Accidental Reinforcement of Christ's BOM Visit to the Americas (This is Big!)


I’ve been on a kick lately. A blog-relevant kick. I’ve been looking into legends of Christ visitations outside of the holy land. Last week I posted 3 such legends – each specifically mentioning Christ by name.

Then I started looking into legends of a bearded god appearing to people. There are loads of legends like that. I was just looking for a nice, even list of 10 to chain together. The tenth one struck so hard crocodiles might get PTSD triggered from the dinosaur extinction.   

That tenth find, in my opinion, is more important than #s 1-9 combined. It is an Indian legend of Christ, specifically Christ, visiting their ancestors at the exact time the Book of Mormon says he did.

A little background in case you don’t know - a visit from the resurrected Jesus Christ to Indian forefathers in America is, without a doubt, the crowning jewel of the Book of Mormon. It starts like this:

3 Nephi Chapter11:

1 And now it came to pass that there were a great multitude gathered together, of the people of Nephi, round about the temple which was in the land Bountiful; and they were marveling and wondering one with another, and were showing one to another the great and marvelous change which had taken place.
2 And they were also conversing about this Jesus Christ, of whom the sign had been given concerning his death.
3 And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did piercethem that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn.
4 And it came to pass that again they heard the voice, and they understood it not.
5 And again the third time they did hear the voice, and did open their ears to hear it; and their eyes were towards the sound thereof; and they did look steadfastly towards heaven, from whence the sound came.
6 And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said unto them:
7 Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him.
8 And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them.
9 And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:
10 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world….


Now back to this new, fascinating find. A little background:

1)   It is not written by a Mormon:
·       It is written by “Metropolitan Archbishop +Joseph Thaddeus (Stanford), O.S.B., SSJt., Ph.D. – Primate.”
·       It is written on behalf of the “American Orthodox Church and the North American Orthodox Church.”

2)   It is definitely not written by anyone with a secret Mormon agenda:
·      From their website: “…heretics such as 'Pentecostalism,' 'Jehovah's Witnesses,' 'Mormons…”
·      Also from their website: “…the cultic Jehovah's Witnesses, the Pentecostal Churches, the Church of Latter Day Saints also known as the Mormon Church…”

3)   The article is written with the intent of showing that many American Indians were Christian before the arrival of Columbus.

4)   These stories were collected by the author(s) from American Indians - 
including Shaman.

       5) It appears to have been written in the 1990s

Now to jump in (italics and bold added):

“In the Lakota and Cherokee way of life, Wakan Tanka… is the term for "the sacred" or "the divine". This is usually translated as "The Great Spirit". However, according to Russell Means, its meaning is closer to "Great Mystery" as Lakota spirituality is not henotheistic. Before their attempted conversion to Christianity, the Sioux used [Wakan Tanka] to refer to an organization of sacred entities whose ways were mysterious: thus, "The Great Mystery". It would seem to appear that they had already, with consideration of their culture, been Christianized by Jesus the Christ Himself and that it had begun at the beginning of Jesus' 40 days after His Resurrection...”(http://www.apostle1.com/a-native-american-indian-god.html)

That is specific on many levels. Jesus Christ appeared to the American Indians very soon after his resurrection. 

And if you keep reading - on the same page it gets even better:

“The Chippewa remember very well the "pale Great Master." They tell how He gave them medicine lodges where the signs and emblems are secret and taken from those across the ocean. And according to the author, they keep this secret to this day.” (http://www.apostle1.com/a-native-american-indian-god.html)

That is a pattern that pops up again and again if you know what you're looking for. The great mysteries are a term, apparently, used all over the world to reference some post-resurrection teachings of Christ.

I can’t believe I haven’t heard this story until now. Makes you wonder what else is floating around out there waiting for the right eyes to find it.

I sit here astounded.



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