FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Difference between revisions of "Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church/Introduction"
< Criticism of Mormonism | Books | Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church
(→xiii) |
|||
| Line 24: | Line 24: | ||
* {{CriticalWork:Southerton:Losing:Repeat:Jews}} | * {{CriticalWork:Southerton:Losing:Repeat:Jews}} | ||
| − | == | + | ==Response to claim: xiii - Mormons believe that the dark skinned race constitutes the principal ancestors of the American Indians== |
{{IndexClaimItemShort | {{IndexClaimItemShort | ||
|title=Losing a Lost Tribe | |title=Losing a Lost Tribe | ||
|claim= | |claim= | ||
| − | + | Mormons believe that the dark skinned race constitutes the principal ancestors of the American Indians. | |
|authorsources= | |authorsources= | ||
}} | }} | ||
{{misinformation|This is based upon a phrase added in the 1981 introduction to the Book of Mormon. The 1830 Book of Mormon contains no such claim. | {{misinformation|This is based upon a phrase added in the 1981 introduction to the Book of Mormon. The 1830 Book of Mormon contains no such claim. | ||
}} | }} | ||
| − | + | {{:Question: Does the Church claim that Native Americans were the exclusive descendants of Lehi or Mulek?}} | |
| + | {{:Question: Why did the Church modify the introduction to the Book of Mormon from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors?"}} | ||
====xiv==== | ====xiv==== | ||
Revision as of 00:22, 23 November 2016
- REDIRECTTemplate:Test3
Contents
- 1 Response to claims made in "Introduction"
- 1.1 xiii
- 1.2 The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
- 1.3 FAIR's Response
- 1.4 Response to claim: xiii - Mormons believe that the dark skinned race constitutes the principal ancestors of the American Indians
- 1.5 Question: Does the Church claim that Native Americans were the exclusive descendants of Lehi or Mulek?
- 1.6 Question: Why did the Church modify the introduction to the Book of Mormon from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors?"
- 1.6.3 FAIR's Response
- 1.6.4 The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
- 1.6.5 FAIR's Response
- 1.6.6 The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
- 1.6.7 FAIR's Response
- 1.6.8 The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
- 1.6.9 FAIR's Response
- 1.6.10 The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
- 1.6.11 FAIR's Response
- 1.6.12 The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
Response to claims made in "Introduction"
| A FAIR Analysis of: Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church A work by author: Dr. Simon G. Southerton
|
Chapter 1 |
xiii
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
* The Book of Mormon talks primarily of a small group of Jews who sailed from Jerusalem in 600 B.C.Author's sources: *No specific verse given. This is an incorrect statement.—
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: This claim is false
Lehi was a descendant of Manasseh, and was not a Jew, however, author later makes the correct statement regarding Lehi's ancestry on page 5. The author makes the same error, however on p. 188. This is our first hint that the author's familiarity with the necessary detail in the Book of Mormon is not adequate.Response to claim: xiii - Mormons believe that the dark skinned race constitutes the principal ancestors of the American Indians
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
Mormons believe that the dark skinned race constitutes the principal ancestors of the American Indians.
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: The author has stated erroneous information or misinterpreted their sources
This is based upon a phrase added in the 1981 introduction to the Book of Mormon. The 1830 Book of Mormon contains no such claim.
Question: Does the Church claim that Native Americans were the exclusive descendants of Lehi or Mulek?
The Church asserts that all members are part of the covenant house of Israel either by descent or adoption but does not take a position on the specific geography of the Book of Mormon or claim complete knowledge about the origins of any specific modern group in the Americas or the Pacific. Whatever the historical particulars, the Church continues its efforts to help realize the hopes of Book of Mormon prophets that the covenants of the Lord might be extended to all the lost sheep of Israel."
— "Lamanite Identity," at lds.org (accessed 2 February 2019)
LDS leaders have expressed a variety of opinions regarding whether or not all Amerindians are literal descendants of Lehi
LDS leaders have expressed a variety of opinions regarding whether or not all Amerindians are literal descendants of Lehi. Population genetics indicate that Lehi can likely be counted among the ancestors of all native Americans—a position that the Church reinforced in the 2006 edition by changing the Book of Mormon introduction originally introduced in 1981 from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors." (see Book of Mormon Introduction on lds.org)
Many Church leaders, most notably Spencer W. Kimball, have made clear statements regarding the belief that Lehi was the exclusive ancestor of all native Americans. However, contrary to the claims of critics who attempt to use DNA evidence to discredit the Book of Mormon, many readers and leaders have also noted that those in Lehi's group were not the exclusive progenitors of the inhabitants of the American continents. When asked about the Church’s official position on this matter by a writer, a Church spokesman said:
- As to whether these were the first inhabitants…we don't have a position on that. Our scripture does not try to account for any other people who may have lived in the New World before, during or after the days of the Jaredites and the Nephites, and we don't have any official doctrine about who the descendants of the Nephites and the Jaredites are. Many Mormons believe that American Indians are descendants of the Lamanites [a division of the Nephites], but that's not in the scripture.[1]
In addition, apostles and seventies have made many statements which differ from critics’ understanding of the matter, taught them in General Conference, and the Church has published such perspectives in their magazines, study guides, and manuals. The Church’s university has passed them on to their students for generations. The Church’s official spokespeople disclaim the interpretation which critics insist we must hold. Why must we? Well, because critics’ DNA theory “disproving” the Book of Mormon is in deep trouble otherwise.
Question: Why did the Church modify the introduction to the Book of Mormon from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors?"
The Church changed the wording to remove the assumption (inserted into the Book of Mormon in the 1981 edition) that all of the inhabitants of the Americas were exclusive descendants of Lehi
The Church made the change in wording to the introduction to the Book of Mormon to remove the assumption, which inserted into the Book of Mormon introduction in the 1981 edition and not part of the original text, that all of the inhabitants of the Americas were exclusive descendants of Lehi. This had been the generally held belief from the time that the Church was restored.
This change makes the Book of Mormon introduction compatible with current DNA evidence and acknowledges the fact that Lehi's group likely intermingled with the native inhabitants of the American continents based upon current knowledge of the DNA composition of the inhabitants of the New World. There is substantial scientific evidence of habitation in the Americas for thousands of years prior to Lehi's arrival.
If Lehi had any descendants among Amerindians, then after 2600 years all Amerindians would share Lehi as an ancestor. Even if (as is probable) the Lehite group was a small drop in a larger population 'ocean' of pre-Columbian inhabitants, Lehi would have been an ancestor of virtually all the modern-day Amerindians if any of his descendants married into the existing New World population.
xiv
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
* Joseph Smith claimed that the Book of Mormon was the most correct book on earth.Author's sources: *No source given.
- The common source for this statement is History of The Church 4:461
FAIR's Response
xiv
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
* The Israelites are said to have arrived in a land kept from the knowledge of other nations.Author's sources: *2 Nephi 1꞉8
FAIR's Response
xiv
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
* There is no mention of any non-Israelite people in the New World.Author's sources: *None given.
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: This claim is false
At the very least, there are the Jaredites who are not Israelite. But, there are clear evidences of others.xiv
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
* The Book of Mormon describes the farming of Old World domesticated plants.Author's sources: *None given.
FAIR's Response
xiv
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
* The Book of Mormon mentions horse, oxen, cattle and goats in the New World.Author's sources: *None given.
FAIR's Response
xv
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
* Little has been discovered to support the civilizations described in the Book of Mormon.Author's sources: *No specific sources.
- General reference to "anthropologists and archaeologists."
FAIR's Response
xv
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
* The Mesoamerican cultures worshipped multiple gods and performed human sacrifice, which is not consistent with the culture of the Book of Mormon people.Author's sources: * None given
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: The author has stated erroneous information or misinterpreted their sources
The Book of Mormon Nephite culture is a minority culture in a larger cultural "sea." Human sacrifice and idol worship are mentioned by wicked Book of Mormon peoples.- See Brant A. Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 6 Vols. (Salt Lake City, UT: Greg Kofford Books, 2007), all 6 vols:1–. for a close reading of the Book of Mormon in just such a context.
xv
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
* Many LDS scholars criticize mainstream scientific views in their defense of the Book of Mormon.Author's sources: * None given
FAIR's Response
Fact checking results: This claim contains propaganda - The author, or the author's source, is providing information or ideas in a slanted way in order to instill a particular attitude or response in the reader
Without evidence this is a difficult claim to assess. Can no mainstream view be challenged? Are all such views inherently correct?
xv
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
* The Church employs academics to professionally defend the Book of Mormon.Author's sources: *None given.
- This is an accusation frequently made on anti-Mormon discussion boards.
FAIR's Response
- Does the Church employ or pay LDS apologists?
- The same charge appears on p. 42.
Logical Fallacy: Appeal to Emotion—The author attempts to manipulate the reader's emotional response instead of presenting a valid argument.
<Rather than interact with arguments the author labels "apologetic" (i.e., any interpretation which does not suit his naive view of the matter), the author hopes to marginalize them and reject them from consideration by claiming they are somehow novel, contrary to the Book of Mormon's plain meaning, or driven by desperation.Many statements indicate that these ideas are generally not novel, and were certainly developed well before any pressure from DNA arguments—they arose from the Book of Mormon text itself.
xv
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
* The weight of evidence has forced LDS scholars to scale back the scope of the Book of Mormon.Author's sources: *None given.
FAIR's Response
Logical Fallacy: False Cause—The author assumes that a real or perceived relationship between two events means that one caused the other.
The author consistently argues that LDS scholars or apologists are "adjusting" their view on the Book of Mormon because they are being driven back in a rear-guard action by science. But, in fact, some LDS leaders and scholars have argued for a restricted geography and small numeric contribution of Lehites for over one hundred years.These beliefs were not held because of scientific "pressure," but because of their reading of the Book of Mormon text. In fact, the author admits that this has occurred since at least the 1920s (see p. 154)—long before any pressure from genetics issues. Yet, he continues to make the contradictory claim that the Church's defenders are now "on the ropes" and desperate for a solution.
xvi
The author(s) of Losing a Lost Tribe make(s) the following claim:
* LDS leaders ignore LDS scholarship and continue to teach that Native Americans and Polynesians are literal descendants of the Israelites.Author's sources: * None given
FAIR's Response
Logical Fallacy: Appeal to Ridicule—The author is presenting the argument in such a way that it makes his or her subject look ridiculous, usually by misrepresenting the argument or exaggerating it.
Taking the position that Lehi existed, then population genetics predicts that virtually all Amerindians and Polynesians are his literal descendants. They are simply not exclusively his descendants. The author wants to make Lehite links absurd or impossible.
Notes
- ↑ Stewart Reid, LDS Public Relations Staff, quoted by William J. Bennetta in The Textbook Letter (March-April 1997), published by The Textbook League (P.O. Box 51, Sausalito, California 94966).