Horses steel book of mormon

Mar 17, 2007 critics of the book of mormon have long cited anachronisms in its narrative to argue that it is not the work of god. Horses are claimed most often as livestock and work horses, but never mentioned as riding animals. There are two major fallacies in discussions on this topic. The book of mormon is supposed to be a history of real people living in a real place. One last topic on the subject of archaeological evidence for the book of mormon that i want to talk about is horses. Sorenson, the chairman of the department of anthropology at brigham young university, in his book an ancient american setting for the book of mormon salt lake city, utah. By far the most common response, however, is that when joseph smith used words like horse, steel, and silk, he was not referring to horses. Horses evolved in north america, but are believed to have become extinct on the american continent at the end of the pleistocene. In other words, critics claim that the book of mormon is a fraud, since horses mentioned in the book of mormon couldnt have lived here at the time of the nephites.

A scientist looks at book of mormon anachronisms the. Horses did not reappear in the americas until the spaniards brought them from europe. Mormons generally leave science to the scientists to figure out and focus instead on faith. Apologetics press the book of mormon and the ancient. Steel was also unknown in the new world prior to the arrival of european explorers, yet the book of mormon mentions the use of both iron and steel 2 nephi 5. The issue of horses in the book of mormon is still used by critics of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints as a means of attack and by some of its own members as justification for their loss of faith in the book of mormon and, subsequently, the religion itself. Anachronisms in the book of mormon are just semantics. Precolumbian american horses and the book of mormon beggar. There is no evidence that horses existed on the american continent during the timeframe of the book of mormon. New evidence for horses in america book of mormon central. On a related note, the bible talks about tents, brass, steel, and other physical. Relevant to the issue of horses in the book of mormon is the linguistic confusion that the horse caused when the spanish first arrived. The adoption of biblical archaisms in the book of mormon and other.

If that was the case, the reformed egyptian word for horse or elephant may have been used in the book of mormon text. Mormon challenges are precolumbian horses in book of. Horses in america and book of mormon recovery from. Missionaries should be prayerful and conversant on the topics of archaeological evidence of the book of mormon, steel, horses, and dna of. The book of mormon is a book written by joseph smith. Adherents of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints consider it to be as equally valid as the bible.

The scientific legacy of a quest to prove the book of mormon. In spite of difficulties in defending this claim, and although the evidence is incomplete, the geological and archaeological record does provide support for horses and even wheeled vehicles in ancient america. Metals, weapons, and the book of mormon mormon answers. Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations. This situation is lamentable, for it is often based on a foundation of. When the maya saw the european goat they called it a shorthorned deer 18 and when the miami. Jul 16, 2020 horses were introduced to the americas by the spaniards, thus their appearance in the book of mormon is an anachronisms. Why are horses mentioned in the book of mormon lds living. Examples of steel being mentioned in the old testament include 2 sam. Horses in the book of mormon book of mormon mormon. Apologetics press the book of mormon and the ancient evidence. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading science and the book of mormon. Another scholar pointed out several possibilities for mentions of horses.

The present book shows that horses, elephants, and a variety of other animals listed in the book of mormon were indeed in america. Hard evidence of ancient american horses byu studies. The book of mormon mentions horses a few times, even though were not in the americas before the spanish arrived, according to current. The truth is that these two weapons are vastly different.

Book of mormon artifacts and metallurgy life after ministry. Anti mormon writers who condemn the book of mormon for its mention of steel rarely point out that the bible mentions steel in equally ancient times the same is true of brass. The book of mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the. Precolumbian american horses and the book of mormon.

The anachronism of horses in the book of mormon as an indication. Research is honing in on the time horses finally went extinct in the americas, which was thousands of years before the jaredites supposedly set sail. Although hard evidence is available to consider, so far no incontrovertible proof of book of mormon horses existsthat is to say, physical remains conclusively dated to around 500 bc and earlier from supposed book of mormon. Horses are mentioned in eight different book of mormon episodes that involve an ancient new world setting. Horses, cattle, oxen, sheep, swine, goats, elephants, wheels, chariots, wheat, silk, steel, and iron did not exist in precolumbian america during book of mormon times. Horses are mentioned only on a few occasions in the book of mormon the last mention is around the time of christ. A particularly noteworthy reference concerns a military leader named laban, who is described as having a steel sword with a gold hilt 1 nephi 4. Metals, weapons, and the book of mormon mormon answersldsfaq.

Studies of the book of mormon is a collection of essays written at the beginning of the 20th century though not published until 1985 by b. Yet the words horse and horses occur fourteen times in the book of mormon in. The suggestion of horses and chariots in precolumbian america has long been an easy target for critics of the book of mormon. For reference, the following are the horse verses from the book of mormon. Horses, cattle, oxen, sheep, swine, goats, elephants, wheels, chariots, wheat, silk, steel, and iron did not exist in precolumbian. Skeptics pick out a handful of things that are mentioned in the book of mormon. The use of scimitars an arabian sword in an anachronism. In his letter to a ces director, jeremy runnells asks why horses are mentioned in the book of mormon when, supposedly, no horses existed in precolumbian america. Log in or sign up to leave a comment log in sign up. Archaeological evidence of the book of mormon latterday saint. Horses and steel swords were both well known by the time josephs myth came along. For the first 150 years of mormonisms existence, everyone thought it was a story about a people who left the middle east and came to south or central america, and who fought wars clear up into new york state where. The book of mormon makes a handful of references to horses existing on the american continents in these ancient times. Book of mormon analysts must admit that logical reasons exist for the lack of incontrovertible evidence for ancient horses or other proofs of the book of mormon.

And it came to pass that the people of nephi did till the land, and raise all manner of grain, and of fruit, and flocks of herds and also many horses. Well, the book of mormon is a migration story, similar to the idea of the book of exodus in the old testament, except there are three migrations involved in this. Evidence for horses horse fossils have been found from long after horses supposedly went extinct, and well into the 12th century ad pratt cave, texas dated to 6020 5890 bc. Things like steel, horses, cement, and stuff like that. For addition precolumbian dated horse bones, see miller and roper, animals in the book of mormon, 164. That previous presentation focused on how well book of mormon claims relative to science and archaeology issues were faring. Oxen sheep swine goats cattle wheels chariots wheat silk steel. There are three possible ways to approach this puzzle, dealing with archaeology, ancient cultural practices, and difficulties in translation.

Critics believe joseph smith came up with all the names in the book of mormon, noting that joseph owned a king james bible with a table listing all the names used in the bible. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. Since there has been a lot of criticism by some antimormons about the steel using nephites, it might be useful to see what the book of mormon actually says about iron and steel. Many book of mormon names are either biblical, formed from a rhyming pattern, changed by a prefix or suffix, hebrew, egyptian, sumerian, or greek in etymology. These are animals mentioned that critics say were not in the new world before columbus arrived here. There does not appear to be archeological proof for their existence in the new world during the time period in which they are mentioned 600 b. And it came to pass that the people of nephi did till the land, and raise all manner of grain, and of fruit, and flocks of herds and also many. Dont experts say there is no evidence of silk or linen in ancient america. Book of mormon verses containing the reference to horses. Jan 29, 2018 donors interested in supporting this work can do so through book of mormon central. There are a small number of mentions in the book of mormon of horses. If joseph smith had translated a greek document that spoke of river horses and he knew.

This paper is based on a talk and powerpoint presentation given to the book of mormon lands conference, 20 october 2007. Horses in america and book of mormon recovery from mormonism. The question of horses in the book of mormon meridian magazine. Steel swords in jerusalem in 600 bce in the book of mormon have thus been vindicated. They were made by two different cultures, from two different types of material. Different maya and aztec groups applied their labels for deer or tapir to the spaniards horses, lacking a better word. Ted dee stoddard, in the issue of the word horse in the book of mormon, reminds us that horses existed at one time in the ancient world, but were believed to have become extinct. Dec 01, 2017 horses, scholars believe, were only reintroduced by columbus to the carribbean in 1493, and by cortez to the continent over two decades later in 1819. Steel in the book of mormon since there has been a lot of criticism by some antimormons about the steelusing nephites, it might be useful to see what the book of mormon actually says about iron and steel.

Jan 23, 2020 over the years, people have drawn much attention to things they view as anachronisms in the book of mormon. Archaeological evidence of the book of mormon latterday. The use of steel in the book of mormon is an anachronism. Apr 14, 2019 steel swords in jerusalem in 600 bce in the book of mormon have thus been vindicated. The same holds true for iron and steel, linen and silk, wheat and barley. These dates range all the way from the journey of the jaredites preabraham, up until the time just prior to the appearance of christ in the americas 33 ad. Lets talk horses, steel, jesus, brigading, and rmormon rules. It bothers me when we have women speak who are wives of leaders instead of having women who are leaders speak. It was the mere presence of the book of mormon itself as an object. Further, nowhere in the north or south america did the civilizations have horses, cattle, sheep, steel weapons, swords, or chariots mentioned in the book of mormon.

The book of mormon speaks of horses used by book of mormon peoples, and yet there is no proof of such a thing. When the greeks first encountered a large unfamiliar animal in the nile, for example. I am no history expert, but as i understand it, the nas got their butts kicked in the 1500s when the spaniards arrived with horses and steel swords neither of which was known to nas, yet both horses and steel swords are recorded in the bom. A detailed rubbing of the stone can be seen in the book of chilam balam of chumayel, by ralph roys university of oklahoma press, norman, oklahoma, 1967, plate 1. We assume king lamoni was going to ride on his chariot and that it was going to be pulled by a horse, but it doesnt actually say that. And it came to pass that we did find upon the land of promise, as we journeyed in the wilderness, that there were beasts in the forests of every kind, both the cow and the ox, and the ass and the horse, and the goat and the wild goat, and all manner of wild animals, which were for the use of men. Throughout history, when immigrants and travelers have encountered new, unfamiliar species, they have often applied labels from their own language which originally referred to different animals.

Horses and steel did not exist in precolumbian america, which is when and where the book of mormon bom takes place. This process likely happened when he used such words as steel, wheat, silk. For instance, the mormon scriptures contain references to a sevenday week, domesticated horses, cows and sheep, silk, chariots and steel. Any casual student of archaeology knows scientists frequently find animals alive that were previously believed to be extinct. Ammon preparing the horses and chariots of king lamoni, and the nephites gathering their horses and chariots in the center of the land.

Anachronisms, or out of place items, have long been a subject of contro. Sorenson, an ancient american setting for the book of mormon, 262. Of course, it contains errors and has a dubious origin as the bible does too. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand.

First is the problem of the hermeneutics of hyperskepticism. Those scholars highlighted book of mormon claims from 1830 to today. The origins, authenticity, and historicity of the book of mormon have been subject to considerable criticism from scholars and skeptics since it was first published in 1830. This presentation below is a followup to a similar presentation given years ago. Book of mormon, absorbed the idiom of the king james bible and used it in. The mention of horses among domesticated animals kept by book of mormon peoples has raised questions in some peoples minds, due to the prevailing view that horses were not found in the americas during precolumbian times.

Below is the modern map of the area of smiths youth. If this bs qualifies as an explanation with you, then you are a real mormon. That leaves 11 times that the book of mormon claims that horses existed in the new world. Why are these things mentioned in the book of mormon as being made available in the americas between 2200 bc 421 ad. Some of the most common arguments against the book of mormon involve scientific issues such as the apparent anachronisms when the text mentions horses and elephants, generally understood to have gone extinct before the book of mormon timeframe. Horses and the book of mormon why the lds church is true. Horses in the book of mormon lds scripture teachings. There are only really two mentions of chariots in the book of mormon.

There are many other anachronistic plants and animals present in the book of mormon, such as wheat, cattle, ox, sheep, elephant and the ass. There are five incidences where horses are mentioned in the book of mormon, and are portrayed as being in the forest upon first arrival of the nephites, raised. Roberts 18571933, a general authority of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church, which examine the validity of the book of mormon as a translation of an ancient american source. Apr 11, 2016 the book of mormon mentions horses a few times, even though were not in the americas before the spanish arrived, according to current expert opinion. One of the more obvious anachronisms contained in the book of mormon is the presence of horses. The question of horses in the book of mormon meridian. There are five incidences where horses are mentioned in the book of mormon, and are portrayed as being in the forest upon first arrival of the nephites, raise d, fed, prepared in conjunction with chariots, used for food, and being useful unto man. The topic of horses in the book of mormon s depiction of the ancient new world is undoubtedly a controversial one. Its readers will probably never find an ancient gold plate written in reformed egyptian saying, welcome to zarahemla, and signed by king benjamin.

What about the plants and animals mentioned in the book of mormon. Steel swords, elephants and horses in the book of mormon. Hard evidence of ancient american horses book of mormon. Another approach to this question suggests that the word horse in the book of mormon is being used to refer to a different animal. The book of mormon the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. In fact, horses went extinct in the americas thousands of years before they show up in the book of mormon.