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Book of Mormon/Anachronisms
Anachronisms claimed to exist in the Book of Mormon
Summary: "Anachronism" = out of time; something which is not in its proper historical context. It is claimed that a number of items or concepts in the Book of Mormon are not consistent with what is known about ancient American geography, history, or anthropology. These "errors" used as evidence that the Book of Mormon is a 19th century work rather than an ancient record.Jump to Subtopic:
- What is an "anachronism" and how does it relate to the Book of Mormon?
- Animals or possible animal products referred to in the Book of Mormon
- Alleged biblical anachronisms in the Book of Mormon
- Climate in the Book of Mormon
- Cultural issues in the Book of Mormon
- Book of Mormon Geography
- Items described in the Book of Mormon
- Language questions related to the Book of Mormon
- Freemasonry and the Book of Mormon
- Materials described in the Book of Mormon
- Plants or fibers in the Book of Mormon
- Population and demographics in the Book of Mormon
- Scientific questions related to the Book of Mormon
- Book of Mormon textual issues
- Warfare in the Book of Mormon
What is an "anachronism" and how does it relate to the Book of Mormon?
Summary: Translated documents (which the Book of Mormon claims to be) have many potential sources of anachronism. When trying to decide if something is a true anachronism, and when making judgments about the Book of Mormon's truth based on an assessment of anachronisms, we must take all these factors into account. Critics rarely do so.Jump to Subtopic:
- Elder D. Todd Christofferson: "The absence of evidence is not proof. Here’s one small example"
- Question: What is an anachronism, and what should be borne in mind when assessing the Book of Mormon (or any other text) for supposed "anachronisms"?
Animals or possible animal products referred to in the Book of Mormon
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- Criticisms related to animals mentioned in the Book of Mormon
- Horses in the Book of Mormon
- The ass or donkey in the Book of Mormon
- Bees in the Book of Mormon
- Cattle in the Book of Mormon
- Elephants in the Book of Mormon
- Sheep in the Book of Mormon
- Goats in the Book of Mormon
- Silk or Silkworms and the Book of Mormon
- Swine in the Book of Mormon
- Cureloms and Cumoms in the Book of Mormon
- Serpents in the Book of Mormon
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Horses in the Book of Mormon
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- Question: Why are horses considered an anachronism in the Book of Mormon?
- Question: What is the origin of the modern horse in the New World?
- Verses in the Book of Mormon that talk about "horses"
- Question:What role do horses not play in the Book of Mormon?
- Question: Have any ancient horse remains from the Nephite period been found in the New World?
- Question: Why don't potential pre-Columbian horse remains in the New World receive greater attention from scientists?
- Question: Could ancient Americans have expanded the definition of "horse" to include new meanings?
- "Pottery and other cultural materials were found in levels VII and above. But in some of those artifact-bearing strata there were horse bones, even in level II."
- Martin: "no theoretical reason why a herd of mastodons, horses, or ground sloths could not have survived in some small refuge until 8000 or even 4000 years ago"
- Grayson: "extinct North American mammals...losses began in Mexico and Alaska during the Pleistocene and ended in Florida perhaps as recently as 2000 years ago"
- Bernardino de Sahagun: "Fodder was provided the deer—horses—which the Spaniards rode"
- Sorenson: Horse bones in Yucatan "considered to be pre-Columbian on the basis of depth of burial and degree of mineralization"
- Question: Do Mormon apologists claim that the horse referred to in the Book of Mormon is actually a deer or tapir?
The ass or donkey in the Book of Mormon
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Bees in the Book of Mormon
Summary: Among the supposed Book of Mormon anachronisms is the mention of “bees” (Ether 2:3)...It should be noted firstly that the Book of Mormon's use of the term "bees" occurs in an Old World (Jaredite) setting, it is never used in connection with the New World.Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Did the Jaredites bring swarms of bees across the ocean in their barges
- Padilla et al.: "The maya codex Tro-Cortesianus shows drawings of bees and parts of honey combs"
- Head: "The indigenous American bee is the melipona (a stingless bee). It produces only about one kilogram of honey per year"
- Ronan James Head, "A Brief Survey of Ancient Near Eastern Beekeeping"
Cattle in the Book of Mormon
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- Sorenson: "The Miami Indians, for example, were unfamiliar with the buffalo and simply called them 'wild cows'"
- Miller and Roper: "Bones of domesticated cattle...have been reported from different caves in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico"
- Pietro Martire d'Anghiera (1912): "the Spaniards noticed herds of deer similar to our herds of cattle"
Elephants in the Book of Mormon
Summary: Elephants are only present in Jaredite times in the Book of Mormon. Both mammoths and gomphotheres are elephant-like creatures that are plausible candidates which may have lived up until Jaredite times.Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: In what context are elephants mentioned in the Book of Mormon?
- Wikipedia: Mammoths "were members of the family Elephantidae"
- Johnson: "Probably it is safe to say that American Proboscidea have been extinct for a minimum of 3000 years"
- Miller and Roper: "This was long enough to bring them (mammoths) to the time of the Jaredites"
- Miller and Roper: "Evidence for the survival of the elephant can be found in Native American myths and traditions"
Sheep in the Book of Mormon
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- Miller and Roper: "there are sheep native to America. The most common type is the Mountain Sheep, Ovis canadensis"
- Wikipedia: Bighorn sheep "crossed to North America over the Bering land bridge"
- Interpreter Foundation Blog, "Animals in the Book of Mormon: Challenges and Perspectives"
Goats in the Book of Mormon
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- Miller and Roper: "Evidence of goats associated with pre-Columbian man also comes from caves in Yucatan"
- Miller and Roper: "In post-biblical Jewish literature some Jewish writers distinguished between wild and domestic cattle such as goats"
Silk or Silkworms and the Book of Mormon
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- Sorenson: Linen and silk textiles in ancient America
- Armitage: "It is suggested by de Ávila Blomberg that wild silk was used in Oaxaca in pre-Columbian times"
Swine in the Book of Mormon
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- Question: Why would the Book of Mormon mention swine if they were living the Law of Moses?
- Miller and Roper: "two distinct species of peccary live in Mesoamerica....They were hunted and eaten as early as Olmec times"
- Sorenson: "There is an animal which they call chic, wonderfully active, as large as a small dog, with a snout like a sucking pig. The Indian women raise them"
Cureloms and Cumoms in the Book of Mormon
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Serpents in the Book of Mormon
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- Question: Does the Book of Mormon accurately represent the behavior of serpents during a drought?
- John Tvedtnes, "Drought and Serpents"
Alleged biblical anachronisms in the Book of Mormon
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- Multiple "Isaiahs" and the Book of Mormon
- Nephite burnt offerings and their consistency with Jewish law and practice
- Alleged biblical textual anachronisms in the Book of Mormon
- The Book of Mormon and the location of the birth of Jesus Christ
- Lehi's ancestry and place of residence
- The Book of Mormon contains passages from the King James Bible
- Modification of the italicized text in Book of Mormon Biblical passages
- Translation errors in the King James Bible appearing in the Book of Mormon
- The Book of Mormon and the Dead Sea Scrolls
Climate in the Book of Mormon
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Cultural issues in the Book of Mormon
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- The Nephite calendar
- The description of olive horticulture in the Book of Mormon
- Legal codes in the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon Geography
Summary: The geographical setting of the Book of Mormon has been the subject of serious study and casual speculation since before the book was first published. The Church has been neutral when it comes to issues relating to Book of Mormon geography, as is FairMormon. The articles linked below will describe the various theories and examine the strengths and weaknesses of each.Jump to Subtopic:
- Book of Mormon Old World Geography
- Book of Mormon geography in the New World
- Statements made by Church leaders on the subject of Book of Mormon geography
- Book of Mormon geography models
- Criticisms related to Book of Mormon geography
Items described in the Book of Mormon
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- Chariots in the Book of Mormon
- Cimeters or Scimeters in the Book of Mormon
- Money and the Book of Mormon
- The Book of Mormon mentions the word "compass"
- The Book of Mormon and "gold" plates
- Book of Mormon temples in New World
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- Translation questions related to the Book of Mormon
- Language structure in the Book of Mormon
- Hebrew and Native American languages
- The Book of Mormon and "reformed Egyptian"
Freemasonry and the Book of Mormon
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The Gadianton robbers and Freemasons
Summary: Some claim that the Gadianton robbers are thinly disguised references to the anti-Masonic panic of Joseph Smith's era. Joseph's contemporaries did not embrace the "obvious" link between the Book of Mormon and masonry. Proponents or opponents of Masonry simply tended to blame their opponents for Mormonism. Given Joseph Smith's long family involvement with the institution of Freemasonry and the fact that he would, in 1842, become a Mason himself, it seems unlikely that anti-Masonry was the "environmental source" of the Gadianton robbers found in the Book of Mormon. The members of his day likewise had little enthusiasm for anti-Masonic sentiments.Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Are the Gadianton robbers in the Book of Mormon actually references to the anti-Masonic panic of Joseph Smith's era?
- Question: Does the Book of Mormon contain anti-Masonic language?
- Question: Were anti-Mason's opposed to the Book of Mormon?
Materials described in the Book of Mormon
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- Building materials in the Book of Mormon
- The use of metals in the Book of Mormon
- Engraving records on metal plates
Plants or fibers in the Book of Mormon
Summary: Some plants or fibers mentioned in the Book of Mormon are not known to exist in the New World. Is this evidence that Joseph fabricated the text based upon his own cultural background? Not at all: None of the Book of Mormon's plant species causes a problem — Spanish conquerors described pre-Columbian products in exactly the terms used by the Book of Mormon. Barley, silkworms, and grapes were known. One of the terms unknown to Joseph's day (the Akkadian sheum) is impressive evidence for the Book of Mormon's antiquity.Jump to Subtopic:
- Barley in the Book of Mormon
- Flax and linen in the Book of Mormon
- Neas in the Book of Mormon
- Sheum in the Book of Mormon
- Silk in the Book of Mormon
- Wheat in the Book of Mormon
- Wine and grapes in the Book of Mormon
Barley in the Book of Mormon
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- Question: Is the mention of barley in the Book of Mormon an anachronism?
- Sorenson and Smith: "three types of wild barley have long been known to be native to the Americas"
Flax and linen in the Book of Mormon
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- Sorenson: "linen-like cloth made from plants other than flax"
- Sorenson: "At the time of the Spanish conquest, natives in Mexico would gather cocoons from a type of wild silkworm and spin the thread into expensive cloth"
Neas in the Book of Mormon
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Sheum in the Book of Mormon
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- Smith: Sheum is "a precise match for Akkadian "she'um", 'barley' (Old Assyrian 'wheat'), the most popular ancient Mesopotamian cereal-name"
- Roper: "This term, se um, (the s is pronounced sh in semitic languages) was a term by which these ancient Near Eastern peoples referred to barley"
Silk in the Book of Mormon
Jump to Subtopic:
- Armitage: "It is suggested by de Ávila Blomberg that wild silk was used in Oaxaca in pre-Columbian times"
- Sorenson: Linen and silk textiles in ancient America
Wheat in the Book of Mormon
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Wine and grapes in the Book of Mormon
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Population and demographics in the Book of Mormon
Demographics
Summary: Critics charge that the initial Lehite colony is too small to produce the population sizes indicated, and that Lehi's group was sent to a land which was kept from the knowledge of other nations, therefore, according to the Book of Mormon, there could not have been "others" present. A superficial reading of the Book of Mormon leads some to conclude that the named members of Lehi's group were the only members of Nephite/Lamanite society. However, the Book of Mormon contains many mentions of "others" that made up part of both societies; indeed, many Book of Mormon passages make little sense unless we understand this.Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Was the Lehite colony too small to produce the population sizes indicated by the Book of Mormon?
- Question: What was the fate of the original Lehite colonists?
- Question: What were the relative size of Nephites vs. Lamanites?
- Question: Why aren't other inhabitants of the America's mentioned in the Book of Mormon?
- John L. Sorenson: "Several puzzles about the history of the Nephites and Lamanites are linked to the question of whether they found others already living in their promised land"
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- Description of sweat and skin pores in the Book of Mormon
- Descriptions of physical trauma in the Book of Mormon
- The "three days of darkness" in the New World following Christ's death
Description of sweat and skin pores in the Book of Mormon
Summary: It is claimed that the reference to blood coming from a pore is anachronistic, since Nephite authors would not have known about skin pores. Joseph Smith, it is claimed, would have known about pores, and so the Book of Mormon's addition of the word "pore" to the Bible's account in Luke 22:44 of Christ's suffering reflects Joseph Smith's 19th century worldview, and not an ancient author's.Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Is the Book of Mormon reference to blood coming from Christ's pores anachronistic?
- Question: When were skin pores discovered?
- Question: What did those in Joseph Smith's day know about sweat and pores?
- Question: Can skin pores produce blood?
Descriptions of physical trauma in the Book of Mormon
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The "three days of darkness" in the New World following Christ's death
Summary: The three days of darkness is consistent with a period of intense volcanism. This explanation of the darkness has been particularly popular among those who advocate a limited geographical model of the Book of Mormon. Most LGT models place Book of Mormon lands in central America; this area is well-known for active seismic activity.Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: How is it possible that there were three days of darkness in the New World and not in the Old World?
- Question: How did ancient people of the Old and New Worlds view the "the world"?
- "An Hypothesis concerning the Three Days of Darkness among the Nephites"
- Anonymous, "When the Day Turned to Night"
Book of Mormon textual issues
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Descriptions of Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon
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Textual structure in the Book of Mormon
Summary: Is the fact that the Book of Mormon has chapters evidence that it is a modern production? The table of contents was a modern insertion; it had no counterpart in the dictated text of the Book of Mormon. It was added just as it is in modern Bibles. However, the first edition of the Book of Mormon did contain chapters (though much longer than the modern chapters), and chapter markers were part of Joseph's dictated text.Jump to Subtopic:
Warfare in the Book of Mormon
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- Warfare in the Book of Mormon: Defense
- Warfare in the Book of Mormon: Oaths taken by warriors
- Warfare in the Book of Mormon: Seasonality of Warfare
- Warfare in the Book of Mormon: Tactics and strategy
- Warfare in the Book of Mormon: Secret combinations
- Weapons in the Book of Mormon
Notes