Commenting on Moroni’s sojourn from
Central America (the location of the battle at Cumorah in Mormon 6) to modern-day
New York, Terrence J. O’Leary (a member of the Community of Christ who, unlike
many of his fellow co-religionists, affirms Book of Mormon historicity):
Moroni
took the plates with him when he left his homeland following years of persecution
and the destruction of his people. His long migration, probably directed by the
Lord, took him to northwestern North America, probably along with a few
remaining survivors. He could easily have followed the Gulf Coast and then
north along the Mississippi River. The final leg would have been to the northeast
by following the Ohio River. On a hill in New York State, Moroni carefully hid
the plates and interpreters in a stone box. He then placed a large ordinary
stop on top of it to make the hiding place inconspicuous.
Micmac
Indians and Egyptian Glyphs
I believe
that Moroni did not travel alone. Even though he had lost his family and
friends, a small number of Nephites were probably able to quietly and secretly
gather for this migration northward—far from the Lamanite animosities.
Moroni
wrote: “we have written this record according to our knowledge in the
characters, which are called among us the reformed Egyptian . . .” (Moroni
4:98 [9:32]). As this group traveled together, Moroni may have taught his companions
how to read and write in this ancient language.
After
hiding the plates in that hill in New York, this group or their descendants may
have migrated even further north and east. Some may have finally settled in the
area of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Their descendants may have become known
as the Micmac Indians.
The
interesting correlation is in the fact that this Indian tribe had an established
writing system long before they were discovered by the Europeans.
Father Le
Clerq, a Roman Catholic Missionary from the late 1600s, claimed to have seen Mi’kmaq
(Micmac*) children taking notes (writing) on birchbark as he was giving his
lessons. Pierre Milliard, also a Catholic Priest but in 1730s, documented the
Mi’kmaq writing system and claims to have added it to help his converts learn
prayers and responses to the Catholic Mass. In the interim, the birch scrolls, containing
the writings of past generations has been destroyed. So it is Abbe Milliard’s
works, including his book Manuel Hieroglyphique Micmac, that is most helpful in
documenting the similarity between Mi’kmaq writing and ancient Egyptian
Hieroglyphics. (Patricia Glacquinta, Ph.D. “Did the Mi’kmaq From
Eastern Canada Write in Egyptian Hieroglyphics?” Knitting It Together, Lost
History, Mystery, and Yarns. 5 Nov 2015. < https://knittingittogether.com/2016/01/20/did-the-mikmaq-from-eastern-canada-write-in-egyptian-hieroglyphics/>)
“ . . . many
symbols in this [Micmac] writing system resemble to strongly the sacred
hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt . . . “ (David Warner Mathisen, The Case of
the Micmac Hieroglyphs: a Powerful Blow to Isolationist Theories. The Mathisen
Corollary. 13 Jul 2011, <https://mathisencorollary.blogspot.com/2011/07/case-of-micmac-hieroglyphs-powerful.html>
23 Jun 2019) The similarities between both of these ancient writing systems
with parallel meanings defy explanation. This is especially significant since
the Egyptian glyphs were not translated until almost a century later!
After
diligent research and multiple comparisons between the Micmac glyphs and
Egyptian glyphs, Barry Fell stated that it “was now quite obvious, the
Micmac writing system . . . is derived from ancient Egypt” (Barry Fell, America
B.C., Ancient Settlers in the New World. New York: Pocket Books, 1976, p.
257) (Terrence J. O’Leary, Book of Mormon: A History of Real People in Real
Places [2020], 226-28)
