By Ethan Fausett
The steel swords mentioned in The Book of Mormon may have been made from iron that fell from the sky, meteoric iron. At first glance the claim might seem outlandish, or even out of this world. However as it turns out it's actually a proposition supported by archaeological, geological, and even etymological evidence. On a recent episode of Ward Radio(link to YouTube video), Jerry Grover, a geologist and independent researcher, came on to defend the claim. Grover has written a relatively large body of research for someone who isn’t a career academic. His book, The Swords of Shule, explores this among other theories in greater detail.
Grover introduced his theory to Ward Radio viewers by explaining the narrative backdrop. In the book of Ether, one of the books of The Book of Mormon, there is a conflict between two brothers over the kingship of the people known as the Jaredites. One of those brothers, Shule, left the kingdom and traveled to a land named Heth with whoever would follow him. The text then reads, “... he came to the hill Ephraim, and he did molten out of the hill, and made swords out of steel for those whom he had drawn away with him.”
This line of text has been an avenue of attack by anti-mormon for years. They claim that the text is anachronistic, meaning that it doesn’t fit the time it claims to be from, because the book of Ether occurs centuries before we can find any evidence of traditional methods of creating steel. Therefore The Book of Mormon must be fraudulent.
Building upon the theory that the Olmec civilization were the Jaredites, a belief common among Book of Mormon scholars, Grover explained that iron was difficult to acquire as Jaredites likely did not have the ability to refine iron out of ore. But it turns out it’s not unheard of for ancient civilizations around the world to get iron by harvesting deposits from meteors for creating significant cultural objects.
So if Shule did create steel swords with iron, it would have likely had to come from a meteor. But even then, how would Shule have had access to something hot enough to heat the iron and craft it into steel swords? As it turns out the answer may come from the text itself.
Grover explained that the word Ephraim is a Hebrew word which means, “casting lots up in the air, throwing up in the air.” In the text it says that Shule had gone to a hill called Ephraim. And so if you consider a hill which is casting things up out of it, it’s not that difficult to imagine that the hill is a volcanic hill. Grover indicated that Heth means, “to seize or snatch up fires and coal” or a “fire pan or censer.” With this in mind, the Tuxtla Mountains in Mexico appear to be a good candidate for where this could have occurred.
(Image used by Jerry Grover to show the Tuxtla Mountain area.)
The Tuxtla Mountains at one point had occasional volcanic eruptions that would have been slower leaking eruptions as opposed to a large eruption like what we typically think of when we imagine volcanoes. Grover also explained, “[Shule] had no access to obsidian” in the Tuxtla Mountains. So if Shule was in this area as hypothesized he would have had to do something different than what was common practice for his day.
From that point of understanding Grover theorizes that Shule could have taken meteoric iron and worked it with the volcanic temperatures in a manner that is consistent with historical practices for carburizing iron which would have hardened the blades.
Some might object, claiming that this theory seems far too elaborate. After all, is it reasonable to explain a potential textual discrepancy with meteorites and volcanos? However Grover pointed out that The Book of Mormon repeatedly emphasized that it was a spiritual record, and did not include unimportant details. This instance with Shule, “is the only time they mention steel swords,” specifically Grover explained. It is clear that for some reason it was considered significant that these steel swords were made. This implies that it was an exceptional event, not a normal occurrence.
While Jerry Grover’s theory may not convince everyone, it does offer a stimulating answer to long-standing criticisms of The Book of Mormon. By rooting his explanation in multiple avenues of evidence, Grover encourages readers to approach the text with openness and curiosity. Even if meteoric swords are speculative, his research highlights just how complex ancient scripture is, and how there’s likely far more to learn from The Book of Mormon than we could possibly imagine.
The views expressed by contributors do not necessarily represent the position of Ward Radio News. Ward Radio News is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Church) and does not officially represent the Church.
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