Peruvian setting for the book of mormon mormon matters. There are a small number of mentions in the book of mormon of horses. This paper is based on a talk and powerpoint presentation given to the book of mormon lands conference, 20 october 2007. In fact, book of mormon horses are never mentioned in a combat narrative. For those new to arm who arent informed on the controversythe book of mormon claims that its people had and used horses as late as 26 ad 3 nephi 6. The book of mormon mentions that horses were known and used by the jaredites and the people of lehi. Spencer fluhman is the executive director of the neal a. The topic of horses in the book of mormons depiction of the ancient new world is. A contemporary mormon view is that these civilizations rose and fell in mesoamerica. Mormons generally leave science to the scientists to figure out and focus instead on faith. In 2006, the group became a formal part of the neal a. Since 1830, their mention has seemed a bit problematic, but.
The book of mormon mentions horses, elephants, cattle. For those new to the site, you may want to see some of these other theories i mentioned. Pratt was an articulate advocate for a sweeping, hemispheric vision of book of mormon lands with the isthmus of panama as the narrow neck of land. When the original books were written, there wasnt a word for whales, but when the angel moroni translated, he used the nowexistant word. Farms is the main distributor of the lds apologetic writings of dr. Some argue that little scientific evidence has been found supporting the existence of these fauna and flora during book of mormon times on the american continent, where the book of mormon took place. So, given the rarity of hun horse remains, we should not be disturbed if so far we do not have incontrovertable evidence of nephite horses. Sjodahl note that weapons of steel were even found in ancient tombs in egypt. Discussion regarding the historicity of the book of mormon often focuses on archaeological issues, some of which relate to the large size and the long time span of the civilizations mentioned in the book. 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.
Miracles behind this months church magazine cover art emily abel church magazines are full of accounts of the lord guiding hearts and. Horses are mentioned only on a few occasions in the book of mormon the last mention is around the time of christ. Recently, however, farms began a project to date the horse remains that were. He is also associate professor of history at brigham young university, where he teaches american religious history. Many critics ridicule the mention of horses in the book of mormon, for it is. Mormon challenges are anachronisms in the book of mormon. He was an ignorant farm boy who knew nothing about mesoamerica, so he. So it seems that the book of mormon isnt loanshifting. Edited by grant hardy, the maxwell institute study edition mise incorporates important advances in book of mormon scholarship from the past few decades while grounding the readers experience in the text of the book of mormon. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, mormon archaeologists have attempted. The book of mormon mentions horses a few times, even though were. According to joseph smith, the book of mormon was originally engraved on golden plates, which he received in 1827 from an angel named moroni, whom smith identified as a resurrected former inhabitant of the american continent. Farms scholar robert bennett argues the following to deal with this.
There are many other anachronistic plants and animals present in the book of mormon, such as wheat, cattle, ox, sheep, elephant and the ass. Some people believe that references to horses are out of place since it is widely believed that they were extinct long before book of mormon times. They then examine the individual animals mentioned in the book of mormon. He graduated summa cum laude from byu and received masters and doctoral degrees in history from the university of wisconsinmadison. Farms also produces the journal of book of mormon studies. Civilizations of their magnitude and duration would be expected to leave extensive archaeological records. The book of mormon does not mention horses pulling chariots. Today, however, scholars realize that the camel continued to be used in egypt from prehistoric to present times. Why are horses mentioned in the book of mormon lds living. That leaves 11 times that the book of mormon claims that horses existed in the new world. From time to time, i get an email from george potter. The book of mormon mentions several animals, plants, and technologies that are. Solomon spalding, in manuscript story, mentions horses in connection with the.
Long after the book of mormon was published, they found that various combinations of iron and steel existed near jerusalem as early as 600 b. Mormon challenges are precolumbian horses in book of. Horses are mentioned in eight different book of mormon episodes that involve. And it came to pass that the people of nephi did till the land, and raise all. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Readers can interpret the presence of horses in the book of mormon in a variety of different ways.
The most problematic is the portrayal of horses in the americas in the book of mormon, where they appear frequently prior to the age of exploration 1 nephi 18. Animals in the book of mormon challenges and perspectives wade e. In time, however, scientific discoveries showed that species of horses, asses. As enos describes nephite life in his day fifth century bc, he says that they raised many horses. Logan utah herald journal october 10, 2004 all in all, southerton should probably be thanked for a book which, though overtly antimormon, brings to the attention of many church members for the first time some topics that have been a focus of interest among scientists. One of the more obvious anachronisms contained in the book of mormon is the presence of horses. Errors of kirk magleby true book of mormon geography. Eugene england of byu has said that nibley is the finest scholarly defender of our lds faith in our time. Book of mormonanachronismsanimalshorsesloanshifting. Still, several items mentioned in the book of mormon once considered anachronistic have since been verified. 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. In fact, book of mormon horses are never mentioned in a combat. The book of mormon mentions many animals and plants.
Apologetics press the book of mormon and the ancient. Horses are mentioned in eight different book of mormon episodes that involve an ancient new world setting. According to mcconkie and millet, a just man is one that has. Of course, archaelogical and anthropological research shows us that the western horse went extinct thousands of years before the time of the alleged. Appealing to those horses does not support the book of mormon because the pleistocene ended long before the earliest parts of the book of mormon. Why does the book of mormon mention horses when there were. Pratts view dominated mormon thinking until the middle twentieth century kirk magleby, book of mormon lands 18301985, august 27, 2011. 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. Anachronisms, or out of place items, have long been a subject of controversy with the book of mormon. Many critics ridicule the mention of horses in the book of mormon, for it is widely assumed that horses were not known to man in the americas prior to contact with europeans. The book of mormon has a few different mentions of horses in different verses, but horses in the book of mormon arent used in the way we understand horses to be used. In light of this view, latterday saints have approached this question in one of two ways.
However, researchers have found some anomalous remains that do appear to show that there were horses prior to the spanish conquestboth closer to and after book of mormon times. 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. Book of mormon horses do not function anything like nineteenthcentury farm or field horses, nor are they utilized by either the nephites or lamanites as were the horses belonging to the farmers, explorers, or native americans in joseph smiths milieu. While the book of mormon mentions horses, nothing in the text indicates that their importance approached anywhere near that of horses in hun society. Maxwell institute for religious scholarship has recently published a new study edition of the book of mormon. 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.
Moreover, archaeological evidence for the presence of the horse in the precolumbian americas is presently scant and inconclusive. 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. Richard criddle, active lds, retired professor of biochemistry and biophysics says, faithful should relish findings. The book of mormon is allegedly about a lost tribe of israel that made it to north america and lived with the indians here. Smith claimed to translate the original text of the plates into english. The foundation for ancient research and mormon studies farms was an informal collaboration of academics devoted to latterday saint historical scholarship. A related discussion is in my post, update on horses in the book of mormon, mormanity blog, feb. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies byuorg. Each possible explanation also teaches important lessons about archaeology, ancient. Scientists, historians, and other scholars have long maintained the view that there were no horses in the americas during book of mormon times.
The book of mormon never mentions horses pulling chariots or being ridden. The matter is much too complicated to be treated here, but in that area it has been possible to show that the book of mormons statements about customs, the rise of cities, wars, climate, distances, directions, and so on, fit nicely at point after point with the most uptodate findings about mesoamerican culture history. 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. Ludlow, scribes and scriptures, in studies in scripture. Anthropologists are in nearuniversal agreement that horses had become extinct in the americas until european explorers reintroduced them to the continent. Although historians and archaeologists consider the book to be an anachronistic invention of joseph smith, many members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church and other denominations of the latter day saint movement believe that it.
Have precolumbian horses been discovered in america. 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. Its been some time since we talked about alternative book of mormon geography theories. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies wikipedia. Since the book of mormon text mentions horses rarely, the likelihood of finding bones or other remains of their horses becomes even more remote. 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. Horses were reintroduced to the americas caribbean by christopher. The foundation for ancient research and mormon studies functions as a research and publication center that focuses on scholarly analysis of the book of mormon, the book of abraham, the old testament, the new testament, early christian history, and ancient temples. Several latterday saints over the years have attempted to examine. There are three possible ways to approach this puzzle, dealing with archaeology, ancient cultural practices, and difficulties in translation. Some researchers have suggested that references to horses in the book of mormon could refer to other animals in the land of promise that had characteristics that in certain ways resembled those of the horse or the ass.
Horses are claimed most often as livestock and work horses, but never mentioned as riding animals. In alma there is a reference to horses, however there were no horses in the americas before columbus got here in 1492. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, mormon archaeologists have attempted to find archaeological evidence to support it. Assuming that they were present in order to pull the chariots must be extrapolated. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. For reference, the following are the horse verses from the book of mormon. New evidence for horses in america book of mormon central. I heard him speak a few years ago on research he has done in yemen. In 1997, the group became a formal part of brigham young university byu, which is owned and operated by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church. Anachronisms in the book of mormon religious studies center. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi, who claimed that it had been. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to adherents, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. Miller and matthew roper w hen the book of mormon first appeared, skeptics said that references to horses, asses, elephants, and other animals such as swine and cows were out of place.