What Every Mormon Should Know About Astronomy
The Savior said, "I Jesus...am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star" (Rev. 22:16). By this He was almost certainly acknowledging the sign or symbol of the planet Venus. Because it is between the earth and the sun, it always appears near the sun in our sky and is only visible near dusk or dawn. Thus, to us it is an evening and morning star. According to Native American tradition, the cycle of Venus is like the life of the white, bearded god who visited them in the first century A.D. Their legends are so similar to the account of the Savior visiting the Nephites, that there seems little doubt that they refer to Jesus Christ.(3) Venus is born as an evening star rising in the west, dim but growing brighter every day. Several months later, just when it nears its brightest point, it dies, plunging quickly into the earth and disappearing as an evening star. For several days it remains underground, fighting evil forces, until it conquers death and resurrects in the east as a radiant morning star. The parallels with the life, death, and resurrection of the Savior are obvious.
Your explanation is interesting. That's something I'll have to ruminate about. Thanks.
I did a quick google, and I guess bible translations differ (I knew that). KJV calls him (Lucifer) the son of the morning, and the nasb and niv call him the morning star (according to one website)!
Your analogy is as good as any and doesn't cause a particular problem, but I don't know if Jesus visited this hemisphere or not; I've read legends and that Mormons believe it fulfills what Jesus said "other sheep have I which are not of this fold." Later I wondered if he meant the lost tribes like when he spoke to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's (?) well (claimed he was her "father" = ancestor) and the ones were carried off into exile. I'm really rusty about some of the details.
I believe Mormons believe a tribe travelled in what sounds like a submarine to this hemisphere, haven't thought about it for a long time, am comfortable where I am, not knowing everything :-). At least we have the bible in common and believe much the same about some of it.
I know a lot of your beliefs are different, but I don't like to argue about it or have pressure put on me to think this way or that any more by anyone.
ping