Simon Southerton

Last updated

Simon G. Southerton is an Australian plant geneticist and co-founder of Gondwana Genomics, [1] 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. [2] The book uses genetic evidence to examine the historical accuracy of the Book of Mormon and related claims about the Lamanite people.

Contents

Southerton was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), having converted to the church at age 10; [3] as an adult, he was a Mormon missionary in Melbourne and a bishop in Australia. [4] Because of his inability to reconcile church teachings with science, Southerton resigned as a bishop in 1998 and left the church. [3] However, after Southerton's book was published, the church formally charged him with apostasy. [3] [5]

In an email sent to the Associated Press following his excommunication from the LDS Church, Southerton stated he was excommunicated for being too vocal regarding the results of the Genomics Project DNA. [6] However, those who attended Southerton's church disciplinary council contended that the excommunication had nothing to do with the book. [6] In an interview with Mormon podcast host John Dehlin, Southerton explained that he was prevented from talking about his position regarding the DNA evidence in connection with the Book of Mormon and clarified that the excommunication was not for adultery, but rather for "inappropriate relations with a woman" during a period of time he was separated from his wife. He also confirmed that the disciplinary action was taken after he had already been an inactive in the church for seven years and maintains that the disciplinary actions were a direct result of the publishing of his book but done in such a way to prevent further spread of his position regarding genetics and the Book of Mormon. [7]

In 2014, Southerton co-founded Gondwana Genomics with DNA marker technology licensed from the CSIRO. In early 2018, Gondwana Genomics became the first to deploy marker-assisted selection on a commercial scale in tree breeding, [8] screening over 11,000 trees and seedlings for Eucalyptus breeding programs. [9] [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints</span> Nontrinitarian, Christian restorationist church

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The church is headquartered in the United States in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has established congregations and built temples worldwide. According to the church, it has over 16.8 million members and 54,539 full-time volunteer missionaries. As of 2012, the church was the fourth-largest Christian denomination in the United States, and reported over 6.7 million US members as of 2021. It is the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement founded by Joseph Smith during the early 19th-century period of religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archaeology and the Book of Mormon</span> Overview of archaeological claims of the Book of Mormon

Since the publication of the Book of Mormon in 1830, Mormon archaeologists have attempted to find archaeological evidence to support it. Although historians and archaeologists consider the book to be an anachronistic invention of Joseph Smith, many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement believe that it describes ancient historical events in the Americas.

The September Six were six members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were excommunicated or disfellowshipped by the church in September 1993, allegedly for publishing scholarly work against or criticizing church doctrine or leadership. The term "September Six" was coined by The Salt Lake Tribune and was used in the media and subsequent discussion. The church's action was referred to by some as evidence of an anti-intellectual posture on the part of church leadership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard R. Lyman</span>

Richard Roswell Lyman was an American engineer and religious leader who was an apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1918 to 1943.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark E. Petersen</span> American religious leader (1900–1984)

Mark Edward Petersen was an American news editor and religious leader who served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1944 until his death. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, he filled the vacancy in the Quorum caused by the excommunication of Richard R. Lyman. Petersen had become managing editor of the church-owned Deseret News in 1935 and editor in 1941.

Dennis Michael Quinn was an American historian who focused on the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1976 until he resigned in 1988. At the time, his work concerned church involvement with plural marriage after the 1890 Manifesto, when new polygamous marriages were officially prohibited. He was excommunicated from the church as one of the September Six and afterwards was openly gay. Quinn nevertheless identified as a Latter-day Saint and continued to believe in many LDS teachings, though he did not actively practice the faith.

Thomas W. Murphy 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Signature Books</span> American press specializing in Utah, Mormonism, and Western Americana

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genetics and the Book of Mormon</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George P. Lee</span>

George Patrick Lee was the first Native American to become a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a member of the church's First Quorum of Seventy from 1975 to 1989, when he was excommunicated from the church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historicity of the Book of Mormon</span> Overview of historical claims 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.

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.

According to the Book of Mormon, Aminadab was a Nephite who fell away from the church, and became associated with the Lamanites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Dehlin</span> American historian

John Parkinson Dehlin is an American podcast host and excommunicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He holds a PhD in psychology. Dehlin founded the Mormon Stories Podcast, as well as several other Mormon-themed podcasts, blogs, and web sites. He was an influential early participant in the Mormon blogosphere, and blogs at Patheos.com. He has advocated for the rights of skeptics in Mormonism, LGBT rights, equality for women, and other individual views outside mainstream Mormonism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criticism of Mormon sacred texts</span>

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.

Ordain Women is a Mormon feminist organization that supports the ordination of women to the priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was founded on March 17, 2013, by Kate Kelly, a human rights attorney from Washington, D.C., with the website launch containing 19 profiles of individuals calling for the ordination of Mormon women. As of May 17, 2014, the website featured more than 400 profiles.

Jeremy T. Runnells is a critic of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and author of the book titled A Letter to a CES Director. Runnells grew up as a seventh-generation member of the LDS Church with pioneer ancestry. He served a mission for the church in New York and graduated from church-owned Brigham Young University. In 2012, he began to experience doubts over his faith. A director of institute of the LDS Church's Church Educational System (CES) asked him to write his concerns, and in response Runnells sent an 84-page letter with his concerns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margarito Bautista</span> Mexican Mormon author and founder of new denomination (1878–1961)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Native American people and Mormonism</span>

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.

References

  1. ↑ "Home - Gondwana Genomics". Gondwana Genomics. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  2. ↑ Southerton, Simon G. (2004). Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church. Signature Books. ISBN   1-56085-181-3.
  3. 1 2 3 Jennifer Dobner, "LDS author facing excommunication" Archived 2017-10-06 at the Wayback Machine , Deseret News , 2005-07-17.
  4. ↑ "Ex-Mormon Scholars Testify: Simon Southerton". Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Ex-Mormon Scholars Testify: Simon Southerton Archived 2019-12-03 at the Wayback Machine .
  5. ↑ Dobner, Jennifer (5 August 2005). "Church excommunicates 'DNA' author". Deseret News. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Southerton's account of disciplinary hearing". Archived from the original on 29 November 2006. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
  7. ↑ "348-349: Simon Southerton, DNA, Lamanites and the Book of Mormon". 21 May 2012. Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  8. ↑ FWPA. "News & Events | Media Releases | World-first Australian research breakthrough to deliver strong ROI". www.fwpa.com.au. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  9. ↑ "Issue 499". Issuu. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  10. ↑ "Forestry news, forestry jobs - Friday Offcuts". www.fridayoffcuts.com. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.