Some of Joseph Smith’s (Lesser Known) Big, Beautiful Bullseyes
To make a list of Joseph Smith’s greatest prophetic hits
isn’t hard. There are a lot of pretty commonly known ones like:
·
The pleasing symmetry of Chiasmus
·
Startlingly accurate predictionsof the civil war
Those things are all relatively well
known in a lot of Latter-day Saint-circles. They’ve probably been listed on a lot of
blogs. A list of Joseph Smith’s best hits isn’t as interesting if you already
knew it’s contents.
Joseph got loads of shocking things right. These things weren't readily available information in his place or time. These ones below aren’t too well known,
by all I can tell. But each one lends incredible strength to Joseph Smith's prophetic claims. It a varied list. It's an unlikely list. It's a surprising list.
Even the most ardent critic would have to at least say ol' JS got really lucky a whole bunch of times.
Judge for yourself:
11)
The
Spirit Descending on Christopher Columbus
Christopher
Columbus takes a lot of flak nowadays. 20 years ago he was known as the first
American-ish hero but now he’s said to be cruel, greedy and punishing. That makes
this Book of Mormon verse sound all the stranger:
1st Nephi 13:12
Could
Christopher Columbus have been susceptible to the spirit? Thousands of angry Facebook
posters every October 12th certainly don’t think so. But Mr. Columbus
definitely did. This next bit is from the blog of a real Columbus fanboy:
“…I stumbled
across a quote from Columbus that stunned me. It was from his extensive
writings known as the Libro
de profecias, where he writes
extensively of his motivations and the meaning of his discoveries. The
particular passage that caught my eye reads:
“With a hand that
could be felt, the Lord opened my mind to the fact that it would be possible to
sail from here to the Indies, and he opened my will to desire to accomplish the
project. This was the fire that burned within me when I came to visit
Your Highnesses... Who can doubt that
this fire was not merely mine, but also of the Holy Spirit who encouraged me
with a radiance of marvelous illumination from his sacred Holy Scriptures, by a
most clear and powerful testimony… urging me to press forward? Continually,
without a moment’s hesitation, the Scriptures urge me to press forward with
great haste.
“Nephi, in his succinct verse regarding
Columbus, tells us not just what Columbus
would do (“he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my
brethren, who were in the promised land”) but why he would do
it (“I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon
the man”). What surprised me when I read the paragraph from Columbus is
that he knew why he did it – he was filled with the
fire of the Holy Ghost urging him to press forward with great haste!” (https://raciones.wordpress.com/2012/12/03/this-was-the-fire-that-burned-within-me/)
22)
Roaring in the Wilderness
The spirit and Columbus. Nephi predicted it, CC verified it. Columbus
being inspired by the Spirit of God x2.
Here’s another x2. It is even more
surprising, in my opinion. The Book of Moses speaks, in
part, of the prophet Enoch. Enoch only makes a small showing in the Bible. He’s
only mentioned in Genesis 5:18-24 - a few quick verses. His birth is referenced, we know he walked with God, he has kids and then God takes him. That’s it. There are no specifics
about his prophetic acts.
In
Joseph Smith’s inspired translation he has a lot more to do. The part we’re
focusing on today is the Book of Moses 7:13, which reads in part:
“…and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness.” (http://classic.scriptures.lds.org/en/moses/7/13b)
Those lions roared, incidentally, during a big battle.
Over
100 years later some shepherds accidentally break some clay jars in a cave and
the Dead Sea Scrolls are discovered. Among these scrolls is one called the Book
of the Giants. In this book, Enoch also has a lot more to do. In fact:
“Of special note
is a puzzling phrase in Martinez’s translation of the Book of Giants that
immediately follows the description of the battle: “the roar of the wild beasts
has come and they bellowed a feral roar.”” (https://www.mormoninterpreter.com/ancient-affinities-within-the-lds-book-of-enoch-part-two/)
Like
I said – random. Random, battling and roaring.
Out
of the park homerun.
33)
An Ancient American City Named Bountiful
Now jumping
into the Book of Mormon. It’s about some ancient Israelites that fled from
Jerusalem. In the old world, before they boarded any boats, they found an Oasis
in the desert and called it Bountiful. Then they built, boarded and sailed in ships. When they landed on the American continent, eventually they found
another sweet spot and called it Bountiful as well. Lehi’s descendants used the name
Bountiful twice. (1st Nephi 17:5 & Alma 22:29) If it ain't broke - am I right?
Now fast forward to
Mayan times. Pre-Columbian Mayan times:
“Here is one of the
most important surviving works of pre-Columbian civilization, Rabinal Achi, a
Mayan drama set a century before the arrival of the Spanish, produced by the
translator of the best selling Popol Vuh. The first direct translation into
English from Quiche Maya, based on the original text, Rabinal Achi is the story
of city-states, war, and nobility….” (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/542161.Rabinal_Achi)
And here is an
excerpt from the book form of Rabinal Achi. It’s a map with depicted Mayan
cities:
Now notice the city listed right smack
dab in the middle of that map. Bountiful. BOUNTIFUL! That doesn’t mean it is the Bountiful, of course. That is not
the argument here at all. It just means Bountiful was definitely used as a city name in ancient America. Of all the possible
city names that could have been used – Joseph Smith 'chose' Bountiful as the one
to slip into that verse taking place in that time.
Another dead center Joseph Smith
bullseye.
44)
Jabal
– The Borders
More Book of Mormon exactness. Enter,
of course, Hugh Nibley. He sums it up nicely. This is regarding 1 Nephi 2:5:
“And he came down by
the borders near the shore of the Red Sea; and he traveled in the wilderness in
the borders which are nearer the Red Sea; and he did travel in the wilderness
with his family, which consisted of my mother, Sariah, and my elder brothers,
who were Laman, Lemuel, and Sam.” (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/2?lang=eng)
And here’s what Nibley says about it:
“[Lehi] took all his stuff and went down to
the borders. It mentions "the borders" twice in the fifth verse. That
should be capitalized because that's what that area has been called, the Jabal,
which means "the Borders." Joseph Smith didn't know that. Neither did
Oliver Cowdery, so they left it uncapitalized. But that area in which they went
was the Jabal. Jabal is the range of mountains that separates one country from
another. This had that name, Jabal.”
In the
original transcript, as it dripped down from Oliver Cowdery’s feather pen, there was
no punctuation, or capitalization. As I understand it, it was just one biiiig
run on sentence until they went back to add that kind of stuff in the places
they thought best. 'The Borders' not being capitalized makes a lot of sense. It
is such a tiny little detail, but it’s the right word with the right meaning in
the right place at the right time.
And speaking
of right words:
55)
Delighteth
This is
from David Bokovoy. It talks about Nephi’s constant use of the word ‘delighteth’
when describing his feelings about Isaiah. Nephi was a real fan of Isaiah – and
Isaiah was a real fan of the word ‘delighteth.’ You would never know that,
however, if you've only read him in the King James Version - like Joseph Smith did:
“An attempt to justify his
passion for the words of Isaiah, Nephi, the first author to appear in the Book
of Mormon reveals his fervor for the Biblical book through the statement “My
soul delighteth in his (Isaiah’s) words.” 2 Nephi 11:2
“For Nephi’s editorial
introduction to Isaiah 2-14 the term ‘Delighteth’ appears to function as a type
of Biblical leitwort or theme word deliberately repeated through Nephi’s
comments as an intentional rhetorical device. In the same introduction Nephi
states “My soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of
Christ, and also my soul delighteth in the covenants of the Lord which he hath
made to our fathers, and my soul delighteth in proving unto my people that save
Christ should come all men must perish…
“… In Nephi’s colophon, or
editorial conclusion to his lengthy citation of Isaiah, Nephi returns to the
term Delighteth. Fourteen chapters following his initial use of the theme word
Nephi states “For behold, my soul delighteth in plainness unto my people that
they may learn. Yeah and my soul delighteth in the words of Isaiah (2 Nephi 25:
4-5)…
“… With the literary
consistency witnessed through the leitwort ‘delighteth’ in both Nephi’s
introduction and conclusion to his Isaiah citation proves impressive, but perhaps of even greater import is the
fact that Nephi’s theme may derive from the biblical book itself. And this
kind of fun. Though not reflected in the
English version of Isaiah accessible to Joseph Smith, the original Hebrew of
Isaiah is a book ripe with both the noun delight and the verbal act of delighting…
Now for a
mid quote break. This is a transcript I typed up. You’ll see the phrase *haight
pai saudi* in the coming paragraph. That is phonetically spelled. I
couldn’t figure out exactly how it's supposed to look on paper. For that, I apologize
to Hebrew people everywhere. I am, so, so, so very sorry for the written
mutilation of your beautiful language that is about to occur:
Now on
with the quote:
“… No other Biblical book,
save the collection of Psalms, a book that is filled with intense delight,
relies upon the Hebraic root *haight pai saudi* with a higher frequency. The
tri-literal root appears 20 times in the Book of Isaiah, occurring 7.7 times
per 100 words. In contrast, the Hebrew root delight appears a total of 5 times
throughout the entire Pentateuch, and again only 5 times in Jeremiah, the
prophetic work with the next highest concentration of *haight pai saudi* after
Isaiah. Significantly, for those who support the Book of Mormons claims for
ancient authenticity, the use of delight as a theme word though throughout
Isaiah is obscured in the King James Translation where the Lord, for example,
delights not in the blood of bullocks or of lambs or of he-goats in Isaiah
1:11, however, he is only ‘well pleased’ in Isaiah 42:21.
“… Thus Isaiah’s introduction and conclusion to the Book of Mormon
citation of Isaiah 2-14, which includes the statements ‘My soul delighteth in
Isaiah’s words, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the
coming of Christ, my soul delighteth in the covenants of the Lord, my soul
delighteth in proving unto my people that save Christ should come all men must
perish, my soul delighteth in plainness unto my people, and finally, once
again, my soul delighted in the words of Isaiah appears to suggest a literary
sensitivity on the part of the author to the well attested theme of delight
apparent in the original Hebrew version of Isaiah... (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYmVB0AdeZs)
The term
‘delight’ or ‘delighteth’ is all over Isaiah’s writings. I didn’t know it.
Joseph Smith didn’t know it. Nephi definitely did.
66)
Rent
This is another Book of
Mormon-correctly used term. It’s a small thing, not as broad brushed as delight up there. It happens quick and
it’s over – but it is exactly what it would have to be if the Book of Mormon is
exactly what the Prophet said it is:
“Some of the passages in the Book of
Mormon do not read as good English, (however many have been changed in later
editions of the Book of Mormon to make the English read better) but they are
accepted usage for Hebrew. One of these is on page 351 in the first edition.
“"and he went forth among the
people, waving the rent of his garment" When the word "rent" is
used as a noun in English it refers to the hole in the garment caused by
rending… not the portion of rent cloth. This has contributed to the fact that
in subsequent editions of the Book of Mormon it is changed to read "rent
part" (Alma 46:19) But the Hebrew would, in this instance, use but one
word, qera, 'rent (part),' coming from qara, 'he rent, tore,' for nouns, in
Hebrew, are derived from roots -- as are Hebrew verbs -- by the addition of
certain vowel patterns that distinguish them from other parts of speech.” (http://www.lightplanet.com/response/idioms.htm)
And for more Book of Mormon
authenticity proven years after it was first printed, look at this one:
77)
Gidgiddoni
Gidgiddoni
is a pretty weird name. It shows up as the name of a great prophet/military
leader in 3rd Nephi. Look at those two d’s just sitting there –
sitting there like a Simpsons character looking to the left. Really, if Joseph
Smith was going to use an ancient name with likely Israelite roots – he
should have just stuck to the ones already mentioned in the Bible, right?
Well lucky
for today’s list he didn’t:
“The name
Gidgiddoni, with its reduplication and doubled consonant, is unusual for a
Hebrew name. We now know that it is not. It is a well attested name in
Neo-Assyrian records. It comes from the same Assyrian empire that is discussed
so extensively in the works of Isaiah. The name is mentioned many times in
Assyrian records, covering a number of individuals. It is spelled a number of
ways:
•
Gíd-gi-da-nu (SA A 1: 152:6)
•
Gíd-gi-da-a-n[i] (SA A 1: 152 r 9)
•
[Gíd-g]i-da-a-[ni] (SA A 1: 152 r 6)
•
[Gí]d-gi-da-a-[ni] (SA A 1: 39 :4)
•
Gíd-gi-da-a-nu (SA A 6: 31 r 23)
• Gíd-gíd-da-nu (SAA 11: 123 ii 13)
• Gíd-gíd-da-[nu] (SAA 12: 51 r 12)
“…The simplest explanation is that an Assyrian
individual with the name Gidgiddanu was mentioned in the brass plates. This was
then the source of the name for this particular military leader several
centuries later…
“… Thus the number of attested non-biblical
names in the Book of Mormon has just increased by one.” (http://etherscave.blogspot.com/2015/06/right-on-target-gidgiddoni.html)
And
follow the link there. It details exactly who all those names belonged to. Thank
you John Tvetness. Now back to Hugh Nibley:
88)
The Kings of The Isles of the Sea
“The kings of the isles of the sea” is a mouthful. It’s long and cumbersome. It
sounds like a song that should be sung by Sebastian the crab. We’re talking
about more than that phrase here, though. We’re talking about the entire verse.
It reads like this:
1 Nephi 19:12:
“And all these things must surely come, saith theprophet Zenos. And the rocks of the earth must rend; and becauseof the groanings of the earth, many of the kings of the isles of thesea shall be wrought upon by the Spirit of God, to exclaim: The God of naturesuffers.”
I
like that verse for a lot of reasons. It talks about the lost prophet Zenos,
for one. I also like the peculiarity of it all – a rending and groaning earth,
sea kings and a God of nature suffering. It’s all so unique, isn’t it?
Isn’t
it?
Hugh
Nibley:
“This is a marvelous thing. Look
at this twelfth verse here. “And all these things must surely come, saith the
prophet Zenos [way back there in the time of the Judges]. And the rocks of the
earth must rend; and because of the groanings of the earth, many of the kings
of the isles [that’s an odd thing to say] of the sea shall be wrought upon by
the spirit of God, to exclaim: The God of nature suffers.” Who were the kings
of the isles of the sea? Well, that’s what the Egyptians refer to as the kings
of the Cyclades or the islands of the Aegean. They have a regular title (I’ve
got it written down here). Well, it means “those who live around behind the
islands.”
“…Well, Plutarch tells us the
story that on one occasion the king was sailing by. Well, this is a very
important one in his writing called “On the cessation of the Oracles.”
Plutarch’s trying to show that the ancient oracles have ceased. A famous sailor
was sailing by one of the islands, and he heard a voice coming from the Temple
of Pan. Pan is the great god of nature, as you know—Pan pipes and all this sort
of thing. He heard this voice crying out with great lamentation, and all the
air was filled with lamentation. “Great Pan is dead. The god of nature is
dead.” When these terrible things happen, this voice comes from the shrine of
the island, “The god of nature is dead; the great Pan is dead.”
“And here: “The kings of the
isles of the sea shall be wrought upon . . . to exclaim: The God of nature
suffers.” Now you won’t find the god of nature in the Bible. You’ll find it in
the eighteenth century—it was very popular—and you’ll find it in the Age of
Reason. But in the Bible they don’t talk about the god of nature. But who’s
talking about the god of nature? The kings of the isles of the sea. They’re the
ones that say, “The god of nature is dead” because of the upheaval. So here’s a
very interesting insight. And who says it? Not Lehi, not Nephi. It’s Zenos who
says it. They have the book, and so it goes way back to the times when the
kings ruled around the islands—Cypress and the others. This had such a
classical ring to it. It’s characteristically Mediterranean, of course—one of
those little vignettes that are just thrown in for no extra charge, but really
reminds you to check on things. In fact, you see, if this had been put in the
mouth of Lehi, you could raise an eyebrow and say, “Not of that time; it must
have been much earlier.” Ah, yes, Zenos said it. He [Lehi] didn’t say it.” (https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1135&index=15)
99) Head Plates
Helmets are
mentioned in the Old Testament. And the New Testament. They even get one single
mention in the D&C. But they are not mentioned in the Book of Mormon even
one single time.
The talented Arnold
Friberg really, really wants to disagree:
But its
something called head-plates used in Nephite times of war. And just FYI – to
the best of my googling abilities head-plates are not mentioned in any other
book of scripture.
They are,
however, mentioned on the website called “Ohio Memory Collection":
“This copper head plate, found
in the Mound City complex of earthworks near Chillicothe, may have been part of
an elaborate Hopewell headdress. Headdresses were an important part of Hopewell
costumes. Many head plates, meant to be worn along the top of the head from
front to back, have been found in southern Ohio. While many are found without additional
attachments, some are the foundation of very elaborate headdresses made with
wood, feathers, fabric, leather, mica, pearls, and other materials. The head
plate shown in this photograph was found on a very low earthen platform near
cremated remains during archaeological excavations in the 1920s…” (http://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm/ref/collection/p267401coll36/id/10887)
Here’s
another one. It’s much more battle like - it has cheek guards that flap down!
And look at this page from a mysterious, unknown book. The source wasn’t
sure. All up and down the right side of the page. Especially the bottom right
corner where you can see a head plate on a formerly buried skull:
Again – the
argument here is not that these particular items were used in Nephite wars. The
point is that head plates – as rare as their documentation seems to be (they’re
not in any other scriptures) – are mentioned in the BOM as existing among
ancient inhabitants of the Americas. And here we see clearly that something
specifically called head plates existed among those very inhabitants.
Joseph
Smith, ladies and gentlemen. Joseph Smith
10) Ancient American People Emigrating from the
Confusion of the Tongues
In the book
of Ether, which is snuggled way back towards the end of the Book of Mormon, the
Nephites and Lamanites get put on the shelf to focus on the Jaredites. The Jaredites also fled the old world. Specifically they fled it at the time of the
changing of the tongues/the crumbling of the Tower of Babel.
What an odd,
exact time to have the Jaredites originate. A bunch of people leave the tower
and travel to the New World. I’m not aware of any other specific, similar
stories Joseph Smith could have drawn from. Ancient American civilizations, however,
were aware of plenty. I'll list four because it's both easy and fun:
This first
one is recorded by the Catholic friar, Diego Durán. He lived pretty early on in the Spanish conquest (1537 – 1588). Durán transcribed the story
from a 100 year old native:
A.
“These
giants...decided to build a tower so high that its summit would reach unto
heaven. And gathering materials for this
building, the giants found clay for bricks and an excellent mortar with which
they began to build the tower very swiftly.
When they had raised it as high as they could--and it seemed to reach to
heaven--the Lord of the Heights became angry and said to the inhabitants of the
heavens,...let us confound them...Then...those who dwell in the heavens
came...and tore down the tower that had been constructed. And the giants, bewildered and filled with
terror, separated and fled in all directions.” (http://www.supportingevidences.net/jareditesolmecsgiants-of-mesoa/)
This account
is transcribed by a half Spanish half native Catholic priest named Ixtlilxochitl:
B. “A Catholic priest named Ixtlilxochitl who wrote the history
of Mexico in 1568 wrote that, after the great flood, the people built
a very high tower. Their languages were confounded and they were
scattered to all parts of the earth. They eventually came
to Mesoamerica after having first crossed many lands and waters,
living in caves and passing through great trials and tribulations.”
(http://www.ancientamerica.org/library/media/HTML/1pz46v0v/11%20OF%20JAREDITES%20AND%20OLMECS.htm?n=0)
Here are some lengthy quotes from the Historia Antigua de
Mexico (Ancient History of Mexico) by Mariano Veytia. He put pen to paper a
couple hundred years after the two sources above, but he went straight from old
sources. He insisted he was going straight from old Indian manuscripts:
C. “[In my writing I am] following the ancient monuments
and manuscripts that I have gathered in interpretation of the historical charts
of the Toltecs (who were the wisest among all these nations), I say that the
origin and first parents of all of them were seven families who, in the
scattering of the peoples because of the confusion of tongues at the Tower of
Babel, joined together because of finding themselves of one language that they
called Nahuatl, which is known as the Mexican language, and they traveled to
these parts, where they established themselves and multiplied, and went on
dividing into towns and nations.”
“Veytia
here indicates that he is following the manuscripts themselves and not earlier
historians or commentators. He considers the Toltecs to have been the
higher civilization. He states that they originated from seven families
who were dispersed from the Tower of Babel and that their language was Nahuatl.
They traveled to the Americas, established themselves, multiplied, and
divided into nations.” (http://moriancumr.blogspot.com/2010/01/indian-traditions-relating-olmecs-and.html?m=1)
That
link up there has far more accounts than just that one, incidentally.
This
one is interesting. It’s recorded by Helen Sekaquaptewa (1898–1990). She doesn’t mention any old manuscripts.
She’s talking about current (in her time) Indian ceremonies:
D. “…I will be
sharing a short insight shared by Helen Sekaquaptewa in her book "Me and
Mine" that shows knowledge of past times of the confounding of languages
at the tower of Babel….
“…In speaking of the traditional
ceremonies that tell the stories of their past Helen Sekaquaptewa shared the
following. "One Hopi ceremony re-enacts the confusion of tongues at the
Tower of Babel. We were in Hotevilla two
times during this performance. It is
done during the night. Those men not
eligible to participate, and the women and children of the village were not
allowed to stay in their own homes if they lived close to certain kivas, but
had to go to the other end of the village and spend the night with relatives or
friends. I was curious and didn't go to
sleep . I could hear the tinkle of tiny bells,
then big bells, and then the tramping of many feet as the performers came
together in the middle of the night. You
never heard anything more confusing; all talking at the top of their voices;
none speaking their own tongue, but rather making a babble of sound, yelling
loudly. Certainly a dramatic
reproduction of the Tower of Babel.” (https://inthecavityofarock.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-olmec-and-jaredite-history-and-hopi.html?showComment=1534339626205&m=1#c5540378029848194205)
It’s just a
list of 10. There are more. This Tower of Babel thing is particularly
compelling – with some of the accounts written so early and the third one
insisting he was taking it straight from authentic source material – it’s
difficult to dispute. Christopher Columbus, the Book of the Giants, the old
world, foreign language vernacular is amazing. And could the abundant supply of
head plates, so rare in other ancient texts, be considered actual archeological
evidence of the Book of Mormon?
I vote yes.
PS. God is
still rooting for you.
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