Historicity of the Book of Mormon
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The historicity of the Book of Mormon is the historical actuality of persons and events that are written in it, meaning the quality of it being part of history instead of being a historical myth, legend, or fiction. Many members of the Latter Day Saint movement believe that the Book of Mormon is historically accurate. Most, but not all, Latter Day Saints hold the book's connection to ancient American history as an article of their faith. This view finds no confirmation outside of the movement in the broader scientific and academic communities.[1][2] Relevant archaeological, historical, and scientific facts are not consistent with the Book of Mormon being an ancient record of actual historical events.[3][4]
Mormon apologists have proposed multiple explanations for apparent inconsistencies with the archaeological, genetic, linguistic and other records. These do not have currency with general academic communities of archaeology, history, or science.
Latter Day Saint views
The Book of Mormon purports to give an account of two civilizations formed by families who migrated to the
The dominant and widely accepted view in the Latter Day Saint movement is that the Book of Mormon is a true and accurate account of these ancient American civilizations whose religious history it documents. Joseph Smith, whom most Latter Day Saints believe to have translated the work, stated, "I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book."[5] Unresolved issues of the book's historicity and the lack of supporting archaeological evidence have led some adherents to adopt the position that the Book of Mormon may have been the creation of Smith, but that it was nevertheless divinely inspired.[6][7] Between these two views is the view held by some Latter Day Saints that the Book of Mormon is a divine work of a spiritual nature, written in ancient America, but that its purpose is to teach of Christ and not to be used as a guide for history, geology, archaeology, or anthropology.[8][non-primary source needed]
Official LDS Church position
The Gospel Topics essays section of the official website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church; the largest denomination in the movement[9]) has two essays titled "Book of Mormon and DNA Studies"[10] and "Book of Mormon Translation".[11] In them, the church affirms the literal historicity of the Book of Mormon. In the essay on DNA studies, the church argues for "a more careful approach to the data," and states that
The conclusions of genetics, like those of any science, are tentative, and much work remains to be done to fully understand the origins of the native populations of the Americas. Nothing is known about the DNA of Book of Mormon peoples, and even if their genetic profile were known, there are sound scientific reasons that it might remain undetected.
Meanwhile, in the essay on the Book of Mormon's translation, the church affirms that "the Book of Mormon came into the world through a series of miraculous events."
Limited geography model
Since the time of its publication, most Latter Day Saints have viewed and explained the Book of Mormon as a comprehensive history of all Native Americans;[12] this understanding of the Book of Mormon is referred to as the "hemispheric model." Other Latter Day Saints, however, believe that the hemispheric model is an assumption not supported by a close reading of the text. B. H. Roberts states the inadequacy of the hemispheric model in Studies of the Book of Mormon:
[C]ould the people of Mulek and of Lehi ... part of the time numbering and occupying the land at least from Yucatan to Cumorah ... live and move and have their being in the land of America and not come in contact with other races and tribes of men, if such existed in the New World within Book of Mormon times? To make this seem possible the area occupied by the Nephites and Lamanites would have to be extremely limited, much more limited, I fear, than the Book of Mormon would admit our assuming.[13]
The cities mentioned in the Book of Mormon have not been identified. Several groups of Mormon scholars and apologists, including
The 1981 LDS Church edition of the Book of Mormon states that the Lamanites are "the principal ancestors of American Indians".[17] In 2007, the same passage was changed to state that the Lamanites are "among the ancestors of the American Indians" (emphasis added).[18]
Mainstream scientific and scholarly views
Archaeology
Discussion regarding the historicity of the Book of Mormon often focuses on
The Book of Mormon mentions several animals, plants, and technologies which are unattested in
Mormon apologists give varied responses to these criticisms. In some cases, apologists point to limited parallels between known archeological finds and Book of Mormon references.
New World Archaeological Foundation
In 1955, Thomas Stuart Ferguson, an attorney and a Latter-day Saint and the founder of the New World Archaeological Foundation (NWAF), with five years of funding from the LDS Church, began to dig throughout Mesoamerica for evidence of the veracity of the Book of Mormon claims. In a 1961 newsletter, Ferguson predicted that although nothing had been found, the Book of Mormon cities would be found within ten years.[38] In 1972, Christian scholar Hal Hougey wrote to Ferguson questioning the progress made, given the stated timetable in which the cities would be found.[39] Replying to Hougey as well as secular and non-secular requests, Ferguson wrote in a letter dated June 5, 1972: "Ten years have passed . ... I had sincerely hoped that Book-of-Mormon cities would be positively identified within 10 years—and time has proved me wrong in my anticipation."[39]
In 1969 NWAF colleague Dee Green stated "Just how much the foundation is doing to advance the cause of Book of Mormon archaeology depends on one's point of view about Book of Mormon archaeology."[40] After this article and another six years of fruitless search, Ferguson published a paper in which he concluded, "I'm afraid that up to this point, I must agree with Dee Green, who has told us that to date there is no Book-of-Mormon geography".[41] Referring to his own paper, Ferguson wrote a 1976 letter in which he stated: "The real implication of the paper is that you can't set the Book-of-Mormon geography down anywhere—because it is fictional and will never meet the requirements of the dirt-archeology. I should say—what is in the ground will never conform to what is in the book."[39]
Linguistics
An additional criticism of the historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon concerns linguistics. According to the text, the Nephites and the Lamanites initially spoke
Population genetics
The Book of Mormon tells of the
North American Indians are widely considered the genetic descendants of East Eurasian peoples.[44][45][46] Several authors have published works that suggest that current studies of genetic anthropology using DNA evidence do not provide support for the Book of Mormon. To date there are no DNA studies that link any Native American group with West Eurasia.
Responses
Some Mormon researchers claim that it is not valid to use genetics to attempt to prove or disprove the historicity of the Book of Mormon, citing a lack of source genes and the improbability of tracing Israelite DNA even if present.[ii][iii]
Anthon Transcript
The "
Smithsonian Institution response
The Smithsonian Institution issues a standard reply to requests for their opinion regarding the Book of Mormon as an archaeological or scientific guide.[34][non-primary source needed] Prior to 1998, the statement denied any evidence for pre-Columbian contact between Old and New Worlds: "Certainly there was no contact with the ancient Egyptians, Hebrews or other peoples of Western Asia or the Near East." In 1998, the Smithsonian began issuing a shorter letter without the detailed response found in the first letter, and limited its comment to briefly deny any use of the Book of Mormon as an archaeological guide by the institution.[citation needed]
See also
- Reformed Egyptian
- Anachronisms in the Book of Mormon
- Origin of the Book of Mormon
- Proposed Book of Mormon geographical setting
- Pre-Columbian transoceanic contact theories
Notes
- ^ Geneticists have noted the difficulties in using genetics in this area for a variety of reasons. Some of these are our lack of knowledge concerning Sariah's descent (or others' in Lehi's party), have access to DNA from this period (600 BC Israel), or know what other groups would have intermarried with these groups (or in what numbers).[47]
- ^ Not having the ancient Israelite genes for comparison and the inability for DNA testing to link some Jewish groups that are known to be related.[48]
- ^ Duffy 2004, p. 37
- ^ Simon G. Southerton. 2004. Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church (Salt Lake City: Signature Books).
- ^ Southerton 2004, p. xv. "Anthropologists and archaeologists, including some Mormons and former Mormons, have discovered little to support the existence of [Book of Mormon] civilizations. Over a period of 150 years, as scholars have seriously studied Native American cultures and prehistory, evidence of a Christian civilization in the Americas has eluded the specialists... These [Mesoamerican] cultures lack any trace of Hebrew or Egyptian writing, metallurgy, or the Old World domesticated animals and plants described in the Book of Mormon."
- S2CID 254386666.
- ^ Introduction, Book of Mormon, LDS Church (2013)
- OCLC 50285328[page needed]
- OCLC 25788077[page needed]
- ^ See, for example, James E. Faust, "The Keystone of Our Religion," Ensign, January 2004, p. 3.
- ^ "Latter Day Saints movement" (PDF). The Pluralism Project. Harvard University. 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
- ^ "Book of Mormon and DNA Studies"
- ^ "Book of Mormon Translation."
- ^ Mauss 2003[page needed]
- ^ Roberts 1985, p. 93
- ^ Smith 1997, p. 264
- ^ Sorenson, John L (September 1984). "Digging into the Book of Mormon: Our Changing Understanding of Ancient America and Its Scripture (Part 1)". Ensign: 27. Retrieved 2011-10-19. Sorenson, John L (October 1984). "Digging into the Book of Mormon: Our Changing Understanding of Ancient America and Its Scripture, Part 2". Ensign. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
- ^ Sorenson 1985[page needed]
- ^ Book of Mormon, LDS Church (1981)
- ^ Introduction, Book of Mormon, LDS Church (2013)
- OCLC 54031905[page needed]
- S2CID 162321776.
- OCLC 31969720
- OCLC 53831495.[page needed]
- ^ "The Evolution of the Horse: In The Beginning", Equiworld.net
- ^ Handbook of North American Indians, pp. 208–18 (Donald K. Grayson, "Late Plestocene Faunal Extinctions") lists horses, elephants and related mammals as extinct
- ^ GC.ca Archived July 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Mosiah 7:22.
- JSTOR 210618
- ^ AACCnet.org Archived October 16, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 1 Nephi 14:7
- ^ 1 Nephi 4:9
- LiveScience
- ^ Journal of the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society, December 2007.[full citation needed]
- ^ Alma 18:9
- ^ "Historical Timeline — Crops & Livestock", Growing a Nation: the Story of American Agriculture, AGclassroom.org, Agriculture in the Classroom
- ^ See discussion at Anachronisms in the Book of Mormon for examples.
- Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, archived from the originalon 2015-02-13, retrieved 2014-08-13
- ^ Larson, Stan (2004). Quest for the gold plates: Thomas Stuart Ferguson's archaeological search for the Book of Mormon. Salt Lake City, UT: Freethinker Press in association with Smith Research Associates. page 68
- ^ a b c Larson, Stan (Spring 1990), "The Odyssey of Thomas Stuart Ferguson", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought: 76, 79
- ^ Green, Dee F. (1969). "BOOK OF MORMON ARCHAEOLOGY: THE MYTHS AND THE ALTERNATIVES". Dialogue. 4 (2, Summer): 71–80.
- ^ "Written Symposium on Book-of-Mormon Geography: Response of Thomas S. Ferguson to the Norman & Sorenson Papers", p. 29
- ^ Mormon 9:32-33
- ^ Lyle Campbell. 1997. American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America. Oxford University Press.; Ives Goddard. 1996. "Introduction," Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 17, Languages. Ed. Ives Goddard. Washington: Smithsonian Institution; Marianne Mithun. 1999. The Languages of Native North America. Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Jen Viegas,“A Previously Unknown Group of Ancient Native Americans Was Just Revealed” “Seeker”, January 3, 2018, Retrieved 2019-04-01.
- PMID 26198033.
- ^ Handbook of North American Indians, D. Andrew Merriwether, "Mitochondrial DNA," pages 817–30
- S2CID 55274920. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
- S2CID 151945426. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
- LDS Church. Retrieved 2009-11-29. See also: Joseph Smith–History.
- ^ Eber D. Howe (1834). "Chapter XVIII". Mormonism Unvailed. Painesville, Ohio: Telegraph Press. pp. 269–273.
- Richard L. Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling(New York: Knopf, 2005), 65-66.
- ISBN 978-1-4000-4270-8.
References
- Brewster, Quinn (1996), "The Structure of the Book of Mormon: A Theory of Evolutionary Development" (PDF), S2CID 252902069.
- ISBN 978-0-679-73054-5.
- ISBN 978-1-4000-4270-8.
- Duffy, John-Charles (2004), "Defending the Kingdom, Rethinking the Faith: How Apologetics is Reshaping Mormon Orthodoxy" (PDF), Sunstone, 132 (May): 22–55.
- Dunn, Scott C (May 2002), ISBN 978-1-56085-151-6.
- Faulring, Scott H (June 2000), "The Return of Oliver Cowdery", The Disciple as Witness: Essays on Latter-day Saint History and Doctrine in Honor of Richard Lloyd Anderson, Provo, Utah, archived from the original on 2007-10-13, retrieved 2007-05-19.
- ISBN 978-0-19-516888-4.
- Howe, Eber D (1834), Mormonism Unvailed, Painesville, Ohio: Telegraph Press.
- Jessee, Dean C. (1970), "The Original Book of Mormon Manuscript" (PDF), BYU Studies, 10 (3): 259–278.
- ISBN 978-0-252-02803-8.
- Metcalfe, Brent Lee (1993). "Apologetic and Critical Assumptions about Book of Mormon Historicity". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 26 (3): 153–84. Archived from the original on 2009-02-10..
- ISBN 978-0-934893-25-1.
- Murphy, Thomas (2003), "Simply Implausible: DNA and a Mesoamerican Setting for the Book of Mormon", Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 36 (4): 109–131, SSRN 2177709.
- Murphy, Thomas (2003), Imagining Lamanites: Native Americans and the Book of Mormon, Seattle: University of Washington, SSRN 2177734.
- Murphy, Thomas (2004), "Sin, Skin, and Seed: Mistakes of Men in the Book of Mormon", Journal of the John Whitmer Historical Association, 25: 36–51, SSRN 2177700.
- Persuitte, David (October 2000), Joseph Smith and the Origins of The Book of Mormon (second ed.), McFarland & Company, ISBN 978-0-7864-0826-9.
- Price, Robert M (Fall 2002), "Prophecy and Palimpsest", S2CID 254304020, retrieved 2007-04-30.
- ISBN 978-0-252-01043-9.
- Shipps, Jan (1982), "An 'Insider-Outsider' in Zion" (PDF), Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 15 (1): 138–161, S2CID 254394953.
- ISBN 978-0-934893-04-6.
- ISBN 978-0-934893-05-3.
- ISBN 978-0-934893-06-0.
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- ISBN 978-0-934893-08-4.
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- Smith, James E (1997), ISBN 978-0-934893-25-1.
- ISBN 978-0-87747-608-5.
- ISBN 978-1-56085-181-3.
- Spaulding, Solomon (1996), Reeve, Rex C (ed.), Manuscript Found: The Complete Original "Spaulding" Manuscript, Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University.
- Tvedtnes, John A (1984), "Isaiah Variants in the Book of Mormon", Featured Papers, Provo, Utah, archived from the original on 2007-04-08, retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ISBN 978-1-56085-179-0.
- ISBN 0812213122 – via Internet Archive.
External links
- Dallin H. Oaks on the Historicity of the Book of Mormon
- FairMormon specializes in Mormon apologetics. It has no official connection to the church.