If baptism was known in the Americas, as the Book of Mormon teaches, why was it unknown among Native Americans?
Yes, the Book of Mormon teaches that baptism was known in the Americas. Baptism by immersion was known among believing Nephites and Lamanites, though by 400 A.D. the practice of baptizing infants had crept in among the remnants of believers, whose location appears to have been in Mesoamerica (the region of southern Mexico and Guatemala), based on a modern understanding of the Book of Mormon text and the associated geography. Since baptism was known in that part of the world, one might wonder whether any traces of it can be found among Native American rituals in that region. And in fact, there were some very distinct traces of that practice that survived long enough to be observed by the Spaniards. I learned of this after I purchased a book on Mesoamerican religion on something of a whim while I was grazing in a bookstore in Washington, DC, less than a month before the terrorist attack on the Pentagon. Later, while exploring the book, I was surprised to find an entry on the topic of bap
