View source for Native Americans and the Lamanites

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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."

{{epigraph|“The Lamanites, and they were the principal ancestors of the American Indians” is changed to “The Lamanites, and they are among the ancestors of the American Indians.” Well, the implication is because the DNA evidence undercut the Church’s position. That’s not true. I happen to know the back-story, which has never been published. The back-story is, there were people who objected to that heading when it was done in the late 1970s/early 1980s. They were overruled by someone who was in a position of authority. But, they said the Book of Mormon never actually makes that claim. Don’t make the Book of Mormon claim things it doesn’t actually claim. We set ourselves up sometimes for problems when we claim things for the book that the book, when carefully read, does not claim for itself.<br><br>&mdash;Daniel C. Peterson, [http://www.fairmormon.org/perspectives/fair-conferences/2014-fairmormon-conference/reflections-letter-ces-director "Some Reflections on that Letter to a CES Director,"] ''2014 FairMormon Conference''
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{{:Gospel Topics:Book of Mormon and DNA Studies: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?"}}
{{:Source:Southerton:2008-2014:if a small group...entered a massive population...it would be hard to detect their mitochondrial or Y chromosome DNA}}
{{:Source:Olson:2004:People may like to think that they're descended from some ancient group while other people are not}}

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[[es:El Libro de Mormón/Lamanitas/Relación con los amerindios/Los descendientes de Lehi]]
[[pt:O Livro de Mórmon/Lamanitas/Relação com ameríndios/Descendentes de Leí]]