The Book of Mormon makes a historically inaccurate claim—and an unfulfilled prophecy—in 2 Nephi 1:8:

“And behold, it is wisdom that this land should be kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations;”

Joseph Smith, lacking a solid grasp of world history, appears to assume that the Americas were uninhabited around 600 BCE. In response to the overwhelming archaeological and genetic evidence of long-established Native American civilizations predating this timeline, some LDS apologists argue that the Book of Mormon doesn’t explicitly say the land was uninhabited—only that it doesn’t mention other inhabitants. However, the text itself strongly implies otherwise. The first half of this verse suggests Lehi’s group were the first to arrive. The second half reinforces that idea:

“[F]or behold, many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance.”

This prediction also falls short. The idea that the land would be so overrun as to leave “no place for an inheritance” is demonstrably false. Vast expanses of the United States remain sparsely populated even today. One need only drive the stretch of I-80 from Reno, Nevada, to Omaha, Nebraska, to see just how empty and unclaimed the land still is—despite centuries of immigration and development.