Yes, today was a landmark day. I just finished the first draft of the novel Tennis Shoes Adventure Series, Book 11: Sorcerers and Seers. Don't get too fixated on whether the word "Sorcerers" comes first or "Seers." My publisher is still toying with that. Maybe they'll insist on another title altogether. Never can tell.
In any case, I just wanted to report that there is no greater feeling for an author than finishing up a book. Especially a book of this caliber and magnitude. The research was dizzying. The plot is mind-boggling. The book's length is actually 30,000 words longer than any book I have ever written. That means that it's 30,000 words longer than Kingdoms and Conquerors. But not so fast. I wouldn't take any initial report of the book's length too seriously. I still have several weeks of polishing on this puppy before I turn it over to the publisher. Usually a book ends up shrinking a bit during that process. But with all the polishing that I've done along the way I wouldn't expect it to shrink too much. This means the book will be one-fifth thicker than my previous "Tennis Shoes" volume. Yeah, so everyone is going to get one-fifth more story and suspense and action than they've gotten from any other TS adventure. Do I expect this to moderate the complaints about leaving characters in various binds and predicaments and not getting the next volume out quickly enough? Absolutely not. My readers are welcome to haunt me to the high heavens. The only thing worse than anxious readers is silent readers who don't care one way or the other. So feel free to complain, to vex, to torment, and to keep me on my toes and writing the next volume as swiftly as possible.
So I already know what everyone is wondering: When will the book be on the shelves? This Fall. That's the best estimate I can give you. And even that's just my best estimate. I gave the publisher all my suggestions for a cover months ago. I'm hoping it will involve a mammoth motiff. I don't care if its an entire mammoth, just the head, or even just a tusk. But mammoths are a fairly important part of this story. So the image seems appropriate. We'll see how the cover artists at Covenant end up executing such a concept. Maybe they'll go a completely different direction. Again, you never can tell.
I just wanted to take a moment at this late hour and revel in a massive feat accomplished. It's been five long years since I've released a "Tennis Shoes" novel. It seems like a lifetime ago. SEVERAL lifetimes ago. I know that many readers have born this burden with incredible patience. Some with not-so-incredible patience. But that's okay too—so long as you haven't given up on me. Many will feel a need to go back and re-read Volume 10 before diving into Volume 11. Maybe you'll feel a need to re-read the whole series! (I know that recently on family trips I've offered that opportunity to my own children, and I've been surprised at how many details I've forgotten!) To aid readers with the challenge of re-acclimating to the story I am including in this newest volume an exhaustive list of characters—at least of the characters who are mentioned in Sorcerers and Seers. That way it'll be easier to keep track of all the crazy Hebrew, Nephite, Roman, and Jaredite names—to say nothing of keeping track of all the modern characters, many of whom have been a big part of the story since the beginning. This quiet time-travel tale has become an epic unlike anything I could have ever imagined. (Okay, it was never that "quiet.)" But the challenge has been so indescribably rewarding. I've had the opportunity to explore subjects that no novelist has ever dared to explore. Did you realize this is the very first attempt ever to dramatize the setting for the battle of Cumorah? And yet I'm most proud of the way I've tackled events surrounding the last week in the life of the Savior. The moment I lose the courage to explore those kinds of things, I suppose it's time to hang up my keyboard (so to speak) and find another career.
Everyone already knows that this is not the end of the series, right? There will definitely be a Volume 12, tentatively entitled Thorns of Glory. So does Volume 11 leave the reader hanging? You betcha. Even the final sentence will drive readers nuts. Hey, it just wouldn't be a "Tennis Shoes" novel if it did anything less. But does Sorcerers and Seers contain some of most intense scenes and sequences I've ever written? Man, I sure hope so. I know many scenes were a bear to design and incorporate. And as for the cliffhanger thing, just remember my promise: I will be diving almost immediately into Volume 12. No five-year breaks. No in-between movie projects. I may spend part of the summer doing a sequel to Passage to Zarahemla, but this will be a breeze compared to the complexities of a Tennis Shoes volume. And there will a few surprises in all of these novels that I hope will thrill readers to the core.
I'm just so happy—SOOOOO happy!—to finally have it done.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
ETHER AND CORIANTUMR: A Legacy of Inspiration, Kingship, and Conflict
(Much of the following article was inspired by conversations with Dr. Lawrence Poulsen, PhD. in February, 2010. If you find any idea particularly intriguing, it probably came from him.) :)
Most Latter-day Saints don't waste much effort seeking intellectual evidences of their religion. Personal evidence--spiritual evidence--is enough. But if intellectual evidence were an important criteria of the Restored Gospel, and skeptics were faced with providing sound, sensible explanations as to how its doctrines and scriptures were conceived, the Book of Ether would be one of the more striking evidences.
Highlighting the Book of Ether, of course, does not undervalue the dynamic character of the entire Book of Mormon. But that 15-chapter segment commonly called, simply, Ether, presents an astonishing demonstration of complexity and depth that, by itself, withstands intense intellectual scrutiny. Had it been created by a fiction author with the intent of duping the human race for the remainder of world history, it might qualify as the most imaginative 15 chapters ever composed. It's only competition may be other segments of the Book of Mormon.
The genius of the Book of Ether is further emphasized when compared to the rest of the Book of Mormon text—not because the Book of Ether is superior in spiritual content, but because its literary style is so unique that an honest-minded investigator—even if they remained a skeptic—must dismiss the possibility that the Book of Mormon had a single author. The Book of Ether forces the proposition that, at the very least, a second author was involved. These 15 chapters are too original, too distinct from the rest of the text.
Many readers also perceive an obvious stylistic diversity from 2 Nephi to Jacob. Tedious wordprint studies conducted by professional statisticians at Berkeley, CA—including non-Latter-day Saints—show the unlikelihood that sections of the Book of Mormon attributed to Nephi are authored by the same individual who wrote sections attributed to Alma as high as 99.997% , i.e., an improbability of 1.3 x 10-14 (Hilton, John L., "On Verifying Wordprint Studies: Book of Mormon Authorship", BYU Studies 30/3 (1990): 89—108).
However, the need for scientists and statisticians is unnecessary when making such comparisons with the Book of Ether. An honest investigator should conclude, from common sense alone, that the Book of Ether was penned by a different author, eliminating any intellectual conclusion that Joseph Smith alone created this volume. In fairness, some Book of Mormon detractors are also resigned to a multi-author scenario (Tucker, Pomeroy, Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism, 1867, pg. 75; Jockers, Witten, and Criddle, Reassessing Authorship of the Book of Mormon, Literary and Linguistic Computing 23:4, Dec. 2008, 465-491). Even if no compelling evidence has been presented to support such an explanation, the "multiple authors" explanation seems to be a more intelligent and fair-minded theory as to Book of Mormon origins.
Of course, such exercises in logic are meaningless for those of us who have obtained by revelation a confirmation of the volume's veracity. But for those like me who find themselves in a perpetual state of bemusement wondering how it is that most Earthlings fail to see or perceive the Book of Mormon as an indominable testament of God's eternal Voice and immeasurable love, such contemplations remain ongoing.
Even habitual Book of Mormon readers and believers may miss the countless jewels and gems of the Book of Ether. Some may view much of it similarly to the war chapters of Alma—i.e., as a dull chronicling of events with limited spiritual value; merely chapter after chapter of synopsized history, kingly successions, rebellions, and spiritual retrenchments along with an unusual litany of personal and place names. The more impatient reader might find such information irrelevant compared to the rich doctrinal sermons of other sections of the Book of Mormon. Still, I believe the more patient and introspective reader will find Ether's record no less priceless or instructive. Most agree that the Lord, in guiding His prophets, Mormon and Moroni, would not have included irrelevant material in this spiritual volume. However, perceiving the relevance of some parts of the Book of Ether may take a bit more effort than usual. Gratefully, the reward for such efforts is that the entire volume takes on greater depth and meaning—spiritually, anthropologically, sociologically, and in many other categories.
The greater portion of this blog will contemplate the history of the Jaredites from the perspective of the Nephites and their contemporaries. Herein, I believe, lies the foundation of Ether's overwhelming influence and impact on world history. The first mention of the Jaredites--a kingdom more ancient than the Nephites and a nation that met with terrible destruction--is found in the short Book of Omni from the Small Plates of Nephi. As a reminder, the Small Plates are a record kept exclusively by Nephi and his direct lineage descendants. Theoretically, such a record might have continued uninterrupted for a thousand years. But when a certain descendant named Amaleki failed to produce progeny, he wisely turned the record over to his current monarch, King Benjamin of Zarahemla. Amaleki believed King Benjamin was a "just man" and trusted him to keep these records safe (Omni 1:25).
The words of Amaleki (which only comprise the latter portion of the Book of Omni) are brief, but highly complex. In the course of 18 verses Amaleki introduces us to not just one group or tribe heretofore unmentioned, but two. Before Amaleki mentions the Jaredites (or, in Amaleki's words, the "people of Coriantumr"), he speaks of another clan called the "people of Zarahemla." This group reputedly crossed the Atlantic Ocean at about the same time that Lehi crossed the Pacific. Zarahemla's people proclaimed themselves descendents of King Zedekiah of Old-world Jerusalem by way of a Judean prince named Mulek. For this reason the people of Zarahemla are sometimes called Mulekites. However, the term is sometimes viewed as misleading because the people of Zarahemla appear to have had a much wider genetic background than merely being descendants of Mulek. It may be wider than even Jews and Jaredites. The Jews were not shipbuildiers. Many have long proposed that another Mediterranean people, possibly Phoenicians or Greeks, aided Mulek in his escape from the Babylonian conquerors. The term "Mulekite" is not found in the Book of Mormon. It is used in this article for simplicity and convenience, but only with the understanding that it probably has the same broad and widely-inclusive definition that Mormon applied to terms like "Lamanite" and "Nephite" (see Jacob 1:13, Morm. 1:8).
What's immediately curious about the Mulekites is their sudden, voluntary subservience to the Nephites and King Mosiah (who I will refer to as Mosiah I). Apparently King Mosiah I and his Nephite followers—who were themselves refugees and outcasts from a place that had been their home for more than 400 years—found the Mulekites in a state of political and social disarray. Zarahemla himself is never referred to as a king. He appears to be a kind of "community representative" with considerable respect among his kinsmen. The scripture reveals that the Mulekites had not kept records and had suffered numerous wars, upheavals, and corruptions of doctrine (Omni 1:17). Therefore Zarahemla and his people embraced the Nephite arrival with "great rejoicing" (Omni 1:14). Mosiah I began offering formal instruction in the Nephite language (Omni 1:18), and the indiginous population supported the idea that Mosiah should become their political and spiritual leader (Omni 1:12).
The question is why? Why would any politically independent people so readily accept a newly-arrived foreign king? The answer seems to be records. Written records. Specifically mentioned are the Plates of Brass (Omni 1:14). Although Zarahemla could only offer a genealogy of his fathers according to tradition and memory (Omni 1:18), Mosiah could offer tangible documents, even records etched on metal plates. Apparently this was the single most influential factor behind the Mulekites embracing Mosiah and the Nephites as their political and cultural superiors.
However, later in the Book of Mormon, it appears that not all of the Mulekites supported Nephite rule. This seems to be demonstrated by their many rebellions, particularly rebellions inspired by those who supported kings over and above the "rule of law" and the system of chief judges and lesser judges established by King Mosiah II (see the index of the Book of Mormon and references to "king-men" and "dissenters" for numerous examples of these internal conflicts).
If nothing else, the example of what happened with Mosiah I and the people of Zarahemla demonstrates the power inherent in possessing permanent, accurate records. However, we may also find within the Book of Omni the first seeds of later conflicts that would inevitably provoke the Mulekites to reassert their political authority.
In the days of King Mosiah I a large engraved stone was brought to him. Amaleki tells us that King Mosiah I translated this stelae by the gift and power of God (Omni 1:20). The source of this stone is not revealed, but we may assume that it was written by Mulekites who lived in the same region as the last surviving Jaredite king, Coriantumr.
Coriantumr, after slaying his chief rival, Shiz, at the Hill Ramah/Cumorah was later discovered by the people of Zarahemla. Coriantumr then dwelt among this people for the space of nine moons (Omni 1:21). At the end of Ether's record, Ether references a command from God that he "go forth" and witness that the "words of the Lord had all been fulfilled (Eth. 15:33)." These words being referred to consititue a warning that Ether had delivered to Coriantumr wherein the king was told that "if he would repent...the Lord would give unto him his kingdom and spare his people--Otherwise they should be destroyed, and all his household save it were himself" and that he would live to see "another people receiving the land for their inheritance (Ether 13:20-21)." Well, Coriantumr did not heed the Lord's warning. He did not repent. So there toward the end, Ether was commanded to follow Coriantumr so that he might witness that all the Lord's words concerning Coriantumr were fulfilled. We are not told if Ether was Coriantumr's traveling companion or whether he followed Coriantumr in secret, but the Lord's assignment to Ether is clear: he was to witness Coriantumr's actions up to and until the day Coriantumr died and affirm in writing that the Lord's words had been fulfilled.
It can be presumed that the region where Coriantumr died was also the area where Ether deposited his record, that is, the 24 gold plates. This record was first translated by Mosiah II, but perhaps not widely distributed until the days of Helaman, son of Alma. Alma commanded Helaman to distribute the contents and lessons of the 24 gold plates to his people, the Nephites--all but those sections outlining the secret oaths and combinations of the wicked (see Alma 37:21-30). We assume Helaman fulfilled this command, but no specific mention of the record of Ether is made again until Moroni is faced with the daunting task of condensing Ether's words by at least 99 percent for inclusion upon the plates created by his father, Mormon (see Ether 15:33).
The 24 gold plates were initially discovered by an expedition of Nephites who hailed from an isolated Nephite community in the land of Nephi. The community was unique in its own right, mostly because it was smack in the middle of territory dominated by Lamanites. A certain king among these Nephites named Limhi sent an expedition of forty-three men to search out the land of Zarahemla. Limhi's intentions were to entreat his kinsmen to come to their aid against their city's oppressive Lamanite taskmasters. But instead of Zarahemla, Limhi's expedition traveled "among a land of many waters" and found crumbling buildings, human bones, and cankering swords (Mosiah 8:7-11, 21:25-28). In addition, they found Ether's 24 gold plates—the very plates Ether deposited shortly after the death of Coriantumr, or about two-hundred and fifty years prior to the expedition's arrival (Ether 15:33).
Again, we should be reminded, the stone stelae that Mosiah I translated and Ether's 24 gold plates are two separate documents. However, they appear to record many of the same events in Jaredite history. Book of Mormon references appear to support the notion that the stone stelae translated by Mosiah I was initially created and etched by the people of Zarahemla around 300-400 B.C., or several hundred years before Mosiah I's migration to Zarahemla. This would have also been prior to when a precipitous decline in literacy took place among the Mulekite populace. In other words, the stone was etched before the language of the people of Zarahemla became corrupted and unreadable. This presumption is based upon the Book of Omni and the stelae's emphasis upon the story of Coriantumr and his nine-month sojourn among the Mulekite's ancestors. It seems very unlikely that the stone would have been carved by Ether. After all, he'd already recorded the Jaredite's history upon plates. Likewise, it seems unlikely that it would have been written by King Coriantumr. Stone engraving is a specialized skill that a warrior-king like Coriantumr in all likelihood did not possess. Therefore, it seems most plausible that it would have been composed in the original, uncorrupted language of the people of Zarahemla (possibly at Coriantumr's dictation).
It also seems unlikely that the stone tablet was created or etched in the environs of Zarahemla where it eventually came into the hands of Mosiah I. More likely, it was carved in the region where Coriantumr had dwelled for nine moons. This was apparently the same area where Ether deposited the 24 gold plates. So where was this region?
As we recall, the Lord commanded Ether to "Go forth" and witness the fulfillment of the Lord's words to Coriantumr (Eth. 15:32). Therefore, we must presume that Ether gathered up his 24 plates, left the region of Ramah/Cumorah, and followed King Coriantumr, somehow observing first-hand the moment when the Jaredite king was "discovered" by the people of Zarahemla. No doubt Ether remained nearby until Coriantumr's death. After Coriantumr's death, the life work of Ether would have been fulfilled. He could now deposit the 24 plates in the place where Limhi's explorers would eventually find them. His mission complete, Ether concludes his record by saying, "Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am saved in the kingdom of God. Amen. (Eth. 15:34)."
A popular geographical proposal for the location of the "land of many waters" in the vicinity where Limhi's expedition found the 24 gold plates, and approximately where Coriantumr lived for nine moons, is along the Gulf of Mexico between Campeche and Tabasco in an area of complex lagoons, deltas, and swamps (Allen, Joseph, Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon Vol. 2, pg. 636,667; http://poulsenll.org/bom/tworivers.html).
This raises several interesting questions: If the Mulekite stalae mentioned in Omni was created in the same region where Coriantumr died and where Ether deposited his 24 gold plates, why was the stelae eventually carried into the mountainous region of the city of Zarahemla? Certainly this wasn't the only record composed by literate Mulekites. Before their language was corrupted, they likely made a concerted effort to keep some kind of history and genealogy, just as other literate peoples in ancient times. So why transport this particular record upriver? Why were the people of Zarahemla so anxious that Mosiah I translate this specific stone tablet?
Answering these questions must accompany many suppositions, but the picture drawn by such suppositions may help us understand the essential Mesoamerican traditions of kingship rights based upon a solid genealogical pedigree. This tradition--that future kings must have genealogical ties to former kings--is rooted in many ancient cultures, but particularly in Mesoamerica. And proving one's royal pedigree is always best accomplished by tangible, deciperable records. This, I believe, is why Mosiah I was so readily accepted as Zarahemla's king. The Brass Plates, as well as the records and geneologies of Nephi that traced Mosiah I's lineage back to Lehi (and probably all the way to Joseph of Egypt (1 Ne. 19:2)), put the stamp of approval upon Mosiah I's spiritual and political leadership. Because the Mulekites had experienced several generations of war and upheaval and could only cite their lineage by oral tradition, they could not offer a competing pedigree. Now, this should not imply that Zarahemla himself was not a noble and humble man who naturally vacillated toward Mosiah I's exemplary character and spirituality. But because pedigree was so important among the ancients, it cannot be denied that the Nephites' written records went a long way toward convincing the general Mulekite populace to acquiesce to Mosiah I's leadership.
However, not every Mulekite may have been hunky-dory with the notion of Nephite domination. It's also possible that some Nephites flaunted their supposed "cultural superiority" and caused serious offense. Whatever the case, some Mulekites may not have appreciated the new class status that was seemingly heaped upon them. This same resentment, percolating for several generations, may have eventually inspired the King-men rebellions in the days of Amalickiah, Captain Moroni, and beyond.
Interestingly, the first hint we receive that the people of Zarahemla may have attempted to reassert their pedigree rights may trace back to when Mosiah I was first asked to translate the stone tablet that told of King Coriantumr and the Jaredites. Again, why was Mosiah I asked to translate this particular stelae? Was it merely overwhelming curiousity about the downfall of the Jaredites or something more? Again, why did the Mulekites transport this potentially heavy, awkward, and fragile stone from the region of "many waters," where Coriantumr died, all the way to the city of Zarahemla? By reading "between the lines" of the scriptural text, a story emerges that may explain much of the bitterness and prejudice that inspired tragic events over the next century and a half or until the visitation of Jesus Christ.
First, let's return to the subject of King Coriantumr. We are not told what Coriantumr did during those nine months among the people of Zarahemla. Most readers have presumed that he was an elderly, weakened, and heartbroken figure who fell ill and soon expired. The Book of Mormon confirms none of these presumptions. The Prophet Ether records that on several occasions during the Jaredite civil war Coriantumr offered to surrender to his adversaries in an effort to spare the lives of his people. However, his efforts always fell apart, presumably because the hatred and bloodlust of Coriantumr's troops was insatiable. Basically, "Satan had full power over the hearts of the people (Eth. 15:19)" There is no evidence that Coriantumr ever really pushed his efforts to surrender. It seemed almost as a fleeting thought--at attack of cconscience--that Coriantumr sometimes experience, and which he later suppressed. Also, Shiz would only agree to Coriantumr's offer if Coriantumr was willing to lay his own life on the line, allowing himself to be executed. Apparently self-preservation was of greater value to Coriantumr than the lives of his people. No event is ever recorded wherein the Jaredite King personally attempted to surrender his weapons. Instead, Coriantumr fought to the bitter end, inevitably beheading his last opponent, Shiz. So his sincerity at surrendering is brought into serious question. His ultimate refusal to surrender--even for the sake of his people--reinforces the scriptural claim that Coriantumr and his people were too far gone--too much under Satan's control--and somehow no longer able to commit to lasting repentence.
Upon being discovered by the people of Zarahemla, what might we expect from a corrupt king who was currently without a kingdom? If the people he encountered were a mixture of races, including Jaredites, Mulekites, and possibly other kinships, it seems reasonable to assume that Coriantumr would have tried to rally supporters in favor of his ruling pedigree. Among the people of Zarahemla there appears to have been a powerful Jaredite contingent. This is evidenced in many of the names we find among the Nephites after their arrival in Zarahemla. Names like Teancum, Korihor, Morianton, Nehor, and even Moroni (probably a derivation of the Jaredite name Moron) reveal that Jaredite cultural roots remained firmly entrenched among the Nephites. Therefore, Coriantumr's claim that he belonged to a line of kings tracing back to the same Jared who crossed the ocean at the time of the Great Tower would have been powerful stuff, especially to any person with Jaredite heritage. If Coriantumr asserted such claims, it may have ignited civil conflicts before and/or after Coriantumr's demise. We are never told the cause of Coriantumrs' death. Could it have been the result of violence?
The explorers of King Limhi, while searching for Zarahemla, discovered a land whose populace was once as "numerous as the hosts of Israel (Mosiah 8:8)." Now those "hosts" were gone. Their civilization was in ruins. Many Latter-day Saints of decades past have concluded that the conflict referenced by Limhi's explorers was the Jaredite battle at Ramah/Cumorah. This is unlikely. Such a battle would have taken place more than two centuries before the explorers' arrival. In Mesoamerica's climate physical remains--bodies and bones--don't last more than a decade or two. Within thirty or forty years most of these remains would have decayed and returned to the earth, especially if left out in the open (as the bodies reportedly encountered apparently were). It's also unlikely that such destruction was the result of a civil conflict inspired by Coriantumr during his nine-month sojourn. The same factors of earthly decay would apply. The conflict discovered by Limhi's men cannot presently be identified. Could this conflict have had its roots in political rancor originally stoked decades earlier by King Coriantumr? Again, it's impossible to say, but not implausible.
Coriantumr was discovered by a people who were not his direct subjects and therefore had not participated in the wider Jaredite conflict. However, if Coriantumr remained true to character, it's certainly plausible that he would continue to seek power. His very presence might provoke political division. Whether Coriantumr died by violence or natural causes is not stated in the Book of Mormon—only that his days among the Mulekites were "nine moons." However, those nine months had a significant and lasting impact upon the people of Zarahemla. This Jaredite King was not soon forgotten, as is evidenced by the stone stelae transported to Zarahemla that preserved his story and was eventually translated by Mosiah I.
The question is sometimes asked: Why did Limhi's explorers fail to find Zarahemla? But such a mistake becomes easier to comprehend when one studies the terrain that is proposed by the vast majority of LDS researchers. The answer is that Limhi's explorers, in their efforts to find Zarahemla, simply followed the wrong river system.
But how did the Nephites forget the location of Zarahemla in the first place? Remember, this branch of Nephites had been isolated in the land of Nephi for about three generations. Apparently no usable maps had been preserved. As a result, the only surviving information to guide them came from oral traditions and rumors. Such traditions likely asserted that Zarahemla was located on the western banks of a prominent river whose headwaters began in the mountains northeast of the land of Nephi. This area is sometimes identified in the Book of Mormon as the "narrow strip of wilderness" which separates the land of Nephi from the land of Zarahemla (Alma 22:27). Most LDS researchers identify this "narrow strip of wilderness" as the highlands of Guatemala, or more specifically, the Cuchumatanes Mountain range which runs east/west from the Pacific to Atlantic.
There are two major rivers that begin in these highlands and flow northward to the Gulf of Mexico. Both rivers—the Grijalva and the Usumacinta—spring out of the earth a short distance from each other (about 20 or 30 miles), yet they follow a very different course across Guatemala and southern Mexico. According to some LDS researchers, if the expedition of Limhi did something as seemingly innocent and mundane as follow the Usumacinta instead of the Grijalva, not only would they fail to find Zarahemla, but the river would take them to the very region that some LDS researchers have long proposed as the "land of many waters" spoken of in Mosiah. If this is true, such "waters" would today comprise much of the delta of both of these river systems, as they finally reach the Gulf of Mexico in the vicinity of Villahermosa, Mexico (Allen, Joseph, Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon, Vol. 2, pg. 574).
If Limhi's explorers had continued along the coast, they might have eventually confronted sites like La Venta and other Olmec ruins that non-LDS archeologists such as Matthew Sterling and Michael Coe describe as being abandoned between 400 and 300 B.C.--a time synonomous with the Jaredite destruction. (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/vent/hd_vent.htm).
However, other ruins in this area may stand a greater likelihood of being encountered by Limhi's expedition. Such sites also date to the time period of Limhi, but archaeological research and field work remains incomplete and ongoing. The most intriguing of these ruins may be Comalcalco, an ancient seaport located very close to where the Grihalva and Usumacinta Rivers empty into the sea.
Comalcalco is an archaeological ruin unfamiliar to most Latter-day Saints, despite current debates raging among present-day Mesoamericanists that Latter-day Saints would find particularly intriguing. Most mainstream researchers classify it as "Mayan" despite many anomolies which place these ruins in a different category altogether. Comalcalco appears to be the only location in Mesoamerica where buildings were constructed using fired-clay bricks. Such bricks are held together by an ingenious technique of using mortar made from oyster shells. Many of these bricks have symbols inscribed on the back. The practice of inscribing symbols on the back of bricks is sometimes called a "mason's fingerprint." Such a custom was formerly known only among ancient Romans and their trade allies. Yet this is only the beginning of Comalcalco's mysteries. Many of the complex inscriptions on these bricks are identical (note that I said identical, not similar) to symbols found at Roman, Minoan, and ancient Greek sites.
This has ignited a firestorm of controversy that mainstream researchers are thus far unwilling to address. The whole site just doesn't fit into current archaeological paradigms. A growing number of archaeologists now propose that ancient Comalcalco somehow had contact with Roman traders. Roman measuring systems and architectual styles appear to have been employed in numerous structures. Roman figurines have been discovered, as well as carvings and masks of people sporting beards or hats--images that are extremely rare in the New World. Pre-columbian horse bones have also been reported as well as the DNA of Old World parasites.
For decades Archaeologists dated the height of this community at 500 A.D. to 900 A.D. However, the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico changed its previous dating to 100 B.C.- 600 A.D. (Neile Steede,"Update Comalcalco" in La Sociedad de Epigrafia Mexico vol 2, No 1, 1985 Pgs1-10). Nevertheless, the work of dating and analyzing this site is very much a work in progress. Some artifacts of Comalcalco date back as early as 500-600 B.C. Among these artifacts may be those inscribed bricks, which appear to have been recovered from an older structure and "re-used" in pyramids built at a later date. (Steede. Neil; "The Bricks of Comalcalco," Ancient American, 1:8, September/October 1994; Fell, Barry; "The Comalcalco Bricks: Part 1, the Roman Phase," Occasional Papers, Epigraphic Society, 19:299, 1990; http://www.delange.org/Comalcalco/Comalcalco.htm; http://mexicolesstraveled.com/comalcalco.htm.)
It's too early to draw any firm conclusion about Comalcalco and its relationship to the Book of Mormon. Discoveries made at Comalcalco seems to be one example where LDS researchers have maintained a disciplined silence, allowing non-LDS researchers to continue their work unimpeded by even the appearance of LDS bias. No LDS researcher, as far as I am aware, has publicized the obvious, almost mouth-watering, correlations that Comalcalco may have with the Book of Mormon. The site could easily become a subject of lengthy analysis for multiple LDS researchers. Hopefully someone will take up such a task soon enough. But for the time being, and for this particular article, we'll maintain our focus upon Ether and the Jaredites.
By asking Mosiah I to translate the stone tablet that was now unreadable to the people of Zarahemla, a few Mulekite observers may have hoped that Mosiah I's translation would restore their rights of leadership and lineage authority. Maybe they hoped that a written record could finally be presented to compete with the written records of the Nephites. After all, if they could prove that Zarahemla, or some other member of their community, had descended from Jared or Coriantumr, would Mosiah I have been forced to abdicate his throne and restore authority to the region's original inhabitants?
If so, these same political elements among the people of Zarahemla might have harbored similar hopes regarding the 24 gold plates brought to Zarahemla and translated by Mosiah II. In order to justify a political movement such as the one motivated by King-men, proponents must accumulate convincing arguments. This is how one musters support and gains followers. As always, the best way to establish ancient King-ship arguments with the general populace is with records and documents. All the better if the majority of supporters are illiterate and if the "interpreters" of such documents are those who actually seek power. So did the King-men find what they were looking for in Ether's plates? Without the entire text, this question is impossible to answer. But apparently the King-men found all the justification they needed, whether in these records or elsewhere. In any case, revolutionaries like Amalikiah and others managed to orchestrate a nearly-successful effort to throw out the system of judges established by Mosiah II and restore a system of kings--probably
kings with a Mulekite or Jaredite bloodline.
Even if this scenario answers questions and offers some explanations behind political dynamics among the Nephites prior to the Savior's advent, much work is still to be done connecting the dots. This blog is meant to raise questions, present ideas, and provide a foundation for future researchers to build upon.
All such information continues to demonstrate that Ether's writings and the Jaredite culture had complex and farreaching social and political ramifications among the Nephites and other inhabitants of Mesoamerica long after the Jaredite destruction. As someone who often mourns such things as Martin Harris's lost 116 manuscript pages, and who yearns for the restoration of other documents and records cited in the Book of Mormon and elsewhere, it should come as no surprise that I also mourn that Moroni was forced to abridge Ether's writings down to 100th part of what Ether had originally composed on his 24 plates. Will we ever receive such missing information? I think we will. In fact, the Lord has promised that more records are forthcoming. When that day arrives, it will be a day of much rejoicing among faithful Latter-day Saints. In the meantime, those 15 miraculous chapters of Ether, even as abridged by Moroni, will suffice.
May we perpetually study these scriptures with renewed faith and re-opened eyes, making our hearts and minds available to the Spirit's seemingly endless insights. We've been instructed that it is only after we learn to appreciate and understand the inspired words that God has already given us that we will finally be found worthy to receive more.
I, for one, look forward to such days with great anticipation.
(c) Copyright 2010, Chris Heimerdinger
Most Latter-day Saints don't waste much effort seeking intellectual evidences of their religion. Personal evidence--spiritual evidence--is enough. But if intellectual evidence were an important criteria of the Restored Gospel, and skeptics were faced with providing sound, sensible explanations as to how its doctrines and scriptures were conceived, the Book of Ether would be one of the more striking evidences.
Highlighting the Book of Ether, of course, does not undervalue the dynamic character of the entire Book of Mormon. But that 15-chapter segment commonly called, simply, Ether, presents an astonishing demonstration of complexity and depth that, by itself, withstands intense intellectual scrutiny. Had it been created by a fiction author with the intent of duping the human race for the remainder of world history, it might qualify as the most imaginative 15 chapters ever composed. It's only competition may be other segments of the Book of Mormon.
The genius of the Book of Ether is further emphasized when compared to the rest of the Book of Mormon text—not because the Book of Ether is superior in spiritual content, but because its literary style is so unique that an honest-minded investigator—even if they remained a skeptic—must dismiss the possibility that the Book of Mormon had a single author. The Book of Ether forces the proposition that, at the very least, a second author was involved. These 15 chapters are too original, too distinct from the rest of the text.
Many readers also perceive an obvious stylistic diversity from 2 Nephi to Jacob. Tedious wordprint studies conducted by professional statisticians at Berkeley, CA—including non-Latter-day Saints—show the unlikelihood that sections of the Book of Mormon attributed to Nephi are authored by the same individual who wrote sections attributed to Alma as high as 99.997% , i.e., an improbability of 1.3 x 10-14 (Hilton, John L., "On Verifying Wordprint Studies: Book of Mormon Authorship", BYU Studies 30/3 (1990): 89—108).
However, the need for scientists and statisticians is unnecessary when making such comparisons with the Book of Ether. An honest investigator should conclude, from common sense alone, that the Book of Ether was penned by a different author, eliminating any intellectual conclusion that Joseph Smith alone created this volume. In fairness, some Book of Mormon detractors are also resigned to a multi-author scenario (Tucker, Pomeroy, Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism, 1867, pg. 75; Jockers, Witten, and Criddle, Reassessing Authorship of the Book of Mormon, Literary and Linguistic Computing 23:4, Dec. 2008, 465-491). Even if no compelling evidence has been presented to support such an explanation, the "multiple authors" explanation seems to be a more intelligent and fair-minded theory as to Book of Mormon origins.
Of course, such exercises in logic are meaningless for those of us who have obtained by revelation a confirmation of the volume's veracity. But for those like me who find themselves in a perpetual state of bemusement wondering how it is that most Earthlings fail to see or perceive the Book of Mormon as an indominable testament of God's eternal Voice and immeasurable love, such contemplations remain ongoing.
Even habitual Book of Mormon readers and believers may miss the countless jewels and gems of the Book of Ether. Some may view much of it similarly to the war chapters of Alma—i.e., as a dull chronicling of events with limited spiritual value; merely chapter after chapter of synopsized history, kingly successions, rebellions, and spiritual retrenchments along with an unusual litany of personal and place names. The more impatient reader might find such information irrelevant compared to the rich doctrinal sermons of other sections of the Book of Mormon. Still, I believe the more patient and introspective reader will find Ether's record no less priceless or instructive. Most agree that the Lord, in guiding His prophets, Mormon and Moroni, would not have included irrelevant material in this spiritual volume. However, perceiving the relevance of some parts of the Book of Ether may take a bit more effort than usual. Gratefully, the reward for such efforts is that the entire volume takes on greater depth and meaning—spiritually, anthropologically, sociologically, and in many other categories.
The greater portion of this blog will contemplate the history of the Jaredites from the perspective of the Nephites and their contemporaries. Herein, I believe, lies the foundation of Ether's overwhelming influence and impact on world history. The first mention of the Jaredites--a kingdom more ancient than the Nephites and a nation that met with terrible destruction--is found in the short Book of Omni from the Small Plates of Nephi. As a reminder, the Small Plates are a record kept exclusively by Nephi and his direct lineage descendants. Theoretically, such a record might have continued uninterrupted for a thousand years. But when a certain descendant named Amaleki failed to produce progeny, he wisely turned the record over to his current monarch, King Benjamin of Zarahemla. Amaleki believed King Benjamin was a "just man" and trusted him to keep these records safe (Omni 1:25).
The words of Amaleki (which only comprise the latter portion of the Book of Omni) are brief, but highly complex. In the course of 18 verses Amaleki introduces us to not just one group or tribe heretofore unmentioned, but two. Before Amaleki mentions the Jaredites (or, in Amaleki's words, the "people of Coriantumr"), he speaks of another clan called the "people of Zarahemla." This group reputedly crossed the Atlantic Ocean at about the same time that Lehi crossed the Pacific. Zarahemla's people proclaimed themselves descendents of King Zedekiah of Old-world Jerusalem by way of a Judean prince named Mulek. For this reason the people of Zarahemla are sometimes called Mulekites. However, the term is sometimes viewed as misleading because the people of Zarahemla appear to have had a much wider genetic background than merely being descendants of Mulek. It may be wider than even Jews and Jaredites. The Jews were not shipbuildiers. Many have long proposed that another Mediterranean people, possibly Phoenicians or Greeks, aided Mulek in his escape from the Babylonian conquerors. The term "Mulekite" is not found in the Book of Mormon. It is used in this article for simplicity and convenience, but only with the understanding that it probably has the same broad and widely-inclusive definition that Mormon applied to terms like "Lamanite" and "Nephite" (see Jacob 1:13, Morm. 1:8).
What's immediately curious about the Mulekites is their sudden, voluntary subservience to the Nephites and King Mosiah (who I will refer to as Mosiah I). Apparently King Mosiah I and his Nephite followers—who were themselves refugees and outcasts from a place that had been their home for more than 400 years—found the Mulekites in a state of political and social disarray. Zarahemla himself is never referred to as a king. He appears to be a kind of "community representative" with considerable respect among his kinsmen. The scripture reveals that the Mulekites had not kept records and had suffered numerous wars, upheavals, and corruptions of doctrine (Omni 1:17). Therefore Zarahemla and his people embraced the Nephite arrival with "great rejoicing" (Omni 1:14). Mosiah I began offering formal instruction in the Nephite language (Omni 1:18), and the indiginous population supported the idea that Mosiah should become their political and spiritual leader (Omni 1:12).
The question is why? Why would any politically independent people so readily accept a newly-arrived foreign king? The answer seems to be records. Written records. Specifically mentioned are the Plates of Brass (Omni 1:14). Although Zarahemla could only offer a genealogy of his fathers according to tradition and memory (Omni 1:18), Mosiah could offer tangible documents, even records etched on metal plates. Apparently this was the single most influential factor behind the Mulekites embracing Mosiah and the Nephites as their political and cultural superiors.
However, later in the Book of Mormon, it appears that not all of the Mulekites supported Nephite rule. This seems to be demonstrated by their many rebellions, particularly rebellions inspired by those who supported kings over and above the "rule of law" and the system of chief judges and lesser judges established by King Mosiah II (see the index of the Book of Mormon and references to "king-men" and "dissenters" for numerous examples of these internal conflicts).
If nothing else, the example of what happened with Mosiah I and the people of Zarahemla demonstrates the power inherent in possessing permanent, accurate records. However, we may also find within the Book of Omni the first seeds of later conflicts that would inevitably provoke the Mulekites to reassert their political authority.
In the days of King Mosiah I a large engraved stone was brought to him. Amaleki tells us that King Mosiah I translated this stelae by the gift and power of God (Omni 1:20). The source of this stone is not revealed, but we may assume that it was written by Mulekites who lived in the same region as the last surviving Jaredite king, Coriantumr.
Coriantumr, after slaying his chief rival, Shiz, at the Hill Ramah/Cumorah was later discovered by the people of Zarahemla. Coriantumr then dwelt among this people for the space of nine moons (Omni 1:21). At the end of Ether's record, Ether references a command from God that he "go forth" and witness that the "words of the Lord had all been fulfilled (Eth. 15:33)." These words being referred to consititue a warning that Ether had delivered to Coriantumr wherein the king was told that "if he would repent...the Lord would give unto him his kingdom and spare his people--Otherwise they should be destroyed, and all his household save it were himself" and that he would live to see "another people receiving the land for their inheritance (Ether 13:20-21)." Well, Coriantumr did not heed the Lord's warning. He did not repent. So there toward the end, Ether was commanded to follow Coriantumr so that he might witness that all the Lord's words concerning Coriantumr were fulfilled. We are not told if Ether was Coriantumr's traveling companion or whether he followed Coriantumr in secret, but the Lord's assignment to Ether is clear: he was to witness Coriantumr's actions up to and until the day Coriantumr died and affirm in writing that the Lord's words had been fulfilled.
It can be presumed that the region where Coriantumr died was also the area where Ether deposited his record, that is, the 24 gold plates. This record was first translated by Mosiah II, but perhaps not widely distributed until the days of Helaman, son of Alma. Alma commanded Helaman to distribute the contents and lessons of the 24 gold plates to his people, the Nephites--all but those sections outlining the secret oaths and combinations of the wicked (see Alma 37:21-30). We assume Helaman fulfilled this command, but no specific mention of the record of Ether is made again until Moroni is faced with the daunting task of condensing Ether's words by at least 99 percent for inclusion upon the plates created by his father, Mormon (see Ether 15:33).
The 24 gold plates were initially discovered by an expedition of Nephites who hailed from an isolated Nephite community in the land of Nephi. The community was unique in its own right, mostly because it was smack in the middle of territory dominated by Lamanites. A certain king among these Nephites named Limhi sent an expedition of forty-three men to search out the land of Zarahemla. Limhi's intentions were to entreat his kinsmen to come to their aid against their city's oppressive Lamanite taskmasters. But instead of Zarahemla, Limhi's expedition traveled "among a land of many waters" and found crumbling buildings, human bones, and cankering swords (Mosiah 8:7-11, 21:25-28). In addition, they found Ether's 24 gold plates—the very plates Ether deposited shortly after the death of Coriantumr, or about two-hundred and fifty years prior to the expedition's arrival (Ether 15:33).
Again, we should be reminded, the stone stelae that Mosiah I translated and Ether's 24 gold plates are two separate documents. However, they appear to record many of the same events in Jaredite history. Book of Mormon references appear to support the notion that the stone stelae translated by Mosiah I was initially created and etched by the people of Zarahemla around 300-400 B.C., or several hundred years before Mosiah I's migration to Zarahemla. This would have also been prior to when a precipitous decline in literacy took place among the Mulekite populace. In other words, the stone was etched before the language of the people of Zarahemla became corrupted and unreadable. This presumption is based upon the Book of Omni and the stelae's emphasis upon the story of Coriantumr and his nine-month sojourn among the Mulekite's ancestors. It seems very unlikely that the stone would have been carved by Ether. After all, he'd already recorded the Jaredite's history upon plates. Likewise, it seems unlikely that it would have been written by King Coriantumr. Stone engraving is a specialized skill that a warrior-king like Coriantumr in all likelihood did not possess. Therefore, it seems most plausible that it would have been composed in the original, uncorrupted language of the people of Zarahemla (possibly at Coriantumr's dictation).
It also seems unlikely that the stone tablet was created or etched in the environs of Zarahemla where it eventually came into the hands of Mosiah I. More likely, it was carved in the region where Coriantumr had dwelled for nine moons. This was apparently the same area where Ether deposited the 24 gold plates. So where was this region?
As we recall, the Lord commanded Ether to "Go forth" and witness the fulfillment of the Lord's words to Coriantumr (Eth. 15:32). Therefore, we must presume that Ether gathered up his 24 plates, left the region of Ramah/Cumorah, and followed King Coriantumr, somehow observing first-hand the moment when the Jaredite king was "discovered" by the people of Zarahemla. No doubt Ether remained nearby until Coriantumr's death. After Coriantumr's death, the life work of Ether would have been fulfilled. He could now deposit the 24 plates in the place where Limhi's explorers would eventually find them. His mission complete, Ether concludes his record by saying, "Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am saved in the kingdom of God. Amen. (Eth. 15:34)."
A popular geographical proposal for the location of the "land of many waters" in the vicinity where Limhi's expedition found the 24 gold plates, and approximately where Coriantumr lived for nine moons, is along the Gulf of Mexico between Campeche and Tabasco in an area of complex lagoons, deltas, and swamps (Allen, Joseph, Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon Vol. 2, pg. 636,667; http://poulsenll.org/bom/tworivers.html).
This raises several interesting questions: If the Mulekite stalae mentioned in Omni was created in the same region where Coriantumr died and where Ether deposited his 24 gold plates, why was the stelae eventually carried into the mountainous region of the city of Zarahemla? Certainly this wasn't the only record composed by literate Mulekites. Before their language was corrupted, they likely made a concerted effort to keep some kind of history and genealogy, just as other literate peoples in ancient times. So why transport this particular record upriver? Why were the people of Zarahemla so anxious that Mosiah I translate this specific stone tablet?
Answering these questions must accompany many suppositions, but the picture drawn by such suppositions may help us understand the essential Mesoamerican traditions of kingship rights based upon a solid genealogical pedigree. This tradition--that future kings must have genealogical ties to former kings--is rooted in many ancient cultures, but particularly in Mesoamerica. And proving one's royal pedigree is always best accomplished by tangible, deciperable records. This, I believe, is why Mosiah I was so readily accepted as Zarahemla's king. The Brass Plates, as well as the records and geneologies of Nephi that traced Mosiah I's lineage back to Lehi (and probably all the way to Joseph of Egypt (1 Ne. 19:2)), put the stamp of approval upon Mosiah I's spiritual and political leadership. Because the Mulekites had experienced several generations of war and upheaval and could only cite their lineage by oral tradition, they could not offer a competing pedigree. Now, this should not imply that Zarahemla himself was not a noble and humble man who naturally vacillated toward Mosiah I's exemplary character and spirituality. But because pedigree was so important among the ancients, it cannot be denied that the Nephites' written records went a long way toward convincing the general Mulekite populace to acquiesce to Mosiah I's leadership.
However, not every Mulekite may have been hunky-dory with the notion of Nephite domination. It's also possible that some Nephites flaunted their supposed "cultural superiority" and caused serious offense. Whatever the case, some Mulekites may not have appreciated the new class status that was seemingly heaped upon them. This same resentment, percolating for several generations, may have eventually inspired the King-men rebellions in the days of Amalickiah, Captain Moroni, and beyond.
Interestingly, the first hint we receive that the people of Zarahemla may have attempted to reassert their pedigree rights may trace back to when Mosiah I was first asked to translate the stone tablet that told of King Coriantumr and the Jaredites. Again, why was Mosiah I asked to translate this particular stelae? Was it merely overwhelming curiousity about the downfall of the Jaredites or something more? Again, why did the Mulekites transport this potentially heavy, awkward, and fragile stone from the region of "many waters," where Coriantumr died, all the way to the city of Zarahemla? By reading "between the lines" of the scriptural text, a story emerges that may explain much of the bitterness and prejudice that inspired tragic events over the next century and a half or until the visitation of Jesus Christ.
First, let's return to the subject of King Coriantumr. We are not told what Coriantumr did during those nine months among the people of Zarahemla. Most readers have presumed that he was an elderly, weakened, and heartbroken figure who fell ill and soon expired. The Book of Mormon confirms none of these presumptions. The Prophet Ether records that on several occasions during the Jaredite civil war Coriantumr offered to surrender to his adversaries in an effort to spare the lives of his people. However, his efforts always fell apart, presumably because the hatred and bloodlust of Coriantumr's troops was insatiable. Basically, "Satan had full power over the hearts of the people (Eth. 15:19)" There is no evidence that Coriantumr ever really pushed his efforts to surrender. It seemed almost as a fleeting thought--at attack of cconscience--that Coriantumr sometimes experience, and which he later suppressed. Also, Shiz would only agree to Coriantumr's offer if Coriantumr was willing to lay his own life on the line, allowing himself to be executed. Apparently self-preservation was of greater value to Coriantumr than the lives of his people. No event is ever recorded wherein the Jaredite King personally attempted to surrender his weapons. Instead, Coriantumr fought to the bitter end, inevitably beheading his last opponent, Shiz. So his sincerity at surrendering is brought into serious question. His ultimate refusal to surrender--even for the sake of his people--reinforces the scriptural claim that Coriantumr and his people were too far gone--too much under Satan's control--and somehow no longer able to commit to lasting repentence.
Upon being discovered by the people of Zarahemla, what might we expect from a corrupt king who was currently without a kingdom? If the people he encountered were a mixture of races, including Jaredites, Mulekites, and possibly other kinships, it seems reasonable to assume that Coriantumr would have tried to rally supporters in favor of his ruling pedigree. Among the people of Zarahemla there appears to have been a powerful Jaredite contingent. This is evidenced in many of the names we find among the Nephites after their arrival in Zarahemla. Names like Teancum, Korihor, Morianton, Nehor, and even Moroni (probably a derivation of the Jaredite name Moron) reveal that Jaredite cultural roots remained firmly entrenched among the Nephites. Therefore, Coriantumr's claim that he belonged to a line of kings tracing back to the same Jared who crossed the ocean at the time of the Great Tower would have been powerful stuff, especially to any person with Jaredite heritage. If Coriantumr asserted such claims, it may have ignited civil conflicts before and/or after Coriantumr's demise. We are never told the cause of Coriantumrs' death. Could it have been the result of violence?
The explorers of King Limhi, while searching for Zarahemla, discovered a land whose populace was once as "numerous as the hosts of Israel (Mosiah 8:8)." Now those "hosts" were gone. Their civilization was in ruins. Many Latter-day Saints of decades past have concluded that the conflict referenced by Limhi's explorers was the Jaredite battle at Ramah/Cumorah. This is unlikely. Such a battle would have taken place more than two centuries before the explorers' arrival. In Mesoamerica's climate physical remains--bodies and bones--don't last more than a decade or two. Within thirty or forty years most of these remains would have decayed and returned to the earth, especially if left out in the open (as the bodies reportedly encountered apparently were). It's also unlikely that such destruction was the result of a civil conflict inspired by Coriantumr during his nine-month sojourn. The same factors of earthly decay would apply. The conflict discovered by Limhi's men cannot presently be identified. Could this conflict have had its roots in political rancor originally stoked decades earlier by King Coriantumr? Again, it's impossible to say, but not implausible.
Coriantumr was discovered by a people who were not his direct subjects and therefore had not participated in the wider Jaredite conflict. However, if Coriantumr remained true to character, it's certainly plausible that he would continue to seek power. His very presence might provoke political division. Whether Coriantumr died by violence or natural causes is not stated in the Book of Mormon—only that his days among the Mulekites were "nine moons." However, those nine months had a significant and lasting impact upon the people of Zarahemla. This Jaredite King was not soon forgotten, as is evidenced by the stone stelae transported to Zarahemla that preserved his story and was eventually translated by Mosiah I.
The question is sometimes asked: Why did Limhi's explorers fail to find Zarahemla? But such a mistake becomes easier to comprehend when one studies the terrain that is proposed by the vast majority of LDS researchers. The answer is that Limhi's explorers, in their efforts to find Zarahemla, simply followed the wrong river system.
But how did the Nephites forget the location of Zarahemla in the first place? Remember, this branch of Nephites had been isolated in the land of Nephi for about three generations. Apparently no usable maps had been preserved. As a result, the only surviving information to guide them came from oral traditions and rumors. Such traditions likely asserted that Zarahemla was located on the western banks of a prominent river whose headwaters began in the mountains northeast of the land of Nephi. This area is sometimes identified in the Book of Mormon as the "narrow strip of wilderness" which separates the land of Nephi from the land of Zarahemla (Alma 22:27). Most LDS researchers identify this "narrow strip of wilderness" as the highlands of Guatemala, or more specifically, the Cuchumatanes Mountain range which runs east/west from the Pacific to Atlantic.
There are two major rivers that begin in these highlands and flow northward to the Gulf of Mexico. Both rivers—the Grijalva and the Usumacinta—spring out of the earth a short distance from each other (about 20 or 30 miles), yet they follow a very different course across Guatemala and southern Mexico. According to some LDS researchers, if the expedition of Limhi did something as seemingly innocent and mundane as follow the Usumacinta instead of the Grijalva, not only would they fail to find Zarahemla, but the river would take them to the very region that some LDS researchers have long proposed as the "land of many waters" spoken of in Mosiah. If this is true, such "waters" would today comprise much of the delta of both of these river systems, as they finally reach the Gulf of Mexico in the vicinity of Villahermosa, Mexico (Allen, Joseph, Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon, Vol. 2, pg. 574).
If Limhi's explorers had continued along the coast, they might have eventually confronted sites like La Venta and other Olmec ruins that non-LDS archeologists such as Matthew Sterling and Michael Coe describe as being abandoned between 400 and 300 B.C.--a time synonomous with the Jaredite destruction. (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/vent/hd_vent.htm).
However, other ruins in this area may stand a greater likelihood of being encountered by Limhi's expedition. Such sites also date to the time period of Limhi, but archaeological research and field work remains incomplete and ongoing. The most intriguing of these ruins may be Comalcalco, an ancient seaport located very close to where the Grihalva and Usumacinta Rivers empty into the sea.
Comalcalco is an archaeological ruin unfamiliar to most Latter-day Saints, despite current debates raging among present-day Mesoamericanists that Latter-day Saints would find particularly intriguing. Most mainstream researchers classify it as "Mayan" despite many anomolies which place these ruins in a different category altogether. Comalcalco appears to be the only location in Mesoamerica where buildings were constructed using fired-clay bricks. Such bricks are held together by an ingenious technique of using mortar made from oyster shells. Many of these bricks have symbols inscribed on the back. The practice of inscribing symbols on the back of bricks is sometimes called a "mason's fingerprint." Such a custom was formerly known only among ancient Romans and their trade allies. Yet this is only the beginning of Comalcalco's mysteries. Many of the complex inscriptions on these bricks are identical (note that I said identical, not similar) to symbols found at Roman, Minoan, and ancient Greek sites.
This has ignited a firestorm of controversy that mainstream researchers are thus far unwilling to address. The whole site just doesn't fit into current archaeological paradigms. A growing number of archaeologists now propose that ancient Comalcalco somehow had contact with Roman traders. Roman measuring systems and architectual styles appear to have been employed in numerous structures. Roman figurines have been discovered, as well as carvings and masks of people sporting beards or hats--images that are extremely rare in the New World. Pre-columbian horse bones have also been reported as well as the DNA of Old World parasites.
For decades Archaeologists dated the height of this community at 500 A.D. to 900 A.D. However, the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico changed its previous dating to 100 B.C.- 600 A.D. (Neile Steede,"Update Comalcalco" in La Sociedad de Epigrafia Mexico vol 2, No 1, 1985 Pgs1-10). Nevertheless, the work of dating and analyzing this site is very much a work in progress. Some artifacts of Comalcalco date back as early as 500-600 B.C. Among these artifacts may be those inscribed bricks, which appear to have been recovered from an older structure and "re-used" in pyramids built at a later date. (Steede. Neil; "The Bricks of Comalcalco," Ancient American, 1:8, September/October 1994; Fell, Barry; "The Comalcalco Bricks: Part 1, the Roman Phase," Occasional Papers, Epigraphic Society, 19:299, 1990; http://www.delange.org/Comalcalco/Comalcalco.htm; http://mexicolesstraveled.com/comalcalco.htm.)
It's too early to draw any firm conclusion about Comalcalco and its relationship to the Book of Mormon. Discoveries made at Comalcalco seems to be one example where LDS researchers have maintained a disciplined silence, allowing non-LDS researchers to continue their work unimpeded by even the appearance of LDS bias. No LDS researcher, as far as I am aware, has publicized the obvious, almost mouth-watering, correlations that Comalcalco may have with the Book of Mormon. The site could easily become a subject of lengthy analysis for multiple LDS researchers. Hopefully someone will take up such a task soon enough. But for the time being, and for this particular article, we'll maintain our focus upon Ether and the Jaredites.
By asking Mosiah I to translate the stone tablet that was now unreadable to the people of Zarahemla, a few Mulekite observers may have hoped that Mosiah I's translation would restore their rights of leadership and lineage authority. Maybe they hoped that a written record could finally be presented to compete with the written records of the Nephites. After all, if they could prove that Zarahemla, or some other member of their community, had descended from Jared or Coriantumr, would Mosiah I have been forced to abdicate his throne and restore authority to the region's original inhabitants?
If so, these same political elements among the people of Zarahemla might have harbored similar hopes regarding the 24 gold plates brought to Zarahemla and translated by Mosiah II. In order to justify a political movement such as the one motivated by King-men, proponents must accumulate convincing arguments. This is how one musters support and gains followers. As always, the best way to establish ancient King-ship arguments with the general populace is with records and documents. All the better if the majority of supporters are illiterate and if the "interpreters" of such documents are those who actually seek power. So did the King-men find what they were looking for in Ether's plates? Without the entire text, this question is impossible to answer. But apparently the King-men found all the justification they needed, whether in these records or elsewhere. In any case, revolutionaries like Amalikiah and others managed to orchestrate a nearly-successful effort to throw out the system of judges established by Mosiah II and restore a system of kings--probably
kings with a Mulekite or Jaredite bloodline.
Even if this scenario answers questions and offers some explanations behind political dynamics among the Nephites prior to the Savior's advent, much work is still to be done connecting the dots. This blog is meant to raise questions, present ideas, and provide a foundation for future researchers to build upon.
All such information continues to demonstrate that Ether's writings and the Jaredite culture had complex and farreaching social and political ramifications among the Nephites and other inhabitants of Mesoamerica long after the Jaredite destruction. As someone who often mourns such things as Martin Harris's lost 116 manuscript pages, and who yearns for the restoration of other documents and records cited in the Book of Mormon and elsewhere, it should come as no surprise that I also mourn that Moroni was forced to abridge Ether's writings down to 100th part of what Ether had originally composed on his 24 plates. Will we ever receive such missing information? I think we will. In fact, the Lord has promised that more records are forthcoming. When that day arrives, it will be a day of much rejoicing among faithful Latter-day Saints. In the meantime, those 15 miraculous chapters of Ether, even as abridged by Moroni, will suffice.
May we perpetually study these scriptures with renewed faith and re-opened eyes, making our hearts and minds available to the Spirit's seemingly endless insights. We've been instructed that it is only after we learn to appreciate and understand the inspired words that God has already given us that we will finally be found worthy to receive more.
I, for one, look forward to such days with great anticipation.
(c) Copyright 2010, Chris Heimerdinger
Thursday, January 14, 2010
MORMON: A MAN FORBIDDEN TO PREACH--WHO PREACHED ANYWAY/ Resolving a possible textual contradiction in the Book of Mormon
One of the marvelous opportunities that comes to me while slaving away at writing a Tennis Shoes novel is that I am forced to address topics that I had never previously considered. Such has been the case on several occasions as I have contemplated the social, political, and physical scenarios which surrounded the Nephite refugees before the last battle at Cumorah.
Such contemplations have necessitated certain speculations regarding the religious lives of Mormon and Moroni. This is actually a far more complex matter than you might imagine. Mormon and Moroni consistently describe the state of the Nephites as one of corruption and degredation. And yet other places in the books of Mormon and Moroni make it clear that they enjoyed a rich association with fellow Christians. Exactly who were these Christians if they were not part of the main Nephite population?
As to the general depravity and wickedness of the Nephites, Mormon writes in 4th Nephi that "when three hundred years had passed away, both the people of Nephi and the Lamanites had become exceedingly wicked one like unto another" and that there were "none righteous save it were the disciples of Jesus" (4 Ne. 1:44-45). We can presume this refers to the three Nephites who were blessed with the ability to witness the history of the world until the end of times. However, wickedness caused the Lord to entirely remove these disciples from among the Nephites (Morm 1:13). Mormon states that iniquity was so rampant among the Nephites by the time he was 15 years old that "the work of healings and of miracles did cease" and "there were no gifts from the Lord, and the Holy Ghost did not come upon them . . ." (Morm. 1:13-14). Four years later, in AD 330 he boldly asserts that "the day of grace was passed with them, both temporally and spiritually" (Morm. 2:15). The eternal condition of the Nephites appears dire indeed. So grave that by the age of 15 Mormon was forbidden to preach the gospel to them altogether (Morm 1:16-17). And yet, in spite of this command from the Lord, there is evidence that Mormon did preach. But to whom? If Mormon was forbidden to preach to the Nephites, who did he preach to?
One of the most sublime chapters in the text of the Book of Mormon is a sermon from Mormon, transcribed to us by his son, Moroni, and found in the 7th chapter of Moroni. Chapter 8 also contains a sermon from Mormon regarding an important misunderstanding associated with the doctrine of infant baptism. (Such an error, though deeply serious with an active congregation, seems rather trivial if delivered to a people for whom "the day of grace was past.") Additionally, the opening chapters of Moroni present specific instructions regarding baptism, blessing the sacrament, and the ordaining of priests and teachers. Chapter 6 of the Book of Moroni offers detailed instruction regarding the day-to-day functions of Church leaders and basic doctrines related to repentance, prayer, fasting, and the proper conduct of meetings.
So despite rampant spiritual depravity among the Nephites, it appears that a relatively healthy and flourishing Christian congregation must have existed somewhere in Mormon's midst. This Church appears to have existed in Mormon's homeland in the land northward. He appears to have been reared within this righteous Christian community, and to also have raised his family here. In addition, an active ministry flourished among these Christians. Preaching as a part of his ministry is described as Mormon's "calling" (see Morm. 7:3) and this same calling was later passed along to his son, Moroni (Morm. 8:1).
References from Mormon's personal history suggest that he was raised somewhat apart from the general Nephite population, in lands that may have been at the northern extreme of Nephite territory, or else in a land generally inhabited by peoples who were not Nephites, either racially or culturally. This location was very near to the land inhabited by the Prophet Ammoron, son of Amos, and grandson of Nephi (that same Nephi for which 4 Nephi was named). Is it possible that spiritual corruption and depravity among the general Nephite populace forced righteous men and their families to seek habitation in other districts of the land? Or in Mormon's case, in lands at the northern extreme, or just beyond the borders of the region of formal Nephite occupation?
Mormon's first experience with the general Nephite populace occurred in about AD 322 when he was eleven years old (see Morm. 6-7). At this time he tells how his father carried him into the land southward, even to the land of Zarahemla. During this trip he vividly describes scenes around him by saying, "The whole face of the land had become covered with buildings, and that the people were as numerous almost, as it were the sand of the sea." Such a description rings with boyhood "fish-out-of-water" fascination, and strongly hints that his own homeland was very different from the one that he was observing. Probably, Mormon's home was substantially more rural and certainly more sparsely populated than those Nephite population centers he encountered in Zarahemla and the land southward.
Interestingly, Mormon tells us that at the age of ten he "began to be learned somewhat after the manner of the learning of my people . . ." A common interpretation for this verse is that it describes a typical "coming of age" experience for any ten-year-old. However, Mormon's phrasing may signify somewhat more. It may reveal that until this age he actually knew very little about his Nephite heritage. Around this time his father (and possibly others) began the process of enlightening and educating him with regard to the culture and history of his noble ancestors, whose descendents dwelled primarily in lands further to the south.
The precise motive for the journey of Mormon's father to the Nephite heartland in AD 322 is not stated. But it may have been an act of political obedience. Mormon reports that in this same year a serious war began to commence between the Nephites and Lamanites. This coincidence and historical dynamic led LDS Scholar John A. Tvedtnes to suggest that Mormon's family had directly descended from an established military caste. If Mormon and his father were part of a military tradition, the journey southward in AD 322 may have been the result of enlistment orders from leaders in Zarahemla. In short, Mormon's father was being "called to duty." If Mormon, the father of Mormon (the scriptures confirm that both had the same name (Morm. 1:5)), was already a war commander and part of a military caste, it would certainly explain, four years later, why young Mormon was so readily accepted as a commander himself—and possibly his father's successor—at the tender age of fifteen. Dr. Tvedtnes reinforces his proposition for Mormon's military heritage by comparing such a caste tradition to other Mesoamerican cultures, particularly the Aztecs (John A. Tvedtnes, Was Mormon a Member of a Military Class?, SEHA 163 (April 1988)).
Despite young Mormon's destiny and training as a military officer, it reveals little about the deep spiritual nature of his character. Such traits appear to have developed apart from his racial roots, and perhaps on the very fringes of Nephite population and influence. So if the Christians with whom Mormon associated, preached among, and sat with at church services throughout much of his life were not Nephites, who were they?
According to part-time Book of Mormon geographer and researcher Alan C. Miner, the idea that these "mystery" Christians may have been Ammonites, or descendants of the Lamanite converts of Ammon, was first proposed by Clate W. Mask Jr., emeritus member of the Seventy, while he and Dr. Miner were touring Central America together in 1991. The proposition that Ammonite society survived in the lands northward, essentially intact, for four centuries is extremely difficult to confirm archeologically. However, the prospect becomes interesting when examining together a number of references in the Book of Mormon.
A thorough reading of Helaman 3: 3-16 reveals an extraordinary amount of information regarding a massive northward migration that took place in about BC 46. Mormon offers many details on the complexities of trade between the lands northward and southward. He also describes the task of creating and storing written records. In addition, Mormon offers further information regarding the complex cultural and racial dynamics as to how terms like "Lamanite" and "Nephite" were defined (see vs. 16 in particular).
The text reveals that a primary motivation for this northward migration was to escape the "contentions and many dissentions" (vs. 3) which sprang up in the land of Zarahemla. The Ammonites, or Lamanite converts of Ammon, are identified as one of the groups who became involved in this northward migration (vs. 12). Throughout these thirteen verses of Helaman we find that Mormon often interjects an editorial perspective, particularly with regard to the monumental task of abridging a singular record from his extensive library, but also his frustration that he cannot include in his abridgment more than "a hundreth part" of the materials at his disposal (vs. 14). Verse 13 seems to suggest that the Ammonites themselves were ambitious record keepers. Mormon apparently had these Ammonite records in his possession, but as with other records, he regrets that he cannot contain them all upon the plates of the Book of Mormon. For Mormon to make an editorial statement of this specificity regarding Ammonite records is noteworthy. One might wonder how Mormon came into possession of such records in the first place, except for the fact that Mormon or Ammoron, as fellow inhabitants of land northward, were in close enough in proximity to the people of Ammon. Therefore, obtaining such records could have been accomplished with ease. Also, since Mormon and Ammoron were prophets, the Ammonites likely would have felt no reservations about turning over their sacred records. This would have been especially true of their attitude about the Prophet Mormon since, during these years, the survival of all records, as well as the survival of the people themselves, was in serious jeopardy.
But let's make sure we have properly examined the text. Verse 13 reads, "And now there are many records kept of the proceedings of this people, by many of this people, which are particular and very large concerning them." To reiterate, the previous verse (Verse 12) speaks specifically of the Ammonites. It's not entirely certain that Mormon is reflecting a continuity of thought and subject, and whether he is referring exclusively to Ammonites when he says "this people" in Verse 13, or if he is referring to all Nephites and Lamanites. Mormon's editorial style may imply that he begins his general reference to the records of all of the inhabitants of the land in Verse 14, but the question is open to conjecture.
However, also consider an earlier statement from Alma 23:6 wherein Mormon reports that those Lamanites who were converted by Ammon "never did fall away." Beyond Helaman, Chapter 3, no further mention of the Ammonites is made in the scriptural record. Perhaps it is a stretch to interpret the term "never did fall away" as multi-generational, extending all the way to Mormon's own time period, but because Mormon never recanted or amended this statement anywhere else in the Book of Mormon, the conclusion becomes at least plausible.
During Mormon's sublime sermon on faith, hope, and charity recorded in Chapter 7 of the Book of Moroni, he states:
"I would speak to you that are of the church, that are the peaceable followers of Christ, and that have obtained a sufficient hope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord . . . And now my brethren, I judge these things of you because of your peaceable walk with the children of men (Morm. 7: 3-4, emp. added).
If Mormon were preaching such a sermon to a congregation of active warriors or hardened battle veterans it would seem very strange indeed. It seems instead to have been delivered to a group of people who, during that period of time, may not have been directly involved in any of the Nephite/Lamanite/Gadianton conflicts that occupied much of Mormon's temporal labors and energy. Perhaps referring to followers of Christ as "peaceable" is an appropriate enough description of the general Christian character, but for Mormon to additionally judge his listeners worthy to enter into the rest of the Lord because of their "peaceable walk with the children of men" may suggest that the members of his particular congregation had no battle experience whatsoever. Is it possible that he was addressing a congregation of pacifists? A peace loving people who practiced the same tradition of refusing to take up arms as the first generation of the people of Ammon?
For these reasons, I have made the speculation that Mormon and Moroni's stewardship and ministry as witnesses of Christ (see Mormon 3:16, 9:1-6, Moroni 9:4) may not have been among a congregation of Nephites at all. Oh, it's possible that a few Christian Nephites residing in Mormon's homeland had been embraced by the local congregation. But for the most part, this Christian community may have comprised god-fearing peoples who were the direct descendants of the converts of Ammon. Additional information regarding these ideas, and possible timelines for when Mormon may have delivered some of his celebrated sermons, are provided here: Link
Such a speculation naturally leads one to wonder what became of these Christians. I propose that the Lamanites and robbers of Gadianton lumped the Ammonites in the same general category as the Nephites and therefore sentenced them to face the same fate. Such a conclusion seems compatible with Moroni's statements in the years following the slaughter at Cumorah that he was alone with no kinsfolk or friends (Morm. 8:5) and that any Nephite who would not deny the Christ was hunted down and put to death (see Moro. 1:2).
But again, the reader is reminded that the Book of Mormon frequently hints that the world of the Nephites and Lamanites is infinitely more complex than it initially appears. Even after all the many times that I have examined its pages, I continue to have moments like this wherein layers of depth are revealed that make the text as fresh and invigorating as the first time ever I encountered it. To be certain the full story of the Nephites and Lamanites—their history, migrations, and inevitable spiritual destiny—may one day be revealed to the world in far greater detail than what is currently extant, that is, right alongside the history and destiny of every people and tribe of God's children who ever inhabited the earth.
(c) Copyright 2010, Chris Heimerdinger
Such contemplations have necessitated certain speculations regarding the religious lives of Mormon and Moroni. This is actually a far more complex matter than you might imagine. Mormon and Moroni consistently describe the state of the Nephites as one of corruption and degredation. And yet other places in the books of Mormon and Moroni make it clear that they enjoyed a rich association with fellow Christians. Exactly who were these Christians if they were not part of the main Nephite population?
As to the general depravity and wickedness of the Nephites, Mormon writes in 4th Nephi that "when three hundred years had passed away, both the people of Nephi and the Lamanites had become exceedingly wicked one like unto another" and that there were "none righteous save it were the disciples of Jesus" (4 Ne. 1:44-45). We can presume this refers to the three Nephites who were blessed with the ability to witness the history of the world until the end of times. However, wickedness caused the Lord to entirely remove these disciples from among the Nephites (Morm 1:13). Mormon states that iniquity was so rampant among the Nephites by the time he was 15 years old that "the work of healings and of miracles did cease" and "there were no gifts from the Lord, and the Holy Ghost did not come upon them . . ." (Morm. 1:13-14). Four years later, in AD 330 he boldly asserts that "the day of grace was passed with them, both temporally and spiritually" (Morm. 2:15). The eternal condition of the Nephites appears dire indeed. So grave that by the age of 15 Mormon was forbidden to preach the gospel to them altogether (Morm 1:16-17). And yet, in spite of this command from the Lord, there is evidence that Mormon did preach. But to whom? If Mormon was forbidden to preach to the Nephites, who did he preach to?
One of the most sublime chapters in the text of the Book of Mormon is a sermon from Mormon, transcribed to us by his son, Moroni, and found in the 7th chapter of Moroni. Chapter 8 also contains a sermon from Mormon regarding an important misunderstanding associated with the doctrine of infant baptism. (Such an error, though deeply serious with an active congregation, seems rather trivial if delivered to a people for whom "the day of grace was past.") Additionally, the opening chapters of Moroni present specific instructions regarding baptism, blessing the sacrament, and the ordaining of priests and teachers. Chapter 6 of the Book of Moroni offers detailed instruction regarding the day-to-day functions of Church leaders and basic doctrines related to repentance, prayer, fasting, and the proper conduct of meetings.
So despite rampant spiritual depravity among the Nephites, it appears that a relatively healthy and flourishing Christian congregation must have existed somewhere in Mormon's midst. This Church appears to have existed in Mormon's homeland in the land northward. He appears to have been reared within this righteous Christian community, and to also have raised his family here. In addition, an active ministry flourished among these Christians. Preaching as a part of his ministry is described as Mormon's "calling" (see Morm. 7:3) and this same calling was later passed along to his son, Moroni (Morm. 8:1).
References from Mormon's personal history suggest that he was raised somewhat apart from the general Nephite population, in lands that may have been at the northern extreme of Nephite territory, or else in a land generally inhabited by peoples who were not Nephites, either racially or culturally. This location was very near to the land inhabited by the Prophet Ammoron, son of Amos, and grandson of Nephi (that same Nephi for which 4 Nephi was named). Is it possible that spiritual corruption and depravity among the general Nephite populace forced righteous men and their families to seek habitation in other districts of the land? Or in Mormon's case, in lands at the northern extreme, or just beyond the borders of the region of formal Nephite occupation?
Mormon's first experience with the general Nephite populace occurred in about AD 322 when he was eleven years old (see Morm. 6-7). At this time he tells how his father carried him into the land southward, even to the land of Zarahemla. During this trip he vividly describes scenes around him by saying, "The whole face of the land had become covered with buildings, and that the people were as numerous almost, as it were the sand of the sea." Such a description rings with boyhood "fish-out-of-water" fascination, and strongly hints that his own homeland was very different from the one that he was observing. Probably, Mormon's home was substantially more rural and certainly more sparsely populated than those Nephite population centers he encountered in Zarahemla and the land southward.
Interestingly, Mormon tells us that at the age of ten he "began to be learned somewhat after the manner of the learning of my people . . ." A common interpretation for this verse is that it describes a typical "coming of age" experience for any ten-year-old. However, Mormon's phrasing may signify somewhat more. It may reveal that until this age he actually knew very little about his Nephite heritage. Around this time his father (and possibly others) began the process of enlightening and educating him with regard to the culture and history of his noble ancestors, whose descendents dwelled primarily in lands further to the south.
The precise motive for the journey of Mormon's father to the Nephite heartland in AD 322 is not stated. But it may have been an act of political obedience. Mormon reports that in this same year a serious war began to commence between the Nephites and Lamanites. This coincidence and historical dynamic led LDS Scholar John A. Tvedtnes to suggest that Mormon's family had directly descended from an established military caste. If Mormon and his father were part of a military tradition, the journey southward in AD 322 may have been the result of enlistment orders from leaders in Zarahemla. In short, Mormon's father was being "called to duty." If Mormon, the father of Mormon (the scriptures confirm that both had the same name (Morm. 1:5)), was already a war commander and part of a military caste, it would certainly explain, four years later, why young Mormon was so readily accepted as a commander himself—and possibly his father's successor—at the tender age of fifteen. Dr. Tvedtnes reinforces his proposition for Mormon's military heritage by comparing such a caste tradition to other Mesoamerican cultures, particularly the Aztecs (John A. Tvedtnes, Was Mormon a Member of a Military Class?, SEHA 163 (April 1988)).
Despite young Mormon's destiny and training as a military officer, it reveals little about the deep spiritual nature of his character. Such traits appear to have developed apart from his racial roots, and perhaps on the very fringes of Nephite population and influence. So if the Christians with whom Mormon associated, preached among, and sat with at church services throughout much of his life were not Nephites, who were they?
According to part-time Book of Mormon geographer and researcher Alan C. Miner, the idea that these "mystery" Christians may have been Ammonites, or descendants of the Lamanite converts of Ammon, was first proposed by Clate W. Mask Jr., emeritus member of the Seventy, while he and Dr. Miner were touring Central America together in 1991. The proposition that Ammonite society survived in the lands northward, essentially intact, for four centuries is extremely difficult to confirm archeologically. However, the prospect becomes interesting when examining together a number of references in the Book of Mormon.
A thorough reading of Helaman 3: 3-16 reveals an extraordinary amount of information regarding a massive northward migration that took place in about BC 46. Mormon offers many details on the complexities of trade between the lands northward and southward. He also describes the task of creating and storing written records. In addition, Mormon offers further information regarding the complex cultural and racial dynamics as to how terms like "Lamanite" and "Nephite" were defined (see vs. 16 in particular).
The text reveals that a primary motivation for this northward migration was to escape the "contentions and many dissentions" (vs. 3) which sprang up in the land of Zarahemla. The Ammonites, or Lamanite converts of Ammon, are identified as one of the groups who became involved in this northward migration (vs. 12). Throughout these thirteen verses of Helaman we find that Mormon often interjects an editorial perspective, particularly with regard to the monumental task of abridging a singular record from his extensive library, but also his frustration that he cannot include in his abridgment more than "a hundreth part" of the materials at his disposal (vs. 14). Verse 13 seems to suggest that the Ammonites themselves were ambitious record keepers. Mormon apparently had these Ammonite records in his possession, but as with other records, he regrets that he cannot contain them all upon the plates of the Book of Mormon. For Mormon to make an editorial statement of this specificity regarding Ammonite records is noteworthy. One might wonder how Mormon came into possession of such records in the first place, except for the fact that Mormon or Ammoron, as fellow inhabitants of land northward, were in close enough in proximity to the people of Ammon. Therefore, obtaining such records could have been accomplished with ease. Also, since Mormon and Ammoron were prophets, the Ammonites likely would have felt no reservations about turning over their sacred records. This would have been especially true of their attitude about the Prophet Mormon since, during these years, the survival of all records, as well as the survival of the people themselves, was in serious jeopardy.
But let's make sure we have properly examined the text. Verse 13 reads, "And now there are many records kept of the proceedings of this people, by many of this people, which are particular and very large concerning them." To reiterate, the previous verse (Verse 12) speaks specifically of the Ammonites. It's not entirely certain that Mormon is reflecting a continuity of thought and subject, and whether he is referring exclusively to Ammonites when he says "this people" in Verse 13, or if he is referring to all Nephites and Lamanites. Mormon's editorial style may imply that he begins his general reference to the records of all of the inhabitants of the land in Verse 14, but the question is open to conjecture.
However, also consider an earlier statement from Alma 23:6 wherein Mormon reports that those Lamanites who were converted by Ammon "never did fall away." Beyond Helaman, Chapter 3, no further mention of the Ammonites is made in the scriptural record. Perhaps it is a stretch to interpret the term "never did fall away" as multi-generational, extending all the way to Mormon's own time period, but because Mormon never recanted or amended this statement anywhere else in the Book of Mormon, the conclusion becomes at least plausible.
During Mormon's sublime sermon on faith, hope, and charity recorded in Chapter 7 of the Book of Moroni, he states:
"I would speak to you that are of the church, that are the peaceable followers of Christ, and that have obtained a sufficient hope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord . . . And now my brethren, I judge these things of you because of your peaceable walk with the children of men (Morm. 7: 3-4, emp. added).
If Mormon were preaching such a sermon to a congregation of active warriors or hardened battle veterans it would seem very strange indeed. It seems instead to have been delivered to a group of people who, during that period of time, may not have been directly involved in any of the Nephite/Lamanite/Gadianton conflicts that occupied much of Mormon's temporal labors and energy. Perhaps referring to followers of Christ as "peaceable" is an appropriate enough description of the general Christian character, but for Mormon to additionally judge his listeners worthy to enter into the rest of the Lord because of their "peaceable walk with the children of men" may suggest that the members of his particular congregation had no battle experience whatsoever. Is it possible that he was addressing a congregation of pacifists? A peace loving people who practiced the same tradition of refusing to take up arms as the first generation of the people of Ammon?
For these reasons, I have made the speculation that Mormon and Moroni's stewardship and ministry as witnesses of Christ (see Mormon 3:16, 9:1-6, Moroni 9:4) may not have been among a congregation of Nephites at all. Oh, it's possible that a few Christian Nephites residing in Mormon's homeland had been embraced by the local congregation. But for the most part, this Christian community may have comprised god-fearing peoples who were the direct descendants of the converts of Ammon. Additional information regarding these ideas, and possible timelines for when Mormon may have delivered some of his celebrated sermons, are provided here: Link
Such a speculation naturally leads one to wonder what became of these Christians. I propose that the Lamanites and robbers of Gadianton lumped the Ammonites in the same general category as the Nephites and therefore sentenced them to face the same fate. Such a conclusion seems compatible with Moroni's statements in the years following the slaughter at Cumorah that he was alone with no kinsfolk or friends (Morm. 8:5) and that any Nephite who would not deny the Christ was hunted down and put to death (see Moro. 1:2).
But again, the reader is reminded that the Book of Mormon frequently hints that the world of the Nephites and Lamanites is infinitely more complex than it initially appears. Even after all the many times that I have examined its pages, I continue to have moments like this wherein layers of depth are revealed that make the text as fresh and invigorating as the first time ever I encountered it. To be certain the full story of the Nephites and Lamanites—their history, migrations, and inevitable spiritual destiny—may one day be revealed to the world in far greater detail than what is currently extant, that is, right alongside the history and destiny of every people and tribe of God's children who ever inhabited the earth.
(c) Copyright 2010, Chris Heimerdinger
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