Monday, August 17, 2020

Terrence J. O’Leary on Moroni's Journey from Central America to New York

 

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)