Monday, August 23, 2021

Abraham Lincoln on extinct giants

Book of Mormon geography and historicity is not complicated. Moroni explained that the history of the Jaredites was the history of those who lived in "this north country." (Ether 1:1) Separately, he told Joseph that "the history of the aborigenes of this country... was written and deposited not far from" Joseph's home.

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/69

Because Mormon and Moroni wrote the history not far from Joseph's home near Palmyra, NY, and because Moroni explained that the Jaredites lived in "this" north country, we can see that the Jaredites lived in the "north country" that included western New York.  

It's very simple (unless you've been persuaded by M2C scholars and their followers who insist the prophets were wrong about Cumorah, that Oliver was an ignorant speculator, etc.)

Those of us Latter-day Saints who still believe the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah know about the ancient giants who lived in "this north country" as Moroni described it. 

And it came to pass that they ate and slept, and prepared for death on the morrow. And they were large and mighty men as to the strength of men. (Ether 15:26)

In Moroni's America I quoted what Abraham Lincoln said about the "race of extinct giants" when he visited Niagara Falls. The original, with a link, is below.

The eyes of that species of extinct giants - whose bones fill the mounds of America, have gazed on Niagara as ours do now....

https://www.loc.gov/resource/mal.4167500/?sp=14&st=text&r=0.009,0.502,1.184,0.623,0

page 14.

In the late 1800s there were newspaper accounts from that area describing the discovery of giant human skeletons deep in the ground. Some from Cayuga and Dunnville are included below.

(click to enlarge)


Note the proximity of Cayuga and Dunnville to both Niagara and Cumorah.






Another book described the mummies found in Lexington, Kentucky.

Friday, August 6, 2021

Translation art

The best depiction of the translation is still on the Church's web page.

https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/content/joseph-smith-translates-the-gold-plates?lang=eng

(click to enlarge)











This image is exceptionally important because it shows the curtain or screen that was common knowledge. If not for the screen, the Spalding theory would have made no sense. The whole point of the book Mormonism Unvailed was to explain what was behind the "vail" when Joseph dictated. This is one way we can tell that the SITH sayers (stone-in-the-hat) witnesses were not observing the actual translation, but instead merely a demonstration.

It would be even better if this image showed the Urim and Thummim, but this is far more historically and doctrinally accurate than the goofy SITH images. So far, I haven't seen a single SITH image that aligns with David Whitmer's description of the demonstration, with the people gathered around the table and the three scribes ready to take turns because Joseph was dictating so fast.