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Post Info TOPIC: Beit Lehi Excavations
lundbaek


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Beit Lehi Excavations
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Earlier this week my wife and I attended a fireside of sorts at which Hartman Recktor was the speaker. For those of you who remember him, he was for years a an Assistant to the Quorum of Twelve and later a 70. He was also director of the Genealogical Society / Family History Center for some years beginning in 1979. He has been on emeritus status for several years.


Brother Recktor's presentation was primarily about excavations at an archaeological site about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem which had been known locally for centuries as Beit Lehi or the "House of Lehi."  He told us that close to this site is a cave in which someone apparently hid out around 600 B.C., and made a number of datable inscriptions on the wall of the cave. In 1970-71, a Dr. Joseph Ginat, an administrative assistant to the minister of Arab affairs of Israel, came to Utah to do some specialized studies and during this visit he saw a copy of the Book of Mormon for the first time.  As a professionally trained archaeologist, he became fascinated with the possibility that the opening chapters of the Book of Mormon provided an explanation for the "Lehi story" which archaeologist in Israel have known about for many years. Dr. Ginat had been in previous contact with Brother Recktor and called to tell him he believed he knew where the cave was in which the sons of Lehi had hidden after they fled from Laban.  Ginat said that not only could the ruins of the ancient community of Lehi have been the residence of the prophet Lehi, but the nearby cave could well have been the hideout for Nephi, Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Zoram.  Dr. Ginat said he felt that after the death of Laban the sons of Lehi would have gone into hiding until the heat was off, and they would have chosen some obscure place with which they were familiar and where they knew they could obtain food and water. Dr. Ginat stated that the cave of Beit Lehi fits all of these requirements in every respect.


Ginat also said that the Book of Mormon says these men were gone so long that their own mother gave up hope of their ever returning and went into mourning, thinking they were dead. This all confirms the idea that they were in hiding for a long time and could have written the inscriptions on the wall of the Beit Lehi cave indicating that eventually Jerusalem would be redeemed.


In June, 1974, Dr. Ginat returned to Utah with a film of the Beit Lehi cave and the surrounding terrain. He also brought with him a full-scale cast of the inscriptions on the wall of the cave.

More recently an organization has undertaken excavations, which are explained on www.beitlehi.com



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rayb


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Is this really news? I remember a similar post being made on Nauvoo last year. With the same claim that it as just "last week" that someone's "wife" and they saw this stuff... Maybe I can get EDG to look it up and we can compare spam.


--Ray



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arbilad


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Is this really spam? For one, Lundbaek is recounting a first hand experience of a lecture he attended. While you may not agree with many of his conclusions, he has given you no reason so far to think that he is a liar.
What's more, why is this unbelievable? We know that they hid in a cave. If there were any people about at all, why wouldn't they tell stories about the strange occurence?
Did you even go to the website. At a quick glance it looks legit. They may ask for donations, but what archeological project doesn't?

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rayb


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I may be misremembering this, but this exact type of statement was once posted on Nauvoo, and so I am skeptical... that's all...


--Ray


 



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Cat Herder


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I am skeptical of the claim simply because in the last decade or so there has been a number of archealogical hoaxes coming out of Israel in the form of supposed artifacts and the like that suddenly are found that fit too easily into the popular belief around a scriptural account or person from the scripture.

I don't discount the story being recounted at a "fireside" of sorts, but only the authenticity of the archaelogical discovery in relation to the claim of what it is.

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arbilad


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Cat Herder wrote:

I am skeptical of the claim simply because in the last decade or so there has been a number of archealogical hoaxes coming out of Israel in the form of supposed artifacts and the like that suddenly are found that fit too easily into the popular belief around a scriptural account or person from the scripture.

I don't discount the story being recounted at a "fireside" of sorts, but only the authenticity of the archaelogical discovery in relation to the claim of what it is.

Ok, that sort of criticism is more interesting. And yes, Hartman Rector is fond of making statements that many saints would look askance at. He was the area seventy when my brother was on a mission in Alabama. That was back when that seventy was excommunicated - and when it happened, there was a rumor that it was Hartman Rector who had been excommunicated, because there were people who were sure that his statements were false doctrine.
Myself, I generally like what he has to say.

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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!
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TitusTodd


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Interesting website and information.  Thanks for sharing, lundbaek.  I really like some of those mosaics.



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