Thomas W. Murphy has a new book out. From the blurb on the University of Utah Press page:
In Unsettling Scripture: Iroquois and the Book of Mormon, anthropologist Thomas W Murphy delves into the visions of Seneca prophet Handsome Lake, the epic narratives of the Iroquois Confederacy, and the origin story of the Book of Mormon, revealing surprising parallels between Indigenous and Mormon traditions.
Through ethnohistorical research and decolonizing methodologies, Murphy reexamines how both communities understand their origins, faith, and prophecy. From Handsome Lake’s revelations to Joseph Smith’s seer stone, from ancient sibling rivalries to the Great Peace, this book unsettles traditional narratives while opening new conversations on scripture, identity, and cultural exchange. Drawing from living Indigenous voices, Unsettling Scripture challenges readers to rethink sacred texts and the histories they tell.
Has anyone read this? I haven't read anything Mormon-related in many years, but this one looks interesting.
It’s noteworthy that he was on the chopping block, so to speak, circa 2002 - due for a disciplinary council for his publicly held beliefs:
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
There was outcry from his fellow academics and his council was indefinitely postponed. The vagaries of Mormonism’s leadership are odd, if Jesus really is at the helm he seems to be a bit capricious or perhaps intoxicated.
It’s noteworthy that he was on the chopping block, so to speak, circa 2002 - due for a disciplinary council for his publicly held beliefs:
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
There was outcry from his fellow academics and his council was indefinitely postponed. The vagaries of Mormonism’s leadership are odd, if Jesus really is at the helm he seems to be a bit capricious or perhaps intoxicated.
Asleep even! Completely unaware of what is going on in the world...
I have not seen the book. I do note that Murphy published a related essay in the Winter 2025 issue of Dialogue. In footnote one, Murphy stated that the essay “synthesizes ideas presented more fully” in Unsettling Scripture.
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 c. 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.
One of the footnotes says that Farms made a response, but the link to it no longer works. I'd be interested in reading how Farms responded.
Premise 1. Eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable.
Premise 2. The best evidence for the Book of Mormon is eyewitness testimony.
Conclusion. Therefore, the best evidence for the Book of Mormon is notoriously unreliable.
Excited to read this. Handsome Lake is buried less than five miles (as the angel flies) from my house.
Calculated from a different direction https://maps.app.goo.gl/tJFoMWzdVCqAZsTQA, I think it is safe to assume that when the Smith family moved from Norwich, Vermont to Palmyra, New York in 1816-17, they had to pass within five miles (along the Seneca Turnpike) from that Onondaga (Haudenosaunee) "central fire" location of the Iroquois Confederacy. The name "Onondaga" (and also "Oneida") would have stuck almost inevitably in young Joseph Smith's mind as he walked and rode through those locations during the difficult journey.
“I prefer tongue-tied knowledge to ignorant loquacity.”
― Cicero, De Oratore - Book III
