Book of mormon horses

Several recent publications on this topic deserve to be considered. While the book of mormon mentions horses, nothing in the text indicates that their importance approached anywhere near that of horses in hun society. In other words, critics claim that the book of mormon is a fraud, since horses mentioned in the book of mormon. In fact, several mormon organizations have been founded in order to prove. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading science and 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.

At first glance, its a simple case for rejecting the book. Miracles behind this months church magazine cover art emily abel church magazines are full of accounts of the lord guiding hearts and. Scientists, historians, and other scholars have long maintained the view that there were no horses in the americas during book of mormon times. Precolumbian horses in book of mormon proves it false. Rather, they were known only to some peoples before the time of christ in a few limited regions of the new world.

The most likely animals to have been included in the expanded definition of the book of mormon horse are the deer and the tapir. As enos describes nephite life in his day fifth century bc, he says that they raised many horses. Since horses were supposedly extinct in the americas during book of mormon times, the mention of horses is seen to be anachronistic. 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.

Apologetics press the book of mormon and the ancient. What is the nature and use of chariots in the book of mormon. Horses in the book of mormon book of mormon mormon. 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. That leaves 11 times that the book of mormon claims that horses existed in the new world. 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 are mentioned in eight different book of mormon episodes that involve an ancient new world setting. Book of mormon horses in ancient north america book of. Critics argue that the archaeological record suggests that all elephantlike creatures became. Horses true book of mormon geography lands western new. Horses in the book of mormon lds scripture teachings.

Below is the modern map of the area of smiths youth. The word horse or horses appears 14 times in the book of mormon. Two of the most prevalent claims for the book of mormon are, there is much archaeological proof to the book of mormon, and the american indians are descendants of israelites who came to america as described in the book of mormon. Nonmormon archaeologists speak on book of mormon evidence. Excerpts from step by step through the book of mormon unpublished by alan c. The book of mormon never says that nephite horses were ridden. 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. You have relatively few mentions of horses, but there are some, and we dont know exactly how they were used. The book of mormon does not claim that horses were universally known in the americas throughout precolumbian history. Here are a couple of apologetic sources suggesting that tapirs are what the book of mormon means by horses.

In light of this view, latterday saints have approached this question in one of two ways. In fact, the last mentions of horses indicates that they were plentiful. Each possible explanation also teaches important lessons about archaeology, ancient. 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.

A related discussion is in my post, update on horses in the book of mormon, mormanity blog, feb. 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. Horses are not mentioned in the book of mormon after the time of christ 3 nephi 6. The most recent issue of byu studies quarterly includes an. Horses and the book of mormon why the lds church is true. 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. The question of horses in the book of mormon meridian. The word chariot conjures up images of horsedrawn war vehicles. Why are horses mentioned in the book of mormon lds living.

Ash, scholar, author of shaken faith syndrome and of faith and reason the charge that the book of mormon must be fiction. Horses were present but their remains have not been found. The topic of horses in the book of mormons depiction of the ancient new world is undoubtedly a controversial one. One of the toughest challenges for the book of mormon is the issue of horses. Excerpt from the horses in the book of mormon article on fair mormon. 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.

One of the most persistent questions about the book of mormon has been the mention of horses among the nephites, lamanites, and jaredites. 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. Definitions of the word horse were expanded to include new meanings. 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 became extinct at the end of the pleistocene. Bennett suggests that the word horse in the book of mormon may have referred to a different animal, such as a tapir. The suggestion of horses and chariots in precolumbian america has long been an easy target for critics of the book of 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. 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. 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.

In my opinion, a more likely candidate for the nephite loanshift. 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. 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. 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. Many people who believe in the mesoamerican theory try very hard to explain why horses are mentioned in the book of mormon, when they. The problem, once again, is of recontextualization. Bennett stated that as a comparison, the famed horses of the huns did not leave any archaeological trace yet numbered in the thousands. Anthropologists are in nearuniversal agreement that horses had become extinct in the americas until european explorers reintroduced them to the continent. The book of mormon claims that horses were found on the american continent after the arrival of at least two groups of people. 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. 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. 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 jesus christ of latterday saints.

There are three possible ways to approach this puzzle, dealing with archaeology, ancient cultural practices, and difficulties in translation. The king james quotations in the book of mormon, the history of the text of the book of mormon. Daniel petersons series on horses in the book of mormon. Elephants are mentioned twice in the earliest book of mormon record, the book of ether. Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations. 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. Miller and matthew roper, animals in the book of mormon. Braswell, which is appropriate to my particular point. Nor does the book of mormon text indicate that horses or chariots play any role in the many nephite wars despite a popular classic book of mormon painting by arnold friburg depicting helaman leading the 2000 stripling warriors while astride a battleready horse. 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. 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 verses containing the reference to horses. 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. Here are some important points that are often overlooked when exploring this challenge.

The book of mormon is supposed to be a history of real people living in a real place. Hard evidence of ancient american horses part 1 dan. 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. The book of mormon speaks of horses used by book of mormon peoples, and yet there is no proof of such a thing. 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 are only mentioned once during the nearly two. Three of these are prophetic in nature and not claims of their existence. Another scholar pointed out several possibilities for mentions of horses. Gotta have something to pull the chariots since hoses didnt exist. In fact, horses went extinct in the americas thousands of years before they show up in the book of mormon. 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. Any casual student of archaeology knows scientists frequently find animals alive that were previously believed to be extinct. It is possible that the subsequent disasters associated with the death of christ 3 nephi 810 or the wars and famines of later years alma 45.

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. Indigenous horses book of mormon archaeological forum. For the first 150 years of mormonisms existence, everyone thought it was a story about a people who left the middle east and came to south or central america, and who fought wars clear up into new york state where. First of all, the author, daniel johnson, states the problem. Though wheeled vehicles are still unattested throughout precolumbian america, archaeology currently shows that some mesoamerican peoples did understand the concept. This post will address horses while forthcoming articles will explore other alleged book of mormon anachronisms including elephants, iron, sheep. New evidence for horses in america book of mormon central. 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. Anachronisms, or out of place items, have long been a subject of controversy with the book of mormon. Readers can interpret the presence of horses in the book of mormon in a variety of different ways. Several latterday saints over the years have attempted to examine. Horse remains have been found in california which radiocarbon date before the spanish arrival to the area. If the book of mormon is an impetus, a trigger for pursuing scientific inquiry about a testable claim such as the existence of precolumbian horses, then what is the problem with pursuing that inquiry. This paper is based on a talk and powerpoint presentation given to the book of mormon lands conference, 20 october 2007.