Allweather, I don’t know if you’ve ever read the Book of Mormon, I think you have. If so, you’ll see that they were much better prepared to receive the Messiah. True, he descended in a very dramatic fashion and there was little doubt who He was when he appeared in the Americas but the American prophets were looking forward with eagerness to this event and they had received the sign of his birth. The tradition among the American Jews was much more Christian.
So, I think what dosdog was assuming was that the American Jews should be like the Jews of the Old Testament. But I am thinking that it’s the other way around, the Jews of the Old Testament should have been more like the (North) American Jews. In general, you’d expect the Jewish and Christian religions to align much more closely. The only reason I can think of for this not happening is the generally lack of faith and the degraded spiritual conditions around Christ’s ministry.
When I look at the OT, it looks as though the Jews had not changed much from when they were first given the law from Moses. The Saducess did not even believe in a resurrection but that is so far from the Christian belief.
When Nephi was taken from Jerusalem, he and the prophets that followed were instructed through heavenly ministrations and the traditions that followed were much more closely aligned with the Jewish/Christian hybird that you would expect.
Adair’s History of the American Indians
worldcat.org/wcpa/ow/ce21720246e085a9.html
Adair, James Originally published in 1775
Elias Boudinot (1740-1821)
A star in the West or, A humble attempt to discover the long lost ten tribes of Israel, preparatory to their return to their beloved city, Jerusalem.
The Second Advent, or coming of the Messiah in glory shown to be a Scripture doctrine, and taught by divine revelation, from the beginning of the world
by Elias Boudinot Language: English Type: Book : Microform
Publisher: Trenton, N.J. : D. Fenton & S. Hutchinson, 1815.
directtextbook.com/author/elias-boudinot
worldcat.org/wcpa/ow/128e55e54631b184a19afeb4da09e526.html
Ethan Smith’s book is largely a compilation of material from the works of other writers, particularly James Adair and Elias Boudinot
Both books argue that the American Indians are descendants of the Hebrews
Both books relate the discovery of buried records
Both books refer to inspired prophets and describe objects resembling the Urim and Thummim and the breastplate of the Hebrew high priest
Both books refer to written characters similar to Egyptian hieroglyphs
Both books claim that the Indians were separated into civilized and barbarous cultures and that the civilized people were exterminated by the barbarous Indians
Both books emphasize the destruction of Jerusalem, refer to the scattering and restoration of Israel, quote frequently from Isaiah, and claim that American Gentiles are to play an important role in restoring the Indians back into the house of Israel
Both books condemn pride and seeking of riches, and both praise the virtues of the Indians.
Both books describe the appearance of an important person on the American continent – Christ and Quetzalcotl
In addition, Ethan Smith discusses only one theory about the migration of people to the Americas. He holds that they took a northward journey across Asia to the Bering Strait and then spread southward. Adair mentions this theory once
But the parallels actually testify to the fact that the Book of Mormon agrees with many of the popular theories and speculation of the day
mormonstudies.com/author1.htm