View source for Question: Can the Lemba and Cohen modal haplotype be used to either prove or disprove the Book of Mormon?

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==Question: Can the Lemba and Cohen modal haplotype associated with Levite lineage be used to either prove or disprove the Book of Mormon?==
===The Book of Mormon suggest that there were no Levites among the Lehi party===

Thomas Murphy uses the "Lemba" as an example of a group proven to be Jewish via DNA testing.  But, this example is misleading.  The Lemba were identified as Jewish because of a marker called the "Cohen modal haplotype."  This marker is carried by about half of those who claim descent from Aaron, Moses' brother, and only 2-3% of other Jews.

But, the Book of Mormon does not suggest&mdash;and in fact seems to exclude&mdash;the idea that Levites (the priestly family of Aaron) were among the Lehi party.  Without priestly families, one would not expect to find the Cohen modal haplotype!  Yet, only 2-3% of modern Jews from non-priestly families (to say nothing of Ephraim and Manasseh&mdash;remember, Lehi and company are not "Jews") can be identified by this test. <ref>See "Cohen Modal Haplotype," in {{FR-18-1-7}}</ref>  Are these 97-98% of modern Jews then ''not'' Jews because the genetic test is negative for them?  Excluding the Nephites on the basis of such a poor test that we would not even expect them to pass (since they do not include Levitical families) shows how far the critics will twist the evidence to find fault.
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[[pt:Pergunta: Pode o Lemba e Cohen modal haplótipo ser usada para provar ou refutar o Livro de Mórmon?]]
[[Category:Questions]]