"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.
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; And they understood me
not
that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood
me not that
the Gentiles
should not at any time hear my voice; that I should not manifest myself unto
them, save it were by the Holy Ghost. But
behold,
ye have both
heard my voice,
and seen me, and ye are my sheep, and ye are numbered among
those whom the Father hath given me.
III
Nephi 7:20-23
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"Therefore give
heed to my words; write the things which I
have
told you, and according to the times and the will of the Father,
t hey shall go forth unto the Gentiles. And whosoever will
hearken
unto my words, and repenteth, and is baptized, the
same
shall be saved. Search the prophets, for many there be that testify of
these things. And now it came to pass that when Jesus had said
these
words, he said unto them
again,
after he had expounded all the
scriptures
unto them which they had received,
he said unto them, Behold, other scriptures I would that ye
should write, And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should
be
written, therefore it was written according as he commanded."
III
Nephi 10:31-33
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It
is believed that the events of the Book of Mormon took place in Central
America, and
that
in the years beyond the end of the Book, people moved outward into
several
parts
of
America.
Is
there any evidence for Christianity among the Native American
religions?
Clara D. True, an Indian agent in California wrote:
"The
Indians
have a religious life all their own, of which few
white
people are aware. I
think the majority of Indians have not departed very far from the old
beliefs,
even though most of the people are members of Christian churches.
There is much that is beautiful in
the
so-called pagan religion. In fact, among
some of the more highly developed tribes there appears to be little
difference
between the teachings of the Indian divinity and those
of
Christ. One is tempted, upon intimate knowledge of some of the
old
people , to wonder whether the Son of Man appeared to the Indians
also...."
Did
the Native Americans in the New World have an experience with Jesus?
Consider
these authentic records of beliefs found among tribes:
In
Oklahoma,
a "Healer" c ame and corrected all the ordinances of
the Temples. He
chose
a following of 12 men, and told of a land across the ocean where he had
been
born
of a virgin on a night when a bright star
shone
over his village. This healer's name:
"Chee-zoos."
Quetzalcoatl,
the great god of Mesoamerica, is described in this analysis: "If
we
turn to the New World, we shall find, strange though
it
may appear, that the ancient Mexicans... worshiped a crucified
savior.
This was the virgin-born Quetzalcoatl, whose crucifixion
is
represented in the paintings of the Codex Borgianus and
Codex
Vaticanus. .... The Spanish monks who went to Mexico
were
surprised to find the
crucifix
among the [so
called]
heathen Inhabitants..."
An Oneida
tradition recounts the visit of a bearded, fair-skinned,
white-robed
stranger
who
instructed them to live together in peace. Such was the will of
his
father, the Great Spirit. He had been born across the sea in a
land
where all men were bearded. When
the
Oneidas asked him what his name was, he responded: "Ye-sos."
Among
the Papagos, Ee-see-coatl is remembered as
having
said, "Do not scold the little children, but instead let
them
come to me, for such is the will of my father in heaven." He healed
wounds
and ended human sacrifice.
John de
Leri, a missionary to the Brazilians, recorded
that
after he had explained the story of Christ from the Bible,
his audience informed him. "You have told us wonderful things
that
have recalled to our minds what we have often heard from our
forefathers..."
Among
the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek, the God Eemee-shee had
powers over the heavens and the earth. He
foretold
the coming of the white man. His symbols
are the morning star, cross , and the
sacred
tree
of
ceremony. He told the Indians about winged beings who sang during his
birth.
Most
tribes in America have a legend that parallels Christ
too closely to be dismissed. Daniel Brinton
says,
"The place of his birth is nearly always
located
in the East; ... Whenever the personal appearance of the
hero-God
is described, it is , strangely enough, represented to be
that
of one of the white race, a man
of
fair complexion, with
long
flowing beard, with abundant hair, and clothed in ample and loose robes.
*
The above quotes were taken from the book: "The Mending of the Sacred
Hoop"
as researched by Matthew Atkinson. We
have
listed a few of the evidences written between page 9-20
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