only $1,995
(plus
$250 round trip airfare from Guatemala City to Tikal)
Prices are per
person, double occupancy
Does not include international
airfare
GUATEMALA - THE LAND OF NEPHI
The
land of Nephi is referred to 124 times in the Book of Mormon, more than any
other place name. The land of Zarahemla
is in second place with 121 references.
The criteria for the land of Nephi are a written language, a
king-oriented civilization, warfare, corn, volcanoes, flanked by two seas or
oceans, separated from the land of Zarahemla (north and at a lower elevation)
by a narrow mountain range, historical evidence, and evidence of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ in their midst in these latter-days. All the above must occur in
the proper time frame and in relation to other Book of Mormon historical,
cultural, and geographical markers.
Guatemala is the only place in the new world that meets all these stated
criteria.
THE
BOOK OF MORMON – LAND OF NEPHI
Following the death of
Lehi and Sariah, Nephi was warned by the Lord to depart from his brothers,
Laman and Lemuel. Along with many who were living in the area of Izapa,
Chiapas, Mexico at the time, Nephi traveled to the highlands of Guatemala where
he built a city which was called the city of Nephi. For four hundred years the highlands of
Guatemala served as a backdrop for the events recorded in the books of 2 Nephi,
Jacob, Enos, Jarom, Omni, Mosiah and Alma.
Come with us on this eight-day all-inclusive journey, as we visit places
that are documented as Nephi, Ishmael, Middoni, Helam, the waters of Mormon,
and the east wilderness of Zarahemla.
On this tour you will see the Book of
Mormon history come to life as we travel throughout the area proposed as the
land of Nephi. You will visit LDS temples in Guatemala City and Quetzaltenango,
four archaeological sites and museums, eight locations associated with the Book
of Mormon and other places of interest.
TOUR
INCLUDES: seven nights hotel accommodations,
two or more meals daily except on first and last days, first-class bus
transportation, entrance fees and guide service to places listed on the
itinerary, taxes and tips on group items, literature and maps pertaining to your
tour, and escorted by Joseph L. and Blake J. Allen. .
Itinerary
Day 1: Saturday, July
6, Guatemala City
Our flights take us to
Guatemala City, the city of Eternal
Spring. Upon arrival we will transfer and check into our deluxe hotel, The
Barceló. (No meals provided)
Day 2: Sunday, July
7, Guatemala City
Following church services
with a local ward, we will see the LDS
temple in Guatemala City.
Afterwards, we will visit the National
Museum of Archaeology of Guatemala where we will analyze Kaminaljuyu’s
stela 10, an altar that dates to 147 BC and may suggest a transfer of kingship
from King Noah to Limhi (see Mosiah 18 & 19). We will then visit the large relief map of Guatemala to orient
ourselves with the geographical overview of the country in relation to the Book
of Mormon. Steak dinner. (Breakfast, Dinner)
Day 3: Monday, July 8,
Lake Atitlan
After checking out of our
hotel, we will visit the archaeological zone of Kaminaljuyu, a place considered by many to be the place where Nephi
settled in the 6th century BC (see 2 Nephi 5:5-10). We will continue
to Lake Atitlan. En route, we will
stop at the village of Patzicia, the area proposed as the land of Ishmael where
Ammon taught the Gospel to King Lamoni and his people. Lake Atitlan, seventy-two
miles from Guatemala City (city of Nephi), is proposed in Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon as the Waters of Mormon where Alma started the
Church of Christ at 120 BC. Aaron, one of the sons of Mosiah, taught the Gospel
at the villages around the Lake at 74 BC, and three cities were covered over by
water at the waters of Mormon at 34AD, during the great destruction at the time
of the death of Christ. Underwater
archaeology has revealed the existence of three cities under water at Lake
Atitlan. We will spend three nights at the hotel by beautiful Lake Atitlan.
(Breakfast, Dinner). The Distance from
Guatemala City to Lake Atitlan is about 72 miles and takes about three hours,
plus intermediate stops.
Day 4: Tuesday, July 9, Lake Atitlan
Flanked by three dramatic
volcanoes, Lake Atitlan has been a scenic retreat for over 2000 years. It has
been proposed by many LDS scholars as a site for the Waters of Mormon where Alma organized the church of Christ in the
first century BC (see Mosiah chapters 18 and 19). The day will consist of a cruise on the lake to see the area
where an ancient city was covered by water. This city may have been Jerusalem
mentioned in Alma 21:1 or it may have been one of the other cities mentioned in
3 Nephi 9:7. After lunch, you will have free time in which you may relax, shop,
or make a visit to a small museum containing pottery recovered from beneath the
surface of Lake Atitlan. This pottery is known as the “Miraflores” style which
dates to the 2nd century BC and comes from Kaminaljuyu. A fireside on the historical literature of the Book of Mormon will be
presented by your tour director in the evening. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Day 5: Wednesday,
July 10, Lake Atitlan
An early departure will
allow us to take a round trip excursion to Almolonga, the garden city of
central America, a very pleasant land, a land of pure water, terms used to
describe the land of Helam where
Alma
and his followers lived for twenty-five
years (Mosiah 24:1-3). You will observe the colorful dresses of the women, a
variety of garden vegetables, the use of weights and measures as outlined in
the book of Alma, and how the men carry huge burdens on their backs, also
referred to in the book of Alma. We will drive by the Quetzaltenango LDS Temple, after which we will return to the Lake
for the night. (Breakfast, Dinner) The distance from Panajachel to
Quetzaltenango (Xela) is 52 miles and takes about an hour and a half. Almolonga is just a few miles from Quetzaltenango.
Day 6: Thursday, July
11, Guatemala City
This morning we will visit Chichicastenango on market day, the
place where the native document called the Popol Vuh was discovered. Like the Book of Mormon, the Popol Vuh was
written in a chiastic format and outlines events relating to the creation of
the world, the fall of man, Satan and a Garden of Eden. On our way back to
Guatemala City, we will stop at the picturesque city of Antigua, the first
capital of Guatemala. We will then take an hour bus ride to Guatemala City,
where we will spend our final two nights. Meals include breakfast and a late
lunch, the latter at a convent that has been converted to a hotel.
Day 7: Friday, July 12,
Guatemala City
Our air flight will take us
to the awe-inspiring, Maya
archaeological zone of Tikal, occupied from 600 BC to AD 750. This dense
rain forest is considered by many to be the East Wilderness where the Nephites, under the direction of the
military leader Moroni, built many fortified cities during the 1st century BC
(see Alma 50:7-15). During the time of Mormon during the Maya classic period
(300–700 AD, upwards of 15 million people lived in the Peten rainforest. Mormon wrote that the people in this region
were as numerous as the sands of the sea (Mormon 1:6). Stela 31, at Tikal
describes an event at 375 AD that literally set the stage for the final demise
of the Nephite nation. In the late afternoon we will take a return flight to
Guatemala City. (Breakfast, Lunch).
Day 8: Saturday, July
6, Flights Home
We transfer to the airport
where we will check in for our flights home. Our journey to the Book of Mormon
lands has come to an end, but we will take with us memories that will last a
lifetime. (Breakfast)
YOU
MAY ADD AN EXTRA DAY AND VISIT LA DANTA PYRAMID OF EL MIRADOR BY HELICOPTER.
YOU
MAY ADD AN EXTRA TWO DAYS AND VISIT THE SITES OF COPAN AND QUIRIGUA.
YOU
MAY ADD AN EXTRA TEN DAYS AND VISIT BELIZE AND SOUTHERN YUCATAN
Prices and itineraries are subject to
change.
BOOK OF
MORMON TOURS
PO Box
970250
Orem, UT
84097
Telephone: 801.226.5200
www.BookOfMormonTours.com
[email protected]
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