VOICES FROM THE DUST
by David G. Calderwood
What Happened to the Chronicles?
The extremely rare Spanish and Portuguese chronicles, written between 1500 and 1650 A.D., disappeared into Spanish libraries, museums, monasteries and private collections for more than 300 years before beginning to surface in the late 1800's, more than 50 years after the Book of Mormon was published in 1830. Most of these New World histories have never been translated into English and were completely unknown to Joseph Smith or the most learned American scholars in the early 1800's when the Book of Mormon was published.
Archaeological Support?
The 20th Century archaeological and art history excavations have revealed that the Chavin civilization in Peru is the oldest civilization in the New World (2500 B.C. to 400 B.C.) and is contemporary with the ancient pyramids of Egypt and pre-date the Olmec civilization in Mexico (1500 B.C. to 400 B.C.) by nearly one thousand years. Archaeologists have also provided considerable information concerning the great Teotihuacan and Mayan civilizations in Mexico/Mesoamerica and the Mochica, Nazca, and Tiwanaku dynasties in the Andes. Voices from the Dust reveals how modern scientific findings closely complement the chronicles and Book of Mormon accounts.
Who was the “Bearded White God” visitor to the New World?
Many of the chronicles, written by explorers who penetrated into the Andes or Mexico, recorded the Indian legends of a “time when they did not see the sun” that was accompanied by a massive geological destruction. Their many accounts affirm that after the sun appeared, the inhabitants in the Americas were visited by “a Bearded White God” who healed the blind, the sick and the lame. This glorious “Creator God,” known in the Andes as Ticci Viracocha or Pachacamac and in Mexico as Quetzalcoatl or Huitzilopochtli, “taught them to love one another, to do good to one another, and to have charity towards all.”
Archaeologists have encountered hieroglyphic codices, paintings on ancient ceramic vessels, and huge statues of this mysterious “Rayed Deity” who “quelled a revolt of nature” and restored calm to the area. The famous “winged serpent” monuments discovered in Yucatan and Teotihuacan or the statues of Ticci Viracocha in Tiwanaku are vivid representations of this “Creator God” who suddenly appeared in the Americas at the meridian of time.
The Book of Mormon reveals that at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ there was massive earthquakes and destruction in the Americas accompanied by a total loss of sunlight or light of any kind for three days. According to the Book of Mormon narrative after his resurrection
. Jesus Christ appeared to thousands of natives in the Americas, where He healed the blind, the sick and the lame. He also established his Church in the New World.
Evidence of Israelite and Christian Teachings in New World?
The chroniclers and art historians have discovered vestiges of ancient Israelite religious ceremonies as well as Christianity in the New World in which the natives observed commandments similar to the “Ten Commandments”, as well as other Israelite and Christian ceremonies and customs such as baptism, the sacrament, and the sacrifice of animals “without spot or blemish.”
Voices from the Dust explores and compares accounts from these three totally separate records of the appearance of this “Bearded White God” as well as it examines such areas as the native technical skills in metallurgy, textiles, road building, construction of pyramids and enormous building complexes. Voices from the Dust reveals the existence of “white Indians” scattered throughout the New World. It describes the rise and fall of several ancient dynasties, ancient warfare and weaponry. It traces Indian legends of their eventual “conquer and subjugation by bearded, white foreigners.” Indeed it provides “New Insights into Ancient America.”
Reviewers’ Comments:
"A completely absorbing and fascinating source book for the early narratives and archeological data that bear on the peopling of the New World. I suspect that many people who wish to deepen their understanding of the Book of Mormon, and associated texts will be encountering these voices from the past for the first time. Calderwood has synthesized the relevant sources and judiciously presented them in a way that modern readers can enjoy. The book is written in a graceful and accessible style, with great imagination and spirit and will provoke lots of discussion and disputation."
Dr. Henry A. Selby
Professor of Anthropology (Emeritus)
University of Texas at Austin
"VOICES FROM THE DUST is a 'must read' book for the serious student of the Book of Mormon as well as for anyone curious about the remarkable parallels between the beliefs and practices of both North and South American Indians and the Book of Mormon. . . The author has gathered in this book, through serious scholarship and a lot of hard work over many years, the best collection I have yet seen to date of information about the culture and religion of the ancient inhabitants of the Americas relative to comparable information in the Book of Mormon. The amazing thing is that none of this material could possibly have been available prior to 1829/1830 when the Book of Mormon was first published."
Robert E. Wells
First Quorum of the Seventy (Emeritus)
Author of four faith-promoting books.
"The comparative evaluation between the early Spanish and Portuguese chronicles and the Book of Mormon is one of the most important historical research projects that I have seen in many years."
Dr. G. Howard Miller
University Distinguished Teaching Professor
Departments of History and Religious Studies
University of Texas at Austin
"A completely absorbing and fascinating source book for the early narratives and archeological data that bear on the peopling of the New World. I suspect that many people who wish to deepen their understanding of the Book of Mormon, and associated texts will be encountering these voices from the past for the first time. Calderwood has synthesized the relevant sources and judiciously presented them in a way that modern readers can enjoy. The book is written in a graceful and accessible style, with great imagination and spirit and will provoke lots of discussion and disputation."
Dr. Henry A. Selby
Professor of Anthropology (Emeritus)
University of Texas at Austin
