Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church/Index

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Index to claims made in Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church

This is an index of claims made in this work with links to corresponding responses within the FAIRwiki.

Chapter 10: The Lord's University

Page	Claim	Response
135	Mormons believe that if there is a conflict between science and religion, that the science is incorrect
135-136	Mormonism reserves the right to identify scientific truth
136	Mormonism declares that it "corners the market" on religious truth
136	Joseph Smith declared that all other religions were false
136	LDS think that all other religions are the "whore of the earth" and "church of the devil"	Whore of the earth
136	The current generation of Mormons is taught a selective view of Church history	Censorship and revision of LDS history
137	Many church members are "blissfully unaware" of Brigham Young's practice of polygamy
137	Senior church leaders prefer that members not question changes in church ordinances
138	Ecclesiastical leader expect "unquestioning obedience" of church members
139	The Church "unofficially" discourages prayer to "Mother in Heaven"	Heavenly Mother
140	Church leaders are "loath" to make unequivocal statement of doctrine
140	BYU's emphasis is on conformity rather than personal freedom
141	CES insists that gospel learning takes precedence over secular learning
142	CES instructs students not to attempt to locate Book of Mormon geographical locations
142	Limited geography theories advanced by FARMS are "much too controversial" for CES students	Book of Mormon geography:New World:LGT
142	Spencer W. Kimball believed in a hemispheric Book of Mormon geography	Amerindians as Lamanites#Talking past each other?
142	Church members are shocked at the "limited archaeological evidence" for the Book of Mormon	Book of Mormon archeology
143	LDS apologists continue to tell members how "scientists continue to get it wrong."
143	Most members follow their leaders without question
143	LDS theology supports a literal interpretation of the creation of man
143	LDS theology supports a literal interpretation of the tower of Babel
143	LDS theology supports a literal interpretation of the Flood	Global or local Flood
143	The perception is that the Church has officially denounced evolution	Evolution
146	The Garden of Eden was in Jackson County, Missouri	Garden of Eden in Missouri?
146	Mormons believe that the continents separated only after a global flood
146	Mormons are "compelled" to believe in a global flood as symbolizing the "baptism of the earth"	Global or local Flood
148	FARMS reviews of books by General Authorities or FARMS staff are always given favorable reviews
148	FARMS' goal is to deter members from reading any book that challenges their faith	Does the Church discourage reading critical material?

Chapter 11: Plausible Geography

Page	Claim	Response
153	B.H. Roberts' manuscripts "Book of Mormon Difficulties" and "A Book of Mormon Study" were "clearly intended for publication."
153	Roberts' concluded that a 19th-century origin for the Book of Mormon was "entirely plausible"	Book of Mormon and View of the Hebrews
154	LDS scholars have made a "steady retraction" of claims regarding the scale of the Nephite/Lamanite presence since the 1920's
156	All Church presidents and General Authorities have believed in a hemispheric Book of Mormon geography	Book of Mormon geography:Statements
156	The Book of Mormon states that the Lamanites are "the principal ancestors of the American Indians"	Are the Lamanites the principal ancestors of the American Indians?
156	A hemispheric geography most closely aligns with an "uncontrived" reading of the Book of Mormon
159	Moroni makes no mention of traveling from Central America to New York in the Book of Mormon
160	There is no indication that the Book of Mormon people came in contact with others in the land
163	The shrinking of Book of Mormon geographical models corresponds with the growing research showing that ancient Americans came from Asia
164	A limited Book of Mormon setting is at odds with "a straightforward reading" of the Book of Mormon
164	The limited Book of Mormon setting contradicts D&C 54:8

Chapter 12: Faith Promoting Science

Page	Claim	Response
168	LDS scholars believe that Mayan cities are prime candidates for where Lehi's people lived
168	The Jaredites are usually identified as the Olmec
168	The history of Book of Mormon archaeology is "littered with apostacy"
170	Thomas Ferguson was one of the better known early "Mormon archaeologists"
172	There is no evidence of iron or steel smelting in the ancient New World	Book of Mormon anachronisms:Metals#Iron
172	There were no wheeled vehicles in ancient America
172	There were no draft animals to pull wheeled vehicles	Book of Mormon anachronisms:Animals#Horse
172	There are no archaeological remains of wheat or barley in Mesoamerica. The barley found in Arizona doesn't count because it was only in a limited region.	Book of Mormon anachronisms:Plants#Barley
173	Deer or tapir were never ridden by Native Americans, therefore they could not be the "horses" referred to in the Book of Mormon	Book of Mormon anachronisms:Animals
173	Dee Green said in 1973 that Book of Mormon archaeology does not exist
175	"Book of Mormon archaeology" has yielded little credible evidence	Book of Mormon archaeology
176	The Smithsonian issues a statement that discredits the Book of Mormon	Smithsonian statement on Book of Mormon archaeology
177	LDS apologists claim that the simplification of the Smithsonian statement indicates that the original statement is now inconsistent with the current knowledge of Mesoamerican archaeology	Smithsonian statement on Book of Mormon archaeology
177	There is little evidence of a cultural link between Polynesia and the Americas. The presence of a South American variety of sweet potato in Polynesia is not yet explained.

Chapter 13: LDS Molecular Apologetics

Page	Claim	Response
180	Most Mormons have had their ancestors posthumously "baptized into the Mormon faith."
181	FARMS has downplayed the potential of James Sorenson's "global molecular geneaology project."
181	The Molecular Genealogy Foundation may reveal disconcerting "surprises" in LDS family trees that trace back to "well known polygamists" in the early church
184	The Indian Student Placement Program was an attempt to turn them "white and delightsome."
184	"Mormon folklore" claims that Native Americans and Polynesians carry a curse based upon "misdeeds on the part of their ancestors."
185	LDS scholars experienced in DNA research have spoken only to Mormon audiences.
185-186	In response to the DNA issue, the Church linked to an article written by Jeff Lindsey, "a chemical engineer with no professional training in DNA research."
186	LDS scientists have responded to DNA findings by claiming that it would be improbable to find evidence of an Israelite presence in the Americas	Book of Mormon and DNA evidence
186	LDS writers claim that the presence of other people in the Americas actually supports "careful readings of the Book of Mormon."
186	LDS scholars "have come to the conclusion" that Book of Mormon populations comprised a very small part of a much larger group of people on the continent
187	LDS suggest that it would impossible to use DNA technology to identify a small local colony of individuals.	Amerindians as Lamanites
188	It is not likely that "founders effect" or "genetic drift" would "completely frustrate the identification of Israelite DNA in the Americas."	Amerindians as Lamanites
188	The Lehite/Mulekite groups were both descended from Jewish ancestors	Book of Mormon and DNA evidence#General genetics issues
189	The ancestry of Israelites living today will all "meet at the Caucasian branch of the human family tree."
190	The Lemba prove that it is possible to detect Middle Eastern genes in a foreign environment	Lemba and Cohen modal haplotype
190	Church leaders have consistently associated Lamanites with Central America
191	The Mayan Empire is considered by Mormons to the closest to the people of the Book of Mormon
191	There is too much genetic variation in the X lineage to account for Book of Mormon people to have arrived as recently as 2600 years ago
192	The X lineage occurs in North America and is not found in Central America
192	LDS writers have overlooked the fact that Mitochondrial DNA research shows that 99.6% of Native Americans migrated to the American continent thousands of years before the Israelites came into existence, and none of these are candidates for Israelite origin.
192	The remaining 0.4% is likely the result of genetic mixture with people who came to the New World after Columbus
193	LDS scholars claim that the impact of Book of Mormon immigrants to the New World made an impact "so small that they barely mattered."
193	A great number of Native Americans are now assumed to have been absorbed into New World Israelite civilizations
193	"Other people" in the Book of Mormon have "remained invisible" to most readers
194	"Gentiles who inhabited the Americas before, during and after the Book of Mormon period are potential Lamanites."
195	The children of Lehi were to be "kept from all other nations, the they may possess this land unto themselves"
195	There are no explicit references to non-Israelites living near the Lehites or Jaredites
195	Five hundred years after their arrival, groups were still identified as having descended from Laman, Lemuel, Ismael, etc.
196	Familial terms used in the Book of Mormon convey a genetic link
197	Joseph Smith and other leaders taught that the Book of Mormon described the origins of the Indians in the western hemisphere
197	Mormons "tend to be hazy" regarding what past Church leaders have said