The Book of Mormon Chapter 6 Critique
Setting: The Nephites gather to
the land of Cumorah for the final battles—Mormon hides the sacred
records in the hill Cumorah—The Lamanites are victorious, and the
Nephite nation is destroyed—Hundreds of thousands are slain with the
sword. About A.D. 385.
Verses 1-3: And now I finish my
record concerning the destruction of my people, the Nephites. And it
came to pass that we did march forth before the Lamanites. And I,
Mormon, wrote an epistle unto the king of the Lamanites, and desired of
him that he would grant unto us that we might gather together our
people unto the land of Cumorah, by a hill which was called Cumorah,
and there we could give them battle. And it came to pass that the king
of the Lamanites did grant unto me the thing which I desired.
Note: No mass migration passed through the area controlled by Teotihuacan.
Teotihuacán, ( Nahuatl: “The City of the Gods”) the most important and
largest city of pre-Aztec central Mexico, located about 30 miles (50
km) northeast of modern Mexico City. At its apogee (c. 500 ce), it
encompassed some 8 square miles (20 square km) and supported a
population estimated at 125,000–200,000, making it, at the time, one of
the largest cities in the world. It was the region’s major economic as
well as religious centre. Encyclopedia Britannica.
Note: There is no evidence of a mass migration from Central America to New York covering 4,000 miles in one year.
Verses 4-5: And it came to pass
that we did march forth to the land of Cumorah, and we did pitch our
tents around about the hill Cumorah; and it was in a land of many
waters, rivers, and fountains; and here we had hope to gain advantage
over the Lamanites. And when three hundred and eighty and four years
had passed away, we had gathered in all the remainder of our people
unto the land of Cumorah.
Note: No mass migration occurred in North America going from south to northeast.
The beginning of the Middle Woodland saw a shift of settlement from the
east coast to the Interior. As the Woodland period progressed, local
and inter-regional trade of exotic materials greatly increased to the
point where a trade network covered most of the Eastern United States.
Throughout the Southeast and north of the Ohio River, burial mounds of
important people were very elaborate and contained a variety of
mortuary gifts, many of which were not local. The most archaeologically
certifiable sites of burial during this time were in Illinois and Ohio.
Note: There is no evidence of a mass migration from Central America to New York covering 4,000 miles in one year.
Verse 6: And it came to pass
that when we had gathered in all our people in one to the land of
Cumorah, behold I, Mormon, began to be old; and knowing it to be the
last struggle of my people, and having been commanded of the Lord that
I should not suffer the records which had been handed down by our
fathers, which were sacred, to fall into the hands of the Lamanites,
(for the Lamanites would destroy them) therefore I made this record out
of the plates of Nephi, and hid up in the hill Cumorah all the records
which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, save it were
these few plates which I gave unto my son Moroni.
Note: Pre-Columbian writing systems did not use plates.
In Mesoamerica, information was recorded on long strips of paper, agave
fibers, or animal hides, which were then folded and protected by wooden
covers. These were thought to have existed since the time of the
Classical Period between the 3rd and 8th centuries, CE. Many of these
codices were thought to contain astrological information, religious
calendars, knowledge about the gods, genealogies of the rulers,
cartographic information, and tribute collection. Wikipedia
Encyclopedia.
Verses 7-9: And it came to pass
that my people, with their wives and their children, did now behold the
armies of the Lamanites marching towards them; and with that awful fear
of death which fills the breasts of all the wicked, did they await to
receive them. And it came to pass that they came to battle against us,
and every soul was filled with terror because of the greatness of their
numbers. And it came to pass that they did fall upon my people with the
sword, and with the bow, and with the arrow, and with the ax, and with
all manner of weapons of war.
Note: Swords did not exist in Pre-Columbian America.
Cutting weapons were used by the Native Americans for combat as well as
hunting. They preferred shorter blades, and did not use long cutting
weapons, like the swords that the Europeans used at the time. Wikipedia
Encyclopedia.
Verses 10-15: And it came to
pass that my men were hewn down, yea, even my ten thousand who were
with me, and I fell wounded in the midst; and they passed by me that
they did not put an end to my life. And when they had gone through and
hewn down all my people save it were twenty and four of us, (among whom
was my son Moroni) and we having survived the dead of our people, did
behold on the morrow, when the Lamanites had returned unto their camps,
from the top of the hill Cumorah, the ten thousand of my people who
were hewn down, being led in the front by me. And we also beheld the
ten thousand of my people who were led by my son Moroni. And behold,
the ten thousand of Gidgiddonah had fallen, and he also in the midst.
And Lamah had fallen with his ten thousand; and Gilgal had fallen with
his ten thousand; and Limhah had fallen with his ten thousand; and
Jeneum had fallen with his ten thousand; and Cumenihah, and Moronihah,
and Antionum, and Shiblom, and Shem, and Josh, had fallen with their
ten thousand each. And it came to pass that there were ten more who did
fall by the sword, with their ten thousand each; yea, even all my
people, save it were those twenty and four who were with me, and also a
few who had escaped into the south countries, and a few who had
deserted over unto the Lamanites, had fallen; and their flesh, and
bones, and blood lay upon the face of the earth, being left by the
hands of those who slew them to molder upon the land, and to crumble
and to return to their mother earth.
Note: No battle has ever occurred in New York where over 230,000 people were killed.
The first peoples of New York are estimated to have arrived around
10,000 BC. Around 800 AD, Iroquois ancestors moved into the area from
the Appalachian region. The people of the Point Peninsula Complex were
the predecessors of the Algonquian peoples of New York. By around 1100,
the distinct Iroquoian-speaking and Algonquian-speaking cultures that
would eventually be encountered by Europeans had developed. The five
nations of the Iroquois League developed a powerful confederacy about
the 15th century that controlled territory throughout present-day New
York, into Pennsylvania around the Great Lakes. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
Note: Solomon Spalding had no clue about Pre-Columbian history.
Verses 16-20: And my soul was
rent with anguish, because of the slain of my people, and I cried: O ye
fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye
fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open
arms to receive you! Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have
fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss. O ye fair
sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye
fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen! But behold, ye are
gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return.
Note: Jesus Christ was unknown in pagan Pre-Columbian America.
Native American tribes of the eastern woodlands believed that a Great
Spirit had created a harmonious world of plenty of which they were only
one part. All of nature contained this divine spirit and was to be
respected. Thus the native inhabitants managed the land so that it
would be productive for all living creatures but changed it little,
taking only want they needed. They thanked a tree for dying and
providing them with wood for a fire and thanked an animal they had
killed for giving up its flesh to feed them and its skin to clothe
them. The Judeo-Christian view that humans dominated nature and could
change it for their advantage made no sense to these people. Access to
the spirit world came through dreams, which shamans would interpret for
them. Often these shamans were women, who seemed to be more in contact
with the spiritual world because of their role in the miracle of
childbirth. encyclopedia.com
Note: Sidney Rigdon had no clue about Pre-Columbian history.
Verse 21: And the day soon
cometh that your mortal must put on immortality, and these bodies which
are now moldering in corruption must soon become incorruptible bodies;
and then ye must stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, to be judged
according to your works; and if it so be that ye are righteous, then
are ye blessed with your fathers who have gone before you.
Note: Sidney Rigdon plagiarized the Holy Bible.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:53.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each
one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has
done, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10.
Verse 22: O that ye had
repented before this great destruction had come upon you. But behold,
ye are gone, and the Father, yea, the Eternal Father of heaven, knoweth
your state; and he doeth with you according to his justice and mercy.
Note: God the Father was unknown in pagan Pre-Columbian America.
Native American religions are the spiritual practices of the indigenous
peoples of the Americas. Traditional Native American ceremonial ways
can vary widely, and are based on the differing histories and beliefs
of individual tribes, clans and bands. Early European explorers
describe individual Native American tribes and even small bands as each
having their own religious practices. Theology may be monotheistic,
polytheistic, henotheistic, animistic, or some combination thereof.
Traditional beliefs are usually passed down in the forms of oral
histories, stories, allegories and principles, and rely on face to face
teaching in one's family and community. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
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