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| "Somebody could walk into this room<br>
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| And say your life is on fire.<br>
| | == Links to check == |
| It's all over the evening news,<br>
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| All about the fire in your life on the evening news."<br>
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| :- Paul Simon, "Crazy Love, Vol. II," ''Graceland'' album (1986).
| | |image=Russell_nelson_official_portrait_2018.jpeg |
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| | |I believe that if the Lord were speaking to you directly tonight, the first thing He would make sure you understand is your true identity. My dear friends, you are literally spirit children of God. ... |
| DNA draft:
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| ==Criticism==
| | Labels ''can'' be fun and indicate your support for any number of positive things. Many labels will change for you with the passage of time. And not all labels are of equal value. But if any label replaces your most important identifiers, the results can be spiritually suffocating. ... |
| DNA samples taken from modern Native Americans do not match the DNA of modern inhabitants of the Middle East. Critics argue that this means the Book of Mormon's claim that Native Americans are descended from Lehi must be false, and therefore the Book of Mormon is not an ancient record as Joseph Smith claimed.
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| ===Sources of the Criticism===
| | ''Who are you?'' First and foremost, you are a child of God. |
| *Thomas W. Murphy, "Lamanite Genesis, Genealogy, and Genetics," in Dan Vogel and Brent Lee Metcalfe, eds., ''American Apocrypha: Essays on the Book of Mormon'' (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2002).
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| *Simon G. Southerton, ''Losing a Lost Tribe : Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church'' (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2004).
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| ==Response==
| | Second, as a member of the Church, you are a child of the covenant. And third, you are a disciple of Jesus Christ. |
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| Few criticisms of the Church have received as much media attention as this criticism, with so little thought and science being applied to the question. DNA attacks against the Book of Mormon account fail on numerous grounds.
| | Tonight, I plead with you not to ''replace'' these three paramount and unchanging identifiers with any others, because doing so could stymie your progress or pigeonhole you in a stereotype that could potentially thwart your eternal progression. |
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| ===Initial considerations===
| | For example, if you are identified mainly as an American, those who are not Americans may think, “I know everything there is to know about you” and attribute erroneous beliefs to you. |
| * no tests designed to test the hypothesis
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| Articles which provide an over-view of basic genetic principles:
| | If you identify yourself by your political affiliation, you will instantly be categorized as having certain beliefs—though I don’t know anyone who believes everything that their preferred political party presently embraces. |
| * {{FR-18-1-6}} <!-- Butler - Addressing-->
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| * {{FR-15-2-6}} <!-- McClellan - Detecting-->
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| ===A Question of Geographies===
| | We could go on and on, rehearsing the constraints of various labels that we put on ourselves or that other people place upon us. ... |
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| It is important, as when setting out to answer any scientific question, to define the question which DNA-based attacks are attempting to answer. This requires that we establish a Book of Mormon model for potential testing. Any Book of Mormon model based in real history must address the issue of geographic scope.
| | How tragic it is when someone believes the label another person has given them. ... |
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| The Book of Mormon account has been understood by the LDS in at least two broad [[Book of Mormon geography|geographical contexts]]:
| | [Satan] rejoices in labels because they divide us and restrict the way we think about ourselves and each other. How sad it is when we honor labels more than we honor each other. |
| # a hemispheric model (Click [[Book_of_Mormon_geography:New_World:HGT|here]] to read more about such models.)
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| # a limited geographic model (Click [[Book_of_Mormon_geography:New_World:LGT|here]] to read more about such models.)
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| Details on these models are available in the links above; it is assumed that the reader of this article is familiar with these concepts, and they will not be elaborated on here.
| | Labels can lead to judging and animosity. Any ''abuse'' or ''prejudice'' toward another because of nationality, race, sexual orientation, gender, educational degrees, culture, or other significant identifiers is offensive to our Maker! Such mistreatment causes us to live beneath our stature as His covenant sons and daughters! |
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| However, DNA attacks on the Book of Mormon are arguably futile, regardless of which geographical model one adopts. Some geographic models pose problems for the DNA attacks which other models do not. This article will therefore examine the DNA issue from a variety of angles, and provide links for further reading which address the various models.
| | There are various labels that may be very important to you, of course. Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that other designations and identifiers are not significant. I am simply saying that no identifier should ''displace'', ''replace'', or ''take priority over'' these three enduring designations: “child of God,” “child of the covenant,” and “disciple of Jesus Christ.” |
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| ====Limited geography models====
| | Any identifier that is not compatible with these three basic designations will ultimately let you down. Other labels will disappoint you in time because they do not have the power to lead you toward eternal life in the celestial kingdom of God. |
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| Many Book of Mormon readers, especially during the last sixty years, have read the Book of Mormon text as requiring a relatively small geographic area within the Americas. Such readings predate issues of DNA and genetics by decades, and are not (as the critics sometimes claim) desperate "rear-guard" actions to defend the Book of Mormon against the awesome onslaught of DNA science! Such claims are ridiculous, as a review of the history of such ideas shows.{{ref|roper1}}
| | Worldly identifiers will never give you a vision of who you can ultimately become. They will never affirm your divine DNA or your unlimited, divine potential.<ref>Russell M. Nelson, "Choices for Eternity," Worldwide Devotional for Young Single Adults, 15 May 2022 {[link|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/broadcasts/worldwide-devotional-for-young-adults/2022/05/12nelson?lang=eng}}</ref>}} |
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| LDS readers who accept a limited geography model would find it unsurprising (and even expected) that the majority of Amerindian DNA does not match purported "Lehite" DNA. Under the limited geography model, a relatively small number of Lehites landed in the Americas. This small initial population eventually intermarried with other populations in the hemisphere. Over a period of 2600 years, any initial Lehite "signature" would be hopelessly 'swamped' by other peoples' genetic markers. Just as a drop of red dye will not turn a whole swimming pool red (though the red is still "in" the swimming pool), a few Lehites added to a limited geography model's hemisphere of inhabitants will have little or no detectable genetic influence today, except by the greatest coincidence.
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| Critics such as Murphy and Southerton ignored this option completely, demonstrating their complete ignorance of much LDS thought on the matter in the past sixty years. Many articles have discussed the DNA issue from this perspective, including the following:
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| * {{FR-15-2-6}} <!-- McClellan - Detecting-->
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| * {{FR-15-2-7}} <!--Roper - Nephi's neigh-->
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| * {{FR-15-2-8}} <!-- Roper - Swimming-->
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| * {{FR-16-2-5}} <!--Tvedtnes Reinventing-->
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| ====Hemispheric geography model, type 1====
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| Other Latter-day Saints have understood the Book of Mormon on a more "hemispheric" scale, with the "narrow neck of land" being in Panama, and the final battle site being located in New York, in the hill in which Joseph Smith recovered the plates.
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| Thus, this model anticipates that Book of Mormon history played out over much of the continent. However, it is here labeled as a "type 1" model, because it does not require that Lehi be the sole "source" of population for the Americas. Jaredite remnants may have intermarried with Lehite/Mulekite peoples, contributing foreign DNA markers. Other peoples unmentioned in the Book of Mormon may have immigrated to the hemisphere before, during, and/or after the Book of Mormon time frame, and provided DNA foreign to Lehi's group. These additions could have played a major, even dominant role in the genetic history of the continent (in which case the DNA attacks can be answered in a fashion similar to the 'limited geography model' as above) or they may have provided a more modest contribution which is nevertheless sufficient to "muddy the waters" when the other uncertainties of assigning DNA origins to mixed populations come into play.
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| Articles which discuss LDS views on "other Americans" being added to the mix of Book of Mormon peoples (which do not require a limited geography model to maintain their force) include:
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| * {{FR-18-1-6}} <!-- Butler - Addressing-->
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| * {{FR-15-2-7}} <<!--Roper - Nephi's neigh-->
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| * {{FR-15-2-8}} <!-- Roper - Swimming-->
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| Articles which do not invoke any type of "limited geography" in their discussion include:
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| * {{FR-18-1-7}} <!--Stewart -- DNA and the Book of Mormon--> {{NB}}
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| ====Hemispheric geography model, type 2====
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| This model might be best described as an "empty continent, Lehite-only" model. Under this model, the American continent was completely empty of any human inhabitants prior to the Jaredites (though previous to the Jaredites, other peoples could have been present who were subsequently eradicated, leaving no genetic contribution to subsequent populations.) The Jaredites were then utterly and completely destroyed (except Coriantumr—see {{s||Omni|1|21}}, whose contribution was either negligible or non-existent to the Mulekite gene pool) and replaced by Lehite/Mulekite immigrants, who were likewise the ''only'' source of humans in the Americas, giving rise to all (or nearly all) of the present Amerindian population.
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| Of all the models discussed thus far, this is the only variant to which the DNA data poses any significant challenge at all, though many of the issues discussed below also apply to DNA testing the Book of Mormon's claims with this model.
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| Articles which do not invoke any type of "limited geography" in their discussion include:
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| * {{FR-18-1-7}} <!--Stewart -- DNA and the Book of Mormon--> {{NB}}
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| ====Hemispheric geography model, type 3====
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| Under this model, the Americas has had no inhabitants ''except'' those mentioned in the Book of Mormon. Thus, Jaredites, Mulekites, and Lehites are the only inhabitants the New World has seen.
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| A larger problem for this model than DNA evidence is archaeological evidence of human habitation thousands of years prior to the Nephites. This model is arguably the most challenged by current DNA science—and science in general—but it is also the least likely model supported by the Book of Mormon text itself.
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| ===Are all Amerindians descendants of Lehi?===
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| Articles which address the issue of relatively few, recent common ancestors of large groups of people (or the entire human population) include:
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| * {{FR-18-1-6}} <!-- Butler - Addressing-->
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| * {{FR-15-2-8}} <!-- Roper - Swimming-->
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| * {{FR-15-2-9}} <!--Stubbs - Elusive Israel-->
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| Articles which consider that "Asian" DNA and Lehite DNA may actually correspond due to an earlier common source:
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| * {{FR-18-1-7}} <!--Stewart -- DNA and the Book of Mormon-->
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| ===Fundamentalist "suicide bombing"===
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| * {{FR-15-2-1}} <!--Peterson - Editor's intro-->
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| * {{FR-18-1-7}} <!--Stewart -- DNA and the Book of Mormon-->
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| ===Hardy-Weinberg===
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| * {{FR-15-2-6}} <!-- McClellan - Detecting-->
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| ===Mitochondrial DNA (mDNA)===
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| * {{FR-15-2-6}} <!-- McClellan - Detecting-->
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| * {{FR-18-1-7}} <!--Stewart -- DNA and the Book of Mormon-->
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| ====Lemba and Cohen modal haplotype====
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| * {{FR-15-2-8}} <!-- Roper - Swimming-->
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| * {{FR-18-1-7}} <!--Stewart -- DNA and the Book of Mormon-->{{NB}}
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| ===Y-Chromosome DNA===
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| * {{FR-15-2-6}} <!-- McClellan - Detecting-->
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| * {{FR-18-1-7}} <!--Stewart -- DNA and the Book of Mormon-->
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| ===What about the Jaredites?===
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| ===What Jewish DNA?===
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| Articles which discuss the various criteria (and the difficulties involved) for identifying "Jewishness" via DNA include:
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| * {{FR-18-1-6}} <!-- Butler - Addressing-->
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| * {{FR-17-1-5}} <!-- Parr - missing-->
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| * {{FR-15-2-1}} <!--Peterson - Editor's intro-->
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| * {{FR-18-1-7}} <!--Stewart -- DNA and the Book of Mormon-->
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| * {{FR-15-2-9}} <!--Stubbs - Elusive Israel-->
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| ===90% death rate with European contact===
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| ==Conclusion==
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| ==Endnotes==
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| #{{note|roper1}}For the history of the LGT, see {{FR-16-2-12}}
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| #
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