Our Beginning

During the summer of 2001 several members of the Buckner Congregation of the Community of Christ traveled to Mexico to visit ancient ruins. They were excited to have Neil Steede as a guide and travel companion. Several sites were visited including Palenque, Cacaxtla, Cuicuilco, Comalcalco, Cholula, and Teotihuacan. While traveling, the group took a detour and went to see Cerro Rabon, a mountain near Jalapa de Diaz that many Book of Mormon archaeologists have reason to believe is the Hill Cumorah where ancient records are buried.

After some discussion, several members of the group decided to climb the hill in an attempt to once again locate the cave where Neil believes the records are hidden. At three o'clock in the morning Mike Brown, Wayne Stanton, Neil Steede, Joseph Mangum, and Tim Brown ventured from Tuxtepec to Cerro Rabon and slowly made their way up the mountainside. For most of a day they chopped through jungle and eventually located the spot where Neil's cave experience took place.

Unknown at the time, this was the first of many trips to the mountain. The group was terribly unequipped for the venture. They suffered blisters, dehydration, and for months afterward one member of the group experienced stinging and an unexplained rash; probably the result of contact with a poisonous millipede. But, the seed had been planted. The interest that was generated from this small adventure is still spreading and providing continued hope for many Book of Mormon believers.

Johnnie Brown Testimony