SCIENCE AND LITERATURE AMONG THE NEPHITES--THEIR ASTRONOMY AND
GEOGRAPHY--THE LEARNING OF EGYPT.
The Nephites were unusually happy in having, as the founders of their
nation, men who were not only wise in the ways of the Lord, but also
learned in the knowledge of the world. Most races that have made a mark
in history have had to grope their way for centuries from darkness to
light, from ignorance to knowledge. Little by little such races have
advanced in the path of civilization, falling into manifold errors, and
committing grievous blunders. With Lehi and his posterity it was not
so. They were taken from the midst of a people who were surrounded by
the most powerful and refined nations of antiquity, with whose wisdom
and learning Lehi was undoubtedly well acquainted. We can readily
conceive that the Lord, in planting this mighty and vigorous offshoot
of the house of Joseph, on the richest and most favored land of all
the earth, would not only choose one of his most faithful, but also
one of his most intelligent servants, to commence the work. Indeed, on
the very first page of the Book of Mormon, Nephi incidentally refers
to the learning of his father; which learning, we infer from many
passages in the sacred record, was obtained by Lehi in Egypt, as well
as in Palestine; the association between the inhabitants of these two
countries being, in his day, very close, and the inter-communication
frequent.
As the foundation of their literature, Lehi and his colony carried
with them a copy of the sacred scriptures, which contained not only an
account of God's dealings with mankind, from the creation to the age of
Jeremiah, but also the only complete history in existence of the people
who lived before the deluge. The Egyptians, Chaldeans and other nations
had mangled, mythic and jumbled-up accounts of man's history from the
creation to the flood; but the Nephites possessed the details of this
epoch in much greater completeness than even Christendom does today.
These scriptures--historical and doctrinal--being numerously reproduced
and scattered among the people, formed the basis of Nephite literature,
giving them the immense advantage over all other people of possessing
the unpolluted word of God in every age then past, supplemented by
a correct and undisputed history of the results, to the world, of
man's obedience or disobedience to these heavenly messages. How much
more complete these scriptures were than the Bible of Christendom is
shown by the numerous references to the lives, and quotations from the
teachings, of ancient worthies, Melchisedek, Jacob, Joseph and others;
to the acts and infamies of Cain, etc., not found in the Bible, as well
as by lengthy quotations from ancient prophets, whose names--Zenos,
Zenoch, Neum, Ezias--are not even mentioned in its pages. How much
modern Christianity has lost by these omissions may be partially
inferred from the beauty and grandeur of the extracts given in the Book
of Mormon, from the writings and prophecies of Zenos alone. Take, as a
single instance, his inspired parable of the wild and tame olive trees,
given in the Book of Jacob; no more important, no more sublime prophecy
can be found in the whole contents of the holy scriptures.
The connection of Lehi with Egypt, whose language he appears to have
adopted, doubtless gave him a practical knowledge of the condition
of the whole civilized world in his day, when the glories of Chaldea
had departed, and those of Assyria and Egypt were passing away; when
Babylon was at the zenith of its power, and the growing strength
of Persia and Greece was as yet scarcely felt. To this personal
information he, like Moses, added an acquaintance with the learning
of the Egyptians, a people wise above all other uninspired races in
the numerous branches of science and art in which they excelled. With
this knowledge, combined with the information of immeasurable value
contained on the sacred plates, the foundation was laid for a stable
civilization, guided by past revelation and present inspiration; to
which was added the experience of other nations, as beacon-lights to
warn the Nephites of the dangers to which all communities are subject,
and to guide them to havens of governmental and political safety.
The Nephites, then, from their earliest day had at least all the
important historical and geographical knowledge possessed by the most
favored communities of the eastern hemisphere, with as much more as
it pleased heaven to reveal. They had one advantage over the peoples
they had left--they were well acquainted with them and their condition;
but of the Nephites the dwellers in the old world knew nothing. With
regard to the knowledge received through revelation, it is evident,
from several incidental expressions scattered through the record, that
the Lord did give to his faithful servants information with regard to
historical and geographical matters. We will cite one instance: Jacob,
the brother of Nephi, in one of his impressive exhortations, while
encouraging his brethren (often somewhat downcast on account of their
lonely condition, so far from the rest of mankind), remarks: We have
been led to a better land, for the Lord has made the sea our path, and
we are upon an isle of the sea. But great are the promises of the Lord
unto they who are upon the isles of the sea; therefore, as it says
isles, there must needs be more than this, and they are inhabited also
by our brethren.
How could Jacob have known, except by revelation, that the vast
continent which the Nephites inhabited was entirely surrounded by the
waters of the great oceans? He and his companions had, but a few short
years before, first landed on its shores, and had now explored but a
very small portion of its wide extent, and there were no others in
communication with them who could supply the information that North
and South America were one immense island. Evidently the Lord had
revealed this fact to them. And, by the way, this simple statement is
strong testimony of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon. At
the time that this portion of the sacred plates was translated (A. D.
1827-8), or even when the whole book was published and the Church of
Jesus Christ was organized (A. D. 1830), it was not known to modern
science that the American continent was indeed an island. Joseph Smith
could not have received knowledge of this fact, so unhesitatingly
affirmed, from any learned geographer or practical navigator. The hope
of centuries, in Europe, had been to discover a north-west passage to
India, but to that date all attempts had met with disastrous failure,
so far as the chief object was concerned. Little or nothing was then
known of the North American coast, west of Hudson's Bay. It was not
until, after repeated expeditions, that in May, 1847, the truth
of the statement of Jacob could be affirmed from actual knowledge
of the geographical features of the country, as at that date the
explorations and surveys by land and sea, from east and west, were
brought sufficiently near to leave the matter without a doubt. It was
not until 1854 that the first ship's crew (that of Captain McClure),
which ever sailed across the Arctic Ocean from the Pacific to the
Atlantic, along the northern coast of America, returned from their
perilous voyage. We thus find that human geographical knowledge could
not have aided the prophet Joseph Smith in making this statement, had
it originated with him and not with the son of Lehi.
While ancient Greek and other philosophers were groping among the
fallacies of the absurd system of astronomy given to the world by
Ptolemy, and teaching that the sun with all the stars revolved around
the earth, the Nephites were in possession of the true knowledge with
regard to the heavenly bodies, etc. Possibly they were the only people
of their age blessed with a comprehension of these sublime truths. It
is altogether probable that among their scriptures were copies of the
Book of Abraham, from which they could acquaint themselves with the
beauties and harmonies of celestial mechanism. They undoubtedly had
the writings of Joseph, the son of Jacob, as these are quoted in the
Book of Mormon; and, as the prophet Joseph Smith found the writings of
Abraham and Joseph together in the Egyptian mummies, it is far from
improbable that the Nephites, as well as the early Egyptians, possessed
both. To show the astronomical knowledge possessed by the Nephites, we
will draw attention to the words of two of their prophets. The first
extract is from the reply of Alma to Korihor, the Anti-Christ (B. C.
75), when the latter asked for a sign to prove the existence of a God.
His words are: Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God?
Will ye say, Show unto me a sign, when ye have the testimony of all
these thy brethren, and also all the holy prophets? The scriptures
are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea,
even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and
its motion; yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular
form, doth witness that there is a Supreme Creator. The next quotation
is from the reflections of one of the servants of God (probably Mormon)
inserted into the Nephite history of about seventy years later. The
writer is speaking of the greatness and goodness of God, and among
other things declares: Yea, by the power of his voice doth the whole
earth shake; yea, by the power of his voice doth the foundations rock,
even to the very center; yea, and if he say unto the earth, move it, it
is moved; yea, if he say unto the earth, thou shalt go back, that it
lengthen out the day for many hours, it is done; and thus according to
his word, the earth goeth back; and it appeareth unto man that the sun
standeth still; yea, and behold, this is so; for sure it is the earth
that moveth, and not the sun. Thus we find that in these points, the
astronomical knowledge of the Nephites was, at least equal to that of
the moderns.