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4 unusual facts about John Lloyd Stephens


Edward King, Viscount Kingsborough

These lavish publications represented some of the earliest published documentation of the ancient cultures of Mesoamerica, inspiring further exploration and research by John Lloyd Stephens and Charles Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg in the early 19th century.

Howler monkey

Alexander von Humboldt said about howler monkeys, "their eyes, voice, and gait are indicative of melancholy", while John Lloyd Stephens described those at the Maya ruins of Copán as "grave and solemn, almost emotionally wounded, as if officiating as the guardians of consecrated ground".

Proposed Book of Mormon geographical setting

Strongly influenced by John Lloyd Stephens’ 1841 bestseller, Incident of Travel in Central America, Parley Pratt set various Book of Mormon lands (including, apparently, the narrow neck) farther north and west of Panama.

Early LDS became engrossed with John Lloyd Stephens’ 1841 bestseller, Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan.



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