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Guide Home > Scripture and Influential Writings > Book of Mormon > Anachronisms

Additional Topics

The following are additional topic areas related to Anachronisms. If there is a bracket number after the topic, that number indicates how many actual articles there are related to that subject. If the link for the topic is not live, it simply means the topic is a 'planned area' for future growth.

FAIR Resources

These links are either to Web pages hosted on the FAIR Website, or to FAIR Papers. FAIR Papers are short articles about specific topics or questions, written by members of FAIR. These articles can be downloaded and read in PDF format and are intended to be distributed by e-mail or print for the general use of our patrons. (To read FAIR Papers you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader. It can be downloaded free from the Adobe Web site.) Click on a title below to visit a FAIR Web page or to read the latest version of a FAIR Paper.

""Adieu" in the Book of Mormon," FAIR Wiki (City Unknown: FAIR) This FAIR Wiki article responds to the claim that the French word "adieu" is anachronistic in the Book of Mormon.

"Book of Mormon anachronisms:Holy Ghost," FAIR Wiki (City Unknown: FAIR) This FAIR Wiki article responds to the following question: Why is the Holy Ghost mentioned so many times in the Book of Mormon prior to the time of Christ (e.g., 1 Nephi 10:17) and yet in the Old Testament there is hardly any mention of the Holy Ghost, especially with regard to his mission of bearing wittness of the truth?

"Book of Mormon anachronisms:Red sea versus reed sea," FAIR Wiki (City Unknown: FAIR) This FAIR Wiki article responds to the claim that since most Bible scholars believe the Israelites crossed the "Reed Sea" (vs. the mistranslated "Red Sea") that the Book of Mormon follows this blunder.

"Book of Mormon anachronisms:Shiz struggles to breathe," FAIR Wiki (City Unknown: FAIR) This FAIR Wiki article engages the claim that the Book of Mormon makes a scientific blunder when it claims that Shiz's body struggled for breath after having been decapitated.

"Book of Mormon demographics," FAIR Wiki (City Unknown: FAIR) This FAIR Wiki article examines the claim that the initial Lehite colony is too small to produce the population sizes indicated.

"Satyrs in the Book of Mormon," FAIR Wiki (City Unknown: FAIR) This FAIR Wiki aricle responds to the following question: Why does the Book of Mormon mention "satyrs" in 2 Nephi 23:21)? Aren't satyrs mythological creatures?

"Snow in the Book of Mormon," FAIR Wiki (City Unknown: FAIR) This FAIR Wiki article responds to the following question: In 1 Nephi 11:8, Nephi says Lehi describes the Tree of Life by saying "the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow." Since Nephi and Lehi were desert folk from Jerusalem, and then likely lived in tropical Central America, why would they have used "snow" as a description?

Michael R. Ash, "Book of Mormon Anachronisms Part 6: Compass, Coins, and Other Miscellaneous," (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR, April 2003) A short, pass-along FAIR Brochure that addresses claims of anachronisms in the Book of Mormon. This brochure looks at a few miscellaneous anachronisms.

Kevin Christensen, "Does the Book of Mormon Contain Anachronistic Language?," (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR, 29 June 2001) Anachronisms can be disturbing to readers, particularly in the Book of Mormon. This FAIR Paper addresses some of the commonly cited anachronisms.

Steven J. Danderson, Adding Up the Book of Mormon Peoples. One frequent attack against the Book of Mormon is the argument that the size of the population mention in the text cannot be accounted for given the small size of Lehi's family and the number of generations described in the Book of Mormon text itself. Danderson responds to this by examining the assumptions used by such critics, and shows that similar population growth has been seen by other cultures in ancient and modern times. Various factors can have significant impact on population growth, such as economic prosperity, longevity, family size, immigration, etc. Given a different set of underlying assumptions than what is assumed by the critics, the Book of Mormon population figures are completely believable.

Matthew Roper, "Right On Target: Boomerang Hits and the Book of Mormon," (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR, August 2001) A great presentation that focuses on evidences first thought to disprove the Book of Mormon, but later serve to prove its truth.

Ensign Articles

These articles cited below provide information on the topic of this page. The Ensign is one of the official publications of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When you click on one of the article links below, you are whisked to the article found in the archives of the Church's Web site.

Edward J. Brandt, "Why are the words adieu, bible, and baptize in the Book of Mormon? These words weren't known in Book of Mormon times.," Ensign, October 1985.

Other Resources

The resources listed below are related items available on the Web that should be of interest. These links are to information not located on the FAIR Web site.

Michael R. Ash, Coins in the Book of Mormon.

Michael R. Ash, Tents in the Book of Mormon.

Michael R. Ash, The Use of a Compass in the Book of Mormon.

Matthew B. Brown, "Girded about with a Lambskin," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies (Provo: FARMS, 1997), 124-151 The publication of the Book of Mormon brought forward the first of many comparisons between the restorational work of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his surrounding environment, including Freemasonry. One point of comparison has been the lambskin apparel mentioned in 3 Nephi 4:7. I will suggest a possible connection between this item of apparel and ritual clothing that was worn in ancient Israel, Egypt, and Mesoamerica. I will also suggest a possible reason for the use of this item of clothing among the secret combinations in the Book of Mormon. Finally, I will discuss the lambskin apron used in Freemasonic ritual.

Stephen R. Gibson, "Why Is the French Word Adieu Used?," One-Minute Answers to Anti-Mormon Questions (Bountiful, Utah: Horizon Publishers) How could Book of Mormon writer, Jacob, who lived about 500 BC, use the French word "adieu "(Jacob 7:27) when the French language wasn't even developed until 1500 AD?

Jeff Lindsay, How Could Jews -- Enemies of the Egyptians -- Write Sacred Text in Egyptian Script as Claimed by the Book of Mormon?.

Jeff Lindsay, When Christ Died, Did Darkness Reign for Three Hours or Three Days?.

Jeff Lindsay, Why Are "Coins" Mentioned in the Book of Mormon Before The Invention of Coins?.

Jeff Lindsay, Why Do The Words, "Jesus Christ," Appear in the Book of Mormon Before Christ's Birth?.

Jeff Lindsay, Why Does the Word "Book" Appear in the Book of Mormon Before the Invention of Books?.

Jeff Lindsay, Why is the French "adieu" in the Book of Mormon?.

Paul Mouritsen, "Secret Combinations and Flaxen Cords: Anti-Masonic Rhetoric and the Book of Mormon," Journal of Book of Mormons Studies (Provo: FARMS, 2003), 64-77 Some critics claim that the Book of Mormon reflects the anti-Masonic rhetoric of Joseph Smith's day.

Kerry A. Shirts, Why Are Greek Names Found in the Book of Mormon?.

John L. Sorenson, Book review of Stephen Williams, Fantastic Archaeology: The Wild Side of North American Prehistory, reviewed in "Viva Zipato! Hurray for the Shoe! Review of Deanne G. Matheny, "Does the Shoe Fit? A Critique of the Limited Tehuantepec Geography."," FARMS Review of Books (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1992), 269-328. This article deals with several criticisms of the Limited Geography Theory for the Book of Mormon

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