The Book of Mormon does not tell us about anyone other than the Jaredites, Nephites, Lamanites or Mulekites in Lehi’s Land of Promise. Whether or not the ancient prophet writers deliberately left out the mention of others is unknown, however, it might be concluded that they wrote about Lehi’s Land of Promise in specific and detailed terms, including where they left from (Nephi’s directions leading to the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula), how they got there (“driven forth before the wind”), what they found there (animals and precious metals), and how they settled the land (Lamanites to the south, Nephites to the north), and that the land was divided into two distinct areas, (Land Southward and Land Northward), and the promise given to Lehi and his posterity that the land was theirs forever if they remained righteous. And for nearly a thousand years, they were basically a righteous people.
Therefore, it can correctly be concluded that no others were present in the Land of Promise other than those mentioned. Even in Nephi’s vision, when he saw “multitudes of people yea, even as it were in number as many as the sand of the sea” (1 Nephi 12:1), and that the “multitudes of the earth gathered together” (1 Nephi 12:13) in the Land of Promise, and that “the seed of my brethren,” the Lamanites, “did overpower the people of my seed,” the Nephites (1 Nephi 12:20), and he saw “many nations and kingdoms” (1 Nephi 13:1), and that the Gentiles were divided from the Land of Promise by many waters (1 Nephi 13:10), and the voyage of Columbus and his landing among the Lamanites (1 Npehi 13:12), and many others coming to the Land of Promise (1 Nephi 13:13-14), and that these Gentiles eventually set up their own nation (1 Nephi 13:19).
Nowhere in Nephi’s vision did he see anyone in the Land of Promise not of Lehi’s lineage until the coming of Columbus.
However, despite the plainness of Nephi’s vision and of the promise made to Lehi about keeping his land secret from other nations and peoples, Hugh Nibley writes:
“It is nowhere said or implied that even the Jaredites were the first to come here, any more than it is said or implied that they were the first or only people to be led from the tower.” (p 251)
While Nibley's second comment cannot be contested since we know nothing else about the people of the tower but the Jaredites, there is no implication that anyone else was led away, or that if some were, that they were led to Lehi’s Land of Promise. We do know from the Book of Mormon and from Isaiah that other groups of the house of Israel were led away (1 Nephi 19:10; 21:1), but Jacob tells us they were led to other isles of the sea and not the one to which the Nephites had been led (2 Nephi 10:20-21).
Regarding Nibley's first point, following a discussion about the Lord leading the Jaredites "into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth" (Ether 1:42), the Lord tells the brother of Jared that they should go forth into the wilderness, "yea into that quarter of the land where never had man been" (Ether 2:15).
While Mesoamerican Theorists must create additional people in the Land of Promise to validate their model, other than those mentioned in the scripture, there is no indication of any type from several writers that such was ever the case. To counter this lack of mentioning other people, Mesoamerican Theorists try to belittle the prophet writings as Sorenson does on page 84 of his book:
“Consider for a moment those historians' position as they tell us about the early Lamanites. They wrote from the narrow perspective of their besieged little colony. Their understandable frame of mind would have seen all people with whom they came in contact "out there" as "Lamanites," for in the Nephite scheme of thought at the time, who else could those dark-skinned lurkers in the forest have been?”
Shame on all who write about the Book of Mormon and try to change scripture or belittle the prophets who wrote them.
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