A quick discussion on "others" in the Book of Mormon

Likening With Care, Part 11
For some students of the Book of Mormon, questions still remain regarding the presence of "others" (non-Lehite inhabitants) in the land where the Lehites originally landed. In his paper "Interactions with Non-Israelite Populations in the Book of Mormon," Gardner explains:

Understanding the Book of Mormon as an historical document requires that it be understood in a particular place and time. While the text does not obviously delineate populations of non-Israelites, and it is certain that many LDS interpreters have historically attempted to make the Nephites and Lamanites the exclusive populations of the New World, it is also clear that neither the archaeology of the New World, nor the text of the Book of Mormon itself will allow that simplistic assumption. The text has its own reasons for not being clear about the role of non-Israelites in the development of its narratives, but the presence of such peoples is implicit in virtually all aspects of the development of the text, both in the descriptions of the population numbers and more difficult to find cultural markers.¹

In this post Gardner answers some questions from one who is skeptical about the possibility of "others" in the Book of Mormon.²

1. Nephi catalogs the animals they find in the new world, but fails to mention the indigenous peoples (1 Nephi 18:25).

Gardner: This comment demonstrates the problem of making too many assumptions about what a text is saying and what it should be saying. It assumes that the catalog of animals has the purpose of describing history. It doesn't. 1 Nephi is a crafted document and this verse was clearly written long after the fact and therefore isn't a journalistic recitation of what was found. 1 Nephi 18:24-25 simply defines the promised land as one with the necessities of life; along with the catalog of animals is the notation that they planted seeds which grew, fertility, and "ore, both of gold, and of silver, and of copper." It isn't that surprising, therefore, that the very next verse says "...wherefore I did make plates of ore that I might engraven..."³

2. The mass conversion of indigenous peoples (including quickly learning their language and integrating into their culture) would be a miracle to say the least, but it isn't mentioned.

Gardner: The confluence of peoples isn't all that remarkable. Lehi's family was quite familiar with other peoples, customs, and languages (though not those in the new world). As for "quickly learning" anything, I doubt that happened at anything other than a normal pace. 1 Nephi is written about 30 years after leaving Jerusalem, and that is long enough to learn lots of things and not consider them remarkable (particularly since it isn't the reason he is writing this).

3. The promised land was supposed to be kept hidden from other nations, but scholars are theorizing there were many diverse pagan populations living around and among the Lehites. (2 Nephi 1:8)

Gardner: This is purely a case of interpretation, relying upon an understanding of what the extent of the promised land was, and what it means to be kept from other nations. Clearly, I interpret all of those quite differently.⁴

4. When contrasted with the Israelite mandate in entering their "promised land," the Lord's attitude seems wildly inconsistent when compared with the Lehite entry into their promised land. Issues such as intermarriage, tolerance for co-existing pagan religions, adoption of the culture, and general courtesy towards their neighbors seem to be addressed in totally different ways.

Gardner: And with some very significant reasons. For example, when Moses shows up with hundreds of thousands of people, there were some very different conditions than when Lehi shows up with perhaps 40 (probably less).

5. The Book of Mormon prophets are eerily silent regarding the other religions and cultures and their effect on the Christian Nephites. The only concern seems to be for those non-Nephite people who are always related to the Lamanites.

Gardner: The prophets are not eerily silent in this regard in the way I read the text. I see direct references in Benjamin's discourse among other places.⁵ It begs the question to say that the Lamanites are "always related" to the Lamanites. They are Lamanites, but Lamanites defined politically as the generic others and outsiders. This is the function they acquire through Nephi's ethnogenetic construction of his text.

6. When listing the existing groups of people, there is never an "other" category for the many people who don't descend from a Lehite or Jaredite lineage, or who live around and among the Lamanites and Nephites but just don't care about them either way (Jacob 1:13).

Gardner: Actually, Jacob 1:13 is the very reason that we can't read "Lamanite" as a lineage (and the rest of the text supports the generic/political usage).

7. Some skeptics of the idea of "others" in the Book of Mormon may agree there are some interesting and persuasive arguments for this view, but remain unconvinced because they do not see the idea as an "open and shut case."

Gardner: Nothing in history is really an open and shut case. It all requires argument, particularly when we have so little comparative data. However, the conclusions behind the existence of "others" are really quite solid.

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Gardner thus argues that expecting Book of Mormon writers to record "history" as it is understood today  forces an anachronistic reading onto the text. Part of "likening with care" includes a willingness to attempt to understand the Book of Mormon from the perspective of those who presumably wrote it, rather than forcing one's own expectations or beliefs onto the text. Doing so might run counter to prevailing views, but can also provide a more solid understanding of the Book of Mormon.

FOOTNOTES

[1]
Gardner, "Interactions with Non-Israelite Populations in the Book of Mormon," 2001, found here. In this paper Gardner observes, "the obvious initial issue that should be addressed is the clear conflict between the inevitability of finding 'others' and the equally clear lack of specific mention of 'others' in the Book of Mormon narrative. They must have met them, but do not seem to mention them. How is that possible?" See his more polished version from a 2001 FAIR presentation, "A Social History of the Early Nephites."

[2]
These questions are adapted from a poster named "cinepro" on MormonApologetics.org.

[3]
Gardner, personal email in my possession, Sept. 19, 2008.

[4]
Matthew Roper's article "Nephi's Neighbors: Book of Mormon Peoples and Pre-Columbian Populations" discusses the promises of the Lord about the promised land being preserved for certain peoples, arguing that it does not preclude others from living in the land as is evidenced by the former Jaredites, and the statements that God would "lead" others to the land. See his article in FARMS Review 15:2, 91-128.

[5]
King Benjamin's sermon found in Mosiah 1-5 pleads for unity among a people of two different backgrounds. Throughout Gardner's Second Witness commentary he sheds interesting light on the influence of "outsiders" on the political, social, and religious aspects of Nephite society. See my review of his series here. The image is "America Septentrionalis Novissima / America Meridionalis Accuratissima," Pieter Schenk, ca. 1700. From Garwood & Voight Fine & Rare Books, Maps, & Prints.