GeeR wrote: Here is J. Reuben Clark's take on the cause of what will cause "neighbor to kill neighbor":
...with no more than a day or two worth of food in the cupboards at best.Rincon wrote:p51-mustang wrote:Doc Jones,
Really good analysis here. I agree with most of what you are saying. In regards to moving out of the wasatch front area to avoid the earthquakes etc. I am not sure I concur with this. I have been listening to "Anarchy in America" by Duane Crowther (whom you probably know from BYU). He quotes many latter day prophecies that state that when the anarchy begins in America, that those who wont kill thier brethren will flee to the intermountain west for safety. Brigham Young stated that Utah was designed by the Lord as a place of safety for the saints when the tribulation starts. Judging from the John Taylor vision of the last days, it sounds like a plague will hit Utah and that will be the trial "that begins at his house". I think Utah will be a staging area for the saints initially, then as the wicked are swept off, those qualified will begin the exodus back to Missouri. There will be some destruction here, but it will be limited IMO.
President Hinckley paid special attention to achieving the highest possible earthquake ratings on the Conference Center. When he announced that in Conference I felt a strong feeling that he knew the building would be tested to it's limit.
However, to me that is not a reason to leave the Wasatch Front. An earthquake is the least of our worries. What I think about is the hundreds of thousands of people living in high rise apartments with nothing but debt. They live hand to mouth, texting on their cell phones and maxing their credit cards. All those people will need help very early. That is a good reason to get out of the area, it will be chaos supreme.
Maybe the silence is in regards to what the prophets will be allowed to tell us. It seems that since Benson, who really laid everything out for us, the prophets have been "silent" in a way. At least significantly less vocal. We've been warned already. My sister inlaw pointed something out something that I thought was kinda cool. In the last days of the Jaredites(Book of Ether) the prophets quit warning the people and focused on repentance and personal worthiness. I'm paraphrasing and I hope I'm not butchering this but this maybe significant.kathyn wrote:If there were to be an EMP attack, that would certainly silence the communication satellites and most of the other communication. Could that account for the 1/2 hour of silence? Or maybe there will be a meteorite storm that could knock out our satellites. Or perhaps a big solar flare....there are just so many possibilities.
I don 't think that our prophets are going to be out of communication with the Lord for 20 years and leave the church "rudderless". I can't imagine a time when a prophet would be needed more.
Was it selfish for Ether to hide, away from the danger? certainly not. Nor was it selfish for Lehi to G>O>O>Dodge before TSHTF. (where "s" stand for "stuff")20And in the second year the word of the Lord came to Ether, that he should go and prophesy unto Coriantumr that, if he would repent, and all his household, the Lord would give unto him his kingdom and spare the people—
21Otherwise they should be destroyed, and all his household save it were himself. And he should only live to see the fulfilling of the prophecies which had been spoken concerning another people receiving the land for their inheritance; and Coriantumr should receive a burial by them; and every soul should be destroyed save it were Coriantumr.
22And it came to pass that Coriantumr repented not, neither his household, neither the people; and the wars ceased not; and they sought to kill Ether, but he fled from before them and hid again in the cavity of the rock.
And this from the LORD in D&C 112:"After a while the Gentiles will gather by the thousands to this place, and Salt Lake City will be classed among the wicked cities of the world. A spirit of speculation and extravagance will take possession of the Saints, and the results will be financial bondage.
Persecution comes next and all true Latter-day Saints will be tested to the limit. Many will apostatize and others will be still not knowing what to do. Darkness will cover the earth and gross darkness the minds of the people. The judgments of God will be poured out on the wicked to the extent that our Elders from far and near will be called home, or in other words the gospel will be taken from the Gentiles and later on carried to the Jews."
Lezlee and I have enjoyed our house guests earlier this week, Kim and Brian (Descendants of the Prophet Joseph). We talked about this very topic -- quoting from D&C 112 and Heber C. Kimball's prophecy.... Seems many are pondering these prophecies...23Verily, verily, I say unto you, darkness covereth the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people, and all flesh has become corrupt before my face. 24Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord.
25And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord;
26First among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house, saith the Lord.
Yahoo article:Volume 15, Issue 90:
Cherokee Paint Clan: Mask of Life and Death
* The Lennape Epic - Myron Paine, Ph.D.
* The Cherokee Medicine Wheel - Ray (Seeker) Pennington
* Newport Tower: Another Viewpoint - William Smith
* Israelite East M'nashe Traced to the Four Corners - Maggid ben Yoseif
* Cherokee Clans: An Informal History - Donald Panther Yates, Ph.D.
* The Big Canadian Knife (Sword?) - Don Spohn, Ph.D.
* Radio Carbon Dating for Brewers Cave
* First Americans Reached Europe Five Centuries Before Columbus Discovered the New World
Wed Mar 30, 11:36 am ET
Could lead codices prove ‘the major discovery of Christian history’?
By Chris Lehmann chris Lehmann – Wed Mar 30, 11:36 am ET
British archaeologists are seeking to authenticate what could be a landmark discovery in the documentation of early Christianity: a trove of 70 lead codices that appear to date from the 1st century CE, which may include key clues to the last days of Jesus' life. As UK Daily Mail reporter Fiona Macrae writes, some researchers are suggesting this could be the most significant find in Christian archeology since the Dead Sea scrolls in 1947.
The codices turned up five years ago in a remote cave in eastern Jordan—a region where early Christian believers may have fled after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. The codices are made up of wirebound individual pages, each roughly the size of a credit card. They contain a number of images and textual allusions to the Messiah, as well as some possible references to the crucifixion and resurrection. Some of the codices were sealed, prompting yet more breathless speculation that they could include the sealed book, shown only to the Messiah, mentioned in the Book of Revelation. One of the few sentences translated thus far from the texts, according to the BBC, reads, "I shall walk uprightly"--a phrase that also appears in Revelation. "While it could be simply a sentiment common in Judaism," BBC writer Robert Pigott notes, "it could here be designed to refer to the resurrection."
But the field of biblical archaeology is also prey to plenty of hoaxes and enterprising fraudsters, so investigators are proceeding with due empirical caution. Initial metallurgical research indicates that the codices are about 2,000 years old--based on the manner of corrosion they have undergone, which, as Macrae writes, "experts believe would be impossible to achieve artificially."
Beyond the initial dating tests, however, little is confirmed about the codices or what they contain. And the saga of their discovery has already touched off a battle over ownership rights between Israel and Jordan. As the BBC's Pigott recounts, the cache surfaced when a Jordanian Bedouin saw a menorah—the Jewish religious candleabra—exposed in the wake of a flash flood. But the codices somehow passed into the ownership of an Israeli Bedouin named Hassam Saeda, who claims that they have been in his family's possession for the past 100 years. The Jordanian government has pledged to "exert all efforts at every level" to get the potentially priceless relics returned, Pigott reports.
Meanwhile, biblical scholars who have examined the codices point to significant textual evidence suggesting their early Christian origin. Philip Davies, emeritus professor of Old Testament Studies at Sheffield University, told Pigott he was "dumbstruck" at the sight of plates representing a picture map of ancient Jerusalem. "There is a cross in the foreground, and behind it is what has to be the tomb [of Jesus], a small building with an opening, and behind that the walls of the city," Davies explained. "There are walls depicted on other pages of these books, too, and they almost certainly refer to Jerusalem."
David Elkington, an ancient religion scholar who heads the British research team investigating the find, has likewise pronounced this nothing less than "the major discovery of Christian history." Elkington told the Daily Mail that "it is a breathtaking thought that we have held these objects that might have been held by the early saints of the Church."
Still, other students of early Christian history are urging caution, citing precedents such as the debunked discovery of an ossuary said to contain the bones of Jesus. New Testament scholar Larry Hurtado observes that since these codices are miniature, they were likely intended for private, rather than liturgical, use. This would likely place their date of origin closer to the 3rd century CE. But only further research and full translation of the codices can fully confirm the nature of the find. The larger lesson here is likely that of Ecclesiastes 3:1—be patient, since "to everything there is a season."
(David Elkington/Rex Features/Rex USA)
A photo below of plates found in the Brewer cave can be compared with the metal plates found in Jordan.Radiocarbon Dating of Bark Sample from Brewer's Cave, Manti Area
Steven E. Jones
Professor of Physics Brigham Young University
January 20, 2005
A number of stone boxes, covered with bark and pitch, were discovered by John Brewer in the Manti, Utah, area nearly fifty years ago. While the authenticity of these discoveries has been the subject of intense controversy, radiocarbon dating of the bark has not previously been performed by archaeologists or other scientists. This oversight is striking, since an accurate radiocarbon age would do much to ascertain whether the artifacts are ancient, or of modem manufacture (as claimed by some archaeologists).
Here we report the results of the first radiocarbon dating of a bark sample from one of these stone boxes. The sample was provided by Millie Cheesman from material provided originally by John Brewer. The bark was brought by J. Golden Barton to Professor Steven E. Jones of Brigham Young University on March 3, 2004, under the auspices of the Ancient Historical Research Foundation. The sample was examined then taken to Prof. Stephen Nelson and David Tingey, both of the BYU Department of Geology, for dating using the BYU radiocarbon-dating system.
The bark sample was cleaned with acetone then propanol, then subjected to acid and base treatments. These steps were necessary to remove humic acids and residues from bacteria and other organisms, which could introduce fresh carbon 14 and thus produce a more recent (incorrect) age. After these standard procedures, essentially just cellulose from the bark remained.
The cellulose material was subjected to standard chemical processes, finally to produce liquid C6H6 (benzene) which was placed in a vial with a scintillant. This carbon-bearing vial was then placed into two separate scintillation counter instruments to record the carbon-14 radioactivity of the carbon sample.
Both instruments gave essentially the same radiocarbon age for the Brewercave bark sample. The Guardian instrument provided an age of approximately 2161 years BP (Before Present). Since this age seemed incredibly old to the scientists doing the age analysis, the Brewer-bark sample was placed into the Quantalus 1440 ultra-low background detector. This instrument includes 1500 pounds of lead to block cosmic ray interference. The sample was then analyzed ten times, at different times of the day to avoid any possibility of error.
The final result confirmed the age determined by the Guardian instrument:
Percent modern carbon: (75.9 +/- 0.6) Radiocarbon age: (2161 +/- 70) BP Calibrated age (2 sigma): 5 BC to 390 BC
With a radiocarbon age of 5 BC to 390 BC, the Brewer bark sample is thus scientifically demonstrated to be very old. The Brewer findings (if further verified) could force archaeologists to re-write currently accepted history of the area. It is extremely unlikely that the boxes in question could have been covered with bark this old by an alleged hoaxer, for that would require the individual to find intact bark that was already two thousand years old. Rather, the bark was evidently used anciently and preserved by pitch used to seal it and by its being kept in a rather dry-cave environment.
The bark used to cover the stone box in question is indeed ancient. It is the opinion of this researcher that the findings and claims of John Brewer should be re-examined in light of this new, positive evidence for the antiquity of these boxes. It would be highly desirable to re-open the cave where the box was found, with certified archaeologists present (such as Jon Baxter of the Ancient Historical Research Foundation). Finding similar artifacts in their original undisturbed context would allow final verification of John Brewer's claims.
Wow! That's certainly interesting. Thank for posting and calling our attention to it.DrJones wrote:Here is the text from my paper, now published in the Ancient American journal in March 2011:
A photo below of plates found in the Brewer cave can be compared with the metal plates found in Jordan.Radiocarbon Dating of Bark Sample from Brewer's Cave, Manti Area
Steven E. Jones
Professor of Physics Brigham Young University
January 20, 2005
A number of stone boxes, covered with bark and pitch, were discovered by John Brewer in the Manti, Utah, area nearly fifty years ago. While the authenticity of these discoveries has been the subject of intense controversy, radiocarbon dating of the bark has not previously been performed by archaeologists or other scientists. This oversight is striking, since an accurate radiocarbon age would do much to ascertain whether the artifacts are ancient, or of modem manufacture (as claimed by some archaeologists).
Here we report the results of the first radiocarbon dating of a bark sample from one of these stone boxes. The sample was provided by Millie Cheesman from material provided originally by John Brewer. The bark was brought by J. Golden Barton to Professor Steven E. Jones of Brigham Young University on March 3, 2004, under the auspices of the Ancient Historical Research Foundation. The sample was examined then taken to Prof. Stephen Nelson and David Tingey, both of the BYU Department of Geology, for dating using the BYU radiocarbon-dating system.
The bark sample was cleaned with acetone then propanol, then subjected to acid and base treatments. These steps were necessary to remove humic acids and residues from bacteria and other organisms, which could introduce fresh carbon 14 and thus produce a more recent (incorrect) age. After these standard procedures, essentially just cellulose from the bark remained.
The cellulose material was subjected to standard chemical processes, finally to produce liquid C6H6 (benzene) which was placed in a vial with a scintillant. This carbon-bearing vial was then placed into two separate scintillation counter instruments to record the carbon-14 radioactivity of the carbon sample.
Both instruments gave essentially the same radiocarbon age for the Brewercave bark sample. The Guardian instrument provided an age of approximately 2161 years BP (Before Present). Since this age seemed incredibly old to the scientists doing the age analysis, the Brewer-bark sample was placed into the Quantalus 1440 ultra-low background detector. This instrument includes 1500 pounds of lead to block cosmic ray interference. The sample was then analyzed ten times, at different times of the day to avoid any possibility of error.
The final result confirmed the age determined by the Guardian instrument:
Percent modern carbon: (75.9 +/- 0.6) Radiocarbon age: (2161 +/- 70) BP Calibrated age (2 sigma): 5 BC to 390 BC
With a radiocarbon age of 5 BC to 390 BC, the Brewer bark sample is thus scientifically demonstrated to be very old. The Brewer findings (if further verified) could force archaeologists to re-write currently accepted history of the area. It is extremely unlikely that the boxes in question could have been covered with bark this old by an alleged hoaxer, for that would require the individual to find intact bark that was already two thousand years old. Rather, the bark was evidently used anciently and preserved by pitch used to seal it and by its being kept in a rather dry-cave environment.
The bark used to cover the stone box in question is indeed ancient. It is the opinion of this researcher that the findings and claims of John Brewer should be re-examined in light of this new, positive evidence for the antiquity of these boxes. It would be highly desirable to re-open the cave where the box was found, with certified archaeologists present (such as Jon Baxter of the Ancient Historical Research Foundation). Finding similar artifacts in their original undisturbed context would allow final verification of John Brewer's claims.
Exciting IMO.
DrJones wrote:One last set, then I've gotta run today --
From the Jordanian cave (top) and from Brewer Cave (bottom photo)...
Guess which finding is getting more press attention??
Dr. Jones, how did you arrange that?? They just spoke at a fireside in our Ward last Sunday evening. Very moving experience! I had to keep stifling my moist eyes, but noticed after the closing prayer, a lot of red and moist-eyed men rising from the benches.DrJones wrote: . . . . . . . . . . Lezlee and I have enjoyed our house guests earlier this week, Kim and Brian (Descendants of the Prophet Joseph). We talked about this very topic -- quoting from D&C 112 and Heber C. Kimball's prophecy.... Seems many are pondering these prophecies...
Interesting story. Thanks for sharing it.bobhenstra wrote:I have some history with the Brewer plates, I knew Dr. Paul Cheesman, then the Dean of Religious Education at BYU, I visited with him in his office many times. It was Paul who showed me one of the Brewer boxes. The box I saw was made out of white stone, stone very similar to the stone at White Mountain in Southern Utah. It was indeed surrounded by juniper bark, but the “bark” didn’t look all that old. Paul and I discussed the box and it’s contents several times. I took a lot of pictures of both the box and the copper plates inside, as I remember the plates inside were held together by a single copper ring. The copper ring was hollowed out on one end, the other end sharpened so the ends fit together. The plates looked very old. Concerning White Mountain, it has been rumored for many years that an Aztec treasure is buried somewhere inside of White Mountain.
I had questions about the box, things that seemed odd to me; Number one; the holes in the corners of the box and the lid seemed to me to be to perfect. They looked like they were drilled with a modern drill. The holes held four pegs that connected the lid to the box. That and the bark not looking as old as Dr. Jones supervised tests showed, made me suspicious., but I was no expert, just an inquiring mind. And the box supposedly was in a cave located in a very dry desert. So, if that were indeed the case, I can understand why the bark didn’t look like it was two thousand years old.
The self declared campus chief archeologist ( I say that because Paul didn’t seem to like Ray) was Dr. Ray Matheny. Ray declared the box and the plates as being phony. Paul told me, Ray said he found steel particles in the “drilled” holes. The stone the box was made from didn’t seem to me to be so hard that it would have effected a steel drill bit. At the time, I suspected Ray made that declaration in an attempt to make Brewer show “him” the caves. And, there were three or four caves that Brewer supposedly found, following a map he said he found in the first cave he discovered. It seems that “if” a credentialed archeologist didn’t find the caves, then everything taken from them was automatically declared phony.
However, The very first time I saw all the Brewer plates was at a invitation only fireside in the home of my very good friend Don Maynard in Provo. Brewer displayed about 50 to 75 plates made of copper, lead, and about five or six gold plates. None of the plates were large, most only about two inches square or smaller.
Don befriended Brewer hoping that Brewer would melt down and show the positions of the supposed caves to properly credentialed archeologists. As far as I remember, Don didn’t know Ray. However, there was a law on the books like the antiquities law of today, that made it illegal to remove items of antiquity from their original position, like pot hunters do. Brewer had removed the plates, boxes and other items, and was afraid the BLM would come down on him hard. In fact, as the word that he might have something like the plates or pots got around, the BLM started sniffing around his house, and Don told me that Brewer was afraid to go to the caves because the BLM people might be following him. Brewer didn’t want to go to jail, refused to display the plates again, and hid them.
Paul told me the BLM didn’t know he had one of the boxes and some of the plates in his office. He also mentioned that the brethren in SLC were very interested in the plates, but when Ray declared them phony, they lost interest.
Brewer took some pictures of supposed mummies he found in one of the caves. I didn’t get to see the pictures, but Paul wasn’t convinced the pictures were of mummies, he told me flat out he didn’t know what they were, but they didn’t look like any mummies he had ever seen. There were supposedly two mummies, one very long the other shorter, and one had red hair.
I talked to Hugh Nibley about the plates, he didn’t seem to be very interested in them. He told me he had heard that Brewer’s wife told somebody he knew that Brewer had made the plates himself. She also was afraid of the BLM arresting Brewer and possibly her.
I remember that all the plates I saw and photographed, except the gold plates, seemed to me to be very old. Gold does not age. But Ray insisted that copper and lead can be made to look very old. And the inscriptions were gibberish to him, a trained archeologist. When I suggested that the plates were probable not history but might have been contracts or records of transactions of some kind, he simply muttered--- “maybe!” which statement made me wonder-----
Paul Cheesman died, Don Maynard was killed in a car wreck, Hugh died, and I have no idea where Ray Matheny is. Until now, I had heard nothing more about the Brewer plates. I took about a hundred photos of the plates, however, all but four of the photos were destroyed in a flood, when a high pressure sprinkler irrigation line broke in front of our cabin and flooded our basement. The four surviving photos are in a blue case that contains my military records, and I haven’t seen that case in twenty years. Its somewhere in the attic with most of the stuff JoAnn purchased at yard sales, all neatly stacked. I have refused to see what’s in all those boxes, don’t have any desire to make a mess I’ll have to clean up. I just remember Jo telling me that’s where my military records were. Jo would say, "someday we’ll need all this stuff," I hope so, a lot of money went into that neatly stacked pile. I certainly hope somebody gets to use it all, maybe my great grandkids???
My kids tell me I should have a yard sale------Somehow, I get the feeling I would be betraying Jo's inspiration--- And she was an inspired woman-- she married me!!
Bob
Your point about the BLM is well-taken, Bob -- something that I had not heard before, but it makes sense in explaining why John Brewer suddenly clammed up -- this along with the tongue-lashing he received from Matheny in the SLC newspapers for being a fraud. Have you seen that article? Scathing. Basically says, they (he and a prof from U of Utah) can't read the writing so it is obviously made up -- fraudulent.However, there was a law on the books like the antiquities law of today, that made it illegal to remove items of antiquity from their original position, like pot hunters do. Brewer had removed the plates, boxes and other items, and was afraid the BLM would come down on him hard. In fact, as the word that he might have something like the plates or pots got around, the BLM started sniffing around his house, and Don told me that Brewer was afraid to go to the caves because the BLM people might be following him. Brewer didn’t want to go to jail, refused to display the plates again, and hid them.
Paul told me the BLM didn’t know he had one of the boxes and some of the plates in his office. He also mentioned that the brethren in SLC were very interested in the plates, but when Ray declared them phony, they lost interest.
Stage One of the Great Gathering
As the self destruction of the wicked begins to become intolerable for decent, God-fearing people, they will voluntarily move toward the more stable parts of the country in the mountain west.
No doubt this will occur on a voluntary basis as people become anxious about the safety of themselves and their families. This anxiety has already begun to manifest itself as crime waves, riots, violence in the public schools, and moral depravity gain a powerful grip on the major population centers of the country.
As this first wave of "gatherers" voluntarily move into the mountain west they are being absorbed among the cities and communities that are already established. However, even with this rather light migration to the cities and towns of the mountain west there is a sharp increase in crime and a feeling of community instability as some of these new arrivals bring in a tide of suspicious anger and a visible eagerness to exploit the unsuspecting people of these more quiet regions.
The Second Stage of the Great Gathering Will Not Be Voluntary
Although the first phase of the gathering is toward the mountain west, the great plague that eventually produces the second gathering actually begins in the mountain west.2 [D&C 112] Naturally, as the scourge travels east and crime and civil strife rampage through the major population centers of the East, it will not be thought safe to flee to the west.
It will probably not be until the end of the desolating depopulation of the wicked in the east that word will reach the survivors that the scourge has been overcome out west. Then many thousands -- as seen by President John Taylor -- will struggle on foot to reach the mountains where Isaiah says there will be bread and water that is sure.3
Then go to http://www.epubbud.com/book.php?g=3JGN29CS" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;W. Cleon Skousen, A Glimpse into the Future,
I thanked God for the many Paul Chessman's at BYU.
I think this would be great service to that family and to Brewer's name. Once and for all the truth of his findings could be authenticated. This one act of service could change the history books concerning the American continent and its ancient inhabitants. I am surprised this has never been done before. Maybe it just needed the right timing. Maybe it is time. I for one appreciate the offer you have made in this regard.DrJones wrote:Idea -- Bob, if you feel comfortable contacting Millie, could you ask if she would allow me to test the plates for composition using a Scanning Electron Microscope system at BYU?? I'm going out of town, back about 18 April, could begin work that week. Totally NON-destructive and safe!!
