Book of Mormon historicity

disputed · not applicable

Critics list items in the Book of Mormon, such as horses, steel, and silk in the ancient Americas, as anachronisms; apologists propose reinterpretations or say evidence may still be found.

Needs human verification

documented fact · not applicable

Yale archaeologist Michael Coe wrote in 1973 that he knew of no professionally trained non-Latter-day Saint archaeologist who sees scientific support for the Book of Mormon's history of ancient America.

Needs human verification

documented fact · current teaching

The Church takes no official position on where Book of Mormon events took place; models such as a limited Mesoamerican setting are proposed by scholars and debated.

Needs human verification

disputed · not applicable

Views on the Book of Mormon's origin range from an ancient record translated by Joseph Smith, to an ancient text that Joseph Smith expanded with nineteenth-century commentary (Blake Ostler's 1987 expansion theory), to a wholly nineteenth-century work, sometimes treated by believers as inspired fiction. The Church teaches that the book is an ancient record.

Needs human verification

documented fact · not applicable

Most Hebrew Bible scholars date Isaiah chapters 40 to 66 to the Babylonian exile or later, after Lehi's traditional departure from Jerusalem around 600 BCE, yet the Book of Mormon quotes some of those chapters.

Needs human verification

documented fact · not applicable

Genetic studies trace the ancestry of Native Americans mainly to Asia; geneticist Simon Southerton and anthropologist Thomas Murphy argue this contradicts the traditional teaching that Lamanites were principal ancestors of Native Americans.

Needs human verification

documented fact · historical event

Church general authority B. H. Roberts privately studied hard questions about Book of Mormon origins in the early 1920s, including parallels with View of the Hebrews; the studies were published in 1985.

Needs human verification

Book of Mormon Geography (Gospel Topics)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

This Gospel Topics entry says the Church takes no position on the specific geographic locations of Book of Mormon events, asks members not to promote personal theories as Church doctrine, and says the book's main purpose is spiritual. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

Gospel Topics Essay: Book of Mormon and DNA Studies

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints · 2016

This Gospel Topics essay says the Book of Mormon describes migrations to the ancient Americas and that critics argue those migrations are incompatible with DNA studies because most Native American DNA identified so far resembles eastern Asian populations. The essay argues that DNA studies cannot decisively confirm or reject Book of Mormon historicity, and it says some arguments from defenders are also speculative. This library has not indexed the underlying population-genetics papers, so the essay's summary of the science still needs checking. A church study page associates the essay with 2016. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion

Terryl L. Givens · Oxford University Press · 2002

A university-press study by a Latter-day Saint literary scholar of how the Book of Mormon has been read: as a sign of Joseph Smith's prophetic calling, as ancient history (including the search for archaeological confirmation and for rational grounds for belief), as a nineteenth-century cultural product or sacred fiction, and as new theology. It surveys the range of positions on the book's origins rather than settling them. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

Believing scholar; university-press scholarship.

Does the Shoe Fit? A Critique of the Limited Tehuantepec Geography

Deanne G. Matheny · Signature Books (in New Approaches to the Book of Mormon, ed. Brent Lee Metcalfe) · 1993

An archaeologist trained in Mesoamerican studies critiques Sorenson's limited Tehuantepec geography, arguing that the archaeological record of the region does not fit the Book of Mormon's descriptions of metals, animals, warfare, and cities. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

Early dispersal of domestic horses into the Great Plains and northern Rockies

William Timothy Treal Taylor, Pablo Librado, et al. · Science · 2023-03-31

A peer-reviewed genomic and radiocarbon study finds that domestic horses descended from Spanish stock spread into the Great Plains and northern Rockies by the early 1600s, consistent with horses arriving in the Americas with Europeans rather than surviving from the Ice Age. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

How Many Isaiahs Were There?

H. G. M. Williamson · Bible Odyssey (Society of Biblical Literature)

An Oxford Hebrew Bible scholar explains why scholars see the book of Isaiah as written over a long period, with chapters 40 onward reflecting the Babylonian exile and after. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

Joseph Smith's Interpretation of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon

David P. Wright · Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought · 1998

Wright, a Hebrew Bible scholar, shows the Book of Mormon's Isaiah text mostly follows the King James Version and argues its interpretation reapplies Isaiah to Joseph Smith's time rather than reflecting Isaiah's original setting. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

Mormons and Archaeology: An Outside View

Michael D. Coe · Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought · 1973

Yale Mesoamerican archaeologist Michael Coe writes that he knows of no professionally trained non-Latter-day Saint archaeologist who sees scientific support for the Book of Mormon's account of ancient America. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

Studies of the Book of Mormon

B. H. Roberts; Brigham D. Madsen, ed. · University of Illinois Press · 1985

Private studies written in the 1920s by B. H. Roberts, a Church general authority, examining hard questions about the Book of Mormon, such as parallels with View of the Hebrews and Native American origins. Published after his death. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

The Book of Mormon as a Modern Expansion of an Ancient Source

Blake T. Ostler · Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought · 1987

Writing in Dialogue (vol. 20, no. 1), Blake T. Ostler describes two extremes on Book of Mormon origins: skeptics who see a nineteenth-century work drawn from Joseph Smith's environment, and believers who explain it only by ancient sources. He argues both are too limited and proposes that the book is an ancient text expanded by Joseph Smith, who added commentary and explanations drawing on the King James Bible and the concerns of his day. He states that he writes as a believer. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

Believing author proposing a middle position; not an official Church view.

The Sounds and Colors of Power: The Sacred Metallurgical Technology of Ancient West Mexico

Dorothy Hosler · MIT Press · 1994

An archaeometallurgist shows that metalworking in West Mexico began around 600-800 AD, likely introduced from South America, and was used mainly for bells and ornaments rather than tools or weapons. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader's Guide

Grant Hardy · Oxford University Press · 2010

A literary scholar reads the Book of Mormon through its narrators Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni, showing its complex structure while setting aside the question of historicity so readers of any view can study the text. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon

John L. Sorenson · Deseret Book and FARMS · 1985

A BYU anthropologist proposes a limited Mesoamerican geography centered near the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and argues that many apparent anachronisms can be explained by reinterpreting words such as horse. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

Archaeology, Relics, and Book of Mormon Belief

John E. Clark · Journal of Book of Mormon Studies · 2005

A BYU archaeologist who believes the Book of Mormon argues that archaeology cannot prove or disprove it, that expectations of specific relics are misplaced, and that the fit between the text and Mesoamerica has grown over time. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

Book of Mormon/Anachronisms (FAIR Answers)

FAIR

FAIR's wiki responds to claimed Book of Mormon anachronisms such as horses, steel, silk, wheels, and barley, proposing loan-shift word meanings, pointing to possible archaeological finds, and arguing absence of evidence is not proof. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

Faithful-apologetic advocacy. Defends Church truth claims.

Deutero-Isaiah in the Book of Mormon: Latter-day Saint Approaches

Joshua M. Sears · Religious Studies Center, BYU (They Shall Grow Together) · 2022

A BYU scholar lays out the near consensus that Isaiah 40-66 dates after Lehi left Jerusalem and surveys how Latter-day Saint scholars have responded. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

FAIR overview of the CES Letter

FAIR · FAIR

FAIR, at fairlatterdaysaints.org, publishes a faithful-apologetic overview of the CES Letter and further responses to its arguments. FAIR describes the letter as Jeremy Runnells's doubts about church history and doctrine. FAIR is not The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is not an official church statement. Its replies can be useful as faithful counter-argument and still have to be checked against primary documents. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

Faithful-apologetic. Not an official church statement.

Interpreter Foundation

Interpreter Foundation

The Interpreter Foundation publishes faithful-apologetic scholarship on Latter-day Saint scripture and history. It is not an official church publisher. This entry identifies the organization. It should not be cited as proof of a narrow factual claim unless a specific article is added to the library. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

Faithful-apologetic publisher. Not an official church statement.

Why Are Horses Mentioned in the Book of Mormon? (KnoWhy)

Scripture Central (Book of Mormon Central) · 2020

A faithful KnoWhy argues that the Book of Mormon's references to horses may refer to another animal, that the text's horses play a limited role, and that a few disputed finds of pre-Columbian horse remains leave the question open. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

Faithful-apologetic publication that defends the Book of Mormon's historicity.

American Apocrypha: Essays on the Book of Mormon

Dan Vogel and Brent Lee Metcalfe, eds. · Signature Books · 2002

Essays reading the Book of Mormon as a nineteenth-century text, including Thomas Murphy on DNA, David Wright on Isaiah, and Dan Vogel on the witnesses. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

CES Letter: Book of Mormon

Jeremy Runnells · CES Letter

The Book of Mormon section of the CES Letter lists the author's main objections to Book of Mormon historicity: passages that copy the 1769 King James Bible including its italicized words and translation errors, Isaiah chapters that scholars date after Lehi left Jerusalem, DNA evidence pointing to Asian origins for Native Americans, anachronisms such as horses, steel, and silk, the lack of archaeological confirmation, and parallels to earlier books such as View of the Hebrews and The Late War. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

Critical advocacy. Argues against Church truth claims. Not peer-reviewed and not an official Church source.

Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church

Simon G. Southerton · Signature Books · 2004

Southerton, a molecular biologist and former bishop, reviews genetic studies showing Native American ancestry traces to Asia, not ancient Israel, and argues this contradicts long-taught Church claims about Lamanite origins. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

MormonThink: Book of Mormon Difficulties, Contradictions and Explanations

MormonThink · MormonThink

This page lists problems critics raise with the Book of Mormon, including anachronisms, King James Bible material, textual changes, and the lack of archaeological support, along with apologetic explanations. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification

Critical website. Presents critic and apologist views but is written to raise problems with Church claims. Not peer-reviewed.

Simply Implausible: DNA and a Mesoamerican Setting for the Book of Mormon

Thomas W. Murphy · Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought · 2003

Anthropologist Thomas Murphy argues that genetic data give no support for Israelite ancestry in Mesoamerica and that the limited-geography theory does not rescue Book of Mormon historicity. Summary, not a quotation.

Summary, not a quotation · needs human verification