Queries & Comments

The Maya and the Mormons

To the Editor:

I was amused by Howard W. Goodkind’s statement (“Lord Kingsborough Lost His Fortune Trying to Prove the Maya Were Descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes,” BAR 11:05) that, according to Mormon belief, three groups of Israelites migrated to the New World: the Jaredites, Nephites, and Lamanites who came at about the same time as the Nephites. It’s obvious the author hasn’t read the Book of Mormon. There were two groups, not three: the Jaredites and a group that later split because one segment was righteous and the other was not. The righteous people separated from the unrighteous people and they became known as the Nephites and Lamanites, respectively. The labels were coined after the leaders’ names, Nephi and Laman, who were brothers.

This gross error makes me question how well Mr. Goodkind did his homework for the rest of the article. He should, perhaps, have condensed his writing to his two closing sentences: “Whatever we think of these attempts to locate Jesus and the lost tribes in ancient Mesoamerica, it cannot be denied that the zeal of the search has motivated archaeological discoveries of the greatest importance. And for this we must certainly be grateful.”

To the Editor:

While Howard W. Goodkind shows himself to be a pretty danged good student of the Maya, he seems a little fuzzy about what the Book of Mormon says and what some Mormons have said about the Book of Mormon.