Were precious things found in great abundance by the Nephites in America?

Yes And I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores, which were in great abundance. 2 Nephi 5:15 No And I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon save it were not built of so many precious things; for they were not to be found upon the land.... 2 Nephi 5:16

Is the Book of Mormon true? Yes, it is all true. No, there are (or may be) errors in it.

The things which I have written are true. And thus it is. And now, if I do err, even did they err of old ... because of Amen. the weakness which is in me, according to the flesh, I 1 Nephi 14:30 would excuse myself. 1 Nephi 19:6 I would that ye should consider that the things which have been written upon the plates of brass are true. I said I never had known much of these things; but behold, 1 Nephi 22:30 I mistake, for I have seen much of his mysteries and his marvelous power. O my sons, I would that ye should remember that these Alma 10:5 sayings are true, and also that these records are true. And behold, also the plates of Nephi ... are true; and we can And now it came to pass, if there was no mistake made by know of their surety because we have them before our this man in the reckoning of our time. eyes. 3 Nephi 8:2 Mosiah 1:6 If there be faults, they are the faults of man. And now it came to pass that according to our record, and Mormon 8:17 we know our record to be true. 3 Nephi 8:1 Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his imperfection, neither them who And when ye shall receive these things...ask God, the have written before him ... if we could have written in Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no imperfection in not true ... he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the our record. power of the Holy Ghost. Mormon 9:31, 33 Moroni 10:4 Were there laws against disbelief? No, everyone was free to believe or disbelieve. Now there was a strict law among the people of the church that there should not any man, belonging to the church, arise and persecute those that did not belong to the church, and that there should be no persecution among themselves. Alma 1:21 If a man desired to serve God, it was his privilege; or rather, if he believed in God it was his privilege to serve him; but if he did not believe in him there was no law to punish him. Alma 30:9 Yes, it was illegal to express disbelief. What he had taught to the people was contrary to the word of God; and there he suffered an ignominious death. Alma 1:15 Now when the high priest and the chief judge saw the hardness of his [Korihor's] heart, yea, when they saw that he would revile even against God, they would not make any reply to his words; but they caused that he should be bound; and they delivered him up into the hands of the officers, and sent him to the land of Zarahemla, that he might be brought before Alma, and the chief judge who was governor over all the land. Alma 30:29