Punta Arenas

The translation is — “Sand Point”! Now isn’t that familiar! Sand Point, Idaho isn’t that far away from home:-) When President Cates asked us to visit the Mission Group in “Sand Point” we were very excited! We were happy to get out of town and see some countryside. Punta Arenas is a seaport on theContinue reading “Punta Arenas”

Time To Share

Most Senior Missionaries do not proselyte and teach the gospel to non-members. Elder Hofhiens and I serve in the Mission office, serving and helping the missionaries and the Mission President in the work of Gathering Israel. As a general rule we don’t proselyte, but we still get to participate in the Gathering of Israel inContinue reading “Time To Share”

Shofar

Not too far from Serpent Mound is the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park in Chillicothe, Ohio. This ram’s horn is in the display case and it carries with it a very interesting cultural significance. The ram’s horn is a very important instrument that is used to practice the Law of Moses. The horn, or Shofar,Continue reading “Shofar”

Serpent Mound

This past October I visited the sacred Serpent Mound in Ohio for the first time. It was a beautiful place and the size was amazing! No picture can really describe the way you feel as you walk around such a monument. It is almost mythic in proportions! Serpents are sacred animals in many cultures. AmongContinue reading “Serpent Mound”

Sacred Space

Various native traditions and stories are associated with Serpent Mound. Mekoce Shawnee Chief, Frank Wilson, tells a story that connects the mound with a ritual of spiritual cleansing: If you count the curves in the Serpent, there’s seven of them, there’s seven curves before it gets to the head. And seven, the way I wasContinue reading “Sacred Space”

Ohio’s Mounds

This is a picture of the Fort Ancient entrance – not an easy place to enter if you aren’t wanted! The Book of Mormon supports such sites when it reads “…the Lamanites could not get into their forts of security by any other way save by the entrance, because of the highness of the bankContinue reading “Ohio’s Mounds”

Fort Ancient

The site is completely surrounded by one long enclosure mound. Approximately 32 miles northeast of Cincinnati, Ohio, lies the Fort Ancient Mound Builder site. Though abandoned as a permanent settlement prior to European contact, Fort Ancient is considered a sacred space by many Native Americans. Fort Ancient people observed important lunar events. At the gateway,Continue reading “Fort Ancient”

Voyage!

The Heartland Model for the Book of Mormon, places Lehi’s landing near the Florida panhandle. In this new model, North America is the site where all Book of Mormon events took place. Relying heavily on the research of non-Mormon scholars, the Heartland Model recently got a boost from Philip Beale, a retired Royal Navy officer.Continue reading “Voyage!”