One of two parts of the most detailed response available anywhere to the 2014 article “Book of Mormon and DNA Studies” on the LDS Church website. This part responds to the claim that the Book of Mormon does not teach that Native Americans are Israelites.
One of two parts of the most detailed response available anywhere to the 2014 article “Book of Mormon and DNA Studies” on the LDS Church website. This part responds to the claim that even if Native Americans were partially descended from Israelites, their Middle-Eastern DNA might have been lost.
Mormon scholars argue that the Book of Mormon Israelites who lived in the Americas were assimilated into other nations. But the Book of Mormon never mentions any other nations. This article answers the claim that the Book of Mormon figure called Sherem is an example of a non-Israelite.
Old Testament scholar Thomas Finley examines LDS scholar Hugh Nibley's comparisons between the Book of Mormon and the Lachish Letters, written from the Jewish town of Lachish about the same time that the main Book of Mormon story line begins. Finley shows that Nibley's parallels do not support the historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon.
Letter from the National Geographic Society, stating that the Book of Mormon has not been substantiated by archaeology and noting that its account of the origins of Native Americans does not agree with the scientific consensus.
