Simon G. Southerton is an Australian plant geneticist and co-founder of Gondwana Genomics, an Australian technology firm specialising in

Marker-assisted selection Marker assisted selection or marker aided selection (MAS) is an indirect selection process where a Trait (biology), trait of interest is selected based on a Biological marker, marker (Morphology (biology), morphological, biochemical or DNA/RNA var ...

for

tree breeding Tree breeding is the application of genetic, reproductive biology and economics principles to the genetic improvement and management of forest trees. In contrast to the selective breeding of livestock, arable crops, and horticultural flowers over t ...

. Southerton published the book ''Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church''. The book uses genetic evidence to examine the historical accuracy of the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude ...

and related claims about the

Lamanite The Lamanites () are one of the four ancient peoples (along with the Jaredites, the Mulekites, and the Nephites) described as having settled in the ancient Americas in the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement. The Lamani ...

people. Southerton was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 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 ...

(LDS Church), having converted to the church at age 10; as an adult, he was a

Mormon missionary Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and commu ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

and a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

in Australia.Ex-Mormon Scholars Testify: Simon Southerton
. Because of his inability to reconcile church teachings with science, Southerton resigned as a bishop in 1998 and left the church. However, after Southerton's book was published, the church formally charged him with

apostasy Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that i ...

.Jennifer Dobner
"LDS author facing excommunication"
, ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

'', 2005-07-17. 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. However, those who attended Southerton's church

disciplinary council In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), a church membership council (formerly called a disciplinary council) is an ecclesiastical event during which a church member's status is considered, typically for alleged violations ...

contended that the excommunication had nothing to do with the book. In an interview with Mormon podcast host

John Dehlin John Parkinson Dehlin is an American podcast host and excommunicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He holds a PhD in psychology. Dehlin founded the Mormon Stories Podcast, as well as several other Morm ...

, Southerton explained that he was prevented from talking about his position regarding the DNA evidence in connection with the

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 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 (LDS Church), is an account of three groups of people. According to the book, tw ...

. In 2014, Southerton co-founded Gondwana Genomics with

DNA marker A genetic marker is a gene or DNA sequence with a known location on a chromosome that can be used to identify individuals or species. It can be described as a variation (which may arise due to mutation or alteration in the genomic loci) that can be ...

technology licensed from the

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research. CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO ...

. In early 2018, Gondwana Genomics became the first to deploy marker-assisted selection on a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

scale in tree breeding, screening over 11,000 trees and

seedling A seedling is a young sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle (embryonic root), the hypocotyl (emb ...

s for

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of Flowering plant, flowering trees, shrubs or Mallee (habit), mallees in the Myrtaceae, myrtle Family (biology), family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the Tribe (biology) ...

breeding programs.

References

External links

Simon Southerton blogThe FARMS Review of Southerton's book
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southerton, Simon Living people People excommunicated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Australian biologists Mormonism-related controversies Australian Mormon missionaries Mormon missionaries in Australia 20th-century Mormon missionaries Book of Mormon studies Converts to Mormonism Year of birth missing (living people)

See also

References

External links