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. Thus the evidence indicates the fact that some of the descendants of the nephites did escape the final nephite and lamanite wars. Dna is a long chainlike molecule comprised of four repeating units called bases, represented by the letter a, c, g and t. Southerton, raises dnabased questions regarding the relation of native americans to the lamanites described in the book of mormon. Dna evidence of the book of mormon in north america, linking native americans to the jewish population in the middle east. The book of mormons validity lies beyond the purview of scientific empiricismas it always has.
The book of mormon makes several scientific claims that can be tested. The lamanites also play a role in the prophecies and revelations of the doctrine and covenants, another sacred text in the latter day. Dna has revealed very clearly how closely related american indians are to their siberian ancestors. Dna evidence contradicts this origin story, and the lds church has had to backtrack on many of their false and racist ideas regarding native americans, their heritage, and their skin pigmentation. The lamanites are invisible, not principal ancestors. The lamanites annihilated the lightskinned nephites at the battle at the hill cumorah. Genetic, or hereditary information, is stored in the order of these bases and is passed from generation to generation in all living things.
Members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints need to realize that. The book of mormon has no basis in historical or scientific fact. I spoke to them specifically about the x haplogroup that meldrum is using as evidence, and they all cautioned me against using it as evidence. Consequently, simon resigned from his calling as bishop in 1998 and left the church soon thereafter. How can mormons say that the american indians descend from. First, it assumes that mesoamerica is the land 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.
In summary, dna evidence and the book of mormon is long overdue. I am finding some amazing things about dna and a connection between the lamanites and the jews. We also find that the lamanites plunder nonnephite groups who are not the brethren of the lamanites. Does the book of mormon describe the lamanites as being cursed with a red skin. He points to the fact that the first hurdle is to identify a specific gene pool for ancient jews. Dna studies by two investigators religious tolerance. The book of mormon and lds prophets identify todays native americans as literal descendants of hebrews who traveled from jerusalem in 600. 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. Nephites, lamanites, and jaredites had to live somewhere. As time moves on research into dna studies continues to show new evidence that many native americans east of the mississippi have the same haplogroup x as many in western eurasia. Not to the exclusion of principles outlined by moroni. Supporting evidences of the book of mormon are broadly identifiable.
This interpretation, still dominant among members of the lds church, remained in the introduction to the book of mormon until recently. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints mormon church teaches that the literary work dictated by joseph smith known as the book of. Is there dna evidence between native americans and the. Dna science challenges lds history christian research. As always, i invite you to study the issues, evaluate what we know and what we dont know, and pray for the guidance. To date, genetic studies indicate that native americans are most closely related to east asians,4 while no clear genetic relationship with the. True, joseph never said all the american indians are lamanites, but he spoke in language giving the impression that he believed they were primarily of lamanite descent. They add, there has been little if any evidence seriously considered by the mainstream, scientific community that would indicate a middle east origin, or any other source of origin, for the majority of contemporary native americans. Dnalamanites are a remnant of the jew book of mormon. Today we will talk about some common criticisms of the book of mormon around archaeological evidence that some say proves or disproves the truthfulness of the book of mormon. Dna science challenges lds history christian research institute. A healthy curiosity need not be suppressedhealthy being the operative word.
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. Indeed, byus sorenson says dna evidence likely may never yield a definitive answer on the question. 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. The book of mormon was written to the lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of israel. However, dna evidence yields no support for such a conclusion. Linguistic evidence in the book of mormon points to the presence of other languages that influenced the lamanites and the people of mulek, such that their language changed.
I have produced a video on dna and the book of mormon called the book of mormon and new world dna, and interviewed and spoke with many lds geneticists. Mauss, since the very founding of the church in 1830, mormons had believed that north american indians were lamanites, described by the book of mormon as literal israelites, the seed of abraham, who would flock to the church as lost sheep responding to the voice of the true shepherd of israel and would actually take the. Book of mormon evidence in american archaeology wayne may. The book, and associated rhetoric, is generating considerable interest and no. And finally, inspiringly, they affirm lehis kinship as one of covenant, not genes. Researchers compare existing ge netic ev idence w ith th e book of mormon story. The dna evidence which shows a close relationship between amerinds and asians the dna evidence which does not support the semite origins of amerinds in the timeline necessary for us to accept the boms claims. This has caused many to wonder how modern native americans could possibly be descendants of lehi.
Nephites, lamanites and metal book of mormon evidence. The book of mormon geography lands and map with dna evidence. In an essay titled does the dna evidence refute the book of mormon. Kayla answer dear kayla, there is some great information available to help answer your question. Simon southerton simon in oz submitted to us as to why he left mormonism due to dna evidence is at whyleft125. Nelsonseawright over the last decade or so, there has been a voluminous, and often tiresome, debate about whether recent dna evidence regarding the origins of native americans disproves the book of mormon. According to noted mormon sociologist and historian armand l.
When looking at the mormon question the religions claims and whether it is fundamentally a true religion, you have to look at the totality of the evidence, the big picture, if you will. There is no straightline conclusion between dna evidence and lamanites. Discovering instead that native american dna was almost 100% of asiatic origin, this seriously challenged simons belief that the lamanites are the ancestors of the american indians, and that the book of mormon is a historical document. Attacks on the validity of the book of mormon using dna data dna studies by two investigators. The evidence assembled to date suggests that the majority of native americans carry largely asian dna sorenson and roper. Archaeological evidence of the book of mormon latterday. Book of mormon geography, lands, map, dna true evidence. The term lamanite includes all indians and indian mixtures, such as the polynesians, the guatemalans, the peruvians, as well as the sioux, the apache, the mohawk, the navajo, and others.
Dna lamanites book of mormon genetics genealogy genesis. Dna was lost by intermixing with larger indigenous groups. And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. Since the mayans and others of the western united states, mexico, central and south america have been found to have asian blood, this makes it unlikely that these lamanites are the original lamanites of the book of mormon. Lehi saw from the beginning that nephites and lamanites were labels that would include a variety of groups that could have differing biological origins, cultures, and ethnic heritages. Dna and the book of mormon kindle edition by meldrum, jeffrey, stephens, trent d download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Dna research and mormon scholars changing basic beliefs lds researchers question mormon tenet that polynesians and native americans descended from israelite patriarch lehi. Thoughtful insights from 32 top scholars continue the journey into the book of mormons thousandyear span, aiding understanding of this sacred text. As the experts continue to try and explain away this evidence, the more i become excited about it. He also notes that most dna sampling so far has been tied to maternal.
Weighing dna evidence about the book of mormon may, 2009 by j. 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 people in the new world. In recent years, genetic evidence uncovered from dna testing has revealed that native americans carry primarily asian dna. Dna evidence and molecular genetics disprove the book of. Dna evidence of the book of mormon in north america, linking. With the new information from our recent book, the annotated edition of the book of mormon, i am excited to continue the path of learning. Wayne may presents book of mormon evidence in north american geography, archaeology and historical records. Dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence that proves the book of mormon. The lds church released an essay on their website titled book of mormon and. From the new york cumorah perspective, the prophets identification of lamanites throughout the hemisphere works not because of dna, but because of the assumption that over the centuries, trade and intermarriage would have distributed the blood of lehi widely, albeit in concentrations too dilute to detect with dna. The book of mormon teaches that the darkskinned lamanites are of the house of israel, and many mormons believe lamanites were the ancestors of the modern american indians. Book of mormonlamanitesrelationship to amerindians. Simon was a member of the lds church for almost 30 years, serving a mission in melbourne 198183, marrying in the new zealand temple in 1983, and serving in numerous church positions including four terms as young men. Last updated 05302011, this documents some of the interaction between book of mormon believers and skeptics relating to scientific dna research on lamanites and nephites who lds faithful believe descended from middle easterners centuries ago.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading who are the children of lehi. The express purpose of the book is to show unto the remnant of the house of israel what great things the lord hath done for their fathers. Dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence youtube. The most informative dna research involves work on mitochondrial and ychromosome dna, because they simply reflect male and female dna genealogical lineages. The salt lake tribune byu gene data may shed light on. The book of mormon, first published by joseph smith, jr. Byu gene data may shed light on origin of book of mormons lamanites. Mormon leaders over the years have also taught that these supposed book of mormon people called lamanites are the ancestors of native american peoples from alaska to argentina as well as the native inhabitants of the polynesian islands. Mormons and mitochondrial dna by chad ressler in august 2004 simon southerton released a book entitled losing a lost tribe. Dna evidence is offering a serious challenge to the mormon claim that native americans are descended from hebrew colonizers who came to. The dna evidence is the last in a long line of research that supports the firm conclusion that the ancestors of the american indians migrated from asia over 12, 000 years ago.
The book of mormon talks of a curse being placed upon the lamanites. Dna research and mormon scholars changing basic beliefs. Another testament of jesus christ, is true, not false. Simon southerton is a native australian, geneticist, former lds bishop, and author of the book losing a lost tribe. Five compelling archeological evidences for the book of. The understanding of joseph smith and of traditional mormonism is that th e b ook of mormon reveals that the american indians are descendants of the lama nites, who descended from lehi and are therefore a remnant of the house of israel. 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 church says the studies are being twisted to attack its beliefs. The dna evidence is based on tests performed on more than 12,000 north american natives. The book of mormon geography and map with dna evidence and the location of lands and cities such as zarahemla, cumorah, the narrow neck, mexico, caribbean sea, american indians, and true evidence are all here. How can the mormom position that the american indians are descendants of the lamanites be maintained when dna evidence proves a much different scientific story of human migration and origin.
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