Book of mormondna evidencegeography issues fairmormon. 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. Book of mormon and dna stuff you missed in sunday school. Dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence that proves the book of mormon. Dna and the book of mormon explained fulllength video youtube. Scientists theorize that in an era that predated book of. Book of mormon and dna studies great response simon. Excerpt from the book of mormon and dna studies, lds gospel topic essay. The book of mormon is another witness of jesus christ and confirms the truths found in the holy bible. This contains the complete text of the 1981 edition, but with more modern text formatting. The book of mormon dna debate an interview with ugo. Dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence youtube.
On its web site, under the mistakes in the news heading, the church declares, recent attacks on the veracity of the book of mormon based on dna evidence are ill considered. Book of mormon, church of jesus christ of latterday saints, racism. Devout mormon, daniel peterson, a professor of asian and near eastern languages at brigham young university, said. Joseph smith, prophet and translator of the book of mormon, stated. The essay asserts that dna studies cannot be used decisively to either affirm or reject the historical authenticity of the book of mormon.
The book of mormon states that there were three transoceanic migrations by ship, lehis family, the mulekites and the jaredites. Book of mormon geography in north america wayne may. Dna research and mormon scholars changing basic beliefs. Topical guide, book of mormon bible dictionary, ephraim, stick of. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. In recent years, many have wondered what dna studies might contribute to understanding book of mormon origins. 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. Another testament of jesus christ, is true, not false. Dr ugo perego, a respected population geneticist, speaks at the fairmormon conference in kungsbacka, sweden, 18 june 2016.
Jan, 2008 dna loses its original ethnic traces after so many hundreds of years. 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. It cannot be said the dna of european and middle eastern genomes are found this far back, then they disappear again before the book of mormon can be validated. 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. The critics are using tentative scientific findings to discredit common misconceptions about the book of mormon, not what the text actually teaches. Order the dvd at for more than 170 years, the church of jesus christ of latterday saints has declared the book of mormon to be a scriptur. If this were to be true, no doubt there would be significant discoverable amounts of dna. Woodwards presentation on the subject of dna and the book of mormon was timely and extremely enlightening for those in attendance. 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. Evidence for a faster evolutionary rate of mtdna lineages than y chromosomes.
Does dna evidence prove the book of mormon is false. 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 is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to latter day saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. There is generally no direct support amongst mainstream historians and archaeologists for the. Although the question of limited geography is strongly linked to dna and the book of mormon, we will not be dealing with that in this volume. Are israelites the principal ancestors of native americans. Native americans, dna and the mormon church, which was published by signature. Undeniable archaeological evidence of the book of mormon in north america. M odern dna evidence in no way disproves the traditional lds belief that book of mormon peoples represent the principal ancestors of the american indians.
Where applicable, we have updated the references to reflect later publications. Additional dna markers from europe, west asia, and africa exist in the dna of modern native populations, but it is difficult to determine whether they are the result of migrations that predated columbus, such as those described in the book of mormon, or whether they stem from genetic mixing that occurred after the european conquest. Order the dvd at for more than 170 years, the church of jesus christ of latterday saints has declared the book of mormon to be a scriptu. Undeniable archaeological evidence of the book of mormon in.
Joseph smiths dictated text with hundreds of corrections from royal skousens study of the original and printers manuscripts. 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. Attacks on the validity of the book of mormon using dna data support for the book of mormon by mormon academics. Its last book, moroni, reads something like parts of 2 nephi, but it is obviously a tackedon addition. Welch mapping book of mormon geography 101 by larry poulsen mesoamerica speech scrolls by diane wirth. Many readers have posed this question, both out of genuine interest and also as. Miraculous claims surrounding the coming forth of the book of mormon are an evidence of the prophetic calling of joseph smith.
Dna and the book of mormon record mormonism research. Introduction, 20 edition of the book of mormon in recent years, many have wondered what dna studies might contribute to understanding. Fundamental historical claims of the book of mormon are challenged by new genetic research. Defenders of the book of mormon have made arguments that center on the idea that the book of mormon peoples from the middle east formed only a small contribution to the population of the americas, and that their genetic heritage may have been diluted beyond what can now be detected. No, the evidence is indicating that israelite dna cannot be dismissed. In particular, it seems worth noting that to date, no formal dna study has been carefully designed to specifically look for the unique, nonlocal dna potentially brought to the americas by the small migrations reported in the book of mormon. There are two major problems with this dna argument.
Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies wikipedia. Mormons and mitochondrial dna claims of native americans. 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. Brother meldrum has since given presentations across the united states and his research has been seen by tens of thousands of members of the church. In 2006, the group became a formal part of the neal a. 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. Is there any archaeological evidence for the book of mormon.
A branch of the qp36 lineage m323 is also found in yemenite jews. Dna and the book of mormon record mormonism research ministry. It neither proves nor disproves the book of mormon. The book of mormon claims native americans are descended from israelites. Updates on dna and the book of mormon studio et quoque fide. The evidence assembled to date suggests that the majority of native americans carry largely asian dna. Whiting, does dna evidence refute the authenticity of the book of mormon. New light on dna and the book of mormon the millennial star. Theres a good lds article concerning this, but its on my old computer, which i dont feel like starting up again and looking for. The foundation for ancient research and mormon studies farms was an informal collaboration of academics devoted to latterday saint historical scholarship. Book of mormon evidence compiled from video interviews done in 2014, 2016 and 2017. For these same reasons, arguments that some defenders of the book of mormon make based on dna studies are also speculative. The documentary is a must see for all those who view the book of mormon as an accurate history of the native american indians.
Millions of people believe this book and live their lives by it. Does dna evidence refute the authenticity of the book of mormon. May 05, 2020 the destructive personal attacks of mormon apologists and their strained reinterpretations of the book of mormon to accommodate the science, prompted me to post a personal story of my encounter with the dna science in 2000 and to eventually write losing a lost tribe. 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 general. Rediscovering the bom remnant through dna book of mormon. Book of mormon the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. He addressed a book of mormon lands conference on 2007oct20 in salt lake city, ut.
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. Mormon stories podcast operates in partnership with the open stories foundation a 501c3 nonprofit, and obtained over 7. Articles which do not invoke any type of limited geography in their discussion include. Feb 03, 2014 the book of mormon people are described as being fabulously successful in reproducing, the scriptures states that the book of mormon is specifically brought forth for the descendants of the people in the book of mormon. A phylogenetic perspective, journal of book of mormon studies 121 2003. Dna and the book of mormon, by david stewart takes traditional position. The research is given in support of the truthfulness of book of mormon and the gospel of jesus christ. 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. 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 a. What does dna science have to say about this doctrine. The dna evidence has exposed the true ancestry of native americans with amazing clarity and also, unfortunately for the lds church, the dubious history of the book of mormon. Book of mormon and dna studies \n great response simon. 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.
According to the book, two of these groups originated from ancient israel. 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. Recently, some critics of the lds church have alleged that dna data demonstrating homology between modern native americans and mongolians and central siberians, as well as a seeming lack of homology between modern jewish and native american dna, provides conclusive proof that the book of mormon story of migrations from ancient israel and. 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. The book of mormon dna debate an interview with ugo perego. Apr 30, 2020 all of these factors are relevant to claims about dna and the book of mormon. The olive leaf foundation 2017 a new approach to studying the book of mormon. Oct 03, 2019 the book of mormon in americas heartland by rodney meldrum the hopewell culture describes the common aspects of the native american culture that flourished along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern united states from 300 bc to 400 ad, in the middle woodland period. Not trying to argue here about what some people believe about it. 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. However, it is my understanding that rod meldrum might actually change some of that argument to be more in line with current scientific evidence regarding mitochondrial dna. In 1997, the group became a formal part of brigham young university byu, which is owned and operated by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church. Dna evidence for book of mormon geography book of mormon. It at once shows the book of mormon claims that lehis group was the only one on the continent and that the claimed population was much larger than could have been achieved.
Scientists theorize that in an era that predated book of mormon accounts, a relatively small group of people migrated from. However, the book of mormon tells that through divine guidance, relatively small groups of old. Polynesian dna the legend of fu sand and the book of mormon is all evidence that the populating of north american was done by ship and not on artic land masses. First, it assumes that mesoamerica is the land of the book of mormon. I plan to read it cover to cover, and add my witty thoughts and comments along the way. For more on this topic, please visit book of mormon and lds prophets identify todays native.
The idea that america may have been overwhelmingly peopled by folks from northeastern asia. A populationwide coalescent analysis of icelandic matrilineal and patrilineal genealogies. The work of mormon stories podcast has been featured in the new york times, national public radio, good morning america, the wall street journal, vh1, the. Thomas murphy, mormon anthropologist, american apocrypha, 2002, p. Attacks on the validity of the book of mormon using dna data dna studies by two investigators. The book of mormon tells the story of a family from ancient jerusalem that crossed the ocean and colonized somewhere in the western. One of the fundamental tenets taught to mormon children and new converts is that the book of mormon is an account of real people and real events. The book of mormon probably originally ended with the book of ether. Wooley book of mormon traditions found only in mesoamerica by diane wirth the book of mormon as a mesoamerican record by donald w. Dna research and mormon scholars changing basic beliefs lds. Murphy set out to test a key principle of his mormon faith with the latest technology. Response to the genetic challenge from book of mormon defenders book of mormon population models. Book of mormon and dna studies church of jesus christ.
Would dna analysis show as taught by the book of mormon that many. The book of mormon in americas heartland by rodney meldrum the hopewell culture describes the common aspects of the native american culture that flourished along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern united states from 300 bc to 400 ad, in the middle woodland period. All of these factors are relevant to claims about dna and the book of mormon. Brant gardner is a software consultant with training in mesoamerican studies and anthropology. There should have been more than enough dna to detect, if the book of mormon were to be believed.
Ancient dna from hopewell ohio book of mormon evidence. Taking on the book of mormon and dna studies beggars bread. In an article written for the mormon periodical times and seasons in 1842, joseph smith made it a point to mention that the title page of the book of mormon is a literal translation, taken from the very last leaf, on the left hand side of the collection or book of plates, which contained the record which has been translated. There can no longer be any pointing to quick and easy lack of evidence for refutations. Basically the book is an instruction manual on how to operate the early mormon church. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Critics argue that since the dna of native americans shares asian rather than middle. 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. Jan 21, 2010 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. Jun 25, 2016 the socalled dna evidence used to support the book of mormon has several flaws and limitations. The origins, authenticity, and historicity of the book of mormon have been subject to considerable criticism from scholars and skeptics since it was first published in 1830. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints affirms that the book of mormon is a volume of sacred scripture comparable to the bible.
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