(Supposed)
Book of Mormon Anachronisms
(c) Copyright Michael R. Ash 1996. All rights reserved
These strange animals are mentioned only once in the Book of Mormon (Ether 9:19) and are listed with other useful animals including the elephant. Although we have no idea as to what these animals were, there are a few interesting theories. First of all, it seems that these terms are Jaredite words. It is entirely possible that Moroni did not know what these animals were, so he merely translated them according to their Jaredite names. It is also possible that there is no English equivalent so Joseph Smith merely transcribed the Jaredite names.
As noted by Dr. Sorenson, the book of Ether suggests that these animals were more “useful” than horses, and were not used for food. He also suggests that the text seems to indicate (by increasing the size of animals as the Book of Mormon list moves up) that these animals were relatively large. (Sorenson, 1992, p. 41.) Sorenson also suggests that in addition to the mammoth (elephant), other Pleistocene period animals may have survived to Jaredite times. The giant sloth, for instance, could be a candidate. (Sorenson, 1985, p.. 298.)
Michael R. Ash
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