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Thomas W. Murphy (born circa 1967) is an American anthropologist and writer. His work has focused on environmental issues and various topics related to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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Thomas W. Murphy (born circa 1967) is an American anthropologist and writer. His work has focused on environmental issues and various topics related to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Murphy is a Latter-day Saint. He earned a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Washington in 2003. As of 2013 [update] , he teaches in the Department of Anthropology at Edmonds Community College in Washington state. He founded the Learn and Serve Environmental Anthropology Field (LEAF) School in 2006. The LEAF School offers field-based service-learning courses in human ecology and archaeology and specializes in the application of traditional ecological knowledge to sustainability projects. The Washington Association of Conservation Districts selected Murphy as its Conservation Educator of the Year in 2011. [1] The Puget Sound Regional Council selected the Japanese Gulch Fish Passage Project in 2012 for a Vision 2040 Award, highlighting the anthropology and archaeology field training led by Murphy. [2]
His academic publications focus on wildlife corridors, [3] social marketing, [4] environmental education, [5] and Mormon representations of Native Americans. In 1997, he located an isolated LDS faction in Mexico of the Third Convention group, which scholars previously believed to have died out decades earlier. [6] Murphy's research has been published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion ; Ethnohistory ; the Journal of Mormon History ; the Review of Religious Research; Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought ; Sunstone ; Social Science Research Network, [7] and the 2002 book American Apocrypha: More Essays on the Book of Mormon, edited by Brent Lee Metcalfe and Dan Vogel.
In 1996, while researching in Mexico for an unrelated ethnobiology project, Murphy visited Ozumba in the hopes of meeting and interviewing relatives of Margarito Bautista, a Mexican Mormon theologian and preacher whose history Murphy had been researching. [6] Bautista was a leader in the Third Convention temporary break-off group before being expelled from the group for his comparatively radical interests in reviving early Church practices such as plural marriage and the communitarian economics of the United Order. [6] [8] Bautista went on to found his own church movement along with a colonia in Ozumba, but most scholars in Mormon history believed the community had dwindled away in the 1980s, partly based on claims from Mexican Latter-day Saint Agrícol Lozano Herrera. [9] [8] However, in 1996 Murphy discovered that Bautista's colonia and church community still existed, organized as Colonia Industrial de la Nueva Jerusalén (Colonia Industrial) and El Reino de Dios en su Plenitud (The Kingdom of God in its Fulness). [9] [6] [8]
Murphy drew attention in the media and from the leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) after the publication of his essay, "Lamanite Genesis, Genealogy, and Genetics" in the 2002 book American Apocrypha. This essay discusses the genetic evidence for the geographic origin and lineage of Native American groups. It relies on evidence regarding mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited directly from the mother; the Y chromosome, inherited from the father; and nuclear DNA. [10]
Murphy posited that DNA evidence suggests that Native Americans are descendants of individuals from northeastern Siberia—corroborating conclusions that anthropologists have long held. He notes the 99.6 percent absence of genetic heritage outside of known indigenous Native American haplogroups. (The remaining 0.4 percent is near-universally agreed among anthropologists and biologists studying the issue to represent genetic markers that were introduced after the year 1492.)[ citation needed ]
In his essay, Murphy writes that DNA and other research contradicts numerous LDS doctrinal claims, such as that Native Americans are descended from Middle Eastern people who immigrated to the Americas circa 600 BC:
From a scientific perspective, the BoMor's [Book of Mormon's] origin is best situated in early 19th century America, not ancient America. There were no Lamanites prior to c. 1828 and dark skin is not a physical trait of God's malediction. Native Americans do not need to accept Christianity or the BoMor to know their own history. The BoMor emerged from Joseph Smith's own struggles with his God. Mormons need to look inward for spiritual validation and cease efforts to remake Native Americans in their own image. [10]
Murphy concluded that "DNA research lends no support to traditional Mormon beliefs about the origins of Native Americans" and he has likened the Book of Mormon to inspirational fiction. Murphy has reaffirmed this point several times since the initial publication of his essay in interviews and in videos produced by Living Hope Ministries,[ citation needed ] a Utah-based evangelical Christian ministry that produces literature and films that question and criticize Mormonism.
In a review in 2006, the FARMS Institute responded to Murphy's claims. [11]
Murphy's review of genetic research was expanded upon by molecular biologist Simon Southerton, a former Mormon bishop, with his study Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans DNA, and the Mormon Church, Signature Books, 2004, which gives a more complete accounting of the current status of Polynesians and Native Americans in context with national studies, Mormon scholars and concessions by geneticists from BYU. Other researchers such as Scott Woodward are critical of Southerton's work.
In response to the publication of "Lamanite Genesis, Genealogy, and Genetics", Murphy's LDS stake president asked him to either recant his position regarding DNA evidence and the Book of Mormon or resign his membership in the LDS Church. Murphy declined both suggestions, so Latimer scheduled a disciplinary council for December 8, 2002. [12] Such a council might have resulted in Murphy's disfellowshipment or excommunication from the church. [13]
Murphy's situation received widespread media attention and generated protest actions from some Mormon intellectual groups. On December 7, 2002, less than 24 hours before the scheduled meeting time, Latimer indefinitely postponed Murphy's disciplinary council. [13] Finally, on February 23, 2003, Latimer informed Murphy that all disciplinary action was placed on permanent hold. [14] In a note Murphy sent to several supporters for wide public distribution, Murphy expressed hope that other scholars in similar positions might benefit from Latimer's decision:
We hope that other stake presidents will follow this most recent example of President Latimer and likewise refrain from using the threat of excommunication as tool for disciplining scholars.
— -- Thomas Murphy, open letter dated 23 February 2003 [15]
The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude dated by the text to the unspecified time of the Tower of Babel. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith as The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi. The Book of Mormon is one of the standard works of the Latter Day Saint movement and one of the movement's earliest unique writings. The denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement typically regard the text primarily as scripture and secondarily as a record of God's dealings with ancient inhabitants of the Americas. The majority of Latter Day Saints believe the book to be a record of real-world history, with Latter Day Saint denominations viewing it variously as an inspired record of scripture to the lynchpin or "keystone" of their religion. Some Latter Day Saint academics and apologetic organizations strive to affirm the book as historically authentic through their scholarship and research, but mainstream archaeological, historical, and scientific communities have discovered little to support the existence of Book of Mormon civilizations, and do not consider the Book of Mormon to be a record of historical events.
According to the Book of Mormon, the Nephites are one of four groups to have settled in the ancient Americas. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, political, and cultural traditions of the group of settlers.
The Lamanites are one of the four ancient peoples described as having settled in the ancient Americas in the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement. The Lamanites also play a role in the prophecies and revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants, another sacred text in the Latter Day Saint movement.
The Indian Placement Program (IPP) or Indian Student Placement Program (ISPP), also called the Lamanite Placement Program, was operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the United States, officially operating from 1954 and virtually closed by 1996. It had its peak during the 1960s and 1970s. Native American students who were baptized members of the LDS Church were placed in foster homes of LDS members during the school year. They attended majority-white public schools, rather than the Indian boarding schools or local schools on the reservations.
The Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) was an informal collaboration of academics devoted to Latter-day Saint historical scholarship. The Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) was established in 1979 as a non-profit organization by John. W. Welch. In 1997, the group became a formal part of Brigham Young University (BYU), which is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2006, the group became a formal part of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, formerly known as the Institute for the Study and Preservation of Ancient Religious Texts, BYU. FARMS has since been absorbed into the Maxwell Institute's Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies.
The House of Joseph is a designation which members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints apply to the ancient "birthright" tribe of the house of Israel (Jacob) as it is described in the Old Testament, made up of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. The tribes' namesakes — the two sons of Joseph of Egypt — are first mentioned in Genesis 41:50-52.
According to the Book of Mormon, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies were an ethnic group of Lamanites formed around 90 BC, after a significant religious conversion. They made a covenant that they would not participate in war, and buried their weapons. Eventually they changed their name to the people of Ammon, or Ammonites. During a later period of warfare, the young men of the group who had not made the pacifist covenant became a military unit known as the two thousand stripling warriors, and were protected by divine intervention.
Signature Books is an American press specializing in subjects related to Utah, Mormonism, and Western Americana. The company was founded in 1980 by George D. Smith and Scott Kenney and is based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is majority owned by the Smith-Pettit Foundation.
The Book of Mormon, the founding document of the Latter Day Saint movement and one of the four books of scripture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is an account of three groups of people. According to the book, two of these groups originated from ancient Israel. There is generally no direct support amongst mainstream historians and archaeologists for the historicity of the Book of Mormon.
Many members of the Latter Day Saint movement believe that the Book of Mormon is historically accurate. Most, but not all, Mormons hold the book's connection to ancient American history as an article of their faith. This view finds no acceptance outside of Mormonism in the broader scientific community. Mainstream archaeological, historical, and scientific communities do not consider the Book of Mormon an ancient record of actual historical events.
Simon G. Southerton is an Australian plant geneticist and co-founder of Gondwana Genomics, an Australian technology firm specialising in Marker-assisted selection for tree breeding. Southerton published the book Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church. The book uses genetic evidence to examine the historical accuracy of the Book of Mormon and related claims about the Lamanite people.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been subject to criticism and sometimes discrimination since its early years in New York and Pennsylvania. In the late 1820s, criticism centered around the claim by Joseph Smith to have been led to a set of golden plates from which the Book of Mormon was reputedly translated.
The Journal of Book of Mormon Studies is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal covering topics surrounding the Book of Mormon. It is published by the University of Illinois Press on behalf of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship with funding from the Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had a presence in Mexico since 1874. As of 2020, the country of Mexico has the largest body of LDS Church members outside the United States, with the church reporting 1,481,530 members in Mexico at the end of the year. In the 2010 Mexican census, 314,932 individuals identified themselves most closely to the LDS Church.
The standard works of Mormonism—the largest denomination of which is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints —have been the subject of various criticisms. Latter-day Saints believe the Book of Mormon is a sacred text with the same divine authority as the Bible; both are considered complementary to each other. Other Mormon sacred texts include the Pearl of Great Price and Doctrine and Covenants, which are also recognized as scripture. Religious and scholarly critics outside Mormonism have disputed Mormonism's unique scriptures, questioning the traditional narrative of how these books came to light and the extent to which they describe actual events. Critics cite research in history, archeology, and other disciplines to support their contentions.
The Third Convention was a dissident group of Mexican Latter-day Saints (Mormons) who broke away from the main body of church authority in 1936 over a dispute about local governance and autonomy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico.
This is a bibliography of works on the Latter Day Saint movement.
Margarito Bautista was a Nahua-Mexican evangelist and religious founder who wrote and preached for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After converting in 1901, Bautista preached for the church through word and writing for three decades and spent time in both Mexico and Utah. During this time, Bautista developed a theology that fused Book of Mormon doctrine with Mexican nationalism, and he claimed Mexicans held a birthright to lead the church and someday the world. The church's Anglo-American leaders often considered Bautista's interpretations out of line with official doctrine, but they became very popular with Mexican Latter-day Saints.
Over the past two centuries, the relationship between Native American people and Mormonism has included friendly ties, displacement, battles, slavery, education placement programs, and official and unofficial discrimination. Native American people were historically considered a special group by adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement (Mormons) since they were believed to be the descendants of the Lamanite people described in The Book of Mormon. Today there are many Native American members of Mormon denominations as well as many people who are critical of Mormonism and its teachings and actions around Native American people.
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