The Following Blog Description Explains Why My Blog has been renamed: "Four Books of Scripture Testify of Jesus Christ!
Jesus the Christ -by Del Parson
WELCOME, NEW AND PREVIOUS VIEWERS OF THIS BLOG: In this and in every additional post of this blog you will be led on a carefully and prayerfully planned exciting and inspiring journey as you prepare by means of a guided study of the four sacred books of scripture I am shown holding above; which will assist you in becoming more righteously happy now and more fully prepared for eventual After-Mortality Eternal Endeavors on your part, along with your loved ones and countless other mortals who are seeking to qualify as our Heavenly Father's worthy children.
Those enabling Books of Scripture were brought about through the love of the Heavenly Father of our immortal spirits which now inhabit our mortal bodies; and were a key part of the Restoration of the Gospel, and of the Church of Jesus Christ through the Prophet Joseph Smith early in the Nineteenth Century. Also intimately involved, and surely leading out in all of this, was of course, Our Heavenly Father's Only Begotten Son who is our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer, Jesus Christ (who initially was our eldest spirit brother and is the only one of us our Heavenly Father will have ever sired into mortality).
Jesus accomplished His infinite atonement, the Ultimate Mortal Sacrifice, along with His infallibly witnessed Resurrection. He is our Redeemer and Savior and has opened the way for each of us to learn with certainty through those four books of scripture, and through the inspired teachings of His prophets, seers and revelators of our day; that some time after our mortal deaths, thanks to His atonement and resurrection, we will each eventually experience eternal life in our own resurrected bodies, which in the case of those who truly heeded all of the scriptural and prophetic guidance, there will be full possession of Godly capabilities!
To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From the End of This Post! For Those of You Who May Be In a Hurry to Access it, Here it is now: Neil Birch's Blog Index.
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| Jesus the Christ -by Del Parson |
WELCOME, NEW AND PREVIOUS VIEWERS OF THIS BLOG: In this and in every additional post of this blog you will be led on a carefully and prayerfully planned exciting and inspiring journey as you prepare by means of a guided study of the four sacred books of scripture I am shown holding above; which will assist you in becoming more righteously happy now and more fully prepared for eventual After-Mortality Eternal Endeavors on your part, along with your loved ones and countless other mortals who are seeking to qualify as our Heavenly Father's worthy children.
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TODAY'S THEME
The Actual Book of Mormon Geography
Sunday June 16, 2013: The past two or three days while writing updates to my personal journal, I spent some time reviewing all of the scriptures I have been told about by others or personally found in the Book of Mormon, which describe the geography of the Book of Mormon lands which so many members of the Church, including perhaps some of my posterity who will some day read my personal journal; have ignored or most likely just haven't felt the need to be interested in that subject. Here are the scriptures I have found through my own Book of Mormon searching, or with the help of others.
"Alma 22:32. (The Prophet Mormon's writings) And now, it was only the distance of a day and a half's journey for a Nephite, on the line Bountiful and the land Desolation, from the east to the west sea; and thus the land of Nephi and the Land of Zarahemla were nearly surrounded by water, there being a small neck of land between the land northward and the land southward."
33. And it came to pass that the Nephites had inhabited the land Bountiful, even from the east unto the west sea, and thus the Nephites in their wisdom, with their guards and their armies, had hemmed in the Lamanites on the south, that thereby they should have no more possession on the north, that they might not overrun the land northward."
Helaman 11:20: (The Prophet Mormon's writings:) "And thus it did come to pass that the people of Nephi began to prosper again in the land, and began to build up their waste places, and began to multiply and spread, even until they did cover the whole face of the land, both on the northward and on the southward, from the sea west to the sea east."
Helaman 4:7: (The Prophet Mormon's writings:) "And there they did fortify against the Lamanites, from the west sea, even unto the east; it being a day's journey for a Nephite, on the line which they had fortified and stationed their armies to defend their north county."
(You most likely noticed that Mormon, was describing the same basic geography of their lands as already described, namely the narrow strip of land (or passage) which connects the Southern portion of their lands where the Lamanites lived and the Northern portion of their lands where they, the Nephites lived, as indicated by:
Mormon 2:29: (The Prophet Mormon's writings:) "And the Lamanites did give unto us the land northward, yea even to the narrow passage which led into the land southward. And we did give unto the Lamanites all the land southward."
Describing what was done by a much earlier nation of refugees from the Tower of Babel, the Jaredites, who had occupied the same basic geography described above, Mormon's son, Moroni wrote:
Ether 10:20: "And they built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land."
Then there is this:
21: "And they did preserve the land southward for a wilderness, to get game. And the whole face of the land northward was covered with inhabitants" (Neil Birch's comment:) ,who were all Jaredites."
Satellite Image of Baja California, Mexico, overlaid with Book of Mormon Lands.
Most of you without even looking at a map of Mexico will most likely quickly realize that land which each of those scriptures from the Book of Mormon describes, is Baja California, which contains several agriculturally productive states of Present Day Mexico. That land, a peninsula, is very fertile and favored with very excellent weather! It is quite large and is listed by experts as one of the most fertile regions in the world.
There can be no doubt in any one's mind after reading those scriptures that the original Book of Mormon Lands were actually the land which is now the Baja California portion of Modern Day Mexico.
At the time of Christ's coming (soon after His resurrection in Jerusalem) to those lands, great destruction drastically changed some of the geography. However, that did not change the shape of their land or the position of the two seas which nearly surrounded their land! That is evidenced by Mormon, who lived after Christ's coming who very clearly personally describes the geography of Baja California in all but one of the scriptures quoted above. His son, Moroni described the same basic geography as it existed at a much earlier time, in that particular scripture.
There are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, some of whom are eminent scholars, who believe that the land where the Nephites and Lamanites originally lived is found in Mexico proper, and not in the Baja California portion of present day Mexico. They use maps on which there is a Sea North and a Sea South, instead of a Sea East and a Sea West which the Prophets Mormon and Moroni describe, and the "narrow neck of land" separating the Northern and Southern portions of that land where according to Mormon in Alma 22:32, a Nephite can walk it in a day and a half, or in the case of what is described in Helaman 4:7; in one day. It would actually take, according to those scholars' supposed geography, a large number of days to traverse."
We discover in that last mentioned scripture where we are told that the fortifications the Nephites built to better protect themselves from the hostile Lamanites to the South of that "Narrow Neck of Land", had without doubt straightened their road because of the linking of those fortifications, so that traveling then took only one day to walk that distance, while the supposed "professionally developed maps" indicate clearly that a larger number of days would be required in traversing that much longer distance which is indicated by their "map!" To sum up:
Book of Mormon geography is best described by the two prophets, Mormon and his son, Moroni, who wrote the history of the people who lived there in the Book of Mormon.
According to the maps most frequently shown in various books and at times, on the tack boards in Sunday School classes when the Book of Mormon is the subject matter, the narrow neck of land is shown to be at the very least, ninety to a hundred miles in length and so it definitely is not narrow and no Nephite or Lamanite, for that matter, could ever walk that distance in a day or in just a day and a half! Then again, it is not the scriptural: Seas West and East on those scholars' map, but instead a "Sea North and Sea South. (which cannot be explained by some hypothesized calendar change.")
One of our LDS ward's very excellent Sunday school teachers made the comment to me after class one Sunday after she had just taught one of our lessons from last year's (2012) Sunday School curriculum, that "we may never know during this life which map is correct!" As you no doubt can discern easily after reading my essay above, we should absolutely accept the truth that the correct original Book of Mormon Land is Baja California thanks to the accurate Book of Mormon scriptural descriptions written by the prophets Mormon and his son, Moroni who both actually lived there!
A professional geographer, Lynn Rosenvall founded the Olive Leaf Foundation and lives in Alberta, Canada. His son, David who lives in Utah directs regular Informational sessions which are held at the Mexican Mormon Museum located just South of the LaVell Edwards BYU Stadium in Provo, Utah. They have led out in identifying Baja California as the original Book of Mormon Land. Lynn simply followed his professional geographic training in making that correct identification. How can we doubt their conclusions after reading the Book of Mormon scriptures which guided them?
J. Neil Birch
(jneilmelva@gmail.com) This Google Earth Satellite Photo provides perhaps a better visual perspective of the Baja California Peninsula along with the surrounding land mass than does the Google Map shown above!
Google Earth™
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Now in keeping with the plan of mine which is expressed in the Blog Description above, that Witnesses of God will bear witness of Jesus Christ and His Great Work which applies to each of you and to me to, we once again will turn to the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. This will now happen, at first in written form in the case of the Great Prophet, Mormon and then you will be able to hear the words of Mormon's Son, the Great Nephite Prophet, Moroni.
The Following is the closing testimony of the Prophet Mormon to his people, the Nephites, not long before he was killed by the Lamanites: Dear Readers of this blog post, please apply these words to yourselves. You will be blessed for having done so!
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| Mormon's Last Day |
The Following is the closing testimony of the Prophet Mormon to his people, the Nephites, not long before he was killed by the Lamanites: Dear Readers of this blog post, please apply these words to yourselves. You will be blessed for having done so!
Mormon 7: 5 Know ye that ye must come to the aknowledge of your fathers, and repent of all your sins and iniquities, and bbelieve in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God, and that he was slain by the Jews, and by the power of the Father he hath risen again, whereby he hath gained the cvictory over the grave; and also in him is the sting of death swallowed up.
6 And he bringeth to pass the aresurrection of the dead, whereby man must be raised to stand before his bjudgment-seat.
7 And he hath brought to pass the aredemption of the bworld, whereby he that is found cguiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to ddwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the echoirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are fone God, in a state of ghappiness which hath no end.
10 And ye will also know that ye are a aremnant of the seed of Jacob; therefore ye are numbered among the people of the first covenant; and if it so be that ye believe in Christ, and are baptized, firstbwith water, then with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the cexample of our Savior, according to that which he hath commanded us, it shall be well with you in the day of judgment. Amen.
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| Moroni Burying the Plates, -By Tom Lovell |
Now you will be blessed by hearing the words of Mormon's son, Moroni so you can apply them also to your lives. Moroni was not killed by the Lamanites. He survived and traveled from what we call Baja California to far away New York eventually where he buried the Golden plates which the young prophet Joseph Smith would translate by the power for God to bring about the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, for our benefit! Moroni eventually appeared to young Joseph Smith as a resurrected person. Each of us will eventually be resurrected and hopefully we will be considered worthy to associate at that time with these three great men! The following link will allow you to listen to Moroni's inspired words which apply to each of you!
http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/10?lang=eng
TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or An Item Which Refers To Any Other Blog Post You May Desire To Access): After Reading All of This Paragraph Please Click on the Post Title Shown at the End of this paragraphFollowing: When You See Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy, Please, Scroll Down To Your Target. A Description of the actual Book of Mormon Geography is given us by Book of Mormon Prophets, Mormon and Moroni. Post 46u.
I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested.
Neil Birch
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DISCLAIMER
This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.
DISCLAIMER
This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.
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"Four Books of Scripture Testify of Jesus Christ!" Legal /Statement.Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch Legal /Statement.
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I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.
If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.
I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested.
Neil Birch
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