When Joseph Smith sent Oliver Cowdery on a mission to the Indians, he said (speaking as god): “And now, behold, I say unto you that you shall go unto the Lamanites and preach my gospel unto them...” (D&C 28:8). The terminology is reaffirmed in D&C 32:3 when Joseph Smith said (again, speaking as god): “And that which I have appointed unto him is that he [Parley P. Pratt] shall go with my servants Oliver Cowdery and Peter Whitmer, Jun., into the wilderness among the Lamanites.” In D&C 54:8, Joseph Smith (speaking as the Mormon god) says the “borders of the Lamanites” are near the “land of Missouri”. True, Joseph never said ALL the American Indians are Lamanites, but he spoke in language giving the impression that he believed they were primarily of Lamanite descent. I
n one of his accounts of the church’s early history, Joseph Smith described a visit from Moroni. In that story, Joseph Smith said: “He [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 whence they sprang. He also said that the fullness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants ...” (Joseph Smith 2:34).
Perhaps Moroni meant only “some” of the inhabitants. But that is not what he said. Perhaps he meant only “part” of the continent. But that is not what he said. The matter-of-fact way that Moroni describes the Book of Mormon as being “... an account of the former inhabitants of this continent...” seems to imply that most, if not all, of the American Indians have Lamanite blood in them.
Brigham Young was no less consistent in calling the American Indians Lamanites. According to Brigham Young: “There is a curse on these aborigines of our country who roam the plains, and are so wild that you cannot tame them. They are of the House of Israel; they once had the Gospel delivered to them, they had the oracles of truth; Jesus came and administered to them after his resurrection, and they received and delighted in the Gospel until the fourth generation when they turned away and became so wicked that God cursed them with this dark and benighted and loathsome condition.” [Quoted from Discourses of Brigham Young, compiled by John A. Widtsoe, pages 122, 123.]
Considering the statements from Mormon scriptures, coupled with the consistent references by Mormon prophets, seers, and revelators, your argument seems unlikely. At the very least, Mormon scripture and inferences from Mormon prophets suggest that the Book of Mormon be evaluated from the position that most (if not all) of the Amerindians are descendants of the Lamanites. I add that Kimball said, “You Polynesians of the Pacific are called Samoan or Maori, Tahitian or Hawaiian, according to your islands. There are probably sixty million of you on the two continents and on the Pacific Islands, all related by blood ties. The Lord calls you Lamanites, a name which has a pleasant ring, for many of the grandest people ever to live upon the earth were so called. In a limited sense, the name signifies the descendants of Laman and Lemuel, sons of your first American parent, Lehi; but you undoubtedly possess also the blood of the other sons, Sam, Nephi, and Jacob. And you likely have some Jewish blood from Mulek, son of Zedekiah, king of Judah. The name Lamanite distinguishes you from other peoples. It is not a name of derision or embarrassment, but one of which to be very proud.” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p.596)
http://www.lds-mormon.com/lam-ind.shtml
Was 615 meant for me?
Oh?
I'll bet no MORMON on these threads can point out just where this 'fullness' is to be found in the BoM!
Although SOMEone may try to tell us to 'study it for ourselves'.