GarySerotta

The translation of the golden plates of the Book of Mormon gives a record of two distinct groups of people that immigrated to the American continent; the first being after the dispersion of the inhabitants from the Tower of Babel in Babylon in the Near East and the second group from Jerusalem in 589 BC. In the book of Ether of the Book of Mormon, the first group, called Jaredites, traveled from Babylon to the Pacific coast of China, built barges that quoted from the book ?were light upon the water?, the length of a tree, and completely enclosed and water tight. For air, there were two holes, one in the top and the other in the bottom, which were opened as needed for ventilation. Light was provided for the entombed travelers by two illuminating stones placed in each barge. An estimated 32 men, women and children, divided themselves amongst the 8 barges, floated, pitched, and yawed 344 days across the Pacific to the American continent. During the crossing of the tempest Pacific Ocean, not one barge was lost and no one died of hypercapnia, a condition of too much carbon dioxide accumulating in the blood stream. Being confined inside an airtight barge with only limited ventilation would have been an ideal breeding ground for the malady. Any sailor who has brazenly ventured onto the Pacific Ocean knows its awesome power. Sailors know of the unimaginable anger and mountainous waves, capped by white sheets of blowing water, that pound and toss any ship unfortunately enough to be on surface when the storms rage. Imagine being inside a walnut shell, with a hole in the top and bottom and floating upon the Pacific Ocean. Where would you store your food? How would you prepare the food? Where would you sleep? How would you remain in place during the storms? Most importantly with only a hole in the top and a hole in the bottom for ventilation, where would you urinate or defecate? This just one of the implausible stories from the Book of Mormon.