Question
Gramps,
I have heard some members of the Church claiming that they have done all their genealogy back to Adam and Eve. Is it possible to trace someone’s genealogy that far?
Delia
Answer
Dear Delia,
I defer to the expertise of Robert C. Gunderson, Senior Royalty Research Specialist in the Church Genealogical Department.
“In thirty-five years of genealogical research, I have yet to see a pedigree back to Adam that can be documented. By assignment, I have reviewed hundreds of pedigrees over the years. I have not found one where each connection on the pedigree can be justified by evidence from contemporary documents. In my opinion it is not even possible to verify historically a connected European pedigree earlier than the time of the Merovingian Kings (c. a.d. 450–a.d. 752).
“Every pedigree I have seen which attempts to bridge the gap between that time and the biblical pedigree appears to be based on questionable tradition, or at worst, plain fabrication. Generally these pedigrees offer no evidence as to the origin of the information, or they cite a vague source” (Robert C. Gunderson, “I Have a Question,” Ensign, Feb. 1984, 31).
Although he wrote this in 1984, I am unaware of any breakthroughs that would change my position.
Gramps
