Lehi's Tomb

.You can call us to plan a trip with your whole family and/or friends. You will need at least 2 days to dedicate for this tour, that will strengthen your faith. Now more than ever, when the church is suffering many attacks, these type of faith strengthing activities will reenforce your belief.

We are on the Pacific coast of Guatemala, this place has a high temperature, approximately 30° Celsius (86° Fahrenheit) and humidity close to 85%; very high rainfall. In our time together, we will get to the heart of the story.  We are actually a relatively short distance to the landing site of Lehi and his family. I know that every LDS (LDS) member will be interested in particular tour.  We will be making a video on this tour very soon.

After a long segmented sea voyage of 4 or 5 years, Lehi and his family arrived near this place, yes, we are on the Pacific coasts of Guatemala. Lehi and his wife had grown old when they arrived at the promised land. Both were so old that they could barely stand, in fact their children wanted to bury them in the sea, and I am referring specifically to Laman and Lemuel; I am basing this on what I see in the Scriptures. They arrived at these places and began to sow all kinds of seeds. Guatemala, in general terms, enjoys one of the most fertile soils that we can imagine; The Scriptures also mention that they found all kinds of animals. (That is the subject of another video, I will show everything as we progress) Let us remember that this is: THE PROMISED LAND and that it was prepared for Lehi's family, and that as long as they remained within the covenants of the Heavenly Father, no one was going to bother them. However, if they fell into disobedience, the Lord would send other nations to take the land from them. I think we already know something about the history of Guatemala, and that is precisely what happened.

Lehi must have felt very tired when he arrived at the Promised Land, because one of the existing structures here is this construction: The above image, draws powerful attention, because it is decorated in a very particular way, on the “west” side it has decorations that represent yesterday, the nightmare, the past, death like this crocodile here; alluding to the anguish they experienced when leaving Jerusalem, where people wanted to kill them for preaching the word of God. Fortunately and thanks to a revelation, they were able to save their lives. The “east” side is decorated with figures representing tomorrow, the future, hope, and the dawn; possibly to thank Heavenly Father for allowing them to lead their families to the promised land. And in this place, shortly before Lehi, the patriarch, died, he appointed Nephi to lead the group, a fact that his brothers did not accept due to Nephi's young age and because they considered him a dreamer, like his father. This was recorded on a stele that also decorates the “west” side of the tabernacle, where one character hands a scepter of power to another, the Scriptures are very clear regarding this image that we can visualize here.

The most important event revealed at this place is the discovery of the oldest tomb of a “Maya king”; This took place in 2011, just as relevant is the discovery of another tomb: “the wife of the first character.” This coincides perfectly with Lehi's death (2 Nephi 4-12) and although the Scriptures do not record it, shortly after, Lehi's wife Sariah died. Whose tomb was found next to Lehi's tomb; These discoveries were made by Guatemalan archaeologist Christa Schieber and published in National Geographic magazine a few years ago. This archaeological site was discovered in 1888 by the coffee farmers of the San Isidro farm and the Santa Margarita farm. The site reflects a very short life, no more than 5 years. The first archaeologist to formally register this city was Gustav Bruhl in 1895, many years after the publication of the Book of Mormon, which took place in 1830.

With the arrival of Lehi and his family, the Mayan civilization was born; this according to archaeological studies. This is the relevant aspect that makes this place important to all LDS members.

According to the Book of Mormon, after Lehi's death, the family was divided and separated. Nephi took his people and all those who wanted to follow him and headed east, towards the desert, according to the Scriptures. These footprints, carved in stone, show the direction they took. Laman and Lemuel apparently left towards the west, according to archaeological traces; although the Book of Mormon has not recorded it. The reason we see very simple things is because they came with nothing, so they had to make their own kitchen utensils, work tools, and even toys for the children.

After separating, this place was abandoned for many years, eventually visited by Lamanites who returned to take some things of little importance.

While Nephi, although he advanced slowly, headed east, leaving behind a line of footprints, such as sculptures, tombs of children and adults, and some traces of his presence that perfectly mark his path towards the desert, crossing through Of course, the area of Lake Atitlán and some places of great interest, which you will be able to see if you join us on this fascinating trip.

So plan your adventure with us,  and let Nephite Tours organizes the trip.