Why should we study history? Learning about the past provides us with the opportunity to learn about cultures, governments, social systems, and religious understanding. It gives us the opportunity to comprehend the world at large.
Unfortunately, we sometimes find history being modified to fit current biases or ignoring various important subject matter. The bottom line is, all history can provide great lessons if we will. We need to take into account the biases and the paradigm of the historian who wrote it. Let us look at a major example, the Bible.
Great Value of Biblical History
Sir Isaac Newton, the greatest scientist in history, declared, “We account the Scriptures of God to be the most sublime philosophy. I find more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history whatever.” And he found mistakes in the Bible translations. Most people don’t know that Isaac spent more time studying religion than science, and as I share in my new book, he knew where we are in God’s timing, with his proper and inspired historical perspective. Our study of the scriptures is one of the best things we can do to come to know the author of them. He lovingly provided them for us. Accept the gift and feast upon His word.
The scriptures are given by the Spirit to the prophets. If we seek that same Spirit, the Lord will open their true meanings appropriate to our needs. The amazing infinite depth of the scriptures allows that to be; what a wonderful gift the Lord has given in His word.
Important Histories not well known
Some history has been ignored by those who have an agenda so the full story is lost. For instance, the Apocrypha contains a number of spiritual teachings of significant value to learn from. These accounts were left out of the Bible because they were thought to not be sufficiently canonical and would be too costly to print. But we have them readily available now.
The Book of Jasher is an amazing book and is just one of the many books of spiritual teachings that is not included in the Bible. However, it is mentioned in the Bible because of its significance (2 Samuel 1:18; Joshua 10:13). Jasher means “the correct record,” and covers 2,500 years from Adam and Eve down to the Judges parallel to the Bible history. It is an authentication and amplification of the Bible record. It is like a second witness to the Bible’s validity. The Book of Enoch is a “gold mine” as well.
Unfortunately, we now have 93% of the leading American scientists disbelieving in the Bible. If all of the books of the Apocrypha were part of the Bible, perhaps we would not be in the “unbelieving” state we find ourselves in. In other words, reaching beyond the Bible in our religious studies can be very worth while. When the Tribes of Israel return, they will bring their records with them, and that will be exciting to learn from them.
How Can We Know the Validity of Written History?
Winston Churchill said, “History is written by the victors.” Very often the victors destroy the history of the victims or alter the history to the advantage of the “winners,” and we often miss learning from the victims. Victor Frankel and Man’s Search for Meaning is a classic example of a surviving victim.
Philip Beale is an excellent present-day historian researcher, and a remarkable ancient shipbuilder. He builds replicas of ancient ships and sails them to various locations. His expeditions are proof of ancient Phoenician ship travels. Beale had found out from ancient records and stone writings that the Phoenicians had traveled around Africa and had crossed the Atlantic Ocean some 2,000 years before Christopher Columbus.
I just finished reading Philip Beale’s amazing book, Atlantic B. C. His description of Columbus’ four voyages to the Caribbean raised significant questions in my mind, as to whether historians have the wrong man discovering America. Beale has researched records before the Romans made the Phoenicians the victims.
My good friend, Wayne May, asked that question in a talk I heard him give some years ago. I was impressed with his insights and wondered at the time if the world had it right by celebrating 12 October 1492 as Columbus Day. He shared the data on how John Cabot was first. I was impressed with his presentation.
I felt to call Wayne—remembering his insightful talk. We had an enjoyable visit and he told me about his new magazine, The Promised Land. He asked if I would write an article for it. He kindly sent me his power-point slides to review. Gratefully, he has given me permission to use his research, which is quite unique and thorough.
In my search for truth, which has served me well over the years, I have three basic criteria:
1. If God says it, I know it is true. We have His promise that if we will “treasure up [His] word [we] shall not be deceived.” (JS-M 37) He is the WORD, and His words are designed in love to bring us the greatest joy in this life and a fullness of joy in the life to come. Feast upon them (2 Nephi 31:20-21) and reap the enormous blessings promised. His promises are sure.
2. We cannot prove a theory or hypothesis true; we don’t know enough. Only God knows enough. Data correlation does not provide validation. This is a common mistake many people make. If something agrees with their paradigm then they take that as validation when it is not, and this can be and often is very misleading for many.
3. On the other hand, if we have valid falsification data, then we can prove a theory or hypothesis false. This is a very powerful tool. Then we can move away from that falsehood and move forward in our search for truth and be not deceived by that false theory or hypothesis.
Let’s See What the Lord Says about the Discovery of America
We have in God’s word the following in First Nephi Chapter 13:
12 And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.
13 And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.
Verse 13 clearly describes the Pilgrims. Read, Tim Ballard’s Pilgrim Hypothesis to give you a good feel for that being the case.
We have an Apostle clarifying what is meant by the “Promised Land” spoken of in verse 12:
The United States is the promised land foretold in the Book of Mormon, a place where divine guidance directed inspired men to create the conditions necessary for the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ…” (Elder L. Tom Perry, The Tradition of Light and Testimony, Ensign [Dec. 2012, 29)
President Russell M. Nelson shares, “The Book of Mormon reveals the inheritance of Joseph, son of Israel, who was not forgotten when the land was distributed to the tribes of Israel. This was promised in the Abrahamic covenant. Because… Joseph’s inheritance was to be a land choice above all others. Choice because it was chosen to be the repository of sacred writing on golden plates from which the Book of Mormon would one day come. Choice because it would eventually host the world headquarters of the Restored Church of Jesus Christ in the latter days. And it was chosen because it was a land of liberty for those who worship the Lord and keep His commandments.” (Yes, Mormons are Christians, Legends Library [2017], 60)
Webster’s English Dictionary of the American Language
From Noah Webster’s famous 1828 English Dictionary of the American Language, Christopher Columbus did not discover the “Promised Land,” as we read his definition of AMERICA:
AMER’ICA, noun [from Amerigo Bespucci, a Florentine, who pretended to have first discovered the western continent.]
One of the great continents, first discovered by Sebastian Cabot, on June 11, 1498…,
From Wayne’s maps, we can see what Columbus discovered. It was not the “Promised Land” that the Lord speaks of. That which Cabot visited is.
Philip Beale’s Amazing book – Atlantic B. C.
I have learned much from Philip Beale’s very accurate historical documentation regarding Christopher Columbus. While John Cabot fits the scriptural description, Columbus does not for two fundamental reasons: 1) He did not go to the “Promised Land,” and 2) he did not have a Christain Purpose. The Savior said, “By their fruits, ye shall know them.” During his four voyages, he went after gold and was brutal to the natives. Bartolome’ de las Casas in his account, The Destruction of the Indies, summarised what he witnessed, writing: “Such inhumanities and barbarisms were committed in my sight as no age can parallel. My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature that now I tremble as I write.” Casas wrote that across the Caribbean in total, the Spanish were responsible for the deaths of 12 to 15 million indigenous people.
His brutal behavior got back to some of his sponsors and they sent Francisco de Bobadilla as a replacement, and he was tasked to investigate the accusations. Bobadilla reported that Columbus “used torture and mutilation to govern” and his two brothers (Bartholomew and Diego) were complicit.
“Columbus had put down native revolts by ordering brutal crackdowns in which many natives were killed and their dismembered bodies were paraded through the streets to discourage further unrest.” (P199 Atlantic B. C.) Many of the natives chose suicide to avoid the brutality of Columbus’s torturous tactics. He congratulated his brother Bartholomew for “defending the family against a woman who had said Columbus was of lowly birth. She was paraded through the town and had her tongue cut out.”
Hence, we see that the theory Columbus discovered the “promised land” is proven false. He discovered the Caribbean, but that is not the America the Lord was talking about. We only need one valid falsification data set to prove a theory false. We have two, and more could be easily added.
There are those who purport that Leif Erickson, as a Norse explorer, may have been the first man spoken of in 1 Nephi 13:12 as a Christian convert, but his missionary work was mainly in Greenland. There is a question of the accuracy of the historicity of his saga. For the Lord, it is not who came first because the Jaredites, Lehites, and Mulekites came before the explorers with a Divine purpose to this “promised land.”
The Revolutionary War is a massive fulfillment of verse 18 of First Nephi Chapter 13, “And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle.” In that war, the American soldiers were outnumbered 10/1 against the greatest army in the world and won! As George Washington summarized, America won by “Divine intervention.” In the Divine details of the Lord’s workings, we have Joan of Arc giving the French back their freedom so that they could assist the Colonies in winning that war. She in turn was following a two-hundred-year-old prophecy of Merlin, who outlined her mission to bring about Frances’ freedom. I believe John the Beloved was that Prophet Merlin, and this is a beautiful detail one finds by studying the history of important significance.
Another indicator of John Cabot being the man the Lord was talking about is the floodgate that opened up following his exploration, people came from many countries in Europe—descendants of Ephraim, son of Joseph in Egypt, who were a Bible-based people. The Bible had more influence on the founding documents of the United States than any other book. Our founders gave the world the best republic-inspired US Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights with the most freedom-loving people on the earth. The United States of America provided the fertile ground for the restoration of the fullness of the gospel and for the Lord to restore His Church, as He had it anciently. America became the “Ensign” to the nations spoken of by Isaiah (Isa. 11:12; 18:3) and to take the gospel to all peoples per John’s prophecy in Revelations 14:6-7
The Phoenician Navy largest In History for nearly a Thousand Years
This piece of the world history of the Phoenician Navy is largely unknown. The Romans as the victors destroyed much of the records of the victims. Philip Beale in his amazing book, Atlantic B. C., has contributed greatly to helping the world understand this important part of world history.
Not only is Philip Beale an excellent history researcher, but he is also a most unusual ancient shipbuilder. His passion to repeat what the Phoenicians did in 600 B. C. by both going around Africa and crossing the Atlantic is totally unparalleled. Not only did he draw on the authentic technology of that epoch to build a ship, but he also pulled together the crew to do both voyages and to be their captain. His passion occupying much of his life is in large measure because he researched the Phoenician history
As I share in the following blog article, my Jewish convert friend, David Doane has evidence that the Phoenicians brought the Mulekites to Zarahemla, here in the “Promised Land.” Zarahemla is a Phoenician word, as is Sidon, which is their name for the Mississippi River. The Lord told Joseph Smith to name the city across from Nauvoo Zarahemla for good reason. (D&C 125:3). https://itsabouttimebook.com/the-firm-foundation-expo-highlights-oct-2022/
It seems that Divine Providence was moving in the desires of Philip Beale’s life to have him replicate with 600 B.C. technology the Lehites’ trip around Africa and the Mulekites’ trip across the Atlantic to the “Promise Land.” Being born in South Hampton in the UK, he knew nothing of these trips when he was moved upon to design, build, and be the Captain using this ancient technology.
It is wonderful that the LDS community is so excited about what he has accomplished that they are going to put the ship he built, called the “Phoenician,” in a special museum across from Nauvoo, ILL, close to where the Mulikites landed. How is that for Divinely orchestrated significance, and it is happening as we speak?
The Great Importance of Knowing Book of Mormon Geography
When the Jaredites were led to the “promised Land,” just after the Tower of Babel and the confusion of tongues, the Brother of Jared was given extremely important guidance that we should internalize today in order to survive the days ahead: See Ether Chapter 2:
7 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.
8 And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them.
9 And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.
10 For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off.
11 And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God—that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.
12 Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.
These historic words written 4,200 years ago have incredible significance to us today!
If North Americans in this “land of promise” chose not to repent and are destroyed, they cannot tell the Lord they didn’t know this was the “promised land.” His Word is clear and true. Let us be counted among those who “hearken to His voice” and are privileged to be with Him when He comes again.
Thank you John Corbet for listening to the Spirit and showing the way to the “Promised Land” with the enormous blessings that have come to her since your arrival in 11 June 1498.
When the Prophet Lehi arrived in the “Promised Land,” he was given a great promise by the Lord that applies to all Americans today: (See Second Nephi Chapter 1)
6 Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord.
7 Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous, it shall be blessed forever.
How do we spend our time? Rejoice in His WORD and bask in His LOVE, and share it with the world, who critically need His WORD, and to know of His LOVE. Learn the history or else!
David W. Allan
Photo: Education – CC Pxfuel