Book of Mormon and Anachronisms

#The Book of Mormon and “Anachronisms”

Concern The Jehovah’s Witnesses and others delight in pointing out what they call “anachronisms” in the Book of Mormon. An anachronism is an error in chronology in which a person, object, or event is assigned a date or period other than the correct one. These are specific prophesies of the Savior’s birth, mortal life, atonement, and resurrection. They are considered anachronisms by the Witnesses because there are no corresponding prophesies in the Bible, and the Witnesses don’t believe that specific events of the Savior’s life were ever prophesied. They feel that these Book of Mormon prophecies must have been written after the Savior’s mortal sojourn.

Discussion We rejoice in the sacred truth that every prophet since Adam existed to prophesy of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (see also the resource article “All Prophets Taught of Christ”). The Apostle Peter knew also of this truth when he wrote: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:19-21). Also: “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43). See also Jacob 4:4; Moses 6:51-68; 7:55; 8:24; JST, Genesis 15:11-12; Jacob 7:11; Mosiah 13:33; 3 Nephi 20:24; Helaman 8:17-19; John 8:56.

Concern An almost comical objection which the Witnesses raise against the Book of Mormon is reflected in the following statement from their anti-Mormon propaganda collection: “As might be expected when events are talked about out of time-order, The Book of Mormon occasionally slips and refers to them in the past tense instead of in the future tense.” They then give examples of Book of Mormon prophecies of Christ written centuries before his mortal birth which are written in the past tense. Consider for example 2 Nephi 33:6: “I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell.” They then betray their ignorance by asking the question, “How can a person supposedly living long before Christ made his sacrifice say that Christ had redeemed him?

Discussion The reason this objection has an element of humor is that in the language of the Hebrew prophets, it is common and well understood usage to speak of future events, seen in prophecy, as if they had already happened. This has been called the “prophetic perfect” tense. For example, referring to the Babylonian captivity, which culminated in 587 B.C., Isaiah, writing in 720-740 B.C., said, “Therefore my people are gone into captivity” (Isaiah 5:13). Speaking of Christ’s mortal ministry, Isaiah said, “People that walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Isaiah 9:2). Prophesying of the birth of Christ, Isaiah wrote, “For unto us a child is born.” A more literal translation is “for a child has been born unto us” (Isaiah 9:6). What the Witnesses consider an error in the Book of Mormon is actually a testimony of the authenticity of the book.

The Witnesses also betray their lack of understanding of the infinite nature and timelessness of the Savior’s atonement by criticizing Mosiah 4:2: “O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men.” They say of this verse: “How can a people cry for forgiveness of sins by the atoning blood of Christ long before that blood was shed?” The Jehovah’s Witnesses badly need our help.