To make a list of Joseph Smith’s greatest prophetic hits isn’t hard. There are a lot of pretty commonly known ones like:

· The eye popping alters of The eye popping alters of Nahom

· The pleasing symmetry of Chiasmus The pleasing symmetry of





Those things are all relatively well known in a lot of Latter-day Saint- circles. They’ve probably been listed on a lot of blogs. A list of Joseph Smith’s best hits isn’t as interesting if you already knew it’s contents.





Joseph got loads of shocking things right. These things weren't readily available information in his place or time. These ones below aren’t too well known, by all I can tell. But each one lends incredible strength to Joseph Smith's prophetic claims. It a varied list. It's an unlikely list. It's a surprising list.





Even the most ardent critic would have to at least say ol' JS got really lucky a whole bunch of times.





Judge for yourself:





11) The Spirit Descending on Christopher Columbus





Christopher Columbus takes a lot of flak nowadays. 20 years ago he was known as the first American-ish hero but now he’s said to be cruel, greedy and punishing. That makes this Book of Mormon verse sound all the stranger:





st Nephi 13:12 Nephi 13:12





th certainly don’t think so. But Mr. Columbus definitely did. This next bit is from the blog of a real Columbus fanboy: Could Christopher Columbus have been susceptible to the spirit? Thousands of angry Facebook posters every October 12certainly don’t think so. But Mr. Columbus definitely did. This next bit is from the blog of a real Columbus fanboy:





Libro de profecias , where he writes extensively of his motivations and the meaning of his discoveries. The particular passage that caught my eye reads: “…I stumbled across a quote from Columbus that stunned me. It was from his extensive writings known as thewhere he writes extensively of his motivations and the meaning of his discoveries. The particular passage that caught my eye reads:





“With a hand that could be felt, the Lord opened my mind to the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies, and he opened my will to desire to accomplish the project. This was the fire that burned within me when I came to visit Your Highnesses.. . Who can doubt that this fire was not merely mine, but also of the Holy Spirit who encouraged me with a radiance of marvelous illumination from his sacred Holy Scriptures, by a most clear and powerful testimony… urging me to press forward? Continually, without a moment’s hesitation, the Scriptures urge me to press forward with great haste.





“Nephi, in his succinct verse regarding Columbus, tells us not just what Columbus would do (“he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land”) but why he would do it (“I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man”). What surprised me when I read the paragraph from Columbus is that he knew why he did it – he was filled with the fire of the Holy Ghost urging him to press forward with great haste!” ( https://raciones.wordpress.com/2012/12/03/this-was-the-fire-that-burned-within-me/ )





22) Roaring in the Wilderness

The spirit and Columbus. Nephi predicted it, CC verified it. Columbus being inspired by the Spirit of God x2.





The Book of Moses speaks, in part, of the prophet Enoch. Enoch only makes a small showing in the Bible. He’s only mentioned in Genesis 5:18-24 - a few quick verses. His birth is referenced, we know he walked with God, he has kids and then God takes him. That’s it. There are no specifics about his prophetic acts. Here’s another x2. It is even more surprising, in my opinion.The Book of Moses speaks, in part, of the prophet Enoch. Enoch only makes a small showing in the Bible. He’s only mentioned in Genesis 5:18-24 - a few quick verses. His birth is referenced, we know he walked with God, he has kids and then God takes him. That’s it. There are no specifics about his prophetic acts.





In Joseph Smith’s inspired translation he has a lot more to do. The part we’re focusing on today is the Book of Moses 7:13, which reads in part:





“… and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness.” (http://classic.scriptures.lds.org/en/moses/7/13b)





Those lions roared, incidentally, during a big battle.





Over 100 years later some shepherds accidentally break some clay jars in a cave and the Dead Sea Scrolls are discovered. Among these scrolls is one called the Book of the Giants. In this book, Enoch also has a lot more to do. In fact:





“Of special note is a puzzling phrase in Martinez’s translation of the Book of Giants that immediately follows the description of the battle: “the roar of the wild beasts has come and they bellowed a feral roar.”” ( https://www.mormoninterpreter.com/ancient-affinities-within-the-lds-book-of-enoch-part-two/ )

Like I said – random. Random, battling and roaring.

Out of the park homerun.

33) An Ancient American City Named Bountiful

it Bountiful as well. Lehi’s descendants used the name Bountiful twice. ( Alma 22:29) Now jumping into the Book of Mormon. It’s about some ancient Israelites that fled from Jerusalem. In the old world, before they boarded any boats, they found an Oasis in the desert and called it Bountiful. Then they built, boarded and sailed in ships. When they landed on the American continent, eventually they found another sweet spot and calledBountiful as well. Lehi’s descendants used the name Bountiful twice. ( 1st Nephi 17:5 If it ain't broke - am I right?

Now fast forward to Mayan times. Pre-Columbian Mayan times:





“Here is one of the most important surviving works of pre-Columbian civilization, Rabinal Achi, a Mayan drama set a century before the arrival of the Spanish, produced by the translator of the best selling Popol Vuh. The first direct translation into English from Quiche Maya, based on the original text, Rabinal Achi is the story of city-states, war, and nobility….” ( https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/542161.Rabinal_Achi )





And here is an excerpt from the book form of Rabinal Achi. It’s a map with depicted Mayan cities:





the Bountiful, of course. That is not the argument here at all. It just means Bountiful was definitely used as a city name in ancient America. Of all the possible city names that could have been used – Joseph Smith 'chose' Bountiful as the one to slip into that verse taking place in that time. Now notice the city listed right smack dab in the middle of that map. Bountiful. BOUNTIFUL! That doesn’t mean it isBountiful, of course. That is not the argument here at all. It just means Bountiful wasused as a city name in ancient America. Of all the possible city names that could have been used – Joseph Smith 'chose' Bountiful as the one to slip into that verse taking place in that time.





Another dead center Joseph Smith bullseye.









44) Jabal – The Borders





More Book of Mormon exactness. Enter, of course, Hugh Nibley. He sums it up nicely. This is regarding 1 Nephi 2:5:





“And he came down by the borders near the shore of the Red Sea; and he traveled in the wilderness in the borders which are nearer the Red Sea; and he did travel in the wilderness with his family, which consisted of my mother, Sariah, and my elder brothers, who were Laman, Lemuel, and Sam.” ( https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/2?lang=eng





And here’s what Nibley says about it:





“[Lehi] took all his stuff and went down to the borders. It mentions "the borders" twice in the fifth verse. That should be capitalized because that's what that area has been called, the Jabal, which means "the Borders." Joseph Smith didn't know that. Neither did Oliver Cowdery, so they left it uncapitalized. But that area in which they went was the Jabal. Jabal is the range of mountains that separates one country from another. This had that name, Jabal.”

biiiig run on sentence until they went back to add that kind of stuff in the places they thought best. 'The Borders' not being capitalized makes a lot of sense. It is such a tiny little detail, but it’s the right word with the right meaning in the right place at the right time. In the original transcript, as it dripped down from Oliver Cowdery’s feather pen, there was no punctuation, or capitalization. As I understand it, it was just onerun on sentence until they went back to add that kind of stuff in the places they thought best. 'The Borders' not being capitalized makes a lot of sense. It is such a tiny little detail, but it’s the right word with the right meaning in the right place at the right time.

And speaking of right words:

55) Delighteth

This is from David Bokovoy. It talks about Nephi’s constant use of the word ‘delighteth’ when describing his feelings about Isaiah. Nephi was a real fan of Isaiah – and Isaiah was a real fan of the word ‘delighteth.’ You would never know that, however, if you've only read him in the King James Version - like Joseph Smith did:

“An attempt to justify his passion for the words of Isaiah, Nephi, the first author to appear in the Book of Mormon reveals his fervor for the Biblical book through the statement “My soul delighteth in his (Isaiah’s) words.” 2 Nephi 11:2

“For Nephi’s editorial introduction to Isaiah 2-14 the term ‘Delighteth’ appears to function as a type of Biblical leitwort or theme word deliberately repeated through Nephi’s comments as an intentional rhetorical device. In the same introduction Nephi states “My soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ, and also my soul delighteth in the covenants of the Lord which he hath made to our fathers, and my soul delighteth in proving unto my people that save Christ should come all men must perish…

“… In Nephi’s colophon, or editorial conclusion to his lengthy citation of Isaiah, Nephi returns to the term Delighteth. Fourteen chapters following his initial use of the theme word Nephi states “For behold, my soul delighteth in plainness unto my people that they may learn. Yeah and my soul delighteth in the words of Isaiah (2 Nephi 25: 4-5)…

but perhaps of even greater import is the fact that Nephi’s theme may derive from the biblical book itself. And this kind of fun. Though not reflected in the English version of Isaiah accessible to Joseph Smith, the original Hebrew of Isaiah is a book ripe with both the noun delight and the verbal act of delighting… “… With the literary consistency witnessed through the leitwort ‘delighteth’ in both Nephi’s introduction and conclusion to his Isaiah citation proves impressive,And this kind of fun.

Now for a mid quote break. This is a transcript I typed up. You’ll see the phrase *haight pai saudi* in the coming paragraph. That is phonetically spelled. I couldn’t figure out exactly how it's supposed to look on paper. For that, I apologize to Hebrew people everywhere. I am, so, so, so very sorry for the written mutilation of your beautiful language that is about to occur:

Now on with the quote:

“… No other Biblical book, save the collection of Psalms, a book that is filled with intense delight, relies upon the Hebraic root *haight pai saudi* with a higher frequency. The tri-literal root appears 20 times in the Book of Isaiah, occurring 7.7 times per 100 words. In contrast, the Hebrew root delight appears a total of 5 times throughout the entire Pentateuch, and again only 5 times in Jeremiah, the prophetic work with the next highest concentration of *haight pai saudi* after Isaiah. Significantly, for those who support the Book of Mormons claims for ancient authenticity, the use of delight as a theme word though throughout Isaiah is obscured in the King James Translation where the Lord, for example, delights not in the blood of bullocks or of lambs or of he-goats in Isaiah 1:11, however, he is only ‘well pleased’ in Isaiah 42:21.

“… Thus Isaiah’s introduction and conclusion to the Book of Mormon citation of Isaiah 2-14, which includes the statements ‘My soul delighteth in Isaiah’s words, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ, my soul delighteth in the covenants of the Lord, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people that save Christ should come all men must perish, my soul delighteth in plainness unto my people, and finally, once again, my soul delighted in the words of Isaiah appears to suggest a literary sensitivity on the part of the author to the well attested theme of delight apparent in the original Hebrew version of Isaiah... ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYmVB0AdeZs )

The term ‘delight’ or ‘delighteth’ is all over Isaiah’s writings. I didn’t know it. Joseph Smith didn’t know it. Nephi definitely did.





66) Rent





delight up there. It happens quick and it’s over – but it is exactly what it would have to be if the Book of Mormon is exactly what the Prophet said it is: This is another Book of Mormon-correctly used term. It’s a small thing, not as broad brushed asup there. It happens quick and it’s over – but it is exactly what it would have to be if the Book of Mormon is exactly what the Prophet said it is:





“Some of the passages in the Book of Mormon do not read as good English, (however many have been changed in later editions of the Book of Mormon to make the English read better) but they are accepted usage for Hebrew. One of these is on page 351 in the first edition.





“"and he went forth among the people, waving the rent of his garment" When the word "rent" is used as a noun in English it refers to the hole in the garment caused by rending… not the portion of rent cloth. This has contributed to the fact that in subsequent editions of the Book of Mormon it is changed to read "rent part" (Alma 46:19) But the Hebrew would, in this instance, use but one word, qera, 'rent (part),' coming from qara, 'he rent, tore,' for nouns, in Hebrew, are derived from roots -- as are Hebrew verbs -- by the addition of certain vowel patterns that distinguish them from other parts of speech.” ( http://www.lightplanet.com/response/idioms.htm )





And for more Book of Mormon authenticity proven years after it was first printed, look at this one:





77) Gidgiddoni

rd Nephi. Look at those two d’s just sitting there – sitting there like a Simpsons character looking to the left. Really, if Joseph Smith was going to use an ancient name with likely Israelite roots – he should have just stuck to the ones already mentioned in the Bible, right? Gidgiddoni is a pretty weird name. It shows up as the name of a great prophet/military leader in 3Nephi. Look at those two d’s just sitting there – sitting there like a Simpsons character looking to the left. Really, if Joseph Smith was going to use an ancient name with likely Israelite roots – he should have just stuck to the ones already mentioned in the Bible, right?

Well lucky for today’s list he didn’t:

“The name Gidgiddoni, with its reduplication and doubled consonant, is unusual for a Hebrew name. We now know that it is not. It is a well attested name in Neo-Assyrian records. It comes from the same Assyrian empire that is discussed so extensively in the works of Isaiah. The name is mentioned many times in Assyrian records, covering a number of individuals. It is spelled a number of ways:

• Gíd-gi-da-nu (SA A 1: 152:6)

• Gíd-gi-da-a-n[i] (SA A 1: 152 r 9)

• [Gíd-g]i-da-a-[ni] (SA A 1: 152 r 6)

• [Gí]d-gi-da-a-[ni] (SA A 1: 39 :4)

• Gíd-gi-da-a-nu (SA A 6: 31 r 23)

• Gíd-gíd-da-nu (SAA 11: 123 ii 13)

• Gíd-gíd-da-[nu] (SAA 12: 51 r 12)

“…The simplest explanation is that an Assyrian individual with the name Gidgiddanu was mentioned in the brass plates. This was then the source of the name for this particular military leader several centuries later…





“… Thus the number of attested non-biblical names in the Book of Mormon has just increased by one.” ( http://etherscave.blogspot.com/2015/06/right-on-target-gidgiddoni.html





And follow the link there. It details exactly who all those names belonged to. Thank you John Tvetness. Now back to Hugh Nibley:





88) The Kings of The Isles of the Sea

“The kings of the isles of the sea” is a mouthful. It’s long and cumbersome. It sounds like a song that should be sung by Sebastian the crab. We’re talking about more than that phrase here, though. We’re talking about the entire verse. It reads like this:

1 Nephi 19:12:





I like that verse for a lot of reasons. It talks about the lost prophet Zenos, for one. I also like the peculiarity of it all – a rending and groaning earth, sea kings and a God of nature suffering. It’s all so unique, isn’t it?





Isn’t it?





Is it?





Hugh Nibley:





“This is a marvelous thing. Look at this twelfth verse here. “And all these things must surely come, saith the prophet Zenos [way back there in the time of the Judges]. And the rocks of the earth must rend; and because of the groanings of the earth, many of the kings of the isles [that’s an odd thing to say] of the sea shall be wrought upon by the spirit of God, to exclaim: The God of nature suffers.” Who were the kings of the isles of the sea? Well, that’s what the Egyptians refer to as the kings of the Cyclades or the islands of the Aegean. They have a regular title (I’ve got it written down here). Well, it means “those who live around behind the islands.”

“…Well, Plutarch tells us the story that on one occasion the king was sailing by. Well, this is a very important one in his writing called “On the cessation of the Oracles.” Plutarch’s trying to show that the ancient oracles have ceased. A famous sailor was sailing by one of the islands, and he heard a voice coming from the Temple of Pan. Pan is the great god of nature, as you know—Pan pipes and all this sort of thing. He heard this voice crying out with great lamentation, and all the air was filled with lamentation. “Great Pan is dead. The god of nature is dead.” When these terrible things happen, this voice comes from the shrine of the island, “The god of nature is dead; the great Pan is dead.”

“And here: “The kings of the isles of the sea shall be wrought upon . . . to exclaim: The God of nature suffers.” Now you won’t find the god of nature in the Bible. You’ll find it in the eighteenth century—it was very popular—and you’ll find it in the Age of Reason. But in the Bible they don’t talk about the god of nature. But who’s talking about the god of nature? The kings of the isles of the sea. They’re the ones that say, “The god of nature is dead” because of the upheaval. So here’s a very interesting insight. And who says it? Not Lehi, not Nephi. It’s Zenos who says it. They have the book, and so it goes way back to the times when the kings ruled around the islands—Cypress and the others. This had such a classical ring to it. It’s characteristically Mediterranean, of course—one of those little vignettes that are just thrown in for no extra charge, but really reminds you to check on things. In fact, you see, if this had been put in the mouth of Lehi, you could raise an eyebrow and say, “Not of that time; it must have been much earlier.” Ah, yes, Zenos said it. He [Lehi] didn’t say it.” ( https://publications.mi.byu.edu/fullscreen/?pub=1135&index=15 )

99) Head Plates

Helmets are mentioned in the Old Testament. And the New Testament. They even get one single mention in the D&C. But they are not mentioned in the Book of Mormon even one single time.

The talented Arnold Friberg really, really wants to disagree:

But its something called head-plates used in Nephite times of war. And just FYI – to the best of my googling abilities head-plates are not mentioned in any other book of scripture.

“Ohio Memory Collection": They are, however, mentioned on the website called

“This copper head plate, found in the Mound City complex of earthworks near Chillicothe, may have been part of an elaborate Hopewell headdress. Headdresses were an important part of Hopewell costumes. Many head plates, meant to be worn along the top of the head from front to back, have been found in southern Ohio. While many are found without additional attachments, some are the foundation of very elaborate headdresses made with wood, feathers, fabric, leather, mica, pearls, and other materials. The head plate shown in this photograph was found on a very low earthen platform near cremated remains during archaeological excavations in the 1920s…” ( http://www.ohiomemory.org/cdm/ref/collection/p267401coll36/id/10887 )

Here’s another one. It’s much more battle like - it has cheek guards that flap down!

And look at this page from a mysterious, unknown book. The source wasn’t sure. All up and down the right side of the page. Especially the bottom right corner where you can see a head plate on a formerly buried skull:

Again – the argument here is not that these particular items were used in Nephite wars. The point is that head plates – as rare as their documentation seems to be (they’re not in any other scriptures) – are mentioned in the BOM as existing among ancient inhabitants of the Americas. And here we see clearly that something specifically called head plates existed among those very inhabitants.

Joseph Smith, ladies and gentlemen. Joseph Smith



10) Ancient American People Emigrating from the Confusion of the Tongues

In the book of Ether, which is snuggled way back towards the end of the Book of Mormon, the Nephites and Lamanites get put on the shelf to focus on the Jaredites. The Jaredites also fled the old world. Specifically they fled it at the time of the changing of the tongues/the crumbling of the Tower of Babel.

What an odd, exact time to have the Jaredites originate. A bunch of people leave the tower and travel to the New World. I’m not aware of any other specific, similar stories Joseph Smith could have drawn from. Ancient American civilizations, however, were aware of plenty. I'll list four because it's both easy and fun:

This first one is recorded by the Catholic friar, Diego Durán. He lived pretty early on in the Spanish conquest ( 1537 – 1588) . Durán transcribed the story from a 100 year old native:

A. “These giants...decided to build a tower so high that its summit would reach unto heaven. And gathering materials for this building, the giants found clay for bricks and an excellent mortar with which they began to build the tower very swiftly. When they had raised it as high as they could--and it seemed to reach to heaven--the Lord of the Heights became angry and said to the inhabitants of the heavens,...let us confound them...Then...those who dwell in the heavens came...and tore down the tower that had been constructed. And the giants, bewildered and filled with terror, separated and fled in all directions.” ( http://www.supportingevidences.net/jareditesolmecsgiants-of-mesoa/ )

This account is transcribed by a half Spanish half native Catholic priest named Ixtlilxochitl:

B. “A Catholic priest named Ixtlilxochitl who wrote the history of Mexico in 1568 wrote that, after the great flood, the people built a very high tower. Their languages were confounded and they were scattered to all parts of the earth. They eventually came to Mesoamerica after having first crossed many lands and waters, living in caves and passing through great trials and tribulations.”





Here are some lengthy quotes from the Historia Antigua de Mexico (Ancient History of Mexico) by Mariano Veytia. He put pen to paper a couple hundred years after the two sources above, but he went straight from old sources. He insisted he was going straight from old Indian manuscripts:





C. “[In my writing I am] following the ancient monuments and manuscripts that I have gathered in interpretation of the historical charts of the Toltecs (who were the wisest among all these nations), I say that the origin and first parents of all of them were seven families who, in the scattering of the peoples because of the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel, joined together because of finding themselves of one language that they called Nahuatl, which is known as the Mexican language, and they traveled to these parts, where they established themselves and multiplied, and went on dividing into towns and nations.”





“Veytia here indicates that he is following the manuscripts themselves and not earlier historians or commentators. He considers the Toltecs to have been the higher civilization. He states that they originated from seven families who were dispersed from the Tower of Babel and that their language was Nahuatl. They traveled to the Americas, established themselves, multiplied, and divided into nations.” ( http://moriancumr.blogspot.com/2010/01/indian-traditions-relating-olmecs-and.html?m=1 )





That link up there has far more accounts than just that one, incidentally.





This one is interesting. It’s recorded by Helen Sekaquaptewa (1898–1990). She doesn’t mention any old manuscripts. She’s talking about current (in her time) Indian ceremonies:





D. “…I will be sharing a short insight shared by Helen Sekaquaptewa in her book "Me and Mine" that shows knowledge of past times of the confounding of languages at the tower of Babel….

“…In speaking of the traditional ceremonies that tell the stories of their past Helen Sekaquaptewa shared the following. "One Hopi ceremony re-enacts the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel. We were in Hotevilla two times during this performance. It is done during the night. Those men not eligible to participate, and the women and children of the village were not allowed to stay in their own homes if they lived close to certain kivas, but had to go to the other end of the village and spend the night with relatives or friends. I was curious and didn't go to sleep . I could hear the tinkle of tiny bells, then big bells, and then the tramping of many feet as the performers came together in the middle of the night. You never heard anything more confusing; all talking at the top of their voices; none speaking their own tongue, but rather making a babble of sound, yelling loudly. Certainly a dramatic reproduction of the Tower of Babel.” ( https://inthecavityofarock.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-olmec-and-jaredite-history-and-hopi.html?showComment=1534339626205&m=1#c5540378029848194205 )

It’s just a list of 10. There are more. This Tower of Babel thing is particularly compelling – with some of the accounts written so early and the third one insisting he was taking it straight from authentic source material – it’s difficult to dispute. Christopher Columbus, the Book of the Giants, the old world, foreign language vernacular is amazing. And could the abundant supply of head plates, so rare in other ancient texts, be considered actual archeological evidence of the Book of Mormon?

I vote yes.

PS. God is still rooting for you.



