In Helaman 12:15, Mormon comments that by the power of the word of the Lord, "the earth goeth back, and it appeareth unto man that the sun standeth still . . . " According to the Works of Ixtlilxochitl, in the year 8 Tochtli, which was 1,347 years after the second calamity, and 4,779 since the creation of the world, they have in their history that the sun stood [still] for a natural day without moving from one spot (place). [Milton R. Hunter and Thomas Stuart Ferguson, Ancient America and The Book of Mormon, p. 298]
Helaman 12:15 It appeareth unto man that the sun standeth still ([Illustration]): The subfield of research called archaeoastronomy has developed to deal with the complex relations between ancient astronomy and the symbolic uses to which that knowledge was put in construction. From Uaxactun, lowland Guatemala, this architectural group illustrates one of the first alignments to be recognized by archaeologists. The sight lines to the right and left indicate where the sun was visible at the horizon when it reached its northernmost and southernmost points. [John L. Sorenson, Images of Ancient America, p. 106]