Zelph, the white Lamanite

Zelph the white Lamanite
Hello! I’m Danny and I was an active Latter-day Saint for 60 years.
I wonder how many LDS are familiar with the legend of Zelph? Let me tell you what I’ve found in Mormon church history about this Zelph character.
In 1834, LDS prophet, Joseph Smith said he received a revelation from God, calling for a militia to be raised in Kirtland, Ohio which would then march to Missouri and “redeem Zion.” (see Doctrine and Covenants Sections 103 and 105). About 200 men with a number, of women volunteered to join this militia, which became known as “Zion’s Camp.”
During their trek, On June 3, 1834, in Pike County, Illinois, at the bank of the Illinois River – several men of Zion’s Camp located in an earth mound – some bones and an arrowhead about a foot below the ground. According to the journals of several men who were present at the time, Smith received a vision about the buried remains – telling him that they were from a mighty righteous Lamanite warrior named Zelph, who was described as a “white Lamanite” allied with the Nephites.
From History of the Church, volume 2, chapter 5, pages 79 and 80, Joseph Smith wrote the following account: “The brethren procured a shovel and a hoe, and removing the earth to the depth of about one foot, discovered the skeleton of a man, almost entire, and between his ribs the stone point of a Lamanitish arrow, which evidently produced his death… The contemplation of the scenery around us produced peculiar sensations in our bosoms; and subsequently the visions of the past being opened to my understanding by the Spirit of the Almighty, I discovered that the person whose skeleton was before us was a white Lamanite, a large, thickset man, and a man of God. His name was Zelph. He was warrior and chieftain under the great prophet Onandagus, who was known from the Hill Cumorah, or eastern sea to the Rocky Mountains. The curse was taken from Zelph, or at least, in part (speaking of the curse of the Lamanite dark skin) – one of his thigh bones was broken by a stone flung from a sling, while in battle, years before his death. He was killed in battle by the arrow found among his ribs, during the last great struggle of the Lamanites and Nephites.” According to Book of Mormon timeline that would be around 400 AD.
This account is supported by the diaries of six men in Zion’s Camp, who wrote concerning Zelph. They included Levi Hancock, Moses Martin, and Reuben McBride. And three future Presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – Wilford Woodruff, Heber C. Kimball, and George A. Smith. There is harmony between all six accounts.
Heber C. Kimball reports that “It was made known to Joseph that he had been an officer who fell in battle, in the last destruction among the Lamanites, and his name was Zelph. This caused us to rejoice much, to think that God was so mindful of us as to show these things to his servant. Brother Joseph had enquired the Lord, and it was made known in a vision.”
Reuben McBride’s journal account states that “His name was Zelph a warrior under the Prophet Onandagus, Zelph a white Lamanite.” “He was known from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains.”
Moses Martin stated, “Soon after this Joseph had a vision and the Lord shewed him that this man was once a mighty Prophet and many other things concerning the dead which had fallen no doubt in some great battles.”
Levi Hancock’s journal states that “Zelph was a white Lamanite who fought with the people of Onendagus for freedom.”
The next day after the discovery, Joseph Smith wrote to his wife, Emma, recounting the experience at what he called the “Zelph Mound.” In that letter, he writes that those in Zion’s Camp were “wandering over the plains of the Nephites, recounting occasionally the history of the Book of Mormon, roving over the mounds of that once beloved people of the Lord, picking up their skulls & their bones, as a proof of its divine authenticity.” Smith was looking for anything he could call proof or evidence for the Book of Mormon.
To be clear – Zelph is not an individual mentioned in the Book of Mormon narrative. But Smith was endeavoring to make a connection.
If we accept the story of Zelph as factual, then obviously the Book of Mormon story must have taken place in North America, or at least a significant portion must have taken place in Northern hemisphere.
Who else, but the prophet Joseph would claim to know that some ordinary-looking Indian remains belong to a ‘white Lamanite named Zelph’? Who else but Joseph Smith would specifically know the name of the “great prophet Onandagus, who was known from the Hill Cumorah, or eastern sea to the Rocky mountains.”
Like the Greek Psalter incident, which I will report on in a future video – this Zelph legend shows a tendency of Joseph Smith to receive revelation on the fly to suit his purposes in fostering his own fame as being a prophet and translator.
Some Latter-day Saints want the story of Zelph to be true because there is no other evidence, to prove the Book of Mormon story happened in North America. On the other hand, many LDS apologists do not want Zelph to be taken literally – as they prefer to endorse theories that Book of Mormon history took place almost exclusively in Central and South America. Perhaps they think that it would be more difficult to disprove the Book of Mormon happened in Mesoamerica.
But if what Joseph Smith is claiming is true about Zelph – it would indeed prove the Book of Mormon took place in North America (thus, supporting the Heartland model) and not in Central or South America (the Mesoamerica model) as LDS scholars have argued.
This Church history account and legend of Zelph wasn’t a small thing to the Latter-day Saints. It appeared multiple times in various LDS church publications like The Ensign.
Again, the real significance of Zelph and Book of Mormon geography has to do with the location of the Hill Cumorah. If the account of Zelph is true, and we accept that the bulk of the Book of Mormon history took place in North America – then it is logical to assume the Hill Cumorah in New York, where Joseph found the plates that Moroni buried must be the same Hill Cumorah that was the location of two massive battles described in the Book of Mormon. According to the Gold Plates – a total of 2.2 million Lamanite, Nephite, and Jaredite warriors including women and children, battled to their deaths using steel swords, steel shields, steel breastplates, steel headplates, along with other weapons of war such as bows and arrows.
If that is indeed the case – there should be an enormous amount of archaeological evidence to support those Book of Mormon stories. But, since not, a shred of material evidence for these massive battles has been discovered at or around Hill Cumorah in New York – it stands to reason the entire Book of Mormon is not real history.
Joseph Smith always felt the need to make up stories to keep his gullible followers believing he was a true prophet, seer, and revelator. But time and time again, history and science proved him otherwise.
Mark Twain allegedly once said, “It’s easier to fool people, than it is to convince them that they have been fooled.”
I think it’s time we put Zelph on a shelf, along with the Book of Abraham, the Book of Mormon, and the Kinderhook Plates – in a section labeled 19th Century fanfiction or folklore created and authored by Joseph Smith.
More to come. Thanks for watching. Find more videos like this on You Tube and at TalkingtoMormons.com.
God Bless!