Murphy argues that genetic studies identify Asian ancestry throughout the Americas, including Central America, without the Israelite connection expected from traditional Book of Mormon readings. He contends that proposed small colonies and loss of genetic markers do not make a Mesoamerican setting a persuasive explanation, and favors a nineteenth-century origin as the more plausible account.
- Thomas W. Murphy, “Simply Implausible: DNA and a Mesoamerican Setting for the Book of Mormon,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 36, no. 4 (2003): 109-131.
- Thomas W. Murphy and Simon G. Southerton, “Genetic Research a ‘Galileo Event’ for Mormons,” Anthropology News 44, no. 2 (2003): 20.
the best explanation—i.e., the most plausible one—remains a nineteenth-century origin of the Book of Mormon.