In a great vision concerning the future of his seed, and the seed of his brethren, Nephi
saw the people of the seed of my brethren that they had overcome my seed; and they went forth in multitudes upon the face of the land. And I saw them gathered together in multitudes; and I saw wars and rumors of wars among them . . . (1 Nephi 12:20-21)
According to Michael Griffith, the Book of Mormon's references to great concentrations of population in ancient Mesoamerica have been strikingly vindicated by modern research (Raymond Treat ed., Recent Book of Mormon Developments, Vol. II, pp. 11-13; Vern Elefson, "Speculations on Book of Mormon Populations," in Recent Book of Mormon Developments, pp. 30-33). John Sorenson discusses some of the evidence of the Nephite record's references to large populations:
Population studies are not, of course, based upon speculation or interpretative whim. As historical and archaeological sources are more carefully examined and the specialists correct each other by mutual criticism, a better grasp of the real numbers is emerging. William Devevan's 1976 volume, The Native Population of the Americas in 1492, weighted all the arguments. His estimated total of 57 million for the hemisphere [before the time of Columbus] seems fairly safe. He concluded that Mexico and Central America had some 27 million. Moreover, according to Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl, who used native documents as sources for his post Conquest history of central Mexico, the "Toltecs" of the tenth century carried on wars with forces in the millions and suffered over 5.6 million dead. Even discounting for possible exaggeration, such numbers are not outside the range of the reasonable. Neither are the 230,000 warrior casualties attributed tot he Nephites six hundred years earlier. (See Mormon 6:10-15)
The figures on Mesoamerican population offered by demographers decades ago could not be reconciled with statements in the Book of Mormon about millions of people being destroyed in the concluding Jaredite and Nephite wars. Now, analysis of the data on lands occupied, ecology, sizes, war casualties, and other population-related factors in the Book of Mormon text shows striking consistency and realism in the reported demographic changes. At the same time, the absolute numbers reported in the book are of the same order of magnitude as the figures which current research on Mesoamerica finds acceptable. (John L. Sorenson, "Digging Into the Book of Mormon," in the Ensign, September 1984, 33)
[Michael T. Griffith, Refuting the Critics, pp. 55-56]
Through the Wilderness to the Promised Land
(1 Nephi )