It is not my declaration. Joseph Smith said the Book of Mormon was the story of the SOURCE of the people of this continent (North America). Source as in where they come from, where was their beginning, the source. Scholars have proved that statement to be false, so the Book of Mormon as defined by Joseph Smith is fiction as proven by scholars. Now Mormonism seems to be quickly redefining what the Book of Mormon is about so they might still call it true but it is false by Smith’s definition.
Stephen,
I now see that you were referring here to the following verses in the Pearl of Great Price:
33 He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.
34 He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang.
You may or may not be familiar with part of the Book of Mormon account that tells of more than one group of people who migrate north from the main group described in the account itself. More than once, a prophet-leader also goes north to that other group or groups of people to teach them also. So indeed the North American continent can be assumed correctly to have peoples who would be descended from these original migrating groups. Their descendants most likely intermarried with others. (The Book of Mormon indicates there would be other people within the Americas at various points in time, all “brought by the hand of the Lord.” (2 Nephi 1:6))
It may also be the case that places such as “Zarahemla” were in North America, most likely Mexico but possibly within the area now defined as the United States.
“The source from whence they sprang” would mean “the origin”, and could mean more than one origin. “An account” does not mean “a complete account” nor “an all-encompassing account.”
So I disagree with your statement, though I do see where you could draw the conclusion you have drawn.