When the Lehi Colony left Jerusalem and traveled to Bountiful, Nephi was present. When they built the ship that would take them across the Great Deep, when they used the Liahona that showed them the way, when they landed and settled in the land of promise, Nephi and Jacob were present.
Should we not, then, pay attention to how they described their land? Meaning no disrespect to any other in this present last dispensation, Joseph Smith, for all his knowledgeable greatness was not present; nor were any modern day prophets present. Not even Mormon or Moroni were present.An example of the isles of the sea
It is from the scriptures and writings of Nephi and Jacob that we learn of the parameters of the land of promise in which they lived, how they got there and what they found when they arrived.
Quoting the words of Zenock and Zenos, Nephi writes: “which he spake concerning the three days of darkness, which should be a sign given of his death unto those who should inhabit the isles of the sea, more especially given unto those who are of the house of Israel” (1 Nephi 19:10). Nephi also wrote: “Thus saith the Lord: In an acceptable time have I heard thee, O isles of the sea, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee” (1 Nephi 21:8). Jacob preached, and Nephi wrote, about the land of promise being an island: “for we are not cast off; nevertheless, we have been driven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a better land, for the Lord has made the sea our path and we are upon an isle of the sea” (2 Nephi 10:20), and “But great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the isles of the sea; wherefore as it says isles, there must needs be more than this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren” (2 Nephi 10:21).
Does the Lord hide this information from us? No. He has given us the Book of Mormon and the testimony of those who lived there and they have given us their descriptions of their travels, efforts and lands. It is not “hidden,” it simply is not looked for by most people, and many of those who do, look in the wrong places to try and match scripture to their own ideas.
As an example, science now knows that South America east of the Andes was once under water. Because of the findings of the deep-ocean drilling ship, Glomar Challenger, science now knows the Panama isthmus was once underwater and not connected to South America. As a result of modern knowledge about winds and ocean currents, science now knows the path a sailing ship would take to get from southern Arabia to the Western Hemisphere. As a result of modern knowledge, science now knows about quinine and where it originated, quinoa and kiwichi super grains and where they originated, and where the llama and alpaca live—all in the Andean area of South America, and all matching the scriptural description within the Book of Mormon, as has been pointed out in past posts. Nor do any other models have answers to these BOM descriptions of what was found in the Land of Promise.
The problem is, no matter what we know and what the Lord has made available to us in these latter days, so many people look beyond that mark and try to match unmatchable information with the scriptural record in order to satisfy their own personal opinions.
Scholars should try less to find limited matches between their models and the scriptural record and spend more time in acknowledging the non-comparisons which show that the overall scriptures, taking all points regarding the geography, flora, fauna, etc., as a whole, do not match their models. Then, as any scholar or scientist worth his salt would normally do, look for a model that does match every scripture, not try to bend or change the facts to agree with their point of view.
NOTE: As an added note, we need to keep in mind that the Church has no position on the matter of the location of the Land of Promise other than it being in the Americas of the Western Hemisphere; therefore, modern-day prophets will not speak on this matter other than to state their own opinions. As a result, those authorized to speak on this matter will be found in the Book of Mormon.
I have found that most people when they get an idea in their head.. it is not easy to get it out. One must be willing to input new data that may cause a shift in ones paradigm.
ReplyDeleteBeing born and raised a Catholic, I had to open my mind to the concept that what I had been taught and believed was not entirely correct. To have joined this church, I had to have my mind and heart opened to the possibility that what I thought was true and correct.. was not totally complete.
Now.. had I believed so much in the doctrine of the Catholic Church that taught Mary was not only a virgin before the birth of Christ.. but remained as one afterward as well.. then I could never have accepted the Mormon faith.
So it is with these other theorists. As long as they hang on to one or two points of their theories that are not true.. they will never see where the whole truth actually is.
To tie their position that Cumorah must be in NY.. and then build their theory on that point.. they have limited themselves.
But to first take the point that land of promise was an isle on the sea.. and it was surrounded by water… most of these theories would disappear.
Mr. Nirom: Sounds just like you are describing Sherem, Nehor and Zeezrom. In their cases, it took an act of God to change their minds. Short of that, it would seem these theorists are set in their ways forever.
ReplyDeleteDel,
ReplyDeleteI just receive this in my email today:
What Modern Prophets and Apostles Have Said About Peru and the Book of Mormon, Part I
By George Potter
The prevailing view of early Church members who knew Joseph Smith is that they believed the Lord had revealed to the prophet that Nephi's ship landed in Chile. Two highly influential apostles of the Church, Elder Orson Pratt and Elder Franklin D. Richards, openly taught that the prophet received a revelation that Nephi's ship landed at 30 degrees south latitude in South America. Both apostles knew Joseph Smith, and it goes without saying that apostles are themselves prophets, seers, and revelators-special witnesses of Christ-and certainly are men who would not have taught a falsehood or a doctrine that conflicted with one taught by Joseph Smith. Evidence supporting this revelation to Joseph Smith is that the words thereof were written in the "handwriting of Frederick G. Williams, Counselor to the Prophet, and on the same page with the body of an undoubted revelation" which is now part of the Doctrine and Covenants.[i]
The Church included the revelation that Nephi landed in Chile as a footnote to the 1879 edition of the Book of Mormon.[ii] Indeed, contrary to the revisionist thinking of some later Book of Mormon scholars, B. H. Roberts reminds us that the dominant belief among the early Church members was that Joseph Smith revealed that Nephi landed in South America.[iii]
In his History of the Church in Peru, Dale Christensen cites:
On October 29, 1959 a conference was held with some 300 people in attendance (in Santiago, Chile). At this meeting Elder Harold B. Lee presented the names of the Andes Mission Presidency . . . It was explained that the southern headquarters would be in Santiago, Chile, but the main office would be in Lima, Peru . . . the Presidency and the Twelve had decided to organize a new mission to consist of the countries of Peru and Chile. The name that was chosen for this new mission was the Andes Mission. The following are excerpts are from a stirring address given in the morning session of the Conference by Elder Harold B. Lee of the Council of the Twelve Apostles. . . . there have been a flood of memories and thoughts running through my mind . . . where the followers of Lehi landed . . . no one knows exactly where this location was. In the wisdom of the Lord it has not been definitely revealed. We know that at the time of the crucifixion of the Lord, the whole face of the earth was changed and the arrangements of mountains and valleys and rivers may not be the same as they were before that time. But from the writings of the Prophet Joseph Smith and of other inspired men, it seems that all are in agreement that the followers of Lehicame to the western shores of South America"(bold and underlining added).
-----------------------------------------
[i] B.H. Roberts, New Witness for God, Vol. 3., 501.
[ii] Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol. 1, "Book of Mormon Geography".
[iii] Roberts, 501.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seems you and he are on the same page!
Thanks, Paul. I appreciate all the info I can get. I think it is impossible for any one person to run across it all. Potter is an interesting person. He, like myself, believe the Jaredites left from the same area in southern Arabia (Oman coast) as Lehi. We differ on at least one point and that is how the Jaredites got from Mesopotamia to Oman. I think his route is inconsistent with the water courses across the Empty Quarter--at least according to modern-day Arabs' knowledge of them. Potter has several things going for him, not the least of which is the backing of a lot of money. :)
ReplyDelete