Who are the Lamanites now?

[_Daniel Peterson]

Just to be clear, are you suggesting there were no other peoples in the Americas until Lehi & Co. (or other Book of Mormon groups) arrived? No Bering Strait migration?

Or are you suggesting there is some sort of "adoption" thing going on?

No, no, and no.

For me to be a descendant of X, who lived twenty-six centuries ago, it isn't necessary that X and Mrs. X were my only two ancestors who lived twenty-six centuries ago.

Are you suggesting SWK was correct (speaking truth) in his teachings concerning the Native Americans and their dark skin becoming white and delightsome as they embraced the gospel?

I suspect he was mistaken on that point.

Do you think Joseph Smith had a superficial understanding or do you think he was right on in his interpretations concerning the Nephites and Lamanites?

That's an awfully stark dichotomy you're attempting to force on me.

I don't believe that Joseph had only a superficial understanding. And I think he was mostly right in what he said about the Nephites and the Lamanites. I don't think, however, that he knew everything about them.

In other words, are you a fan of Meldrum?

I'm not a fan of Rod Meldrum's theories. I like Jeff Meldrum quite a bit, though.

I believe it was an area in the Americas -- specifically in Mesoamerica.

How many acres of land was considered the promised Land spoken of in the Book of Mormon saved for Lehi and his family and friends?

Quite a few. How about, say, 3,027,238.46? It could, of course, have been 4,118,567.23. Or more. Or less.

So... in Fourth Nephi when it says,

2 And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another.

...you are saying that this did not include the Maya?

I suspect that it didn't include the Maya. But it may have.

The "land" was basically a neighborhood?

You seem to really favor these wild dichotomies, with no middle ground between them. So "the land" was either all of the Americas, from the Aleutian Islands to Tierra del Fuego, or it was a mere "neighborhood" . . .

The Lamanites and Nephies who were coverted to the gospel amounts to the ending of a squabble between families?

Scarcely. You seem to forget that this story takes place over time. In your previous post, for example, you leapfrogged the thousand years from Nephi to the final battle at Cumorah, as if the population in 387 AD would have been the same as it had been in BC 600.

Do you think your interpretation is the same as that of Joseph Smith?

On this point, maybe not. But it's consistent, in my view, with all of his revelations on the subject. And besides, his "interpretation" clearly changed over time. So maybe it is.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

Doctor C:

I believe he is referring to Charles Dowis's favorite 'proof,' the line in I Nephi 18:25 that says they encountered cows, goats, asses and horses.

Good morning Mr. Krose,

Perhaps Mr. Occam would suggest this is simply an anachronism?

Very Respectfully,

Doctor CamNC4Me

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

Mr. Nehor,

Barring Joseph Smith's declarations on the origins of the Native Americans, how does one treat the following verses from the Book of Mormon?

http://scriptures.LDS.org/en/search?typ ... ecked&Brad Wilcox=1

These were populations descended from Jewish people, although you do have some wiggle room reference the Jaredites. There is a clear lineage establish, and the Book of Mormon does not say they intermingled with existing Native American populations.

Very Respectfully,

Doctor CamNC4Me

As verses that have the word multiplied in them.

Sir,

We have myriad references in the Book of Mormon relating to the numbers of Middle Eastern descended inhabitants of ancient America. "Covered the face of the land", "like unto the sands of the sea", "two millions of mighty men, and also their wives and their children", etc... I see no reference, none whatsoever, that suggests these people intermingled with others, and thus their DNA was diluted into obscurity. Rather, there is a clear exponential increase in population beget from Lehi's family and the others in his party. 1 Nephi establishes through prophesy that Lehi shall have numerous "seed", and the Book of Mormon goes about fulfilling that prophesy. How do you reconcile the clear, unambiguous prophecies and population documentation directly related to Lehi and his descendents, and your assertion that Lehi's family was a small group of travelers that were assimilated into a larger pre-existing Native American culture?

Very Respectfully,

Doctor CamNC4Me