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Some claim that plants mentioned in the Book of Mormon are not found in the New World, and are thus evidence that Joseph fabricated the text based upon his own cultural background.
To see citations to the critical sources for these claims, [[../CriticalSources|click here]]
Summary: Some plants mentioned in the Book of Mormon are not known to exist in the New World. It this evidence that Joseph fabricated the text based upon his own cultural background?
None of the Book of Mormon's plant species causes a problem — Spanish conquerors described pre-Columbian products in exactly the terms used by the Book of Mormon. Barley, silkworms, and grapes were known. One of the terms unknown to Joseph's day (the Akkadian sheum) is impressive evidence for the Book of Mormon's antiquity.
Barley in the New World was long a source of anti-Mormon amusement, with one author insisting, "barley never grew in the New World before the white man brought it here!" [Scott, 82.]
However, this is simply false. Pre-Columbian New World barley was first reported in the scientific literature in 1983.[1]
(i.e. flax)
This crop is mentioned but once (See Mosiah 9:9). We do not know to what it applied, but this does not count against the Book of Mormon's claims.
One must credit Joseph Smith with a bullseye on this issue:
We do not know to which crop this name was applied, but it is certainly not out of place in an ancient context (See Mosiah 9:9). Critics must explain how Joseph Smith chose this word, since Akkadian was not translated until 27 years after the publication of the Book of Mormon.[5]
For a discussion on this name between believers and non-believers, see here.
(i.e. mulberry leaves and silkworms)
The production of Old World "silk" requires both silkworms and the mulberry trees upon whose leaves they feed, which critics have charged is impossible.
However, there are several examples of silk or silk-like fabric in pre-Columbian America:
Amaranth has a similar nutritional profile to grain (the Aztecs got up to 80% of the calories from it prior to the Spanish conquest), and it is even today termed a "pseudograin" because it can be ground into flour like wheat or other seed grains, which biologically are grasses.[8] Even today, Amaranth is used to replace wheat flour in gluten-intolerant patients (e.g., celiac disease) or to increase the nutritional content of standard whole-wheat flour.
So, there were grapes locally, as well as several other plant species which produced alcoholic drinks which the Spanish were quite happy to consider 'wine.'
Part(s) of this issue are addressed in a FairMormon video segment. Click here to see video clips on other topics.
Notes
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