A number of authors have presented hypotheses relating to where the Book of Mormon history took place, so we will touch on this topic only lightly. Roberts wrote, “Secondary evidences in support of truth, like secondary causes in natural phenomena, may be of first rate importance and mighty factors in the achievement of God’s purposes.” 3ĭiscussing the animals mentioned in the Book of Mormon requires a review of a variety of disciplines, including archaeology, geography, biology, paleontology (including extinctions), geology, taphonomy, and more.

However, this should not stop scholars from seeking all available truths that can be derived from this sacred text. The truth of the scriptural text, whose primary purpose is to testify of God’s dealings with an ancient group of his covenant people, is first and foremost a matter of faith. For others, these matters may be a challenge. 2 For many Latter-day Saints, the subject may be of peripheral interest. In this article, we address factors that provide important perspectives on animals mentioned in the Book of Mormon. An understanding of some of these challenges and the nature of the tools and evidence needed to address such questions can provide a helpful perspective to those who may be troubled by this issue. Secular scholars have their own difficulties interpreting the past. People of faith, however, are not alone in their challenges. Some Latter-day Saints are challenged by what they consider a lack of evidence supporting the historicity of the animals mentioned in the Book of Mormon. As we approach the end of the second century since the publication of the Book of Mormon, the skeptical reader is more likely to claim that these animals disappeared before the advent of modern humans or long before the time covered by the Nephite record. The issue has shifted to when such animals became extinct. It can no longer be argued that there were no horses, asses, or elephants in the Americas. 1 Encouraged by such discoveries, the present authors and some other specialists reasoned that future research and investigation would show that some of these species survived into historical times consistent with the account in the Book of Mormon. In time, however, scientific discoveries showed that species of horses, asses, elephants, and other animals had once been present in North America, although dating to an earlier period than that covered in the Book of Mormon.

During the first century after its publication, Book of Mormon critics argued that such animals never existed anywhere in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus and western Europeans in the late fifteenth century.

When the Book of Mormon first appeared, skeptics said that references to horses, asses, elephants, and other animals (such as swine and cows) were out of place.

Book unlikely animals