The Book of Mormon is indeed prejudiced against the Lamanites. The phrases describe a previous condition and its succeeding condition, pivoting upon causation. The second part of this verse indicates that, after the curse, another sign was placed upon the Lamanites that allowed for a separation between the Lamanites and Nephites. Before beginning with the text itself, it is important to clarify some facts that will help us sort the textual usage from our modern assumptions. Nibley observes: “This amazing coincidentia oppositorum is the clash of black and white. One of the ways we can avoid being deceived by Satan can be found in 2 Nephi. The ancient world was actually quite prejudiced but did not necessarily base such prejudices upon skin color. 2 Nephi 31 . The most typical reading is that there was some type of dramatic change that turned white skin into black skin. 2 Nephi 32:2 Holy Ghost An intelligent being, in the image of God, possesses every organ, attribute, sense, sympathy, affection that is possessed by God himself. Indeed, it is much easier to compile a list of writers who take the phrase literally than of those who suggest an alternate reading. It would be seen as a prevention of apostasy, exactly like the prohibition against marrying Canaanites in the Old World. When they are insiders, they are “delightsome,” available as marriage partners. Colors also have social meanings that are quite separate from describing the eye’s perception of light waves. 43–63 for an elaboration on these identifications, yielding the evidence justifying the “plan of salvation” model. )) Here is the verse from the LDS 2 Nephi 5:21 And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. Even metaphorically, the skin and face were legitimate locations for the “display” of these spiritual characteristics. This cultural background contrasts the ancient collectivist personality with the modern individualist personality. 2 Nephi 27. Yet as in the case with other animate beings, the shape of the individual human more than adequately reveals the type of personality he or she can be and explains his or her ‘nature.’ For humans, too, anatomical form determines behavior and reveals the nature of the human being in question.”. 2 Nephi 1–4 contains Lehi’s final words as a patriarch to his posterity. Even though skin color has come to be associated with race, the value of relative skin color was social, not racial. 2 Nephi 2. Even the reversal, becoming white, is a metaphor: “And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed” (Dan. However, in the context of the Old Testament mark on the forehead we find: The mark is pigmentation if and only if the curse is pigmentation. While the term “Lamanite” became a political designation for all non-Nephites (Jacob 1:13–4), it included lineal Lamanites and the specific location where they settled. Nephites cannot be Nephites and not be “white.” “White” defines the insider. But these are possessed by man, in his rudimental state, in a subordinate sense of the word. 2 Nephi 5. This barrier is similar to the explicit prohibition against marrying Canaanites. It is the desire to right the wrongs which man has done to his brother.\" (George Matheson… We should not presume that their meanings are our meanings. The second is that Yahweh caused a skin of blackness to come upon them. Malina and Neyrey continue: “When considering a person, the ancients thought that there was really nothing inside that did not register on the outside.” In this conception of humanity, the skin or face would be the logical location for spiritual characteristics to register. The Nephites could not have survived without a wider range of marriage partners than the very small number of lineal Lehites who were in the city. For this reason, it was much less of a problem for men to marry “outsider” women than for women to marry outsider men. Nibley stands on the metaphorical side of the issue, though he still suggests that exposure to the sun could create the “blackness.” With this much disagreement on a single phrase in the text, how can we know how it should be read? The two “colors” are considered to be opposites of each other. Nephites had to be explicitly prohibited from marrying Lamanites because they would otherwise be an attractive choice. 2 Nephi 4. This comparison of white/whiteness also occurs in Nephi’s description of the tree: “I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the tree which my father had seen; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow” (1 Ne. 2 Nephi 22. All refer to identifying letters. Likewise, Nephi utilizes the language of Isaiah 2:8 (= 2 Nephi 12:8) in his warning against making “flesh his arm” in 2 Nephi 28:31. 2 Nephi 29. . Similarly, I conclude that the association between skin and white/black is metaphoric, not intended to indicate pigmentation. 3 Nephi 19:24–25 records another similar white/whiter occurrence during Jesus’s visit to the New World: The disciples’ transforming spiritual experience makes them become “as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus.” This shade is not a natural skin color nor does anything in this passage encourage a “natural” interpretation. Even though it was written for a future audience, it was written in a time and manner that reflected the social constructions of the authors, not those of modern readers. \"What is that special form of sin which Isaiah sees? The metaphorical use of color terms echoes that of the Bible. 2 Nephi 29:11-12 This is a good reminder that we should be open to revelation and truth from many geographic sources, since the Lord speaks to people in "all nations of the earth," but it seems to also be a very strong encouragement to us to write down our spiritual experiences. …and the Lamanites, which are not filthy like unto you, nevertheless they are cursed with a sore cursing, shall scourge you even unto destruction. That situation creates the need for a comparison, but since the Nephites cannot be “dark” the Lamanites by default become “whiter” than the Nephites. 2 Nephi 12. Their wicked ways short of altering body pigmentation Lamanites are cursed, the! 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