Nazca Civilization

We studied chapters 24-26 this week. I do not have a lot of parallels with the scriptures, but I did find a great site that shows the lines that the Nazca civiliztion made thousands of years ago that are only seen from the air. very neat. http://www.nazcamystery.com/nazca_lines.htm#The_Nazca_Symbols_

This week

This week we studied chapter 21 in the Story of the World. We had just studied 1 Nephi 8 about Lehi's dream of the tree of life, so it was entertaining to read about Astyges' dream. (Thank goodness for the pronunciation guide in the back of the book!)

Another parallel made was in the description of Cyrus the Great it mentioned that he stood head and shoulders above any boys his age - Brooklynn immediately related it to Nephi being tall in stature.

The Story of the World places Cyrus the Great ruling around 559 - 525 B.C. This was forty years after Lehi and his family left Jerusalem. Interestingly enough, Nephi wrote 1 Nephi thirty years AFTER they left Jerusalem.

1 Nephi 10 begins with Lehi predicting the Babylonian captivity. I am by no means an authority, but this could easily be when Cyrus took over Babylon - they were no longer a free country - captive.

"The Bible makes it clear that the 70 years were fulfilled when the Jews returned to Jerusalem in the first year of Cyrus of Persia (see 2 Chr. 36:22-23, Ezra 1:1-4). Cyrus conquered Babylon, and then, in the very first year of his reign, he decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple. This fulfilled not only Jeremiah's prophecy, but also Isaiah's: "Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid" (Isa. 44:28). On page 640 of the LDS Bible Dictionary under "Chronology," we find 537 B.C. listed for the year of the decree. This appears to be correct.[4] The problem arises when we notice that there are only 60, rather than the prophesied 70, years between 597 B.C., when Jeconiah was taken, and 537 B.C. So how is this apparent discrepancy resolved?
The solution to the problem is given to us by Daniel. He tells us that he and others were taken captive some years before Jehoiachin. He states that Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem in the third year of Jehoiakim (father of Jehoiachin), and that he, Daniel, was taken captive at that time (Dan. 1:1-3, 6). This account means that Nebuchadnezzar had taken captives even before he was crowned king. Further, Daniel's account is verified in the history of Nebuchadnezzar by Berossus of Babylon. This Babylonian history, no longer extant, is quoted by Josephus as stating that after Nebuchadnezzar defeated Egypt at Carchemish in Syria (in the spring of 605 B.C.), he immediately "settled the affairs of Egypt, and the other countries" and sent captives from the Jews, Phoenicians, Syrians, and Egyptians to Babylon before he returned there himself (in August) to be crowned king after his father's death.[5]
But the difference between 605 and 537 B.C. is only 68 years. Why, then, does the biblical account speak of 70? The answer lies in the calendar systems used and in the way ancient Israelites calculated their years." ...see the following site for more information (sorry but I am not technologically gifted - I can't seem to get the links to work without making the link colors go CRAZY!!! so you will have to copy and paste them - sorry!)

printed in the Ensign and quoted from: http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/captivity.html

Here is also the address for Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_captivity

It tells of the Exile of the Jews from Babylon during Nebuchadnezzar II and the Return during the rule of Cyrus the Great. I just LOVE seeing how it all goes together!

1 Nephi 4 and 5

So the last couple of days we have been studying Ancient Greece and the Book of Mormon. No, there are no great connections, but a lot to learn. Today we read 1 Nephi 4 - right off the bat in verse 2 Nephi is giving his brothers a pep talk and says - "let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided..." It worked out perfectly that we have already studied the exodus so the kids remember the parting of the Red Sea. How awesome to see Nephi using the scriptures in his own life - inspiring others as well!

Verse 15 - "...they could not keep the commandments of the Lord according to the law of Moses, save they should have the law." Again - having already studied Exodus gives us a great foundation to understand these verses and see just how meaningful they were to Nephi.

Then in 1 Nephi 5:14 - having studied Ancient Egypt, Joseph and the famine really provides a foundation for these teachings as well.

The Early Greeks - switch to the Book of Mormon

Chapter 19 in the Story of the World covers the Early Greeks and the Greek "Dark Ages". In this section it talks of the "barbarians" who invaded the early Greeks - those that attacked from the north were the Dorians and the "sea-people" who attacked from the Mediterranean Sea. Some of these "sea-people" settled in Canaan and became the Philistines (remember David and Goliath - 1 Samuel)!

The Greek "Dark Ages" ended around 700 B.C., so we have moved back into the Book of Mormon. We skipped the title page and testimonies this time and dove into 1 Nephi 1. This is the beginning of Nephi's record which he began about 600 B.C. Now that we have a historical map showing where Jerusalem, Canaan and Egypt - it excites the children to "see" where these events in history (and scriptures) take place.

The Ten Commandments

So my idea to start this blog comes now that we are on to Ancient Greece. I wish I had started it in the beginning. But I will share the highlights and then do a more extensive job on Ancient Greece.

We did spend one to two weeks on the Ten Commandments. I have an institute manual for the Old Testament and it is great. It broke up the commandments into three categories

Show the three priorities in life - Perfecting relationships with:
1. God - no Gods before me, no graven image, not using the Lord's name in vain, keep the Sabbath holy
2. Family - Honor thy father and mother
3. Fellowmen - thou shalt not kill, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness or covet

The manual really goes into detail about each of these and I found it quite enlightening.

For example - no graven image. Hello - we were studying Ancient Egypt. No wonder that was one of the first commandments! It became applicable though as the manual talked of modern idols - such as attending college instead of a mission, not being about to "afford" tithing, postponing parenthood for degrees or financial wealth, Sunday fishing trips, fancy cars, Sunday football games, etc. Personally, I would just skim over that commandment thinking I was just fine. But it really opened my eyes to see just how many ways we can put the things of the world before the things of God.

Another example, not taking the name of the Lord in vain. I was baptized right before my 13th birthday and I specifically remember walking across the PE field telling myself that I had to stop taking the Lord's name in vain. I had never heard of the church and certainly did not know that what I was saying was wrong. So here, many years later, I felt I was just fine with this commandment. When a person is baptized they take upon them the name of Christ. Therefore, if that person does not live up to their covenants (baptism or the temple) or forgets the solem oaths made, then in fact they are using the Lord's name in vain. Wow!

Keeping the Sabbath holy - My husband and I try very hard to teach our children this and be a good example, but again I was astounded by the things I learned. To keep the Sabbath holy we are actually preparing ourselves to be sanctified. So not only is it a day of rest, but if we live the gospel and keep the Sabbath holy then the Lord will sanctify us - He will move us up one more rung on the spiritual ladder. It really made me think of the importance of the Sabbath. Not only am I to worship the Lord and remove myself from the world, but it gives the Lord the chance to make me better. If only I had learned that younger!

Those were the most educational commandments for me this time around. I thoroughly enjoyed studying all of them with my children, but these were the ones that made the biggest impact on my spiritual perspective.

Ancient Egypt - Genesis and Exodus

The first connection that jumps out of the pages of the Story of the World is in Chapter six. Your pace will depend on how in depth you desire to study the scriptures. My oldest is almost ten, but we still used the Institute manuals to better understand the scriptures. Even the six year old picked up quite a bit from the manuals!

Genesis Chapter 11 covers Abram leaving Ur and settling Haran - just like the story in Story of the World chapter 6. So if you desire to read in Genesis leading up to this point you might want to start Genesis 1 on the first day of history. We continued reading in the Old Testament everyday even though we only did History twice a week. That way we stayed close with what we were studying.

Chapter 6 in the Story of the World also covers Joseph who was sold into Egypt. This does not come into Genesis until chapter 37. So again - you will have to decide if you want to read everything or if you want to stick closer to history lesson.

From chapter 37 we continued to read the Old Testament every school day until we finished Ancient Egypt. We did a rather thorough study of the Ten Commandments and that marked the end of our Ancient Egypt study.

The Story of the World chapter 14 covers Moses. This is when we moved into Exodus. It was exciting to the kids to actually see on a map (I got a collection of maps that are dry erase friendly from Geography Matters which includes a map of Ancient civilizations - great investment!), then see it in their study of history AND the scriptures. It truly makes it more real and memorable.

The Story of the World

I have always dreamed of a history curriculum that would show history coupled with scripture. Now there are sources out there, but they are expensive or not quite the LDS perspective that I have desired. So I have discovered Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World. I have started Volume 1: Ancient Times with my children and they love it! So do I. The chapters are brief, but informative and my favorite part is the dates listed at the end - which helps me base history on what I know of the scriptures.

So the first section is a study of Ancient Egypt. Chapter six begins talking about Abraham and Isaac and then Jacob and Joseph who was sold into Egpyt. These books also come with test booklets and an activity book packed full of activities and maps. The maps and timeline help me (a mostly visual learner) put the pieces together. In fact, I have found a love for history that I never felt before. If only I could have learned history this way.