We signed up with
Alma LDS Tours and took a tour of Tulum one morning. We learned an incredible amount of information, especially relating to the Book of Mormon and the gospel of Jesus Christ in ancient times. Of course these ruins aren't during the time of the Book of Mormon people, they were many years later, but it gave us a clue of what life was like back in that time, and how the Mayans and Incas were trying to live religiously. There was so much symbolism all over that place-- the Tree of Life, the Godhead, Temple Ordinances, Christ's birth and resurrection, and Christ's visit to America. We learned a lot about the people themselves--they were astronomers, geologists, archeologists, and mathematicians which was enlightening because I always thought they were a barbaric culture sacrificing human life and such. However, from looking at the carvings and their structures of temples, it showed they were trying to feel the spirit and hold onto religious teachings.
Tulum sits right on the edge of the beach and it was breathtaking. It was probably the prettiest beach I've seen. They built their temple on the highest point in the area so they could help steer in the canoes from the beach. On each side of the back wall of the temple, there was a hole through the structure. When the people out in the water could see both holes, they lined their canoes in between them and it helped them steer in between the reefs so they wouldn't crash getting to shore. The ability to figure all that is amazing. What a highly educated culture.
On this smaller temple you can see parts of 3 statues. The first one is of a baby, then a king, and then a God. Our LDS tour guide explained that this could be interpreted as Christ's life on earth. The Mayans probably put that on their temples and many others to remind and teach of His life.
There was so much we learned! It strengthened my testimony about the Book of Mormon and Christ's visit to America after he was crucified in Jerusalem. It also bore testimony to me of the Prophet Joseph Smith who translated the Book of Mormon. He was truly guided through the translation and received Divine help and could not have made this up all on his own. For example, throughout the BOM there is a phrase "and it came to pass". This helped the editors of the BOM know when a new verse or chapter began because there wasn't any punctuation during the translation process. In the Mayan language there is one symbol that only means "and it came to pass". Interesting little tidbits like that we gleaned from just a few hours with our tour. We loved Tulum and felt the spirit there. What a beautiful place.
