Monday, November 12, 2007

The everchanging story

Many of you reading this are aware of the DNA concerns with the Book of Mormon. If you are not there are plenty of other places where you can read about them. I will not get into detail here. But one thing that has caught my curiosity in the DNA landscape of the origins of the Native Americans is the changing of the Book of Mormon that coincides with the lack of DNA support for the book. The Book claimed, in its introduction, that the Lamanites were the PRINCIPAL ancestor to the American Indians. Spencer W. Kimball even said that Lehi was the ancestor of all of the Indian and Mestizo tribes in North and South and Central America and in the islands of the sea."

In the latest printing of the Book of Mormon, the introduction has been changed. Gone is the word "principal".

Pre 2007 -
"After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are the principal ancestors of the American Indians."

2007-
"After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are among the ancestors of the American Indians."

There may be only one material word changed in those sentences but that one word is huge. Especially in light of Kimball's comment. Kimball says "all", now the new introduction basically says "some". So who is right, the prophet then, or the leaders now?

Here is an article by the Salt Lake Tribune discussing it.
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_7413508



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