The only part of the data that has not yet been explained in harmony with the book of mormon story is the timing. Dna evidence and molecular genetics disprove the book of mormon. Right or wrong, mormonism teaches that the book of mormon is inspired of god and equal to the bible. 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. 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. Simon is married to jane who is an english teacherlibrarian. Book of mormon genealogy chart lehi a descendant of joseph through manasseh laban sariah ishmael a descendant of ephriam laman wife of ishmael eve devil lucifer, satan lemuel sam nephi zedekiah king of judah lamb of god jesus christ zoram servant of laban daughter of ishmael daughter of ishmael daughter of ishmael daughter of ishmael jacob. I believe the book of mormon people resided somewhere in the americas. He addressed a book of mormon lands conference on 2007oct20 in salt lake city, ut. 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. Butler, a forensic dna scientist, the majority of the people. 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. Evidence for a faster evolutionary rate of mtdna lineages than y chromosomes. The lds church claims they are and the validity of the book of mormon requires that they are.
Does dna evidence prove the book of mormon to be false. Answers to apologetic claims about dna and the book of mormon. The book of mormon makes several scientific claims that can be tested. 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. Nov 06, 2006 the book of mormon teaches that these israelites are the principal ancestors of modernday native americans. The book of mormon living hope ministries dna and the book of mormon record, by bill mckeever lamanites no more. Dna evidence and molecular genetics disprove the book of mormon by rich deem introduction. I believe the book of mormon is to be taken literally. 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. 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 religion. Dna and the book of mormon book of mormon archaeological. 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. The documentary is a must see for all those who view the book of mormon as an accurate history of the native american indians.
Dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence youtube. Dna genealogies of american indians and the book of mormon. Subtitled another testament of jesus christ, it recounts the story story of an israelite family who immigrated to and fully populated the american continents. The book of mormon teaches that these israelites are the principal ancestors of modernday native americans. The conference is an annual event sponsored by the book of mormon archeological forum. 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. Butler is a member of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Archaeological and historical evidence dna and the book of. 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 remainder of the video features interviews with experts in history, biology, anthropology, linguistics and archaeology.
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. The criticism of the mormon church is the following. British medical association medical book competition, highly. A cursory look at the themes presented in the book of mormon will make this clear. Book answers dna critics of book of mormon deseret news. The biggest problem with most anti mormon attacks involving dna and the book of mormon is not so much the lack of scholarship about dna as it is the lack of scholarship concerning 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. John butler must be added to the short list of scholars who have in some substantial way plumbed those depths. The book of mormon is a religious volume that was published by joseph smith in 1830. An illustrated guide to the people in the book of mormon. 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. 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. 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. 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. In the book of mormon, the book of nephi tells the story of a hebrew family that flees the city of jerusalem around 600 b. Dna evidence now links many native american tribes of the northeast with israel.
Purchase fundamentals of forensic dna typing 1st edition. An illustrated guide to the people in the holy bible. Pdf a few thoughts from a believing dna scientist john m. Scientific studies of dna, facial structure, blood types, and migration patterns have indicated that natives are of siberian origin and are totally unrelated to ancient jews. The doctrine and covenants contains several clarifications on certain passages as offered by the prophet joseph smith. I dont know enough about dna to comment on what can or cannot be concluded from the research. The lds church released an essay on their website titled book of mormon and dna studies. He has also written widely on dna research, including analyzing the possibilities of dna research applied to the book of mormon, and multiple articles on. John butler claims that reference samples of dna, presumably of israelites who lived in jerusalem 2,600 years ago, are required to provide a. The dna truth that the mormon belief that they are related to the american indians is false.
Thomas murphy, mormon anthropologist, american apocrypha, 2002, p. Many scientists date the genetic divergence of modern native americans as having arisen from migrations between 10,000 and 15,000 bc, rather than shortly after 600 bc as stated in the book of mormon account. Butler and dna expert further argues that careful examination and demographic analysis of the book of mormon. Simon southerton submitted to us as to why he left mormonism due to dna evidence is at whyleft125. 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 book of mormon archaeological forum. Dna evidence of the book of mormon in north america, linking native americans to the jewish population in the middle east. 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. Rod meldrum and book of mormon dna addressing questions surrounding the book of mormon and dna research. Single word change in book of mormon speaks volumes the salt. Prophets who taught of christ were called from among this people for over a millennium, but eventually the people fell. Dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence general.
A populationwide coalescent analysis of icelandic matrilineal and patrilineal genealogies. I cant imagine a scenario in which the book of mormon is scripture from god, but not a literal story. 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. Simon has written a book that examines lds beliefs about the origins of native americans and polynesians. Because of its deep symbolism, the book of revelation is one of the most controversial books of scripture. The conflicts have caused some commentators to conclude that the book of mormon is a human document and was not translated by joseph smith from golden plates given to him. The book i have studied most intently in my life is the book of mormon.
The essay asserts that dna studies cannot be used decisively to either affirm or reject the historical authenticity of the book of mormon. 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. Attacks on the book of mormon using results of dna studies. I love to read and, over the past thirtyfive years, have likely read in excess of two thousand books. New discoveries in dna research currently allow scientists to test this historical claim. I purchased over 50 copies of this dvd and sent them to mormon temples in the united states and abroad. Thousands of native americans from more than 150 tribes have been tested to determine their ancestry. At the end of the book of john, the author hints that john may tarry until christ comes again. 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. 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. The biggest problem with most antimormon attacks involving dna and the book of mormon is not so much the lack of scholarship about dna as it is the lack of scholarship concerning the book of mormon. The book of mormon and the new world dna deseret book. Some argue dna disproves the historicity of the book of mormon while. After offering these insights into the temple centered religion of the visionary men who composed the book of mormon, d.
David butler teaches college religion classes, and is the author of many religious books including ites. By tracing dissent, polygamy, and persecution through mormon history, butler illustrates the crisis faced by mormons while reconciling their history with. Using two versions of butlers autobiography as core documents included in a sixtyfivepage appendix, hartley thoughtfully reconstructs butlers life and provides fresh perspectives and new insights into a number of neglected areas of mormon history. 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.
Related topics including the book of mormon and dna. 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. The critics are using tentative scientific findings to discredit common misconceptions about the book of mormon, not what the text actually teaches. Dna samples taken from modern american indians show no connection to the dna of the peoples of the middle east. 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. Brant gardner is a software consultant with training in mesoamerican studies and anthropology. Joseph smith was the founder and prophet of the church of jesus christ of latterday saintsunofficially called the mormon church. The conclusion of dna evidence brings us the fascinating testimony of an exmormon. The book of mormon and the origin of native americans from a maternally inherited dna standpoint often in error, seldom in doubt. Prophets who taught of the messiah were called from among this people for over a. Peterson introduced the book of mormon and dna research last. 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 must mean that amerindians are not descended from book of mormon peoples, and the book of mormon is false. Nov 15, 20 dna evidence now links many native american tribes of the northeast with israel. 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. If the book of mormon is false, joseph smith was not a prophet.
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