Chichen Itza…

Cindy and I are travelling, returning home tonight. We had the opportunity to visit Chichen Itza in Yucatan, Mexico. Many Latter-day Saint archeologists believe this is part of the Land of Ishmael, ruled over at one time by King Lamoni, where Ammon served as a missionary. While the bulk of the ruins at this site were built well past the Nephite period, the foundation for the site, including the foundation for the temple pyramid, was laid in part during Lamoni’s reign and Ammon’s ministry. We saw a cenote there (a limestone sinkhole filled with rainwater). These are the only sources of drinking water in the area, recalling the Waters of Sebus, where Ammon miraculously fought the men who came to scatter the flocks of King Lamoni. We saw the dense forest, recalling the wilderness so often mentioned in The Book of Mormon, where people so often got lost. We saw a lot of imagery at Chichen Itza, including, most prominently, the feathered serpent, representing Kulkulkan, recalling Jesus’ counsel to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16) Many Latter-day Saint archeologists believe that Jesus was the inspiration for the “feathered serpent.” We also learned that, traditionally, worshippers at the festivals where the “feathered serpent” is manifested at certain times of the year wear red across their foreheads, recalling the Amlicites who marked themselves with red in their foreheads to declare that they were Lamanites. (Alma 3:4)

We saw and heard about representations of the Mayan calendar. The Mayans had two main calendars, one that used 360 days for a year, and one that had 364.25 days for a year. They understood the second calendar was more accurate, but operated by the 360-day calendar, adding an extra “month” of 20 days every 4th year. This recalls 3 Nephi 1 where the unbelievers claimed that Samuel the Lamanite’s prophecy that Christ would be born before six years had passed away had not been fulfilled, because the six years had passed. They set a date on which, if the sign of His birth did NOT come (a day and a night and a day with no night and a new star in the heavens), the believers would be put to death. Why the delay? If the six years had passed, why give them “an extension?” It certainly wasn’t out of the goodness of the unbelievers’ hearts. I believe it was because six years HAD passed, according to the 360-day calendar, but NOT according to the 364.25 day calendar. The time was approaching, and many believers were losing hope. However, Nephi prayed, and the Lord told him that the sign would be given that very night. And that night, the word of the Lord and Samuel’s prophecy was fulfilled. The Lord’s promises are always fulfilled. And while I don’t need physical evidences of the truth of The Book of Mormon, such evidences are really cool…