Who is Quetzalcoatl? ~ The mystery hidden in legend ~

The Legend of Quetzalcoatl

Religious claim:
The LDS religion claims that around 33 AD Jesus Christ visited the Americas and taught the natives living there.  They were well acquainted with christian philosophies and doctrine.

Supporting evidence: 
The Legends of Quetzalcoatl are actually stories about Jesus Christ but the details were corrupted as the story was passed down from generation to generation.


Intro:
Quetzalcoatl is one of the most interesting of the Mayan Gods.  I would like to explore the possibility that Quetzalcoatl is not a myth only but rather a real character from history - that is Jesus Christ.  If you have ever played "The telephone game" or "Chinese whispers" as a kid, you know that the details of stories can change drastically in a short period of time.  And that is what happened from 33 AD till now.

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Legend has Quetzalcoatl and his twin brother Xolotl, descending to hell and retrieving human bones. By dripping his blood onto the bones, human resurrection began.  Men therefore, are the children of Quetzalcoatl. He is always presented as benevolent. He wears about his neck a "Wind Jewel" made from a conch and his head was adorned with a jaguar bonnet or sometimes a small cap. A sharp bone protrudes from the headgear which flows the blood that nourishes his nahualli, the Quetzal bird. 

He taught men science and the calendar and devised ceremonies. He discovered corn, and all good aspects of civilization. Quetzalcoatl is a perfect representation of saintliness. His cult transformed into a type of nobility cult and only special sacrifices selected from the Nobel classes were made to him, and then only in secret. 

Quetzalcoatl is a very ancient god known to the Mayas and ancient Teotihuacan ruins. Quetzalcoatl was said to be the son of Camaxtli and Chimalma and he was born in Michatlauhco, "Fish Deeps". 

His mother died during his birth and he was raised by his grandfathers. The multiplicity of Quetzalcoatl's roles attest to the antiquity of his cult following and his adoration.  Often depicted holding a thorn used to let blood. He created auto-sacrifice, a forerunner to human sacrifice. He is said to have let blood in honor to Camaxtli (Mixcoatl), who the Aztec believed to be Quetzalcoatl's father.

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Parallels to the LDS Religion:
1. Jesus descended to hell (spirit prison) before his resurrection.  Jesus sacrificed his blood (Garden of Gethsemane & the Cross) so that the dead could resurrect.

Doctrine and Covenants 76:73 "And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh;"

2. By accepting Jesus's sacrifice (blood) we become his children.

Mosiah 5:7 "And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters."

3. Jesus is benevolent.
4. Jesus teaches about gospel ordinances (ceremonies), inspires men, and blesses them to be successful in the land (science, etc).
5. Jesus was the first to give an example of self-sacrifice (equivalent to auto-sacrifice).
6. Jesus submitted to the will of his Father in Heaven and bled from every pore for mankind.

"Lord of Healing and magical herbs, known as a symbol of thought and learning, of the arts, poetry, and all things good and beautiful. Lord of Hope and Lord of the Morning Star. He has been likened to England's King Arthur, both a real person and myth. According to the Vienna Codex a series of nine different Toltec kings succeeded the original man/god all calling themselves Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl was the god of life and gave penitence, love, and exemption from rituals of sacrifice and Autosacrifice.

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Parallels to the LDS Religion:
7. Jesus was known for healing.

Luke 9:11 "And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing."

8. Jesus was known for hope.

Romans 15:13 "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost."

9. Jesus is the morning star.

Revelation 22:16  "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star."

10. Jesus is the God of life. 

John 6:35 "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."

"His association with the feathered serpent is an interesting story. The quetzal bird, native to the western area of Guatemala and Mexico, was regarded as the most beautiful bird and called Quetzaltotolin, meaning "most precious". The symbol of the feathered serpent was Quetzalcoatl, meaning not just feathered serpent, but "most precious serpent". Quetzalcoatl is not the feathered serpent but the one who emerges from the serpent as Venus rises from the morning horizon (While often associated with being a feathered serpent, that is just a symbol for Quetzalcoatl)

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Parallels to the LDS Religion:
11. Middle Eastern prophets (Moses and Isaiah) and Native American prophets (Nephi, Alma, and Ammon) used the symbolism of a "fiery flying serpent" to describe Jesus Christ.

Alma 33:19  "Behold, he was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live."

"He has been depicted occasionally on statues showing him as a great priest, the Lord of Penitence, with a painted black stripe beside the eyes and a red ring surrounding the mouth and blue areas on the forehead. 

In the Vienna Codex, Quetzalcoatl is depicted holding the heavens with his hands, symbolic of holding the rain clouds and sky in place. 

Often depicted as a white skinned god with a black beard. Recent scholarly theories suggest that the man-god may have been a wandering Viking who had lost his way."

Parallels to the LDS Religion:
12.  Jesus is the great High Priest.

Hebrews 4:14 "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession."

13.  Jesus holds the heavens in his hands.

Moses 7:36 "Wherefore, I can stretch forth mine hands and hold all the creations which I have made; and mine eye can pierce them also"

14.  Jesus is depicted as a white man with a dark beard.

Conclusion:

With all of the similarities between Jesus Christ and Quetzalcoatl, it can easily cause one to infer that perhaps the Book of Mormon is true.  Perhaps Jesus Christ did visit the Americas.  Perhaps the gospel of Jesus Christ was taught to the Native Americans.  Perhaps at one time the Native Americans did have access to Biblical knowledge.  But unfortunately, due to poor record keeping, the story of Jesus became lost in the mythological figure now known as Quetzalcoatl.

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