live in constant anticipation of “resurrection” back to earth–or some separate planet/realm. Both LDS scripture, other descriptive revealed texts and numerous life after death experiences suggest this to not exactly be the case. For example, Christ took his resurrected “physical body” back to heaven, showing that resurrected bodies are not just about returning to earth, but can live in heaven. Likewise many angels in the Old Testament (such as the one who wrestled with Jacob or wrote on Nebacanezzers wall; see) apparently had bodies just as corporal as Jesus’s or any mortal on earth. Moses and Elijah were both translated to heaven in their bodies without tasking death (ref). So what was so special about Christ’s resurrection which made him the “first fruits”? (see 3 Ne 28:36–40)  And what really is the difference between a spiritual body and a physical body?

Joseph Smith himself seems to have tried to address misunderstandings in these concepts by explaining that “there is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes” (D&C 131:7–8).  This idea that the spirit dimension is made of perceptively palpable or “physical” matter just as this dimension, is verified in other religious accounts of the after world as well as life after death experiences. All the accounts cited in this work assert that, despite the many different descriptions of the places people find themselves after death, they all seem to agree that they still have a “body” very similar to the one they possessed in mortality (most agree it is a better body than their earth body). They also suggest they live on an improved version of “earth”. It is simply an earth in a parallel reality which has little interaction with our own. As we shall see in a moment, the only individuals to whom the spirit world is a “bondage” or inferior state to that of earth, are those who level of personal glory or righteousness causes them to inherit a realm of the Spirit Dimension which is below the earth’s level of glory at their death. For example, since the earth is currently nearing the threshold of Telestial/Terrestrial glory (3rd/4rth Density in other texts), then any one who dies and has failed to raise their spirit to that median level–will find themselves with all the other like-minded people in a less comfortable or “hellish” type of society and environment after death. 3 Ne 28:36–40, Oahspe and the Law of One also detail that the times of resurrection (called times of Dan in Oahspe) entail a “greater change” of the physical reality and thus constitute major jumps in the “glory” or core vibrational frequency of matter.

The Dualistic Meaning of the world Resurrection

Another complicated concept which causes confusion concerning the Spirit World, has to do with the dualistic meaning of the word “resurrection”.  As mentioned above, Oahspe and many other texts give strikingly similar accounts of the earth’s heavenly kingdoms. They also talk about the principles governing movement (ascension and declension) between these realms. In Oahspe this movement is confusingly called resurrection, which is the same term it and the biblical canon use for movement to other higher dimensional locations in the galaxy, as well as the prophesied return of souls to the millennial “terrestrialized” or “celestialized” earth when the physical dimension of earth raises to a level of vibration or glory matching those found in the spirit world and the temporary abodes of the estranged heavenly travelers (more on this later). Alma speaks of the confusion caused by this terminology in the ancient texts when we speaks to his son Corianton about paradise and prison in earth’s spirit dimension.

14 Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection.
15 Now, there are some that have understood that this state of happiness and this state of misery of the soul, before the resurrection, was a first resurrection. Yea, I admit it may be termed a resurrection, the raising of the spirit or the soul and their consignation to happiness or misery, according to the words which have been spoken. (Alma 40:14–15)

The Gospel of the Holy Twelve also speaks of these dual resurections

2. As all creatures come forth from the unseen into this world, so they return to the unseen, and so will they come again till they be purified. Let the bodies of them that depart be committed to the elements, and the Father-Mother, who reneweth all things, shall give the angels charge over them, and let… their souls awake to a joyful resurrection.
3. There is a resurrection from the body, and there is a resurrection in the body. There is a raising out of the life of the flesh, and there is a falling into the life of the flesh. Let prayer be made For those who are gone before, and For those that are alive, and For those that are yet to come, for all are One family in God. In God they live and move and have their being.
4. The body that ye lay in the grave, or that is consumed by fire, is not the body that shall be, but they who come shall receive other bodies, yet their own, and as they have sown in one life, so shall they reap in another. Blessed are they who have worked righteousness in this life, for they shall receive the crown of life. (See the article “To Go No More Out” for more details on the relationship between resurrection and the eastern notion of reincarnation).

So although there can be some confusion when certain texts speak of resurrection, when the bible and LDS cannon speak of resurrection, they are sometimes referring to the return of souls to the physical dimension of earth, and sometimes referring to the periodic ascensions which occur between the various sublevels of the earth’s spirit world or spiritual dimensions. For instance, both Abinadi and Alma in the Book of Mormon define the “first resurrection” as occurring at the time of Christ’s mortal resurrection (Mosiah 15:21–26; Alma 40:15–17). But Joseph’s Doctrine & Covenants define the first resurrection as occurring at Christ’s Second Coming (D&C 45:54; 63:18, 132:19-26). This discrepancy can be harmonized by understanding the dual nature of the term resurrection.

Time translation  & movements between dimensions

[to finish… wrap it up…..]

All of these concepts are simplified by understanding that time is measured differently in the earth’s spiritual dimensions than it is here in the mortal dimension. The spirit world is a fractal of the earth and contains its entire history from beginning to end. All points in times exist simultaneously there.

Perhaps explain the cosmically induced cycles, how they relate to the solar cycles and solar max. How the current reversing of the earth’s magnetic field relates.  Go through examples of scriptural references to resurrection and show how some are in heaven, some are on earth…    Or just link back to the christian eschatology section of the main article?

-The after-world presented in LDS scripture and most channeled teachings is a whole lot like the present world. Your hell or heaven is a product of your own thought patterns and behaviors and those of the social groups, religions and nations you have bound yourself to.
-LDS scripture teaches that Church membership has only minor bearing on one’s placement in the afterlife. Placement has to do with earthly affiliations, faith and rightful living. All afterword states have earthly equivalents.
-Telestial glory is the level of progression of the majority of the earth for the last many thousand years.  It is comparable to a modern 2nd or 3rd world nation. It is scripturally synonymous with hell or prison because most the world’s ‘telestial’ inhabitants are servants to dictators, kings or despots. It is compared to Babylon, Egypt or Rome because these dictatorships were typical telestial societies.
-The Terrestial Glory of D&C 77 represents groups (such as the Church) who still live in Hell (a Telestial World), but have separated themselves from that society and adopted a higher more civilized, harmonious and selfless sub-culture. This higher standard of living prepares them for a place in the Resurrection of the Just (A resurrection or reincarnation within a Celestial or heavenly nation, instead of the telestial nation they belonged to).
-Celestial glory is synonymous with the biblical heaven. It is a higher dimension where the beings who guide this world live. It is the future abode of those who learn the degree of harmony, unity, love and ‘respect for law’ required for admittance into the higher heavenly realms (More comparable to a 1st world democratic nation which enjoys equality, freedom, peace and harmony).
-Each afterword ‘glory’ or kingdom of D&C 76 & D&C 84 are dualistic. Meaning the terms refer to two distinctly different things. Each has a metaphysical aspect (in the earth’s spiritual dimension), as well as physical aspect or dimension which the earth will at some future point progress through.

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Other Articles In This Series

Article 1. Re-examining what LDS scriptures say about the ‘Only True Church’ doctrine.

Article 2.  A Doctrinal Look at The Universal Priesthood of God & Its Relationship to LDS exclusive truth claims.

Article 3.   Re-examining the LDS adoption of the protestant fundamentalist view of the “Great Apostasy”.

Article 4. Clearing up Misunderstandings in the LDS View of the Afterlife (The 3 Degrees of Glory and their support for religious pluralism)

The Priesthood of God & Its Relationship to the Only True Church Doctrine

The true priesthood is not meant to be like Sauron's ring of power

45 “No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood…” (D&C 121:45).

Like many modern books and movies I believe Lord of the Rings teaches an important gospel message. One of its central themes revolves around the idea that power corrupts—so it’s up to the strong and wise to keep it in the hands of the weak and humble until the time that it can be “cast down” by perfect equality and fellowship. I believe this message is very important when it comes to understanding Christian priesthood, and is a theme that runs throughout LDS scripture. In this article I would like to try and show that LDS scripture teaches religious priesthood is not so much a ‘power of God’ but a preparatory symbolic authority given to man by divine beings to test who will stay “humble as a hobbit” like Frodo and Samwise, verses who will be corrupted by its influence like Saruman, Boromir, Theoden, and the race of man.

I love the LDS Church, but I believe that since the days of the earliest Saints there has often been fundamental misunderstandings and misapplications of priesthood in the church which lies at the root of the division this topic has caused—whether it be the use of priesthood authority to to support our exclusive truth claims, or using arguments of priesthood to pressure people into doing things they don’t really feel good about… or even instances of using priesthood arguments to marginalize blacks, women or other groups.

On one hand, misunderstanding and misapplication seems to have has caused people to want a burden and obligation which no person should really desire. On the other hand, privilege and abuse have sometimes caused a thing designed to maintain equality — to promote exclusivity, elitism, inequality and division. Misunderstood principles like “the one true church” and “only true priesthood” doctrines have often turned an equality promoting symbolic responsibility into an inequality promoting honor & privilege. But assuming there is legitimacy in Christian or LDS priesthood, I believe scripture suggests it is part of a test given to religious leaders to find out who might be worthy of true authority in our next rounds of progression.

This article covers the following points using LDS & Christian scripture.
-Scripture makes it clear that the priesthood is not the power to do miracles or create worlds and should not be confused with that ‘power’ of God. (Accessed by faith, not ordination. Ether 12:16–22, Heb 11:5–40)
-The priesthood is not, and never was, needed to be a prophet, seer or revelator—otherwise how could you explain biblical prophetesses and the many non-levitical prophets? (Acts 2:17, Ex 15:20, 2 Kings 22:14, Isaiah 8:3Heb 7:14)
-The priesthood is not, and never was, needed to heal; or perform any other skills said to be ‘Gifts of the Spirit’, given freely to all. (1 Cor 12:7–11)
-The priesthood was never entirely lost during apostasy. (see D&C 86:8–10; D&C 84:17–18, Abr 1:4, 2:11. ‘keys’ were simply taken from Israel and transferred to the Gentiles; now they’re being restored to Israel.)
-The higher priesthood has never been exclusive to one religion or people. (Many examples in scripture — Only the lower priesthood is fundamentally exclusive.)
-The priesthood should never be used to support or legitimize the only true church doctrine.
-The lower priesthood appears to be a symbolic authority to administer the offices, ordinances and symbols of salvation. (D&C 84:23–25)
-The higher spiritual priesthood invisibly governs all the religious and political affairs of the earth while maintaining equality and mankind’s self determination..(D&C 107:18–19)
-The lower, temporal or religious priesthood should not be confused with the higher universal spiritual priesthood it is was created to symbolize, copy and prepare for. (D&C 84:23–25, Alma 13:16–18)
-ALL priesthood IS a responsibility to active servitude in order to equalize inequalities. It’s proper use NEVER guarantees any special privilege, special standing, special respect, authoritative legitimacy, reward or power simply by virtue of its possession.  If people desire this burden, then it is a sign that it is being misused, misunderstood and misapplied. (121:45-46)

Sauron, Satan, and the Corrupting Influence of Power

In the book/movie The Lord of the Rings, J.R. Tolkien walks us through a story which illustrates the corrupting influence of power. The story begins with the forging of the Great Rings of power. Nineteen of these rings are given to the leaders of earth to give them “the strength and will to govern each race”.  But Tolkien teaches that in accepting these rings the leaders…

“were all of them deceived, for another ring was made. In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged, in secret, a Master Ring to control all others. And into this Ring he poured his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life. One Ring to rule them all.”

With this master ring, Sauron begins to enslave the people of earth bringing about an apocalyptic war for freedom. In the quest to destroy this “Ring of Power”, Frodo and the fellowship are tested and tried as they battle not only the evil followers of Sauron, but the evil that the ring creates in the hearts of the heroes by its very essence. Gandalf summarizes Tolkien’s view of power with his words concerning the ring,

“I dare not take it. Not even to keep it safe. Understand Frodo, I would use this Ring from a desire to do good. But through me, it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine.”

To Mormon’s & Christians this plot and what it teaches about power and authority might sound eerily familiar to the Biblical concept of Satan’s fall and plan for worldly dominion. In LDS and even general Christian theology it was the lust for power which caused the archetypal Satan to become a “the fallen archangel”—warring against all that is good. In Joseph Smith’s book of Moses (ch.4), it is explained that in the beginning Satan wanted the honor of redeeming mankind. As opposed to Christ’s plan of self sacrifice and equality— Satan’s plan was to use God’s power to “destroy the agency of man”, redeeming “all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost”. We can only assume from the context given in Moses 4:1–4, as well as subsequent biblical history that his plan was one of using “God’s” honor & authority to create a global totalitarian autocracy to coercively exalt all mankind (but especially himself and his crony power structure).

After his totalitarian plan is rejected, Satan rebels and comes to earth to carry out his plan anyway. Without the true secret to God’s political power or authority (which was self-sacrifice) he comes to earth and creates a false priesthood, which like Sauron’s rings of power, he uses to subtly manipulate, “deceive, blind and lead [people] captive to his will” (Moses 4:4). Satan’s goal seems to have been to either manipulate or trick people into obedience to his autocratic system through false pretenses (Moses 1:19–22), or as a last resort to do what the ancient Jews and many Christians still hope of their false Messiah. To come in power and glory dyed in blood, ready to force every knee to bow to his own egocentric concept of truth, order and righteousness (Rev 13, Dan 7). Just as Tolkien’s book details the corruption of earthly authority into what could be considered Sauron’s ‘false priesthood’, the Bible is–cover to cover–a story of the continual corruption of Jewish and earthly priesthoods into ‘Satan’s false priesthood’ of idolotry and autocratic domination.

In this article I hope to show that by upholding the only true church and only legitimate priesthood doctrines, Mormonism has unwittingly gone contrary to the democratic agency-promoting principles given in many of our own scriptures—and sometimes used the same manipulative tactics of Satan’s false priesthood to uphold autocratic power and authority. Something that we must eradicate if we are to play our key part in Christ’s true spiritual church.

The Difference Between Priesthood and The Powers of Heaven or Spiritual Gifts

Before going into other aspects of the priesthood I believe it’s important to cover what LDS scripture says the priesthood is, and is not. There are many traditional LDS beliefs and teachings which have contributed to the general pride that’s developed around priesthood in LDS culture. Some of this stems from the nearly ubiquitous misunderstanding that priesthood is the supernatural power of God [1a] used to create the world or do miraculous or supernatural acts, or that the priesthood is needed in order to be a prophet (one with the gift of prophecy), exercise divine power or be a religious icon like those idolized in Christian scripture. So why wouldn’t everyone lust after it, right?!  If like a magical ring, it gives the power to to heal or to prophesy or to cast out devils or move mountains or split seas or be a leader, prophet, seer or revelator of course it would become a source of pride to those lucky enough to have it, and a source of envy to groups forbidden from it!

A careful examination of the scripture show that priesthood is neither needed nor said to uniquely give people power to do ANY of these things. The scriptures instead teach that Judeo Christian priesthood was simply a symbolic religious order, authority and responsibility which obligates the powerful aspects of society to be a metaphor of the heavenly church, and use one’s attained power for good, and to establish the level of equality needed for group exaltation– and a system to convict it’s holders when they twist it into something opposite its intent. The scriptures make it clear that all the supernatural powers of God are given equally to ALL WORTHY MANKIND (humankind) as “gifts of the Spirit” and are available “by faith” to all people regardless of gender, religion, color or priesthood ordination (see D&C 45, Moroni 7, and 2 Cor 12, 2 Ne 26:33, Lectures on Faith #1).

To confuse the priesthood (which is accessed only by ordination into a specific religious order) WITH the ‘powers of heaven’ or ‘power of God’ or gifts of the Spirit which scripture says are accessed by faith is like confusing the force of George Lucas’ star wars with the order of the Jedi who are trained to use it or Tolkien’s wizards/Istari order with the power or magic they have learned to access. After all, Christian scripture teaches that even Satan and his followers have learned by faith to use the miraculous divine powers, and his power is obviously not the same as the priesthood or order of God. Although mixing these definitions may seem a trivial debate in semantics — by perpetuating these unscriptural misunderstandings we inadvertently cause many to covet or feel excluded from a burdensome obligation of sacrifice that no one should desire.

There is simply NO scriptural support for the ubiquitous traditional LDS doctrine that the “priesthood” is the supernatural power God used to create the world and universe. There is no scriptural support suggesting priesthood has exclusive claim to any of God’s miraculous powers, except an authority or burden of responsibility to religious administration (servitude), to officiate in symbolic ecclesiastical ordinances and seal and symbolically bring a people into God’s presence. D&C 121:45 makes it clear that “That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven”, but the priesthood should not be confused for the “powers of heaven” or the “power of God” which D&C 88 teaches is “is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed”.

There are literally hundreds of verses of scripture proving these points, but I trust the average LDS reader can be convinced by reading just a handful. (see footnote [a] for more scriptural examples comparing priesthood with the power of God accessed through faith. see also The Difference Between Priesthood and Prophets , and Ether 12, Heb 11, TG; faith, D&C 88:7–13, 84:45-46, Moses 1:32, Jacob 4:9, Morm 9:17, D&C 29:30–31).

The priesthood is primarily a metaphor or symbol of a heavenly or spiritual system

Technically, priesthood does not even give people a right to authority or rule, per se. Much like Israel and the Christian Church in general, the scriptures teach that the priesthood was created to be an order of servitude and symbol or type of a heavenly spiritual system. A light to show the world how heaven operates. The true priesthood is not like Sauron’s ring, or some imaginary crown which mystically gives individuals God’s authority to rule over others — or to be God’s only revelatory mouthpieces or political regents. [1] Even Tolkien understood that such a system could only come from, and lead to evil. Joseph Smith, perhaps ironically, echoed this sentiment that religious priesthood was never meant to give men true power or authority over others. He wrote in revelation,

No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only [but] by persuasion, long suffering, meekness… [and other Christlike attributes]” (D&C 121:45)

This was fairly clear in the Jewish religious system, as the priesthood was held only by Levites, and authorized its holders ONLY to work as priests in the temple. Prophets, Rabbis and many other Jewish political and religious leaders had no need for the priesthood. It was clearly only a responsibility to administer the symbolic outward ordinances of the religious system. With the advent of Christianity, the Church or congregation became the temple, and the symbolic managerial duties of the temple priests moved to ordained men of the congregation (1 Cor 3:16; Eph 2:21; 1 Peter 2:5) . With the new covenant, instead of sacrificing animals and performing ordinances on behalf of the people, the priesthood was now to follow Christ’s example of sacrificing themselves and performing symbolic ordinances on behalf of the congregation and world (Romans 12:1–2; 15:16; Philip 2:17; 4:18; Heb 13:15–16). So even though early church records show a clear hierarchical administrative system [2] which was associated with priesthood, Christ’s teachings were clear that the Church was not to follow the world’s model of using that priesthood position to support and maintain the organizational hierarchy. (In fact there are many apocryphal sources which suggest Christ created a secret organization of women equal in importance to the men)

The system of heaven which Jesus came to teach was that power and authority came not from position but from self-sacrifice. Knowledge and self sacrifice were to be the “keys” or authority of the kingdom (Matt 16:13–20, D&C 84:19; 107:15). Ordination to an office was never meant to prove one’s legitimacy or give one person authoritative control over another. He taught that only by humbly serving others can we righteously create a hierarchy or gain privilege over the will of another. That no ordinance can truly give authority, the ordinance and priesthood office is a symbol pointing to the type of wise character and level of service which earns true power and authority over others while completely preserving agency. Take the words of Christ to his apostles in Matthew 20 for instance.

25 But Jesus called [his disciples] to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life… (Matt 20:20–28 ESV) [2b]

The narrative of Christ giving Peter the “keys” of the kingdom hit this point home. (A narrative strangely absent from every gospel but Matthew’s.) Instead of Christ ordaining Peter with a magical power that he could use to rule the church and do miracles to prove Christ’s legitimacy, he promises Peter the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” after a lesson on faith and a “charge” not to flaunt the Messiah title to legitimize their teachings. It then states that Christ began then to teach in depth about self sacrifice before the religious elite,

21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day… 24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. (Matt 16:21,24–25)

The entire system of Jewish temple worship & sacrifice, culminating with Jesus coming to be judged and executed by the Jewish priesthood & Roman authorities can be seen as a clear symbolic teaching and example to show both the right way (by humble non-institutionalized example) and the wrong way (by means of religious or political authority) to lead man. The second and third temptations of Christ were an offer by Satan to get power and authority the wrong way. The Christian priesthood was not meant to give man the right or legitimacy to rule over others.  It was instituted to give mankind a symbol of a heavenly system—and to teach mankind that true authority over others comes only through self-sacrifice. Heavenly authority is meant to maintain equality through the self-sacrifice and subservience of the leadership. To humble powerful people into being equal slaves and servants in Christ. This is why this responsibility of servitude is often only given to the most assertive and domineering (masculine) aspects of humanity and withheld from the humble or subjugated (feminine) aspects of humanity. That’s not to say women should not have priesthood authority, but instead that priesthood authority was an order and charge of humility given to the powerful, that they should abase themselves to be equals with the less powerful aspects of society.  (see footnote[2c])

In fact other revealed texts such as Oahspe 32/ch. 30 (God judges dominions) teach the scripturally supported idea that the cost of human leadership is that no leader can ascend to the higher realms of existence, until he has exalted or risen up all those who had become physically or mentally subjected to them! (see Matt 23:12) That is, that the responsibility and burden of both righteous ecclesiastical leaders or wicked despots was that they could not gain an exalted resurrection until they helped every one of their willing subjects ascend with or ahead of them! In Christ’s words, the first will be made last and the last will be made first. (Matt 19:30; 20:1-16, D&C 29:30)

… I show man not only the way of liberty, but the way of bondage. He shall know understandingly the ways of my dominions, and the judgment that is upon him. 32/30.20. And the same rules shall apply to every king, queen, emperor, and every other ruler in the world. 32/30.21. The resurrection in heaven of each and every one of them shall be with, and no faster than, those they ruled over on earth.  32/30.22. And they shall be responsible to all their subjects[2d]

LDS teachings commonly use arguments of priesthood to legitimize LDS authority as the only true church, and our General Authorities as Christ’s only true living prophets and apostles on earth. Our entire cultural system of giving General Authorities and priesthood holders the “chief seats in the synagogues” or always insisting “to be called of men Rabbi, Rabbi” [President or Bishop in our case] is directly contrary to Christ’s teachings (see Matt 23:6–12; Luke 23:6, 11:43). Like the Pharisees of Jesus time, I believe we have slowly come to focus too much on priesthood as an eternal authority and honor to be desired instead of merely a responsibility to be shouldered. It has become a way to legitimize dominion and exert one’s own will upon others, instead of being a responsibility of public service which maintains equality. We forget that God respects self determination above all, and will never force compliance contrary to the voice and conscience of the majority. We too often seek to ‘talk up’ the priesthood when we should instead be focusing on the fact that earthly priesthood is a symbolic responsibility and burden that gives assertive individuals an obligation to service — and that service is the true source of heaven’s power (A power open to ALL worthy humankind.)  Paul tries repeatedly in his New Testament letters to show the Jews that the Old Testament system and priesthood were types, symbols or schoolmasters pointing to heavenly systems and spiritual truths—not to be confused with the real thing.

10 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming–not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. (Hebr 10:1 NIV)
5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” (Hebr 8:5 NIV)
23 That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.
24 For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf. (Hebr 9:23-24 NLT)
6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant–not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter [type/symbol] kills, but the Spirit [meaning behind the symbol] gives life. (2 Cor 3:6 NIV, compare NLT)

Latter day LDS scripture echoes the same sentiment,

16 Now these ordinances were given after this manner, that thereby the people might look forward on the Son of God, it being a type of his order, or it being his order… (Alma 13:16)
13 …that all things may have their likeness, and that they may accord one with another—that which is earthly conforming to that which is heavenly… (D&C 128:13)

According to the LDS worldview, the ancient Jews looked “beyond the mark”, and twisted their religious system into an organization satanic enough to excommunicate and execute their own heavenly King (Jacob 4:14, 2 Ne 10:3). We also hold that the Catholics have their own record of priesthood abuse stemming from their belief that their priesthood is what makes them elected or chosen of God. Certainly, when a religion or mankind misunderstands temporal symbols given by heaven and creates an organization that manipulates people into a exclusivist leadership hierarchy fostering feelings of pride, subservience and inequality the true priesthood is corrupted. Just as declaring one’s self “the only true church” makes a religion run the risk of being part of the church of the devil, using any arguments of priesthood to justify our authority over others runs the risk of losing the true spiritual priesthood (D&C 121:37). Paradoxically, if Mormonism wants to be part of the True Church of God, it must never boast of being the only true church. If it wants to be worthy of the true priesthood, it must hide the tokens of that priesthood by never using priesthood as a reason for its authority or legitimacy. (For example: repeated talks on being the only true church or priesthood, talking up church apostles or leadership, or excommunicating those who challenge authority or repeated talks on “obedience to priesthood”, talks suggesting leaders, the “prophet” or General Authorities are unequal or superior to regular members, or manipulatively teaching that their priesthood “mantle of authority” deserves special respect and thus shouldn’t be questioned or challenged (ie. talks on not “steadying the ark”), instead of letting obedience, respect and submission to authority be a natural outgrowth of people wanting to follow their leaders because of the leadership’s humility, service and sacrifice).

The Two branches of Mormon Priesthood and what they symbolize

I believe LDS scriptures teach that the two branches of Mormon/Biblical ecclesiastical priesthood are a type or metaphor of two larger types of priesthood used by Higher Beings in the management of our world— The Aaronic or temporal priesthood and the Melchizedek or spiritual priesthood. In a way, I believe LDS scriptural teachings on these priesthoods are meant to reconcile the Catholic views on ministerial priesthood with the Protestant views of universal priesthood. The Mormon Aaronic or lower priesthood being a type or symbol pointing to the “temporal” priesthood or earthly authority of the earth’s religions & political organizations. The Mormon Melchizedek, higher or “spiritual” priesthood being a symbol of the “invisible” spiritual or universal priesthood which is used by heavenly/spiritual beings to rule ALL earthy political and religious affairs according to their agency.  The earthly temporal lower priesthood like the temporal church, is supposed to copy that higher perfect heavenly system. Its primary purpose is to be a type, symbol or example and schoolmaster to the world.

Re-examining what the scriptures say about the “Only True Church” Doctrine

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67 Behold, this is my doctrine—whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church.
68 Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not of my church (D&C 10:67–68).

Introduction

In this article I hope to show from numerous scriptures in the New Testament, the Book of Mormon & the Doctrine & Covenants that the “one true church” of Jesus Christ mentioned in most of LDS scriptures appears to be a non-denominational “spiritual church” or heavenly church which manifests as a cultural movement and NOT an exclusivist Christian sect as seems to have been established in our Mormon traditions.[def] I also hope to show in this and other articles in this series that Judaism, Christianity and Mormonism were created to be a symbol, or type/archetype of this heavenly church, which should seek to establish & bring forth a temporal version of the “true and living church” spoken of in D&C 1:30. The “only true church”, or Kingdom of god/heaven would be something earthly churches aspire to and lead people to, not an inherent right that comes with priesthood keys. The scriptures toward the end of this article hit the point home, and show that like Peter and other apostle’s constant misunderstanding of Jesus teachings—Joseph and modern church leaders may have also misunderstood and overlooked LDS scriptures which clearly teach that the “only true church” is a heavenly church instead of specific religious sect or denomination. A global spiritual brotherhood which all the good people and faiths of earth are destined toward if the follow the path of love and selflessness. It seems to this author that religious scripture, like good music and poetry, is made to be somewhat ambiguous on many issues, and cultures use that ambiguity to promote love and selflessness or egocentrism and pride.  It is my hope that by looking at the following scriptural arguments that the LDS people might choose to focus on scriptures which promote religious pluralism, and not those which promote exclusivity and pride.

Outline of points covered in the article
-The cultural overuse of the only true church concept in LDS testimonies too often follows the example of the Book of Mormon Zoramites. (see Alma 31:12–21)
-The Book of Mormon, Bible and Doctrine and Covenants teach that Christ’s one true church (as well as the church of the devil) are spiritual churches which transcend organizational and priesthood lines. (D&C 10:67–68, 1 Ne 14:10Moroni 7:16–17, Mark 9:38–402 Nephi 10:16Matt 12:30, etc)
-The Doctrine & Covenants (D&C 10:67–68) clearly teaches the condition required to be part of Christ’s Spiritual Church. Declaring more or less than that definition threatens Mormonisms’ membership in Christ’s one true spiritual church.
-A temporal sect or religion’s “trueness” or whether they can be classified as part of the “one true church”, depends on how well they copy, obey or “come unto” the spiritual church in heaven. (D&C 10:53–59,67–69)
-The separation of the wheat and the tares at the end of the age is synonymous with Christ’s separation of the Church of God and Church of the devil. The point of the parable revolves around the difficulty for humans to distinguish between the two. (see Matt 13:37–43, D&C 86:1–3, D&C 88:94)
-D&C 10:52–54 makes it clear that Christ’s spiritual church existed on earth before the restoration of the LDS sect. Joseph Smith’s church & priesthood were meant to “build up” and correct the already existing spiritual church on earth. And to be a symbol and archetype of the end-epoch separating and gathering process (see Heb 8:5;9:23-24;10:1; Alma 13:16).
-Mormonism should never boast of being the only true church until Messiah’s final gathering of all people and churches in One Body, and that universal brotherhood or kingdom is ready to “present to the Father”.
-Interpreting D&C 1:30 to suggest the LDS church is ‘the ONLY true church’, contradicts other scriptural evidence concerning the matter. We LDS people need to relook at the conditional nature of what the verse actually says–and stop using it as a pillar of exclusivity. (see exegesis of D&C 1:30)

Zoramitism in the LDS Church

As much as I love the good in Mormonism, it seems to me that many of us in the LDS church have focused too much on a prideful reading of D&C 1:30, and discount an abundance of scriptural information to the contrary, in order to support the tradition of being “the only true church”. Like the biblical Pharisees and Zoramites in the Book of Mormon, we sometimes twist the scriptures in a manner that makes us think that God has “separated us” and “elected us to be saved”, while “all around us are elected to be cast by [his] wrath down to hell” (or lower kingdoms until we do their temple work). Understanding the pride inherent in our doctrines is the first step in unraveling what I believe to be egocentric scriptural interpretations which crept into the church from its earliest days. The similarities between the Book of Mormon account of the Zoramites and the average Mormon testimony in Fast & Testimony Meeting should be enough to convict us and open our hearts to the need to look closer at what the scriptures teach concerning the only true church doctrine. For those unfamiliar with the story of the Zoramites, let’s read through Alma’s experience for some insight into this extremely prideful sect—one that LDS people don’t want to be like!

12 Now, when they had come into the land, behold, to their astonishment they found that the Zoramites had built synagogues, and that they did gather themselves together on one day of the week, which day they did call the day of the Lord; and they did worship after a manner which Alma and his brethren had never beheld;
13 For they had a place built up in the center of their synagogue, a place for standing, which was high above the head; and the top thereof would only admit one person.
14 Therefore, whosoever desired to worship must go forth and stand upon the top thereof, and stretch forth his hands towards heaven, and cry with a loud voice, saying:
15 Holy, holy God; we believe that thou art God, and we believe that thou art holy, and that thou wast a spirit, and that thou art a spirit, and that thou wilt be a spirit forever.
16 Holy God, we believe that thou hast separated us from our brethren; and we do not believe in the tradition of our brethren, which was handed down to them by the childishness of their fathers; but we believe that thou hast elected us to be thy holy children; and also thou hast made it known unto us that there shall be no Christ.
17 But thou art the same yesterday, today, and forever; and thou hast elected us that we shall be saved, whilst all around us are elected to be cast by thy wrath down to hell; for the which holiness, O God, we thank thee; and we also thank thee that thou hast elected us, that we may not be led away after the foolish traditions of our brethren, which doth bind them down to a belief of Christ, which doth lead their hearts to wander far from thee, our God.
18 And again we thank thee, O God, that we are a chosen and a holy people. Amen.
19 Now it came to pass that after Alma and his brethren and his sons had heard these prayers, they were astonished beyond all measure.
20 For behold, every man did go forth and offer up these same prayers.
21 Now the place was called by them Rameumptom, which, being interpreted, is the holy stand. (Alma 31:12–21)

Although the beliefs of the Zoramites concerning the nature of God and Christ were different than our own, we come too close to sharing the same pride concerning salvation. Like all fundamentalist sects, the Zoramites saw themselves as a “chosen and holy people”. Like us, the Zoramites truly believed that their doctrines, divine election, (and likely priesthood & ordinances)  made them the only true church, “elected by God to be saved”. They did not understand the following concepts taught by Nephi, and reiterated by Moroni, Jesus and other prophets—that until Zion is fully established & redeemed, the only true church is a spiritual church which transcends cultural and organizational lines.

The ‘Only Two Churches’ are ‘Spiritual Churches’ or Social Movements

I suggest the LDS concept of being the ‘only true church’ is promoted by a small handful of misunderstood scriptures. One example is Nephi’s vision of the two churches. In his vision given in 1 Nephi of the Book of Mormon, Nephi was taught that there are only two churches, the church of the Lamb of God (or the true church), and the church of the devil (the false church). This vision is often used to support the idea that there is only one true church on earth — however, since Nephi’s vision specifies that everyone on earth belongs to one of these two churches— it should be obvious that term “church” here is referring to a “spiritual” church or ideological allegiance and not just a temporal sect or ecclesiastical organization. Lets look at what the verse says,

10 And [The angel of the Lord] said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth. (1 Ne 14:10)

It should be apparent from the context of this verse, that the term “church” in this scripture, can not be referring to the most popular modern definition of the word church (which is a specific religious denomination). Since the verse says “there are save two churches only”, defining “church” as a denomination would mean there could only be two religious denominations in existence, and everyone on earth would have to be a member of one or the other.

As implied by the context and noted by other authors, the word church anciently, often had a much broader meaning than it does now (Hebrew qahal or edah; Greek ekklesia). For instance, in Greek texts it referred more broadly to a general assembly, or political association of people who bonded together and shared the same beliefs or loyalties. Scholars have noted that the modern concept of a church as a separate priesthood organization or religious denomination, didn’t exist among Jews of the first and second temple periods. Instead the differing religious groups or “schools of thought” as Josephus called them, were forced to work together to manage the Jewish theocratic state despite their conflicting ideologies.

In regards to Nephi’s vision of two churches, LDS apostles and church leaders have often misunderstood the scriptural use of the word “church” by arguing an inconsistent definition-— suggesting on one hand that the “church of the lamb of God” refers to a literal ecclesiastical organization (the LDS church and its ancient equivalent), but yet that the “church of the devil” refers to a figurative or spiritual church that transcends organizational lines. Others have tried to define the Church of the Devil in Nephi’s vision as the Catholic or American Evangelical Churches. However any interpretation to make either “the church of the Lamb of God” OR “the church of the devil” into literal Christian organizations or sects, contradicts the principle taught in Moroni 7 where he teaches that “every thing which inviteth to do good… is of God” and “whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil… is of the devil”.

16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.
17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him. (Moroni 7:16–17)

12 And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good… (Ether 4:12)

The idea sometimes pushed by early church leaders that every other Christian denomination BUT the LDS church was the Church of the devil would be a complete contradiction to Moroni’s words. How could Catholicism or protestantism for instance be the “church of the devil” when the devil “persuadeth no man to do good[0], no not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him“! The idea is prideful and contradictory and has subsequently been abandoned by most modern LDS teachers. But at the same time, how could the LDS church be the “only true church” when according to Nephi and other scriptures THERE ARE ONLY TWO CHURCHES? According to Nephi’s vision, holding that the LDS denomination is the only true church requires all others to be part of the church of the devil, which as we will see in this article goes contrary to the words of Moroni, Christ’s and the Joseph’s Doctrine and Covenants. The answer to this apparent contradiction is that Both Moroni and Nephi for the most part taught a broad spiritual version of Christ’s true church. [1]

Is it any wonder that we are scorned as being a cult by other churches when we repeatedly infer that they are part of the church of the devil? (Perhaps some LDS members don’t realize it, but our insistence that we are the ONLY true church infers by definition that unlike us, all others are false!).

To make either the Church of God OR the Church of the Devil into one particular organization is to twist the scriptures on the matter.

Early LDS Church leaders were not alone in their misunderstanding of the spiritual nature of the “church” Christ taught.  In the New Testament John and other apostles make this same mistake when they forbid a man who would not follow them, from casting out demons by Christ’s name and authority. Jesus rebuked them and teaches the same principle as Nephi and Moroni. No-one who does good in Christ’s name is of the devil—and the apostolic followers weren’t the only one’s allowed to act with Christ’s authority. Because all who do good in Christ’s name are part of Christ’s spiritual church.

38 John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone forcing demons out of a person by using the power and authority of your name. We tried to stop him because he was not one of us.”
39 Jesus said, “Don’t stop him! No one who works a miracle in my name can turn around and speak evil of me.
40 Whoever isn’t against us is for us. (Mark 9:38–40 GWT)

Nephi makes essentially the same statement using reverse logic later in his writings as he explains the nature of both the true church of Christ and the False church of the devil. (Christ also says almost the exact thing in Matt 12:30)

“Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, shall perish; for they are they who are the whore of all the earth; for they who are not for me are against me, saith our God.” (2 Nephi 10:16, see also Matt 12:30)

So Christ in one place says “whoever is not against us–is for us”, but in another place says (along with Nephi) “whoever is not for us–is against us” (see Matt 12:30). These statements are a complete contradictions if you try to define Christ’s church as a closed ecclesiastical organization. (see footnote 4) They can only be harmonized if you see them as a restatement of the same forced spiritual dichotomy used over and over in scripture which teaches that those who do good and are heading toward love are part of the spiritual church of God, and those who do evil and are fighting good are part of the church of the devil. And that every ecclesiastical church, sect, denomination, religion, person or nation is constantly aligning themselves with one or the other in everything they do–and will eventually have to chose allegiances in the heavenly or spiritual battle. Understanding this logic shows how the verses mentioned above support the idea of a spiritual church… and not just a temporal church.

good-vs-evil

The Good vs. Evil Dichotomy in Scripture

The binary or dichotomy of good vs. evil is taught throughout the scriptures. And perhaps nowhere is the idea that these terms transcend organizational lines taught better than in the parable of the wheat and the tares. In the parable the Master commands his servants to plant wheat in a field— but when it grows he find tares MIXED WITHIN the wheat. He tells his servants to allow them to grow together, least pulling out the tares, “ye root up also the wheat with them”.  The meaning of this parable is explained not only in the New Testament but also in D&C 86 & 88, where we learn that that “the field was the world, and the apostles were the sowers of the seed” (D&C 86:2), the good seed are the children of Christ’s kingdom (true church), and the tares are the church of the devil or bad people and bad works that come from twisted doctrine (Matt 13:38, D&C 88:94).

37 …He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom [Christ’s true church]; but the tares are the children of the wicked one [ie. devil’s church, see D&C 88:94];
39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Matt 13:37–43, see also D&C 86:1–3)

Verse 38 (clarified in D&C 88:94) makes it clear that in this parable the wheat are the kingdom or church of Christ, and the tares are the ‘kingdom or church of the devil’. And the whole point of the parable is that it is hard to tell the difference between the two because they look so similar and grow together within each organization! Both the wheat and the tares exist within every religion, culture and kingdom. There are tares in “Christ’s Kingdom”, and wheat among the Gentiles. But it is not until “the end of the world” (end or close of the age in most translations) that Christ and his angels (not mortal servants) will separate the two; gathering the wheat into heaven and burning the tares with the stubble to prepare a new crop cycle. [2].

[[defs]]Spiritual Church: A social movement. A state of being. A type of spiritual nature or character which binds like-minded people together.  And organization which exists in heaven with which people can align themselves in thought and behavior.

Organizational or Temporal Church: A specific religious organization or denomination on the earth, bound together by specific ordinances, priesthood and leadership.[[defs]]



Book of Mormon Geography: An Internal Model

Separate authors internal models of the Book of Mormon. Left BYU Virtual Scriptures by Tyler Griffin, Middle Joel Hardy Map (1998), Right, Old official LDS Institute/student manual map. See also Turner Map.

Quicklinks/ Jump to Section:

Narrow NeckAmmonihahAntionumAaronMelek
MulekNoahBountifulSouthwest CitiesEast Sea Cities
GideonJershonJerusalemHelam, Alma, AmulonIshmael
River SidonHead of SidonMantiNephiZarahemla
Land Many WatersCumorahHill ShimWildernessesDefensive Lines

Overview

Apart from the general isthmian nature of Book of Mormon lands suggested in Alma 22 (and explained in detail later), perhaps the most important aspect of any internal model of the Book of Mormon is the relationship between Moroni’s East Coast and Southwestern defensive garrison cities fought over in Alma chapters 50-56.  In Alma 50:11 (Alma 50:7–15) we learn that Moroni creates a NEW border between the Nephite and Lamanite lands, and fortifies it with garrisons/cities which run between the Land of Zarahemla and the northern border of the Land of Nephi which Alma 50:8 says runs “in a straight course from the east sea to the west [sea]” (see also Alma 22:27). Read carefully through Alma 50 and pay close attention to the wording and logic concerning these new border fortifications.

10 And he also placed armies on the south, in the borders of their possessions, and caused them to erect fortifications that they might secure… their people… …fortifying the line between the Nephites and the Lamanites, between the land of Zarahemla and the land of Nephi, from the west sea, running by the head of the river Sidon— [to the] foundation of a city, and they called… Moroni; and it was by the east sea. (Alma 50:8–13, esp. verse 11)

An internal model of Book of Mormon Geography
My Internal model of Book of Mormon Geography

The army march in Alma 52-56 from the West Sea to Manti (particularly Alma 56:25) verifies this by showing that south frontier town of Manti, while only a few days march from the west sea city and other south frontier garrisons (Alma 53:22; Alma 56:31), is also close enough to reasonably march to Nephihah and Moroni and the east sea (Alma 51:26). Alma 59:5–7 also shows Manti is close to Nephihah. Moroni also fortifies the entire east coast from the new southern border all the way to the “Narrow Pass” (Alma 50:34; 52:9) or “Line Bountiful” (Alma 22:32–33) which leads to the land Northward. Basically, making a backward L of defensive cities to guard the Nephite southern frontier and eastern coast. The attention shown by Moroni in fortifying the east coast (and not the west coast), further suggests the east coast posed a greater threat as a travel corridor and mode of entry to Nephite lands than the west coast, almost certainly because Zarahemla and the Nephite center was closer to the east coast than the west coast. As will be seen in a moment, these are vital details that makes almost all existing geographic correlations (whether Heartland models, or Mayanland models) difficult to correlate with the text, because features like the Yucatan Peninsula in Mesoamerican models or shear width of the North American continent and/or configuration of the Great Lakes in Heartland models make the travels of the various armies on these new coast to coast southern defensive borders spoken of in these chapters, incredibly problematic.

Alma 22 lays the most comprehensive geographic groundwork for this border dispute by explaining the general layout of Nephite and Lamanite lands before Moroni’s border realignment. The chapter sets forth the following important geographic relationships.

-The “land of Nephi and the land of Zarahemla were nearly surrounded by water, there being a small neck of land between the land northward [called Mulek or Desolation- Hel 6:10, Alma 22:30] and the land southward [called Lehi or Nephi/Bountiful- (Hel 6:10, Alma 22:29)”. (Alma 22:32)
-Before Captain Moroni’s redefinition of the southern national boundary, the Nephites had become “nearly surrounded by the Lamanites” (Alma 22:29)
-The land of Nephi’s borders stretched “to the sea, on the east and on the west” (Alma 22:27). In other words the Land of Nephi stretched from the East Sea to the West Sea. (see verses 27-30)
-The land of Bountiful, which “the Nephites had inhabited”, was north of Zarahemla and also stretched “even from the east unto the west sea” (Alma 22:33).
-The land of Nephi was “divided from the land of Zarahemla by a narrow strip of wilderness, which [also] ran from the sea east even to the sea west” (Alma 22:27)
-The “head of the river Sidon” or headwaters of the river Sidon were “by” the land of Manti in the Narrow strip of wilderness that separated the lands of Nephi and Zarahemla. (Alma 22:27). Verse 27 also seems to suggest that the river Sidon actually “runs” or flows “from east toward the west” forming a border of sorts between the Nephite and Lamanite lands, just like the narrow strip of wilderness which also is said to have “ran from the sea east even to the sea west” (Alma 22:27).
-Similar to typical English usage, the Book of Mormon seems to differentiate between the seas or oceans (i.e. called either ‘sea’ or ‘many waters’) and lakes (Called simply ‘waters of ’ or ‘bodies of water’). These verses show the word sea = ocean: 1 Ne 18:8, etc, etc, etc.  Also ‘Great waters’ = Ocean: Omni 1:16.  Contrasted with ‘Waters of’ = lake or river: Mosiah 25:18, Alma 2:34, Alma 18:7, Mormon 1:10. Large bodies of water = large lakes: Alma 50:29, Hel 3:4. One exception is the phrase ‘many waters’, which seems to be used interchangeably with lake or large ocean that inhibits travel ( ‘Many Waters = ocean that divides continents: 1 Nephi 17:5; 1 Nephi 13:10–12. ‘Land of many waters’ = land with lots of large lakes?: Mormon 6:4, Mosiah 8:8).

Thus before Captain Moroni, there seems to have been a poorly defined border between the lands of Nephi and Zarahemla through a “narrow strip of wilderness” which ran between the two lands, as well as possibly some part of the “River Sidon”, which seems to repeatedly be used as the strategic battle point to stop Lamanite armies from entering or leaving the land (see Alma 2:15–17, 34–35, Alma 16:6–7, Alma 43:40–41).  However, because the Lamanites had moved north of the narrow strip of wilderness along the east and west seashore until they “nearly surrounded” the land of Zarahemla, Captain Moroni decided to drive them out of the east and west coastal areas, until they were south of the new ‘sea to sea’ or ‘coast to coast’ border he created through the land of Manti and cities of Antiparah, Judea, Cumeni, Zeezrom, Nephihah and Moroni. (again, see Alma 50:7–15)

My first B.O.M. geography map, created in 10th grade.

Narrow Neck

Book of Mormon references to the Narrow Neck or Narrow pass are actually a bit confusing and contradictory, leading me to believe there is confusion about it in the mind of the author(s). First off the book never mentions a single occurance happening ON the narrow neck. Instead, each of the two references to it, are BY the narrow neck. It also gives no indication of exactly how wide the narrow neck is and strangely refers to it (or a sea by it) as “the place where the sea divides the land” instead of what we’d expect of a centered isthmus as a place where the land divides the sea. Its also suggested, but never specifically laid out that it contains some type of pass(es) or defensive line that are a day’s journey across in one area (Hel 4:7) and/or a day and a half’s journey in another (Alma 22:32). It is specifically called a “small neck of land” (Alma 22:32, Ether 10:20), or “narrow neck” (Alma 63:5) but then a “narrow pass” or “passage” which led by the sea (Alma 50:34; 52:9, Mormon 2:29; 3:5-6).  The distances given, may be only specifically talking about the “the line” which they had fortified (Alma 22:32, Hel 4:7).  Since a day and a half’s journey is typically only 15-30 miles, we can assume these distance markers are NOT referring to the whole width of the isthmus (if that’s what it is), since even the narrowest parts of panama are more than 30 miles wide and were referenced as being at least “3 days journey” by Natives in early references (see Balboa, January 20, 1513).

So perhaps it’s safe to assume that if it is an isthmus, it must have contained a rugged mountain range or some impassable feature in addition to the 15-25 mile wide fortified “line(s)” on the coastal plain or travel corridor(s). 

Also of important note is that the Book of Mormon (especially the book of Alma) seems to be quite precise when it comes to cardinal directions. Using “northward” instead of just north, and more importantly, directions like “south and west” as well as “west sea, south” and “borders of the land on the south, by the west sea” when referring to the battles for the southwest cities (Alma 52:11–15 & 53:8,22 ).  But note it NEVER mentions a north shore or north and west (northwest)/north and east (northeast) shore when talking about the battles for the cities of Bountiful and Mulek or the travels along the east sea or west sea to the land Northward. Chapters dealing with the East sea, strongly suggest the narrow neck is inline with the rest of the East sea.  Conversely, the opposite seems true for the final flight of the Nephites to Cumorah (although these battles are glossed over). No mention is made of Bountiful, the River Sidon, the sea east or any east sea city in the final flight before the destruction. (only the WEST sea is mentioned). In fact new ‘lands’ are mentioned we never heard about in the battles on the east sea. The text also refers to various wild animals coming from “the land northward to the wilderness of Hermounts “on the north and west” [of Zarahemla], suggesting some kind of mountainous wilderness corridor on the narrow neck which connects with northwest wilderness of Hermounts. Also when Hagoth launches “into the west sea”, “BY the narrow neck” (not at or on the narrow neck) it seems to suggest there is no northern shore caused by the land narrowing. (ie. the narrow neck is to the west, not north east). Given these details, and asking ourselves why the final flight was along the west sea instead of east, it almost seems like there are two narrow necks… one on the east, and one on the west?  At very least the two narrow necks seem somewhat separated. 

“by the narrow pass which led by the sea into the land northward, yea, by the sea, on the west and on the east.” (Alma 50:34)

Lastly, it is important to note that the common placement of Teancum on the Sea East is entirely unsupported by the text. ALL references to the sea in the final flight (until arriving in Cumorah) are to the West Sea. And the text suggests that Teancum is quite close to Desolation. (see Final Flight section at the end of this document)

-It was “the distance of a day and a half’s journey for a Nephite, on the line Bountiful and the land Desolation, from the east to the west sea; and thus the land of Nephi and the land of Zarahemla were nearly surrounded by water, there being a small neck of land between the land northward and the land southward”.  (Alma 22:32).
-Teancum’s army heads Morianton’s flight northward on the “borders of the land Desolation… by the narrow pass which led by the sea into the land northward, yea, by the sea, on the west and on the east.” (Alma 50:34)
-Moroni orders that Teancum “should fortify the land Bountiful, and secure the narrow pass which led into the land northward, lest the Lamanites should obtain that point and should have power to harass them on every side”. (Alma 52:9)
-Hagoth… went forth and built him an exceedingly large ship, on the borders of the land Bountiful, by the land Desolation, and launched it forth into the west sea, by the narrow neck which led into the land northward. (Alma 63:5)
-Nephite armies of Moroniahah, “fortify against the Lamanites, from the west sea, even unto the east; it being a day’s journey for a Nephite, on the line which they had fortified and stationed their armies to defend their north country.” (Hel 4:6–7)
-A peace treaty is made wherein the “Lamanites did give unto us the land northward, yea, even to the narrow passage which led into the land southward. And we did give unto the Lamanites all the land southward.” (Mormon 2:29)
-The Nephites gather to Desolation, “to a city which was in the borders, by the narrow pass which led into the land southward… that we might stop the armies of the Lamanites, that they might not get possession of any of our [northern] lands” (Mormon 3:5–6)
-Lib “built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land. And they did preserve the land southward for a wilderness, to get game.” (Ether 10:20–21)

ReferenceExact WordingSea west mentioned?Sea east mentioned?Days jour-neyDirectional indicators
Alma 22:32–33“small neck of land” or “the line Bountiful”yespossibly1.5from the east to the west sea
Alma 50:34“the narrow pass”yesno. implied? by the sea, on the west and on the east
Alma 52:9“the narrow pass” no  
Alma 63:5“the narrow neck”yesno the west sea
Hel 4:6–7“the line”yesno. implied?1from the west sea, even unto the east
Mormon 2:29“the narrow passage” no  
Mormon 3:5–6“the narrow pass” no  
      
Ether 10:20–21“narrow neck of land”no. implied?no. implied? place where the sea divides the land

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Ammonihah, Land of

Ammonihah and Melek are two of the most problematic cities in Book of Mormon Geography. This because so many features mentioned in relation to this cities seem to contradict each other.  I believe these contradictions could be caused by a copy/translation error made by Mormon or Joseph Smith where the city is said to be NORTH of Melek, when in fact perhaps its SOUTH of Melek.  See discussion for details.

-It was 3 days travel on the north [possibly south?] of the land/city of Melek (which was west of Sidon by a/the west? wilderness) ,  (Alma 8:6).
-It was on the border of the greater land of Zarahemla (Alma 25:2).  Likely northern border if it really was north of Melek, but southern border if in reality it was south of Melek.
-It was near, and probably west? of, the city/land of Sidom (Alma 15:1). Likely less than a days Journey (15 miles)
-It was near the city of Noah (Alma 16:2–3). The Lamanite armies destroy “some around the borders of Noah” after sacking Ammonihah. They also go straight to Noah after attempting to sack Ammonihah after its rebuilt (Alma 49:12–14). Noah is mentioned nowhere else in the text.
-It was near the city of Aaron. At least Alma “took a journey toward the city called Aaron” after being cast out of Ammonihah (Alma 8:13).  Which seems likely the same as the East coast city of Aaron between Moroni & Nephihah (Alma 50:14), perhaps by Jershon and named after Aaron the Missionary of Alma 31.
-The or a wilderness abutted Ammonihah on the west (Alma 8:5).
-There is a pass of some sort between it and Zarahemla which requires ‘coming over’. (Alma 15:18)
-There were 2 routes into the city (Alma 8:16).
-It was fortified with Moroni’s ditch and mound system (Alma 49:4). But beforehand considered “the weakest part of the land”, thus obviously a frontier town. (Alma 49:15)

discussion:  Ammonihah is twice attacked by Lamanite armies on account of its convenience (before or after the border was moved?). Alma 49:3 calls it “easy prey” and Alma 49:15 calls it “the weakest part of the Land”.  Alma 25:2 says its “on the borders of Zarahemla”.  So the question is which border?  The fact that its the first place of convenient attack to the Lamanites angry at the conversion of the Lamanites in Alma 25:1–2 would suggest it is on the SOUTH border close to the city of Nephi. This is substantiated by the mention of Alma “took his journey toward… Aaron” after being cast out of Ammonihah (Alma 8:13), since we know Aaron is near Nephihah and Moroni on the southeast coast (Alma 50:7–15, esp v.14). So given a careful reading of Alma 50, how can Ammonihah be put on the northwest coast? Another likely evidence that the city is SOUTH of Melek instead of north is found in Alma 8:16–18 where we learn that when Alma returns to the city after being instructed by the angel to return he sneaks in the backdoor of the city “which is on the south of the city”.  If the city was North of Zarahemla, why would the backway into the city be on the south? This verse suggests that the city is actually south of Zarahemla and Melek along with Noah, Aaron and Nephihah. In fact just the names of this cities should suggest that they are close to the Land of Nephi, likely being named after Aaron the son of Mosiah, and possibly Noah the wicked king. Also, the leaders of Ammonihah are some of the first to fully convert to the Order of Nehor (Alma 15:15) and Nehor seems to have lived/preached mostly around the areas of the Amalekites and Amulonites (Alma 24:28) whose home was close to Helem eight days from the city of Nephi (Mosiah 23). Also, since the people of Jershon flee Jershon and go to Melek to avoid the Zoramite attack… Ammonihah isn’t likely that far from Jershon! (since Ammonihah is 3 days journey from Melek, and having the people of Ammon flee 200 miles from their new home Jershon to another new home that is also on the edge of Nephite lands doesn’t make much sense, unless they were insisting on moving closer to their sons guarding the border so they could get them regular provisions!).

Because of the above difficulties, many have speculated there are two Melek’s and two Aaron’s because of the confusion. (including the BOM topical guide). But I believe all these confusions are fixed by assuming that the “3 days north of Melek” is an error, and it is actually 3 days south (could be wrong on this).

Note that the retreating army of Lamanites after sacking Ammonihah and Noah in Alma 16 is perhaps the best indication of where this city is. It suggests Ammonihah is a first city in the Nephite lands when an army “come in upon the wilderness side, into the borders of the land [of Zarahemla]” (Alma 16:2). Not only does Alma 16 say NOTHING about the west sea in this chapter — which seems to go against the common habit/mistake of putting Ammonihah somewhere near the west sea on the north (that’s a big assumption though). But after destroying Ammonihah, as they head back to the land of Nephi with their prisoners, Alma tells the Nephite generals to head them off near “the river Sidon in the south wilderness, away up beyond the borders of the land of Manti” (Alma 16:6). Looking at internal maps or most Mesoamerican models we see how little sense this path of retreat makes given what we know of Manti (see Manti and Sidon, Head of). Why would they go back through the central part of the land to hightail it home, after purposefully sneaking into the “weakest part of the land?” (Alma 49:15) If Ammonihah is near the coast then surely they would take the coastal route back to the Land of Nephi, and not make a strange jaunt inland to cross the headwaters of Sidon only to head back toward the coast and arrive in the Land of Nephi! (Note a lot of this logic assumes the land of Nephi is just the Oaxaca Valley. But it could have included the southeastern Mixtec lands. Many of the Lamanite attacks might have come from Monte Negro, which is why the Tehuacan Valley is rarely used.)

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Antionum, Land of 

-Antionum is “the land of the Zoramites” (Alma 31, Alma 43:5), yet it seems to have been in Nephite territory or the border of Nephite territory during Moroni’s time.
-It is “east of the land of Zarahemla, which lay nearly bordering upon the seashore, which was south of the land of Jershon, which also bordered upon the wilderness south” (Alma 31:3)
-After their mission to the Zoramites, Alma and Amulek go rest at Jershon (so its close). Alma 35:2
-Bordering the land of Jershon & the “wilderness” (Alma 43:15, see Alma 43:5,15,22)

discussion: Alma 43, is important as it establishes that Antionum and Jershon are very close to each other, and likely closest to Manti and the “head of Sidon”, more than Zarahemla or other Nephite cities. It also establishes Antionum as the likely southernmost city of the east border/coast cities, since it was the first place the Zoramites reached as they came up the coast for battle. But both it and Jershon are NEARLY bordering the shore, but not ON the shore, and yet BORDERING the south wilderness.  So they seem to be where the coastal plain meets the mountains/wilderness and BORDERING the south wilderness. Its initially In Nephite territory, but Zoramite mission is because they fear they might join the Lamanites and thus endanger Nephite lands (Alma 31:4)

Geographic model notes: note this means it has to be SOUTH of Zarahemla & thus Catonia (which Jershon could be), and perhaps as far south as Tehuacan or even La Coyotera (thats probably too far). Probably on the upper or lower border of the coastal mountains. I get the feeling that the entire coastal plain is refered to as the “borders of the seashore”, so the fact that it is only “nearly” bordering the seashore, it is NOT down on the coastal plain.

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Aaron, City of

Alma 50:14. Nephihah is built by Moroni, between the city of Moroni and Aaron. So they are likely all defensive cities. Moroni and Nephihah are built specifically to hedge out the Lamanites.

discussion: The topical guide and many others speculate that there are two Aaron’s because Alma heads “towards” Aaron after giving up on preaching to Ammonihah (Alma 8:13), but is “called back” by an angel.  YET, Alma 50:14, says they built Nephihah (a defensive city) between Moroni and Aaron (so east coast cities).  

However I think there might just be one, as it doesn’t actually say Nephihah is on the coast. So maybe Aaron isn’t either. Maybe Moroni is on the coast, and Nephihah and Aaron stretch inland and form a southern border of Nephite lands?  Seems likely these are some of the cities mentioned in Alma 50:10, where he says “he placed armies in the south, in the borders”. This would actually help make more sense of Alma 56:25, where it says the Lamanite army fighting manti “durst not march down against Zarahemla, or cross the head of Sidon over to the city of Nephihah.”  It also makes sense, because most of the cities built by Moroni were built to fortify the southern border between the lands of Nephi and Zarahemla.

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Melek, Land of

-Alma 8:3–4 says Melek is “west of the river Sidon, on the west by the borders of the wilderness”.
-Alma 8:6 says it’s three days Journey south of Ammonihah. (which I believe could be an error. See Ammonihah)
-Alma 31:6 agrees it’s close to Ammonihah (since Amulek and Zeezrom are there). Either way, this chapter gives more support to the idea that Melek is close to Jershon and the Zoramites. (by the east sea)
-West of the Sidon River by the borders (on the edge of) of the wilderness (Alma 8:3).
-The land was large enough to contain the displaced Ammonites from Jerson (Alma 35:13).  Probably very good agriculturally, and secure in order for the Ammonites to be moved there once their land was deemed an unsafe frontier.
-It was near the city of Noah (Alma 16:2–3). The Lamanite armies destroy “some around the borders of Noah” after sacking Ammonihah. They also go straight to Noah after attempting to sack Ammonihah after its rebuilt (Alma 49:12–14). Noah is mentioned nowhere else in the text.
-It was near the city of Aaron. At least Alma “took a journey toward the city called Aaron” after being cast out of Ammonihah (Alma 8:13).  Which seems likely the same as the East coast city of Aaron between Moroni & Nephihah (Alma 50:14), perhaps by Jershon and named after Aaron the Missionary of Alma 31.
-It was where Alma seemed to be headed toward when he left the land never to return. (likely headed to the Land Northward via the west coast).

discussion: This is one of the hardest of ANY cities in the book of Mormon to place. (making it fit with Ammonihah, Jershon and Noah) Many have speculated there are two Melek’s because it makes little sense for the people of Ammon to go from the East coast to somewhere near the “west wilderness”, and “west of Sidon”. The location of this city is tied to the location of Ammonihah. Alma 8:3 may lead to speculate the Melek was far in the west by the west sea and west wilderness. However, since the Ammonites flee there, it must still be reasonably close to the East Sea where Jershon was. Its hard to say exactly what encompasses the “west wilderness” of Alma 8:3  (Alma 27:22 makes it clear Jershon is “on the east by the sea”.)   It could be across the river from Gideon (which is on the east of Sidon),

Geographic model notes: Perhaps “west of sidon” doesn’t mean by the West Sea, but west of a Sidon tributary, like where Puebla is or even Acatlan. (see Jershon).  Of course it’s possible that anything west of Zarahemla/Cholula/Popocatepetl could be considered the “west wilderness”.  I’m guessing somewhere like Chalcatzingo/Ocuituco/Chalco or Cuernavaca or south to Cuetlajuchitlán or even Teopantecuanitlan (but thats a LONG way for a people to fee, although they’d already come from Nephi and may have wanted to move closer to relatives in Nephi AND more importantly closer to thier sons, so they could bring them provisions as they guarded the border!). Or it could be farther west like Chalcatzingo (but why would the Ammonites flee there if its that far?). How do you get a configuration that is west of the river Sidon, but close to the East sea and Jershon?   I’ll bet its good agricultural land, but quite possibly closer to the “southwest” cities that their 2000 sons were defending. Lower Cuernavaca, lower Chalcantango or even into the Mixtec lands (look up Mixtecapa). Likely very guarded by mountains or some similar terrain.

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Mulek, Land of – (see Bountiful)

-on east borders by seashore, possessed by Amalickiah: Alma 51:25–26 .
-Moroni retakes Mulek: Alma 52:16–26 . ( Alma 53:2, 6 )
-heavily fortified. Not too far from city of Bountiful. (Alma 52:17)  Not too far from the seashore (Alms 52:22). Teancum retreat north along the seashore away from the city (v. 23). Likely less than a few hours south-east of Bountiful. (see discussion)
-there are plains between Mulek and Bountiful that could serve as a battleground. (Alms 52:20)
-likely named after Mulek the son of Zedekiah who first landed in the “Land North”. (Helaman 6:10) Perhaps close to their landing? Or perhaps just so far in the north that it is named after the north region of “Mulek”.

discussion: The location of this city is tied to city of Bountiful per Alma 52.  Teanucm flees Mulek (east?) to the seashore (v. 20), then flees northward (v. 23) toward the city of Bountiful (v. 27,39)

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Noah, City of – (see Bountiful)

A city close to Ammonihah. All we know of it, is when the Lamanites attack Ammonihah the first time, they attack Noah also, and take many prisoners (Alma 16:2–3). And some geography is described when they head off the Lamanites on their way home with the prisoners (16:5-8).  Then after Ammonihah is rebuilt and fortified, the lamanites come against Noah again, but this time it’s a fortress (Alma 49:12–15). After suffering many casualties, they head back to the land of Nephi.  In Alma 49:15, it’s called “the weakest part of the land”.  Thats another reason to believe its not in the mountains or way out of the way, but in a major thoroughfare.

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Bountiful, City of – (see Mulek)

-Moroni & Teancum force Lamanite prisoners to dig a ditch and dirt brim about the city. It becomes a stronghold “ever after”. (Alma 53:2–5)
-it is near the city of Mulek, (eastward?), and presumably near the east? seashore. (Alms 52:20)

-it is near the pass which leads to the land northward. Likely the most northern of the string of east coast cities (Alma 52:11–15?)

discussion: Alma 52:11 talks about how Moroni is over by the west sea fighting, and sends an epistle to Teancum who is by the east sea cities of Mulek and Bountiful, and tells him to” secure the pass which led into the land northward” (v. 9). This makes no sense unless he’s talking about an EAST SEA PASS. Moroni leaves the west coast and marches to Bountiful and the EAST coast (v. 15).

Geographic model notes: So Bountiful could only be somewhere like Tamtoc or ruins in Tampico!

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South & West Cities

Zeezroom, Cumeni, Antiparah & Judea. Described as being presumably on the borders of the land on the south by the west sea (Alma 53:8,22)

-They appear to stretch in a line from Manti in the order of Manti, Zeezrom, Cumeni, Antiparah, Judea? (Alma 56:14). They are retaken by Helaman’s 2000 warriors in reverse order.
-The cities of were apparently on the south and west border of the Nephite lands and were the first cities captured by the Lamanite invaders (Alma 56:14). Alma 52:11–12 describes Ammaron’s intent to assault the “borders by the west sea”.
-Manti is consistently mentioned in conjunction with the river Sidon (especially it’s ‘head’). But the river Sidon is never mentioned in the war for these cities… so it’s likely near Manti but not between these cities.
-Antiparah was between the city of Judea and an unnamed Nephite city near the seashore (Alma 56:30). We can presume this is the west sea, although it’s strange that Nephihah (which Alma 51:26 says is by the East Sea) is mentioned in conjunction with these cities (Alma 56:25).
-The fact that Zarahemla and Nephihah (which Alma 51:26 says is by the East Sea) is mentioned in conjunction of these cities is another great evidence that these South & West Cities are stretching in a line from the West Sea toward the East Sea. (with the head of Sidon being beyond Manti, yet between these and Nephihah — Alma 56:25)
-The Nephite armies could flee two days northward from Antiparah into the wilderness without reaching the shore or Zarahemla (Alma 56:33–42).
-Cumeni seems to be just west of Manti (Alma 57:22). Cumeni doesn’t appear to have been a fortified city (Alma 57:16–20).
-In battle for Cumeni, defeated Lamanites were driven back to nearby city of Manti (Alma 57:22).
Some or all of these cities were fortified (Alma 56:20–21).
-Zeezrom is likely right next to Manti, because it’s never mentioned again after verse 22. After Cumeni the war goes straight to Manti.
-going from these cities to Nephihah would require crossing “the head of Sidon”.  Nephihah and Zarahamla were the closest options of Lamanite attack from these cities (Alma 56:25). That might be a good evidence that the ‘head’ of Sidon is it’s headwaters which are close to Nephihah and the east sea.
-there are “other cities which were on the northward”, which are not mentioned by name (Alma 56:22). This again suggests that these cities are the southern (or possibly southwestern? – but I think not) frontier.

discussion: The cities defended by Helaman’s 2000 stripling warriors in Alma 56-57 are said to be “southern cities” by the west sea, which Moroni must have been guarding before he went to help Teancum with the Eastern front- Alma 52:11–52. (Moroni left Helaman & Antipus in charge when he left.) Additionally, prisoners from this group are sent down to Zarahemla (suggesting it’s close by & lower).  Helaman says in Alma 56:14 the Lamanites had taken Manti, Zeezrom, Cumeni and Antiparah (in that order) when he gets to Judea. The cities are then retaken in the reverse order (with no mention of Zeezrom).

Military maneuvers begin in Judea (Alma 56:9). Helaman then marches past (but within sight of spies) Antiparah as if to go “to a city beyond by the seashore” as a decoy (possibly northward. see v. 36). When the Lamanites take the bait they flee a full day “northward, even to a considerable distance” (v. 36-37). Probably heading somewhat toward the sea still. After the battle prisoners are sent to Zarahamla, not back to Judea, so their march must have put them closer to Zarahamla. After heading back to Judea, the Lamanites abandon Antiparah, so the Nephites march and siege Cumeni— which is surrendered. The next battle is for Manti.

Heleman’s army then decoys the Lamanites out of Manti and then flees “much in the wilderness” toward Zarahemla, so it can’t be that far from Zarahamla (58:23-28). I suspect that Judea might be by the shore near Acapulco (La Sabana), and Manti near Tehuacan, with the other cities strung between. So this is the southwest frontier, and Teancum/Mororni’s battles were the eastern frontier.  

Geographic model notes: Perhaps Oxtotitlan Cave and Juxtlahuaca Cave were painted during this Lamanite assault? (dates are typical ascribed earlier.)    Possibly, La Sabana, Teopantecuanitlan by the river Sidon, Cuetlajuchitlán and Chalcatzingo or Xochicalco near Cuernavaca (Manti being Cholula near Puebla or Chalcatzingo or Tenongo).

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East Sea Cities

At least four cities (and likely nine) border the East Sea, Moroni, Aaron, Nephihah and Jershon. (Lehi, Morianton, Omner, Gid, Mulek seem near the sea but could be inland a ways)

MORONI, AARON

-It was located on the shore of the east sea and was near the south wilderness of the Lamanites (Alma 50:13).
-The land of Moroni bordered the land of Aaron, and the city of Nephihah was built in between (Alma 50:14).
-Lehi was a nearby city to the north (Alma 50:15; 51:24).
-Moroni was surrounded by a wall (probably the trench-mound-palisade fortifications of Moroni) (Alma 62:36).
-Submerged in the sea. Perhaps still underwater. (3 Ne. 8:9).

NEPHIHAH, LEHI

-It was located between Moroni and Aaron (Alma 50:14–15).
-It was in the borders by the east sea, but apparently not right on the seashore (Alma 51:25–26).
-There was a plain near the city (Alma 62:18).
-The city had walls and an entrance (Alma 61:20–22).
-It was south of the city of Lehi (Alma 51:25).

MORIANTON, OMNER, GID & MULEK,

-They were on the east on the borders by the seashore (Alma 51:26).
-They were built for defense and were probably about a days journey apart (Alma 50:9–11).
-Mulek was less than a day’s journey from the city of Bountiful (Alma Ch. 52).
-Lehi and Morianton were probably built in close proximity to each other-because they have a boundary dispute (Alma 50:25–36)
-These cities were all fortified with a ditch, mound and wooden palisade (Alma 51:27, 55:25-26).
-Heleman’s sons take a missionary journey from Bountiful, to Gid, to Mulek to Zarahemla to the Lamanites in the land Southward (Helaman 5:15–16). Note the direction error in v 16.

discussion: when Amalickiah comes to battle the Nephites in Alma 51, he first takes the city of Moroni and “all of their fortifications”, and then goes on to “take Nephihah, Lehi, Morianton, Omner, Gid and Mulek, all of which were east on the borders of the seashore” (Alma 51:26), suggesting that those cities were arranged in that order from south to north along the east sea.  They then “march forth… that they might take possession of the land Bountiful and also the land northward” (Alma 51:30). After Teancum kills Amalickiah on the way to Bountiful, they retreat back to Mulek. At that point Moroni sends a letter telling Teancum to secure the narrow pass, because he “cannot come” because he is occupied with a Lamanite attack “on the borders of the west sea”. This suggests the western cities are a long way from these eastern cities and the narrow pass.

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Gideon, Land of 

-It was situated east of the River Sidon and about a days journey from Zarahemla, (Alma 6:7).
-A trail led southward from Gideon to Manti, and also to the land of Nephi (Alma 17:1)
-The Land of Gideon was at a higher elevation than the City of Zarahemla (Alma 62:6–7).
-It was near the hill Amnihu, and “in the course of” or on the way to the land of Nephi (Alma 2:15–20).
-It was located between the city of Zarahemla and the city of Minon (Alma 2:24)..
-The ‘Valley Gideon’ is likely east of the River Sidon (alma 2:35)?  At any rate you must cross sidon to get from the valley of Gideon to the city of Zarahemla

Geographic model notes: If Zarahemla is Cholula, East Publa is a fantastic match for Gideon with La Malinche matching the Hill Riplah. (but does Amla 2 fit with that well?)

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Jershon, Land of

-It was “east by the sea”, south of the land of Bountiful (joining borders with Bountiful), and bordering on the south wilderness (Alma 27:22). The Lamanites had to be driven out of it, and it became a buffer between Bountiful and the Lamanite Lands.
-It was east of the city of Zarahema (Alma 27:22).
-It was lower in elevation than the south wilderness (Alma 27:26).
-It was north of the land of Antionum, or land of the Zoramites (Alma 31:3).
-It was likely near the eastern coastal cities of Mulek, Gid, Omner, Morianton, Lehi, Nephihah, and Moroni. (ref?)
-It’s just north of the Zoramites of Antionum, “which was east of the land of Zarahemla, which lay nearly bordering upon the seashore, which was south of the land of Jershon, which also bordered upon the wilderness south, which wilderness was full of the Lamanites” (Alma 31:3).
-It’s not far from Melek? since the people of Ammon temporarily flee to Melek when the Zoramites prepare to attack (Alma 35:13–14).  In most models this is problematic, because Alma 8:3–4 says Melek is “west of the river Sidon, on the west by the borders of the wilderness.” Is moving the people of Jershon all the way across the continent (200 miles?) really rational? Perhaps this doesn’t mean by the west sea, but west of a Sidon tributary?
-Alma 8:6 says Melek is three days Journey south of Ammonihah. Alma 31:6 agrees it’s close to Ammonihah (since Amulek and Zeezrom are there). Either way, this chapter gives more support to the idea that Melek is close to Jershon and the Zoramites.

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Jerusalem, City of

-It was drown at the death of Christ (3 Ne 9:7), and mentioned with many other drown cities, so likely a coastal city.
-It was “joining the borders of Mormon”,(and thus Helam?)  and where Aaron went first on his mission to the Lamanites (Alma 21:1)
-The Amalekites and Amulonites built it (Alma 21:2)
-It was near to Ani-Anti and Middoni (Alma 21:11–12)
-Amulon, Helam & Jerusalem all seem to be in proximity (Alma 24:1)

Find verse that puts Amulonites and Amalekites with Zoramites suggesting their regions are in close proximity on the east coast.

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Helam, Alma, Amulon (cities in Alma’s flight to Zarahemla)

-Helam is 8 days journey into the wilderness from the city of Nephi (Mosiah 23:3).
-Helam is 12 (or 13) days journey from the city of Zarahemla (Thus likely about 2/5’s between Nephi & Zarahemla. Mosiah 24:23–25).
-Helam was in a “beautiful and pleasant land… of pure water” in an area suitable for agriculture (Mosiah 23:4–5).
-The Valley of Alma was one days journey (probably northward) from Helam (Mosiah 24:20).
-Amulon was founded by the Amulonites and near Alma’s city of Helam. (Mosiah 23:30–35)
-All these locations were in the south wilderness somewhere between Nephi and Zarahemla. (8 days from Nephi & 12 days from Zarahemla)
-The Amalekites & Amulonites of Jerusalem seem to be in proximity to the Zoramites of Antionum (Alma 43:5–6)
-Both the Amalekites & Amulonites of Jerusalem & Zoramites of Antionum are in proximity to Jerson which is by the east sea (Alma 43:4, Alma 35:2–11).
-Amulonites who battle with the Nephites flee into the EAST wilderness (Alma 25:5).

Discussion: Evidence is split between these lands being toward the west or east coast. On one hand Alma 21:1–14 has Aaron and his brother preaching in Jerusalem the land of the Amalakites & Amulonites (v. 2), where they are rejected and go to the nearby cities of Ani-Anti & Middoni where they are cast into prison (v, 13) and kept there until Lamoni & Ammon deliver them (v. 14). Which might suggest a west coast location since Ishmeal is synonymous with the ‘Land of first Inheritance (Alma 21:18), which is on the seashore west of the Land of Nephi (Alma 22:28). However, 2 Nephi 5:7 has the city/land of Nephi being “many days” from the land of first inheritance so we can’t be sure Ammon & Lamoni didn’t cross the land were it a narrow location. Especially since on the flip side Alma 43:5–6 seems to have the Amalekites & Amulonites of Jerusalem in proximity to the Zoramites of Antionum which we know are by the east sea (Alma 35:2–11). Furthermore Alma 25:5 has Amulonites fleeing home from Nephite battles going into the EAST wilderness. And again, at the Destructions of Christ the Amalekite city of Jerusalem has “waters caused to come up in the stead thereof” (3 Nephi 9:7) just like the southeast coast (Alma 50:13) city of Moroni which is “sunk into the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof were drowned” (3 Nephi 8:9). 4 Nephi 1:9 seems to suggest that many of these sunk cities were not just destroyed by a tsunami, but that a sizable region of coast line sluffed off or sank into the sea. (Although on some of these cities a lake could be involved instead of the sea). Furthermore Alma 43 seems to suggest that the land of the Zoramites and Amalikes are in proximity, and that the Amakite Zerahemnah starts his war by recruiting Zoramites then attempting war with Jerson (again on the east coast), and then going to Manti (which must be less than a few days journey away).

The Sorenson model puts the lands of the Amulonites and Amalakites (which we know were near Helam & Alma) along the west or pacific coast of Northern Guatemala. But note this is a very poor placement for several locations. Firstly, his location is near Izapa and many archaeological sites which have unbroken archaeological records dating from early formative Olmec times all the way to the time of Christ. Sites like La Blanca, La Victoria, Takalik Abaj and El Mesak. Placing Alma and the land of Helam anywhere near Lamanite or Lehite population centers does not make sense. More importantly this region is lies in the flat western coastal plane and ancient travel corridor where really only a fool wouldn’t be able to find their way to the coast and then up the known river undoubtedly linking the city of Nephi to the coast, yet Mosiah 23:36–37 shows that the Journey from Helam to Nephi was difficult to find causing the Lamanite army to become lost, strongly suggesting that Helam was in an area away from any typical travel corridors.

These lands are near the people of Ammon who get converted so it makes no sense that they are given Jershon on the east coast if they are from the east coast! (explain more and reference this…)

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Ishmael, Land of

-Is the home of Lamoni. (Alma 17:21, Alma 21:18)
-Is “the land of their inheritance” (Alma 21:18), which is likely synonymous with the ‘land of first inheritance’.
-Place of their father’s first inheritance is ‘west in the land of Nephi… bordering along by the seashore’ (Alma 22:28)

Since Alma 17:21 specifies Lamoni ‘was a descendant of Ishmael’ we assume that Ishmael did not follow Nephi or Laman into the wilderness but stayed in the land of first inheritance, since according to Alma 21:18 which calls it the land of first inheritance, and also places it in proximity to the land of Middoni (although a distance is not given and could be substantial the context suggests it is within a few days journey of Nephi and Middoni which is in turn somewhat close to Helam and Amulon, etc.

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Sidon, River (28 uses)

A seemingly major or geographically significant river. The only named river in the Book of Mormon. It has east and west banks… but also may run/flow “from east to west” just like the ‘narrow strip of wilderness’ between the land of Nephi and Zarahemla (Alma 22:27). The majority of references to the river, refer to coming and going armies or people between the land of Nephi and land Zarahemla, suggesting it forms an important geographic boundary of some sort. (further supporting the above east/west interpretation of Alma 22:27)

-hill Amnihu is on east of Sidon: Alma 2:15 .
-it “ran BY the land of Zarahemla”: Alma 2:15 .
-Lamanites camp on west of Sidon: Alma 2:34 .
-many are baptized in waters of Sidon: Alma 4:4 .
-wilderness at Sidon: Alma 22:29 .
-One must go round about the river’s head when traveling from Jershon/Antionum to Manti (Alma 43:22).
-One must presumably cross from the west to east side of it traveling from Zarahemla to Gideon (Alma 6:7).  The city and valley of Gideon are on the east side of the river. (in the region of Zarahemla and Gideon it flows north-south.
-An army must cross it (presumably on foot) going from Gideon to Zarahemla. (Alma 2:27,34).  It has banks that can serve as battlegrounds.
-It was large enough to carry the bodies of the dead Lamanites out to the sea. (Alma 3:3)
-But it was small enough for an army to easily cross without boats/etc. (Alma 43:35–41, Alma 16:6–7)
-Perhaps “bordering on the wilderness” and going “from east to the west”. Alma 22:29  If the “wilderness” mentioned in Alma 22:29 is the same as the “narrow strip of wilderness” in verse 27 (which seems likely), then the head of Sidon is likely IN the narrow strip of wilderness that divides the Nephite and Lamanite lands.
-It apparently must be crossed as one goes from the Land of Nephi to the Land of Zarahemla (further supporting it being some kind of east-west running barrier like the south wilderness) Alma 16:6, Alma 2, Alma 43 .
-It was west of the hill Amnihu. Suggesting it runs north/south at that point. (Alma 2:15)
-It was west of the Valley of Gideon. (Alma 2:26; 6:7)
-The City of Melek was to the west of the Sidon–again suggesting a north-south flow in this region. (Alma 8:3)
-The City of Manti was at the headwaters of the Sidon near the south wilderness. (Alma 16:6–7; 22:27)
-The head of the River Sidon extended into the south wilderness, and created an obvious crossing point on the way to Nephi. (Alma 43:22).
-Runs between the Valley of Gideon (which is west of Zarahemla), then through “the land of Zarahemla”, but likely not through the city. (Alma 2:15, since the bodies of Alma 2:34 would then float through the city).)
-Likely either too large to safely cross, or down in a canyon or deep valley in most places as the crossing points seem limited & predictable (Alma 16:6, Alma 2)

discussion: Alma 22:27 ambiguously gives several geographic descriptions ending with the words “through the borders of Manti, by the head of the river Sidon, running from the east towards the west”. One way to read this is that it’s saying that the river Sidon “runs from east to west”.   This verbiage isn’t unique as Alma 2:15, also uses the words “running” to show directionality of the river by the land of Zarahemla. However, it is also possible this verse is for some reason simply redundantly repeating the clause earlier in the verse where the “narrow strip of wilderness… runs from sea east even to sea west”. The idea that a region might also “run” like a river is also used in Alma 50:8 where the land of Nephi is said to “run in a straight course from the east sea to the west”.  I actually believe it is both, as the author is trying to explain that Sidon, just like the lands of Bountiful and Nephi and the south wilderness “runs” from east to west nearly all the way across the land.  (that’s why its repeated twice in v.27). This idea is further supported by Alma 16:6, where Alma prophecies that the Lamanites as they flee home will “cross the river Sidon in the south wilderness, away up beyond the borders of the land Manti”. As if Sidon was some kind of border which Zoram ‘expected’ the Lamanites would have to cross (and there were only so many expected places to easily cross it, so as to know where Alma was talking about). This also accords with other places in the text where the river Sidon appears to be the best place to meet Lamanite armies as they head toward the Land of Zarahemla (Alma 2, Alma 43). A generally east to west configuration helps explain why no mention of crossing Sidon’s mouth/delta is ever mentioned in conjunction with the East Coast defensive cities, OR with the final retreat of the Nephites to Desolation along the West Coast. If Sidon flowed north wouldn’t Moroni mention that they crossed it!

HOWEVER, we must also note that the only ‘banks’ ever mentioned in relation to the river are east-west ones (Alma 16:6, Alma 43:27,53), suggesting that at least in the places where it is most often crossed, it flows north-south.  Also… the head (headwaters we assume) of Sidon are consistently mentioned as being in or near the Land of Manti, which we also know is south of Zarahemla (between the Land of Zarahemla and the Land of Nephi). And since we also know the river flows through the land and even near the city of Zarahemla (Alma 2:15) and city of Gideon (Alma 2:26; 6:7) and other central Nephite regions, this reinforces that at least part of the river flows from south to north.

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Sidon, Head of (5 uses)

“Head” is defined in websters 1828 dictionary as “n. To originate; to spring; to have its source, as a river.”  Also “n. The part most remote [or opposite] from the mouth or opening into the sea; as the head of a bay, gulf or creek.”  Also “n. The principal source of a stream; as the head of the Nile.”  the head of a river is NOT the mouth of a river. Attempting to make it such is a wild stretch.

Additionally, attempting to make the “head of Sidon”, mean the mouth or delta of the river run into possible problems in explaining a setup where the Lamanite armies leave coastal Jerson/Antionum and go “round about in the wilderness…by the head of Sidon” to get to Manti (Alma 43:22–27) which is known to be “up” and on the way to Nephi (which is also always “up”).

-Ambiguous, run-on sentences here. But Sidon likely “running from the east toward the west” just like the “narrow strip of wilderness which ran from sea east even to sea west” and apparently dividing the Land of Nephi and Zarahemla along with the narrow strip of wilderness. Alma 22:27. See discussion on Sidon, River..
-Perhaps a second(?) “head of the river Sidon” mentioned in Alma 27:29 which is “on the north” or “northern parts of the land bordering on the wilderness” near bountiful.
-Exists as an obstacle between Manti/Zeezrom and Nephihah, when going “round about in the wilderness”. Alma 56:25
-Exists as an obstacle between Jershon and Manti, when going “round about in the wilderness”. Alma 43:22
-It’s in the south-east, being between Lamanite armies (of the south & west cities) and the city of Nephihah (on the east sea). Alma 56:25
-Perhaps “bordering on the wilderness” and going “from east to the west”. Alma 22:29  If the “wilderness” mentioned in Alma 22:29 is the same as the “narrow strip of wilderness” in verse 27 (which seems likely), then the head of Sidon is likely IN the narrow strip of wilderness that divides the Nephite and Lamanite lands.
-“From the west sea, running by the head of Sidon” Alma 50:8,11  See discussion.
-Alma 50:11 could possibly suggest the ‘head of Sidon’ is near the West Sea, however it could also simply be contrasting the ‘head of sidon’ against the west sea. (see discussion)

discussion: Seems likely that “the head of Sidon” is a geographical term paralleling the modern term of “headwaters of a river”. Such as modern use of “the headwaters of the Mississippi or Ohio or Colorado or Snake rivers”. All of these terms would actually be talking about a highland or mountainous ridge area. Thus, the “head of Sidon” may not be talking about the river so much, as the ridge of mountains the river originates in.  For an army to “cross the head of Sidon” would not only mean crossing the river’s small early tributaries, but more importantly crossing the mountain passes which lie at the head of them. Alma 43:22, Alma 56:25 .

Alma 50:11, almost seems to suggest the ‘head of Sidon’ is near the west sea. However, Alma 56:25 says the Nephites would have had to cross the head of Sidon to get to Nephihah, which is plainly said to be by the East Sea (Alma 51:25–26). Therefore, Alma 50:11 is either contrasting the head of Sidon with the west sea (suggesting it is opposite the West sea, and near the East sea) Or it is by BOTH the east and west sea, being in a narrow part of the ithsmas.  See a great discussion on this in this link, search for “Thus, we seem to have established, as clearly as the text will allow, that the head of the river Sidon was east of Manti, not far from Nephihah, south of Antionum, and near the east sea. All of these bits of information are consistent with each other, and therefore, increase the probability of our conclusion.”

Geographic model notes: In our model the Rio Balsas has two main heads and 5 minor ones. The main head is in the Mixtec lands of northern Oaxaca. Secondary are the massive peaks of Valley of Mexico near Cholula, Teotihuacan and even Cuernavaca. If 50:11 really is saying it’s head is by the west sea, then it would have to be the Oaxaca arm which is the ‘head of Sidon’. Since the “south and west cities” appear to stretch in a line from Manti to somewhere near Nephihah in the order of Manti, Zeezrom, Cumeni, Antiparah, Judea (Alma 56:14). Of course perhaps, one could argue that Manti is somewhere near the mouth of Sidon and those cities stretch north toward Cuernavaca or Guadalajara?

The idea that Alma 22:27–29 might be talking about two different heads of Sidon, although hard to prove because of the ambiguity of these verses however works incredibly well with the Highland-Continental model.

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Sidom, Land of

-Alma and Amulek find converts from Ammonihah in Sidom, (Alma 15:1).
-Zeezrom lies sick in Sidom, (Alma 15:3).
-Zeezrom is healed, (Alma 15:10–11).
-Alma establishes a church in Sidom, (Alma 15:13).
-people repent and are baptized, (Alma 15:14–17.)

Discussion: The similarity of this land’s pronunciation to the River Sidon makes me wonder if it is simply the ‘land of the river Sidon’. If so, then it would be equivalent of ‘Land of the Mixtecs’, where the River Sidon is the Rio Mixteco. Which if that’s true, it helps us identify the land of Ammonihah & Aaron, since they are nearby. The way Alma & Amulek “came over to the land of Zarahemla” afterwards makes me think its both close and at a similar elevation to Zarahemla, and not ‘down’ by Manti. There are some cities named Mixteca, Mixtepec and Mixtecapa in Oaxaca & Guerrero directly south (west) of Cerro de las Minas which could make an interesting match. They would be southwest frontier towns making the sack of Ammonihah make more sense. Also the placement of Mulek (being near their sons)

Manti, Land & City of

-The Lamanite crossing of Sidon was up beyond the borders of the land Manti (Alma 16:6). Also, the army ambush of Alma 43:32 occurs up from Manti “and so down into the borders of Manti”. (Alma 43:32)
-It was on the southern borders of the land of Zarahemla, at the head of the River Sidon, near the narrow strip of wilderness (Alma 22:27).
-A trail from Gideon led southward to Manti (Alma 17:1).
-To the south of the land of Manti, there was another valley along the course of the upper Sidon, with the hill Riplah on its east side. (Alma 43:31–32)
-The cities of Zeezrom, Cumeni, Antiparah, Judea? (Alma 56:14) stretch out in a line from it. It has a “wilderness side” (likely up against rugged terrain, a mountain or dense forest (Alma 58:13), with places to hide an army (56:17). Judea is near the west seashore.
-Heleman’s army decoys the Lamanites out of Manti and then flees “much in the wilderness” toward Zarahemla, so it can’t be that far from Zarahamla (Alma 58:23–28).
-After Nehor slays Gideon in Alma 1:9,15 he’s hung on the “hill Manti”. It seems likely that the “hill Manti” was in the land Manti (perhaps it’s defining feature), and that the land of Gideon is named after Gideon and thus is close to Manti (or at least the hill).  Alma 17:1 might support this, saying that Manti is “southward” from Gideon.
-Alma 16:6–7 says after Ammonihah and Noah are attacked, the Lamanites head home and “cross the river Sidon in the south wilderness, away up beyond the borders of the land of Manti.” Verse 6 suggests that the borders of Manti are by the “south wilderness, which was on the east side of the river Sidon.” Note it doesn’t say “south side of Sidon,” it says east side.

Geographic model notes: Could it be talking about the Cuernavaca tributary of Sidon or is Manti east of Puebla?

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Mormon, Land of

-Waters of Mormon were likely no further than a days journey from the City of Nephi. (Mosiah 18:4–7).
-Likely close enough to get there and back from the city in a day but far enough to be able to ‘hide from the king’. (Mosiah 18:3–4).
-Had a fountain (or spring) of pure water, presumably filling a pool big enough to baptize in. (Mosiah 18:5,16)
-No indication waters of Mormon are a large lake. More likely a small pool which is hidden “in a thicket”. (Mosiah 18:5)
-A noteworthy forest exists in the land. Likely different from the vegetation of the surrounding area. Perhaps because it is a high rugged area. (Mosiah 18:30)
-A big enough area that 450 people could gather, but small enough to still feel hidden and not in the open. (Mosiah 18:35)

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Nephi, City of

-everything is ALWAYS up to the city of Nephi (down out of the city of Nephi when leaving). In my model this is not necessarily because of the cities high elevation (although it is high at 6,300 ft), but because it is up on a tall defensive hill.  The Land does have hills higher than it which over look it (Mosiah 7:6). See Omni 1:27; WOM 1:13; Mosiah 7:2–6; 19:5; 20:2,7; 24:20; 26:3; 28:5; 29:3,14; Alma 27:5, 47:1;
-It was a twenty days journey from Nephi to Zarahemla (with families apparently on foot) (Mosiah 23:1–4; 24:25). This would have been about 150-250 miles.
-It was an area of dryer climate grassland or Savannah (not a forested area or jungle) where they could raise grain and grazed flocks and had to fight for water resources (2 Nephi 5:11; Mosiah 21:16).
-It was “Many days journey” from of the Land of First Inheritance (with families apparently on foot. see 2 Nephi 5:7. Also note First Inheritance is said to be on the west seashore of the Land of Nephi. Alma 22:28).
-Nephi built a temple there (2 Nephi 2:16).
-The city of Nephi had a wall (Mosiah 22:6).
-Abundant mineral deposits (2 Nephi 5:15).
-Land of Mormon, and waters of Mormon were close by (likely no further than a days journey) (Mosiah 18:4–7).
-Adjacent to the lands of Shemlon and Shilom (Mosiah 19:6; 22:8).
-Near the south wilderness (Mosiah 22:12).

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Zarahemla, Land & City of –   

Note that unlike many other Book of Mormon cities, almost EVERY reference to Zarahemla refers to the “land of Zarahemla” instead of the city (~60 references to ‘land’ vs. only 11 references to ‘city’), suggesting that at least until it is rebuilt after it’s burning at the death of Christ (3 ne 8:8, 9:3, 4 ne 1:8) it must be a fairly spread out cultural area. Being more of a regional influence than just a strongly metropolitan capital. That it DID indeed have an urban center is shown when 3 Nephi 9:3 calls it a ‘Great City’. As well as the story of Nephi and Samuel who show the city has both ‘towers’ and ‘walls’. (Hel 6, 13). However the afore overwhelming references to the ‘land Zarahemla’ suggest the regional population is even more important than the city.
Perhaps even more important for our model is that EVERY reference to a low elevation, of which there are many, are to the “land Zarahemla” and not the city.  I.e. it is always down to the land of Zarahemla when entering or coming ‘up out of’ the ‘land Zarahemla’ when leaving, but strangely no references to going ‘down’ to the city of Zarahemla, suggesting that the ‘land of Zarahemla is lower than the capital city, which may be found at a high point in the land. (The only exception to this is Alma 56:25, suggesting that the city of Judea and accompanying southwest border towns, near the ‘head of sidon’ must be up in the mountains higher than the city of Zarahemla).

-complaints come up to the land of Zarahemla (3 Ne 6:25). This is the only reference to Zarahemla being ‘up’, so although part of the land of Zarahemla might be ‘up’, perhaps just as likely this reference has nothing to do with altitude, but of importance… such as “up to capitol hill, Washington”. Perhaps evidence of a large pyramid where the high priest officiated from?
-the city must be WEST of the river Sidon since Alma heads westward and crosses the river Sidon to get to Gideon (Alma 6:7). Same is said of the armies in Alma 2, they cross west across Sidon to get from Gideon to Zarahemla.
-“the river Sidon, which ran by the land Zarahemla” (Alma 2:15). River runs by the land Zarahemla, but not necessarily through the city (although it could).

-many in the “land of Zarahemla,” join the church and are baptized in the “waters of Sidon” (Alma 4:1–4). Because it says “waters of Sidon” instead of river Sidon we might assume that there is a lake near Zarahemla with the same name as the river (which would obviously be close to the city). Perhaps some type of sacred lake, somehow associated with the river? (Part of its headwaters? an oxbow lake by the river? A reservoir taken from the river? A pond/lake the river feeds or that feeds the river?)
-war begins with the Lamanites in the “borders of Zarahemla, by the waters of Sidon”.  Whether this is the River Sidon or a lake with the same name (such as that from Alma 4) is unknown but the latter seems likely. Presumably a war would not begin right on the outskirts of the capital city unless it was a civil war, so it’s also possible this is speaking of different ‘waters of Sidon’ (A different lake somewhere near the River Sidon which shares a name)

Discussion: There is never any mention of the river Sidon flowing through the city Zarahemla but Alma 2:15 says it flows through the land Zarahemla, and the narrative definitely suggests it’s within a day of the city on the way to Gideon. (Also since people were baptized there, the waters of Sidon must be well within a days travel). Sidon most often seems to be associated with the barriers between Nephite & Lamanite lands. Two verses mention the “waters of Sidon” in association with the land of Zarahemla (not city).

-It was divided from the Land of Nephi to the south by a narrow strip of coast to coast east-west wilderness. (Alma 22:27))
-The Land of Zarahemla is NOT said to run from the east to west coast like the Lands of Nephi and Bountiful are (Alma 22), but instead is said to be in the “heart of their [Nephite] lands” (Hel 1:18)
-Thus in a central part of the Nephite lands which were south of Bountiful & the narrow neck of land (Hel. 1:27).
-It had a mixed (and probably segregated) population of Nephites and Mulekites which probably resulted in separate barrios or twinned cities (Omni 1:16–19; Mosiah 25:4)
The City of Zarahemla had a wall (it does not specify whether it was of stone or timber – Hel. 1:21).

-It was located at a distance of 20 days travel from the City of Nephi (apparently in a northward direction) (Mosiah 23:3; Mosiah 24:25).
-It was occupied by the Nephite faction from about 200 B.C. (The “Mulekites” having arrived earlier.)
-The Land Zarahemla was roughly bordered on all sides by areas of wilderness (Alma 22), including a west wilderness, past Mekek somewhere west of the river Sidon (Alma 8:3), the Wilderness of Hermounts northwest from Zarahemla (Alma 2:37), and the east wilderness (Alma 25:5).
-South of Zarahemla and the narrow strip of wilderness, lay the expansive south wilderness of the Lamanite domains (Alma 22:27).
-It was burned at the time of the crucifixion (3 Ne. 9:3).
-It was rebuilt after its burning. (4 Ne. 1:8)
-The city of Gideon and river Sidon lay a short distance to the east (Alma 6:7).
-At least the ‘Land Zarahemla’ was an area where tropical diseases (i.e. fevers) and their remedies were present (Alma 46:40,33).

discussion: Alma 2 may be one of the best descriptions of Zarahemla and its relationship to the River Sidon, Gideon and Nephi. It first tells us there is a strategic hill (Amnihu), “east of the River Sidon, which ran by the land of Zarahemla” that the Amlicites use to start a war with the people of Zarahemla (perhaps a Guerilla base on the hill- Alma 2:14–16). These verses seem to purposely point out that the River Sidon goes through the land Zarahemla, but NOT the city of Zarahemla. The Amlicites flee from the hill to the Valley of Gideon, so the Hill is likely between Zarahemla and Gideon. But there is no mention of crossing Sidon yet. (So Gideon Valley must still be East of the River Sidon). Gideon is also “in the course of” (on the way to) the land of Nephi (Alma 2:24). The Amlicites circumvent Gideon to head back to Zarahemla by way of Minon which is “above” Zarahemla. But as the Nephites go to head off the Amlicites in Minon and get ready to cross Sidon (from East to West?, on the way to Zarahemla) they get attacked and must “clear the bank on the west of Sidon” (Alma 2:34) to fight off the Amlicite army which then flees “towards the wilderness which was west and north, away beyond the borders of the land…until they had reached the wilderness, which was called Hermounts; and it was that part of the wilderness which was infested by wild and ravenous beasts” (Alma 2:36–38).  This is a tricky configuration that tells us a number of things…

-River Sidon runs “by the land of Zarahemla”, and NOT likely through the city of Zarahemla (Alma 2:15, since the bodies of Alma 2:34 would then float through the city)
-There is a prominent “hill Amnihu, which was east of the river Sidon, which ran by the land of Zarahemla”
-It is likely about a day from Zarahemla to the valley of Gideon (Alma 2:20), which is “in the course of” (on the way to) the land of Nephi (Alma 2:24). But at the same time Gideon can be easily circumvented to get back to Zarahemla another way (see v.25-26).
-There is a land of Minion above (higher than) the land of Zarahemla (Alma 2:24).
-For some reason you don’t seem to cross Sidon to get from Zarahemla to Gideon, but you do cross it if you want to head back to Zarahemla through Minon which is (in a pass)  ‘above’ Zarahemla..
-From that Sidon Crossing near Minon above Zarahemla, you would flee to the North and West Wilderness (Hermounts), which is infested with beasts from the Land Northward. (compare Alma 2:36–38 to Alma 22:31).
-You can throw a bunch of bodies into Sidon from near Minon above Zarahemla, Alma 2:34 (presumably without polluting the water source of any respected city like Zarahemla– which makes the idea that Sidon flows north from Gideon and Minon through Zarahemla seem unlikely).
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Land of Many Waters or ‘large bodies of water

– Morianton tries to flee to “the land which was northward” covered with “large bodies of water“. (Alma 50:29)
– “an exceedingly great many” leave the land of Zarahemla and travel “an exceedingly great distance” to “the” land Northward where there are “large bodies of water and many rivers”. (Hel 3:3–4)
– Lemhi’s exploratory party travels in a land “among many waters” after being “lost in the wilderness for the space of many days”. Finds a land covered with bones and ruins. (Mosiah 8:8)
– Cumorah is “in a land of many waters, rivers, and fountains”. (Mormon 6:4)

Discussion: Its uncertain if the Land of many waters of Mosiah 8:8 & Mormon 6:4 is the same as the land of large bodies of water of Alma 50:29 & Hel 3:3–4, but it seems quite likely given that both terms occur along with the description of “many rivers”.

Because of 1 Ne 13:12, 1 Ne 14:11–12, 1 Ne 17:5 and Ether 6:7, which all refer to the intercontinental ocean as “many waters”, it seems VERY likely that the Nephites differentiated the “outer ocean” from all gulfs, seas or smaller oceans (such as the Gulf of Mexico & Gulf of California) in the same way that Strabo & Eratosthenes did. As explained in detail in William Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, Strabo expressed the ancient view that the habitable “earth is surrounded with water, and receives into itself several gulfs ‘from the outer sea'”. Of the use of the simple word Oceanus, as the name of the Atlantic Ocean, by writers about Strabo’s time, examples are found in Cicero (Leg. Manil. 12), Sallust (Sal. Jug. 18), Livy (23.5), Horace (Hor. Carm. 4.14. 47, 48), and Virgil (Georg. 4.382); and the word is coupled with mare by Caesar (Caes. Gal. 3.7mare Oceanum), Catullus (Carm. 114, 6), [p. 1.313]and Ovid (Ov. Met. 7.267Oceani mare). It should have been stated earlier that Polybius calls it the Outer and Great Sea . (see this article)

In fact, Irreantum, used in 1 Ne 17:5, may be a transliteration as the same Egyptian concept that the Greeks turned into patrem-rerum (see Homer, Il. 14.201246; comp. Verg. G. 4.382). Thus the “land of many waters” could actually mean something along the lines of “the land out away from the Gulf of Mexico, and near the outer sea of the Atlantic”.

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Cumorah, Land & Hill

Site of both the Lehite AND Jaredite final battles. Obviously Cumorah must provide either some exceptional strategic advantage, or be the natural endpoint or trap for refugee peoples.

– In a land of many ‘waters, rivers and fountains’ [ie. springs].  Nephite gather around the ‘hill’, hoping ‘to gain advantage over the Lamanites’ (Mormon 6:4).
– Before even entering the ‘land of Cumorah’, Mormon writes the Lamanites asking for time to ‘gather together out people unto the land of Cumorah, by the Hill which was called Cumorah, and there we could give them battle’ (Mormon 6:2).  Obviously the site is strategic in multiple ways.
– Mormon hides up in the ‘Hill Cumorah ‘all the records which had been entrusted’ to him (BUT NOT the b.o.m. plates – Mormon 6:6). We are not told the name of the hill Moroni hides his plates in, BUT D&C 128:20 seems to refer to the location of Joseph’s vision of Moroni as ‘Cumorah’, suggesting IT IS Cumorah (or at least in the Land Cumorah!).
– Jaredites call it the Hill Ramah (Ether 15:22), and tell us it’s about a day south of the waters of Ripliancum, meaning waters to exceed all (Ether 15:8), which are mostly likely a lake since they are west of, and not far from the East Sea–and different from it (Ether 9:3).  Given D&C 128:20 this strongly suggests Ripliancum is the Great Lakes and land Cumorah encompasses where the Joseph found the plates (although the final battle could have been somewhere else nearby but still in the land of Cumorah).

discussion: Since Moroni says in Moroni 1:1, that he expected to have been killed before writing the final book of Moroni, (his father being killed in the battle or shortly after in Mormon 8:3) we can suppose that Mormon and his father MUST have made both the cave for ALL the records, finished most the gold plates AND made the cement box/crypt for just the gold plates BEFORE the final battle, and likely hid up the records expecting to possibly die. (They wouldn’t have chanced something so important seeing death was so immanent in the final battle. And I would suppose this was done on a hill close to the final battle, but not the SAME hill, as they would not want to risk the invading army finding the record stores. This is VERY important, as it strongly suggests that if Moroni did a lot of travel and wandering after the final battle (which the text suggests), he hid the plates first and traveled before coming back to the plates and adding the final leaves instead of wandering around with the plates, risking being killed and having them stolen and melted down.

Also, since Omer and his family are fleeing for their lives from Desolation (the early Jaredite core) to the East Sea ‘eastward’ of Cumorah, we can assume that Cumorah is quite far from the Hill Shim and the land Desolation. (since Ether 9:3 says he fled “many days” from his homeland and the Hill Shem to Cumorah).  The same is true of the fleeing Nephites. If 50,000+ early LDS saints fled 1000+ miles by foot from Nauvoo (plus another 700 miles from New York) to escape persecution, we can assume that Omer’s family, the Jaredites and Nephites also fled a large distance (as much or more?) in attempt to avoid their annihilation. Suggesting Cumorah and the final battle were in southern Vera Cruz just 100 miles from Desolation (ie. the hill Shem) which are on the narrow neck really doesn’t fit well with the text in this regard.

A final important note is Mormon 8:2 which states that those who survived the final battle fled SOUTH afterwards!  If Cumorah was anywhere even close to Zarahemla, why would the survivors flee south into what had now become the heart of enemy territory? Their fleeing south strongly suggests that Cumorah is nowhere even close to Zarahemla, and that fleeing any farther north was not an option (because of some impassible barrier like Ripliancum/The Waters that exceed all — which therefor must have been something like the Great Lakes or ocean which could not just be canoed across, or something like a coming winter stopping northward travel).

Those who suggest Ripliancum is the sea, twist the text. Since Ether 14:12–13 & Ether 14:26 clearly differentiates the “seashore” found to the east from the waters Ripliancum “which, by interpretation, is large, or to exceed all”, (Ether 15:8) that are north of the hill Cumorah (Ether 15:8–11).

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Hill Shim

Location where Nephite records were kept by Ammaron. Mentioned in both Nephite and Jaredite accounts.

– Ammaron deposited all the ‘sacred engravings of the people there’ (Mormon 1:3).
– In a land of desolation. Mormon gathers all the records from Hill Shim when he sees the Lamanites are about to ‘overthrow the land’ of Desolation. (Mormon 4:23)
– Omer passes by the hill as he flees ‘many days’ from the early Jaredite heartland/core, and then onto Cumorah, and ‘from thence eastward to the seashore’ where he and his refugee family set up residence. (Ether 9:3)

discussion:  It doesn’t really make much sense for the Hill Shim to be very close to the land of Cumorah. If it were why would they bother moving the records from one hill to the other? It makes far more sense to suppose that these records were moved before things got hopeless when the Nephites still hoped to find a new homeland, and that Shim and Cumorah are a considerable distance apart.

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Wildernesses

Definition: (1830 dictionary). a (1) : a tract or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings (2) : an area essentially undisturbed by human activity together with its naturally developed life community  b : an empty or pathless area or region.

When the Book of Mormon speaks of wildernesses, I believe it is using the modern definition. It is talking about unsettled, unclaimed, undeveloped area. That is, one without cities, roads or easy access.

Wilderness, Narrow Strip

-Area dividing the Nephite and Lamanite lands running from Sea East to Sea West. (Alma 22:27)

Add references to each of the wildernesses here. East, West South, Hermounts.

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The Three Defensive Lines

The Book of Mormon talks about 3 separate defensive lines.  One between the land of Nephi & land of Zarahemla. One between the land of Bountiful and the land of Desolation. And one north of Desolation somewhere around the city of Boaz between Desolation and ‘the land which lay before us’, which presumably seems to be the land of Many Waters.

1- Alma 50:7–11 describes the first, which is built by Moroni after he forces the Lamanites out of the east and west wildernesses after the Amalakite attack. He drives out “all the Lamanites who were in the east wilderness…south of the land of Zarahemla”, “and also on the west [wilderness]” (v.11) and then appears to build Moroni and Nephihah on the south-east to fortify that line. (v. 13)  migrating people from Zarahemla into the east wilderness to do it. (v. x)    

2- The second defensive line is the “line Bountiful” which is a narrow neck  between the Land Northward and the land Southward which is described in Alma 22:33, (refs).  This defensive line is important in two different occasions where the Nephite elite are completely driven from Zarahemla their capital to desolation. First in Helaman 4:5 the Lamanites drive the Nephites and their army “even into the land of Bountiful, and there they did fortify…from the west sea even unto the east”.  350 years later, the same thing occurs in Mormon 3:5–6 & Mormon 2:28–29, where a 10 year treaty is signed with the Lamanites giving the Nephites the land Northward “even to the narrow passage which led to the land southward”. During that time they “fortify against them with all our force”.

 3- The third is a line of cities near Boaz or “strongholds” mentioned in Mormon 5:4 where it says that for a time they did “maintain… strongholds [which] did cut them off that they could not get into the country which lay before us, to destroy the inhabitants of our land.” 

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Jaredite Lands

Unlike the Nephite record, the Jaredite account gives VERY little directionality or geographic information. There are really three or four locations that have any ability to be associated with an internal or external model. And half of those have directionality ONLY because they are associated with Nephite lands.

Moron, Land of

The Jaredite ‘Land of Inheritance’ (first inheritance) and heartland throughout at least major parts of their history..
– its near the
– .

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Travels of the Nephites from Zarahemla to the Final Battle.

-Moroni gets instructions to go to hill Shim in the Land Antum to get records. (Mormon 1:3)
-Moroni “carried by his father into the land southward, even to the land of Zarahemla”. (Mormon 1:6)
-War begins “in the borders of Zarahemla, by the waters of Sidon”.  (First Battle – Mormon 1:10)
-A number of battles fought, then a truce for four to seven years.
-Lamanites attack again, Nephites “retreat towards the northcountries”. (Mormon 2:3)
-Moroni’s army take and fortify Angola “with their might”, but “notwithstanding their fortifications”, the city is taken. (Mormon 2:4)
-They are “also” driven out of the land David. (unsure if Angola was in the land David or if its the next province to the north) (Mormon 2:5)
-They gather to Joshua which is “west by the seashore”. (Mormon 2:6–8) A battle with a force of 40,000 each is fought here… Lamanites retreat.
-345AD. Lamanites attack again, Nephites retreat to city of Jashon, “near the land [Antum] where Ammaron had deposited the records unto the Lord” (Mormon 2:17).  Moroni gets just the plates of Nephi, and leaves the remainder where they are. (see Mormon 1:3)
-Nephites driven “northward to the land which was called Shem”. (Mormon 2:20) Nephites fortify the city and are attacked in 346AD, but win a battle with 30k to 50k. (Mormon 2:25)
-In 350AD a treaty is made. Lamanites “ give unto us the land northward, yea, even to the narrow passage which led into the land southward. And we did give unto the Lamanites all the land southward.” (Mormon 2:29)
-For 10 years, Nephites fortify and prepare. In 360AD Mormon causes his “people that they should gather themselves together at the land Desolation, to a city which was in the borders, by the narrow pass which led into the land southward. 6 And there we did place our armies, that we might stop the armies of the Lamanites, that they might not get possession of any of our lands; therefore we did fortify against them with all our force. 7 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and sixty and first year the Lamanites did come down to the city of Desolation to battle against us”. Nephites beat them. They come again the next year. They beat them a third time. “and their dead were cast into the sea.” (Mormon 3:8)
Desolation is by the sea or a river that flows into sea
-in 363AD, the Nephites go on the offensive, up out of desolation, but are driven back to “the land of Desolation” (not city). Then Lamanites attack, and take the city of desolation “slaying many and taking many prisoners”. (Mormon 4:2)
-”And the remainder did flee and join the inhabitants of the city Teancum. Now the city Teancum lay in the borders by the seashore; and it was also near the city Desolation.”  (Mormon 4:3)
Teancum is also somewhat near the sea.
-364AD, Lamanites come against Teancum, and are repulsed, so Nephites follow them and retake Desolation.  (Mormon 4:8)
Desolation and Teancum are close to each other
-In 366AD Lamanites attack and take Desolation, and then Teancum (and sacrifice the inhabitants both women and children.) Nephites are so angry about the loss of their families they retake the cities and drive the Lamanites out of the land. Then another 10 year pause in fighting (Mormon 4:16)
-In 375AD, the Lamanites come down to desolation with a numberless host.
-Nephites flea to Boaz and fight two battles. On second attack they flea and women and children are sacrificed again. Nephites flea and “all the inhabitants with them, both in towns and villages” (Mormon 4:20–22)
-Mormon goes to the hill Shim and takes up ALL the records (Mormon 4:23).
Boaz is still relatively close to all the preceding cities (Antum, Jashon, Desolation)
-in 379AD Nephites flee to Jordan, and repulse a Lamanite attack. (Mormon 5:4) They maintain a line of stronghold cities “that they could not get into the country which lay before us, to destroy the inhabitants of our land.” (Mormon 5:4)
Jordan is likely in the Southwest, one of a line of cities defending the land northward.
-in 384AD Mormon sends a letter to Lamanites requesting to gather to the land of Cumoruh “in a land of many waters, rivers, and fountains;” (Mormon 6:4)

Thus the spatial relationship from north to south, of these cities is as follows:

Jordan (line of cities)
Boaz (gets rest of records)
—-
Teancum (by seashore & desolation)
Desolation (dead cast into sea)
Shem (fortified)
Jashon (gets records)
Joshua (west by seashore)

David
Angola
Zarahemla

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The Scattering and Gathering of Israel (Jacob 5)

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[This article is a draft.  It needs a lot of work].

Introduction
This topic is highly speculative, but a lot of fun nonetheless.  In this article I walk through the Bible, as well as other religious and channeled works (such as Jacob 5 in the Book of Mormon), to detail the movements of a group of ideologically guided peoples (The House of Israel) throughout the earth since the days of Abraham who truly felt it their divine mission to civilize the entire earth, and spread their unique history and worldview. Understanding the depth to which these people believed this divine charge perhaps make the biblical statement from the “Lord” to  to Abraham a bit more poignant.

“That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; …And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Gen 22:16–18).

With the finding of the Kolbrin Book of England and its correlation with our revised archaeological timeline, we here…

Outline

1. The scattering and gathering of Israel is the ultimate global civilization program. 

2. The people of “Israel” are NOT the Israel we think of as existing today.
-It is important to make clear that “Israel” is NOT the Jews as we know them today. The full 12 tribes of Israel are not recognizable by trying to compare them to the mixed remnants of 2 tribes which compose “Israeli” or Jewish people today. The Bible suggests that Israel was far more multicultural than many suppose. Jacob was purposely inspired to have children with Semitic women (Mesopotamian/Indian) & their non-Semitic slaves (handmaidens) who represented two other major divisions of the earth– Africa! & Central Asia?). Israel has further been purposely mixed throughout the world. The “mother tree” of Jacob 5 in the Book of Mormon is also not a religion, it is a people and culture. The final product will be a global culture & universal brotherhood.

3. “Pruning” is overseen by the higher beings guiding our evolution. It would have occured through population decline, war and plague. Just as with natural selection, the most spiritually and physically healthy live while the undesired and non-robust genetic groups become diminished or extinct.

4. A Basic outline of the mixing/pruning or natural selection driven breeding program is as follows (following Jacob chapter five/dates given in carbon dates until ~600BC):

TIMES OF ISRAEL (2000 bc to 34 ad)

FIRST MIXING, PART A. (planting genetic material into 3 branches/divisions of afro-Eurasia)
1-Israel mixed into Africa through the Egyptian captivity. Great influence on early Egyptian religion, culture & government.
2-Israel mixed into Greece/Anatolia, North Asia (Mongolia) & Europe through Assyrian captivity. Great influence on Greek philosophy & government, as well as mesopotamia and turkish/mongol law, religion and government.
3-Israel mixed into Near-east & Indian Subcontinent through Babylonian captivity. Great influence of Israeli law, religion and government spanning from Akad/Babylon to Tibet.

FIRST MIXING, PART B. (major period of general diasporic colonialism where Middle-Eastern cultures and Israeli genetic material colonizes the world–including the “island continents”– in the same way European imperialism colonized the world following the renaissance).
1-African Israelis mixed into South America through phoenician trade vessels sometime between 1000BC-500 BC.
2-Ephraimitic Israelis mixed into Mesoamerica by multiple groups just before Babylonian captivity (~600 BC).
3-Asiatic Israelis mixed into Oceania through Tibetan (through Indochina) & early Mongolian groups.  Many groups are inspired to island hop throughout the West Pacific.

-The first mixing reaches its climax as Israeli culture takes over the Western World through Christianity & Islam. North African, Middle Eastern & Asiatic groups (including Israeli genetic carriers) move into Europe gradually and come to dominate the cultures of civilized western world by the end of the first Millennium AD.

TIMES OF THE GENTILES (34 AD – 2033 AD)
–SECOND/REVERSE MIXING, PART A. (major period of colonization and imperialism where Europe spreads its people and culture/religion into all the world, especially the 3 main aisles of the sea, N. America, S. America & Oceania. It is a reverse of the First Mixing, Part B).
1-Iberian (mixed-African) Christians of Spain & Portugal colonize and Christianize South America.
2-Norman (mixed-Semitic) Christians of England and France colonize and Christianize North America.
3-Slovic (mixed Asiatic) Christians of German & Dutch countries colonize and Christianize much of Oceania.

–SECOND/REVERSE MIXING, PART B (European Christians colonize and spread their political and cultural ideology into the 3 branches/divisions of Afro-Eurasia).
1-Western European countries colonize almost the entirety of Africa.
2-European culture & ideology is spread by the Russians throughout most of North Asia and the Asian steppe.
3-European culture & ideology is spread by Britain & others throughout India, Indochina and the Middle East.

FINAL BIBLICAL DISPENSATION (~1800 AD to 2600? AD)

–FINAL DOUBLE MIXING (final future stage of program where everything is gathered together in one)
-a final third version of the mother tree is recreated by creating a people and culture/religion who are all inclusive and incorporate the best beliefs/teachings of all the scattered branches into one religious brotherhood of man (the United States began this–spreading its influence across the Christian world, but restored Israel in Judea will finish it–spreading its influence across the Islamic world).
-this mixing parallels both the former mixings. With each superpower (America & Restored Judah) becoming a mixing pot of all the cultures on earth (but especially Christian culture for America & Islamic culture for Restored Judah). this is spread to the scattered branches and then the scattered branches are gathered back into it as well, and both pruned and cared for until they all resemble one healthy tree bearing fruit.

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-The first division into 3 was the sons of the archetype Noah.  (2,600BC/40,000BC)
Its hard to judge which aspects of the story of Noah are literal and which are metaphorical. I also believe the biblical Patriarchal Period (from Noah to Abraham is symbolic of a larger span of history, each patriarch representing an early epoch. Oahspe gives some interesting ideas on this.) First we look at the 3 divisions of the earth given to Noah’s 3 sons after the flood (explained best in the book of Jubilee). They may be actual individuals or more likely be metaphorical archetypes of groups of people. The oldest, Japheth is given the north-lands (East Asia/china), the youngest, Ham is given the southlands (Africa), and Shem the birthright middle-child is given middle-earth (Mesopotamia to India).

lands given to Ham, Shem and Japeth as explained in Oahspe and other texts.
lands given to Ham, Shem and Japheth as explained in Oahspe and other texts.

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Mother Israel is nurtured in each of these divisions (1800 BC – 74 AD sd/ 12,000 BC – 74 AD cd)
Abraham was a living archetype born in the lands of Shem. Joseph leads his posterity into Ham where they become captive for somewhere between 230 – 400+ years (and are scattered throughout Africa), before they are liberated back to their central homeland [1]. I speculate they integrate heavily with Shem in India during this time (Period of the Judges to just after king David). The second major captivity brings them into Japheth’s captivity with the Assyrian invasion and captivity of the Northern 10 Tribes of Israel [3]. Josephus, the Book of Jubilee and other obscure sources suggest at least one group of the Northern Kingdom flee deeply into north and east Asia assimilating with the Scythians or proto-mongols & European nomads (Scandinavia, Mongolia & China). Others likely integrated with the early nomadic turkish peoples and Arian’s of the caucasus region. The Babylonian invasion brings large populations of the Southern Kingdom of Judah into captivity in Shinar where they spread throughout the lands of Shem [2] from Mesopotamia to India & Tibet… especially during the Persian and Macedonian periods. (Babylon is primarily Semitic even though Nimrod its founder was of Ham through Cush).

Israel is scattered into Ham, Shem and Japheth during the Egyptian, Assyrian and Babylonian captivities.

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Mesopotamian Colonialism (500 BC – 200 AD/ 4,000BC – 200 AD)
During the era from about 500 BC to the time of Christ, the empires of the Middle east experience a period of expansionism and colonialism similiar to that of European Colonialism 2000 years later. There is evidence of Phoenician trade, shipping, colonialism and settlement from Northern Europe to Southern Africa to Indonesia. The Jews are also prolific during this era in setting up colonies in much of the known world. The Book of Mormon tells of the colonization of North America by at least two Israeli group, and Jacob 5 alludes to two other large colonizations to two other major “isles of the sea”, which I speculate are South America and Oceania. (The key to inferring this is in the verse that says the reverse grafting happens in last days… so just look at where europe colonized and you will see these are the obvious places.)  Even discounting the Book of Mormon narrative, there is evidence of extensive colonization throughout much of the Old world, and quite possibly even in the new world. The Kolbrin also recounts in detail the early colonization of Britain during this era by Israeli Egyptians and Phoenicians.

The three transplanted branches of the mother tree (groups from mother israel) are taken to North America, South America and Oceania. During the Israeli diaspora period of 600 BC to 450 BC.
The three transplanted branches of the mother tree (groups from mother israel) are taken to North America, South America and Oceania. During the Israeli diaspora period of 600 BC to 450 BC.

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European Settlement (800 BC – 600 AD/ 6,00 BC- 600 AD)
Europe is kept largely unsettled by its climate in early history, but with climate change Europe opens up for heavy colonization about 600 BC. Ham, Shem & Japheth move into their respective areas. The Kolbrin talks about huge Egyptian & Phoenician migrations. After Christ, Israel is salted into Europe and Jewish merchants and mystics become likely the single largest ruling influence upon the continent. By this time genetic code has been mixed thoroughly enough as to make differentiation between “Jew and Gentile” difficult.  Even so cultural Jews seem to thrive.

After Rome's destruction of Judah in 70 AD, the final diaspora leads hundreds of thousands of Jews into Europe, which is just beginning to grow rapidly in population and prominence.
After Rome’s destruction of Judah in 70 AD, the final diaspora leads hundreds of thousands of Jews into Europe, which is just beginning to grow rapidly in population and prominence.

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European Colonization & The Great Mixing (1500 AD – 2000 AD).
Grafting ‘them into them’: the colonial era and European imperialism is the key to knowing where the three branches of Jacob 5 were transplanted (given the B.O.M. narrative). Just look where Spain and England settled and civilized. England, largely colonized every division on the world (Ham, Shem and Japheth in Africa, India and China respectively). It also civilized “the isles of the sea” or the Americas & Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, etc..). The Iberians (Spain & Portugal), did most of the rest with South America & Oceania (Philippines, more, more, etc).

Europe’s colonization and conquest of the world. need to add boat routes and colonies.

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The restoration of Israel
The restoration began in the 19th century with the Zionist movement. The gathering will take place in two locations, Israel and North America. Both have already begun. The European Jews are the first fruits, but the Book of Ben Kathryn chronicles the wholesale resettlement of the entire Middle Eastern region as the climate shifts to more hospitable conditions. America has also become a melting pot, but the major gathering will take place after the United States divides and then begins to be rebuilt with true states rights.

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Allegory of the Olive Tree
The key to fully seeing the totality and fulfillment of this promise unto the House of Israel, is a simple line found in the prophesy of the ancient prophet Zenos. And an understanding the global colonialism by Gentile Christianity beginning with Christopher Columbus until present, is a preparatory fulfillment to the grafting in of the natural branches spoken of by Zenos.

Zenos’ Allegory of the Olive Tree is perhaps one of the most profound treatises offered on the topic of the scattering and Gathering of Israel found in Holy Writ. It is so impressive, in fact, that hundreds of years after it was given, Paul seems to drawn from its imagery by memory as he states to the Romans “And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree” (Romans 11:17). One reading Paul’s treatise on the scattering and gathering of Israel might not catch the full significance of the comparisons made had they not access to the original text from which he quotes. (available here).

The prophet Lehi, also drew from this allegory over 600 years before Paul. We are told of his exposition,

“Yea, even my father spake much concerning the Gentiles, and also concerning the house of Israel, that they should be compared like unto an olive-tree, whose branches should be broken off and should be scattered upon all the face of the earth. Wherefore, he said it must needs be that we should be … scattered upon all the face of the earth. And after the house of Israel should be scattered they should be gathered together again; or, in fine, after the Gentiles had received the fullness of the Gospel, the natural branches of the olive-tree, or the remnants of the house of Israel, should be grafted in, or come to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer.”

Here we learn that the olive tree used by Zenos is made to represent the House of Israel. And that multiple branches

A few chapters later Nephi sums it up even clearer as he states,

13 And now, the thing which our father meaneth concerning the grafting in of the natural branches through the fulness of the Gentiles, is, that in the latter days, when our seed shall have dwindled in unbelief, yea, for the space of many years, and many generations after the Messiah shall be manifested in body unto the children of men, then shall the fulness of the gospel of the Messiah come unto the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles unto the remnant of our seed—

This of course is a half of the equation explained by Zenos himself. A careful reading of this verse will lay the groundwork for the discovery of all the branches of the House of Israel. After explaining (quite literally) that .. planted in 3 different spost he says.. Explain first that the mother tree is Israel/The gentile Church. Then that the 3 trees in the nethermost are 3 righteous branches planted upon the isles of the sea (1Ne? ref)

“Wherefore, let us take of the branches of these which I have planted in the nethermost parts of my vineyard [3 groups planted on different major isles of the sea], and let us graft them into the tree from whence they came [Israel/Gentile Christianity]; and let us pluck from the tree those branches whose fruit is most bitter, and graft in the natural branches of the tree in the stead thereof… And, behold, the roots of the natural branches of the tree which I planted whithersoever I would are yet alive; wherefore, that I may preserve them also for mine own purpose, I will take of the branches of this tree [the mother tree], and I will graft them [the mother tree’s branches] in unto them [the three scattered Israelite people on the isles of the sea]. Yea, I will graft in unto them [again, the three trees] the branches of their mother tree, that I may preserve the roots [of the three trees] also unto mine own self, that when they shall be sufficiently strong perhaps they may bring forth good fruit unto me, and I may yet have glory in the fruit of my vineyard.”

So by grafting both ways…

Map of religious influence

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All the major players in the Human Drama have had the choice whether to unite or divide humanity. I believe in this final age, God will favor and sustain only those who unite. All other groups will become extinct. See the article The Scattering and Gathering of Israel for details on gods evolutionary plan for populating, diversifying, civilizing and unifying the planet.

Map of physical migrations…

Scattering of Israel
Illustration of Scattering of Israel

Summary of ideas still to write…

-The birthright is almost always given to the middle-child in the middle-land. The middle son, like Christ is the divine center. They are the strait and narrow way (or narrow middle way). The type is continued again and again, the first looses favor because of pride. From Cain, to Japheth, to Ishmeal, to Isau, to Rueben, to Saul, to Lamen, etc… The middle son becomes a microcosm of the opposites. He is the at-one-ment, and type of harmonizing the older and younger. He becomes a type of the first and the last, and is charged with redemption and bringing them together in harmony. This is also the job of scattered Israel.

-In both the times of Israel (Abraham to Christ) and during the Times of the Gentiles (Christ to present), God scattered the body of Israel (the chosen seed of Shem) into the lands of Japheth, Shem and Ham, as well as scattering/leading splinter groups of Israel into new frontier lands separated from the main body of humanity/civilization.

Scattering during the Times of Israel
1-The Egyptian habitation/captivity. During this 200+ year era, all 12 tribes are scattered throughout Hams seed by trade, migration in intermarriage.
2-The Assyrian deportation. Around 750 BC, Assyria sacks the Northern Kingdom of Israel and deports a large portion of its population into the Northern reaches of Assyria.

Alter this flash application to show the colonization of all European colonies around the world. Perhaps turn it into a leaflet map. and show how the colonies in Europe mirror the colonies of Israel and the 3 branches of the olive tree in the allegory.

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The Kolbrin: Background and Synopsis

Note

Note that much of what you find written online about The Kolbrin is sensationalized fabrication. Since the text claims to predate copyright laws, a publisher took the manuscript for the Kolbrin from the Culdian Trust, renamed it “The Kolbrin Bible”, republished it under their own name and then marketed it to catastrophism planet X fanatics as a End Times book (of which it says little). In reality, it makes no claims of its own to be a Bible other than the fact that the word Kolbrin almost certainly comes from the Welsh word Coelbren which mean “written word” or “books”. The Kolbrin is simply a published compilation of an assortment of ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian scriptures hidden and passed down from generation to generation in Great Britain.

“The canonicals of the Arch-Druid were extremely Gorgeous… on his breast the ior morain, or breast-plate of judgment, below it, the glanneidr, or draconic egg.. before him were the coelbren, or volume of esoteric mysteries and the golden corsier… His robe was of white linen.. When Druidism merged into Christianity, these rites, festivals and canonicals became those of the Christian Church. Little variation exist[ing between them] and those of Druidic Britain two thousand years since” (Historian William Morgan, 1857) Image Description: The gold pages above are The Pyrgi Tablets: written in the Phoenician / Proto Hebrew around 500 BC, they are evidence of the type of records mentioned in the Kolbrin.

OVERVIEW

The Kolbrin claims to come from a large collection of manuscripts and tablets engraved on scrolls parchments and even metallic plates by ancient spiritual leaders/historians, taken to Great Britain from the Middle East some time around 1000-500 BC. The book is predominantly composed of spiritual material but also contains a fair amount of obscure yet verifiable history. The earliest manuscripts in the book appear to have been written in Egypt at least as early as the first or mid second millennium BC, although most are written and compiled later by a religious cult referred to as “the sons of light.” (Likely an Israeli priestly cult, like the group by the same name who buried the dead sea scrolls — see Hoskia and the Northern Kingdom below.)

The first quarter of the Culdian publishing of the Kolbrin, with its important prologue or origin, is available at archive.org at this link. A hard copy can be bought here. The full 'Master Edition', brilliantly broken into verses referenced in this article can be read here. 

In the section entitle ‘Sons of Fire’, one King Hoskiah is said to have “brought the Children of Light to the Land of Mists” (Britain) from his short exile in Kadesh (Northern Israel/Syria) some during the first millennium BC — possibly remaining a relatively cohesive unit until they were converted to Christianity just after the death of Christ. These records were then handed down through some type of monastic druid, and then unorthodox Christian order until persecution devastated the order and destroyed many of the manuscripts during the Romanization and later Christianization of Britain between 400-1100 AD. The book, much like the LDS, Book of Mormon is already the source of deep controversy. Skeptics, such as the authors of RationalWiki, claim the book to be a clever forgery (a stance they’ve softened on as more evidence has come forward).  Much like the Book of Mormon, early skeptics called the book a hoax. But as more and more evidence of ancient origins come to light, some skeptics have changed their tune; now suggesting the historically accurate aspects of the text must have been forged from other ancient texts.

In reality, the text is EXACTLY what one might expect from ancient translated documents, and their contents and history are incredibly relevant to any Book of Mormon scholarship. Their mere existence, in light of the monastic order which claims to have guarded these records through the centuries gives legitimacy to the LDS idea that similar ancient hermetic groups may have guarded North American records brought from the Near East as well.  In fact a section of the text tells about how the ‘sons of light’ cult saw it their God-given duty to preserve ancient written scripture and text, and did so by sending them to remote locations in ‘the ends of the earth’.

Historically, the manuscript collection could even be what Richard Williams Morgan, wrote about in his 1857 book “Britons of Cambria” where he related that the ancient head Arch-Druid had before him a “volume of esoteric mysteries” referred to as “the Coel-bren.”  The wisdom of which allowed Druidism to merge seamlessly into Christianity, stating that Druidian “rites, festivals, canonicals became those of the Christian Church. Little variation exist[ing] between the modern ceremonials… and those of Druidic Britain two thousand years since.  (reference)

A careful reading of the Kolbrin shows how and why this would be the case. As Druidism had its roots in the Jewish, Egyptian, and Near-Eastern myths and texts brought by the “sons of light” described in more detail below. (Some suggest Coelbren could also just be an ancient Welsh word for ‘books’ much as the word ‘Bible’.)

MODERN PUBLISHING

(excerpt taken from “thekolbrin.com”)

Although the last major spiritual writings in the Kolbrin date to at least the seventh century AD, the modern publishing of the Kolbrin are said to trace back to a large collection of manuscripts salvaged from Glastonbury Abbey during an arson attack that was intended to destroy the ancient church’s library, presumably in 1184 AD. It was the time of history when there was a great suppression of monasteries. As fate would have it, the once considered heretical works were transcribed on bronze tablets by the religious druids of the time. Since they were thought to be destroyed during the fire, they were preserved in secrecy.

Since then, much of the original text was lost or destroyed due to the passage of time, their environment, and human error. Each caretaker though, has gone to painstaking efforts to preserve what was left and to fill in the gaps with the correct knowledge in order to preserve the original meaning. During the early fourteenth century, John Culdy, the leader of a small community in Scotland, owned The Kolbrin and took steps to ensure its survival beyond his care.

The Kolbrin eventually became known as The Bronzebook of Britain, and the contents of additional salvaged manuscripts known as The Coelbook were later incorporated into it to form the modern version. In the early parts of the twentieth century, the responsibility of The Kolbrin’s preservation rested with a small religious group in England that never gained much power due their very restrictive membership requirements.

The current custodian is The Culdian Trust, which was formed in 1980. The Culdian Trust inherited The Kolbrin and other books when the Hope Trust was deregistered around 1995 in accordance with its constitution. Around 1992, an elderly man from the Hope Trust who is now deceased put together the current draft from the originals. His character, reputation and relatives are still living. He was an extremely private man while alive and the trust are respecting his wishes with regard to continued privacy.

The Culdian Trust members were not allowed to see the original manuscripts on which the most recent version of The Kolbrin was derived, nor do they understand how they came into the elderly man’s possession or where he sent the originals upon completion. Despite the continued ambiguity of The Kolbrin’s origins, a Culdian Trust representative that knew the man for approximately twenty years held him in high regard and found him to be a man of extremely high integrity.

Much like the Book of Mormon, it would appear that guardians of the metal and paper manuscripts upon which the book came, are purposefully withholding any physical scientific evidence of the ancient record from the world.

CONTENT OF THE KOLBRIN

Much like the Old Testament, (and the “Jaredite 24 plates” of the Book of Mormon), the Kolbrin starts with a creation story. Although it shares some similar aspects with the Bible account it gives several versions and uses very different wording. The sophistication of the language has more of an eastern flavor than most ancient western creation accounts. It is quite similar to (and I believe shares a common source with) the Hindu Veda, Manusmriti or laws of Manu (extent texts typically dating from the 2nd to 3rd century BCE – read one version here).
The other sounds far more like an expanded adaptation of the works of the Phoenician author Sanchuniathon, who wrote around 1200 BC, than the biblical creation story (which many say dates the the Ezra era of 500-350 BC). You can read the eight cosmogonies of Sanchuniathon at this link to https://syriacpress.com And the expanded version of The Theology of the Pheonicans perserved in Eusebius’ Praeparatio Evangelica. See Chapter X here.

-It also contains two separate flood accounts (one global and what seems to be a local flood and tower story likely added at a later date). Perhaps a more original version of what’s found in the Sumerian texts of Atrahasi .

-It also contains a Biblical exodus story given in a format, detail and style much different than that in the bible. (These accounts are from an Egyptian perspective, but are explicitly said to have been added at a later date, and of questionable origin. This is probably the most suspect of the texts in the Kolbrin, and says that it ‘was added later’ which may suggest it is a modern addition to the collection).

-The account of the destruction and recreation by flood and fire shares similarities to both the biblical Noah’s flood and the Hindu Yuga cycles  & Mayan Baktun cycles (which each were split into four creation ages and each sharing a period of 144,000–years in Yugas and days in Baktuns).

-Note the CRAZY correlation between CRT:7:5 and the 52 year Maya and Aztec Calendar Round. Book of Creation 7:5 says, “These and many other things were taught by Habaris, but many of his teachings displeased the people of Krowkasis who were then as they were before Herthew’s forefather was led away. So Habaris concealed many things from them and taught, by simple tales, things within their understanding. He taught them the mysteries concerning the wheel of the year and divided the year into a Summer half and a Winter half, with a great year circle of fifty-two years, a hundred and four of which was the circle of The Destroyer.”  Note that the Aztec & Maya calendars are completely built around the 52/104 year Venus century. (see my article to understand how it was computed)

-The stories of Maya & Lila (Book of Gleanings), and numerous usage of the concept of Illusion and the Lotus (Book of Gleanings, Book of Scrolls), as well as names like Bramathamlin also suggest a common origin with some Mesopotamian and/or Hindu texts. (compare the epics of Maya Sita with Maya & Lila for instance)

-Much is spoken of Osiris and other early Egyptian myths. Many late period Gnostics adapted these myths into Israel’s Abraham. Comparison of these ancient texts with early Jewish, later gnostic, or the channelings of Joseph Smith on Abraham may give insight into possible truths which often lie behind ancient mythos and the modern cultural adaptations.

-It seems almost certain that the Kolbrin’s story of Hurmanetar is simply a slightly different version of the various Sumerian & Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh narratives. Mostly likely they all derive from a single parent epic. See many details of correlations in this article of Hurmanetar as Gilgamesh. The Babylonian Enkidu, obviously correlates to the Kolbrin’s Yadol, and the Babylonian Gilgamesh with the Hurmanetar. Both characters in both stories go off on a quest to find the secrets of eternal life, culminating in a journey to the Underworld, to speak with Noah/Utnapishtim in the Babylonian story, and the departed spirit of Yadol himself in the Kolbrin. Both tales imply a sort of psychic/astral journey rather than a physical one, in the Babylonian story, Noah/Utnapishtim hands him a physical herb which is the Tree of Life, the herb that guarantees immortality, and in the Kolbrin, Yadol tells him of the Secret of Life, or rather the reality of life beyond death, in which the soul is immortal, and experiences the real life, of which physical existence is but a faint echo.

-The “Twice Born” Egyptian cult mentioned pervasively throughout many chapters of the text is a well known concept in Hindu ancient literature. See Dvija (Sanskrit: द्विज) Particularly in the “Laws of Manu“, and ancient script associated with the Rig Veda. Manu being the archetypal man or Adam in Hindu texts. Undoubtedly many of the Kolbrin mythological heroes like Hahrew, Yosirah and Kohar are proto Hindu concepts which can be found in Hindu texts under different names.

-The “serpent” who should only be aroused by the twice born and “sleeps at the bole of a tree from which hangs the body of man, the tree of his backbone” of SCL:9:18 very obviously corresponds to the teachings of kundalini in Hindu thought.

– Ramsis in SOF:2:9, who “built the Great Temple of Ramen” is obviously one of the Ramesses of Egypt.   SOF 2 details the rebirth and temple rights of the “twice born” in Egypt.

-A second variation spelled Rasmus is given in MAN:25:4. This time in association with an Egyptian Coup of some sort.  “Rasmus, they slew in the antechamber, he died not from the blows before his face but from the steward’s knife behind… Neferlehi, they took; they carried her off. Proud and upright, she went, to die in a foul place by the terrible hooks of the tormentors. Her greater loveliness will live forever in the Halls of Eternity. It will exceed the radiance of the sunlight and enfold the heart like the pale glory of the moonbeam. The son of Rasmus and his children, they slew and tormented, his residence they defiled and laid in ruins.”   Could this be Ramesses III and Tiyi his mother who was assassinated in the Harem conspiracy led by his secondary wife Tiye and her eldest son?  This small section seems to have come to England late, as the excerpt notes “The records… survive, they journey on and they come to you.”

-MAN:33 gives an incredibly unique version of the Osiris Myth. In this version Osiris is called Osireh, in MAN:33:28 Horus, his son is called Hori, Aten called Atem. Isis his wife is called “Esitis… or in the tongue of the old river people the name became Ness. Later, this was changed to Nesit, which in the old tongue meant she who was Ness”.  In this version Set (called Setis here) is the brother of Isis instead of Osiris.

-Osiris in MAN 33, sounds a LOT like a hybrid of Abraham and Moses and has a section prophesying about a Messianic figure. See MAN 33:18 where Osireh prophesies.. “Behold the land before you, it is a chosen land for safeguarding the Sacred Mysteries. Out of its womb shall come the Child of Truth. which shall die and rise again to lead men in the struggle to glory”.

-Setshra in MAN 24:24 somewhat resembles the story of Jezebel persuading king Ahaz to set up Baal worship. “Now, Setshra gained the ear of the king and, pouring in a flood of venom wrapped up in fine speech, he overwhelmed the heart of his Majesty. None in the land had a tongue more subtle than that of Setshra. Then, new shrines were set up in the temples; new forms of worship appeared, pandering to the weaknesses of men. The hidden places of the Enlightened Ones were profaned with wickedness, and the secret chambers of the Twice Born were polluted with vile rites. Therefore, the Enlightened Ones and the Twice Born withdrew from the eyes and knowledge of men.”

-“Shina” in MAN 24:28 is a known region, language and people in Kashmir/Ladakh Pakistan/India. (see Shina or Gilgitis people) A place with a rich monastic tradition which has long been suspected to have ties to Zoroastrianism. (and israel?) “Shari” is a word perhaps associated with Assyria. It reads “The Leader of light and those with him fled into the land beyond Shari and built there the Temple in the Rock, which stands against Shina. In this land, the forces of the Dark Ones were cast back.” This region seems to be mentioned a few times in the Kolbrin. There’s also some very famous rock cut churches in Armenia, which I believe are mentioned in Herodotus or some history of how Darius tried to capture them.

-Tathomasis in Man 34:29 is said to have “came to make the name of Egypt known throughout all the lands”.  He immediately precedes “Nabihaton” who is undoubtedly the historical Akhenaten or Amenhotep meaning that Tathomasis is likely one of the Thutmose’s (likely Thutmose I the Great) who campaigned deep into the Levant and Nubia, pushing the borders of Egypt farther than ever before in each region.

-Starting in MAN:34:33, an incredibly interesting version of Akhenaten (called Nabihaton) is given concerning his corruption of Egyptian religion and the people’s rejection of Atenism. Note that Akhenaten’s mother Tiye is called “Towi” in v. 35

-Pharaoh Nafohia could be Nefaarud, known to have ruled after Egypt’s revolt of Persia’s king Darius.

-‘Pharaoh Athmos’ mention in Sons of Fire 6:9, is almost certainly Pharaoh Ahmose of the 18the dynasty who ruled around 1550 BC and expelled the ‘Hysos’ or shepherd kings from Canaan. The Kolbrin mentions that sometime after “Egypt was at war with the Abramites for their great red-headed king had committed adultery with the wife of a prince of Paran… The remorseful king reaped as he had sown, for his favourite daughter was ravished by her own brother”.   This is certainly King David who the Bible says was “ruddy [red haired] and had beautiful eyes and was handsome” (1 Samuel 16:12). The daughter is Tamar from 2 Sam 13:1–22 who is raped by her brother Amnon who is then killed by Absalom. (The implications of knowing that the Hysos are King David’s empire are HUGE!)

-Given the identification of David, “Hiram” in SOF 6 is obviously referring to Hiram of Tyre, or some other Mediterranean King with this popular ancient name.

-Many other correlations can be drawn between Egyptian pharaohs mentioned in the Kolbrin and Historically verified accounts of Egyptian history.

-OGS:1:22 mentions King Bladud who is a legendary king of the Britons who supposedly ruled for twenty years from 863 BC or perhaps 500 BC.  At some point, someone should go through the orginal source of the legends to see if the wife Kelwinith, daughter of Molmed or other names mentioned are corroborated in the ancient annals. Bladud and his son Leir (of Shakespeare’s King Lear) are supposedly of the house of Brutus of Troy. However, none of the other historical names of that line seem to agree with those given in the Kolbrin.

-Lucius Clorus mentioned in BRT:9:1 who it says “was named King Coel” is undoubtedly the same as Lucious of Britain  or Lles map Coel in Welsh, credited with introducing Christianity into Britain in the 2nd century.

-The death of “Okther 165 years ago” could refer to Octha, founder of Saxon Kent. This would give 677 AD minus 165 = 512; Octha’s death date is unknown, usually put at 522 or later. But he is not mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and in British sources like Nennius seems to be earlier, taking over from his father (or grandfather) the legendary Saxon leader Hengist after 488 AD.

-However, we also have a date of 677 AD as year 2 of Ketwin’s kingship of West Saxondom and year 14 of Ardwulf’s reign over the East Saxons. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle has a ‘Centwine’ ruling Wessex 677-, yielding 678. Ardwulf is not the name of any recorded Anglo-Saxon king, but there was an Aldwulf ruling East Anglia from 663/4-, which would give us a writing date of 677/678 AD.

“The “fourth year in the reign of Lothir, king of all the Kents” leads us to Kentish king Hlothhere (Latin Clotharius or Lotharius) who acceded 674/675, yielding a date of 678-9.

-There are various similar mentions in both Manuscripts 6 and in the Admonitions/Lament of Ipuwer.

Table of Pharaohs mentioned in the Kolbrin and possible correlations.

Pos. DateKolbrin NameEquiv?Details
??Namah, & MinisNamer & Menes?MAN:34:3 “He carried the sword among the striving peoples, and in his day, the might of Mantethrop prevailed. The spirit of Hori, who took the land from Namah, and of Minis, who united it, were with him. Then, the lands of the North and the lands of the South were delivered in to the hands of the king, and they became one. They were united, though they remained two.”
??Yosira, OsirehOsiris/ WsirMAN:33:12-35 “Now this Osireh, of whom I speak, is even he whom the people of this land have made a god… it was ordained that Osireh should marry his sister, and Esitis (Isis) gave birth to the manchild Hori (Horus)… and Setis (seth) her brother”. GLN 11:1-14 ” Yosira spoke to his Sons in this manner, “I am the Viceregent of the God of Gods. I am the custodian of the Books of Power. I am the Voice of Heaven. I am one sent into Tamerua as a lightbearer”
2600 BCPahophaApopha?MAN:34:29 “…in the generation of Pahopha, the name of Osireh began to be known in the land, and for twelve generations, it grew in greatness. The Upuru departed; the Ameluka came” [Amalekites/Hyksos?]. Hophra (589 BC) was called Apries by Greeks, and is equated with the myth of Amasis/Sethos. The ‘Book of Sothis‘ tells of a “Aphophis/Apopha) who “first called Pharaoh, and that in the 4th year of his kingship Joseph came as a slave into Egypt.”
1870 BCSetshraSenusret III?Sesostris/Setshotri in Greek. MAN:34:21. twenty generations before the evil Amuleka descended like locusts upon the land… This is set forth in the scroll belonging to Kabitkant, son of Nemerath, copied from an old writing copied from another which was the property of a temple in Pinhamur
1450 BCAnkedAnkhhaf?MAN 6:1-48 Story of Moses & the Destroyer. “Kair taught these things to the Children of Light.. before the death of the Pharaoh Anked”. Mentions places: Remwar, Noshari, Maha, Pikaroth, Mara. City/God called “Thom”. And other names of Alkenan, Anturah, Rageb & Kair.
??RamsisRamesses II ?SOF 2:9 “when Ramsis built the Great Temple of R’amen, it contained within itself both temple and shrine of the All Highest God. Also, there were Caverns of Initiation underneath. In the hall of the temple, which faced East and West, between pillars of pure stone, was the portal of the outer sanctuary. As the sun rises in the East, to give life to the day, so was the Devoted Priest placed in the East of the sanctuary, to open the services of worship and to instruct”. (Temple of Amun @ Jebel Barkal?)
~970 BCAthmosAhmose?SOF 6:9 HUGE. “In the days when Hiram came to Egypt, the Pharaoh Athmos ruled. In those days, Egypt was at war with the Abramite”. If Athmos is Ahmose, the verses following this suggests that the Hyksos were Davidic Israel. David warred with Egypt at the same time Ahmose chased the Shepherd kings out. Could also possibly be Thutmose I.
~910 BC?TathomasisThutmose IV?MAN:34:29 “Tathomasis came, to make the name of Egypt known throughout all the lands. He, too, could no more stay the hand of decay than could the meanest slave. Then, in his day Nabihaton came to rule in the land of Egypt.” Africanus calls Thutmose IV, “Touthmosis”, Joseph = Thmosis. Akhenaten rules 38 years later.
~772 BC?NabihatonAkhenatenMAN 34:29 Starts the story of how he had a demon and corrupted Egypt. Kolbrin names mother as Towi (obviously Tiye). Name composed of Fathers ‘Nab’ and ‘henaten’.
~720 BCNafohiaNeferkare?SOF 1:1 “Father of sons of light (Hoskiah) came out of Egypt in days of Pharaoh Nafohia. (Should be about the time of the Assyrian conquest or Sargon of Akkad? So Neferkare (Shabaka/Pepi II fits well. But could also be Neferibre (Psamtik II, 595-589 BC)

Other Possible Historical Characters

Pos. DateKolbrin NameEquiv?Details
??Auma & AtemAdam & EveCRT:5:12 The man awoke and sought food from the fruits about him and, having refreshed himself, wandered about the garden. Wherever he went he saw the wraith, but was unafraid because she smiled encouragingly, bringing comfort to his heart. He built himself a shelter and grew strong again, but always, wherever he went, the wraith was not far distant…
??HanokNoahGLN:4:29 Hanok and the Ark/great ship. Had three brothers who divided the land. MAN:34:4 Then [after Namah & Minis] came the year of the great flood of waters… when the salt seas rose upon the East and covered the land…
??HurmanetarrGilgameshThe Babylonian Enkidu, obviously correlates to the Kolbrin’s Yadol, and the Babylonian Gilgamesh with the Hurmanetar. Both characters in both stories go off on a quest to find the secrets of eternal life, culminating in a journey to the Underworld, to speak with Noah/Utnapishtim in the Babylonian story, and the departed spirit of Yadol himself in the Kolbrin
??
BeltsheraBabel?GLN 3:7-9 The floodgates [of Atuma] were opened… “the people left… Shinara..fled up a mountain… built a gateway to heaven”
600BCGatumGuatamaOGS:1:11 Those generated from the seed of Dada were the three Heaven-sent forebears of mankind, named Magog, Gatuma and Keili. …It is known only that Magog ruled in the North and East, Gatuma in the South and Keili in the West. OGS:3:1 Over the sea now called Basabrimal, came a far-ranging race from Krowkasis, the Motherland where Gatuma ruled, where skyreaching mountains rise out of a wide, green, dark-soiled plain. They were horsefighters, known among themselves as the Wildland Cultivators, and they landed at the place beforetimes called Haltraith, in the land of the Horsefolk, now held by Engling. They built the woodwalled town called Hovenlee in the new tongue, near where the great sea king sleeps beneath his mound.

HOSKIAH & THE CONNECTION TO THE NORTHERN TRIBES OF ISRAEL

(Its important to remember when reading these sections of the Kolbrin, that Israel was part of the Egyptian empire for much of its history. From Moses’ captivity, to David’s dealings with Sheba in Cush or Upper Egypt to the Marriage of Solomon to a daughter of Pharaoh, to Jeroboam’s vassalage to Pharaoh which likely didn’t end until hundreds of years later. Even to the Hasmonean period where the Egyptian Ptolemaic Pharaoh’s ruled Israel.)

Its hard not to draw a connection between the early King “Hoskiah” of SOF 7:1 who “was the Bowman of God and brought the Children of Light to the Land of Mists” and Egyptian ally (or perhaps even vassal) to Hoshea the last king of the Northern kingdom of Israel in the Bible (likely carrying on the work of Hezekiah & his religious reforms effectuated because of the fear brought onto Judah by the demise of the Northern Kingdom).

The Kolbrin’s account of King Hoskiah begins describing him as one who “knew the Almighty God and looked up to Him as the God of his fathers.” Much as the southern kingdom of Judah would have looked upon the kings of the Northern Kingdom, the scribe seems to see Hoskiah and his people as somewhat apostate, “knowing the truth only in part, for having stolen Him they were unable to know Him fully.”  In verse 4 we learn that apparently his people are destroyed by a stronger hand and Hoskiah escapes to Kadesh, Syria on the ancient Samarian border of Egypt where “those who remained alive with him slept in strange places, for they were sought by the king who had been victorious.”   This “victorious king” is likely a reference to Shalmaneser V of Assyria who came against Samaria in 727-725 BC, deposing Hoshea and later taking the kingdom and deporting its residents around 720 BC. The bible and other written histories do not indicate what happened to king Hoshea.

In the story Hoskiah’s brother Isais is placed on the throne in his stead, taking his kingdom and wives. Soon after Hoskiah’s favorite wife Athelia is mauled, defaced and banished for insubordination.  A somewhat mythically natured tale is then given of their reuniting and her suicide causing Hoskiah to flee to the ‘ends of the earth’ in remorse. Much of the story of his background in SOF 7-15 casts a fanciful epic of the king… Almost certainly like Greek epics it is part of a common near-eastern tradition of recasting popular rulers into Gilgamesh-like mythic epics as a gift or pot-mortem homage to the monarch.

Greater evidence to the likely Israelite background of Hoskiah is given when after travelling to “the land of Mists” (England or Ireland) Hoskiah “sent to Pelasi for the remnants of” the Children of Light“… “who went Northward after the scattering” (SOF 13:34). None of them came, for they said it was not meet for them to journey to the edge of the Earth to dwell among barbarians”. They said, “We will retain the light here, for out there, it will surely be extinguished.” Later, four ships did come, but they “carried the standards of Ashratem. With them came Enos Husadim of the Sons of Dan, a learned man from the slopes of the mountain, which rests in darkness and reaches up to the limits of light” (SOF 11:9-10).  The location mentioned would likely be a mountainous area existing at the northern edge of the era’s Near-Eastern civilized boundaries (limits of light). The Caucasus region of Armenia and Punjab region of the Indus seem good candidates.

The fact that the only known Old testament books or references in the Kolbrin are the revelations or “light of Amos” is another good indicator of its Northern Kingdom of Israel roots as well as the timing of its arrival to Britian. Amos was the first of the Prophets of the bible to testify, prophesying to the Northern Kingdom around 750 BC.

In SOF 13:21 we read that the Sons of light’s “destiny lies in a much bleaker land, where our seed will be planted in strange soil. It will lie within the bosom of an untamed land, until quickened to growth by the warmth of the desires of men.”  This is undoubtedly quoting from Amos 7:17 & 9:15,

17 Therefore thus saith the Lord; … thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land. 14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel… 15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.

A bit later the scribes even describe how keeping records was part of the temple practice of the Children of light. As well as how they were later “scattered” and lost.

32 Our light was lit in the land of our beginnings. Many books were made and kept in four places, and we were in truth Children of The Written Word. There were scribes and readers, officials and guardians. There were servants and those, who served in the courtyards…. 34 As the name, The Children of Light, is written in the old characters, it may also be read as The Children of The Written Word, and this is a truth. We alone preserve our secrets in this manner. The Children of Light followed a destined course by abandoning their altars in the land of their beginnings, and went to dwell among strangers, where many ate at one table. We do not know what befell of their books, for those we have are rewritten. We know the Children of The Written Word went Northward after the scattering, but we do not know what were their journeyings. (SOF 13:32-34)

Abundant myths exist which suggest that some of Zedekiah’s children (the last king of Judah) also fled to Ireland after the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. See this site for instance.

For Book of Mormon believers, of note is the Kolbrin verse which talks about ships full of settlers from the near-east coming to England about this time who “were divided and… wished to set up the eagle and serpent [see Uraeus & relationship to feathered serpent cult of the era] and went to the Harbour of Giants in Belharia, The same giants are builders of great temples, and they are six cubits tall.” (SOF 12:15)  One of King Hezekiah of Judah’s main reforms about this time was to destroy the Nehushtan or Bronze Serpent of Moses which had come to be the focus of an idolatrous cult. (see 2 Kings 18:4, and this reference)  This is noteworthy as many early Aztec & Mixtec codices also mention the “giants” as the first newcomers to New Spain followed by the Olmeca-xicalanca who seem to coincide with a rise in Quetzalcoatl or worship of the feathered Serpent.

Verse one of the Book of Manuscripts (MAN:26:1) also mentions the name “Laman,” which for those familiar to the Book of Mormon is the brother of Nephi. Although obviously a different individual in the Kolbrin, it at least proves that this name was of common early Jewish origin and associated with record keepers. The Kolbrin says of him “The words of the Great Scribe of the Universe, by Laman, Keeper of the Watergate by the Outlands. To the Children of Laka at Kemwar, Keepers of Secrets, wise in the words of God.”

In MAN:25:3, the reference to Neferlehi is likewise interesting in its phonetic similarity to NephiLehi, part of the name given to the Lamanite converts who became Nephites (Alma 23:17). The Kolbrin name invites speculation on whether the Book of Mormon names have an Egyptian origin instead of Hebrew origins.  Known names such as Neferhotep, Nefertiti, Nefertari & Neferuaten of the 18th dynasty show us that ‘Nefer‘ was a common Egyptian morpheme meaning perfect, complete, pleasant, good or beautiful. This is remarkably similar to the proposed Hebrew root of nephesh (נֶפֶש), which literally means the “complete life of a being.”

Hypothetical scattering of Israeli people and their records as suggested in the Kolbrin.

THE RECORDS OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL

The Kobrin teaches that the “Children of Light” were brought to Britain by Hoskiah (who we assume from his backstory and mention of the prophet Amos but no later prophet, was likely Hoshea, the last King of Israel), who saw it as a sacred duty to maintain records which would persist until the “latter days”.  The “Sons of light” is a well known monastic cult in Israel which persisted into the Christian Era at Qumran. In the contents of the Third Egyptian Scroll we learn,

This is the manner whereby the Sacred Records shall be kept, and their number is twelve books and four hundred and forty-two scrolls.
Four copies shall be made, and each shall be rolled on a stick of blackwood. Each shall be enclosed within a pickled skin and bound with a leathern throng. It shall be placed with spices in a box of copper, which shall be enclosed in a box of wood bound about with hide and pitched.
At each of the four appointed places shall be four hewn masonry receptacles, within which shall be contained the Great Arks. They shall be kept by the Guardians at the four quarters of the Earth, and no copies shall be made, except one be destroyed.
Nothing shall be added and nothing taken away from the books, except it be done according to the books, and the signs of the books shall be counted according to the custom of writing. (MAN:7:1 -4)

This sounds reminiscent of the story of Thoth on the Emerald Tablet in Egypt. A story given life in the account of Hojax/Thoth (the builder of the Great Pyramid) in Oahspe who builds outposts in “the distant lands of the earth, to observe the winds of heaven, and and the drought upon the earth; and the abundance of the yield of the earth in different regions, in different years and seasons; and to observe famines and pestilences, and all types of occurrences on the face of the earth.” After taking careful astronomical measurements for many years “throughout [Arabi], [India], [China], [Persia], [Greece], and [Europe], even across to the western sea [Atlantic Ocean]; and to the southern extreme of [Africa], and to the great kingdoms in the interior; and to the north of [Europe] to the regions of everlasting snow… Thothma had these things rewritten and condensed into books, and named them books of great learning, and they were deposited within the south chamber of the pyramid, where harm could never come to them.” In addition, “copies of this book were made and sent into the [same various lands], to the priests of God” (Oahspe, Book of Wars against Jehovih; 24/50.19-20,22,24)

One might dismiss the above account for its spurious nature, except that there are many pyramids and megalithic structures in the various corners of the earth which all seem to date to about the same time of 2400 BC, as the Great Pyramid. These include, Stonehenge in England, Caral in Peru, Several Dolmen’s in Spain, Pukuhara Pyramid in Indonesia, Senegambian stone circles in Senegal and more. We assume therefor that this practice started with the builder of the Great Pyramid around 2400 BC.

However, as mentioned, the Kolbrin account suggests the Israelite cult adopted this same practice somewhere between the time of King David (SOF:6:9) and the prophet Amos/Hoskiah (SOF:11:10). More clues as to the location of these four record vaults comes a few chapters later where we learn that one of the locations was in India (likely the Punjab region) and later moved to England.

Yet, even the Children of Light have become divided among themselves and one institution became two. The institution of the East claims it is the true guardian of the written records, but now we have books written even before those copied by the scribes of Hoskiah. We are not the Children of the Lesser Light, and we know the mysteries of the Hidden Light. Only we in the cold north will survive, for did not Amos write. “Our destiny lies in a much bleaker land, where our seed will be planted in strange soil. It will lie within the bosom of an untamed land, until quickened to growth by the warmth of the desires of men.” (SOF 13:21)

Another verse hints to the fact that the “institution of the East” was in India. And that the primary record vault there was later moved farther away “among the barbarians” in Britain. However, as the vaults simply served as master copies from which monastic scribes then made numerous copies and spread them to other monasteries, we’d expect many of those copies to have survived in various hidden convents. Particularly places with strong ancient monastic traditions. The Kashmir province of India is likely the best candidate for the possibility of this occurring.

SOF:13:35 We know about Lothan and Kabel Kai, designer of houses, who sailed around the edge of the Earth. With them was Raileb, the scribe, who knew hidden mysteries. They gathered the records, which were in Kindia, and carried them the long sea journey, believing the records safer among the barbarians than among those who sought to destroy them. If the records are destroyed by barbarians, it will be done in ignorance and not in the knowledge of wickedness. Many books were laid open to the eyes of ignorant men and destroyed.

The previous verse and the next suggest that the records were taken from India or “the eastern quarter” and brought to England. The new repository in England is then associated with ancient circular temples, of which Stonehenge is only one of many in Iberia and Britain.

SOF:8:12 Within the wall and circle of water, I have built the temple, but not all go in there with me. We are not one people. The gates of the temple are on pillars of wood and turn on a stone, and wooden are the pillars within. Great beams support the roof, and the walls are of wood and mud brick. The floor is of sand finely raked, and before the heir, the altar rests on stones. There are no images designed to confuse men, for though the temple is poor, it does not enshrine ignorance. We have no evil men with us. There are men of valour and men of skill, men of the land and men of the sea, no more.

SOF:8:13 Beneath the altar is the Grave of Life, kept dry with mortar. In its place is the Great Chest of Mysteries and in the Urns of Life are the records. Well kept, they are and safe from the unlearned, all the records of the Eastern Quarter.

One indication that the above is an account of the Sons of Light of Israel instead of an earlier group of Egyptians guarding only Egyptian records comes a bit later in the Kolbrin in ‘Two Sections of an Unnamed Scroll’ in the Book of Manuscripts. Here we read:

MAN:28:1 Praise to the Great Lords of Eternity who, once such as we, now sit in the Everlasting Halls. Sanctified forever be the name of The One God, to Whom Alone shall be given reverence and glory… Two generations have passed into judgement since the wild dogs came swiftly in the night and scattered the seeds of wisdom to the winds. [likely the Babylonian destruction given mention of Cambyses below] The Great Land shall no more know the true greatness of wisdom. The black soil shall not nourish its seed. The seed shall spring up and burst forth into leaf in foreign lands, among strange people.

MAN:28:6 Our destiny lies Northward, and such is foretold in the Sacred Writings. I go and my household, and Jothan the Sartisian with his household. My brother Kabel also and his daughter, with Karob and Agab of the house of Moshes [Moses]. We go by way of Kambusis [likely ‘The Market of Cambyses‘ of Pliny by Premnis on the Nile delta] and the waters of Jabel [Jebel Sahaba on Nile at Sudan border], over the wild wilderness to the Mountains of Winds. Beyond them we journey into Kndia [India], where there are pines. We shall take the records of [to?] the Eastern Quarter and the Guardians, who remain with us. None among all who know our ways shall be forced to go, neither shall we condemn those who remain. The scrolls in four chests and the Books of Wisdom in their canopies go with those who depart. Our thoughts remain with Semlis; may he sail in peace with moderate winds and find everlasting glory and beauty in the Netherworld. (MAN 28:1-9)

Just after this verse, we next read a reference to bringing other records from the “swamplands”, an obvious reference to the headwaters of the Nile in Sudan or ancient Ethiopia/Cush. This same author mentions bringing “the four books to safety” by traveling through Ethiopia.

MAN:29:1 I am Kison, son of Nesubot and Nektorab, a citizen of Hakarnak. I am he, who brought the Sacred Writings from the swamplands and gathered men together, who are the Sons of Light. MAN:29:9 I brought to safety the Four Great Books, of which one is the Book of the Masters Words and one the Book of the Masters Deeds. One the Book of the Masters Ways and one the Book of Awaking to Life in the Dawnlight. With them were the Books of Beginning and End and the two and seventy scrolls. Not one was lost.

Another verse in this section connects Ethiopia to the homelands of the Sons of Fire, and mentions a character who sounds a lot like Moses, who it places in Upper Egypt or Ethiopia. It might seem strange that the priests feign ignorance of a character like Moses, but remember that even Moses’ Pentetuch fell into disuse in Israel and had to be “re-discovered” buried in the temple in the days of Josiah. (2 Chronicles X) The parallel here gains its strength, not so much from the Bible and its mention of Moses’ Ethiopian wife (Num. 12:1–15), but the record of Josephus and the medieval Arab-Christian historian Agapius of Manbij, who writes “in the year 28 from the birth of Moses […] the Ethiopians declared war on the Egyptians and devastated much of their country.” and then goes on to talk about the part he played in the war with them. Of course his mentioned “death” is where the similarities end, and suggests we might be talking about someone else, such as one of the Sons of Joseph, or even someone after the time of David when Israel was vassal to Egypt.

SOF:13:25 We know that the first Leader of Light was among the highborn of Egypt and his name was struck on marble pillars. He was cast down because he carried the lamp of Truth, and his name was removed from the records of Egypt. He raised an army, but it was like a goat attacking a wild bull, and he was slain in the great marshlands lying near Ethiopia.

SOF:13:26 He wrote the book, which is known to all, and the Book of Rites and Ceremonies, which is known only to the elect. He did not write the three books in the Lion Urns, which we alone know, or the Book of The Secret Way. He may have written the Book of Instruction For The Children of The Written Word Within The Children of Light. The manner of keeping the book is taught from generation to generation. The books are our foundation, our shield and our sword. They are our promise and our hope, our guide and our defence.

Given the above information it would seem that simply by searching for locations related to modern Israel with strong ancient monastic traditions might be our best bet for guessing the other two record vaults. And perhaps no better contestants exist than Ethiopia and Armenia. Both are two of the first nations (along with Britain) to convert to Christianity. Both have scores of ancient monastic libraries dating to the pre-Christian era. Ethiopia claims to be home to the Arc of the Covenant with monastic accounts of David & Solomon’s dealings with their ancient kings. Armenia has its own quarter in Jerusalem as a consequence of its ancient alignment with Judaism & Christianity.

The accounts above of the four stone record boxes sound unbelievably similar to the account of the Book of Mormon. An ancient record hid up in the earth in a buried masonry box. A dispersion after the Babylonian captivity. Joseph Smith records the contents of the box he was shown by the angel Moroni in JS-H 1:51–53.

On the west side of this hill, not far from the top, under a stone of considerable size, lay the plates, deposited in a stone box. This stone was thick and rounding in the middle on the upper side, and thinner towards the edges, so that the middle part of it was visible above the ground, but the edge all around was covered with earth.
52 Having removed the earth, I obtained a lever, which I got fixed under the edge of the stone, and with a little exertion raised it up. I looked in, and there indeed did I behold the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate, as stated by the messenger. The box in which they lay was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the bottom of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the plates and the other things with them.
53 I made an attempt to take them out, but was forbidden by the messenger, and was again informed that the time for bringing them forth had not yet arrived…

If the above account is to be believed, many questions arise.  First, could Joseph Smith’s record repository be the same as one of those spoken of in the Kolbrin, to which we must answer no. This because the Book of Mormon states that the Book of Mormon was only an abridgment of the greater records vault, which by 300 AD had been moved from its unknown original location to the ‘Hill Shim’ in the Land of Desolation. Later when the Lamanites were about to take over that land, the records were again moved to the ‘Land Cumorah’. Moroni selected from these many records to create the abridgement which is the Book of Mormon. However, given the similarity of the relics stored with the Book of Mormon to those mentioned in the Kolbrin (the shield, knife and crystal seer stone) it seems very likely that the Book of Mormon vault was fashioned after the original.  As to where the originals were stored I have included my guess after much prayer & meditation. (map coming soon)

Also of note is an early Egyptian scroll in the Kolbrin that speaks not just of the trade of “lions tails, cowhides, spices, worked and unworked ivory, blackwood, oils and paint” from Punt [ancient Ethiopia], but also this tale of a trade expedition to what is undoubtedly Indonesia.

The same lord Torka is he whose father, now in port. took his vessel south of Pontas [Punt or Ethiopia] from Ofir [Ophir] towards the sunsetting [east], past Kindia [India] to the land of Bemer. He returned when the waters had risen four times and fallen thrice [3.5 years], and sorrow gave way to rejoicing. To the rim of the great circle he went, to where the fires [volcanoes] of the Netherworld were revealed and men were the brothers of dwarfs [pigmies]. He it was who brought back the great hairy giant who rests with Thosis (MAN:24:8 )

If this was indeed a known trade route as early as 600 BC (or2400 bc) it adds to the possibility that the Lehites of the Book of Mormon followed this route, stopping at known ports, to make their way toward the Americas.

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RELICS PASSED DOWN WITH THE BOOKS

Those familiar with Joseph Smith’s description of the items he found within the cement container which housed the golden plates of the Book of Mormon might find this excerpt included in the Kolbrin familiar. It describes the items passed along with this ancient record…

“When I was young my grand-father told me that the Kolbrin had been brought back to light by his grand-father’s people in the place known to them as Futeril Cairn, beyond the pool of Pantlyn at Carclathan by way of Gwendwor in Wales.”
“I remember him saying it was originally written in the old alphabet of thirty-six letters. The books were stored in a tinker’s budget box, the lid of which was not hinged but held with flanges and lifted off after being heated, a cunning device of the wayfaring tinkers [Traveling MetalSmiths]. It was also secured with pins and stirrups. There were goblin heads at the corners and it was fastened by locking bars inside and out. I never saw it, nor did I know anyone who knew whether it still existed.”

“I remember being told that inside the box was a clear glass roundish ball about the size of a large apple, which at one spot reflected all the colours of the rainbow. It was encased in a precious cagework inside a protective cover of horny hide which had raised swellings, the like of which my grand-father had never seen before. He knew a lot about animals and their hides, but could not tell what this was; he thought it might have been the hide of some kind of large, horny snakelike creature such as those which live in deep lakes.”
“There were two stones of dullish glass like rainstones, one being whitish at one end. Each was oval in shape and somewhat flattened and tapered towards one end. Grand-mother used to tell fortunes with these and they went to cousin Sarah in America. There were two other pieces of rounded glass set in something made of bone which had pretty designs engraved on it. The bone setting was falling apart and was of no conceivable use. There was also a bluish coloured cross with an opening at the top and its arms were forked at the ends. This was fastened by a small chain curiously worked, to piece of round brass about the size of a small plate which was engraved with figured, of which a bird, a wand, two billhooks, a whip and some heads could be made out. There were beads of blue and red and a brooch shaped like a hook and made of gold. There was a acorn-like cap such as Flamens wear.”
“There was also a longish brass object like a knife, with engraving, in a wrapping of rotten wood. That is all there was, except for the books which were not like books at all. I do not know what became of the other items. I saw the glass ball once when I was a small child but cannot remember much about it, except that it was hollow at one end and when I put a finger in the hollow it felt warm.

It would almost seem that both the Kolbrin and Book of Mormon were preserved using the same interesting protocol. Each containing a record, a knife/sword, a shield of some sort and some type of seer stones or crystals to aid mystics in “translating”. In LDS and Jewish tradition there were multiple “seer stones” like the Urim and Thumim given by God (or might we presume, higher beings of some sort?) to man in the early days of civilization. As the Book of Mormon says concerning the seer stones they found of the Jaredites… “I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a stone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light, that I may discover unto my people who serve me, that I may discover unto them the works of their brethren, yea, their secret works, their works of darkness, and their wickedness and abominations. And now, my son, these interpreters were prepared that the word of God might be fulfilled…” (Alma 37:23–24). It has been said by some sources that these stones were made of crystal and were fashioned to use the natural properties of these crystals to enhance the “psychic” or revelatory abilities of one with spiritual gifts (the ability to communicate with the dead or across dimensional boundaries? See Law of One, Crystals). This is likely where the idea of gypsies with “crystal balls” came from and why in this account the author accounts that his grandmother used these to “tell fortunes”. In the Book of Mormon, Ammon warns of this type of misuse of seer stones saying, “no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should perish” (Alma 37:23).

Also of special note to Book of Mormon readers is the way in which the ancient authors of the Kolbrin reconciled their Egyptian (and Jewish?) concepts of God and a Messiah to the Christian concepts brought to them by early missionaries.

“13. How straightly comfortable a scribe am I, who reconciles the mystic daughter with the lowly mother! Who places the crystal-clear chalice beside the blood-filled golden cup! Who combines the divine circle with the eternal cross and the sorrowful son with the triumphant fighting father!” (Britain Book or BRT 5:13)

Also of interest is the section reminiscent of the “voice from heaven” in 3 Nephi 8-11 as well as other Old Testament revelations in the Book of Mormon.  In the Book of Gleenings an account is given of a revelation matching remarkably with that of Jeremiah and Isaiah regarding sacrifice and burnt offerings

GLN:15:1 The Voice of God came out of the Heavens unto His servants even before the days of Wunis, but in these days, it has come to certain of His Devoted Ones who heard it within the cavern of visions. Afterwards, each wrote it down according to his own hearing, and lo, when they came together, it was seen that each had recorded the same words. Thus, the things, which were heard by the three and set down by them in writing, all being agreed alike are things recorded forever.

GLN:15:2 “I am the Voice of God Who is the God of All Men and Ruler of their Hearts. I have many aspects and come differently to all men, I am the God of Many Faces. To you, My servants, I give these words, that they may be carried to all men. Obey My commands, and I will be your God. I will enlighten and instruct you, guiding you along the way. I desire your love and loyalty, and your adherence to My plans, but I do not desire your servility. I am not only your God, but your Commander, as well, and so I expect obedience and discipline, as befits those who prepare for harsh and grim battles such as those, which lie ahead.”

GLN:15:3 “My desire is for love rather than futile sacrifices of burnt offerings, but it should not be a passive love but one expressing service in My Cause. A certain knowledge of right and wrong, with free choice of the former, is of greater value in My sight than pointless, ritualistic worship. I derive no [30]pleasure from the wasteful shedding of blood from bulls and lambs. I gain nothing from the fat of sheep and the flesh of goats. I am the Creator of All, so what can men give that would increase My greatness? Men are misled if they believe that their sins can be purged by vain rituals. Only active goodness can obliterate the stain of sin…  (see GLN:15:1)

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KOLBRIN TEMPLE RITES

The Kolbrin incorporates these motifs into a secret temple rite which the “sons of light” participated in. (under construction. I’ll finish presenting the evidence here sometime. Also I need to finish adding the animal references below… and the Mithraism stuff — showing that Mithraism was actually just Israeli theology from the divergent group in Armenia which the Persians & West Hindus later adopted and mixed with their own myths.


“1.1 Herein are recorded sacred things, which should never be written, but the memory of man is like a storehouse made of straw… placing his trust fully in the protecting wings which are spread by the words issuing… 1.7 Look now at the great dark water mirror and see what is reflected there from the mists… 10. Even as it was in the Land of the Great River [Egypt], so let it be here. Let him not be cut off by distance.

1.29 O everlasting Kohar, take this man of goodness… he is the drop returning to the filled pitcher, the leaf returning to the tree [of life] 3.1 wearing white sandals and fine linen… many come bearing cakes of fine meal and barley cakes, large, fat-bodied fish and meats… honeywine in jars… his arm is strong and he issues his commands to the guardians… 3.8 If there be benevolent Life Shadows beyond the protective pale, they may enter…according to the rites of the Sons of Fire, and thus it shall be for those who enter the chambers of stone.

5.2 He has passed through the Wide Hall and through the Narrow Portal… He continues past the Place of Waiting Souls and sees the awaiting Kohars who will unite with the ascending spirits of men. He bears in his hand the Book of Life and glides over the pure pastures, past the bright dividing flame…”  5:4 The ferryman hesitates; he says, “Show me your token, that I may know you have truly passed the tests”… he is not of Earth, neither is he of Heaven. He is at the place where the two meet and intermingle.. He eats the fruit of the [sic] tree… 21.1 Lord of Life and Light, Creator of the Tree of Life, who made the herb and fruit to nourish men and grass to feed the cattle…  hear the cry of my spirit!  (Kolbrin, Sacred Registers, SCL ch 1-20)

Read the rest of the amazing temple rite in the Kolbrin

CONCERNING THE DRUIDS

The Kobrin teaches a substantial amount about the ancient religions of Britain and Druidism.

“BRT:9:2 Of the druids, it is said that Pair Keridwen, the Cauldron of Higher Love, represented to them the womb and that the fire, with which it was associated, was the lifeforce. It is said that the representation was in more than one form, but what this means none now knows. To become a druid required immersion in a bath with a decoction from the cauldron. After immersion for a prescribed time, the residue from the bath, infused with the man�s evil, was poured into a pit. His spirit was thus cleansed and renewed, but henceforth, any wrongdoing would have a twofold effect.

BRT:9:3 A band of Troubadours, being people who held some secret of life, came to Britain in the days when England was Saxonised. They had a secret book said to explain all the mysteries of life, but the book itself explained little; yet, they who followed the secret book became the wisest among men. Written words, when read without thought, are valueless, and this is how most men read. Troubadours have a secret place in the Ogmosian hills.”

BRT:5:14 In the beginning, only the Absolute existed in the firmament, called Nuvrie by the Britons and Kewgant by the Welsh of the west. The Spirit of Life spread outwards from the hub to form Gwinvidon, the region of light and the circle of spirituality. This opened out to Anton, which is the circle of germinal existence, at the inner edge of which was the circle of corporeality. This spread out to Abred, which is the material plane and the circle of trial, testing and tribulation. It is a place of experiment and experience for gaining knowledge, wisdom and spirituality. Below this is Anoon, the sea of souls. Here is the lake of unspecialised soul stuff, which is forged and fashioned in Abred and perfected in Gwinvidon. In Abred was the Garden of Karahemish, through which flowed the river Nara. Here dwelt Keili and Kithwin. Here were born Derwiddon, the first of the Druthin, Gwinidendon who composed the first song, and Tydain who was the first bard.

BRT:5:15 It is said that there were two classes of druids: the Dryones who were masters of medicine and divination, and the Druthin who were superior and gifted with twinsight and magic. The first had their seat at Abri, while the Druthin had their seat at Innisavalon, the island of indestructible apples.

BRT:5:16 The druids believed in the One Supreme Being, but also held that there was a body of lesser Beings. They believed in a fairyland of Nature Spirits, which manifested to mortals. All happenings were motivated by an interplay of unseen rays from The Source. Therefore, the running of a hare, flight of birds, fall of leaves, patterns in sand, the sound of waters, were meaningful.

BRT:5:17 Their seven deadly sins were: hypocrisy, theft, cowardice, fornication, gluttony, indolence and extortion. Above all precepts were the three manly qualities: honour, courage and manliness, and the three womanly qualities of decency, decorum and chastity. There were female temple attendants, but no female druids. The druids who taught were called Nemids. There were Waiths who knew the secrets of Nature, and these would not eat birds. Once every three years there was a firewalking.

BRT:5:18 Under the great night reflector, only four animals appear as ghosts: the dog, cat, horse and hare. The ghosts of these could be forewarners of the crack of doom. Will-o-the-wisps haunt the marshlands, but few are enlivened by ansis. Nick-o-the-nights haunt the stony places and fells.

BRT:5:19 Joseph Idewin and his brave band came to flowering Britain three years after the death of Jesus. He converted Gladys, sister of Caradew, who married a Roman, and her sister Aigra who was the wife of Salog, lord of Karsalog. After landing, he and his band passed through an avenue of oaks and standing stones. They first built huts over against the holy vineyard where the fruits were bitter.

BRT:5:20 After all the saints had gone to their rest, the first church and its surroundings became a wild place, a refuge for wild creatures. Then, as the land remained holy, saints came from Gaul, who restored it, and one was Fairgas the Briton, who had served at this place as a youth. Idewin was buried in a shirt of fine linen, which he had worn when burying Jesus, and which was stained with three spots of blood on the chest. He was buried by the two-forked cross. The saints had lived in twelve huts around a never diminishing well at the foot of the holy hill.

BRT:5:21 Joseph Idewin was related to Avalek, whose kingdom bordered that of Arviragus, through Anna the Unfaithful. He converted Claudia Rufina, the daughter of Caradew previously called Gladys, who married Pudens, a Roman, and had a daughter Pudentia. In his twenty-eighth year, Caradew was betrayed to the Romans by Arisia, queen of Bryantis. He married Genuissa, daughter of Claudius, to bind the peace agreement. The name �Caradew� means �filled with love,� but he preferred to use a warrior name.

THE DESTROYER

The destroyer is a Egyptian term given in the Kolbrin as the cause of catastrophic event mentioned over a dozen times in a few of the manuscripts of the Kolbrin. It almost certainly serves as the source material for Toltec, Aztec and Hindu Yuga creation and destruction cycles which I speak of elsewhere. The term is also used in the bible in verses such as Ex 12:23, 1 Sam 24:16 & Jer 48:8. But its important to note that the Kolbrin sections on the more biblical ‘Flood’ and ‘Exodus’ could very well be later additions to the text. Each reader will have to judge for themselves whether they believe the accounts of the destroyer are original.  The end of the more biblical sounding Exodus tale has a note by the scribe which perhaps suggests the section was written (or perhaps just translated?) much later in England, not Egypt at a later date than the earlier Egyptian texts.

This is written in this land and in our tongue by Leweddar who, himself, chose it for saving. It was not seen until the latter days. (MAN:6:48)

Regardless of one’s thoughts on the level of mythology or even later forgery possible in the Moses accounts of the Destroyer (its spoken of in many sections not related to Moses), I think its important to understand what the text says it is not.   It is not planet X or Nirubu. It sounds much more like a catastrophic CME event. The text says clearly,

MAN:5:1 …It was not a great comet or a loosened star, being more like a fiery body of flame.

MAN:5:2 Its movements on high were slow; below it swirled in the manner of smoke and it remained close to the sun, whose face it hid. There was a bloody redness about it, which changed as it passed along its course. It caused death and destruction in its rising and setting. It swept the Earth with grey cinder rain and caused many plagues, hunger and other evils. It bit the skin of men and beast until they became mottled with sores.

MAN:5:4 This was the aspect of the Doomshape, called the Destroyer, when it appeared in days long gone by, in olden times. It is thus described in the old records, few of which remain. It is said that when it appears in the Heavens above, Earth splits open from the heat, like a nut roasted before the fire. Then, flames shoot up through the surface and leap about like fiery fiends upon black blood. The moisture inside the land is all dried up, the pastures and cultivated places are consumed in flames, and they and all trees become white ashes.

MAN:5:5 The Doomshape is like a circling ball of flame, which scatters small fiery offspring in its train. It covers about a fifth part of the sky and sends writhing snakelike fingers down to Earth. Before it, the sky appears frightened, and it breaks up and scatters away. Midday is no brighter than night. It spawns a host of terrible things. These are things said of the Destroyer in the old records; read them with solemn heart, knowing that the Doomshape has its appointed time and will return. It would be foolish to let them go unheeded.

Note that these descriptions and the others not quoted here sound more like some kind of enormous solar flare or micronova which somehow rocks the earth’s axis to a degree which causes massive fissures, flood basalts and earthquakes in conjunction with strong red radiative aurora phenomena. The myth described in the text gives a cyclicity of 110 Egyptian generations (Which Oahspe puts at 33 years) or 3630 years. This author believes that if truly cyclical, these massive flares are simply the result of our Solar System encountering large gravity waves emanating out from Sagittarius A the middle of the Milky Way Galaxy, which in turn cause solar flares and reduced radiation protection from earth’s geomagnetic shield.  Oahspe gives a periodicity ranging from 3000 to 5000 years for crossing these waves.  A small true polar wandering event in conjunction with crossing the waves does seem to have been a real possibility given the evidence shown in the rapid change in distribution of ice age ice before radiocarbon dates of 9000 years ago.  See this application and associate article on true polar wandering events (TPWE). Note if such an event were to happen, it would undoubtedly greatly affect both carbon-dioxide and radiocarbon levels in the atmosphere causing C14 dates to give skewed results in a predictably skewed curve leading to a later stabilization point.

As far as the authenticity of the destroyer sections goes… there are 29 instances or usages of the term “destroyer” in the bible. Many of them matching the usage in the Kolbrin. So there seems to be some correlation, although each reader will have to judge if post-Christian Kolbrin translators/scribes borrowed the term from the Bible, or whether Biblical scribes who compiled the modern Old Testament between the days of Ezra and the Vulgate (500 – 300 BC) borrowed the term from the same Egyptian/Babylonian sources as the Kolbrin. See this list of biblical references to the destroyer.

STORY OF HURMANETAR AS GILGAMESH

Not only do these two stories follow the same basic plot line, but some aspects are nearly identical and form the basis of entire religious sects. For instance notice how even the Wikipedia article describes “Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the Bull of Heaven after which the gods decide to sentence Enkidu to death and kill him. In the second half of the epic, distress over Enkidu’s death causes Gilgamesh to undertake a long and perilous journey to discover the secret of eternal life.” In the Kolbrin the battle with “the Bull of Heaven” (GLN 7:9) leads to the death of Yadol in GLN:7:19/23, also causing Hurmanetar to take his journey in GLN chapter 8. (I’ll go through here when I get time and add the hundreds of correlations).

This story is obviously the foundation for Mithraism and the Mithraic mystery temple cults of both Persia and Rome. These cults not only form the basis of freemasonry cultic practices, but eastern Mithraism also shares amazing similarities to Christianity. (see articles like this one)

PLACE NAMES IN THE KOLBRIN

The kolbrin mentions many names of places, but most of them are in an old tongue difficult to correlate to modern places. A few exceptions include.
-The “fighting men of Sparsia” in SOF:12:13 is undoubtedly Sparta.  Especially since the land is associated with the “sea of the Great River past the lands of white copper”.  White copper was known in Greek times as ‘oreichalcos’, which was made by mixing tin and copper with a special earth called ‘calmia’ that came originally from the shores of the Black Sea.
-The “Land of Copper, which was the Land of The Golden Light” where “one man in twelve was a priest” was undoubtedly Crete & Cyprus, which anciently had the greatest copper mines in the Mediterranean.  In 570 BCE Cyprus was conquered by Egypt which may explain the markedly Egyptian traditions explained in SOF:13:14 of priests attempting to leave and reinhabit their bodies.
-The land of “Pontus” in MAN:24:3 where lions tails, cowhides, spices, worked and unworked ivory, blackwood, oils and paint are traded to Egypt is undoubtedly the land of ancient Punt.

-see this article for many more geographic correlations.

In the last 15 years since its publishing, the Kolbrin has gained an often cult-like following of supporters and defenders. Much like the Book of Mormon, these followers use their own cultural knowledge to attempt to find parallels between things found in the book and modern historical knowledge. See the Culdian Message Boards for examples.

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READ THE KOLBRIN

Find more information about the Kolbrin here at the Culdian Trust

Read the Kolbrin here and here.

There is also a version on archive.org here

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Ancient Histories of Britain (which can be used to corroborate Kolbrin Material)

De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae by 6th-century AD British cleric St Gildas

Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, by the English monk Saint Bede in the 8th-century

Historia Brittonum ascribed to Nennius

The 10th-century Annales Cambriae

Medieval Welsh genealogies (such as the Harleian Genealogies) and king-lists, the poems of Taliesin, the Welsh tale Culhwch and Olwen