Book of Mormon Commentary CofC - Odessa, Missouri Community ...

Book of Mormon Commentary
1 Nephi Chapter 5
Nephi was careful to provide the seed and plant it as soon as they became settled on the good land
of America. He felt it important to record this history and notes that their efforts "were blessed in
abundance'. (215).
1 Ne 5:216 And it came to pass that we did find upon the land of promise, as we journeyed in the
wilderness, that there were beasts in the forests of every kind, both the cow, and the ox, and the ass, and
the horse, and the goat, and the wild goat, and all manner of wild animals, which were for the use of
men.
5: 216 This is a remarkable statement and shows how the Lehites were favored of the Lord. The
last clause separates the “wild goat" and other "wild animals" from the others named. It is not
necessary to assume that the others were domesticated, but they were the kind of animals which
were adaptable “for the use of men."
The following excerpts from a contemporary scholar are helpful:
CARVING DEPICTING A HORSE
As the sun neared the western horizon, we came around the corner of the Temple of the Plaques.
Jose Davila explained: "As you will observe, a section on each end of this building, called the wall
panel or plaque, is covered with carvings of animals and birds which were familiar to the people
who inhabited this ancient city." Then, pointing to the carvings on one of the stones, he continued:
“This particular carving is a clear representation of a horse; and to the side of the horse stands a
bearded man."
HORSES" AND THE BOOK OF MORMON
From the days of the publishing of the Book of Mormon, its claim of domesticated horses in
ancient America has been a point of contention between those who accepted that record as being
true and accurate and those who disbelieved it; and now directly in front of us on the wall of that
ancient building at Ctichen Itza, Yucatan, plainly visible to tourists and archaeologists, a
representation of a horse was clearly depicted. There immediately before our eyes was new and
valuable Book of Mormon evidence…
Our guide explained: .'Some of the most outstanding Maya scholars and archaeologists, such as
Dr. J. Eric S. Thompson and Dr. Sylvanus G. Morley, date the erection of most of these buildings
at Chichen Itza at approximately A.D. 1,000. If their dating is correct, in all probability this
representation of the horse was carved about five hundred years be- fore Columbus discovered
America. It stands to reason that if these ancient Maya people had had no horses to observe they
could not have carved a likeness of one on this building."
We all agreed that the fact that a likeness of a horse was carved on the wall of one of the ancient
buildings at Chichen Itza many years before the Spaniards came to this land with their horses
supplies new and important evidence to sustain further the truthfulness of the claims made in the
Book of Mormon relative to horses; and so this representation constitutes what might be
considered by truth seekers a noteworthy- evidence sustaining the claims made by the ancient
Nephite historians.