Keep reading the thread...
There is evidence in the current leadership of the LDS that this belief is changing.
That whats changing?
The DNA evidence should be vastly Jewish.
Says who?
The argument that it was a small group of people, goes against the teachingof the BOM.
Says who?
Let's go back to the title of the thread"
DNA vs. The Book of Mormon...
Did you watch any of the Documentary?, there at least 5 specialists interviewed.
All those questions you ask are answered, for instance...
Look at 13 minutes 17 seconds.
Thomas Murphy (Mormon Anthropologist and Scholar) states the following:
"one repsonse among Mormons wrestling with genetic data, is that the founding populations of the Book of Mormon, would have been small and made a small genetic contribution to the larger populations that were already here (North America)."
continued...
"this response rests upon a rejection of statments from the Book of Mormon. It also requires a rejection of the teachings of Joseph Smith, Bringham Young, and virtually every other church president who has commented on the subject.
"
continued...
"it requires setting aside statements in the Doctrine and Covenants, another Mormon scripture, about Lamanites being the indigenous people near present day Missouri. This approach is kind of like trying to defend the prophetic status of Joseph Smith, by denying his prophecies."
continued....
"another scripture that has to be set aside, is a statement in the Pearl of Great Price, in Jospeh Smiths history, in which he has Maroni telling him that the gold plates contain the history of the people on this continent."
continued...
"this continent presumably would meen North America, because this event took place in New York."
continued...
Additional comments from Simon Southerton, Ph.D. (Molecular Biologist)...
"Clearly here you have Jospeh Smith stating in scripture that Book of Mormon record is about the former inhabitants of this continent, noi a little corner of the Americas, but about the continent and it's for this reason that Latter Day Saints believe that the BOM talks about all the inhabitants of the American continent."
continued...
Thomas Murphy (Mormon Anthropologist and Scholar)...
"The book of Mormon is not saved by a small limited geography, becuase even that group, even if that sort of thing happened, then that is not what is described in the Book of Mormon, and we have to say that the Book of Mormon is wrong. Not aonly that, there still ought to be straces of a small population in the gene pool in that local region."
There are other specialists with similar data...
If you think this documentary is a fraud, I can understand that. But unless you've watched it, we won't be on the same page in this discussion. I took for granted that you were up on the topics of the video, and was not as discriptive as I could have been.
Thanks,
johnk