Editing Nephites (section)

==Archaeology==
{{Main|Archaeology and the Book of Mormon}}
 
The existence of the Nephites is part of the Mormon belief system.<ref>[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/gs/nephites?lang=eng "Nephites"]. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.</ref>

The [[Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies|Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS)]], part of [[Brigham Young University]], has performed extensive archaeological research on this subject, and publications on the subject and other historical topics are issued regularly by FARMS.<ref>Laura F. Willes. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070205221456/http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/about/farms.php "LDS SCRIPTURE RESEARCH"]. Center for Book of Mormon Studies, Maxwell Institute, Brigham Young University.</ref> This research is disputed by many researchers, including [[Michael D. Coe|Michael Coe]], a scholar in [[Pre-Columbian era|pre-Columbian]] Mesoamerican history, as well as the [[Smithsonian Institution]].

In 1973, Coe addressed the issue in an article for ''[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]]'':

{{blockquote|Mormon archaeologists over the years have almost unanimously accepted the Book of Mormon as an accurate, historical account of the New World peoples. ... Let me now state uncategorically that as far as I know there is not one professionally trained archaeologist, who is not a Mormon, who sees any scientific justification for believing the foregoing to be true, and I would like to state that there are quite a few Mormon archaeologists who join this group. ...

The bare facts of the matter are that nothing, absolutely nothing, has even shown up in any New World excavation which would suggest to a dispassionate observer that the Book of Mormon, as claimed by Joseph Smith, is a historical document relating to the history of early migrants to our hemisphere.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Coe |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Coe |year=1973 |title=Mormons and Archaeology: An Outside View |journal=[[Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought]] |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=41, 42, 46 |doi=10.2307/45224400 |jstor=45224400 |s2cid=254386666 |doi-access=free }}</ref>}}

In 1996, the Smithsonian Institution issued a statement that addressed claims made in the Book of Mormon by stating that the text is primarily a religious text and that archeologists affiliated with the Institution found "no direct connection between the archeology of the New World and the subject matter of the book." The statement further says that there is genetic evidence that the [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] are closely related to peoples of Asia and that archaeological evidence indicates that the Native Americans migrated from Asia over a land bridge over the [[Bering Strait]] in prehistoric times. The statement said that there was no credible evidence of contact between [[Ancient Egypt]]ian or [[Hebrews|Hebrew]] peoples and the New World, as indicated by the text of the Book of Mormon. The statement was issued in response to reports that the name of the Smithsonian Institution was being improperly used to lend credibility to the claims of those looking to support the events of the Book of Mormon.<ref>Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution. [http://irr.org/mit/smithsonian.html "Statement Regarding the Book of Mormon"], 1996. Letter posted online by the [http://irr.org/mit/smithsonian.html Institute for Religious Research].</ref> The National Geographic Society issued a similar letter in response to an inquiry from the [[Institute for Religious Research]] saying that "the Society does not know of anything found so far that has substantiated ''The Book of Mormon''".<ref>{{cite letter| url=https://mit.irr.org/file/national-geographic-society-statement-on-book-of-mormon | title=Letter from National Geographic Society | recipient = Luke Wilson at Institute for Religious Research | year = 1998}}</ref>