From “the principal ancestors” to “among the ancestors”
In 2006, the Church changed a sentence in the Book of Mormon’s introduction. A broad claim about the ancestry of American Indians became a narrower one. This record places the two official wordings side by side and documents how the Church explains the revision.
The language
One sentence, a different scope
Both versions describe the Lamanites after the destruction of other Book of Mormon peoples. The revision changes only five words, but substantially limits the ancestry claim.
“After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are the principal ancestors of the American Indians.”
“After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are among the ancestors of the American Indians.”
Primary recordThe Church’s published list of approved scripture adjustments says the sentence was changed “to provide clarity and greater accuracy.”
The institutional explanation
The revision is acknowledged
The Church’s Gospel Topics essay on DNA and the Book of Mormon dates the update to 2006. It says the revised wording reflects an understanding that the Book of Mormon does not claim its peoples were the only inhabitants of the Americas.
Source text is quoted directly. Context and institutional explanations are identified separately from editorial analysis.