Radiocarbon Dating and the Book of Mormon
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BookofMormonArchaeologicalForum
Mar 1, 2012, 1:13:10 AM3/1/12
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Radiocarbon Dating and the Book of Mormon
Nineteenth-century critics of the Book of Mormon failed to attempt to
embarrass Joseph Smith by ridiculing the pervasive dates found
throughout the Nephite portion of the book. They could have argued
something like, “How could anyone be so brazen and foolish as to give
on almost every page the year-by-year dates of the civilization that
presumably was the origin of our aboriginal Indians? Smith has dug
himself a bottomless pit via this error. Let’s see him get out of it.”
These early critics probably were not smart enough to capitalize on
what could have been viewed in 1830 and for the next hundred years or
so as a major faux pas by Joseph—the fact that he included the
computable BC and AD dates on almost every page for the thousand-year
period of the Nephites. Today, we see those dates printed at the
bottom of each page and tend to take them for granted. Behind those
dates, however, is irrefutable evidence that the Book of Mormon is
what it claims to be.
But are the BC and AD dates found at the bottom of most pages in the
Book of Mormon valid? Do they indeed correlate to New World historical
events? How can readers of the Book of Mormon verify the validity of
the dates? And do the dates offer any assistance in helping us
identify the New World locations of the lands and events of the Book
of Mormon?
Radiocarbon dating is turning out to be an unsung hero in contributing
data that support the credibility of the Book of Mormon—especially if
the location of New World events of the Book of Mormon is in
Mesoamerica. Even though radiocarbon dating might still be considered
in its infancy, its science is behind the accumulation of Mesoamerican
dating information that, in its own way, overwhelmingly supports one
of Joseph Smith’s claims, “I translated the Book of Mormon by the gift
and power of God.”
Go to www.bmaf.org/node/474 for an interesting discussion about some
of the outcomes of radiocarbon dating in connection with the Book of
Mormon. The title of the article at the BMAF website, “Implications of
Radiocarbon Dating for the Credibility of the Book of Mormon and the
Validity of Book of Mormon Geography Models,” is self-explanatory.
Follow-up discussions and comments are welcome.
(Materials, concepts, maps or conclusions presented at our forums,
appearing on this website, or emailed to BMAF members and guests are
the sole responsibility of the contributing author(s) and do not
necessarily imply that members of the Board of Directors or members of
BMAF agree with all or any part of the subject matter and are not
sponsored in any way by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints.)
Nineteenth-century critics of the Book of Mormon failed to attempt to
embarrass Joseph Smith by ridiculing the pervasive dates found
throughout the Nephite portion of the book. They could have argued
something like, “How could anyone be so brazen and foolish as to give
on almost every page the year-by-year dates of the civilization that
presumably was the origin of our aboriginal Indians? Smith has dug
himself a bottomless pit via this error. Let’s see him get out of it.”
These early critics probably were not smart enough to capitalize on
what could have been viewed in 1830 and for the next hundred years or
so as a major faux pas by Joseph—the fact that he included the
computable BC and AD dates on almost every page for the thousand-year
period of the Nephites. Today, we see those dates printed at the
bottom of each page and tend to take them for granted. Behind those
dates, however, is irrefutable evidence that the Book of Mormon is
what it claims to be.
But are the BC and AD dates found at the bottom of most pages in the
Book of Mormon valid? Do they indeed correlate to New World historical
events? How can readers of the Book of Mormon verify the validity of
the dates? And do the dates offer any assistance in helping us
identify the New World locations of the lands and events of the Book
of Mormon?
Radiocarbon dating is turning out to be an unsung hero in contributing
data that support the credibility of the Book of Mormon—especially if
the location of New World events of the Book of Mormon is in
Mesoamerica. Even though radiocarbon dating might still be considered
in its infancy, its science is behind the accumulation of Mesoamerican
dating information that, in its own way, overwhelmingly supports one
of Joseph Smith’s claims, “I translated the Book of Mormon by the gift
and power of God.”
Go to www.bmaf.org/node/474 for an interesting discussion about some
of the outcomes of radiocarbon dating in connection with the Book of
Mormon. The title of the article at the BMAF website, “Implications of
Radiocarbon Dating for the Credibility of the Book of Mormon and the
Validity of Book of Mormon Geography Models,” is self-explanatory.
Follow-up discussions and comments are welcome.
(Materials, concepts, maps or conclusions presented at our forums,
appearing on this website, or emailed to BMAF members and guests are
the sole responsibility of the contributing author(s) and do not
necessarily imply that members of the Board of Directors or members of
BMAF agree with all or any part of the subject matter and are not
sponsored in any way by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints.)
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