Sun June 6, 2010 Church and testimonies go together. You can feel the spirit in testimonies even when you can’t pick up everything in the language. Our English Sunday School class and English Relief Society were great. I learned many new things. The importance of journal writing was one lesson. Another was how Saul lost his title of king because he refused to obey the Lord’s command. He repeatedly made excuses for not obeying. We need to be humble enough to accept the Lord’s instruction and then to do it. Even highly favored people can loose everything through disobedience.
After church we heard Elder Bob Isom explain where he thinks Lehi and his family landed. The two prevailing ideas for thought are Mesoamerica and South America. It doesn’t really matter and neither affects the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. It does add interest to the reading of the Book of Mormon however.
2 Ne 10:20 And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember him, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast off; nevertheless, we have been adriven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a bbetter land, for the Lord has made the sea our cpath, and we are upon an disle of the sea. (written 545 BC. The Nephites have been gone for 55 yrs. It took less than 10 yrs from their departure to arrive in the land of promise. They split off from the Lamanites and built a city of their own called Nephi)
Helamen 3:8 And it came to pass that they did multiply and spread, and did go forth from the land southward to the land northward, and did spread insomuch that they began to cover the face of the whole earth, from the sea south to the sea north, from the sea awest to the sea east. (Where in Mesoamerica can you find this situation. Elder Isom has a map from the Britanica Jr Encylopedia geography section showing South America 2000 yrs ago and the west side from the northern tip of Chile thru Peru and to Ecuador and maybe a small piece of Columbia was separated from any other land mass. He also has information on the Amazon river which starts in Peru which states that is less than 2000 yrs old measuring the silt that it dumps each day into the Atlantic. I am trying to get a copy of the map.)
Elder Isom was called at age 20 to a mission in Uraguay. During his mission he was called to the newly created Andes Mission which included a few western countries of South America. When Elder Harold B Lee opened the mission he first went to Santiago Chile and dedicated that land for the teaching the gospel, next he went to Lima Peru and dedicated it. At both locations he stated that the land was not far from where father Lehi and his family lived. When Elder Lee was at Machu Pichu he again stated it was close to where Lehi and his family lived. Elder Isom thru journals, maps and other evidence believes Cuzco Peru is the city of Nephi as described in the Book of Mormon. We went there when we picked up Braun from his mission so it holds interest for us. MachuPicchu was built by Amulon when he escaped from the Nephites with 24 of the daughters of the Lamanites. Stories have been carried down for centuries to all the central and south American countries but Chile and Peru have a greater percentage of members than any other of the countries because the Book of Mormon stories are closer to the native stories than in other countries. There are 20% of the people of Peru and Chile that are members of the church. In Mexico there are only 1% who are members which is another evidence of the origin. Keep in mind that at the time of the crucifixion the great earthquakes changed the face of the whole land. In Guatemala the long highway is still in tact. In Peru there is evidence of a great shift in elevations. Terraces and highways have sections raised up thousands of feet.
Ether 9:19 And they also had horses, and asses, and there were elephants and cureloms (llamas) and cumoms (alpacas): all of which were useful unto man, and more especially the elephants and cureloms and cumoms. (The only place on earth where alpacas and llamas found together is Machu Picchu)
In the late 1950s Elder Harold B Lee visited the Andes Mission. The missionaries were trying to learn the Quechuan language with such small success that he planned to close those areas of the mission the following day. That night Elder Lee had a vision, Nephi, Lehi, Mormon and Moroni appeared to him and told him not to close those areas. Of course they were not closed and now there is a Stake of the Church in Quechuan.
The culture that developed after the Book of Mormon was called the pre-Inca: I love reading about the Inca. I would encourage our grandkids to do school reports on the pre-Inca and the Inca. You will find it interesting to learn about them. Here are just a few paragraphs to get you started. For the rest of you it may be boring so you can skip to the pictures.
The Incas were a distinct people with a distinct language living in a highland center, Cuzco. The word Cuzco mean “the navel,” or the center. It emerged as the sacred city of the Inca world. They were an ancient people shrouded in myth. They maintain that their first ruler, Manco Copac and his wife, Mama Ocllohuanco had been born of the sun god, Inti, on an island situated within Lake Titicac in Peru. Prompted by Inti’s instructions to them to teach and govern all other peoples, the tribe traveled northwestward until they came to the well-watered and densely populated Cuzco Valley. There they established a new home and began to expand by incorporating the previous occupants, who were given the title of Incas-by-privilege. The empire consisted of over one million individuals, spanning a territory stretching from Ecuador to northern Chile. Unlike the military empires in Central America, the Incas ruled by proxy. After conquering a people, they would incorporate local rulers into their imperial system, generously reward anyone who fought for them, and treated well all those conquered people who cooperated. So, in reality, the Inca "empire," was not really an empire. It was more of a confederation of tribes with a single people, the Incas, more or less in control. Each of these tribes was ruled independently by a council of elders; the tribe as a whole gave its allegiance to the ruler, or "Inca." The "Inca" was divine; he was the descendant of the sun-god. The social unit, then, was primarily based on cooperation and communality. This guaranteed that there would always be enough for everyone. The entire state was broken down into groups of 10, 50, 100, 500, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 and finally 40,000 families, each governed by a leader who reported on all matters to his superior.
Agriculture was tough business in the Andes. The Incas actively set about carving up mountains into terraced farmlands—so successful were they in turning steep mountainsides into terraced farms, that in 1500 there was more land in cultivation in the Andean highlands then there is today. The Incas cultivated corn and potatoes, and raised llama and alpaca for food and for labor. Of all the urbanized people of the Americas, the Incas were the most brilliant engineers. The Huari-Tiahuanaco performed amazing feats of fitting gigantic stones together, and the Nazca designed mind-numbingly huge earth-drawings that still exist today. But the Inca built massive forts with stone slabs so perfectly cut that they didn't require mortar—and they're still standing today in near-perfect condition. They built roads through the mountains from Ecuador to Chile with tunnels and bridges. They also built aqueducts to their cities as the Romans had. And of all ancient peoples, they were the most advanced in medicine and surgery. The language they spoke was Quechua which they imposed on all the peoples they conquered. Because of this, Quechua is still spoken among large numbers of Native Americans throughout the Andes. They had no writing system at all, but they kept records on various colored knotted cords, or quipu . The central god of the Incan religion was the sun-god, the only god that had temples built for him. The sun-god was the father of the royal family. There were many gods among the Incas, but the sun-god outshone them all. The Incas also believed that there was a heaven, a hell, and a resurrection of the body after death.
You can see in their culture some of the leftovers of the people in the Book of Mormon. The Inca culture changed and eventually disappeared when the Spanish and Portuguese came in 1500s and conquered them. Peru had the largest population in Latin America. Pre-Conquest population of Peru was 9,000. Post-Conquest population in the year1620 was 620. If you think this is boring you’re not alone. Grandpa does too. But if not I hope you will look up more information about it. Let me know how you like it.
After church we heard Elder Bob Isom explain where he thinks Lehi and his family landed. The two prevailing ideas for thought are Mesoamerica and South America. It doesn’t really matter and neither affects the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. It does add interest to the reading of the Book of Mormon however.
2 Ne 10:20 And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember him, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast off; nevertheless, we have been adriven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a bbetter land, for the Lord has made the sea our cpath, and we are upon an disle of the sea. (written 545 BC. The Nephites have been gone for 55 yrs. It took less than 10 yrs from their departure to arrive in the land of promise. They split off from the Lamanites and built a city of their own called Nephi)
Helamen 3:8 And it came to pass that they did multiply and spread, and did go forth from the land southward to the land northward, and did spread insomuch that they began to cover the face of the whole earth, from the sea south to the sea north, from the sea awest to the sea east. (Where in Mesoamerica can you find this situation. Elder Isom has a map from the Britanica Jr Encylopedia geography section showing South America 2000 yrs ago and the west side from the northern tip of Chile thru Peru and to Ecuador and maybe a small piece of Columbia was separated from any other land mass. He also has information on the Amazon river which starts in Peru which states that is less than 2000 yrs old measuring the silt that it dumps each day into the Atlantic. I am trying to get a copy of the map.)
Elder Isom was called at age 20 to a mission in Uraguay. During his mission he was called to the newly created Andes Mission which included a few western countries of South America. When Elder Harold B Lee opened the mission he first went to Santiago Chile and dedicated that land for the teaching the gospel, next he went to Lima Peru and dedicated it. At both locations he stated that the land was not far from where father Lehi and his family lived. When Elder Lee was at Machu Pichu he again stated it was close to where Lehi and his family lived. Elder Isom thru journals, maps and other evidence believes Cuzco Peru is the city of Nephi as described in the Book of Mormon. We went there when we picked up Braun from his mission so it holds interest for us. MachuPicchu was built by Amulon when he escaped from the Nephites with 24 of the daughters of the Lamanites. Stories have been carried down for centuries to all the central and south American countries but Chile and Peru have a greater percentage of members than any other of the countries because the Book of Mormon stories are closer to the native stories than in other countries. There are 20% of the people of Peru and Chile that are members of the church. In Mexico there are only 1% who are members which is another evidence of the origin. Keep in mind that at the time of the crucifixion the great earthquakes changed the face of the whole land. In Guatemala the long highway is still in tact. In Peru there is evidence of a great shift in elevations. Terraces and highways have sections raised up thousands of feet.
Ether 9:19 And they also had horses, and asses, and there were elephants and cureloms (llamas) and cumoms (alpacas): all of which were useful unto man, and more especially the elephants and cureloms and cumoms. (The only place on earth where alpacas and llamas found together is Machu Picchu)
In the late 1950s Elder Harold B Lee visited the Andes Mission. The missionaries were trying to learn the Quechuan language with such small success that he planned to close those areas of the mission the following day. That night Elder Lee had a vision, Nephi, Lehi, Mormon and Moroni appeared to him and told him not to close those areas. Of course they were not closed and now there is a Stake of the Church in Quechuan.
The culture that developed after the Book of Mormon was called the pre-Inca: I love reading about the Inca. I would encourage our grandkids to do school reports on the pre-Inca and the Inca. You will find it interesting to learn about them. Here are just a few paragraphs to get you started. For the rest of you it may be boring so you can skip to the pictures.
The Incas were a distinct people with a distinct language living in a highland center, Cuzco. The word Cuzco mean “the navel,” or the center. It emerged as the sacred city of the Inca world. They were an ancient people shrouded in myth. They maintain that their first ruler, Manco Copac and his wife, Mama Ocllohuanco had been born of the sun god, Inti, on an island situated within Lake Titicac in Peru. Prompted by Inti’s instructions to them to teach and govern all other peoples, the tribe traveled northwestward until they came to the well-watered and densely populated Cuzco Valley. There they established a new home and began to expand by incorporating the previous occupants, who were given the title of Incas-by-privilege. The empire consisted of over one million individuals, spanning a territory stretching from Ecuador to northern Chile. Unlike the military empires in Central America, the Incas ruled by proxy. After conquering a people, they would incorporate local rulers into their imperial system, generously reward anyone who fought for them, and treated well all those conquered people who cooperated. So, in reality, the Inca "empire," was not really an empire. It was more of a confederation of tribes with a single people, the Incas, more or less in control. Each of these tribes was ruled independently by a council of elders; the tribe as a whole gave its allegiance to the ruler, or "Inca." The "Inca" was divine; he was the descendant of the sun-god. The social unit, then, was primarily based on cooperation and communality. This guaranteed that there would always be enough for everyone. The entire state was broken down into groups of 10, 50, 100, 500, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 and finally 40,000 families, each governed by a leader who reported on all matters to his superior.
Agriculture was tough business in the Andes. The Incas actively set about carving up mountains into terraced farmlands—so successful were they in turning steep mountainsides into terraced farms, that in 1500 there was more land in cultivation in the Andean highlands then there is today. The Incas cultivated corn and potatoes, and raised llama and alpaca for food and for labor. Of all the urbanized people of the Americas, the Incas were the most brilliant engineers. The Huari-Tiahuanaco performed amazing feats of fitting gigantic stones together, and the Nazca designed mind-numbingly huge earth-drawings that still exist today. But the Inca built massive forts with stone slabs so perfectly cut that they didn't require mortar—and they're still standing today in near-perfect condition. They built roads through the mountains from Ecuador to Chile with tunnels and bridges. They also built aqueducts to their cities as the Romans had. And of all ancient peoples, they were the most advanced in medicine and surgery. The language they spoke was Quechua which they imposed on all the peoples they conquered. Because of this, Quechua is still spoken among large numbers of Native Americans throughout the Andes. They had no writing system at all, but they kept records on various colored knotted cords, or quipu . The central god of the Incan religion was the sun-god, the only god that had temples built for him. The sun-god was the father of the royal family. There were many gods among the Incas, but the sun-god outshone them all. The Incas also believed that there was a heaven, a hell, and a resurrection of the body after death.
You can see in their culture some of the leftovers of the people in the Book of Mormon. The Inca culture changed and eventually disappeared when the Spanish and Portuguese came in 1500s and conquered them. Peru had the largest population in Latin America. Pre-Conquest population of Peru was 9,000. Post-Conquest population in the year1620 was 620. If you think this is boring you’re not alone. Grandpa does too. But if not I hope you will look up more information about it. Let me know how you like it.
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