Book of mormon horses

There are many other anachronistic plants and animals. 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. Therefore, the horses referenced in the book of mormon text seem plausible, although it is interesting to note that horses are not mentioned in the book of mormon after the time of christ 3 ne. Shields the book of mormon the problem of the horse dr. Horses in the book of mormon lds scripture teachings. To me the whole horse, elephant issue is just an excuse to dismiss the book of mormon. The question of horses in the book of mormon meridian magazine. Mormon challenges are precolumbian horses in book of. Includes every geographical place mentioned in the book of mormon. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading science and the book of mormon. For instance, the mormon scriptures contain references to a sevenday week, domesticated horses, cows and sheep, silk, chariots and steel. Horses in america and book of mormon recovery from. Additionally, the book of mormon never says that horses were ridden or used in battle.

Linguistic data suggest that book of mormon horse need not refer to equus, but could indicate some other quadruped suitable for human riding, as mesoamerican art suggests sorenson, 1985, p. An entire book of essays deals with the contact between the maya and teotihuacan, the maya and teotihuacan, reinterpreting early classic interaction, edited by geoffery e. Horses are mentioned only on a few occasions in the book of mormon the last mention is around the time of christ. The book of mormon does not claim that horses were universally known in the americas throughout precolumbian history. There are a small number of mentions in the book of mormon of horses. The tapir whisperer daniel peterson farms byu book. My response was essentially that i did not know why we have not discovered horses in the americas prior to columbus. Hard evidence of ancient american horses byu studies. And noone can confuse a deer with a horse of course. Though wheeled vehicles are still unattested throughout precolumbian america, archaeology currently shows that some mesoamerican peoples did understand the concept.

The book of mormon, however, never says horses were ridden a curious thing if joseph was the author of the book of mormon or that they. Therefore, horses were long gone and extinct prior to the book of mormon people arriving on the american continent. Many people who believe in the mesoamerican theory try very hard to explain why horses are mentioned in the book of mormon, when they. So much for the fourthgrade idea that eastern woodland indians always walked and that the first horses came to the plains tribes, who acquired them in. Notice the horse in this lds depiction of the stripling warriors from the book of mormon. 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. 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. Those pesky book of mormon horses and elephants page 2. Precolumbian american horses and the book of mormon beggar. There are five incidences where horses are mentioned in the book of mormon, and are portrayed as being in the forest upon first arrival. 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 word horse or horses appears 14 times in the book of mormon. The articles linked below will describe the various theories and examine the strengths and weaknesses of. Then science found that they actually evolved on the north american continent.

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. The scientific legacy of a quest to prove the book of mormon. Another scholar pointed out several possibilities for mentions of horses. 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 1 nephi 18. There is no evidence that horses existed on the american continent during the 2,5003,000 year history of the book of mormon 2500 bcad 400. Book of mormon, priscilla, sister act, war horse, good people. 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. The suggestion of horses and chariots in precolumbian america has long been an easy target for critics of the 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. Jun, 2011 the book of mormon, the profane, comic, heartfelt musical about earnest religious missionaries, and war horse, a puppetdriven tale of an english boy following his beloved horse into world war i. Three of these are prophetic in nature and not claims of their existence.

One of the more obvious anachronisms contained in the book of mormon is the presence of horses. Book of mormon scholars concede that there is no evidence of the existence of the horse in the new world during the specified book of mormon time period, although some hint at some future supporting evidence yet to appear, or the possible development of dated references. The book of mormon never mentions horses pulling chariots or being ridden a few things to keep in mind. The problem of the horse and other domestic animals. A tantalizing but rarely mentioned sidenote is that the horse remains in some caves were found alongside potsherds and other manmade artifacts. War horse, book of mormon, anything goes, normal heart win. What is the nature and use of chariots in the book of mormon. Apr 11, 2016 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.

While the book of mormon mentions horses, nothing in the text indicates that their importance approached anywhere near that of horses in hun society. Scientists, historians, and other scholars have long maintained the view that there were no horses in the americas during book of mormon times. Horses are mentioned in eight different book of mormon episodes that involve an ancient new world setting. The book of mormon makes clear that both jaredites and nephites who lived in ancient times on this continent had domestic animals of various kinds. The book of mormon often uses archaic forms of words, and the archaic chariot is char, which could refer to any number of things, most likely some kind of cart. They were not to be seen again in the americas until 1519. There is no evidence that horses existed on the american continent during the 25003000 year history of the book of mormon 2500 b. Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations. Besides, the word wheat is only mentioned once in the book of. Archaeologists have not found evidence of any horses and elephants that date to bom times therefore the bom is wrong. 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. Book of mormon, priscilla, sister act, war horse, good.

Radiocarbon dating put horse bones in the americas around 500 bc, in nephite times. Sep, 2020 therefore, horses were long gone and extinct prior to the book of mormon people arriving on the american continent. On a night when the hilariously profane the book of mormon reigned supreme, the famously troubled spiderman. Anachronisms, or out of place items, have long been a subject of controversy with the book of mormon. A complete description of the book of mormon geography bomgeography, including an internal map model, external map model i. Because these bones are not fossilized, there is a limit to how old they might be. Horses evolved in north america but are believed to have become extinct on the american continent at the end of the pleistocene. 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, cattle, oxen, sheep, swine, goats, elephants, wheels, chariots, wheat, silk, steel, and iron did not exist in precolumbian. The book of mormon speaks of horses used by book of mormon peoples, and yet there is. Horses in the book of mormon book of mormon mormon. Chronologically the first mention is in jaredite times. Jul 16, 2019 the topic of horses in the book of mormon s depiction of the ancient new world is undoubtedly a controversial one. Log in or sign up to leave a comment log in sign up. 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. New evidence for horses in america book of mormon central. It bothers me when we have women speak who are wives of leaders instead of having women who are leaders speak. Anachronisms, or out of place items, have long been a subject of contro.

Indigenous horses book of mormon archaeological forum horse bones, curly horse, mesoamerican. Horses and the book of mormon why the lds church is true. If horses existed in ancient mesoamerica during the book of mormon time period, then despite the fact that ancient mesoamericans depicted many animals in art and ideology, they never depicted a horse or included the horse in any of their mythology. 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. To clarify i have no problem with wives speaking, but if they speak instead of the actual women leaders it shows that being a wife to a male leader means mor.

Hard evidence of ancient american horses book of mormon. 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. Feb 05, 2020 for years i have had critics approach me with the accusation that the book of mormon references to horses are anachronistic. The greater portion both of the entire skeletons or extinct animals, and the separate bones, have been taken up from black mud, about twelve feet below the level of the creek. Braswell, which is appropriate to my particular point. Wheat is native to america, and native americans commonly used it for food, specifically the amaranth plant. 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. Horses in america and book of mormon recovery from mormonism. From time to time, apparently ancient horse teeth or bones had been found in north america, but they were usually. Additionally, the book of mormon never says that horses. The book of mormon mentions horses a few times, even though were not in the americas before the spanish arrived, according to current. Some of the anachronistic animals found in the book of mormon include horses, cattle, oxen, donkeys, goats, wild goats, sheep, swine and elephants see 1 nephi 18.

Assuming that they were present in order to pull the chariots must be extrapolated. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand. The church has been neutral when it comes to issues relating to book of mormon geography, as is fairmormon. The assertion that the lamanites for whatever reason, stopped using horses and domesticated animals after they destroyed the nephites and that now we cant find evidence of such is the same as the unsupportable assertion if america and south america went into war with domesticated animals and knowledge of the wheel, that the victor would. Just posting some links to recent stuff on horses in america.

Rather, they were known only to some peoples before the time of christ in a few limited regions of the new world. Research is honing in on the time horses finally went extinct. Jun 16, 2009 the tapir was a key source of transportation and, thus, commerce in book of mormon times. Mormons generally leave science to the scientists to figure out and focus instead on faith. 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. Book of mormon horses in ancient north america book of.

The classic example is, of course, the hippopotamus, which name the greeks gave to an animal they called a river potamus horse hippo. The issue of the words horse and horses in the book of mormon is summarized succinctly by sidney sperry, a devout member of the church of jesus christ. Book of mormon mention of horses in precolumbian america has drawn much criticism, and no definitive answer to this question is at present available. Those who believe in this unique book of scripture have been hardpressed to defend this aspect of the record and some may have wavered in their faith while trying to circumnavigate this stumbling block. Horses true book of mormon geography lands western new. Any casual student of archaeology knows scientists frequently find animals alive that were previously believed to be extinct. Ed a horse is a horse created by bat james a horse is a horse of course, of course. A scientist looks at book of mormon anachronisms the. Why havent archaeologists found ancient horse bones in the lands of the book of mormon. There is a documented report from a french baron fighting the iroquois in 1687 near rochester, new york, that reads, in all these villages, we found plenty of horses, black cattle, fowl and hogs.

In the book of mormon, however, chariots are referenced little, and never in a battle context, making it hard to be certain about their nature. If this bs qualifies as an explanation with you, then you are a real 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. Bennett stated that as a comparison, the famed horses of the huns did not. Anachronisms in the book of mormon are just semantics. 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. Horses evolved in north america, but became extinct at the end of the pleistocene.

Of course, archaelogical and anthropological research shows us that the western horse went extinct thousands of years before the time of the alleged. The anachronism of horses in the book of mormon as an indication. The book of mormon never mentions horses pulling chariots or being ridden. For years i have had critics approach me with the accusation that the book of mormon references to horses are anachronistic. We know from the account of lamoni traveling by horse drawn carriage, that dignitaries relied on them to travel within and amongst their subkingdoms. Jun 21, 2016 the word chariot conjures up images of horse drawn war vehicles. 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. The book of mormon does not mention horses pulling chariots. Those pesky book of mormon horses and elephants page.

Book of mormon wins big at the tony awards fox news. Jan 29, 2018 one of the most persistent questions about the book of mormon has been the mention of horses among the nephites, lamanites, and jaredites. This site can be used as a study guide to help understand the book of mormon. If it had been written according to the knowledge of the day, horses would not have appeared within its pages at all. Several latterday saints over the years have attempted. Precolumbian american horses and the book of mormon. Apr 25, 2011 news book of mormon, priscilla, sister act, war horse, good people and more are drama league nominees. 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.

That leaves 11 times that the book of mormon claims that horses existed in the new world. At first glance, its a simple case for rejecting the book. Ancient horses and the book of mormon 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. This paper is based on a talk and powerpoint presentation given to the book of mormon lands conference, 20 october 2007.

Indigenous horses book of mormon archaeological forum. Others believe that the word horse in the book of mormon does not refer to members of the genus equus but instead to other animals such as deer or tapirs. Horses in america this was absurd to many who falsely assumed that horses were brought here. Horses possibly existed among the nephites but were not mentioned later in the limited commentary of 3 nephi. Jun 12, 2011 the profane and hysterical the book of mormon took home nine tony awards on sunday including the prize for best musical, a considerable achievement for a pair of firsttime broadway playwrights.