One of the most persistent questions about the book of mormon has been the mention of horses among the nephites, lamanites, and jaredites. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, mormon archaeologists have attempted. 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. Hard evidence of ancient american horses byu studies. Horses were present but their remains have not been found. Radiocarbon dating of the remains places them between 1625 and 1705. While science can gather evidence and make some logical models for history, it is illogical to.
The book of mormon also doesnt mention wheels except when quoting the bible so we can assume the lehites didnt use them. Moreover, archaeological evidence for the presence of the horse in the precolumbian americas is presently scant and inconclusive. Horses are only mentioned once during the nearly two. At first glance, its a simple case for rejecting the book. Sorenson, an ancient american setting for the book of mormon salt lake city, ut.
There are five incidences where horses are mentioned in the book of mormon, and are portrayed as being in the forest upon first. Scientists, historians, and other scholars have long maintained the view that there were no horses in the americas during book of mormon times. As enos describes nephite life in his day fifth century bc, he says that they raised many horses. The horses of the book of mormon are never mentioned for use as riding animals, but either as livestock or working animals. In fact, in many cultures and on various topographies, horses are. The nephites being in one body, and having so great a number, and having reserved for themselves provisions, and horses.
One is that the horses may not have been horses as we know them. Horses are mentioned in eight different book of mormon episodes that involve an ancient new world setting. 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 upkeep of horses as beasts of burden would be an economic drain, since the feeding of the horses requires the sacrifice of large portions of maize. The book of mormon is allegedly about a lost tribe of israel that made it to north america and lived with the indians here. The book of mormon speaks of horses used by book of mormon peoples, and yet there is no proof of such a thing. In fact, the last mentions of horses indicates that they were plentiful. We do not have time machines to go back and see for sure what really existed. 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.
The remains of both horses and donkeys have been found in carlsbad, california which predate spanish colonization. Some mormon apologists believe the horses of the book of mormon could have been tapirs. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The chariots mentioned in the book of mormon may not have had wheels because a nonreformedegyptian word refers to a saddle or boat. Since horses were supposedly extinct in the americas during book of mormon times, the mention of horses is seen to be anachronistic. Indeed, needing to say that they were useful on some occasions seems to imply something remarkable or unusual, otherwise the point would not need to be mentioned. Image via book of mormon central, featuring horses running by tns sofres on flikr why are horses mentioned in the book of mormon.
Even if one assumes that the true horse equus equus was absent from the americas during book of mormon times, it remains possible that the term horse in the book of mormonwhich, by the way, does not occur very often, and even then in rather puzzling contextsrefers simply to deer or tapirs or similar quadrupeds thought by the nephites to be analogous to the horse. Skeptics pick out a handful of things that are mentioned in the book of mormon which they say did not really exist in ancient america. Many people who believe in the mesoamerican theory try very hard to explain why horses are mentioned in the book of mormon, when they. If the book of mormon horse is really a tapir, then tapirs were domesticated only by one small group of people, never to be replicated by anyone else, despite sharing. There are five incidences where horses are mentioned in the book of mormon, and are portrayed as being in the forest upon first arrival. There are at least two possible resolutions to the horse problem in the book of mormon. The book of mormon mentions that horses were known and used by the jaredites and the people of lehi.
Its purpose is to verify the divine sonship of the nazarene to those who ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in christ. 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. Horses and the book of mormon why the lds church is true. Wheels that existed in toys dating wildly between 200 and 1250 ce may be a remnant of the ancient technological application of wheels in horse drawn wheeledchariot warfare. Why does the book of mormon mention horses when there were. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand. In alma there is a reference to horses, however there were no horses in the americas before columbus got here in 1492. Horses are mentioned numerous times throughout the book of mormon. There are three possible ways to approach this puzzle, dealing with archaeology, ancient cultural practices, and difficulties in. 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 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. The most flagrant errors in the book of mormon are its anachronisms. In approaching the issue of the horse and the book of mormon, please consider the general note on plants and animals above. One of the more obvious anachronisms contained in the book of mormon is the presence of horses. The book of mormon was preserved to come forth in these latter days to convince the jew and gentile that jesus is the christ, the eternal god. Book of mormon chariots, like horses, are never mentioned in a combat narrative. Horses continuing with the last post regarding horses not being found in the western hemisphere at the coming of the spaniards, we need to recognize the nephite horse and how it was used by them and what happened after the lamanites annihilated their civilization. The anachronism of horses in the book of mormon as an. There are a small number of mentions in the book of mormon of horses. Horses are mentioned only on a few occasions in the book of mormon the last mention is around the time of christ horses are mentioned once. The last mention of horses is roughly ad 26, well before most known surviving writing or artifacts in mesoamerica, so readers do not need to look for horses from any date later than this. The book of mormon mentions horses, yet these animals seem not to have been known to native americans who greeted the spaniards upon their arrival in the new world in the sixteenth century. Horses in the book of mormon book of mormon mormon. This paper is based on a talk and powerpoint presentation given to the book of mormon lands conference, 20 october 2007.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading science and the book of mormon. Why are these things mentioned in the book of mormon as being made available in the americas between 2200 bc 421 ad. 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, fed, prepared in conjunction with chariots, used for food, and being useful unto man. Thus, they claim the term cattle may refer to mountain goats. 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. Just another of the many swords that are mentioned in the book of mormon at a time and place where swords did not exist. If joseph was sponging information from his nineteenth century environment or. Why are these things mentioned if scientists say they didnt exist in america. These remains were tentatively referred to equus tau by r. 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. How they were used, when, and by whom, is left unsaid. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand ended up losing his faith.
The anachronism of horses in the book of mormon as an indication of its historicity contents of all bmaf publications are the sole responsibility of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of bmaf, book of mormon central, or the church of. 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. Below is one way scholars explain horses in mesoamerica. Perhaps the most straightforward approach is to assume that horses, which subsequently became extinct. Cureloms and cumoms are perhaps the most intriguing beasts mentioned in the book of mormon because they are unfamiliar names. Readers can interpret the presence of horses in the book of mormon in a variety of different ways. Horses are mentioned once, in moronis retelling of the record of ether, as one of the animals that were useful unto man among jaredites during the reign of emer ether 9. Horses and steel are mentioned in the book of mormon, but didnt actually exist in the area and time period that the book of mormon took place. More metal swords, cimeters, and breastplates, none of which has ever been found. If the horse existed in mesoamerica since jaredite times, then it left no trace of the sort of social evolutionary impact that we see in other cultures that possessed the horse.
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. New evidence for horses in america book of mormon central. Critics of the book of mormon point to an apparent lack of horses in surviving writings, art, and artifacts from ancient america. Horses in the book of mormon sign in to follow this. 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. But, now the lds church is saying the horse referred to in the book of mormon is probably a tapir or deer like animal known in central and south america, as is noted in an article from the fairlds site horses in the book of mormon by mike ash. Also see the farms report on horses in the book of mormon and ted dee stoddards excellent article at. 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. We have seen pictures of elephants, horses and asses and so when we read the word, we form a picture in our minds. It makes much more sense that the horses were raised as food. Horses are mentioned 14 times in the book of mormon e. Chronologically the first mention is in jaredite times. For reference, the following are the horse verses from the book of mormon.
Gain a deeper understanding about this topic by learning what the text actually says, what the archaeological record shows, how ancient people labeled unfamiliar animals, and how the translation process might have happened. Thus, the mention of horses in the americas during book of mormon times presents an anachronismsomething that doesnt fit the time frame for which it is claimed. Why horses are mentioned in the book of mormon is unstated. For example, book of mormon references to horses suggest that they may have been uncommon or rare, being limited only to certain regions during specific periods of book of mormon history. Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations.
But horses and wheeled transportation didnt exist in the precolumbian new world. Some mormon apologists believe that the term cattle, as used in the book of mormon is more general and does not exclusively mean members of the genus bos. Any casual student of archaeology knows scientists frequently find animals alive that were previously believed to be extinct. In fact, horses went extinct in the americas thousands of years before they show up in the book of mormon.
Many people who believe in the mesoamerican theory try very hard to explain why horses are mentioned in the book of mormon, when they cant show horses anciently in mesoamerica. Horses are mentioned only on a few occasions in the book of mormon the last mention is around the time of christ. The events in the book are said to have occurred in the americas from about 2500 bce to 400 ce, but many things are mentioned which did not exist in the americas at that time. And it came to pass that the people of nephi did till the land, and raise all. 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. Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures. Ash suggests several possibilities for the mention of horses. Why are horses mentioned in the book of mormon lds living.