Snell at his best

[Vort]

https://thirdhour.org/blog/faith/scripture/book-of-mormon/book-of-mormon-villain-revelation/

I hadn't seen this article. It apparently didn't get mentioned on the discussion boards, or maybe I just missed it over the holidays. While I'm not in line with several of the things David has written lately, especially what I perceive as a new and pernicious tendency toward finding fault with the prophets, Snell is a talented writer who knows how to create a compelling essay. I think he hits the bull's-eye with this one. His point may seem a bit obvious, but frankly, that's the beauty of it. I find it very useful to have obvious but deep connections pointed out. What is more truthful than that through small and simple means great things are brought to pass?

"We won because God was with us."

"No! You won because you CHEATED! You wore ARMOR! THAT's why you won!"

"Well...yeah. Your point?"

Well done, David.

[The Folk Prophet]

Looking at this picture out of the corner of my eye it looked like Moroni was casually holding a can of soda.

[Vort]

8 minutes ago, The Folk Prophet said:

Looking at this picture out of the corner of my eye it looked like Moroni was casually holding a can of soda.

I'd bet my house that Moroni was not wearing a metal helmet. He looks like he stepped out of a Roman epic from the '50s, not from Mesoamerican of two millennia ago.

[SilentOne]

8 hours ago, The Folk Prophet said:

Looking at this picture out of the corner of my eye it looked like Moroni was casually holding a can of soda.

Those carbonated soft drinks are what really gave the Nephites the edge. I don't know when they were introduced in the Western European based culture that most of us inherited, but you can bet it was at the peak of society's righteousness.

Edited January 31, 2019 by SilentOne

[Starwatcher]

On 1/31/2019 at 1:35 AM, Vort said:

I'd bet my house that Moroni was not wearing a metal helmet. He looks like he stepped out of a Roman epic from the '50s, not from Mesoamerican of two millennia ago.

The illustration doesn't need to be illustrating a metal helmet, I don't think.  Not that the Aztecs were Nephites or Lamanites, one suspects that the equipment might have been similar. For one thing, the Aztecs had protective equipment that was pretty good, even if it weren't made of metal.  

Have a look at Aztec warrior appearance, and some of their equipment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_warfare#Appearance_of_warriors

[Vort]

5 minutes ago, Starwatcher said:

The illustration doesn't need to be illustrating a metal helmet, I don't think.  Not that the Aztecs were Nephites or Lamanites, one suspects that the equipment might have been similar. For one thing, the Aztecs had protective equipment that was pretty good, even if it weren't made of metal.  

Have a look at Aztec warrior appearance, and some of their equipment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_warfare#Appearance_of_warriors

Nice contrast. Compare ancient Spanish illustrations of Aztec warriors:

with the illustration above:

In the lower picture, Moroni looks like a stereotypical Roman legionary, whereas IMO he should be looking somewhat more like the Aztecs. It's the metal helm that looks out of place.

On the other hand, the Nephites found armor artifacts of brass and copper, so such things apparently existed at some point in time and to some degree among the New World peoples. So who knows? Maybe one day we'll find out that the lower illustration isn't as far off as some of us think it is.

[JohnsonJones]

Well, not Roman, but we have found ancient Viking artifacts that we assume are from the Vikings but at the time we found them dated to a time period long before we thought they original came to the Americas.