There are a number of anachronistic words and phrases in the Book of Mormon—their existence in the text contradicts known linguistic patterns or archaeological findings. Each of the anachronisms is a word, phrase, artifact, or other concept that did not exist in the Americas during the time period in which Mormonism founder Joseph Smith said the Book of Mormon was originally written.

Background According to Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon was originally engraved on golden plates, which he received in 1827 from an angel named Moroni,. whom Smith identified as a resurrected. former inhabitant of the American continent. Smith said he translated the original text of the plates into English, and that a portion of the text was written on the plates in what he termed reformed Egyptian.

The Book of Mormon is attested by many believers in its authenticity to have taken place somewhere in the Americas from c. 2500 BC to 420 AD, thus placing its events within the pre-Columbian era.

Latter Day Saint scholars and apologists have attempted to deal with these in multiple ways. Depending on the anachronism in question, apologists attempt to: establish parallels to currently known ancient cultures, technologies, plants or animals; reframe the usage of individual words in question; question assumptions that may lead to an apparent anachronism; or point out that it is not known exactly where the Book of Mormon actually took place (and so supporting evidence simply remains to be found - see Limited geography model).

Historical anachronisms

Quoting Isaiah

Book of Mormon prophets quote chapters 48 through 54 of the Book of Isaiah after having left Jerusalem around 600 BC. Since Isaiah died around 698 BC, under traditional biblical belief, there would be no conflict. However, it is widely accepted that these chapters were not written by Isaiah, but rather by one or more other people during the Babylonian captivity, sometime between 586 and 538 BC (between 14 and 82 years after it could have been known to the Book of Mormon prophets).

Books of Moses In the Book of Mormon around 600 BC, a prophet Nephi and his brothers recover brass plates that they discovered "...did contain the five books of Moses, which gave an account of the creation of the world, and also of Adam and Eve, who were our first parents; And also a record of the Jews from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah; And also the prophecies of the holy prophets, from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah;" What is commonly understood as the five books of Moses was not completely written, compiled or attributed to Moses as the author until after the Babylonian captivity. Modern scholarly consensus rejects authorship by Moses, affirms that it had multiple authors, and was composed over centuries. Additionally, the concept of the Books of Moses followed by a history and then the writings of the prophets reflects a contemporary understanding of the Christian Old Testament. David Bokovoy writes, "The concept of five Mosaic books, however, is clearly anachronistic. Moreover, it is extremely difficult to imagine that these books could have existed as an Egyptian translation. There's no historical evidence that Judean scribes translated what would become biblical texts into a foreign language until the second century BC; and when they did, it was the Greek Septuagint."

Baptism Baptism is mentioned as a ritual that is taught and performed among the Nephites, with its first mention being taught by Nephi, son of Lehi between 559 and 545 BC. "And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name". Research by Everett Ferguson (2009) has concluded that "the date for the origin of proselyte baptism cannot be determined."

Both Christian and Rabbinic baptism is rooted in the washings in the Book of Leviticus, which traditional Biblical timelines date to approximately 1445 BC although current texts are considered to date from the Achaemenid Empire, which began about 539 BC. A practice similar to baptism is known to have been practiced by the Essenes between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD. The Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906 compares Christian baptism to ancient Jewish ritual purification and initiation rites involving immersion in water and states that "Baptism was practised in ancient (Hasidean or Essene) Judaism".

Dating of known historical events The Book of Mormon chronology accounts for 600 years from the time that Lehi "came out" of Jerusalem to the birth of Jesus Christ, reflecting an 1820s view of the timeline but which contradicts the timing of known historical events.Hardy, G. (2010). Understanding the Book of Mormon a readers guide. New York: Oxford University Press. Footnote 15 on page 103Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 10:4, 19:8; 2 Nephi 25:19, 3 Nephi 1:1 Lehi is said to have left Jerusalem in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, which occurred in 597 BC.Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 1:4 The date of birth of Jesus was no later than 4 BC, based on the Bible stating that it occurred during the reign of Herod the Great, who died in 4 BC. However, ancient Hebrews used a lunar calendar of 360 days for a year. This would place the date of the birth of Jesus, according to Book of Mormon, at 6 BC.

Flora and fauna anachronisms

Horses

There are several instances where horses are mentioned in the Book of Mormon, and are portrayed as being in the forest upon first arrival of the Nephites, "raise(d)", "fed", "prepared" (in conjunction with chariots), used for food, and being "useful unto man".1 Nephi 18:25, Enos 1:21, Alma 18:9,10,12, Alma 20:6, 3 Nephi 3:22, 3 Nephi 4:4, 3 Nephi 6:1, and Ether 9:19. There is no evidence that horses existed on the American continent during the time frame of the Book of Mormon. While there were horses in North America during the Pleistocene,R.J.G. Savage & M.R. Long, Mammal evolution, an illustrated guide (1986, Facts on File, p. 202): "although the true horses had themselves also by then died out in Europe and Asia, they survived in North America and from there they continued to evolve." and modern horses partly evolved in the Americas, fossil records show that they became extinct on the American continent approximately 10,000 years ago. Horses did not reappear in the Americas until the Spaniards brought them from Europe.R. Dale Guthrie, New carbon dates link climatic change with human colonization and Pleistocene extinctions, Nature 441 (11 May 2006), 207–209. They were brought to the Caribbean by Christopher Columbus in 1493, and to the American continent by Hernán Cortés in 1519. At this point then there is no convincing evidence that the horse survived until the period of the Mesoamerican civilizations.

Elephants

Elephants are mentioned twice in a single verse in the Book of Ether and are indicated to be at least semi-domesticated. "And they also had horses, and asses, and there were elephants," and considered at least semi-domesticated as "useful unto man." Mastodons and mammoths lived in the New World during the Pleistocene and the very early Holocene with a disappearance of the Mastodon from North America about 10,500 years ago where recent eDNA research of sediments indicates mammoths survived in north central Siberia at least as late as 2000 BC, in continental northeast Siberia until at least 5300 BC, and until at least 6600 BC in North America. The fossil record indicates that they became extinct along with most of the megafauna towards the end of the last glacial period. The source of this extinction, known as the Holocene extinction is speculated to be the result of human predation, a significant climate change, or a combination of both factors.Sharon Levy, "Mammoth Mystery, Did Climate Changes Wipe Out North America's Giant Mammals, Or Did Our Stone Age Ancestors Hunt Them To Extinction?", Onearth, winter 2006, pp. 15–19 It is known that a small population of mammoths survived on Saint Paul Island, Alaska, up until 5725 BP (3705 BC), but this date is more than 1000 years before the Jaredite record in the Book of Mormon begins.

Cattle and cows There are four separate instances of "cows" or "cattle" in the New World in the Book of Mormon, including verbiage that they were "raise(d)" and were "for the use of man" or "useful for the food of man.", , , There is no evidence that specifically Old World cattle (members of the genus Bos) inhabited the New World prior to European contact in the 16th century AD.

Goats There are four mentions of the existence of goats in the Book of Mormon. The Jaredites noted goats "were useful for the food of man" (approximately 2300 BC), the Nephites did "find" "the goat and the wild goat" upon arrival (approximately 589 BC) and later "raise(d)" "goats and wild goats" (approximately 500 BC), and the goat was mentioned allegorically (approximately 80 BC)., , ,

Domesticated goats are not native to the Americas, having been domesticated in prehistoric times on the Eurasian continent. Domesticated goats are believed to have been introduced on the American continent upon the arrival of the Europeans in the 15th century, 1000 years after the conclusion of the Book of Mormon, and nearly 2000 years after they are last mentioned in the Book of Mormon. The mountain goat is indigenous to North America and has been hunted, and the fleece used for clothing. However it has never been domesticated, and is known for being aggressive towards humans.

Early Spanish observers of Mesoamerican wildlife sometimes characterized species such as the small brocket deer as "goats" and "wild goats".

Swine "Swine" are referred to twice in the Book of Mormon, and states that the swine were "useful for the food of man" among the Jaredites. There have not been any remains, references, artwork, tools, or any other evidence suggesting that swine were ever present in the pre-Columbian New World.John J. Mayer and I Lehr Brisbin, Jr. Wild Pigs in the United States: Their History, Comparative Morphology, and Current Status (1991, University of Georgia Press).

Barley and wheat

Grains are mentioned 28 times in the Book of Mormon, including "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.

FARMS scholar Robert Bennett suggests either that the terms barley and wheat were plants given Old World designations, or the terms may refer to genuine New World varieties of the plants.Barley and Wheat in the Book Mormon, Robert R. Bennett Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute. He also postulates that references to "barley" could refer to Hordeum pusillum, also known as "little barley", a species of grass with edible seeds native to the Americas. Evidence exists that this plant was cultivated in North America in the Woodland periods contemporary with mound-builder societies (early centuries AD) and has been carbon-dated to 2,500 years ago, although it is questionable whether it was ever domesticated.Bennett cites, Nancy B. Asch and David L. Asch, "Archeobotany," in Deer Track: A Late Woodland Village in the Mississippi Valley, ed. Charles R. McGimsey and Michael D. Conner (Kampsville, Illinois, Center for American Archaeology, 1985), 44, p. 78Robert R. Bennett, "Barley and Wheat in the Book Mormon", Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute.

Technology anachronisms

Chariots