Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Early 20th-century Latter-day Saint Attitudes Towards the Indigenous People of Alaska vs. the Heartland Model of Book of Mormon Geography

 Heber J. Meeks and his companions, while serving as a missionary for the Church in Alaska launched the missionary work in Alaska, offered the following dedicatory prayer:

 

Our Father and our God. We thy Servants, clothed in the Holy Melchizedik [sic] Priesthood, present ourselves before thee in this beautiful spot and offer our devotion unto Thee. We pray, our Father in Heaven that thy spirit may rest upon down us in power and warm our souls and permeate our beings that we may have assurance that our labors are approved of Thee.

 

In as much as we have been called to proclaim thy word in this land and to officially open up the work of preaching thy Gospel, we do bless this land, set is part and dedicate it to this purpose and we do it in the authority of The Holy Priesthood in us vested.

 

We pray Thee our Father in Heaven, to bless and sanctify this land to the preaching of thy word. Temper the elements that this land may yield its strength in being fruitful and in yielding souls unto thee the Lord.

 

In the authority of the Holy Priesthood, we bless the waters of this Territory that may be friendly; that Thy servants, oh Lord, may ride upon their bosom in perfect peace and security; that not one shall be swallowed up in their depths, while in the performance of their duty. We bless the land and the water that the blood of Israel may be gathered to enjoy the blessings promised to their Fathers and that this land may become a land of Zion to the pure in heart. We bless the adopted children of this land that they may receive Thy word, through thy servants and come to a knowledge of the truth. We bless the natives of this land, who are a remanant [sic] of the house of Israel, through the lions of Joseph. We bless them the sons and daughters of Lehi, that they may be found by thy servants; that they may be brought to a knowledge of their forefathers and the promises made to them. May thy servants deliver unto them the “Book of Mormon” to their enlightenment and blessing, and now, our Father, We again bless this great land that she may yield fruits in her strength, that she may become a land of Zion, sanctified to those who receive Thy word and keep thy commandments; that Israel may be gathered; that churches and even temples may be erected to thy Holy name. (Journal of Heber J. Meeks, June 6, 1928, in Fred E. Woods, Melting the Ice: A History of Latter-day Saints in Alaska [Provo, Utah: BYU Studies, 2018], 49-50, emphasis added)

 

Notice two things from the above dedicatory prayer:

 

(1) the language of “clothing” is a metaphor for an inward reality. On this, see:

 

Clothing Imagery, Psalm 109:29, and Romans 5:19: Further Proof that the Reformed Understanding of Imputation is Unbiblical

 

Does clothing imagery support imputation?

 

Transformative Justification in the Odes of Solomon

 

D&C 138:51 and Clothing Imagery

 

Martha Himmelfarb on Clothing Imagery and Transformation in 2 and 3 Enoch (cf. Response to a Recent Attempt to Defend Imputed Righteousness)

 

 

(2) More importantly for the focus of this blog, the indigenous natives of “this land” (i.e., Alaska) are said to be a remnant of Lehi et al. This is contrary to the “Heartland” model of Book of Mormon geography. For more, see the following series of blog posts by Stephen Smoot reviewing David R. Hocking and Rodney L. Meldrum, eds, Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City, Utah: Digital Legend Publishing, 2018).


A Review of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (Part 1): Introduction 

A Review of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (Part 2): Archaeology 

A Review of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (Part 3A): "This Land"

A Review of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (Part 3B): "choice land"

A Review of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (Part 3C): Lamanites

A Review of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (Part 3D): Zarahemla

A Review of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (Part 3E): Zelph

A Review of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (Part 4): Parallelomania

A Review of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (Part 5): Unsubstantiated Claims

A Review of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (Part 6): DNA

A Review of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (Part 7): Miscellaneous Errors

A Review of the Annotated Edition of the Book of Mormon (Part 8): Conclusion

 

Further evidence that early LDS missionaries in Alaska believed the indigenous people in the area were descended from Lehi et al., are seen in a letter Elder Lowell Plowman wrote to the editor of the LDS periodical, Liahona, the Elders’ Journal 26, no. 4 (August 7, 1928): 88 by mission secretary, Elwood G. Derrick, published under the title of “News from the Missions”:

 

The whites and natives are about evenly divided and fairly good success has been had among both classes. The people are anxious to receive literature and Books of Mormon as a rule. Naturally the elders are concerned in the natives because of their connection with the Book of Mormon. Elder Plowman relates a peculiar experience while tracting. "The work here is progressing rapidly," he writes. "What I like best is to take our message to the Indians. The Indians here are of a higher type than those at home. They are proud of their blood and we know they have good reason. They are very anxious to purchase and read the Book of Mormon. These Indians are interested in learning of their forefathers. They listen intently to what we tell them, and what we have to tell them seems to satisfy them. These Indians also have a legend of Christ's appearance to them. The legend is very similar to the ones held by the Aztecs of Mexico.

 

Commenting on the above, Fred E. Woods noted that:

 

Plowman may have viewed this interest by the Alaskan Natives of the Ketchikan region as an outgrowth of the blessing offered by Meeks in Juneau: “We bless them the sons and daughters of Lehi, [meaning Alaskan Natives] that they may be found by thy servants; that they may be brought to a knowledge of their forefathers and the promises made to them. May thy servants deliver unto them the ‘Book of Mormon’ to their enlightenment and blessing.” See Journal of Heber J. Meeks, June 6, 1928. (Woods, Melting the Ice, 71)

 

Early 20th-century LDS attitudes towards the indigenous natives of Alaska serves as yet another nail in the coffin of the Heartland model of the Book of Mormon.