Changed by DNA evidence. Compare
The 1981 editions 2nd paragraph reads “Lamanites……. are the principle ancestors of the American Indians”
The 2007 editions reads “Lamanites… are among the ancestors of the American Indians”
I never realised there were discussions about whether Lehi’s family mixed with indigenous people. I was under the impression that America was a sparsely inhabited continent, a promised land with no kings upon it and populated only by those directly lead there by God, see 2 Nephi 10:11.
There are theories now that Lehi’s progeny only inhabited a small area rather than all the land north and south, e.g. Rod Meldrum’s America Heartland model, an earlier version of his theory was termed the Great Lakes theory. There is a Central America based theory based on Alma 22:32 “It was only the distance of a day and a half’s journey for a Nephite, on the line Bountiful and the land Desolation, from the east to the west sea”. This infers that Moroni has to trek all the way up to New York state to bury the plates, Urim & Thummin etc, additionally it raises questions over the existence of a room in the Cumorah hillside full of records and artefacts, in shared vision by Joseph Smith and his associates.
It is a positive step that the church is willing to be influenced by scientific (DNA) evidence, to modify The Book of Mormon’s introduction.