"Columbus himself, in a letter to the Spanish hierarchy, wrote, 'Our Lord unlocked my mind, sent me upon the sea, and gave me fire for the deed. Those who heard of my emprise called it foolish, mocked me, and laughed. But who can doubt but that the Holy Ghost inspired me?'
-- quoted in Mark E. Petersen, The Great Prologue, Deseret Book Co., 1975, p.
26).
"During the voyage, after weeks of sailing with no sign of land, mutiny raised its head. Finally, Columbus promised the captains of the Pinta and the Nina, both of whom wanted to turn back, that if no land was sighted in forty-eight hours, they would turn back. Then he went to his cabin and, in his words, 'prayed mightily to the Lord.' On October 12, the very next day, they sighted land."
-- "If They Will But Serve the God of the Land," Ensign, May 1976, 48
I am not so sure that he was responsible for the deaths of " thousands of amerindians." Please let me know where you got this info. Remember not everything you read in history books is correct - History has often been re-written and changed according to the desire of the author's of the book.
Did you know?
The Angel Moroni appeared to Christopher Columbus.
Columbus and others appeared to Wilford Woodruff in the St. George Temple to inquire why their "temple work" hadn't been done for them.
Woodruff called Columbus "great" and "noble."
Christopher Columbus was ordained a High Priest.
I don't believe that if Columbus is responsible for so many deaths that he would be called great and noble by the Lord's Prophet.
President Ezra Taft Benson, when speaking of Columbus and others, said: "When one casts doubt about the character of these noble sons of God, I believe he or she will have to answer to the God of heaven for it."
Sources:
(Stand Fast by Our Constitution, pp. 136-37.) ("God's Hand in Our Nation's History" 307-09; revised in This Nation Shall Endure 18-19)