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The discovery of DNA has had many repercussions in medicine and criminal science. Using DNA to trace connections through time has also led to multiple uses in genealogy as well as in researching the ancient movements of populations. It is in the tracing of historical populations that DNA studies have impacted Book of Mormon studies. Anthropologist Thomas Murphy provides the basic information on the impact of DNA studies on the Book of Mormon

Crawford’s conclusions in The Origins of Native Americans: Evidence from Anthropological Genetics show why he rejects Mormon claims. Genetic similarities, morphological resemblance, craniometric affinities, and cultural similarities between Asians and New World populations led him to conclude, “this evidence indicates extremely strong biological and cultural affinities between New World and Asian populations and leaves no doubt that the first migrants into the Americas were Asians.”^[1]

In a separate article, Murphy emphasizes:

I have found no genetic research to support this expectation [of Israelite genetic presence in Central America]. Instead, studies of mtDNA (even ancient mtDNA), Y-chromosomes, and protein polymorphisms in Central American indigenous populations indicate the same Asian origins found elsewhere in the Americas.^[2]

The publication of this information was perhaps not a surprise to many Latter-day Saint scholars, but it was a bombshell for many members. What was being claimed was that DNA seemed to have actually disproven the Book of Mormon! Quite understandably, there was a response from Latter-day Saint scholars. The general consensus was that the DNA evidence did preclude the traditional understanding that all Native American populations descended from Book of Mormon peoples (a teaching many of us absorbed in our youth).^[3] As Kevin Barney explainedx

The extant DNA evidence simply confirms what scientists already knew: that most Native Americans ultimately derive from Asia. This is inconsistent with the hemispheric model of the Book of Mormon. To that extent, [critics] are not arguing against a straw man; many contemporary Latter-day Saints (to the extent that they have thought of the issue at all) continue to uncritically accept a hemispheric model of the Book of Mormon. To the extent that the kind of DNA research publicized by [critics] causes these people to reexamine their assumptions about the nature of the text, I think the effect will be a salutary one.^[4]

There have been sufficient questions that the Church commissioned an article to appear in the Gospel Topics Essays. The entire essay is well worth reading and learning to understand. The second paragraph, however, presents a synopsis:

Basic principles of population genetics suggest the need for a more careful approach to the data. The conclusions of genetics, like those of any science, are tentative, and much work remains to be done to fully understand the origins of the native populations of the Americas. Nothing is known about the DNA of Book of Mormon peoples, and even if their genetic profile were known, there are sound scientific reasons that it might remain undetected. For these same reasons, arguments that some defenders of the Book of Mormon make based on DNA studies are also speculative. In short, DNA studies cannot be used decisively to either affirm or reject the historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon.^[5]

It is important to begin with the understanding that DNA studies have not disproven the Book of Mormon. It is also important to follow the counsel that DNA studies cannot be used decisively to either affirm or reject the historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon.”

DNA and the Heartland

Rod Meldrum is a prominent figure in the Heartland proposals for the Book of Mormon. While he follows the Heartland geography, his primary interests were not originally so much in geography as they were in the problem of DNA. He began a study of DNA in 2003 and presented lectures that were presented on four DVDs in 2007.^[6] In 2009, he then produced a book, Rediscovering the Book of Mormon Remnant Through DNA.

Meldrum discusses the discovery of a haplotype that appeared to be unique. A haplotype is a set of DNA variations that tend to be inherited together. While there are others, the one of interest to him was haplotype X, Quoting Thomas Schurr, a molecular anthropologist from Emory University in Atlanta: “The new data, from a genetic marker appropriately called Lineage X, suggest a “definite—if ancient—link between Eurasians and Native Americans.”^[7]

Important for the Heartland model, this haplotype X was found in Native American populations in “the Canadian Subarctic/Great Lakes region, the Southwestern region, the Southern Plains, and the Central and Northwest Coasts of North America. The broadest language group is known as Algonquian.”^[8] Although found in areas outside the Heartland model, Meldrum pointedly notes that it is not found in Mesoamerica.^[9]

Is the Book of Mormon now proven by DNA instead of disproven, as had been asserted? No. As DNA studies have progressed, and further information has clarified, haplotype X is not evidence of an ancient Israelite presence in North America.

Ugo Perego, whose advanced degree is precisely in population genetics,^[10] provides a more recent perspective on DNA research as it pertains to the Book of Mormon. After summarizing a little of the history of the work on haplotype X, which is the question in potential Book of Mormon DNA, he notes that, for a while, it appeared that haplotype X had been found in Asia as well as Europe and the Middle East.^[11] That possibility has now been ruled out. Among other issues, Perego notes:

In order for X2a to fit within Book of Mormon chronology, the currently accepted molecular clocks would need considerable recalibration, or other samples from the Old World carrying additional mutations shared with the Native American X2a would be needed. Neither of these two scenarios is currently likely, and neither may ever become a means for conclusively demonstrating a link between X2a and Lehi’s party.^[12]

If the X2a haplotype is to be associated with the Book of Mormon, then it must arrive when the Book of Mormon suggests there was a migration of peoples from the Ancient Near East. In this case, the evidence suggests that “Before 24,000 years ago, the ancestors of Native Americans and the ancestors of today’s East Asians split into distinct groups.”^[13] The newly discovered European or western Asian DNA antecedes the Book of Mormon Lehites by around 22,000 years.

Perego notes that current science presents even greater issues for using X2a as an indicator of a Book of Mormon people, whether in the Heartland or in Mesoamerica:

The discussion of the X haplotype illustrates the challenges encountered when attempting to reconstruct genetic scenarios from modern populations that are compatible with the Book of Mormon time line and expected source population. Based on the molecular clocks currently used by the scientific community, it would be nearly impossible to distinguish a Eurasian lineage that arrived 2,600 years ago from those brought by the Europeans after the discovery of America’s double continent, simply because there would not have been enough time for these lineages to differentiate enough to allow discernment between pre-Columbian and post-Columbian admixture.^[14]

Meldrum’s data may have been accurate when he first researched the topic, but he has not updated his writings with the newer information.

I conclude by quoting Ugo Perego:

We need to be wary about any statement against or in favor of the historical accuracy of the Book of Mormon based on DNA and take the time to understand the difference between scientific data and claims people make about it. Scientists in general are extremely cautious to make statements based on the available data that point to a single conclusion and leave no room for an alternative explanation. As with other religious texts and topics, science is often an inadequate tool to corroborate spiritual or historical truths. Perhaps as technology improves and more DNA studies are conducted, we will learn more about the genetic origins of Native Americans, including possible genetic links between the Old and the New World.^[15]

Postscript:

Consider consulting a recently published book: John M. Butler, Ugo A. Perego, Let’s Talk About: Misconceptions with the DNA and the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2025). It is comprehensive and excellent.