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The following has been adapted from

http://www.irr.org/mit/lamanites-dna-bom.html

They go into far greater details than I in the following abridgement.

Term “Lamanite” Defined

President Spencer W. Kimball:

“The term Lamanite includes all Indians and Indian mixtures, such as the Polynesians, the Guatemalans, the Peruvians, as well as the Sioux, the Apache, the Mohawk, the Navajo, and others. It is a large group of great people. “(“Of Royal Blood,” Ensign, July 1971, p. 7)

Ethnic origins of the Lamanites – or – Were the Lamanites really direct blood descendants of the Hebrews?

From the Book of Mormon

“And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews.” (Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 30:4)

Joseph Smith
According to Joseph Smith, an angel sent from God told him that Native Americans were “literal descendants of Abraham.”

When I was about 17 years old I saw another vision of angels in the night season after I had retired to bed I had not been asleep, … all at once the room was illuminated above the brightness of the sun an angel appeared before me … he said unto me I am a messenger sent from God, be faithful and keep his commandments in all things, he told me of a sacred record which was written on plates of gold, I saw in the vision the place where they were deposited, he said the Indians were the literal descendants of Abraham (The Papers of Joseph Smith, Vol. 2, Journal, 1832-1842, edited by Dean C. Jessee, Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, copyright 1992 Corporation of the President, pp. 69-70).

At the grove President [Joseph] Smith addressed the Indians at some length, upon what the Lord had revealed to him concerning their forefathers, and recited to them the promises contained in the Book of Mormon respecting themselves. … How their hearts must have glowed as they listened to the prophet relate the story of their forefathers—their rise and fall; and the promises held out to them of redemption from their fallen state! (B.H. Roberts, A Comprehensive History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2:88-89, 1957)

President Gordon B. Hinckley

The Cochabamba Bolivia Temple was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley in four sessions on 30 April 2000. In his dedicatory prayer, President Hinckley said: “This nation is named for Simón Bolívar, the great liberator of much of South America, who died the year Thy restored Church was organized. May the incomparable principle of democracy be preserved forever in this republic. We remember before Thee the sons and daughters of Father Lehi. Wilt Thou keep Thine ancient promises in their behalf. Lift from their shoulders the burdens of poverty and cause the shackles of darkness to fall from their eyes. May they rise to the glories of the past. May they recognize their Redeemer and be faithful and true Saints of the Most High.” (Remarks at the dedication of the Cochabamba, Bolivia temple, reported in “News of the Church,” Ensign, July, 2000, p. 74)

Lamanite geographic expansion – Were the Lamanites a small grouping of people confined to a limited geographic region?

Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith —
History, 1:34, Joseph Smith relates that “[Moroni] said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from which they sprang.”

Joseph Smith (1834)

In June of 1834 Joseph Smith identified a skeleton found in an Indian burial mound in Illinois as that of a Lamanite warrior named Zelph. The Zelph incident is especially significant in that Smith claimed to have made the identification by divine revelation:

“... the visions of the past being opened to my understanding by the Spirit of the Almighty, I discovered the person whose skeleton was before us was a white Lamanite, a large, thick-set man, and a man of God. His name was Zelph ... who was known from the Hill Cumorah, or eastern sea to the Rocky mountains (History of the Church, 7 vols. (Deseret Book Co., 1946), II:79,80. See also, Times and Seasons, Vol. 6, no. 20 (Jan. 1846), p. 1076, which states that the Illinois burial mounds were “thrown up by the ancient inhabitants of this county, Nephites, Lamanites” and that “He [Zelph] was killed in battle, by the arrow found among his ribs, during the last great struggle of the Lamanites and Nephites.”

Perhaps one of the most extended critiques and outright rejection of the limited geography theory for the Book of Mormon comes from 10th Mormon President and Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith in three volume work, Doctrines of Salvation, (Bookcraft, SLC, 1956). The following quotes are excerpted from over eight pages devoted to this subject. Expanded excerpts are found in the supplemental material at the end of this paper which includes a link to this material online.

Joseph Fielding Smith

- Speculation About Book of Mormon Geography. - Within recent years there has arisen among certain students of the Book of Mormon a theory to the effect that within the period covered by the Book of Mormon, the Nephites and Lamanites were confined almost entirely within the borders of the territory comprising Central America and the southern portion of Mexico—the isthmus of Tehauntepec probably being the “narrow neck” of land spoken of in the Book of Mormon rather than the isthmus of Panama (p. 233).

- Locale Of Cumorah, Ramah, And Ripliancum. - This modernistic theory of necessity, in order to be consistent, must place the waters of Ripliancum and the Hill Cumorah some place within the restricted territory of Central America, notwithstanding the teachings of the Church to the contrary for upwards of 100 years. (p. 233)

- Early Brethren Locate Cumorah In Western New York - … the Prophet Joseph Smith himself is on record, definitely declaring the present hill called Cumorah to be the exact hill spoken of in the Book of Mormon. …. In the face of this evidence coming from the Prophet Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer, we cannot say that the Nephites and Lamanites did not possess the territory of the United States and that the Hill Cumorah is in Central America. Neither can we say that the great struggle which resulted in the destruction of the Nephites took place in Central America. (pp. 234, 239-240.)

“The Savior prophesies of the temporal gathering of the house of Israel. Have a class member read 3 Nephi 16:16 and 3 Nephi 20:14 aloud. According to these verses, what specific promise did the Lord extend to the Nephites? (They would be given the lands of the Americas as an inheritance. See also 2 Nephi 1:5–7.)”

Letter from First Presidency regarding Hill Cumorah location, October 16, 1990 —

“Brother S — inquired about the location of the Hill Cumorah mentioned in the Book of Mormon, where the last battle between the Nephites and Lamanites took place.

The Church has long maintained, as attested to by references in the writings of General Authorities, that the Hill Cumorah in western New York state is the same as referenced in the Book of Mormon.”

Note: This is significant in that it expands the Book of Mormon lands at least to upstate New York where the final battle took place, making it impossible to limit Book of Mormon geography to a small region of Central America. (Copy of letter on file at Institute for Religious Research)

The Lamanites (Introduction)”, Ensign, July 1971, p. 5 — “Most members of the Church know that the Lamanites, who consist of the Indians of all the Americas as well as the islanders of the Pacific, are a people with a special heritage.”

Modern Day Lamanites Embrace Their ‘Identity’

The September 1920 Improvement Era carried the conversion story of a prominent Mexican Mormon named Margarito Bautista. The heading of the article identified him as, “M. Bautista, a Descendant of Father Lehi.” It is clear from his testimony that the Mormon teaching of Israelite heritage in Native American people resonated with him, as Margarito wrote,

“As a literal descendant of our Father Lehi, I feel in my soul that the gospel which was once known among my people but [was] taken away on account of transgression has been restored again to mankind. I feel that the Book of Mormon is one of the most glorious books on earth” (“A Faith Promoting Experience, Improvement Era 23 [September 1920]: 978-84, cited by Thomas W. Murphy, “Other Mormon Histories: Lamanite Subjectivity in Mexico,” Journal of Mormon History, 26:2 [Fall 2000], pp. 190-191.).