Lds research has focused on identifying the characteristics of the preclassic mayan culture, which does indeed cover the time period addressed by the book of mormon. Many book of mormon models attempt to match the olmec with the jaredites. Why did the lamanites sacrifice women and children to. Although human sacrifice was likely practiced in earlier times among the lehites, this is the first time it specifically recorded in the book of mormon. Ever since, the olmec have been talked about in scientific circles, book of mormon students have asked t hemselves the question, could this be our friends, the jaredites. Ever since, the olmec have been talked about in scientific circles, book of mormon students.
In the book of mormon, we see that the jaredites were the mother culture of the nephites. Supporters of the book of mormon claim it uses chiasmusa figure of speech utilizing inverted parallelismand claim it is evidence to support the books ancient origin. Why did the lamanites sacrifice women and children to idols. Mar 08, 2019 olmec iron the book of mormon mentions iron in a mineralogical context five times. The book of mormon is another witness of the life and ministry of the lord jesus christ, that he was and is gods son. I believe this is the case because, in my mind, jaredite history and olmec archeology seem to converge upon each other. Purpose of the book of mormon tour helps these single page descriptions of a specific book of mormon site are designed to provide pertinent information to the traveler about the site. Sorenson, an ancient american setting for the book of mormon salt lake city, deseret book, 1985. We know the olmecs lived around the gulf of mexico area near a huge water basin called the papaloapan water basin. In 1070 there was a civil war in the time of com mentioned in the book of mormon. These civilizations include the lowland and highland maya, the olmec culture, the zapotec culture, and the valley of mexico core culture. Olmec archaeological finds have discovered a city near san lorenzo beginning at the same time with the same social organization and the makings of monuments that coincide with the account in the book of mormon.
God commanded lehi to lead a small group of people to the american continent. Many current believers, including the lds church, have no strong position on whether or how to attribute the. Some contemporary religious believers of the book of mormon suggest that the jaredites were the olmec and that part of. The maya and the olmec have a written languagea requirement for book of mormon peoples, who kept records. Diehl was a wellwritten book that allows readers to truly understand the olmec civilization. It was at the temple in bountiful where christ appeared in a grand theophany to the gathered nephite survivors. Do latterday saints believe that mayan cities were inhabited by the nephites. Why is mesoamerica where the book of mormon took place. Mar, 2018 now, look at this comparison of early chinese shang writing to olmec writing. Some early20th century mormons claimed various archaeological findings such as place names, and ruins of the inca, maya, olmec, and other ancient american and old world civilizations as giving credence to the book of mormon record. The book of mormon mainly its book of ether describes the jaredites as the descendants of jared and his brother, who lived at the time of the tower. Uploaded with permission from unpopular lds evidence comuserdalessiokillervideos. For example, shiblom, shiz, shim, shez, shared, shule, shelem, kish, riplakish and akish.
Chiapas in mexico, previously overlooked in favor of olmec and mayan lands. Both the olmec culture and the jaredite culture reached their zenith around the same time period 1500 bc 600 bc. May 14, 2015 the jaredites are a dynastic lineage described in the book of mormon and not a unique nation or civilization. They repented not of their iniquity and were destroyed about 580 b. One of these, lehi, who lived in jerusalem around 600 b. Basically, the olmecs are the earliest civilization to be replaced by the maya. Jan 18, 2018 classic maya aztec mesoamerican timeline 2000 b. Archaeological evidence has placed ancient american peoples such as the olmecs, teotihuacans, zapotecs, mayans, and chiapas in various general locations in mesoamerica. The scientific legacy of a quest to prove the book of mormon. Oct 21, 2010 clark checks correlations between the book of mormon and mesoamerican archaeology by focusing on the rise and decline of cities. Additional convergences are found in the book of mormon account, including the destruction in 3 nephi 810, which is consistent with volcanic events accompanied by earthquakes. In olmec site of san lorenzo, they found over eight metric tons of worked iron ore in the shape o. The olmecs are thought to have been contemporaries with the jaredites, while the chiapas may possibly have been associated with some of the nephite peoples.
Apr 11, 2019 what he and his team have found will rewrite history and could have profound implications for the book of mormon. Jaredites, had a tremendous influence clear through until the end of book of mormon times. This series provides amazing evidences of people, places. Most archaeologists and scholars date the olmec culture between 2500 bc 300 bc though the book of mormon does not give exact dates for the jaredites. Both the archaeological record of the olmecs and the jaredite record in the book of mormon point to a catastrophic and violent civil war which destroyed the civilization. A common criticism is that lds associate the nephites andor lamanites. Apr 07, 2020 moreover, the inscription of stelae appears to have begun with the olmec, a mesoamerican culture that was contemporary with the book of mormons jaredites and if one follows john sorensons.
Book of mormon language, names, and metonymic naming nephites among the epiolmec in the isthmus of tehuantepec, ca. The mesoamerican cultures date from approximately 2500 b. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints mormons late president john taylor wrote. Relationship of the maya and the olmec to the lamanites and the jaredites. It is easy, therefore, to see why latterday saints typically associate the nephites or lamanites with the maya. Archaeological and historical evidence jareditesolmecs. Mesoamerica is the site of the only literate precolumbian population. Some mormons have suggested that the olmecs may be the jaredites recorded in the book of mormon because the archeological record seems to match. That sound made its way into later book of mormon languages and survived the centuries until today. However, the book mentions things that are not known to have been part of the olmec culture, such as iron, elephants, and written records. There are a number of similarities between the jaredite civilizations and the civilization called the olmecs by archeologists. Items do not represent the official views of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints or of book of mormon central. Leading experts of the early americas disavow the historicity of the book of mormon narrative.
In both mesoamerica and the book of mormon, the temple is a place where worshipers go to enter into the presence of the divine. This is the first of a 16part series providing evidences as to why the maya and olmec are the cultures described in the book of mormon. Popular history olmec books meet your next favorite book. Ether 15 describes the last great jaredite battle and says it was near a large body of water called ripliancum, or to exceed all.
They noticed that the olmec were being called the mother culture of mesoamerica. Most archaeologists and scholars date the olmec culture between 2500 bc 300 bc though the book of mormon does not give exact dates for the jaredites, 2500 bc 300 bc would be very close. Book of mormon tours which take interested members to see the lands of the book of mormon in mesoamerica. He is a great teacher, a brilliant scholar, and gifted with a sense of humor. The book of mormon has many instances of proper names with the sh sound. Why does the book of mormon include the rise and fall of two nations. Since 2017, inomata and triadan have been excavating a massive olmec site they named aguada fenix at the great bend of the san pedro river in balancan municipality, tabasco. The olmec jaredite connection simple version youtube. Mar 30, 2020 this is the first of a 16part series providing evidences as to why the maya and olmec are the cultures described in the book of mormon. However, the classic period occurs after book of mormon times. Further, both the chinese and the olmec languages share the syllable of xi, pronounced sh in both languages. Book of mormonlamanitesrelationship to amerindiansmaya and. Garth norman, bookofmormon geography study on the narrow neck of land region, privately circulated book of mormon geography working paper no. Views on book of mormon geography, privately circulated book of mormon working paper no.
Mormon and moroni are both jaredite names, so you can see that this mother culture, the. As the modern lds church tries to shore up belief in the prophet joseph smith and his special powers of translation, it continues to try to argue for something more than a fictional narrative for the book of mormon. The jaredites came from the tower of babel, mesopotamia, to the western hemisphere. The book of mormon teaches that the shedding of innocent blood is among the most abominable of all sins alma 39. Sorenson, lehi in the desert, the world of the jaredites. Lunds love for history and the book of mormon has taken him to mexico, honduras, belize and guatemala more than twenty times. Moreover, the inscription of stelae appears to have begun with the olmec, a mesoamerican culture that was contemporary with the book of mormons jaredites and. The jaredite civilization started in the western hemisphere about 2900 b. There are times when there is not the opportunity to get a clear understanding of what the traveler saw and these bulletins will help with that understanding. Book of mormonlamanitesrelationship to amerindiansmaya. Olmec iron the book of mormon mentions iron in a mineralogical context five times. Book of mormonjaredite time period archaeological museum, jalapa, mexico. Also included in the book of mormon is the book of ether which discusses the tribe jaredites and how god wanted to preserve them and their language at the tower of babel, an event said to have been some 3,000 years before christ, so god led these people to the new world.
This book was extremely useful for me when i was researching the olmecs because there is very little known about the olmecs, and the small fractions that we do know are very difficult to find in outdated books and on the internet. The olmec civilization flourished between about 1200 and 400 b. In my model the correlation is more complex with the olmec matching only the southernmost branch of the late jaredite civilization. Clark concludes that the correspondences between the book of mormon and cycles of mesoamerican civilization are striking p 48. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand. As stated in this book, this does not mean that descendants of book of mormon peoples did not eventually migrate to other parts of the hemisphere and the world during or following book of mormon times.
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