Welcome to Ancient America Foundation

2. Welcome to Ancient America Foundation We Believe the Book of Mormon to be the Word of God…"

3. Our Goal is to Substantiate: • 1. That the book of Mormon is a true account of a real people, in a real time, and in real places. • 2. That their Lord and our Lord, Jesus Christ, lives and had a real hand in their affairs. • 3. That Joseph Smith and the ancient prophets who authored their portions of this record did so under the direct inspiration of God and in many cases word for word dictation. • 4. That the Book of Mormon was especially prepared to come forth in these latter days just prior to the second coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ, to be a key element in the restoration of the gospel in its fullness. • 5. That it's message is a guide for the righteous and a warning for the wicked as they live through the troubled times preceding the second coming of Christ. • 6. It's purpose, according to the title page of the Book of Mormon, is --"to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever--And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations..."

4. The Holy Ghost Witnesses of the Book of Mormon “All who read, ponder and pray - in faith – are promised that they shall know by the power of the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon is the mind and will and voice of the Lord, to all men everywhere, from this day onward as long as the earth shall stand. “But the Book of Mormon does more. It announces that the Bible is true. It also is the irrefutable witness that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God; that the Lord calls and inspires men today as he did anciently; that living prophets receive revelation in our day and time.” Elder Bruce R. McConkie Member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

5. Who are We? Administrative Officers President: V Garth Norman Director of Research: Bruce W. Warren Director of Publication: Richard K. Miner Secretary and Treasurer: Cheryl Norman Board of Directors T Michael Smith: Chairman V. Garth Norman Bruce W. Warren McCoy McMurray The objective of AAF is to draw on past research of Book of Mormon studies and to digest and disseminate information derived from both Latter-day Saint and Non-Latter-day Saint scholars of ancient Mesoamerica in an attempt to understand the geography and culture surrounding the ancient text of the Book of Mormon. AAF endeavors to inform and answer questions of both past and present research, and to specifically promote current scholarship on Book of Mormon studies in relation to Mesoamerica. First Edition of The Book of Mormon For biographical information click on the symbol beside the name.

6. Who are We? SPECIALTY ADVISORS Alan C. Miner Lincoln Fuqua Laurie Sowby Williams Jake Roberts Welby Ricks John Pratt Lance Harding Bruce Sutton Alan Overstreet Is this Lehi’s land of Bountiful? All individuals named on the slide and many more have contributed their research findings and their knowledge to our publications and archives. We invite any and all students of the cultural aspects of the Book of Mormon to submit their papers and or ideas to us for possible publication in newsletters or our Internet site. All will be reviewed before publication by our review board consisting of Bruce W.Warren V. Garth Norman and Alan C. Miner.

7. “…The Words Of a Book That Is Sealed,…” Isaiah 29:11 “Written and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed—To come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof…” (Book of Mormon Preface) The Book of Mormon • Is it True or False? • Fabrication or Translation? • Real people, real place, real events? • The work of man or the work of God? “ I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. (Isaiah 29:14) Click on either picture for further explanation

8. Joseph Smith Jr. • How did he produce the Book of Mormon? • Is he a Prophet of God or Charlatan? • How can we explain the internal evidences within the Book of Mormon that point to its antiquity, multiple authorship, geographic accuracy, and Mesoamerican setting? For information about Joseph Smith and the translation process, click on the prophet’s picture above.

9. Chiasms In The Book of Mormon X According to Raymond Treat, there is a hidden message in the first verses of the Book of Mormon. The key to finding this hidden message is to know that these verses are a chiasm, which is one form of Hebrew poetry. A chiasm is an inverted parallelism, or in other words, you say something then repeat yourself in reverse order. One advantage of writing chiastically is that you can place special emphasis on the most important point by placing it in the center of the chiasm. Nephi deliberately constructed his children so that ‘the learning of the Jews’ was in the center: Is this literary structure the signature of God? The word Chiasm coming from the Greek letter “Chi.” This letter is used to describe the structure of an Hebraic inverted parallelism as indicated by the blue line above.

10. Chiastic Structure of 1 Nephi 1:1-3 “I Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea;  * having had a great knowledgeof the goodness of God, * therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days. * Yea, I make a record in the languageof my father, * which consists of the learning of the Jews * and the languageof the Egyptians. * And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with my own hand; * and I make it according to my knowledge. (1 Nephi 1:1-3) Point of Emphasis

11. Chiasms In The Book of Mormon • There are 961 Chiasms in the Book of Mormon. • The entire book of 1 Nephi is written on a chiastic structure consisting of: • 165 elements to the center of the chiasm • 165 elements from the center to the end of the chiasm • 107 Additional Chiasms appear within the book of 1st Nephi. • 33 Chiasms appear in the Pearl of Great Price. • 225 Chiasms appear in the Doctrine and Covenants Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon from Gold Plates engraved with the ancient record.

12. Anthon Transcript “…a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned…” (Isaiah 29:11) For over 150 years scholars have been trying to translate the characters which Joseph Smith copied from the "golden" plates onto a piece of paper and called the "Anthon Transcript". In February 1828 he gave the copy to Martin Harris to take to New York to be reviewed by Professor Charles Anthon, and other literary experts to see if they were authentic. Neither they at that time nor any scholar since then has been able to translate what they presumed to be Egyptian characters until now For more information click on the image of the transcript.

13. Multiple Authorship of the Book of Mormon Wordprints are derived from statistical analysis of the word usage patterns of authors. Given sufficient sampling, these usage patterns can be used to distinguish one author from another. Using this method in analyzing the Book of Mormon we find: • Evidence indicates 33 contributing authors to the Book of Mormon. • Each author’s wordprint is different from the others and all are different from the wordprint of Joseph Smith Jr. Joseph could not be the author of the Book of Mormon.

14. Lehi’s Trail The author of the Book of Mormon had a knowledge of the Ancient Near East.A current unpublished book by George Potter and Richard Wellington lists 81 locations in Arabia that correspond with locations and events mentioned in the Book of Mormon's account of the trail, which Lehi and his family took from Jerusalem to Bountiful. The following are a few of them. • Lehi’s south south-east direction trail matches that of the ancient “Frankincense Trail.” • Locations matching the “Valley of Lemuel” and the “River of Laman” can be identified. • The burial place of Ishmael was called “Nahom.” Burial grounds by the same name has been located in the location matching the Book of Mormon. • A location near the boarders of Yeman and Oman matches the coastal camp of Lehi’s “Bountiful.” In keeping with the Book of Mormon narrative, this location is nearly due east from Nahom.

15. “East From That Time Forth” During an "El Nino" year the ocean currents and. prevailing winds reverse themselves making it entirely probable for Lehi’s party to sail eastward during this circumstance.

16. Evidence That Supports a Mesoamerica setting for the Book of Mormon • Distance between the Land of Nephi and the land of Zarahemla. • Existence of multiple advanced cultures. • A written language for the time period. • Ruins of cities for the time period. • Existence of necessary bodies of water. • Necessary wilderness and mountain areas. • Small neck, narrow neck, narrow pass, or narrow passage.

17. Mesoamerica’s Izapa The Izapa area of Mesoamerica is located on Pacific Coast piedmont along the Mexico-Guatemala border. An ancient mound/stelae complex, seems to provide evidence of ancient influences in Mesoamerica from the near east which are also supportive of the Book of Mormon narrative. These evidences include: • Ancient near eastern cubit measurements have been found. • Dates for Jewish holidays celebrated prior to 600 B.C. along with the date of Lehi’s departure and the death of Jesus Christ can all be deciphered from stelae. • Stelae 5 appears to be a record of Lehi’s dream, and contains a name glyph for the name of Lehi. • Another stelae shows a ship that could refer to that of Lehi’s family. • Stelae evidences seven original tribes who settle the area. Lehi’s colony began with seven separate groups. • A name glyph for “Zoram” has been deciphered here.

18. Izapa’s Stelae 5 The Tree of Life Stone A Woodcut of Stelae 5 that assists in defining the images found on the actual stone. Izapa’s Stelae 5 Tree of Life Stone Erosion continues to affect the clarity of the image. An Artists sketch of Stelae 5 that assists in defining the images found on the actual stone.

19. Izapa Stelae 5 a Likeness of Lehi’s Dream Among the many similarities between Lehi’s Dream as recorded in the book of 1 Nephi and Izapa’s Stelae 5 are the following: • Lehi with a jawbone name glyph. • Sariah with a symbolic headdress signifying queen or princess. • Nephi writing on a book with a stylus. • Sam holding an umbrella over the figure of Nephi as a symbol of ruleship. • Laman with his back to the Tree of Life and with smoke from the alter blinding him. • Lemuel with his back to the Tree of Life. • The rod of iron leading to the Tree of Life. • The Tree of Life with its white fruit. • Angel or cherubim guarding the tree. • Angel or cherubim guarding the tree. • Filthy water with the head a little way off. - Interpretations from Wells Jakeman 11 8 9 10 2 1 4 3 5 6 7 12

20. QUETZALCOATL Similarities of Christ and Quetzalcoatl include the following: • 1. Both Christ and Quetzalcoatl were recognized as creator of all things. (Mosiah 4:2; Saenz 1962:19, 40) • 2. Both Christ and Quetzalcoatl were born of virgins. (Alma 7: 10; Gamiz 95) • 3. Both Christ and Quetzalcoatl are described as being white or as wearing a white robe. (3 Nephi 11:8; Torquemada 47) • 4. Both Christ and Quetzalcoatl performed miracles. (3 Nephi 26:15; Sejourne 136‑137) • 5. Both Christ and Quetzalcoatl taught the ordinance of baptism. (3 Nephi 11:23; Irwin 1963:170) • 6. Both Christ and Quetzalcoatl prophesied of future events. (Ixtlilxochitl: 40) “The story of the life of Quetzalcoatl resembles that of the Savior’s visit to the Nephites, so closely, that we can come to no other conclusion than that Quetzalcoatl and Christ are the same being.” (Taylor) Quetzalcoatl is represented as a “feathered serpent” in nearly all pre-Columbian histories about Mesoamerica.

21. QUETZALCOATL Similarities of Christ and Quetzalcoatl include the following: • 7. Both Christ and Quetzalcoatl were universal as opposed to just being recognized as local gods. (3 Nephi 16: 1; Sejourne 1962) • 8. A great destruction was associated with both Christ and Quetzalcoatl at exactly the same time period in history. (3 Nephi 8:5; Ixtlilxochitl: 40) • 9. The cross was a symbol to both Christ and Quetzalcoatl. (3 Nephi 27:14; Irwin 1963:165) • 10. Both Christ and Quetzalcoatl sent out disciples to preach their word. (3 Nephi 12:1; Wirth 1978:55) • 11. Both Christ and Quetzalcoatl promised they would come a second time. (2 Nephi 6:14; Sahagun 1:40) • 12. A new star is associated with both Christ and Quetzalcoatl. (3 Nephi 1:21; Anales de Cuauhtitlan 7) • 13. The children of both Christ and Quetzalcoatl will become lords and heirs of the earth. (4 Nephi 1: 17; Ixtlilxochitl: 40) For more information on similarities between Christ and Quetzalcoatl click on either picture.

22. The Hill Cumorah Any candidate for the Hill Cumorah must meet the following criteria. It must be: The Hill Vigia (Nephite Cumorah?) located in Southern Mexico. • Near an eastern seacoast. • Near both the Hill Shim and the Narrow Neck of land. • Overlook a coastal plain • Located a distance of one day from a large body of water. • Located in a land of many waters and rivers. • Located in a land where fountains are found. • Located in an area where one could escape to the south without detection. • Large enough for Mormon to see hundreds of thousands of bodies. • A significant land mark. • Free standing so people could camp around it. • Located in a temperate climate. • In an area subject to volcanoes and earthquakes. The Hill Cumorah near the Smith farm in the State of New York.

23. Ancient Mesoamerica Historical Records ANCIENT HISTORICAL RECORDS PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF JESUS CHRIST IN ANCIENT AMERICA. Histories, legends, traditions, rites, rituals, customs, and doctrines of the people of Ancient America support the Book of Mormon’s testimony of Christ’s visit to the ancient people of Mesoamerica. Some of these records include: • Ixtlilxochitl • The Lords of Totonicapan • Popol Vul • Bernadino Sahagun • Juan de Torquemada • Diego de Landa • Codex Vienna and Codex Nuttall • Dionisio Jose Chonay • Antonio Chi

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