Book of Mormon/Evidences

FAIR Answers—back to home page

Book of Mormon evidences

Topics

Evidences

Summary: Summary page for evidences supporting the Book of Mormon

• • Olive culture—
    Brief Summary: Does the Book of Mormon's account of olive culture in Jacob 5 match what we know about this subject? The Book of Mormon provides a remarkably accurate portrait of olive horticulture. There are two points at which the allegory/parable deviates from the known principles of growing olives; in both cases, the allegory's characters draw the reader's attention to these deviations with some amazement. Thus, these 'mistakes' play a dramatic role in demonstrating the allegory/parable's meaning. (Click here for full article)
    ∗       ∗       ∗
  • Book of Mormon geography in the Old World—
    Brief Summary: A discussion of the Arabian, or Old World, geography of the Book of Mormon enjoys many advantages over discussion of New World matters. Chief among these is the fact that we know we certainty where the story begins—in Old World Jerusalem. The details of Lehi's desert travels had been extracted from the text by the 1970s. It is important to note how early these models were developed; current-day critics sometimes charge that LDS scholars have "retrofitted" their models to accommodate chance discoveries like "Nahom," but this is false. (Click here for full article)
    ∗       ∗       ∗

Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon

Summary: The Book of Mormon does indeed have authentic Semitic constructions in it, but LDS need to tread cautiously in establishing them. Each must be evaluated on its own merits. Hebraisms that could have been known to Joseph Smith may still be authentic, and may still enhance our appreciation of the text, but they are weak evidence for Book of Mormon antiquity.

• • If-and conditionals—
    Brief Summary: The first edition of the Book of Mormon contained several examples of a grammatical structure not known in English, but common in Hebrew: the so-called if/and conditional. (Click here for full article)
    ∗       ∗       ∗
  • Names: authentic Old World names in the Book of Mormon (Click here for full article)
    ∗       ∗       ∗
  • Chiasmus—
    Brief Summary: A literary structure known as "chiasmus" exists in the Book of Mormon. It is claimed that the presence of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon is either coincidental, an artifact of the observer, or not impressive since examples of chiastic patterns have been found in the Doctrine and Covenants or other 19th century writing. (Click here for full article)
    ∗       ∗       ∗
  • Sami Hanna on the Book of Mormon—
    Brief Summary: I have read a talk written by Elder Russell M. Nelson in which he discusses a friend of his who translated the Book of Mormon back into Arabic. What are the facts behind this story and the talk? (Click here for full article)
    ∗       ∗       ∗

Ancient motifs in the Book of Mormon

Summary: Some aspects of the Book of Mormon record make little sense if it is read as a 19th century creation. If its underlying source is an ancient text, however, then these elements enrich our understanding of the volume and its message.

Further reading and additional sources responding to these claims