Month: March 2011

Jordanian Lead Plates: Authentic or Forgery?

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I’ve posted about the discovery of the Jordanian lead plates two times now, and have been following the news stories closely over the last few days. As I have said, extensive investigation must still be done to verify the authenticity of the find, and determine facts such as precise dating, who made them, and their meaning. Unfortunately, the details keep getting stranger and stranger.

I’m usually one who likes to believe. Joseph Smith once taught, “I never hear of a man being damned for believing too much; but they are damned for unbelief.” But the facts seem to be stacking up against this one.
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More Details about Ancient Metal Plates from the BBC

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One of the codices in the collection of metal plates discovered in Jordan

One of the codices in the collection of metal plates discovered in Jordan

UPDATE: See the latest updates about this discovery at Jordanian Lead Plates: Authentic or Forgery?
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A few days ago we wrote about an interesting discovery of ancient sealed metal plates that were found within the last few years in Jordan, and are starting to create a stir among archeologists. The BBC News religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott just published more interesting details, and photos, of the plates, in a report entitled “Jordan battles to regain ‘priceless’ Christian relics“. The BBC also includes a set of 7 more detailed photos here.

Some additional details include:   [Read more…]

Bird’s Eye View of Temple Square (and others)

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Google has recently has added photographs from planes to its “satellite” imagery in Google Maps.  What this means is that many cities in the U.S. now have higher resolution pictures from the sky as you zoom in close, and they are typically more realistic looking since they are at a 45 degree angle.

Below is an example of Temple Square, and the Jordan River temple. These are interactive embedded maps, so you can drag them around with your mouse and look at various parts of Temple Square, in exquisite detail, as if you were in an airplane.

Just think what it’ll all look like when they get 3D aerial photography in Google Maps!


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Jordan River temple (this one is a bit more finicky, if it doesn’t show the 45 degree angle at first, zoom out one level and back in):

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Ancient Sealed Metal Plates with Perhaps Secret Temple Texts discovered in Middle East?

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UPDATE: See the latest updates about this discovery at Jordanian Lead Plates: Authentic or Forgery?
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David Larsen at HeavenlyAscents.com has pointed out an interesting recent discovery (see his posts here and here).  A collection of dozens of books made from metal plates have been found in Jordan that initial tests show date from the first century AD. [Read more…]