Looking
at this statement one part at a time, the first part was answered in the last
post. Let’s take a look at the second part here: “to a land that was hidden.”
The Known World for thousands of
years. No one had any idea there was more land anywhere, nor did they know
anything about the Western Hemisphere, which was kept “hidden” from the
knowledge of the eastern "known" World
Actually,
the scriptures cited state: “Wherefore,
this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that
they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it
shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down
into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall
abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it
shall be blessed forever. And behold, it is wisdom that this land should be
kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations; for behold, many nations would
overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance. Wherefore,
I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that inasmuch as those whom the Lord God
shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they
shall prosper upon the face of this land; and they shall be kept from all other
nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that
they shall keep his commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this
land, and there shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of
their inheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever” (2 Nephi 1:7-9).
Western Hemisphere separated from the
rest of the World for thousands of years because of winds, ocean currents,
lack of a compass, astrolabe and other mechanical devices that eventually made
sailing great distances out of view of land possible
Obviously,
the Lord’s promise to Lehi was based upon the righteousness of his descendants.
Unfortunately, after years of war, in about 345 A.D., Mormon wrote of the
Nephites: “the day of grace was passed with them,
both temporally and spiritually” (Mormon 2:15). Within 40 years, the Nephites
were wiped off the face of the Land of Promise, and Mormon lamented: “O that ye
had repented before this great destruction had come upon you. But behold, ye
are gone, and the Father, yea, the Eternal Father of heaven, knoweth your state;
and he doeth with you according to his justice and mercy” (Mormon 6:22), and as
Moroni wrote a little later: “and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of
the destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the
commandment of my father” (Mormon 8:3).
At this point, the promise made to Lehi
was null and void. It would take another nearly thousand years before Nephi’s
vision was fulfilled, but in the 15th century, the seed of Nephi’s
brethren (the Lamanites) were smitten as promised. “And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many
waters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brethren. And it came
to pass that the angel said unto me: Behold the wrath of God is upon the seed
of thy brethren. And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was
separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the
Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth
upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the
promised land. And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it
wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the
many waters. And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles
upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the
seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were
smitten. And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles,
and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld
that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people
before they were slain” (1 Nephi 13:10-15).
Brandley also states: “Geographers
need to explain how the land in their
model was hidden.” This, of course, is a simple matter—the Western Hemisphere
was kept “hidden” or undiscovered by the nations of the world because of 1) the
physical impossibility of any early sailing ship to make such a deep ocean voyage;
2) lack of knowledge that such a land existed, 3) opposing winds and currents
to the European sailor, and 4) a lack of mechanical instruments for use at sea,
such as the compass, sextant, etc., and 5) a lack of interest in voyages of
discovery.
Not
until the 13th century did matters begin to change. Inventions made
sailing easier, such as ship design, understanding of canvas and masts, being able
to sail toward the wind, mechanical development of ocean instruments, and a
deeper desire for discovery and trade.
Indians welcoming the arrival of
European explorers. They had no idea of the death and destruction these early
Spaniards had in mind for the natives
Brandley
also states: “The Book of Mormon does not say they were ever discovered. Nor
would they be discovered by the first explorers, i.e. not Columbus.”
The
Book of Mormon states they WOULD be discovered, and they were. First in Central
America and South America by Columbus, next in Mexico and Mesoamerica by those
who followed, and finally in Florida. The Lamanites that were truly smitten
(based upon severity) were those in the Andean area, followed by those in
Mexico and Central America. Those in North America were the last to be
discovered and eventually subjugated.
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