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.
Science, Ancient History, and the Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon and the DNA of Native Americans
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.
One of the earliest articles on the problem of DNA and the Book of Mormon, with extensive quotations from LDS sources.
Simon Southerton, a biologist and former Mormon, answers commonly asked questions and responses to the problem that Native Americans do not have the DNA of Middle Eastern people.
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.
This documentary accurately presents the consensus of the scientific community that northern Asia — not Israel — is the place of origin of the Native American Indians.
No Group
Thorough study of the problem of identifying the four seas mentioned in the Book of Mormon.
History, Geography, and 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.
Statement from the Smithsonian Institution on the Book of Mormon, explaining in some detail why its account does not agree with the archaeological facts concerning the Americas before the time of Columbus.
Short version of 1992 article by Luke Wilson on the geographical and archaeological problems of the Book of Mormon.
Full, longer version of Luke Wilson’s 1992 article on basic problems in Book of Mormon geography and history.
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.