Records of the Lamanites

RECORDS OF THE LAMANITES1

Elder Levi Edgar Young

OF THE FIRST COUNCIL OF SEVENTY

There are a number of visitors here this morning who have come from many parts of the world. We bid you welcome. Though you come from the remote parts of this country or from Asiatic provinces, we are very glad that you are here to join us in the worship of God. It is the Sabbath day and we have come together in His name.

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God holds us responsible for our thoughts and acts in this life. We bear testimony that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, and unto Him all must come eventually, and in the end find eternal life in the kingdom of God. May God bless you while you are here and protect you on your journey. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Gospel of love. You are His children. We are all His children, and in all abiding faith in Him we will find our salvation.

There was recently held in New York City, the International Congress of Americanists, to which delegates from seventeen nations of the world came, to deliver papers and discuss the “Origin and History of the American Indians.” … Most of the sessions were held at the American Museum of Natural History and Columbia University. I had the honour of being made a member of the Congress, and for one week I listened to papers given by these scientists on this important question.

The results of recent scientific researches on the racial resemblances of the American and Siberian Eskimo to the Indian; and the supposed kinship between the American Indian and some of the Asiatic tribes by Russian, Scandinavian, and American anthropologists were given. In all there were one hundred and forty papers read in general and departmental meetings. Dr. A. L. Kreber of the University of California discussed the subject: “Cultural Relations Between North and South America”; Dr. Ales Hrdlicka: “Migrations from Asia to America and their Traces”; Dr. J. E. Teeple spoke on: “The Factors Which May Lead to a Correlation of Maya and Christian Dates”; and Dr. Albrecht Penck of the University of Berlin gave a scholarly and elucidating paper on the subject: “When did the Indians Come to America?” These are but a few of the papers that were given, and I assure you that to me, they opened up the subject of the American Indians as no other source has done before. The Latter- day Saints offer the Book of Mormon as an authentic explanation of the Indians’ origin.

HEBREW CULTURE ON THE AMERICAN CONTINENT

The Book of Mormon is a history of Hebraic institutions of the American Continent as well as an exposition of Judaism. Centuries before Christ the Jaredites and Nephites came to America, the former at the time of the tower of Babel and the latter from Jerusalem. According to the Book of Mormon, one Lehi and his family were colonized in this New World about 600 B.C. They had inherited all the old traditions of the Hebraic people, and in their teachings one finds the same beliefs and ideals concerning God and the righteous laws of life as one finds in the writings of Isaiah, Moses, Jeremiah, etc. Religious, social and economic life lie at the very root of the story of the Book of Mormon. The fundamentals of the old religion of the Jews are given, as well as a clear explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for according to the Book of Mormon, Christ visited the people on the American continent after His resurrection.

The Book of Mormon idea of immortality is the Christian idea. The Prophet Alma says; “ Behold, there is a time appointed that all shall come forth from the dead. Now when this time eometh no one knows; but God knoweth the time which is appointed. … Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body. … whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them. … Then shall the righteous shine forth in the kingdom of God. … The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil.”

The Book of Mormon idea is based on a belief in a supreme personal Being, who has revealed Himself in the beauty and order of the world to Saints and prophets, and finally in His Son Jesus Christ. It sets forth the doctrine of man as a self-conscious mortal being, and makes him kin to God. … The Prophet Alma has made it clear that immortality is existence with God, fellowship with Him, which creates the whole interest in a future life. “We shall be like him, for we shall see him even as he is.” The Book of Mormon. … ideal is to be perfect “even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

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Like the Bible, the Book of Mormon shows God at work in the life of the human race. Its supreme revelation is of the human heart and life touched by the Spirit of God. Its power and value is this, and it is from beginning to end a book of life. It becomes in this light, colourful, gripping, vivid, laying its hold on our imaginations and our souls. It inspires, it lifts our minds to God; and herein is its power.

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INDIAN TRADITIONS

Among the Indians of our continent, both north and south, we have traditions as to their lives in the past, and according to the light of sociology that has recently been given by one of our leading sociologists, no legend or myth or tradition conies down to ns from the remote past, but what it shows something of the belief and the lives of the people who gave it. So we have a great work to perform among these American Indians. There are some three hundred thousand of them in the United States at the present time, and over three thousand of them in the State of Utah alone. They have had fine conceptions of life, and if the truth of God, the principles of the saving grace of Christ, can be carried to them as they are elucidated in the Book of Mormon, I firmly believe that the American Indians, the aborigines of this continent will yet be brought to a knowledge of the truth.

May we become more interested in the American Indian and in his cause, I hope and pray. May God inspire us to carry the message of salvation to them all, I ask in the name of Jesns Christ. Amen.

• 1.From an address delivered at the fifth session of the Ninety-ninth Semi-annual Conference, in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A., October 7th, 1928.