refer in this text to 1 Ne. 13:14-15; 1 Ne. 13:34-38
“A loving father does not despise his children. These [Lamanites] are a chosen people, and this Church has an important part in restoring them to their rightful inheritance. The chasm between what they are and what they will be is opportunity. The gospel furnishes that opportunity; it is ours to give.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Ensign, Dec. 1975, p. 7)
“Relatively little progress had been made since Columbus discovered America until recent years. Hundreds of thousands of Indians were killed by the invading gentiles from Europe, 128,000 in New England, according to historians. The rest were pushed back, scattered, and finally placed on reservations. The battle of America continued for hundreds of years, the red people fighting for their families, their homes, their hunting grounds, and their very existence. Finally the scriptures are being fulfilled. ‘Nursing fathers and mothers’ are being raised up to bring the blessings … to the sons of Lehi. It is said that ‘The darkest hour is just before dawn.’ But their day is dawning. There has perhaps been more constructive consideration given to the Indian people in the last decade than in the entire century before.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, Oct. 1956, pp. 52-53)
“[Speaking to the Indians] You had a rugged history with many tribulations, but you have a brilliant future. You are a chosen people; your destiny is in your own hands, your friends’, and the Lord’s. You were scattered in the great dispersion six centuries before Christ, and again on this continent in the pre and post-Christian eras, and your more complete dispersion came since Columbus, and the explorers and the colonists… . Like the Israelites released from Egyptian bondage, you have been promised deliverance from your foes of superstition, fear, illiteracy, and from the curses of want and disease and suffering… . Today you are arising from your long sleep and are stretching, yawning, and reaching… . My Lamanite brothers and sisters, we love you. Our bringing the gospel to you is ‘likened unto their being nourished by the gentiles and being carried in their arms and upon their shoulders’ (1 Nephi 22:8)… . You have been preserved to this epochal day, and the gospel is available to you now. Wash your souls in the blood of the Lamb. Cleanse your lives, study the scriptures, accept the gospel and ordinances. These predictions can be fulfilled and come to you through one channel only, the path of righteousness and faith; else all these promises are but empty unfulfilled dreams. May God bless you that you may accept the truths now revealed to you… .” (Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, Oct. 1959, pp. 59,61-62)