Item 39

39. Another Book of Mormon Evidence
~ Mulek of Judah or of Joseph? ~

What has happened to the people of Mulek, the Mulekites, that is the people of Zarahemla? If indeed Mulek, the son of Zedekiah the son of King Josiah, was a Jew descended from King David by legal priesthood right, then why are there no Book of Mormon descendants with the blood of Judah stated as their tribe in the many patriarchal blessings of the American natives? From informaton presented by Mark E. Petterson, it seems that there are no Jews or decendants of Mulek, if he was legally and rightfully a Jew, in the Indians of America. This would suggest that either they have mysteriously disappeared some how or that David son of Jesse son of Obed who was by God's covenant law the son of Mahlon son of Elimelech, was the legal line is of the tribe of Joseph. Part in quotation and part in summary is the following given information.

"Throughout the Polynesian islands and Latin America the blood of Manasseh is dominant.
'Mexico, patriarchs report 75% percent Manasseh and 25% Ephraim. Only two or three blessings out of hundreds given mention any other tribe.
'Peru one patriarch 95 blessings, 90 Manasseh, 3 Ephraim, 2 Abraham.
'Peru another patriarch 347 blessings, 122 Ephraim, 130 Manasseh, 90 Joseph, 2 Asher, 2 Benjamin, and 1 Levi.
'Peru another patriarch given over nine hundred blessings, 90% Manasseh, the rest of Ephraim, except half dozen other tribes.
'New Zealand virtually all Europeans of Ephraim and Polynesians of Manasseh, with a few declared simply of Joseph.
'Tonga patriarchs report 75% Manasseh and 25% Ephraim. Out of many blessings given, only 4 related to other tribes.
'Argentina, 100 blessings 66 Ephraim and 33 Manasseh, with one another tribe.
'100 blessings Chile, 60 Ephraim and 40 Manasseh.
'100 blessings Uruguay, 21 Ephraim, 76 Manasseh, 3 from other tribes.
'North America nearly all Indians shown of Manasseh. "The sifting of the blood of Joseph and his sons Ephraim and Manasseh to all parts of the world is nothing short of miraculous. And it is likewise obviously an act of Providence that the Latter-day Saints being brought into the Church in all parts of the world are overwhelmingly of the blood of Joseph.
~ Elder Mark E. Petersen, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, reported the results of a survey of a large number of patriarchal blessings of Church members in specific geographical areas. His conclusions were published in 1981 and are quite instructive: "Patriarchal blessings clearly point out that it is the tribe of Joseph that is carrying forward the last dispensation. And how could it be otherwise? . . .
~ Mark E. Petersen, Joseph of Egypt (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1981), pp. 15-17.

What seems all too obvious is that the natives of the Americas are descendants of Joseph with their lines through Lehi of Manasseh and through Ishmael of Ephraim. But the big surpise here is the lack of any mention of a Jewish factor from Mulek and the people of Zarahemla. Certainly they would have defected to the Lamanites just as many of the Nephites did who they were counted among. So either the Jewish descendants of Mulek just aren't joining the Church, or they were totally wiped out somehow (doubtful), or Mulek's real legal line of priesthood covenant inheritance is that of Ephraim and Joseph through Elimelech and Mahlon despite his bloodline from Boaz.

And as a side note, Zoram may just as well have also been of Joseph as a bought back Hebrew servant of Laban. This would be consistent with the scriptural fact that America is primarily the land of Joseph promised via Lehi and others to be such. And it would help explain why the Lord did bring Mulek to this land, as it was his right in Joseph to be so included in the people of Joseph as the royal Ephraimite line of kings from David.