Theories Regarding Modern Descendants
Many Latter Day Saints believe that the Lamanites comprise some part, if not the primary origin, of Native Americans. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) appears to accept this position, although the church has stated its view that "othing in the Book of Mormon precludes migration into the Americas by peoples of Asiatic origin." The non-canonical introduction to the 1981 LDS Church edition of the Book of Mormon stated, "the Lamanites are the principal ancestors of the American Indians." The wording was changed in the 2006 Doubleday edition and subsequent editions published by the LDS Church, stating only that the Lamanites "are among the ancestors of the American Indians." Many Latter Day Saints also consider Polynesian peoples and the other indigenous peoples of the Americas to be Lamanites. A 1971 church magazine article referred to Lamanites as "consist of the Indians of all the Americas as well as the islanders of the Pacific."
The existence of a Lamanite nation has received no support within mainstream science or archaeology. Genetic studies indicate that the indigenous Americans are primarily related to present-day populations in Mongolia and its environs, and the Polynesians to those in southeast Asia.
Some Mormon scholars view Lamanites as (1) one small tribe among many in the ancient Americas, the remainder of whom were not discussed in the Book of Mormon, (2) a tribe that intermarried with indigenous Native American cultures. or (3) descended with modern Asians from common nomadic ancestry, diverging prior to Lehi's departure from Jerusalem.
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