Darth J wrote:Oh, look: it's Gordon B. Hinckley's book, Truth Restored. Since it is published by the Church, the following is official doctrine:
http://www.LDS.org/manual/truth-restore ... d?lang=eng
The second general conference of the Church was held in September, 1830. Among matters of business was the call of Oliver Cowdery to undertake a mission “into the wilderness, through the western states, and to the Indian territory.” Peter Whitmer, Parley P. Pratt, and Ziba Peterson were later called to accompany him. This mission charted much of the future history of the Church.
In October the four men left their families and set out on foot. Near the city of Buffalo they met with members of the Catteraugus Indian tribe, to whom they told the story of the Book of Mormon, explaining that it contained a history of their forefathers.
http://www.LDS.org/manual/truth-restore ... t?lang=eng
Respect for the natives arose out of the Book of Mormon. This volume declares that the Indians are descendants of Israel. Their progenitors are known in that volume as the Lamanites, and, in a prophetic vein, the book speaks of a hopeful future for these people.
And....???
Nothing here debunks anything we are saying.
Natives of the America's ARE among the lost tribes of Israel.
Natives of the America's HAVE always been called "Lamanites", just as they were in the Book of Mormon.
Further, even IF you want to ignore the "various" usages of the words in Mormonism, and just interpret Lamanite as ONLY being Lehi descended, then the Church STILL is true. Because a small group inserting itself into a larger continent would by today due to genetic drift, Lehi's DNA WOULD in fact be in nearly every single Native American.
Thus, either way you cut it, Mormonism is true, out leaders words are true.