Modern dna evidence in no way disproves the traditional lds belief that book of mormon peoples represent the principal ancestors of the american indians. Most, but not all, mormons hold the books connection to ancient american history as an article of their faith. The largest genealogical group out there is the mormon church, so fundamentally every genealogy company makes their software compatible with the churchs free familysearch site, tries to market to mormons, and at. The issue of dna and the book of mormon involves quite a number of interesting issues. The book of mormon makes several scientific claims that can be tested. The book of mormon, the founding document of the latter day saint movement and one of the. For this and other reasons, dna studies cannot be used decisively to either affirm or reject the historical authenticity of the book of mormon. Mormons and mitochondrial dna by chad ressler in august 2004 simon southerton released a book entitled losing a lost tribe. In short, dna studies cannot be used decisively to either affirm or reject the historical authenticity of the book of mormon. As dna tests and sequencing has become more common critics of the book of mormon have pointed out that if there really was a group of people that traveled to the americas from the middle east west asia then there should be some dna evidence of that found in the modern descendants of those people.
If weve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. It burrows into the historical foundations of the book of mormon. Sorenson, an ancient american setting for the book of mormon salt lake city, deseret book, 1985. At this point, dna evidence simply cannot disprove or prove the historicity of the book of mormon. He is a fellow at the national institute of standards and technology butler received his bachelors degree from brigham young university. The book of mormon, the founding document of the latter day saint movement and one of the four books of scripture of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church, is an account of three groups of people. Thousands of native americans from more than 150 tribes have been tested to determine their ancestry. The lenba sic are a group of 80,000 south africans who claim jewish heritage, practice many jewish rituals, and claimed to be descended from small group of middle eastern men perhaps as small as seven who migrated to south east africa 2,500 years ago and intermarried with the local women. Conjectural emendation in the book of mormon royal skousen. New discoveries in dna research currently allow scientists to test this historical claim. Evidence for a faster evolutionary rate of mtdna lineages than y chromosomes. An essay on book of mormon and dna studies was added on 114 in the topical guide of the website. Lost civilizations of north america documentary4, deborah bolnick on haplogroup x. A populationwide coalescent analysis of icelandic matrilineal and patrilineal genealogies.
The book of mormon claims that the native american peoples are descended from the house of israel, but the dna evidence, according to this book, points to an asiatic origin for the american continents native people. The lds church released an essay on their website titled book of mormon and dna studies. Butler is a leading expert citation needed on forensic dna profiling. Now im not a geneticist but if you want to hear a population geneticist give you the long version of what i just said, check out the links in the description and have. In addition to joseph smith, the lord provided for eleven others to see the gold plates for themselves and to be special witnesses of the truth and.
Another testament of jesus christ, is true, not false. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand. Dna evidence and molecular genetics disprove the book of mormon by rich deem introduction. The book of mormon teaches that these israelites are the principal ancestors of modernday native americans. Native americans, dna and the mormon church, signature books 2004. Dna controversy is an issue that most critics believe completely undermines mormon beliefs in the truthfulness of the book. One useful new resource in this area is dna and the book of mormon by david stewart, m. It contains a record of gods dealings with three groups of people who migrated from the near east or west asia to the americas hundreds of years before the arrival of europeans. Many members of the latter day saint movement claim historical authenticity of the book of mormon. Genetic attacks on the book of mormon focus on the fact that amerindian dna seems closest to asian dna, and not dna from the middle east or jewish dna. Dna and the book of mormon the book of mormon has traditionally been presented as a historical account of the first inhabitants of the americas the principle ancestors of the native americans. The chief claim, and the premise of the entire book, is that hebrews carried the message of. Dna and the book of mormon, by cooper johnson does dna evidence refute the book of mormon. Critics claim that such studies prove conclusively that there is no evidence of a middle eastern strand within the native american gene pool.
Fundamental historical claims of the book of mormon are challenged by new genetic research. This interpretation, still dominant among members of the lds church, remained in the introduction to the book of mormon until recently. A youtube clip entitled dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence is causing a stir among mormons as it has appeared on websites such as, ldsliving, prepare to serve youtube site and lds smile. The typical dnabased argument against the book of mormon runs like this. However, this attack ignores several key points, among which is the fact that the book of mormon states that lehi and his family are clearly not jews. Dna and the book of mormon archives mormon stories essays. Butler, a forensic dna scientist, the majority of the people. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints affirms that the book of mormon is a volume of sacred scripture comparable to the bible. The dna truth that the mormon belief that they are related to the american indians is false. The controversy arises from dna studies of native american peoples. The book of mormon and the new world dna deseret book. Major new statement from the church on dna and the book of mormon. I cant imagine a scenario in which the book of mormon is scripture from god, but not a literal story.
The purported historical narrative of the book of mormon presents an account of the origins of native american peoples that differs dramatically from the consensus position taken by scientists, including geneticists who study dna. Dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence that proves the book of mormon. Nothing is known about the dna of book of mormon peoples, and even if their genetic profile were known, there are sound scientific reasons that it might remain undetected. Dna evidence of the book of mormon in north america, linking native americans to the jewish population in the middle east. Citing dna evidence that suggests an asian ancestry for people native to the americas, critics of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints have for the past several years claimed that these dna studies demonstrate that the book of mormon account of a group of colonists coming from the middle east in 600 bc cannot be authentic. I dont know enough about dna to comment on what can or cannot be concluded from the research. Im delighted with the major new and scientificallybased. Behar, doron m 2004, contrasting patterns of y chromosome variation in ashkenazi jewish and host nonjewish european.
According to the book, two of these groups originated from ancient israel. In this article, we will provide some background on this issue focusing on the scientific issues, followed by a point by point response to various statements made in the essay about the book of mormon. If anyone tries to tell you differently in either direction, be very skeptical. Simon was a member of the lds church for almost 30 years, serving a mission in melbourne 198183, marrying in the new zealand temple in 1983, and serving in numerous church positions including four terms as young men. However, this attack ignores several key points, among which is the fact that the book of mormon states. This understanding of the book of mormon the jaredites as an asiatic migration, and the possibility of other migrations from asia being allowed by the book of mormon is not one just recently concocted to deal with recent dna evidenceit was printed in the official church periodical decades before critics used dna evidence to attack a common. Dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence youtube. The book of mormon has traditionally been presented as a historical account of the first inhabitants of the. There is generally no direct support amongst mainstream historians and archaeologists for the.
The documentary is a must see for all those who view the book of mormon as an accurate history of the native american indians. The maxwell institutes statement on book of mormon geography is quite succinct. An insiders view of mormon origins by grant palmer. Book of mormon dna mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs. Genetic attacks on the book of mormon focus on the fact that amerindian dna seems closest to asian dna, and not dna from the middle east or. As stated in this book, this does not mean that descendants of book of mormon peoples did not eventually migrate to other parts of the hemisphere and the world during or. After making some contributions here, i am now beginning to wonder if much of this article should not be moved to the stub on book of mormon geography, leaving this page free to document the specific issue of dna research. The book of mormon teaches that all native americans are descended exclusively from hebrews. The controversy stems from dna studies of native american peoples.
Dna evidence and molecular genetics disprove the book of. The essay asserts that dna studies cannot be used decisively to either affirm or reject the historical authenticity of the book of mormon. This view finds no acceptance outside of mormonism. Some argue dna disproves the historicity of the book of mormon while.
On january 31, 2014, the lds church published an essay entitled book of mormon and dna studies in the gospel topics series on its official website. I believe the book of mormon people resided somewhere in the americas. Dna research and mormon scholars changing basic beliefs. A branch of the qp36 lineage m323 is also found in yemenite jews.
For these same reasons, arguments that some defenders of the book of mormon make based on dna studies are also speculative. Nothing is known about the extent of intermarriage and genetic mixing between book of mormon peoples or their descendants and other inhabitants of the americas, though some mixing appears evident, even during the period covered by the books text. While two different lds scientists have said that dna research discounts the book of mormon as an ancient, historical document, a researcher. The book of mormon documentary examines and compares genetic evidence identifying the dna fingerprints of the jewish populations and american indian. I believe the book of mormon is to be taken literally. A recently published book claims that dna evidence proves the book of mormon, one of the books of scripture used by the mormon church, incorrect.
It was sold at deseret books for several years and is still available there by special order. Comprehensive dna surveys of approaching 20,000 native americans and polynesians have failed to. I have also written an extensive article on the topic. Simon southerton 1 smith, histor y of the church, 1. The theory that the book of mormon is an ancient american history is not accepted as scientifically verifiable by the mainstream. John dehlins mormon stories essay on dna and the book of mormon makes the following claim. I also sent a copy to byu university, to farms, the mormons branch that is in charge of protecting mormon beliefs, asking how i could refute this dvd. Order the dvd at for more than 170 years, the church of jesus christ of latterday saints has declared the book of. Book of mormon and dna studies here is a comment from the sltrib article this morning. Critics of the lds church recently latched onto dna studies that point to a predominant asiatic origin to the american indians and conclude that the book of mormon cannot be. Dna studies of native americans show that their ancient ancestry is exclusively asian, with no trace of jewish ancestry.
While critics may believe that book of mormon dna testing entirely undermines mormon beliefs, it is important to realize that some underlying assumptions may have lead to faulty conclusions. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand ended up losing his faith. Response to rodney meldrums incredible new dna evidence. I purchased over 50 copies of this dvd and sent them to mormon temples in the united states and abroad. Over the past thirty years, an enormous amount of research has been conducted into mormon originsjoseph smiths early life, the book of mormon, the. Dna claims rebutted on book of mormon deseret news. Joseph smith, prophet and translator of the book of mormon, stated. The book of mormon documentary accurately presents the consensus of the scientific community that northern asia not israel is the place of origin of the native american indians.
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