On january 31, 2014, the lds church published an essay entitled book of mormon and dna studies in the gospel topics series on its. Scientists theorize that in an era that predated book of mormon accounts, a relatively small group of people migrated from northeast asia to the americas by way of a land bridge. Dna studies of native americans show that their ancient ancestry is exclusively asian, with no trace of jewish ancestry. The book of mormon details the history of two groups called the nephites and the lamanites. More nailpounding into the mormon churchs lamanite dna. 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. The book of mormon teaches that these israelites are the principal ancestors of modernday native americans. For those unfamiliar with these articles, they are a series of brief essays on, as the website states, doctrinal subjects, history, and other.
Dna evidence conflicts with book of mormon lds facts. Book of mormon and dna studies as recent as 2005 i was taught by a 35 year old at the timemormon missionary from poland that american indians are the descendants of lamanites who decended from lehis rebel kids lamanlemuel etc. Much as critics and defenders of the book of mormon would like to use dna studies to support their views, the evidence is simply inconclusive. A phylogenetic perspective,journal of book of mormon studies. For these same reasons, arguments that some defenders of the book of mormon make. The book of mormon and dna studies religious tolerance.
The gospel topics essays section of the lds official website hosts two essays entitled book of mormon and dna studies and book of mormon translation. 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. On january 31st the church of jesus christ of latterday saints published a new gospel topics page on the official church website entitled book of mormon and dna studies. Perego, the book of mormon and the origin of native americans from a maternally inherited dna standpoint, in no weapon shall prosper. In recent years, many have wondered what dna studies might contribute to understanding book of mormon origins. The identity of the lamanites, including especially their identity in the latterdays among native american peoples, remains an open question which readers of the book of mormon grapple with. The churchs response to recent summaries of the scientific evidence in this regard, most notably provided by tom murphy in various published papers, has been to indicate that all is well on its official website, followed by a reference to articles from the journal of book of mormon studies respecting dna and 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. The book of mormon and the new world dna deseret book. Taking on the book of mormon and dna studies beggars bread. Book of mormon and dna studies, gospel topics essays 2016 book of mormon and dna studies, gospel topics essays. We continue our tour of the gospel topics essays and with the essay book of mormon and dna studies. Dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence youtube. Book of mormon and dna studies the church of jesus christ of latterday saints affirms that the book of mormon is a volume of sacred scripture comparable to the bible. Mitochondrial dna studies have had little success in linking different jewish groups, leading geneticists to discount mtdna as being notoriously unreliable in. Journal of book of mormon studies journals brigham. Gardner the tempest in a teapot dna studies and the book of mormon there has been a tremendous flurry of media attention over the scientific study of human genetic inheritance 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. During the past few years, i have been reading extensively about dna testing and particularly about its relationship to genealogy or family history. A number of investigators have used genetic and blood testing studies to show that native americans are related closely to the inhabitants of siberia. Dna and population genetics a haplotype is a group of genes derived from dna that are inherited together from a single parent and a haplogroup is a group of similar haplotypes that share a common ancestor with a singlenucleotide polymorphism mutation. Read rediscovering the book of mormon remnant through dna this short version article is here and the long version may be downloaded here, titled rediscovering the book of mormon remnant through dna by rod meldrum effectively and powerfully addresses, and provides supporting evidence about the dna questions you may have. There is dna evidence that the native americans did not have the origins that the book of mormon purports that they do. For these same reasons, arguments that some defenders of the book of mormon make based on. The evidence assembled to date suggests that the majority. Dna studies in recent decades conclusively revealed that there is virtually no hebrew dna among native americans. A new page posted on the lds churchs website says dna studies cannot decisively affirm or reject the historical authenticity of the book of mormon. Misguided attempts by latterday saints to use dna to prove that the book of mormon is true should be very carefully reconsidered. However, this attack ignores several key points, among which is the fact that the book of mormon states.
Lds essay book of mormon and dna studies life after ministry. These are some of the few official church statements with regard to such historical issues. 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. To my knowledge there is no reputable researcher who is specifically attempting to test the authenticity of the book of mormon with dna evidence. 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. Rediscovering the bom remnant through dna book of mormon. I found it to be a very helpful summary of the limitations of genetic dna. Now, for the first time in one volume, respected dna scientists, geneticists, and book of mormon scholars provide their views on dna and 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. The essay asserts that dna studies cannot be used decisively to either affirm or reject the historical authenticity of the book of mormon. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints affirms that the book of mormon is a volume of sacred scripture comparable to the bible.
Mormon classics a directory of texts and newspaper articles available on the internet. Book of mormon and dna studies, posted at on friday, is one of several additions or enhancements to the sites. According to the book, two of these groups originated from ancient israel. The studies cited by these critics were never formulated by their original authors as a specific test of the veracity of the book of mormon. Book of mormon and dna studies by michael degroote mormon times and deseret news february 4, 2014 february 4th, 2014. That attention has swirled around declarations made by thomas w.
Today were taking a look at their claims in this one and weighing them against factual information we have from none other than the. These include the book of mormon, the doctrine and covenants, the pearl of great price, and the joseph smith. 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. Nothing is known about the dna of book of mormon peoples. Book of mormon and dna studies the ancestors of the american indians. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints and other denominations in the lds restorationist movement have taught that native americans are descendents of three groups of ancient israelites who came to the new world. 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. Respected dna scientists, geneticists, and book of mormon scholars provide their views on dna and the book of mormon. The conclusion states, much as critics and defenders of the. The lds church released an essay on their website titled book of mormon and dna studies. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints affirms that the book of mormon is a volume of sacred scripture comparable. Dna evidence of the book of mormon in north america, linking native americans to the jewish population in the middle east.
Mormons and mitochondrial dna by chad ressler in august 2004 simon southerton released a book entitled losing a lost tribe. As the article puts it, in short, dna studies cannot be used decisively to either affirm or reject the historical authenticity of the book of mormon. An essay on book of mormon and dna studies was added on 114 in the topical guide of the website. In january 2014 the church published an essay for their gospel topics section they dubbed book of mormon and dna studies.
Dr ugo perego, a respected population geneticist, speaks at the fairmormon conference in kungsbacka, sweden, 18 june 2016. One reason it is difficult to use dna evidence to draw definite. 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. Attacks on the validity of the book of mormon using dna data dna studies by two investigators. Lds essay book of mormon and dna studies life after. 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. 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. The book of mormon and the origin of native americans from. Book of mormon and dna studies response to an essay on book of mormon and dna studies was added on 114 in the topical guide of the website. The spalding studies library a compilation of historical statements in the spalding debate. I have been reading through all of the gospel topics recently and read this one about the book of mormon and dna studies.
Much as critics and defenders of the book of mormon would like to use dna studies to support their views, the evidence is simply inconclusive emphasis added. Who were the lamanites in the book of mormon and who are their modern descendants. In the last few years, the topic of how dna research fits in with the text of the book of mormon has become increasingly divisive. A conference, sponsored by the book of mormon studies association. Excerpt from the book of mormon and dna studies, lds gospel topic essay. Book of mormon and dna stuff you missed in sunday school. Religious studies center, brigham young university, 2011, 171217. Book of mormon and dna studies as recent as 2005 i was taught by a 35 year old at the time mormon missionary from poland that american indians are the descendants of lamanites who decended from lehis rebel kids lamanlemuel etc. Book of mormon research page full text of view of the hebrews, 1830 book of mormon, and book of commandments. While the church has pinned its hopes on the work of limited geography apologetics, the essay makes no mention of geography at all.
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