Category Archives: DNA of American Indians

General Authority training – advanced subjects

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Apostles from 1921

Apostles from 1921

OK, you’ve completed all the prerequisite training and life experiences to prepare you for basic General Authority service.  You’ve been a missionary, a bishop, a stake president and have just returned from your latest assignment as a mission president.  You’re somewhat financially stable and are now ready for the real challenge of a call to serve in one of the Quorums of the Seventy.

You’ve been active and faithful in the church all your life and have a deep and abiding testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  You have enjoyed success and found great joy in helping others come to a knowledge of the Lord through your missionary labors.  You’re proven to be a gifted administrator in the priesthood.  You love to study the scriptures and to teach the gospel.

Responding to difficult questions

The Brethren have decided that all potential General Authorities must now take some additional classes prior to receiving the call.  While we are a lay ministry, it is important that those who are called into positions that represent the church have skills developed in responding to difficult questions.  You know the ones I’m talking about.  President Hinckley was asked some of them.

Since you are on that potential General Authority list, you have been selected to participate in this class.  In order to ensure that the training is effective, we have selected some real-world examples of the kind of questions you can expect to encounter.  While you may have had no experience in studying church history, you will most certainly be asked questions like these.

The really hard list

1. Joseph Smith polygamy and polyandry – why didn’t we know about this?
2. Book of Mormon translation – Peep stone in a hat vs. Urim & Thummim
3. Why are there multiple versions of Joseph Smith’s First Vision story?
4. Why did the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon leave the church?
5. Why is there no real archeological evidence for the Book of Mormon?

6. DNA evidence proved that American Indians have no Israelite blood.
7. Egyptian scholars have proven that the Book of Abraham is a fraud.
8. Did Joseph Smith take the Temple ceremony from the Masons?
9. Could a real prophet have been deceived by the Kinderhook plates?
10. That is so exclusionary of us to claim to be the only true church.

11. Did Brigham Young teach that Adam was God and if so, why?
12. Do we currently teach that God was once a man like we are?
13. How can we really believe that man can become a God?
14. How could the Mountain Meadows Massacre have happened?
15. Why did the church practice polygamy after the 1890 manifesto?

16. Your church seems racist.  Why delay giving priesthood to blacks?
17. Why did President Hinckley deny that we teach long-held doctrines?
18. How was President Hinckley deceived by the Mark Hoffman forgeries?
19. Why do Mormons believe that Lucifer and Jesus Christ are brothers?
20. There are documented cases of spiritual abuse by priesthood leaders.

21. Why is the church opposed to work of LDS scholars and intellectuals?
22. Why did the church cover up President Benson’s Alzheimer’s disease?
23. How can the true Church of Jesus Christ reject those who are gay?
24. Why has church growth stopped in the U.S. – baptisms decreasing?
25. How can the LDS claim to be the true church with so few members?

Effect of the questions

These are legitimate questions raised over the years that can be found today all over the Internet.  Many of our young people are asked these questions by their friends on a regular basis.  They are not being malicious or trying to cause problems.  They simply want answers.  Even though they are difficult questions, some have studied them out in an effort to be able to provide the answers.

Sometimes they have discovered that even long-time members have never heard these questions.  They have been told by well-meaning leaders to just pray about it and they will get their answers.  But there is so much confusing information out there and no official LDS source that addresses these questions that they become discouraged and begin to doubt their testimonies of the church.

Rules of engagement

Your assignment as a new General Authority is to address these questions in a manner that builds faith and encourages continued study.  You must not act surprised if you have never heard any of these questions before or don’t understand why they seem so important to those who are asking.  And you certainly don’t want to be dismissive of those who are bothered by these questions.

You must not defer them to others, claiming that “we have apologists who answer this stuff for us.”  That won’t cut it.  You’re now a General Authority and need to know the answers yourself.  Yes, it’s true that most members of the church have never heard these questions and don’t know that these are issues for some.  And yes, some members would be shocked to learn about all this.

The challenge

So your challenge is great.  How do you answer these questions without causing confusion or doubt among the faithful members who do not question?  How do you respond to the one as the Savior taught?  Those who struggle with these questions are a relatively small number and yet they are very active on the Internet, where many people seek information on the church today.

At the same time, focusing on these questions and taking the time to research them, understand them and to be able to explain them is time consuming.  It takes away from one of the primary missions of the church to declare the gospel.  And yet, it fulfills another part of that mission by perfecting the saints.  Most of these questions are raised by disaffected and former members.

A possible response

It seems that we have failed a generation of bright and intelligent young people who have grown up on the Internet.  We did not anticipate what this amazing communication medium could do to supply facts and details about our history and doctrine.  It’s not that we’ve been purposely trying to hide anything from you. It’s just that you have been exposed to stuff earlier than we figured.

We wish it had been otherwise.  We would have preferred that you had knowledgeable mentors to guide you through your discovery of all these difficult issues.  We were aware of them and decided not to share them or at least not promote discussion of them in the church curriculum.  We are seeing now that this may have been a mistake.  It was not our intention to deceive you.

Personal responsibility

We understand that many of you have felt shocked and betrayed when you first learn about these things.  Please don’t lose faith in the entire church teaching system that has brought you to the point you are now.  We should have found a way to inoculate you before you encountered these troublesome issues but were concerned that exposing you to them early could also be disastrous.

Please accept our apologies for not teaching you about these things in a more open and honest manner.  We accept the responsibility for our failings in this area and will work harder in the future to ensure that the upcoming generation does not have to suffer what you went through.  But we hope that you will also be just as responsible for your own church history education.

Summary and conclusion

This is obviously just a thought exercise.  Please don’t seriously think that my ponderings here have anything to do with the reality of the way the church is responding to this problem.  You may legitimately wonder if some leaders in the church are even aware that this problem exists.  Perhaps those that are aware feel just as frustrated as you that we don’t address it more openly.

For those that have struggled or are struggling with questions like those I have listed, please be aware that there are many thousands of us who have faced and answered the same questions.  We recognize their potential impact to destroy faith, but have found that God is faithful and will send peace to the troubled heart.  Sometimes satisfactory answers will only come over the test of time.

Changes to the Book of Mormon

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So many people have written about this subject that yet another post hardly seems necessary. I have written about the Book of Mormon at least five times previously, but have not addressed the issue that seems to bother some about the changes to The Book of Mormon. I can understand if this is not an issue with you, because it never has been with me either.

From lds.org: “Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God. During the process of dictating, transcribing, copying, typesetting, and printing, some human errors were made. Soon after the first printing of the Book of Mormon, in 1830, readers began finding typographical, spelling, and other mistakes.

“The Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery made over 1,000 corrections for the second edition (1837). For the third edition (1840), Joseph Smith made further corrections after careful prophetic review, comparing the original manuscript with the printed text.” In other words, the changes made were typographical, spelling, grammatical, and yes, a few doctrinal clarifications.

Summary of changes

In 1879, with the blessing of the First Presidency, Elder Orson Pratt of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles produced an edition with more chapter divisions and with versification that has continued in all subsequent editions. He also added footnotes and made some changes in spelling and grammar. This was mainly a formatting change to make it easier to read with verses.

The 1920 edition corrected a few errors made in previous editions. It was formatted in double-column pages, with chapter headings, chronological data, revised footnote references, a pronouncing guide, and an index. Punctuation and capitalization were also revised. This is the issue that I used as a youth. I still have several well-worn and used annotated copies I cherish.

The current 1981 edition includes extensive cross references, footnotes, and other study aids. This is the edition I have used to teach seminary and gospel doctrine classes. I love the cross reference, topical guide and dictionary. It adds so much to my scripture study. I have used it to prepare talks for High Council assignments and spiritual thoughts in Bishopric meetings.

The most correct book

Joseph Smith declared that “the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, . . . and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than any other book” (History of the Church, 4:461). Understanding his usage of this phrase has been troublesome to many. He did not mean that the book was error free, but that it conformed to truth and set things right.

There are many excellent articles that help to understand the changes. Robert J. Matthews, Dean of Religious Education at BYU, offered this one in the Ensign that is probably the best. George Horton, an associate professor of ancient scripture at BYU shared one equally useful. Another article provides a brief history of the work completed to publish the current edition.

As always, Jeff Lindsay has done an excellent job in explaining the changes. If you Google “Book of Mormon changes” you will find a bunch of negative commentary on the changes. One of the more recent changes has been to add a word to the introduction of the Book of Mormon. The Lamanites are now considered to be “among” the primary ancestors of the American Indians.

DNA and the Book of Mormon

In late 2002, Ph.D. candidate Thomas Murphy published a paper entitled, “Lamanite Genesis, Genealogy, and Genetics.” In it, he presented DNA evidence that the ancestors of the American Indians are from Asia and not from Israel. Although a member of the church, Mr. Murphy admitted that he had not attended church in over ten years. Is that important? I think so.

You can find references to much material in the LDS Newsroom on the subject. Jeff Lindsay has written a masterful and lengthy essay, FAIR has a large number of resources available, as does FARMS. If you can’t find anything refuting the allegations that DNA evidence of the American Indians “destroys” the Book of Mormon then you simply haven’t looked hard enough.

Some people get so worked up about the DNA problem that they lose their faith and leave the Church. One such individual is Simon Southerton who was a bishop in Australia and a molecular biologist. He published a book on the subject, “Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church.” He was later excommunicated but not for publishing his book.

Summary and conclusion

I love the Book of Mormon. I always have. I stopped counting how many times I have read it many years ago. I think I am always reading it and use it almost everyday in my gospel studies. It is a wonderful book. It is scripture. It fills my life with understanding of the doctrine of Christ. Every time I read from its pages I am filled with a greater appreciation for the book.

I do not pretend to be an expert on DNA or the historical evidences of the Book of Mormon. I only know how I feel when I read it, when I teach from it and when I bear testimony of it. The changes in the Book of Mormon over the years do not bother me. I focus on the content and the doctrine contained in the book. Joseph was right. It is the most correct book of God’s truth.

Someday I hope to meet Joseph Smith and thank him for the marvelous works that he did in the name of Jesus Christ. One of those works is the Book of Mormon. I also hope to meet Moroni, Mormon, Nephi, Lehi, Alma, Abinadi and all the other Book of Mormon prophets. They were real characters who lived in the ancient Americas and were not just figments of Joseph’s imagination.