Book of Mormon/Money

Criticism

Critics claim that Book of Mormon references to Nephite coins is an anachronism, as coins were not used either in ancient America or Israel during Lehi's day.

Source(s) of the Criticism

  • Duwayne R. Anderson, Farewell to Eden: Coming to Terms with Mormonism and Science (Bloomington, IN: 1st Books Library, 2003), 240, note 125.
  • John Ankerberg and John Weldon, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Mormonism (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1992), 285–86.
  • John L. Smith, "What about those Gold Plates?" The Utah Evangel 33:6 (September 1986): 8.
  • Search for the Truth DVD (2007) Resources

Video

Part(s) of this issue are addressed in a FairMormon video segment. Click here to see video clips on other topics.

Response

The text of the Book of Mormon does not mention coins. The pieces of gold and silver described in Alma 11꞉1-20 are not coins, but a surprisingly sophisticated[1] system of weights and measures that is consistent with Mesoamerican proto-monetary practices.[2]

The mention of "Nephite coinage" in the chapter heading of Alma 11 in the 1981 LDS Book of Mormon is in error. The chapter headings are not part of the inspired text. Elder Bruce R. McConkie, who composed the chapter headings for the new edition of the LDS scriptures, said:

[As for the] Joseph Smith Translation items, the chapter headings, Topical Guide, Bible Dictionary, footnotes, the Gazetteer, and the maps. None of these are perfect; they do not of themselves determine doctrine; there have been and undoubtedly now are mistakes in them. Cross-references, for instance, do not establish and never were intended to prove that parallel passages so much as pertain to the same subject. They are aids and helps only.[3]

Endnotes

  1. [note]  See "The Numerical Elegance of the Nephite System": Table 1 and Table 2, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8/2 (1999); John W. Welch, "Did the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica use a system of weights and scales in measuring goods & their values?," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8/2 (1999). link; John W. Welch, "Weighing & Measuring in the Worlds of the Book of Mormon," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8/2 (1999). [36–46] link
  2. [note] Marion Popenoe de Hatch, Kaminaljuyú/San Jorge: Evidencia Arqueológica de la Actividad Económica en el Valle de Guatemala, 300 a.C. a 300 d.C (Guatemala: Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, 1997), 100.
  3. [note]  Mark McConkie (editor), Doctrines of the Restoration: Sermons and Writings of Bruce R. McConkie (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1989),289–290. ISBN 978-0884946441. GL direct link

Further reading

FAIR wiki articles

Book of Mormon/Money


FAIR web site

  • FairMormon Topical Guide: Book of Mormon Anachronisms FairMormon link
  • Michael Ash, "Book of Mormon Anachronisms Part 6: Compass, Coins, and Other Miscellaneous" PDF link

Videos

External links

  • Michael Ash, "Coins in the Book of Mormon" (MormonFortress.com) off-site
  • Jeff Lindsay, "Why Are 'Coins' Mentioned in the Book of Mormon Before The Invention of Coins?" (LightPlanet.com) off-site
  • Daniel C. Peterson, "Chattanooga Cheapshot, or The Gall of Bitterness (Review of Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Mormonism by John Ankerberg and John Weldon)," FARMS Review of Books 5/1 (1993): 1–86. off-site, see especially p. 55.
  • John W. Welch, "Did the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica use a system of weights and scales in measuring goods & their values?," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8/2 (1999). link
  • John W. Welch, "Weighing & Measuring in the Worlds of the Book of Mormon," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8/2 (1999). [36–46] link
  • "The Numerical Elegance of the Nephite System": Table 1 and Table 2, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 8/2 (1999).
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