Was Quetzalcoatl really Jesus Christ? Is the famous "Lehi Stone" actually a carving of Lehi's tree of life? And if the Book of Mormon is true, why hasn't DNA found the Nephites? A Mesoamerican historian who believes the Book of Mormon takes on the myths that never seem to die.
In this episode, Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye, and Stephen Smoot sit down with Dr. Mark Christensen, professor of history at Brigham Young University and a specialist in Nahuatl and Yucatec Maya, for a preview of his upcoming presentation at the Book of Mormon Culture Conference this November in Provo, Utah. His case: the Book of Mormon doesn't need our help being true — but it does deserve careful, responsible scholarship.
Book of Mormon Culture Conference (November 2026, Provo, Utah): https://register.bomal.org/
===Informed Saints Credits===
Produced by The Ancient America Foundation
Producer: Spencer Clark
Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye
Mark's previous conference talk on Nahua annals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSz4qku3CvA
Our episode on Meso America : https://youtu.be/lHEAG87wh9Y
John E. Clark, "A New Artistic Rendering of Izapa Stela 5" (Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, 1999): https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol8/iss1/6
Dallin H Oaks Talk on Book of Mormon Historicity
https://rsc.byu.edu/historicity-latter-day-saint-scriptures/historicity-book-mormon
0:00 Debunking Meso myths - Mark Christensen
4:34 Self-imposed assumptions
9:50 Meso model helps w/ BoM understanding
12:50 Quetzalcoatl issues
18:18 Christ-figure evidence? Other Gods?
22:45 What Nephite & Lamanite mean?
26:06 Small evidences from texts
33:45 Misinterpretations?
37:30 Why Bro Christensen believes the BoM
We unpack:
• Why the DNA objection assumes an empty hemisphere — and what migration across Beringia 16,000 years ago means for Book of Mormon peoples
• Genetic drift, bottlenecks, and a drop of food coloring in a swimming pool
• Flipping the question: not "Where is the Old World in the New?" but "How did the New World shape the Nephites?"
• Why Mesoamerica checks the boxes: population density, writing, permanent architecture, social stratification, and intensive agriculture
• Quetzalcoatl (Kukulkan), the feathered serpent — and how the "white bearded god" legend took shape in 16th-century Spanish mission schools before becoming Cortés, St. Thomas, and finally Christ
• Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews and Quetzalcoatl as Moses
• Burned records, humidity, and temples built over temples — and why the Nephites feared losing their records too
• No "Maya empire": rival city-states, local creation stories, and the Popol Vuh's hero twins
• What "Nephite" and "Lamanite" really mean — 2 Nephi 5, Jacob 1, plural marriage in Jacob 2, and "many of them are our brethren" (Alma 31:35) • Nahua annals and the Book of Mormon's year-by-year "and it came to pass" entries
• Izapa Stela 5: what John E. Clark's 1999 drawing revealed — bloodletting, the wind god Ehecatl, and a celestial caiman where "12 roots" were once seen
• World trees in Mesoamerica and the ancient Near East, and how Lehi's tree of life fits an Old World setting
• Why Mark still believes the Book of Mormon
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Featuring Jasmin Rappleye, Neal Rappleye,...
Chapters
- (00:00:00) - Introduction and Guest Background
- (00:01:10) - DNA Myths and Book of Mormon Populations
- (00:04:30) - Nuanced Interpretation and Avoiding Gotcha Arguments
- (00:06:52) - Old World vs New World Imprint Methodology
- (00:09:35) - Why Mesoamerica Fits the Book of Mormon
- (00:12:05) - Quetzalcoatl Legend and Christ Associations
- (00:18:06) - Looking for Evidence of Christ in Mesoamerica
- (00:20:14) - Mesoamerican Pantheons and City-State Religions
- (00:22:46) - Rethinking Nephite and Lamanite Terminology
- (00:25:47) - Colonial Documents and Nahua Annals Parallels
- (00:29:00) - Izapa Stela 5 and the Tree of Life Debate
- (00:33:40) - Responsible Interpretation of Mesoamerican Art
- (00:37:22) - Why the Book of Mormon Is True
