=21. The Archeology and Ethnology= of the western continent contribute
valuable corroborative evidence in support of the Book of Mormon.
These sciences are confessedly unable to explain in any decisive
manner the origin of the native American races; nevertheless,
investigation in this field has yielded some results that are fairly
definite, and with the most important of these the Book of Mormon
account is in general accord. Among the most prominent of the
discoveries respecting the aboriginal inhabitants, are the
following:--
I. That America was inhabited in very ancient times, probably
soon after the building of the Tower of Babel.
II. That the continent has been successively occupied by
different peoples, at least by two classes, or so-called "races"
at widely separated periods.
III. That the aboriginal inhabitants came from the east, probably
from Asia, and that the later occupants, or those of the second
period, were closely allied to, if not identical with, the
Israelites.
IV. That the existing native races of America have sprung from a
common stock.
=22.= From the outline already given of the historical part of the
Book of Mormon, it is seen that each of these discoveries is fully
attested by that record. Thus it is stated therein:--
I. That America was settled by the Jaredites, who came direct from the
scenes of Babel.
II. That the Jaredites occupied the land for about eighteen hundred
and fifty years, during which time they spread over a great part of
North and South America; and that at about the time of their
extinction (near 590 B. C.), Lehi and his company came to this
continent, where they developed into the segregated nations Nephites
and Lamanites, the former becoming extinct near 385 A. D., about a
thousand years after Lehi's arrival on these shores; the latter
continuing in a degenerate condition until the present, being
represented by the Indian tribes of to-day.
III. That Lehi, Ishmael, and Zoram, the progenitors of both Nephites
and Lamanites, were undoubtedly Israelites, Lehi being of the tribe of
Manasseh while Ishmael was an Ephraimite, and that the colony came
direct from Jerusalem, in Asia.
IV. That the existing Indian tribes are all direct descendants of
Lehi and his company, and that therefore they have sprung from men all
of whom were of the house of Israel.
Now let us examine some of the evidence bearing on these points
presented by individual investigators, most of whom knew nothing of
the Book of Mormon, and none of whom accept the book as
authentic.[811]
[811] =Acknowledgments.=--Many of the citations which follow, used
in connection with the extra-scriptural evidence supporting the
Book of Mormon, have been brought together by writers among our
people, particularly by Elder George Reynolds (see his lectures as
specified where quoted); also series of articles entitled
"American Antiquities," in Millennial Star, Liverpool, vol. xxi,
by Moses Thatcher (see a series of articles on "The Divine Origin
of the Book of Mormon," in _Contributor_, Salt Lake City, vol.
ii); and by Elder Edwin F. Parry (see tract, "A Prophet of
Latter-days," Liverpool, 1898).
=23. I. Concerning the very Ancient Period at which America was
Inhabited.=--A recognized authority on American antiquities gives the
following evidence and inference:--"One of the arts known to the
builders of Babel was that of brick making. This art was also known to
the people who built the works in the west. The knowledge of copper
was known to the people of the plains of Shinar; for Noah must have
communicated it, as he lived a hundred and fifty [350] years among
them after the flood. Also copper was known to the ante-diluvians.
Copper was also known to the authors of the western monuments. Iron
was known to the ante-diluvians. It was also known to the ancients of
the west. However, it is evident that very little iron was among them,
as very few instances of its discovery in their works have occurred;
and for this very reason we draw a conclusion that they came to this
country soon after the dispersion."[812]
[812] Priest, _American Antiquities_, 1834, p. 219.
=24.= Lowry, in his "Reply to official inquiries respecting the
Aborigines of America," concludes concerning the peopling of the
western continent, "that the first settlement was made shortly after
the confusion of tongues at the building of the Tower of Babel."[813]
[813] Schoolcraft's _Ethnological Researches_, vol. iii (1853).
=25.= Prof. Waterman of Boston says of the progenitors of the American
Indians:--"When and whence did they come? Albert Galatin, one of the
profoundest philologists of the age, concluded that, so far as
language afforded any clue, the time of their arrival could not have
been long after the dispersion of the human family."[814]
[814] Extract from lecture by Prof. Waterman, delivered in
Bristol, England, 1849; quoted in pamphlet by Edwin F. Parry, _A
Prophet of Latter Days_ (Liverpool, 1898).
=26.= Pritchard says of America's ancient inhabitants, that "the era
of their existence as a distinct and isolated race must probably be
dated as far back as that time which separated into nations the
inhabitants of the old world, and gave to each branch of the human
family its primitive language and individuality."[815]
[815] Pritchard, _National History of Man_ (London, 1845).
=27.= A native Mexican author, Ixtilxochitl, "fixes the date of the
first peopling of America about the year 2000 B. C.; this closely
accords with that given by the Book of Mormon, which positively
declares that it occurred at the time of the dispersion, when God in
His anger scattered the people upon the face of the whole earth."[816]
"Referring to the quotations from Ixtilxochitl, seventeen hundred and
sixteen years are said to have elapsed from the creation to the flood.
Moses places it sixteen hundred and fifty-six, a difference of only
sixty years.[817] They agree exactly as to the number of cubits,
fifteen, which the waters prevailed over the highest mountains. Such a
coincidence can lead to but one conclusion, the identity of origin of
the two accounts."[818]
[816] Moses Thatcher, _Contributor_, vol. ii, p. 227, Salt Lake
City, 1881.
[817] See Note 2.
[818] Moses Thatcher, _Contributor_, vol. ii, p. 228.
=28.= Prof. Short, quoting from Clavigero, says: "The Chiapanese have
been the first peoplers of the New World, if we give credit to their
traditions. They say that Votan, the grandson of that respectable old
man who built the great ark to save himself and family from the
deluge, and one of those who undertook the building of that lofty
edifice, which was to reach up to heaven, went by express command of
the Lord to people that land. They say also that the first people came
from the quarter of the north, and that when they arrived at
Soconusco, they separated, some going to inhabit the country of
Nicaragua, and others remaining at Chiapas."[819]
[819] John T. Short, _North Americans of Antiquity_, p. 204
(Harper Bros., New York; 2nd ed., 1888). See also _Contributor_
(Salt Lake City, vol. ii, p 259).
=29. II. Concerning the Successive Occupation of America by Different
Peoples in Ancient Times.=--It has been declared by eminent students
of American archeology that two distinct classes, by some designated
as separate races, of mankind inhabited this continent in early times:
Prof. F. W. Putnam[820] is even more definite in his assertion that
one of these ancient races spread from the north, the other from the
south. This is in agreement with the Book of Mormon record, which
describes the occupation of the continent by the Jaredites and the
Nephites in turn, the former having established themselves first in
North America, the latter in South America. H. C. Walsh, in an article
entitled "Copan, a City of the Dead,"[821] gives many interesting
details of excavation and other work prosecuted by Gordon under the
auspices of the Peabody expedition; and adds, "All this points to
successive periods of occupation, of which there are other
evidences."[822]
[820] Putnam, _Prehistoric Remains in the Ohio Valley_, Century
Magazine, March 1890.
[821] See _Harper's Weekly_ (New York), October, 1897; article by
Henry C. Walsh.
[822] See Note 3.
=30. III. Concerning the Advent of at least One Division of the
Ancient Americans from the East, probably from Asia; and their
Israelitish Origin.=--Confirmatory evidence of the belief that the
aboriginal Americans sprang from the peoples of the eastern hemisphere
is found in the similarity of record and tradition on the two
continents, regarding the creation, the deluge, and other great events
of history. Boturini,[823] who is quoted by most writers on American
archeology says: "There is no Gentile nation that refers to primitive
events with such certainty as the Indians do. They give us an account
of the creation of the world, of the deluge,[824] of the confusion of
languages at the Tower of Babel, and of all other periods and ages of
the world, and of the long peregrinations which their people had in
Asia representing the specific years by their characters; and in the
seven Conejos (rabbits) they tell us of the great eclipse that
occurred at the death of Christ, our Lord."
[823] Chevalier Boturini; he spent several years investigating the
antiquities of Mexico and Central America, and collected many
valuable records, of most of which he was despoiled by the
Spanish; he published a work on the subject of his studies in
1746.
[824] See Note 4.
=31.= Similar evidence of the common source of eastern and western
traditions of great events in primitive times is furnished in the
writings of Short, already quoted, and by Baldwin,[825]
Clavigero,[826] Kingsborough,[827] Sahagun,[828] Prescott,[829]
Schoolcraft,[830] Squiers,[831] Adair,[832] and others.[833]
[825] Baldwin, _Ancient America_ (Harper Bros., New York, 1871).
[826] Clavigero, quoted by Prof. Short in _North Americans of
Antiquity_.
[827] Lord Kingsborough, _Mexican Antiquities_ (1830-37.)
[828] Bernardo de Sahagun, _Historia Universal de Nueva Espana_.
[829] W. H. Prescott, _Conquest of Mexico_ (see pp. 463-64).
[830] Schoolcraft, _Ethnological Researches_ (1851); see vol. i.
[831] Squiers, _Antiquities of the State of New York_, 1851.
[832] Adair, _History of the American Indians_, London, 1775.
[833] See Bancroft's _Native Races_, etc., vols, iii and v;
Donnelly's _Atlantis_, p. 391 (1882).
=32.= Prof. Short adds his testimony to the evidence of the
aboriginal inhabitants of America being of "Old World origin," but
admits his inability to determine when or whence they came to this
continent.[834] Waterman, before cited, says: "This people could not
have been created in Africa, for its inhabitants were widely
dissimilar from those of America; nor in Europe, which was without a
native people agreeing at all with American races; then to Asia alone
could they look for the origin of the Americans."[835]
[834] John T. Short, _North Americans of Antiquity_ (1888).
[835] Extract from lecture by Prof. Waterman, delivered in
Bristol, England, 1849; quoted in pamphlet by Edwin F. Parry, _A
Prophet of Latter Days_, Liverpool, 1898.
=33.= It has been demonstrated that the aboriginal tribes were
accustomed to practice under certain conditions the rites of
circumcision,[836] baptism, and animal sacrifice.[837] Herrera, a
Spanish writer of three centuries ago, states that among the primitive
inhabitants of Yucatan baptism was known by a name that meant to be
born again.[838]
[836] Lord Kingsborough.
[837] Donnelly's _Atlantis_, p. 144.
[838] Tract, _A Prophet of Latter Days_, by Edwin F. Parry, p.
106.
=34.= But it is not alone in the matter of custom and tradition
relating to pre-Christian times that so marked a resemblance is found
between the peoples of the old and the new world. Many traditions and
some records, telling of the pre-destined Christ and His atoning
death, were current among the native races of this continent long
prior to the advent of Christian discoverers in recent centuries.
Indeed, when the Spaniards first invaded Mexico, their Catholic
priests found a native knowledge of Christ and the Godhead, so closely
corresponding with the doctrines of orthodox Christianity, that they,
in their inability to account for the same, invented the theory that
Satan had planted among the natives of the country an imitation gospel
for the purpose of deluding the people. A rival theory held that
Thomas, the apostle, had visited the western continent, and had taught
the gospel of Christ.[839]
[839] See Pres. John Taylor's _Mediation and Atonement_, p. 201.
=35.= Lord Kingsborough, in his comprehensive and standard work,
refers to a manuscript by Las Casas the Spanish Bishop of Chiapa,
which writing is preserved in the convent of St. Dominic; in this the
Bishop states that a very accurate knowledge of the Godhead was found
to exist among the natives of Yucatan. One of the bishop's emissaries
wrote that "he had met with a principal lord, who informed him that
they believed in God, who resided in heaven, even the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. The Father was named Yeona, the Son Bahab, who
was born of a virgin, named Chibirias, and that the Holy Spirit was
called Euach. Bahab, the Son, they said, was put to death by Eupuro,
who scourged Him, and put on His head a crown of thorns, and placed
Him with His arms stretched upon a beam of wood; and that, on the
third day, He came to life, and ascended into heaven, where He is with
the Father; that immediately after, the Euach. came as a merchant,
bringing precious merchandise, filling those who would with gifts and
graces, abundant and divine."[840]
[840] Kingsborough's _Antiquities of Mexico_.
=36.= Rosales affirms a tradition among the Chileans to the effect
that their forefathers were visited by a wonderful personage, full of
grace and power, who wrought many miracles among them, and taught them
of the Creator who dwelt in heaven in the midst of glorified
hosts.[841] Prescott refers to the symbol of the cross which was
found, by the Catholics who accompanied Cortez, to be common among
the natives of Mexico and Central America. In addition to this sign of
a belief in Christ, a ceremony akin to that of the Lord's Supper was
witnessed with astonishment by the invaders. The Aztec priests were
seen to prepare a cake of flour, mixed with blood, which they
consecrated and distributed among the people, who, as they ate,
"showed signs of humiliation and sorrow, declaring it was the flesh of
Deity."[842]
[841] Rosales, _History of Chile_. See Pres. Taylor's _Mediation
and Atonement_, p. 202.
[842] Prescott, _Conquest of Mexico_, p. 465.
=37.= The Mexicans recognize a Deity in Quetzalcoatl, the traditional
account of whose life and death is closely akin to our history of the
Christ, so that, says President John Taylor, "we can come to no other
conclusion than that Quetzalcoatl and Christ are the same being."[843]
Lord Kingsborough speaks of a painting of Quetzalcoatl, "in the
attitude of a person crucified, with the impression of nails in his
hands and feet, but not actually upon the cross." The same authority
further says: "The seventy-third plate of the Borgian MS. is the most
remarkable of all, for Quetzalcoatl is not only represented there as
crucified upon a cross of Greek form, but his burial and descent into
hell are also depicted in a very curious manner." And again:--"The
Mexicans believe that Quetzalcoatl took human nature upon him,
partaking of all the infirmities of man, and was not exempt from
sorrow, pain, or death, which he suffered voluntarily to atone for the
sins of man."[844]
[843] _Mediation and Atonement_, p. 201; see Note 5.
[844] Lord Kingsborough, _Antiquities of Mexico_; see quotations
by Pres. John Taylor, _Mediation and Atonement_, p. 202.
=38.= The source of this knowledge of Christ and the Godhead, to
account for which gave such trouble to the Catholic invaders and
caused them to resort to extreme and unfounded theory, is plainly
apparent to the student of the Book of Mormon. We learn from that
sacred scripture, that the progenitors of the native American races,
for centuries prior to the time of Christ's birth, lived in the light
of direct revelation, which, coming to them through their authorized
prophets, showed the purposes of God respecting the redemption of
mankind; and, moreover, that the risen Redeemer ministered unto them
in person, and established His Church among them with all its
essential ordinances. The people have fallen into a state of spiritual
degeneracy; many of their traditions are sadly distorted, and
disfigured by admixture of superstition and human invention; yet the
origin of their knowledge is plainly authentic.
=39. IV. Concerning the Common Origin of the Native Races on this
Continent.=--That the many tribes and nations among the Indians and
other "native races" of America are of common parentage is very
generally admitted; the conclusion is based on the evident close
relationship in their languages, traditions, and customs. "Mr. Lewis
H. Morgan finds evidence that the American aborigines had a common
origin in what he calls 'their system of consanguinity and affinity.'
He says, 'The Indian nations from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains,
and from the Arctic sea to the Gulf of Mexico, with the exception of
the Esquimaux, have the same system. It is elaborate and complicated
in its general form and details; and, while deviations from uniformity
occur in the systems of different stocks, the radical features are in
the main constant. This identity in the essential characteristics of a
system so remarkable tends to show that it must have been transmitted
with the blood to each stock from a common original source. It affords
the strongest evidence yet obtained of unity in origin of the Indian
nations within the regions defined.'"[845]
[845] Baldwin's _Ancient America_, p. 56; see citations of
conclusions regarding the characteristics of aboriginal Americans
by Bradford, in the same work.
=40.= Baldwin further quotes Bradford's summary of conclusions
regarding the origin and characteristics of the ancient Americans,
amongst which we read:--"That they were all of the same origin,
branches of the same race, and possessed of similar customs and
institutions."[846] Adair writes:--"All the various nations of Indians
seem to be of one descent;" and in support of this conclusion he
presents abundant evidence of similarity of language, habits, and
customs, religious ceremonies, modes of administering justice,
etc.[847]
[846] The same.
[847] Adair's _History of the American Indians_, London, 1775.
=41. Written Language of the Ancient Americans.=--To these secular, or
extra-scriptural, evidences of the authenticity of the Book of Mormon
may be added the agreement of the record with recent discoveries
regarding the written language of these ancient peoples. The prophet
Nephi states that he made his record on the plates in "the language of
the Egyptians,"[848] and we are further told that the brazen plates of
Laban were inscribed in the same.[849] Mormon, who abridged the
voluminous writings of his predecessors, and prepared the plates from
which the modern translation was made, employed also the Egyptian
characters. His son Moroni, who completed the record, declares this
fact; but, recognizing a difference between the writing of his day and
that on the earlier plates, he attributed the change to the natural
mutation through time, and speaks of his own record and that of his
father, Mormon, as being written in the "reformed Egyptian."[850]
[848] I Nephi i, 2.
[849] Mosiah i, 4.
[850] Mormon ix, 32.
=42.= Now consider the testimony of Dr. Le Plongeon, announcing his
discovery of a sacred alphabet among the Mayas of Central America,
which he declares to be practically identical with the Egyptian
alphabet. He states that the structure of the Maya sacred language
closely resembles that of the Egyptians; and he boldly proclaims his
conviction that the two nations derived their written language from
the same source.[851] Another authority says:--"The eye of the
antiquarian cannot fail to be both attracted and fixed by evidence of
the existence of two great branches of the hieroglyphical
language,--both having striking affinities with the Egyptian, and yet
distinguished from it by characteristics perfectly American."[852]
[851] Dr. August Le Plongeon, in _Review of Reviews_, July, 1895.
[852] _Quarterly Review_, October, 1836; abstracted in _Millennial
Star_, vol. xxi, p. 467.
=43.= But the Egyptian is not the only eastern language found to be
represented in the relics of American antiquities; the Hebrew occurs
in this connection with at least equal significance. That the Hebrew
tongue should have been used by Lehi's descendants is most natural,
inasmuch as they were of the House of Israel, transferred to the
western continent directly from Jerusalem. That the ability to read
and write in that language continued with the Nephites until the time
of their extinction is evident from Moroni's statement regarding the
language used on the plates of Mormon:--"And now behold, we have
written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters
which are called among us the reformed Egyptian being handed down and
altered by us according to our manner of speech. And if our plates had
been sufficiently large, we should have written in Hebrew; but the
Hebrew hath been altered by us also."[853]
[853] Mormon ix, 32-33. In connection with this important subject
see articles entitled "A Study in American-Hebraic Names" by Thos.
W. Brookbank, _Improvement Era_, vol. xx.
=44.= The following instances are taken from an instructive array of
such, brought together by Elder George Reynolds.[854] Several of the
early Spanish writers claim that the natives of some portions of the
land were found speaking a corrupt Hebrew. "Las Casas so affirms with
regard to the inhabitants of the island of Hayti. Lafitu wrote a
history wherein he maintained that the Caribbee language was radically
Hebrew. Isaac Nasci, a learned Jew of Surinam, says of the language of
the people of Guiana, that all their substantives are Hebrew." Spanish
historians record the early discovery of Hebrew characters on the
western continent. "Malvenda says that the natives of St. Michael had
tombstones, which the Spaniards digged up, with several ancient Hebrew
inscriptions upon them."
[854] Reynolds' lecture, _The Language of the Book of Mormon_.
=45.= In all such writings, the characters and the language are allied
to the most ancient form of Hebrew, and show none of the vowel signs
and terminal letters which were introduced into the Hebrew of the
eastern continent after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian
captivity. This is consistent with the fact that Lehi and his people
left Jerusalem shortly before the captivity, and therefore prior to
the introduction of the changes in the written language.[855]
[855] See an instructive series of articles in _Improvement Era_,
Salt Lake City, vol. xvii, by Thomas W. Brookbank, entitled
"Hebrew Idioms and Analogies in the Book of Mormon."
=46. Another Test.=--Let not the reader of the Book of Mormon content
himself with such evidences as have been cited concerning the Divine
authenticity of this reputed scripture. There is promised a surer and
a more effectual means of ascertaining the truth or falsity of this
marvelous volume. Like other scriptures, the Book of Mormon is to be
comprehended through the spirit of the scriptures, and this is
obtainable only as a gift from God. But this gift, priceless though it
be, is promised unto all who would seek for it. Then to all let us
commend the counsel of the last writer in the volume, Moroni, the
solitary scribe who sealed the book, afterward the angel of the record
who brought it forth:--"And when ye shall receive these things, I
would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the
name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with
a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will
manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost; and
by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all
things."[856]
[856] Moroni x, 4-5.