Bountiful

Many cities are mentioned as having been completely or partially destroyed.  One that was not mentioned was Bountiful.  While it had suffered some damage, it had not been destroyed, and many of the surviving Nephites gathered there.  Right on the boundary at the narrow neck of land between the land southward and the land northward, Bountiful was so named because it was a beautiful location near the sea just as the city Lehi named Bountiful on the eastern shores of the Arabian Peninsula.

Bountiful had been a center of Nephite religious life and had a beautiful temple.  While other areas of the empire had struggled with apostasy and rebellion, Bountiful had remained a stronghold of righteousness.  Since the voice of the Lord had declared the people who had been spared as having been more righteous than those who had been destroyed, it is not surprising that the righteous remnant would migrate to the temple in a city with a reputation for being righteous.

On the above map you can see Guatemala City, the City of Nephi; and the central drainage area of the Grijalva/Sidom River where Zarahemla and other Nephite cities were located.  Up on the coastline at the letter A is what LDS scholars believe to be the City of Bountiful ~ Coatzacoalcos.  The name means the sanctuary of the Serpent ~ the Precious or Sacred Serpent ~ Quetzalcoatl.

Quetzalcoatl was a man who still figures prominently in the legends* of the peoples of the Americas.  He was described as a bearded white man who wore a pure white robe; white above all description.  He was the founder of an "elevated spiritualism, a vision of the world that led to ancient Mexico's greatest cultural achievements." [1]  He vanished as mysteriously as he had arrived, promising that he would return.  It is a well-known fact that Cortez' conquest of Mexico was facilitated by "Aztec hesitancy to oppose him whom they believed to be that returning Deity." [2]

Not all references to Quetzalcoatl in legend relate to the god himself.  Later priests and royalty sometimes took his name just as some Hispanic children are named Jesus.  I had a student several years ago from an Hispanic family whose name was Quetzal.

Quetzalcoatl is usually represented as a feathered serpent and is referred to as the Precious Serpent.  The idea of a true God being represented as a serpent may seem strange, but it is not without Biblical precedence.  Jesus Christ said of Himself: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3: 14-15)  Biblical scholars are in agreement that Moses' Brazen Serpent was a type for Jesus Christ.

Tomorrow, we will return to the Book of Mormon to disclose the identity of the Precious Serpent.

* For an interesting read on these legends, might I recommend He Walked the Americas by L. Taylor Hansen.  I think it may be out-of-print, but available on Amazon.com

 [1] Miguel Leon-Portilla quoted in Sorensen p. 328
[2] Francis F. Berden quoted in Sorensen p. 326

Text copyright January 2014, Gebara Education

Pictures:

Map from www.gerardomorah.wordpress.com

Building at Coatzacoalcos from www.tripadvisor.com

The Precious Serpent from www.trotamexico.com