The Problem with Using Genetic History to Disprove the Book of Mormon

"LDS/Mormon researchers such as anthropologist Thomas W. Murphy and former-LDS plant geneticist Simon Southerton state that the substantial collection of Native American genetic markers now available are not consistent with any detectable presence of ancestors from the ancient Middle East, and argued that this poses substantial evidence to contradict the account in the Book of Mormon."

The above scientist or as I prefer to call him, junk scientist, states that their are no genetic markers linking modern Native Americans with the Middle East.

This is a Red Herring

The reality is that there were Twelve Tribes of Israel . The Tribe of Judah, or Jews as they were called in the Bible, was only one of the Tribes. They are purportedly the modern inhabitants of the modern state called Israel.

The Book of Mormon describes a people that descended from the Tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. Both of these tribes were part of the Northern kingdom of Israel, which separated from Judah after the days of Solomon. Unfortunately, they were later taken into captivity by the Assyrians in 740 BC.

"The Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian monarchs, Tiglath-Pileser III (Pul) and Shalmaneser V. The later Assyrian rulers Sargon II and his son and successor, Sennacherib, were responsible for finishing the twenty-year demise of Israel's northern ten-tribe kingdom, although they did not overtake the Southern Kingdom. Jerusalem was besieged, but not taken. The tribes exiled by Assyria later became known as the Ten Lost Tribes." (link)

These Ten Tribes were reportedly driven into the North Countries, whereabouts unknown, although there has been much by way of speculation. In other ways, no one knows where they ended up. Although the Book of Mormon states they were visited, along with other tribes of the House of Israel, by Jesus Christ after His resurrection. Mormon Doctrine states that the land of North and South America will be their final destination, where they will live in a land called Zion, governed over by Jesus Christ.

"And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." (Isaiah)


"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

12And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

13The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim." (Isaiah)

The above passages show that their will be two headquarters for the Lord Jesus Christ during His Millennium. One will be located in the Middle East, where the Law will originate, and the other in Zion, where the word will originate. One a political kingdom and the other a Spiritual Kingdom.

Now, back to genetics... 

1. Since we have no samples from the other tribes of Israel, including Ephraim and Manasseh (where the Book of Mormon People Originated), we have no way to compare their genetics to the Native Americans.  If this so called scholar had researched his Bible and Book of Mormon he would have realized his study was impossible from its inception.

2. The genetic pool in America has been decimated by disease and conquest:

"Within just a few generations, the continents of the Americas were virtually emptied of their native inhabitants – some academics estimate that approximately 20 million people may have died in the years following the European invasion – up to 95% of the population of the Americas." (Source)

3. Intermarriage between conqueror and the conquered further decimated the gene pool. (Source) To use modern science to determine genetic markers in civilizations that no longer exist is nothing short of scientific fraud. Since those markers may no longer be present in modern populations.

I could go on.... I would enjoy reading the junk science responses to the above. At least the research that disproves  the arguments that are clearly stated in this article.