- THE SPALDING RESEARCH PROJECT -
Sacred Book? | Conneaut Giants | Mormons and the Mounds | 1816 Port Folio | Chronology
Introduction | Setting the Context | A Lame Theory Run Amok | Going Beyond the Book's Stories
New Possibilities: the Psycho-social Context | Some Further Discussion | Conclusion | Appendices
And long they’ve lived by hunting, Alma 63: And it came to pass that in the thirty and seventh year of the reign of the judges, there was a large company of men, even to the amount of five thousand and four hundred men, with their wives and their children, departed out of the land of Zarahemla into the land which was northward. And it came to pass that Hagoth, he being an exceedingly curious man, therefore he went forth and built him an exceedingly large ship, on the borders of the land Bountiful, by the land Desolation, and launched it forth into the west sea, by the narrow neck which led into the land northward. And behold, there were many of the Nephites who did enter therein and did sail forth with much provisions, and also many women and children; and they took their course northward. And thus ended the thirty and seventh year. And in the thirty and eighth year, this man built other ships. -- And the first ship did also return, and many more people did enter into it; and they also took much provisions, and set out again to the land northward. And it came to pass that they were never heard of more. And we suppose that they were drowned in the depths of the sea. And it came to pass that one other ship also did sail forth; and whither she did go we know not. Mormon 4: And in this year they did come down against the Nephites with all their powers; and they were not numbered because of the greatness of their number. And from this time forth did the Nephites gain no power over the Lamanites, but began to be swept off by them even as a dew before the sun. And it came to pass that the Lamanites did come down against the city Desolation; and there was an exceedingly sore battle fought in the land Desolation, in the which they did beat the Nephites. Ether 15: He saw that there had been slain by the sword already nearly two millions of his people, and he began to sorrow in his heart; yea, there had been slain two millions of mighty men, and also their wives and their children. He began to repent of the evil which he had done; he began to remember the words which had been spoken by the mouth of all the prophets, and he saw them that they were fulfilled thus far, every whit; and his soul mourned and refused to be comforted. Introduction Occam’s razor states that given two explanations for a phenomenon, the simplest one is usually the right one. Using this rule, we have the premise that the Book of Mormon originated without any miraculous events, but I will conclude that it is still, under those conditions, a book of considerable value. In this paper, I will attempt to show why I believe that the Mormons' text can help answer a number of questions posed by past writers. For example: Was there a pre-Columbian higher civilization north of what is now Mexico? Was it indigenous or imported? Where do the stories of an ancient "lost book" fit into America's past? Can any such lost book help explain some of the variety in American Indian traditions, appearance, or genetics? Why did some early Indians refuse to live in the "dark and bloody land" of Kentucky? The list goes on and on. Might the Book of Mormon be something other than what it purports to be, and yet still preserve vague recollections of America's forgotten past? Before I outline my main conclusions in this regard, I'll need to first address Mormon claims regarding their sacred book. I do this not out of any wish to offend that people's beliefs and traditions, but out of my deep desire to present an alternate interpretation of that book. origins. From the very beginning, advocates of the Book of Mormon have asserted that its antiquity can be demonstrated by archaeological evidence. Rev. David Marks, one of the earliest writers to notice this strange volume, said in 1831: "When I was in Ohio, I had quite a curiosity to know the origin of the numerous mounds and remains of ancient fortifications that abound in that section of the country... Having been told that the 'Book of Mormon' gave a history of them, and of their authors...I wished to read it... and I read two hundred and fifty pages; but was greatly disappointed... From all the circumstances, I thought it probably had been written originally by an infidel, to see how much he could impose on the credulity of men." But the Mormon book does not stop with its supposed identification of the prehistoric Ohio Valley earthworks builders; it also purports to reveal who exterminated that mound-building race. As early as 1830, Mormon missionaries were teaching that the people guilty of this alleged mass genocide of God's chosen race, were none other than the American Indians (who are themselves said to be devolved Israelites): "This new Revelation [the Book of Mormon], they say is especially designed for the benefit, or rather for the christianizing of the Aborigines of America; who, as they affirm, are a part of the tribe of Manasseh, and whose ancestors landed on the coast of Chili 600 years before the coming of Christ, and from them descended all the Indians of America." [emphasis added] Orson Pratt, one of the top leaders of Mormondom, was still teaching these same allegations several months later, when he and his missionary companion preached at the Venango County courthouse in Franklin, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 11, 1832: "We are commanded by the Lord to declare his will to effect his intended purpose.... Six hundred years before Christ a certain prophet called Lehi went out to declare and promulgate the prophecies to come; he came across the water into South America... there they [Lehi's people] were divided into two parties; one wise, the other foolish; the latter were therefore cursed with yellow skins; which is supposed to mean the Indians of the Rocky Mountains... The greater part of the people were... destroyed 400 years after Christ. The last battle that was fought among these parties was on the very ground where the plates were found... at Manchester. -- The plates state that we shall drive back the Indians to the South and West: with a promise, however, to be brought back in the fulness of time." Are these sorts of professions and accusations really "God's truth" about where American antiquities came from? Do the pages of the Book of Mormon really provide evidence of its great antiquity? Was the fallen remnant of God's chosen people really massacred in a final, great battle fought at Manchester, New York more than fourteen centuries before the book's 1830 publication? Do the Book of Mormon's stories really date from the days of Noah's flood, and from the Babylonian captivity of the Jews, and from the crucifixion of Jesus -- or are the book's stories based upon events significantly more recent than LDS assertions make them out to be? |
 Joseph Smith preaches Book of Mormon to Cousin Lemuel Setting the Context Since the Book of Mormon purports to describe pre-Columbian American societies, perhaps the first question it should be able to answer, is: Who are the native tribes of the "New" World? How did they come to inhabit the vast stretches of two continents? Why were they so unlike the Old World peoples, when first "discovered" by the ocean-crossing European explorers? Two centuries ago there was a great deal of speculation in regard to these very same questions. Scholars on both sides of the Atlantic pondered such matters very seriously. After all, if the inhabitants of the Americas were not somehow accounted for, as descendants of the biblical Adam and Eve, they might not be human at all! And the Holy Bible might prove to be an incomplete or imperfect record of human history! There were many theoretical explanations as to who (or even what) American Indians were. Those natural historians and antiquarians who reported upon the New World's archaeological remains saw evidence in North America that it had once been home to a high level of civilization -- to cultures nearly comparable to those of the Valley of Mexico and MesoAmerica. Some speculative writers could not bring themselves to admit that even the highly organized pre-Columbian societies of Latin America could have possibly developed all by themselves, in a world totally detached from Europe, Asia and Africa, however. Surely, they thought, the American Indians could not have originated the impressive antiquities and social orders of the seemingly vanished early inhabitants. Whatever was admirable, artistic or civilized in the New World must somehow have been imported from across the sea. And once the Pope in Rome had declared that the western hemisphere tribes were truly "people" with savable souls, some reasonable explanation had to be given for their Old World origins, as well. (Williams, 1991) The Book of Mormon story is clearly not such a reasonable explanation, and its racism in presuming that everything good is European (or at least Mediterranean) in origin is obvious.Another aspect of racism in European attitudes towards American Indians is the refrain of "no written language." However, American Indians had many spoken languages. This did not significantly impair communication between tribes, however. Many languages were similar, and nonverbal expression was important. Indian Sign was used extensively, and was very expressive, so expressive, in fact, that early trappers, missionaries, and explorers exported it to France, and helped to adapt it as a language for the deaf. It was later re-imported to the United States as a French invention. Given such racism, it is therefore not surprising that some early investigators began to see what they felt were striking parallels between the American Indians and certain biblical peoples. The Bible was the most ancient historical record commonly available to investigators, two or three centuries ago, and its old stories of "Hebrews" (the Israelites and later the Jews) appeared to offer ready sources for everything from New World languages to New World cities. Seeing the accidental cultural similarities (Appendix II) of matrilineal clan descent and monotheism, prohibition of intercourse during menstruation, arranged marriage, seclusion of mother and infant during the first month after childbirth, prayer when the killing of an animal for food, harvest celebrations, etc., more than a few European-Americans became convinced that the Indians were the devolved "lost tribes of Israel" or were "degenerate Jews." Numerous articles and books were written, published and widely read, which attempted to prove this strange theory. The Book of Mormon is one of those writings: more than that, it was designed as a quasi-scriptural "proof text," which would put an end to all the Indian origins speculations once and for all. |
 The Twelve Tribes (from Dura Europus synagogue ruins) A Lame Theory Run Amok Indian stories of an old war between themselves and some evil white people, in which many of the whites chose to become Indians and the remainder were killed off, entered into some origins theories. The presence of religious beliefs and customs resembling those of Christianity in some tribes became better known after the Bible and its miraculous stories had been introduced to them. Indian responses to the Bible, such as "We once had that Book (Appendix VII), but lost it," mystified some Christians. Even today, the seal of Dartmouth College (a school established to Christianize and "civilize" the northeastern tribes), depicts two Indian students carrying their book to the school, while the Holy Bible shines its light upon the scene. While such paternalistic symbolism may have been progressive in its time, it generally fails to comprehend Native American spirituality. A correspondent of the Georgia Cherokee Phoenix, who had read some recently published speculation on Israelite origins for native Americans, offered this response in 1829, a year before the Book of Mormon was published: "I noticed in a late number of your paper a selection from the Monthly Review, containing an extract from Worsley's View of the American Indians, in which he gives a summary view of his argument in favor of the proposition that they are descendants of the long lost ten tribes of Israel. Several statements are there made, as of general application to the Indians, which, being inserted in the "Cherokee Phoenix," if they stand uncontradicted, will be inferred to be true as applicable to the Cherokees. It is doubtless best that the truth should be known, that those, who pursue the inquiry respecting the origin of the Indians, may build their conclusions on only real facts..." The writer closed his critical letter by asking for more "information on the subject." It is perhaps notable that none of the Phoenix's Indian readers stepped forward in support of the "Hebrew Indians" speculation. And why not? The only reasonable answer is that they had not yet had the opportunity to study European history, geography, and culture, so as to be able to respond effectively to such theories. The Native Americans of that day also knew they had little physical evidence with which to substantiate any of their oral traditions of pre-Columbian events. Many of the European-Americans who came to the New World equated light skin with mental or social superiority. This racist notion was extended to the quaint belief, expressed as fact in the 1809 Natural and Civil History of Vermont, that when Indians were Christianized and taught European culture, their hair and skin would naturally take on "civilized" Caucasian tones. Those tribes already having light coloration were explained away as descendants of lost Welshmen (Appendix IV) or as a devolved remnant of the conjectured "white mound-builders" (Appendix XIII) of America's pre-history. At this point, the Book of Mormon shows its intrinsic worth, by preserving within its pages exactly these same racist misconceptions of twenty decades past. When the first promoters of the book arrived in Ohio, in 1830, a local newspaper recorded the oddity thusly: "They [Mormon missionaries] are now on their way to the Western Indians, for whose benefit the new Revelation was especially designed. The Indians, as fast as they are converted are to become white men....The sagacious Indian, when he sees, that in spite of their incantations, he is an Indian still, will not suffer himself to be any further befooled." This old racist conceit -- that Indians become lighter-skinned after repentance and an LDS baptism -- is forever sealed within the Mormon book, even though many modern Latter Day Saints have forgotten the strange doctrine (as they have also seemingly forgotten their recent ancestors' expectations that Indian children adopted or fostered in the LDS Indian Placement Program would experience lightened skin pigmentation). The religion based upon the 19th century misconceptions preserved within the Book of Mormon does not reserve its racist precepts for the Indians alone. Despite its paternalistic expressions of concern for the welfare of the Jewish people, and despite its obvious borrowings from biblical Judaism, Mormonism is basically an anti-Semitic religion. That pronouncement may sound harsh to the ears of modern Latter Day Saints, but there are several solid reasons for a careful investigator of Mormonism coming to just that conclusion, as the following excerpts will demonstrate: I Nephi 1:19-20 And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them; for he truly testified of their wickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of the Messiah, and also the redemption of the world. And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance. Elsewhere in the book the Jews are essentially identified as Jesus-killers. Mormon leaders and teachers have long claimed that American Indians are degenerate Jews. The fiction of the "wicked Lamanites" can be seen as an insult to Jews as well as to Indians -- or is it a racist excuse to continue past injustices against American Indians? Deriving their indefensible notions from the Book of Mormon, the early Latter Day Saints referred to the native tribesmen as "cousin Lemuel." Lemuel, in the Mormon book, joins with his Manassehite brother Laman, to propagate a nasty, brutal and lazy race of devolved Israelites, whom God curses with a "skin of blackness," so that the righteous descendants of Nephi (another Manasseh Israelite) and of Mulek (a Jew) can spot the cursed apostates at a distance and avoid "mingling" with them. And of course the "Hamitic" curse pronounced by early Mormons weighed more heavily upon our brethren of African descent. Given the behavior of many LDS people toward Indians over the years, and the above referenced passages, it is clearly an attitude of racist justification that has long prevailed among "the Saints." Their more progressive members may deny or disown such a viewpoint, but the Book of Mormon and history tell a different story. Perry Armstrong made this point clear around 1900, when he wrote The Sauks and the Black Hawk War. His motive was to tell his adopted Sac & Fox family to not become anti-Semitic as a result of Mormon-inflicted injustice, but, instead, to seek inspiration from the stories of the Old Testament, particularly Exodus. Identification with the Jewish experience is generally easy for American Indians, and even more so today than it was 100 years ago. The main purpose of the longstanding LDS claim that Indians are tribes of backslidden Israelites, is to facilitate a latter day Manifest Destiny, in which racially superior "Ephraimites" (Mormons of northern European ancestry) lord it over their lesser cousins (Indians and Jews) in the "gathering of Israel." Furthermore, it has been clearly shown that American Indians are NOT "degenerate Jews" -- there is no Semitic ancestry nor genetics (DNA) among American Indians (unless it has come about through recentintermarriage). In modern times some Latter Day Saints have begun to admit that not every Indian is an Israelite. Perhaps that is about all the "progress" that can be expected from a belief system that takes the Book of Mormon as being literal history. This change in LDS beliefs appears to be a step upward from the old Mormon notion, that the plains Indians would come to the aid of "cousin Ephraim" in raging amongst the U. S. Government troops and other "wicked Gentiles" as "young lions" amid flocks of prey. Except for a handful of misguided converts at the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857, American Indians have shown themselves "sagacious" enough to avoid being "befooled" into serving as the Saints' cannon fodder in apocalyptic battles against North America's non-Mormon whites (see Smith's Dec. 1834 "Civil War revelation," 3 Nephi 21:12-13, and LDS D&C 87). |
 The 1830 Palmyra edition of the Book of Mormon Going Beyond the Book's Stories Some LDS apologists assert that most of the events described in the Book of Mormon happened in MesoAmerica, within the notable native civilizations of that region -- or, perhaps alongside those pre-Columbian cultures but isolated from them in some inexplicable way. As far back as the days of the half-charlatan, half-scientist, Constantine S. Rafinesque, some theorists have argued that the seeds for the great MesoAmerican civilizations were planted by West Africans. Mormons have long been intrigued with such Rafinesque-style explanations, with some of their writers claiming his interpretation of Mayan/"Lybian" glyphs as proof for the Book of Mormon's alleged "reformed Egyptian characters." In more recent years, some Mormon writers have supported the theory that the Central American Olmecs were Hamitic Jaredites. There is some legitimacy for these speculations. The great Mediterranean tragedy of the explosion of Santorin (Thera) in the Aegean Sea near Crete, in approximately 1646 B.C. triggered an exodus of survivors into many areas of the world. This includes Meso-America. However, this is not where the events described in the Book of Mormon occurred. The old Mexican stories of Quetzalcoatl, as described by Gallencamp (1959) have been analyzed by Chapman (1973). According to his book, this, and other stories, including the Voyage of St. Brendan, is evidence that missionary monks made a significant mark in the history of North America around 600 A.D. Whether this is true or not, is non-essential to my thesis. However, it does lend strength to it. Other theorists, reaching back to the time of Von Humboldt and Ethan Smith, have seen Quetzalcoatl as having been the Welsh Madoc, Moses, the Apostle Thomas, or as Jesus Christ himself (a view long popular among the Latter Day Saints). Solomon Spalding, who seems to have inadvertently contributed to the Book of Mormon stories, once wrote a shorter novel, in which the most important character is a wondrous, light-skinned visitor to America's prehistoric inhabitants -- a founder of a new religion and of a new social order, whose name is "Baska." Like the legendary pre-Columbian god-men "Bochica", Viracocha", and "Cuculcan" Spalding's imitation of Quetzalcoatl one day mysteriously leaves the Americas, never to be seen again. If these stories are white reinterpretations of Indian legends of past prophets, they are distortions (just as Joseph Smith’s life was) of the role and nature of the Indian prophet. A prophet is nothing more than an honest historian, using the principle that history repeats itself to deliver criticism of society as he sees it, always seeking God’s will in the process. Although at times prophets take on the aura of Christ-like figures, they are not literal appearances of Jesus Christ on this continent. Given the Saints' time-line for the stories told in the Book of Mormon, there are no significant correlations between the events and places spoken of in the Book of Mormon and reality. Once the Old World peoples in that volume's stories reach the Americas they lose all contact with actual happenings and geography. No reputable modern archaeologist or anthropologist, who is not already a Mormon, agrees with the supposed history, ethnicity and technology provided by that book for pre-Columbian America. No evidence exists to determine the date of the origin of the legend of Quetzalcoatl: it may even have originated with the wishful thinking of Spanish priests in Mexico, since no surviving pre-Columbian records document its chronology. The LDS argument for a Meso-American location for the events of the Book of Mormon arose not because it is a reasonable one, but because the previous contention for a Great Lakes location has a firm foundation in archaeology and legends, which nevertheless do not match up with that book's timeline. (Appendix VI) The implications of these proofs invalidate the greater part of the Book of Mormon as authentic sacred scripture. Strangely enough, however, some of its story is sacred to certain tribes of American Indians. Was there any pre-Columbian contact between the Americas and with Europe or with the Mediterranean region? Simon Southerton’s recent biological research and reporting may be helpful in answering this question: as he shows, American Indians have the strongest DNA resemblance to East Asians -- this conclusion is substantiated by conventional physical and linguistic evidence. Archaeological evidence, coupled with DNA research findings, indicates that the American Indians have been on the western continents for more than 15,000 years, arriving in successive migrations through Siberia and Alaska. The last wave (excepting the Inuit) was the Athabaskan peoples: the Navajo, the Apache, and related Canadian tribes. Even today, some members of these tribes retain the archaic epicanthic eye fold and other Asian-looking physical features. According to Southerton, there is also an "X" non-Asian genetic lineage which is of an ancient western European origin. This is a rare sub-type, that is found primarily among Algonquin people in the northeastern regions of North America. The unexpected finding opens new possibilities for measured and moderate (but also near continual) population interactions between that part of North America and NorthWestern Europe, via North Atlantic, "island-hopping" migration routes. The hypothesis of this on-line paper is that neither "X" nor any other American DNA lines came from Middle Eastern peoples -- they are not "Jewish" and they are not "Israelite." If any "Israelite" DNA ever reached pre-Columbian America, it left no traces among ancient or modern Indians. This fact stands in total contrast with the traditional Book of Mormon picture, as given in that volume's 3 Nephi and 4 Nephi -- in which all the population of the Western Hemisphere depicted (for several centuries' time at least) as being white, righteous Christians. The "true religion" of the book's story becomes so powerful that it sweeps across two continents, converting every single person and transforming all the converts into light-skinned "Nephites." Educated Mormons are beginning to realize how false the book's traditional historical portrayal has always been, and some members of that religious group are now backing away from the old teachings. But the picture remains, untouched (save for a few modern word alterations) in the Book of Mormon as it is printed today.  Three Possible Migration Routes During Last Ice Age Ancient Irish literature contains references to lands and people beyond the Western Sea, much of it about people from those western lands being driven to Irish shores by storms on the ocean. It is known that many of the slaves of the Vikings were Irish, and that there was much intermarriage between the Irish and the Northmen. Was there also some very early Irish migration to North American by the Irish, paralleling Book of Mormon's story of the ocean-crossing "Jaredites?" Although much of Barry Fell’s reporting of such probable ocean crossings in antiquity is today dismissed by professionals in the fields of Anthropology and Archaeology, there is some evidence in support his claims in Irish legends. The American Indians deny any knowledge of such a migration, so if it actually occurred perhaps the survivors were thoroughly assimilated into the Indian population and no trace of them now remains. Hyper-diffusionists like Barry Fell typically make a fatal mistake in their "discoveries" -- they fail to consult modern Indians regarding their knowledge of pre-Columbian visitors and settlers (Appendix I). This oversight can end up in sending the message that everything of interest in the pre-Columbian Americas can somehow be traced back to Europe. This general neglect of potentially critical, preserved information betrays a racist bias which is symptomatic of hyper-diffusionism (Williams, 1991). Speculation and rumors have circulated within in the white population of North America, for hundreds of years, telling of Vikings making significant explorations and leaving "lost" settlements on this continent. The Old English literary classic, Beowulf, evidently contains indications that some of the characters had been to Greenland and beyond (perhaps even the "monster," Grendel and his mother can be seen as Indian fisherfolk driven far to the East by a fierce storm at sea). American Indian lore acknowledges just such a Scandinavian influence in pre-Columbian America. Verified Viking remains have been found along Canada's eastern coasts and there is no reason to not to assume that some of the Scandinavian wanderers ventured farther south and farther inland, seeking not only transitory adventures, but permanent homes as well. Linguistics studies have provide evidence of an Old Norse influence upon American Indian languages of the Great Lakes/East Coast areas, and the original Lenape version of the Wallam Olam (Appendix III) contains Old Norse cognates. This fact appears to invalidate claims that Professor Rafinesque must have forged the story (a difficult task, even for a scholar of his linguistic attainments). Indians consider their stories and traditions to be sacred and guard them closely, particularly when those memories provide an indication of external pre-Columbian influences. In light of the negative impact biased disinformation (such as is contained in the Book of Mormon) has made upon Indian culture, this continued Indian reticence is no doubt a sagacious reaction. Beowulf is an anthropological treasure trove for those who are curious to discover the old Viking character. It includes a passage that strongly parallels the Book of Mormon's racist rhetoric: Until finally one, a fiend out of hell, began to work his evil in the world. Grendel was the name of this grim demon haunting the marches, marauding around the heath and the desolate fens; he had dwelt for a time in misery among the banished monsters, Cain’s clan, whom the Creator had outlawed and condemned as outcasts. For the killing of Abel the Eternal Lord had exacted a price: Cain got no good from committing that murder because the Almighty made him anathema and out of the curse of his exile there sprang ogres and elves and evil phantoms and the giants too who strove with God time and again until He gave them their reward. (verses 99-114, Heaney's translation, 2000) Whatever the actual scenario may have been, the great majority of the Northmen were markedly racist and could not have voluntarily assimilated into any American Indian society. Whether the Northmen came in large numbers to the western continent, or whether they remained largely confined to Greenland and the surrounding areas with only occasional mainland forays to obtain lumber, precious metals and slaves, may never be known for certain. If the second, "forays" scenario holds, Indian or Indian/Irish slaves, abandoned in hard times or during conflicts between Norse factions, or escaping, returned to their homelands, changed racially and culturally, is one possibility that previous writersppear to have overlooked. The fate of exploring parties like the one depicted in Kensington Runestone text, probably occurred regularly in pre-Columbian times (whether the runestone itself is an authentic artifact or not): "Eight Goths and 22 Norwegians on a journey of exploration from Vinland very far west. We had camp by two rocky islands one day's journey north from this stone. We were out fishing one day. After we came home we found ten men red with blood and dead. AVM save from evil. Have ten men by the sea to look after our ships fourteen days' journey from this island. Year 1362" Some American Indians have denied the Viking contact scenario, because they knew that certain whites would twist it to justify their racist actions, and because different tribes had differing perceptions of the Vikings (BlackHawk, 1994). Perhaps these different perceptions arose because Indians could see no racial characteristics which would differentiate the Vikings from the Irish who probably accompanied them to the New World. There are many hints about such an invasion or aggresive migration from Europe in Eckert (1992), who creatively wove the story of Tecumseh from primarily white sources the story of Tecumseh. Some of these non-Indian sources were probably the same gang of river pirates mentioned later in this paper. The famous Indian leader Tecumseh attempted to organize a resistance against the continuing European invasion of his own day. However, his coming from the Shawnee nation, one of the surviving tribes most profoundly affected by ancient and later white immigration, brought to the surface too many lingering hostilities among some other tribes (such as the Lakota) for them to join his cause. Tecumseh and his allies were convinced that, because an Indian alliance once drove off an invasion of the Shemanse ("long knives" -- the Shawnee word for white man -- referring to their swords), that the same defense could again be successfully mounted. As things turned out, Tecumseh's hopes were dashed and the tide of European-Americans continued to roll westward. There are numerous Indian traditions concerning ancient war alliances and it becomes difficult to separate truth from fantasy in these old stories. For example, the Tuscarora historian David Cusick wrote in 1827: "Perhaps about two thousand two hundred years before the Columbus discovered the America, and northern nations appointed a prince, and immediately repaired to the south and visited the great Emperor who resided at the Golden City, a capital of the vast empire After a time the Emperor built many forts throughout his dominions and almost penetrated the lake Erie; this produced an excitement, the people of the north felt that they would soon be deprived of the country on the south side of the Great Lakes they determined to defend their country against any infringement of foreign people: long bloody war ensued which perhaps lasted about one hundred years; the people of the north were too skillful in the use of bows and arrows and could endure hardships which proved fatal to a foreign people; at last the northern nations gained the conquest and all the towns and forts were totally destroyed and left them in the heap of ruins. Not many years later, the story of the prehistoric extermination of the Eries, by an alliance of five Iroquois tribes was recorded from the lips of Blacksnake, and other "venerable chiefs of the Senecas." Similar tales were told of alliance wars of extermination conducted against the "Allegewi" and other mysterious peoples of the past. The authenticity of the Walam Olum, a pictographic history of the Delaware (Appendix III) has been debated for years, but the creation legend it recounts has a Genesis flavor, and the story of a forced migration in the winter across the ice has echoes in the people of Greenland and the surrounding area. Somewhere, in the mixture of these many similar traditions may survive a few faded memories of pre-Columbian Europeans -- but not against the Book of Mormon's white Hebrews. The exterminated Nephites of that pseudo-history were not the source of Indian war traditions; instead, the fictional, extinct Nephites were plagiarized from Indian accounts and from pre-1830 speculation about the "mound-builders." See Roger G. Kennedy's 1994 book, Hidden Cities: The Discovery and Loss of Ancient North American Civilization, for an excellent documentation of this subject. Could the Book of Mormon be based upon a muddled account of Viking influence on North America in pre-Columbian times, re-written by racists who were eager to disprove it? They may have understood that ancient Viking influence implicitly refuted much of the developing Doctrine of Manifest Destiny. This is particularly so in the possibility of the destruction of the cities of the Mississippian civilization through direct or indirect action of the Norse invaders. This suggestion may sound too implausible for some readers to consider. However, it is what some people have believed all along, but have been unwilling to share, for a number of reasons, including fear of a Mormon backlash. Notice the subtle Sac & Fox reference to shame in this semi-humorous report from the year 1844: "An old Indian, having attended a Mormon meeting and heard one of its advocates extol Mormonism, was requested to give his opinion of its merits. He began by detailing the great good that had been done by the Bible, God being its author; and, said he, the devil seeing this, determined to have a bible of his own also; but on examination, he felt ashamed of his work, and hid it in Ontario county, N. Y. But Joe Smith dug it up, and published it as a Revelation from God." The Mormons of Nauvoo sent a logging party to Wisconsin in 1841, to harvest trees for the temple. This sent them among the Winnebago, who had an unexpected weapon. A young man, raised and educated in Montreal by his French father, had returned and shared the gift of literacy with his tribe—appreciation of literacy in that tribe has continued to this day. Since they had limited access to books, their primary reading material was the Bible. Upon receiving the Book of Mormon, they studied it, and judged it to be grossly inferior to the Bible. They visited Nauvoo, with people from other tribes, to complain about violations of property rights, and about the Book of Mormon. The LDS church has known about the refutation for the Book of Mormon that I present in this paper since 1844. With extended access to further information, this paper is only a re-presentation and elaboration on a very old argument. |
When the Europeans arrived in the Americas, many came with the idea that the land was free for the taking. They believed that they had a right to claim vast territories, for their nations and for themselves, because most Indians did not use the land intensively and did not adhere to the concept of individual land ownership. The Indians were, to many of these newcomers, an inferior and primitive people: pagans, perhaps even inhuman worshippers of demons. Many of the European immigrants believed that they had the right of ownership and lordship, based on the belief that would later be called "Manifest Destiny." That is, it was their providential fortune to take over lands and peoples, making the original Americans their subjects. In Latin America countless Native Americans were forced into lifelong slavery. Bartolome de las Casas, son and nephew of some of Columbus’ crew, did great work in turning this situation around in Latin America. However, in the Protestant-dominated area that became the United States, this did not happen. Las Casas’ argument, based primarily on intellectual ability and level of civilization, was manifestly valid for Latin America, but was difficult to prove for the North. Thomas Jefferson, in particular, was aware of that argument, and was an advocate for the Indians. He stated that many of the Indians he knew were intelligent people. (This is quite an impressive statement coming from a time when the primary means of determining intellectual ability was comparison with oneself!) He also believed that they were originally of the Asian race, and that the mound-builders of the central part of the continent were related to the civilizations of Mexico, but he had no understanding of what brought that civilization down, to complete the argument in support of the indigenous people of the new nation.. He conducted an ambitious linguistics study, but his word-lists were lost before he could assemble his results. This was a tragic loss, and perhaps not an accident. Not every Protestant arrival from Europe had the attitude that was the genesis of the beginning of Manifest Destiny, of course -- there was the occasional, more moderate William Penn or Roger Williams -- but the vast majority of newcomers seem to have been perfectly willing to displace the native tribes and to subdue them (through conversion to Christianity, the spread of disease, or open force, when necessary). The doctrines of Mormonism continued this Old World view, with a few subtle differences. Some investigators of Latter Day Saint history even accuse that people of forced conversions through fraud and psychological manipulation. (Coates, 1991) The Mormons -- the new "chosen race" -- offered even the lowliest individuals the possibility of becoming modern "Saints," led by God's one true spokesman, and destined to rule over a soon-to-come millennial paradise in the Americas. The potential convert who rejected the Book of Mormon and its message was told that he or she was damned to an eternity in hell: later on, Mormon theologizing would divide up the afterlife into somewhat less hellish abodes for non-converts. On the other hand, the individual who was ready to convert (in order to become white, righteous, and saved) was welcomed with open arms. The message? "White is good; dark is bad" Such racist sentiments are frequent in the Book of Mormon: I Nephi 12: 21-23 And I saw them gathered together in multitudes; and I saw wars and rumors of wars among them; and in wars and rumors of wars I saw many generations pass away. And the angel said unto me: Behold these shall dwindle in unbelief. And it came to pass that I beheld, after they had dwindled in unbelief they became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations. Joseph Smith, in his early years, was apparently only marginally literate, but in close contact with various friends, whom he could count upon to further his aims. He was, no doubt, supremely self-confident and personally charismatic -- some said hypnotic -- in his ability to influence and control many of his followers. By means that will probably never be fully uncovered, this young "prophet" assembled the raw materials from which to compile the finished Book of Mormon. Part of this raw material was obviously taken from the Christian Bible, with a few additions from apocryphal books and contemporary writings. Although there are many internal inconsistencies within the Book of Mormon, he and friends manipulated the original texts to match their beliefs. The word "narrow", in a geographical context, in multiple places in the Book of Mormon, refers to the narrow sea passage between Desolation, northward, and Bountiful, southward. There is confusion among many people, and there probably was among Joseph and his friends. Only in Alma 22:27 does it refer to the area between Lake Ontario and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. NEVER does it refer to the Isthmus of Panama. Most of these people were dependent on boats for transportation, not horses or chariots. Alma 22:27 And it came to pass that the king sent a proclamation throughout all the land, amongst all his people who were in all his land, who were in all the regions round about, which was bordering even to the sea, on the east and on the west, and which was divided from the land of Zarahemla by a narrow strip of wilderness, which ran from the sea east even to the sea west, and round about on the borders of the seashore, and the borders of the wilderness which was on the north by the land of Zarahemla, through the borders of Manti, by the head of the river Sidon, running from the east towards the west -- and thus were the Lamanites and the Nephites divided.  Early Photographs of a sea-going Inuit "umiak" and "kayaks" Another probable example of obscuring a legitimate text may be found in Ether 2:17, which distinctly describes a kayak. Later in the story, the craft is described as something truly bizarre: And they were built after a manner that they were exceedingly tight, even that they would hold water like unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish; and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a dish. And it came to pass that the brother of Jared cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, I have performed the work which thou hast commanded me, and I have made the barges according as thou hast directed me. And behold, O Lord, in them there is no light; whither shall we steer? And also we shall perish, for in them we cannot breathe, save it is the air which is in them; therefore we shall perish. And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: Behold, thou shalt make a hole in the top, and also in the bottom; and when thou shalt suffer for air thou shalt unstop the hole and receive air. And if it be so that the water come in upon thee, behold, ye shall stop the hole, that ye may not perish in the flood. In examining such accounts the modern reader may come away with the feeling that the author(s) did not understand certain parts of his own book -- say, the difference between a barque and a barge, or what "the length of tree" was supposed to mean. The author(s) may have intentionally obscured this passage, because of its obvious reference to the seaworthy boats of the Inuit, whose presence in Greenland and surrounding areas is relatively recent. These manipulations of the text may have served to make Ether, with the overwhelming tragedy of 2,000,000 deaths of Indians, seem disconnected from Joseph’s beloved "Nephites". Further trivializing Ether was the ending of the book (Ether 15): And it came to pass that when Coriantumr had leaned upon his sword, that he rested a little, he smote off the head of Shiz. And it came to pass that after he had smitten off the head of Shiz, that Shiz raised upon his hands and fell; and after that he had struggled for breath, he died. And it came to pass that Coriantumr fell to the earth, and became as if he had no life. The Book of Mormon became a confused jumble because the authors combined their notion that the Indians were of Jewish heritage with legitimate Indian and Norse stories. Describing a Viking invasion as having been a Jewish phenomenon also had the advantage of providing the first Mormons with claims to the biblical "blessings of Ephraim," the prophesied "gathering of Israel" in America (rather than in Palestine), and to the potentially useful servitude of Manasseh (a.k.a. "Cousin Lemuel"). The authors, or other sources, may have been aware of English translations of Old Norse sagas (they could even have been aware of Beowulf). They may have also tried to look for Viking treasures that had been looted from the Indian tribes. They had to have known of evidence of a pre-Columbian European presence in North America. In 1809 Solomon Spalding, who is said to have involuntarily contributed to the Book of Mormon, relocated to what is now Conneaut, Ohio, a place littered with "mound-builder" artifacts and the site of a very unusual cemetery. This very old, extensive burying ground was laid out in a rectangular pattern, unknown in any original Indian culture. The buried dead were large people whose remains did not match those of any known American tribe. A second, similar cemetery was discovered in Spalding's time, nearby at Ashtabula. A strangely inscribed rock, bearing traces of Roman letters was also discovered in that locality. Modern archaeologists tend to discount such diffusionist (Appendix I) explanations for anomalies, but Spalding was likely aware of speculation in his day, for early European penetration of the St. Lawrence Valley and the fringes of the Great Lakes. We can see that the Book of Mormon, borrowing from several conflicting sources, contains many inconsistencies. Thus, it is often read like a projective test, in which each reader interprets meanings from the context of his/her own cultural heritage and pre-conceived notions. This literary battle of ideas, between the book's original sources, is one of the causes of Latter Day Saint doctrinal inconsistencies and probable organizational splintering in the future. In the final product, the Book of Mormon came out based upon Jewish tradition -- and, as Vogel (2005) points out in his Joseph Smith biography, with some input from Smith family tradition and Joseph’s own psychopathology. None of this necessarily excludes important traces of Indian lore and fragments of Norse sagas. A careful reader can edit the text into Standard English, deleting the preaching, and disproven or improbable events, to reveal this. On its title page the book purports to be a message to the Indians and the Jews (and such unknowing Ephraimites who are yet numbered with the Gentiles). As such, Smith must have been looking forward to the day when his "golden bible" would be presented to Indians eager to accept it as a summation of their ancestors' traditions. With a band of zealous "Israelite" followers, Smith envisioned moving to the Missouri; capturing the Santa Fe trade; extending his power to the California coast and beyond. Certainly there were news reports published during the 1830s and early 1840s, in which writers and editors expressed their concerns about a sort of Mormon "Manifest Destiny," (before that term became a popular excuse for Americans annexing Mexican land and displacing hundreds of thousands of native people). For the reader who knows where to look, there are echoes of early 1800’s history in the Book of Mormon. The Ammonites (Alma 27:27-30) are respected as peaceable people -- Quaker pacifists, some writers have called them. The Shawnee (along with the closely related Delaware) had early contact with pacifist Mennonites (Sharp, 2001). The Delaware were an unwarlike people long before "Last of the Mohicans" was ever dreamed of. The Moravians Christianized and assisted Indians in reputable ways Jesus himself might have approved of. Not all Native Americans were scalp-hunting Pawnee warriors. The Book of Mormon appears to have a dim knowledge of these things. The story of hiding silver in a spring, and losing it, appears both in the Book of Mormon, Mormon 1:1 and in Shawnee story -- there is perhaps some connection. The Book of Mormon's Gadianton robbers sound rather similar to a band of river pirates who plagued the Shawnee and gave them a worse reputation than they deserved. This story has echoes in Helaman 6 and 7, as well as in other Book of Mormon passages. The refusal of the U.S. government to deal with criminal acts against Indians certainly makes the U.S. government appear criminal in those instances and many others. The Nephite warrior Teancum, who appears in Alma 50 to 62, is clearly modeled after Tecumseh, although his Book of Mormon exploits draw upon the biblical David, an Indian warrior in Southey's "Madoc" and tidbits from classical epics. The protagonists, Amalickiah and brother Ammoron, are also possibly modeled after Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa, who was a survivor of a head injury. The Book of Mormon's stories of Lamanites and king men sound much like British-Indian cooperation during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. There are too many other echoes of American Indian history and tradition for anybody to attribute the similarities to pure chance. Some of them probably came from the pen of Spalding, other bits and pieces may have entered the text, as the writers attempted to make it more interesting to potential Indian converts. Records yet exist telling of one or more Viking invasions of the New World, but modern historians have limited access to them, just like they have limited access to certain Mormon records. The few fragments available may, however, help confirm that the movement of Northmen into the Western Hemisphere was more extensive than contemporary scholars claim. From Nabokov (1978) immediately upon landing in Nova Scotia, Thorwald Erikson’s sailors killed eight skraeligs ("wretched ones") and he was himself killed. Vikings and Indians who met along the North American coast quickly began trading knives and axes for pelts. Indian stories also help confirm the forgotten Viking invasion, and tribes in the Great Lakes area possess physical evidence for such an invasion. Tribes are no more likely to grant public access to these relics than are the LDS to grant permission for their most scared rituals to be shown on national television. Important American-Viking archaeological evidence has been discovered and scientifically examined in recent years. Can this be lined up with anything in the Book of Mormon? If it can, then the ultimate irony may be that the people whom Joseph Smith's book calls stiff-necked Jews were modeled after "Aryan," pagan Vikings, following a tradition that long included raping, pillaging, and killing in the name of Northerner superiority. Of course the Scandinavian warriors did not limit their wrath to transoceanic skraeligs. They pillaged each other and their southern Christian neighbors (as they made a slow journey towards Christiantiy -- again, see Beowulf). Perhaps, as in early 20th century Europe, some of these half-converts later apostatized: they had retained a Viking lifestyle, hidden under their leaders' Christian profession. These Northern people long resisted the encroachment of Christianity, calling it a weak mode of life, encumbered with ethics that were alien to Scandinavia. Basic Christian morals call for forgiveness, non-violent adaptation in the face of oppression balanced by personal self-sacrifice for the greater good, and kindness and generosity for those who are less fortunate. Such a subtle religion, evidencing itself in lifestyle rather than outward religious ritual, was probably much like primitive Irish Christianity. This, in an irony, became twisted into an atheistic religion, by the half-insane Karl Marx. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." sounds much more like a passage from scripture than the ravings of a violent revolutionary. Another irony may be found in 1940's Nazi hope for a pro-German Scandinavian uprising in America's Great Lakes region: it had already appeared -- though its presence may be difficult for some to recognize -- in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon presents the claim that its Lamanites and Nephites were originally one people. They became two peoples through disobedience and due to God's supposed disfavor, the Lamanites became dark and evil, while the Nephites were white and good. In this fictional division of peoples, the basis is set for the view that the "Lamanite" Indians (unless they convert to Mormonism) have no right to the American "promised land," because they long ago gave it up by choosing to be God's enemies. The alleged property rights of the fair-skinned Nephites were renewed for later European immigrants Mosiah 10:12-20 Now, the Lamanites knew nothing concerning the Lord, nor the strength of the Lord, therefore they depended upon their own strength. Yet they were a strong people, as to the strength of men. They were a wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, believing in the tradition of their fathers, which is this -- Believing that they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem because of the iniquities of their fathers, and that they were wronged in the wilderness by their brethren, and they were also wronged while crossing the sea; And again, that they were wronged while in the land of their first inheritance, after they had crossed the sea, and all this because that Nephi was more faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord -- therefore he was favored of the Lord, for the Lord heard his prayers and answered them, and he took the lead of their journey in the wilderness. And his brethren were wroth with him because they understood not the dealings of the Lord; they were also wroth with him upon the waters because they hardened their hearts against the Lord. And again, they were wroth with him when they had arrived in the promised land, because they said that he had taken the ruling of the people out of their hands; and they sought to kill him. And again, they were wroth with him because he departed into the wilderness as the Lord had commanded him, and took the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, for they said that he robbed them. And thus they have taught their children that they should hate them, and that they should murder them, and that they should rob and plunder them, and do all they could to destroy them; therefore they have an eternal hatred towards the children of Nephi. For this very cause has king Laman, by his cunning, and lying craftiness, and his fair promises, deceived me, that I have brought this my people up into this land, that they may destroy them; yea, and we have suffered these many years in the land. And now I, Zeniff, after having told all these things unto my people concerning the Lamanites, I did stimulate them to go to battle with their might, putting their trust in the Lord; therefore, we did contend with them, face to face. And it came to pass that we did drive them again out of our land; and we slew them with a great slaughter, even so many that we did not number them. In the Mormon explanation of history, these white newcomers would also be divided -- into converts to Mormonism (Ephraimites) and non-converts (wicked Gentiles). Therefore, Indians have no right to complain of their mistreatment, unless they leave their friends, family and clan, to accept Mormonism and serve the LDS priesthood. Yet another great irony arose for Joseph Smith at that very point -- the Native Americans were wise enough not to convert. A book written to win their servitude to the Mormon cause failed in its original purpose: hardly any Indians (or Jews) have ever become Mormons. The great "mission to the Lamanites" set afoot by Joseph Smith at the end of 1830 proved to be a terribly embarrassing failure. The overwhelming majority of present-day multiple-generation LDS people are of European ancestry, the only people to accept the whole of the Book of Mormon as sacred scripture. In some sense, conservative LDS culture is a re-creation of the Nephite church. It is replete with racism, and the attitude that human suffering is a just reward for human sin (one’s own, one’s ancestors’, or in one’s pre-existence—all bases are covered). This is particularly true in emotionally unstable LDS people who are deeply involved in studying the BOM as sacred scripture. (Krakauer, 2003). In contrast, it is my deep faith that my loving Creator will judge me according to what I have been given, both good and bad. |
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Joseph Smith preaches Book of Mormon to Cousin Lemuel Some Further Discussion In the following overview, I will go through the Book of Mormon, and present some theories which link the "history" provided there, to what I perceive to have been a Viking "invasion" c. 980-1421 A.D. Although this story and its time period have been largely forgotten or overlooked in modern times, in my mind, the Book of Mormon is clearly NOT an account of events from a dim past stretching back to Jerusalem in 600 B. C. My interpretation is only what I see in the Book of Mormon, based on my cultural heritage and preconceived notions -- when I relate the events in the BOM to events that may have occurred in reality, I am only being speculative, unless I've noted otherwise. It is my intent to bring forward the best and worst of that book thus substantiating my belief in multiple authorship through contrast in content, particularly as it deals with the concept of racism. My intent is not to make an attack upon contemporary Latter Day Saints, but to outline one reader's "interpretation" of the so-called "Nephite record." In I Nephi 3 and the following chapters, the story of Erik the Red may come to mind, to any reader has studied Viking history. In both sources the main character kills another man, perhaps in a religious dispute, must flee into exile, and chooses to go with his family to a previously unknown land in the Western Hemisphere. The gist of the Viking account had been published in newspapers during Joseph's younger days. The story given in the Book of Mormon likely relies upon Ethan Smith's 1823 book on Israelite Indian origins with a story of the fall of Jerusalem. Of course any knowledgeable Bible scholar could appropriate that initial setting from the biblical text -- where a few members of the "lost" ten Israelite tribes reportedly linger near Jerusalem, as late as King Josiah's reign, only a few years prior to the city's initial conquest and destruction by the Neo-Babylonians. In I Nephi 8, the biblical story of Adam and Eve is recast without its original characters. However, in the revised, dream-story, the eating of a fabulous fruit, by my perception, is portrayed as being a good thing. Two of the dreamer's sons (Laman and Lemuel) refuse to eat of the fruit, foreshadowing their coming exclusion from the dreaming prophet's righteous family. In later passages these two rebellious sons end up fathering the Indian peoples: in the process they and their multitude of descendants become increasingly sinful and are "cursed" with a "skin of blackness." The fruit eaten in the dream, by the righteous portion of the prophet's family, was "white, to exceed all the whiteness" in the world. The Book of Mormon's message is a clear one: the whiter a thing is, the better it is. Those people who will not affirm this precept become God's dark and evil enemies—the inference is, through racial mixing. But behold, Laman and Lemuel, I fear exceedingly because of you; for behold, methought I saw in my dream, a dark and dreary wilderness. And it came to pass that I saw a man, and he was dressed in a white robe; and he came and stood before me. And it came to pass that he spake unto me, and bade me follow him. And it came to pass that as I followed him I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste…. And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy. And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen. And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit. And as I cast my eyes round about, that perhaps I might discover my family also, I beheld a river of water; and it ran along, and it was near the tree of which I was partaking the fruit. And I looked to behold from whence it came; and I saw the head thereof a little way off; and at the head thereof I beheld your mother Sariah, and Sam, and Nephi; and they stood as if they knew not whither they should go. And it came to pass that I beckoned unto them; and I also did say unto them with a loud voice that they should come unto me, and partake of the fruit, which was desirable above all other fruit. And it came to pass that they did come unto me and partake of the fruit also. And it came to pass that I was desirous that Laman and Lemuel should come and partake of the fruit also; wherefore, I cast mine eyes towards the head of the river, that perhaps I might see them. And it came to pass that I saw them, but they would not come unto me and partake of the fruit. And I beheld a rod of iron, and it extended along the bank of the river, and led to the tree by which I stood. And I also beheld a strait and narrow path, which came along by the rod of iron, even to the tree by which I stood; and it also led by the head of the fountain, unto a large and spacious field, as if it had been a world. And I saw numberless concourses of people, many of whom were pressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree by which I stood. And it came to pass that they did come forth, and commence in the path which led to the tree. And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost. And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree. And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed. And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth. And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit. And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost…..But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree. And he also saw other multitudes feeling their way towards that great and spacious building. And it came to pass that many were drowned in the depths of the fountain; and many were lost from his view, wandering in strange roads. And great was the multitude that did enter into that strange building. And after they did enter into that building they did point the finger of scorn at me and those that were partaking of the fruit also; but we heeded them not. These are the words of my father: For as many as heeded them, had fallen away. And Laman and Lemuel partook not of the fruit, said my father. And it came to pass after my father had spoken all the words of his dream or vision, which were many, he said unto us, because of these things which he saw in a vision, he exceedingly feared for Laman and Lemuel; yea, he feared lest they should be cast off from the presence of the Lord. The Volsunga Saga story "Odin Guides Sigi from the Otherworld" begins with a man exiled for killing a slave, has an extensive war with many deaths, the man’s wife persuades the man to leave the mound, and persuades him to eat the apple. The parallels between that piece of Icelandic literature and the Book of Mormon are impressive, and it is extremely unlikely that Joseph and friends would have had access to it. I Nephi 11:13-14 presents a distorted picture of Mary the mother of Jesus as the whitest woman who ever lived: And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white. And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou? And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins. And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God? And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things. And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh. And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. I Nephi 13 and 14 preserve a rant against the Roman Catholic Church: 13:5-9 And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the Gentiles the formation of a great church. And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity. And it came to pass that I beheld this great and abominable church; and I saw the devil that he was the founder of it. And I also saw gold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined linen, and all manner of precious clothing; and I saw many harlots. And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the desires of this great and abominable church. And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity. It reflects attitudes common in the United States during the early 1800s -- and especially so among New York Protestants when Catholic laborers, hired to work on the Erie Canal, first poured into the western regions of that state. Part of the genesis for this attack lies in the valiant efforts (Appendix V) of the Catholic "BlackRobes" to spread Christianity among the North American tribes. These Jesuit missionaries were well aware that Greenland had once been a Scandinavian Christian country, with a Bishop appointed in Rome. It appears that they also knew something about early Viking and/or Irish explorations westward and of tribes with beliefs founded upon Christianity. To claim the Mormon Manifest Destiny, as the God-appointed masters of the Americas, the authors of the Book of Mormon had to somehow obscure and negate this earlier Catholic missionary activity. Thus the Book of Mormon turns the Roman Catholic Church into the "Great and Abominable Church," which had "perverted the right ways of the Lord" and "kept back" from the Indians biblical truths about their being the "remnant of the house of Israel." All of this, in the Mormon book, opens the way for LDS missionaries to tell the Indians that they had been lied to, and that they should leave any "Gentile" church they might belong to -- in order to have their "curse of a skin of blackness" lightened by God's miraculous power. This is in curious contrast to an historic Roman Catholic practice of protecting their Indian converts from racism by referring to them as "black Irish" and, at the same time, encouraging them to retain much of their unique cultural heritage. In I Nephi 16, a steel bow is broken. Perhaps this could be a cross-bow? If it is, this may be an indication of the Viking background for the story. The Northmen became familiar with the cross-bow during their European raids, from the ninth century onward. By the twelfth century these weapons were universally in use throughout Europe, including Scandinavia. And it came to pass that as I, Nephi, went forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, which was made of fine steel; and after I did break my bow, behold, my brethren were angry with me because of the loss of my bow, for we did obtain no food. And it came to pass that we did return without food to our families, and being much fatigued, because of their journeying, they did suffer much for the want of food. And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael did begin to murmur exceedingly, because of their sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness; and also my father began to murmur against the Lord his God; yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful, even that they did murmur against the Lord. Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, having been afflicted with my brethren because of the loss of my bow, and their bows having lost their springs, it began to be exceedingly difficult, yea, insomuch that we could obtain no food. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did speak much unto my brethren, because they had hardened their hearts again, even unto complaining against the Lord their God. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow; wherefore, I did arm myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. And I said unto my father: Whither shall I go to obtain food? 
I Nephi 17:17-19 may be an autobiographical statement, likening Joseph’s writing a book to Nephi’s building a ship, with his brothers mocking him: "And when my brethren saw that I was about to build a ship, they began to murmur against me, saying: Our brother is a fool, for he thinketh that he can build a ship; yea, and he also thinketh that he can cross these great waters. And thus my brethren did complain against me, and were desirous that they might not labor, for they did not believe that I could build a ship; neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord. And now it came to pass that I, Nephi, was exceedingly sorrowful because of the hardness of their hearts; and now when they saw that I began to be sorrowful they were glad in their hearts, insomuch that they did rejoice over me, saying: We knew that ye could not construct a ship, for we knew that ye were lacking in judgment; wherefore, thou canst not accomplish so great a work." A recurrent theme in Nephi involves Nephi’s struggle to get his family to follow his lead, substantiating Dan Vogel’s theologically based argument that Joseph struggled to get his family to back his efforts to start a new religion. If Joseph Smith's fraud was opius, then Sequoia's fraud was, by comparison, saintly. I Nephi 18 contains a reference to a compass which quit working. As people near the poles, this does happen. True to probable superstition of early users of the compass, Nephi ascribes the failure of the compass to his brothers’ mistreatment of him: And it came to pass that after they had bound me insomuch that I could not move, the compass, which had been prepared of the Lord, did cease to work. Wherefore, they knew not whither they should steer the ship, insomuch that there arose a great storm, yea, a great and terrible tempest, and we were driven back upon the waters for the space of three days; and they began to be frightened exceedingly lest they should be drowned in the sea; nevertheless they did not loose me... And it came to pass after they had loosed me, behold, I took the compass, and it did work whither I desired it. And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord; and after I had prayed the winds did cease, and the storm did cease, and there was a great calm. This passage, perhaps recounting Irish celebration, may have been the rationalization in the original text for the malfunctioning compass: And after we had been driven forth before the wind for the space of many days, behold, my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and also their wives began to make themselves merry, insomuch that they began to dance, and to sing, and to speak with much rudeness, yea, even that they did forget by what power they had been brought thither; yea, they were lifted up unto exceeding rudeness. And I, Nephi, began to fear exceedingly lest the Lord should be angry with us, and smite us because of our iniquity, that we should be swallowed up in the depths of the sea; wherefore, I, Nephi, began to speak to them with much soberness; but behold they were angry with me, saying: We will not that our younger brother shall be a ruler over us. The book of I Nephi closes with the arrival of Lehi's ship in the Americas -- where "Jaredite" tame goats and castrated bulls yet linger "in the forests." Those previous inhabitants have destroyed themselves because of sin, leaving the "land of promise" vacant for its new Israelite settlers. The somewhat later arrival of Christianity, with the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, marks the year one, about 1052 AD, according to chronology which will be established later. The book of 2nd Nephi continues the story, telling what happens to these Old World pilgrims in their paradisiacal "land of promise. In 2 Nephi Chapter 5, as previously quoted, the fate of Laman and Lemuel "comes to pass" and God darkens their skins as a genetically transmitted punishment for their sins. There are some biblical parallels in this story, with the curse God set upon Cain. In Joseph Smith's 1830s rewriting of the King James Bible, he embellished the Cain story, creating even closer parallels with the Book of Mormon's genetically transmitted "skin of blackness." Mormons have long realized that none of America's native tribesmen have such a dark pigmentation and have sometimes explained away the discrepancy by speculating that pre-Columbian Americans were darker than their descendants of historical times. A more likely explanation is that the writer(s) of the Book of Mormon simply believed what was symbolized in Lehi's dream (as discussed above) -- the lighter anything is, the better it is. "Righteous" Ephraimites must have the skin coloration of an Arctic Circle Norwegian; angels are even whiter; "celestialized" gods, who have no blood in their veins, have the color of driven snow. In such an obscene fantasy of racial characteristics, the vast majority of human beings on this planet, in Mormon terms, possess a "skin of blackness." In II Nephi 6:6-18, the new Zion (post-Columbian America) is depicted as favored by God -- any nation that fights America, no matter its reason, will suffer divine punishment. And now these are the words: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their faces towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. And now I, Jacob, would speak somewhat concerning these words. For behold, the Lord has shown me that those who were at Jerusalem, from whence we came, have been slain and carried away captive. Nevertheless, the Lord has shown unto me that they should return again. And he also has shown unto me that the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, should manifest himself unto them in the flesh; and after he should manifest himself they should scourge him and crucify him, according to the words of the angel who spake it unto me. And after they have hardened their hearts and stiffened their necks against the Holy One of Israel, behold the judgments of the Holy One of Israel shall come upon them. And the day cometh that they shall be smitten and afflicted. Wherefore, after they are driven to and fro, for thus saith the angel, many shall be afflicted in the flesh, and shall not be suffered to perish, because of the prayers of the faithful; they shall be scattered, and smitten, and hated; nevertheless, the Lord will be merciful unto them, that when they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer, they shall be gathered together again to the lands of their inheritance. And blessed are the Gentiles, they of whom the prophet has written; for behold, if it so be that they shall repent and fight not against Zion, and do not unite themselves to that great and abominable church, they shall be saved; for the Lord God will fulfil his covenants which he has made unto his children; and for this cause the prophet has written these things. Wherefore, they that fight against Zion and the covenant people of the Lord shall lick up the dust of their feet; and the people of the Lord shall not be ashamed. These Book of Mormon precepts naturally lead to a racist nationalism that frightfully resembles the tenets of the old Teutonic Knights, the National Socialists, and the American Ku Klux Klan. In terms of the anthropology set forth in the Book of Mormon, such policy is wrong only because Indians, Asians, and Polynesians are unknowing "Israelites," and not because all human beings share a God-given equality. Another interpretation of this passage has influenced American policies in the Mid-East, to the point of American (or, rather LDS) diplomats in Israel encouraging the reservationization of the Palestinians. In Jacob Chapter 1, the authors clarify their terminology: Now the people which were not Lamanites were Nephites; nevertheless, they were called Nephites, Jacobites, Josephites, Zoramites, Lamanites, Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites. But I, Jacob, shall not hereafter distinguish them by these names, but I shall call them Lamanites that seek to destroy the people of Nephi, and those who are friendly to Nephi I shall call Nephites, or the people of Nephi, according to the reigns of the kings. This clarification will later fall apart, repeatedly, as the book's plot becomes more convoluted. Enemies (intrinsically bad people), are called "Lamanites," dark people, of various nations -- even if they have righteous parents, their wickedness turns them dark, savage and slothful in short order. Friends (intrinsically good people), are called "Nephites," no matter their ancestry. A people seemingly patterned upon the Vikings are depicted as hungering after gold and silver. And now it came to pass that the people of Nephi, under the reign of the second king, began to grow hard in their hearts, and indulge themselves somewhat in wicked practices, such as like unto David of old desiring many wives and concubines, and also Solomon, his son. Yea, and they also began to search much gold and silver, and began to be lifted up somewhat in pride. Jacob 3 (already covered) is a particularly racist chapter.  Official LDS depiction of men with a "skin of blackness" Jarom V. 5-8 characterizes the Nephites as being prosperous because they are good white people. And now, behold, two hundred years had passed away, and the people of Nephi had waxed strong in the land. They observed to keep the law of Moses and the sabbath day holy unto the Lord. And they profaned not; neither did they blaspheme. And the laws of the land were exceedingly strict. And they were scattered upon much of the face of the land, and the Lamanites also. And they were exceedingly more numerous than were they of the Nephites; and they loved murder and would drink the blood of beasts. And it came to pass that they came many times against us, the Nephites, to battle. But our kings and our leaders were mighty men in the faith of the Lord; and they taught the people the ways of the Lord; wherefore, we withstood the Lamanites and swept them away out of our lands, and began to fortify our cities, or whatsoever place of our inheritance. And we multiplied exceedingly, and spread upon the face of the land, and became exceedingly 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 -- yea, the sharp pointed arrow, and the quiver, and the dart, and the javelin, and all preparations for war. In Mosiah 1:2-4, there is an attempt to preserve some elements of the Norse language, both written and oral. And it came to pass that he had three sons; and he called their names Mosiah, and Helorum, and Helaman. And he caused that they should be taught in all the language of his fathers, that thereby they might become men of understanding; and that they might know concerning the prophecies which had been spoken by the mouths of their fathers, which were delivered them by the hand of the Lord. And he also taught them concerning the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, saying: My sons, I would that ye should remember that were it not for these plates, which contain these records and these commandments, we must have suffered in ignorance, even at this present time, not knowing the mysteries of God. For it were not possible that our father, Lehi, could have remembered all these things, to have taught them to his children, except it were for the help of these plates; for he having been taught in the language of the Egyptians therefore he could read these engravings, and teach them to his children, that thereby they could teach them to their children, and so fulfilling the commandments of God, even down to this present time. Later, in Mosiah 10:12-18, as previously discussed, there occurs an extremely racist justification for war against the Indians. Mosiah 18:4 defines the word "Mormon," And it came to pass that as many as did believe him did go forth to a place which was called Mormon, having received its name from the king, being in the borders of the land having been infested, by times or at seasons, by wild beasts. Given the Viking attitude that Indians are not human, one can easily undertsand why LDS people claim that "Mormon" means "more good" (than the Bible), rather than "more man" (and fewer animals). Mosiah 24:4 reports a spread of what I see as the Old Norse language. In the basic story of the BOM, Lamanites (Indians) learn the ways of the invaders, the use of swords and iron, and seemingly the use of domesticated animals, such as chariot-pulling horses. And he appointed teachers of the brethren of Amulon in every land which was possessed by his people; and thus the language of Nephi began to be taught among all the people of the Lamanites. And they were a people friendly one with another; nevertheless they knew not God; neither did the brethren of Amulon teach them anything concerning the Lord their God, neither the law of Moses; nor did they teach them the words of Abinadi; But they taught them that they should keep their record, and that they might write one to another. And thus the Lamanites began to increase in riches, and began to trade one with another and wax great, and began to be a cunning and a wise people, as to the wisdom of the world, yea, a very cunning people, delighting in all manner of wickedness and plunder, except it were among their own brethren. There are 14 references to horses in the Book of Mormon, with no indication of horses existing on the American continent from about 14,000 BCE to 1500 CE. There is some indication of early horses in Wisconsin reported by Menzies, in his book 1421, the Year the Chinese Discovered America, in his discussion of a fantastic theory that a Chinese expedition was in that area at that time. However, as early as 1550, tribes of that area are said to have brought in Spanish-descended horses from the Southwest, knowing that they were extremely useful animals. The discovery of antique Chinese ship anchors, recovered off the coast of California, has recently promoted further speculation along these same lines, though without the element of a Chinese introduction of pre-Columbian horses. Generally, Menzies' discussion of a Chinese expedition is reasonable; however, the possibility that they reached areas bordering the Atlantic, and carried horses on their ships all that distance, is truly implausible. Other information provided by Menzies in his book appears to be more applicable to discovering the Book of Mormon's origins, however. Menzies’ book appears to be a modern-day parody of the Book of Mormon and Mormon apologetics, with a bit of wishful thinking for the hero of the story. Substantial parts of the Book of Alma appear to come from what I believe to be the core text for the Book of Mormon, a legitimately Indian/Viking source. Most of the first half of the Book of Mormon is pure fiction. The text of Alma 2 may have been borrowed from the writings of Solomon Spalding, but it was borrowed because the story of a genocidal war was compatible with the original text—a primitive cut-and-paste technique. In Alma 3:4, racial confusion crops up with, but the writer re-establishes the dark-is-bad and white-is-good dichotomy. And now as many of the Lamanites and the Amlicites who had been slain upon the bank of the river Sidon were cast into the waters of Sidon; and behold their bones are in the depths of the sea, and they are many. And the Amlicites were distinguished from the Nephites, for they had marked themselves with red in their foreheads after the manner of the Lamanites; nevertheless they had not shorn their heads like unto the Lamanites. Now the heads of the Lamanites were shorn; and they were naked, save it were skin which was girded about their loins, and also their armor, which was girded about them, and their bows, and their arrows, and their stones, and their slings, and so forth. And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a curse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion against their brethren, who consisted of Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph, and Sam, who were just and holy men. And their brethren sought to destroy them, therefore they were cursed; and the Lord God set a mark upon them, yea, upon Laman and Lemuel, and also the sons of Ishmael, and Ishmaelitish women. And this was done that their seed might be distinguished from the seed of their brethren, that thereby the Lord God might preserve his people, that they might not mix and believe in incorrect traditions which would prove their destruction. And it came to pass that whosoever did mingle his seed with that of the Lamanites did bring the same curse upon his seed. Therefore, whosoever suffered himself to be led away by the Lamanites was called under that head, and there was a mark set upon him. And it came to pass that whosoever would not believe in the tradition of the Lamanites, but believed those records which were brought out of the land of Jerusalem, and also in the tradition of their fathers, which were correct, who believed in the commandments of God and kept them, were called the Nephites, or the people of Nephi, from that time forth -- And it is they who have kept the records which are true of their people, and also of the people of the Lamanites. Now we will return again to the Amlicites, for they also had a mark set upon them; yea, they set the mark upon themselves, yea, even a mark of red upon their foreheads. Thus the word of God is fulfilled, for these are the words which he said to Nephi: Behold, the Lamanites have I cursed, and I will set a mark on them that they and their seed may be separated from thee and thy seed, from this time henceforth and forever, except they repent of their wickedness and turn to me that I may have mercy upon them. And again: I will set a mark upon him that mingleth his seed with thy brethren, that they may be cursed also. And again: I will set a mark upon him that fighteth against thee and thy seed. And again, I say he that departeth from thee shall no more be called thy seed; and I will bless thee, and whomsoever shall be called thy seed, henceforth and forever; and these were the promises of the Lord unto Nephi and to his seed. Now the Amlicites knew not that they were fulfilling the words of God when they began to mark themselves in their foreheads; nevertheless they had come out in open rebellion against God; therefore it was expedient that the curse should fall upon them. Now I would that ye should see that they brought upon themselves the curse; and even so doth every man that is cursed bring upon himself his own condemnation. Alma 4:6-7 contains a criticism of Northman materialism, And it came to pass in the eighth year of the reign of the judges, that the people of the church began to wax proud, because of their exceeding riches, and their fine silks, and their fine-twined linen, and because of their many flocks and herds, and their gold and their silver, and all manner of precious things, which they had obtained by their industry; and in all these things were they lifted up in the pride of their eyes, for they began to wear very costly apparel. Now this was the cause of much affliction to Alma, yea, and to many of the people whom Alma had consecrated to be teachers, and priests, and elders over the church; yea, many of them were sorely grieved for the wickedness which they saw had begun to be among their people. and Alma 10:18-24 has a pseudo-prophecy of punishment from God for such sins. Now they knew not that Amulek could know of their designs. But it came to pass as they began to question him, he perceived their thoughts, and he said unto them: O ye wicked and perverse generation, ye lawyers and hypocrites, for ye are laying the foundation of the devil; for ye are laying traps and snares to catch the holy ones of God. Ye are laying plans to pervert the ways of the righteous, and to bring down the wrath of God upon your heads, even to the utter destruction of this people. Yea, well did Mosiah say, who was our last king, when he was about to deliver up the kingdom, having no one to confer it upon, causing that this people should be governed by their own voices -- yea, well did he say that if the time should come that the voice of this people should choose iniquity, that is, if the time should come that this people should fall into transgression, they would be ripe for destruction. Alma 16: 8-11 describes a chilling scene, with deaths destroying a large city overnight. And they came upon the armies of the Lamanites, and the Lamanites were scattered and driven into the wilderness; and they took their brethren who had been taken captive by the Lamanites, and there was not one soul of them had been lost that were taken captive. And they were brought by their brethren to possess their own lands. And thus ended the eleventh year of the judges, the Lamanites having been driven out of the land, and the people of Ammonihah were destroyed; yea, every living soul of the Ammonihahites was destroyed, and also their great city, which they said God could not destroy, because of its greatness. But behold, in one day it was left desolate; and the carcasses were mangled by dogs and wild beasts of the wilderness. Nevertheless, after many days their dead bodies were heaped up upon the face of the earth, and they were covered with a shallow covering. And now so great was the scent thereof that the people did not go in to possess the land of Ammonihah for many years. And it was called Desolation of Nehors; for they were of the profession of Nehor, who were slain; and their lands remained desolate. It is obvious that this is not a scene of battle, but an epidemic of immense proportions. Later scenes are similar. Although this is section appears to be out of the proper chronology in the story, I later propose that a Bubonic plague epidemic destroyed Cahokia and other large population centers. In Alma 17:14, the Viking and Indian roles appear to be reversed, as Lamanites are described as robbing and plundering the Nephites for gold and silver: what use a savage, slothful people would have for precious metals is not elucidated. And it came to pass when they had arrived in the borders of the land of the Lamanites, that they separated themselves and departed one from another, trusting in the Lord that they should meet again at the close of their harvest; for they supposed that great was the work which they had undertaken. And assuredly it was great, for they had undertaken to preach the word of God to a wild and a hardened and a ferocious people; a people who delighted in murdering the Nephites, and robbing and plundering them; and their hearts were set upon riches, or upon gold and silver, and precious stones; yet they sought to obtain these things by murdering and plundering, that they might not labor for them with their own hands. Thus they were a very indolent people, many of whom did worship idols, and the curse of God had fallen upon them because of the traditions of their fathers; notwithstanding the promises of the Lord were extended unto them on the conditions of repentance. Therefore, this was the cause for which the sons of Mosiah had undertaken the work, that perhaps they might bring them unto repentance; that perhaps they might bring them to know of the plan of redemption. Earlier cross-cultural trade of iron for silver and gold perhaps evolved into such robbing and plundering behavior, in some cases. In the "real world," outside of the Book of Mormon, Indian allies of contending European armies fell into such practices. Alma 22:27-34 provides a substantial amount of geographical information, but it is unclear how consistent it may be with the geography indicated in other parts of the book. There appears to be confusion in several places in the Book of Mormon where the "narrow neck" can refer to a narrow neck of land, or sea. Both might be valid—one referring to the area between the mouth of the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, the other referring to the Strait of Belle Isle. Context, and military strategy, generally determines which one is referred to in a particular passage. Here, the "head" of the river Sidon appears to be the mouth of the St. Lawrence. The Trois Rivieres area was a traditional trading place for the tribes and the French for many years: it may have been so before. And it came to pass that the king sent a proclamation throughout all the land, amongst all his people who were in all his land, who were in all the regions round about, which was bordering even to the sea, on the east and on the west, and which was divided from the land of Zarahemla by a narrow strip of wilderness, which ran from the sea east even to the sea west, and round about on the borders of the seashore, and the borders of the wilderness which was on the north by the land of Zarahemla, through the borders of Manti, by the head of the river Sidon, running from the east towards the west -- and thus were the Lamanites and the Nephites divided. Now, the more idle part of the Lamanites lived in the wilderness, and dwelt in tents; and they were spread through the wilderness on the west, in the land of Nephi; yea, and also on the west of the land of Zarahemla, in the borders by the seashore, and on the west in the land of Nephi, in the place of their fathers' first inheritance, and thus bordering along by the seashore. And also there were many Lamanites on the east by the seashore, whither the Nephites had driven them. And thus the Nephites were nearly surrounded by the Lamanites; nevertheless the Nephites had taken possession of all the northern parts of the land bordering on the wilderness, at the head of the river Sidon, from the east to the west, round about on the wilderness side; on the north, even until they came to the land which they called Bountiful. And it bordered upon the land which they called Desolation, it being so far northward that it came into the land which had been peopled and been destroyed, of whose bones we have spoken, which was discovered by the people of Zarahemla, it being the place of their first landing. And they came from there up into the south wilderness. Thus the land on the northward was called Desolation, and the land on the southward was called Bountiful, it being the wilderness which is filled with all manner of wild animals of every kind, a part of which had come from the land northward for food. And now, it was only the distance of a day and a half's journey for a Nephite, on the line Bountiful and the land Desolation, from the east to the west sea; and thus the land of Nephi and the land of Zarahemla were nearly surrounded by water, there being a small neck of land between the land northward and the land southward. And it came to pass that the Nephites had inhabited the land Bountiful, even from the east unto the west sea, and thus the Nephites in their wisdom, with their guards and their armies, had hemmed in the Lamanites on the south, that thereby they should have no more possession on the north, that they might not overrun the land northward. Therefore the Lamanites could have no more possessions only in the land of Nephi, and the wilderness round about. Now this was wisdom in the Nephites -- as the Lamanites were an enemy to them, they would not suffer their afflictions on every hand, and also that they might have a country whither they might flee, according to their desires. Here, the Land of Desolation is described and matches the treeless land north of the Strait of Belle Isle. There, the Northmen killed off or enslaved most of the native Beothuk, who are said to have tended towards dark brown hair. They cut down the sparse tree cover for timber and firewood needed in their Greenland settlements. The point is made in verse 34 that the Northmen guarded the Belle Isle area fiercely, as they considered it their only avenue to the settlements on Greenland, and from there to Iceland and Scandinavia. In Alma 25:4, And among the Lamanites who were slain were almost all the seed of Amulon and his brethren, who were the priests of Noah, and they were slain by the hands of the Nephites 8, Now this martyrdom caused that many of their brethren should be stirred up to anger; and there began to be contention in the wilderness; and the Lamanites began to hunt the seed of Amulon and his brethren and began to slay them; and they fled into the east wilderness., and 12, And he said unto the priests of Noah that their seed should cause many to be put to death, in the like manner as he was, and that they should be scattered abroad and slain, even as a sheep having no shepherd is driven and slain by wild beasts; and now behold, these words were verified, for they were driven by the Lamanites, and they were hunted, and they were smitten. there is a consistent theme of punishment of people for the sins of their ancestors, established as Mormon doctrine, later officially abandoned, but remaining in the Book of Mormon and in practice among LDS people. Alma 31 indicates that the "Land South" was an Indian stronghold. This scenario perhaps refers to what is now the south-eastern United States. Now it came to pass that after the end of Korihor, Alma having received tidings that the Zoramites were perverting the ways of the Lord, and that Zoram, who was their leader, was leading the hearts of the people to bow down to dumb idols, his heart again began to sicken because of the iniquity of the people. For it was the cause of great sorrow to Alma to know of iniquity among his people; therefore his heart was exceedingly sorrowful because of the separation of the Zoramites from the Nephites. Now the Zoramites had gathered themselves together in a land which they called Antionum, which was east of the land of Zarahemla, which lay nearly bordering upon the seashore, which was south of the land of Jershon, which also bordered upon the wilderness south, which wilderness was full of the Lamanites. Now the Nephites greatly feared that the Zoramites would enter into a correspondence with the Lamanites, and that it would be the means of great loss on the part of the Nephites….. Now the Zoramites were dissenters from the Nephites; therefore they had had the word of God preached unto them. But they had fallen into great errors, for they would not observe to keep the commandments of God, and his statutes, according to the law of Moses....Now, when they had come into the land, behold, to their astonishment they found that the Zoramites had built synagogues, and that they did gather themselves together on one day of the week, which day they did call the day of the Lord; and they did worship after a manner which Alma and his brethren had never beheld; For they had a place built up in the center of their synagogue, a place for standing, which was high above the head, and the top thereof would only admit one person..... Now when Alma saw this his heart was grieved; for he saw that they were a wicked and a perverse people; yea, he saw that their hearts were set upon gold, and upon silver, and upon all manner of fine goods. Yea, and he also saw that their hearts were lifted up unto great boasting, in their pride. ….Behold, O my God, their costly apparel, and their ringlets, and their bracelets, and their ornaments of gold, and all their precious things which they are ornamented with; and behold, their hearts are set upon them, and yet they cry unto thee and say -- We thank thee, O God, for we are a chosen people unto thee, while others shall perish.. This fits in with present-day knowledge of the Mississippian people and pre-Columbian Mexicans -- they were relatively wealthy, and were connected and/or allied by trade routes, maize agriculture, and other cultural affinities. These peoples would have been a great prize for pre-Columbian invaders, as well as for the later Spanish (who probably knew perfectly well where they were going). These events of immediate pre-Columbian time were probably a rational foundation for the Mexican tribes’ prophecies of doom to their civilization. Alma 43-44 describes the disadvantage the Indians had in extended warfare with European invaders. This war, with sophisticated military strategy on the part of the Northmen, at an obvious advantage with sophisticated armor, can only be termed as a war of extermination of the Indian tribes involved. (River Sidon is probably the St. Lawrence River). Although this passage was probably plagiarized from the writings of Solomon Spaulding, and is therefore inaccurate, it is an imaginative rendering of what could have happened, and later did happen in the genocidal wars that the new invaders waged against the Indians. Now, the leader of the Nephites, or the man who had been appointed to be the chief captain over the Nephites -- now the chief captain took the command of all the armies of the Nephites -- and his name was Moroni; And Moroni took all the command, and the government of their wars. And he was only twenty and five years old when he was appointed chief captain over the armies of the Nephites. And it came to pass that he met the Lamanites in the borders of Jershon, and his people were armed with swords, and with cimeters, and all manner of weapons of war. And when the armies of the Lamanites saw that the people of Nephi, or that Moroni, had prepared his people with breastplates and with arm-shields, yea, and also shields to defend their heads, and also they were dressed with thick clothing -- Now the army of Zerahemnah was not prepared with any such thing; they had only their swords and their cimeters, their bows and their arrows, their stones and their slings; and they were naked, save it were a skin which was girded about their loins; yea, all were naked, save it were the Zoramites and the Amalekites; But they were not armed with breastplates, nor shields -- therefore, they were exceedingly afraid of the armies of the Nephites because of their armor, notwithstanding their number being so much greater than the Nephites. Behold, now it came to pass that they durst not come against the Nephites in the borders of Jershon; therefore they departed out of the land of Antionum into the wilderness, and took their journey round about in the wilderness, away by the head of the river Sidon, that they might come into the land of Manti and take possession of the land; for they did not suppose that the armies of Moroni would know whither they had gone. But it came to pass, as soon as they had departed into the wilderness Moroni sent spies into the wilderness to watch their camp; and Moroni, also, knowing of the prophecies of Alma, sent certain men unto him, desiring him that he should inquire of the Lord whither the armies of the Nephites should go to defend themselves against the Lamanites. And it came to pass that the word of the Lord came unto Alma, and Alma informed the messengers of Moroni, that the armies of the Lamanites were marching round about in the wilderness, that they might come over into the land of Manti, that they might commence an attack upon the weaker part of the people. And those messengers went and delivered the message unto Moroni. Now Moroni, leaving a part of his army in the land of Jershon, lest by any means a part of the Lamanites should come into that land and take possession of the city, took the remaining part of his army and marched over into the land of Manti. And he caused that all the people in that quarter of the land should gather themselves together to battle against the Lamanites, to defend their lands and their country, their rights and their liberties; therefore they were prepared against the time of the coming of the Lamanites. And it came to pass that Moroni caused that his army should be secreted in the valley which was near the bank of the river Sidon, which was on the west of the river Sidon in the wilderness. And Moroni placed spies round about, that he might know when the camp of the Lamanites should come…. Therefore, he divided his army and brought a part over into the valley, and concealed them on the east, and on the south of the hill Riplah; And the remainder he concealed in the west valley, on the west of the river Sidon, and so down into the borders of the land Manti. And thus having placed his army according to his desire, he was prepared to meet them. And it came to pass that the Lamanites came up on the north of the hill, where a part of the army of Moroni was concealed. And as the Lamanites had passed the hill Riplah, and came into the valley, and began to cross the river Sidon, the army which was concealed on the south of the hill, which was led by a man whose name was Lehi, and he led his army forth and encircled the Lamanites about on the east in their rear. And it came to pass that the Lamanites, when they saw the Nephites coming upon them in their rear, turned them about and began to contend with the army of Lehi. And the work of death commenced on both sides, but it was more dreadful on the part of the Lamanites, for their nakedness was exposed to the heavy blows of the Nephites with their swords and their cimeters, which brought death almost at every stroke. While on the other hand, there was now and then a man fell among the Nephites, by their swords and the loss of blood, they being shielded from the more vital parts of the body, or the more vital parts of the body being shielded from the strokes of the Lamanites, by their breastplates, and their arm-shields, and their head-plates; and thus the Nephites did carry on the work of death among the Lamanites. And it came to pass that the Lamanites became frightened, because of the great destruction among them, even until they began to flee towards the river Sidon. And they were pursued by Lehi and his men; and they were driven by Lehi into the waters of Sidon, and they crossed the waters of Sidon. And Lehi retained his armies upon the bank of the river Sidon that they should not cross. And it came to pass that Moroni and his army met the Lamanites in the valley, on the other side of the river Sidon, and began to fall upon them and to slay them. And the Lamanites did flee again before them, towards the land of Manti; and they were met again by the armies of Moroni. Now in this case the Lamanites did fight exceedingly; yea, never had the Lamanites been known to fight with such exceedingly great strength and courage, no, not even from the beginning. And they were inspired by the Zoramites and the Amalekites, who were their chief captains and leaders, and by Zerahemnah, who was their chief captain, or their chief leader and commander; yea, they did fight like dragons, and many of the Nephites were slain by their hands, yea, for they did smite in two many of their head-plates, and they did pierce many of their breastplates, and they did smite off many of their arms; and thus the Lamanites did smite in their fierce anger…. And it came to pass that when the men of Moroni saw the fierceness and the anger of the Lamanites, they were about to shrink and flee from them. And Moroni, perceiving their intent, sent forth and inspired their hearts with these thoughts -- yea, the thoughts of their lands, their liberty, yea, their freedom from bondage. And it came to pass that they turned upon the Lamanites, and they cried with one voice unto the Lord their God, for their liberty and their freedom from bondage. And they began to stand against the Lamanites with power; and in that selfsame hour that they cried unto the Lord for their freedom, the Lamanites began to flee before them; and they fled even to the waters of Sidon. Now, the Lamanites were more numerous, yea, by more than double the number of the Nephites; nevertheless, they were driven insomuch that they were gathered together in one body in the valley, upon the bank by the river Sidon. Therefore the armies of Moroni encircled them about, yea, even on both sides of the river, for behold, on the east were the men of Lehi. Therefore when Zerahemnah saw the men of Lehi on the east of the river Sidon, and the armies of Moroni on the west of the river Sidon, that they were encircled about by the Nephites, they were struck with terror. Now Moroni, when he saw their terror, commanded his men that they should stop shedding their blood. By the end of the Book of Mormon, the Indians knew enough about the enemy to form great alliances against them, especially since masses of the Northmen (ethnic Irish, generally and probably) had begun to assimilate with the native tribes. The pure-blood Northmen, with the discovery of valuable gold and silver, available to the victors, no doubt reasserted their old Viking character. Alma 45:13-14 contains a prophecy that the Northmen, who were progressively assimilating into the Indian population, would become extinct because of the sin of "mingling" (that is, interracial sexual relations), just as the "Jaredites" had previously disappeared into the native population. And when that great day cometh, behold, the time very soon cometh that those who are now, or the seed of those who are now numbered among the people of Nephi, shall no more be numbered among the people of Nephi. But whosoever remaineth, and is not destroyed in that great and dreadful day, shall be numbered among the Lamanites, and shall become like unto them, all, save it be a few who shall be called the disciples of the Lord; and them shall the Lamanites pursue even until they shall become extinct. And now, because of iniquity, this prophecy shall be fulfilled. In Alma 47:23-24 is very similar to 22:19. However, in this version, a Northman deposes a native ruler -- perhaps the king of Cahokia, the emperor of the "Golden City" -- and takes the queen as his wife. And it came to pass that Amalickiah marched with his armies (for he had gained his desires) to the land of Nephi, to the city of Nephi, which was the chief city. And the king came out to meet him with his guards, for he supposed that Amalickiah had fulfilled his commands, and that Amalickiah had gathered together so great an army to go against the Nephites to battle. But behold, as the king came out to meet him Amalickiah caused that his servants should go forth to meet the king. And they went and bowed themselves before the king, as if to reverence him because of his greatness. And it came to pass that the king put forth his hand to raise them, as was the custom with the Lamanites, as a token of peace, which custom they had taken from the Nephites. And it came to pass that when he had raised the first from the ground, behold he stabbed the king to the heart; and he fell to the earth. Now the servants of the king fled; and the servants of Amalickiah raised a cry, saying: Behold, the servants of the king have stabbed him to the heart, and he has fallen and they have fled; behold, come and see. And it came to pass that Amalickiah commanded that his armies should march forth and see what had happened to the king; and when they had come to the spot, and found the king lying in his gore, Amalickiah pretended to be wroth, and said: Whosoever loved the king, let him go forth, and pursue his servants that they may be slain. And it came to pass that all they who loved the king, when they heard these words, came forth and pursued after the servants of the king. Now when the servants of the king saw an army pursuing after them, they were frightened again, and fled into the wilderness, and came over into the land of Zarahemla and joined the people of Ammon. And the army which pursued after them returned, having pursued after them in vain; and thus Amalickiah, by his fraud, gained the hearts of the people. And it came to pass on the morrow he entered the city Nephi with his armies, and took possession of the city. And now it came to pass that the queen, when she had heard that the king was slain -- for Amalickiah had sent an embassy to the queen informing her that the king had been slain by his servants, that he had pursued them with his army, but it was in vain, and they had made their escape -- Therefore, when the queen had received this message she sent unto Amalickiah, desiring him that he would spare the people of the city; and she also desired him that he should come in unto her; and she also desired him that he should bring witnesses with him to testify concerning the death of the king. And it came to pass that Amalickiah took the same servant that slew the king, and all them who were with him, and went in unto the queen, unto the place where she sat; and they all testified unto her that the king was slain by his own servants; and they said also: They have fled; does not this testify against them? And thus they satisfied the queen concerning the death of the king. And it came to pass that Amalickiah sought the favor of the queen, and took her unto him to wife; and thus by his fraud, and by the assistance of his cunning servants, he obtained the kingdom; yea, he was acknowledged king throughout all the land, among all the people of the Lamanites, who were composed of the Lamanites and the Lemuelites and the Ishmaelites, and all the dissenters of the Nephites, from the reign of Nephi down to the present time. Now these dissenters, having the same instruction and the same information of the Nephites, yea, having been instructed in the same knowledge of the Lord, nevertheless, it is strange to relate, not long after their dissensions they became more hardened and impenitent, and more wild, wicked and ferocious than the Lamanites -- drinking in with the traditions of the Lamanites; giving way to indolence, and all manner of lasciviousness; yea, entirely forgetting the Lord their God. There is a resonance here with a story of Cherokee fighting against the Cahokians, who reportedly had a white king. This altered kingship deteriorates quickly in the story. In Alma 53 to 55, the Northmen experience great difficulty because they have so many prisoners of war. And it came to pass that when the Lamanites had heard these words, their chief captains, all those who were not slain, came forth and threw down their weapons of war at the feet of Moroni, and also commanded their men that they should do the same. But behold, there were many that would not; and those who would not deliver up their swords were taken and bound, and their weapons of war were taken from them, and they were compelled to march with their brethren forth into the land Bountiful. And now the number of prisoners who were taken exceeded more than the number of those who had been slain, yea, more than those who had been slain on both sides. A great number are eventually taken to "Judea" (probably a general term for the area from Palestine to India). 56:57 And as we had no place for our prisoners, that we could guard them to keep them from the armies of the Lamanites, therefore we sent them to the land of Zarahemla, and a part of those men who were not slain of Antipus, with them; and the remainder I took and joined them to my stripling Ammonites, and took our march back to the city of Judea. During this time, the harems of Persia and surrounding areas were demanding exotic women, and eunuchs to tend to their needs. In The Arabian Nights, a hyper-sexualized environment is described in which women flaunted their sexuality in order to gain the attention of their master. American Indian women, with their modesty in such an environment, strength of character, and mystery, might easily have been a very attractive relief for the most intelligent and sensitive men. The story of "Jullanar of the Sea" and her loving husband, a king, who lost all interest for any other woman, strikes some strong parallels. They appear to have traveled a long way for her to get home to her family, and she ends up choosing a wife for her son from among her people. Similarly, Menzie’s hero in his controversial book may have had a similar past. Zheng He’s voyage could well have been a search for the home of this (and his) people, Asian but yet not Asian. It is impossible that Joseph and friends had access to this information, and it amplifies understanding of the original text, rather than directly contributing to it. By this time, Indians and the Norse/Irish defectors have the numbers, knowledge and technology to defeat their enemy. In Alma 62, the great city, possibly Cahokia and a vassal to the Northmen, falls, precipitating the retaliatory end of the Northlander invasion by southern tribes. Now Moroni was desirous that the Lamanites should come out to battle against them, upon the plains; but the Lamanites, knowing of their exceedingly great courage, and beholding the greatness of their numbers, therefore they durst not come out against them; therefore they did not come to battle in that day. And when the night came, Moroni went forth in the darkness of the night, and came upon the top of the wall to spy out in what part of the city the Lamanites did camp with their army. And it came to pass that they were on the east, by the entrance; and they were all asleep. And now Moroni returned to his army, and caused that they should prepare in haste strong cords and ladders, to be let down from the top of the wall into the inner part of the wall. And it came to pass that Moroni caused that his men should march forth and come upon the top of the wall, and let themselves down into that part of the city, yea, even on the west, where the Lamanites did not camp with their armies. And it came to pass that they were all let down into the city by night, by the means of their strong cords and their ladders; thus when the morning came they were all within the walls of the city. And now, when the Lamanites awoke and saw that the armies of Moroni were within the walls, they were affrighted exceedingly, insomuch that they did flee out by the pass. And now when Moroni saw that they were fleeing before him, he did cause that his men should march forth against them, and slew many, and surrounded many others, and took them prisoners; and the remainder of them fled into the land of Moroni, which was in the borders by the seashore. Thus had Moroni and Pahoran obtained the possession of the city of Nephihah without the loss of one soul; and there were many of the Lamanites who were slain. Now it came to pass that many of the Lamanites that were prisoners were desirous to join the people of Ammon and become a free people. And it came to pass that as many as were desirous, unto them it was granted according to their desires. Therefore, all the prisoners of the Lamanites did join the people of Ammon, and did begin to labor exceedingly, tilling the ground, raising all manner of grain, and flocks and herds of every kind; and thus were the Nephites relieved from a great burden; yea, insomuch that they were relieved from all the prisoners of the Lamanites. Now it came to pass that Moroni, after he had obtained possession of the city of Nephihah, having taken many prisoners, which did reduce the armies of the Lamanites exceedingly, and having regained many of the Nephites who had been taken prisoners, which did strengthen the army of Moroni exceedingly; therefore Moroni went forth from the land of Nephihah to the land of Lehi. In Alma 63:5-10, pure-blooded Northmen, led by a man named Hagoth, having been cornered into the land Northward, also called the land of Desolation, north of the Strait of Belle Isle, begin building ships. They eventually leave in large numbers, never to return. And it came to pass that in the thirty and seventh year of the reign of the judges, there was a large company of men, even to the amount of five thousand and four hundred men, with their wives and their children, departed out of the land of Zarahemla into the land which was northward. And it came to pass that Hagoth, he being an exceedingly curious man, therefore he went forth and built him an exceedingly large ship, on the borders of the land Bountiful, by the land Desolation, and launched it forth into the west sea, by the narrow neck which led into the land northward. And behold, there were many of the Nephites who did enter therein and did sail forth with much provisions, and also many women and children; and they took their course northward. And thus ended the thirty and seventh year. And in the thirty and eighth year, this man built other ships. And the first ship did also return, and many more people did enter into it; and they also took much provisions, and set out again to the land northward. And it came to pass that they were never heard of more. And we suppose that they were drowned in the depths of the sea. And it came to pass that one other ship also did sail forth; and whither she did go we know not. And it came to pass that in this year there were many people who went forth into the land northward. And thus ended the thirty and eighth year. And it came to pass in the thirty and ninth year of the reign of the judges, Shiblon died also, and Corianton had gone forth to the land northward in a ship, to carry forth provisions unto the people who had gone forth into that land. According to a confidential Indian source, they left for the mythical city, Kobenhoben. The year would have been c. 1421 A.D., (following multiple statements of scholars reporting from Scandinavian sources). There may have been an intervention by a third party, as Menzies appears to imply. Given stories in the Arabian Knights, it is likely that that by that time there was a Persian colony that provided that intervention. See "The Last Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor", "The Story of the First of Three Ladies of Baghdad", "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves", and "Jullanar of the Sea". This can also explain the rise of Baha’i and Mormonism at the same time. It is certain that Zoroastrian Islam and primitive Irish Christianity were compatible for syncresis, as both had a Gnostic flavor. In the midst of these developments, in Alma 63:14, a rebellion occurs among the Northmen. And it came to pass also in this year that there were some dissenters who had gone forth unto the Lamanites; and they were stirred up again to anger against the Nephites. And also in this same year they came down with a numerous army to war against the people of Moronihah, or against the army of Moronihah, in the which they were beaten and driven back again to their own lands, suffering great loss. Many desert to the Indian side and begin to foment Indian anger and more warfare. In Menzies’ book, a factory on Ellismere Island, probably used only during the summer, is described. Given the intensity of the protest and number of prisoners of war, and the following final war, the use of Indian slave labor during the summer to melt down the gold and silver for shipment to Europe, with the abandonment of any survivors every fall, might be reasonable. Helaman 3:16 discussed the reasons for the downfall of the Viking invaders, positing the mixing of the races as part of the cause. But behold, a hundredth part of the proceedings of this people, yea, the account of the Lamanites and of the Nephites, and their wars, and contentions, and dissensions, and their preaching, and their prophecies, and their shipping and their building of ships, and their building of temples, and of synagogues and their sanctuaries, and their righteousness, and their wickedness, and their murders, and their robbings, and their plundering, and all manner of abominations and whoredoms, cannot be contained in this work. But behold, there are many books and many records of every kind, and they have been kept chiefly by the Nephites. And they have been handed down from one generation to another by the Nephites, even until they have fallen into transgression and have been murdered, plundered, and hunted, and driven forth, and slain, and scattered upon the face of the earth, and mixed with the Lamanites until they are no more called the Nephites, becoming wicked, and wild, and ferocious, yea, even becoming Lamanites. I suggest hybrid vigor of the mixed Indians, and inbreeding among the pureblood Northmen (Linden 2004) might be a more logical conclusion. Ultimately, however, it was gold and silver hunger, and racism, with a massive slave-trade which precipitated an intervention from Persia, to stop gross abuses of human rights. 
Viking Ruins on Greenland Helaman 3:4-6 and 10-11 address the attack on the ecology of the land of Desolation. People built houses of stone because they had no wood; they were logging in other areas for firewood and lumber for roofing and shipbuilding. These events were also reported in Alma 63. And it came to pass in the forty and sixth, yea, there was much contention and many dissensions; in the which there were an exceedingly great many who departed out of the land of Zarahemla, and went forth unto the land northward to inherit the land. And they did travel to an exceedingly great distance, insomuch that they came to large bodies of water and many rivers. Yea, and even they did spread forth into all parts of the land, into whatever parts it had not been rendered desolate and without timber, because of the many inhabitants who had before inherited the land. And now no part of the land was desolate, save it were for timber; but because of the greatness of the destruction of the people who had before inhabited the land it was called desolate. And there being but little timber upon the face of the land, nevertheless the people who went forth became exceedingly expert in the working of cement; therefore they did build houses of cement, in the which they did dwell. And it came to pass that they did multiply and spread, and did go forth from the land southward to the land northward, and did spread insomuch that they began to cover the face of the whole earth, from the sea south to the sea north, from the sea west to the sea east. And the people who were in the land northward did dwell in tents, and in houses of cement, and they did suffer whatsoever tree should spring up upon the face of the land that it should grow up, that in time they might have timber to build their houses, yea, their cities, and their temples, and their synagogues, and their sanctuaries, and all manner of their buildings. And it came to pass as timber was exceedingly scarce in the land northward, they did send forth much by the way of shipping. And thus they did enable the people in the land northward that they might build many cities, both of wood and of cement. Although the recently introduced theme of the Gadianton robbers runs through this part of the story, the writer(s) may have been attempting to draw an analogy between the fate of the Viking invaders and the United States government. The Indians in the Book of Mormon's story take measures against the Gadianton robbers (who also have an Indian background), but the "Nephite" government ignores the situation. As a result, the Nephite government and the Gadianton robbers eventually merge to become the same entity. On another level, however, the plundering of gold and silver from the American tribes was the same activity as the Gadianton robbers. In Helaman 4:5-7 the Northmen are apparently driven out of St. Lawrence River valley and into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. But it came to pass in the fifty and sixth year of the reign of the judges, there were dissenters who went up from the Nephites unto the Lamanites; and they succeeded with those others in stirring them up to anger against the Nephites; and they were all that year preparing for war. And in the fifty and seventh year they did come down against the Nephites to battle, and they did commence the work of death; yea, insomuch that in the fifty and eighth year of the reign of the judges they succeeded in obtaining possession of the land of Zarahemla; yea, and also all the lands, even unto the land which was near the land Bountiful. And the Nephites and the armies of Moronihah were driven even into the land of Bountiful; And there they did fortify against the Lamanites, from the west sea, even unto the east; it being a day's journey for a Nephite, on the line which they had fortified and stationed their armies to defend their north country. And thus those dissenters of the Nephites, with the help of a numerous army of the Lamanites, had obtained all the possession of the Nephites which was in the land southward. And all this was done in the fifty and eighth and ninth years of the reign of the judges Helaman 4:19-26 reports that the Northmen are outnumbered and humbled; they received these consequences because their behavior was not "Christian." And it came to pass in the sixty and second year of the reign of the judges, that Moronihah could obtain no more possessions over the Lamanites. Therefore they did abandon their design to obtain the remainder of their lands, for so numerous were the Lamanites that it became impossible for the Nephites to obtain more power over them; therefore Moronihah did employ all his armies in maintaining those parts which he had taken. And it came to pass, because of the greatness of the number of the Lamanites the Nephites were in great fear, lest they should be overpowered, and trodden down, and slain, and destroyed. Yea, they began to remember the prophecies of Alma, and also the words of Mosiah; and they saw that they had been a stiffnecked people, and that they had set at naught the commandments of God. And that they had altered and trampled under their feet the laws of Mosiah, or that which the Lord commanded him to give unto the people; and they saw that their laws had become corrupted, and that they had become a wicked people, insomuch that they were wicked even like unto the Lamanites. And because of their iniquity the church had begun to dwindle; and they began to disbelieve in the spirit of prophecy and in the spirit of revelation; and the judgments of God did stare them in the face. And they saw that they had become weak, like unto their brethren, the Lamanites, and that the Spirit of the Lord did no more preserve them; yea, it had withdrawn from them because the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples -- Therefore the Lord did cease to preserve them by his miraculous and matchless power, for they had fallen into a state of unbelief and awful wickedness; and they saw that the Lamanites were exceedingly more numerous than they, and except they should cleave unto the Lord their God, they must unavoidably perish. For behold, they saw that the strength of the Lamanites was as great as their strength, even man for man. And thus had they fallen into this great transgression; yea, thus had they become weak, because of their transgression, in the space of not many years. In Helaman 7:21, there is preaching against the gold and silver fever among the Northmen. But behold, it is to get gain, to be praised of men, yea, and that ye might get gold and silver. And ye have set your hearts upon the riches and the vain things of this world, for the which ye do murder, and plunder, and steal, and bear false witness against your neighbor, and do all manner of iniquity. And for this cause wo shall come unto you except ye shall repent. For if ye will not repent, behold, this great city, and also all those great cities which are round about, which are in the land of our possession, shall be taken away that ye shall have no place in them; for behold, the Lord will not grant unto you strength, as he has hitherto done, to withstand against your enemies. For behold, thus saith the Lord: I will not show unto the wicked of my strength, to one more than the other, save it be unto those that repent of their sins, and hearken unto my words. Now therefore, I would that ye should behold, my brethren, that it shall be better for the Lamanites than for you except ye shall repent. For behold, they are more righteous than you, for they have not sinned against that great knowledge which ye have received; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them; yea, he will lengthen out their days and increase their seed, even when thou shalt be utterly destroyed except thou shalt repent. Yea, wo be unto you because of that great abomination which has come among you; and ye have united yourselves unto it, yea, to that secret band which was established by Gadianton! Yea, wo shall come unto you because of that pride which ye have suffered to enter your hearts, which has lifted you up beyond that which is good because of your exceedingly great riches! Yea, wo be unto you because of your wickedness and abominations! And except ye repent ye shall perish; yea, even your lands shall be taken from you, and ye shall be destroyed from off the face of the earth. Behold now, I do not say that these things shall be, of myself, because it is not of myself that I know these things; but behold, I know that these things are true because the Lord God has made them known unto me, therefore I testify that they shall be. Helaman 10:3 reports that Nephi’s Northmen are plundering and murdering, because of their desire for gold and silver. And it came to pass that there arose a division among the people, insomuch that they divided hither and thither and went their ways, leaving Nephi alone, as he was standing in the midst of them. And it came to pass that Nephi went his way towards his own house, pondering upon the things which the Lord had shown unto him. And it came to pass as he was thus pondering -- being much cast down because of the wickedness of the people of the Nephites, their secret works of darkness, and their murderings, and their plunderings, and all manner of iniquities -- and it came to pass as he was thus pondering in his heart, behold, a voice came unto him saying: Helaman 11 reports four years of famine and the Northmen repent, for a while. And there was a great famine upon the land, among all the people of Nephi. And thus in the seventy and fourth year the famine did continue, and the work of destruction did cease by the sword but became sore by famine. And this work of destruction did also continue in the seventy and fifth year. For the earth was smitten that it was dry, and did not yield forth grain in the season of grain; and the whole earth was smitten, even among the Lamanites as well as among the Nephites, so that they were smitten that they did perish by thousands in the more wicked parts of the land. And it came to pass that the people saw that they were about to perish by famine, and they began to remember the Lord their God; and they began to remember the words of Nephi. And the people began to plead with their chief judges and their leaders, that they would say unto Nephi: Behold, we know that thou art a man of God, and therefore cry unto the Lord our God that he turn away from us this famine, lest all the words which thou hast spoken concerning our destruction be fulfilled. And it came to pass that the judges did say unto Nephi, according to the words which had been desired. And it came to pass that when Nephi saw that the people had repented and did humble themselves in sackcloth, he cried again unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, behold this people repenteth; and they have swept away the band of Gadianton from amongst them insomuch that they have become extinct, and they have concealed their secret plans in the earth. Helaman 11:24-25 presents events which are too realistic for the reader to ascribe differences in behavior to skin color. In this section, the Gadianton robbers are re-organized, and resume activities. And it came to pass that in the eightieth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, there were a certain number of the dissenters from the people of Nephi, who had some years before gone over unto the Lamanites, and taken upon themselves the name of Lamanites, and also a certain number who were real descendants of the Lamanites, being stirred up to anger by them, or by those dissenters, therefore they commenced a war with their brethren. And they did commit murder and plunder; and then they would retreat back into the mountains, and into the wilderness and secret places, hiding themselves that they could not be discovered, receiving daily an addition to their numbers, inasmuch as there were dissenters that went forth unto them. And thus in time, yea, even in the space of not many years, they became an exceedingly great band of robbers; and they did search out all the secret plans of Gadianton; and thus they became robbers of Gadianton. Now behold, these robbers did make great havoc, yea, even great destruction among the people of Nephi, and also among the people of the Lamanites. In Helaman 12:18-21 there may be a referral back to the previously mentioned story of the Shawnee silver and Joseph’s previous grave-digging efforts. It is lost, leave it there, it is cursed. And behold, if a man hide up a treasure in the earth, and the Lord shall say -- Let it be accursed, because of the iniquity of him who hath hid it up -- behold, it shall be accursed. And if the Lord shall say -- Be thou accursed, that no man shall find thee from this time henceforth and forever -- behold, no man getteth it henceforth and forever. This passage is reflected in "Beowulf", in the story of the dragon’s treasure. Perhaps, here, also, is some memory of the defeat of the Vikings by the Indians. Other aspects of the text also allude to this. from an ancient race, was under a spell -- which meant that no one was ever permitted to enter the ring-hall unless God Himself, mankind’s keeper, True King of Triumphs, allowed some person pleasing to Him -- and in His eyes worthy -- to open the hoard. (L 3051-3057, Heaney, 2007) In Helaman 13, an Indian prophet rises up, and preaches to the remaining Northmen, now extensively assimilated into the tribes of the Northeast, telling them to give up their remaining racism and materialism. He warns them that if they do not, bad things will happen to them. Many repent, but others become angry, and he flees. It may have been at that time, hearing rumors of an impending re-invasion from Europe, that the remaining Persian colony left. And now it came to pass in the eighty and sixth year, the Nephites did still remain in wickedness, yea in great wickedness, while the Lamanites did observe strictly to keep the commandments of God, according to the law of Moses. And it came to pass that in this year there was one Samuel, a Lamanite, came into the land of Zarahemla, and began to preach unto the people. And it came to pass that he did preach, many days, repentance unto the people, and they did cast him out, and he was about to return to his own land. But behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, that he should return again, and prophesy unto the people whatsoever things should come into his heart. And it came to pass that they would not suffer that he should enter into the city; therefore he went and got upon the wall thereof, and stretched forth his hand and cried with a loud voice, and prophesied unto the people whatsoever things the Lord put into his heart. And he said unto them: Behold, I, Samuel, a Lamanite, do speak the words of the Lord which he doth put into my heart; and behold he hath put it into my heart to say unto this people that the sword of justice hangeth over this people; and four hundred years pass not away save the sword of justice falleth upon this people. Yea, heavy destruction awaiteth this people, and it surely cometh unto this people, and nothing can save this people save it be repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, who surely shall come into the world, and shall suffer many things and shall be slain for his people. And behold, an angel of the Lord hath declared it unto me, and he did bring glad tidings to my soul. And behold, I was sent unto you to declare it unto you also, that ye might have glad tidings; but behold ye would not receive me. Therefore, thus saith the Lord: Because of the hardness of the hearts of the people of the Nephites, except they repent I will take away my word from them, and I will withdraw my Spirit from them, and I will suffer them no longer, and I will turn the hearts of their brethren against them. And four hundred years shall not pass away before I will cause that they shall be smitten; yea, I will visit them with the sword and with famine and with pestilence. Yea, I will visit them in my fierce anger, and there shall be those of the fourth generation who shall live, of your enemies, to behold your utter destruction; and this shall surely come except ye repent, saith the Lord; and those of the fourth generation shall visit your destruction. But if ye will repent and return unto the Lord your God I will turn away mine anger, saith the Lord; yea, thus saith the Lord, blessed are they who will repent and turn unto me, but wo unto him that repenteth not. Although the Book of Mormon story may rely upon events centered on Tecumseh or Tenskawata, or an Onondaga prophet or some other Native American prophet, the essence of the story may be older. According to my chronology, this may have happened in 1469, amazingly close to 1492. Samuel could have been a true prophet of that era, telling the tribes to put away their cultural differences as a result of the earlier invasion, because they will come again. Evidently, if this is what happened, the message soaked in 300 years later, too late to change the course of history. In III Nephi 2:14-15 there is more talk of skin color change; however, later in the same chapter confusion again arises as to which people are good and which are bad. This, in my interpretation, is a backing up of the chronology (0 year being 1052), rather than a true A.D. chronology. V. 7-8 And nine years had passed away from the time when the sign was given, which was spoken of by the prophets, that Christ should come into the world. Now the Nephites began to reckon their time from this period when the sign was given, or from the coming of Christ; therefore, nine years had passed away. In III Nephi 3:6-10, the pure-blooded Northmen are given an ultimatum to surrender and join with the Gadianton robbers, or die. And behold, I swear unto you, if ye will do this, with an oath, ye shall not be destroyed; but if ye will not do this, I swear unto you with an oath, that on the morrow month I will command that my armies shall come down against you, and they shall not stay their hand and shall spare not, but shall slay you, and shall let fall the sword upon you even until ye shall become extinct. And behold, I am Giddianhi; and I am the governor of this the secret society of Gadianton; which society and the works thereof I know to be good; and they are of ancient date and they have been handed down unto us. And I write this epistle unto you, Lachoneus, and I hope that ye will deliver up your lands and your possessions, without the shedding of blood, that this my people may recover their rights and government, who have dissented away from you because of your wickedness in retaining from them their rights of government, and except ye do this, I will avenge their wrongs. I am Giddianhi. And now it came to pass when Lachoneus received this epistle he was exceedingly astonished, because of the boldness of Giddianhi demanding the possession of the land of the Nephites, and also of threatening the people and avenging the wrongs of those that had received no wrong, save it were they had wronged themselves by dissenting away unto those wicked and abominable robbers. In III Nephi 4:1 there is war between the Northmen of mixed-blood and those of full-blood. And it came to pass that in the latter end of the eighteenth year those armies of robbers had prepared for battle, and began to come down and to sally forth from the hills, and out of the mountains, and the wilderness, and their strongholds, and their secret places, and began to take possession of the lands, both which were in the land south and which were in the land north, and began to take possession of all the lands which had been deserted by the Nephites, and the cities which had been left desolate. But behold, there were no wild beasts nor game in those lands which had been deserted by the Nephites, and there was no game for the robbers save it were in the wilderness. And the robbers could not exist save it were in the wilderness, for the want of food; for the Nephites had left their lands desolate, and had gathered their flocks and their herds and all their substance, and they were in one body. Therefore, there was no chance for the robbers to plunder and to obtain food, save it were to come up in open battle against the Nephites; 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, in the which time they did hope to destroy the robbers from off the face of the land; and thus the eighteenth year did pass away. And it came to pass that in the nineteenth year Giddianhi found that it was expedient that he should go up to battle against the Nephites, for there was no way that they could subsist save it were to plunder and rob and murder. And they durst not spread themselves upon the face of the land insomuch that they could raise grain, lest the Nephites should come upon them and slay them; therefore Giddianhi gave commandment unto his armies that in this year they should go up to battle against the Nephites. In 3 Nephi 5, the Vikings have repented and the Gadianton robbers have been defeated. And now behold, there was not a living soul among all the people of the Nephites who did doubt in the least the words of all the holy prophets who had spoken; for they knew that it must needs be that they must be fulfilled. And they knew that it must be expedient that Christ had come, because of the many signs which had been given, according to the words of the prophets; and because of the things which had come to pass already they knew that it must needs be that all things should come to pass according to that which had been spoken. Therefore they did forsake all their sins, and their abominations, and their whoredoms, and did serve God with all diligence day and night. And now it came to pass that when they had taken all the robbers prisoners, insomuch that none did escape who were not slain, they did cast their prisoners into prison, and did cause the word of God to be preached unto them; and as many as would repent of their sins and enter into a covenant that they would murder no more were set at liberty. But as many as there were who did not enter into a covenant, and who did still continue to have those secret murders in their hearts, yea, as many as were found breathing out threatenings against their brethren were condemned and punished according to the law. And thus they did put an end to all those wicked, and secret, and abominable combinations, in the which there was so much wickedness, and so many murders committed. The Book of Mormon narrator appears to claim himself a "pure" descendant of Eric the Red in 3 Nephi 5:20. "I am Mormon, and a pure descendant of Lehi." In 3 Nephi 6, the Northmen resume degenerating into lust for gold and silver, and in their racism. And thus there became a great inequality in all the land, insomuch that the church began to be broken up; yea, insomuch that in the thirtieth year the church was broken up in all the land save it were among a few of the Lamanites who were converted unto the true faith; and they would not depart from it, for they were firm, and steadfast, and immovable, willing with all diligence to keep the commandments of the Lord. Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this -- Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world. And thus Satan did lead away the hearts of the people to do all manner of iniquity; therefore they had enjoyed peace but a few years. In the rest of Nephi, a post-Resurrection Jesus comes to the Americas, preaching the Gospel. This marks the beginning of a stable chronology. A more truthful chronology would mark this event, "year one" (1052), as the coming to Greenland and countries Westward, of the presence of Jesus in the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, with the establishment of a formal relationship with Rome. Thus, we have two independent chronologies backing each other up. Compared with Outside Events
Red indicates events occurring within the Book of Mormon Green indicates events documented elsewhere Fourth Nephi is basically a short summary of events stretching over a long period of time. In V. 14, the spread of Christianity is recounted, (in the year 1136 of my interpretation). The context is totally unrealistic. More like Heaven on Earth. And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people. And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God. There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God. And how blessed were they! For the Lord did bless them in all their doings; yea, even they were blessed and prospered until an hundred and ten years had passed away; and the first generation from Christ had passed away, and there was no contention in all the land. The uniformity of a continent-wide, single race and religion begins to break down. Evidently the bad people are again cursed with a dark skin (though perhaps not so "black" as in the past). The Gadianton robbers (year 1352, V. 45-46) may be modeled on the river pirates of the 1800’s, with a few touches of 1820s anti-Masonry thrown in, but, at its core, the story may describe the Northmen who were raiding gold and silver from the wealthiest tribes. And it came to pass that when three hundred years had passed away, both the people of Nephi and the Lamanites had become exceedingly wicked one like unto another. And it came to pass that the robbers of Gadianton did spread over all the face of the land; and there were none that were righteous save it were the disciples of Jesus. And gold and silver did they lay up in store in abundance, and did traffic in all manner of traffic. And it came to pass that after three hundred and five years had passed away, (and the people did still remain in wickedness) Amos died; and his brother, Ammaron, did keep the record in his stead. The situation in the Americas goes downhill throughout in the 1300’s, and by 1421 (369) the fate of the remaining Northmen was sealed, with the departure of what was probably the ruling class. The Book of Mormon does not even attempt to explain how a cross-continent fall into wickedness occurs so uniformly. Just as the story in 3rd Nephi was modeled upon popular expectations of a coming Christian millennium, so also the story in 4th Nephi was modeled upon the first Mormons' perception of a universal apostasy. It is not only the blessed white Nephites who turn away from the religion of Jesus -- the entire world either rejects that faith, or falls into a wicked perversion of it. This is a dismal view of what eventually follows a truncated millennium (in the Americas at least) and appears to provide little reason for anybody to accept Christianity. Is this yet another hint of the story's pagan Scandinavian underpinnings? Mormon 1:18: The story told here again sounds much like the old Shawnee story of hiding silver in a spring, but it went down too far and was lost (a slippery treasure, moving about under the earth's surface). And these Gadianton robbers, who were among the Lamanites, did infest the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof began to hide up their treasures in the earth; and they became slippery, because the Lord had cursed the land, that they could not hold them, nor retain them again. And it came to pass that there were sorceries, and witchcrafts, and magics; and the power of the evil one was wrought upon all the face of the land, even unto the fulfilling of all the words of Abinadi, and also Samuel the Lamanite. In Mormon 2:28-29 a treaty granted the rejuvenated Northlanders gives them all the land north of Belle Isle. And the three hundred and forty and ninth year had passed away. And in the three hundred and fiftieth year we made a treaty with the Lamanites and the robbers of Gadianton, in which we did get the lands of our inheritance divided. And the Lamanites did give unto us the land northward, yea, even to the narrow passage which led into the land southward. And we did give unto the Lamanites all the land southward. There they are isolated and a short peace follows. In 3:8, the year 362 (1414 by my calculations), there is renewed warfare, sparked by the defection of more Northmen to the "Lamanites" (see also Alma 63:14). And it came to pass that in the three hundred and sixty and first year the Lamanites did come down to the city of Desolation to battle against us; and it came to pass that in that year we did beat them, insomuch that they did return to their own lands again. And in the three hundred and sixty and second year they did come down again to battle. And we did beat them again, and did slay a great number of them, and their dead were cast into the sea. And now, because of this great thing which my people, the Nephites, had done, they began to boast in their own strength, and began to swear before the heavens that they would avenge themselves of the blood of their brethren who had been slain by their enemies. In Mormon 4 the Indian tribes allied against the Northmen win the war. The Northmen are swept off like the dew and forced to leave in ships. And now it came to pass that in the three hundred and sixty and third year the Nephites did go up with their armies to battle against the Lamanites, out of the land Desolation. And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites were driven back again to the land of Desolation. And while they were yet weary, a fresh army of the Lamanites did come upon them; and they had a sore battle, insomuch that the Lamanites did take possession of the city Desolation, and did slay many of the Nephites, and did take many prisoners. And the remainder did flee and join the inhabitants of the city Teancum. Now the city Teancum lay in the borders by the seashore; and it was also near the city Desolation. And it was because the armies of the Nephites went up unto the Lamanites that they began to be smitten; for were it not for that, the Lamanites could have had no power over them. But, behold, the judgments of God will overtake the wicked; and it is by the wicked that the wicked are punished; for it is the wicked that stir up the hearts of the children of men unto bloodshed. And it came to pass that the Lamanites did make preparations to come against the city Teancum. And it came to pass in the three hundred and sixty and fourth year the Lamanites did come against the city Teancum, that they might take possession of the city Teancum also. And it came to pass that they were repulsed and driven back by the Nephites. And when the Nephites saw that they had driven the Lamanites they did again boast of their own strength; and they went forth in their own might, and took possession again of the city Desolation. And now all these things had been done, and there had been thousands slain on both sides, both the Nephites and the Lamanites. And it came to pass that the three hundred and sixty and sixth year had passed away, and the Lamanites came again upon the Nephites to battle; and yet the Nephites repented not of the evil they had done, but persisted in their wickedness continually. And it is impossible for the tongue to describe, or for man to write a perfect description of the horrible scene of the blood and carnage which was among the people, both of the Nephites and of the Lamanites; and every heart was hardened, so that they delighted in the shedding of blood continually. And there never had been so great wickedness among all the children of Lehi, nor even among all the house of Israel, according to the words of the Lord, as was among this people. And it came to pass that the Lamanites did take possession of the city Desolation, and this because their number did exceed the number of the Nephites. And they did also march forward against the city Teancum, and did drive the inhabitants forth out of her, and did take many prisoners both women and children, and did offer them up as sacrifices unto their idol gods. And it came to pass that in the three hundred and sixty and seventh year, the Nephites being angry because the Lamanites had sacrificed their women and their children, that they did go against the Lamanites with exceedingly great anger, insomuch that they did beat again the Lamanites, and drive them out of their lands. And the Lamanites did not come again against the Nephites until the three hundred and seventy and fifth year. And in this year they did come down against the Nephites with all their powers; and they were not numbered because of the greatness of their number. And from this time forth did the Nephites gain no power over the Lamanites, but began to be swept off by them even as a dew before the sun. By 1421 all that were going to depart had gone, presumably leaving the remaining Northmen to fight it out against the mixed, adopted, and full-blooded Indians. Mormon 5 prophesies that any remaining Northmen would become "filthy Lamanites". And it came to pass that they came against us again, and we did maintain the city. And there were also other cities which were maintained by Nephites, which strongholds did cut them off that they could not get into the country which lay before us, to destroy the inhabitants of our land. And it came to pass that whatsoever lands we had passed by, and the inhabitants thereof were not gathered in, were destroyed by the Lamanites, and their towns, and villages, and cities were burned with fire; and thus three hundred and seventy and nine years passed away. And it came to pass that in the three hundred and eightieth year the Lamanites did come again against us to battle, and we did stand against them boldly; but it was all in vain, for so great were their numbers that they did tread the people of the Nephites under their feet. And it came to pass that we did again take to flight, and those whose flight was swifter than the Lamanites' did escape, and those whose flight did not exceed the Lamanites' were swept down and destroyed. And now behold, I, Mormon, do not desire to harrow up the souls of men in casting before them such an awful scene of blood and carnage as was laid before mine eyes; but I, knowing that these things must surely be made known, and that all things which are hid must be revealed upon the house-tops -- And also that a knowledge of these things must come unto the remnant of these people, and also unto the Gentiles, who the Lord hath said should scatter this people, and this people should be counted as naught among them -- therefore I write a small abridgment, daring not to give a full account of the things which I have seen, because of the commandment which I have received, and also that ye might not have too great sorrow because of the wickedness of this people. And now behold, this I speak unto their seed, and also to the Gentiles who have care for the house of Israel, that realize and know from whence their blessings come. For I know that such will sorrow for the calamity of the house of Israel; yea, they will sorrow for the destruction of this people; they will sorrow that this people had not repented that they might have been clasped in the arms of Jesus. Now these things are written unto the remnant of the house of Jacob; and they are written after this manner, because it is known of God that wickedness will not bring them forth unto them; and they are to be hid up unto the Lord that they may come forth in his own due time. And this is the commandment which I have received; and behold, they shall come forth according to the commandment of the Lord, when he shall see fit, in his wisdom. And behold, they shall go unto the unbelieving of the Jews; and for this intent shall they go -- that they may be persuaded that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; that the Father may bring about, through his most Beloved, his great and eternal purpose, in restoring the Jews, or all the house of Israel, to the land of their inheritance, which the Lord their God hath given them, unto the fulfilling of his covenant; And also that the seed of this people may more fully believe his gospel, which shall go forth unto them from the Gentiles; for this people shall be scattered, and shall become a dark, a filthy, and a loathsome people, beyond the description of that which ever hath been amongst us, yea, even that which hath been among the Lamanites, and this because of their unbelief and idolatry. Mormon 6 records a residual war against remaining Northmen, who had retreated to Hill Cumorah, in the year 384, or 1436, according to my chronology. This possibly culminated in a war against the "evil spirits" of bubonic plague, which could have destroyed the Mississippian civilization centered at Cahokia, otherwise known as Hill Cumorah in the Book of Mormon. And it came to pass that the king of the Lamanites did grant unto me the thing which I desired. And it came to pass that we did march forth to the land of Cumorah, and we did pitch our tents around about the hill Cumorah; and it was in a land of many waters, rivers, and fountains; and here we had hope to gain advantage over the Lamanites. And when three hundred and eighty and four years had passed away, we had gathered in all the remainder of our people unto the land of Cumorah. And it came to pass that when we had gathered in all our people in one to the land of Cumorah, behold I, Mormon, began to be old; and knowing it to be the last struggle of my people, and having been commanded of the Lord that I should not suffer the records which had been handed down by our fathers, which were sacred, to fall into the hands of the Lamanites, (for the Lamanites would destroy them) therefore I made this record out of the plates of Nephi, and hid up in the hill Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, save it were these few plates which I gave unto my son Moroni. And it came to pass that my people, with their wives and their children, did now behold the armies of the Lamanites marching towards them; and with that awful fear of death which fills the breasts of all the wicked, did they await to receive them. And it came to pass that they came to battle against us, and every soul was filled with terror because of the greatness of their numbers. And it came to pass that they did fall upon my people with the sword, and with the bow, and with the arrow, and with the ax, and with all manner of weapons of war. And it came to pass that my men were hewn down, yea, even my ten thousand who were with me, and I fell wounded in the midst; and they passed by me that they did not put an end to my life. And when they had gone through and hewn down all my people save it were twenty and four of us, (among whom was my son Moroni) and we having survived the dead of our people, did behold on the morrow, when the Lamanites had returned unto their camps, from the top of the hill Cumorah, the ten thousand of my people who were hewn down, being led in the front by me. And we also beheld the ten thousand of my people who were led by my son Moroni. And behold, the ten thousand of Gidgiddonah had fallen, and he also in the midst. And Lamah had fallen with his ten thousand; and Gilgal had fallen with his ten thousand; and Limhah had fallen with his ten thousand; and Jeneum had fallen with his ten thousand; and Cumenihah, and Moronihah, and Antionum, and Shiblom, and Shem, and Josh, had fallen with their ten thousand each. And it came to pass that there were ten more who did fall by the sword, with their ten thousand each; yea, even all my people, save it were those twenty and four who were with me, and also a few who had escaped into the south countries, and a few who had deserted over unto the Lamanites, had fallen; and their flesh, and bones, and blood lay upon the face of the earth, being left by the hands of those who slew them to molder upon the land, and to crumble and to return to their mother earth. And my soul was rent with anguish, because of the slain of my people, and I cried: O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you! Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss. O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen! But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return. This also could have given rise to the Indian tradition of avoidance of the "dark and bloody ground" of Kentucky. David Cusick mentioned a devastating disease, there is a pocket of bubonic plague in prairie dogs of the Southwest, and there is a report of an epidemic in Mexico in immediate pre-Columbian times. 
Great Mound of Cahokia In the Arabian Nights " The story of the First of Three Ladies of Baghdad" tells of a place visited far away, so far away that they had no knowledge of the flood of Noah. They found a large city, wealthy with gold and silver, where all the people were dead, but one. The people were turned to black stone—blood clotting failure at the terminal stages of Bubonic Plague causes subcutaneous hemorrhages, so that the dying person’s skin turns black. There is an undeniable parallel in this. With the Book of Ether the writer inserts a "flashback" as a sort of appendix to the story. The setting is said to be during the early days of human history, long before the rise of Israelites, Nephites, etc. As previously discussed, Ether 2:16 presents a distinct description of a kayak. Yet, a few verses later, the description is obscured by a description of a craft that would not float. In Ether 6:5-12, the passage to the continent went very well, even though the water was rough. And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind. And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind. And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters. And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind. According to Indian stories, there were a number of migrations from the original colonies on Greenland, and, quite probably, the Inuit frequently assisted them in their escape. Given such a perspective, the underlying story of this book is clearly placed in its appropriate sequence and is not an appendix. However, the overt or superficial story told here is said to be of great antiquity, and Joseph and friends took great pains to establish it as a separate story in Mosiah 8. And they were lost in the wilderness for the space of many days, yet they were diligent, and found not the land of Zarahemla but returned to this land, having traveled in a land among many waters, having discovered a land which was covered with bones of men, and of beasts, and was also covered with ruins of buildings of every kind, having discovered a land which had been peopled with a people who were as numerous as the hosts of Israel. And for a testimony that the things that they had said are true they have brought twenty-four plates which are filled with engravings, and they are of pure gold. And behold, also, they have brought breastplates, which are large, and they are of brass and of copper, and are perfectly sound. And again, they have brought swords, the hilts thereof have perished, and the blades thereof were cankered with rust; and there is no one in the land that is able to interpret the language or the engravings that are on the plates. Therefore I said unto thee: Canst thou translate? And I say unto thee again: Knowest thou of any one that can translate? For I am desirous that these records should be translated into our language; for, perhaps, they will give us a knowledge of a remnant of the people who have been destroyed, from whence these records came; or, perhaps, they will give us a knowledge of this very people who have been destroyed; and I am desirous to know the cause of their destruction. Now Ammon said unto him: I can assuredly tell thee, O king, of a man that can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God. And the things are called interpreters, and no man can look in them except he be commanded, lest he should look for that he ought not and he should perish. And whosoever is commanded to look in them, the same is called seer. And behold, the king of the people who are in the land of Zarahemla is the man that is commanded to do these things, and who has this high gift from God. Much of the Book of Ether is a repetition of previous themes and events. Anti-Masonic themes abound. The phrase "secret combinations" and the word "combinations" in the same context, appear nine times. Ether 10:19-21 is critical in deriving meaning from this "book". A concern about snakes, which also occurs in the Walam Olum, may indicate that both peoples were of Irish, or mixed Irish/Indian heritage (see the legend of St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland). And it came to pass that Lib also did that which was good in the sight of the Lord. And in the days of Lib the poisonous serpents were destroyed. Wherefore they did go into the land southward, to hunt food for the people of the land, for the land was covered with animals of the forest. And Lib also himself became a great hunter. And they built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land. And they did preserve the land southward for a wilderness, to get game. And the whole face of the land northward was covered with inhabitants. The technology listed in verses 22-27 may be a somewhat exaggerated account of life on the Greenland settlements in the best of times. 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 to get ore, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of copper. And they did work all manner of fine work. And they did have silks, and fine-twined linen; and they did work all manner of cloth, that they might clothe themselves from their nakedness. And they did make all manner of tools to till the earth, both to plow and to sow, to reap and to hoe, and also to thrash. And they did make all manner of tools with which they did work their beasts. And they did make all manner of weapons of war. And they did work all manner of work of exceedingly curious workmanship. Slavery may have been prevalent, given the number of times the word "captivity" occurs, and the context in which it occurs. Ether 12:13-15 mentions Alma and Nephi and Lehi. Behold, it was the faith of Alma and Amulek that caused the prison to tumble to the earth. Behold, it was the faith of Nephi and Lehi that wrought the change upon the Lamanites, that they were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost. Behold, it was the faith of Ammon and his brethren which wrought so great a miracle among the Lamanites. The great loss of life in 14:21-23 seems to be more reminiscent of a massive epidemic, than physical war, linking it to Alma 16 and Mormon 5. It is probably a re-telling of the destruction of Cahokia and other related civilizations from a different perspective. And so great and lasting had been the war, and so long had been the scene of bloodshed and carnage, that the whole face of the land was covered with the bodies of the dead. And so swift and speedy was the war that there was none left to bury the dead, but they did march forth from the shedding of blood to the shedding of blood, leaving the bodies of both men, women, and children strewed upon the face of the land, to become a prey to the worms of the flesh. And the scent thereof went forth upon the face of the land, even upon all the face of the land; wherefore the people became troubled by day and by night, because of the scent thereof. Nevertheless, Shiz did not cease to pursue Coriantumr; for he had sworn to avenge himself upon Coriantumr of the blood of his brother, who had been slain, and the word of the Lord which came to Ether that Coriantumr should not fall by the sword. And thus we see that the Lord did visit them in the fulness of his wrath, and their wickedness and abominations had prepared a way for their everlasting destruction. The Book of Mormon probably originally ended with the Book of Ether. Moroni is obviously a "tacked-on" addition. Basically the book is an instruction manual on how to operate the early Mormon church. Some scholars feel that its content reflects the unique religious concerns of the Campbellite minister, Rev. Sidney Rigdon, c. 1827-1828. In Moroni 9:5 the text again becomes more charitable towards the "Lamanites", as the remaining Northmen are being assimilated into the Indian population. It may be important to note here, that the existence of the Navajo and "Pueblo" Indians was just beginning to be reported in the American newspapers a few years before the Book of Mormon's 1830 publication. A view quickly sprang up among the readers in the east, that western "cliff-dwellers" and Athabaskan shepherds (the sheep were given to them by Spanish missionaries to promote economic self-sufficiency) possessed a high degree of civilization -- indeed, the "Pueblo" Indians were "civilized" in the dictionary sense of the term -- they built permanent cities. My interpretation of the book tells me that Moroni is not solely a religious manual, written by a maverick Cambellite clergyman. Moroni 9: 7-8, 16-17 reads like the description of a siege of the Anasazi people. This siege is more likely a siege of the Anasazi by bubonic plague. It is offered as a counterbalance to the following verified story. In Moroni 9:9-10 the text describes conditions at the Greenland colony, where Indian-Irish slaves were raped by their masters. When the Northmen left, they abandoned the slaves, and possibly the mixed people as well. By the time they were rescued by the Inuit and taken to North America in kayaks, they had also been forced into starvation cannibalism. This story is been supported by Indian stories, and also in Ether 2:6. This story is also echoed, probably much less horrifically, by the story of the Roanoke Colony, survivors of which were taken in by a Delaware tribe. History repeats itself. Moroni 10 gives the date of 420, or 1472, only twenty years before the landing of Columbus, as the year in which he wrote. For behold, I have had a sore battle with the Lamanites, in which we did not conquer; and Archeantus has fallen by the sword, and also Luram and Emron; yea, and we have lost a great number of our choice men. And now behold, my son, I fear lest the Lamanites shall destroy this people; for they do not repent, and Satan stirreth them up continually to anger one with another. Behold, I am laboring with them continually; and when I speak the word of God with sharpness they tremble and anger against me; and when I use no sharpness they harden their hearts against it; wherefore, I fear lest the Spirit of the Lord hath ceased striving with them. For so exceedingly do they anger that it seemeth me that they have no fear of death; and they have lost their love, one towards another; and they thirst after blood and revenge continually. … And now I write somewhat concerning the sufferings of this people. For according to the knowledge which I have received from Amoron, behold, the Lamanites have many prisoners, which they took from the tower of Sherrizah; and there were men, women, and children. And the husbands and fathers of those women and children they have slain; and they feed the women upon the flesh of their husbands, and the children upon the flesh of their fathers; and no water, save a little, do they give unto them. And notwithstanding this great abomination of the Lamanites, it doth not exceed that of our people in Moriantum. For behold, many of the daughters of the Lamanites have they taken prisoners; and after depriving them of that which was most dear and precious above all things, which is chastity and virtue -- And after they had done this thing, they did murder them in a most cruel manner, torturing their bodies even unto death; and after they have done this, they devour their flesh like unto wild beasts, because of the hardness of their hearts; and they do it for a token of bravery. O my beloved son, how can a people like this, that are without civilization -- (And only a few years have passed away, and they were a civil and a delightsome people)... And again, my son, there are many widows and their daughters who remain in Sherrizah; and that part of the provisions which the Lamanites did not carry away, behold, the army of Zenephi has carried away, and left them to wander whithersoever they can for food; and many old women do faint by the way and die. And the army which is with me is weak; and the armies of the Lamanites are betwixt Sherrizah and me; and as many as have fled to the army of Aaron have fallen victims to their awful brutality. Ritual Viking cannibalism is described in The Volsung Saga, in "Regin and Sigurd go Riding" and "Regin Drinks Fafnir’s Blood". Ragin kills a "dragon", Fafnir. As he dies, Fafnir tells Regin that the treasure of gold has a curse on it. Ragin cuts out his heart, shares it with his friends, and drinks his blood. Later, in "Hogni is Captured", three men die, two of them having their hearts cut out, continuing to refuse to tell where the gold treasure is. There is a taste of Aztec human sacrifice in this. The dragon is a universal archetype for the knowledge of evolution, from the fossil record, as in dinosaurs. |
 Mormons in 1834, Disinterring an Indian Body in Illinois Conclusion From my perspective, either Joseph Smith rapidly switched back and forth from being a respectful compiler of Indian traditions, to being racist and anti-Indian, or there were multiple authors of the BOM. In any event, however, he had intense conscience and identity issues throughout his life, and sought the role of religious leadership to bolster a fragile ego. By the end of Joseph's life, Thomas Sharp, a journalist in Hancock County, Illinois, was calling him an anti-Christ. Winneshiek, a respected spiritual leader from Prophetstown on the Rock (River), listened to him, laughed, and told him that he was crazy. Fr. John George Alleman, a Catholic priest who passed through Nauvoo -- who had many opportunities to observe what was going on -- called him a scoundrel. Surrounded by people who were more racist than himself, it is not surprising that Joseph Smith lost his earlier sense of purpose (and even his interest in the Book of Mormon, some scholars have argued). His evolution in this direction may be seen in the incident of "the white Lamanite Zelph." Coming across an Indian skeleton and some signs of an old battle, on his way to Missouri in 1834, Joseph concocted a strange explanation for the remains. From my reading of accounts of that event, I believe he saw someone as if dead. Seeing the isolated and forgotten bones, the Mormon prophet was compelled to put them into a fanciful context -- giving the dead man a name, a position among his people, and even the LDS blessing of a skin in the process of turning white. As the Nephite story draws to a close, that fallen people's white skin is no longer a mark of righteousness. Near the end of Joseph’s book, in Moroni 9, comes the common-sense, truly Christian denial of skin color as a measure of a person's character. Whether that important realization came directly from the heart of Joseph Smith, or whether from the influence of Rev. Rigdon or another of Smith's early associates, I cannot tell. The important thing is that it comes at the end of a book brought forth and made ready for publication by Smith -- it thus bears his implicit stamp of approval. The Latter Day Saint people will no doubt continue on for centuries to come, but the content of their problematic religion need not be set in stone. It is they themselves who so often speak of the possibilities of change -- of the revelation of new light and truth within their peculiar religious system. Given the recent changes within their sister church, the "Reorganized" Saints, it would be unreasonable for me to believe that old-fashioned Mormonism, based on the entirety of the book as sacred scripture, will last forever. Mormons may return to their original roots, putting the horribly flawed Joseph Smith on the shelf, and beginning to listen to the true message of the book, as told by an anonymous Indian prophet. As Joseph’s and Brigham’s Mormonism fades away, people of Mormon cultural heritage might be well advised to review Moroni 9 now and then. History repeats itself: can others see the special irony I detect there? From my studies of the text, it has become apparent, to me at least, that somewhere along the line there was an Indian who made significant contributions to the Book of Mormon. He or she was possibly a well educated Shawnee or Delaware. David Cusick’s contribution is easily seen, but it is probably not the only one. Today many people do not realize that there were literate, English-speaking Indians around when the Book of Mormon was written and published. Some of the first people the book was offered to were literate members of the Seneca tribe who lived just outside of Buffalo, New York. As already mentioned previously in this paper, Elias Boudinot's Cherokee Phoenix ran articles in its pages, both in reference to the Israelite-Indian theory, and to the Mormons themselves, in the years immediately following the appearance of the Book of Mormon. If people could intelligently examine and consider such things, it should come as no great surprise that one such Native American could have contributed to the Book of Mormon. There was no spiritualist "channeling," no otherworldly "angel," but an actual person who made significant contributions. Those contributions are part of what make the book believable (unfortunately so for those readers who believe it totally). Those same contributions are what continue to make the book worth reading. Joseph Smith probably had a close personal relationship with this person. This person may be the Indian Joseph is said to have met at about the time he switched from robbing Indian graves to the Book of Mormon (Vogel, 1996-2003). A collection of Indian traditions may have been put together for an entirely different purpose than creating the "golden bible". This collection of tribal traditions was then obscured and hidden among borrowings from other writers. Whether this collection was finalized in 1510 or 1820 cannot be determined. However, it is possible that Joseph did dig up some old sheets of copper, inscribed in Old Norse, and that an unknown Indian was able to translate Old Norse into English. Given Joseph’s predisposition for fantastic elaboration on the truth, it is not unreasonable, and would explain the testimony of the witnesses. Whatever the original text was, the final text is so distorted from the original, that only people who already know something about the Viking invasion, can see the parallels. These parallels were also easily seen in Iraq, once they got access to the Book of Mormon. As I've already said, I believe some evidence of these things can still be discerned in the incident of "the white Lamanite Zelph" -- and perhaps even in Smith's little known revelation permitting the first Mormons to take polygamous Indian brides. While these events depend upon the Book of Mormon for their context, they transcend that books false anthropology and frequent negative depictions of America's REAL first people. Some day, people will not be judged by the color of their skin, or the texture of their hair, or the shape of their eyes. The survival of the human race depends upon mutual cooperation and mutual acceptance of our diversity. The natural and man-made disasters that threaten a fragile blue planet can only be met and overcome by a people no longer divided by baseless fears and petty egotism. Sooner or later the day will arrive when Martin Luther King's prophecy will be fulfilled. But these advances cannot come until the racist past of religions like Mormonism is abandoned. Here I am not being hostile towards the Latter Day Saints, alone. Scott Malcolmson, in One Drop of Blood, particularly brilliantly describes how the European concept of race has poisoned all of American society, and subtly asks why people of color have any need to wonder where Mormonism comes from. Recent events among the Cherokee people certainly highlight exactly how much the European concept of race has crept into even American Indian culture. Can Mormonism do an about-face and change, just as the Cherokee are doing? Or is racism too pervasive in Mormon culture to even attempt a change? I believe that there is great power in our understanding original sin, or the "knowledge of good and evil" to be the knowledge of race and its divisive effects upon our global society. Human beings are the only animal known to kill each other because of hereditary physical differences within our species: we are also the only animal possessed of sufficient consciousness to do something to correct that dangerous trait. I do not blame the Latter Day Saints for having accused the Indians of a continent-wide genocide of God's "chosen people." In many ways the early Mormons were no better and no worse than their non-Mormon neighbors and I choose, rather, to focus upon the genuine concern many Mormons have no doubt felt for their Native American brethren through the years. That genuine concern, when divorced from false paternalism and racial arrogance, can become a very good and positive beginning for a better future. We many not be brothers and sisters in the sense that the biblical Ephraim and Manasseh were of one family -- but we all belong to the human family. However, having once said that, the critical concept of "Balance" is necessary. Cultural minorities have the right to maintain a certain distance from the larger society, to preserve cultural values -- not necessarily to preserve "blood", but to keep alive the traditions, and provide a dissenting opinion to the larger society when necessary. "Blood", in itself, is not the critical factor; culture, which often goes with genetic ancestry, is. I have also, through my journey, writing this book, come to a deeper understanding of Jesus. I believe that people who deny or forget the role of Jesus as prophet, as a human being, have lost what is essential. To become prophets, in imitation of Christ, is not blasphemy. To cloak the role of prophet in magical mumbo-jumbo is blasphemy. Are such abuses of religion, perhaps, why the Muslim world is in such chaos today? Do they reject Jesus as a prophet because Christians are so bad at following his example? Perhaps the world is as it is today because so many have rejected Jesus as prophet. Many also have a very rational fear of being called to that role, given the emphasis on the suffering Jesus, and the suffering of other prophets who became victims of people who refused to change. This paper began as a record of my personal discoveries, made while studying my cultural heritage and the Book of Mormon. I have made extensive use of the Internet, checking out what I was taught by my parents and grandparents, and what I have read, with other people of American Indian heritage. Through the assistance of Dale R. Broadhurst, I have been able to integrate the perspective of LDS people into this book. I do not expect every reader to accept the "Viking invasion" theory as anything like established fact. I, and many others, know, through oral tradition, that it is a fact. I believe that now is the time to seek further verification. I ask my readers to suspend their various beliefs and disbeliefs while they read my words, and in the process, try to see the picture as I have painted it. I ask my readers to not get bogged down in trying to refute my ideas and methods. It would be a difficult task to document the various sacred oral traditions I rely upon in forming many of my conclusions. It would offend people of various tribes in publicly exposing stories which are sacred—I even hesitated to include the Walam Olum in this paper. Vine Deloria said it well (Appendix I). Is there any harm in asking people of the Great Lakes tribes what they know of their pre-Columbian history? I sincerely believe that American history of the five hundred years preceding Columbus contain some clear-cut parallels with the Book of Mormon, and the chronology with known events matches. My process in this analysis is more like assembling a pair of very different jigsaw puzzles which have been mixed together, the confounding of Indian and Norse stories with the myth of Indians being of Jewish descent. We have found, from world literature, sources that confirm the basic story, sources which Joseph and friends could not have had access to. Ironically, we have also found a people with a spirituality closely related to Judaism, to be involved in that story. Who could want anything more? I am aware of the potential weaknesses of my theories -- but I may also be aware of some of their strengths, that others might not readily perceive. Perhaps sources in Scandinavia will become more open in sharing their records. Perhaps one day American History textbooks will teach that Chief Keokuk’s Sac and Fox lived on a reservation across the river from Nauvoo since before the arrival of Joseph and his people, and that Mormons committed many crimes against them, contributing to the war in that area from 1844 to 1846. Most definitely such textbooks will contain more than a one-sentence "Eric the Red founded a colony on Greenland, they visited Newfoundland, and by 1430 they had all died out." Perhaps renewed archaeological exploration, particularly in the Belle Isle area, will reveal substantial evidence for this interpretation of the Book of Mormon. If the fabled treasure which the Vikings looted from the Indians is found, today’s tribes of Canada and the United States can be the only reasonable and legal beneficiaries of such a discovery. This is especially true especially given the injustices of the past thousand years. Perhaps also, someday, words like "anti-Semitism" will be more broadly defined. I see one segment of the LDS church willing to make the changes necessary to join 21st Century America. Which will win is up to the leadership of that church, or those dissidents who are willing to risk schism. I pray that those who receive this book with an open mind will do what is necessary, because the alternative is quite frightening. A thousand arguments might be constructed against my theory. I do not claim that my analysis of the Norse connection with the Book of Mormon precisely matches what actually happened. There may be exaggeration and embroidery of the story that I have not uncovered; there may be passages that I did not discover. It is really not my purpose here to offer arguments and counter-arguments: it is my purpose to offer a new perspective and a new interpretation. I sincerely hope, readers of all backgrounds that you can take what I offer, for whatever value you can: if you do, then I will have succeeded in my task. Dedicated to the memory of Tecumseh, Winneshiek, Whirling Thunder, Vine Deloria, Jr., and all the others who have attempted to tell the story. Remembering Joseph Smith, Jr., who participated in warping and twisting the story and ended up becoming a problem for all Americans. Sources Armstrong, Perry: The Sauks and the Black-Hawk War, (NYC: AMS Press, 1979). Black Hawk: Life of Black Hawk, (NYC: Dover Publications, 1994). Byock, Jesse: The Saga of the Volsungs, (Berkeley, Ca.: University of California Press, 1990) Chapman, Paul: The Man who Led Columbus to America, (Atlanta: Judson Press, 1973). Coates, James: In Mormon Circles: Gentiles, JackMormons, and Later-Day Saints, (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1991). DeLoria, Vine, Jr.: God is Red, (NYC: Grosset and Dunlap, 1973). Diamond, Jared: Guns, Germs, and Steel, The Fates of Human Societies, (NYC: W. W. Norton & Co., 1997). ______________, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, (NYC: Viking 2005). Diedrich, Mark: Ho-Chunk Chiefs: Winnebago Leadership in an Era of Crisis, (Rochester, MN: Coyote Books, 2001). Eckert, Allen: A Sorrow in our Hearts: The Life of Tecumseh, (NYC: Bantam Books, 1992). Fell, Barry: America B.C.: ancient settlers in the New World, (New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, 1986) Gallenkamp, Charles: Maya, the Riddle and Rediscovery of a Lost Civilization, (NYC: David McKay Co., 1959). Haddawy, Husain: The Arabian Nights, (NYC: W.W. Norton & Company, 1990) Hanks, Lewis: Aristotle and the American Indians; a study in race prejudice in the modern world, (Bloomington Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1959) http://puffin.creighton.edu/jesuit/relations/ Heaney, Seamus (trans): Beowulf, (NYC: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000). Jefferson, Thomas: Jefferson’s Letters. Arranged by Willson Whitman (E. M. Hale and Company) Kennedy, Roger G.: Hidden Cities: The Discovery and Loss of Ancient North American Civilization, (NYC: The Free Press, 1994) Krakauer, Jon: Under the Banner of Heaven. (NYC: Doubleday, 2003) Linden, Eugene: "The Vikings: A Memorable Visit to North America," Smithsonian December 2004 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/issues/2004/december/vikings.php?page=4 MacManus, Seumas, The Story of the Irish Race: a popular History of Ireland (New York: Devin-Adair Co. 1976) Malcomson, Scott: One Drop of Blood: The American Misadventure of Race, (NYC: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2000). Mallery, Arlington, Lost America, (Washington, D.C.: Overlook, 1951). ______________, (with Mary R. Harrison), The Rediscovery of Lost America, (NYC: E. P. Dutton, 1979). Menzies, Gavin: 1421: The Year China Discovered America, (NYC: Harper Collins, 2003). Metcalfe, Brent Lee "Reinventing Lamanite Identity," Sunstone (March 2004), 20–25. Nabokov, Peter, (Ed.): Native American Testimony, (Thomas Y. Crowell: 1978). Oestreicher, David M.: "Unraveling the Walam Olum," Natural History, (Oct. 1996), 14-21. ______________, "The Anatomy of the Walam Olum: The Dissection of a Nineteenth-Century Anthropological Hoax," (Rutgers University: Ph.D dissertation, 1995) Parr, Ryan, "Missing the Boat to Ancient America... Just Plain Missing the Boat," FARMS Review 17/1 (2005): 83-106. Roberts, B. H., (Ed.): History of the Church, II: 79-80 (SLC: various editions). ______________, "Manuscript History of the Church," Book A-1:482-83, (SLC: LDS Church Archives). Sharp, John. E.: Gathering at the Hearth: Stories Mennonites Tell, (Goshen, Indiana: Hist. Com. of the Mennonite Church, 2001). Smith, Joseph, et al.: The Book of Mormon, (Palmyra, New York: Grandin, 1830 -- various later editions). Southerton, Simon, Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church, (SLC: Signature Books, 2004). _____________, "An Apologetics Shipwreck: Response to Dr. Ryan Parr," on-line paper, (2005). Vogel, Dan: Indian Origins and the Book of Mormon: Religious Solutions from Columbus to Joseph Smith, (SLC: Signature, 1986). _____________, Early Mormon Documents Vols. 1-5, (SLC: Signature, 1996-2003) _____________, Joseph Smith: The Making of a Prophet (Salt Lake City: Signature, 2004) _____________, and Metcalfe, Brent Lee, (Eds.): American Apocrypha: Essays on the Book of Mormon, (SLC: Signature, 2002) Williams, Stephen: Fantastic Archaeology: The Wild Side of North American Prehistory (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991) |
* The original pictographs associated with this text are not reproducted here, since their origin (Constantine Rafinesque) is held with considerable suspicion by many contemporary scholars. Some of the translation may be inaccurate -- reflecting translator bias (some people have sceptical about the entire text, because of Rafinesque's involvement). Linguists may wish to look up the original version in the Lenape language. My comments are enclosed in brackets: { }. At first, in that place, at all times, above the earth. On the earth, [was] an extended fog, and there the great Manito was. At first, forever, lost in space, everywhere, the great Manito was. He made the extended land and the sky. He made the sun, the moon, the stars. He made them all to move evenly. Then the wind blew violently, and it cleared, and the water flowed off far and strong. And groups of islands grew newly, and there remained. Anew spoke the great Manito, a manito to manitos, To beings, mortals, souls and all, And ever after he was a manito to men, and their grandfather. He gave the first mother, the mother of beings. He gave the fish, he gave the turtles, he gave the beasts, he gave the birds. But an evil Manito made evil beings only, monsters, He made the flies, he made the gnats. All beings were then friendly. Truly the manitos were active and kindly To those very first men, and to those first mothers; fetched them wives, And fetched them food, when first they desired it. All had cheerful knowledge, all had leisure, all thought in gladness. But very secretly an evil being, a mighty magician, came on earth, And with him brought badness, quarreling, unhappiness, Brought bad weather, brought sickness, brought death. All this took place of old on the earth, beyond the great tide-water, at the first. {This story came from the East, across the Atlantic, a re-telling of Genesis} Long ago there was a mighty snake and beings evil to men. This mighty snake hated those who were there (and) greatly disquieted those whom he hated. They both did harm, they both injured each other, both were not in peace. Driven from their homes they fought with this murderer. The mighty snake firmly resolved to harm the men. He brought three persons, he brought a monster, he brought a rushing water. Between the hills the water rushed and rushed, dashing through and through, destroying much. Nanabush, the Strong White One, grandfather of beings, grandfather of men, was on the Turtle Island.{Like Noah, or possibly the Creator} There he was walking and creating, as he passed by and created the turtle. Beings and men all go forth, they walk in the floods and shallow waters, down stream thither to the Turtle Island.. There were many monster fishes, which ate some of them. The Manito daughter, coming, helped with her canoe, helped all, as they came and came. [And also] Nanabush, Nanabush, the grandfather of all, the grandfather of beings, the grandfather of men, the grandfather of the turtle. The men then were together on the turtle, like to turtles. Frightened on the turtle, they prayed on the turtle that what was spoiled should be restored. The water ran off, the earth dried, the lakes were at rest, all was silent, and the mighty snake departed. After the rushing waters (had subsided) the Lenape of the turtle were close together, in hollow houses, living together there. It freezes where they abode, it snows where they abode, it storms where they abode, it is cold where they abode. {Resembling Greenland, a harsh climate. They long for a more pleasant place, and wish to leave.} At this northern place they speak favorably of mild, cool (lands), with many deer and buffaloes. As they journeyed, some being strong, some rich, they separated into house-builders and hunters; The strongest, the most united, the purest, were the hunters. The hunters showed themselves at the north, at the east, at the south, at the west. In that ancient country, in that northern country, in that turtle country, the best of the Lenape were the Turtle men. All the cabin fires of that land were disquieted, and all said to their priest, "Let us go." To the Snake land to the east they went forth, going away, earnestly grieving. {Greenland’s settlements were misnamed—the West Settlement was North, the East Settlement was South, therefore, the directions are possibly misnamed} Split asunder, weak, trembling, their land burned, they went, torn and broken, to the Snake Island. Those from the north being free, without care, went forth from the land of snow, in different directions. The fathers of the Bald Eagle and the White Wolf remain along the sea, rich in fish and muscles. Floating up the streams in their canoes, our fathers were rich, they were in the light, when they were at those islands. Head Beaver and Big Bird said, "Let us go to Snake Island," they said. All say they will go along to destroy all the land. Those of the north agreed, Those of the east agreed. Over the water, the frozen sea, They went to enjoy it. On the wonderful slippery water, On the stone-hard water all went, On the great Tidal Sea, the muscle-bearing sea. They walk and walk, all of them. {Crossing the ice-pack in the winter—the long Arctic night} Ten thousand at night, All in one night, To the Snake Island, to the east, at night, They walk and walk, all of them. The men from the north, the east, the south, The Eagle clan, the Beaver clan, the Wolf clan, The best men, the rich men, the head men, Those with wives, those with daughters, those with dogs, They all come, they tarry at the land of the spruce pines; Those from the west come with hesitation, Esteeming highly their old home at the Turtle land. Long ago the fathers of the Lenape were at the land of spruce pines. Hitherto the Bald Eagle band had been the pipe bearer, While they were searching for the Snake Island, that great and fine land. They having died, the hunters, about to depart, met together. All say to Beautiful Head, "Be thou chief." "Coming to the Snakes, slaughter at that Snake hill, that they leave it." All of the Snake tribe were weak, and hid themselves in the Swampy Vales. After Beautiful Head, White Owl was chief at Spruce Pine land. After him, Keeping-Guard was chief of that people. After him, Snow Bird was chief; he spoke of the south, That our fathers should possess it by scattering abroad. Snow Bird went south, White Beaver went east. The Snake land was at the south, the great Spruce Pine land was toward the shore; To the east was the Fish land, toward the lakes was the buffalo land. After Snow Bird, the Seizer was chief, and all were killed, The robbers, the snakes, the evil men, the stone men. After the Seizer there were ten chiefs, and there was much warfare south and east. After them, the Peaceable was chief at Snake land. (Long account of succession of chiefs deleted) The Rich-Down-River-Man was chief, at Talega river. The Walker was chief; there was much war. Again with the Tawa people, again with the Stone people, again with the northern people.{northern people—Norse?} Grandfather-of-Boats was chief; he went to lands in boats. Snow-Hunter was chief; he went to the north land. Look-About was chief, he went to the Talega mountains. (More succession of chiefs deleted) He-Makes-Mistakes was chief, hurriedly coming. At this time whites came on the Eastern sea. {Spanish?} Much-Honored was chief; he was prosperous. Well-Praised was chief; he fought at the south. He fought in the land of the Talega and Koweta. White-Otter was chief; a friend of the Talamatans. White-Horn was chief; he went to the Talega, To the Hilini, to the Shawnees, to the Kanawhas. Coming-as-a-Friend was chief; he went to the Great Lakes, Visiting all his children, all his friends. Cranberry-Eater was chief, friend of the Ottawas. North-Walker was chief, he made festivals. Slow-Gatherer was chief at the shore. As three were desired, three those were who grew forth, The Unami, the Minsi, the Chikini. Man-Who-Fails was chief; he fought the Mengwe. He-is-Friendly was chief; he scared the Mengwe. Saluted was chief; thither, Over there, on the Scioto, he had foes. White-Crab was chief, a friend of the shore. Watcher was chief, he looked toward the sea. At this time, from north and south, the whites came. They are peaceful; they have great things; who are they? {English invasion begins} III Excerpts from the Walam Olum http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/Wallam/wa01.htm The original pictographs associated with this text are not reproduced here, since their origin (Constantine Rafinesque) is held with considerable suspicion by many contemporary scholars. Some of the translation may be inaccurate -- reflecting translator bias. Some people have been skeptical about the entire text, because of Rafinesque's involvement, suspecting, at the very least, some edits to bolster his own viewpoint, and frequent Lenape statements disowning the text. Linguists may wish to look up the original version in the Lenape language. My comments are enclosed in brackets: { }. The Walam Olum people may have been the people of the Western settlement, who are said to have left for the continent earlier than 1410. There appears to have been a war between the two settlements, according to David Cusik’s account. At first, in that place, at all times, above the earth. On the earth, [was] an extended fog, and there the great Manito was. At first, forever, lost in space, everywhere, the great Manito was. He made the extended land and the sky. He made the sun, the moon, the stars. He made them all to move evenly. Then the wind blew violently, and it cleared, and the water flowed off far and strong. And groups of islands grew newly, and there remained. Anew spoke the great Manito, a manito to manitos, To beings, mortals, souls and all, And ever after he was a manito to men, and their grandfather. He gave the first mother, the mother of beings. He gave the fish, he gave the turtles, he gave the beasts, he gave the birds. But an evil Manito made evil beings only, monsters, He made the flies, he made the gnats. All beings were then friendly. Truly the manitos were active and kindly To those very first men, and to those first mothers; fetched them wives, And fetched them food, when first they desired it. All had cheerful knowledge, all had leisure, all thought in gladness. But very secretly an evil being, a mighty magician, came on earth, And with him brought badness, quarreling, unhappiness, Brought bad weather, brought sickness, brought death. All this took place of old on the earth, beyond the great tide-water, at the first. {This story came from the East, across the Atlantic, a re-telling of Genesis} Long ago there was a mighty snake and beings evil to men. This mighty snake hated those who were there (and) greatly disquieted those whom he hated. They both did harm, they both injured each other, both were not in peace. Driven from their homes they fought with this murderer. The mighty snake firmly resolved to harm the men. He brought three persons, he brought a monster, he brought a rushing water. Between the hills the water rushed and rushed, dashing through and through, destroying much. Nanabush, the Strong White One, grandfather of beings, grandfather of men, was on the Turtle Island.{Like Noah, or possibly the Creator} There he was walking and creating, as he passed by and created the turtle. Beings and men all go forth, they walk in the floods and shallow waters, down stream thither to the Turtle Island.. There were many monster fishes, which ate some of them. The Manito daughter, coming, helped with her canoe, helped all, as they came and came. [And also] Nanabush, Nanabush, the grandfather of all, the grandfather of beings, the grandfather of men, the grandfather of the turtle. The men then were together on the turtle, like to turtles. Frightened on the turtle, they prayed on the turtle that what was spoiled should be restored. The water ran off, the earth dried, the lakes were at rest, all was silent, and the mighty snake departed. After the rushing waters (had subsided) the Lenape of the turtle were close together, in hollow houses, living together there. It freezes where they abode, it snows where they abode, it storms where they abode, it is cold where they abode. {Resembling Greenland, a harsh climate. They long for a more pleasant place, and wish to leave.} At this northern place they speak favorably of mild, cool (lands), with many deer and buffaloes. As they journeyed, some being strong, some rich, they separated into house-builders and hunters; The strongest, the most united, the purest, were the hunters. The hunters showed themselves at the north, at the east, at the south, at the west. In that ancient country, in that northern country, in that turtle country, the best of the Lenape were the Turtle men. All the cabin fires of that land were disquieted, and all said to their priest, "Let us go." To the Snake land to the east they went forth, going away, earnestly grieving. {Greenland’s settlements were misnamed—the West Settlement was North, the East Settlement was South, therefore, the directions are possibly misnamed} Split asunder, weak, trembling, their land burned, they went, torn and broken, to the Snake Island. Those from the north being free, without care, went forth from the land of snow, in different directions. The fathers of the Bald Eagle and the White Wolf remain along the sea, rich in fish and muscles. Floating up the streams in their canoes, our fathers were rich, they were in the light, when they were at those islands. Head Beaver and Big Bird said, "Let us go to Snake Island," they said. All say they will go along to destroy all the land. Those of the north agreed, Those of the east agreed. Over the water, the frozen sea, They went to enjoy it. On the wonderful slippery water, On the stone-hard water all went, On the great Tidal Sea, the muscle-bearing sea. They walk and walk, all of them. {Crossing the ice-pack in the winter—the long Arctic night} Ten thousand at night, All in one night, To the Snake Island, to the east, at night, They walk and walk, all of them. The men from the north, the east, the south, The Eagle clan, the Beaver clan, the Wolf clan, The best men, the rich men, the head men, Those with wives, those with daughters, those with dogs, They all come, they tarry at the land of the spruce pines; Those from the west come with hesitation, Esteeming highly their old home at the Turtle land. Long ago the fathers of the Lenape were at the land of spruce pines. Hitherto the Bald Eagle band had been the pipe bearer, While they were searching for the Snake Island, that great and fine land. They having died, the hunters, about to depart, met together. All say to Beautiful Head, "Be thou chief." "Coming to the Snakes, slaughter at that Snake hill, that they leave it." All of the Snake tribe were weak, and hid themselves in the Swampy Vales. After Beautiful Head, White Owl was chief at Spruce Pine land. After him, Keeping-Guard was chief of that people. After him, Snow Bird was chief; he spoke of the south, That our fathers should possess it by scattering abroad. Snow Bird went south, White Beaver went east. The Snake land was at the south, the great Spruce Pine land was toward the shore; To the east was the Fish land, toward the lakes was the buffalo land. After Snow Bird, the Seizer was chief, and all were killed, The robbers, the snakes, the evil men, the stone men. After the Seizer there were ten chiefs, and there was much warfare south and east. After them, the Peaceable was chief at Snake land. (Long account of succession of chiefs deleted) The Rich-Down-River-Man was chief, at Talega river. The Walker was chief; there was much war. Again with the Tawa people, again with the Stone people, again with the northern people.{northern people—Norse?} Grandfather-of-Boats was chief; he went to lands in boats. Snow-Hunter was chief; he went to the north land. Look-About was chief, he went to the Talega mountains. (More succession of chiefs deleted) He-Makes-Mistakes was chief, hurriedly coming. At this time whites came on the Eastern sea. {Spanish?} Much-Honored was chief; he was prosperous. Well-Praised was chief; he fought at the south. He fought in the land of the Talega and Koweta. White-Otter was chief; a friend of the Talamatans. White-Horn was chief; he went to the Talega, To the Hilini, to the Shawnees, to the Kanawhas. Coming-as-a-Friend was chief; he went to the Great Lakes, Visiting all his children, all his friends. Cranberry-Eater was chief, friend of the Ottawas. North-Walker was chief, he made festivals. Slow-Gatherer was chief at the shore. As three were desired, three those were who grew forth, The Unami, the Minsi, the Chikini. Man-Who-Fails was chief; he fought the Mengwe. He-is-Friendly was chief; he scared the Mengwe. Saluted was chief; thither, Over there, on the Scioto, he had foes. White-Crab was chief, a friend of the shore. Watcher was chief, he looked toward the sea. At this time, from north and south, the whites came. They are peaceful; they have great things; who are they? {English invasion begins} |
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Appendix IV
http://solomonspalding.com/SRP/saga2/sagawt0a.htm The GIANTS of Conneaut WHEN the first European settlers came to North America they were not shy about digging up the graves of their Indian predecessors on the continent. As they generally found no great wealth in these burials, the motivation for their digging was probably mostly curiosity and a need to level their farmland. As the new Americans spread westward, into the states of New York and Pennsylvania, the peculiarity of the grave contents and the size of the tumuli thrown up over them increased. In the years following the conclusion of the Revolutionary war, the westward moving pioneers became less and less sure that the strange items they were finding preserved in the caves and artificial mounds of the west actually came from the Indians. Certainly, they rationalized, such huge and carefully designed earthworks could not have been built by the scanty Indian population they were familiar with in the lands between the Great Lakes and the southern tributaries of the Ohio river.In 1798 the first permanent settlers from the east arrived in the Western Reserve of Ohio. They began to clear the forests along the southern shore of Lake Erie, and in the process found numerous ancient earthen structures and almost everywhere the finely made spear points and other artifacts of a long forgotten and once populous native society, a people obviously quite different from the Massasauga Indians then living in that country. A generation before the first immigrant explorers of western Pennsylvania and southern Ohio had made similar discoveries -- the extensive earthworks of Circleville and Marietta Ohio were already well publicized by the time that settler Aaron Wright and his companions began to stake out their new homes along Conneaut Creek, in what would become Ashtabula Co., Ohio. The Discoveries of Aaron Wright in 1800 Perhaps it was because he was a single young man with plenty of energy, or perhaps it was because his choice for a homestead included a large "mound-builder" burial ground -- whatever the reasons may have been, Aaron Wright has gone down in the history books as the discoverer of the "Conneaut Giants," the unusually large-boned ancient inhabitants of Ashtabula Co., Ohio. In an 1844 account, writer Harvey Nettleton reported that this "ancient burying grounds" of "about four acres" was situated in what soon became the village of New Salem (later renamed Conneaut), "extending northward from the bank of the creek... to Main street, in an oblong square" tract that "appeared to have been accurately surveyed into lots, running from the north to the south." Nettleton also said that the ancient "graves were distinguished by slight depressions in the surface of the earth disposed in straight rows, with the intervening spaces, or alleys, cover[ing] the whole area... estimated to contain from two to three thousand graves. These depressions, on a thorough examination made by Esq. Aaron Wright, as early as 1800, were found invariably to contain human bones, blackened with time, which on exposure to the air soon crumbled to dust." The prehistoric cemetery on Aaron's Wright's land was remarkable enough, just in its size and the configuration of the graves -- but it was what was in those graves and in the adjacent burial mounds that captured Nettleton's attention: The mounds that were situated in the eastern part of what is now the village of Conneaut and the extensive burying ground near the Presbyterian Church, appear to have had no connection with the burying places of the Indians. They doubtless refer to a more remote period and are the relics of an extinct race, of whom the Indians had no knowledge. These mounds were of comparatively small size, and of the same general character of those that are widely scattered over the country. What is most remarkable concerning them is that among the quantity of human bones they contain, there are found specimens belonging to men of large stature, and who must have been nearly allied to a race of giants. Skulls were taken from these mounds, the cavities of which were of sufficient capacity to admit the head of an ordinary man, and jaw-bones that might be fitted on over the face with equal facility. The bones of the arms and lower limbs were of the same proportions, exhibiting ocular proof of the degeneracy of the human race since the period in which these men occupied the soil which we now inhabit. Circleville, Ohio antiquarian Caleb Atwater was the known first person to comment upon the earthworks at Conneaut (then New Salem) in a published text. In his 1820 report, Description of the Antiquities Discovered in the State of Ohio... Atwater describes the "work at Salem... on a hill near Coneaught river... having two parallel circular walls, and a ditch between them." Atwater says practically nothing about the burial mounds in the vicinity of this pre-Columbian fort "on a hill," but he does provide the following information on page 125 of his report: "My informant says, within this work are sometimes found skeletons of a people of small stature, which, if true, sufficiently identifies it to have belonged to that race of men who erected our tumuli." Thus, it was Caleb Atwater's opinion that the builders of the ancient mounds were a "people of small stature," and that reports of larger skeletons uncovered among their ruins were the exception, not the rule. To the above summary of Atwater's investigations it might also be added that many of the earthworks he described he never saw himself, relying upon information supplied by untrained observers living in the vicinity of these ancient remains. V Introduction to "Jesuit Relations" http://puffin.creighton.edu/jesuit/relations/ INTRODUCTION by Reuben Gold Thwaites Doubtless Norse Vikings, venturing far southward from outlying colonies in Iceland and Greenland, first coasted New France, and beached their sturdy ships on the shores of New England. But five centuries passed without result, and we cannot properly call them pioneers of American civilization. Columbus it was, who unlocked the eastern door of the new world. Five years later, John Cabot, in behalf of England, was sighting the gloomy headlands of Cape Breton. Cortereal appeared in the neighborhood, in 1501, seeking lands for the Portuguese crown. About this time, at intervals, there came to Newfoundland certain Norman, Breton, and Basque fishers, who, erecting little huts and drying-scaffolds along the rocky shore, sowed the first seed of that polyglot settlement of French, Portuguese, Spanish, and English which has come down to our day almost uninterruptedly. By 1520, these fishermen appear to have known the mainland to the west; for on the map of Sylvanus, in his edition of Ptolemy, that year, we find a delineation of the "square gulf," which answers to the gulf of St. Lawrence in 1520, Fagundus visited these waters for the [page 1] Portuguese, and four years later Verrazano was making for the French an exploration of the coast between North Carolina and Newfoundland. Whether or not Cartier (1535) was the first to sail up the St. Lawrence "until land could be seen on either side," no man can now tell; apparently, he was the first to leave a record of doing so. Progress up the river was checked by Lachine Rapids, and he spent the winter on Montréal island. VI Excerpt from "Evidences in Proof of the Book of Mormon" Charles B. Thompson pp 86-95. http://olivercowdery.com/texts/thom1841.htm I will next introduce the descriptions of some of these ancient fortifications and military works of defence, as recorded in the American Antiquities, by Josiah Priest, and also introduce a history of the building of these fortifications and works of defence, as recorded in the Book of Mormon; and I will here remark, that the Book of Mormon was published in A. D. 1830, and the American Antiquities, by Josiah Priest, was not published until A. D. 1833, three years after. Antiquities, page 158 and 159, "Near Newark in the county of Lickering, Ohio, is situated one of the immense works or fortifications of the ancient nations of America. It embraces in the whole, a circumference of about six hundred rods, or nearly two miles; a wall of earth about four hundred rods, is raised on the sides of this fort next to the small creek which comes down along its sides from the west and east. It would seem that the people who made this settlement, undertook to encompass, with a wall, as much land as would support its inhabitants, and also sufficient to build their dwellings on, with several fortifications arranged in a proper manner for its defence. There are within its ranges four of these forts, of different dimensions; one contains forty acres, with a wall of about ten feet high; another containing twenty-two acres, also walled, but in this fort is an elevated observatory, of sufficient height to overlook the whole country; a third fort, containing about twenty-six acres, having a wall around it thrown out of a deep ditch on the inside of the wall. This wall is now from twenty-five to thirty feet in height. A fourth fortification encloses twenty acres with a wall of about ten feet high." Book of Mormon, page 378, 2d Ed., "Now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God, yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts or places of resort, throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle them round about their cities and the borders of their lands." Antiquities, page 160, "A second fort situated southwesterly from the great works on the Lickering, encloses about forty acres; its wall is entirely of stone," Antiquities, page 163, "At Circleville, Ohio, there is a circular fort surrounded by two walls with a deep ditch between them; also, a square foot about eighteen rods in circumference enclosed by a wall with a ditch." Book of Mormon, page 382, "Now behold, the Lamanites could not get into their forts of security by any other way save by the entrance, because of the highness of the bank which had been thrown up and the depth of the ditch which had been dug round about, save it was by the entrance." Antiquities, page 165, "Near the round fort at Circleville is another fort ninety feet high, and was doubtless erected to overlook the whole works of that enormous military establishment. That it was a military establishment is the decided opinion of the President of the Western Antiquarian Society, Mr. Atwater. He says the round fort was picketed in, if we are to judge from the appearance of the ground on and about the walls. Half way up the outside of the inner wall, is a place distinctly to be seen, where a row of pickets once stood, and where it was placed when this work of defence [defense] was originally erected. These works have been examined by the first military men now living in the United States, and they have uniformly declared their opinion to be, that they were military works of defence." Book of Mormon, page 383, 2nd Ed., "And now it came to pass that Moroni did not stop making preparation for war, or to defend his people against the Lamanites, for he caused that his armies should commence in the commencement of the twentieth year of the reign of the Judges, that they should commence in digging up heaps of earth round about all the cities throughout all the land which was possessed by the Nephites; and upon the top of the ridges of earth, he caused that there should be timbers, yea, works of timbers built up to the height of a man, round about the cities. And he caused that upon those works of timbers there should be a frame of pickets built upon the timbers, round about, and they were strong and high; and he caused towers to be erected that overlooked those works of pickets. And he caused places of security to be built upon those towers, that the stones and arrows of the Lamanites could not hurt them; and they were prepared, that they could cast stones from the top thereof, according to their pleasure and their strength, and slay him who should attempt to approach near the walls of the city. Thus Moroni did prepare strong holds against the coming of their enemies, round about every city in all the land." The foregoing is but a few of the corresponding accounts of fortifications and works of defence there are to be found in the Book of Mormon and American Antiquities, but these are sufficient to show to the public that the people whose history is contained in the Book of Mormon, are the authors of these works. But again; as we trace the history of this people down through succeeding generations, we find that one Gadianton, a robber, rose up and organized a band to rob and plunder. These robbers prepared strong holds and secret places in the mountains, to which they could flee, and be secure when the armies of the Nephites pursued them. Some of these strong holds and secret places were discovered in 1832 -- two years after the Book of Mormon was published -- by a Mr. Furguson, and communicated to the editor of the Christian Advocate and Journal. This account is recorded on page 169 of the American Antiquities. Mr. Furguson describes this discovery as follows: "On a mountain called the Lookout Mountain, belonging to the vast Allegany chain, running between the Tennessee and Coos rivers, rising about one thousand feet above the level of the surrounding valley. The top of the mountain is mostly level, but presents to the eye an almost barren waste. On this range, notwithstanding its height, a river has its source and after traversing it for about seventy miles, plunges over a precipice. The rock from which the water falls, is circular, and juts over considerably. Immediately below the fall, on each side of the river, are bluffs, which rise about two hundred feet. Around one of these bluffs the river makes a bend which gives it the form of a peninsula. On the top of this are the remains of what is esteemed fortifications, which consist of a stone wall built on the very brow of this tremendous ledge. The whole length of the wall, following the very course of the brink of this precipice, is thirty-seven rods and eight feet, including about two acres of ground. The only descent from this place is between two rocks, for about thirty feet, when a bench of the ledge presents itself from two to five feet in width and ninety feet long. This bench is the only road or path up from the water's edge to the summit. But just at the foot of the two rocks where they reach this path and within thirty feet of the top of the rock, are five rooms, which have been formed by dint of labor. The entrance to these rooms is very small, but when within, they are found to communicate with each other by doors or apertures." Mr. Furguson thinks them to have been constructed during some dreadful war, and those who constructed them, to have acted on the defensive; and believes that twenty men could have withstood the whole army of Xerxes, as it was impossible for more than one to pass at a time, and might by the slightest push, be hurled at least an hundred and fifty feet down the rocks. Book of Mormon, page 479, 2nd Ed., "And it came to pass that the ninety and third year (of the reign of the Judges over the people of Nephi) did also pass away in peace, save it was for the Gadianton robbers, who dwelt upon the Mountains, who did infest the land; for so strong were their holds and their secret places, that the people could not overpower them; therefore they did commit many murders, and did so much slaughter among the people." Again; Book of Mormon, page 481, "And it came to pass in the commencement of the fourteenth year, (from the time the sign was given of the birth of Christ,) the war between the robbers and the people of Nephi did continue, and did become exceeding sore; nevertheless the people of Nephi did gain some advantage of the robbers, insomuch that they did drive them back out of their land into the mountains and into their secret places." Again; Book of Mormon, page 485, 2d Ed., "But it came to pass that in the latter end of the eighteen year, those armies of robbers had prepared for battle and began to come down and to sally forth from the hills, and out of the mountains and the wilderness, and their strong holds and their secret places, and began to take possession of the lands." And on the 487 and 488 pages, we are informed how these robbers were finally destroyed; it was by a stratagem. A part of the Nephite armies getting between the robbers and their secret places and strong holds, by which they were cut off in their retreat. This again, is evidence that the Book of Mormon is true, and that this band of robbers were the constructors of this strong hold and these secret rooms which Mr. Furguson has described; for mark! this discovery was not made until two years after the Book of Mormon was published, consequently the writer of the Book of Mormon could not have written this tale concerning the robbers, to account for the construction of those caverns, for it was not known that there was such a place in existence, until after the book was written and published. And thus we have abundance of proof from recent discoveries, American Antiquities and prophecy, that the history contained in the Book of Mormon is true. Again; this history informs us that about four hundred years after Christ, this nation of Nephites were brought down and destroyed by the Lamanites; and this because they became proud & lifted up, practising all manner of wickedness and abominations, and they refused to repent when God sent men to warn them to repent and turn again unto God; therefore because they were more wicked than the Lamanites, God stirred up the Lamanites to camp against them round about, and to raise forts against them with a mount, and thus they were brought down. But just before their final overthrow, a man by the names of Mormon took their record containing their history and sacred writings, from the time they left Jerusalem, (the city where David dwelt,) unto his days, and made an abridgement therefrom, and engraved it upon plates which he made out of ore. These plates, after Mormon's death, fell into the hands of Moroni, his son, who survived the entire destruction of the Nephites, finished the record, and deposited it in a stone box in the earth, that it might not be destroyed; to come forth in due time for a sign to Israel, that the time of their redemption had come. And also, in connection with the Bible, to be set up as an ensign for the nations; and thus, this nation of Nephites possessing the light of God's revelation, which constituted them Ariel, or Lion of God, and being "of the city where David dwelt," (that is, having come out from Jerusalem,) was brought down and their words having been written and hid up in the earth and come forth again out of the earth, they "speak out of the ground and their voice whispers out of the dust." This account also agrees with the Indian traditions which I have quoted in a former part of this work. It says, that their forefathers were once in possession of a sacred Book, which was handed down from generation to generation, and at last hid in the earth; but these oracles are to be restored to them again and then they shall triumph over their enemies and regain their ancient country. Appendix VII "For the Portfolio of the aborigines of the Western Country" by Oliver Oldschool http://solomonspalding.com/SRP/saga2/sagawt0c.htm#part3a Upon the fairest computation, admitting that the Aborigines came to the western country a thousand or twelve hundred years ago, we have then before us a period of sufficient extent to embrace all that is requisite to support the supposition that the Aborigines were the descendants of a civilized people in Asia; a people who had made great advancements in civilization and the arts, but who were probably devastated, and forced to fly, by the sudden encroachment of a foe. We shall readily perceive, that in this case, such a people would perform a rapid migration, and fly from their enemies as far as their desire of safety should dictate. It is not in any degree surprising, that they should, in like manner, escape to this continent, bringing with them that civilization and that knowledge to which they had arrived. The great antiquity which is manifested by the most striking proofs of art and knowledge, seems to warrant this conclusion, and give it weight. The successive generations of men who have inhabited the eastern parts of Asia, were distinguished, for centuries, by rapid advancements in civilization and the arts, and on a sudden subjected to a great reverse. By the encroachment of some barbarous foe, or some neighbouring robber, they have been forced to renounce the possession of their privileges, or escape for their lives. "Some of the most desert provinces in Asia," says the historian of Catherine the second, "have been repeatedly the seats of arts, arms, commerce and literature. These potent and civilized nations have repeatedly perished, for want of a union or system of policy. Some Scythian, or other barbarian, has been suffered unnoticed to subdue his neighbouring tribes; each new conquest was made an instrument to the succeeding one; till, at length, become irresistible, he swept whole empires, with their arts and sciences, off the face of the earth." This important truth we consider particularly applicable to the original peopling of the western country. The Aborigines probably constituted a part of some such nation existing in eastern Asia, and were forced to escape to this continent by the encroachment of some powerful, invading foe. I have said that this was probably a fact. I venture to add, that it was most certainly the fact in regard to the Aborigines. It is a very general opinion, prevailing in the western country, that there is ample proof that the country in general was once inhabited by a civilized and agricultural people. This very general consent, we are disposed to respect, and consider an innocent opinion in itself, but we have not yet obtained satisfactory reasons to believe that the country in general, or to any great extent, has been adorned with the improvements and habitations of men living in a civilized and permanent state of society. The aborigines probably advanced as far, in the improvement of particular portions or districts of the country, as their knowledge of agriculture, their improvements of husbandry and their temporary residence would allow. The face of the country, since it was visited by the Aborigines, and since their demise, has undergone great changes. It is to be remarked, that the oldest trees now standing cannot be pronounced coeval with the extinction of the Aborigines. It is a an opinion prevailing among some, that the Aborigines crossed the Allegheny, and proceeded down the Ohio river; but nothing is more incredible. Some attention to the ancient works on the river, has led us to notice that the works at different positions, are not more or less perfect. It is vain to suppose that the works lower down are less perfect, and were therefore built by a people who migrated westward, or down the river. Again, it is the current opinion, that the first inhabitants of the western country were white people, and therefore cannot be denominated Indians. Our readers will recollect, and may have noticed, that there are distinguishing shades of white and black within the extent of our own country; and there are those among us who, by birth, or physical causes, are exceedingly dark. It is hence not indispensible that the Aborigines should be a white people, strictly speaking, in order to account for their improvements, or their knowledge of the arts. The inhabitants of Asia, and of the Asiatic continent in general, are allowed to be darker than the inhabitants of these American states, while at the same time they likewise are denominated a white people. The city of Pekin is nearly upon the same latitude with Philadelphia, and yet the citizens of Pekin are strongly shaded compared with the Philadelphians. The Aborigines, for aught we know, might have sustained a lighter complexion than those Indians who contributed to their destruction, or than the ancestors of the present race of Indians; and might, on that account, have been denominated by those Indians a white people. There cannot be a doubt but that the same country, at different, and very distant periods of time, may be inhabited, or produce a race of people differing very materially in colour. The climate, and local or physical causes, may be so changed in the term of a thousand years, as to produce several degrees of shade upon the human countenance. The northern parts of Asia are supposed by some to be much colder now than they were but a few centuries or years ago; and that but a few centuries have elapsed, since the northern regions were more habitable on this very account. We suspect, however, that the Aborigines were in general, and in no other sense, a white people, than of any of the proper inhabitants of Asia at the present time. We likewise suspect that the Aborigines were denominated a white people by the present race of Indians, solely or principally, in consequence of that distinction which they possessed in the view of the Indians, by their works, or the knowledge and skill displayed in these works. These Indians having been accustomed to pay respect to Americans and Europeans as white people, appropriated naturally the same respect and title to the Aborigines. The Indians universally disclaim these ancient works and monuments, which are attributed to the Aborigines, and allege that they were erected by white people. It may not be improper, therefore, to offer the reader several traditions which relate to this point, and which may at least be found an entertainment. General Clarke, of Louisville, in conversation with the chief of the Kaskaskias, understood him to say, that a very remarkable fortification, to which they referred, was the house of his fathers. This is understood to signify a reverential and general declaration of the same origin. Mr. Thomas Bodley was informed by Indians of different tribes north-west of the Ohio, that they had understood from their old men, and that it had been a tradition among their several nations, that Kentucky had been settled by whites, and that they had been exterminated by war. They were of opinion that the old fortifications, now to be seen in Kentucky and Ohio, were the productions of those white inhabitants. Wappockanitta, a Shawnee chief, near a hundred and twenty years old, living on the Auglaze river, confirmed the above tradition. An old Indian, in conversation with colonel James F. Moore, of Kentucky, informed him that the western country, and particularly Kentucky, had once been inhabited by white people, but that they were exterminated by the Indians. That the last battle was fought at the falls of Ohio, and that the Indians succeeded in driving the Aborigines into a small island below the rapids, where the whole of them were cut to pieces. He said it was an undoubted fact, handed down by tradition, and that the colonel would have ocular proof of it when the waters of the Ohio became low. This was found to be correct, on examining Sandy Island, when the waters of the river had fallen, as a multitude of human bones were discovered. The same Indian expressed his astonishment that white people could live in a country once the scene of blood. The Indian chief called Tobacco, told General Clarke, of Louisville, that the battle of Sandy Island decided finally the fall of Kentucky, with its ancient inhabitants. General Clarke says that Kentucee, in the language of the Indians, signifies river of blood. In addition to the proof of a great battle near the falls Ohio, it is said by General Clarke, of Louisville, that there was at Clarkesville a great burying ground, two or three hundred yards in length. This is likewise confirmed by major John Harrison, who received the tradition from an Indian woman of great age. Colonel Joseph Daviess, when at St. Louis in 1800, saw the remains of an ancient tribe of the Sacks, who expressed some astonishment that any person should live in Kentucky. They said the country had been the scene of much blood, and was filled with the manes of its butchered inhabitants. He stated also that the people who inhabited this country were white, and possessed such arts as were unknown by the Indians. Colonel M'Kee, who commanded on the Kenhawa when Cornstalk was inhumanly murdered, had frequent conversation with that chief, respecting the people who had constructed the ancient forts. He stated that it was a current and assured tradition, that Ohio and Kentucky had been once settled by white people, who were possessed of arts which the Indians did not know. That after many sanguinary contests they were exterminated. Colonel M. Inquired why the Indians had not learned these arts of the white people. He replied indefinitely, relating that the great spirit had once given the Indians a book, which taught them all these arts, but that they had lost it, and had never since regained the knowledge of them. Col. M. inquired particularly whether he knew what people it was who made so many graves on the Ohio, and at other places. He declared that he did not know, and remarked that it was not his nation, or any he had been acquainted with. Col. M. asked him if he could not tell who made those old forts, which displayed so much skill in fortifying. He answered that he did not know, but that a story had been handed down from a very long ago people, that there had been a nation of white people inhabiting the country who made the graves and forts. He also said, that some Indians, who had travelled very far west or northwest, had found a nation of people, who lived as Indians generally do, although of a different complexion. John Cushen, an Indian of truth and respectability, having pointed to the large mound in the town of Chillicothe, observed to a gentleman that it was a great curiosity. To this the gentleman accorded, and said, The Indians built that. No, said he, it was made by white folks, for Indians never make forts or mounds -- this country was inhabited by white people once, for none but white people make forts. In addition to the remarks which we have made on the Asiatic origin of the Aborigines, we add, that such an origin is by far the most natural, and most accordant with the progressive movements of the human family ever since the deluge. This progress in Asia, has been uniformly eastward and northward from the Euphrates. The inhabitants of Asia being the descendants of Shem, did not move to the westward in any numbers. We deem it, therefore, natural and just to conclude that the Aborigines belonged to a stock of those who moved eastward from the Euphrates, crossed at Behring Straits, and came to our western country from the north-west. The Mexicans invariably declare that their ancestors came from the north-west. It is an acknowledged fact, that the Antediluvians, at the event of the deluge, had arrived to a great improvement and refinement in the arts; and it is also an important fact, that a respectable portion of this knowledge was preserved from the wreck, and communicated by the sons of Noah. The descendants of Shem, the first settlers of Asia, or what is synonymous, the ten tribes, probably retained this knowledge, and transmitted it, until, through the lapse of time, it became extinct. From the descendants of Shem, or the Israelites, we derive the commencement of all that knowledge which served to keep the vast continent of Asia from total barbarism. The Israelites carried captive by Salmanaser, in the time of Hoshea, became, in a great measure, incorporated with the neighbouring nations; and from this source, or in this channel, we deduce many of the customs which prevailed, and continue to prevail in Asia, and which have been frequently recognized among the Tartars, the Aborigines of the western country, and the present race of Indians. We may here introduce a striking passage of history from the second book of Esdras. "Those are the ten tribes, which were carried away prisoners, out of their own land in the time of Osea the king, whom Salmanasar, the king of Assyria, led away captive, and he carried them over the waters, and so came they into another land. But they took this counsel among themselves, that they would leave the multitude of the heathen, and go forth into a further country, where never mankind dwelt." We do not pretend to say that this country, where never mankind dwelt extends to America, but we consider the passage of history important, and equally weighty as such, although apocryphal. The natural consequence of this determination and progress of the ten tribes, would be a very general diffusion of that knowledge which they possessed, and a general incorporation with neighbouring powers. |
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