Anachronisms in the Book of Mormon

My lexicon had never before contained the word anachronism but I have come to learn that this is a very important word in regards to confirming or disproving the historicity of the Book of Mormon.  The simple definition of anachronism is something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time, especially a thing or person that belongs to an earlier time: The sword is an anachronism in modern warfare.

The anachronisms in the BofM are very obvious when you read them if you take off your spiritual blinders that the church has you wear.  I have compiled a list of my favorites here. Please bear in mind, these are summaries and by no means comprehensive. There are links to some of the most common sources I’ve explored so please look to those for good science and research.

Quoting Isaiah- the book of Isaiah was not written by Isaiah but rather one or more other people sometime between 586 B.C. and 538 B.C., after it could have even been known to Lehi.

Horses- they did not exist on the continent until 1493 when Columbus brought them from Europe. There is no fossil evidence for pre-Columbus horses.

Elephants- they did not exist on the continent during the time of any of the inhabitants of the BofM lived on the continent

Barley and wheat- the introduction of domesticated modern barley and wheat to the New World was made by Europeans sometime after 1492, many centuries after the time in which the Book of Mormon is set.

Chariots or wheeled vehicles- there is no archaeological evidence to support the use of wheeled vehicles in Mesoamerica. Many parts of ancient Mesoamerica were not suitable for wheeled transport.

Silk- silk is a material that is created from the cocoon of the Asian moth Bombyx mori, and was unknown to the pre-Columbian Americas.

Windows-  the Jaredite people were familiar with the concept of "windows" near the time of the Biblical Tower of and that they specifically avoided crafting windows for lighting in their covered seagoing vessels, because the windows would be "dashed in pieces" during the ocean voyage.  The earliest known production of glass dates to 3500 BC in Egypt.

Steel and iron- There is no evidence of steel (hardened iron) production in North, Central, or South America during these periods. The process of smelting these metals leaves significant archeological evidences.

Christ and Messiah- "Christ" is the English transliteration of the Greek word Χριστός (transliterated precisely as Christós). Joseph Smith clearly stated “There was no Greek or Latin upon the plates from which I, through the grace of the Lord, translated the Book of Mormon.”  The Book of Mormon contains some names which appear to be Greek (e.g. Antipas, Archeantus, Esrom, Ezias, Jonas, Judea, Lachoneus and Zenos).

KJV anachronisms- a significant portion of the Book of Mormon quotes from the brass plates, which purport to be another source of Old Testament writings mirroring those of the Bible. In many cases, the Biblical quotations in the English-language Book of Mormon are close, or identical to the equivalent sections of the King James Version. This shows that Joseph copied errors out of the KJV and placed them in the BofM rather than translate them directly from the plates.

I do not claim that any of these things are “smoking guns” but it certainly stacks the evidence against believers.  Red flags do add up don't they?

Links:

Wikipedia

Mormon Expression

Mormon Handbook

Institute for Religious Research

FAIRMormon (if you want unreasonable excuses)

My favorite new word: Culty

Why do I like the word culty so much? I know firsthand how defensive I was whenever people would say that I was a member of a cult. How couldn't I be offended? Being associated with that word implies that I am a thoughtless zombie just following the leader.  Well I don't believe that Mormons are thoughtless zombies but come on, have you ever heard the primary song "Follow the Prophet"?  If that isn't the type of brainwashing that takes place in a cult, it is certainly culty behavior.

I really hate the fact that Mormons immediately dismiss the entire conversation once the "c-word" is brought to the table. So to avoid that type of conversation discrimination I will not refer to Mormonism as a cult but rather it is very culty. There, is that better? It doesn't change the fact that the church uses mind control from a very early age to control the behavior of its members.  It starts with Primary with the songs.  It gets worse when an eight year old gets baptized (come on, is that really different than baby baptisms?).  It continues with the oppressive and mind controlling priesthood interviews.  It gets really deep with the endowment in the temple.  And what I consider the coupe de gras, the two year mission, seals the deal as far as what the commitment level is. This is why I believe the recent “revelation” to lower missionary ages is just a last ditch effort to stop 18 year-olds from discovering Google and actually using their brains (yes I am making fun of myself here as well since I served a mission). Of course celestial marriage and ongoing church callings continue the brainwashing and groupthink that persist in the church.

I can say that I now have personal experience with how duped one feels when they start to see the light. It is a frustrating and depressing realization that comes over you when you get to that point but the freedom that comes is simply priceless and worth the journey. I completely understand why true believers will always push back any contrary thoughts or teachings because that is how they have been groomed. One of my favorite quotes really embodies this predicament that Mormons can find themselves in:

“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken."

-Carl Sagan

If you’d like to explore the issue I’d recommend listening the the Mormon Expression podcast #201 or the Mormon Expositor follow up podcasts #2A & #2b.  They discuss some of the indicators that can define any organization as a cult.  They are:

1. Their leader/s may claim a special, exclusive ministry, revelation or position of authority given by God.

2. They believe they are the only true church and take a critical stance regarding the Christian church while at the same time praising and exalting their own group, leader/s and work.

3. They use intimidation or psychological manipulation to keep members loyal to their ranks. This could be in the form of threats of dire calamity sent by God if they leave; certain death at Armageddon; being shunned by their family and friends etc. This is a vital part of the mind control process.

4. Members will be expected to give substantial financial support to the group. This could be compulsory tithing (which is checked); signing over all their property on entering the group; coercive methods of instilling guilt on those who have not contributed; selling magazines, flowers or other goods for the group as part of their “ministry”.

5. At the same time bible-based cults may ridicule churches that take up free-will offerings by passing collection plates and/or sell literature and tapes. They usually brag that they don’t do this. This gives outsiders the intimation that they are not interested in money.

6. There will be great emphasis on loyalty to the group and its teachings. The lives of members will be totally absorbed into the group’s activities. They will have little or no time to think for themselves because of physical and emotional exhaustion. This is also a vital part of the mind control process.

7. There will be total control over almost all aspects of the private lives of members. This control can be direct through communal living, or constant and repetitious teaching on “how to be a true Christian” or “being obedient to leadership”. Members will look to their leaders for guidance in everything they do.

Bible-based cults may proclaim they have no clergy/laity distinction and no paid ministry class – that they are all equal.

8. Any dissent or questioning of the group’s teachings is discouraged. Criticism in any form is seen as rebellion. There will be an emphasis on authority, unquestioning obedience and submission. This is vigilantly maintained.

9. Members are required to demonstrate their loyalty to the group in some way. This could be in the form of “dobbing” on fellow members (including family) under the guise of looking out for “spiritual welfare”.

10. They may be required to deliberately lie (heavenly deception/theocratic strategy) or give up their lives by refusing some form of medical treatment.

11. Attempts to leave or reveal embarrassing facts about the group may be met with threats. Some may have taken oaths of loyalty that involve their lives or have signed a “covenant” and feel threatened by this. Refugees of the group are usually faced with confrontations by other members with coercion to get them to return to the group.

If I were to rank the Mormon church on a scale of 1-10 of “cultyness” on these points, my average score of the 11 points would result in my opinion that the church is 84.5% culty. Bottom line, truth is truth no matter where it comes from no matter how much it cuts to the core. Even if it defines you as a member of a cult. I do know one thing, I am a firm believer that the truth really will set you free.

The Evil Tanners

Well before any period of disaffection took place in my mind I was well aware of Jerald and Sandra Tanner and their very “anti-Mormon” messages they preached. If you are unaware, they founded the Utah Lighthouse Ministry in Salt Lake which has a bookstore spreading “evil rumors” about the LDS church.  In my research I have always wanted to search for information form original historical sources and I have tried to avoid the likes of Ed Decker and the Tanners due to their perceived bias. Since my study from original source material has already kicked me well into my crisis of faith, I thought it might be interesting to dive into some of that biased material. What do I have to lose at this point?

I have recently been reading the Tanner’s book The Changing World of Mormonism (available free online) and I have been shocked to see that the bulk of what they present is fair and accurate.  I am the first to admit that they are very biased against the church and have their own Christian objectives.  They have been criticized for making some leaps and connections without historical references but the points that they are making leaps between are still accurate and historically factual.  One thing I have enjoyed about this book is the included copies of actual historical documents that they refer to. I believe that they are (and were in Jerald’s case) good people trying to help people find truth.  Although I am not too interested in their Christian views at this point, I think their information is still useful. I wouldn’t recommend their stuff if you are just starting to research the truth about the LDS church (remember milk before meat, right?) but they do present some good information that I found to be informative and useful.

Why do people leave the church?

This last Sunday in my Elders Quorum class, the discussion of why people leave the church came up. In my readings of people's personal experiences when leaving the church I had always heard members of the church always claiming the reasons for leaving the church are one of two things: the person sinned or they were offended.

How obtuse of an outlook can people have? That is the most uninformed and judgmental bias I could imagine in this circumstance. How hurtful is it to judge what the reasons why someone else left the church are without being willing to hear those very reasons.

Maybe they are right about being offended but in the wrong way. If I end up leaving the church I guess it will because I am offended. Not offended by another church member or by rules or by tough commandments. I will be offended that the church is a lie and although I will admit it has benefited me in multiple ways, it has stolen much of my life away from me.