In 4 Nephi 1:34 it says that “the people did harden their hearts, for they were led by many priests and false prophets to build up many churches, and to do all manner of iniquity.” Some insight into how far the role of these “priests” evolved over time in Mesoamerica is given in a paper by John Sorenson. According to Sorenson, most Mesoamerican records were in the hands of priests, for few other than they were thoroughly literate… . The priesthood among the Mesoamerican peoples consisted of several levels of power and jurisdiction, and priests varied in their functions, but many of them had to do with books. Among the Maya of Yucatan, a “high priest” was held in general respect, and a similar office existed elsewhere in Mexico… . They employed themselves in the duties of the temples and in teaching their sciences as well as in writing books about them… . The sciences which they taught were the computation of the years, months and days, the festivals and ceremonies, the administration of the sacraments, the fateful days and seasons, their methods of divination and their prophecies.
Both “prophet” and “seer” were established roles, and as indicated [previously in the paper], records of their statements were kept as part of the general historical archives of official documents of native states… . The Quiche Maya had hiq’ vachinel, “far seers,” who were prophetic diviners with second sight able to “see at a distance’ or scrutinize (niq’oh) and peer into (vachih) things. Peering into special stones was widespread in Mesoamerica and elsewhere in the world. An ilol was another type of seer (from iloh, ”see“), one who interpreted omens. Among the Aztecs, a type of diviner was called tlaachtopaitoani, or ”prophet,“ while another was the quinextiani, whose title was translated to Spanish as ”revelator.“ A prophet in Yucatan was called ah bobat. The man holding the office of Chilam Balam (”spokesman“) was not only ”a“ prophet but ”the" prophet--the official prophet in his city-state for the katun calendar period. He had to be highly trained and a sage (ah miatz). When disagreements arose over the prophecies, he was the one to resolve them (compare 3 Nephi 1:4-8).
The document Chilam Balam of Tizimin reports that a prophet named Xupan Nauat prophesied in Yucatan in A.D. 1527 that strangers (whose description and actions turned out to fit the Spaniards) would arrive in three years. Other prophets gave similar predictions about the coming of the foreigners. [John L. Sorenson, “The Book of Mormon as a Mesoamerican Record,” in Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited, pp. 462-463] [See the commentary on Mosiah 28:16]
Geographical [Theory Map]: 4 Nephi 1:35 Great Division--Nephites & Lamanites (231 A.S.--306 A.S.)