Against the popular Latter-day Saint view that the Garden of Eden and Adam-ondi-Ahman were in the New World, Trent Dee Stephens wrote that:
The problem with the Garden of
Eden and Adam-ondi-Ahman being in the American continent is that Genesis 4:2
states that “ . . . Able was a keeper of sheep . . .” There is absolutely no archaeological,
anthropological, paleontological, or historical evidence that there were ever
sheep on the American continent before they were brought here by European settlers
in the seventeenth century. (Trent Dee Stephens, Who is Adam? Where Science
Meets Religion [Pocatello, Idaho: Castle Book Publishing, 2023], 210-11;
cf. Trent
Dee Stephens on Adam-ondi-Ahman and D&C 116)
On Book of Mormon “sheep,” see the discussion Defending anachronisms in the Book
of Mormon with Jerry Grover (part 2). Here is the text of the relevant x4
slides:
[1]
ALLEGED ANACHRONISM: SHEEP
The only mention of “sheep” in the Nephite record is
quotations from the Old World (generally Isaiah) or Jesus Christ, or as
alliteration or allegories in religious teachings (as previously discussed).
The mentions are as follows:
Old World/Isaiah: 1 N3phi 22:25; 2 Nephi 17:21, 23:14;
Mosiah 14:6-7, 15:6
Jesus Christ: Mosiah 26:20-21; 3 Nephi 14:15, 15:17, 21, 24,
16:1, 3, 18,31, 20:16, 21:12
Religious teaching references: Alma 5:37-39, 59-60, 25:12;
Helaman 15:13
The one direct reference implying sheep is the mention of “lamb-skin”
that the Gaddianton robbers were wearing (3 Nephi 4:7). As the Gaddianton
appear to be using the lamb in some sort of military ritual, one would look for
an animal that was used beyond the Nephite polity.
However, because sheep are mentioned often, and because they
are on of the animals that may be sacrificed, potential animals for sheep will
be evaluated as part of the first group of animals that Nephi mentions.
[2]
Sheep: the best New World candidate for sheep is the
whitetailed deer as it is found in northeastern South America as well as
Mesoamerica.
[3]
Reasons for this is based on the following reasons:
1. White-tailed deer are kosher, and since the lamb is a sacrifice
under the Law of Moses that can be made by each household, an animal that is ubiquitous
throughout the area is the most likely candidate.
2. It is the most common ritually sacrificed animal in
ancient Mesoamerican cultures. Deep is the primary source of meat in
Mesoamerican cultures.
3. In Brian Stubb’s research, the word for deer in much of
Uto-Aztecan is derived from the Hebrew raaheel meaning “ewe.”
4. The word deer, while mentioned oft in the Bible, is nowhere
mentioned in the Book of Mormon.
[4]
Studies in domestic animals in the PreColumbian city of
Mayapan suggests that white-tailed deer were either raised in captivity or were
carefully managed in habitats surrounding the city. (Marily A. Masson, 2008)
Deer are good candidates for sheep, there is never any
mention of wool in the New World in the Book of Mormon. It is interesting that
when Abinadi mentioned that the “sheep before the shearer is dumb” he was
careful to point out that it was “even as Isaiah said.” So they would know that
it was the Old World sheep being referred to.
