After some light research on the dna problem that critics began assaulting the book of mormon with nearly ten years ago, i wanted an lds scholarly perspective. Genetics and the book of mormonarchive 1 wikipedia. 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. It details the strengths and weaknesses of dna research and how it relates to the historicity of the book of.
Dna evidence conflicts with book of mormon dna studies in recent decades conclusively revealed that there is virtually no hebrew dna among native americans. In the introduction of the book of mormon, smith states that it is the record of gods dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the americas, which also contains the fullness of the everlasting. Researchers compare existing genetic evidence with the book of mormon story. Scientist show that israel is the place that haplo group x spread from.
Murphy, lamanite genesis, genealogy, and genetics, inamerican apocrypha. The pulitzer prize winning historian, laurel thatcher ulrich, who is mormon, has done a lot of work in uncovering the ordinary life of women in early america through their journals including the midwifes tale and this is in part because of mormon emphasis on family history work that focuses us less on the socalled big events of history. The book of mormon and the new world dna deseret book. There are a lot of promormon propaganda sites and they all say the same thing family unity, they are christian, the book of mormon is true and on and on. The book of mormon, one of the four books of scripture of the church of jesus christ of. A recently published book claims that dna evidence proves that the book of mormon, a book of scripture used in conjunction with the bible by the mormon church, is incorrect and points to an asiatic origin versus a middle eastern origin for the inhabitants of the american continents about 100 genetic studies have been done on about 75 groups out of 500 known native. It is obvious that the real science on this subject simply has nothing to say about the claims of the book of mormon.
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. Smith once called the book of mormon the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion smith, 1902, 4. It is no contradiction of official church doctrine, because the church never had an official doctrine on book of mormon geography or genetics, in spite of the rather obvious popular beliefs. 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. Does dna evidence prove the book of mormon is false. Examples of book of mormon criticisms based on alleged dna evidence are found in simon g. Its been a few years since i talked about dna and the book of mormon. Since 2014which was the last time i discussed lehis missing dnatheres been a few articles of interest that i thought i would mention and comment on. The understanding of joseph smith and of traditional mormonism is that the book of mormon reveals that the american indians are descendants of the lamanites, who descended from lehi and are therefore a remnant of the house of israel. The book of mormon makes several scientific claims that can be tested. There is dna evidence that the native americans did not have the origins that the book of mormon purports that they do. Nothing is known about the dna of book of mormon peoples, and even if. The introduction to the book of mormon states that the book is holy scripture comparable to the bible and that it is a record of gods dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the americas.
Dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence that proves the book of mormon. This traditional understanding was stated in the preface. The book of mormon professes a story which outlines three migrations from the old world to the new, more specifically from regions of the middle east over to the american continent. Book of mormon and dna studies church of jesus christ. While the church has pinned its hopes on the work of limited geography apologetics, the essay makes no mention of geography at all. 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. The book of mormon and the origin of native americans from a. Dna evidence conflicts with book of mormon lds facts. However, with regard to the book of mormon discussion, autosomal dna inheritance is subject to the same population forces as other genetic systems genetic drift, genetic bottleneck, and founder effect, and considering the likely demographic scenario of the book of mormon i. No, it is global and massive on scale, like the sailing of christopher columbus, and it will transform and unify the human race in the same way globalization has transformed our genetics.
Critic thomas murphy writes that some of the most revealing research into native american genetics comes from analyses of mtdna, and presents mitochondrial. The book of mormon, made public by joseph smith in 1830, is a. In 2014 the church quietly published book of mormon and dna studies, an essay which distills an avalanche of mormon apologetics published solely in lds journals, and attempts to address population genetics. The book of mormon uses the term lamanite in several ways, including a genetic sense for those who are descended from laman and lemuel, but also in a cultural or sociopolitical sense to refer to those others who were not nephites. The reason this is here is because many have written to me wanting to know what do mormons really believe. The discussion has centered on the field of population genetics and.
Richard criddle, active lds, retired professor of biochemistry and biophysics says, faithful should relish findings. Dna lamanites book of mormon genetics genealogy genesis. 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. The book of mormon has traditionally been presented as a historical account of. Evangelical protestants dont let secular geneticists saying genetic inference shows we are cousins with apes and noahs ark is a fake get in their way, but are excited to use the same genetics against the book of mormon kind of hypocritical. To date, genetic studies indicate that native americans are most closely related to east asians,4 while no clear genetic relationship with the. Dna evidence and molecular genetics disprove the book of. 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. Many items in the book of mormon that critics had previously claimed as impossible or anachronistic in ancient native america have since been shown to have existed for some examples, see matthew ropers article right on target. Galilee druze individuals represent the refugium of an ancestral group with high diversity and high frequency of haplogroup x, which was more prevalent in the region in antiquity, and from which the global diversity of x mtdna haplogroup emerged. Genetics and the book of mormon religionwiki fandom.
History and genetic evidence suggest that modern jewish dna is neither an inclusive nor exclusive indicator of the genetics of ancient israel. The celtic roots of the irish, scots, and welsh drawn from the book of invasions and other medieval texts, also lack dna corroboration. The book of mormon and the origin of native americans from. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi, who claimed that it had been. 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. 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. It burrows into the historical foundations of the book of mormon. This book, for the most part, delivers, for those like me without scholarly backgrounds in genetics. But in this episode, dave cites a few genetic principles. In this episode, three geneticists respond to the lds essay book of mormon and dna studies, and to apologist michael ashs article entitled the dna challenge to the book of mormon that fizzled. Mormonisms founding prophet, joseph smith, once said, i told the brethren that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our relgion now the same dna evidence used in courts of law can credibly speak to the validity of the book of mormon, the virtual foundation of the lds religion.
Nothing is known about the dna of book of mormon peoples, and even if their genetic. Try as they might, explains gibbons, researchers so far havent found anyone, living or dead, with a distinct celtic genome. Is the book of mormon just a small book written by a local prophet for a small church in utah. In this article, we will provide some background on this issue focusing on the book of mormon itself, followed by a point by point response to various statements made in the essay about the book of mormon. Population genetics principles guide geneticists who study human history, and genetic drift and population bottlenecks are among the most basic factors. This conflict of homosexuality and genetics, choice, behavior, and obedience to prophets, will continue to be a mess for the lds church whichever direction the conflict takes them. The book of mormon documentary examines and compares genetic evidence identifying the dna fingerprints of the jewish populations and american indian populations, and presents the testimony of several dna experts in seeking to answer the question, are israelites the principal ancestors of native american indians. John dehlins mormon stories essay on dna and the book of mormon makes the following claim. Apologetics press the book of mormon and the ancient. Dna evidence and molecular genetics disprove the book of mormon by rich deem introduction. Beck, native americans, and the book of mormon religion. In the book of mormon it states, ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that i.
The book, who are the children of lehi, gives an objective analysis of dna tracking as it relates to the book of mormon and the different peoples of the americas. Regardless of whether or not the book of mormon is true, something to consider before thinking the. In 2006, doubleday published a churchauthorized version of the book of mormon that. Common lds references to native americans as lamanites is certainly logical under the broad definition. From the early days of the church there have been many ideas and assumptions that prevailed upon its membership.
The understanding of joseph smith, and, traditionally, of mormons in general, is that the book of mormon indicates that the lamanites, descended from lehi, are a remnant of the house of israel and were the principal ancestors of the american indians. 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. The chief claim, and the premise of the entire book, is that hebrews carried the message of the coming messiah on a voyage across the atlantic. Since 1981 this same introduction claimed that the lamanites are the principle ancestors of the american indians. Dna evidence of the book of mormon in north america, linking native americans to the jewish population in the middle east.
The study itself shares a relation to both genetics and the book of mormon, even if the book of mormon is never mentioned in it. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints affirms that the book of mormon is a volume of sacred scripture comparable to the bible. Such claims at the time of joseph smith seemed irrefutable. The book of mormons veracity hinges on the claim that the lost tribes of israel came to america, settled there, and wrote their history on gold plates which joseph smith later translated. Amazing language artifacts from the book of mormon native americans knew hebrew duration. Book of mormon dna mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs. Also, the book of mormon says that 1600 years ago there was an attempt to eradicate precisely those people most likely to have maintained some genetic distinction. The claim of the book of mormon is that some descendants of the native american population originated from the middle east. 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. Murphy faced a church disciplinary court, but several other lds scholars have taken up the genetics issue, generating a new consensus moving away from a totalizing view of ancient israelite book of mormon peoples as the primary ancestors of native americans. Dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence youtube. Overview of the genetic challenges to the book of mormon story the genetic challenge. Meldrum has now combined this bestselling lds book on geography, with the complete text of the book of mormon, making this new volume an. 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.
Christ a time period within the reach of modern archeology and genetics. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Logan utah herald journal october 10, 2004 all in all, southerton should probably be thanked for a book which, though overtly antimormon, brings to the attention of many church members for the first time some topics that have been a focus of interest among scientists. Another testament of jesus christ, is true, not false. The initial genetics controversy over dna and the book of mormon what genetic evidence for the book of mormon would be expected and what was initially found. To some people, that alone is enough to discredit the validity of the book of mormon. Native americans, dna, and the mormon churchsalt lake city. Basic principles of population genetics suggest the need for a more careful approach to the data. For the context of the debate regarding genetics and the book of mormon, it is usually assumed that lehi and his party had mostly middle eastern genes. The conclusions of genetics, like those of any science, are tentative, and much work remains to be done to fully understand the origins of the native populations of the americas. Rediscovering the bom remnant through dna book of mormon. Dna and the book of mormon record mormonism research. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421.