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There are earthen mounds in the shape of a serpent in Ohio and in southern Ontario, Canada. Some ancient American inhabitants dedicated a lot of work to build them. It appears to be religious zeal.
Congrats on this article!
Here’s a thought more related to the title of the article than to the paper itself: I think that perhaps “upon thy belly shalt thou go” is the curse that irrevocably denied Lucifer a body. Yes, we know Lucifer was already cast out of heaven, but perhaps this curse definitively “sealed” his fate as one who will not be embodied. The temple version of this story hints at this; I won’t quote it, but in context, right after the curse is given, there is the idea about Satan inhabiting human bodies—as if to make up for the lack of his own. I included this thought as a tangential footnote in my book Who is the Holy Ghost?
Richard- that is a really good thought. I know exactly what you are referring to, and it does indeed seem relevant.
Much to ponder.
In Facsimile #1 of the Book of Abrahm, Jehovah is depicted as and eagle-like bird. This similar symbol of a sacred bird is found throughout America. The temple mound at Poverty Point, Louisiana, was built in the shape of it. Moses depicted the symbol of the body of Jesus Christ as a serpent. After Christ’s coming to America, the combination symbol of the Feathered Serpent is the perfect representation of the union of the spirit of Jehovah with the body of Jesus Christ.
Hey Theodore- I thought the bird was meant to be an angel of the Lord in that facsimile, no? But at any rate, it is striking how much symbology there is in many different cultures related to either snakes, birds, or some odd mixture of both.
“…and the angel of his presence stood by me, and immediately unloosed my bands; And his voice was unto me: Abraham, Abraham, behold, my name is Jehovah.” (Abraham 1:15-16)
Wow, I had never noticed this. I will have to reread Jubilees because it talks about the Angel of His Presence a lot. Reading Isaiah 63:9 seems to agree it is Jehovah.
“In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them”
Still processing this article.
The Book of Abraham would have been in the Brass Plates.
Thanks Theodore- I hadn’t noticed that association between the facsimile and the text before