Quote:
Originally Posted by Tex
Well, that's not entirely true. While the Book of Mormon doesn't explicitly say "Native Americans are Lamanites," it leaves the clear impression that the book is intended to come forth and convert the descendants of that civilization to the religion of their ancestors. Now we can dicker over who that is exactly intended to be (in modern terms), but it's a fair assumption made by many over the years, including JS, that it includes the Native Americans.
Personally, I'm confused by the deletion from the manual. None of that is problematic in my view, with the possible exception of the last sentence (which ties the book to today's Indians). The rest ... Jaredites, descendants of Joseph ... are all claims made in the Book of Mormon. So what's the big deal?
Perhaps it was edited out not so much for doctrinal purposes, but to focus the lesson on the important things.
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I might have deleted it myself, were I the editor, just because a synopsis of the Book of Mormon doesn't really fit in with the theme of the manual (id est, the teachings of Joseph Smith and the early history of the church).