Jacob had some choice words for Nephites who thought
they were better than the Lamanites based on the fact that they had not been
curse initially and had white skin:
The Book of Jacob the Brother of Nephi
Chapter 3
About 544–421 B.C.
3 But, wo, wo, unto you that are not pure in heart, that are
filthy this day before God; for except ye repent the land is acursed for your
sakes; and the Lamanites, which are not bfilthy like
unto you, nevertheless they are ccursed with a
sore cursing, shall scourge you even unto destruction.
4 And the time speedily cometh, that except ye repent they
shall possess the land of your inheritance, and the Lord God will alead away the
righteous out from among you.
5 Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate because of
their filthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins, are more
righteous than you; for they have not aforgotten the
commandment of the Lord, which was given unto our father—that they should have
save it were bone wife, and cconcubines they
should have none, and there should not be dwhoredoms
committed among them.
6 And now, this commandment they observe to keep; wherefore,
because of this observance, in keeping this commandment, the Lord God will not
destroy them, but will be amerciful unto
them; and one day they shall bbecome a
blessed people.
7 Behold, their ahusbands blove their cwives, and
their wives love their husbands; and their husbands and their wives love their
children; and their dunbelief and
their hatred towards you is because of the iniquity of their fathers;
wherefore, how much better are you than they, in the sight of your great
Creator?
8 O my brethren, I fear that unless ye shall repent of your
sins that their skins will be awhiter than
yours, when ye shall be brought with them before the throne of God.
9 Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, which is the word
of God, that ye arevile no more
against them because of the darkness of their skins; neither shall ye revile
against them because of their filthiness; but ye shall remember your own
filthiness, and remember that their filthiness came because of their fathers.
10 Wherefore, ye shall remember your achildren, how
that ye have grieved their hearts because of the bexample that ye
have set before them; and also, remember that ye may, because of your
filthiness, bring your children unto destruction, and their sins be heaped upon
your heads at the last day.
Pretty clear how we shouldn't talk to our children about people of other races!
Pretty clear how we shouldn't talk to our children about people of other races!
2 Nephi
5:20–25. The Lamanites Were Cursed
Verses 20–25 in 2 Nephi 5
answer at least four questions about the curse that came to the Lamanites:
1. What was the curse?
The curse is clearly defined in verse 20 as being “cut off
from the presence of the Lord.”
2. What caused the curse?
According to verse 21, the cause of the curse came “because of
their iniquity” and “hardened … hearts.” Since the days of Adam’s Fall, wickedness
has resulted in being cut off from the presence of the Lord (see 1 Nephi
2:21; 2 Nephi
4:4; 9:6;
Alma 9:13;
Ether
10:11).
3. What was the mark or sign set upon the Lamanites?
It is also explained in verse 21 that so “they might not be
enticing unto my people [the Nephites] the Lord did cause a skin of blackness
to come upon them [the Lamanites].” It would appear that this was done to limit
the spreading of more wickedness. Later Alma suggested this same motive when he
explained that “the skins of the Lamanites were dark … that thereby the Lord
God might preserve his people, that they might not mix and believe in incorrect
traditions” (Alma
3:6, 8). Throughout scripture we find warnings of the Lord not to
marry unbelievers (see Deuteronomy
7:2–3; 2 Corinthians
6:14); the result of doing so was often that the righteous were turned away
from the Lord (see Deuteronomy 7:4;
1 Kings
11:4; D&C
74:5).
Some people have mistakenly thought that the dark skin placed upon
the Lamanites was the curse. President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972)
explained that the dark skin was not the curse:
“The dark skin was placed upon the Lamanites so that they could be
distinguished from the Nephites and to keep the two peoples from mixing. The
dark skin was the sign of the curse [not the curse itself]. The curse was the
withdrawal of the Spirit of the Lord. …
“The dark skin
of those who have come into the Church is no longer to be considered a sign of
the curse. … These converts are delightsome and have the Spirit of the Lord”
(Answers to Gospel Questions, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., 5 vols.
[1957–66], 3:122–23).
4. What was the result of the curse?
Finally in verse 24 we learn that the result of the
curse—being cut off from the presence of the Lord—is that they “become an idle
people, full of mischief and subtlety.”
One great blessing is that the curse is only valid as long as
people are wicked. If they repent, the “curse of God [will] no more follow
them” (Alma
23:18). There are many examples of righteous Lamanites who repented and
enjoyed the Spirit of the Lord; one of them even became a prophet (see Helaman 13:5).\
Alma
3:5. The Amlicites Changed Their Appearance to Follow the Lamanites
The Amlicites changed their appearance to look like the Lamanites.
Many Latter-day Saints today feel pressured to follow the dress trends of the
world. Extremes in clothing and appearance serve to distinguish the disobedient
from the disciples of Jesus Christ. Those who follow these worldly trends
“disobey the prophet and, instead, follow the fads of the world” (see “Questions
and Answers,” New Era, Mar. 2006, 14; For the Strength of Youth, 14–16).
Elder M. Russell Ballard taught young men who hold the
priesthood that worldly trends in dress and appearance will chase away the
Spirit of the Lord:
“There is an entire subculture that celebrates contemporary gangs
and their criminal conduct with music, clothing styles, language, attitudes,
and behaviors. Many of you have watched as trendy friends have embraced the
style as something that was ‘fashionable’ and ‘cool,’ only to be dragged into
the subculture. …
“… I do not believe that you can stand for truth and right
while wearing anything that is unbecoming one who holds the priesthood of God”
(in Conference Report, Oct. 1997, 51–53; or Ensign, Nov. 1997, 38–39).
Alma
3:6–15. The Mark and the Curse
There is a difference between the mark and the curse. The mark
placed upon the Lamanites was a dark skin (see Alma 3:6).
The curse was not the dark skin but being “cut off from the presence of the
Lord” (2 Nephi
5:20). Notice that in both Alma 3:7 and
Alma 3:14
the conjunction and is used between the curse and the mark. This implies that
they are not the same thing. The people brought the curse upon themselves: “And
even so doth every man that is cursed bring upon himself his own condemnation”
(Alma 3:19).
Through righteousness the curse may be removed, but the mark may remain as it
has with the Lamanites (see commentary
for 2 Nephi 5:20–25 on page 62).
https://www.lds.org/manual/book-of-mormon-student-manual/chapter-23-alma-1-4?lang=eng
Alma 3:14 Thus the word of
God is fulfilled, for these are the words which he said to Nephi: Behold, the
Lamanites have I cursed, and I will set a mark on them that they and their seed
may be aseparated
from thee and thy seed, from this time henceforth and forever, except they repent of their
wickedness and bturn to me that I may
have mercy upon them.
What I learn from my own study, the Spirit, and these
study helps, helps me see how to teach my children about “skins of blackness.” In Lamanite times, this curse and marking was
important to distinguish the wicked from the righteous. Over the course of the centuries since then,
these people have decided what to do about it.
Today whether we are talking about tan-skinned Lamanites, the dark-skinned
Africans, or the olive-skinned Asians, NO ONE is distinguished as being
righteous or wicked by virtue of their color.
The Priesthood is now given, and gladly, to every worthy baptized male
of age in the Church. No one is excluded
on any other grounds. Many people of all
colors creeds and nationalities choose to carry on the curse of idol and wicked
living, but this is the trouble of individuals, not groups.
Importantly, the Lord makes it clear in Alma 3:14 that every person and people who fully repented would have the curse removed from them. He didn't want the curse to be permanent.
As an unimportant aside, imagine the level of
unhappiness that would result of telling all of the righteous people across the
world that they had passed the test and now would now have their skin changed
miraculously, like they were in 3 Naphi, so they could be white like the rest
of the righteous people. I cannot
imagine any way this would go over well!
Years ago, a dear friend, who was white was dating a man
seriously, who happened to be black, and she confided in me that she got a lot
of resistance from her prejudiced family members, who cited the Book of Mormon
example as a reason why she should not marry him. That attitude seemed inherently wrong to me, so
I encouraged her and sad I would keep my eyes out for any doctrine I could find
on the subject. Months later, I was delighted
to find this little gem from President Kimball in the materials for a Relief
Society lesso0n that was being taught, and was eager to share it with her:
“…it is certain that almost any good man and any good
woman can have happiness and a successful marriage if both are willing to pay
the price.”
(Full-text here: http://www.lds.org/ensign/1977/03/oneness-in-marriage?lang=eng,
the whole talk of course is excellent.)
So, my mind is satisfied, and I hope these sources
and thoughts have helped remove some fear about reading 2 Nephi with our
children for someone, and maybe even resolve concerns about the LDS Church’s
perspective on race for someone too.
