The Loss of God Given Land: Reading Between the Lines

I’ve noticed a common theme in the traditions I’ve been studying. Many explain how the different First Nations people were created on this land with the help of some greater being, or led here, again by some wise or supernatural being. I think the message is clear, these people are here because God put them here. In other words God gave this land to them. The Covenant of Christ agrees with this, “...no one will come to this land unless they’re brought by the Lord’s power. So this land is consecrated to those He’ll bring here.” (2 Nephi 1, paragraph1) But if I look more closely at these traditions, I see another pattern that brings light to this continent’s current state. Prior to this people being given this land, there is also the tradition of previous peoples who, in the words of a few native authors’:

“…did not continue to give each other the respect needed to keep the Sacred Hoop of marriage strong. Families began quarreling with each other. Finally villages began arguing back and forth. People began to fight over hunting grounds. Brother turned against brother and began killing each other.” The Mishomis Book, Edward Benton-Banai

“…fell into dispute and wars among themselves, which were pursued through a long period, until they had utterly destroyed each other, and so reduced their numbers that the lands were again over-run with wild beasts.” Legends, Traditions, and laws of the Iroquois, or Six Nations, and History of the Tuscarora Indians, Elias Johnson

“…could not be happy in such sinful days, for there was murder, suicide, and every other wicked thing that made the days darker and darker.” Truth of a Hopi, Edward Nequatewa

“…did not behave themselves.” http://aktalakota.stjo.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=8816

It is known in these traditions that this land was provided by a divine being after the failure of a previous people to live in a way that is harmonious to the Creator’s purpose in creating mankind. It makes sense that, the same Creator that did this, also gave this land contingent on mankind’s harmony with the Creator's way, or said another way, "righteousness."

I think, that leads to an obvious question: Why then, have the First Nations people, who God put on this land, been scattered from most of their land, and lost so much of their previous liberty under the hand of a usurping race?

I think the answers can be found through the pattern of a previous people similarly displaced and captive.

The ancient Israelites had the actual blood of a lamb as a symbol of their deliverance from Egypt, representing their repentant and purified status before God, a status that allows God to claim a people as His own.

Here are some examples of God's promise to them in regards to their promised land:

The Lord’s words to Moses:

But as for you, stand here by me and I will speak unto you all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it. You shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess. Deuteronomy 2:12

Joshua:

And behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass unto you, and not one thing has failed thereof. Therefore, it shall come to pass that as all good things have come upon you which the Lord your God promised you, so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things until he has destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you. When you have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them, then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land which he has given unto you. Joshua 5:2

Even though ancient Israel was also one of God’s peoples, they too were only blessed on the land given to them according to their obedience to God.

This theme is repeated in the Covenant of Christ with the Nephites:

After I Nephi finished teaching my brothers, our father Lehi also said many things to them, recounting to them how the Lord had done great things for them through leaving the land of Jerusalem. He talked to them about their rebellion during the sea voyage and God’s mercy in sparing their lives, so that they weren’t lying at the bottom of the sea. He also spoke to them about the promised land they had been given: how merciful the Lord had been in warning us to flee from the land of Jerusalem. He said: I’ve seen a vision showing me Jerusalem has been destroyed. If we had remained there, we also would have died. But, he said, despite our hardships, we’ve been given a promised land, a land specially chosen over all other lands, a land the Lord God has covenanted with me that my descendants will inherit. Indeed, the Lord has consecrated this land for my children and me forever, and also for those who will likewise be led out of other countries by the Lord’s power. Therefore I prophesy under the influence of God’s Spirit over me, that no one will come to this land unless they’re brought by the Lord’s power. So this land is consecrated to those He’ll bring here. And if they serve Him according to the commandments He has given, it will always be a land of liberty for them; therefore they’ll never be brought down into captivity — but if they are, it will be because of iniquity; because if iniquity abounds, the land will become cursed because of their failure to serve Him. It will always be blessed for the righteous. It’s a wise thing for this land to still be kept from other nations knowing about it. Otherwise, many nations would overrun this land, so there wouldn’t be any place for an inheritance. 2 Nephi 1, paragraph 1

I warn you that if this people, who have received so many blessings from the Lord, were to sin against the light and knowledge they have, if you fall into transgression, then it will be far more bearable for the Lamanites than for you. Indeed, the Lord’s promises are extended to the Lamanites, but if you sin they aren’t extended to you. Hasn’t the Lord expressly promised and firmly decreed that if you rebel against Him, you will be completely destroyed and removed from the earth? Alma 7, paragraph 5

This latest scripture specifies that a people who possess “light and knowledge” (which the subjects of this verse, the Nephites, did) suffer a worse fate than those who do not possess “light and knowledge” (which the Lamanites did not), if they rebel against God’s ways. Scripturally, the loss of a promised land isn’t a fate given to those who never had the truth. It’s reserved for those who had it, who knew God, who were washed in the blood of the Lamb, and who willfully lost it.

These examples, both biblical and from the Covenant of Christ, concur that if a people who God placed in a land neglect to follow God’s way, they lose their promise and blessing on the land. They no longer are promised liberty.

If a people has a surviving tradition that tells them God gave them a particular land, yet they have lost some or all of that land and their previous liberty… what is a logical conclusion that can be made about why it happened from a spiritual understanding?

Angry sentiments like the one below made by the now deceased Lakota chief, Mathew King are commonplace and understandable.

“You have taken everything and given us nothing, but worst of all you have never thanked us!” “You’ve got to change your ways. I don’t have to change. You’re the ones who have to change! I live by God’s power and I do what He wants me to do. We Indians lived a good life, a happy life until you came here and made it miserable. Who gave you the right to do that? You killed our people. You killed our chiefs. You stole our land. But God gave us this land. You can’t take it away!” Wisdomkeepers, by Steve Wall, and Harvey Arden, p. 34

While I agree that blame and an unmet responsibility lies on the light skinned race. I also see that there is neglected responsibility that the oral traditions imply on the part of indigenous peoples. The white race never could have done all that, if the First Nations people hadn’t lost something beforehand.
The European colonization was the result of what was lost, not the cause, or in other terms…

It was only a symptom of the underlying disease.

The scriptures and patterns of the oral traditions declare this could not have happened to a people who were true to the Creator’s ways.

It’s easy to cast the blame for all our problems on something or someone outside ourselves. However as Christians know, Jesus taught you must “first cast the beam out of your own eyes; and then shall you see clearly to cast out the speck, out of your brother’s eye.” If we do as Jesus said and first cast the beam out of our own eyes, what is the pattern telling us about our own awful state? What will return God’s promise to the First Nations people?

It is well known to First Nations people that they have lost valuable knowledge, much of it at the hands of the United States. There is a prophecy from the Anishinabe that also talks about their lost knowledge:

The Seventh Prophet that came to the people long ago was said to be different from the other prophets. This prophet was described as "young and had a strange light in his eyes" and said:

“In the time of the Seventh Fire New People will emerge. They will retrace their steps to find what was left by the trail. Their steps will take them to the Elders who they will ask to guide them on their journey. But many of the Elders will have fallen asleep. They will awaken to this new time with nothing to offer. Some of the Elders will be silent because no one will ask anything of them. The New People will have to be careful in how they approach the Elders. The task of the New People will not be easy.

“If the New People will remain strong in their quest the Water Drum of the Midewiwin Lodge will again sound its voice. There will be a rebirth of the Anishinabe Nation and a rekindling of old flames. The Sacred Fire will again be lit.

“It is this time that the light skinned race will be given a choice between two roads. If they choose the right road, then the Seventh Fire will light the Eighth and final Fire, an eternal fire of peace, love, brotherhood and sisterhood. If the light skinned race makes the wrong choice of the roads, then the destruction which they brought with them in coming to this country will come back at them and cause much suffering and death to all the Earth's people.”

If the most valuable knowledge (as the pattern would imply) was lost before the colonization of America, how is something lost that long ago to be retraced and recovered? If this is the case, it makes sense why the elders in this prophecy will awaken to this time with nothing to offer. But there obviously is a way, or this prophecy and the Covenant of Christ would not agree that it will happen.

I think it is undeniable that the First Nations still possess knowledge and wisdom of things that are necessary in order for people to live in harmony with all of creation. The “children of the earth” have a lot to offer in that regard. This is something the world can see we have lost as a whole. We live in a destructive way that lacks necessary respect and responsibility for all our fellow creations. It is not sustainable. I’m sure there are other valuable things they offer that I am not yet aware of that mankind also needs to learn. I hope to learn those things.

I think, both races have lost important things. I think, we both have something to offer each other.

But, as for the missing things that are too far back along the path to reclaim, it seems that is what the Covenant of Christ was preserved for. In it, the path to enter back into the presence of the Creator is described from those who did so, starting with the Doctrine of Christ that has also been forgotten by the “light-skinned” race (or as they are known in the Covenant of Christ: gentiles). It includes God’s promise with native people to give them this land, their loss of it, and the prophecies of how they will receive it again, along with covenants God made with ancient “fathers” that were for the benefit of the world. It also describes Jesus’ personal ministry to them in this land after His resurrection. The light-skinned race (gentiles) may have been the ones with custody of it these last almost 200 years, but I believe its teachings have been largely rejected, misunderstood, or misused by them (although, there are some few of us that value and believe it). It was always meant to be given to those who were scattered by the gentiles, along with anyone else who would believe it. How ironic, that a valuable thing the gentiles have to offer in return for what the First Nations offer, comes from ancestors of some or all of the First Nations.

I tell you the truth. And I’ll give you a sign to identify the time when these things are about to happen, when I will gather My people, the house of Israel, from their long-scattered state, and will again establish My Zion among them. This is the sign for you: When the things that I’m declaring to you now and after this by the power of the Holy Ghost that are given to you by the Father are then revealed to the Gentiles, and taken as a message through them to you, that is when the Father’s covenant is being fulfilled. You are descendants of Jacob and will be scattered by the Gentiles. But the Father will reveal these things first to the Gentiles, then from them to you. It’s the Father’s plan for the Gentiles to be established in this land as a free people through His power, to allow the history and prophecies to come from them to a remnant of your descendants. That vindicates the Father’s covenant with His people, O house of Israel. Therefore the record of these events, and the events that will take place among you after this, will come from the Gentiles to your descendants. But your descendants will first fall away in unbelief because of iniquity. That’s an essential part of the Father’s plan. The covenant requires this record to come from the Gentiles, so the Gentiles will understand His direct involvement. Then the Gentiles, provided they don’t harden their hearts, will be able to repent and come to Me and be baptized in My name and know the true points of My doctrine, so they can be included with My people, the house of Israel. When these things happen, and your descendants begin to know these things, it will be a sign to let them know the Father’s work is underway, to fulfill the covenant He made to everyone who’s part of the house of Israel. When that time comes, kings will be at a loss for words not knowing what to say, for they’ll see what they were never told about and be forced to consider what they never expected. 3 Nephi 9, paragraph 11

But if the Gentiles repent and hearken to My words and don’t harden their hearts, I’ll establish My congregation among them. And they will enter the covenant and be included with the remnant of Jacob, to whom I’ve given this land as their inheritance. They will join with My people, the remnant of Jacob, and all those of the house of Israel who come, so they can build a city that will be called the New Jerusalem. Then they will join with My people who are scattered throughout the land so they can be brought in together to the New Jerusalem. Then the Powers of heaven will come down among them, and I will be with them as well. Then the Father’s work will be underway, when this gospel is preached among the remnant of this people. Truly I say to you: At that time, the Father’s work will be taught among the scattered portion of My people, even the tribes that have been lost, whom the Father led away out of Jerusalem. The Father will work with My scattered people, to enable them to come to Me, so they can call on the Father in My name. Truly the work of the Father will be underway in all nations, clearing the way to let His people be gathered home to the land of their inheritance. They will go out from all nations. And they won’t go hastily or at a run, because I will go in front of them, says the Father, and I will guard them from behind. 3 Nephi 10, paragraph 1

 

I’ll establish My people, O house of Israel. I’ll establish you in this land to vindicate the covenant I made with your father Jacob; that includes a New Jerusalem. And the Powers of heaven will help you, and I’ll also be helping you. 3 Nephi 9, paragraph 8

If you are reading this, whether you are a full-blooded Native American, merely a small fraction, or even a believing gentile, I hope you consider whether this truly is the Creator’s words to you in this day. I truly believe that the Creator can and will verify that directly to you, if you sincerely desire to know.

If you have read and considered the Doctrine of Christ, and the Lord's instructions on how baptism is to be administered in the preceding paragraph, then I suggest also examining the covenant God has extended for the people on this land today, and determining whether this is something meant for you: Answer to Prayer for Covenant.

I believe these fulfill some of the "new knowledge and articles" that are to be joined with the knowledge of the native peoples prophesied about in the fourth fire:

“You will know the future of our people by the face the light skinned race wears. If they come wearing the face of brotherhood then there will come a time of wonderful change for generations to come. They will bring new knowledge and articles that can be joined with the knowledge of this country. In this way, two nations will join to make a mighty nation. This new nation will be joined by two more so that four will form the mightiest nation of all. You will know the face of the brotherhood if the light skinned race comes carrying no weapons, if they come bearing only their knowledge and a handshake.”

*The Seven Fires Prophecies can be found in The Mishomis Book, by Edward Benton-Banai, or in a slightly varied form on Wikipedia: Wikipedia