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The Foundation PublishedQuarterly Number 103 March 2002 Nocold words in TheBook of Mormon ry Neil Simmons

hile the Midwest United perishedin the extremesof winter make up The Book of Mormon? If he Statesis recoveringfrom a weather. did, he would undoubtedly haveused seriousice storm and the his own life experiencesto infrrsethe Southwestis coveredby an unusual book with its senseof reality. He expe- sno\Mstorm, I could not help but riencedwinter and its weather think about how important the weath- What about weather extremesevery year of his life. He, like er and the seasonsare to us, even in The Book of Mormon? most of us, was obviously interestedin today, in our highly advancedtechno- An examinationof the text of The the weather.He commentedon it and logical world. Reportsof homeswith- Book of Mormon, looking for weather often put his commentsin writing. 'We out heat and treessnapping and pop- words, givespowerful widence that seein his personaljournd for the ping in the cold and ice havemade the JosephSmith, Jr., was not the author winter of 1834, written in Kirtland, newsfor severaldays. of the book, and furthermore, that the Ohio, many referencesto the locd Imagine how much more important peopleofThe Book of Mormon lived weather.For example: the seasonsand weatherwere to our in the tropics. Novemberl2,"rain and snow still pioneer ancestors.'S?'eatherhas dways Let us considerJoseph Smith, Jr., falling...wind very heavy/' been a major concernamong those who was born in Vermont and lived in November18,"cool and cloudy/' who live in northern latitudes.Early New York, Pennsylvania,Ohio, and Novembe r 24,"freezing,some snow colonistsin North America almosr Missouri,and died in Illinois. Did he on ground/'

Didthe and live in the temperateclimate of JosephSmith's upstateNew York or the tropical landsof Central America? November28:Cold and stormy, Mormon doesnot haveany cold tainly the historicalrecords of the snowfalling;" rvords.If it had beenauthored or in- United Statesshow how our country Novembe r 29,"very cold;" ventedby JosephSmith, Jr., or anyone has beenserior-rsly ir-rfluenced by cold, December1,"snow yet falling." who lived in the northeasternpart o[ frost, freezes,snow, seasons clf cold, (TheHistory of the Reorganized North America,we would expectsome blizzards,snowdrifts, and the like. Churchof JesusChrist of Latter kind of referenceto the changingsea- Theseterms all appearin the histories DaySaints 1:600-61 1) sonsand to the effectof winter weath- o[ the peoplewho colonizedNorth It is very curious,but The Book of er on the historyof the people.Cer- America becauscof the tremendous influencetl-re weather had upon them. Strangely,in The Book of Mormon ome critics of this viewpoint have pointed to the Hill in New York thereis an absenceoF any mention oF Statewhere JosephSmith found the record of The Book of Mormon the traclitionalse asons of rvinter, and claimed that this was the Hill ofThe Book of Mormon. spring,summer and fall. Nor is there Obviously, if that were true, then there would be a big problem with the mention of cold, frclst,freezing, sea- absenceof any mention of cold in The Book of Mormon. Just imagine sonsof cold, blizzards,or snowdrifts. 280,000 Nephites camping out for four yearson that hill in New York, and Onlv once is thc rvord "sr-low"used in Mormon forgetting to mention the problems with winter. That would make the tcxt. And but oncc doestl-re rvorcl the Valley Forgewinter experiencepale into nothingness. "cclld"occLlr. How did this mistake occur? Early in the church's history The singleuse of "snow" is as fol- misread the text of the book and made a not-uncommon assumption that krws: the Hill Cumorah was where Moroni had hidden the record found by Joseph And it cameto passthat the Spirit Smith, Jr. Had that been true, then the setting of The Book of Mormon saidunto me,Look! and I looked would have been in the Northeast part of the North American continent. and behelda tree;andit waslike Oliver Cowdery in the Messengerand Aduoctte, a group of letters appearing unto the treewhich my father seriallyfrom 1834-1835 states: had seen;and the beautythereof "Before arriving at the little village of Manchester,say from three to four, wasfar beyond,yea, exceeding of or about four miles from Palmyra,you passa large hill, on the eastside of allbeauty; and the whiteness the road.. .. thereofdid exceedthe whiteness "I think I am justified in saying that this is the highest hill for some dis- of the drivensnow." rance round, and I am certain that its appearance,as it risesso suddenly from (l Nephi3:46, emphasis added) a plain on the north, must attract the notice of the traveler.... 'At about one mile west risesanother ridge of lessheight, running parallel Notice that tl-respcaker is Nephi with the former, leaving a beautiful vale berween.The soil is of the best qual- who liveclir-r Jerusalen'I, A part of the iry for the country ... Berweenthese hills, the entire power and national world whicl'rdoes cxp-tcricncc some strength of both the Jareditesand Nephites were destroyed." snow.Nephi is rvriringin his own Oliver Cowdery continues, "By turning to the five hundred and twenry- diary,and this is :rn :rutobiographical ninth and five hundred and thirtieth pagesof the Book of Mormon you will work. read Mormon's account of the last great struggles of his people, as they were Mormon, rvho livedcirca A.D. 350, encamped round this hill Cumorah." doesnot useany cold words in all the However, Oliver Cowdery misunderstood the internal evidence of The restof his writing. Book of Mormon, not noticing that the records of the Nephites were all The singleuse of the word "cold" is buried in Hill Cumorah except the abridgment by Mormon, Moroni's father. found in a speechby Lehi, the father The abridged records continued for some fifty years after the main library of Nephi, who saysto his sons: was deposited in Cumorah. Finally, thesewere placed in another hill in what Awake!and risefrom the dust,and would later be known as the state of New York. hearthe wordsof a trembling parent,whose limbs ye must soon Therefore| [Mormon] made this recordout of the platesof Nephi,and hid up in laydown in the coldand silent the hill Cumorah,all the recordswhich had been entrustedto me by the hand grave,from whence no traveler of the Lord,save it were these few plates lthe platesof The Book of Mormon] can return;a few more days,and I which lgave unto my son Moroni. go the way of allthe earth" (Mormon 3:8) (2Nephi1:28).

Cowdery's misreading of the text causedmany to suppose that the story of Lehi'sremark about the cold graveis The Book of Mormon occupied the whole of the North American and South not an indication of weatherbut American conrinents. This theory has been causally advanced by individuals rather a prediction of his death and an who were nor very interested in discovering the true setting of The Book of awarenessthat in death,body heat dis- Mormon. But the absenceof cold and winter in the story of The Book of aPPears. Mormon gives powerful insight as to the true geographical setting of The The absenceof cold words and the Book of Mormon. associatedevidences of cold climate, such as coats,furs, or heavy garments, hibernatinganimals, and the like, pro- snow ice, and evenpermafrost as far astatingwinds would be a west wind. vide the student with internal cluesro south as the equator.Thus, the setting Hail upon the inhabitants of the land the real location of the peoplesofThe of The Book of Mormon cannotbe in of Nephi meansthat they must have Book of Mormon. Theseinternal the mountains of Peru.The Inca area beenliving in the mountains,for in word cluesproduce absolutelyno evi- is not the land of Nephi, neitheris any the lowlandsit is very unlikely to hail, denceof seasondi.f.That points location in North America which is at but violent thunderstormscommonly unmistakablyto a tropical setting for a higher latitude than aboutThmpico, produce hail in the mountain high- The Book of Mormon, for the tropics Mexico. lands. haveno seasonsexcept for times of dry There are referencesto fevers.This The Book of Mormon alsoindicares and wet weather. may indicate hot weatherand high 'S?'e that the Nephite and Lamanite colony are reinforcedin this view by humidiry wheremosquitos abound arrived in a part of the world where checkingthe many remarksabout the and feverslike malaria and yellow they could immediately plant and har- clothing, or lack of clothing, of the feverare known to be tropical killers. vest.The westernocean coastal plain Lamanites.Several references are made And therewere some who died of Peru is not where they landed, for to the Lamanite warriors having shorn with fevers,which at somesea- the terrible dry desertcoast does not headsand fighting with only animal sonsof the yearwas very frequent admit the possibilirythat they could skinsgirded about their loins.This in the land;but not so muchso haveplanted any crops upon arrival. meansthat they fought naked,with with fevers,because of the excel- Thus Peru doesnot fit any part of the animd skin beltsto hold their lentqualities of the manyplants record. weapons(Mosiah 6:38; Alma 20:23, and rootswhich God had pre- In summarywe can seethat the e1). paredto removethe causeof dis- internal evidenceofThe Book of They certainly were not fighting easesto whichman was subect Mormon showsthat the setting of the naked in winter weather.Obviously, if by the natureof the climate. story is in a warm, tropicd climate, the peopleof The Book of Mormon (Alma21:75-76) south of the freezingline, and in lands had lived in the northeasternpart of which rypically do not havemoun- the North American continent, we In anotherweather-related com- tainswhich riseto the snowline. It is would expecttheir history to be ment, the prophetAbinadi prophesied a land where crops can be successfully repletewith referencesto winter and the land of Nephi would be afflicted planted at any time of the year,and it cold and its problems.However, there with the "eastwind," with "hail," and must be in the northern hemispherein areno suchreferences. The absenceof with "insects"to "devour their grain" the Americas. cold in The Book of Mormon is a (Mosiah7:53). Hurricanesmight ful- The landsof southernMexico inro powerful indicator that the story of fill the prophesyof a devastating"east Guatemalaand Honduras,known to The Book of Mormon occurssouth of wind." Generally,devastating east archaeologistsas ,are the frost line, somewheresouth of the winds area phenomenaof the north- filled with the ruins of cities,roads, tropic of Cancer. ern hemisphere.South of the equator palaces,history carvedon stone,over- It also tells us that the setting ofThe the wind pattern is reversed,and the lapping cultures,and languages.The Book of Mormon could not be high evil winds arewest winds.'We note dating fallswithin The Book of Mor- in the mountains.High altitude,like that if the land of Nephi had been in mon period.'It is only herewe can fit high latitude, brings cold weather. Peru,which is south of the equator, the climate describedin the record to Altitudes above8000 feet will have would havesaid that the dev- a reallocation. t

Bookof MormonDay testimony

I want to sharewith you a testimony about my son, Chris. My son'sded and I are divorced. One of the disagree- ments in our marriage contributing to our problems was that I would not leavemy Book of Mormon at home and anend other churches.He then becameanti-Mormon. He has taught the boys from age four and seventhat The Book of Mormon is not true and that JosephSmith, Jr., was not a true prophet. At nine yearsold Chris went for- ward at another churcht resival and was soon baptized. At eight yearsold Clint was baptized in the Restoration Branch I attended. Clint said he knew which church was right becausehe dways saw me consistendypray and rcad the Scriptures. Chris is nineteen now and Clint is sixteen. My concern, of course,is for Chris. He has been out of school for two yearsand rarely goesto church. I was so drilled when he walked into church that Sundaywhen The Book of Mormon Foun&tion was conducting a congtegationd Book of Mormon Day at our branch. He was able to hear DaIe Godftey speakon archaeologicalwidences ofThe Book of Mormon. I believe this was planned by the lord so drat seedsof truth could be planted in his heart. I praise God for his great mercy and love for my son. And I praise God for The Book of Mormon Foundation for being willing to be a vesselin the hands of the living God! May God blessyou all and keep you in all that he calls you to do now and dways! Yoursister in Ch*t, Manha HoIt.I

Coverto Covertestimonies

Lorenz& FrancesHeller by reading it along with my husband this time we were both amazed at how often we needed to stop Wheatknd,Wyo.'We completedthe chdlengeof readingThe Book and discussthings that suddenly becamemore clear -year-old of Mormon from coverto coverand, eventhough than ever before. I used my favo fite 57 I I we had read it severaltimes throughout our lives, copy given to me by -y parents the year we were we were blessedgreatly through this daily reading married. Our thanks again for the challenge. onceagain. Gail Platz PatsyPleasant St.Johns, Mich. McDernox, Ohio I finishedreading The Book of Mormon this I finishedreading The Book of Mormon for the summerand I cameaway with a deeperapprecia- fourth time. Thanks for the challenge!!! tion of what the writers were trylng to impart to us, the recipientsof this wonderfulwork. Wallace& DarleneBachmann Cohme,S.D. Membersof the Croswell,Mich., ...Just finished readingThe Book of Mormon for Branchof the Community the Cover to Cover Challenge and found even more of Christ light than before! Thank you for providing the motivation needed to help us realizewhat a greattreasure we havein EmilyKillpack & AvisWhite The Book of Mormon. BuchnenMo. EmilyKlle1k (r3 yearsold) and herFreaj-grand- Kelly LOyd mother Avis \flhite (94 years old) completed the Newcastle,New south'w,ales, Austtalia Cover to Cover Challenge. My experienceof readingThe Book of Mormon hasblessed me greatly!I evenbegan to sharesome PatriciaPaladino of Jesus'teaching with my non-Christiancoworkers. Poknd, Maine It really is good news! I learn more each time I read The Book of Mormon. I hope I will be able to continue to read Jim and FranSmith it for many more years. I love it dearly! DesMoines, Iowa 'We are h"ppy to report that we finished reading BarbSullivan The Book of Mormon in answer to the Founda- Indzpendence,Mo. tiont six-month challenge. Each of us had read it I feel that each time I read The Book of Mormon through before, but this time we took turns reading I gain new insight. Things I had not noticed before aloud to each other. Thank you for prompting us to come to light but mostly the senseof the Good establisha daily routine of prayer and study togeth- Spirit as I read.Thank you for this opportunity. er. It is helpful to discussquestions as they come up. And the spirit of cooperation extends to other E.Earline Croan facets of our daily lives. Buchner,Mo. I haveread The Bookof Mormonmany times but Mefyle AndefSOn I always read something new. 88years old I havebeen reading for over eighty yearsand this Fosterand GladysLangdon is the first time I haveread The Book of Mormon ThwasCity, Mich. from coverto cover.Because it was so exciting, I am Thank you so much for repeating the Cover to going back and doing it again.Thank you for the Cover Challenge. I read it alone the first time, but inspiration! The Search Nephi,Mormon, for CumorahSouth andMoroni - OurGuides March7 to TheirWorld Thursday,Tz00P.M.to 8:30 P.M. Two-weekprogram. TheRecords March21 and 28 ThursdaYs,7:00 P.M.to 8:30 P.M. in HillCumorah GaylordShaw March14 This is a study of Book of Mormon geograPhy givgnto P.M.to8:30 P.M. T ThursdaY,TzOO us by writersNephi, Mormon, and Moroni - a closerlook VerneilSimmons *h", they said^about their lands and travels,including the ", really Jaredites-k and the Peopleof zanhemla. vhat do we result from a lifelong quest and searchby like-youneed to Thesetwo classes 'Wayne o* and how impoitant is it? If you feel Verneil and her husband to find the location of Hill know what the book redly saysabout geography,this color cumorah. come and hearthe excitingjourneys they experi- slideillustrated short .o.rir. will open the doorsof insight for encedas their searchunfolded and asthe Lord openeddoors you. (A Restoredcovenant Edition of The Book of Mormon that had been closedlong ago.These classes will keepyo-u on will be requiredfor discussion.) the edgeof your ,."t d-aithe conclusion, for Gaylordshaw, Ph.D., is a Professorof B-iologicalsciences "t IoTr _thirst ad,,renirreand knowledgewill be richly satisfied.I.isten to at GiacelandUniversiry. He is the cofounder,with his wife verneil tell about her.*periencewith Arthur Rock,which Faye,of the ChristianC.trt.t for Book of Mormon Study will leaveyou in awe! and Researchin Lamoni, Iowa. Verneilhas be.n a studentof The Book of Mormon since the first her teenageyears. Verneilt husband,Y"yt., was Regrgalize{. appointee"LatinAmerican missionary. Q1 ih. Beinga Handmaiden ih,rt.h of JesusChrist in 1950.Vhile living in Mexico Ciry of verneil beganintensive research into the archaeolow . in the LatterDaYs Mesoamerica.She took coursesat the National University many hours of lecturesat the Instituto Nacional and attended Six-weekprogram. fuqueologiae Historia.Verneil has-taught Book of de and29 Mormbn .hssesthroughout the church and haswritten sev- March18 and 25 and April 1,15,22, eral books. MondaYs,g:30 A.M. to 11:OO A.M. Sylvia Powell TheBook of Mormon: Do you daily wake up and wonder how yog can make this to ClarifyDoctrine day bett.r than the last?Are you concernedabout good stew- ariship, not only of your money,but of your time?Are your and StoPContention childrenexhibiting.h"r".t.tistics that you know aredefinite- ly not Kingdom buildingl Do you desirero communicate Three-weekclass. with your f,usbandott level but dont know where to "t..per April11, 18 and 25 start?Do you havedays tharyou feellike youre holding on ThursdaYs,T:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. by your fingertips?Do you understandyour PurPosehere in JamesHobbs the land of Zion? If you answeredyes ro any of thesequestion_s, qlease join us ot Monday morningsfrorng:30 A.M. to l1:00 A'M' at The In this class,Jim will showthat one of the purposesof The Foundation. Book of Mormon is to do awaywith contentionand disputes Book of Mormon grew up in the Atherton bottoms and now overdoctrine. He will alsoshow how The Book of Mormon sylvia Powell Atherton hill. Shestill attendsthe Atherton revealsgreater light on thesedoctrines and the ordinances. liveson the Branch where sheand her husbandJerry have Our traiitions o-ft.ndetermine how controversialan issueis, Restoration leadersand sunday school teachers.S;rlvia was especiallyif our traditionsdo not line up yi.h scripture.He beenyouth Department leaderfor many yeafs:She has been wijt show that many issuescan be resolvedsimply by accept- the W'omen's Restorationcamping program for 14 years ing The Book of Mormon and wlat it saysabout an issue. involved in the direct c"-p chariry I, a senjor high_camp. Soi". of theseissues apply not only to the Restorationbut to and sheand Jerry were on the Eldert ConferenceYouth other churchesas well. Both Sylvia i.t.y "rd y."^. Sylviahas beenon the Eldert Confer- spentmost of his life in Texas,where he servedas a Co,rrrcil for six Jim Council for the pasttwo years' piesidingelder. He movedto the Centerplacein 1998' ence'W'omenb If we assumehe could hear,did the chief judge think he was Heput forth dea0 Or was he respondingas peopleoften do today to the handicapped?Dont we tend to speakto the personpushing hishand and wrote the wheelchairrather than its occupant- forgetting that it By Pegy Feagins is her legsand not her brain or her voicethat dont function properly?While too often this is true, that is probablynot Alma 1626-77 the casein this instance. In the seventeenthyear of the reign ofJudges over the A third scenario:it wasthe practiceof the Nephitesto peopleof Nephi, therecame among them a man The Book choosewise men to be their judges(Mosiah 13:15). Even of Mormon calls"antichrist"; for he beganto preachagainst today,ideally judges are chosen because they not only know the propheciesof the coming of JesusChrist, sayingthey the law, but alsobecause they demonstratewisdom and wereonly the foolish traditionsof their fathers.This Korihor soundjudgment. It is this writer'sopinion that the chief was an articulateand persuasiveperson, and he beganto judge knew exactlywhat he was doing when he put forth his seriouslyundermine the true teachingsofJesus Christ that hand and wrote. He waspreparing a legaldocument - a Alma and other membersof the priest- signedconfession. In his preface,the hood had worked so hard to instill in the chief judge mentionedthree times the heartsof the people.He lead"away the sign that had beengiven. He mdceasked heartsof many,causing them to lift up Korihor if he now believed.Korihor their headsin wickedness"(Alma16:19). completedthe documentwith his own Eventuallyhe was brought before hand, confessingthat he knew all along Alma, the high priestover all the church, there was a God. He admitted teaching and beforethe chief judge who was gov- BMF the peoplethe words of Satanbecause ernor overall the land. Vhen ques- they were pleasingto the carnal mind. tioned, "he did riseup in greatsweiling And he acknowledgedthat it was the words"(Alma16:39) reviling the teach- wishlist power of God that had taken awayhis ings of the church and blaspheming speech. New printer againstGod. Though Alma tried to con- $4oo Alma and the chief judge now had vince him of the error of his ways,he Padded folding chairs $28 each tangibleevidence - a valuabletool to insistedthree times on havinga sign or Folding tables $tOSeach usein reclaimingthose who had strayed "The he would not believe.Three timeshe Audiocassette after Korihort falsedoctrine. the existence On the knowledgeof what had happenedto denied of God. duplicator $9e5 third denialhe receivedhis sign. He was Korihor wasimmediately published Projector struck dumb, accordingto the words of screen $695 throughoutall the land." In fact, the Alma, that he might haveno more utter- chiefjudge sentout a proclamationto all If you would like to assist ance. the people,calling on the followersof At this point the chief judge put forth in the purchaseof any of these Korihor to repent"lest the samejrdg- his hand and wrote unto Korihor, saying: items, pleasecontact mentscome upon them" (Alma 16:73). Art thou convincedof the power of God? the Foundation. The story doesnot end happily for In whom did ye desirethat Alma should Korihor becausehe nevertruly repented, shewforth his sign?'Wouldye that he but it did end happily for the people. should afflict others,to shew unto thee a They were all convincedof the wicked- sign?Behold, he hasshewed unto you a nessof Korihor; thereforethey were all sign;and now will ye disputemore? convertedagain unto the Lord; and this put an end to the iniquity after the mannerof Korihor Alma 16:63-65 (Alma 16:74). The subjectof this article is, why did the chief judge write This latter interpretation of that courtroom scenewas pre- the messageto Korihor? The record saysKorihor lost his sentedto a pardegalsecretary to test its plausibility. Shesaid power of speech.fue we to assumethat he lost his hearing yes,that somethingsimilar today would be calleda deposi- aswell? It is true theserwo afflictions often go hand in tion.'Webstertdefinition of deposition:"a. a testi&i.g, espe- hand. Further, somebelieve this to be the casebecause of cially beforea court; b. declaration,specificdly a testimony what happenedto him afterwards. taken down in writing under oath." Today it might be Though Korihor confessedbeing in the wrong, he never videotapedand transcribedby a secretaryand preparedfor a truly repented.He was reducedto beggingfor his living, signature. and ashe went amongsome Nephite dissenters,"he wasrun As you study the Scripturesand comeacross things that upon, and trodden down, evenuntil he was dead" (Alma perplexyou, take time to ponder them, praying for enlight- \il7hen 16:76). Does this indicate that he was run over becausehe enment. the Lord givesyou insightsand understand- couldnt hearsomething coming behind him? Possibly. ing, sharethem with others.\7'hen no apparentanswer is Another possibiliryhas been suggested. The recordstates forthcoming, we can be comforted, knowing the time wifl specificallythat the chief judge wrote to Korihor; however, come when "all things shall be revealed"(2 Nephi ll:132; verse7l saysthat Alma communicatedwith him by speech. Isaiah 29:16). t Articlesand testimonies needed ould you like to write an article about a Book of Mormon relatedsub- jX{fr,ne6E ject?Have you taught a classon a Book of Mormon subject,and would like to seethe material in the hands of the Saints?Has God enlightened Number 103 March 2002 you or givenyou insight into a certainsubject of The Book of Mormon?'SV'eneed 'Witness Board of Directors you! The Book of Mormon Foundation has formed a Committee and is seekingmaterial to publish in the upcoming issuesof The'Witness.fue you ready President Dale Godfrey to sharewhat the Lord has revealedto you? In the past the BMF has found that Vice President Marlin Guin the personwho doesnot think his or her article or testimony is good enough is 'We Secretary/Tieasurer Gary Lair usudly the one chosenfor The'Witness. are looking for the young aswell as the old to write for The'\UTitness.You may only write for us once, but that once Bonnie Anderson RoxanneEvans could changeanother person'slife. Are you readyto step forward and be one of Anderson Linda Guin Jason 'snvo thousand?If are, pleasecontact Dennis Moe at The Book of BarbaraCapps Linda Tiimble you Mormon Foundation for details.t Office Manager Dennis Moe Graphic Designer Thra Simmons Makeuse of our resources The Book of Mormon Foundation owns an extensivelibrary of bools covering THE,'\U7tnrEssis published quarterly by: the RestorationMovement, Mesoamericanarchaeology, reference and other sub- 'West jects. If you would like to useany of theseboo[

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