3 Nephi Chapter 5 Critique

Setting: The Nephites repent and forsake their sins—Mormon writes the history of his people and declares the everlasting word to them—Israel will be gathered in from her long dispersion. About A.D. 22–26.

Verses 1-3: And now behold, there was not a living soul among all the people of the Nephites who did doubt in the least the words of all the holy prophets who had spoken; for they knew that it must needs be that they must be fulfilled. And they knew that it must be expedient that Christ had come, because of the many signs which had been given, according to the words of the prophets; and because of the things which had come to pass already they knew that it must needs be that all things should come to pass according to that which had been spoken. Therefore they did forsake all their sins, and their abominations, and their whoredoms, and did serve God with all diligence day and night.
Note: Pre-Columbian natives were polytheistic pagans.
Q'uq'umatz (alternatively Qucumatz, Gukumatz, Gucumatz, Gugumatz, Kucumatz etc.) was a deity of the Postclassic K'iche' Maya. Q'uq'umatz was the Feathered Serpent divinity of the Popol Vuh who created humanity together with the god Tepeu. Q'uq'umatz is considered to be the rough equivalent of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, and also of Kukulkan of the Yucatec Maya tradition. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.

Verse 4: And now it came to pass that when they had taken all the robbers prisoners, insomuch that none did escape who were not slain, they did cast their prisoners into prison, and did cause the word of God to be preached unto them; and as many as would repent of their sins and enter into a covenant that they would murder no more were set at liberty.
Note: Pre-Columbian used captives as human sacrifices.
Some of the most famous forms of ancient human sacrifice were performed by various Pre-Columbian civilizations in the Americas that included the sacrifice of prisoners as well as voluntary sacrifice. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.

Verses 5-7: But as many as there were who did not enter into a covenant, and who did still continue to have those secret murders in their hearts, yea, as many as were found breathing out threatenings against their brethren were condemned and punished according to the law. And thus they did put an end to all those wicked, and secret, and abominable combinations, in the which there was so much wickedness, and so many murders committed. And thus had the twenty and second year passed away, and the twenty and third year also, and the twenty and fourth, and the twenty and fifth; and thus had twenty and five years passed away.
Note: God has no mercy on corrupt pagan societies.
Samuel also said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over His people, over Israel. Now therefore, heed the voice of the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I will punish Amalek for what he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he came up from Egypt. Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’” 1 Samuel 15:1-3.

Verses 8-11: And there had many things transpired which, in the eyes of some, would be great and marvelous; nevertheless, they cannot all be written in this book; yea, this book cannot contain even a hundredth part of what was done among so many people in the space of twenty and five years; But behold there are records which do contain all the proceedings of this people; and a shorter but true account was given by Nephi. Therefore I have made my record of these things according to the record of Nephi, which was engraven on the plates which were called the plates of Nephi. And behold, I do make the record on plates which I have made with mine own hands.
Note: Pre-Columbian civilizations never used plates for writing.
The Maya script was in use up to the arrival of the Europeans, its use peaking during the Classic Period. In excess of 10,000 individual texts have been recovered, mostly inscribed on stone monuments, lintels, stelae and ceramics. The Maya also produced texts painted on a form of paper manufactured from processed tree-bark generally now known by its Nahuatl-language name amatl used to produce codices. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.

Verse 12: And behold, I am called Mormon, being called after the land of Mormon, the land in which Alma did establish the church among the people, yea, the first church which was established among them after their transgression.
Note: The church was unknown in Pre-Columbian paganism.
Together, the gods attempted to create living beings so that they may be praised and venerated by their creation. Their first attempts (animals, mud man, and wooden man) proved unsuccessful because they lacked speech, souls, and intellect. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.

Verse 13: Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.
Note: Jesus Christ was unknown in Pre-Columbian paganism.
Huracan, often referred to as U K'ux Kaj, the "Heart of Sky", is a K'iche' Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at creating humanity. He also caused the Great Flood after the second generation of humans angered the gods. He supposedly lived in the windy mists above the floodwaters and repeatedly invoked "earth" until land came up from the seas. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.

Verses 14-19: And it hath become expedient that I, according to the will of God, that the prayers of those who have gone hence, who were the holy ones, should be fulfilled according to their faith, should make a record of these things which have been done— Yea, a small record of that which hath taken place from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem, even down until the present time. Therefore I do make my record from the accounts which have been given by those who were before me, until the commencement of my day; And then I do make a record of the things which I have seen with mine own eyes. And I know the record which I make to be a just and a true record; nevertheless there are many things which, according to our language, we are not able to write. And now I make an end of my saying, which is of myself, and proceed to give my account of the things which have been before me.
Note: Pre-Columbian civilizations never used plates for writing.
Mayan writing consisted of a relatively elaborate set of glyphs, which were laboriously painted on ceramics, walls or bark-paper codices, carved in wood or stone, or molded in stucco. Carved and molded glyphs were painted, but the paint has rarely survived. About 90% of Mayan writing can now be read with varying degrees of certainty, enough to give a comprehensive idea of its structure. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.

Verse 20: I am Mormon, and a pure descendant of Lehi. I have reason to bless my God and my Savior Jesus Christ, that he brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem, (and no one knew it save it were himself and those whom he brought out of that land) and that he hath given me and my people so much knowledge unto the salvation of our souls.
Note: Jesus Christ was unknown in Pre-Columbian paganism.
Ixchel or Ix Chel is the 16th-century name of the aged jaguar goddess of midwifery and medicine in ancient Maya culture. She corresponds, more or less, to Toci Yoalticitl "Our Grandmother the Nocturnal Physician", an Aztec earth goddess inhabiting the sweatbath, and is related to another Aztec goddess invoked at birth, viz. Cihuacoatl (or Ilamatecuhtli). In Taube's revised Schellhas-Zimmermann classification of codical deities, Ixchel corresponds to the Goddess O. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.

Verses 21-22: Surely he hath blessed the house of Jacob, and hath been merciful unto the seed of Joseph. And insomuch as the children of Lehi have kept his commandments he hath blessed them and prospered them according to his word.
Note: Old Testament commandments involved animal sacrifices.
An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you. Exodus 20:24.

Verse 23: Yea, and surely shall he again bring a remnant of the seed of Joseph to the knowledge of the Lord their God.
Note: Pre-Columbian natives had no knowledge of the Christian God.
In Maya mythology, Chriakan-Ixmucane was one of the thirteen creator gods who helped construct humanity. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.

Verses 24-25: And as surely as the Lord liveth, will he gather in from the four quarters of the earth all the remnant of the seed of Jacob, who are scattered abroad upon all the face of the earth. And as he hath covenanted with all the house of Jacob, even so shall the covenant wherewith he hath covenanted with the house of Jacob be fulfilled in his own due time, unto the restoring all the house of Jacob unto the knowledge of the covenant that he hath covenanted with them.
Note: God’s covenants were unknown in Pre-Columbian paganism.
Mam 'grandfather' or 'grandson', is a pan-Mayan kinship term as well as a term of respect referring to ancestors and deities. Ethnographically, Mam refers to several aged Maya deities: In Kekchi-speaking British Honduras (Belize), 'Mam' is a general designation for the mountain spirits; four Mams were specifically associated with the four corners of the earth. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.

Verse 26: And then shall they know their Redeemer, who is Jesus Christ, the Son of God; and then shall they be gathered in from the four quarters of the earth unto their own lands, from whence they have been dispersed; yea, as the Lord liveth so shall it be. Amen.
Note: Sidney Rigdon knew nothing about Pre-Columbian paganism.
Nohochacyum, a creator-destroyer deity, the brother of the death god Kisin (or possibly another earthquake god also known as Kisin). He is the sworn enemy of the world serpent Hapikern and it is said that, in the end of days, he will destroy Hapikern by wrapping him around himself to smother him. In some versions of this story, life on earth is destroyed in the process. He is related, in some stories, to Usukan, Uyitzin, Yantho and Hapikern, all of whom wish human beings ill. Also the brother of Xamaniqinqu, the patron god of travelers and merchants. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.

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