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The traditional LDS folk-belief asserts that the Lehites arrived to a nearly vacant New World,…this assumption – like many other assumptions about the about the Book of Mormon – comes from a naïve reading of the text that was filtered through the 19th century misunderstanding of the human migrations that populated the ancient New World.
In this article brother Ash explains this common error and extends our understanding of this important issue.
The full text of this article can be found at Deseret News online.
Brother Ash is author of the book Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt, as well as the book, of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith. Both books are available for purchase online through the FairMormon Bookstore.
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The article mentioned indigenous peoples in the Americas arriving about 15000 years ago. What does that imply about the date of the Fall? Doctrine & Covenants seems pretty clear about “this earth has a temporal existence of 7,000 years.” Also, would not these people have been part of the Tower of Babel event? Are these also folk beliefs?