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 to the american continent in approximately 600 bc. Lost civilizations of north america documentary4, deborah bolnick on haplogroup x. My interest in book of mormon dna issues began several years ago when my bishop in texas asked me to help a lessactive young man who was struggling with this topic. 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. 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 issue of dna and the book of mormon involves quite a number of interesting issues. Simon has written a book that examines lds beliefs about the origins of native americans and polynesians. Fairmormon is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing welldocumented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of the church of jesus. 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. There have been theories and studies about dna either attempting to prove or disprove the accuracy of some interpretation of the book of mormon. First, it assumes that mesoamerica is the land of the book of mormon.
We continue our tour of the gospel topics essays and with the essay book of mormon and dna studies the goal to share the lds churchs gospel topic essays and help the both the. New light on sensitive issues 2011, 171217 the book of mormon and dna evidence, dna, archive. Simon is married to jane who is an english teacherlibrarian. Most, but not all, mormons hold the books connection to ancient american history as an. Book of mormon and dna studies church of jesus christ. I carefully and openmindedly studied the data, and wrote a detailed article to highlight the fallacy of critics arguments. Jul 26, 2015 anti mormon groups claim that a lack of dna evidence connecting the people of south and central america to the middle east is proof that the book of mormon is not a true record of jewish people in the new world. 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. The book of mormon teaches that all native americans are descended exclusively from hebrews dna studies of native americans show that their ancient ancestry is exclusively asian, with no trace of jewish ancestry. Prophets who taught of the messiah were called from among this people for over a. Dna research and mormon scholars changing basic beliefs. It is important to remember that most dna apologists defending the book of mormon, do so on the assumption that lehi and his family made a small genetic impact in the americas. Perego, the book of mormon and the origin of native americans from a maternally inherited dna standpoint, in robert l.
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. Does dna evidence prove the book of mormon is false. The difference is they used boats to get them across and maybe the bering sea but at least the boats according to the book of mormon. I purchased over 50 copies of this dvd and sent them to mormon temples in the united states. This new evidence, in contrast to the first, appears to provide. Dna and the book of mormon brigham young university. The lds church released an essay on their website titled book of mormon and dna studies. 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. Some mormon researchers claim that it is not valid to use genetics to attempt to prove or disprove the historicity of the book of mormon, citing a lack of source genes and the improbability of tracing israelite dna even if present. So i always say dna is the best evidence that the book of. I purchased over 50 copies of this dvd and sent them to mormon temples in the united states and abroad. Sep 16, 2015 in response to mormon apologetics in 2004 he published losing a lost tribe, which explores the origins of amerindian and polynesian dna and its implications for lds beliefs arising from the book of mormon.
Dna and the book of mormon archives mormon stories essays. Recently, some persons have announced that modern dna research has conclusively proved that the book of mormon is false and that joseph smith was a fraud. 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 maternally inherited dna standpoint, by ugo perego. The book of mormon teaches that these israelites are the principal ancestors of modernday native americans. The dna truth that the mormon belief that they are related to the american indians is false. We continue our tour of the gospel topics essays and with the essay book of mormon and dna studies the goal to share the lds churchs gospel topic essays and help the both the believing member and the nonbeliever get a sense of the why these essays were written, who the intended audience is, whether these essays resolve the concerns of the faithful and nonbeliever and why they perhaps. Dna puts to rest that any of the culture, civilization or peoples of the book of mormon ever existed. John dehlins mormon stories essay on dna and the book of mormon makes the following claim. 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. This interpretation, still dominant among members of the lds church, remained in the introduction to the book of mormon until recently.
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. They flatly reject the hemispheric geography, the view accepted by most mormons and all the prophets. 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 essay asserts that dna studies cannot be used decisively to either affirm or reject the historical authenticity of the book of mormon. I have also written an extensive article on the topic, with many references that you can check yourself. With available information and current dna techniques. Dna and the book of mormon record mormonism research. An essay on book of mormon and dna studies was added on 114 in the topical guide of the website. The largest genealogical group out there is the mormon church, so fundamentally every genealogy company makes their software compatible with the churchs free. May 07, 2004 the issue of dna and the book of mormon involves quite a number of interesting issues. Its been a few years since i talked about dna and the book of mormon. 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.
Nov 06, 2006 the book of mormon teaches that these israelites are the principal ancestors of modernday native americans. Sep 08, 2016 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. Dna and the book of mormon record mormonism research ministry. The book of mormon recounts the story of small israelite groups headed by lehi and mulek that were brought from ancient. 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. Book of mormon studies and dna gospel topic page on published january 2014. Dna evidence and molecular genetics disprove the book of mormon. Jul 21, 2017 the difference is they used boats to get them across and maybe the bering sea but at least the boats according to the book of mormon. 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. 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. While the church has pinned its hopes on the work of limited geography apologetics, the essay makes no mention of geography at all. Dna evidence of the book of mormon in north america, linking native americans to the jewish population in the middle east. Dna research and mormon scholars changing basic beliefs lds.
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. No, definitely notbut it does force rethinking some common. 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. Phylogenetic perspective that book of mormon critics attempting to use dna. The only true statements in the book of mormon are those taken from the bible. 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. The book of mormon and the new world dna deseret book. 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. One useful new resource in this area is dna and the book of mormon by david stewart, m. The book of mormon makes several scientific claims that can be tested. 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.
Dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence youtube. It was released by the church to help explain how the book of mormon s credibility is not harmed due to recent dna evidence which concludes that the native americans are not the descendants of the book of mormon people, and to explain why the churchs credibility is not harmed due to having such a. Dna genealogies of american indians and the book of mormon. New discoveries in dna research currently allow scientists to test this historical claim. 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. Subtitled another testament of jesus christ, it recounts the story story of an israelite family who immigrated to and fully populated the american continents. Since 2014which was the last time i discussed lehis missing dnatheres been a few articles of interest that i. Ekins, is decrypting the genetic legacy of americas indigenous populations key to the historicity of the book of mormon. Antimormon groups claim that a lack of dna evidence connecting the people of south and central america to the middle east is proof that the book of mormon is not a true record of jewish.
Another testament of jesus christ, is true, not false. 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 documentary accurately presents the consensus of the scientific community that northern asia not israel is the place of origin of the native american indians. Thousands of native americans from more than 150 tribes have been tested to determine their ancestry. The following essay is the official lds released essay entitled book of mormon and dna studies. 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. So i always say dna is the best evidence that the book of mormon is true because in there is the book of ether that talks about a group that was in asia and a group thats in north america that are related. Dna evidence and molecular genetics disprove the book of mormon by rich deem introduction. Ekins, is decrypting the genetic legacy of americas indigenous populations. There are two major problems with this dna argument. 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.
Mormons and mitochondrial dna by chad ressler in august 2004 simon southerton released a book entitled losing a lost tribe. As book of mormon students increasingly understand that the book of mormon actually describes a very limited geographical area in its accounts, and as they recognize that mesoamerica southern mexico, guatemala, and surrounding territory offers the best candidate for the setting of the book of mormon, they also recognize that the dna attacks. 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. The book of mormon tells the story of a family from ancient jerusalem that crossed the ocean and colonized somewhere in the western.
Dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence that proves the book of mormon. While two different lds scientists have said that dna research discounts the book of mormon as an ancient, historical document, a researcher. 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. Many members of the latter day saint movement claim historical authenticity of the book of mormon. The book of mormon and dna evidence, dna, archive ugo a. 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. 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.
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