In august 2004 simon southerton released a book entitled losing a lost tribe. The dna truth that the mormon belief that they are related to the american indians is false. Although this article as it currently stands does contain statements, arguments, and references about the debate surrounding genetics and the book of mormon, i think it fails to give the reader of the article the proper encyclopedic knowledge necessary to understand the statements it. This new evidence, in contrast to the first, appears to provide support for the book of mormon as well as and an interesting geographic paradigm for the events therein. Dna research, however, indicates that native americans are from the region of asia around mongolia. A number of investigators have used genetic and blood testing studies to show that native americans are related closely to the inhabitants of siberia. 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 first book of nephi describes the family of lehi, a descendant of joseph, son of jacob, 1 and his wife sariah, who lived in jerusalem about 600 b. The documentary is a must see for all those who view the book of mormon as an accurate history of the native american indians. Mills successfully extracted mitochondrial dna mtdna from the teeth of 34 individuals originally excavated by h. The book of mormon is clear that it was a literal curse on their skin. It is conceivable that much of the dna of book of mormon peoples did not survive for the same reason. 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.
I argue that dna testing challenges some common faulty assumptions some people have made about. Is there dna evidence between native americans and the lamanites. The book of mormon and the origin of native americans from a. Mormons have worlds largest database on human race. New discoveries in dna research currently allow scientists to test this historical claim. Dna evidence and molecular genetics disprove the book of mormon by rich deem introduction.
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 an ancient record as claimed by joseph smith. Mormon church says it was an error in their come follow me manual that there was a curse of dark skin. In the past few years, dna studies have been used to provide what may be the strongest and most convincing evidence so far against the authenticity of the book of mormon. Chart showing how ychromosome and mitochondrial dna are only represented by a small portion of a persons ancestry. 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. Rod is a friend of mine and a member of my hp group, but he has oversimplified this dna matter, aside from falsely stating 1 that the maya are the center of interest of those who consider the book of mormon to be a mesoamerican codex, and 2 that they focus on the maya because they think that joseph smith did so as well. Nov 06, 2006 the book of mormon teaches that these israelites are the principal ancestors of modernday native americans. A new dvd in which several scientists have joined with dr. 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. The lord warned lehi to depart out of the land of jerusalem, because they were seeking to kill him because he had prophesied to the people concerning their iniquity.
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. 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. Genetics and the book of mormonarchive 1 wikipedia. The basic concept though is that the mitochondrial dna taken from a group of surviving native americans demonstrates that they were descended from asians and not the ten lost tribes of israel as the book of mormon claims. The videos arguing that dna disproves the book of mormon have been circulating for many years.
If the book of mormon is false, joseph smith was not a prophet. The book of mormon and the x haplogroupagain fairmormon. May 11, 2009 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. Although this article as it currently stands does contain statements, arguments, and references about the debate surrounding genetics and the book of mormon, i think it fails to give the reader of the article the proper encyclopedic knowledge necessary to understand the statements it presents regarding ancestry and genetics. Is there dna evidence between native americans and the. The book of mormon recounts the story of small israelite groups led by lehi and mulek who were brought by the hand of the lord from ancient jerusalem to the american continent approximately 600 bc. The criticism of the mormon church is the following. The mainstream scientific consensus about the origin of the ancient americans and peoples is at odds with the claims put forth in the book of mormon, though mormon apologists have made efforts to reconcile these contradictions. He addressed a book of mormon lands conference on 2007oct20 in salt lake city, ut. This must mean that amerindians are not descended from book of mormon peoples, and the book of mormon is false. Last wednesday, rod meldrum visited nauvoo and gave a presentation on dna and the book of mormon.
Book of mormon and dna studies church of jesus christ. Mitochondrial dna your moms story dnaexplained genetic. I purchased over 50 copies of this dvd and sent them to mormon temples in the united states and abroad. Subtitled another testament of jesus christ, it recounts the story story of an israelite family who immigrated to and fully populated the american continents. Most of those who argue that the dna studies which reveal asiatic origins for todays amerindians deal a significant blow to any claim of book of mormon historicity base their claims on the assumption that the book of mormon teaches that there were no other aboriginal cultures already present some. Dna evidence of the book of mormon in north america, linking native americans to the jewish population in the middle east.
Dna samples taken from modern american indians show no connection to the dna of the peoples of the middle east. Southerton and professor murphy in a discussion of the problems dna research poses for book of mormon claims. Dna and the book of mormon explained fulllength video youtube. This video is an eyeopening look for mormons to see the deception laid before them by clearly proving that there is no evidence to support the book of mormon and, in fact, provides contrary evidence. Thomas murphy, mormon anthropologist, american apocrypha, 2002, p. This is some heavy duty gaslighting and throwing the bom under the bus. 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. While dna shows that ultimately all human populations are closely related, to date no intimate genetic link has been found between ancient israelites and indigenous americans, much less within the time frame suggested in the book of mormon. The only part of the data that has not yet been explained in harmony with the book of mormon story is the timing. Does dna evidence prove the book of mormon to be false. The book of mormon teaches that these israelites are the principal ancestors of modernday native americans.
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. Attacks on the validity of the book of mormon using dna data dna studies by two investigators. The conference is an annual event sponsored by the book of mormon archeological forum. The essay asserts that dna studies cannot be used decisively to either affirm or reject the historical authenticity of the book of mormon. Sep 08, 2016 response to the essay book of mormon and dna studies in the rest of this article, we will comment on specific statements in the essay book of mormon and dna studies pertaining to what it says about the science of dna research as it applies to the issues raised by the book of mormon. The controversy arises from dna studies of native american peoples. Now, finally, incontrovertible scientific evidence can either prove the book of mormon to be true and therefore mormonism is the true, restored gospel or the book of mormon is a fabricated tale and the claims of mormonism false. Dna controversy is an issue that most critics believe completely undermines mormon beliefs in the truthfulness of the book. Critic thomas murphy writes that some of the most revealing research into native american genetics comes from analyses of mtdna, and. For more than 170 years the church of jesus christ of latterday saints has declared the book of mormon to be a scriptural and literal history. 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. His attempt was to make the case that dna studies do indeed prove the validity, accuracy, and historicity of the book of mormon. Prophets who taught of christ were called from among this people for over a millennium, but eventually the people fell.
Members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints need to realize that. 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. Mitochondrial dna is passed intact from mothers to their offspring and the dna it contains can be used to construct maternal ancestries. The lds church released an essay on their website titled book of mormon and dna studies. Many scientists date the genetic divergence of modern native americans as having arisen from migrations between 10,000 and 15,000 b. All opinions, speakers and presenters represent and express their own individual opinions, and not necessarily the opinions of firm foundation, book of mormon evidence, or its employees, and no information or opinions represent the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Whiting, director of brigham young university s dna sequencing center and an associate professor in byus department of integrative biology, concluded in his article dna and the book of mormon. The book of mormon for more than 170 years, the church of jesus christ of latterday saints has declared the book of mormon to be a scriptural and literal history. Dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence youtube. For these same reasons, arguments that some defenders of the book of mormon make based on. Jun 09, 2016 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. For these same reasons, arguments that some defenders of the book of mormon make based on dna studies are also speculative.
Dna research, however, indicates that native americans are. In summary, dna evidence and the book of mormon is long overdue. An essay on book of mormon and dna studies was added on 114 in the topical guide of the website. The book of mormon, the founding document of the latter day saint movement and one of the. Errors of rodney meldrum true book of mormon geography. Mitochondrial dna was the first type of dna to be sequenced and was thus the first that geneticists used to study populations. Brant gardner is a software consultant with training in mesoamerican studies and anthropology. What is at the heart of the dna challenge to the book of mormon. Response to the essay book of mormon and dna studies in the rest of this article, we will comment on specific statements in the essay book of mormon and dna studies pertaining to what it says about the science of dna research as it. The following are the more serious errors found in rodney meldrums dvd dna evidence for book of mormon geography. Well documented facts, and he covered so many different aspects of evidence to back up his video presentation, aside from the compelling dna evidence, he used weather, animal migration, mapping, rivers, water bodies, descriptions from the book of mormon and matched them to the local geography. 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. Joseph smith claimed that the book of mormon is the.
Feb 18, 20 critics intent on discrediting the restoration point to dna studies on indigenous american peoples in an attempt to expose joseph, the book of mormon, and the church of jesus christ of latterday. The haplogroups most commonly studied are ychromosome ydna haplogroups and mitochondrial dna mtdna haplogroups, both of. Genetic drift particularly affects mitochondrial dna and ychromosome dna, but it also leads to the loss of variation in autosomal dna. Dna and the book of mormon mesoamerican antiquities. The question whether dna studies can illuminate book of mormon origins has become a storm center in recent years and months.
Estes, i have read your book, follow all of your articles that i know about, and study, study, and then study all of. The phenomena of genetic drift, founder effect, etc. Jan 19, 2016 rod is a friend of mine and a member of my hp group, but he has oversimplified this dna matter, aside from falsely stating 1 that the maya are the center of interest of those who consider the book of mormon to be a mesoamerican codex, and 2 that they focus on the maya because they think that joseph smith did so as well. While dna evidence shows that ultimately all human populations are rather closely related, to date no intimate genetic link has been found between ancient israelites and the indigenous peoples of the americasmuch less within the time frame suggested by the book of mormon. Robert millet, the wellrespected professor at brigham young university, stated, the historicity of the book of mormon record is crucial. 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. I argue that dna testing challenges some common faulty assumptions some people have made about the book of mormon, but does not attack the text itself. Book of mormon dna mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs. Joseph allegedly identified huntsville, missouri as the ancient city manti doctrines of salvation 3. The book of mormon and dna studies religious tolerance. If we go back to the beginning of the book of mormon lehite era in 600 bc, there would be 2.
We hear a growing chorus of voices claiming that dna studies prove conclusively that there is no evidence of a middle eastern strand within the native american gene pool. The lds church claims they are and the validity of the book of mormon requires that they are. The first human molecular genealogists focused their attention on mitochondrial dna, a small dna molecule about 16,500 bases with a simple pattern of inheritance. Nephi opens the first chapter of the book of mormon identifying himself as the author of what follows, establishing who it is that writes and credentials the books of nephi. The controversy stems from dna studies of native american peoples. Dna evidence and the book of mormon conclusive proof that. However, this attack ignores several key points, among which is the fact that the book of mormon states. The book of mormon makes several scientific claims that can be tested. The strongest evidence yet against 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. Joseph smith said in the introduction to the book i told the brethren that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone to our religion yet, the evidence shows the book of mormon is not revelation from god, but a fictitious story written by joseph smith.
The maxwell institutes statement on book of mormon geography is quite succinct. The dna challenge to the book of mormon main street church. Dna evidence and molecular genetics disprove the book of mormon. This page is an appendix to dna and the book of mormon. Three great resources to debunk the dna vs book of mormon. Prophets who taught of christ were called from among this people for over a. Mormon leaders, apologists, and scholars have been adamant in declaring the book of mormon to be actual history.
Dna evidence and molecular genetics disprove the book of. Mitochondrial dna lineages for 15,555 american indians from over 200 widely dispersed tribes across the new world have been published over the last 30 years. Dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence general. The book of mormon and the new world dna deseret book. Dna and the book of mormon the traditional latterday saint position t he book of mormon recounts the story of a small israelite group led by lehi and also one headed by mulek from ancient jerusalem. Critics intent on discrediting the restoration point to dna studies on indigenous american peoples in an attempt to expose joseph, the book of mormon. Thousands of native americans from more than 150 tribes have been tested to determine their ancestry. The book of mormon claims that native americans are principally descended from a people group called lamanites, who are of israelite origin.
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