Last summer Russell Stevenson sat down with Dr. Ugo Perego to discuss his use of DNA research in historical studies.
Early in his career, Ugo used genetic studies in genealogical research. Lately he has expanded his studies to shed light on historical mysteries.
In this episode, Dr. Perego shares his findings on three topics: Joseph Smith's posterity, DNA of North American peoples, and victims of the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
Ugo's youngest son thinks he gets invited to lecture because of his really cool accent. We agree his accent is cool, but his insights are what keep us hanging onto every word. Download Transcript
Extra Resources:
Episode 6 Transcript
Joseph Smith's DNA Research
All Abraham's Children: A Genetic Perspective
Finding Lehi in America Through DNA Analysis
Gospel Topics Essay: Book of Mormon and DNA Studies
Book of Mormon and DNA Studies
The Mountain Meadows Massacre: A Scientific Approach
LDS Perspectives Podcast
Episode 6: DNA Detective Work with Ugo Perego
Russell Stevenson: This is Russell Stevenson, and today we have Dr. Ugo A. Perego, a population geneticist, who will be discussing with us the meaning and significance of genetic studies for Latter-day Saint history. Thanks so much for joining us, Ugo.
Ugo Perego: It’s good to be here.
Russell Stevenson: Let’s talk generally about the significance of genetics research for the study of Latter-day Saint history. You know, from a bird’s eye view we typically haven’t asked these kinds of questions. How has your field of study generally changed the way we look at Latter-day Saint history?
Ugo Perego: I don’t think we are really changing anything, but we are bringing in something. I think that over time technology, and not just with genetics, but you would agree with any kind of field, you know, computer and digital imaging, and other ways. We’ve been able to bring in some tools that will allow us to take a different look or bringing in some new data that complements what we might have had before just using traditional methods. Like the archives and so on. And then what we can do is that we can bring this data and look at it within the context of what we already knew and see if we are shedding more light, or maybe we are confirming that we really cannot answer a particular question. Maybe before it was a suspicion, now we are confirming it using this genetic data.
Russell Stevenson: One of your major projects is studying the family of Joseph Smith, specifically within the context of polygamy. So tell us a little bit more about your work there.
Ugo Perego: Well, I started to actually look at the opposite direction, which was a number of years ago when I started working for Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation in Salt Lake City, and I was a graduate student. One of the questions that was asked was, “Isn’t it interesting we are building this project to help people do the family history, their genealogy, and fulfill to some degree the Latter-day Saint’s commandment to trace your ancestry back as far as you can. And yet, the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, up to that point, that was something that was brought to me, there was uncertainty about where he came from in England. Genealogically the Smith family, and the genealogists that were interested in the Smith family, were unable to accurately trace back Joseph Smith ancestry all the way to the first Smith in America.
Russell Stevenson: For those people who are not well versed in genetic studies, they’re not aware of how you actually carry out this sort of research, break down for us the logistics of how you trace somebody’s ancestry genetically. What is it that you do step by step?
Ugo Perego: Okay, so everyone carries DNA. We all have DNA. We have it in the cells of our body. And the DNA is not created from nothing. It’s inherited from those that came before us. So the simple math when it comes to DNA is that we ...
