Book of Mormon Anachronisms
CES Letter Core Question
Why do we see Anachronisms in the Book of Mormon?
Horses, cattle, oxen, sheep, swine, goats, elephants, wheels, chariots, wheat, silk, steel, and iron did not exist in pre-Columbian America during Book of Mormon times. Why are these things mentioned in the Book of Mormon as being made available in the Americas between 2200 BC - 421 AD?
Unofficial apologists claim victories in some of these items but closer inspection reveals significant problems. It has been documented that apologists have manipulated wording so that steel is not steel, sheep become never-domesticated bighorn sheep, horses become tapirs, etc.
CES Letter, Page 11
The Letter to a CES Director make claims of anachronisms. An anachronism is "a thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which it exists." However, such claims ignore valid contradictory evidences in every case and the fact that language translation may make literal interpretations impossible. Also, many things existed in ancient America that have yet to be discovered. The most common charges include the following (click on item for more information):
FAIRMORMON LINKS TO RESPONSES TO THE LETTER TO A CES DIRECTOR'S CHARGES OF BOOK OF MORMON ANACHRONISMS
- Response to claim: "Horses...did not exist in pre-Columbian America during Book of Mormon times"
- Response to claim: "cattle...did not exist in pre-Columbian America during Book of Mormon times"
- Response to claim: "FairMormon considers a tapir to satisfy this requirement, I’m sorry but that just won’t work. Tapirs do not pull chariots. Especially chariots without wheels"
- Response to claim: "sheep...did not exist in pre-Columbian America during Book of Mormon times"
- Response to claim: "swine...did not exist in pre-Columbian America during Book of Mormon times"
- Response to claim: "goats...did not exist in pre-Columbian America during Book of Mormon times"
- Response to claim: "elephants...did not exist in pre-Columbian America during Book of Mormon times"
- Response to claim: "chariots...did not exist in pre-Columbian America during Book of Mormon times"
- Response to claim: "wheat...did not exist in pre-Columbian America during Book of Mormon times"
- Response to claim: "silk...did not exist in pre-Columbian America during Book of Mormon times"
- Response to claim: "steel...did not exist in pre-Columbian America during Book of Mormon times"
- Response to claim: "iron did not exist in pre-Columbian America during Book of Mormon times"
See:
FAIRMORMON: Book of Mormon Anachronisms
Additional Resources:
Book of Mormon Anachronisms Part 1: Fauna (Animals) (PDF) by Michael Ash
Book of Mormon Anachronisms Part 2: Flora (Plants) and Textiles (PDF) by Michael Ash
Book of Mormon Anachronisms Part 3: Warfare (PDF) by Michael Ash
Book of Mormon Anachronisms Part 4: Metals and Metallurgy (PDF) by Michael Ash
Book of Mormon Anachronisms Part 6: Compass, Coins, and Other Miscellaneous (PDF) by Michael Ash
Horses in the Book of Mormon by Michael Ash
Steel in the Book of Mormon by William Hamblin
Armor in the Book of Mormon by William J. Hamblin
Metals of the Book of Mormon – by Wm. Revell Phillips
Out of the Dust: Steel in Early Metallurgy – by John L. Sorenson
Possible “Silk” and “Linen” in the Book of Mormon by John L. Sorenson
Prophets, Kings, and Swords: The Sword of Laban and Its Possible Pre-Laban Origin – by Daniel N. Rolph
Swords and “Cimeters” in the Book of Mormon – by Matthew Roper
Swords in the Book of Mormon by William J. Hamblin, A. Brent Merrill
The Bow and Arrow in the Book of Mormon by William J. Hamblin
A Scientist Looks at Book of Mormon Anachronisms, Neal Rappleye
Right on Target: Boomerang Hits and the Book of Mormon (2001 FAIR Conference) by Matthew Roper
Science and the Book of Mormon (2009 FAIR Conference) by Wade E. Miller
A Social History of the Early Nephites (2001 FAIR Conference) by Brant Gardner
FAIR Issues 42: Dismissing Book of Mormon Geography Inaccuracies, Michael R. Ash, 0:07:22
FAIR Issues 55: Do Nephite Names find a “Home” in Middle East, Michael R. Ash, 0:07:54
Faith and Reason 11: Book of Mormon Politics Unlike Joseph Smith’s, Michael R. Ash, 0:08:52
Faith and Reason 19: Deseret and Bees, Michael R. Ash, 0:05:09
Faith and Reason 20: “Without a Cause”, Michael R. Ash, 0:04:35
Mormon FAIR-Cast 109: Response to criticisms of the Book of Mormon, Martin Tanner, 0:19:50
Ammon and the Mesoamerican Custom of Smiting off Arms
Barley and Wheat in the Ancient New World
Battles and The Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon 2 Why Anachronisms
Book of Mormon 3 Pre Columbian Horses
Book of Mormon 4 Elephants in America
Book of Mormon 7 Brass Iron and Steel
Book of Mormon 9 No Pre Columbian Wheels
Don’t Experts Say There is No Evidence of Silk or Linen in Ancient America
Horses, chariots, and elephants in the Book of Mormon
Iron Ore – Book of Mormon Evidence
Metal and Metallurgy – The Mines of Timna – Book of Mormon Evidence
Metals and Golden Plates in Mesoamerica, Daniel Johnsons 2010 BMAF lecture
New Evidence for Pre-Columbian Horses
pt 15, silk and archaeology in The Book of Mormon, credits
pt 2 Coins, (full-length) rebuttal of an anti-Mormon
pt 3, Metals (full-length) rebuttal of an anti-Mormon
pt 4 Grains, (full-length) rebuttal of an anti-Mormon