Volume 7, Issue 4 A Royal Marriage By Chris Scott © 2013 December 15, 2013 In our modern times we named Mosiah. Six times the Zarahemla: For behold, he are so fortunate to have an Book of Mormon states the being warned of the Lord that ancient story of a Royal as- fact that the authors cannot he should flee out of the land cension to a throne recorded write the whole account of the of Nephi, and as many as and handed down to us by history of the people.”.....yea, would hearken unto the voice two different methods. One is this book cannot contain even of the Lord, should also de- carved in stone on lintels a hundredth part of what was part out of the land with him, adorning doorways in the done among so many peo- into the wilderness. And it ancient city of Yaxchilan, in ple.”1 The story of Mosiah came to pass that he did ac- the state of Chiapas, Mexico. becoming king is one of those cording as the Lord had com- The other is recorded in the stories that probably had some manded him. ……..and they Book of Mormon, specifi- details left out. The archaeo- were led by the power of his cally the Book of Omni. The logical evidence appears to arm, through the wilderness, purpose of this article is to make a reasonable inference until they came down into the use both of these complemen- that Mosiah became king land which is called the land tary recorded stories to help through a Royal match. This of Zarahemla. And they dis- create the complete story of a evidence completes a beautiful covered a people, who were very important match. story of a Royal Marriage called the people of Zara- Whether it was true love and between two beloved leaders hemla. ……. Behold it came to a match made in heaven or in ancient America. For clari- pass that Mosiah discovered marriage of political conven- fication the characters that are that the people of Zarahemla, ience we will never know; compared in the two stories came out from Jerusalem, at nonetheless it is intriguing to are as follows. Lady Kook as the time that Zedekiah, king of fill in the gaps where we can. the daughter of Zarahemla and Judah, was carried away cap- Often times we see his- Shield Jaguar II as Mosiah. tive into Babylon. And they torical marriages between From Omni 1:18-34 in journeyed in the wilderness, Royals that are done to seal the Book of Mormon it says: and were brought by the hand the relationship between two “Behold, I am Amaleki, the of the Lord, across the great peoples and in the case we son of Abinadom. Behold, I waters, into the land where are discussing it is the daugh- will speak unto you somewhat Mosiah discovered them; and ter of King Zarahemla and concerning Mosiah, who was they had dwelt there from that the ruler of another people made king over the land of Continued on Page 2 Maya Technology: Use of Water By Terry Scott © 2013 Part I Water. Every person, ter causes flooding, soil ero- “Geologists have con- every city, every culture sion and turns the ground cluded that a 10-kilometer- requires continuous access into swamp-like mud. Dur- wide bolide, or exploding to water. To avoid sickness, ing the dry half of the year, meteor, collided with the we also require clean, drink- there are few sources of wa- earth on the northern edge ing water. The Maya were ter to sustain life. of the Yucatán near the pre- no different in their needs, The Maya tackled this sent-day town of Chicxulub” but they had additional problem in a variety of causing the “famous ring of problems to overcome that ways. Wherever possible cenotes” that outline the many societies did not. they built their cities close to shock wave of the impact. Mesoamerican weather water sources. Sites such as “The impact triggered the K- patterns are divided into Copan, Palenque, Piedras T (Cretaceous/Tertiary) rainy seasons and dry sea- Negras, and Yaxchilan were Continued on Page 4 sons. During the wet half of built close to rivers. Other the year, “rainfall ranges sites like Chichen Itza and Inside This Issue HILL CUMORAH EXPEDITION TEAM, INC from 40 inches (1,000 mm) Chinkultic were built close A Royal Marriage Cont. 2 - 3 in the Northeast to 200 to ‘cenotes’. inches (5,000 mm) on the A cenote is a large open A Royal Marriage: Part Duex 3 East Coast. As much as 90 sinkhole caused by the col- percent of storm water falls lapse of the limestone bed- Maya Technology Cont. 4, 7 & 8 1 during the rainy season.” rock into an underground Adventures in Archaeology 5 & 6 This overabundance of wa- river below. Cumorah Messenger A Royal Marriage continued time forth…...they had become exceeding bolic nature that help us understand more from this. One is the sacrifice of blood sym- numerous. ……. And it came to pass that the clearly what they are trying to convey. bolically meaning life. She gives of her life people of Zarahemla, and of Mosiah, did “...the ancient Maya conveyed layered and freely for the benefit of her people. The unite together; and Mosiah was appointed to complex meanings involving time and iden- barb of the stingray could be symbolic of be their king.” tity, offering much more than first meets the the barbs and criticisms that are always part In the ancient city of Yaxchilan there eye.”2 of being in a leadership role. We see paral- are structures dedicated to a beloved queen Lintel 24 shows a sacrifice on the part lels to the bible in Luke 22:44, referring to named Lady Kook (referred to as Lady of Lady Kook (see Figure 1). She is running a Jesus, “And being in agony, he prayed more K’ab’al Xook or Xoc by some authorities). thread of thorns through her tongue which earnestly; and he sweat as it were great Structure 23 has four lintels that tell the indicates that she is bridling her tongue from drops of blood falling down to the ground.” story of the ascension to the throne of her idle gossip and words that can hurt other This glyph portrays drops of blood falling husband Shield Jaguar II. The first of these people. It is an act of repentance. From onto the scrolls in a basket at her feet. lintels, lintel 23, details the lineage of her Proverbs 15:4 we read “A wholesome tongue The Vision Serpent goes back to ear- ancestors that brought her to the throne. is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a lier Maya conceptions, and lies at the center From Omni 1:33 we read: “...Zarahemla breach of the Spirit.” The promise that God of the world as they conceived it. “It is the gave a genealogy of his fathers, according to gives when we repent is found in III Nephi center axis atop the World Tree. Essentially his memory: and it is written but not in these 4:50 “Whoso cometh unto me with a broken the World Tree and the Vision Serpent, plates.” Lineage is shown to be important to heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize representing the king, created the center the people of Zarahemla, as well as, the with fire and with the Holy Ghost.” We see axis into existence in the temples and create ancestors of Lady Kook. in this glyph, Shield Jaguar II conferring the a doorway to the spiritual world and with it Lady Kook has been referred to by Holy Spirit of promise upon Lady Kook. power.”3 archaeologists as a queen consort or a re- The serpent has been associated with gent. The definition of a queen consort is expressions of duality; good and evil, life one who has equal rank to her husband’s and death, healing or vengefulness, etc. The monarchical title. A regent is a temporary glyphs portray their message through sym- acting head of state due to his or her position bolism. As the serpent swallows its prey in a line of succession in the Royal house. In whole, so death takes us whole. Quetzal- this case Lady Kook was in power at Yax- coatl, the feathered serpent, the most re- chilan and acted as a regent to bring her vered serpent in Mesoamerican culture, to husband, Itzamnaaj B’alam II, or Shield us represents Christ. He is swallowed whole Jaguar II to the throne. in death, but returns as a feathered serpent, The next three lintels 24, 25 and 26 tell resurrected again. “The double symbolism of Shield Jaguar II’s ascension to the throne used in its name is considered allegoric to and Lady Kook’s role. Interpretation of the dual nature of the deity, where being these glyphs might not be very obvious, but feathered represents its divine nature or with the help of the scriptures that we have ability to fly to reach the skies and being a available, they take on a spiritual and sym- serpent represents its human nature or ability to creep on the ground among other In lintel 25 we see a large serpent with the head a warrior ancestor coming out of the mouth (see Figure 2). The “Vision Ser- pent” was an important part of Mayan ritu- als. In the case of our story of Lady Kook and Shield Jaguar II it was part of ceremony of the ascendency to the throne.