Science and History in 2 Nephi

1. In 590 BCE, Lehi and company found the Americas completely uninhabited. 1:8-9

2. Nephi brought along the brass plates and the magic ball (or compass) that God made with his own hands. This was about 1600 years before compasses were used in navigation. 5:12

3. Nephi makes many swords [like Laban's, made of "the most precious steel" (1 Ne 4:9)]. Yet there is no evidence of metal swords in the New World before Columbus. 5:14

4. Nephi teaches his followers to build buildings and work in iron, copper, brass, steel, gold, and silver. But evidence is lacking for such pre-Columbian metallurgy, and it would be well beyond the capabilities of a handful of immigrants from the ancient Near-East around 590 BCE. 5:15

5. Wasn't it God that cut Rahab (the sea monster) to pieces, wounded the dragon, and dried up the sea? Yeah, it was him all right. Who else could do that? 8:9-10

6. "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb...." I wonder what will become of the spiders. Will they be more friendly toward flies? And will the parasitic wasps find another way to feed their larvae? Or will they continue to feed off the living bodies of caterpillars? 21:6

7. "And  the weaned child shall put his hand in the cockatrice' den." A cockatrice is a serpent, hatched from a cock's egg, that can kill with a glance. They are rare nowadays. 21:8

8. According to this verse, the moon produces its own light and the earth does not move. 23:10

9. When God gets really angry, he causes earthquakes. 23:13

10. Dragons will live in Babylonian palaces and satyrs will dance there. 23:21-22

11. "Out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent." What ever happened to these fascinating biblical creatures? 24:29

12. "And  the weaned child shall put his hand in the cockatrice's den." A cockatrice is a serpent, hatched from a cock's egg, that can kill with a glance. They are rare nowadays. 30:14