Another day at Teotihuacan with an archeologist

Saturday, Feb 21st

THOUGHT:  "DON'T JUDGE EACH DAY BY THE HARVEST YOU REAP...
                        BUT BY THE SEEDS THAT YOU PLANT!
                                                                                                  Robert Louis Stevenson

Today we met 2 mission presidents and a lot of our area staff at the pyramids at Teotihuacan.  One of the mission presidents brought a former stake president who is professor of archeology.  We started at the temple of Quetzacoatl.  There is a plaza surrounded by 4 small pyramids on each of three sides then the large temple of Quetzalcoatl on the fourth side with 3 small pyramids behind the large pyramid.  This courtyard was built in about 200 - 250 AD or at a time when there was righteousness throughout the land.  Our teacher told us that the 12 pyramids represented either the 12 tribes of Israel or possibly the 12 apostles with the Savior represented by the large temple and the first presidency behind it.  There was a very large courtyard with a stand in the middle.  He had me run down to the stand and read my scriptures in a regular voice (about 100 yards from where the rest of the group was.  They could hear me perfectly.  This was a courtyard of instruction where those who came to the temple were instructed (no microphones in those days.)  Quetzalcoatl or the plumed servant is how they represented the Savior.  Feathers of the Quetzal bird (those feathers used by royalty) to show that he was the God of the heavens, a serpent to show that he was Lord of the earth (remember Moses raised up a serpent on a stick when the children of Israel were disobedient and were suffering from a plague - those who would look to the serpent were healed.)  The temple of Quetzalcoatl had images of the plumed serpent.  After the people were taught in this courtyard they would walk up to the pyramid of the sun - about 1/2 mile.  They had to cross a river where they bathed and put on white clothing and as they walked along the path to the temple of the sun there were various murals and teachings they were given along the way.  The road ascends from the temple of Quetzalcoatl to the temple of the sun and there are lots of difficult stairs to climb (representing that life's journey is hard and we have to endure to the end.)  There were rooms set apart along the way as ordinance rooms where further teaching took place.  When they arrived at the temple of the sun they had to climb up to the top - again very difficult to do.  At the top (not a point like Egyptian pyramids) there was a flat place where a room was built.  In 1900 when the president of Mexico Porfirio Diaz described this room at the top of the Pyramid of the sun (room no longer there) he described holes on opposite sides of the building where it appeared a cord was tied, over which presumably was placed a large curtain or vail.  People were then taken from the side without windows (darker) to the east side where there was sunlight.  (go figure that one out.)  People who were buried here were buried with knees up in the fetal position.  this represented dying from one world but being born into another.  There were several very interesting figurines in the museum there.  Some of them apparently dressed in robes with their right arm at their sides and the hand extended with the palms up.  There were also figurines with flat hats on their heads with a small cord attached to something on their shoulder.  The temples at Teotihuacan were not inhabited - they were for the instruction of the people.  About 400,000 to 500,000 people lived around the temples.  There was so much more that he taught us.  The Spanish destroyed millions of codexes (their written record) that talked about belief in the Savior, the creation and other Christian teachings.  At one point in Cholula (a place we have visited) the Spanish murdered 400,000 native men, women and children because of their refusal to accept the Catholic Church and told the world that they did it themselves, the savage people performing human sacrifice to their gods.  Generally after a people are conquered they retain their native language and culture - the Spanish forbade the natives from speaking their native language and now it is spoken very little.  Interestingly the real name of Mexico is Meshico which in the native tongue means the land of the Messiah.
After leaving the pyramids we went to a restaurant and had a lunch buffet - were serenaded by mariachis and returned home for a quiet late afternoon.

Stand in the middle of the courtyard where I could speak and everyone else heard me

Our little group

Temple of Quetzalcoatl

Representation of Quetzalcoatl - the feathered servant representing Jesus Christ

Layout of the temples of Teotihuacan

In front of the Sun pyramid.  This is our big fun
missionary group.  3 other couples stopped to buy something
We had a great time together!  It's these people that make
living in Mexico enjoyable!

Sunday, Feb 22nd

THOUGHT:  "YOUR PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES DON'T DETERMINE WHERE YOU CAN GO...  THEY MERELY DETERMINE WHERE YOU START!"

Sunday we had a great sacrament meeting on service.  A lady who was baptized yesterday was confirmed (she was wearing levis - something they do until they eventually realize most of the women are in dresses.)  Most of the members do their very best to look nice.  A man who was baptized in December and is blind was given the Aaronic priesthood a couple of weeks ago and today was at the sacrament table.  One of the young priests whispered the prayer in his ear and he said it out loud.  He was proud of himself - he sure has changed since he was first baptized (see above) - he used to come in less than Sunday best but he had on a suit and white shirt today.  Priesthood meeting was about fast offerings (conf talk last October) and one of the area general authorities (Elder Salinas) was there and said some very powerful things.  He sat down with his family after he got his copy of tithing and fast offerings from the previous year and they had a very frank discussion about how much they should be giving (all of his family thought they ought to do a little more than last year.)  One of his kids then said that they ought to give enough so that a hungry family the same size as theirs could eat.  (6 kids).  They went on to try to decide for how many days.  After figuring how much for 30 days (he has 3 kids in college) he realized that would be more than a sacrifice - it would not be possible.  They finally decided on a number of days (wouldn't share with us) and said that it would really be a sacrifice.  Just this week he had a property he had been trying to sell and a family from Venezuela made him an offer that was more than generous - he testified that the Lord will help you when you make sacrifices and testified that he truly did receive blessings that were overflowing.  A touching reminder that just giving enough to cover 2 meals for your family is a bare bones minimum and we all should be giving much more - until it becomes a sacrifice.  This afternoon with the help of Richie I got most of my taxes done (hopefully a big refund to finance me for a couple of months.)

The pic gets lost in the translation.
It is amazing standing at the bottom of the
sun pyramid looking straight up to the top!
Why did they have to build these things so
dang big?
I guess the pyramids in Egypt are even bigger!

People are selling things everywhere.
They have set up a little strip mall
on the road over to the sun pyramid!
What Mexican thing do you need?
I am sure I can find it for you!

At the lunch buffet this guy puts his wolf headdress
on and beats as loud as he can on a big drum next
to you while you are eating!  The girl not in the pic
dances around and makes more noise!
Bienvenido Mexico!

OK!  This is driving on the highways in Mexico!
It's a really fun game of chicken!
See the dotted line on the right!  When someone is passing you
you are suppose to pull over like this car is doing.  Then you can pass
by only going over the center line a little bit!
Well see the double yellow line?  That doesn't mean anything!
Cars are passing each other on both sides of the highway at the same time!
Hopefully you don't have a head-on crash!
It's really fun to pass big trucks on double yellow no passing lines
going around curves in the mountains!
And you wonder why I'm exhausted when I get home!

See this big truck passing on the double yellow line
going up hill around a curve!
WHEEE!