View source for Question: Why did the Church modify the introduction to the Book of Mormon from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors?"

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==Question: Why did the Church modify the introduction to the Book of Mormon from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors?"==
===The Church changed the wording to remove the assumption (inserted into the Book of Mormon in the 1920's) that ''all'' of the inhabitants of the Americas were ''exclusive'' descendants of Lehi===

The Church made the change in wording to the introduction to the Book of Mormon to remove the assumption, which inserted into the Book of Mormon introduction in the 1920's and not part of the original text, that ''all'' of the inhabitants of the Americas were ''exclusive'' descendants of Lehi. This had been the generally held belief from the time that the Church was restored.

This change makes the Book of Mormon introduction compatible with current DNA evidence and acknowledges the fact that Lehi's group likely intermingled with the native inhabitants of the American continents based upon current knowledge of the DNA composition of the inhabitants of the New World. There is substantial scientific evidence of habitation in the Americas for thousands of years prior to Lehi's arrival.

If Lehi had ''any'' descendants among Amerindians, then after 2600 years ''all'' Amerindians would share Lehi as an ancestor.  Even if (as is probable) the Lehite group was a small drop in a larger population 'ocean' of pre-Columbian inhabitants, Lehi would have been ''an'' ancestor of virtually all the modern-day Amerindians if ''any'' of his descendants married into the existing New World population.
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{{endnotes sources}}
[[Category:An Insider's View of Mormon Origins]]
[[Category:John Dehlin's "Questions and Answers"]]
[[Category:Letter to a CES Director]]


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[[es:Pregunta: ¿Por qué la Iglesia modificar la introducción del Libro de Mormón de "principales antepasados" a "entre los antepasados?"]]
[[pt:Pergunta: Por que a Igreja modificou a introdução do Livro de Mórmon de "principais ancestrais" para "alguns dos ancestrais"?]]
[[Category:Questions]]