Hoskisson notes on the cimeter scimitar in the book of mormon william j. I did arm them with bows, and with arrows, with swords, and. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the book of mormon. The book of mormon states nephi had a bow of steel yet the jews had no steel nor smelting for another 1,000 years. The book of mormon was supposedly translated by joseph smith from golden plates supposedly written in 600 bc, including some 27,000 words isaiah taken directly from the king james bible the problem is he also translated all known grammatical errors of the. Metals, weapons, and the book of mormon mormon answersldsfaq. There is an interesting word found in the war chronicles of zeniff cimerter. One of the earliest mesoamerican candidates for the book of mormon scimitar is found in a late preclassic sculpture that shows a warrior.
William hamblin and brent merrill, notes on the cimeter scimitar in the book of mormon, in warfare in the book of mormon, f. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi, who claimed that it had been. The earliest text allows readers to better assess that claim by improving comprehension. Although historians and archaeologists consider the book to be an anachronistic invention of joseph smith, many members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church and other denominations of the latter day saint movement believe that it. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. Army saber is actually a curved scimitar stype backsword. The 32 questions feared by the lds mormon church by. 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. The book of mormon speaks of the scimitar yet the scimitar. They base their claim on the mistaken assumption that scimitars did not exist in the preislamic old world and therefore could not have appeared among book of mormon peoples who claim an old world nexus with iron age ii palestine. The book of mormon describes that the jaredite people were familiar with the concept of windows near the time of the biblical tower of babel, and that they specifically avoided crafting windows for lighting in their covered seagoing vessels, because of fears that they would be dashed in pieces during the ocean voyage. Book of mormon describes use of scimitars spelled cimiter in book of mormon, steel swords and brass breastplates. Cimeters, or scimitars, differ from swords in having curved blades. The cimeter or scimitar was a curved sword with the cutting edge usually on the outer side.
Why do people stay in the mormon church when its easily. Mesoamerican weapons that fit with the concept of scimitar. So the question arises, why use the term cimiter in the book of mormon. Critics have complained about book of mormon references to metals and. Swords and cimeters in the book of mormon byu scholarsarchive. Brent merrill in notes on the cimeter scimitar in the book of mormon, in warfare in the book of mormon, pp.
Roper also makes a case for the book of mormon cimeter see enos 1. Joseph smith said that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book history of the church, vol. I might urge the utterance of ideas and the use of words which these ancient writers, if genuine, could not have known, as an argument against the authenticity of the book. For example, it denotes a curved sword as a cimeter a variation on scimitar, which weapon wouldnt exist until a thousand years after the events of the book. Byu religious scholar analyzes book of mormon swords at. This beautiful volume is crafted in sturdy bonded leather cover with gold detailing and spine label that is recreated to exact specifications. I did arm them with bows, and with arrows, with swords. Book of mormon characters mormonism, the mormon church.
Jun 14, 2008 book of mormon claims that chariots were used in americas before christ. Brent merrill, notes on the cimeter scimitar in the book of mormon, in warfare in the book of mormon, ed. The book of mormon implies a seven day week similar to that practiced in the middle east. See the next post, socalled book of mormon anachronisms. Cimeter is a formerly common variant spelling of scimitar, a kind of curved sword.
My month with the book of mormon may 2017 open our. This figure clearly shows the structure of the weapon as being different from the standard. The billhook, shortsword, and doubledagger are other mesoamerican weapons that fit with the concept of scimitar. The word cimiter is considered an anachronism since the.
Scimitars in mesoamerica in book of mormon times howlers. There arent a lot of musicals with that same amount of crude humor, but there are many many zany comedy musicals. Take, for instance, this paragraph about the cimeter more commonly spelled scimitar today. The book of mormon, journal editions can help with both your daily study and your journaling efforts. Brent merrill, notes on the cimeter scimitar in the book of mormon, in in warfare in the book of mormon, ed. Brent merrill the bow and arrow in the book of mormon william j. Metals, weapons, and the book of mormon mormon answers. At the top of my list, i have to recommend leonard bernsteins candide. First 100 sample 100 all proximity searches boolean searches browse the book of mormon main page. Evidence of scimitar like weapons in mesoamerica is presented by william j. In the book of mormon, the term cimeter is used often to describe a weapon of war. The spelling cimeter has become standard for the knife. Swords and cimiters in the book of mormon book of mormon. Archeologicalanthropological problems in the book of mormon.
Jun 01, 2007 evidence of scimitar like weapons in mesoamerica is presented by william j. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of. Also see swords and cimeters in the book of mormon by matthew roper, journal of book of mormon studies, vol. All the text of the book of mormonas well as large, lined marginswill give you a large canvas to express your thoughts, document insights youve received, or create your own visual art illuminations, or calligraphy, enhancing your daily study and creating a record that will endure. Smith claimed to translate the original text of the plates into english. The obvious answer is avenue q, which had the same songwriters as book of mormon who also, incidentally, were the songwriters for, of all things, frozen. But a mormon apologist has replied, logically enough, that it was a reference to a curved sword, and that the nearest english word was cimeter so no problem. A cimeter or scimitar is a large, curved butchers knife, with a blade typically 814 2035 cm. The following article is courtesy of fair, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing welldocumented answers to criticisms of. The book of mormon contains an account of this visit, including the very words spoken by jesus. Oct 08, 2011 the book of mormon speaks of the scimitar yet the scimitar wasnt used until 550 ad. The book of mormon speaks of silk yet silk wasnt created for another 1,000 years.
Alexander campbell, author at mormon stories essays. Buy book of mormon hardcover or softcover book of mormon. Supporters of the book of mormon claim it uses chiasmusa figure of speech utilizing inverted parallelismand claim it is evidence to support the books ancient origin. The book of mormon claims to be another testament of jesus christ and the word of god just as is the bible. The cimeter of the book of mormon is known today as a scimitar a curved blade with the outer side sharpened. There are a number of words and phrases in the book of mormon that are anachronistictheir. Critics argue this existed hundreds of years before the term scimitar was coined. They base their claim on the mistaken assumption that. Cimiter swords part ii, for the answer to that question and why joseph.
If the book of mormon is the most correct book ever written,1 why were there more than 3,900 changes between the first few editions, many quite significant. Types of armor in the book of mormon there are eight distinct terms for armor mentioned in the book of mormon. Popular mormon fiction books meet your next favorite book. However, archeologists have found neither evidence of chariots or even evidence of wheeled vehicle usage during the period described in the book of mormon scimitars spelled cimeters by joseph smith, were oldworld weapons of war that were mentioned throughout the book of mormon. Evidence of scimitarlike weapons in mesoamerica is presented by. When adding biographies, be sure to add a category link seen at bottom of this edit page so that it will be added.
Stories in the book of mormon describe swords and other deadly. Cimiter swords continuing from the last two posts, another issue critics claim is out of place in the historical time framean anachronismis the use of the term cimiter. Swords and cimeters in the book of mormon matthew roper journal of book of mormon studies 81 1999. Several kinds of swords and cimeters that were in use in ancient mesoamerica.
Critics have long claimed that the scimitar was unknown before the rise of islam and that references to this weapon in the book of mormon is anachronistic. The curved, bladed weapon, mentioned 3 times in the book of mormon, originated with the ottoman empire in the 9th century. All the weapons cited in the book of mormon text have parallels among mesoamerican armaments. The book of mormon describes the presence of chariots in the new world. Cimiter swords part ii continuing from the last post regarding critics claims of there being anachronisms in the book of mormom, the use of cimiter was begun, ending with so the question arises, why use the term cimiter in the book of mormon. The following article is courtesy of fair, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing welldocumented answers to criticisms of lds doctrine, belief and practice. I believe in jesus christ as my savior and redeemer. Mormanity a blog for those interested in the church of. Not only is it an asian word for blade, its also made of anachronistic steel.
Book of mormon really excited my neighbor, brother hanna. Hamblin fortifications in the book of mormon account compared with mesoamerican fortifications john l. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, mormon archaeologists have attempted to find archaeological evidence to support it. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Some critics have termed the presence of scimitars in the text of the book of mormon anachronistic.