Continuing with Rod L. Meldrum and Bruce H. Porter’s inventory of thirty-six prophecies and promises, listing passages that they believe show “the American land of promise” to be solely within the United States. In regard to this list, some of which were discussed in the previous post, another very important point is left out of their 36 items that are crucial to a better understanding of the occurrences Porter and Meldrum cite, and that is their oft quoted Joseph Smith and General Authority remarks, as though they were Church doctrine.
Alongside Stephen’s eloquent descriptions and vivid anecdotes, Catherwood’s wonderful drawings ignited the imaginations of the western world. The book was a runaway bestseller, taking America by storm and selling 20,000 copies in the first three months of publication. Their success encouraged a second expedition, during which the men spent ten grueling months visiting more than 40 Mayan sites, most of which were entirely unknown to the outside world.
Both Stephens and Catherwood were astonished at the exquisitely carved “idols” and altars and the massiveness of the buildings of the ancient city of Copan. They knew they were exploring the ruins of a civilization that rivaled or exceeded those of the Old World. At the outset, Stephens expressed his fundamental conclusion after they had cleared away the debris from the first stela they investigated
Armed with his images of Chichén Itzá, Uxmel, and Tulum, Catherwood returned to New York to work on his second book, Incidents of Travel in Yucatán—which made up the two-volume set that ended up as a gift in the hands of Joseph Smith at a time when people in general scoffed at an advanced ancient civilization as introduced and spelled out in the Book of Mormon—“Nonsense!” roared scientists and public alike. Indians had never progressed beyond savagery. Americans of that age could believe in almost anything other than an “Indian” civilization, in spite of evidence from the conquest. Such proofs were either ignored or downgraded as Spanish public-relations puffery. Scholars and historians held fast to their antiquated beliefs and scorned Stephens’ efforts.
The two volume set of books, however, which showed the world
there really had been just such an advanced civilization in the Western
Hemisphere, prompted Joseph Smith to remark that “It
will not be a bad plan to compare Mr. Stephen’s
ruined cities with those in the Book of Mormon; light cleaves to light, and
facts are supported
by
facts. The truth injures
no one” (Times & Seasons, “Truth will
prevail,” Vol. III, No.23, City of Nauvoo, October 1,1842).
Joseph Smith had the courage to press forward in Book of Mormon archaeology/history research, “to assist the Saints in establishing the Book of Mormon as a revelation from God,” which was his last statement before the Oct. 1, 1842 extract).
The articles were printed in the Times and Seasons, the Church’s official newspaper that was published in Nauvoo, Illinois, between the dates of November 1839–February 1846. During that time, the editorship of the Times and Seasons changed hands on several occasions. The first issue of the Times and Seasons that was edited by Joseph Smith was the March 1, 1842, issue in volume three, and he continued in the role of editor throughout the rest of volume three until October 15, 1842.
No reliable information has yet been discovered regarding the extent Joseph read Stephens’s volumes or discussed them with colleagues. Under the date of June 25, 1842, either Joseph Smith or the compilers of History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints noted the following: “Messrs. Stephens and Catherwood have succeeded in collecting in the interior of America a large amount of relics of the Nephites, or the ancient inhabitants of America treated of in the Book of Mormon, which relics have recently been landed in New York.”
It should be noted that according to the authors of the statement, that this phrasing, “interior of America,” is attributed either to Joseph Smith or to compilers of History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and strongly suggests or shows that Joseph believed in the definition of America as contained in Noah Webster’s 1828 dictionary. That is, “interior,” they claim clearly refers to the territory of Mesoamerica—however, contrary to their claim, “interior” in 1828 was formed from inter or intra, in or within, and meant: “Internal; being within any limits, inclosure or substance; inner; opposed to exterior or superficial; as the inland or remote from the limits, frontier or shore—as the interior parts of a country, state or kingdom.
Obviously, laying claim to Mesoamerica for the “interior of America,” is inaccurate. The Interior of America was considered the area of the vast plains. In fact, during the first decade of the nineteenth century, the geographic image of western North America began to change dramatically. Based on the observations of Lewis and Clark, information gathered from native people, and Clark's own cartographic work, this image evolved from an almost empty interior with a hypothetical single mountain range serving as a western continental divide, to an intricate one showing a tangle of mountains and rivers. A continent that had once seemed empty and simple was now becoming full and complex.
Route of Lewis and Clark
In mid-July 1806 Lewis and Clark, a year after Joseph Smith was born, were on their way back from the Pacific. At the same time a young army Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike left St. Louis with twenty-three men to reconnoiter the Spanish borderlands. Unlike the other expeditions commissioned by Jefferson, Pike did not travel by the command of the president. Instead, he took his orders from General James Wilkinson, governor of the Louisiana Territory and sometime secret agent for the Spanish.
Pike carried out two expeditions for Wilkinson. The first (August 1805–April 1806) took him up the Mississippi River into present-day Minnesota. The second expedition began in July 1806 and drew to a close in late June 1807. As drafted by Wilkinson, Pike's instructions took the explorer into lands that were part of the Spanish empire. And in February 1807, near present-day Alamosa, Colorado, Spanish forces took Pike and his men into custody. Pike was a spy but just who he was spying for remains an open question.
Pike's account of his southwestern adventures, published in 1810, drew additional attention to the region and its possible future as part of an expanding American empire. Thus, rather than to any territory in Mesoamerica, the interior or America dealt directly with that of the continental United States. The rather casual diary entry prepared by Joseph Smith or by the compilers of History of the Church also shows his support for the John Lloyd Stephens 1842 Times and Seasons articles that analysts have traditionally been wary of attributing directly to Joseph.
The Joseph Smith Papers Project personnel will perhaps use this journal entry as positive evidence in support of labeling the 1842 Times and Seasons articles as “Joseph Smith documents.” This because the quotation shows that either Joseph or the compilers of History of the Church authored the quotation or second, because the quotation either shows the 1842 thinking of Joseph about Mesoamerica as recorded by Joseph or the compilers’ subsequent understanding about the 1842 thinking of Joseph about Mesoamerica (Joseph Smith, History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols, Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, 1980, 5:44).
Where the controversy arises is what Joseph Smith said, or printed, or agreed to have printed regarding the Mesoamerica area and Stephens and Catherwood’s work. However, the problem is not what was said by Joseph, but the weight attached to the statement. It was Joseph Smith himself who wrote in his diary on February 8, 1843: “A Prophet is not always a Prophet' only when he is acting as suc.” He also said, “When I speak as a man it is Joseph only that speaks. But when the Lord speaks through me, it is no longer Joseph Smith who speaks; but it is God, and let all Israel hear” (Hyrum L. Andrus and Helen Mae Andrus, They Knew the Prophet, Bookcraft, 1974, p.84).
It is not believed that everything a prophet says is inspired by God (and nor do the prophets themselves think such). Prophets are human beings who God has chosen to speak through—but not everything they say is being said by God. Joseph Smith said that “a prophet is only a prophet when acting as such" (History of the Church 5:265).
This means that “a statement made by one leader on a single occasion often represents a personal, though well-considered, opinion, not meant to be official or binding for the whole Church”( Words of Joseph Smith, 130, citing Nauvoo Relief Society Minutes).
Now, was not Joseph Smith a mortal man? Yes. A fallible man? Yes. Had he not weaknesses? Yes, he acknowledged them himself, and did not fail to put the revelations on record in this book (The Book of Doctrine and Covenants) wherein God reproved him. His weaknesses were not concealed from the people. He was willing that people should know that he was mortal, and had failings. And so with Brigham Young. Was not he a mortal man, a man who had weaknesses? He was not a God. He was not an immortal being. He was not infallible. No, he was fallible. And yet when he spoke by the power of God, it was the word of God to this people”(George Q. Cannon, August 12, 1883. Journal of Discourses 24:274). The First Presidency cannot claim, individually or collectively, infallibility. The infallibility is not given to men. They are fallible (12 George Q. Cannon, Gospel Truth, 1:206).
Thus, just because Joseph Smith stated in one form or another, in the Times & Seasons or elsewhere, that the drawings of Catherwood’s Maya sites showed evidence of the Nephite Nation, does not mean necessarily that it was Nephite per se, but that the magnificent Nephite Nation’s
presence in ancient America was verified by this example of an advanced ancient people. Had it been stated doctrinally in nature, it would be part of the doctrine of the Church today.
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