Four years ago, I wrote an analysis of the Lord’s promises and the prophecies of Book of Mormon prophets regarding the remnant of Joseph in the last days and about the building of New Jerusalem:

To the Lamanites
To the Lamanites, Part 2

Over the years, I have read commentaries and watched videos of people attempting to discredit the Book of Mormon and rationalize and reason to themselves why Native Americans cannot be Lamanites or whether there were any Lamanites “among” the Native Americans. One of the biggest arguments deals with the various DNA tests that have been conducted in order to determine whether any candidates exist whose markers can be traced back to Jewish ancestry. And while there may exist a substantial collection of data to make an argument, a substantial collection is not the same as a complete collection. To put it simply, ALL indigenous peoples of the Americas have not been tested. There does not exist a complete and total collection of data.

The Lord keeps His promises. He does and will vindicate His prophets. The world will not pass away before all His words are fulfilled. In the New Testament, we read:

John 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

It is traditionally believed that Jesus referred to the Gentiles to whom the gospel would be preached after His ministry to the Jews. But in the Book of Mormon, Jesus vindicates His words:

3 Nephi 15:12 Ye are my disciples; and ye are a light unto this people, who are a remnant of the house of Joseph.
13 And behold, this is the land of your inheritance; and the Father hath given it unto you.
14 And not at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell it unto your brethren at Jerusalem.
15 Neither at any time hath the Father given me commandment that I should tell unto them concerning the other tribes of the house of Israel, whom the Father hath led away out of the land.
16 This much did the Father command me, that I should tell unto them:
17 That other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
18 And now, because of stiffneckedness and unbelief they understood not my word; therefore I was commanded to say no more of the Father concerning this thing unto them.
19 But, verily, I say unto you that the Father hath commanded me, and I tell it unto you, that ye were separated from among them because of their iniquity; therefore it is because of their iniquity that they know not of you.
20 And verily, I say unto you again that the other tribes hath the Father separated from them; and it is because of their iniquity that they know not of them.
21 And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
22 And they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the Gentiles; for they understood not that the Gentiles should be converted through their preaching.

The lost and dispersed tribes of Israel may be lost and unknown to the world, but they were never lost or unknown to the Lord. And He repeatedly declared in the Book of Ezekiel that He would again gather them up.

God needs only one seed and a generous amount of patience and time in order to produce a vast harvest of good fruit. He only needed Adam and Eve to multiply and replenish the Earth. He only needed one man and his family of eight to preserve humankind from the flood. He only needed to promise one very elderly Abraham and his barren wife that a nation would spring forth from them and that his descendants would be as many as the stars that Abraham might be able to count. God only needed one man and his family to preserve brass plates that his posterity might have the commandments of the Lord when they were sent to inherit a new promised land in America. And God needs at least one man and his family to preserve the blood of Lehi to fulfill His promise and blessing that in due time, Jacob will flourish in the wilderness and the Lamanites will blossom as the rose (D&C 49:24)!

Until the learned men of the world test every last American person for the correct DNA markers, they cannot unequivocally say that no posterity of Lehi exists. They would need a sample of Lehi’s DNA to make a conclusive statement anyway. The Lord is never too late in His doings. He is always right on time, according to His own wisdom and timing.

Do Christians need archeological evidence of the Bible to believe in Jesus Christ? Then why do they need genetic evidence to believe that before the great day of the Lord, Lamanites will once again flourish? How often has God vindicated His own words and yet people doubt and walk away?

Ten years ago today, as a call to action by M. Russell Ballard to share the gospel using the internet, I began this blog. It seems fitting that to celebrate this ten year anniversary, I share Parley P. Pratt’s small, but powerful book which he wrote while on a two month mission to New York. It was probably the most powerful LDS missionary tract of the 19th century. It’s a must read!

“You may blame me, and say that I am a false prophet, or mad, or possessed of the devil; but behold, your mocking will be of short duration; for soon the great Jehovah will mock when your fear cometh, and laugh at your calamity; and as for your scoffs, or frowns, or flatteries, I regard them not, for the Lord God has sent me, to warn you, and to prophesy these things, and him alone do I fear, And when I walk through the midst of you, and behold your abominations, I dare no longer hold my peace, lest the very stones should cry out.”–Parley P. Pratt, Voice of Warning, ch. 5, p. 142.

https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/NCMP1820-1846/id/883

To commemorate America’s Independence Day, July 4th this year, I am offering my manuscript freely to anyone wishing to read it. We are in biblical times and this book explains how and why. In it, I explain the nature of dictators, despots, and tyrants, along with their efforts to control people through centralization of power (Babylon). If you are sensing something very wrong with your economy, your livelihood, and the condition we find ourselves around the world today, this book explains in detail why through a theological lens and offers an alternate view (Zion) and provides food for thought and introspection. It was written as a labor of love. You can freely download the manuscript by clicking the link:

By A Thread Manuscript

If you prefer a physical copy for your library, please feel free to purchase one which is sold for the cost of printing only. I earn no royalties from it:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095GNPNHP

This advice is repeatedly given throughout scripture. The Lord instructed Joshua directly:

Joshua 1:6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Moses had given Joshua the same instruction before:

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
7 ¶ And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.
23 And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.

Moses assures Joshua that God will not fail or forsake him. Then Moses drops a truth bomb:

29 For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

Moses sought diligently to sanctify the people. He took Israel out of Egypt, but he could not take Egypt out of Israel. They were idolatrous, whoring after their idols and pursuing their covetous ways. Now in the latter days, we are no different. But though we may utterly corrupt ourselves and fail, God will never fail us. As long as we continually repent and strive to do His will, He will lift us up at the last day. Have the courage of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the book of Daniel to stand in the fire if necessary and if you die, you die unto the Lord. We must not let our courage fail like the ancient Israelites who stood afar off and feared to heed the Lord as we read in Exodus.

Exodus 20:18 ¶ And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

Or as Truman G. Madsen once explained:

“Said the Prophet Joseph Smith after one of the most revelatory meetings in his life, “There was nothing made known to these men [the Twelve] but what will be made known to all the Saints of the last days, so soon as they are prepared to receive” (TPJS, p. 237). This is the religion of every man. Not “Take my word for my experience,” but “Duplicate it in your own life.” How far do I go with this? All the way.

Let me then come to a close. I have hiked, with my wife and at night, all the way from the base of what is known as Mt. Sinai to the top…we were able to recollect that Moses, there, had face-to-face communion with God. He came back down and said to the children of Israel, in the name of the God whose name he knew, “Now, you are invited to go back up with me.”

And they said, “Thank you. No. That’s for prophets. That’s for people who are a bit fanatical. We will stay here and you go up, Moses.”

In his absence they built an idol. The power of religious impulses goes in many directions. They built an idol—a thing—and were denied the privileges of Moses (D&C 84:23–25). That is what our generation is now doing again. We are staying down below and then claiming superiority for our judgment in doing so.” (Source: Truman G. Madsen, On How We Know, BYU Devotional Address, Sept. 20, 1994)

Forsake your vain and idle pursuits. Pursue Jesus Christ only. In the fast approaching time of destabilization, scarcity, and fear, you must be strong and of a good courage. God will not fail you. The war has already been won. You need only be on the right side when it is over.