Prior to the 2006 edition of the Book of Mormon, a portion of it�s introduction read:
Now it reads:
This change brings an important word to my mind� doubt. Doubt can be a good word, particularly if it reveals a false claim. Are the Lamanite characters in the Book of Mormon, principal ancestors of the American Indians, or not? If they are not, then the information in the Book of Mormon about the Lamanites is false.
There is a very important word that was removed from this introductory statement� �Principal.� It means primary. Are the Lamanites the primary ancestors of the American Indians? Definitely not. According to the Book of Mormon, Lamanites were Israelites that came by boat to the Americas who had multiplied greatly and spread throughout the American continent. There has been no archeological evidence that remotely suggests this as being true. DNA evidence also reveals that American Indians are primarily of Asian descent.
I believe that the change in this Introduction actually goes against the content of its pages. If the Lamanites are no longer categorized as being the principal ancestors of the American Indians, then the information found within the pages of the Book of Mormon about them, is false. The contents of the Book of Mormon clearly show that the author of this book wanted his readers to believe that it�s characters, namely the Lamanites, massively populated the American continent and are the ancestors of the American Indians. However, DNA research has not found a single discovery that points to any evidence for this massive group of people, and archeological evidence shows conclusively that East Asian peoples who migrated across the Bering Strait, populated the New World.
Is the Book of Mormon no longer sure of what the truth is? Is the book of Mormon no longer convinced of it's accuracy concerning a vital piece of Mormon history? Apparently not.
