We are there - and about to be swept off the land for lack of caring to listen to our modern Prophets:
"Moroni's
America" – The North American Setting for the Book of Mormon
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Posted: 15 Jan 2019 07:00 AM PST
There is an
important intersection between the history of the Church and the history of
the United States that not many members of the Church are aware of. It
involves the specific fulfillment of Lehi’s prophecy in the Book of Mormon.
Last week, I noted that Lehi explained to his family what the Lord
told him about the promised land.
9 Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained
a promise, that inasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the
land of Jerusalem [i.e., Lehi’s group as well as Mulek’s] shall
keep his commandments, they shall prosper upon the face of this land; and
they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land
unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall keep his
commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there
shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of their inheritance;
and they shall dwell safely forever.
10 But behold, when the time cometh that they shall dwindle in unbelief, after they have received so great blessings from the hand of the Lord— 11 Yea, he will bring other nations unto them, and he will give unto them power, and he will take away from them the lands of their possessions, and he will cause them to be scattered and smitten.
Joseph Smith translated this passage
in Fayette, NY, in June 1829. The Book of Mormon was published in March, 1830.
Two months later, Lehi’s prophecy was formally fulfilled by the government of
the United States.
Here’s how the Library
of Congress summarizes the history:
The Indian
Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson
on May 28, 1830, authorizing the president to grant unsettled lands west of
the Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands within existing state borders. A
few tribes went peacefully, but many resisted the relocation policy. During
the fall and winter of 1838 and 1839, the Cherokees were forcibly moved west
by the United States government. Approximately 4,000 Cherokees died on this
forced march, which became known as the “Trail of Tears.”
The U.S. government had been
forcibly removing Indians from their tribal lands before this, but this Act
led to the nearly complete removal of Indian tribes east of the Mississippi
(River Sidon).
Here is a map
and painting of the infamous “Trail of Tears.”
Although this map shows the removal
of tribes from the southeast and upper Mississippi River basin in the early
1830s, Indian tribes from Ohio were also removed.
When you follow the history, you see
how literally Lehi’s prophecy was fulfilled.
1. His descendants would dwell in unbelief. 2. The Lord would bring other nations unto them (France and England). 3. Their lands would be taken from them. 4. They would be scattered and smitten.
The Ohio
History Connection explains:
Most Algonquian tribes allied
themselves with the French until France lost its North American colonies
in the French and Indian War (1756-1763). Fearing white settlement of their
lands, many Algonquian-speaking peoples then sided with the British in
the American Revolution, and in the War of 1812. By the 1840s, most
Algonquian-speaking tribes had been forcibly removed west of the
Mississippi under increasingly aggressive U.S. American Indian removal
policies.
 If Lehi had a vision of the future,
this painting depicts it. The outcome of the Indian Removal Act
is shown in this map.
Notice how the area around the
Mississippi and east from there has very little land left for the Native
Americans who once lived there.
This strikes me as a direct
fulfillment of Lehi’s warning and prophecy, published in the Book of Mormon
before the Indian Removal Act was signed by the President.
For those unfamiliar with the
proposed geography in Moroni’s America, which is based on the text of the
Book of Mormon, here is a map showing the major areas described in the text.
Recall that Joseph Smith himself
described the states of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois as “the plains of the
Nephites.”
You can see that description here
(scroll down to the last line):
https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/letterbook-2/62
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The Book of Mormon makes so
much more sense when we heed and believe the teachings of the prophets,
starting with the New York Cumorah.
Source: Book of Mormon Wars
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My mostly LDS women's book club read "Killers of the Flower Moon" a couple of months ago, which is about how Native Americans in Oklahoma were murdered by evil and greedy white men who wanted their money from oil properties. When I commented that the treatment of the Indians in America, while tragic and not justifiable, is the fulfillment of prophecy that is mentioned several times in the Book of Mormon because of the choices their ancestors made to reject Christ and His gospel, that the land could have remained theirs if they hadn't done that, I was met with resistance and discomfort from the other women--and they're members of the church! I was surprised that it wasn't more obvious to them. But then again I do live in a liberal state. But still, I was surprised. I thought most members of the church realized this.
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