Previously: Somethin's Fishy about Saltair
Were there Nephites in the Rocky Mountains?
A Tale of Ten Cities
And never hath any of them been destroyed save it were foretold them by the prophets of the Lord. (2 Nephi 11:4, RE)
And Jacob, his younger brother, told us how to avoid destruction:
...and none will he destroy that believeth in him. And they that believe not in him shall be destroyed, both by fire, and by tempest, and by earthquakes, and by bloodsheds, and by pestilence, and by famine... (2 Nephi 5:5, RE, emphasis added)
In the account of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham not only helped the king of Sodom regain his goods from the king of Chedorlaomer, he was also sent by the Lord to Sodom to find any righteous that were left in the city. The only one he found was Lot. After Lot was warned, the Lord waited until he was safely out of the city before destruction ensued.
This story showcases the Lord's great mercy in sparing the righteous, even if He can only find one.
With Lot safely out of the way, fire and brimstone reigned down from heaven, and the cities of the plains were completely consumed. A similar destruction happened to the Nephites in 34 A.D., when Jacob-ugath and its surrounding cities were also consumed by fire.
Is there a mystery to be discovered here by linking these two geographic regions?
When Mormon was narrating the great cataclysms that befell the Nephites following the resurrection of Jesus Christ he dropped a subtle hint regarding the Lord's pattern of destruction. He writes:
And now whoso readeth, let him understand; he that hath the scriptures, let him search them, and see, and behold if all these deaths, and destructions by fire, and by smoke, and by tempests and by whirlwinds, and by the opening of the earth to receive them, and all these things are not unto the fulfilling of the prophecies of all the holy prophets. (3 Nephi 4:11, RE)
These things have been told and foretold by all the holy prophets, including those in Israel. Mormon had the brass plates, so he would've known about similar destructions that transpired among the ancient Hebrews (in much more detail than our Old Testament includes). He is telling us to look for patterns in both the records of the Nephites and also in the records of the Jews.
And the first clue is in the name of the city of Jacob-ugath.
I'd like to give credit where credit is due. I learned this stuff from the Mormon Yeshiva. The source of what I'm about to present is the mind-blowing video below:
I recommend watching the video to get the full picture, but we’ll start with the meaning of the name Jacob-ugath:
Jacob means "supplanter," as in Jacob wrangling the birthright away from Esau, and Ugath means "cakes" or "hot cinders."
Jacob-ugath was destroyed for the following iniquities:
Killing the saints and prophets, destroying the government, and engaging in secret murders (which we now know means abortion).
When the Lord is describing for the surviving Nephites the cities He destroyed and the reasons He destroyed them them, He categorizes Jacob-ugath with four other cites: Laman, Josh, Gad, and Kishkumen.
As Robert Kay points out in his video, the city of Sodom was also associated with four other cites of the plains: Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Bela (Zoar).
And what is the common denominator among these ten cities?
They were all destroyed by fire.
The Lord goes out of His way to point out how He destroyed the various Nephite cities. Why would this matter?
Some cities were buried in mudslides and mountains, some were sunk into the depths of the sea, others were carried away in whirlwinds and tempests, and others rocked by earthquakes.
By including the Hebrew word ugath, Mormon has given us as stronger connection between these 10 cities, hinting that they all have "hot cinders" in common. Hot cinders are evidence of what a fire has left behind, as in ash or even melted material. Is this what is meant by fire and brimstone, which reigned down from heaven upon these cities?
Brimstone means "burning stone", and is associated with sulfur, the tenth most abundant element by mass in the universe. Could the scriptural definition of brimstone also include melted buildings?
When Moses was describing the destruction that took place in Egypt after the plagues had gone through it, he likened that destruction to Sodom and Gomorrah:
...when they see the plagues of that land [Egypt], and the sicknesses which the Lord has laid upon it, and that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sowed, nor bearing, nor any grass grows therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his wrath... (Deuteronomy 9:3, RE, emphasis added)
Here Moses adds another element to the mix of fire and brimstone: salt.
And as you'll recall, when Lot's wife turned back towards Sodom she was turned into a pillar of salt. Was this literal or figurative? And what does salt have to do with intense heat?
In an interesting article I found which you can read here, scientists now suspect that a meteor cloudburst could've been responsible for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. They hypothesize that detonation occurred around 2.5 miles from the earth's surface, and that the blast would have created a 740 mph shock wave, leveling all the buildings and instantly vaporizing thousands of inhabitants, leaving no survivors in its wake.
Temperatures from such a blast are estimated to have reached more than 3600 degrees Fahrenheit - well over the melting point of stone and rock. In the video below, archeologists explore what may very well be melted building remnants from the destruction of Sodom:
The fireball also explains the unusually high concentrations of salt in the basement layer, which reached 25% in some samples. "The salt was thrown up due to the high impact pressure," he [Professor Kennett] adds.
The meteor is believed to have broken up upon contact with the Earth's atmosphere. "And it may be [that] the impact partially hit the Dead Sea, which is rich in salt," says Kennett. It redistributed salt-rich crystals from the local shores of the Dead sea, wiping out other communities across the region...
This redistribution of salt created a massive desert, and as the article states, "nothing could grow in these formerly fertile grounds, forcing people to leave the area for hundreds of years." Thus, Moses' words were confirmed, that the land is "not sowed, nor bearing, nor any grass grows therein."
So, if those five Hebrew cities were destroyed by fire in the vicinity of a salty sea, then what does that tell us about the five Nephite cities that were also destroyed by fire?
Were they also located in the vicinity of a salty sea?
As it turns out, the Great Salt Lake and the Dead Sea have a lot in common, in fact, some of their similarities are downright uncanny. Here are some interesting satellite images put together by David Snell, a blogger proud of his LDS heritage:
These two salty bodies of water are naturally occurring, and contain about 8-10 times more salt than ocean water. This makes it very difficult for any animal life to live in them, although Salt Lake is slightly lower in salinity than the Dead Sea, which allows brine shrimp to flourish, making it a perfect nesting grounds for many bird species.
As you can also see in the above image, both seas are surrounded by arid land. (To the west of Salt Lake is a vast area known as the Great Salt Lake Desert, I suggest going on google earth to get an idea of just how massive it is.)
In the images below we can see that both bodies of salt water are fed from a fresh water lake and river. The Sea of Galilee feeds the Dead Sea, and Utah Lake feeds the Great Salt Lake. Also interesting is the fact that Utah pioneers named the river that empties Utah Lake into Salt Lake the Jordan River:
According to geologists, these bodies of water are located in drainage areas with no outlets. The official story is that over thousands of years, fresh water rivers and streams have deposited salty minerals into these seas, which have nowhere to escape. The water level decreases through evaporation, but the salt remains behind.
One interesting difference between the Great Salt Lake and the Dead Sea is that the former is 4200 feet above sea level and the latter is 284 below sea level. Salt Lake is supposed to be a remnant of Lake Bonneville, which filled the entire Great Basin at one time. The only place in North America that matches the elevation of the Dead Sea is Death Valley, which is a salt flat reaching down to 282 below sea level.
Death Valley would have been where the Gulf of California was located, as depicted on this old map.
So the real question in examining these two regions is this: What exactly is the Lord trying to communicate to us by linking the destruction of Sodom with that of Jacob-ugath?
What could be significant about Utah that warrants the Lord linking it to the ancient holy land? What is the connection?
As always, I don't know. I'm merely asking questions. But maybe, just maybe, the Lord is trying to tell us that cataclysms are what effect geologic change. And that we shouldn't put our trust in the arm of flesh, i.e., the official scientists and geologists telling us how our world was shaped. Perhaps the Lord wants us to have an open mind and know that He is in control of the geology of this Earth, as the Creator of it.
Trusting in the Lord to shape the very landscapes we live on is something that may play a very important role in the future. The whole face of the land may change again to create the perfect nurturing environment for the future city of New Jerusalem to thrive, and the eventual building up of Zion on a completely renewed and regenerated Earth. I really don't know how this will play out, but my point here is that if it happened in the past, it can happen in the future. "One Eternal Round" indeed.
Maybe the strange phenomenon of places like Moab, Utah is the result of catastrophic events - by cataclysm and not million of years of erosion and weathering:
And perhaps this type of land deformation has happened a few more times since those Nephite cities were destroyed.
Have you ever wondered why they call medieval times the dark ages?
Have you ever considered that maybe those times weren't so dark, and that there may have been highly advanced civilizations spread out over the earth?
Regardless of who was here before us, and what type of destruction occurred, I think it is significant that Mormon dropped subtle clues linking the destruction of Sodom with that of Jacob-ugath.
Of all the topological upheavals which have happened all over the earth, the geology of the Great Salt Lake and Dead Sea regions have remained similar.
Again, we should ask: what is the Lord trying to tell us about these two geological areas?
Which leads me to yet another question:
Were the Nephites also established in the Rocky Mountains?
From Sea to Shining Sea
On June 2, 1834 Joseph Smith Jr., along with several members of Zion's Camp, crossed the Illinois River at Philip's Ferry and camped on the west bank. The next morning, June 3, 1834, Joseph, with several other brethren, visited a prominent mound which had been located the previous day by a reconnaissance party on top of the bluffs overlooking the river. This location today is approximately a mile south of Valley City, Illinois, and is now known as Naples Mound #8 as verified by Dr. James L. Bradley in his authoritative book The Eternal Perspectives of Zion's Camp.
While standing atop the mound a marvelous event took place that surely must have impacted all those present. Joseph's experience is historically recorded as follows:
"...on top the mound were... stones which presented the appearance of three altars having been erected one above the other, according to the ancient order; and the remains of bones strewn over the surface of the ground. Joseph then requested a shovel be brought in order that the mound might be dug into.
The brethren procured a shovel and a hoe, and removing the earth to the depth of about one foot, discovered the skeleton of a man, almost entire, and between the ribs the stone point of a Lamanitish arrow, which evidently produced his death. Elder Burr Riggs retained the arrow... the visions of the past being opened to my understanding by the Spirit of the Almighty, I discovered that the person whose skeleton was before us was a white Lamanite, a large, thick-set man, and a man of God. His name was Zelph. He was a warrior and chieftain under the great prophet Onandagus, who was known from the hill Cumorah or eastern sea to the Rocky Mountains. He was killed in battle by the arrow found among his ribs, during the last great struggle with the Lamanites and Nephites." (Kindle Version Loc. 1622-1635)
Here we have an example of a prophet not named in the text of the Book of Mormon: Onandagus. Throughout the text of the book we are told that at various times the Lord called "many prophets" to warn the people or to prophecy to them. How many of these unnamed prophets were killed by the inhabitants of Jacob-ugath and its surrounding cities?
Onandagus was known all across the country, from the eastern sea to the Rocky Mountains. Now, we know the geography of the land was changed significantly before the time of Zelph and Onandagus, who lived around 400 A.D., so the Rocky Mountains may have not been so rocky at that time.
The Rockies may have actually been created by the destruction that befell that Nephites in 34 A.D., as this prophecy given by Samuel the Lamanite suggests dramatic changes to the landscape:
Yea, at that time that he [Christ] shall yield up the ghost, there shall be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours, and the earth shall shake and tremble, and the rocks which are upon the face of this earth, which are both above the earth and beneath, which ye know at this time are solid (or the more part of it is one solid mass) shall be broken up, yea, they shall be rent in twain, and shall ever after be found in seams, and in cracks, and in broken fragments, upon the face of the whole earth, yea, both above the earth and beneath.
And behold, there shall be great tempests, and there shall be many mountains laid low like unto a valley, and there shall be many places which are now called valleys which shall become mountains, whose height thereof is great. (Helaman 5:13, RE, emphasis added)
What other mountain range can you think of in the Americas "whose height thereof is great," if not the Rockies?
This leads me to another question: if the Nephites were established in the vicinity of Salt Lake before the Rocky Mountains existed, then how large was that lake? Is this where the narrative of Lake Bonneville fits into the picture, and could this have actually been the "sea west" spoken of by Mormon?
Perhaps the entire Great Basin region was once part of the Pacific Ocean, a vast sea separating the island of California from the American mainland. And maybe Jacob-ugath was located in the vicinity of where Salt Lake City lies today.
And is it possible that if the Lord destroyed the city of Jacob-ugath by fire as He did Sodom and Gomorrah, then that means that any stone or cement buildings would most likely not have survived those melting temperatures of 3600 degrees Fahrenheit. This begs another question: how many ancient cities in the Americas may have actually been melted by fire?
The photos below certainly seem to indicate that there were other cites destroyed this way:
Maybe this realm is not what we think it is. The video below shows some of these melted structures in southern Utah:
If Jacob-ugath and its surrounding cities were indeed located in modern-day Utah, then who built the buildings that I have been blogging in this series?
If no Nephite buildings survived the fire storm that the Lord sent upon those ancient cities, then was there another group of enlightened Christians whom the Lord allowed to flourish on this promise land?
And were they the builders of all the Old World buildings and Star Forts that litter this American nation?
As you may recall, Nephi was shown in vision that his seed would perish, and be completely overpowered by the Lamanites, but, Joseph, his little brother, was given a totally different promise by his father Lehi.
He was told that his seed shall never perish:
And now Joseph, my last born whom I brought out of the wilderness of mine afflictions, may the Lord bless thee for ever, for thy seed shall not utterly be destroyed. (2 Nephi 2:2, RE)
So the real question is: where, and who are the descendants of Joseph today?
I won't attempt to answer that, but I will share something that I found in a really old book written by a Scot named John Ogilby and published in 1671. The title of the book is too long to mention, but it is a record of early voyages to America, and Ogilby makes an interesting link between the Tartarians and the lost tribes of Israel:
Tartary or Tattary, so call'd from the River Tatter, which runs thorow [sic] the Countrey [sic] Mongul into the Northern Ocean, covers a great part of the Terrestrial Globe; the lesser Tartary makes out a considerable part of Europe; the greater is Asia.
This great Tartary, which is a thousand Leagues long, and six hundred broad, reckons five chief Provinces...
Now we must enquire from what Tartars the Americans are Extracted:
Mornaeus, Postellus, Genebrardus, Poterus, and others are of opinion, That the Tartars, which about the year 1228, under the command of Zingis Cham overspread the Earth like a deluge, were the Successors of the ten Tribes of Israel, which were carry'd into captivity to Assyria by Salmanazar. The name Tartary, or rather Tattaria, seems to be some testimony thereof, because it signifies in the Syrian or Hebrew Tongue, Remnants or Remainders, as seemingly, because these Tartarians were remainders of the foremention'd Tribes; nay, the Norther Tartary Herdsmen preserve to this day the Names Dan, Zabulon, Naphthali: Wherefore we need not to admire, why so many Jews are found in Russia, Sarmatia, and Liefland; nay, the nearer to Tartary, the mote Jews there are...
Several learned Authors question this removal of the Israelites out of Assyria to Tartary, though to our Judgement their Arguments are too weak, to take from that the footing they have gotten there; yet, nevertheless, the Israelites are not to be taken for the Planters of America, for why else is not Judaisme as well found in America as in Tartary. But it is already shewn, that America was inhabited long before the dispersion of the Israelites. (Click here to read the book online)
Many books said to be written during this time period (the 15th-18th centuries) have been scanned and uploaded to the internet, and can be read for free. Scores of them mention the Tartarians by name, as well as their homeland Greater Tartary, as if contemporary readers already knew who they were. Old maps depict Greater Tartary where modern-day Russia is:
Could the Tartarians have really been remnants of the lost ten tribes? Russia, is after all, a north country. And could they really have been spread out over the entire earth?
Jesus did say, after all, that He had other sheep that He needed to visit.
My son and I enjoy going on google earth and looking at historic buildings all over the world. It's fascinating that these buildings are found in every major city of every nation on earth, designed with the same architectural styles, and constructed in the same timelines told to us in the mainstream narratives.
But what is really going on here?
Who were the Tartarians? How were they able to construct buildings that are obviously so much further technically and architecturally advanced than what our current civilization can design and build? We have been told that we are progressing and "evolving" as we march forward through time, but judging by our inefficient resources and dumbed-down cube-like building style termed "architectural brutalism", we're definitely not progressing in form and function.
When we begin to dive deep into the Old World and open our minds to a past that is nothing like we've been told, the mysteries really begin to come into clear focus and we humbly realize that we don't know a single thing. We realize that we're totally dependent on the Lord to reveal to us a thing so seemingly simple as our chronological history which we have erroneously taken for granted since elementary school... because at this point only He can correct the mess that our history has become.
Truly, nothing is as it seems in this fallen world.
Join me next time as we explore the bizarre history of insane asylums, railroads, and orphanages in Utah…
Bonus: Egyptians in North America
The main passageway is a bout 13 feet wide, narrowing to 3 feet toward the further end. About 67 feet from the entrance, the first wide passages branch off to the left, along which, on both sides are a number of rooms about the side of ordinary living rooms of today, though some are thirty or forty feet square. These are entered by oval shaped doors and are ventilated by round air spaces through the walls into the passages. The walls are about 3 feet six inches in thickness. The passages are chiseled or hewn as straight as could be laid out by an engineer. The ceilings of many of the rooms converge to a center. The side passages near the entrance run at a sharp angle from the main hall, but toward the rear they gradually reach a right angel in direction. (Read Kinkaid's entire testimony here)
He found shrines, granaries, hard cement, a strange unidentified grey metal resembling platinum, stone tablets with "mysterious hieroglyphics, a tomb and crypt full of mummies, and other relics. He gathered a few items and traveled and to Yuma, where he shipped them to the Smithsonian.
The Smithsonian sent out Kinkaid's superior, S.A. Jordan, and a host of men to assist in further exploration, but nothing ever came of it. Whatever relics they uncovered disappeared, and the Smithsonian denies to this day that these men ever existed. The entire thing has been written off as hoax. But there was an article published in the Arizona Gazette on Monday April 15, 1909, announcing the discovery:
Kinkaid and Jordan were never heard of again, disappeared down the memory hole forever. Although it is interesting that certain landmarks in the Grand Canyon have Egyptian names:
Speaking of Egypt, have you ever wondered (or even noticed) why there are cities along the Mississippi river that match the names of ancient cities in Egypt?
- Memphis, TN
- Cairo, IL
- Thebes, IL
- Karnak, IL
And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians and they shall fight, every one against his brother and every one against his neighbor, city against city and kingdom against kingdom. (Isaiah 6:15, RE)
The good news is the official narrative of the controllers is beginning to fall apart as people are waking up at an unprecedented rate. The bad news is that mass awakening may be the very trigger for that future civil war...which is why it is more important than ever to prepare yourself spiritually to live in Zion, the future New Jerusalem that will be established somewhere here on the North American continent.
Double Bonus: Modern Prophecy of the Destruction of Salt Lake City
I am no one special. I hold no office in any church and I did not ask for this, nor did I seek for anything like it. I am only writing this because I was instructed to publish this account and the words that were given to me to declare. I was given a task to declare a warning to the people who live in Salt Lake Valley on November 3, 2017. The transcript of what I was told to say is below.
First, I need to give a brief account as to how this came about. My wife and I were visiting my brother and sisters and their spouses who all live along the Wasatch Front. Mostly in Davis County, Utah. We got together in the evening at a restaurant in Brigham City. My wife and I live in Cedar City so rather than drive home that night we stayed at my sister’s home in Hooper and planned to travel home the next day.
The next morning the spirit came upon me almost as soon as I woke up. It was not so much words that were spoken, but a very strong impression was conveyed to me, with a picture that I saw in my mind. I saw myself behind the Capitol Building in Salt Lake City standing up in the foothills. I was instructed to pronounce a curse directed to the inhabitants of Salt Lake City. I have never received an impression like that before, certainly never with such power and force that came upon me then. I was experienced enough with the Holy Spirit having guided me from time to time, to know that the source of this impression was from the Lord. In my naivete I begged the Lord not to give a curse, but could I give a blessing instead? The answer I received was “Yes, you can give a blessing, but you must say the words I give you.”
I pondered on this all morning as I got ready for the day. I didn’t tell my wife what I had experienced until we were in the car and on our way home. I told her that we had to make a stop on the way and explained to her what I had been instructed to do. She accepted what I said more readily than I expected as I was a little nervous about how she would react.
We drove to Salt Lake City and made our way to the north side of the Capitol building. My wife asked me if I knew where we were going. I told her I didn’t know, but felt impressed to turn on a particular road. I didn’t know where my destination was, but received impressions to turn when it was necessary. I had never been to this part of Salt Lake City, even though I had lived in the area for twelve years previously. I made one last turn and found a small park way up on the hill side with a view of the whole valley. I knew this was the place I was being led to. I parked the car and we got out. The park turned out to be Ensign Peak Park. I had no idea that Ensign Peak was north of the Capitol building. I always assumed it was to the East near Immigration Canyon where the Pioneers first entered Salt lake Valley. We followed the trail up to the top of Ensign Peak, which was a 30-minute hike to the top.
As I read the plaques at the top of the peak describing its significance in the history of the settling of the valley, I began to realize the wise and wonderful purpose of the Lord in having me go to that exact spot. Within a few days after the saints arrived in Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young and many of the apostles and other prominent men in the company hiked up to the top of Ensign Peak. There they prayed and dedicated the valley to the gathering of the saints and the establishment of Zion. It was to be a gathering place for all nations to come to the valley. Here I was to give, as I understood it, a countermand, or a renouncement to that original blessing.
My wife and I were alone on the top of the peak. I prayed that the Lord would give me the words to say, and that I would speak only what he instructed. My wife recorded my words on an iPhone so that I could later write them down. I stood looking over the Salt Lake Valley which you could see in its entirety from that vantage point. I raised my arms over my head and uttered as loudly as I could these words under the influence of the Holy Spirit:
“Inhabitants of Salt Lake City, Latter Day Saints and Christians, I deliver a message to you. The Lord has blessed and protected this valley for one hundred and seventy years. People have prospered in this valley and enjoyed protection and peace during this time. The Lord created this place and brought you here as a place of prophesy in the last days, a haven for His people to prepare for His second coming.
The time is quickly coming when the Lord will try the inhabitants of this valley to winnow out those who truly seek to do His will and perform His righteousness.
AWAKE! Awake to the realization that the Lord has reestablished a new covenant in these last decades in final preparation of His coming. Listen to the words of these last messengers who have been sent forth by the Lord to declare His words to you. If you accept this last covenant, when the tribulation comes, and difficult times are coming shortly to this valley, they will pass over you and your families. He will protect and watch over you.
Awake, all you sons and daughters of Zion and listen to these words. Moroni saw our day and declared that there are none save only a few who do not lift themselves up in pride, wear very fine clothes, envy church leaders, and covet and desire to accumulate money at the expense of the poor. He said that EVERY church has become polluted because you love your buildings more then you love the poor and the needy, sick and afflicted. Because you love your buildings more than the poor they will be destroyed. Because you love to accumulate riches, they will be cast into the rocks and hiding places and lost. Read the words of the final covenant offered to the gentiles this year in Idaho. Repent and turn to face the Savior and seek with all your heart to know Him. Join in accepting the terms of the covenant and embrace the gospel of Christ. If you do you will become sons and daughters of Christ, with every right, privilege, and performance that accompanies taking His name upon you. Amen”
Afterwards, I didn’t know what to make of this whole incident. I asked the Lord why I was asked to do this. I asked the purpose of making this declaration especially since there was no one there to take note of it except my wife and me. I didn’t receive an answer. I mentioned this incident to a friend of mine some months later and he offered that there was obviously a purpose known to the Lord; it may have been necessary for a mortal to perform that task in order for a work to commence by angels, or something of the sort.
Eight months later, in July 2018, I was praying about a different matter. At one point the spirit asked me if there was something I desired to ask. I asked, “What was the purpose of the warning I gave on Ensign Peak and what is to be the end of the matter?” He answered, “It was a beginning, the start.” I understand that what was prophesied to come upon “His house” (D&C 112:24-26) was soon to begin. Then the spirit said to me very distinctly, “I want you to publish what I told you to speak.” I understood this to mean that I make this declaration as public as I can so that it will reach as many as possible. This is my witness that this is the Lord’s work.
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