Book of Mormon/Lamanites/Relationship to Amerindians

FAIR Answers Wiki Table of Contents

The relationship of Native Americans to Lamanites

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• Identity of the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon
• Are all Native Americans descendants of Lehi?
• Relationship of the Maya and the Olmec to the Lamanites and the Jaredites
• Statements by Church leaders related to the identity of the Lamanites

Identity of the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon

Summary: Who are the Lamanites? When asked about the Church’s official position on this matter by a writer, a Church spokesman said: "As to whether these were the first inhabitants…we don't have a position on that. Our scripture does not try to account for any other people who may have lived in the New World before, during or after the days of the Jaredites and the Nephites, and we don't have any official doctrine about who the descendants of the Nephites and the Jaredites are. Many Mormons believe that American Indians are descendants of the Lamanites [a division of the Nephites], but that's not in the scripture."[1] Note that this reply pre-dates any publication of DNA criticism.

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: How have views within the Church regarding the origins of the American Indians changed over the years?
• Question: Are all Amerindians the exclusive descendants of the Book of Mormon prophet Lehi?
• Gospel Topics on LDS.org: "The evidence assembled to date suggests that the majority of Native Americans carry largely Asian DNA"
• Sorenson and Roper: "Lehi saw from the beginning that Nephites and Lamanites were labels that would include a variety of groups that could have differing biological origins, cultures, and ethnic heritages"
• Question: Does the fact that the Doctrine and Covenants refers to North American Indians as "Lamanites" contradict the theory that the Book of Mormon events took place in Mesoamerica?

Are all Native Americans descendants of Lehi?

Summary: Latter-day Saint leaders have expressed a variety of opinions regarding whether or not all Amerindians are literal descendants of Lehi. Population genetics indicate that Lehi can likely be counted among the ancestors of all native Americans—a position that the Church has reinforced by changing the 1981 Book of Mormon introduction from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors."

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• Gospel Topics: "The Book of Mormon...does not claim that the peoples it describes were either the predominant or the exclusive inhabitants of the lands they occupied"
• Question: Does the Church claim that Native Americans were the exclusive descendants of Lehi or Mulek?
• Question: Why did the Church modify the introduction to the Book of Mormon from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors?"
• Southerton (2008/2014): "It's true that if a small group (say 10 people) entered a massive population (say 1 million), that it would be hard to detect their mitochondrial or Y chromosome DNA"
• Olson (2004): "People may like to think that they're descended from some ancient group while other people are not. But human ancestry doesn't work that way, since we all share the same ancestors just a few millenniums ago"

Relationship of the Maya and the Olmec to the Lamanites and the Jaredites

Summary: A common criticism is that LDS associate the Nephites and/or Lamanites with the Maya, and the Jaredite civilization with the Olmec. It is easy, based upon typical artistic representations used by the Church, to see why LDS typically associate the Nephites or Lamanites with the Maya. The assumption by critics that LDS associate the Nephites and the Lamanites with "the Maya" is an oversimplification of the facts. Most Church members view "the Maya" as a single, homogeneous group of people whom they associate with the magnificent ruins of the Classic Mayan civilization found in Mesoamerica. However, the Classic period occurs after Book of Mormon times. LDS research has focused on identifying the characteristics of the Preclassic Mayan culture, which does indeed cover the time period addressed by the Book of Mormon.

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: Do Latter-day Saints believe that Mayan cities were inhabited by the Nephites?
• Question: Were Mayan cities inhabited by the Nephites?
• Question: Is it possible that the Nephites and Lamanites are associated with the pre-Classic Maya, and the Jaredites are associated with the Olmec?
• Question: Who are the Maya, and how might they be related to the Nephites or Lamanites?
• Question: How do current Mesoamerican limited geographical theories fit with the existing data?
• Question: What is the focus of Latter-day Saint research regarding the Maya?

Statements by Church leaders related to the identity of the Lamanites

Summary: A collection of all known statements made by Church leaders regarding the identity of the Lamanites

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• Statements by Church leaders regarding the Lamanites: 19th century
• Statements by Church leaders regarding the Lamanites: 20th century
• Statements by Church leaders regarding the Lamanites: 21st century