Divine Origin of the Book of Mormon (11 July 1881)

The historian Clavigero, as quoted by Prof. Short, on p. 204 says: The Chiapanese have been the first peoplers of the New World, if we give credit to their traditions. They say that Votan, the grandson of that respectable old man who built the great ark to save himself and family from the deluge, and one of those who undertook the building of that lofty edifice, which was to reach up to heaven, went by express command of the Lord to people that land/ They say also that the first people came from the quarter of the north, and that when they arrived at Soconusco, they separated, some going to inhabit the country of Nicaragua and others remaining at Chiapas.” Prof. Short, on same page, commenting upon this and other writings of Clavigero, says: “According to this tradition, Votan came from the East, from across the sea by divine command to apportion the land of the new continent to seven families which he brought with him.” Regarding this colony coming in from the east, and not from-the west, we may have something to say hereafter. It appears to be a matter about which authors differ greatly; and in tracing the arrival of subsequent colonies, we may have occasion to give some views upon the subject.

We shall now turn our attention to the Book of Mormon for testimony confirming the historic quotations made in this article, and tending to establish the divine origin of that sacred book:

“Which Jared came forth with his brother and their families, with some others, and their families, from the great Tower, at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, and sware in his wrath that they should be scattered upon all the face of the earth; and according to the word of the Lord the people were scattered. And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and being a man highly favored of the Lord; for Jared his brother said unto him, cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our words. And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore He did not confound the language of Jared; and Jared and his brother were not confounded. * * * And it came to pass that Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon their friends, and their families also, that they were not confounded. * * * And it came to pass that the Lord did hear the brother of Jared, and had compassion upon him, and said unto him: go to and gather together thy flocks, both male and female, of every kind; and also of the seed of the earth of every kind, and thy families; and also Jared thy brother and his family; and also thy friends, and their families, and the friends of Jared and their families.” — Book of Ether, chap, i, 33, 34, 35, 37, 40 and 41.

“And it came to pass that Jared, and his brother, and their families, and also the friends of Jared and his brother and their families, went down into the valley which was northward, (and the name of the valley was Nimrod, being called after the mighty hunter,) with their flocks which they had gathered together, male and female, of every kind. And they did also lay snares and catch fowls of the .air, and they did also prepare a vessel, in which they did carry with them the fish of the waters; and they also carry with them Deseret, which, by interpretation, is a honey bee; and thus did they carry with them swarms of bees, and all manner of that which was upon the face of the land, seeds of every kind. And it came to pass that when they had come down into the valley of Nimrod, the Lord came down and talked with the brother of Jared; and He was in a cloud, and the brother of Jared saw him not. And it came to pass that the Lord commanded them that they should go forth into the wilderness, yea, into that quarter where never had man been. And it came to pass that the Lord did go before them, and did talk with them as He stood in a cloud, and gave directions whither they should travel. And it came to pass that they did travel in the wilderness, and did build barges, in which they did cross many waters, being directed continually by the hand of the Lord. And the Lord would not suffer that they should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but He would that they should come forth even unto the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people.” — Book of Ether, chap, ii, 1—7.

In the third chapter and third verse of same book, we find this language: "Behold, O Lord, thou hast smitten us because of our iniquity, and hath driven us forth, and for this many years we have been in the wilderness; nevertheless thou hast been merciful unto us.” The first verse of the same chapter mentions eight as being the number of vessels built by divine command, and in which this colony crossed the great deep. The sixth chapter gives a detailed account of their entering these barges, which were the length of a tree, with their families, animals, fowls, food, seeds, etc., and the Lord caused a furious wind to blow unceasingly towards the promised land. “And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty and four days upon the waters; and they did land upon the shore of the promised land.”

Thus we have traced the migrations of this small colony from the Tower to America, as they journeyed under the direction of the Almighty; and will conclude this article with a brief comparison of the two accounts. Josephus says that Nimrod was a mighty man, the grandson of Ham; the Book of Mormon speaks of the brother of Jared and his companions going down into a valley of that name called after the mighty hunter. Josephus speaks of ships in which some crossed over the sea, when God scattered the people everywhere from the Tower, and led them whithersoever He willed. We have seen that the colony of Jared’s brother used eight barges or vessels in which to cross the great deep. Most writers on American antiquities say seven, but the historian, Francisco Espinosa, states the number as being eight. The Book of Mormon quotations made in this article, refer to animals, fowls, fishes, bees, etc., and to seeds of every kind being gathered together by command of the Lord. Boturini, on page one hundred and twenty-six, states that the seven families wandered a long time in Asia, carrying with them, seeds, corn, beans, peppers, etc., and that their families increased in numbers during their journeyings. Book of Ether (chap. vi, 16) says: “And the friends of Jared and his brother, were in number about twenty and two souls; and they also begat sons and daughters before they came to the promised land; and therefore they began to be many.” The extract, from Kingsborough, states that the manuscript of the primitive Indians refers to the Tower as the “Great Wall,” which the lord of the “hollow piece of wood” saw, when it was being built, and beheld with his own eyes the confusion of the language of the people. Votan, it is stated, was a grandson of Noah, and came by express command of the Lord to the people of this land. The brother of Jared did the same; pleading with the Lord not to confound the language of Jared, or their friends and families. The seven families, being the same, doubtless, whom Votan led, maintained one language, being not confounded. They formed one company and traveled together many years (104), over rivers, mountains and arms of the sea. So did the colony led by Jared’s brother, who was in the wilderness many years and built barges to cross many waters. If the records of the Indians, which survived the vandalism of the Roman Catholic who followed in the wake of the Spanish conquerors, are reliable, and form, when combined with the traditions of the primitive inhabitants of the land, a chain of facts like those produced even thus far in this series of articles, then who can consistently deny the divine origin of the Book of Mormon?—“Contributor.”