Could Frederick G.Williams Have Known…Andean Ruins and Land of Promise Matches

When Frederick G.Williams wrote down about Lehi landing at the 30º South Latitude in Chile during a meeting with Joseph Smith and Sidney Ridgon in the 1830s, what could he have known about that area of South America?

As an example, could he have known about the fantastic ruins that stretched from Chile to Ecuador, and were scattered all over  Peru and Western Bolivia? Could he have known the historicity of this extremely unique area—the Andean lands of South America where he wrote that Lehi landed?

Ruins found in the Andean area of South America. There are currently thousands of such sites scattered all over Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Chile, that date into B.C. times and have very similar construction indicating a common source of building

In looking at the dates when these ruins were first discovered:

• Kuelap first discovered in 1843 (a year after Williams death) by Juan Crisotomo Nieto, but not photographed and written about until 1930s

• Pachacamac, first written about by E.G. Squier, 1877, but not truly recognized until Max Uhle rediscovered in in 1903, and 1939 by Dr. Alberto Glesecke, which led to the archaeological work there of Tello, Strong, Corbett and Borja.

• Tiwanaku was first discovered in 1850s, first drawings and descriptions written in 1860 by Ephraim George Squier, first map drawn in 1876 by Alphons Stuhbel, and a book containing the first major account of the ruins along with major photographic documenttion was published in 1892 by B. von Grumbkow

• Caral pyramids first discovered in 1905, and rediscovered in 1941 by Gordon R. Willey and John M. Colbert

• Machu Picchu was first discovered in 1911 by Hiram Bringham

• Sayacmarca was discovered in 1912 by Hiram Bingham

• Concha Marca was discovered in 1913 by Hiram Bingham

• Chavin de Huantar discovered in 1919 by Julio C. Tello

• Ingapirca was discovered in 1919 when excavating for a farm
• Great Wall of Peru discovered in 1931 by Shippee and Johnson from the air 

• Colca Canyon first discovered in 1930s and rediscovered in 1980s

• Nazca Lines first discovered in 1939 by Toribio Mejia Zesspe

• Gran Pajaten first discovered in 1964 by Carlos Tomas Torrealva Juarez

• Sacsayhuaman first described in print by John Hemming, 1970

• Cuidad Perdida discovered in the 1970s when an airplane spotted it from above

• Chan Chan was discovered in the 1980s by Dr. Walter Alva

• Lord of Sipan first discovered in 1987 by Walter Alva

• Ollantaytambo, discovered in 1853 by Charles Markham, and later Squier, Wiener and Middendorf

• Also, Marcahuamachuco, discovered in 1900; Huacas del Sol y de la Luna, discovered in 1910; Choquequirao, discovered in 1834 but forgotten, rediscovered in 1909 by Hiram Bingham; Paititi, discovered in 2008; Huaro, discovered in 1995 by Julinho Zapata; Huaro, discovered in 1995 by Julinho Zapata

In short, the discoveries of the vast ruins of the Andean area in South America were not known until long after William’s death, most not until the 20^th century.

Nor was it known that the history of these early people that they had built one of the most intricate road systems known in the world, rivaling that of the Romans; that they practiced circumcision; that they had built a system of temples, palaces, and buildings rivaling anything built elsewhere; that they had built docks along sea ports that could handle hundreds of ships; that they had built numerous forts and outer resorts, and miles of defensive walls that were all pointed toward defending against southern invasion; that their construction methods were beyond anything built anywhere in the world until modern times; that they mummified and buried their dead much like the Egyptians; that their legends spoke of coming from the east across the great seas; that they were capable of making “fine-twined” linen and silk; that they had fevers due to climate with plants that cured fevers; a natural narrow neck (26-miles wide) of land separating the land from a land to the north, with a narrow passage within it; a culture and society dominated by religion; four brothers who were the first settlers; a land far to the north containing many waters, lakes and fountains; mountains “whose height is great”; extensive irrigation technology; skeletal remains of great battles; and numerous other situations that match Book of Mormon writings in the Land of Promise.

How could Frederick G. Williams know of any of this in the 1830s, and write that this was Lehi’s landing site?

Such a coincidence would be beyond description and certainly not believable—the odds would be millions to one! Yet, Mesoamerican, Great Lakes, and other Theorists, bent on their own little models and beliefs, ignore all this and toss William’s written statement aside, claiming it was not a revelation.

But revelation or not, the fact remains that in the 1830s, he wrote down that Lehi landed along the 30º South Latitude in Chile! And all these remarkable coincidences just happen to exist in that location. What a remarkable prediction! Nowhere else in the entire Western Hemisphere could Williams have chosen that would have had so many perfect matches to the Land of Promise!

How could he have known all this? Was it simply a coincidence? I think not!