Thorns of Glory, page 45
In the 1840s a consensus seemed to emerge with respect to a specific region of the western hemisphere, namely Central America. This viewpoint appears directly connected to the publication of the best-selling two-volume travelogue entitled Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan written by John Lloyd Stevens and beautifully illustrated by Frederick Catherwood (see John Lloyd Stephens, Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan, 2 vols. [New York: Harper and Brothers], 1841. Both volumes were reprinted in their entirety by Dover publications in 1969.).
Virtually from the date of the release of these volumes, Latter-day Saints became aware of their contents and began to draw parallels between the remarkable ruins they describe and Book of Mormon cities and landmarks. In January of 1841 a writer hostile to the Church wrote to a friend that Latter-day Saint missionaries were using these volumes that described Central American antiquities as “internal evidences of the book to prove beyond doubt its authenticity” (Levi O. C. Nicklin to Walter Scott [Pittsburgh, 18 January 1841], “Mormonism in Pittsburgh,” The Evangelist [Carthage, Ohio] vol. ١٠, no. ٢ [١ February ١٨٤٢], ٣٢–٣٤).
Beginning in June of 1841 the Nauvoo periodical Times and Seasons published the first of six articles or editorials comparing Stevens’s and Catherwood’s discoveries with the Book of Mormon. When the first article, entitled “American Antiquities—More Proofs of the Book of Mormon,” appeared, the coeditors of Times and Seasons were Robert B. Thompson and Joseph’s brother Don Carlos Smith.
It wasn’t long before Joseph Smith, Jr., became as caught up in the excitement surrounding these volumes as (arguably) every other Latter-day Saint of the time period. Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan was embraced as a proselytizing tool, a resource entirely outside of the Church, that would aid missionaries in providing investigators of the Book of Mormon with a kind of stamp of authenticity.
Joseph received his own personal copy of these volumes, gifted to him by John Bernhisel, bishop of the Saints in New York City, who had transferred them into the custody and care of Elder Wilford Woodruff. Elder Woodruff happened to be passing through the Big Apple on his way to Nauvoo after completing his historic mission to England. The Apostle delivered the books into Joseph’s hands on October 6, 1841, prompting Joseph to become so engrossed in their pages that he didn’t find an opportunity to acknowledge the receipt of Dr. Bernhisel’s expensive gift for nearly six weeks, or on November 16, 1841. At last, Joseph dictated a grateful letter confirming many of the opinions he’d formed from his reading:
I received your kind present . . . which to me is the more interesting as it unfolds & developes many things that are of great importance to this generation & corresponds with & supports the testimony of the Book of Mormon; I have read the volumes with the greatest interest & pleasure & must say that of all histories that have been written pertaining to the antiquities of this country it is the most correct luminous & comprihensive. (Joseph Smith to John Bernhisel, 16 November 1841, in Jessee, Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, 533.
In 1842, after Joseph personally took the editorial reins of the Times and Seasons, five editorials appeared highlighting the work of Stevens and Catherwood and suggesting that the ruins and antiquities it describes were consistent with, and supportive of, the historical narrative of the Book of Mormon (Ed., “A Catacomb of Mummies Found in Kentucky,” Times and Seasons 3/13 [2 May 1842], 781–82; Ed., “Traits of Mosaic History Found among the Azteca Nations,” Times and Seasons 3/16 [15 June 1842], 818–20; Ed., “American Antiquities,” Times and Seasons 3/18 [15 July 1842], 858–60; “Extract From Stephens’ Incidents of Travel in Central America,” Times and Seasons 3/22 [15 September 1842], 914–15; “‘Facts Are Stubborn Things,’” Times and Seasons 3/22 [15 September 1842], 921–22; “Zarahemla,” Times and Seasons 3/23 [1 October 1842], 927).
Critics have suggested that these editorials were penned by individuals other than Joseph Smith and published without his knowledge or consent. Scientific wordprint analysis of the texts confirms that each of the five editorials was written in a style consistent with only one author—Joseph Smith, Jr.
In any case, these editorials have never been represented by the Church as being revelatory or doctrinal. If anything, they seem to confirm that a prophet can freely express personal opinions much the same as any other Latter-day Saint, reliant upon the best information available to him.
Since the 1840s substantially more information has come to light supporting the prospect that the Maya region, and the indigenous peoples who still occupy these lands today, continue to provide correlations with the Book of Mormon. Such correlations have been categorized as cultural, historical, linguistic, geographical (meaning that physical descriptions of the landscape match up with lands occupied by the Maya), and scientific, which can be further broken down into archaeological, anthropological, geological, etc. It would require a book much longer than this novel to list and define each correlation, and additional volumes to dissect, augment, clarify, or even eliminate some overly exuberant proposals that have become outdated over time or less plausible as new information and analytical techniques have come to light. New information proliferates at a pace that often seems difficult for a single person to keep up with, especially a lay enthusiast.
This seems an appropriate place to mention a few correlations. They were selected randomly, either because I consider them significant, or in some instances, because the example may not be widely known. However, it cannot be repeated too often that, at present, the Lord has not revealed any specific Book of Mormon geography or identified any of these correlations as irrefutable. Until revelation on such matters from the Lord, through His authorized earthly servants (His prophets and apostles), is widely and publicly circulated, we remain reliant upon the scientific method and responsible research.
Cultural
It’s difficult to choose from the vast array of correlations in this category, from military earthworks described in many places in the Book of Mormon and constructions identified at Becán, Campeche, Tlaxcala, and hundreds of other archaeological sites to dating of comparable time periods (see John L. Sorenson, “Fortifications in the Book of Mormon Account Compared with Mesoamerican Fortifications,” in Warfare in the Book of Mormon [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1990], 425–444; David E. Spencer, Captain Moroni’s Command: Dynamics of Warfare in the Book of Mormon [Springville: Cedar Fort, 2015], 20–32) to a monetary system based upon weights and measures rather than coinage (compare descriptions in Alma 11:14–19 with references in Munro S. Edmonson, The Book of Counsel: The Popol Vuh of the Quiche Maya of Guatemala [New Orleans: Tulane University], 1971, and other references compiled by John W. Welch in “Weighing and Measuring in the Worlds of the Book of Mormon,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies ٨/٢, ١٩٩٩).
In the interest of publicizing information that may not be widely known or circulated, I would add recent studies by Kerry Hull, a Mesoamericanist at BYU, who looked at the use of battle standards among the Maya (and other Meso tribes) and their relationships to Captain Moroni’s title of liberty, specifically the cultural and spiritual context wherein a standard of this variety became a rallying banner with emotional and political significance. A tradition for such banners, both ritually and war-related, dates back to Olmec times, with a cotton flag being affixed to a pole or sometimes to the uniform of the Maya soldier himself. It’s noteworthy that such standards could be etched with symbols and writing, much like the Title of Liberty was, which dilutes the geographical argument for South or North America, where archaeological evidence for a written language is lacking (For further details, see Kerry Hull, “War Banners: A Mesoamerican Context for the Title of Liberty, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 24 [2015], 84–118).
Historical
Other researchers have noted correlations for historical evidence between events described in the Book of Mormon and what was occurring in the Maya regions of Mesoamerica during the same time period. This includes correlations between the settlement and expansion of such communities as Kaminaljuyu during the late Preclassic and Miraflores periods (approximately 600 b.c.–400 b.c.), which have long been proposed as the area where the Prophet Nephi originally settled and constructed a temple (see many references, including online: John L. Sorenson, “Last-Ditch Warfare in Ancient Mesoamerica Recalls the Book of Mormon,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9/2 [2000], 44–53, 82–83; Bruce Warren, “Stela 10 and the City of Nephi,” http://ancientamerica.org/library/media/HTML/nguq2mxm/07.%20STELA%2010%20AND%20THE%20CITY%20OF%20NEPHI.htm?n=0; Gareth W. Lowe, “Kaminaljuyu Possibly Being the City of Nephi,” http://www.ancientamerica.org/library/media/HTML/munt4wbb/KAMINALJUYU%20AS%20POSSIBLY%20BEING%20THE%20CITY%20OF%20NEPHI.htm?n=0), and dates recorded on stela and statements made by numerous non-Latter-day Saint scholars that confirm significant social unrest and warfare in the late fourth century a.d. (For a more comprehensive citation of examples, see Brant Gardner’s article “History and Historicity in the Book of Mormon,” especially under the subheading, “The Destruction of the Nephites as a People,” https://www.fairmormon.org/conference/august-2015/history-and-historicity-in-the-book-of-mormon).
Linguistic
Again, multiple correlations can be cited, one of the most famous being the repetition of the phrase “And it came to pass,” first translated by David Stuart of Yale University in 1984 on a burial casket at Palenque and since identified at numerous Mesoamerican sites (see David Stewart, “Epigraphic Evidence of Political Organization in the Usumacinta Drainage,” unpublished manuscript [1984], cited by Garth V. Norman in “Book of Mormon Literary Style in Mesoamerica,” http://www.bmaf.org/node/334). Also, we find linguistic correlations in formal names, notably name endings, as with -hah (e.g., Moronihah, Nephihah, Amalickiah) and the Maya equivalent of place names such as Altun Ha, Xel-há, Zazil-ha, Misol-Há, whose origins linguists believe have some association with water, though the exact association remains unclear. There is also the common name ending of -nah, which in many Maya dialects is associated with importance, leadership, or largess, as in such Book of Mormon names as Gidgiddonah, Zarahemnah, and Rabbanah (specific leadership or largess correlations can be seen in Alma 12:20 and 18:13 and Alma 11:10, respectively).
Geographical
The correlation with Mesoamerica and such Book of Mormon verses as Alma 22:32, Helaman 4:6–7, and Alma 50:34 hardly needs repeating here. It has been noted by numerous researchers and scholars, and there appears to be no satisfying correlation in any other part of the western hemisphere.
Scientific
Again, one hardly knows where to begin. An obvious correlation is geological. To fit the Book of Mormon, it must be a region known for earthquakes and volcanic activity, which would suit other parts of the western hemisphere but not the Eastern United States.
Scientific studies also have a direct relationship with such fields as carbon dating, genetics, and many others. Carbon dating, archaeology, and anthropology present countless correlations, such as a rise in the usage of cement in Maya architecture corresponding to verses that describe this phenomenon and its dating among the Nephites (see Helaman 3:7, 9, 11. For a more thorough archaeological survey of this topic, see John L. Sorenson, Mormon’s Codex: An Ancient American Book [Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Book and Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, ٢٠١٣], ٣٢٢, or John W. Welch, “A Steady Stream of Significant Recognitions,” Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon, eds. Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and John W. Welch [Provo, UT: FARMS, 2002], 372–374.).
In the 2000s much hubbub was made of the fact that initial studies in mitochondrial DNA did not correlate indigenous peoples of the New World with populations in the Middle East, where the Nephites originated (Jaredite origins are less defined). Proponents of an Eastern United States geography of the Book of Mormon latched on to this, noting that a certain holotype associated with the Middle East was present in some indigenous peoples from the Great Lakes region. However, as noted by Dr. Ugo Perego, a foremost expert in mitochondrial (maternal) DNA, this connection to the Great Lakes dates back 9,000 to 12,000 years, predating the migrations of either Nephites or Jaredites. Dr. Perego noted that this area of DNA studies is in its infancy. No definitive conclusions can be drawn solely from mitochondrial DNA, except that existing models trace indigenous American origins primarily to Asia, supporting a model for peoples in the western hemisphere crossing a land bridge (i.e., Bering Strait) that once connected Alaska and Russia (circa 10,000 b.c.).
However, possible anomalies to the Bering Strait model from extant DNA samples have been noted. Further research is ongoing but isn’t expected to be published until all data is prepared and analyzed (For a more in-depth discussion of this topic, see Ugo A. Perego, “The Book of Mormon and the Origin of Native Americans from a Maternally Inherited DNA Standpoint,” https://www.fairmormon.org/archive/publications/the-book-of-mormon-and-the-origin-of-native-americans-from-a-maternally-inherited-dna-standpoint).
The previous comment, of course, begs an explanation of the concept: How is it that human beings existed on the earth prior to what is suggested in the Book of Genesis? This is a far more detailed topic than can be addressed here, but a basic summary of Church statements on this issue can be found at the following URL: https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Mormonism_and_science/Did_Adam_and_Eve_really_exist.
As previously stated, this is only a meager list of correlations between the Book of Mormon and the Maya (and other) civilizations of Mesoamerica. Further research from accredited sources is encouraged from Latter-day Saints who have an interest in this subject.
Chapter 15
Hamira
“I won’t pretend,” I announced to Old Saul, the white-haired secretary of King Herod and Queen Herodias.
Though old, he was not feeble. His step had plenty of spring, and his fingers held firmly to my shoulder if I showed any inclination to divert from my—that is, his—designated course. He remained at my side as we approached the dining hall where the feast was beginning.
“Of course you will, Princess,” said Saul in an oddly grandiloquent tone, glancing back at our procession. A half dozen female attendants had joined our four guardsmen en route. Saul sent them a truncated smile and added to me, “Your reputation as the consummate pretender and performer precedes you in any gathering of the Tetrarchy. Why, it precedes you in every celebration of Syria and beyond!”
What? He was acting already. Old Saul was in full character for whatever was about to happen. Evidently, very few members of my entourage knew about this little charade—that I was, in fact, not Princess Salomé, daughter of Herodias and stepdaughter of Herod, who ruled a northerly province called Galilee. Those who did realize it seemed to know to keep their mouths shut and play along. Otherwise, I suspected the consequences would have been swift and brutal.
I looked at Saul and said coolly, “I will trumpet the truth. If my friends are not here, as I was promised, I will shout the truth of my identity to the rafters. Everyone at the feast will learn who I really am.”
Old Saul tightened his lips, somewhere between a scowl and a smirk. “And who will you pretend to be this time? Cleopatra of Alexandria? Messalina, the great-grandniece of Augustus, and as is reported, the newest she-wolf of Capitoline Hill? Or perhaps, once again, you will play the Barbary dancer-of-the-seven-veils whose gyrations caused the tongue of His Majesty—your father—to dangle like a boarhound’s, and in full view of his birthday guests at Machaerus?”
At the mention of this birthday event my skin crawled, so unsavory were the implications.
One of the eunuchs snorted knowingly, but when I turned to look, all eyes were vacant, facing forward. I couldn’t have said who had nearly burst into laughter.
“I know nothing of Machaerus or this dance,” I said, sounding defensive. I tried to keep my voice low so that only Saul could hear, but I was probably overheard by the closest guards, one of whom was likely the “snorter.”
Saul gripped both of my shoulders and touched his forehead to mine, lips hardly moving, though his words penetrated resoundingly. “This gathering of weak-kneed buffoons and spoiled sycophants, who but one generation ago frittered away all hopes of Jewish independence, will doubtless guffaw in a fit of delirium no matter what role you play. Be the Queen of Sheba. Be the man-strangling demoness Onoskelis. Even be Ham-eera, the unjustly detained doppelganger of our much-adored Princess. Whatever role you perform, I’m sure it will be greeted with rousing applause and shouts of ‘Give us more! Give us more!’”
I stepped back. He was a bitter old coot, and for reasons I couldn’t have fathomed. He’d nearly worked himself into a lather. If he was right, it would not matter what I said. This crowd would interpret it as another of Salomé’s mindless pranks. What course of action could I pursue? What strategy might save me? First, I needed to discern what it was I needed to save myself from. Or did this matter? Every outcome I envisioned for my fate this night was dire and bleak.
Old Saul placed his palm on the small of my back, against my skin. I’d known this gown hung low on my back, but it took Saul’s scaly, bony fingers to accentuate how low, how unseemly. I shivered. He dropped his hand, not because I’d shivered but because, as we rounded the next corner, the feast hall gaped wide before us.
