Dr. Thomas Murphy describes the strengths and weaknesses of the Church’s DNA essay.

Thomas:  To the credit of the Church, the DNA essay acknowledges, basically, that that research that I surveyed back in 2001-2002, plus some more up to date stuff. They summarize that and acknowledge that the evidence clearly shows that the ancestors of the American Indians are coming from North and East Asia, or that’s where the closest affinities are between native DNA and the DNA from the old world. So they acknowledge basically what I got in trouble for saying. They say it. The Church says it.
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GT:  So that’s a strength of the essay. (Chuckling)
Thomas:  Yes. Well, maybe it’s a biased perspective. I’m feeling vindicated myself. So that’s a major strength is that they acknowledge the DNA evidence that exists, and that DNA evidence provides no support for the Book of Mormon. The other strength is, I think it’s the first or second paragraph, but right at the very beginning, anyway, they say basically, the Book of Mormon is more spiritual than historical. That’s where the Church is going to end up. Right? I wish they had gone deeper with that. But, the evidence is just so compelling that that’s the only sustainable position for the Church to take is that the Book of Mormon is scripture, not history. They didn’t quite go that far. They acknowledge that it’s more spiritual than historical. It’s not historical at all. They could have said that, but they don’t go that far.
The Book of Mormon purports to be a record of ancient Native Americans.  Have we compared Indian stories to look for parallels in the Book of Mormon?  Dr. Thomas Murphy asks that question, and we’ll find out his answer.  Check out our conversation….
Don’t miss our previous conversations with Dr. Murphy!
470: Behind the Scenes of DNA Essay
469: Untold Story of Indian Slavery in America
468: Religious Fights over DNA
467: Native American DNA Scholarship