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Revision as of 23:51, 23 May 2010

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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

Claims made in "Introduction"

xiii

Claim
  • The Book of Mormon talks primarily of a small group of Jews who sailed from Jerusalem in 600 B.C.

Author's source(s)
  • No specific verse given. This is an incorrect statement.—
Response
  •  The author's 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.
  • Book of Mormon and DNA evidence—What are we looking for?
The work repeats itself on p. xiii and 188.

xiii

Claim
  • Mormons believe that the dark skinned race constitutes the principal ancestors of the American Indians

Author's source(s)
  •  [ATTENTION!]
Response

xiv

Claim
  • Joseph Smith claimed that the Book of Mormon was the most correct book on earth.

Author's source(s)
  • No source given.
  • The common source for this statement is History of The Church 4:461
Response

xiv

Claim
  • The Israelites are said to have arrived in a land kept from the knowledge of other nations.

Author's source(s)
Response

xiv

Claim
  • There is no mention of any non-Israelite people in the New World.

Author's source(s)
  • None given.
Response

xiv

Claim
  • The Book of Mormon describes the farming of Old World domesticated plants.

Author's source(s)
  • None given.
Response

xiv

Claim
  • The Book of Mormon mentions horse, oxen, cattle and goats in the New World.

Author's source(s)
  • None given.
Response
The work repeats itself on p. xiv, 7-8., 173., and 199.

xv

Claim
  • Little has been discovered to support the civilizations described in the Book of Mormon.

Author's source(s)
  • No specific sources.
  • General reference to "anthropologists and archaeologists."
Response

xv

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 source(s)
  • None given
Response
  • 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

Claim
  • Many LDS scholars criticize mainstream scientific views in their defense of the Book of Mormon.

Author's source(s)
  • None given
Response
  • Without evidence this is a difficult claim to assess.
  • Can no mainstream view be challenged? Are all such views inherently correct?

xv

Claim
  • The Church employs academics to professionally defend the Book of Mormon.

Author's source(s)
  • None given.
  • This is an accusation frequently made on anti-Mormon discussion boards.
Response

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.

The work repeats itself on p. xv, 42., 143., 148., 200., 203., and 206.


xv

Claim
  • The weight of evidence has forced LDS scholars to scale back the scope of the Book of Mormon.

Author's source(s)
  • None given.
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

Claim
  • LDS leaders ignore LDS scholarship and continue to teach that Native Americans and Polynesians are literal descendants of the Israelites.

Author's source(s)
  • None given
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.
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