Claim: "The introduction to the Book of Mormon says after thousands of years all were destroyed except the Lamanites and they are the principle ancestors of the American Indians." - Pamela Robertson
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The introduction to the Book of Mormon is not part of the scripture. (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, who helped write the introduction and other aids for the current edition of the scriptures was quite clear that the non-scriptural textual items were helps, not canon, and even granted they could well contain mistakes. This likely applies to the introduction, which was only inserted in 1981. See: Mark McConkie (editor), Doctrines of the Restoration: Sermons and Writings of Bruce R. McConkie (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1989),250, 289–290. ISBN 978-0884946441. GL direct link)
It is significant that Ms. Robertson appeals to something that is not in the Book of Mormon. She hopes she can settle the matter without even addressing the Book of Mormon text itself!
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Question #3
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What does DNA say about conservative Christian beliefs?
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A question that is definitely not asked by the video is what DNA can say about the beliefs of conservative Protestant Christians. This is not surprising, because it is not a pretty picture.
Fundamentalist Christian critics are happy to use DNA as a stick to beat the Book of Mormon, but do not tell their viewers that there is much stronger DNA evidence for concepts which fundamentalist Christian readers might not accept, such as:
- evolutionary change in species
- human descent from other primates
And, despite being inconsistent with DNA data, fundamentalist critics do not call on their congregations to abandon such literalistic Biblical concepts as:
- the earth being only 6,000 years old
- a Biblical Adam and Eve were the parents of all humanity only 4,000 years before Christ
- a world-wide, Noachian flood which exterminated all life except that which was in the Ark, occurred approximately 5,000 years ago
The critics are often hypocritical—they claim the Saints should abandon the Book of Mormon on flimsy, dubious science, and yet do not tell their audience that they should (by the same logic) abandon religious beliefs of their own that have much more DNA evidence against them.
To read more:
- Daniel C. Peterson, "Editor's Introduction," FARMS Review 15/2 (2003): ix–lxii. off-site
- David G. Stewart, Jr., "DNA and the Book of Mormon," FARMS Review 18/1 (2006): 109–138. off-site wiki FAIR link
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Genetics is a complex subject. Applying genetic data to the Book of Mormon also requires a thorough understanding of the Book of Mormon text. The video has not even attempted to provide viewers with the required background in the Book of Mormon or genetics needed to evaluate the genetics arguments for themselves.
Many authors with the needed training—including world-class experts in the use of forensic DNA—have dissected the DNA arguments offered by the critics, and found them lacking. The video's claims are wholly without scientific merit.
Rather, the DVD hopes that readers will simply trust them to be honest and get the science right. But, as we have seen, that trust would be gravely misplaced.
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