Colors also have social meanings that are quite separate from describing the eye’s perception of light waves. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them. A color difference should have immediately been apparent to the guards, but they do not notice the discrepancy. 2 Nephi 5:21-23; “And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. This chapter compares to Isaiah 4.. He provides no explanation for how this alteration occurs, other than to note that it comes through God. 12:19–20). According to Speiser, this mark is the letter taw, and none of the examples he cites refer to skin color. The use of that skin color to make cultural assumptions about race is social. Nephite prejudices were developed on distinctions more common to the ancient world and used reasons other than pigmentation. Possessing the mark cannot prove that the curse is skin color, because that would beg the very question that needs to be proved. Because they have become Nephites, they therefore “became white like unto the Nephites.” This shift in skin of blackness to skin became white on the basis of a change from outsider to insider explains why the first appearance of the idea of the curse on the Lamanites has a different inception than this mention in 2 Nephi 5:21. Even metaphorically, the skin and face were legitimate locations for the “display” of these spiritual characteristics. 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. There is only one clear example. They are called “red.” It should be recognized, however, that they are not “red.” Those whose skin is called “white” are also not white. Saying that any Amerindian has a black skin is incorrect even in modern skin color nomenclature. In Elizabethan England and in earlier Roman culture, the dark skin was the sign of a common laborer, and the lighter, whiter skin the sign of nobility. The full verse: "And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. [2 Nephi 5:21] . 2 Nephi 24. The opposite of “delightsome” is “loathsome.” The term “loathsome is paired with “dark” in 1 Nephi 12:23 and is the reason for the cursing in 2 Nephi 5:22. As set forth in 2 Nephi 2 and 2 Nephi 9, discuss the three fundamental doctrines of the gospel, the creation, the fall, and the atonement. 2 Nephi 3. There are two important aspects to this declaration. 2 Nephi 5. For example, 2 Nephi 5:21 still says: “And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. Israelites also shared this widespread prejudice against “others,” as Malina and Neyrey point out: “First-century members of the house of Israel felt concerning all other peoples the way the Greeks felt about barbarians.”. As Bruce Malina (professor of theology at Creighton University) and Richard Rohrbaugh (professor of religious studies at Lewis and Clark College) point out: The problem of social context is exacerbated when a reader from one culture reads a text written in and for a different culture, and when the text includes none of the necessary explanations: What we need to know is what that phrase means in the context of the people and times in which it was written. Their prejudices ran deeper and broader, as Malina and Neyrey explain: “In their assessment of their fellow human beings, elite ancients utilized a set of fixed categories, each with a limited range of descriptive, distinct features.… It is important to note that these categories were regularly presented. When the curse is operating and the Lamanites are outsiders, they are “loathsome” (the opposite of “delightsome”)—not desirable marriage partners. The Creation: We're created to be tried and learn of the difference between right and wrong. 2 Nephi 1–4 contains Lehi’s final words as a patriarch to his posterity. They were not, however, based on skin color as has been part of the more modern U.S. culture. \"What is that special form of sin which Isaiah sees? The Book of Mormon makes those associations, and the question is what the text means when it makes those associations. In prophecy, Nephi places the darkness of the Lamanites over 1,000 years later than we find it in 2 Nephi 5:21. Of significance is the fact that Moroni had to “search” for a Lamanite soldier. Nephites cannot be Nephites and not be “white.” “White” defines the insider. However, that prejudice always arises along the insider/outsider boundary, not the white/dark boundary. 2 Nephi 33. It would be seen as a prevention of apostasy, exactly like the prohibition against marrying Canaanites in the Old World. This was done so that the righteous would not intermarry with the wicked and thereby adopt their wicked ways. . (2 Nephi 2:25) Heavenly Father wants us to be happy. Indeed, it is much easier to compile a list of writers who take the phrase literally than of those who suggest an alternate reading. 2 Nephi 5:21 reads: And he had caused the cursing to come upon [the Lamanites], yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. He explained her reaction and experience with that information: “During the lesson they read a passage that the elders weren’t sure she understood. They are based on some visual perception, but coalesce into large categories that reflect the human tendency to categorize people. The only explicit prohibition of marriage partners in the Old Testament thus precluded an attractive marriage pool, but did so on religious grounds. John L. Sorenson suggested: Where Rodney Turner clearly believes that the change is not metaphorical, Sorenson just as clearly declares it to be precisely metaphorical. 2 Nephi 16. 2 Nephi 5:21 "And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. They are white by cultural definition. Scripture Mastery. 2 Ne 5:21 he had caused the cursing to come upon them...that they might not be enticing unto my people. How can Lamanites be whiter than the Nephites? 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