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1 The Mentinah Archives Volume Six The Nemenhah Translation Council: Hemene Ot To Oh Yelo Akekt (Phillip Cloudpiler Landis) of Moroni, UT, Cesar Padilla de Ramarra of Guatemala, Tui Xiu of Guatemala, Menemi Shen of Taiwan, and Porfiro Munoz de Xiu of Ethiopia Translations faithfully compared

2 The Mentinah Archives Volume Six The Nemenhah Copyright 2007 Nemenhah Band and Native American Traditional Organization All Rights Reserved English version published in the United States of America by: Mentinah Publishing and Distribution (MPD) 105 S. State #504 Orem, UT ABCDEGabcdefg This book is copyrighted. Unauthorized duplication of it in any manner is prohibited. Notwithstanding, because of the nature of the materials, we feel it is very important that they become well known. Accordingly, the Elders of the Nemenhah Band and Native American Traditional Organization are willing to discuss duplication with those wishing to utilize the materials within their own families and for educational or devotional purposes. Please contact us at for more details. Updates and Information As translations become available, they will be posted for download at: At that website we also have pasted Newsletters, information about ordering additional paperback books, how to donate to the Mentinah Foundation and how to contact us. Information about the Nemenhah Band and Native American Traditional Organization can be found on their website: 2

3 Table of Contents A Short History of the Archives...4 Phillip R. LandisThe Book of Memish Akekt...5 The Book of Memish Akekt...6 Chapter One...6 Chapter Two...9 Chapter Three...9 Chapter Four...10 Chapter Five...13 Chapter Six...18 Chapter Seven...20 Chapter Eight...25 Chapter Nine...29 Chapter Ten...32 Chapter Eleven...35 Chapter Twelve...37 The Book of Winet Memniet Akekt...40 The Book of Momet Akekt...41 Chapter One...41 Chapter Two...44 Chapter Three...47 Chapter Four...54 Chapter Five...55 The Book of Teanicumset...56 Chapter One...56 Chapter Two...57 Chapter Three...59 The Book of Mipahnet...63 The Book of the Generations of Minisourit...63 Chapter One...63 Chapter Two...72 Chapter Three...72 Chapter Four...73 Chapter Five...74 Chapter Six...76 Chapter Seven...77 Chapter Eight...78 Chapter Nine...83 Chapter Ten...85 Mentinah Archives Pronunciation Guide...88 General Rules:...88 Proper Nouns:

4 A Short History of the Archives The Mentinah Archives are the recorded histories of the people known anciently as the Nemenhah. These people trace their history from the journey of Hagoth into the Land Northward up to the present day. They were written upon plates of various metals and alloys of metals, processed animal hides and paper velum. The records were archived in several locations in North and Central America anciently, but the only surviving copies of the histories of the Nemenhah, of which we have anything to do, have been strictly guarded in the libraries of Sanpete County, Utah. When the Mormons came into the Sanpete valley they were met by American Natives who had been forewarned in dreams and visions of their coming and of their complete conquest of the region. After converting to the new religion, several of the Chiefs of these Americans met with Brigham Young to give into his keeping a copy of the libraries hidden in the hills of the Wasatch Front, as part of their consecration to the United Order. They were pleased that the men of prophecy had come because this meant that they could leave the valley and return to where their families had originally come. Pres. Young informed them, however, that they would have to remain but for a little while longer. His words to them; for we have not wherewith to translate these records, are still repeated today by certain of their descendents. Shortly thereafter, the natives sealed the libraries up and no one was allowed to visit them except their brethren who came periodically from the south. For generations, the Council of Mayan Elders has sent emissaries to the libraries to make copies for translation purposes. In 1957, the Council requested that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints translate and publish the books of the library. They report that the Brethren of the Church with whom they met responded just as Pres. Young had to the Chiefs of the Indians in Sanpete County We have no way of translating these things. No one speaks this language anymore. From that day the Council undertook the task of making a translation of the works from Nemenhah into Quiche, the languages being similar, and a sort of Rosetta Stone being provided by one of the ancient authors of the records. Several translators have been involved in the project, including those for whom the records constitute family history. On November 11, 2004, the first release of the English translations was made available to members of the Numi Pu Tsu Peli Chopunish (now known as the Nemenhah Band and Native American Traditional Organization), under the direction of the Hereditary Medicine Chief and the Council of Mothers. 4

5 Forward The Mentinah Archives are apocryphal in nature and as such, ought to be read with the guidance of the Spirit of God. Several of the translators, including myself, have seen and held the plates in their own hands but this alone gives no historicity or evidence of authenticity. Other ancient records have been unearthed and translated in the past, and there have been testimonies given of them. Notwithstanding, such personal testimonies have never formed a foundation upon which anyone ought to build a true witness of their authenticity. Additionally, since the caretakers of these records have no intention of ever releasing for examination or study the original documents, the only manner in which one may come to the knowledge of their truthfulness if they are indeed genuine, or even only of their usefulness if they are mere works of fiction, is by the instrumentality of the Holy Ghost. In my opinion, this is entirely fitting. Accordingly, it is my suggestion to all who read these pages, that they do it with good intent, and that they subject the things they read to the confirmation of the Spirit. Indeed, this is my counsel to all people whenever they pick up anything to read. Therefore, if you are not willing to test this work, or any work written by man for that matter, then you should not expect to come to any knowledge of its truthfulness. Indeed, you do not have it in you to receive the Spirit of Revelation, even the Holy Ghost. That being the case, this history is definitely not for you and you should seek a different road to enlightenment. This too, is entirely fitting, for there are many such roads. If, however, you can feel to seek the Holy Ghost, and you believe that you can receive a revelation from God through that Spirit who establishes the truth of all things, it is my belief that you may find something useful within these pages. Phillip R. Landis 5

6 The Book of Memish Akekt Memish gives his genealogy back to Adam and provides a short history of Night Voice Woman. Teachings of the High Place are expounded upon. Families leave the Menintah Valley. Chapter One 1) In the seventh generation from Mor Honayah, even seven hundred and thirty two years from the blessed time when the Peacemaker walked among our people, the Council of Mentinah called upon me to take up the seat of high priest of the city. 2) Behold, I am Memish Akekt, even the husband of Espowyes Mene Akekt, and I begin the record of my stewardship. And my father was Waylhimnotkits and my mother was Pahnah Tahnich, the daughter of Chichtenah and Ponet Akekt. 3) And Ponet Akekt was the son of Ichi-nuicl, of the people who came up from the Land Southward with Night Voice Woman, and Pene Im Akekt who was the son of Weeskit of the Lord, the son of Piahomet Akekt. And Piahomet Akekt was the son of Paniet Akekt and Shi Honayah. 4) And Shi Honayah was the son of that Mor Honayah who was the last prophet and captain of the armies of the Nephites who are no more. And his father was Mor Monayah, the son of Mor Monayah, and behold, they were of the Nemenhah of Witchittim. And Mor Honayah was the husband of Pa-Hinent who was the daughter of Pa-Hanat, who descended from Shimlei. 5) And Pa Natan was also a descendent of Mor Monayah of Witchittim, for her father was Morinhah, whose father was also that same Mor Monayah. And her son was Heinmet, and Mor Honayah took up the record after that Heinmet departed out of the land. And behold, she did also have claim upon Shimlei and his generations because of the adoption that Shimlei made in the days of his ministry. 6) And Shimlei was the son of Manti who was the son of Ougou who was the son of Sahnempet who was the son of Hagmeni who was the son of Hagoth. 7) And Hagoth descended from Father Lehi, whom the Lord commanded to take out of the Land of Jerusalem, even the City of Jerusalem with all his family. And this same Lehi was a descendent of Manasseh, the son of Joseph who was the son of Jacob, even Israel. And Israel was the son of Isaac who was the son of Abraham, the son of Terah. 8) And Terah worshipped heathen gods and he was the son of Nahor. And Nahor was the son of Serug. And Serug was the son of Reu. And Reu was the son of Peleg, in whose time many changes were wrought upon the face of the earth. And Peleg was the son of Eber. And Eber was the son of Salah. And Salah was the son of Arphaxhad. And Arphaxhad was the son of Shem, the son of Noah, in whose days the Lord caused the great flood. 9) And Noah was the son of Lamech. And Lamech was the son of Methuselah. And Methuselah was the son of Enoch, who walked and talked with God. And this same Enoch knew the Ancient of Days when he was just a lad. 10) And Enoch was the son of Jared. And Jared was the son of Mahalaleel. And Mahalaleel was the son of Cainan. And Cainan was the son of Enos. And Enos was the son of Seth. And Seth was the son of Adam, even the Ancient of Days, First Man, and Eve, the Mother of All Living. 11) And Father Hagoth also descended from Father Ishmael, who took up his journey with his family with Father Lehi. And Ishmael was descended from Ephraim, the son of Joseph the son of Jacob. 12) And Father Hagoth also descended from Mulek, the son of he who was King of Jerusalem (Zedekiah), who was King in the Land of Jerusalem in the days when the Lord did command Father Lehi to take his journey into the wilderness. And King Zedekiah was descended from Judah, the elder brother of Joseph, the son of Jacob. 6

7 13) And Father Hagoth also descended from Simeon, who was a priest of the Temple of Jerusalem and who went with Mulek out of that city ere it was destroyed. And Simeon descended from Aaron, even the brother of Moses. And Aaron descended from Levi, the son of Jacob. 14) Behold, my mother was the granddaughter of that strange prophet who came up out of the Land Southward with all the Tuilhah who would follow her. And she was called by her people Night Voice Woman, but her name in her own language means more literally a black bird whose voice is heard at night. This name was given unto her by the people because for many years she did preach the gospel of peace only at night and in hidden places. 15) And she was a wise woman and a seer, the daughter of a king in the land of our ancestors. But behold, this king was an evil man and a drinker of blood. Yea, he did make war upon his neighbors continually and he did drink the blood of his captives. And he had many wives and a numerous posterity, and he did force them to do even the things that he did. 16) Now, Night Voice Woman would not do the things that her father did and she defied him. And he did cause that she should be cast into prison and that she be deprived of food and water that she die there. But she walked upon Way and was preserved. And behold, there was one of her jailors who saw her that she did walk continually upon the Way and he did take great pity on her. Yea, and he did report to her father, the king, that she had perished and was no more, but secretly kept her and hid her. 17) Wherefore, she did issue out of the prison each night to preach against her father and all the wickedness of her people. And the rich did not hear her voice, but the poor heard and listened. And when the king had sunk even deeper into the abyss of his iniquity, even so far as to cause that the children of the poor of his city should be sacrificed to satisfy his lust, behold, the prophet did call for an uprising of the city and the country round about. And behold, the people did rise up and cast down the city. Yea, and they did utterly destroy the king and all his house. 18) But Night Voice Woman was preserved within the walls of the prison wherein she did reside. And when the people had destroyed the royal house and all its adherents, they desired to elevate her to be their queen but she would not. Now, the man who had been her jailor and who had succored her, he was nevertheless a wicked man who sought for power and gain. Wherefore, he saw great advantage in her ascension and he did move upon her continuously to take up the honor which the people did desire to put upon her. Howbeit, he believed that he could take control of the country through her. 19) But the prophet would not be prevailed upon to become queen and her benefactor became wroth and cast her into prison once again and would not that she go out anymore. And behold, he told the people that he had taken her to wife and that she would only be prophet unto them if they made him their king. And the people, desiring that she remain prophet unto them, did make the man their king believing that he spoke the truth. 20) For, did he not save Night Voice Woman from destruction? And had he not succored her in her distress? Then why not make him their king and her their prophet? 21) But the man was wicked and a liar, and he kept her locked up in the prison. And behold, when the people had made him king, he did also lock her in a cell and deprived her of food and water, as her father had done. But behold, news of it went out among the people and they became so inflamed that they did also rise up speedily against their new king to slay him. And they burst in unto the prison and freed the prophet. 22) And behold, in the light of day the people saw that their city and the land was laid desolate because of the uprising and that evil men and women wandered to and fro doing all manner of wickedness. Yea, and they feared that the kings of other cities might take it in their hearts to come with their armies to enslave them. Wherefore, they gathered themselves together in a great multitude to protect themselves. And they called upon their prophet to tell them what to do. And these are the words of her counsel: 23) Are you determined to continue in the ways of your fathers? I ask you to consider them carefully. Have they brought about any good at all? Behold, I say unto you, Nay. But the ways of our fathers are ways of wickedness. Does this offend you? It should! For you are the offshoots of a cancerous branch. If you are 7

8 convinced that you can return to that greatness you once enjoyed, you shall only repeat the horror which you have only recently overcome. 24) And behold, why do I accuse you? It is because I see who you are. Look at yourselves. How did you overthrow the wickedness that held you in bondage and in horror? Yea, examine yourselves. You did it through a work of horror that exceeds that out of which you did raise yourselves up. Can you say, now the sun is high in the sky, that you are any different today than yesterday? Behold, I esteem you to be more wicked today. 25) For yesterday you were slaves without freedom to act and the blood of the land was upon the hands of your slavemasters. Today you stand free to act and to be acted upon, and behold, the blood of the land steams upon your own hands. Wherefore I ask you, are you determined to remain in the ways and the customs of your fathers? 26) And the people cried out: 27) We would leave the ways of our fathers and follow you. 28) But she rebuked them, saying: 29) Behold, I would not be your queen when you required it of me. How then can you think to make me your god? I would not take up the stele nor the bonnet, and I will not have you bowing down unto me. What then shall you do? Behold, will you linger here and starve? How shall you make your way? 30) And the people sent spokesmen to address her, saying: 31) We do represent the people in their ranks and their castes. They have chosen us to speak for them in all that they do. We do come before you to beg that you might lead us into a new place. For the people do not wish to continue here in the way that our fathers lived. Wherefore, use your gift to our good and take us away out of this place. 32) And she did answer the people, saying: 33) Behold, I go into a land that is far away. It is a beautiful place of chill air and tall trees. The people there are good and there are many among them that walk a way of rightness before all living things. They will not welcome a bloody and wicked people in their midst and I fear me that, should you come with me, they might rise up in their strength to destroy the host, if only to protect their own little ones. How shall you come with me thither? 34) And they answered her, saying with these words: 35) The people believe that you have been called up by God to save them and to preserve them. If you will not be their queen then they are leaderless. Wherefore, they do desire to make your God their King and they will follow Him if He will take them out of this land. They offer all that they have in sacrifice unto Him. Will this suffice? Will you take us with you? 36) And she said: 37) Then let each render up all that all may survive. It is a good sacrifice. But the Lord of Hosts shall lead you if you will give up and forsake all unrighteousness. Will you cast off the customs of your fathers? It is a hard thing, but the Lord will guide none of you who will not forsake the world and follow Him with all your might. 38) And when the spokesmen returned unto their castes to declare unto the people her conditions, the people hearing it did shout with one voice: 39) Behold, our ways are not good ways. We forsake our own customs. We will follow this God whom you call your Lord. Tell us what we must do to appease this great God. 40) And she said unto them: 41) Lay aside all that you do and think that might hurt or do any injury unto another. Set aside all castes, for men and women are all equal and there must be no distinction of rank or office among them. Take up your burden and come follow the Lord of Creation, even the Peacemaker. 42) And the people in one accord covenanted to follow the Lord. 8

9 Chapter Two 1) Now, these had been the People of the City of Tlihuilah, which is known by its neighbors as Thule, and they left the Land Southward in one body, leaving hardly anyone behind. And they followed Night Voice Woman and took up a journey that led them into many perilous places. Yea, they passed by many peoples and many cities and they fought many battles against enemies who would take them as slaves and as captives. And they did arrive at length into the Land Northward along the north shores of the great gulf. 2) And behold, they followed her and a generation did pass away. And yet the children of that generation did continue to follow her, and they too did pass away. And behold, she did yet live and continue to lead the people ever northward and the children s children did continue to follow her. 3) And they learned new ways from their prophet, ways which led them into truth and into a way of living that made no hurt upon man, nor upon the land upon which they journeyed. But they did provide for their wants and protected themselves as they traveled. 4) And behold, my mother was a grandchild of Night Voice Woman. And she remembered the things that she taught the people of Tlihuilah. Yea, and she did teach it also unto all of her children, that the teachings of her grandmother might not be lost to the world. 5) And behold, the teachings of the Tlihuilah are not so much different than the teachings of the Nemenhah. Yea, their laws and regulations are decided in council in which both the men and the women are equally represented. This is much like unto the system devised by Pa Hementem and Shi Tugohah. And also they have all things in common and work together for the good of the community. Yea, there are no poor among them and there is no class or caste, but all their citizens are considered equal in all things. And they seek the Way and the counsel of their ancestors, and this thing is precisely as the Nemenhah believe. Yea, when all is added up, the Tuilhah are like as to us in most of their ways. 6) But they are a fearful and a fretful people. Yea, they spend much time in self-judgment, for they would not that their people fall once again into that wickedness that had destroyed their country in the Land Southward. Wherefore, it is difficult for them to be happy, for they do ever harrow themselves up in the memory of the deeds of their fathers. 7) But they are good neighbors and this is a thing most sought after in these times. For behold, the times spoken of by our fathers is surely come upon us. Yea, the north countries begin to be locked up in desperate cold in which the days of cold seem never to end and the days of warm are foreshortened. Yea, in our days, the people struggle to change their ways and the customs to suit the changing seasons. 8) Yea, so much are the seasons changed that we, here in Menintah, do feel the weight of it both from the north and from the south. For, our valley is more protected than others and our mountains do continue to gather at least some moisture during the winter months. Wherefore, although our ability to grow sufficient for our needs is lessened because of the long season of cold, nevertheless, there is still water enough to grow food to sustain us. 9) Wherefore, our neighbors upon our north do press in upon us almost to surpass the limits of the valley to support our own cities. And behold, our neighbors upon our south do look upon us as the only salvation from the destruction that must come upon them because of their carelessness. Yea, they have overtaxed the earth for two generations and nothing can save them from the disaster that must come because of the great draught in all that region. 10) Yea, good neighbors are much to be desired in times of trouble and we are envious of the Nemenhah of Corianton because of their neighbors the Tuilhah. Chapter Three 1) Now, in the days of my stewardship, the cities and settlements of Menintah began again to exceed the capacity of the valley to provide for so many people. Wherefore, I did call for a Community Council to decide what must be done. And behold, the people did send their delegates up unto the Council and they spent many days discussing the problem. But the Council came to no conclusion and disbanded without any decision, wherefore, I did call again for a Council. And again the people did choose their delegates 9

10 and they did also come up into Mentinah, for we had built a new council hall in that city and there was much room there. But the Council made no decision upon the matter and, after many days, they did also disband without any action. 2) Wherefore, a year passed in which the harvest was insufficient for those who lived within the valley and there was no surplus, and yet, many people did continue to pour in from other areas. Now this did quickly empty the storehouses and we did greatly fear that there would be want in the following season of cold. And behold, those seasons were becoming ever longer and colder, albeit, less snow fell than in the memory of men. 3) And behold, in the regions to the south of Menintah, the draught deepened and became worse. And the cities of the Neme began to experience great want, for the land would not grow corn. Yea, the people labored in the fields to plant the corn only to watch the plant wither and die before the ear was set. 4) And behold, in the regions to the north of Menintah, the season of cold lengthened to the extent that there was no growing season long enough to grow food and the people were forced to rely upon that which the land grew naturally and upon the hunting of wild animals for their food. And this did cause much disruption in their way of life, for it could not be done in order and the ceremonies were neglected because of the need to spend all of their time in the gathering of food. Wherefore, their plight became very sore and they gave up their cities and began to live in very small villages. 5) And their very manner of living changed completely, even to the extent of the kind of dwellings they built to live in. Behold, the only durable structures they built, even from the days of my mother to the present, were for Councils and for their High Places. But even these became disused except in the deep winter. 6) And behold, these were the conditions during the years of my stewardship. Chapter Four 1) Behold, I was about to make an end of my writing and my record, but the Lord does constrain me to write somewhat more than I had planned. Wherefore, I do take up the stylus to write yet a little more unto my descendents. 2) It has been forty and seven years since the people of Mentinah begged me to move even into that city and take up the care of the High Place there. For, it had fallen into disuse and disrepair. For behold, the people had forgotten the covenant that they had made when they came back into the valley, and this because that conditions had become so strait. And all their time is now spent in tilling and harvesting and there is not enough for all even with all of their labors. Wherefore, there is want all around and we are all driven into the forests to hunt and to gather what extra we can. 3) Wherefore, what thought can anyone give to the ordinances of the High Place? Yea, the people have given up the living sacrifice in my day because of the great change in the seasons, for they consider every day a day of sacrifice. 4) Wherefore, lest the teachings of the High Place be lost to my posterity, I do take up the stylus and add these words of instruction for the sake of those among the fruit of my loins that might receive again these records and begin to establish Zion in the land. 5) And it is my hope that this place may become a blessed sanctuary again, for it has always been a refuge for the Nemenhah since the days of Ha-ahgotl. Yea, so that this place may rise up again a sanctuary for the Lord, I do take up the stake and I do again molten to make plates in order that I might leave a record of my thoughts and the desires of my heart. 6) And behold, there is little left of the metal we have used to make the plates upon which we have always written. And also the knowledge of such things is greatly diminished, even so much that, the plates that I do make are large and cumbersome. Yea, and these may be the last plates of metal made to write upon which shall be used by the Nemenhah, for most of the people have taken up writing on leather and on a form of paper made from plant fibers. Yea, the making of plates of metal and the manner of writing upon them such that little actual metal is used, has been lost to us. Wherefore, this manner of writing must make way for another and I beg the Lord that our words might still be preserved. 10

11 7) I know that the writings that are made on leather and upon paper shall not be preserved for many generations. But I do not despair that the last generations of the Nemenhah shall go unremembered, for the Lord has shown me how, in the times of restoration, there shall always be they whom He does take upon the Way. And upon the Way shall we speak in our own words the record of our people, and they shall be written. And unto they whom the Lord does give the gift of translation upon the Way, shall He also show our records, be they written upon metal or any other material, and they shall read them. And behold, this is the great gift of the translator, that they, having read a thing upon the Way, may take it back into the Telestial World and write the thing read upon the Terrestrial. 8) And it has also been revealed unto me that my father Ogah-ohuh shall instruct them and he shall be a teacher and a minister unto them. Behold, he who first recorded the Ordinances of the High Place, shall always instruct they who are blessed with the restoration of them, and this does comfort my soul. For behold, these are the ordinances that have for their purpose the emergence of the Man and the Woman from out of this earthly and carnal world into that place and sphere where they may learn directly of the Chosen One, the very Anointed of God. 9) Behold, Ogah-ohuh, the prophet, also wrote of these things, wherefore, I will not repeat here the ordinances of the High Place, nor the relation of the parties. But I will make a commentary upon them, that my understanding of the principles might be preserved. 10) Now, the relation of the High Place, as it has been recorded, speaks of the Everlasting Covenant through which our Heavenly Parents attained to their exalted state. And this portion of the relation speaks to me of times and times and seasons of times when men and women labored through lives, living and dying repeatedly for the space of many eternities. And this covenant must be called good, for it achieved the purpose. Yea, in and through it the Father organized matter together and called it creation. And the Mother breathed life into the organization and called it a living soul. And together they made heaven and earth as we know it. Not one without the other, but together in unity did they create all that is in this creation. And we must be happy and content in this covenant, for in the application of all that was before, there was a continuation of the family of Man. 11) And this same system did prevail for each of us who are true sons and true daughters of our Heavenly Parents. Yea, behold, we did live many lives and die many deaths in the Everlasting Covenant, and great and eternal was the joy and the suffering of that covenant. This is according to that law which did prevail in the Universe whereby we were given to use a portion of the endowment of power possessed by Elohim to create. And in this way did we pass through the very works of our own hands, descending even into the lowest that we might again ascend even unto the highest. 12) Now behold, it seems to me that many do remember somewhat in fleeting recollections, some of the days of tribulation when they did labor in the Everlasting Covenant. Yea, many are there that seem to have memories of other lives or of things that never happened to them in this. I believe they do have some recollection of lives lived before the world was. Yea, they do remember the lives upon lives and deaths upon deaths through which they passed in the Everlasting Covenant. 13) Then a new thing happened, yea, a new thing in the Universe. The Father and Mother came upon one Holy Ghost and they did make discovery that the Everlasting Covenant did create so much suffering that others in the Universe were adversely affected. Yea, their covenant of creation caused that others in the Universe, of which they knew not previously, should feel pain and suffer because of it. 14) But this is not all. They learned also that this same Holy Ghost was endowed with a power that would remedy the suffering. Wherefore, they made a covenant with the Holy Ghost to alter the plan by which their children might reach exaltation. 15) Now, these are the things which are taught in the High Place and is it useful to men and to women? I believe they are. Yea, it is useful to know by what power the heavens and the earth are brought together. Yea, and it is useful to know that the Father is endowed with power to bring matter together and because of this power the elements obey his voice in confidence. And it is useful to know that the Mother is 11

12 endowed with power to give life unto the organized matter that it might know itself and believe, and that because of this power the creation is a living thing like unto ourselves. 16) And this is a work of mutual endowment, one not being absent from the other. Wherefore, we are taught what manner of lives we should live. For we are taught and we believe that the man is not without the woman, neither is the woman without the man in the Lord. But they are born as individuals. Notwithstanding, they twain are not two but one. For we do also emulate our Heavenly Parents. Yea, the man may build up, but that which is built is no living thing. Yea, and the woman may engender, but that which is engendered is no living thing without the body. Wherefore, we do see the pattern set by our Heavenly Parents and we are assured of our place in the Universe because we are like unto Them. 17) For, it might not have been so. Or should we have been created like unto some of the creeping things which are both male and female, shall we have felt any confidence in our affinity to God? I think it cannot be. But we are given assurance of our likeness unto our parents and in this pattern we are also confident that we are like unto our Heavenly Parents also. I do not mean to say that the snail a thing that is at once male and female - is not of the workmanship of God. But, I do mean to assert that because of the relation of the High Place we are made aware of our likeness to God and this gives us peace. 18) Now, the first Lodge of the Ceremony of the High Place is appointed and set up in order to place us on the map of creation and to begin the charting of our course through it. I say it is useful to know who we are and out of what we came. This knowledge gives us balance and a beginning. It is also useful to us to know that our Heavenly Parents are still capable of growth, without this understanding overthrowing our belief in Them. For if we, Their children, ever hope to attain to Their measure and stature, it will be because of our growth. And yet, consider this if we are ever emerging out of one condition into another, and we are like unto our Heavenly Parents, then They, too, are ever emergent because of us. As we grow, so then do They. 19) Now this is the purpose of the First Lodge, and the Temple or Lodge of Adam does teach us principles that are vital to the understandings that continue. Yea, the ordinances progress from understanding to understanding and the First Lodge does place us in time and space and give us our foundation. It is good to have a starting point, even in eternity. For although God lives ever in the present, there being no past and no future but all things are before Him, yet our minds find it difficult to perceive that light at first. Therefore, He does provide for us a beginning place, while we learn to perceive the world as it really is. 20) It is also useful to know how our Heavenly Parents do esteem us, Their children. They did include us in Their eternal progression even before the foundation of the world. Their work was not selfish nor selfcentered. Yea, and we do understand from the relation of First Man and First Woman that all things move through us, for They are in us and through us and round about us, and we have our being because of the matter which is quickened by the Endowment of Power of the Father and of the Mother. It is good to know our connection with all things living. 21) And we did make a covenant to work with our Heavenly Parents and to labor toward attaining to that which They had obtained through the Everlasting Covenant, which is life. Wherefore, we are all relations and we did work together in the labor which was the work of our fathers and our father s fathers. But this work did cause great suffering, even beyond that which we can contemplate now, and this is the cause of the New and Everlasting Covenant. Behold, were it not for the teachings and ordinances of the High Place, could we know of any of this? 22) Now, what was it that moved in the breast of our Mother that caused Her to look upon the deep and wonder? What caused Her also to leave Her place of security and set out on a journey into the Universe? It was the need to emerge and to progress. Behold, this is a seed that She planted in all of us and we find that we are like Her in this respect. Each of us has an inner necessity to reach out and to learn, to grow, and to progress. To know this about ourselves is a good thing. Behold, through this knowledge of ourselves, we come to know the Mother of All Living. 23) In like manner, what is it that dwells in us that causes us to seek an organized and efficient manner of living? Behold, it is that seed that is planted in us of the Father. Yea, it is His Endowment of Power 12

13 which brings order to the Universe. In this thing that dwells within us all, we find that we are like unto our Father also. To know this about ourselves is also a good thing. Behold, through this knowledge, we do come to know the Father of All Creation. 24) It is good to know that all things created flow through us. Yea, in this way we are reminded of our stewardship. For, we do esteem all things as even ourselves. This knowledge makes it the more easy to esteem our fellows as ourselves and to love them even as the Peacemaker taught. Not with a heart filled with lust, but with bowels filled with mercy and justice. For, if we make injury upon anything living, or in other words, if we make usury of any thing in a manner that is outside our stewardship, then do we not injure and make usury of ourselves? But if we love our neighbor as ourselves, we do acknowledge the creation for what it really is, all my relations. 25) And it is good to know this first knowledge. Otherwise, once we discover that we are the sons and daughters of Heavenly Parents, would it not be easy for us to believe, in our pride, that the world is ours to make use of it as we see fit. Yea, it is easy to say in our hearts, behold, the world is the footstool of God, and, if we are heirs to the throne, why regard we the footstool? It is easy for us, whose knowledge is insufficient and who must beg revelation from God, to make division of things. But behold, if the throne and the footstool are the same matter, and that matter is the same as the matter of our bodies and our beings, then it is more difficult to make abuse of it with impunity. Yea, with this knowledge, it is difficult to disregard the needs of our neighbors, for they are in us and we are in them. 26) And behold, it is good for us to understand that we had all arrived at a different station and that we were not equal as yet in our understandings, nor in our emergence. But when we consecrated all things that we had created, even all through which we had progressed, yea, when we took of everything that we each were individually and gave it all up unto the Chosen One, through that wonderful power of the Holy Ghost, did we not take of our different lives and make of them one life eternal? 27) This is the beginning of that faculty whereby the Holy Ghost may bring all things to our remembrance. And it is a wondrous gift. Behold, we may remember all the things which we did offer up unto the Peacemaker in that great circle or council unto which our Father did call us. Yea, He did call us out of our own work, wherein we did labor to save and exalt ourselves, and we were made aware of a new and better way. In it, we may continue to work to affect our own emergence out of the Telestial World into the Terrestrial, but we may also do a great work that is not in behalf of our own desires. Yea, our work is eternal, even as our Father s and our Mother s work was eternal. 28) And we do look upon the creation with eyes that see, for the gifts of the Spirit do quicken our sight and our understanding. Who, therefore, having this knowledge, may look upon the world and not see it for what it is? And when we do bow ourselves down and take upon ourselves a purpose which takes in all things created, as we enter into the little tabernacle wherein we do make a sacrifice for all living, it is easy for us to see and understand the first day of creation, for it is our creation also and one in which we do continually take part. 29) It is this understanding that we call the First Lodge of the High Place and the instruction of it is made in the home. Yea, the mothers and fathers of Nemenhah do teach their daughters and their sons in all these things in the home and in the field and in the shop. Behold, it is not knowledge that is left to one person to teach, but it is taught to all through the application of the stewardships. And, when a person goes up to the High Place, the Peli culminate this teaching by repeating the relation of the High Place and also by expounding upon it. But behold, no one goes up to the High Place to make ordinances that does not already understand these things. Chapter Five 1) Now, the relation of the creation of the world is told in another place. Wherefore, I will not repeat it here, for I have little space left upon the plates which I have cast. But I shall speak of the understandings that must be obtained from that relation. And I beg all who might read of my writings that you might have patience with the works of my hands. For, they are feeble works and by no means perfect. Yea, there are 13

14 faults in my expressions and I know not if all of them may even be useful to any who might read them in times far sundered. 2) Nevertheless, the Spirit does constrain me. For I have seen that in the last days before the Lord shall come again to heal the earth one last time, there shall be those among my descendents who shall read my words. Wherefore, I hope to make for you an ensample. And if I may only put down my own thoughts and understandings regarding the High Place and its ordinances, then I shall count myself blessed. For, this is a thing of great worth unto you. 3) Wherefore, I continue with my discourse. 4) Now, when the days of the creation were far spent, yea, when all who had taken part in the creation of Heaven and of Earth were about to set themselves down to take rest and to review and take counsel over the works of their hands, behold, one last thing remained undone. 5) And the Father asked the question: Is Man found on the Earth? 6) And the Son answered him, saying: Man is not found. 7) And the relation tells us that First Man and First Woman were placed upon the earth in the last day of the Creation of All Living. And behold, the relation tells of how First Man was given his name, and it was one of the names whereby the Father was also called. And the Father asked Adam what he would call his wife, and he answered Him, saying: She is First Woman. Therefore shall she be called the Mother of All Living. 8) Now, I would ask you, is the relation of the Temple to be taken literally? Are we to understand that Adam and Eve were indeed the very first man and the very first woman to walk upon the footstool of God? I know of a certainty that they were not. Yea, I say unto you, I know this of a certainty. 9) Do not think me unfaithful because I say that I know of a certainty that the thing written in the holy books cannot have been. For the Spirit whispers to me that the relation of the High Place is figurative with regard to First Man and First Woman, as I suspect it is figurative in a very many things. 10) Consider the relation of the Temple of the Nephites. In that relation, the man and the woman are placed in a garden called Eden. Howbeit, in the relation of the High Place of the Nemenhah, they are placed in a valley. Does that signify that the one relation is to be deemed more reliable than the other? I think not. For the first habitation of First Man and First Woman, be it garden or valley, was all taken up to form the Way. Wherefore, can it be said that the garden or the valley was made of stuff that mortals can even describe? Wherefore, the figurative may not be taken literally, but as an ensample unto us. Let us consider that ensample. 11) Behold, it has been said that the valley in which Adam and Eve were placed was a paradise, protected from all evil things. But is that verily so? I say unto you, Nay! For did not the Tempter have access to it also? Did not the serpent tempt them from within the valley? Wherefore, how was it a paradise? How can we esteem that place like unto the place whereunto we shall go when this life is over? Is this the paradise of God? It is not, for evil made its abode there just as surely as did righteousness. 12) Therefore, do not be deceived and think that the Eden in which they were placed was a place of idyllic perfection, for such was not the case. For, in that place did evil come and in that place was evil intention manifest. 13) And again I ask you, were the man and the woman perfect in that place? Most assuredly they were not! For, they had not at first the capacity to learn and to grow past that which they were told. They had not yet the ability to discern a good thing from a bad thing. Of a certainty, they had the capacity to learn, for they had only the best of mentors, even the Father and the Son. But, for a time, they could only learn what was and what had always been. This is the way of progression. We pass from line unto line and we walk from precept unto precept. 14) And I would that you understand that, although the relation speaks of but one man and one woman, behold, all men and all women are represented in this figurative. The relation does speak of the journey that all men and women must make toward that measure and stature of which the Peacemaker, even the 14

15 Christ, is the ensample. Yea, and it is for this cause that we do consider ourselves, each one, Adam and Eve, First Man and First Woman, when we enter the High Place to do ordinances there. 15) Yea, we were all present and we did all see clearly the path that our lives must take in order that we might at some time and place enter into the Terrestrial World. Behold, even as we were all present in that Great Council wherein the New and Everlasting Covenant was made manifest unto us, and wherein we did cast our lot to enter into it, so also were we present in that valley which the Creator did set apart for us, yea, even that garden place. And this is the reason that I ask of you, is the man and the woman to represent only Adam and Eve in the place of their first habitation? I know not of a certainty, but the relation of the High Place leads me to believe that the man and the woman is a phrase that represents all men and all women. 16) Wherefore, think not only of Adam and of Eve when you sit in the Temple and contemplate the progression of man and of woman. For it is your story as much as it is theirs. Nay, think not that it is a fanciful history of beings who lived in times out of memory, for the Holy Ghost does bring all things to your remembrance and this remembrance is yours as much as it was theirs. Nay, do not believe that you may stand back and judge Adam and Eve for their errors, nor praise them for their victories, without that you realize how much your lives mirror theirs. Know that the reason that their life feels like a memory unto you is that the relation is your relation as well. 17) And we did learn and grow in the valley, just as Adam and Eve did learn and grow. Yea, we did learn and grow beside them in the valley. And the valley was great enough to serve us all in that capacity. 18) And Eve did bring unto Adam all the living things from the earth and he did give unto them names of power. Yea, the things of the earth did know their own names because of the calling of Adam. And he did organize them into their families and all their science was understood by Adam because of that gift and talent in him. 19) Yea, Eve was first to go abroad in the valley and she did discern all things and discovered all that dwelt in the valley. And she did bring them again unto Adam and he did sit in his place and he did give them names whereby man might know them. But Eve knew them first for their essence before that Adam had named them. 20) And because Eve was inquisitive, it was she who first found the boundaries of the valley. Yea, she it was who walked to the edges of that perfection and wondered what lay beyond the borders thereof. But because Adam was weighed down with a burdensome task, it was Eve who first saw the frontier of the valley and it was Eve who first gave thought to that which might exist beyond them. 21) And also, when Eve brought the living things unto Adam, that he might name them and organize them, she it was who reported unto him the nature of the living things and how they lived. And behold, she told him of their manner of living and what they ate. She told him of their procreation and of their associations with others of their kind and of their interaction with others not of their own kind. And all this did Adam write down and it became part of the language and science of the valley. 22) Now, because of this knowledge, yea, even because of the understanding that Eve obtained of the manner of living of all living things within the valley wherein the man and the woman had been placed, she also foreknew that the place was limited in its capacity to bear men and women. Yea, she knew that the land could only bear so many and no more, for it was a place with boundaries and limitations. Eve knew these limitations because, in discerning the nature of all things living, she also knew that the valley had only a set number of each. And there never grew more of one thing or another. Yea, there never was more of one thing and less of another in one generation than there was in that generation in which the man and the woman were placed in the valley. 23) And the man and the woman bore no child, but lived continually as they were in the valley because there was no room in it for more than were placed there. And it was this condition which caused some confusion of ideas in the mind of our first mother, even that woman whom Adam called Eve. For she was not unintelligent in the day that the Creator gave them commandments and taught them. Yea, her eyes were open and her mind was active in that day. 15