Tulum Ruins

We loaded up on the bus and drove to the ruins of Tulum today. This hole in the wall is the entrance through the wall that surrounds this ancient city.

Kathy was not interested in the slightest...but I could not be more fascinated. The mystery of the ruins is so intriguing to me.

One of the reasons the ruins are so interesting is because I believe that if we do not study and learn from history we are bound to repeat it.

The other reason is because of my religious beliefs. To archeologoists, the ruins at Tulum are very intriguing and mysterious because of the evidence of Christ there and stele of the Descending God.

Scientists and expert archeologists cannot explain where the Mayans came from or where the people from these great civilizations disappeared to. They don't know where the Indians came from or how they got here. They speculate that there was once a land bridge between the continents and that the Indians crossed this land bridge while following migrating herds for food.

Artifacts in many of these ruins indicate a belief in a Descending God; and stories of a white God that descended from the sky were told again and again for generations. According to the stories, this white God promised to return again. In fact, when Columbus landed here in 1492, they thought he was the white God who had promised to return.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, however, know how these people came to the American Continent, what happened to them, and why they believe in a Descending God.

About 600 years before Christ's birth, God led a group of people out of Jerusalem because it was going to be destroyed. According to 2 Kings 25, Jerusalem was in fact invaded and destroyed at this time but since this group of people left Jerusalem, the Bible does not contain a record of their history.

These people brought the writings of the Bible with them and they kept records of their own. These records indicate that they sailed a boat to the American Continent and began a civilization here. The account of their history is fascinating. It includes a detailed description of the civil war that destroyed them too. But, The most significant part of this record is the account of Christ's appearance here in the American Continent.

After Christ's resurrection, He appeared to the apostles and many others in Jerusalem. According to the record of the people on the American Continent, Christ appeared to the people here too. He descended from Heaven dressed in white. He healed the sick and taught His gospel to the people and promised that He would return again in great glory one day.

Christ said He would visit these people in John 10:14-16: "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." The "other sheep...which are not of this fold" that He was referring to were the people here in the American Continent. And, they did in fact hear His voice and see Him!

His visit had such a profound impact on the people and their culture (much like it has had on ours!) that the buildings and ruins that are left testify of His visit and so do the records that they kept. Just before the final destruction of this civilization, a man named Mormon compiled all their records into one. Since paper, metal, and stone would decay and corrode over time, Mormon carved his writings on plates of gold to preserve them. These writings of Mormon have been translated to many languages and can be found in a book called The Book of Mormon.

Our guide's name was Abinadi and he is a BYU fan! Yeah!

They put a roof over the artifact inscribed in front of this house so it doesn't erode with the rain and weather.

The temple marks the equinox and solstices which is typical of other Mayan structures. But, this slanted building just to the left of the temple was built in alignment with both the morning star, or the planet Venus, and the sun to mark April 6th as the birthday of the Descending God.

They say that on that day, Venus can be seen rising into the night sky directly over the door of the temple and sunlight forms a brilliant star that can be seen only on that day. Apparently, this is pretty significant because Mayan Gods were known by the day on which they were born. And, April 6th is the birthday of the Descending God.

This building has a cenote inside it (or underneath it). This is the fresh water source for the whole city.

This is a cistern that they filled with water for people to access.

These are the foundation stones for homes that once existed here. It reminds me of photos of New Orleans after Hurrican Katrina and photos of Japan after the Tsunami. The "after" photos showed nothing but slabs of concrete and foundations where homes once were. The "before" photos showed what the neighborhoods looked like before the disaster. The contrast was incredible. I just can't imagine what this must have looked like when the homes existed here...but I'm so curious to know!

This is a photo of the temple. This temple and these ruins are referred to as that of the Descending God because of the numerous inscriptions and artifacts of a Descending God. For generation after generation, they tell of a white God that descended from the sky in great glory.

An ancient account by a Spaniard indicates that the temple was colored. This is what they think it looked like back in the day.

There are three inscipriptions above the three doors. The one on the left is the image of their God known as Quetzalcoatl. The inscription above the center door is of the Descending God, and there is just a blank slab above the door on the right which they think represents the Holy Ghost. It was so fascinating!

The entire Yucatan is completely flat. As you can see from this view, the place where the temple is built is the highest point around.

This is a view of the temple from the side.

As I mentioned before, this beach is protected by the 2nd longest barrier reef in the whole world. It spans for miles and miles. There is just one break in it right here in front of the temple. It's a little hard to see in this picture but if you look carefully, you can see white waves breaking on the reef on the right and more waves breaking on the left. The only way to land a ship here without crashing it into the reef is at this point.

In this photo you can see the temple in the center with a tower on each side. They have found slots where torches were placed on the temple and on both towers so sailors could see this from the sea so they would know where to land their ships without crashing into the reef.

This is the beach between the temple and the far tower where ships would land.

The kids were not as interested in the ruins as I was but they still had a fun time. Danny and Brennah enjoyed swimming at the beach and the three little boys chased Iguanas like the one pictured here.