In the past few years, dna studies have been used to provide what may be the strongest and most convincing evidence so far against the authenticity of the book of mormon. Sep 19, 2009 the comparison of the bom with the bible doesnt really work. A cursory look at the themes presented in the book of mormon will make this clear. This is some heavy duty gaslighting and throwing the bom under the bus. Dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence youtube. But being the strongest evidence so far against the book of mormon is a relative thing, akin to selecting the best smelling skunk in your local forest. 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. Poulsen the city of lib, key to book of mormon geography by v. 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 is a religious volume that was published by joseph smith in 1830. The controversy stems from dna studies of native american peoples. Discussion in general religious debates started by blentyn chan celi, feb 4, 2008. Critics claim that such studies prove conclusively that there is no evidence of a middle eastern strand within the native american gene pool.
However, additional evidences of the divinity of this book also exist. The number one reason why the bible and the book of mormon cant both be true is that the book of mormon has been shown to be historically false, while the bible has ample historical, archaeological, and textual evidence to support its authenticity we wont go into detail here, but the video the bible vs. The documentary is a must see for all those who view the book of mormon as an accurate history of the native american indians. This must mean that amerindians are not descended from book of mormon peoples, and the book of mormon is false. Brant gardner is a software consultant with training in mesoamerican studies and anthropology. Top ten biggest controversies of the mormon lds church the church of jesus christ of latterday saints mormons is a religion mired in controversy. The book of mormon is the word of god, like the bible. A comprehensive survey of prophetic and doctrinal statements by latterday prophets and apostles,abraham divided.
Fundamental historical claims of the book of mormon are challenged by new genetic research. The book of mormon teaches that these israelites are the principal ancestors of modernday native americans. If there are historical inaccuracies in the bible, they can be chalked up to translationoral traditionauthor embelleshment, etc. There is generally no direct support amongst mainstream historians and. Garth norman the book of mormons mother culture of the new world by ted dee stoddard analyzing the place where the sea divides the land and the great city of the jaredites by larry poulsen and ted dee stoddard.
Scientific studies of dna, facial structure, blood types, and migration patterns have indicated that natives are of siberian origin and are. If this claim is not true then the entire premise upon which mormonism is built comes unglued. 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 journal of mormon history is published semiannually by the mormon history association, p. Last wednesday, rod meldrum visited nauvoo and gave a presentation on dna and the book of mormon. The church and byu stay neutral in questions of exactly where the book of mormon took place. 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.
New discoveries in dna research currently allow scientists to test this historical claim. Creators of south park defend their broadway debut, book of. Subtitled another testament of jesus christ, it recounts the story story of an israelite family who immigrated to and fully populated the american continents. 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. Dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence general. The strongest evidence yet against the book of mormon. There are many important conversations to be had in light of science and the book of mormon, but resigning from the church and throwing the book of mormon out the window because of the misleading dna based attacks on the book of mormon would be a tragic overreaction. For that reason, our design team has chosen to develop an internal map that shows relational directions and approximate distances that match the.
It is an article titled book of mormon and dna studies. The book of mormon claims to be a volume of holy scripture comparable to the bible. Both the bible and the book of mormon declare themselves to be ancient, historical, and reliable rules of faiththe very word of god. The book of mormon was released in march of 2003, the lds church was only beginning to wrestle with the implications of dna research that posed serious challenges to the historical validity of the book of mormon. The last of the mormon pantheon also called the godhead is the holy ghost. Critics intent on discrediting the restoration point to dna studies on indigenous american peoples in an attempt to expose joseph, the book of mormon, and the church of jesus christ of latterday. Some mormon researchers believe that jaredite survivors of the war that destroyed their civilization, as described in the book of ether, could be ancestors to some native americans sorenson 1992. Is there dna evidence between native americans and the lamanites. 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. Virtual book of mormon another testament of jesus christ. All that would be left would be for an interested mormon to compare the two findings to the dna of israelites who lived about 600 b. Box 9010, university station, provo, ut 84602, 801 378048, and is distributed to members upon payment of annual dues. 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.
Nov 06, 2006 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 scriptural and literal history. 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. Book of mormon, work accepted as holy scripture, in addition to the bible, in the church of jesus christ of latterday saints and other mormon churches. Devout mormon, daniel peterson, a professor of asian and near eastern languages at brigham young university, said. This is actually a reference to a scripture in the bible in revelations ch. If the findings and the conclusions of the research are correct, then the entire mormon belief system is based on a lie. Three great resources to debunk the dna vs book of mormon.
According to the book of mormon, native american indian originated genetically from israel. 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 largest genealogical group out there is the mormon church, so fundamentally every genealogy company makes their software compatible with the churchs free familysearch site, tries to market to mormons, and at. He addressed a book of mormon lands conference on 2007oct20 in salt lake city, ut.
Dna and the book of mormon explained fulllength video. Mormon church says it was an error in their come follow me manual that there was a curse of dark skin. The idea that america may have been overwhelmingly peopled by folks. This has caused some mormons to depart from their faith. Dna evidence and the book of mormon conclusive proof. 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. The videos arguing that dna disproves the book of mormon have been circulating for many years. 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. The book of mormon and the new world dna deseret book. After the book of mormon was published, mormonism began to spread and grow rapidly. 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. Brother sparks inquired about the location of the hill cumorah mentioned in the book of mormon, where the last battle between the. The book of mormon is clear that it was a literal curse on their skin. From the churchs beginnings in 1820 with the first vision of joseph smith its founder to a present day membership of over 15 million, the church has faced countless obstacles and controversies.
These claims have historically been taken on faith. 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 by an angel. May 18, 2008 this is actually a reference to a scripture in the bible in revelations ch. The belief that natives are descendents of jews was commonly accepted in the early 19th century when the book of mormon was published.
An essay on book of mormon and dna studies was added on 114 in the topical guide of the website. 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. The book of mormon states that there were three transoceanic migrations by ship, lehis family, the mulekites and the jaredites. 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. 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. However, the book of mormon has been scientifically proven to be false which means joseph smith was a gross liar and received no revelation from god.
Now, there is new scientific evidence which not only questions but conclusively proves that the book of mormon is a. Latterday saints also consider the book of mormon to be a record. 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. Dna vs book of mormon incredible new evidence that proves 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. But is there any evidence to support them one way or the other. Book of mormon geography and the book of ether by lawrence l. The lord could have removed all questions regarding the exact locations of these events but he did not. His attempt was to make the case that dna studies do indeed prove the validity, accuracy, and historicity of the book of mormon. The idea has since gone out of fashion except among the mormons. The criticism of the mormon church is the following. Book of mormon dna mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs. Pratt, orson 1859, evidences of the bible and book of mormon compared. Top ten biggest controversies of the mormon lds church. So mormonism and mormons, other than utah, is right next door, so theres just a lot of crossover there. Does dna evidence prove the book of mormon to be false. Dna samples taken from modern american indians show no connection to the dna of the peoples of the middle east. According to the book of mormon, the jaredites were a group of people that left the old world after the fall of the tower of babel.
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. Dna evidence and the book of mormon conclusive proof that. 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. Nothing can take the place of a spiritual witness that the book of mormon is true. Peterson is a professor of islamic studies and arabic in the department of asian and near eastern languages at byu, and is also the author of books such as muhammad, prophet of god,the last days.
The book of mormon teaches that these israelites are the principle ancestors of the modernday native americans. Is there dna evidence between native americans and the. The critics are using tentative scientific findings to discredit common misconceptions about the book of mormon, not what the text actually teaches. No one found the bible and claimed it to be an historical record. 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. The roman catholics, the eastern orthodox, and the anglicans all have convents and monasteries where you might find male and female virgins though i think the 144, 000 are said to be men who have not known womenmale virgins, like all unmarried mormon men who keep the law of chastity are supposed to be. 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.
The fact is proven with final and irrefutable evidence that joseph smith wrote the fictitious tale in the early 19th century and founded the lds church what he falsely claimed was revelation from god. Southerton and professor murphy in a discussion of the problems dna research poses for book of mormon claims. 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. Peterson, a noted scholar and lecturer, provides an intriguing look at the evidences that support the book of mormon as an ancient. Both books contain gods guidance as revealed to prophets, as well. Another testament of jesus christ, is true, not false. The conclusion of dna evidence brings us the fascinating testimony of an exmormon.
Another testament of jesus christ for our day discover the book of mormon like youve never seen it before. In this inspiring and informative presentation, dr. Dna controversy is an issue that most critics believe completely undermines mormon beliefs in the truthfulness of the book. According to the book, two of these groups originated from ancient israel. 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.
Prophets who taught of christ were called from among this people for over a millennium, but eventually the people fell. We wont go into detail here, but the video the bible vs. Joseph smith a 33rd degree illuminati freemason was the founder of the mormon religion in the year 1830. Apr 15, 2012 the roman catholics, the eastern orthodox, and the anglicans all have convents and monasteries where you might find male and female virgins though i think the 144, 000 are said to be men who have not known womenmale virgins, like all unmarried mormon men who keep the law of chastity are supposed to be. If the book of mormon is false, joseph smith was not a prophet.
The remainder of the video features interviews with experts in history, biology, anthropology, linguistics and archaeology. Joseph smith was the founder and prophet of the church of jesus christ of latterday saintsunofficially called the mormon church. 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 scriptural and literal history. The number one reason why the bible and the book of mormon cant both be true is that the book of mormon has been shown to be historically false, while the bible has ample historical, archaeological, and textual evidence to support its authenticity. The bible and the book of mormon are used side by side in their preaching and personal study. Thousands of native americans from more than 150 tribes have been tested to determine their ancestry. Although the primary purpose of the book of mormon is more spiritual than historical, some people have wondered whether the migrations it describes are compatible with scientific studies of ancient america. Jan 19, 2016 the book of mormon states that there were three transoceanic migrations by ship, lehis family, the mulekites and the jaredites. An lds perspective on the middle east, and offenders for a word. Attacks on the validity of the book of mormon using dna data support for the book of mormon by mormon academics. A new dvd in which several scientists have joined with dr. The holy ghost, who is an essential part of the mormon religion, is given as a gift that provides comfort and guidance in daily life. The conference is an annual event sponsored by the book of mormon archeological forum.
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