Nephi had Neighbors, others here in the Western Hemisphere.
Posted: December 4th, 2023, 2:32 pm
Yes, Nephi had Neighbors. The 1879/1911 LDS editions of the Book of Mormon contain many geographical references which were removed from subsequent editions (these were only in the introductions as far as I can tell krm). What changed? Geographers realized that the scope of Book of Mormon land was small, much smaller than described in the footnotes of the 1879/1911 editions.
Current research seems to tell us that most but not all of Book of Mormon geography is centered in an area not much larger than Pennsylvania. D.N.A. studies say currently that the eastern part of the U.S. is that area. Go ahead larsenb post all you want on this thread rebutting this statement.
The point is Lehi's family over centuries began to be disbursed. In addition there are many, many here from Asia and their evidences are showing up in mostly other areas of the Americas, not the eastern United States so much.
Here is a link to an article on this subject by fairlds.org.. However unless you are a real scholar I recommend just reading the three paragraph conclusion which is right here.
Conclusion
It is true that the assumption that Native Americans are of exclusively Israelite heritage has been around for a number of years. Unfortunately for those who would like to use it to denounce the Book of Mormon, it is neither revelatory nor canonical. Regardless of who may have believed or propounded it in the past or under what circumstances they may have done so, it has never been anything more than an uncanonized, unscriptural assumption.
On the other hand, many Latter-day Saints over the years, including a number of church leaders, have acknowledged the likelihood that before, during, and following the events recounted in the Book of Mormon, the American hemisphere has been visited and inhabited by nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples not mentioned in the text. They also concede that these groups may have significantly impacted the populations of the Americas genetically, culturally, linguistically, and in many other ways. Latter-day Saint interest in historical and scientific evidence for such migrations began early in the history of the restored church and has not waned appreciably since then.
Finally, neither in the Book of Mormon itself nor in the scriptural revelations concerning it is there anything to contradict the view that Nephi had neighbors in his New World land of promise. There is, on the other hand, much within these sources that seems to support this idea. Like the God whose gospel they proclaim, these scriptures and revelations are not respecters of persons. They insist upon a place for Israel in the ancestral heritage of Native Americans, but they do not insist upon an exclusive one https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/con ... opulations
.
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Current research seems to tell us that most but not all of Book of Mormon geography is centered in an area not much larger than Pennsylvania. D.N.A. studies say currently that the eastern part of the U.S. is that area. Go ahead larsenb post all you want on this thread rebutting this statement.
The point is Lehi's family over centuries began to be disbursed. In addition there are many, many here from Asia and their evidences are showing up in mostly other areas of the Americas, not the eastern United States so much.Here is a link to an article on this subject by fairlds.org.. However unless you are a real scholar I recommend just reading the three paragraph conclusion which is right here.
Conclusion
It is true that the assumption that Native Americans are of exclusively Israelite heritage has been around for a number of years. Unfortunately for those who would like to use it to denounce the Book of Mormon, it is neither revelatory nor canonical. Regardless of who may have believed or propounded it in the past or under what circumstances they may have done so, it has never been anything more than an uncanonized, unscriptural assumption.
On the other hand, many Latter-day Saints over the years, including a number of church leaders, have acknowledged the likelihood that before, during, and following the events recounted in the Book of Mormon, the American hemisphere has been visited and inhabited by nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples not mentioned in the text. They also concede that these groups may have significantly impacted the populations of the Americas genetically, culturally, linguistically, and in many other ways. Latter-day Saint interest in historical and scientific evidence for such migrations began early in the history of the restored church and has not waned appreciably since then.
Finally, neither in the Book of Mormon itself nor in the scriptural revelations concerning it is there anything to contradict the view that Nephi had neighbors in his New World land of promise. There is, on the other hand, much within these sources that seems to support this idea. Like the God whose gospel they proclaim, these scriptures and revelations are not respecters of persons. They insist upon a place for Israel in the ancestral heritage of Native Americans, but they do not insist upon an exclusive one https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/con ... opulations
.
.