Warren
Aston is the author of my favorite LDS book, In the Footsteps of
Lehi: New Evidence for Lehi's Journey Across Arabia to Bountiful,
the remarkable 1994 Deseret Book publication that provides
breathtaking evidence (or at least eyebrow-raising evidence) for the
plausibility and reality of the journey through the Arabian Peninsula
described by Nephi in First Nephi 16-17.
The
cover, with its beautiful color photo of the lovely Khor Kharfot
region of Oman, nearly due east of the ancient burial place
Nehhem/Nahom, reveals some of the excitement from inside the book. I
discuss his work in more detail on my Book
of Mormon Evidence page
at JeffLindsay.com.
I
recently had the privilege of meeting Warren in person on my first
trip to Australia. I was in Melbourne to speak at a conference
related to my work. A few days before my trip, while catching up on
some old email, I found a note from Warren Aston about the issue of
biodiversity in the region of the Arabian Peninsula that appears to
be an amazingly good candidate for the Book of Mormon site,
Bountiful.
In
reading what Brother Aston had written recently for a secular
publication, I noticed that he said he was from Brisbane, Australia,
something I hadn’t realized before, so I emailed him to ask if
there were any interesting LDS events he knew of in Melbourne while I
was in town.
He
kindly replied and said that for his first time in 10 years, he was
going to be in Melbourne for a few hours during my brief stay in
Melbourne, and asked if we could get together. This was during a time
when I could go out to the airport to meet him and chat. What a treat
that was!
I
learned more about his passion for knowledge and his remarkable,
self-funded work to explore the Arabian Peninsula in order to better
understand the Book of Mormon. I also learned of his frustration that
so little has been done by others to follow-up on the tantalizing
finds so far.
The
leading candidate for Bountiful remains largely untouched by
archeologists and scientists, but sadly has not escaped the attention
of vandals. Some ancient ruins at the site already have been damaged.
Further,
the water supply for the region is being diverted and the green
majesty that may have inspired an ancient family to choose the name
“Bountiful” is drying up, and one lofty sycamore has died
and fallen.
There
is a desperate need for funded archeological work, for scholarly
investigations of several kinds, and for conservation efforts to
protect this rare and beautiful spot that may have vast religious
importance in addition to its ecological and historical significance.
Warren
Aston has made around 30 trips over the years to this region, as I
recall from our conversation. It’s time others also get
involved. It’s time others chip in with some funding to have
professional work conducted there to better understand that region
and its potential hidden treasures. If you’d like to get
involved, let Warren know or let me know (jeff at jefflindsay dot
com) and I’ll get you in touch with Warren.
In
my meeting with Warren, I was also delighted to learn that a
follow-up book is about to come out, adding many more details to the
story first laid out in his In the Footsteps of Lehi. The new
book will be Lehi and Sariah in Arabia: The Old World Setting of
the Book of Mormon. It will be about four times as long as the
first book with numerous new photos and results of new research.
Can't wait!
Meanwhile,
here’s something recent from Warren that you might find of
interest.
Arabia’s
Hidden Valley
A
strictly scientific look at Khor Kharfot as a candidate for Nephi’s
Bountiful
Warren
P. Aston
Copyright
2013
Regular readers
will be aware that most LDS researchers have long regarded the inlet
of Khor Kharfot in southern Oman as the most plausible location
matching Nephi’s very detailed description (1 Nephi 17:5-16,
18:1-8) of “Bountiful,” the place of abundance where he
built his ship. Despite this, as of early 2013, most of the basic
scientific research into the geology, fauna, paleo and modern flora
and archaeology of the place remains to be done.
Over
several decades of exploration and research at the site, I have
benefited from the generous assistance of many non-LDS scholars.
Indeed, most of the data we have about the place has come from
non-LDS researchers. For example, the only proper
archaeological appraisal of Khor Kharfot ever made was by an Italian
archaeologist back in 1992. None has been done since.
The
site is now threatened by development and is already under stress.
Most of the abundant water run-off from the surrounding mountains has
been diverted to local villages and no longer reaches the inlet. The
large trees there are dying and the vegetation is visibly changing.
In
the hope that additional non-LDS scholars will recognize that Kharfot
deserves attention for reasons other than what may have happened
there 2600 years ago — and become involved in teasing out the
parameters of the place and placing it on record — I have
published a paper titled “Arabia’s Hidden Valley: A
Unique Habitat in Dhofar Captures Arabia’s Past.”
The
paper has just appeared (in print and online) in English and Arabic
from one of the leading organizations encouraging the awareness and
conservation of wildlife in the Middle East, the Dubai-based Wildlife
Middle East News (www.WMENews.com).
In
the paper, I examine Khor Kharfot from strictly scientific
perspectives, pointing out the unique features of this truly special
place and the looming threats facing it.
Jeff Lindsay has been defending the Church on the Internet since 1994, when he launched his
LDSFAQ website under JeffLindsay.com. He has also long been blogging about LDS matters on
the blog Mormanity (mormanity.blogspot.com). Jeff is a longtime resident of Appleton,
Wisconsin, who recently moved to Shanghai, China, with his wife, Kendra.
He works for an Asian corporation as head of intellectual property. Jeff and Kendra are the parents of 4 boys, 3 married and the the youngest on a mission.
He is a former innovation and IP consultant, a former professor, and former Corporate Patent
Strategist and Senior Research Fellow for a multinational corporation.
Jeff Lindsay, Cheryl Perkins and Mukund Karanjikar are authors of the book Conquering
Innovation Fatigue (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
Jeff has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University and is a registered US
patent agent. He has more than 100 granted US patents and is author of numerous publications.
Jeff's hobbies include photography, amateur magic, writing, and Mandarin Chinese.