Quote:
Originally Posted by Solon
It seems unreasonable to me, given ancient world logistics such as transportation, supplies, communication, etc. It would take a huge amount of land in AD 350 to support 1/4 million people with ancient agricultural techniques.
I like AA's idea. There's precedent for groups of 10,000, but again, the Persian empire stretched from India to Turkey and Egypt.
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I truly believe that history repeats itself and that the human experience throughout the ages is ‘reasonably’ cyclical. Therefore, I don’t adhere to a notion of limited geography and acute cultural isolation to explain the where’s and how’s of peoples of the book of Mormon. Rather, I think that Lehi’s Nephite descendents represent a distinct body of people that lived among, influenced and affected the larger populations that were already on the American continent. In fact it does not seem a stretch to me to believe that all of Lehi’s descendant’s knowledge in the realms of religion, systems of law, government and science greatly influenced certain indigenous cultures.
As I have studied the Book of Mormon I get the impression that the Lamanite descendents of Lehi were absorbed into the larger cultures and genetic lines of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, while the Nephite descendents remained culturally and, within reason, genetically distinct from the indigenous peoples. And as is stated in various places, the Book of Mormon, as we know it, is only a portion of the entire history. In fact, not only is it a condensed history but perhaps it must be considered an extremely biased telling of the history.
Imagine only having access to the history of World War II as compiled by a Jewish Pole … a history of Rome as compiled by an early Christian … a history of Babylon as compiled by Daniel … or, a history of Egypt as compiled by Joseph. History is full of examples, from China to Egypt to Europe of distinct, relatively small, culturally unique peoples that birth highly motivated individuals who unite kingdoms and change their respective worlds. Kingdoms that spanned entire continents. So perhaps when it is stated that 200,000 Nephites died, they were not pure Nephites in a genealogical sense but pure Nephites in an ideological sense? Certainly the final chapters of the Book of Mormon, as we know it, readily support such a notion.
Consider for a moment that Mormons or members of the LDS faith make up approximately 2 – 3 % of the American population. Yet, a disproportionate number of Mormons represent millions of Americans from all denominations and walks of life, and in an ideological sense as duly elected political officials. Mormonism is truly an American religion. Mormon church culture is as much American as it is ‘Mormon’. Mormon values and ideals are very much American values and ideals … ideals and values that are becoming more ‘Mormon’ the more and more American society embraces other philosophies that advocate alternative values and ideals.
Therefore, what if a Mormon American compiled the only record of the history of the United States of America available to future generations? How would it read and what conclusions would future generations make about the genetic make-up of the American people? And could it be said that history repeats itself and that the human experience is reasonably cyclical ...