The following are some of the most frequently advanced arguments from the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) and the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR) related to DNA and the Book of Mormon—most notably (or at least most succinctly) in the latter’s brochure, Is an Historical Book of Mormon Compatible with DNA Science? Since these claims have gained some currency within LDS circles and I am frequently asked about them by individuals who have either read my book or otherwise tried to follow developments in this area, I have concluded that it would be best to summarize my responses in an equally succinct manner.
1. The Book of Mormon does not present a testable
hypothesis.
Some LDS scientists argue that the Book of Mormon does not
present a testable hypothesis and that, since other
scientists are not testing the Book of Mormon directly, the
data collected by non-Mormon scientists is irrelevant to the
origin of Book of Mormon people. The question scientists are
asking is: "Who are the ancestors of the American Indians?"
In fact, about 7,300 American Indians have been DNA tested
in scientific experiments aimed at discovering where their
founding ancestors came from. The Book of Mormon claims in
its introduction that the Book of Mormon people (the
Lamanites) "are the principal ancestors of the American
Indians." Most LDS adherents believe, and all the LDS
prophets have taught, that Israelites are the principal
ancestors of the American Indians. It is therefore absurd to
claim that what the scientists are discovering about Indian
heritage is irrelevant. Scientists are inadvertently asking
the same question posed by the Book of Mormon, and LDS
beliefs about Indian ancestry fall squarely into the
scientific field of anthropology. Molecular anthropologists
are uncovering evidence that is directly relevant to LDS
beliefs in this area.
2. Mitochondrial DNA only tells us about one ancestral
line out of many. If we go back ten generations, it only
tells us about 1 in 1,024 of our ancestors. If we go back
another ten generations, it only tells us about 1 in over a
million of our ancestors.
On the surface this argument appears impressive; but it is
an argument with little substance. The vast majority of
mitochondrial lineages found throughout the world can be
grouped into less than twenty-five major family groups
represented by letters A, H, X, and so on. If we look at
American Indians, essentially all of their mitochondrial
lineages fall into one of five major families: A, B, C, D or
X, none of which were derived from Israel. If we go back
twenty generations, we are not talking about millions of
unknowable mitochondrial lineages in an American Indian’s
pedigree chart. We are talking about five lineages. All of
those million-odd ancestral slots would be occupied by the
same five regional mitochondrial lines. Even those that end
up in males and are not passed on to the next generation
came from the same five sources. It is possible that some
lineages may not have been detected yet or have been lost in
time through chance, but these would have been very rare
mitochondrial family lines.
3. We don’t know what Israelite DNA from Book of Mormon
times looks like.
We know that Lehi and his associates in the Book of Mormon
were Israelites, and we know a great deal about the DNA
lineages of living people whose ancestors were Israelites
reaching back 2600 years ago. Israelite DNA lineages belong
to the same family groups found in European populations: the
H, I, J, K, N, T, U, V, W and X groups. Essentially all
Europeans and Israelites possess one of these lineages. In
fact, other Middle Eastern populations such as the Syrians,
Egyptians, Lebanese and other Arabic groups have similar
mitochondrial DNA lineages belonging to these families.
There is a smattering (<0.4%) of lineages in American Indian
populations that are clearly, exclusively of European
origin, most probably from Spain rather than from the Middle
East. However, scientists justifiably assume that these
lineages represent post-Columbus intermixing. The lineages
in question are most common in North American tribes that
had the greatest impact with Europeans and are very uncommon
in Mesoamerica, which FARMS claims is the only "plausible"
site for the Book of Mormon. In addition, European
mitochondrial lineages are extremely rare in Polynesia.
4. The X lineage could be evidence for Israelite
ancestry.
American Indian X lineages share a common ancestral lineage
with Siberian X lineages. It is also clear that American
Indian X lineages have been in the New World for in excess
of 15,000 years. American Indian X lineages are distantly
related to Israelite or European X lineages. In fact, most
Israelite X lineage are now grouped in a different family,
the N family, because they are so different from Asian and
American X lineages. The X line has also been found in
ancient remains that pre-date the Book of Mormon period.
5. The mitochondrial DNA lineages tell us nothing about
the male lineages.
This is correct, but Y chromosome studies among Native
Americans show equally strong links to Asia (>90%) as do
studies among Polynesians (>90%). There is a higher presence
of lineages that are of exclusively European origin, but
this is not surprising given that males, beginning with
Spanish explorers, dominated the early European conquest of
the Americas and Polynesia.
6. The wives of the early Book of Mormon colonists (Sariah
and others) may have been Asian since their ancestry is not
specifically mentioned, and they could have brought the A,
B, C, D, and X lineages to the Americas.
It is exceedingly unlikely that Asians carrying Asian
lineages traveled to Israel where they intermarried with the
ancestors of the Lehites and Mulekites. If this did occur,
we would expect to see (but do not see) Asian lineages among
Middle Eastern populations. The amount of DNA variation
found in each of the five American Indian female DNA lineage
families indicates that they have been present in the
Americas for at least 15,000 years, possibly longer. This
predates the existence of Israel by many thousands of years.
7. The bottleneck effect, genetic drift, and other
technical problems would prevent us from detecting Israelite
genes.
In 600 BC there were probably several million American
Indians living in the Americas. If a small group of
Israelites, say less than thirty, entered such a massive
native population, it would be very hard to detect their
genes today. However, such a scenario does not square with
what the Book of Mormon plainly states and with what the
prophets have taught for 175 years.
8. When God cursed American Indians and changed their
skin color, as reported in the Book of Mormon, God could
have changed their DNA as well.
If so, why would God change the DNA so it matched Asian DNA?
As Latter-day Saints, we have already offended Blacks and
the Indians. Are we going to offend Asians now, as well?
Author’s note: I may respond to further apologetic claims
as more appear.
Used by permission of
Signature Books.