Horses in the book of mormon

Horses and the book of mormon why the lds church is true. Writers explained that they wished to have used hebrew, because the book would then contain fewer errors. I envision an a answer being something along the lines of. 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. Hard evidence of ancient american horses book of mormon. I was hoping to be at the fair conference this week but work had other plans. The suggestion of horses and chariots in precolumbian america has long been an easy target for critics of the book of mormon. Mormon challenges are precolumbian horses in book of.

There are a small number of mentions in the book of mormon of horses. 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. Cureloms and cumoms are perhaps the most intriguing beasts mentioned in the book of mormon because they are unfamiliar names. Horses in the book of mormon lds scripture teachings. 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. We have seen pictures of elephants, horses and asses and so. Book of mormon verses containing the reference to horses. 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. 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. Horses are mentioned only on a few occasions in the book of mormon the last mention is around the time of christ.

Bennett suggests that the word horse in the book of mormon may have referred to a different animal. Scientists, historians, and other scholars have long maintained the view that there were no horses in the americas during book of mormon times. Nephi mentions wild horses among animals found on arrival in the promised land 1 nephi 18. Horses are mentioned once, in moronis retelling of the record of ether. This paper is based on a talk and powerpoint presentation given to the book of mormon lands conference, 20 october 2007. There are three possible ways to approach this puzzle, dealing with archaeology, ancient cultural practices, and difficulties in translation. Some of the animals that once lived in the americas. There are at least two possible resolutions to the horse problem 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. Others believe that the word horse in the book of mormon does not refer to. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading science and the book of mormon. One of the more obvious anachronisms contained in the book of mormon is the presence of horses. My guess is that the session was based upon his and steve jones work on dating horse bones that was published in th. Below is one way scholars explain horses in mesoamerica.

Feb 05, 2018 one of the toughest challenges for the book of mormon is the issue of horses. Critics argue that the archaeological record suggests that all elephantlike creatures became extinct in the new world around 10,000 bc. Update on horses in the book of mormon mormanity a mormon. There does not appear to be archeological proof for their existence in the new world during. Horses are mentioned in eight different book of mormon episodes that involve an ancient new world setting. Most scientists believe that the horse originated in the americas and spread across land. 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. 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. Why are horses mentioned in the book of mormon lds living. My friends and i would always just replied with but there were horses bc the.

Scholars go over evidence and discuss horses found in precolumbian times, chariots, and elephants. There is no evidence that horses existed on the american. Let me sum up the argument we got nothing other than assuming joseph smith meant tapir when he translated horse, because the urum and thummim or rock in a hat or whatever the hell he was using to translate at the time couldnt tell a horse from a deer or a tapir. Ash suggests several possibilities for the mention of horses. For example, book of mormon references to horses suggest that they may have been uncommon or rare.

One should be aware of these possibilities while reading references to horses and other plants and animals not commonly thought to be in the americas during book of mormon times. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. 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. 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. The claims made by the book of mormon mention specific tools, technologies, crops, and animals that simply didnt exist in those regions at the times stated. Horses in the book of mormon general discussions mormon. Nov 01, 2008 isnt the lds church using double speak and confusion regarding hoses in the book of mormon. 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. Apr 28, 2018 one should be aware of these possibilities while reading references to horses and other plants and animals not commonly thought to be in the americas during book of mormon times. 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.

Elephants are mentioned twice in the earliest book of mormon record, the book of ether. Anachronisms in the book of mormon religious studies center. At first glance, its a simple case for rejecting the book. Horses, cattle, oxen, sheep, swine, goats, elephants, wheels, chariots, wheat, silk, steel, and iron did not exist in precolumbian. Top 10 embarrassments of the mormon religion listverse. May 26, 2018 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. Many people who believe in the mesoamerican theory try very hard to explain why horses are mentioned in the book of mormon, when they. 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. This sounds like a good essay question for the economic development of book of mormon peoples course at byu. The question of horses in the book of mormon meridian magazine. 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 pulled chariots. The following is a partial rebuttal to the antimormon video bible vs. Jul 16, 2019 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.

The king james quotations in the book of mormon, the history of the text of the book of mormon. I was reading about horses in the book of mormon at the farms mormon apologetics group website today. What is the nature and use of chariots in the book of mormon. Why horses are mentioned in the book of mormon is unstated. 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. Ancient horses and the book of mormon the contents of all bmaf publications are the sole responsibility of the individual authors and therefore do not necessarily represent the views of bmaf or the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. They need to read the book of mormon again enos 1 21 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 flocks of all manner of cattle of every kind, and goats, and wild goats, and also many horses.

The book of mormon mentions that horses were known and used by the jaredites and the people of lehi. Horses evolved in north america, but are believed to have become extinct on the american. You have relatively few mentions of horses, but there are some, and we dont know exactly how they were used. Notice the horse in this lds depiction of the stripling warriors from the book of mormon. In many cases, the borrowed term has become the common name. 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 animals1 nephi 18. Horses in the book of mormon book of mormon mormon. For example, horses, cattle, sheep, and swine werent roaming between 2500 bc and 400 ad, as claimed. One of the toughest challenges for the book of mormon is the issue of horses. The nephites being in one body, and having so great a number, and having reserved for themselves provisions, and horses and cattle, and flocks of every. 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.

Mentioned in ether, mastodons and mammoths lived in north america during the pleistocene era, yet became extinct on this continent towards the. In fact, the last mentions of horses indicates that they were plentiful. Horses were present but their remains have not been found. The book of mormon was written in a language referred to as reformed egyptian.

Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations. If the book of mormon truly is an ancient history of america, we can search the book of mormon, then search archaeology to discover if the book of mormon is accurate. The book of mormon speaks of horses used by book of mormon peoples, and yet there is no proof of such a thing. Horses in the book of mormon book of mormon archaeological.

First, the lds church answers critics who say joseph smith plagiarized from the king james bible, by saying joseph smith translated in the language of the day so people could clearly understand the book of mormon. Ancient horses and the book of mormon book of mormon. One is that the horses may not have been horses as we know them. The session i was most intrigued by was wade millers this morning on horses. Further work needs to be done to better understand what horses in the book of mormon actually refers to and how they were used. 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.

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. 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. The tapir was a key source of transportation and, thus, commerce in book of mormon times. If anything, though, the occurrence of the horses in the book of mormon. Feb 05, 2008 the following is a partial rebuttal to the anti mormon video bible vs. 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. Definitions of the word horse were expanded to include new meanings. Each possible explanation also teaches important lessons about archaeology, ancient writings, and the. The book of mormons horses werent actually equus ferus caballus, horses in the precise modern sense, but some other animal e. 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. May 06, 2011 if the book of mormon truly is an ancient history of america, we can search the book of mormon, then search archaeology to discover if the book of mormon is accurate. Another approach to this question suggests that the word horse in the book of mormon is being used to refer to a different animal. Horses in america this is one issue that i knew was fishy as a tbm although it never bothered me enough to get me out. There is no evidence that horses existed on the american continent during the timeframe of the book of mormon.

Ammon made ready the horses and the chariots, in accordance with king lamonis command that his. In fact, book of mormon horses are never mentioned in a combat narrative. 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. The book of mormon never claims that the horse was universally known or used in the new world. 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. Readers can interpret the presence of horses in the book of mormon in a variety of different ways. Horse remains have been found in california which radiocarbon date before the spanish arrival to the area. Hard evidence of ancient american horses byu studies. Horses true book of mormon geography lands western new. We have seen pictures of elephants, horses and asses and so when we read the word, we form a picture in our minds. Book of mormon horses in ancient north america book of. Jun 21, 2016 in the book of mormon, however, chariots are never actually mentioned in a battle context.

Blah blah blah deer tapirs blah blah blah one horse skeleton was found at a precolumbian depth in 1957 blah blah blah. Although hard evidence is available to consider, so far no. Relevant to the issue of horses in the book of mormon is the linguistic confusion that the horse caused when the spanish first arrived. Bennett suggests that the word horse in the book of mormon may have referred to a different animal, such as a tapir. The book of mormon claims that horses were found on the american continent after the arrival of at least two groups of people. According to the most scientists, the mention of horses in the. The book of mormon describes a ditch being dug around the protected area. 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. New evidence for horses in america book of mormon central. One of the most persistent questions about the book of mormon has been the mention of horses among the nephites, lamanites, and jaredites. Aug 03, 2018 i was hoping to be at the fair conference this week but work had other plans. The question of horses in the book of mormon meridian. If anything, though, the occurrence of the horses in the book of mormon should serve as an invitation for further scholarship, not as a reason for ending it. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, mormon archaeologists have attempted.

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. The contents of all bmaf publications are the sole responsibility of the individual authors and therefore do not necessarily represent the views of bmaf. 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. Most of these species were introduced in 1493 by christopher columbus. Horses in the book of mormon the contents of all bmaf publications are the sole responsibility of the individual authors and therefore do not necessarily represent the views of bmaf or the church of. In the book of mormon, however, chariots are never actually mentioned in a battle context. Horses in america and book of mormon recovery from. In fact, horses went extinct in the americas thousands of years before they show up in the book of mormon. 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. In the bible the hebrew word for horse is sus and means leaping, but it can also refer to the rapid flight of swallows and cranes.