Plant-Life Test and the Book of Mormon

I would like to get back onto the topic of the geography, geology, archaeology and overall culture of the Book of Mormon and how it compares to what we find in ancient America. Today I will talk about the plants that are described in the Book of Mormon and how they compare with what is found in the real world.

Plants Described in the Book of Mormon:

• Barley (Mosiah 7:22, Mosiah 9:9, Alma 11:7, Alma 11:15)

• Corn (Mosiah 9:9, Mosiah 9:14, Mosiah 7:22)
  

• Figs (3 Nephi 14:16)

• Grapes (2 Nephi 15:2, 2 Nephi 15:4, 3 Nephi 14:16)
  

• Neas (Mosiah 9:9)

• Sheum (Mosiah 9:9)
  

• Wheat (Mosiah 9:9, 3 Nephi 18:18)
  

First of all, you might be wondering what the heck are neas and sheums. Well, you are not alone, because according to the Book of Mormon index, they are unidentified plants. Since we have no idea what these plants are, there is no way to compare them with the real world. They could be turnips and green beans for all we know.

Book of Mormon Plant Test with Ancient America

When comparing the known plants with ancient American plant life, we see the following results:

Barley: None found.
Corn: Maize is found.
Figs: None found.
Grapes: None found.
Wheat: None found.

There is evidence for 1 out of the 5 known plants as described in the Book of Mormon. Some people say that maize is not corn, but that is silly and I think a little dishonest. That would be like saying a plantain isn't a banana. Technically they are different species, but when translating something like maize to English, it would be reasonable to use the word corn. However, barley, figs, grapes and wheat are not found in ancient America.

Significance of lack of evidence

It is important to note that these plants did exist in other regions of the world during this time period such as places mentioned in the Bible. Those areas have abundant evidence to demonstrate that these plants existed in those areas of the world in ancient times. Also, you can see plenty of evidence in archaeological findings for other non-Book of Mormon plants that did exist in ancient America, such as lima beans, tomatoes, squash, etc.

Even if the plants described in the Book of Mormon disappeared off the face of the earth, archaeologists have uncovered numerous art renderings in murals and stone sculptures that depict ancient plant life. Artwork containing plant life of that time is commonly found. In the mural above(click to enlarge), you can see a typical mural found in ancient America. It accurately depicts maize plants as found in ancient America. However, none of the other Book of Mormon plants are depicted anywhere on any of the artwork that has been discovered.

Unfortunately for the Book of Mormon plant-life test, the major plants of ancient America can be identified all the way back to 5,000 B.C. and there is no sign of barley, figs, grapes or wheat.

How often are these plants mentioned in the Bible?

I am convinced that Joseph Smith used the bible as a source when writing the Book of Mormon. All of the known plants from the Book of Mormon are mentioned numerous times in the bible.

Barley:(Ruth 3: 2, 15, 17,2 Kgs. 7: 1, 16, 18, Ex. 9: 31, Ruth 2: 17, 23, 2 Chr. 2: 10, 15, Ezek. 4: 9, 12, Hosea 3: 2, John 6: 9, 13, Lev. 27: 16, Num. 5: 15, Deut. 8: 8, Judg. 7: 13, Ruth 1: 22, 2 Sam. 14: 30, 2 Sam. 17: 28, 2 Sam. 21: 9, 1 Kgs. 4: 28, 2 Kgs. 4: 42, 1 Chr. 11: 13, 2 Chr. 27: 5, Job 31: 40, Isa. 28: 25, Jer. 41: 8, Ezek. 13: 19, Ezek. 45: 13, Joel 1: 11, Rev. 6: 6)

Corn:(Gen. 42: 1-3, 5, 19, 25-26, Gen. 41: 5, 35, 49, 57, Neh. 5: 2-3, 10-11, Lev. 2: 14, 16, Josh. 5: 11-12, Hosea 2: 8-9, 22, Gen. 27: 28, 37, Ex. 22: 6, Deut. 16: 9, 13, Deut. 23: 25, Ruth 2: 2, 14, 2 Sam. 17: 19, 28, Neh. 13: 5, 12, Job 24: 6, 24, Ps. 65: 9, 13, Joel 1: 10, 17, Matt. 12: 1, Mark 2: 23, Luke 6: 1, Judg. 15: 5, )

Figs:(Jer. 24: 1-3, 5, 8, Matt. 21: 19-21, Mark 11: 13, 20-21, Judg. 9: 10-11, Song. 2: 13, Isa. 34: 4,Jer. 8: 13,Joel 1: 7, 12,Nahum 3: 12,Luke 13: 6-7, John 1: 48, 50, James 3: 12, Rev. 6: 13,Gen. 3: 7, Num. 13: 23, Num. 20: 5, Deut. 8: 8, 1 Sam. 25: 18, 1 Sam. 30: 12, 1 Kgs. 4: 25,2 Kgs. 18: 31, 2 Kgs. 20: 7,1 Chr. 12: 40,Neh. 13: 15, Ps. 105: 33, Prov. 27: 18,Isa. 36: 16)

Grapes:(Isa. 5: 2, 4, Num. 13: 20, 23-24, Deut. 32: 14, 32, Gen. 40: 10-11, Lev. 25: 5, 11, Num. 6: 3, Deut. 28: 30, 39, Song. 2: 13, 15, Song. 7: 7, 12, Jer. 31: 29-30, Gen. 49: 11, Lev. 19: 10, Deut. 23: 24, Judg. 8: 2, Judg. 9: 27, Neh. 13: 15, Job 15: 33, Isa. 17: 6, Jer. 25: 30, Ezek. 18: 2,

Hosea 9: 10, Amos 9: 13, Obad. 1: 5, Matt. 7: 16, Luke 6: 44, Rev. 14: 18)

Wheat:(Matt. 13: 25, 29-30, 1 Chr. 21: 20, 23, 2 Chr. 2: 10, 15, Amos 8: 5-6, Gen. 30: 14, Ex. 9: 32, Ex. 34: 22, Num. 18: 12, Deut. 8: 8, Deut. 32: 14, Judg. 6: 11, Judg. 15: 1, Ruth 2: 23, 1 Sam. 12: 17, 2 Sam. 4: 6, 1 Kgs. 5: 11, 2 Chr. 27: 5, Ezra 6: 9, Job 31: 40, Prov. 27: 22, Song. 7: 2, Isa. 28: 25, Jer. 12: 13, Jer. 23: 28, Ezek. 4: 9, Joel 1: 11)

I think it is very likely that Joseph Smith noticed that the plants were specifically referenced in the bible and decided to include it as a way of making the historicity of the Book of Mormon seem more believable. However, the difference is that the missing plants in ancient America can be found in the regions of the bible.

Skeptical Mormon