Science in the The Mormon Scriptures

1 Nephi

1. "I make a record in the language of my father ... the language of the Egyptians." That's a strange language an Israelite around 600 BCE to write in! 1:2
2. Apparently the 400+ km hike from Jerusalem to the Red Sea took only three days. 2:5-6
3. Lehi named a "continually running" river that flowed from Arabia to the Red Sea after his son Laman. But there are no permanent rivers in Arabia and there is no evidence that such rivers existed in 600 BCE. 2:8-9
4. God made the New World just for Nephi and his family. (For though it had been occupied by the Native Americans for tens of thousands of years, God made it for Nephi, not for them.) 2:20
5. Laban's sword blade was made of steel, long before steel existed. 4:9
6. "And he, supposing that I spake of the brethren of the church, and that I was truly that Laban whom I had slain, wherefore he did follow me."
   Laban's servant figured Nephi was Laban and that he spoke for the church. What church? The Jews in 600 BCE didn't have churches, did they? 4:26
7. Lehi's brass plates told the story of Adam and Eve "who were our first parents." (So Mormons know Evolution is false.) 5:11
8. Nephi sees "many cities" settled by the Nephites in the New World. Yet no evidence of them has ever been found. 12:3
9. And then it came to pass that Nephi broke his steel bow. Of course steel didn't exist at the time, wouldn't work well for a bow anyway, and would be hard to break. But, oh well. This is the Book of Mormon. 16:18
10. They come to a place that they call Bountiful, "because of its much fruit and also wild honey." But the Arabian coastline does not abound in fruit or honey, and hasn't for many thousands of years. 17:5
11. "We did work timbers of curious workmanship." But where did Nephi get the lumber? There are very few trees in the Arabian desert. 18:1
12. After arriving in the New World, Nephi and company planted all of the seeds that they brought from "the land of Jerusalem" and "they did grow exceedingly." Yet there is no evidence that Near Eastern crops ever grew in the New World
    in pre-Columbian times. 18:24
13. Nephi found cows, horses, oxen, asses, and goats and goats when he arrived in the New World in 590 BCE. Yet none of these domesticated animals existed in North America before the Europeans brought them over 2000 years later. 18:25

2 Nephi

14. In 590 BCE, Lehi and company found the Americas completely uninhabited. 1:8-9
15. Nephi brought along the brass plates and the magic ball (or compass) that God made with his own hands. This was about 1600 years before compasses were used in navigation. 5:12
16. Nephi makes many swords [like Laban's, made of "the most precious steel" (1 Ne 4:9)]. Yet there is no evidence of metal swords in the New World before Columbus. 5:14
17. Nephi teaches his followers to build buildings and work in iron, copper, brass, steel, gold, and silver. But evidence is lacking for such pre-Columbian metallurgy, and it would be well beyond the capabilities of a handful of immigrants from the ancient Near-East around 590 BCE. 5:15
18. Wasn't it God that cut Rahab (the sea monster) to pieces, wounded the dragon, and dried up the sea? Yeah, it was him all right. Who else could do that? 8:9-10
19. Jacob tells the Nephites that they are on an isle of the sea, and since the Bible mentions "isles of the sea" (see for example Isaiah 24:15), there must be other isles that are inhabited by the descendants of other ancient seafaring Jews. (As I'm sure you've guessed by now, the other inhabitants of the "isles of the sea" are the Polynesians.) 10:20-21
20. "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb...." I wonder what will become of the spiders. Will they be more friendly toward flies? And will the parasitic wasps find another way to feed their larvae? Or will they continue to feed off the living bodies of caterpillars? 21:6
21. "And the weaned child shall put his hand in the cockatrice' den." A cockatrice is a serpent, hatched from a cock's egg, that can kill with a glance. They are rare nowadays. 21:8
22. According to this verse, the moon produces its own light and the earth does not move. 23:10
23. When God gets really angry, he causes earthquakes. 23:13
24. Dragons will live in Babylonian palaces and satyrs will dance there. 23:21-22
25. "Out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent." What ever happened to these fascinating biblical creatures? 24:29
26. "And the weaned child shall put his hand in the cockatrice's den." A cockatrice is a serpent, hatched from a cock's egg, that can kill with a glance. They are rare nowadays. 30:14

Enos

27. "My father ... taught me in his language."
    Enos' father (Jacob) taught him in his language -- which, of course, was reformed Egyptian. (All native Americans spoke reformed Egyptian in 500 BCE.) 1
28. A Cmimeter is a curved sword with the sharp edge on the convex side. This type of sword did not exist at the time Enos was supposedly written (ca. 500 BCE). Indeed there is no evidence that swords of any kind existed in pre-Columbian America. 20
29. The Nephites planted "all manner of grain" and all manner of cattle, goats, and horses. (Cattle, horses, and European grains were absent in pre-Columbian North America.) 21

Jarom

30. The Nephites fortified their cities (cities that left no evidence of their existence). 7
31. The Nephites, "multiplied exceedingly" and "became exceedingly rich" in gold, silver, iron, copper, brass, and steel making tools and weapons "of every kind." This was before steel existed, of course, and no evidence for any of these Nephite weapons, tools, cities, or technologies have ever been found. 8

Omni

32. The people of Zarahelma sailed from Israel to America in 586 BCE 12-19
33. Coriantumr's parents sailed from the Tower of Babel to America 20-30

Mosiah

34. Lehi, a 7th century Israelite, was taught in the language of the Egyptians. 1:4
35. The Nephites had to hand over half of their barley to the Lamanites. But that wouldn't have been a big deal since barley didn't exist in the New World at the time. 7:22
36. Ammon finds ancient swords. If swords existed in pre-Columbian America, why is there no evidence of it today? 8:11
37. Zeniff and his people plant all kinds of crops, including wheat and barley, neither of which were present until the Europeans brought them to America. 9:9
38. Zeniff arms his people with swords and cimeters. No evidence for these pre-Columbian weapons has ever been found. 9:16
39. More swords and cimeters. But no evidence for these pre-Columbian weapons has ever been found. 10:8
40. "And of their brass and their iron ... fatlings ... and grain." -- none of which existed in the New World before being introduced by Europeans. 11:3
41. "King Noah built many elegant and spacious buildings" ornamented with gold, silver, iron, brass, copper, and ziff.
    Why is there no evidence for these fancy buildings? There were many of them, decorated with gold and silver. Where are they now? And the metallurgy technology for iron and brass didn't exist prior to European contact. But there was plenty of ziff around at the time so that wouldn't have been a problem. 11:8

Alma

42. The Amlicites were armed with swords and cimeters (ca. 87 BCE). But no evidence for these weapons has ever been found. 2:12

43. No metal coins (ezrons, senines, ontis, etc.) have been found from pre-Columbia America. 11:4-19

44. "Alma cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord our God, have mercy on this man, and heal him according to his faith which is in Christ. And when Alma had said these words, Zeezrom leaped upon his feet, and began to walk." 15:10-11

45. The New World in 78 BCE had many temples, sanctuaries, and synagogues that "were built after the manner of the Jews." Yet no evidence of these magnificent buildings has ever been found. 16:13

46. Swords (presumably made of metal) are again mentioned as though though they were common in pre-Columbian America. But no evidence for their existence has ever been found. 17:7

47. Ammon had lots of horses an chariots, at a time when neither horses nor chariots existed in the New World. 18:9-10

48. Lamoni had horses and chariots. But horses and wheeled transportation didn't exist in the Pre-Columbian New World. 20:6

49. Just another of the many swords that are mentioned in the Book of Mormon at a time and place where swords did not exist. 20:16

50. More metal swords, cimeters, and breastplates, none of which has ever been found. 43:18-20, 43:37-38, 44:8, 44:17

Helaman

51. The Lamanites (Native Americans) had "an innumerable army" that was armed with swords and cimeters. Yet no evidence for such weapons in the Pre-Columbian New World has ever been found. 1:14
52. The Nephites "began to cover the whole earth." Yet no evidence for Native Americans of Israelite descent has ever been found. 3:8
53. The Nephites built cities, temples, synagogues, sanctuaries, "and all manner of buildings." But no trace of them has ever been found. 3:9
54. The Nephites had a large timber industry. They exported "much by the way of shipping." Of course, there is no evidence for any of this now.
55. The Nephites built "many cities, both of wood and of cement." No evidence of them exists today. 3:11
56. The Nephites built ships, temples, synagogues, and sanctuaries. But no one has found any evidence of them. 3:14
57. The Nepites wrote many books and records "of every kind", but no evidence for them exists today. 3:15
58. "From the west sea [Pacific], even unto the east [Atlantic]; it being a day's journey for a Nephite." (Nephites could walk 5000 kilometers in one day.) 4:7

3 Nephi

59. And God's prophecy came true! That night "there was no darkness when night came ... but it was as light as thought it was mid-day." 1:15, 19
60. More talk of horses and chariots at a time and place in which neither existed. 3:22
61. Domesticated horses did not exist in per-Columbian America. 4:4, 6:1
62. When Jesus died, the inhabitants of many great cities died with him. Entire cities were sunk into the ocean, or were burned, or destroyed by earthquakes. 8:8-10, 14
63. When Jesus died, "the face of the whole earth became deformed." 8:17-18
64. For three days after Jesus died, there was absolutely no light -- not from the sun, moon, or stars, or from candles, campfires, or fireflies. 8:20-22

4 Nephi

65. "They did build cities."
    (But no evidence of them can be found today.) 7
66. "But there were many cities which had been sunk."
    (But no evidence of them can be found today.) 9

Mormon

67. "They would struggle with the sword for their lives."
    (There were no swords in the pre-Columbian New World.) 2:15, 6:9, 15

Ether

68. The Jaredites were Israelites who lived at the time of the Tower of Babel. (Genesis 11:1-9) 1:33
69. The Jaredites brought domesticated old world animals and plants "of every kind" to the New World. 1:41
70. "They did also carry with them deseret, which, by interpretation, is a honey bee."
    There were no honey bees in the New World before they were introduced by Europeans in the 17th century. (Wikipedia: Origin and distribution of the genus Apis) 2:3
71. The brother of Jared made 16 small stones, as clear as glass, out of molten rock. He then asked God to touch the stones to make them into lights to light up the inside of the barges. God did as the brother of Jared requested. 3:1-6
72. "He ... made swords out of steel." 7:9
73. "All manner of cattle, of oxen, and cows, and of sheep, and swine, and of goats ... horses, and asses, and elephants"
    None of these animals existed in the New World at the time it was supposedly occupied by the Jaredites . 9:18-19
74. "Coriantum took to wife, in his old age, a young maid, and begat sons and daughters; wherefore he lived until he was an hundred and forty and two years old." 9:24
75. "There came forth poisonous serpents also upon the face of the land, and did poison many people." 9:31
76. "Lib also did that which was good in the sight of the Lord. And ... the poisonous serpents were destroyed." 10:19
77. Brass, iron and silks -- none of which existed in the Pre-Columbian New World. 10:23-24
78. "There had been slain two millions of mighty men, and also their wives and their children." Millions of people were "slain by the sword", yet no swords have ever been found from pre-Columbian America. 15:2

The Book of Abraham

79. When this woman discovered Egypt it was under water. Later her sons settled there. So in this way the curse of Ham was preserved in that race. 1:24
80. But I'll try to provide you with a history that extends back to the beginning of creation, because I have all the records for that. 1:28
81. But I had the records of the creation of the planets and stars. And I still have them. I'll try to write down some of that for you. 1:31
82. But I had the records of the creation of the planets and stars. And I still have them. I'll try to write down some of that for you. 1:31
83. And I saw the stars, one of which was nearest to God's throne. 3:2
84. The Lord said to me, "The bright star is Kolob, because it is near me." 3:3
85. He said, "This is Shinehah, the sun; and Olea, the moon. Kolob is a star, and Kokaubeam are the stars." 3:13
86. Kolob is the greatest of all the Kokaubeam, because it is the nearest to me. 3:16

The Book of Moses

87. Moses, I'm going to tell you about heaven and earth. Write it all down. In the beginning I created these things with my only begotten. 2:1

Doctrine & Covenants

88. Cast out devils, and heal the sick. And you won't be hurt by poisonous snakes or deadly poison. 24:13
89. After that, a trumpet will sound, the earth will quake, and dead bodies will come alive. 29:13
90. But before any of that happens, the sun will darken, the moon will turn into blood, and stars will fall. 29:14
91. Great hailstorms that will destroy crops. 29:16
92. God will take vengeance on the wicked. Then he'll send flies and maggots to eat their flesh. 29:17-18
93. Then the end will come, heaven and earth will be destroyed, and there'll be a new heaven and earth. 29:23
94. Before the earth is destroyed, Michael my archangel will blow his trumpet, and all the dead people will come forth. 29:26
95. Before I come, the sun will darken, the moon will turn into blood, the stars won't shine, and some of them will fall. And the wicked will be destroyed. 9
96. Whoever asks me in my name can cast out devils, heal the sick, blind, deaf, dumb, and lame. 9
97. Those who have faith in me will be healed and won't die. 48
98. Blind people who have faith will see, deaf people will hear, and lame people will leap. 49-51
99. The sun will darken, the moon will turn to blood, and the stars will fall from heaven. 42-43
100. The the Lord will put his foot on the mountain and split it two, and the heavens and earth will shake. 48
101. Some sick people have enough faith to be healed. And others have enough faith to heal them. 19-20
102. Some can work miracles. 21

103. God created everything on earth, including all living things, just for humans. 16

     All things dull and ugly
     All creatures short and squat
     All things rude and nasty
     The Lord God made the lot

     Each little snake that poisons
     Each little wasp that stings
     He made their brutish venom
     He made their horrid wings

     All things sick and cancerous
     All evils great and small
     All things foul and dangerous
     The Lord God made them all

     Each nasty little hornet
     Each beastly little squid
     Who made the spiky urchin
     Who made the sharks? He did

     All things scabbed and ulcerous
     All pox both great and small
     Putrid, foul and gangrenous
     The Lord God made them all

     - Amen

     (Monty Python's Ode to Creation)

104. Now its time for you to go to Zion. But don't hurry, or you'll be confused. And confusion causes disease. 24

     Disease is caused by confusion.

105. Touch sick people with your hands, and they'll recover. 9
106. The earth will exist for a total of 7000 years. 6

     It has existed for 4.54 billion years so far, and will last another few billion years until the sun enters the red giant phase of its evolution.

Joseph Smith - Matthew

107. It be just like it was in the days of Noah. Everyone ate and drank and got married. Then the flood came and drowned them all. That's how it'll be when I come. 1:41-43