Book of Mormon Archaeological News

Temple of the Cross

2012-01-04T21:54:00.000-08:00

The Temple of the Cross

Information compiled

Brian Marshall

The Native American Christian

Alma 21:45 Yea, all those who were the true believers in Christ, took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians, as they were called, because of their belief in Christ, who should come; and therefore, at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians, and the freedom of the land might be favored.

Matthew 15:24

Palenque Mexico's Temple of the Cross Tablet

Ever wondered of the Book of Mormon was fact of fiction? The ravings of a crazy man named Joseph Smith, who fabricated a book to start his own church, or could there be truth in what Joseph Smith claimed and the Book of Mormon story?

Is there scientific evidence for the Book of Mormon? Evidence existing which shows Joseph Smith neither was crazy or raving when he wrote about a Native American Christian people who once existed upon the American Continent long before the advent of Hernando Cortez or Christopher Columbus.

Here are photo's of Native American Crosses, from Native American Temples, Pyramids and other religious structrues of ancient time. Time which predates modern American History. Happy viewing!

Smithsonian Depiction of Temple of the Cross

John 10:16 KJV
" other sheep I have not of this fold then also must I bring "

The Temple of the Cross, to coin the phrase, " is an inconvenient truth ", which many are not comfortable with. It means we don't know our history. It means somebody with lots of power has not been frank with the American people, someone has told us a lie concerning the Native American people, concerning their history, their origins and who they are. Jesus said, " I am not sent but unto the LOST SHEEP of the house of the house of Israel" Matthew 15:24...

Christ came to save the Lost Sheep of the house of Israel. While this is a simplistic view, if archaeolgists find Native American crosses, does this not make them descendants of the House of Israel?

Ezekiel 34:6;11;12

⁶My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.

¹¹For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

¹²As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day** that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

Color Photo of Temple of the Cross Group

Palenque Mexico

The Temple of the Cross, one of three from the temple of the cross group. The other two consist of the Temple of the Son, and Temple of the Folated Cross. Palenque Mexico

Wesleyan University Temple of the Cross Tablet

The Central Tablet of the Temple of the Cross records the birth of the deity Muwaan Mat, recounts the beginning of the present creation, records a dynastic list beginning with the legendary ruler U K'ix Kan, and concludes with the accession of the first Kan B'ahlam on 10 Eb' 0 Wo' (April 572).

The following transcription and translation correspond to the glyph blocks between A16-F17 and P1-U17 from the Central Tablet of the Temple of the Cross. Addition analysis and a transliteration will be available in the Spring of 2005.

Wesleyan.edu Stone Tablet Magnified.

Wesleyan.edu Temple of Cross Tablet magnified.

Navajo Woman Weaving Cross

Alma 21:131 And thus he was preparing to support their liberty, their lands, their wives, and their children, and their peace, and that they might live unto the Lord their God, and that they might maintain that which was called by their enemies the cause of Christians.

University of Arizona

3 Nephi 4:74 And it came to pass that in the ending of the thirty and fourth year, behold I will shew unto you that the people of Nephi who were spared, and also those who had been called Lamanites, who had been spared, did have great favors shewn unto them, and great blessings poured out upon their heads, insomuch that soon after the ascension of Christ into heaven, he did truly manifest himself unto them, shewing his body unto them, and ministering unto them;

MAYAN PYRAMID BARES TOMB OF EGYPTION TYPE
( New York Times - Chicago Tribune Dispatch - December 28, 1952 )

Mexico City Dec. 27 - Remarkable parallels with the burial customs of ancient Egypt have been found in a newly discovered Mayan tomb at Palenque Mexico. The cover of the tomb with the cross and undeciphered hierglyphics pictured above is one solid slab, twelve feet long, seven feet wide, and one foot thick, estimated to weigh six tons. Palenque anciently had a population of more than 100,000. Palenque is the modern name; the ancient name of the city is not known.

NEW YORK TIMES MAYAN CROSS SARCOPHOGUS LID

In 1952 Ruz Lhuillier was excavating the staircase of the Pyramid Temple when he found a sealed passageway that led to the burial crypt and sarcophagus of King Pakul. This was the first burial crypt found in Central America, let alone in a pyramid, and fueled a debate that the Incas were in some way connected to Egypt. The lid of the sarcophagus is the depiction of King Pakul.

Temple Inscription Diagram

Alberto Ruz Lhuillier

Alberto Ruz Lhuillier (27 January 1906 – 25 August 1979) was a Mexican archaeologist. He specialized in pre -Colombian Mesoamerican archaeology and is well-known for leading the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) excavations at the Maya site of Palenque, where he found the tomb of the Maya ruler, Pakal. Ruz Lhuillier is sometimes referred to as the "Hitchcock of Archaeology".

MAYAN CROSS SARCOPHAGUS LID

Mexico City's National Museum of Anthropology

Other Cruciform Structures

Above Latin style cross tombs of Mitla Mexico. Photos taken from The Cruciform Structures of Mitla and Vicinity (1909), copyright expired, public domain.

Mexico Native Version of Egyptian Coptic Cross

Monte Alban Mexico

VASE MADE IN SOUTHERN MEXICO

WITH ROMAN STYLE LEGIONARY

CROSS

SHOSHONE PRAYER BAG WITH SHOSHONE

CROSS

Manchester Kentucky Monogram Cross Petroglyph's

" Jesus Christ, Son of the Father "

" right hand of God "

Red Bird Stone Petroglyph Monograms Interpreted

Full Story on Red Bird Petroglyph
Redbird Petroglyph Details

THE SPIRO MOUND CROSS

SPIRO OKLAHOMA

Excavation by Oklahoma University

Notice the Rattle Snake Swastika?

More Temple of the Cross Photo History

SPANISH MISSIONARIES WERE SHOCKED BY YALALAG CROSSES

the Yalalag Crosses worn by Meso-American Women
Upon Hernando Cortez's arrival on the continent.

William Pescott says, " They [ Spanish Missionaries ] could not suppress their wonder as they beheld the cross, the sacred emblem of their own faith raised as an object of worship in the temples of Ahahuac "
( Conquest of Mexico Vol. 3 pp. 321,322 )

I have many more Book of Mormon photo evidences to publish.

I will as a parting shot publish 1 more photo.

Did King Solomon’s Navy Discover America?

Story By Israel National News
Mystery Mountain, Los Lunas, New Mexico. That’s where a fascinating find was discovered with the Hebrew inscription of the Ten Commandments. What is amazing about this find, is that the ten commandments were written in a Hebrew script that is so ancient, it was last used around and up to the Babylonian expulsion. This means it was probably written between 2,500-3,000 years ago! How did this script, as well as the text of the ten commandments wind up in New Mexico, so many centuries ago?
cenhttp://www.israelnationalnews.com/Blogs/Message.aspx/2384

Ancient Hebrews In America

Los Lunas 10 Commandment Stone Translation Chart

THE LOS LUNAS, NEW MEXICO,DECALOGUE

Exodus 20:2–17
Deuteronomy 5:6–21

Thomas F. McDaniel, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
The Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Wynnewood, Pennsylvania

While much attention has been given recently to the legal
battles from Alabama to Wisconsin over the presence of
granite monuments and bronze plaques of the Decalogue on
public property,1 little attention has been given to world’s
oldest Hebrew inscription of the Ten Commandments which
turned up in New Mexico in the nineteenth century—a replica
of which has yet to be made. This Decalogue was inscribed in
Hebrew (using a quasi-Phoenician script) on the flat face of
a large basalt boulder on a mesa now known as “Mystery
Mountain” or “Hidden Mountain,” three miles west of Los
Lunas. Given its antiquity, the monumental bolder is of some
significance for early American history.
In 1949, Robert H. Pfeiffer of the Harvard University recognized
that the inscription was an abbreviated form of the
Decalogue; and since then a number of other scholars, including
Harvard Professor Barry Fell (1976: 310), have confirmed
the identification. My inspection of the inscription on site in
1983 and a comparison of the script used on the bolder
Decalogue with other early Northwest Semitic scripts led me
to conclude that the “Mystery Mountain” inscription is not
just centuries old but could possibly be pre-Columbian or
even pre-Christian.

Read Full Story click link.
http://tmcdaniel.palmerseminary.edu/LosLunas10.pdf

Why RLDS Don't Baptize Their Dead and Other LDS Scriptural Facts

2011-11-14T20:08:00.000-08:00

Why RLDS Don’t

Baptize Their Dead

And other LDS Scriptural Facts

Dear Reader,

My Sister in law is a member of the Utah based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Both Churches believe in the Bible, Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants.

Two churches who at first blush seem so similar, even in name, yet are almost diametrically apposed in doctrine and teaching.

As you can imagine,there has been passionate discussion amongst us in-laws ( of my family) as to why we believe the way we do. How can two or more people believe differently from a doctrine or teaching coming from the same books of scriptures?

I have posted the Doctrine and Covenants scriptures dealing with baptism of the dead. Why the RLDS Church does not believe nor practice this doctrine. I have taken the liberty to post the LDS and RLDS scripture reference's.

Aside from a few select scriptures which were added by the Utah LDS Church after Joseph Smith's death our Doctrine and Covenants are almost word for word identical. God Bless you and I hope you enjoy.

Section 124 LDS D&C, Section 107 RLDS D&C declares:

29For a baptismal font there is not upon the earth, that they, my saints, may be baptized for those who are dead—

30For this ordinance belongeth to my house, and cannot be acceptable to me, only in the days of your poverty, wherein ye are not able to build a house unto me.

The RLDS Church does not argue IF baptism of the dead is of God. Our reason for not practicing baptism of the dead is due to D&C revelation given by Joseph Smith.

A Sufficient Time Given

“I command you, all ye my Saints, to build a house unto me; and I grant unto you a sufficient time to build a house unto me, and during this time your baptisms shall be acceptable unto me. But, behold, at the end of this appointment, your baptisms for your dead shall not be acceptable unto me; and if you do not these things at the end of the appointment, ye shall be rejected as a church with your dead, saith the Lord your God.”

(given)

Jan. 19, 1841

Doctrine and Covenants 107:10f–11a (Reorg.)

Doctrine and Covenants 124:31–39 (Utah)

Wrath for Abominations?

“And it shall come to pass, that if you build a house

unto my name, and do not the things that I say, I will not

perform the oath which I make unto you, neither fulfill

the promises which ye expect at my hands, saith the

Lord;

for instead of blessings, ye, by your own works, bring

cursings, wrath, indignation, and judgments, upon your

own heads, by your follies, and by all your abominations,

which you practice before me, saith the Lord.”

Doctrine and Covenants 107:13e–f (Reorg.)

Doctrine and Covenants 124:44–46 (Utah)

Saints Were Practicing Abominations?

What Abominations?

D&C 124 Prophecy Scattered Saints Shall

Baptize Dead In Vain

baptism of dead revelation given January 19, 1841

35And after this time, your baptisms for the dead, by those who are scattered abroad, are not acceptable unto me, saith the Lord.

36For it is ordained that in Zion, and in her stakes, and in Jerusalem, those places which I have appointed for a refuge, shall be the places for your baptisms for your dead.

Saints Not Moved IF Obedient

“If ye labor with all your might, I will consecrate

that spot, that it shall be made holy; and if my people

will hearken unto my voice, and unto the voice of my

servants whom I have appointed to lead my people,

behold, verily I say unto you, They shall not be

moved out of their place. But if they will not

hearken to my voice, nor unto the voice of these

men whom I have appointed, they shall not be

blessed, because they pollute mine holy grounds.”

Doctrine and Covenants 107:13e–f (Reorg.)

Doctrine and Covenants 124:44–46 (Utah)

Saints Cast From Zion and

Scattered Because of Transgression?

1 Verily I say unto you, concerning your brethren who have been afflicted, and persecuted, and cast out from the land of their inheritance—

2 I, the Lord, have suffered the affliction to come upon them, wherewith they have been afflicted, in consequence of their transgressions;

What Transgression?

LDS D&C 42:22

22 Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else.

23 And he that looketh upon a woman to lust after her shall deny the faith, and shall not have the Spirit; and if he repents not he shall be cast out.

24 Thou shalt not commit adultery; and he that committeth adultery, and repenteth not, shall be cast out.

Polygamy Was the Abomination Practiced, Which God Called Adultery, Which Caused the Scattering of the Saints.

Scattered Saints Abroad

Not Acceptable???

The 4 Reasons Why...

· LDS D&C 64:35 Lord Declares the Rebellious Shall Not Live In Zion

· LDS D&C 64:36 States Rebellious Scattered Saints are Not of blood of Epraim, whom shall be “plucked out”!

· LDS D&C 64: 38 Inhabitants of Zion ( Independence MO. ) Shall judge all thing pertaining Zion.

· False Prophets and Apostles shall be exposed by Saints Living in Zion. ( Missouri )

Utah. D.&C. 62:6; 64:34-39; or RLDS Authorized D&C 62:2; 64:7.

“Zion shall not be moved out of her place,

Not withstanding her children are scattered.”

LDS D&C Gives

Location of Zion?

Joseph Smith gave revelation Section 57:1 (57:1-3 Utah D&C.* : 57:1 RLDS Authorized. D&C.**) we find:

“Hearken, O ye elders of my church saith the Lord your God, who have assembled yourselves together, according to my commandments in this land which is the land of Missouri, which is the land which I have appointed and consecrated for the gathering of the saints: wherefore this is the land of promise, and the place for the city of Zion. And thus saith the Lord your God, if you will receive wisdom here is wisdom. Behold, the place which is now called Independence, is the center place, ...”

Jeremiah 17:5-6

Scattered Saints hearts have

departed from God

⁵Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

Jeremiah Prophecies the Land of Rebellious Saints*

⁶For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

* Many Saints were scattered all over America.

Not just the salt land of the Utah desert.

Time Line of Church History

Baptism of Dead Revelation Given

Jan. 19, 1841

Masonic Temple

Finished 1843

Joseph and Hyrum Smith Killed

1844

Saints Scattered

1846

Prophecy Fulfilled

Nauvoo Temple Never Finished

No one can deny that the Saints were

driven from Nauvoo. In light of this

revelation (107 RLDS D&C Section 124 Utah D&C), which

promised that they would not be “moved

out of their place” if they were obedient, it

is easily understood that the Saints did

not complete the temple in the alloted

time and were therefore scattered.

Brigham Young's Own Words

Confirmed This

Brigham Young stated several times that

the Nauvoo temple was not finished.

“Here let me ask the old Saints a question.

Have you ever seen a temple finished since

this church commenced? You have not.”

Brigham Young, Aug. 31, 1856,

Journal of Discourses, Vol. 4, p. 42.

He Confirmed It Again

“We built one [a temple] in Nauvoo. I could

pick out several before me now that were

there when it was built, and know just how

much was finished and what was done. It is

true we left brethren there with instructions

to finish it, and they got it nearly completed

before it was burned, but the Saints did not

enjoy it.”

Brigham Young, Jan. 1, 1877

Journal of Discourses, Vol. 18, p. 304

Fulfilled Prophecy

· The Nauvoo temple was

never completed

• Abominations were committed in

Nauvoo

• They did not hearken unto

the Lord or his servants

• Received curses, wrath,

indignations and judgments

• Were moved out of their place

and expelled from Nauvoo

• The church was rejected**

**See LDS D&C 84:54-57/ RLDS D&C Section 83.

Identification

Today the practice of “baptism for the

dead” has only one important purpose:

It serves to identify the church, that

practices it—as being a rejected church.

See: RLDS Doctrine & Covenants 107:11a, 13e

See LDS Doctrine & Covenants 124:32, 45–46

All Hope Is Not Lost!

Utah Church Not Totally Rejected!

Those Scattered Because of Transgression...

Section 101: 1; 9;13;

1 Verily I say unto you, concerning your brethren who have been afflicted, and persecuted, and cast out from the land of their inheritance—

2 I, the Lord, have suffered the affliction to come upon them, wherewith they have been afflicted, in consequence of their transgressions;

3 Yet I will own them, and they shall be amine in that day when I shall come to make up my jewels.

4 Therefore, they must needs be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son.

5 For all those who will not endure chastening, but deny me, cannot be sanctified. ( Warning to LDS and RLDS Church together )

6 Behold, I say unto you, there were jarrings, and contentions, and envyings, and strifes, andlustful and covetous desires among them; therefore by these things they polluted their inheritances.

7 They were slow to hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; therefore, the Lord their God is slow to hearken unto their prayers, to answer them in the day of their trouble. ( Again Warning to LDS and RLDS Church combined )

8 In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel; but, in the day of their trouble, of necessity they feel after me.

9 Verily I say unto you, notwithstanding their sins, my bowels are filled with compassion towards them. I will not utterly cast them off; and in the day of wrath I will remember mercy.

10 I have sworn, and the decree hath gone forth by a former commandment which I have given unto you, that I would let fall the sword of mine indignation in behalf of my people; and even as I have said, it shall come to pass.

11 Mine indignation is soon to be poured out without measure upon all nations; and this will I do when the cup of their iniquity isafull.

12 And in that day all who are found upon the watch-tower, or in other words, all mine Israel, shall be saved.

13 And they that have been scattered shall be gathered.

Those Repentant Saints Scattered and Cast From Zion ( Independance MO )

Shall be gathered Once More.

Wrapping Up.

RLDS Church Members and Priesthood do not baptize the dead because LDS and RLDS Doctrine and Covenants Commandments forbids it. Commandment which declares the Church who continues the practice shall be "rejected" as a church.

Doctrine and Covenants 107:10f–11a (Reorg.)

Doctrine and Covenants 124:31–39 (Utah)

Jesus Christ Gives Words of Counsel July 2011

2011-10-04T05:16:00.000-07:00

Words of Counsel Introduction

As the High Priests met in quorum at the 2011 Seventy Missionary Family Reunion at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, Chuck Perry (president of the quorum) presented the letter below from Brother Kerry Lancaster to the quorum for prayerful consideration.

It was agreed in the quorum that the letter contains wise counsel, and a committee was formed to plan the means for following through with the counsel given. This call to fast to all the saints of the Restoration Movement is the result of these efforts. While we recognize there are many who will not regard the following as inspired or wise counsel from the Lord, we include it here as a means of further explanation.

While you may not agree with parts or all of this counsel, we hope you will understand and accept that we feel bound and obligated to diligently follow what we feel is the call of the Lord at this time for fasting and repentance, and forgiveness of our brothers and sisters, our families and friends, our enemies and strangers, and turn to the Lord for mercy.

Letter From Kerry Lancaster to the High Priests Quorum
July 1, 2011

Dear Brother Chuck,

In a burning and sober manner it has been heavily impressed upon me, more than I can bear, that it is time for the Saints to be on our knees in humble supplication to the Lord in repentance, seeking forgiveness and mercy. The conditions of the world today are rife with the signs we have studied and preached for generations - wars and rumors of wars, tumult in the nations, the Middle East in unrest and chaos, societies breaking down across the world, record droughts, record fires destroying the land, record floods as rivers burst their banks and levies, record tornadoes and hurricanes, record earthquakes and tsunamis, economic collapse and ruin, immoral and corrupt leaders in all the nations including ours, unemployment, huge institutions and businesses failing... the earth is groaning under the rampant sin and oppression covering her face.

And many are asking: “Where is the Lord?”

But the Lord responds: “Where are My Saints, where is My storehouse, where is My Zion?”

As a church, we have suffered for decades in the wilderness as scattered and lost sheep. We have taken refuge in our own self-perceived righteousness by shunning the apostasy of the leadership of the RLDS / Community of Christ and casting ourselves off from their errs and deceptions. We rebuked and rejected the sons of Joseph because they stumbled and spoke falsely.

Yet look at us. We are scattered. We are beaten down. We are trodden underfoot in the world. We are weak. We have no voice to warn the world and prepare for the Lord’s return. And we have not asked ourselves what the Lord now asks us to examine and understand: if we are the righteous of the Church, then why did the Lord allow wicked servants to bring us to this captive state, in effectual bondage?

We have somewhat sought to forgive those who have done this to us (as individuals, but not corporately), but we have not examined ourselves to look to our own culpability.

“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me” declared the Lord. Yet we did raise up a god before Him... a god we thought was holy and good and worthy of being worshipped. Over the years, the RLDS had come to worship the Church, instead of the Lord. We worshipped its history, its structure, its holy places in Kirtland and Independence and Nauvoo, its quorums, its conferences, its councils, its stakes and districts and offices and missions.

The Church became our god, and the Lord took it from us to turn us back to Him. And we have been asking the Lord to give us back the Church, and give us a Prophet again. Yet the Lord asks: “Will you accept and hear My true prophets, or will you stone them and rend them in the courtyard like the children of Israel did?”

The Lord would have us humble ourselves and prepare ourselves to hear Him before we can receive and accept what He has to say.

Christ's Words of Counsel Given Through Elder Kerry Lancaster July 2011

“Sanctify a fast before Me,” says the Lord, “and turn from your pride, and humble yourselves. Yea, declare a fast, and forgive all who have wronged you, before seeking mercy and forgiveness from Me. Yea, seek to know and understand your own sins and transgressions which have led you to this state such that you can truly repent, and be forgiven. Uphold the sons of Joseph to Me in mighty prayer, that the covenant I swore in My righteousness to their father Joseph, and that was appointed unto and inherited therein by his son Joseph, and as was inherited in righteousness and truth also by his sons Frederick Madison, and Israel Alexander, and William Wallace, yea, and as was inherited therein also, because of My Covenant, with his son Wallace Bunnell, yea, uphold them to Me that the covenant I made with Joseph may be restored and fulfilled, even as I swore to him in My righteousness.”

“Yea, uphold the sons of Joseph in mighty prayer to Me, with much love and compassion and mercy and forgiveness, yea, even that same love and compassion and mercy and forgiveness that ye seek from Me, or I shall turn My face from you and reject your prayers for yourselves, as you bleat about aimlessly for safe pastures and the comfort of the Shepherd’s rod and staff.”

“Humble yourselves before Me, and cast off your pride and your righteousness, for it is as filthy rags before Me, and lest ye humble yourselves and repent, ye shall fade before Me as a dry leaf, and your iniquities, which I can no longer bear, shall take you away like the wind.”

“And seek earnestly to be reconciled one with another, for if ye are not one, even as I have commanded that ye be one, ye are not Mine, saith the Lord. Contend with no brother, but come together in prayer and fasting. Invite all to fast and pray before Me - even those who will not meet with you in conference, or even at the Lamb’s table. Your divisions and separations from each other over matters of organization are a stench to Me. It is the work of the adversary, and behold, he sifts you as he desires, for you have given yourselves over to him. Seek your brothers in prayer and fasting, and invite them all to pray and fast. Those who have My Spirit will hear My call to fast and pray, to repent, and to forgive. It is necessary that the Saints come together as My people in unity and single purpose of heart and mind, or I can in no wise minister unto you, or receive you unto Myself.”

“The time is at hand, saith the Lord, that My people come out of Babylon! Look! The signs are before you, and ye seek that I should redeem you before the end! How can ye be redeemed if ye repent not, if ye forgive not, if ye unite not as one? How can ye hear Me, if ye hear not My servants? If ye reject them, ye reject Me, and ye shall remain a hiss and a byword - salt that has lost its savor and is trodden under foot - spewed lukewarm from My mouth.”

“Repent! Declare a fast! Pray for the sons of Joseph, and for the sheep who remain scattered! Call everyone who will hear to repentance and humility. I speak this concerning all the Saints who love Me, yea, all the children of the work that was restored through My servant Joseph in 1830, for there are many who will hear and who will respond. Come together in prayer and fasting, in humility and meekness, in charity one for another, esteeming each other above yourselves. This is My word and My will. Ye who will hear, see that ye do. Amen.”

Blog Publishers Note:

I would like to add a small contribution also. As I read these Words of Counsel, and as my family also read these words, we all agreed Jesus Christ spoke though Mr. Lancaster. Even my wife, who's 31 years of age, but a young Latter Day Saint also agreed.

I urge Latter Day Saint's of all stripes, Utah LDS/ Church of Christ Restored/ Church of Christ Temple Lot/ Community of Christ, ( formerly the RLDS Church ) and all All Latter Day Factions to united, drop your arguments of divison and hear the Word of the Lord who is Jesus Christ. It's time all Latter Day Saint's, or those that could be called Saint's to come together. It's now or never! Do or die. Litterally! For as Jesus Christ said " if ye are not one, ye are not mine". There is but one church, one baptism. Division over doctrine is of the devil.

Even as I speak the Lords people are being directed to prepare and be ready for His return. Not by man, but by Jesus Christ himself.

I would plead no man reject these Words of Counsel, but rather take them prayerfully into consideration. For the Spirit which is within me confirms they are the Words of Christ. Whoa unto any of us who deny these Words and do not do them!

Sincerely

Brian Marshall
Priest
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ Gives Words of Counsel 2008 through Elder Kerry Lancaster

2011-10-04T04:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers.

I submit and post these Words of Counsel from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You be the judge as to their authenticity. My advice is pay attention to these words of counel. It's time for the Saint's to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ. His coming may not be tommorow, but it will be sooner than people expect.

Brian Marshall

Inspired Message Received through Elder Kerry Lancaster

April 8, 2008 - Words of Counsel to the Priesthood

On the morning and afternoon of Monday, April 7, 2008 as I sat in the CRE presentations and deliberations at Waldo Avenue, the Lord impressed strongly on my heart the imagery of this message. On Tuesday, April 8, as I sat in the morning prayer and worship meeting with the Melchisedec Priesthood at the JCRB in the Truman Memorial building, the Lord impressed strongly on my heart the language of this message.

Because of my own fear and recognition of my unworthiness to be used by the Lord in such a solemn manner, I did not rise to bear my testimony then of the word of the Lord as we were deliberating the question of the setting apart of the four mentioned Seventy as Presidents of Seventy. I failed the Lord in that moment, and I ask the forgiveness of the Saints for having delayed my response to the Lord’s promptings when moved to do so.

Submitted in all prayerful humility,
Elder Kerry Lancaster

Jesus Christ's Words of Counsel

My children: How long shall you call Me "Lord," yet do not the things which I say? How long shall you call Me "Master," yet surrender not your will to Mine?

If you would be My disciples, did I not say you must take up your cross and follow Me? My children, when I was scourged and beaten and took up My cross, the path I trod led to Calvary, where My hands and feet were pierced for transgression’s sake, and where I was lifted up and mocked, and died for the sins of the world.

This was done not of My will, but according to the will of My Father in Heaven, for I petitioned My Father to let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless, I surrendered My will to the will of My Father. So you must surrender your will to Me if I am to be your Lord and Master.

If you call Me Master, then yield to the promptings of My Spirit within you, which will lead you to all truth and knowledge. If you call Me Lord, then do that which I have commanded already, which was given for your benefit and blessing.

By taking up your cross and following Me, do so with the full understanding that your path, like Mine, shall lead to your own Calvary. Take up your cross, not according to your own will, but according to Mine. Walk, as I did, up that hill. Allow the nails to pierce your pride. Endure the pain of being raised stripped before your enemies. Accept the shame of being mocked. Suffer the agony of death upon your cross. And you shall be quickened by My Spirit and raised to new Life!

My promises are sure. My Word endures forever and shall not return to Me void. You have My word before you in Scripture, in testimony, in dreams and visions. Why do you seek more light when you have more than most who follow Me? What manner of confirmation is sufficient for you to move forward in faith on the path I have set before you?

O My children! How like My servant and cousin John you are, who, when he was cast into prison and facing his martyrdom at the hands of Herod's servants, sent messengers to Me asking for confirmation of Me, even though he had seen My glory before, and bore witness to the Jews that My Father sent Me into the world.

O My children! How like My servant Peter you are, who, when I appeared to him and other of My disciples in a manner they did not expect or comprehend, walking on the sea, called out to Me asking for confirmation, saying "Lord, if that is You, bid me come unto You!"

Have I come to you, too, in a manner you did not expect? Even so, I have bid you come unto Me. And you, like Peter, began in faith towards Me, but you have looked about and have beheld the boisterousness of the winds and the seas, and you have slipped beneath the waves.

Must I now reach down and pull you up to where I am, and save you from drowning in the waves stirred up by the adversary? Or can you resume your walk of faith as you once started?

O My children! How like My servant Thomas you are, who, upon hearing the witness of those among him who had seen me alive after the grave, refused their witness even though he had walked in faith with them along with Me in the days of My earthly ministry. You, like Thomas, say among yourselves you will not believe until you feel the prints in My hands and thrust your hands in My side! The pain at your lack of faith is like unto that which I endured which caused these ugly scars you seek to touch.

Will you settle for the blessing Thomas received in answer to his desire for confirmation, or will you reach for the blessing to be received by coming unto Me in faith, believing in that which is not seen?

Will you settle for the blessing Peter received when I reached down and pulled him up to where I was, or will you rise up in Faith and resume the walk you once started, in faith renewed?

Will you settle for the confirmation John received, having then to face his death and serve no more in the world in My name, or will you accept the testimony and witness you have already seen and heard?

What shall I do for you now, My children? Whatsoever you shall ask Me, that I will ask the Father for your sake. Be prepared to accept whatsoever comes as a consequence of that which you ask of Me.

Will you bear your own cross, no matter how unpleasant to bear, no matter how lonely the walk when friends desert you on the way (for not all whom you would will walk beside you all the way), no matter how painful the nails, no matter the consequence on the hill at the end of the path? If you will do so, My promise to you is the same as My Father's promise to Me: you shall be quickened and raised to new life and new service, victorious over the designs of the adversary!

Seek then either your own blessing and assurance, or seek the victory of being raised to new life and new service in a priesthood endowed in faith by My Spirit. I will ask the Father to do whatsoever you ask of Me together in faith, agreed in common consent among you.

Even so. Amen.

Book of Mormon Iron Mines Discovered!

2011-05-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

Book of Mormon Iron Mines Discovered!

Many have doubted the Book of Mormon as an historical account because it mentions ancient America's inhabitants having wrought implements of iron. Critics have often used the lack of ancient iron artifacts in Native America as proof the Book of Mormon was a hoax. Until Purdue University and ( National Geographic Feb 11th 2008 ) reported the discovery of a 2000 year old Peruvian iron mine.

The 5 Books In the Book of Mormon Making Claims of Iron

In Ancient America:

2 Nephi 4:21 And I did teach my people that they should build buildings, And that they should work in all manner of wood, and of iron and of copper, and of brass and of steel, and of gold and of silver, and of precious ores which were in great abundance.

Critics of the Book of Mormon will staunchly declare the ancient American Indians did not have steal or iron.
Yet they cannot explain how the Mayan Indian built fantastic squared stone structures. It takes steel or iron to square a stone.

Who carved the Temple of the Cross Tablet? A Mayan with a super hardened finger nail and wood chisel?

Or a Mayan with the finest set of iron stone carving chisels money could by around 690 A.D.?

Jarom 1:19 And we multiplied exceedingly and spread upon the face of the land, And became exceeding rich in gold and in silver, and in precious things, and in fine workmanship of wood, in buildings and in machinery, and also in iron and copper and brass and steel, Making all manner of tools of every kind to till the ground, And weapons of war-

If the Ancient American Indian didn't have iron or steel, how did they do such intricately carved stone sarcophagus lids? When one bothers to think about the issue, it become very obvious the ancient Book of Mormon peoples had steel and iron, yes even Iron mines.

Mosiah 7:6 And he laid a tax of one fifth part of all they possessed: A fifth part of their gold and of their silver, And a fifth part of their ziff and of their copper and of their brass and their iron, And a fifth part of their fatlings, And also a fifth part of all their grain;

Can you imagine building this structure without the aid of steel or Iron?
Mosiah 7:11 And it came to pass that King Noah built many elegant and spacious buildings, And he ornamented them with fine work of wood, And of all manner of precious things- of gold and of silver, and of iron and of brass, and of ziff and of copper;

What ever the Mayan Indians did not have, Iron and steel was not one of those
things. Without iron, Book of Mormon peoples could not have built stone structures which scientists and archaeologists today freely admit rival and even surpass
Egypt's great pyramids.

Ether 4:71 And they did work in all manner of ore, And they did make gold and silver and iron and brass and all manner of metals; And they did dig it out of the earth; Wherefore, they did cast up mighty heaps of earth for to get ore of gold and of silver and of iron and of copper;

Now The Evidence Headlines:

Archaeologist 'strikes gold' with

finds of

ancient Nasca iron ore mine in Peru

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -

**Kevin J. Vaughn Download photo caption below**

A Purdue University archaeologist discovered an intact ancient iron ore mine in South America that shows how civilizations before the Inca Empire were mining this valuable ore.

"Archaeologists know people in the Old and New worlds have mined minerals for thousands and thousands of years," said Kevin J. Vaughn, an assistant professor of anthropology who studies the Nasca civilization, which existed from A.D. 1 to A.D. 750. "Iron mining in the Old World, specifically in Africa, goes back 40,000 years. And we know the ancient people in Mexico, Central America and North America were mining for various materials. There isn't much evidence for these types of mines.

"What we found is the only hematite mine, a type of iron also known as ochre, recorded in South America prior to the Spanish conquest.

This discovery demonstrates that iron ores were important to ancient Andean civilizations."

In 2004 and 2005, Vaughn and his team excavated Mina Primavera, which is located in the Ingenio Valley of the Andes Mountains in southern Peru. The research team performed field checks and collected some samples in 2006 and 2007. The findings of the excavation are published in December's Journal of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society.

The researchers determined that the mine is a human-made cave that was first created around 2,000 years ago. An estimated 3,710 metric tons was extracted from the mine during more than 1,400 years of use. The mine, which is nearly 700 cubic meters, is in a cliffside facing a modern ochre mine.

Vaughn hypothesizes that the Nasca people used the red-pigmented mineral primarily for ceramic paints, but they also could have used it as body paint, to paint textiles and even to paint adobe walls. The Nasca civilization is known for hundreds of drawings in the Nasca Desert, which are known as the Nasca-Lines and can only be seen from the air, and for an aqueduct system that is still used today.

Vaughn and his team discovered a number of artifacts in the mine, including corncobs, stone tools, and pieces of textiles and pottery. The age of the items was determined by radiocarbon dating, a process that determines age based on the decay of naturally occurring elements.

"Archaeologists have a very good sequence of pottery from this region, so I can look at most pots from this region and determine a date within a century that is based on stylistic changes of the pottery," Vaughn said. "Even before the dating, we knew this was an ancient mine because of the ceramic pieces. These very small fragments, about the size of a penny, had distinct designs on them that are characteristic of the early Nasca civilization."

The artifacts from the excavation are being curated by the Instituto Nacional de Cultura of Peru at its museum in Ica, Peru.

Now that there is archaeological evidence that ancient cultures in the Andes were mining iron ore, it is important to give credit to New World civilizations, Vaughn said.

"Even though ancient Andean people smelted some metals, such as copper, they never smelted iron like they did in the Old World," he said. "Metals were used for a variety of tools in the Old World, such as weapons, while in the Americas, metals were used as prestige goods for the wealthy elite."

This excavation was part of Vaughn's Early Nasca Craft Economy Project, a multiyear National Science Foundation-funded study of Nasca ceramic production and distribution. The project's goal is to better understand the origins of inequality and political economy in this ancient culture.

Vaughn says material scientists and engineers, as well as mineralogists, will be interested in this discovery.

"This study of mining is a great example of how archaeology bridges the social and physical sciences," he said.

The National Science Foundation and the Heinz Foundation funded the Mina Primavera excavation. Next, Vaughn will be excavating a habitation site that has a 4,000-year occupation in hopes of understanding the long-term settlement history of the region.

"I hope to continue surveying for mines and mining-related sites in the region, and hopefully undertake additional excavations at the mine," he said.

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, (765) 494-9723,apatterson@purdue.edu

Source: Kevin J. Vaughn, (765) 494-4700,kjvaughn@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096;purduenews@purdue.edu

PHOTO CAPTION:
Kevin J. Vaughn, a Purdue assistant professor of anthropology, holds a pottery fragment he discovered at an excavation site in Nasca, Peru. The piece of pottery is from about the 5th century A.D., which is the same time period as other artifacts he uncovered at Mina Primavera. Vaughn hypothesizes the mine was the source of some of the iron ore pigments used to produce the vibrant colors as seen on this pottery. (Purdue News Service photo/David Umberger)

A publication-quality photo is available athttp://news.uns.purdue.edu/images/+2008/vaughn-peru.jpg

National Geographic Publishes In

Favor of Book of Mormon claims:

Ancient Iron Ore Mine

Discovered in Peruvian Andes

Kelly Hearn in Buenos Aires, Argentina
for National Geographic News

February 11, 2008

A 2,000-year-old mine has been discovered high in mountains in Peru. The find offers proof that an ancient people in the Andes mined hematite iron ore centuries before the Inca Empire, archaeologists say.

The mine was used to tap a vein of hematite, or ochre—the first such mine found in South America that predates the arrival of Spanish conquistadors, experts note.

The discovery, reported by a U.S. archaeologist, was made in southern Peru in the region once inhabited by the ancient Nasca (often spelled "Nazca") culture.

The rare find adds to a slim body of evidence about New World mining practices, said Kevin J. Vaughn, an anthropologist at Purdue University who reported the find.

"Because mining is an extractive industry, it tends to destroy archaeological evidence," he said.

"There is very little evidence of this type of mine. It demonstrates that iron ores were important to ancient Andean civilizations."

The discovery, reported by a U.S. archaeologist, was made in southern Peru in the region once inhabited by the ancient Nasca (often spelled "Nazca") culture.

The rare find adds to a slim body of evidence about New World mining practices, said Kevin J. Vaughn, an anthropologist at Purdue University who reported the find.

"Because mining is an extractive industry, it tends to destroy archaeological evidence," he said.

"There is very little evidence of this type of mine. It demonstrates that iron ores were important to ancient Andean civilizations."

The discovery sheds light specifically on how hematite was used by the Nasca, who flourished along the Pacific coast from about 100 B.C. to around A.D. 600.

The culture is known for etching giant drawings in the Nasca desert, as well as making textiles, designing irrigation systems, and creating colorful pottery adorned with images of plants, animals, and complex religious symbols.

Some evidence suggests that ancient Andeans smelted metals like copper to make "prestige goods" for the elite classes, but this was not the case for the ochre mined at the newfound site, Vaughn explained.

"Our hypothesis is that the Nasca people used the red-pigmented mineral primarily for ceramic paints," Vaughn said.

"Nasca artisans could have also used the hematite to paint textiles or adobe walls, or even use it as body paint."

Vaughn's team is currently comparing the hematite from the mine to hematite pigment found on pottery samples, he added.

Its shaft is a hand-dug cave covering an area of some 700 cubic meters (24,720 cubic feet).

The mine produced some 3,710 metric tons (8,179,066 pounds) of ore over about 1,400 years of use, according to the researchers.

The site also rendered artifacts—such as beads, corncobs, stone tools, pottery shards, and textiles—that have allowed Vaughn's team link the mine to the Nasca.

Most of the artifacts date to the first few centuries A.D.

A paper describing the excavation appeared in the Journal of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society.

Donald Proulx, emeritus professor of anthropology at the University of Massachusetts, called the study "a major step forward in our understanding of the nature of Nasca ceramic production.

"Vaughn and his colleagues are really the first to systematically look for the sources of clay and pigments used for Nasca pottery," he said.

"The discovery of the mine is extremely important, not only for showing us one of the major sources for the pigments, but also for demonstrating from the associated artifacts that the miners were members of the Nasca culture."

The discovery sheds light specifically on how hematite was used by the Nasca, who flourished along the Pacific coast from about 100 B.C. to around A.D. 600.

"Our hypothesis is that the Nasca people used the red-pigmented mineral primarily for ceramic paints," Vaughn said.

"Nasca artisans could have also used the hematite to paint textiles or adobe walls, or even use it as body paint."

Vaughn's team is currently comparing the hematite from the mine to hematite pigment found on pottery samples, he added.

Book of Mormon Hammers Found In Oldest American Iron Mine

7 December 2010

Edited from AFP, The Sydney Morning Herald (6 December 2011)

Oldest mine of the Americas found in Chile

Archaeologists have discovered a 12,000-year-old iron oxide mine in northern Chile, making it the oldest mine yet discovered in all the Americas. The iron oxide mined by the Huentelauquen Indians was used as a pigment in dying cloth and in religious rituals, revealing an unexpected sophistication in what was previously considered a primitive group of people, University of Chile researcher Diego Salazar said.

The ancient mine was discovered near the town of Taltal, in the Antofagasta region, 1,100km north of Santiago, in October 2008, but its antiquity was not determined until tests were conducted this year in US and Polish laboratories. Named 'San Ramon 15', the mine was exploited heavily from 10,000 to 2,000 BCE. It yielded a total of 2,000 tonnes of pigment extracted from 700 cubic metres of rock.

Experts also found a treasure trove of stone and conch mining tools in the area. "We've found more than 1,000 hammers ... but considering the amount of material we have yet to sift through, the real number could rise to several thousands," said archaeologist Hernan Salinas. Before this find, the oldest mine in the Americas was 2,500 years old and located in the USA. The world's most ancient mine is in South Africa and is about 40,000 years old.

Book of Mormon Horses

2011-05-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

Found!

Book of Mormon Horses In America!

Earthshaking discovery of Book of Mormon horses ( Hagerman Horse )

found within Smithsonian Institute.

What! Horses in North American before Hernado Cortez? Nah you gotta be kidding me!

This is the typical response many Book of Mormon believers face from skeptics.

Yet if you search the Book of Mormon, you will find at least 13 verses saying horses existed alongside mankind in Ancient America. Can this be true?

Let's examine the 13 Book of Mormon passages which records horses living alongside Pre-Historic man, prior 1492 when Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

Book of Mormon Records of American Horses

2 Nephi 8:23 Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots;

2 Nephi 8:98 Whose arrows shall be sharp, and all their bows bent, and their horses' hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind, their roaring like a lion.

Enos 1:34 And it came to pass that the people of Nephi did till the land, and raise all manner of grain, and of fruit, and flocks of herds, and flocks of all manner of cattle, of every kind, and goats, and wild goats, and also many horses.

Alma 12:76 And they said unto him, Behold, he is feeding thy horses.

Alma 12:77 Now the king had commanded his servants previous to the time of the watering of their flocks, that they should prepare his horses and chariots, and conduct him forth to the land of Nephi:

Alma 12:79 Now when King Lamoni heard that Ammon was preparing his horses and his chariots, he was more astonished, because of the faithfulness of Ammon, saying,

Alma 12:82 And it came to pass that when Ammon had made ready the horses and the chariots for the king and his servants, he went in unto the king, and he saw that the countenance of the king was changed; therefore he was about to return out of his presence;

Alma 12:188 Now when Lamoni had heard this, he caused that his servants should make ready his horses, and his chariots.

3 Nephi 2:30 And they had taken their horses, and their chariots, and their cattle, and all their flocks, and their herds, and their grain, and all their substance,

3 Nephi 2:44 And the Nephites being in one body, and having so great a number, and having reserved for themselves provisions, and horses, and cattle, and flocks of every kind, that they might subsist for the space of seven years,

3 Nephi 3:1 And now it came to pass that the people of the Nephites did all return to their own lands, in the twenty and sixth year, every man, with his family, his flocks and his herds, his horses and his cattle, and all things whatsoever did belong unto them.

3 Nephi 9:101 Yea, wo be unto the Gentiles, except they repent, for it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Father, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots, and I will cut off the cities of thy land and throw down all thy strongholds;

Ether 4:21 And they also had horses, and asses, and there were elephants, and cureloms, and cumoms: all of which were useful unto man, and more especially the elephants, and cureloms, and cumoms.

Mainstream Christianity would have all Book of Mormon believers think Joseph Smith was a fraud, a liar or the devil in incarnate. Is this truly so? Upon what evidence should we convict Joseph Smith for perjury? Could Joseph Smith have been telling the scientific truth 180 years ago?

Many Book of Mormon critics, have said horses didn't arrive in America till about 500 years ago, around the time of Hernando Cortez. This post dispels that myth by using recognized sources of authority.

Introduction

Years ago as a child and later a young man I was a horse nut! I rode, read and breathed anything horses. As you see above I did well in show competition! When I began to answer my priesthood calling in the RLDS Church, I began meeting people who didn't know horses originated from America... It took a while, but over time I remembered something I had read as a boy about horses. I couldn't put my finger upon it at first, but then I remembered reading a school text book about prehistoric horses in America.

I've compiled this information into one post.... I hope you enjoy. Never let it be said, Joseph Smith was never a prophet, or that he was a liar.... Joseph Smith told the truth. But the worlds knowledge of Ancient American archaeology is just now beginning to catch up with what the Book of Mormon declared and Joseph Smith knew and announced to the world 180 years ago.

Below is the compiled information:

Evidence Book of Mormon History Is Accurate

Horses before "mules" at the Panama Canal

June 15, 2009

Story written and first posted

By the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

http://www.stri.org/english/about_stri/headline_news/news/article.php?id=1001

Evidense for those who doubt the Book of Mormons claimes.

Aldo Rincón, STRI paleontology intern, unearthed a set of fossil teeth in the Panama Canal that Bruce MacFadden, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, describes as belonging to Anchitherium clarencei Aldo Rincón, STRI paleontology intern, unearthed a set of fossil teeth in the Panama Canal that Bruce MacFadden, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, describes as belonging to Anchitherium clarencei, a three-toed browsing horse the size of the modern donkey, living 15 to 18 million years ago.

Once processed, the fossil will return to Panama.Expanding the Panama Canal to make way for super-sized ships is providing geologists and paleontologists with rare finds. Carlos Jaramillo, STRI stratigrapher, has, in collaboration with the University of Florida and the Panama Canal Authority, organized a team of researchers and students who move in following dynamite blasts to map and collect exposed fossils.

"This is one of very few places in the tropics where we have access to fresh outcrops before they are washed away by torrential rains or overgrown by vegetation, and we expect the fossils that we have been salvaging to resolve some major scientific mysteries," said Jaramillo."What geological forces combined to create the Panama land bridge? Were the flora and fauna of Panama before the land bridge closed similar to those of North America, or did they include other elements?"

The latest finding appears in the Journal of Paleontology, vol. 83: 489-492.

Hagerman "Horse" - Equus simplicidens

NPS.GOV

What makes the Hagerman Horse so important? First, the discovery from Hagerman is the largest sample of this extinct species from one locality. Over two hundred individuals of both sexes and all ages were recovered by the Smithsonian. Included are complete skeletons as well as skulls, jaws and detached bones. They were about the size of the present day Arabian horse, and had a single toe (hoof). Vertebrate paleontologists must often work with single, isolated bones or teeth. So it is often difficult to assign them to an already described species when differences in sex or age of an individual are taken into consideration. The large number of individuals recovered at the Hagerman Horse Quarry simplifies this problem here.

Despite the popular use of the name, Hagerman Horse, it is actually more closely related to the zebras. Although we don't have fossil evidence of stripes, the pattern of the chewing surfaces of the teeth and details of the skull and rest of the skeleton indicate that this animal was more closely related to the living Grevy's Zebra of Africa than to horses. So the next time you're at the zoo, take a good look at the zebras on display and you'll have an opportunity to see a close relative of one of the earliest residents of the Hagerman area.

Many different scientific names have been applied to this horse. James W. Gidley, the Smithsonian paleontologist, who led the initial excavations at Hagerman in 1929, felt that the horse being uncovered was different enough in its skeleton that it represented a new species distinct from any other known fossil horse. He proposed the name Plesippus shoshonensis. By placing the Hagerman horse in the genus Plesippus, he considered it to be closely related to another fossil species, Plesippus simplicidens, from Texas. Although another horse, Equus idahoensis, had been described from elsewhere in this region, Dr. Gidley considered his new species to be more primitive. Since the early work of Gidley, many other studies on fossil horses have been made and the consensus is that the horse at Hagerman does belong in the modern genus Equus and that it is the same as the extinct species from Texas, simplicidens. So today most paleontologists refer to the Hagerman Horse by the scientific name of Equus simplicidens.
The Hagerman Horse also has the distinction of being the earliest record of Equus, the genus that includes all modern horses, donkeys, and zebras.

Even though the species found at Hagerman, Equus simplicidens, is known from elsewhere such as Nebraska, Florida, and Texas, all of the other records are much younger, making the sample from Hagerman the oldest.

Did You Know?Hagerman Fossil Beds is one of only three units in the National Park system that contains portions of the Oregon National Historic Trail.

http://www.nps.gov/hafo/naturescience/hagerman-horse.htm

Remains Show Ancient Horses Were Hunted for Their Meat

Hillary Mayellfor National Geographic News
May 11, 2001

Scientists have found the first definitive proof that early humans in North America hunted horses for their meat.

Prehistoric horses, which were much smaller than today's horses, standing about 4.5 feet (1.5 meters) high at the shoulder, became extinct about 10,000 years ago. Scientists considered it likely that hunting by humans was a factor in their extinction, but until now there was no hard proof.

The first conclusive evidence comes from spearheads tainted with the residue of horse protein. They were found along with other animal remains on the river plain of St. Mary's Reservoir in southern Alberta, Canada.

"In the past, we could really only attribute the demise of these ancient horses to climate and environmental changes," said Brian Kooyman, an archaeologist at the University of Calgary and the lead scientist at the dig.

"There has been suggestive evidence at other sites—Lubbock Lake in Texas, for instance—that early peoples were utilizing horses," he said. "But this discovery raises the very real possibility that overhunting by the Clovis people played a significant role in the extinction."
European explorers reintroduced horses to the New World several thousand years after the ancient ones died out.

Prehistoric Detective Work

The floor of the reservoir is covered with animal tracks of mammals, including wooly mammoths, camels, giant bison and helmeted musk oxen. "Clovis points," the spearheads associated with some of the first humans to reach the continent, found in the river plain have been dated to between 11,000 to 11,300 years old.

"The area where the remains were found is large—3 to 4 square kilometers [1 to 1.5 square miles]," Kooyman said. "We uncovered the remains of a prehistoric horse with several smashed vertebrae and bones that bore evidence of butchering, and then two of our students found several Clovis points around 550 yards (500 meters) away."

Laboratory analysis showed that the spearheads had the residue of horse protein on them; they apparently had been thrust into the horse.
"It was a near miss," Kooyman said of the discovery. "We weren't going to bother testing them [for horse protein residue]. We'd had similar findings before and the points all came back from the lab clean. But the two graduate students kept insisting we send them in, and we're glad they did."

As the ice began to retreat on the North American continent 14,000 to 12,000 years ago, humans made their way to the New World. A massive extinction of megafauna—animals weighing more than 100 pounds (45 kilograms)—occurred in North America about 10,000 years ago.

The role of humans in the extinction is the subject of debate among scientists.
"Retreating ice would cause changes in temperature, vegetation bands and probably a patchiness in vegetation and loss of habitat," said Paul McNeil, a Ph.D. candidate in paleontology at the

University of Calgary who has been working the site. "This would stress the animal populations, and it wouldn't take much to push them over the edge to extinction."
"Environment and climate change were definitely factors in the extinction event, but there had been numerous instances of glaciers advancing and retreating during the Pleistocene, and this is the only time we see a megafaunal extinction. The arrival of humans is the only real new factor," he said.

The lakebed where the footprints, animal skeletons and artifacts were found is usually flooded. Currently, however, the region is undergoing a drought. St. Mary's reservoir is expected to fill with water again, perhaps soon, so the scientists are working feverishly—sometimes in the midst of brutal sandstorms—to document the tracks and continue the archaeological excavations.

From a preservation standpoint, McNeil noted, the tracks are better protected under water. "One of the results of glaciations is a denuded countryside, with lots of dust and sand and silt. So when the wind blows it can be fierce enough to erode meters at a time," he said.

The researchers are excited by their discoveries at the site and how they are helping to fill in details of the past. "It's an amazing sight, like a snapshot of what life was like in the late Pleistocene, 10,000 years ago," said McNeil.

"The tracks represent living animals and a living ecosystem. In your mind you can see the animals cohabitating, gathering in the same place," he said. "We've found the only camel tracks we know of in North America—at one place you can see where five of them were walking next to each other."

Threatened by the filling of the lake, Kooyman said: "Right now we're just scrambling to do the really critical things."

Ancient Horses In America

Academy Natural Sciences Give Evidence

Book of Mormon History Accurate

Horses were introduced into the Americas during the 16th Century by the Spanish Conquistadors. Escapees from the Spanish stocks thrived and quickly established large wild populations. The absence of these "noble animals" before the colonization of the New World and the horse's success thereafter were seen by some Europeans as one more bit of evidence that the American fauna was inferior to that of the Old World (1).

The Old World pedigree of the horse was first challenged by the discovery of fossil teeth in South America which had been collected by a young Charles Darwin and examined by Richard Owen in 1840 (2).

There had been scattered reports of fossil horse teeth from the United States, but these were either dismissed or ignored by the European scientific community.
In 1848, Joseph Leidy settled the question of ancient horses in North American by publishing a systematic examination of Pleistocene (Ice Age) horse fossils from the collections at the Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia and elsewhere (3).

He concluded that there were at least two North American horses species and that both were different from Old World species (4).

Top view of four molars of Equus occidentalis. This image is a detail from a lithograph in Extinct Fauna of the Western Territories (1873). Click here or on the fossil to view the full lithograph.
The implication of ancient horses in the Americas was significant. After all, if wild horses were present during the Pleistocene (Ice Age) and thrived once they were re-introduced by the Spaniards, why were they missing when the Spaniards arrived? In 1848 Leidy wrote:

"For it is very remarkable that the genus Equus should have so entirely passed away from the vast pastures of the western world, in after ages to be replaced by a foreign species to which the country has proved so well adapted: and it is impossible, in the present state of our knowledge, to conceive what could have been the circumstances which have been so universally destructive to the genus upon one continent, and so partial in its influence upon the other." (5).

In later years Leidy had the opportunity to examine and describe other fossil horses. Some were the same or closely related to the Pleistocene species he wrote about in 1848. Others were much older. The most notable of these were the Pliocene horses from the Niobrara River area of Nebraska and the Miocene horses from the White River Badlands of South Dakota. By the end of his career Leidy had described and named several new species of horses belonging to Equus, Anchippus, Anchitherium, Hipparion, Hippodon, Merychippus, Parahippus and Protohippus (6).

Top view of the molar teeth of Protohippus perditus(top) and Merychippus mirabilis (bottom). These images are details from a lithograph published in On the Extinct Mammalian Fauna of Dakota and Nebraska (1869). Click here or on the teeth to view the full lithograph.
Leidy provided detailed descriptions of these fossil horses and compared the anatomies of the different species. He noted patterns of increased crown height and structural complexity in horses teeth. Although most of the material at his disposal were teeth or jaw fragments, he was also aware that some ancient horses such as Hipparion had three toes rather than one. However, Leidy —ever reluctant to theorize— never published on the evolutionary relationships of horses.
That task would be acomplished by O. C. Marsh a few years after Leidy had abondoned paleontology. Marsh was guilty of oversimplification, (7) but his sequence of transitional fossils was a stunning achievement instrumental to the acceptance of Evolution among scientists and the public.

The honors assocated with the elucidation of horse evolution would rightly go to Marsh, but it was also Leidy who alerted the world to the riches in fossil horses to be found in North America. In his 1869 monograph, On the Extinct Mammalia of Dakota and Nebraska Leidy took delight in noting that all of the eight genera of fossil horses then known to sciencecould be found in North America while only three were known from the Old World. In addition he commented:

"The Solidungulates [horses and their close relatives] are better represented than in the recent fauna of any part of the world, and indeed the Pliocene deposits of the Niobrara would appear to indicate that the North American Continent was at one time emphatically the country of Horses."
top of page

Websites:
Florida State Museum's Fossil Horse Cybermuseum:www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/vertpaleo/fhc/firstCM.htm

Kathleen Hunt's web page on Horse Evolution:www.talkorigins.org/faqs/horses/horse_evol.html
top of page

Notes:
The idea of the inferiority of the New World's fauna was shared by many Europeans, including some scientists. The formalized by the great French scientist de Buffon (1707-1788) during the 1760s. He theorized that the lack of superior animals such as the horse, lion or elephant in the New World was caused by its harsher climate. Buffon de-emphasized the theory later in his long and productive career, but many Europeans continued to perceive an inferiority in the American fauna; a notion readily reinforced by comparisions with the Eurasian and African faunae. Fossil discoveries by Leidy, O.C. Marsh, E.D. Cope, among others, thoroughly discredited any notion of Old World monopoly on impressive animals. [go back]

Charles Darwin collected the fossil horse teeth during his voyage on the Beagle. He forwarded the fossils to Richard Owen, the great British paleontologist and anatomist who first coined the word "Dinosauria". Owens concluded that the South American horse was distinct from the Old World species and named it Equus curvidens.[go back]

On the fossil horses of America. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 3(11): 262-266.[go back]

Leidy identified two species. The first was the same species named by Richard Owen, Equus curvidens. The second was a new species which Leidy first named Equus americanus. Ten years later, Leidy discovered that the name "americanus" had already been used for another South American fossil horse, so he renamed his species Equus complicatus.[go back]

Leidy wondered why the horse become extinct in the Americas when its successful reintroduction by the Spaniards demonstrated that the New World was a favorable environment. Darwin asked the same question (in nearly the same way) 11 years later. Today's scientists still grapple with this question. Most consider climatic change, over-hunting by newly arrived humans or a combination of the two as the most plausible explanations for the extinction of the American horse (and other large mammals) at the end of the Pleistocene.[go back]

Etymology:Equus (EH-kwis) = horseAnchihippus (ANK-ee-HIP-us) = near or close to horseAnchitherium (ANK-ee-THEER-ee-um) = near or close to beastHipparion (hih-PAIR-ee-on) = pony Hippodon (HIP-oh-don) = horse toothMerychippus (MARE-ee-HIP-us) = ruminant-like horseParahippus (PAR-ah-HIP-us) = near horseProtohippus (PRO-toe-HIP-us) = first horse[go back]

O. C. Marsh, with considerable encouragement from Thomas Huxley, presented the story of horse evolution as a simple, linear progression from a small forest mammal with generalized teeth and multi-toed feet to the large and fleet horse with single-toed feet and teeth specialized for feeding in the open grassland. This scenario reinforced the widespread perception of progressive evolution. Although it was first proposed as a demonstration of Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection, this linear progression later prompted some notable paleontologists, including Henry Fairfield Osborn and William B. Scott, to propose orthogenesis (innately directed evolution) as more plausible than Darwin's natural selection in explaining evolution. It wasn't until the middle of the 20th century, George Gaylord Simpson demonstrated a more complicated and considerably less progressive history of horse evolution, that Darwinian natural selection became the central mechanism for evolution.

Above:

Another Photo of Smithsonian Scientists

excavating Hagerman horse fossil

Complete Fossil of Ancient Horse Found in Peru
Monday, 24 February 2003

Horses reached the Americas long ago, but eventually died out LIMA: Geologists have uncovered the most complete horse fossil in the Americas, expanding knowledge of an ancient species that had died out on the continent 10,000 years ago.A team from Peru's Natural History Museum told reporters on Friday they had discovered the preserved skeleton of an Equus (Amerihippus) santaeelenae in July 2002 in the arid region of Arequipa, about 1,000 km south of Lima.

The fossil, unearthed in an area of volcanic ash and mud flows, had its head arched back and its front legs splayed out in front of its body. It was to be put on public display in the capital Lima at the end of the month. "Without a doubt, this is the most complete horse fossil that exists in the Americas. Absolutely all the bones have been preserved," said Rodolfo Salas, head of the palaeontology department at the museum. Compared to today's horse, the Equus santaeelenae had a large head, a thick neck and short legs. "It was definitely a good runner ... and lived in open areas like savannahs or pastures," Salas said.

Horses are thought to have arrived in South America about 3 million years ago, making their way across the isthmus of Panama from North America. But its population dwindled and it became extinct about 10,000 years ago - about the same time humans are believed to have settled South America. They were re-introduced following the arrival of Spanish conquistadors and colonists in the 16th century."Horses were reintroduced to South America," he added. "With this (find) we hope to remind people this animal did exist here." Reuters Note for Blog Manager: So you see, the Book of Mormon could well be an inspired work after all!

Other Links and Stories About Horses In North America...

http://www.turanianhorse.org/prehistoric.html

Skeleton of the Oligocene (30 million-year-old) horse, Mesohippus, is a
featured exhibit at the new North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame in MedoraBy John W. Hoganson

https://www.dmr.nd.gov/ndfossil/education/pdf/mesohip.pdf

Developers of the recently opened North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame contacted me about having a fossil exhibit in the

new Hall in Medora. Of course, what would be more appropriate than an exhibit interpreting the evolution of the horse? Most

people are under the false impression that horses did not inhabit North America until they were introduced by the Spaniards

during the early days of conquest. But horses are indigenous to North America. Fossil remains of the earliest horse, referred

to as Hyracotherium (or sometimes Eohippus), have been recovered from early Eocene (about 50 million years old) rocks in

North America. In fact, they were some of the most abundant mammals that lived during that time. The fossil record of horses

in North Dakota extends back to the Oligocene, about 30 million years ago, when the diminutive horse, Mesohippus roamed

western North Dakota. Mesohippus was tiny, about the size of a sheep. The adults were only about 20 inches tall at the

shoulder. They also had three toes on each foot compared to the modern horse Equus that has one. Mesohippus was also

probably more of a browsing herbivore compared to the modern grazing horse. We have found many Mesohippus fossils in

North Dakota but no complete skeletons. Consequently, the Mesohippus skeleton on exhibit at the Cowboy Hall of Fame is an

exact cast replica.

We have also found the remains of 50,000-year-old horses in North Dakota indicating that horses lived here during the last

Ice Age. By that time, horses had attained the size and aspect of modern-day horses and are placed in the modern horse genus,

Equus. Horses did become extinct in North America some time near the end of the Ice Age, several thousand years ago. Why

they became extinct in North America and not in the Old World is a matter of debate. Spanish conquistadors did have horses

with them when they arrived in the southwestern part of what is now the United States in the 1500s, but most scholars believe

that Native Peoples in the southwest probably did not have extensive access to horses until the 1600s. Apparently the Mandan

in North Dakota acquired horses by about 1750. The importance of the horse to Plains Indians cannot be overstated. In this

respect, some scholars have referred to the period from the time Native Peoples obtained horses until the near extermination

of the buffalo about 1880 as the “Horse Culture Period.” The importance of the horse on the Great Plains extends to the days

of pioneers and settlers and is equally prominent today in Cowboy culture.

Skeleton (cast) of the 30-million-year-old horse, Mesohippus,

on display at the new North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame in

Medora.

Architectural sketch of the new North Dakota Cowboy Hall of

Fame in Medora.

Restored Covenant Edition Book of Mormon

2011-05-06T19:49:00.000-07:00

The Zarahemla Research Foundation

WHO WE ARE

Zarahemla Research Foundation is a non-profit, tax-deductible organization dedicated to Book of Mormon research. The foundation is not associated with any specific religious organization. Membership is open to anyone interested in Book of Mormon research.

OUR PURPOSE

Our purpose is to prepare believers for the Book of Mormon Breakthrough—the time when the Lord will take the Book of Mormon to the world in great spiritual power. We know that the Lord is growing the Bible and the Book of Mormon together in order to confound false doctrines, settle contentions, establish peace, and restore the covenants to the remnant of the house of Israel (2 Nephi 2:20-23).
The potential of the Book of Mormon is equal to the Bible, but there has been so little done with the Book of Mormon in comparison to the Bible that a giant vacuum exists. The Lord is in the process of filling that vacuum, and we are all called to be a part of that work. At Zarahemla, we are involved in researching all facets of the Book of Mormon and making that information available.

THE RESTORED COVENANT EDITION

The Restored Covenant Edition (RCE) has been prepared because, according to our testimony, the Lord directed us to do it:

to restore the purity of the Book of Mormon-restoring words from the manuscripts that were either left out or changed,
to restore the main purpose of the Book of Mormon which is to restore a knowledge of the covenants,
to restore a knowledge of the underlying spiritual name of the Book of Mormon which is Book of the Restoration of the Covenant because "Mormon" means restoration of the covenant,
to restore the poetic nature of the text making it easier to read and to comprehend and making it easier to identify various types of Hebrew poetry and
to restore a natural versification (independent of verse numbers) by grouping like thoughts together through the use of blank lines thus making it easier to comprehend.

Forty Things that Covenant People Do…

2011-05-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

Forty Things that Covenant People Do…

(As stated by King Benjamin to the people of Zarahemla in the Book of Mosiah)

1. They will prosper if they keep the commandments (1:72)

2. They will be kept from falling into the hands of their enemies (1:71)

3. They are aware that allowing contentions among them is to choose to obey the Evil one (1:73)

4. They will render all they have and are to the Heavenly Father (1:77)

5. They know that the Spirit can and will guide them in all things (1:79)

6. They know that going contrary to that which they have been taught and known, which is open rebellion, will cause that same Spirit to withdraw (1:79)

7. They understand that not repenting from rebellion will cause us to spend eternity away from God and die an enemy to him (1:83)

8. They are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual (1:89)

9. They realize that there shall be no other name given, nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ (1:116)

10. They yield to the enticing of the Holy Spirit, and put off the natural man (1:120)

11. They know that little children will be found blameless before God (1:122)

12. They know that those accountable shall be judged for their works. (1:126)

13. They view themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth (2:2)

14. They pray for forgiveness and purity through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ (2:3)

15. They believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth (2:4)

16. They believe that redemption comes only through Christ (2:12)

17. They believe in God and believe he exists, and that he created all things both in heaven and in earth (2:13)

18. They believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth (2:14)

19. They believe that man can not comprehend all things which the Lord can comprehend (2:15)

20. They believe that we must repent of your sins and forsake them, and in humility, ask to be forgiven (2:16)

21. They always retain in remembrance the greatness of God, and their own nothingness, and remember His goodness and long suffering towards them (2:20)

22. They call on the name of the Lord daily (2:21)

23. They stand steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, knowing that in so doing they shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of their sins (2:21)

24. They will continue to grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created them (2:23)

25. They will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due (2:24)

26. They will not suffer their children, that they go hungry, or naked, or suffer them to transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another (2:25)

27. They will teach their children to walk in the ways of truth and soberness (2:27)

28. They will help those that stand in need help; and will administer of their substance to those that standeth in need (2:28)

29. They will not suffer the petition of those in need to be ignored (2:29)

30. They know that withholding good to those in need brings condemnation, understanding that we all depend on the same God for all we have (2:37)

31. They feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants (2:43)

32. They watch themselves, their thoughts, their words and deeds, and observe to keep the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of their lives (2:49)

33. They believe all the words of God (3:2)

34. The proof of God’s word is verified in them, because they have no more disposition to do evil (3:3)

35. They desire to do good continually (3:4)

36. They are willing to enter into a covenant with our God, to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days (3:6)

37. They take on the name of Christ (3:8)

38. They are spiritually ‘begotten’, in that they have chosen to change from evil carnal desires to good spiritual desires. (3:9)

39. They are made spiritually free for making their covenant (3:10)

40. They shall be found at the right hand of God (3:12)

41. They are steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works (3:21)

42. They believe that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, has sealed them as his, and they will be brought to heaven, and have everlasting salvation and eternal life (3:21)

Barley Found in the New World

2011-05-06T04:57:00.000-07:00

Barley Found in the New World

by Raymond C. Treat

INTRODUCTION

Some very exciting and faith-rewarding news for Book of Mormon believers, the first discovery of barley in the New World, has been reported in the December issue of Science 83, pp. 28-37, under the title "Lost Ditch Archeology", by Daniel B. Adams, a graduate student in paleontology at the University of California, Berkely.

This discovery constitutes one of the most important archaeological breakthroughs ever in support of the Book of Mormon. If this identification of barley is valid, and it appears to be, it will cause a major shift in the thinking of New World archaeologists, a shift which will be a giant step toward the ever growing physical validation of Book of Mormon history. The following analogy will help us to appreciate the importance of this discovery: Consider the Book of Mormon as a great reservoir of truth. Then envision a gigantic dam erected by tradition and unbelief to hold back this truth. As we shall see, the foundations of this dam have been weakening for some time. Taken in this context, the discovery of barley in the New World is the equivalent of an actual crack at the base of the dam sufficiently wide to allow water to start trickling through. Now that the trickle has started, it is only a matter of time before the complete collapse of the dam, which will allow the truth of the Book of Mormon to cover the earth as a flood.

BARLEY DISCOVERED

The barley was discovered in Hohokam deposits in Phoenix, Arizona as a result of excavations carried out by Arizona State University. The Hohokam Indians were present in the Phoenix area from about 300 B.C. to about A.D. 1450. They may have come from Mesoamerica since a number of Mesoamerican traits were present in their culture such as similar figurine styles, the use of cotton, their textile techniques, ball courts, platform mounds and copper bells. The Hohokam culture is famous in the Southwest for a number of things including the construction of a massive system of irrigation canals. Over 1000 miles of canals as large as 30 feet wide and seven feet deep were built by these industrious ancient people.
Adams states in Science 83:

Perhaps the most startling evidence of Hohokam agricultural sophistication came last year when salvage archeologists found preserved grains of what looks like domesticated le , the first ever found in the New World. Wild barleys have a fibrous husk over each grain. Domestic barley locks this. So does the Hohokam barley. "It's debatable whether this is genetic or some extreme skill in processing," says Vorsila Bohrer, an ethnobotanist at Eastern New Mexico University. Nearly half the samples from one site yielded barley. (page 32)

BOOK OF MORMON: BARLEY IN THE NEW WORLD

The Book of Mormon tells us that barley was cultivated in the New World from the time of the Jaredites. This quote from the Nephite period is about 120 B.C.:

And behold, we at this time do pay tribute to the king of the Lamanites, to the amount of one half of our corn, and our barley, and even all our grain of every kind, and one half of the increase of our flocks, and our herds. Mosiah 5:35

ARCHAEOLOGY: NO BARLEY IN THE NEW WORLD

On the other hand, New World archaeology has always maintained that barley was not available in the New World. Probably the main reason for this belief is that it was not found in the New World at the time of European contact. Archaeologists thought that if it had been in the New World previously it certainly would not have disappeared before European contact. Since New World archaeologists "knew" that barley did not exist they did not look for it. This would help account for why it has not been discovered until now. We can expect more discoveries of barley to follow this initial discovery. The discovery of barley is important in itself but there is more to the story.

BARLEY IS JUST THE BEGINNING

Barley is not only an Old World cereal grain but is part of a larger Old World food production system which includes wheat sheep, goats, cattle, horses etc. The Book of Mormon tells us that all of these items were also in the New World:

And in the space of sixty and two years, they had become exceeding strong, insomuch that they become exceeding rich, having all manner of fruit, and of grain, and of silks, and of fine linen, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things, and also all manner of cattle, of oxen, and cows, and of sheep, and of swine, and of goats, and also many other kind of animals which were useful for the food of man: and they also had horses, and asses, and there were elephants, and cureloms, and cummoms: all of which were useful unto man ... Ether 4:19-21

This quote from Ether tells us that Old World groins and animals were brought to the New World by the Jaredites When the Nephites arrived, they tell about finding Old World animals in the wilderness. These would have been descendents of animals brought over by the Jaredites. The Nephites, too, brought grain.

And it come to pass that we did begin to till the earth, and we began to plant seeds, yea, we did put all our seeds into the earth, which we had brought from the land of Jerusalem. And it came to pass that they did grow exceedingly; wherefore, we were blessed in abundance. And it come to pass that we did find upon the land of promise, as we journeyed in the wilderness, that there were beasts in the forests of every kind, both the cow, and the ox, and the ass, and the horse, and the goat, and the wild goat, and all manner of wild animals, which were for the use of men. I Nephi 5:214-216

And we began to till the ground, yea, even with all manner of seeds, with seeds of corn, and of wheat, and of barley, and with neas, and with sheum, and with seeds of all manner of fruits; an we did begin to multiply and prosper in the land. Mosiah 6:12

To summarize then, the Book of Mormon has been telling us since 1830 that the Old World food production system (e.g. barley, wheat, sheep, goats, cattle, horses etc.) was available in the New World for at least 2300-2400 years while archaeology has said it was never in the New World prior to European contact.
Because one part of this system, barley, has now been found, we assume it is only a matter of time before the rest of the system is discovered. When this happens it will invalidate one of the main tenets of archaeology, namely, that New World civilization developed on its own, independent from the Old World. This would cause a major restructuring of archaeological thinking which would lead archaeology even closer to the discovery that the Book of Mormon is valid history The Book of Mormon tells us that New World civilization did come from the Old World by way of the Jaredites Nephites and Mulekites. The discovery of barley, therefore, is only the beginning of this latest process which certainly must be part of the Lord's timing in these last days.

It seems clear that the absence of the New World food system at the time of European contact was part of a divine plan to provide a greater witness in our day. The mystery remains as to how all these foods and animals died out. The answer may be found in either environmental or cultural factors or a combination of both.
As mentioned, the barley has been found in Hohokam deposits from the Phoenix area. Arizona, along with the rest of the United States, is not part of Book of Mormon geography. However, most, if not all, Indian tribes in the United States are descendents of Book of Mormon peoples. The Book of Mormon took place in Mesoamerica (southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and parts of Honduras and El Salvador). Archaeologists recognize that several areas of the United States, including the U.S. Southwest, were influenced by Mesoamerica. It is therefore likely that Hohokam barley originated in Mesoamerica. Although barley has not been found in Mesoamerica yet, mainly because archaeologists have not been looking for it, it appears to be only a matter of time before it is found. The stage has already been set by recent developments in Maya archaeology (see Zarahemla Record #1 Classic Maya Population: An Example of Convergence) and by the fact that phytoliths can be used for identifying wheat and barley (see Zarahemla Record #2 Wheat and Barley: Problem or Opportunity).

BARLEY: PART OF A PATTERN OF DIVINE TIMING

The discovery of barley in the New World is not an isolated event. It is part of a series of Book of Mormon related events which we can only conclude are part of a definite plan which God is carrying out in preparation for the establishment of Zion in our day (see Fig. 1). Eleven events have been identified so far in the last five years as being part of this plan: I in 1979, 3 in 1980, 2 in 1981, 2 in 1982 and 3 in 1983. Each is unique and each appears most certainly to be the beginning of an ongoing process.

1979

The book, The Discovery of Genesis by Kong and Nelson was published in 1979. From this book, we learn that part of the history of the Jaredites has been preserved in the characters of the Chinese language. We learn that whoever first formulated the Chinese language had the story of Genesis. This is strong circumstantial evidence that it was the Jaredites who were responsible for the origin of the Chinese language since we believe they carried the original story of Genesis with them in the form of the Book of Remembrance. Other evidence from the Book of Mormon and from archaeology tells us that the Jaredites migrated from the Sumerian area of Mesopotamia across Asia and through China on their way to the New World. Through the work on the Chinese characters the Lord is beginning the process that will bring the knowledge of the Jaredites to the world. At one time they were the greatest civilization in the world. Such a people can not be hidden forever. Their history has been locked into the Chinese characters for about 4300 years. This information could have come forth long ago. We should assume, therefore, that its appearance in 1979 is due to divine timing (see Zarahemla Record #12 for more information on the Chinese characters).

1980

The discovery of the original Anthon transcript in 1980 must also be due to divine timing since this piece of paper, which has been preserved all these years, could have been discovered at any time in the lost 100 years or more. We now have, for the first time, an accurate copy of some of the characters from the Book of Mormon. This will facilitate comparison with known languages. More importantly, it is logical to assume that the appearance of the Book of Mormon characters is a prelude to the appearance of further Book of Mormon related records (see Zarahemla Record #9 and #11).

According to Jewish custom, a Year of Jubilee occurs every fifty years. All debts are cancelled and a new beginning is made. Such a year was 1980 as was 1830 certainly a time of new beginning. In 1980 a portion of the Book of Mormon in Hebrew was taken to Israel. Significantly, this portion included the part of the Book of Mormon from the Small Plates of Nephi. One purpose of the small plates is to provide a special witness to the Jews (see Zarahemla Record #11).

The fourth event, and the third one in 1980, was the publication of Ancient Mesoamerica, a map of Book of Mormon geography by Ralph Lesh (see Zarahemla Record #10). Again it is easy to see the theme of timing in the coming forth of this map because all of the information on the map comes from the Book of Mormon. This means that the map could have been produced any time since 1930. The map is part of the process that will eventually end in a complete Book of Mormon geography equal to if not better than that currently available for the Bible. The developments in the Book of Mormon geography are certainly part of the Lord's plan for our day and are a signal that a day of great spiritual power is soon to break upon us. Yes, 1980 was surely a time of new beginning for the Book of Mormon.

1981

The next year 1981' witnessed two events, the Joseph Smith III blessing one of five important Restoration documents that are a part of the eleven event series, and the publication of the book Chiasmus in Antiquity (see Zarahemla Record #17/18). The blessing is part of the process that will eventually demonstrate to the world that Joseph Smith Jr. wasa prophet of God and that the Book of Mormon is divine.
The significance of the book Chiasmus in Antiquity, aside from revealing the chiastic nature of the Book of Mormon, is that it is one of the first, if not the first, books written mostly by secular non Book of Mormon related scholars in which there is a chapter dealing with the Book of Mormon as a valid book. The book is not for the general public. It was written by and for specialists in ancient languages. For a scholar to have his name associated with a book that has a pro Book of Mormon chapter in it is no light matter since his reputation ion may be at stake.

The discovery that the Book of Mormon, like the Bible, has a great deal of chiastic writing in it is very significant. Chiastic writing is found in a number of ancient languages, most prominently in ancient Hebrew. Not only does the identification of the chiasms in the Book of Mormon help us in our study and appreciation of the book but their presence demonstrates that neither Joseph Smith Jr. nor any other nineteenth-century author had the capability to write the Book of Mormon.

1982

In 1982 letters by Martin Harris, One of the three witnesses, and Lucy Mack Smith, mother of Joseph Smith Jr., were first made public (see Zarahemla Record #17/18). The Harris letter reaffirms his testimony about seeing the plates. Harris states: "... and lo there came a voice from heaven saying 'I am the Lord,' and that the plates were translated by God and not by men, and also that we should bear record of it to all the world, and thus the vision was taken from us." While the testimony of Martin Harris is not new, the discovery of this version of it in 1982, especially taken together with the other ten items, is a reminder to us that the Book of Mormon is indeed of divine origin since this letter could have been discovered earlier.

The Lucy Mack Smith letter is very significant. It is the earliest dated Restoration document and was written during the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. As such, it helps to verify Joseph Smith's account of the origin of the Book of Mormon. Critics have said that Joseph made up the account since he did not write it until several years later. They fail to point out that delayed reporting of important history is normal. Lucy's letter also gives us for the first time some information from the 116 lost pages. At the time that Lucy wrote the letter, January 23, 1829, this was the only portion of the Book of Mormon that had been translated. The information is that Ishmael was Sariah's brother. This helps explain why Ishmael and his family were willing to go with Lehi into the desert. Ishmael is also an Arabic name, which means that Ishmael and Sariah were at I east partly Arabic. Therefore, the Arabia people have a connection to the Book of Mormon. Lehi's first two sons, Laman and Lemuel have Arabic names. This is a clue that Lehi's early married life had a strong Arabic influence. Incidently, the next two sons, Sam and Nephi, had Egyptian names, showing that Lehi's interest had shifted. The Lost two sons, Jacob and Joseph, have House of Israel names reflecting Lehi's awareness of his lineage after reading the Plates of Brass and also his calling as a prophet of God. This letter also could have been discovered earlier, therefore, its appearance in 1982 suggests that its message too is part of a divine plan.

1983

Another event concerning Book of Mormon geography occurred early in 1983. This was the discovery that a Maya hieroglyph provided information suggesting the exact location of a Book of Mormon city (see Zarahemla Record #19/20/21). Since Book of Mormon geography has been subject to a wide range of opinion for so many years, it is significant that the pieces of the puzzle are starting to fall into place. Serious students of this subject no longer argue about the general area where the Book of Mormon took place, which is Mesoamerica, but have advanced to discussions as to whereabouts in Mesoamerica various sites are located.
In August, 1983, on announcement was made about the discovery of additional fragments from one of the original manuscripts of the Book of Mormon, the one that had been placed in the cornerstone of the Nauvoo House. Again, the focus here is not on any new information, although there is some to be gained, but on timing. The message here seems to be that we are approaching the time when some additional Book of Mormon records will be brought forth.
Then, as described above, come the announcement of the discovery of barley in December, 1983. Eleven events have occurred in five years. if any of these events had occurred alone or with one or two other events we might not have considered them to be part of a deliberate divine plan. However, the occurrence of all eleven in the lost five years, especially since they are of a nature or quality the likes of which we have not seen since the Book of Mormon come forth, leads us to conclude that here indeed, is a divine message. Our concern should then be that we will be able to correctly interpret and respond to this message.

This article taken from Recent Book of Mormon Developments, vol. 1, p 15-18.