The View, a show I watch occasionally, had a guy on Friday who is with the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation. For free, they will test your DNA and add you to a database that helps you find who else in the world you might be related to. That's all well and good, and Barbara Walters is participating with her DNA, but others on the show expressed privacy concerns about what might happen to such gene data some day, even if the Sorenson folks promise they have lots of protections in place.
Well, when I hear about some private citizen compiling a massive DNA database, for free, simply out of curiousity, my mind immediately leapt to the Mormons. You might be aware that they are trying to compile a list of every human ever born so they can help them off go to heaven or some alien planet or something. It's all a bit creepy.
Well, imagine my surprise when I read a Newsweek article about the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation and found out they're a non-profit based in Utah. Utah. Hmm. Mormoms live in Utah. So I read on.
That took me to the last paragraph of the Newsweek article:
Some of the projects have understandable links to religion. The SMGF's chief financial backer, James Sorenson, and its chief scientist, microbiologist Scott Woodward, are Mormons, whose church emphasizes genealogical research."Emphasizes genealogical research" is putting it mildly.
Now, I have no evidence to suggest the Mormon church has any kind of role in this project. But I do wish the folks at The View had mentioned this little Mormon tie-in when Barbara Walters was promoting this project to their viewers. It's free, and I almost took them up on their offer. But after reading about the Mormon angle, I'm taking a pass.
Having said that, National Geographic (the magazine people) are offering a similar test for $100. The results will suggest where your ancestors originally came from, migrated to, etc. It sounds pretty cool, and it's from National Geographic, so I trust it a tad more than the Mormon Church (which, as an aside, is rabidly anti-gay). I'm going to do the National Geographic test - I'll let you know what kind of results they provide, and perhaps what I find out. :-)
