Why did Ammarron say "a hill which shall be called Shim"?

[poulsenll]

"a hill which shall be called Shim"?

In Mormon 1:3 we read

3Therefore, when ye are about twenty and four years old I would that ye should remember the things that ye have observed concerning this people; and when ye are of that age go to the aland Antum, unto a hill which shall be called bShim; and there have I deposited unto the Lord all the sacred engravings concerning this people.

The use of the phrase "a hill which shall be called Shim" has always intrigued me. My question is why was it not called Shim at that time and what was significant about this hill that it would be called Shim?

The word Shim is related to the word for maize or corn in various Mesoamerican languages including the following three.

Mayan - Ixim pronounced i'shim

Nahuatl - Cin

Kiche - paxil

As you eat your cornflakes, post toasties or some other corn based cereal, think of what your diet would be lacking if corn did not exist. This important cereal grain was given to us by the Mesoamerican cultures. Its importance in that culture is discussed in the following article by Brian Stross at the University of Texas.

http://www.utexas.edu/courses/stross/papers/Ch042-P369364.pdf

"Maize in Word and Image in Southeastern Mesoamerica"

In his concluding remarks Stross says:

The linguistic and iconographic evidence for the importance

of maize to the indigenous inhabitants of southeastern

Mesoamerica and their predecessors is almost overwhelming.

Everything points to what one might expect from a

staple whose nourishing blessing is an absolute requisite for

the lives of those who plant it: reverence and respect for the

food and its deities, ubiquity of maize in ritual activities,

keen observation of its morphology and growth, and great

variety in how it is prepared, utilized, and named, including

special terminology for ritual occasions. Much ordinary conversation

deals directly with maize, its cultivation, harvest,

and consumption, and one could hardly find any aspect of

Mayan or Mixe

[Robert F. Smith]

"a hill which shall be called Shim"?

In Mormon 1:3 we read

The use of the phrase "a hill which shall be called Shim" has always intrigued me. My question is why was it not called Shim at that time and what was significant about this hill that it would be called Shim?

The word Shim is related to the word for maize or corn in various Mesoamerican languages including the following three.

Mayan - Ixim pronounced i'shim

Nahuatl - Cin

Kiche - paxil

As you eat your cornflakes, post toasties or some other corn based cereal, think of what your diet would be lacking if corn did not exist. This important cereal grain was given to us by the Mesoamerican cultures. Its importance in that culture is discussed in the following article by Brian Stross at the University of Texas.

http://www.utexas.ed...042-P369364.pdf

"Maize in Word and Image in Southeastern Mesoamerica"

In his concluding remarks Stross says:

The Quiche word Paxil means "Maize Mountain" and is the legendary location of the original source of Maize. Could this repository of the Nephite records come to be known as the place where Maize was first cultivated and for this reason did Ammaron describe it as "a hill which shall be called Shim"?

Larry P

Interesting suggestion. Even closer is Quiche Mayan xim "tie (52-year calendar round of days)." However Bruce Warren compares it to the Yucatec Mayan 16th day-name (Meridian 2005, online at www.ldsmag.com/ancients/050526mesoamerica.html ).

The problem with all these suggestions is that we already have a Hill Shim among the Jaredites (Ether 9:3), leaving us to wonder whether this is the same hill in Mormon 1:3. If so, perhaps we ought to compare Sumerian shim, shem "herb; wood; resin; spice; perfume." Or perhaps Akkadian shimtu "fate, destiny; testament, last will" (NAM, NAM.TAR).

[poulsenll]

Interesting suggestion. Even closer is Quiche Mayan xim "tie (52-year calendar round of days)." However Bruce Warren compares it to the Yucatec Mayan 16th day-name (Meridian 2005, online at www.ldsmag.com/ancients/050526mesoamerica.html ).

The problem with all these suggestions is that we already have a Hill Shim among the Jaredites (Ether 9:3), leaving us to wonder whether this is the same hill in Mormon 1:3. If so, perhaps we ought to compare Sumerian shim, shem "herb; wood; resin; spice; perfume." Or perhaps Akkadian shimtu "fate, destiny; testament, last will" (NAM, NAM.TAR).

The reference to Shim in Ether 9:3, is Moroni describing Omer's journey. Being familiar with his father's reference to the record repository, he could have used the name Shim instead of the Nephite name. In my proposal for the hill Shim in Misantla,there is a hill called Espadilla by modern locals, however it was known anciently as Paxil (Maize Mountain). When applying dating to the Book of Ether, one must be careful to distinguish between Moroni, 400 AD, and Ether, 400 BC.

Larry P

[Anijen]

I like the Mislanta Veracruz proposal. I also like the linguistic connection. I have not noticed until you brought it to our attention about "shall be called Shim." I will be thinking about this.

[BCSpace]

As you eat your cornflakes, post toasties or some other corn based cereal, think of what your diet would be lacking if corn did not exist.

Empty carbs.

[Anijen]

Empty carbs.

think of what your diet would be lacking if corn did not exist.

As a loyal Nebraskan I am grateful for corn growth. Corn is the source for so much we really don