There are many little facts and interpretations that people like to throw out to "prove" that the Book of Mormon isn't true. (if you are unfamiliar with this book and would like a brief explanation, click here.) How do we make sense of all of these "facts?" Are they legitimate concerns? Let me explain to you with a bit of an analogy:
Have you ever heard the saying "Eskimos have over 100 words for snow?" Well, that's actually false but in this analogy we're pretending its true. Lets say an uneducated eskimo was translating a document from English into his native language. In that document, the word "snow" was mentioned. This eskimo translates "snow" from English into one of the 100 versions of "snow" in his language. As the passage does not specify the type of snow, this eskimo translates the word to the best of his ability with the given context. In his translation, he used a word for snow that meant "mountains of snow" because that was a common word for him.
One hundred years later, the eskimo and his document are accused of being fake because the document he translated was discussing Southern Florida. Scientists had proven that it was impossible to have more than the tiniest bit of snow in Florida. Was this eskimo a liar? Does his false translation mean his document did not exist?
Where am I going with this? Just keep reading and you will see.
Many people think the Book of Mormon has been disproven because it mentions that horses, wheat, barley and steel (among many more) were present in the Americas between 3100 bc and 400 ad. Could this be all we need to disprove such a prominent book? Of course not. When the people discussed in the Book of Mormon traveled to the Americas, do you think they saw things they didn't recognize? Absolutely- just as Lewis and Clark did not recognize so many animals when they ventured across the country. When these two fine gentlemen came upon these animals, they described them in comparison to animals with which they were familiar. Just like this, I think it is safe to assume that when those who wrote the Book of Mormon discussed unusual objects, they compared them with objects of familiarity. So, in the case of the wheat, they could have, in reality, been referencing corn because they used it in similar fashions to wheat.
Along these same lines, as Joseph Smith, an uneducated farmer's son, was translating the Book of Mormon from an ancient language to English, he could have come across words for which we may have developed more specific words in English. This being the case, he may have had to do as the eskimo did and find what he thought was an appropriate word for the context. Now, over 100 years later, the Book of Mormon isn't true because wheat isn't native to America.
Obviously this isn't the only little fact that supposedly "disproves" the Book of Mormon. To be honest, I am sure there are hundreds of nit-picky reasons like this that people have found. I am positive there are not perfect explanations for each of them (and I certainly don't intend on finding every one of them if there are). I am telling you all of this to prove a point much larger than a possibility of inaccurate word usage. What point, you may wonder? Here it is, plain and simple:
Small details aren't what you should use to disprove this book. You can try and try but I promise you, no matter how much science, how many numbers and how many testimonials you provide against the book, there will always be millions who will believe in this book because of the truth it reveals to their hearts. You can research and study thousands of documents and web-pages about the Book of Mormon, but until you read it with sincerity and honestly take Moroni's challenge, you will never be able to truly disprove it to yourself. That, my friends, is the point I am trying to make.
Now here is where I must submit a disclaimer: none of this is official doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons). It is only made up of my humble opinion mixed with some reading I did about the topic. If this topic interests you, if you find my writing not backed up enough by official documents or you simply want more questions answered about the Book of Mormon, visit this website and your desires will be fulfilled. If you are interested in reading the Book of Mormon, a hard copy is available for free here or online here.
