“Where’s the gold?” the critic cries out. This is the story of Book of Mormon gold.
Gold Was Mined
16 Yea, and they also began to search much gold and silver, and began to be lifted up somewhat in pride. (Jacob 1)
12 And now behold, my brethren, this is the word which I declare unto you, that many of you have begun to search for gold, and for silver, and for all manner of precious ores, in the which this land, which is a land of promise unto you and to your seed, doth abound most plentifully. (Jacob 2)
Gold Increased When the People Were Righteous
28 And thus they did establish the affairs of the church; and thus they began to have continual peace again, notwithstanding all their persecutions.
29 And now, because of the steadiness of the church they began to be exceedingly rich, having abundance of all things whatsoever they stood in need—an abundance of flocks and herds, and fatlings of every kind, and also abundance of grain, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things, and abundance of silk and fine-twined linen, and all manner of good homely cloth. (Alma 1)2 Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind and art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One—yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity. (Helaman 12)
3 Nevertheless, the people of the church did have great joy because of the conversion of the Lamanites, yea, because of the church of God, which had been established among them. And they did fellowship one with another, and did rejoice one with another, and did have great joy.
4 And it came to pass that many of the Lamanites did come down into the land of Zarahemla, and did declare unto the people of the Nephites the manner of their conversion, and did exhort them to faith and repentance.
5 Yea, and many did preach with exceedingly great power and authority, unto the bringing down many of them into the depths of humility, to be the humble followers of God and the Lamb.
6 And it came to pass that many of the Lamanites did go into the land northward; and also Nephi and Lehi went into the land northward, to preach unto the people. And thus ended the sixty and third year.
7 And behold, there was peace in all the land, insomuch that the Nephites did go into whatsoever part of the land they would, whether among the Nephites or the Lamanites.
8 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did also go whithersoever they would, whether it were among the Lamanites or among the Nephites; and thus they did have free intercourse one with another, to buy and to sell, and to get gain, according to their desire.
9 And it came to pass that they became exceedingly rich, both the Lamanites and the Nephites; and they did have an exceeding plenty of gold, and of silver, and of all manner of precious metals, both in the land south and in the land north. (Helaman 6)
Gold Decreased When the People Were Wicked
17 Behold, if he say unto this mountain—Be thou raised up, and come over and fall upon that city, that it be buried up—behold it is done.
18 And behold, if a man hide up a treasure [gold] in the earth, and the Lord shall say—Let it be accursed, because of the iniquity of him who hath hid it up—behold, it shall be accursed.
19 And if the Lord shall say—Be thou accursed, that no man shall find thee (gold) from this time henceforth and forever—behold, no man getteth it (gold) henceforth and forever. (Helaman 12)
Gold Was Hoarded, Stored & Traded
46 And it came to pass that the robbers of Gadianton did spread over all the face of the land and there were none that were righteous save it were the disciples of Jesus. And gold and silver did they lay up in store in abundance, and did traffic in all manner of traffic. (4 Nephi 1)
The Lands Was Cursed Not to Hold Treasures
17 And behold, a curse shall come upon the land, saith the Lord of Hosts, because of the peoples’ sake who are upon the land, yea, because of their wickedness and their abominations.
18 And it shall come to pass, saith the Lord of Hosts, yea, our great and true God, that whoso shall hide up treasures in the earth shall find them again no more, because of the great curse of the land (Helaman 13)33 O that I had repented, and had not killed the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out. Yea, in that day ye shall say: O that we had remembered the Lord our God in the day that he gave us our riches, and then they would not have become slippery that we should lose them; for behold, our riches are gone from us.
34 Behold, we lay a tool here and on the morrow it is gone; and behold, our swords are taken from us in the day we have sought them for battle.
35 Yea, we have hid up our treasures and they have slipped away from us, because of the curse of the land. (Helaman 13)18 And these Gadianton robbers, who were among the Lamanites, did infest the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof began to hide up their treasures in the earth; and they became slippery, because the Lord had cursed the land, that they could not hold them, nor retain them again. (Mormon 1)
Native Americans Prized Copper – Not Gold
“We saw upon them several pieces of wrought copper, which is more esteemed by them than gold, as this is not valued on account of its colour, but is considered by them as the most ordinary of the metals – yellow being the colour especially disliked by them;” (William A. Ritchie, The Pre-Iroquoian Occupations of New York State, 1944, p. 16)
Mining Did Occur
“Burial mound on the south bank of the Cattaraugus creek in Chautauqua county, near Little Indian creek. This is just above
the Gold diggings in Indian Mill gulf.” (Arthur C. Parker, “The Mound Builder Culture in New York,” New York State Museum Bulletin, nos. 219-220, March-April 1919, p. 288)
The California Gold Rush lasted seven years. Within the first five years, 370 tons of gold were removed by approximately 300,000 prospectors (Wiki). Today, thousands look for gold in the California Mother Lode, every month, but to little success. The gold has been removed. The same may be said of Book of Mormon lands; the gold has been removed.
Solomon’s Gold?
Likewise, we may ask, where are the gold mines for Solomon’s temple? Or for that matter, where is the gold itself? Neither have been found. The “lack of evidence” is not evidence gold did not exist during BoM time.
When God Wants Evidence to Come Forth It Will!
Helen Geake, National Finds Advisor for the Portable Antiquities Scheme, confirms that the find will redefine our understanding of the Anglo-Saxons. ‘It is the only hoard of its type ever found on English soil; until now, we didn’t know that this kind of behaviour existed within Anglo-Saxon culture,’ she said, adding that ‘the Staffordshire Hoard will change perceptions as much as Sutton Hoo. It will take years to understand fully the many implications of this find.’ What can be predicted is that research on the objects will contain revelations about every aspect of Anglo-Saxon scholarship, including cultural links, trade and economy, chronology, technology and crafts, ritual and religion, historical events, and the eventual re-interpretation of other major Anglo-Saxon sites (“Trophies of Kings : The Staffordshire Hoard,” Current Archaeology, 236. Retrieved Oct 3, 2009, url: http://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/trophies-of-kings-the-staffordshire-hoard.htm; Associated Press).