Expert: Gene Black - 9/22/2009

Question
The Book of Mormon mentions several animals, plants, and technologies that did not existed in pre-Columbian America. These include asses, cattle, milk, horses, oxen, sheep, swine, goats, elephants, wheat, barley,figs, grapes, silk,steel,bellows, brass, breast plates, chains, copper working, iron working, plows, swords, scimitars, and chariots. However,the Smithsonian Institution has stated that "none of the principal food plants and domestic animals of the Old World (except the dog) were present in the New World before Columbus."

How do you answer this problem in the B.O.M.?

Answer
That's rather akin to asking if you trust someone who was there or if you trust someone who speculated about what happened after the fact.

Now it may be that your question is instead one of belief in whether the Book of Mormon is true. If that's your question, then you'll never answer it with science. Why? If I dropped the gold plates in your lap, and Angel showed up to vouch for them, you had proof positive the people talked about in the Book of Mormon existed, and the prophets talked about in the Book of Mormon did indeed exist and performed the miracles they did and gave the prophesies they did, you still wouldn't be able to tell me if they made it up, it was of God, or it was of the Devil. Science as we know it doesn't go there.

The only way to discover whether or not the teachings in the Book of Mormon are truly the teachings of God is to ask God. Moroni, the last prophet to write in the Book of Mormon knew people would need a way to find out for themselves whether or not the book was true and instructed the reader to ask God (Moroni 10:3-5). The Bible gives much the same advice in James 1:5.

As for Science? Well, we've discovered the world isn't flat, we still can't explain basic principles of the universe like magnetism and gravity - we know what they do but we don't know why they do it, and sometimes science is simply wrong:

http://www.chapmanresearch.org/PDF/Ancient%20North%20American%20Antiquities%20an...

Interesting article, and it's not one of a kind. If you start doing some research into ancient american civilization, you might be surprised at what you find. After all, we are talking about a people who among other things, managed to build pyramids similar to those in Egypt - no small feat.

Now for the record, I'm a great believer in science, I just don't believe the scientist get it right every single time - and I believe they would agree with me on that note. I tend to believe where you've found correct science, you've simply come to understand another of God's truths. There isn't a conflict between science and religion for me. Just a conflict with some scientific viewpoints that I personally don't believe are very well founded.