Do Native Americans appreciate the Mormon doctrine calling them ‘cursed by God’? —Seridee

I'm sure most are unaware of their "Lamanite" ancestry, and even those who are Mormon are likely in doubt now about their status. William Lobdell wrote an article about this in the LA Times two years ago, and began with this story:

From the time he was a child in Peru, the Mormon Church instilled in Jose A. Loayza the conviction that he and millions of other Native Americans were descended from a lost tribe of Israel that reached the New World more than 2,000 years ago.

"We were taught all the blessings of that Hebrew lineage belonged to us and that we were special people," said Loayza, now a Salt Lake City attorney. "It not only made me feel special, but it gave me a sense of transcendental identity, an identity with God."

A few years ago, Loayza said, his faith was shaken and his identity stripped away by DNA evidence showing that the ancestors of American natives came from Asia, not the Middle East.

"I’ve gone through stages," he said. "Absolutely denial. Utter amazement and surprise. Anger and bitterness."

See the full article below.

Source(s):

http://articles.latimes.com/2006/feb/16/...