On the Trail of the Plates of Mormon

Here is part of two letters I sent to the publisher of the Archives. I am by no means an expert on languages. I just did some digging on Google and found the information I was looking for.

Letter 1:

“I translated the word Nemenhah from an unlikely source. It means “many fish of two waters”. I believe this is a reminder to the people of where they came from. They are like the fish of the sea who have migrated from another area. The two waters is in reference that their ancestors came from across two waters- the Atlantic and the Pacific. The fish could be representing Hagoth, who travels upon the sea and fish are sometimes migratory. Whales were at one time thought to be fish and Hagoth’s expedition survived on large fish in the Gulf of Mexico. The hah part is Egyptian and may have come from the god Huh, the god of millions and when used as a verb means to search continually. Hagoth was searching for a long time for a land of his own away from the Gadiatonhem.
How did I learn of all this? From a reference in David Stewart, jr’s work on the Four Sons of Horus found on 72languages.com http://www.72languages.com/foursonsofhorus.pdf . If you read the section on his explanation of the hieroglyphics and their true meanings you will find a symbol exactly the same as in Sahnempet page 19. The double chevron means waters and is mem and the single chevron is fish and is nun. The symbol for hah may be the original cuneiform . David Stewart has said that the Egyptians sometimes mixed cuneiform and hieroglyphic. The Egyptians may have lost or changed the original cuneiform to it’s present form. I need to study more on cuneiform to know for sure. “Hah” I have found usually with names of royalty or people.
This morning I was reading a little bit of Sweet Breezes paper you sent me and there was a part where she talks about the Jaredite languages. When I saw the symbols for the Nemenhah a light bulb went off. I was able to read the symbols and they looked familiar. So, I went back to 72languages.com and looked for that reference. Everything was the same except for the Hah part, which I learned from other sources. I am going to try to figure out the rest of the symbols on the page and on the figure on the first page of the Books. So, unless you know David Stewart and his work which I don’t believe you do, this is another good hit for authenticity of the records. After I get a reply from you I will post this on my blog. Just thought I would share this with you first.
Let know what you think. By the way, has anyone else done this kind of research on the archives? Just curious.
Talk to you later.
Randy”

Letter 2:

“I found out some more things on the word Nemenhah. Nemen is yiddish for trustee or to get/take:
http://www.wikiled.com/yiddish-english-nemen-Default.aspx
http://www.wikiled.com/English-yiddish-trustee-Default.aspx
http://www.cs.uky.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/~raphael/dictionary.cgi

• nem verb, participle genumen, take, begin (with infinitive)
  • ayngenem adjective, pleasant ongenem adjective, ongenemen adjective, angenem adjective
    • umayngenem(אומאײַנגענעם) adjective, umongenem adjective, umangenem adjective, unpleasant
  • oyf mi’ttsunemen = oyf aroystsunemen take-out (food)
• nemen_(נאמן) plural nemonem(נאמנים), gender m, trusted person
• nomen plural nemen, gender m, name

With these definitions you would get son of trusted one. Put all these definitions together you would get: Take the names of the son of the trusted person. Since Nemenhah could be read either way, left to right or right to left you would still get the same meaning. Right to left: son of trusted one. Left to right: trusted one of son. A father and son trusted line.
One more thing. Nemen is a river in Lithuania. It is the English version of Nemunas. It means river. The Nemunas is considered the father of all rivers in Lithuania. The same as the Colorado River. The people of Hagoth were first people of the river. The Colorado River could be considered the father of all rivers. You said “hah” means comes from. The people of Hagoth comes from the river.
If anyone outside the tribe questions on whether this is a made up name, you can show them these e-mails with my explanations. Between the Egyptian root meanings and the Hebrew definitions this is definitely a true word and not made up. I know you you have always believed this but to someone just learning the Archives and the tribal name this may seem like a made up name. I wonder if someone did a study like this with the other names of the archives they would find greater meanings behind the people.”

If this is a made up word someone did a lot of research to cover everything. I don’t believe it is after this little bit of research. Too many coincidences not to be.

Here is a part of the commentary on the Mentinah Archives over at Greaterthings .

“Mentinah” Inserted Alphabetically in the NT Lexicon

“Mentinah” inserts between word 3304 (menounge: “yes indeed, yes verily”) and word 3305 (mentoi; “indeed, truly, certainly) in the New Testament lexicon. Word 3303 also means “indeed truly.”

Prior to that is a very interesting and remarkable phenomenon. In his numbering of the words of the New Testament, James Strong went from 3202 to 3303, skipping the numbers 3203 through 3302. This typographical error is the only numbering error in both the New and Old Testament lexicons. Despite this singular error, James Strong’s numbering has been the standard for over a century. In our context, this omission conveys the idea of something “missing,” — additional scripture now found in this case.

The word following 3305 is meno: “to remain, abide, dwell, live,” conveying the idea of this account of those who dwelt in America beyond those recorded in the Book of Mormon.”

This is very interesting information which further shows me that these are authentic records or the work of a very brilliant person. From what I have learned already I chose to believe that these are authentic records.

I just added a new map I created of the Nephite Lands. I incorporated information from the Mentinah Archives. This is what I believe is a more complete picture of the Book of Mormon lands and with further research, I should be able to find more information to back up my claims. All information is, of course, a matter of interpretation but I hope I can show that my theory is the correct one. As I said, in my previous post, Joseph Smith is my foundation to my theory and in latter posts I will show you more that he is correct in all his claims such as Lehi landing just south of Panama, there is only one Cumorah, Zelph was known all the way to the Rocky Mountains, etc. I hope to show this through Native American traditions and through archaeological discoveries, even ones that are controversial on the surface.

Here is the new map I created:

I just read this great article, Reconsidering Book of Mormon Geography, from David Stewart, Jr’s website 72languages.

From my understanding of the article, the author believes in the hemispheric model. He shows a very strong argument for this model. The only point I don’t agree with is the others in the land section. I have shown on this blog that there were others in the land even though it doesn’t specifically say that in the Book of Mormon.

The main reason for this post is to show you why I believe Joseph Smith is the foundation of my theory.

From the article:

“Smarter than the Prophet?
Lucy Mack Smith, mother of the prophet Joseph Smith, recorded that Joseph “would describe the ancient inhabitants of this continent, their dress, their manner of traveling, the animals which they rode, the cities that they built, and the structure of their buildings with every particular; their mode of warfare, and their religious worship as specifically as though he had spent his life with them.”
As the translator of the Book of Mormon who received numerous divine visitations from the Angel Moroni, keeper of the sacred records, and inspired prophet of the Restoration, Joseph Smith was in a unique position to provide insight into Book of Mormon peoples. The early brethren, who had been taught directly by Joseph Smith, recorded a nearly unanimous belief in hemispheric spread of Book of Mormon peoples. Joseph Smith’s pronouncements about Book of Mormon peoples ought to be carefully studied in any interpretation of Book of Mormon geography.”

This statement says what I believe perfectly. I have said in an earlier post that Joseph Smith was the only true expert on the Book of Mormon history and researchers seem to have pushed him aside and dismissed his statements. They always say we don’t know whether it was by revelation or his own opinion. How can we argue against and challenge the first Prophet and the early brethren based on this statement? Joseph Smith brought into this world a history of the North American people that is being challenged by both LDS and non-LDS members. He provided some of the answers that historians and the people in general have been asking since the Europeans arrived here. Where did the Native Americans come from and what is their history? They have told a few people that they came over from the lands of the west and yet researchers refuse to believe them. Who else would know more about their history? Only Joseph Smith. He gave us specific answers in the Book of Mormon of at least one line of descendants from Israel. The Book of Mormon only talks about the Nephite history. It was never meant to be a history of other New World people. There are other records, like the Mentinah records, that talk about these other people. And numerous archaeological discoveries have shown that many different people came here from all over the world. In my last post, I briefly talked about the Phoenicians setting up colonies in Central America. How do we know that they didn’t migrate north and settled parts of North America and lived with the Jaredites? Maybe they mixed at one point but through wars and famine the population was nearly wiped out before Lehi came.

To recap my theory, I believe that the Nephites were pushed northward by the Lamanites over a thousand year period. Whenever the Church or the people were about to be destroyed the Lord moved the Nephites to another location and restarted the Church there. I am slowly incorporating the Nemenhah history from the Mentinah Archives into this theory and other sources of information that I have found to support my ideas. It will take me a while to get all this down on this blog but I have plenty of time. I have a lot of source material that I have gathered to present on this blog and I continue searching the internet for more and new information.

This is the title of a public domain book published in 1892 that I found at the Internet Archive. I know there is a lot of speculation and theories that they came to the New World from the Atlantic side but this author has shown through architecture, ancient texts, artifacts found in Central America, etc. that they originally  came across the Pacific Ocean. He linked together all the archaeological discoveries and cultural similarities found from India through the South Sea Islands to South America and Central America. His map of the Phoenician route is very similar to the current maps of Lehi’s travel to the New World. This is the best theory I have read on early migrations of Old World people.

This is one of my favorite passages of this book found on page 29:

“The ruins of Mexico and Central America present so many different architectural styles, that it seems very
probable that they were built at different times, and by different peoples. Those which appear to be oldest,
and which are most uniform in style are, the substructures in Maya-pam.”

The author also gives a great discussion on the Aztec calender or water stone. He sees it as a mariner’s compass that the Phoenicians used in their sea travels. There is a lot of possible research that could be done based on this book and could answer some questions on Mayan and Aztec history.

You can download the book online here:

Phoenicians in America

In my previous post, I mentioned a passage from the Mentinah Archives that talked about people coming from other lands and visiting the Nemenhah people.

Here is that passage and a great discussion on seeking the Holy Spirit in all things.

Manti 3:3

3. For behold, we did as a people build many cities in my lifetime. Yea, many cities did grow up in the land.
And following the everlasting hills, one can hardly travel one day without finding refuge in one of the
cities of the Nemenhah in the Land Northward. And from the great mountains even to the coasts of the
western sea, the same does apply. The traveler can disembark on the coast of the sea, having traveled
from the Isles of the Sea, and then proceed east and not spend one day in travel but that he has not come
upon a city of the Nemenhah for refuge in the night.

4. And behold, from the great mountains traveling into the east, one is already in the lands of the Nemenhah of Corianton and their cities are spread out upon the whole face of the land, even unto the eastern sea, and also far into the north. Wherefore, the whole face of the Land Northward is spread with cities and many roads have been built to connect them.

5. Yea, and all the people do engage in trade together, one city taking of its increase and trading with
another. In this way, one city is no different than any other, save only perhaps in size. For, they are all
refuges to the traveler and the trader, and none are turned back from the gate. For, whereas in the time of
my fathers the cities were built to be refuges against the Gadiantonhem, in my day, the cities are become
more refuges from the elements than from evil doers. For, we have all things in common and there are no
more Gadiantonhem among us.

6. And it is because of this happy state of union wherein we did find ourselves because of the knowledge we had of our Christ and of the covenants we had made unto Him, that many people began to come into our lands from other parts of the world and we did welcome them. Yea, there were people from Jerusalem of old who did travel unto our shores. And also, there were curious looking people from afar to the West,
even across the western sea, who did come to live upon the land and they also became Nemenhah. And
this because of the great peace which we did enjoy after the coming of the Son of God.

7. And behold, they do also bring many of their own beliefs and writings. Wherefore, we gained a witness that God does love all people. For, in many of their writings and beliefs and practices, we do see elements of those things which Christ and the prophets taught us. Yea, we do see truths in the things they also taught us from their lands and their cultures. And it was because we do walk upon the Way and we do constantly seek the guidance that only a confirmation of the Holy Ghost may bring that we do not grow confused.

8. For, our faith is certain and our knowledge is sure. Wherefore, how may we be confused by the teachings
of other races and other nations if our own intentions are pure and our eye single to the glory of God? For
does He not raise up prophets unto all nations? Or, where the things of the Spirit are concerned, are we
alone in all the world? Behold, that would be pride indeed, to believe that God may only talk through the
Nemenhah.

9. We are not alone. For, the Holy Ghost does work upon the hearts of men everywhere. And, even if it so
be that the hearts of men in general do wax gross, yea, and even the whole of a nation does succumb and
the eyes of their spirits be filled with darkness, still, there shall be some few who strive to become
enlightened. Unto such will the Spirit ever hasten? Yea, even though the entire nation become filled with
corruption and darkness, if there be but one soul seeking the light and truth of the gospel, the Holy Ghost
shall nurture and comfort that one soul.

10. Wherefore, we did accept the teaching of other peoples insofar as the Spirit does guide. And if the Spirit speaks not on a certain matter, we do not embrace the doctrine, but we do honor the belief. But behold, if the Spirit testifies against a practice or a doctrine which did flow unto us from another people, we do preach the gospel unto them and admonish them to re-think the matter. In this way we do always conduct ourselves in a manner which we believe will bring upon us the approbation of a just and loving God. And in this we think to avoid the judgments of God. For, we seek all truth in all circumstances, and in this we think to honor God and all His followers, regardless of their origin.

11. But I do warn and forewarn all those who might find and read these writings of mine. Seek not truth from foreigners, but from God. And seek not to confirm the truth through the writings of other people, for this is vanity. The wisest of their wise men cannot confirm the truth of one thing. Let the Holy Ghost confirm all things unto you, be they written by your own hand, or by the hand of a foreigner. For, how can one man confirm the truth to another? Does he have all things before him? Then how can one nation confirm the truth to another? Does that nation possess all truth? Wherefore can that nation be a confirmation of truth unto another? Whereas, if you seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost in all things, you cannot be deceived, for, only the Spirit may bring all things to your remembrance.

12. Behold, I say unto you, Unless you are guided in all things by the Spirit, you will be tripped up. Yea, no
matter your intention, you will be deceived from time to time. The same has happened even to the
Nemenhah and so let our experience be an example unto you. Yea, let me recount unto you a disturbance
that did trouble the people of Mentinah for a time because they failed to subject all things unto the
confirmation of the Holy Ghost.

In the next few lines, Manti talks about a foreigner who believed in everything the Nemenhah taught except in plural marriages. This idea spread throughout the Nemenhah people until the elders prayed about this teaching and found out it was not correct. They taught the foreigner and the people the correct principle. The foreigner went back to his own lands and taught the people what he learned.

There is a lot I can talk about with this passage. This during the time after Christ visited the Nemenhah and the Nephites. You can see how there was peace in the land and the conditions that existed. Every effort was made to keep the Gadiatonhem from the lands. Cities were built throughout the land and they became refuges. I have read elsewhere, I believe in Moronihah, that the cities were kept small so that the resources surrounding the cities were not used up too quickly. I believe these might be the Moundbuilder people. This passage says that people even came from as far as Jerusalem to visit and left records. Now, I wonder how these people from Israel knew about the Nemenhah or even people living in North America. There must have been trading going on or early explorations to these lands. These records might similar to the ones that have been found throughout the United States, ie, Michigan and Burrows Tablets, amongst other artifacts that have been found that predate these findings. In another post, I will show you a public domain book that shows that at least the Phoenicians knew one route through the Pacific. In the same paper, it even mentioned Jewish sea traders, so maybe North America was known to the Jews but kept it a secret. This is an area I will like to explore more later on.

Throughout the Archives, seeking the Holy Spirit in all things seem to be the main theme when learning knew things, especially the things of God. This passage is very clear on seeking the Holy Spirit even reading Manti’s own writings. This is also one of the main teachings of the LDS Church. We are told to seek the Spirit in all things, even the words of the Prophet. The closer we are to the Spirit the closer we are to God and Christ.

In this post, I will talk about how non-LDs researchers are slowly changing their theories on how North America was settled and even in the past historians believed that different groups came to the New World over a long period of time. The prevailing theory is that all the Book of Mormon events took place in Central America. This is supported by FARMS and other popular research groups. They have done a lot of great research but I believe that they lost sight of what Joseph Smith taught and they won’t take into account ancient and more recent research into migrations in the New World.

I found this article over at livescience.com.

From the article:

New model

Waters puts forth a new model for how the first people populated the New World and it more than rules out the Clovis people as trend-setting firsts.

“What we now need to do is recognize the fact that Clovis is not first, and move on and start developing a new model for the peopling of the Americas,” Waters told LiveScience.

“We need to, once and for all, stop thinking of the peopling of the Americas as a single event,” he added, “and instead I think we need to start thinking of the peopling of the Americas as a process with people arriving at different times, taking different routes and coming from different places in northeast Asia.”

From the second link:

“ST. LOUIS—Ancient humans from Asia may have entered the Americas following an ocean highway made of dense kelp.

The new finding lends strength to the “coastal migration theory,” whereby early maritime populations boated from one island to another, hunting the bountiful amounts of sea creatures that live in kelp forests.”

And here is one more:

The first Americans may have been European.

“ST. LOUIS—The first humans to spread across North America may have been seal hunters from France and Spain.

This runs counter to the long-held belief that the first human entry into the Americas was a crossing of a land-ice bridge that spanned the Bering Strait about 13,500 years ago.”

So, as you can see, scientists, after almost 100 years, are slowly changing their theory that the first Americans came by the Bering Strait. Now, if these very primitive ancestors could travel and migrate like this what would stop other cultures from doing the same thing after a couple of thousand years of developing boats, ships, and navigation?

I have proposed on this blog that the Nephites and Lamanites migrated into North America over time and in various sizes of groups. Hagoth built ships and that there were shipping between North and Central America. I have shown that Hagoth brought many groups of Nephites into western United States. In the first books of the Mentinah Archives they talk about many migrations of people going to all parts of North America. These groups could have encountered the descendants of these early peoples and integrated with them, creating the Asian features found in Native Americans. This goes for the Jaredites, as well, when they first came to America about a thousand years before Lehi. These two groups brought advance technology and new customs to these early peoples creating a whole new culture. There are also evidence of other groups coming into the Americas, adding to the mix. The Asian features and customs may be dominate but why is there so many different kinds of artifacts from different parts of the world? This would suggest other groups came here by boat or that there were overseas trading.

This is from the History of Louisiana from 1718-1758 (main website):

“In fact, where is the impossibility, that some prince in one of those countries, upon failing in an attempt to raise himself to the sovereign power, should leave his native country with all his partizans, and look for some new land, where, after he had established himself, he might drop all foreign correspondence? The easy navigation of the South Sea renders the thing probable; and the new map of the eastern bounds of Asia, and the western part of North America, lately published by Mr. De Lisle, makes it still more likely. This map makes it plainly appear, that between the islands of Japan, or northern coasts of China, and those of America, there are other lands, which to this day have [83] remained unknown; and who will take it upon him to say there is not land, because it has never yet been discovered? I have therefore good grounds to believe, that the Mexicans, came originally from China or Japan, especially when I consider their reserved and uncommunicative disposition, which to this day prevails among the people of the eastern parts of Asia.

I well know that those who know antiquity only from the pagan authors, and who are in the habit of searching there for the origins of all things, will find it incomprehensible that the Chinese and Japanese were able to pass into America long before the Phoenicians (who are regarded as the first seafarers of the world), and were then called “Ancients of the Country” by the descendants of these first Phoenician colonists. But I implore them to consider that these same profane letters which appear to us as extremely remote, are in some sense modern by comparison to the sacred letters. The great establishments of the Phoenicians are placed by the best informed chronologists around the time of the [84] flight of the Israelites from Egypt, and it was without a doubt a long time after this, that they dared to risk themselves on the ocean, and founded Cadiz. But since Diodorus Siculus implicates the Carthaginians in the discovery of America, one can only suppose that this happened long after the enlargement of Carthage by Dido, and since this republic was jealous of the Tuscans, navigation having lately flourished in Italy, it seems fitting to the honor of these ancient mariners, to fix the time of their first voyages to the New World one hundred years before the first Punic War. And this war began 264 years before Jesus Christ, some five hundred years after the retreat of Dido to Carthage, and twelve or thirteen hundred years after the flight from Egypt.”

There are recorded stories of a group of Jews that landed in Mexico and created the city, Tula and became the Toltecs. These Jews, from what I have read, fled from Moses while they were wandering in the desert.

And this from the History of Alabama:

“In 1822, Big Warrior, who then ruled the Creek confederacy, confirmed this tradition, even going further back than Milfort, taking the Muscogees from Asia, bringing them over the Pacific, landing them near the Isthmus of Darien, and conducting them from thence to this country. “My ancestors were a mighty people. After they reached the waters of the Alabama and took possession of all this country, they went further — conquered the tribes along the Chattahoochie, and upon all the rivers from thence to the Savannah — yes, and even whipped the Indians then living in the territory of South Carolina, and wrestled much of their country from them.”

And there is also a reference in the Mentinah Archives about people coming from the lands across the great waters to the west. It will take me a while to find but when I do I will add it here.

What I am wondering is why has it taken so long for scientists and historians to relearn and rediscover our history? Because of lack of evidence or arrogance? It would seem to me that the Native Americans would know more about our past than we do. It is in their stories and legends. And everybody laughed at Joseph Smith for presenting the very same ideas and translated a book that no one will take seriously because they can’t see it with their own eyes. This goes for the Mentinah Archives, as well. These archives have a lot of history that can be shown in ancient texts and research. I have to say that researchers into the Book of Mormon history better rethink their theories about how North America was settled or else they will fall into the same category as the scientists and historians. My theory is becoming more and more real in light of all this research. The point of this post was to show that there are alternative theories to the Book of Mormon history and that the idea that the Nephites and other groups migrated over time into the United States, as I have shown from the Book of Mormon and other sources, is largely ignored by LDS scholars. So far, I have not found any references to this idea, at least on the Internet. I hope someone will at least consider what I have presented on this blog and take up more research into this area and give me some credit for it.

In this post, I will talk about a few outside references that may support the idea that Hagoth and Nephites settled in the Colorado River area and north.

From the Book of Hagoth:

12) Now, the journey through this part of the land became exceedingly strait, for we had thought to find a rich land with game and provision. But we could not ascertain the nature of the land because of the exceedingly steepness and the height of the precipice. Here and there we found places to land but they were sparing and we found no game and little provision. Yea, and the water was plentiful but, being muddy, it was of questionable worth to drink. Yea, our suffering was great, for we were unprepared and hasty. And it came to pass that our suffering became so great because of the heat that some of our people drank heavily of the water of the river and became exceedingly ill with fevers and with flux. For, the water was only sound for cooking and was unsafe to drink. Wherefore, when the women and children, when the food was gone and the water being at hand, did put forth their hands from the boats and drank of it freely from the river, then verily did they begin to suffer exceedingly, for the water was heavy and unfit to drink.
20) And it was ninety and three days from the time we left our brethren at the mouth of the great river and that was in the thirty and eighth year of the reign of the judges over the Nephites. Yea, we traveled up the great river ninety and three days and we came to a place where the river became wide and there were great fields of grass on both sides of the river. In this place the river made a great turning, whereas it had run somewhat into the east parts, it now turned again northward. At this great bending in the river we disembarked and built our settlement. And I, Hagoth, sent four of our young men back down the river to give our brethren word of our success and instructions for safely traveling through the canyons. For there was also much wood in the mountains and we were desirous to set up trade by shipping with those who settled at the mouth of the river, for there the land was barren and they had no wood.
21) Now, the river was heavy with red earth, and the walls of the canyons through which we had traveled were red, wherefore, we called the river Akish, which being interpreted means “red earth”. And the city which the Nephites built was called Akish-hah, after the name of the river. The city which we built the people called Hagohah after the manner of the Nephites, but to most it has been known as the city of Hagoth. This my people did to honor me, for I built the ships and the boats upon which we traveled to the Land Northward.

I believe the great bend of the river is the junction of the Muddy, Virgin, and Colorado Rivers on the North end of Lake Meade. One of the best evidence of early settlements that I have found is the Lost City, just east of Las Vegas, Nevada.

From the website:

Nevada’s “Lost City”, officially known as Pueblo Grande de Nevada is a series of Anasazi Indian ruins situated along the Muddy and Virgin River Valleys in southern Nevada. The site area is located at the northern end of man-made Lake Mead and continues up both valleys for a distance of approximately 30 miles. There are more than a 100 recorded sites along the Muddy River and over 50 recorded sites along the Virgin River. The Lost City was occupied by the Virgin branch of the Anasazi, originally by the Basketmaker people sometime after the first century A.D. and later by the Puebloans from A.D. 700 to 1150. Some of the sites were reoccupied by the Paiute Indians who moved into the area after A.D. 1000. The Basketmakers lived in sub-terrain pit houses that were 10 to 15 feet in diameter and approximately 6 feet deep. They used spears for hunting and their name is derived from their use of baskets as storage vessels. The later Puebloans lived in above ground pueblos (houses made of sticks and adobe). They had the additional knowledge of the bow and arrow and manufactured ceramic vessels for storage and cooking.

Could this be part of the cities of Hagoth? We may never know for sure but this archaeological site is very close to the time when Hagoth traveled up the river. I have read elsewhere that there were other settlements that were found along the bottom of the Grand Canyon that were flooded by Lake Meade and Lake Powell. The people of the Book of Hagoth and other books of the Archives could be the Anasazi and the Fremont peoples of the areas north of the Colorado River. One of the things I was thinking about when I read that the Nephites settled in the same areas as Hagoth’s cities was that these Nephites are the Anasazi, “the enemy” of the Nemenhah and the Nemenhah are the Fremont people of Utah.

3) The Nephites in the Land Southward rejected the prophets of God and for this cause they became lifted up in pride. Yea, I saw them become wicked and those Nephites our neighbors who had come up into the Land Northward were also eventually overcome by pride and by greed. Yea, they did use up the land in their lust to obtain riches and they brought all people into bondage for the sake of their secret oaths and combinations. Yea, even the trees they did destroy in their greed, for the land in which Hagoth and his people first settled was rich with timber. Nevertheless, the country was dry so that the Nemenhah did carefully select the trees they cut, lest they destroy the forests. But when the Nemenhah departed out of the land, the Nephites came into the land and took it unto themselves, yea, both the land and the cities the
Nemenhah had built. And they cut all the trees for trade with the Land Southward. Yea, they destroyed the forests and denuded the mountains for gain, and the streams and smaller rivers gave out and the whole
land became barren. And all this was done to satisfy their lust for riches. In the end, this imprudence caused the flow of the river Akish to so diminish that it could no longer be used to transport the logs to the Land Southward. Wherefore the Nephites were deprived of further gain and the more part of them left the land where Hagoth, my father, first settled. Now this was pleasing unto the Nemenhah, for we desired no commerce with them.
38) But behold, the Nemenhah who followed me were not as numerous, for we were builders and loved the
mountains. Yea, we liked not continually to move but preferred to establish ourselves in one place. Wherefore, we found a valley that abounded in game and had much water and timber, and we built us a city there. And it was amidst the mountains west and north of the river Akish and between our mountain fastness and the fair land which we had left was a wasteland of exceedingly barrenness. Now this was wisdom in us, for the bands of robbers did nothing but for gain and to traverse the barrens would have been too costly for them. Therefore, we did use them as a natural frontier and a bulwark against them.
39) And the valley in which we established ourselves we called Menintah, for there was much salt in the southern part of the valley. And the land of Menintah was indeed a fastness for the Nemenhah, for it could only be approached from the south by way of a narrow canyon, and from the west by a narrow canyon, and from the north through an exceedingly narrow defile. Wherefore, we established ourselves in a place that was easily defended and we built a beautiful city.

40) Now the Gadiantonhem ceased to take notice of us for we traded not into the south but maintained commerce only to the north with our brethren. For we opened and maintained roads and trails into the Land Northward following the mountains that extended exceedingly far into the north. Wherefore, we had good trade routes to the north that led out onto the plains and we maintained good concourse with our brethren in the north. But we closed all roads to the Land Southward, for we desired no contact with the Gadiantonhem.

The languages of the tribes of the Colorado Plateau and the southwest is very similar to Aztec which researchers call Uto-Azetcan. If you notice on the map on this page it is the same areas as is described in the Book of Hagoth and Hagmeni.

From the article:

Uto-Aztecan (also Uto-Aztekan) is a Native American language family. It is one of the largest (both in geographical extension and number of languages) and most well-established linguistic families of the Americas. The Uto-Aztecan languages are found from the Great Basin of the Western United States (Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Utah, California, Nevada, Arizona), through Mexico. Utah is named after the indigenous Uto-Aztecan Ute people. Classical Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, and its modern relatives are part of the Uto-Aztecan family.

And finally, there is the Cocopa tribe of the Colorado Delta who have lived in this area for hundreds of years. They describe a lifestyle and an area very similar to that found in the Book of Hagoth.

While all this is not proof of authenticity of these archives it gives us some things to think about while reading the texts. Just like the Book of Mormon and all the research that supports it the archives have shown that there is another history we should be considering when we research Native American history. If these archives were to be taken seriously like the Book of Mormon we could have almost all of our questions answered regarding our ancient American past. These texts have opened a whole new world to me and has answered a lot of questions that I had concerning the Book of Mormon. Although I still don’t understand some of the spiritual lessons taught, the physical history described is too close to real world discoveries for me to ignore.

This is just a quick post. I found this website the other day while looking for information on brass plates.

From the website:

“Welcome to the Harold B. Lee Library and this extraordinary exhibition of ancient Roman military diploma plates, dating from 109 A.D.

The bronze plates on display are some of the best preserved in the world. These plates, issued by order of the Roman emperor Trajan, are an example of double, sealed, witnessed documents.”

This yet another example of ancient writing on metal plates that has shown that ancient people did preserve their writings on metal. Maybe Joseph Smith was right, after all…

A commenter suggested that I should include some spiritual messages from the Archives in my posts. I have been thinking about this and I decided to include passages from a book from the archives and maybe a comment or two. I will do this from time to time in between my discussions in ancient history. So, with this said, here is a passage from the Record of Sahnepet, the son of Hagmeni who is the son of Hagoth (Volume 1).

2)Behold, I am Sahnempet, the son of Hagmeni, even the eldest of my brethren and, before his death, my father ordained me a high priest and commanded me to keep the records of my family. Now this is the custom of the Nemenhah, that each family considers their works and keeps a record of them. And these records are kept in the vaults in the mountains. Thus we preserve our good customs and traditions and are not carried away by the teachings of men.

I believe the beginning of this record is the rest of the story from 3 Nephi Chapter 1. The Prophet Nephi departed out of the land of Zarahemla and the reason no knew where he went is because he had to leave quietly and secretly, as explained in line 14:

14) Now, behold, but one lunar after my father died, the very aged prophet Nephi arrived from the Land Southward with a very small band of followers. For they had been forced to travel in secret and disguised in the Land Southward and had made their way but slowly. And when he arrived among us, he grieved to find his friend Hagmeni dead and laid to rest in the tombs.

Please read the rest of the Record of Sahnempet to better understand this story and compare it to 3 Nephi 1. They are very similar and tells the state of the Nephites in the land of Zarahemla before and after the coming of Christ.

This record has a lot of interesting information but this is one of my favorite passages:

16) Behold, Nephi, the prophet, did clarify how the Lord would come and I testify that it was just as my father had taught to me before he died. And these are the words that the prophet Nephi taught the Nemenhah concerning the sign:

17) Verily, Samuel prophesied and gave the sign whereby we might know that the time is at hand that the Lord our God is come to redeem His people. Be not troubled by this and contend not. For we know that the Son of God shall be born of a virgin fair in the land of Jerusalem, out of which our father Lehi took his journey into the wilderness. Yea, did not the Prophet Alma teach that the virgin most precious should be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost and bring forth a Son, even the Son of God? And was not Nephi of old taught by the Angel that the virgin whom he saw was the mother of the Son of God after the manner of the flesh? And again, do we not read in the Brass Plates the words of Isaiah, wherein he said,

18) Behold, a virgin shall conceive and shall bear a Son, and shall call His name Emanuel.

19) Therefore, the scriptures do teach us the manner of His coming unto the world.

20) Yea, verily I say unto you, He shall be born into the world in the meridian of time and I ask you the same question the Angel asked Nephi of old:

21) Do you know the condescension of God? For the Son was already perfect and needed no life of man, no line upon line, to become even as the Father is. Nay, He was perfect already. It is so that we may become perfect that He condescended once again to live as man lives and to take upon Him the elements of the world He had created. One life more was He willing to sacrifice, one life for all, worlds without end, so that mankind could, by the power of the Holy Ghost, take from Him dominion over earthly matter and ascend with Him into that place where the Father dwells. For He has descended all things, yea, He is in the sun and in the moon and in the stars, for they were made by Him. And He is in the earth, for it is His footstool. Yea, even all the elements of creation do obey His voice because they are His. Therefore, His sacrifice is great, that He should do so much for us. This is the condescension of God, to be born as men are born, and to live as men live, that none may say He is not justified.

22) Wherefore, marvel not and contend not. The sign for which we wait and which is nigh upon us, shall be the sign of His birth. Therefore shall there be signs in the heavens. Yea, even a new star shall show itself in the sky, one that your learned men have never yet seen. Yea, and there shall be no night, but there shall be a day, a night and a day, when the Child is born, and many other signs and wonders shall you see.

23) Verily, He shall grow up among His own, even among those whom our Fathers left behind in the land of Jerusalem. And He shall learn as we all must learn, and He shall grow from line to line and light to light, yea, precept by precept, except that He shall learn from the Father and from Angels.

24) But behold, He will be born unto His own people, and there He shall call righteous men and He shall establish His Church and His righteousness and many shall believe. But the more part of His own people in the land of Jerusalem are as the people of Zarahemlah. They are puffed up and wicked, and they shall reject their King and shall even put Him to death. So shall the Son of Man die as to the manner of men just as He was born as to the manner of men. Then shall the grave take Him into that mysterious bondage of death, just as you and I shall go down captive into the earth. And this is needful, that He may say that surely He did descend all things.

In just this one passage, we have references from the Old Testament, New Testament, and the Book of Mormon. I believe that the description of Jesus Christ on line 21 is the best description I have read in a long time. In just one line Sahnempet describes Jesus Christ as He truly is, the Son of God. There is no ambiguity or confusion of words. He is the creator of worlds and He is perfect just as His Father is perfect.

In my next post, I will continue with my discussion of Hagoth’s travels.

In this post I will introduce Hagoth and his travels northward and how he relates to my map and theory. According to the Book of Mormon Hagoth was a builder of ships and was a very curious man.

Alma 63:5-8

5 And it came to pass that Hagoth, he being an exceedingly curious man, therefore he went forth and built him an exceedingly large ship, on the borders of the land Bountiful, by the land Desolation, and launched it forth into the west sea, by the narrow neck which led into the land northward.

6 And behold, there were many of the Nephites who did enter therein and did sail forth with much provisions, and also many women and children; and they took their course northward. And thus ended the thirty and seventh year.

7 And in the thirty and eighth year, this man built other ships. And the first ship did also return, and many more people did enter into it; and they also took much provisions, and set out again to the land northward.

8 And it came to pass that they were never heard of more. And we suppose that they were drowned in the depths of the sea. And it came to pass that one other ship also did sail forth; and whither she did go we know not.

When I was first working on my map I was wondering where he went northward. The only reference that we can use in relation to the current geography is the narrow neck of land. There are several possibilities. Florida, in which the Gulf of Mexico would be the west sea, Panama if the Book of Mormon took place in northern South America, the narrow neck of land near the Yucatan and southern Mexico, and Baja California. The best option I had was Baja California because I believe that he came from the Land of Zarahemla which, according to my theory, is in southern Mexico and Guatemala. The Pacific Ocean is the west sea, Bountiful is an area in southern Mexico and the land of Desolation was northern Mexico. I thought that maybe Hagoth and some Nephites settled along the Pacific coast. Well, I was partly right. Remember, I created this map before I read the Archives. In the Book of Hagoth from the Archives, Volume 1, he talks about traveling up the western coast of Mexico and eventually discovered and settled the Colorado River.

From the Book of Hagoth in Volume 1:

8 And it came to pass that we kept the land in sight, lest we become lost in the sea and we came to a place where there was land on the right hand and land afar off on the left hand for many days, and we traveled between the shores until they came together at the mouth of the great river of which I had been told and of which I have spoken.

9 Now, the water of the river was muddied as if it had traveled down from out of a mountainous place and where it emptied into the sea, it sullied the clear blue waters there. But there was an abundance of fish in this place, yea, even great marshal fish which provided much meat, and though the land was barren, some of our people desired to stay there because of the abundance of fish and other creatures of the sea that they could trade with our brethren in the Land Southward. Yea, the more part of them desired to stay and build a city, and they did establish themselves at the mouth of the river.

10 But I desired not to live in a barren land, for I was a builder in wood and behold, in the place where the river emptied into the great bay, there was no wood. Therefore, I was desirous to know of the land from whence the river flowed, for the waters contained much earth and it seemed reasonable to me that the land from whence the waters flowed must be exceedingly rich, to nourish a river so. Therefore, I took those families that would follow me and we fashioned smaller boats after the fashion of the Lamanites, which were propelled by oars; for our large ships used the wind to propel them and they were as great birds of the sea, pushed along upon the winds; and we took much provisions and we took our journey upon the river to see where it would lead us.

11 Therefore, I and twelve other of my brethren from among the Nephites and twelve of our brethren the Lamanites, took our families and our provisions and we made our expedition into the Land Northward. Behold we traveled a long way and the land was for many days barren and we found few streams that emptied into the river. Wherefore, it continued strange to us that so great a river should pass through such a dry land. Then we came to a place where the river had carved great canyons and precipices, even so much that the walls thereof surpassed by many times the height of the temples of the Nephites. Yea, so exceedingly tall were they in some places that even our strongest men could not climb to the tops thereof.

12 Now, the journey through this part of the land became exceedingly strait, for we had thought to find a rich land with game and provision. But we could not ascertain the nature of the land because of the exceedingly steepness and the height of the precipice. Here and there we found places to land but they were sparing and we found no game and little provision. Yea, and the water was plentiful but, being muddy, it was of questionable worth to drink. Yea, our suffering was great, for we were unprepared and hasty. And it came to pass that our suffering became so great because of the heat that some of our people drank heavily of the water of the river and became exceedingly ill with fevers and with flux. For, the water was only sound for cooking and was unsafe to drink. Wherefore, when the women and children, when the food was gone and the water being at hand, did put forth their hands from the boats and drank of it freely from the river, then verily did they begin to suffer exceedingly, for the water was heavy and unfit to drink.

13 Verily, when our suffering was the most acute, we put our boats in upon a small island of yellow sand and we turned them so that we could use them as a shelter from the sun, for the heat was great upon the river, and we cried unto the Lord and prepared ourselves for the inevitable end that we each knew was about to come upon us. Yea, so great was our suffering that we were all ready to give up the ghost, almost believing that there was no deliverance for us.

You can read the rest of the Book of Hagoth online here.

The Book of Hagoth

I was very excited about reading this book. It confirmed, at least in part, my map locations and Nephite settlements. This could be the story of the Anasazi that we are all familiar with. To be continued….