1. AAF Ancient America Foundation

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

3. AAF Ancient America Foundation 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. AAF Ancient America Foundation 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. AAF Ancient America Foundation Who are We? Board of Directors T Michael Smith: Chairman V. Garth Norman Bruce W. Warren McCoy McMurray Administrative Officers President: V Garth Norman Director of Research: Bruce W. Warren Director of Publication: Richard K. Miner Secretary and Treasurer: Cheryl Norman For biographical information click on the symbol beside the name. First Edition of The Book of Mormon 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.

6. AAF Ancient America Foundation 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. AAF Ancient America Foundation “…The Words Of a Book That Is Sealed,…” Isaiah 29:11 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) “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) Click on either picture for further explanation

8. AAF Ancient America Foundation 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. AAF Ancient America Foundation Chiasms In The Book of Mormon Is this literary structure the signature of God? 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: X 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. AAF Ancient America Foundation Chiastic Structure of 1 Nephi 1:1-3 * having had a great knowledge of the goodness of God, * therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days. * Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, * which consists of the learning of the Jews * and the language of 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) “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; Point of Emphasis

11. AAF Ancient America Foundation 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 1 st 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. AAF Ancient America Foundation Anthon Transcript 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 “…a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned…” (Isaiah 29:11) For more information click on the image of the transcript.

13. AAF Ancient America Foundation 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. AAF Ancient America Foundation Lehi’s Trail 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. 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.

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

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

20. AAF Ancient America Foundation QUETZALCOATL 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. Similarities of Christ and Quetzalcoatl include the following:

21. AAF Ancient America Foundation QUETZALCOATL 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) Similarities of Christ and Quetzalcoatl include the following: For more information on similarities between Christ and Quetzalcoatl click on either picture.

22. AAF Ancient America Foundation The Hill Cumorah 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 Vigia (Nephite Cumorah?) located in Southern Mexico. Any candidate for the Hill Cumorah must meet the following criteria. It must be: The Hill Cumorah near the Smith farm in the State of New York.

23. AAF Ancient America Foundation Ancient Mesoamerica Historical Records 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 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:

24. AAF Ancient America Foundation Book Mark AAF and Become a Member of Ancient America Foundation Receive weekly Newsletters Access AAF research Participate in our monthly AAF lecture series Contribute to our body of scholarship Purchase books and articles Access Slide Presentations Thank you for your visit. Please send our web address to your friends who are interested in Book of Mormon scholarship.

25. AAF Ancient America Foundation

26. AAF Ancient America Foundation Excerpts from "Fair Gods and Feathered Serpents” by T.J. O'Brien "Everywhere they went in the New World, missionaries, trappers, colonizers and conquistadors encountered strange stories of a bearded white visitor who came in ancient times--long before Columbus--and brought a higher civilization with him. So remarkable was this visitor and his advanced civilization that natives built huge monuments and great structures in his honor, and many worshiped him as a God. His symbol, the feathered serpent appeared in ceremonies, paintings, carvings and architecture, which can still be seen at various sites throughout the Americas. When the stranger departed he left the people with a promise that he would eventually return to rule, bringing with him a golden age." Intriguing legends and archaeological evidence from myriad American cultures bear a common record of this mysterious fair god, called by various tribes and cultures Quetzalcoatl (Mexico), Gukumatz (Guatemala),Kukulcan (Yucatan), Viracocha (Peru, "Miracle Man"), Totem (Alaska), Tacoma (Washington), Montezuma (Pueblos), Tiki (Island Lord), Glooskap (Eastern Canada, Miracle worker), Wako (South America "Creator"), Tupa (South America, "Lord") and many others.

27. AAF Ancient America Foundation Excerpts from "Fair Gods and Feathered Serpents” by T.J. O'Brien Columbus says the natives "were very firmly convinced that I, with these ships and men, came from the heavens". Francisco Hernandez, chaplain to the Spanish government was sent to preach to the Mayas in the interior where Spaniards and Christianity had not yet been. He reported what a "chief principal lord' told him when asked about his belief. The chief told him that they knew and believed in god who lived in heaven and that this God was Father and Son and Holy Ghost, and that the Father was called Izona, and had created men and all things, and the son had for a name Bacab, who was born from a virgin called Chibirias, that she was in heaven with god,...and they called the Holy Ghost Echuah... When he was asked what these names of the three persons meant, he said that Izona meant the great father, and Bacab the son of the great father, and Echuah the merchant and in truth the Holy Spirit sent down good merchandise into the world, since it filled the earth...with it gifts and its grace." Click to Return to Slide Show

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29. AAF Ancient America Foundation “…the book is delivered to him that is not learned,… (Isaiah 29:12) Preston Nibley writes this about the early Education of Joseph Smith: "Mrs. Smith, in her history, fails to mention the important item of the early education of her son Joseph, Jr. I have not been able to find a direct statement that he ever attended school. We do know, however, that here at Palmyra he did obtain the rudiment of an education. He learned to read and to write a good legible hand, although he did not pay much attention to spelling as is evidenced by some of his early letters. There is no evidence whatever, in those early years, that Joseph Smith Jr. would at a future date, challenge the world with his learning and intelligence." (Preston Nibley "Joseph Smith the Prophet." P 19) Humble Beginnings

30. AAF Ancient America Foundation “A Marvelous Work and A Wonder” Begins The ministry of Joseph Smith lasted from 1820 to 1944, just 24 years. At the age of 14 he received his first vision of the Father and the Son. By the time he was 17 he had received his first five visitations from the Angel Moroni. At age 21, under the supervision of Moroni, he retrieved the plates from the hill where Moroni had hid them. By the time he was 23 the inspired work of translation had been completed. With Oliver Cowdery as the scribe, the actual translation time of the record as we have it in its present form was translated in approx 60 days at the phenomenal rate of 7 to 9 pages per day.

31. AAF Ancient America Foundation The Translation Process by Royal Skousen "The Prophet Joseph Smith said very little about the actual process of translating the Book of Mormon. However, a thorough study of the original text of the Book of Mormon (including a detailed examination of both the original and printer's manuscripts and a careful review of statements made by those who witnessed Joseph Smith translating) combines to provide valuable information about the translation process. Even details such as spelling correction and textual insertions provide definite clues about how Joseph translated. This evidence does not support theories that Joseph Smith composed the text himself or that he took a text from some other source. Instead, it indicates that the Lord exercised what I refer to as "tight control" over the word-by- word translation of the Book of Mormon. In particular, the evidence suggests that Joseph Smith saw specific words written out in English and read them off to the scribe, and that the accuracy of the resulting text depended on the carefulness of Joseph and his scribe. Indeed, this evidence is most compatible with the account that Joseph himself gave that he translated the Book of Mormon "by the gift and power of God". Click to Return to Slide Show

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33. AAF Ancient America Foundation A New Look at the Anthon Transcript Stan Johnson, an artist by profession, creates much of his sculpture with an Indian motive. He has spent much time among various tribes of Indians studying their art, ritual, dialects and hieroglyphs in order to make his artwork authentic. Some years ago he noted a resemblance between Indian and Egyptian hieroglyphs. Motivated by Dr. Hugh Nibley and challenged by others, he began his search for characters in the dialects of various Indian cultures ranging from Eastern Canada, North, South and Middle America and even the Polynesian islands. His results, as documented in a book about to be published, show that 80% of the characters copied into the Anthon Transcript are found in the various Indian dialects. His translation of them has been verified as correct by competent Indian linguists. 20% are of Egyptian dialect. The authors of the Book of Mormon claimed their written language to be reformed Egyptian.

34. AAF Ancient America Foundation A New Look at the Anthon Transcript The text of the transcript appears to be from Ether 6:5-7 The text discusses the barges of the Jaredite people. Approximately 80% of the characters appear to be from Indian dialect. Approximately 20% of the characters appears to be from Egyptian dialect. Research by Stan Johnson indicates that: Click to Return to Slide Show

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36. AAF Ancient America Foundation The Prophet Isaiah Wrote of a “Book That Is Sealed…” (Isaiah 29:11-14.) 11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: 12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. 13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: 14 Therefore, behold, 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.

37. AAF Ancient America Foundation Moroni and Plates of Gold In 385 AD, Moroni, the last author of the Book of Mormon, experienced the last great battle at a hill called Cumorah when and where the Nephites as a nation were destroyed. Because the victorious Lamanites sought to destroy him and all surviving Christians, Moroni escaped, taking with him the plates upon which the record was written. In 420 A.D., 35 years later he added his final message to the plates and hid them in a hill. It was revealed to him that they would subsequently be found and translated by the gift and power of God and that they would help usher in the dispensation of the fullness of times just prior to the Second Coming of Christ. Subsequently, but not at first, the hill where the plates were found was called the "Hill Cumorah".

38. AAF Ancient America Foundation Moroni and Plates of Gold Joseph Smith said that the set of plates was 8 inches long, 6 inches wide, and 6 inches thick. If pure gold they would weigh approx. 200 pounds. If, however, they were made of a common Central American alloy called "TUMBAGO", made of 8K gold and copper, they would have weighed around 53 pounds. Those witnesses who actually hefted the plates confirmed that this was about what they weighed. In ancient America, Tumbago was commonly treated with a simple acid, making it easy to engrave and turning it from its natural red to a "golden" color. Click to Return to Slide Show

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40. AAF Ancient America Foundation T. Michael Smith T. Michel Smith is chairman of the Ancient America Foundation Board of Directors. He has a Masters degree in historic archaeology from BYU. He is the Archaeologist Curator for the LDS Museum of Church History and Art. Since the 1970’s he has been conducting and directing exploration and excavation work at early Church history sites for restoration projects. His most recent work has been with the Kirtland, Ohio restoration project, and exploratory sites field surveys at Mt Pisgah, Iowa. His ongoing contributing research interests include: Early Church history sites, Book of Mormon geography history, and analysis and Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contacts research in the Americas. Email address: rkologytms@aol.comrkologytms@aol.com Click to Return to Slide Show

41. AAF Ancient America Foundation V. Garth Norman An archaeologists, V. Garth Norman is President of the Ancient America Foundation. He is the Director of Archaeological Research Consultant, and recently completed a major archaeological investigation of the Parowan Gap in southern Utah as a temple ritual center with an observatory and petroglyphs of the Fremont era that link to Mesoamerica. He is the world’s leading authority on the Izapa Sculpture, having completed that project for BYU NWAF in 1976. He has studied Book of Mormon archaeology and geography throughout his professional career with the goal of helping develop the field of Book of Mormon historicity research. He has graduate degrees in ancient Scripture and in Anthropology/Archaeology. Email address: gcnorman@msn.comgcnorman@msn.com  Click to Return to Slide Show

42. AAF Ancient America Foundation Bruce W. Warren Bruce W. Warren began his study of archaeology, anthropology and ancient history in 1948. He earned a B.A degree from BYU, and M.A. and PhD degrees in anthropology at the University of Arizona at Tucson. He spent nine years in southern Mexico with the New World Archaeological Foundation doing field and museum research between from 1955 to 1964. He spent the summers of 1976 and 1977 in Israel engaged archaeological research. He is a leading scholar in his ability to read Mayan hieroglyphs and ancient Mesoamerican codices. He is the author of Christ in Ancient America and New Evidences of Christ in Ancient America, as well as several other publications. He has taught Book of Mormon and biblical archaeology classes at BYU since 1972. Email Address: bwwarren@ancientamerica.org bwwarren@ancientamerica.org  Click to Return to Slide Show

43. AAF Ancient America Foundation Richard K. Miner Richard K. Miner has been a member of AAF since its inception 1949. He is Vice President of AAF and Director of Internet Technology for the AAF Website www.ancientamerica.org and AAF Noteswww.ancientamerica.org Author: External Evidences of the Book of Mormon Retired dentist after 50 years of practice. Past President of the Provo District Dental Society.  Click to Return to Slide Show