New Witnesses for God (Volume 3 of 3)Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Religion
New Witnesses for God (Volume 3 of 3)
Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Book of Mormon; Smith, Joseph, Jr., 1805-1844
like a woman, or a woman like a man, put away their brides if they
prove to have lost their virginity, kept the ten commandments.
Answering the objection that the American Indians do not speak Hebrew,
Garcia says:
But the reason for this is that the language has gradually changed,
as has been the case with all tongues. Witness the Hebrew spoken
by the Jews at the present time, which is much corrupted and very
different from what is originally was. There do actually exist,
besides, many Hebraic traces in the American languages. [3]
II.
_Lord Kingsborough's Views._
The main items of Lord Kingsborough's evidences and arguments are thus
summarized by Bancroft:
The religion of the Mexicans strongly resembled that of the Jews,
in many minor details, as will be presently seen, and the two were
practically alike, to a certain extent in their very foundation;
for, as the Jews acknowledged a multitude of angels, arch-angels,
principalities, thrones, dominions, and powers, as the subordinate
personages of their hierarchy, so did the Mexicans acknowledge
the unity of the deity in the person of Tezcatlipoca, and at the
same time worship a great number of other imaginary beings. Both
believed in a plurality of devils subordinate to one head, who was
called by the Mexicans Mictlantecutli, and by the Jews Satan. * *
* * * * It is probable that the Toltecs were acquainted with the
sin of the first man committed at the suggestion of the woman,
herself deceived by the serpent, who tempted her with the fruit of
the forbidden tree, who was the origin of all our calamities, and
by whom death came into the world. We have seen in this chapter
that Kingsborough supposes the Messiah and his story to have
been familiar to the Mexicans. There is reason to believe that
the Mexicans, like the Jews, offered meat and drink offerings
to stones. There are striking similarities between the Babel,
flood, and creation myths of the Hebrews and the Americans. Both
Jews and Mexicans were fond of appealing in their adjurations to
the heaven and the earth. Both were extremely superstitious, and
firm believers in prodigies. * * * * It is very probable that the
Sabbath of the seventh day was known in some parts of America.
The Mexicans applied the blood of sacrifices to the same uses as
the Jews; they poured it upon the earth, they sprinkled it, they
marked persons with it, and they smeared it upon walls and other
inanimate things. No one but the Jewish high priest might enter the
Holy of Holies. A similar custom obtained in Peru. Both Mexicans
and Jews regarded certain animals as unclean and unfit for food.
Some of the Americans believed with some of the Talmudists in a
plurality of souls. That man was created in the image of God was
a part of the Mexican belief. It was customary among the Mexicans
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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