Wilford Woodruff Finds Zelph's Skeleton - Ancient American Saint Discovered

During Zion's Camp in 1834, Wilford Woodruff and the Saints encountered a remarkable archaeological discovery that provided spiritual confirmation of the Book of Mormon. Woodruff documented: 'The published history of Zion's Camp gives an account of the bones of a man which we dug out of a mound. His name was Zelph. He was a white Lamanite, a large, thick-set man, and a man of God. He was killed in battle, by the arrows of the Lamanites, and his skeleton was discovered by the brethren while traveling with the camp to Missouri.' When the skeleton was examined, the left rib was found to be broken and had partially healed, indicating he had suffered the arrow wound in life. This discovery provided tangible evidence of Book of Mormon peoples and served as a confirmation to the camp that they were traveling through lands inhabited by ancient Book of Mormon peoples. The find greatly strengthened the faith of all those who witnessed it and provided direct physical evidence supporting the historical reality of the Book of Mormon account.