Latter-day Saint missionaries invite you to read the Book of Mormon and ask God whether it is true. But the book claims to be history. Can history be tested?
Short answer: Latter-day Saints sincerely believe the Book of Mormon is an ancient record of peoples in the Americas. But a book that claims to be history must fit history. The Church that publishes it takes no position on where in the Americas its events happened, its own essay grants that most Native Americans carry largely Asian DNA, and its Isaiah chapters follow the 1611 King James Bible. Scripture tells us to test any new revelation.
Key verses on testing revelation
- "Test everything; retain what is good." (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
- "do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God" (1 John 4:1)
- "even if we or an angel from heaven should preach [to you] a gospel other than the one that we preached to you" (Galatians 1:8)
- "the faith that was once for all handed down to the holy ones" (Jude 1:3)
- "this was not done in a corner" (Acts 26:26)
Scripture quotations are from the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
What Catholics Actually Teach
First, the claim in its own words. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints calls the Book of Mormon "a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible" and "a record of God's dealings with ancient inhabitants of the Americas." One people "came from Jerusalem in 600 B.C. and afterward separated into two nations, known as the Nephites and the Lamanites." Its "crowning event" is Christ's ministry "among the Nephites soon after His resurrection." Joseph Smith called it "the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion." Readers are invited "to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true" (Introduction to the Book of Mormon).
The Catholic Church teaches that "no new public revelation is to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ" (CCC 66), and that "Christian faith cannot accept 'revelations' that claim to surpass or correct the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfilment" (CCC 67). Faith is not blind: "God willed that external proofs of his Revelation should be joined to the internal helps of the Holy Spirit" (CCC 156), and "God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth" (CCC 159). So historical questions are fair questions.
What Catholics do not teach:
- That Latter-day Saints are dishonest. We do not question their sincerity.
- That archaeology has confirmed every detail of the Bible, or that faith rests on archaeology alone.
- That a gap in the evidence alone disproves a book. The case below is cumulative.
The Biblical Case
1. Biblical faith rests on public events
St. Luke investigated "everything accurately anew" so that Theophilus might "realize the certainty of the teachings you have received" (Luke 1:3–4). St. Paul told a king, "this was not done in a corner" (Acts 26:26). The risen Jesus "appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living" (1 Corinthians 15:6). St. Peter insists, "We did not follow cleverly devised myths" (2 Peter 1:16). St. Luke even dates the start of St. John the Baptist's preaching by public officials anyone could check: "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea" (Luke 3:1). The Bible invites historical testing because its events happened in known places, under known rulers. (See Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?)
2. Where did it happen?
The Bible's geography is known. The Book of Mormon's is not. The Church's own statement: "The Church does not take a position on the specific geographic locations of Book of Mormon events in the ancient Americas." Its "only position is that the events the Book of Mormon describes took place in the ancient Americas" (Book of Mormon Geography). The same article says Joseph Smith "accepted what he felt was evidence of Book of Mormon civilizations in both North America and Central America." For a record of nations, cities, and wars across a thousand years, that uncertainty matters.
3. DNA and the ancestors of Native Americans
The Introduction says of the Lamanites, "they are among the ancestors of the American Indians." The Church's essay grants that "the majority of Native Americans carry largely Asian DNA." It argues that "Nothing is known about the DNA of Book of Mormon peoples," so "DNA studies cannot be used decisively to either affirm or reject the historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon" (Book of Mormon and DNA Studies). We grant the limits of genetics. But on the essay's own terms, DNA gives the story no support.
4. Animals and metals
The book describes "the ass and the horse" in the promised land (1 Nephi 18:25), a king's "horses and chariots" (Alma 18:9), Jaredite "elephants and cureloms and cumoms" (Ether 9:19), and work in "iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel" (2 Nephi 5:15).
A Latter-day Saint research group acknowledges that "conventional thinking among scientists maintains that horses went extinct in the Americas around the end of the last Ice Age (ca. 10,000 BC)." Its writers suggest "horse" may name another animal, or cite a 2022 study of possible later horse remains in Mexico, while admitting "the issue is not yet definitively settled" (Scripture Central, KnoWhy #649). But a reliable history should not need rescue detail by detail.
5. The King James Bible inside an ancient record
Nephi and Jacob "placed all or parts of twenty-four chapters of Isaiah into the Book of Mormon," writes Latter-day Saint scholar Kent P. Jackson, and "There is no question that the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon are in the language of the King James translation of the Bible." Compare 2 Nephi 12:3 with Isaiah 2:3 in the KJV, both on the Church's website: the words are identical, and only one punctuation mark differs. One proposal Jackson reports is that Joseph Smith and his scribe "simply transcribed the Isaiah text out of a printed copy of the King James Bible" (Isaiah in the Book of Mormon). Yet the book presents these chapters as copied from brass plates carried from Jerusalem around 600 B.C.
6. Feelings must be tested
Moroni promises that whoever asks "with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ" will learn the truth "by the power of the Holy Ghost" (Moroni 10:4). We respect that sincerity, and God's witness is surer than any scholar's. But God does not contradict the world He made, and Scripture warns, "More tortuous than anything is the human heart" (Jeremiah 17:9), and commands, "test the spirits" (1 John 4:1). And God has spoken His final word: "in these last days, he spoke to us through a son" (Hebrews 1:2).
Objections Answered
(a) "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."
At its strongest: Ancient American archaeology is incomplete, and skeptics once doubted biblical details later confirmed. There are also positive finds. Latter-day Saint scholars point to altars from a temple near Marib, Yemen, bearing the tribal name Nihm and dated to about the seventh or sixth century B.C., which they connect with "Nahom," where Ishmael was buried (1 Nephi 16:34; Aston, 2001).
Answer: Agreed, absence alone proves little; the case above is cumulative. But the book describes great nations over a thousand years, the kind of history that leaves traces, and its own Church cannot say where in the Americas it happened. Nahom, even if the link holds, concerns the route through Arabia, not the American civilizations that fill the book.
(b) "Eleven witnesses saw the plates."
At its strongest: The Three Witnesses declared "that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon." Eight others added their own written testimony (Testimony of Three Witnesses).
Answer: We do not call them liars. But their claim cannot now be checked. Joseph Smith wrote that he gave the plates back to the messenger, who "has them in his charge until this day" (Joseph Smith—History 1:60). The Three describe an angelic vision, not an inspection others can repeat. The apostles pointed to an empty tomb in a known city and to witnesses "still living." The question is not whether these men were sincere, but whether their testimony can bear the weight of a new scripture that adds to "the faith that was once for all handed down to the holy ones" (Jude 3). St. Paul gave the test for any messenger, "even if we or an angel from heaven should preach [to you] a gospel other than the one that we preached to you" (Galatians 1:8). An angel's appearance does not settle the matter; the content does.
(c) "Jesus Himself foretold the Nephites: 'other sheep.'"
At its strongest: Jesus said, "I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd" (John 10:16). In the Book of Mormon the risen Christ tells the Nephites, "ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold" (3 Nephi 15:21).
Answer: St. John himself tells us who the other sheep are. Caiaphas "prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God" (John 11:51–52). The "fold" is Israel; the other sheep are the Gentiles who would hear Christ's voice through His apostles. St. Paul says the same: Christ "made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity" to "reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross" (Ephesians 2:14, 16). The fulfillment is narrated in Acts, when the Gospel goes to Cornelius and the nations. Scripture's own interpretation needs no lost continent.
The Early Church Agrees
- Hegesippus (c. AD 180, preserved by Eusebius, Church History IV.22) traveled to Rome, conversing with the churches on the way, and reported: "In every succession, and in every city that is held which is preached by the law and the prophets and the Lord." (newadvent.org)
- St. Irenaeus of Lyons (Against Heresies III.3.1, c. AD 180): "It is within the power of all, therefore, in every Church, who may wish to see the truth, to contemplate clearly the tradition of the apostles manifested throughout the whole world." (newadvent.org)
- Tertullian (Prescription Against Heretics 28, 32, c. AD 200): if every church had erred, "is it likely that so many churches, and they so great, should have gone astray into one and the same faith?" Of new teachings claiming apostolic roots: "Let them produce the original records of their churches; let them unfold the roll of their bishops, running down in due succession from the beginning." (newadvent.org)
The earliest Christians tested claims the way Scripture does: by public, checkable witness. A faith open to "all ... who may wish to see the truth" is the faith of the Bible. A record no one can locate, from plates no one can examine, cannot meet that standard.
Conclusion
Many Latter-day Saints love Jesus and want to follow Him. That is common ground. But the Book of Mormon makes historical claims, and history is public. Its specific setting is unknown even to its Church, genetics offers it no support, and its Isaiah chapters carry the wording of a 1611 English Bible.
If you are a Latter-day Saint, keep the honesty that led you to ask God for the truth. Ask also where the Church Christ founded has been since the apostles. Start with Was There a Great Apostasy After the Apostles Died?
Come home. The Church Christ founded has kept His Gospel since the apostles, and you are welcome to examine her history in the Catholic Church. Christ promised, "upon this rock I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18), and His Church never fell away or disappeared. It is the Catholic Church, governed by the successor of St. Peter and the bishops in communion with him. "It is through Christ's Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained" (CCC 816). We invite you to come and see the Church Christ founded, and to enter her.
Your next step: Come to Mass this Sunday at your local Catholic church. You can find one near you at MassTimes.org. Everyone is welcome; if you're not yet Catholic, pray with us but don't receive Communion yet. When you're ready to become Catholic, call the parish office and ask about OCIA, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. They will walk you through every step. Read our guide: How Do I Become Catholic? Not ready yet? Get our free pocket guide below and keep learning.
FAQ
Does the LDS Church say where Book of Mormon events took place? No. Its only position is that they "took place in the ancient Americas."
Does DNA disprove the Book of Mormon? The Church's essay says DNA "cannot be used decisively" either way, while granting that most Native Americans carry "largely Asian DNA."
Do Catholics accept the Book of Mormon as scripture? No. The Church teaches that "no new public revelation is to be expected" before Christ's return (CCC 66).
Sources
Scripture (NABRE, bible.usccb.org): Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 16:18; Luke 1:3–4; Luke 3:1; John 10:16; John 11:51–52; Acts 26:26; 1 Corinthians 15:6; Galatians 1:8; Ephesians 2:14, 16; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; Hebrews 1:2; 2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 4:1; Jude 1:3.
Catechism of the Catholic Church (vatican.va): 66, 67; 156, 159; 816.
Church Fathers (newadvent.org): Eusebius, Church History IV.22 (quoting Hegesippus); St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies III.3.1; Tertullian, Prescription Against Heretics 28, 32.
Latter-day Saint sources (churchofjesuschrist.org): Introduction to the Book of Mormon; Testimony of Three Witnesses; 1 Nephi 16:34; 1 Nephi 18:25; 2 Nephi 5:15; 2 Nephi 12:3; Alma 18:9; 3 Nephi 15:21; Ether 9:19; Moroni 10:4–5; Joseph Smith—History 1:60; Isaiah 2:3 (KJV); "Book of Mormon Geography," Gospel Topics; "Book of Mormon and DNA Studies," Gospel Topics Essays.
Latter-day Saint scholarship: Kent P. Jackson, "Isaiah in the Book of Mormon," in A Reason for Faith (BYU Religious Studies Center); Scripture Central, KnoWhy #649, "When Lehi's Party Arrived in the Land, Did They Find Horses There?" (2023); Warren P. Aston, "Newly Found Altars from Nahom," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 10/2 (2001).