Nephi's brothers stop listening to and obeying the commandments. The promise is that if they did so, they would be "cut off from the presence of the Lord" (see 2 Nephi 5:20, as one of several dozen places that this type of thing is mentioned about Laman and Lemuel specifically, I guess. I could look that up sometime. But not now).
What happens next is that the Lord caused "the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity...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."
Holy Offensive Racism Batman!
Here's how Ahmad Corbitt explains this phrase:
Church members and others should beware, as I warned the couple who came to talk with me, of a tactic some use to try to discredit the Book of Mormon. They cherry-pick isolated Book of Mormon references that, out of context, sound negative, even offensive, to us today. One example is the ancient description of Laman’s people as having “a skin of blackness” so “that they might not be enticing” to the Nephites. Admittedly, these expressions collide with current sensibilities and speech. But they should not distract readers from the grand, eternal perspectives and purposes I’m convinced the Lord intended for the Book of Mormon. Rather, they should serve as reminders of these perspectives and purposes. Readers of this scriptural record should keep in mind that these words reflect the cultural perceptions and customs of ancient people in response to an unusual color change in their family.
Perhaps the Lamanites, who usually avoided the Nephites except to do battle against them, saw the color difference between the two peoples in completely opposite terms. Who knows? What’s important is that the early Nephite writers’ reactions to the darkness of the Lamanites’ skin is of no significance to us in our day. Obviously, Church leaders do not hold up the Book of Mormon as an authority on the science of racial origins or as a standard for human attractiveness. I believe that like Paul’s statements about women who wore braided hair or spoke in church, the significance of Nephite descriptions of the Lamanites’ skin is merely historical, not doctrinal.
While these descriptions of the Lamanites’ skin color change are not doctrinally significant in my view, they do add important context. They highlight cultural challenges that existed for Book of Mormon peoples, foreshadowing challenges that humanity faces today. It is impressive that such references can ultimately enable the book to communicate such a timely, urgent, and global message of unity and harmony across race and ethnicity. Thus, the Lord’s overarching message of peace eclipses the cultural ethnocentricities of the book’s ancient writers and modern-day readers. For me, it is inspiring to read the Book of Mormon and to be reminded, by the references to skin color, that a loving Heavenly Father is using the book to guide the human family to greater unity and peace.
TLDR: Nephites were probably racists.
Corbitt then goes further to say that the inclusion of this phrase is actually evidence that Joseph Smith was called of God.
What does the Book of Mormon’s message of universal, multiracial unity in Christ say about Joseph Smith and his mission? Again, I believe the Lord foreknew advances that would transform the modern world into a global community. Consequently, He knew that we would have unprecedented opportunities for multiracial and multiethnic interrelations throughout the world.
In a display of divine irony, the Lord brought forth this racially unifying book in a land that was racially divided at the time, plagued with the slavery of Africans and the diaspora and maltreatment of Native Americans. Yet He also brought it forth in a land endowed with religious freedom and constitutional self-government. In His providence, He has, over time, raised up and inspired His children who enjoy these freedoms to facilitate ways for others to receive them, both within the United States and throughout the world, in order that His unifying gospel might be enjoyed by all.
It is miraculous that a book published in 19th-century America could include a record of a “fair”-skinned nation and a nation with a “skin of blackness” reaching pure equality and unity. That it could rise in ever-increasing relevance to become, in my view, the most racially unifying book of scripture in the world compels both mind and soul to recognize the hand of God in its emergence “out of obscurity, and out of darkness.”
These attributes of the Book of Mormon strengthen my conviction that Joseph Smith, a young man who lacked formal education, translated this volume of scripture by the power of God. Miraculously, he did so in approximately 55 to 65 working days. All of this background speaks resoundingly to the reasoned and reasonable witness of millions throughout the world that Joseph Smith Jr. was a true prophet of God. Ultimately, the Book of Mormon’s unifying power confirms the words of Moroni that the book had been prepared to testify “that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.”TLDR: The Book of Mormon teaches that salvation is available to all races when we repent. This idea was not popular during the 1830's in the United States, therefore: Joseph Smith got this idea from God.
Here are some of my ideas for what the "skin of blackness" could be:
- Genetic: the children of Laman and Lemuel (etc.) started mixing with the indigenous people of America who had darker skins. (I guess this is the consensus, mainstream view of most people I know)
- Clothing: perhaps there was some kind of marked clothing style that these people donned. Remember, the Nephites continued to live the Mosaic law for the next 500+ years until the coming of Jesus Christ - wasn't it against the commandments to like, touch certain animals like wild pigs and stuff?
- Biological: On that same note, perhaps something in the habits (so, biological but not through genetic inheritance) of the Lamanites could change the color of their skin. Something in their diet? Perhaps they were much more tan from working outside more, from uncovering their skin to the sun more?
- Symbolic: Maybe this "skin of blackness" is not literal at all; maybe it is just a phrase meaning that the people became really ugly and undesirable for the Nephites to marry and associate with.
- Lost in translation : Maybe something else.
Answer:
I'm not sure. I would have to research this more, but right now, I feel satisfied with accepting that the Nephites themselves probably did have racist aspects of their culture, so if they wrote some racist phrases, I could find it within myself to excuse Nephi "because of the weakness which is in [him]" as he specifically asked us to do.
I also feel satisfied knowing that there are extremely intelligent people like the scholar Hugh Nibley (this guy is my hero) who believed that this "skin" did not literally refer to race at all, but something else.
It would be nice to find out the answer to this question someday, for sure.
It would also be nice to ask Paul what the heck he was thinking when he wrote about women not being allowed to talk (or rule) in church in 1 Corinthians 14:34. Like, that little verse has been a thorn in women's side for centuries...but that's a tooootally different tangent.
