more about "DNA proves the Book of Mormon to be f...", posted with vodpod DNA and the Book of Mormon By Bill McKeeverhttp://www.mrm.org/topics/book-mormon/dna-and-book-mormon-record One of the fundamental tenets taught to Mormon children and new converts is that the Book of Mormon is an account of real people and real events. Mormon leaders, apologists, and scholars have been adamant in declaring the Book of Mormon to be actual history. Dr. Robert Millet, the well-respected professor at Brigham Young University, stated, "The historicity of the Book of Mormon record is crucial. We cannot exercise faith in that which is untrue, nor can 'doctrinal fiction' have normative value in our lives...Only scripture-­writings and events and descriptions from real people at a real point in time, people who were moved upon and directed by divine powers­-can serve as a revelatory channel, enabling us to hear and feel the word of God" ("The Book of Mormon, Historicity, and Faith," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies Vol. 2, number 2, p.1).One of the claims made in the Book of Mormon is that it records the story of a Hebrew man named Lehi who sees in a vision the destruction of Jerusalem around 600 B.C. He then flees with his family to escape the impending onslaught of Babylonian conquerors and eventually sails to the Western hemisphere. Following the death of Lehi, circumstances led to the colonizers splitting into primarily two groups, known as Nephites and Lamanites. As the story goes, the exploits of the Nephites and Lamanites were recorded on gold plates that were ultimately buried in the ground and found by Joseph Smith several centuries later.The Hebrew Connection The introduction to the Book of Mormon states that the book is "holy scripture comparable to the Bible" and that it is a "record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas." It goes on to claim that the Lamanites "are the principle ancestors of the American Indians." Mormon apologists have been quick to point out that the introduction