some thoughts on the Lamanite Curse

This is written by Rich:


I had a friend in high school who was both 1) black and 2) not a member of the Church (as usual, when I refer to the Church, I am talking about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or the Mormons)(Unofficial motto: “Not as weird and twice as nice as everyone things we are!”). This made her stand out among the almost completely homogenous population of my Sandy, UT high school. But she was very friendly and very cool and was very popular. One day, when we were seniors, she asked if we could talk sometime. We ended up going out to lunch (to Sweet Tomatoes . . . I haven’t been back since, but I do recall that it was delicious.). While we were there we were just shooting the breeze and she told me that she was considering joining the Church. I was surprised and happy, and immensely flattered that she wanted to ask me to help her to talk out a few doubts that she had.

One of those doubts is one that I’ve actually heard a couple of times and have thought about a lot more times besides that. My friend, who was black, was concerned by the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon and several verses about them. The Lamanites comprise one of two major people’s (well, three if you are technical. We aren’t right now.) in the Book of Mormon’s history. They are descendents of the same family as the other people, the Nephites. The Lamanites and the Nephites in their 1000 year history are often at war with each other. Also, depending on the time and season, they alternately live righteously, according to the commandments of God as delivered to them by the prophets who lived among them.

As I mentioned the Lamanites and the Nephites are actually descendents from the same family. The are families and followers of Laman and Nephi, two brothers who came to the Americas from ancient Jerusalem. Their father was a prophet who was told to leave Jerusalem before it’s destruction. Nephi believed his father, was blessed by God, and himself became a prophet. Laman did not believe, doubted, and at various times tried to kill his father and his brother. These two families separated and grew to become peoples.

Aaaaand here’s the source of the concern my friend had. When the Lamanites and the Nephites parted ways (there were threats of death and destruction on the part of the Laman toward Nephi and his family)(2 Nephi 5:3-5), the Book of Mormon says that, “They [the Lamanites] were cut off from [the Lord’s] presence. And he [the Lord] had caused a cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that the had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my [Nephi’s] people, the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them. And thus saith the Lord God: I will cause that they shall be loathsome unto my people, save they shall repent of their iniquities.” (2 Nephi 5:20)

The curse of the Lamanites is referenced several other times in the course of the Book of Mormon’s history: “And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a curse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion against their bretheren . . . And this was done that their [the Lamanites’] seed might be distinguished from the seed of their brethren, that the Lord God might preserve his people, that they might not mix and believe in incorrect traditions which would prove their destruction.”
Clearly, this seems like a troubling set of passages: There was a wicked, murderous man who led his family to believe as he did. They were cursed and given dark skins. This was done so that they might not mix with the more righteous people as this mixing would prove the destruction of the righteous traditions of that same righteous people.

Without a doubt, the implication is that dark skin = curse. That is what my friend was concerned about. She loved her family, her heritage, and her skin color. She felt that this didn’t correlate well with the other teachings of the Book of Mormon and wondered what I thought.
Here is, I think, the answer. I believe that the Lamanites were indeed cursed and that their skins were indeed turned dark (in some manner or method that no one really understands). But I think that these are two different and separate things: 1) cursed and separated from revelation/inspiration/presence of God and 2) skins are darkened. What’s the difference? I think that on a personal level, these things can happen separately all the time: people sin, rebel against the truth of God and innocent people get to have dark skin all the time (shout out to adorable black babies: keep being adorable!). The real curse, the one with lasting impact? The separation from God. If that curse, which is really, the only REAL curse, does not follow you or your family because of your decisions to follow God and his commandments, then the color of your skin is incidental and does not matter in the least, to God and (in a perfect world) to anyone else either..

Here are some further scriptures that support this idea (what the curse is all about):
- Nephi (the one who was threatened to be killed by his brothers) wrote: “For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembered the heathen; and all are alike unto God both Jew and Gentile.” (2 Nephi 27:33)

- As a set of missionaries is about to go out among the Lamanites, they say of the Lamanites: “Thus they were a very indolent people, many of whom did worship idols, and the curse of God had fallen upon them because of the traditions of their fathers.” (the reasons for the curse: wicked traditions of their fathers and idolatry).

- After having great success preaching among the Lamanites, thousands are converted. It says of them, that “the curse of God did no more follow after them.” (Alma 23:18).