I am intrigued by the detail that was included in this writing. This man has changed the history of the church. His attention to detail is impeccable and I have done the research to make sure! Much of what is written is dry stats and not always engaging . But this is the point. Numbers do not lie. This guy did his homework. I am not a practicing Mormon, I am a theologian, working to discover the truth. I abide by many of the Mormon tenets and therefore look to seek truth. Good book, slow read.

This book is so well written, so clearly explained, and so carefully reasoned. I learned a tremendous amount about Mormon beliefs -- and the science that soundly refutes these beliefs. This book is a model of fine argumentation and popularized science. A must-read for anyone interested in understanding Mormon beliefs, genetics, human migratory patterns, and the truth about what modern science teaches us about all three.

The author covers this superbly, although his charts of their family history left me mistified (I am not used to family charts, X chromosone charts etc..) I have read this twice since I purchased it and learn more each time.

The author of this book is missing the bigger picture. There are several reasons as to why this is, which I will list accordingly. But before I do, I will quickly detail what Mr. Southerton's thesis is. His idea is that since the Book of Mormon teaches that the Native Americans are descendants of Lehi, who was from Israel, but there are only DNA markers from Asia in modern Native American populations, that the Book of Mormon is false and Joseph Smith with it. However, as you will read in my account, there are several gross errors in this thesis and in Mr. Southerton's research.
1) Mr. Southerton seems to take to the idea that the Book of Mormon teaches that all Native Americans are decedents of Israelites. This simply is not true.(Indeed, the introduction to the Book of Mormon states as much, but mind you, that introduction propsed by Orson Pratt in 1891, and adapted in the modern version of the Book of Mormon, hence, it is another misunderstanding of man) It is implied in the Book of Mormon that almost as soon as Nephi and his family landed there were already native peoples living on the American continent. So, if one holds to the view that the Nephites were a minority in a bigger melting pot of genetic ancestry, which is what the latest from FARMS and FAIR is publishing, then this book and the claims therein are flawed. This book also conveniently skips over the many Haploid group genes that have been discovered in about 3% of Native Americans. And that this specific Haploid group is found specifically in Israelites and peoples of Semetic ancestry. So yes, I agree that not all of the Native Americans were descendants of Lehi. However, if one steps back and looks at the bigger picture, then one will see that indeed there is room and evidence for Semitic origins in a specific and small number of Native Americans.
2) As an amateur student of Mendelian Genetics and Evolution, I must also mention the many factors that can drastically alter the course of a genetic pedigree. One of these factors include having the recessive genes and traits be overwhelmed by dominant traits, which we find is the case with the recessive Israelite Haploid group and the dominant Asian Diploid group. Now, considering that the native Mayans of Mesoamerica - who very likely did come from Asia - assimilated the Lamanites almost as soon as they landed in America and the Nephites later around 500 C.E., we see the possibility of the Haploid group being overwhelmed by the Dominant Diploid Asian group. In other words, the Dominant Asian gene covered the recessive Israelite gene expression. Some other factors that could very well have had an influence over the Israelite Haploid group was the fact that the genetic structure and "purity" of that particular gene has been drastically reshaped by constant invasion and assimilation from the Mayans to the Europeans and others. In other words, we are not getting a pure genetic source out of this gene due to continuing intermixing.
3) New evidence has been cropping up in the last decade that indicate not only Semitic influences on Mayan culture and tradition, but Greek and Phonetician influences as well. With the discovery of two tablets in Mesoamerica dating to the second century C.E. - one with Greek written on it, the other Phonetician - we must consider the possibility that several groups of people from the Mediterranean had contact with pre-Columbian civilizations. And with the discovery of a Roman column, made in 2007, in China that dates to the second century B.C., we must consider that not all access to the Far East - even the Americas - was completely unknown to the classical civilizations of Europe and Asia. So, these new evidences paint a bigger picture that Mr. Southerton misses.
I could continue to write a detailed critique of this book, but I think that this is enough to persuade the reader to not waste his/her money on purchasing this book and instead look up more fascinating findings being published by FARMS and FAIR. In conclusion, this book misses the bigger picture with many flawed conclusions, speculations and outdated scholarship.
And, to calm down those who are screaming "what about old "Joe Smith" saying that the Indians are primarily descended from Lehi?" all I have to say is that Joseph Smith was a prophet, not a scientist. He was still - even though mistaken - free to make his own speculations and interpretations of the Book of Mormon and the very real people that it speaks of. His job was to translate, not elaborate, on the Book of Mormon. But one must remember that many of the Old Testament prophets made flawed speculations about the natural world and science, such as Isaiah commenting that the earth is flat with the sun rotating around it - which was a common thought of his age - and many other prophets, kings and priests in Israel assuming that you could control the color of an animal's skin by placing a corresponding colored stick by it's pregnant mother.
And also, give it a rest with trying to use DNA as "proof" that the Book of Mormon is false when the same DNA tactics are being applied to proving that 1) there was no Adam and Eve that spawned the entire human race 2) the earth is billions, not thousands, of years old 3) there is no possibility for a Noahican flood 4) animals, including humans, evolved from lower species. I would suggest that you take a deep breath and look at the bigger picture.

p.s. Please actually read my review before you just slap a no on the voting button. Even if you do not agree with my conclusions, please give me the oppertunity to express mine.

The author of this book is missing the bigger picture. There are several reasons as to why this is, which I will list accordingly.
1) Mr. Southerton seems to take to the idea that the Book of Mormon teaches that all Native Americans are decedents of Israelites. This simply is not true. It is recorded in the Book of Mormon almost as soon as Nephi and his family landed that there were already native peoples living on the American continent. So, if one holds to the view that the Nephites were a minority in a bigger melting pot of genetic ancestry, which is what the latest from FARMS and FAIR is publishing, then this book and the claims therein are flawed. This book also conveniently skips over the many Haploid group genes that have been discovered in about 3% of Native Americans. And that this specific Haploid group is found specifically in Israelites. So yes, I agree that not all of the Native Americans were descendants of Lehi. However, if one steps back and looks at the bigger picture, then one will see that indeed there is room and evidence for Semitic origins in a specific and small number of Native Americans.
2) As an amateur student of Mendelian Genetics and Evolution, I must also mention the many factors that can drastically alter the course of a genetic pedigree. One of these factors include having the recessive genes and traits be overwhelmed by dominant traits, which we find is the case with the recessive Israelite Haploid group and the dominant Asian Diploid group. Now, considering that the native Mayans of Mesoamerica - who very likely did come from Asia - assimilated the Lamanites almost as soon as they landed in America and the Nephites later around 500 C.E., we see the possibility of the Haploid group being overwhelmed by the Dominant Diploid Asian group. In other words, the Dominant Asian gene covered the recessive Israelite gene. Some other factors that could very well have had an influence over the Israelite Haploid group was the fact that the genetic structure and "purity" of that particular gene has been drastically reshaped by constant invasion and assimilation from the Mayans to the Europeans. In other words, we are not getting a pure genetic source out of this gene due to continuing intermixing.
3) New evidence has been cropping up in the last decade that indicate not only Semitic influences on Mayan culture and tradition, but Greek and Phonetician influences as well. With the discovery of two tablets in Mesoamerica dating to the second century C.E. - one with Greek written on it, the other Phonetician - we must consider the possibility that several groups of people from the Mediterranean had contact with pre-Columbian civilizations. And with the discovery of a Roman column, made in 2007, in China that dates to the second century B.C., we must consider that not all access to the Far East - even the Americas - was completely unknown to the classical civilizations. So, these new evidences paint a bigger picture that Mr. Southerton misses.
I could continue to write a detailed critique of this book, but I think that this is enough to persuade the reader to not waste his/her money on purchasing this book and instead look up more fascinating findings being published by FARMS and FAIR. In conclusion, this book misses the bigger picture with many flawed conclusions, speculations and outdated scholarship.
And, to calm down those who are screaming "what about old "Joe Smith" saying that the Indians are primarily descended from Lehi?" all I have to say is that Joseph Smith was a prophet, not a scientist. He was still - even though mistaken - free to make his own speculations and interpretations of the Book of Mormon and the very real people that it speaks of. But one must remember that many of the Old Testament prophets made flawed speculations about the natural world and science, such as Isaiah commenting that the earth is flat with the sun rotating around it - which was a common thought of his age - and many other prophets, kings and priests in Israel assuming that you could control the color of an animal's skin by placing a corresponding colored stick by it's pregnant mother.
And also, give it a rest with trying to use DNA as "proof" that the Book of Mormon is false when the same DNA tactics are being applied to proving that 1) there was no Adam and Eve that spawned the entire human race 2) the earth is billions, not thousands, of years old 3) there is no possibility for a Noahican flood 4) animals, including humans, evolved from lower species. I would suggest that you take a deep breath and look at the bigger picture.

Simon says the Book of Mormon is false and all the anti-Mormons line up to say "Yeah! Yeah!" Some other reviewers prove their blatant anti-Mormon bigotry with statements like "Joseph Smith will go to hell."

One anti-Mormon said that if the Book of Mormon is disproven the Mormon tithing money will come to a halt! [He contradicts himself because he says once the Book of Mormon is proved false the tithing will stop, then he claims it has been proved false--but the tithing has increased!]

They say Simon is a nice ex-Mormon without an agenda; nonsense! Simon wants to convince others that the Book of Mormon is false; its just that simple. The only people he's convinced are anti-Mormons who want desperately to prove it false. Most of them have never actually read the Book of Mormon. They continually misrepresent the claims of both the Church and the Book of Mormon.

This book no more proves the Book of Mormon false than the old Spaulding theory did over 100 years ago! Don't throw the baby out with the bath water! The Book of Mormon is more complex than Simon represents it to be. The history of ancient America is also more complex than he represents it to be!

Regarding the science and dna testing; you can always count on science to present new ideas and new facts as time goes along. Stay tuned for the rest of the story.

Right now the story is simple: Mormon-haters keep hating and Mormons keep believing; and each year there are about 400,000 more believers.

I have meet Simon. We spent a few hours together at the EX-Mormon Conference in Salt Lake City in October of 2006. The best way to determine the character of an individual is by talking with them face to face and evaluating the content of their countenance. Simon is honest and in my evaluation dead on accuracte in his evaluation of the lies of the Mormon Church relative to the massive coverup of the Book of Mormon [...]. If the Book of Moromon is proven false, which is has been on a vast number of levels, then Joseph Smith falls into hell as a false prophet. The Mormon Church cannot allow this to happen. The billions of dollars in tithing would come to a screeching halt and the top 15 male Mormon "Apostals and Prophets", who are paid handsom six figure salaries and live by the "grace" of lavish executive perks, would loose their strangle hold on a massive group of people that number in the multiple millions who are brainwashed to serve them as their "annointed ones- The Brethren". I was an Ultra- Active Mormon for 46 years, a former High Priest and Mormon Temple worker. Simon is dead on the money!

I read an opinion column in today's paper titled "Archaeological discoveries can't replace faith." It was about the Discovery Channel's "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" program that has received national attention. The columnist concluded, "While archaeological evidence is important for the Bible-believer, it cannot become the judge for the authenticity of Scripture. Archaeological discoveries cannot, by definition, supersede faith." I assume the columnist would have a similar opinion about scientific discoveries like DNA patterns.

Simon Southerton would beg to disagree.

I met Dr. Southerton at a social following one of his lectures on his book, Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church. He is a soft-spoken scientist, a former member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), and not a Mormon-basher. He is a seeker of the truth, and this book details some of his search for that truth.

Southerton gives a brief overview of the history of the LDS faith, and focuses on the story of the Book of Mormon. Lehi leaves The Middle East , arrives in what is now America, and breaks into two factions, the Nephites (good, skilled, and light in complexion), and the Lamanites (lazy, bloodthirsty, and cursed "with a skin of blackness that they might not be enticing"). The Lamanites wipe out the Nephites in an epic battle, and it takes Joseph Smith to reconnect people to the Nephite traditions. Native Americans and Polynesians are believed to be ancestors of Lehi, and this has assisted the LDS church in recruitment and in determining the truth of the Book of Mormon and other LDS sacred texts and prophetical utterances.

Southerton interprets DNA analysis of humans to mean Native Americans and Polynesians are descended not from Lehi and the Middle East, but from Asian populations.

Somebody must be wrong, unless you believe that "...discoveries cannot, by definition, supersede faith."

Southerton discusses the tension, or lack of it, among the LDS faithful in spreading the fiction of origin in light of the DNA evidence. He states "Gentile [non-LDS] scientists who discover uncomfortable truths are commonly suspected of being in cahoots with 'anti-Mormons'." He continues, "This distrust of scientists' motives is most palpable with regard to those who uncover evidence challenging perceived religious truths" (p. 143).

This is a very readable discourse on the tension between faith and fact, and how believers respond. Although Losing a Lost Tribe is often described as an anti-LDS tract, Southerton is relatively gentle in his approach. He went looking for the truth (he is, after all, a molecular biologist by training), found inconsistencies with his church's teachings, and was pushed aside. You will find that this book, like No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith, by Fawn M. Brodie, creates cracks in this particular faith that are plugged with a whitewash of soft plaster by apologists.

What else is new? The statement noted in my first paragraph is from a Baptist pastor. Don't let facts stand in the way of your religion. Amen.

I read an opinion column in today's paper titled "Archaeological discoveries can't replace faith." It was about the Discovery Channel's "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" program that has received national attention. The columnist concluded, "While archaeological evidence is important for the Bible-believer, it cannot become the judge for the authenticity of Scripture. Archaeological discoveries cannot, by definition, supersede faith." I assume the columnist would have a similar opinion about scientific discoveries like DNA patterns.

Simon Southerton would beg to disagree.

I met Dr. Southerton at a social following one of his lectures on his book, Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church. He is a soft-spoken scientist, a former member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), and not a Mormon-basher. He is a seeker of the truth, and this book details some of his search for that truth.

Southerton gives a brief overview of the history of the LDS faith, and focuses on the story of the Book of Mormon. Lehi leaves The Middle East , arrives in what is now America, and breaks into two factions, the Nephites (good, skilled, and light in complexion), and the Lamanites (lazy, bloodthirsty, and cursed "with a skin of blackness that they might not be enticing"). The Lamanites wipe out the Nephites in an epic battle, and it takes Joseph Smith to reconnect people to the Nephite traditions. Native Americans and Polynesians are believed to be ancestors of Lehi, and this has assisted the LDS church in recruitment and in determining the truth of the Book of Mormon and other LDS sacred texts and prophetical utterances.

Southerton interprets DNA analysis of humans to mean Native Americans and Polynesians are descended not from Lehi and the Middle East, but from Asian populations.

Somebody must be wrong, unless you believe that "...discoveries cannot, by definition, supersede faith."

Southerton discusses the tension, or lack of it, among the LDS faithful in spreading the fiction of origin in light of the DNA evidence. He states "Gentile [non-LDS] scientists who discover uncomfortable truths are commonly suspected of being in cahoots with 'anti-Mormons'." He continues, "This distrust of scientists' motives is most palpable with regard to those who uncover evidence challenging perceived religious truths" (p. 143).

This is a very readable discourse on the tension between faith and fact, and how believers respond. Although Losing a Lost Tribe is often described as an anti-LDS tract, Southerton is relatively gentle in his approach. He went looking for the truth (he is, after all, a molecular biologist by training), found inconsistencies with his church's teachings, and was pushed aside. You will find that this book, like No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith, by Fawn M. Brodie, creates cracks in this particular faith that are plugged with a whitewash of soft plaster by apologists.

What else is new? The statement noted in my first paragraph is from a Baptist pastor. Don't let facts stand in the way of your religion. Amen.

This is a superb book that's honest and forthright about what the Book of Mormon teaches, how LDS leaders have interpreted it, and how those two things conflict with science.

According to the Book of Mormon, the ancient Americans were descendants of Hebrews, brought over from the Old World in sea-faring ships. If this were really true it would provide virtually no evidence for Mormonism because such ideas were common and contemporary with Joseph Smith. It's precisely the sort of thing one would expect - and find - among the pages of 19th century folklore, speculation, and literature.

On the other hand, if the ancient Americans were not Hebrews, the Book of Mormon is exposed as a fraud. Of course it's also exposed as a fraud if (as is the case) the ancient Americans didn't use the animals, technologies, plants, and languages described in the Book of Mormon. Genetic science is just one line of evidence out of dozens that shows the Book of Mormon is false.

Simon begins by drawing from a vast array of scriptural verses and public statements by LDS officials that illustrates the width and breadth of the LDS doctrine that the ancient Americas were Hebrews and that their literal and direct descendants are the North, Central, and South American Indians. Simon also shows how Mormon leaders have expanded the Book of Mormon's message by including Polynesians, as taught through official acceptance in the dedicatory prayers of temples and in tens of thousands of "patriarchal blessings."

Having firmly established what Mormon doctrine teaches, Simon proceeds to illuminate the scientific evidence. This isn't scientific evidence that Southerton has personally discovered, but a summary of evidence from the scientific literature, assembled by scientists working with the best available tools to discover the origins of ancient Americans, and who had virtually no knowledge or inclination of/toward the Book of Mormon. Hundreds of independent researchers have come to the same conclusion: the ancient Americans came to the Americas about 12,000 years ago (possibly sooner) from regions in/near Asia, including eastern Siberia.

The scientific consensus is damning to Mormonism in two ways. First, Mormonism teaches the literal existence of Biblical characters like Adam, Eve, and Noah, and it teaches a literal world-wide flood. The 12,000-year-old data presents a problem because it pre-dates Adam, and the idea that there were people living and evolving on earth thousands of years before "the first man" is contrary to basic LDS doctrine.

The second problem, obviously, is that the ancient Americans were not Hebrews, as described in the Book of Mormon. Simon shows how the genetic data clearly points to regions other than the Middle East as the origin of the ancient Americas. He discusses the variabilities, the probabilities, and how genetic data are interpreted and extrapolated by scientists. There is very little scientific doubt regarding this analysis. Simon has, on the basis of genetic science, proved the Book of Mormon false with about as much certainty as we can say the earth orbits the sun.

Of course, one could also say (with roughly equal certainty) that the Book of Mormon has been proven false because of the tools, foods, plants, technologies, and languages that it incorrectly ascribes to the ancient Americans. Genetic evidence isn't the only nail in the coffin, by any means.

The response from the LDS apologetic community has been predictable. First, there are the ad hominem attacks, of which Simon has been the recipient of some of the most vicious. Shame on the LDS community for the way they have treated Dr. Southerton.

Second, there have been the denials. The LDS Church has relegated these primarily to the cadre of apologists who have "discovered" all sorts of pre-Book-of-Mormon peoples even though the Book of Mormon never mentions them. Not even once. By reinventing the Book of Mormon, apologists hope to refashion it into an untestable hypothesis with assertions to the effect that pre-Lehites make all the genetic evidence invalid. Meanwhile LDS leaders haven't changed the doctrine at all, allowing the LDS to fashion a technical argument that leaves all options on the table.

Third, the LDS apologetic community has attacked the science. Here their options are limited because the science is conclusive, so the apologists have followed the example of their intellectual cousins by using the same route as the anti-evolutionists. They've done this by debating abstract and minute scientific details that don't matter in the larger picture of things, but give the appearance of uncertainty, which is all that's needed to placate the faithful.

Southerton has clearly anticipated each of these apologetic approaches. He deals with the ad hominem and personal attacks with dignified silence. The slander of the apologetic community speaks for itself, undermining the LDS position in the minds of fair-minded individuals without any further comment.

Simon spends considerable time using Book of Mormon scriptures and official prophetic statements to show that LDS doctrine does, in fact, make specific assertions that the Native Americans are the literal descendants of peoples from the Middle East, and are of Hebrew origin. His demonstration of the genetic evidence is clear, concise, and explained well enough that it leaves the apologists tongue tied and with nowhere to hide.

Anyone who doubts the Easter Bunny's existence is intellectually capable of determining that the Book of Mormon is a fraud; more important than raw intelligence is personal disposition and intellectual honesty. The Mormon Church makes leaving difficult. Apostates are branded as Sons of Perdition, disowned by families, shunned, and prohibited from attending family weddings. It's much easier to live smugly among other un-suspecting church goers who, in all likelihood, are also keeping up appearances, having "figured it out" for themselves long ago.

For the select few with the intellectual honesty and courage to change their lives, this book is bound to be an invaluable source of information that will help you understand the validity of your choice. I highly recommend it.

This is a superb book that's honest and forthright about what the Book of Mormon teaches, how LDS leaders have interpreted it, and how those two things conflict with science.

According to the Book of Mormon, the ancient Americans were descendants of Hebrews, brought over from the Old World in sea-faring ships. If this were really true it would provide virtually no evidence for Mormonism because such ideas were common and contemporary with Joseph Smith. It's precisely the sort of thing one would expect - and find - among the pages of 19th century folklore, speculation, and literature.

On the other hand, if the ancient Americans were not Hebrews, the Book of Mormon is exposed as a fraud. Of course it's also exposed as a fraud if (as is the case) the ancient Americans didn't use the animals, technologies, plants, and languages described in the Book of Mormon. Genetic science is just one line of evidence out of dozens that shows the Book of Mormon is false.

Simon begins by drawing from a vast array of scriptural verses and public statements by LDS officials that illustrates the width and breadth of the LDS doctrine that the ancient Americas were Hebrews and that their literal and direct descendants are the North, Central, and South American Indians. Simon also shows how Mormon leaders have expanded the Book of Mormon's message by including Polynesians, as taught through official acceptance in the dedicatory prayers of temples and in tens of thousands of "patriarchal blessings."

Having firmly established what Mormon doctrine teaches, Simon proceeds to illuminate the scientific evidence. This isn't scientific evidence that Southerton has personally discovered, but a summary of evidence from the scientific literature, assembled by scientists working with the best available tools to discover the origins of ancient Americans, and who had virtually no knowledge or inclination of/toward the Book of Mormon. Hundreds of independent researchers have come to the same conclusion: the ancient Americans came to the Americas about 12,000 years ago (possibly sooner) from regions in/near Asia, including eastern Siberia.

The scientific consensus is damning to Mormonism in two ways. First, Mormonism teaches the literal existence of Biblical characters like Adam, Eve, and Noah, and it teaches a literal world-wide flood. The 12,000-year-old data presents a problem because it pre-dates Adam, and the idea that there were people living and evolving on earth thousands of years before "the first man" is contrary to basic LDS doctrine.

The second problem, obviously, is that the ancient Americans were not Hebrews, as described in the Book of Mormon. Simon shows how the genetic data clearly points to regions other than the Middle East as the origin of the ancient Americas. He discusses the variabilities, the probabilities, and how genetic data are interpreted and extrapolated by scientists. There is very little scientific doubt regarding this analysis. Simon has, on the basis of genetic science, proved the Book of Mormon false with about as much certainty as we can say the earth orbits the sun.

Of course, one could also say (with roughly equal certainty) that the Book of Mormon has been proven false because of the tools, foods, plants, technologies, and languages that it incorrectly ascribes to the ancient Americans. Genetic evidence isn't the only nail in the coffin, by any means.

The response from the LDS apologetic community has been predictable. First, there are the ad hominem attacks, of which Simon has been the recipient of some of the most vicious. Shame on the LDS community for the way they have treated Dr. Southerton.

Second, there have been the denials. The LDS Church has relegated these primarily to the cadre of apologists who have "discovered" all sorts of pre-Book-of-Mormon peoples even though the Book of Mormon never mentions them. Not even once. By reinventing the Book of Mormon, apologists hope to refashion it into an untestable hypothesis with assertions to the effect that pre-Lehites make all the genetic evidence invalid. Meanwhile LDS leaders haven't changed the doctrine at all, allowing the LDS to fashion a technical argument that leaves all options on the table.

Third, the LDS apologetic community has attacked the science. Here their options are limited because the science is conclusive, so the apologists have followed the example of their intellectual cousins by using the same route as the anti-evolutionists. They've done this by debating abstract and minute scientific details that don't matter in the larger picture of things, but give the appearance of uncertainty, which is all that's needed to placate the faithful.

Southerton has clearly anticipated each of these apologetic approaches. He deals with the ad hominem and personal attacks with dignified silence. The slander of the apologetic community speaks for itself, undermining the LDS position in the minds of fair-minded individuals without any further comment.

Simon spends considerable time using Book of Mormon scriptures and official prophetic statements to show that LDS doctrine does, in fact, make specific assertions that the Native Americans are the literal descendants of peoples from the Middle East, and are of Hebrew origin. His demonstration of the genetic evidence is clear, concise, and explained well enough that it leaves the apologists tongue tied and with nowhere to hide.

Anyone who doubts the Easter Bunny's existence is intellectually capable of determining that the Book of Mormon is a fraud; more important than raw intelligence is personal disposition and intellectual honesty. The Mormon Church makes leaving difficult. Apostates are branded as Sons of Perdition, disowned by families, shunned, and prohibited from attending family weddings. It's much easier to live smugly among other un-suspecting church goers who, in all likelihood, are also keeping up appearances, having "figured it out" for themselves long ago.

For the select few with the intellectual honesty and courage to change their lives, this book is bound to be an invaluable source of information that will help you understand the validity of your choice. I highly recommend it.

Former Bishop Simon Southerton wrote this book based on the DNA research done on the American Indian. Dr. Southerton is a plant geneticist with the background and knowledge to deal with the subject matter, and the writing skill to present it in such a way that it can be understood by everyone. The book was peer reviewed by anthropologists and geneticists who felt Dr. Southerton used the most current methods and best scientific methods. He has come under a great deal attack from the Mormon apologists for this book. There has probably been more written on the Mormon apologetics web site than any other book in the past 10 years. The attacks range from pure ad hominem attacks to attacks in his methods and possible alternative interpretations of the data. Dr. Southerton has responded to these attacks in papers publicly available at the Signature Books web site. These papers have also been peer reviewed before they were posted.

I heard Dr. Southerton speak in October 2006. There are many exciting developments in the field, including being able to track when events occurred through time phasing and mapping of the male Y chromosome. These new advances have added much to the body of knowledge which continues to support the conclusions Dr. Southerton reached.

Anthropologists and linguists concluded that the American continents were populated from Asia. BH Roberts Mormon General Authority came to the same conclusion in a book he wrote in the 1920s. The Mormon Church continues to preach and teach that the American Indians are of Israelite descent. The Mormon apologists continue to try to find arguments to support this view, no matter how ridiculous they are.

This book was nothing short of a disappointment. Notwithstanding the fact that it was better than Thomas Murphy's essay on DNA and the Book of Mormon in the 2002 anthology, "American Apocrypha: essays on the Book of Mormon," it failed to adequately discuss the Book of Mormon in light of a limited geographical scope.

What it comes down to is the question of whether the geography of the Book of Mormon text is consistent with the LDS scholarly view that Book of Mormon events occurred in a limited area in Mesoamerica or all throughout the hemisphere. Notwithstanding popular folk LDS beliefs from the 19th century, one has to grasp the fact that, popular beliefs, longstanding or otherwise, do not supersede scripture.

That the Book of Mormon text itself teaches a Limited Geographical Model can be seen in the fact that the hill in New York was not the Hill Cumorah of the Book of Mormon, perhaps one of a few traditional beliefs that Southerton, no doubt, held as a Mormon prior to his leaving the Church (from reading his "Why I left" story on the Recovery from Mormonism Website, he seems to have held a rather narrow-minded view of "Mormonism" and the Book of Mormon).the Book of Mormon makes clear that the demise of both the Jaredites and the Nephites took place near the narrow neck of land. Yet New York is thousands of miles away from any plausible configuration that could be described as this narrow neck. Thus the scripture itself rules out the idea that the Nephites perished near Palmyra.

The Book of Mormon text contains points of information that are necessary for any hill to be a plausible configuration for the Hill Cumorah of the Book of Mormon, such as the material culture of local peoples. These include:

* The hill being near a eastern seacoast
* Near a narrow neck of land
* On a coastal plain and possibly near other mountains and valleys
* One day's journey south of a large body of water
* In an area of many rivers and waters
* Presence of fountains
* The abundance of water must provide a military advantage
* Escape route to the land southward
* The hill must be large enough to provide a view of hundreds of thousands of bodies
* The hill must be a significant landmark
* The hill should be free-standing so people can camp around it
* The hill must be in a temperate climate with no cold or snow and in a volcanic zone subject to earthquakes
* Cities must be in the vicinity of the hill
* Towers or stepped pyramids for religious purposes
* Efficient agriculture
* Metallurgy
* Formal political states
* Organised religion
* Idolatry at certain times
* Craft specialisation
* Trade
* Writing
* Weaponry in immediate vicinity of the hill
* Astronomy
* Calendar
* Cement
* Wheels

With the exception of a very small presence of craft and trade, the hill in New York fails to match any of the elements necessitated for any hill to be a plausible configuration for the Hill Cumorah of the Book of Mormon. Furthermore, the most plausible hill in Mesoamerica is El Cerro Vigìa in Mexico. Indeed, even weaponry have been discovered around the vicinity of the hill. Of course, the question of how the plates got to New York is often asked. Mormon reports that he buried all the records in his custody at the Hill Cumorah of the final battle battle except for certain golden plates (Mormon 6:6). Those from which Joseph Smith translated, he entrusted to his son Moroni. As late as 35 years afterward, Moroni was still adding to these records (Moroni 10:1). He never does tell us where he intended to deposit them, nor where he has when he sealed them up (Moroni 10:34). The most obvious way to get the plates to New York state would have been for somebody to carry them there. Moroni could have done so himself during those final, lonely decades. Such a journey would have been no more surprising that the trip by Lehi's party over land and by sea halfway around the globe. As a matter of fact, we do have a striking case of a trip much like the one Moroni may have made. In the mid-sixteenth century, David Ingram, a shipwrecked English sailor, walked 11 months through completely strange Indian territory from Tampico, Mexico to the St. Johns River, at the present border between Maine and Canada. His remarkable journey would have been about the same distance as Moroni's and over essentially the same route. So Moroni's getting the plates to New York even under his own power seems feasible.

Furthermore, Southerton does not bother explaining away DNA evidence that strongly suggests some Semitic admixture with Amerindians, such as HLA.

This is only a sample of some of the failings of the book. Many other Latter-day Saints have written on this text, including a few on this Web Page, detailing the failings of the book, such as its lack of discussion on the geography within the Book of Mormon, as opposed to the geography per errant traditional interpretations that border with eisegesis.

I welcome sincere feedback at Robert.S.Boylan@nuim.ie