A Different Approach to Adult Content

Thoughts directed to  youth, children, parents, leaders and missionary aged YSA battling against pervasive sex film/ pictures and literature.

People who make sexual material benefit from your sex drive.

A sex drive is healthy and normal. People profiting off of the teenage and below age of majority sex drive, or the curiosity of children is not. Producers of adult content are paying professional performers, or writers, to appeal to your wonderful natural sexual instincts or curiosity to get clicks or money from you.

The producers of the material that you consume were likely able to get to you before you had reached the age where you were able to make adult choices about sex. Almost 100% of youth do not make it through highschool without having seen adult sexual material.

Years ago, sexual material had to be purchased. It was only able to be purchased by adults. Adults then had a responsibility to keep magazines, VHS or cable subscriptions away from their children. Some did this better than others. But at least society would safeguard children at the 7-Eleven, or video rental store. The adult titles were in a separate room curtained off.

Now with the freedom provided to producers of sex films, performer/producers can reach any age person with just a simple google search.

When they reach a child, society may call it "unfortunate" or "bound to happen"

What we should be calling it is "indecent exposure" or "sexual exploitation of a minor"

The producer of the content is taking no safeguard to protect children. There is zero incentive for them to keep the material out of the hands of kids. In fact they have every incentive to keep you desiring to click for more sexual material.

So...

For you, this means that the material that you are viewing or are tempted to view should not be available to you. It should only be available to adults. Not when you are a child/teen.

No child should ever be exposed to adult entertainment. We do not allow children into strip clubs, or adult movie theatres, Society however allows them to have unlimited access to sexual material on the internet. With no punishment to the person who creates the material or to those who distribute it through ISP's, website domains, and payment gateway's.

You are still below the age of majority in some jurisdictions, and legally would not be able to purchase the material that you are accessing for free, or buying.

Essentially, you were taken advantage of sexually as a minor for your clicks. You were exploited by some people who had no care for your natural hormones and natural sex drive. You were mentally sexually abused.

Sex films aren't for kids.

If you are clicking to or turning to these materials, you have been exploited by the sex film industry. This can start from a young age.

Rather than seek treatment for addiction or sinful behavior, your treatment should be closer to that of someone who was abused. You deserve empathy, love and compassion. God loves you and wants you to be whole. You should be given a huge hug and a lot of love and support.

Go and get help. Stop white knuckling this on your own. You are battling this fight incorrectly. If there is an adult or peer you trust, talk to them, work up the courage to talk to a parent, and your bishop. Discuss this approach with your bishop, take your parent or the trusted peer or other adult with you.

You may be fighting yourself when you should have an enemy to fight.

Your enemy is the people profiting off of you. They have played the trick of internet freedom and freedom of expression in order to reach minors. Battle back by not giving them your money and clicks. Don't support their business.

You are not an addict. You are a victim.

Alma 3:4-6 Marks, Skin, Temple

I have been pondering Alma 3:4-6

4 And the Amlicites were distinguished from the Nephites, for **they had marked themselves with red in their foreheads after the manner of the Lamanites; nevertheless they had not shorn their heads like unto the Lamanites.

5 Now the heads of the Lamanites were shorn; and they were naked**, save it were skin which was girded about their loins, and also their armor, which was girded about them, and their bows, and their arrows, and their stones, and their slings, and so forth.

6 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 brethren, who consisted of Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph, and Sam, who were just and holy men.

The Amlicites mark themselves. However they only do the forehead, they don’t do the other markings of dress and hair and loin material made of skin. the lamanites are “naked” except the skin.

The mark is at least 4 things. Red on forehead, shorn hair, “skin” gird about loins and they are naked.

Except how are they naked when they have skins girding their loins and all the armor on?

Then we learn more about the mark in 6. The “skins” of the lamanites were “dark”.

The mark- at least 4 elements were “set upon” their fathers

The mark was there because “transgression and their rebellion against Their brethren”

Let’s bring this full circle.

Transgression was that they tried to Kill Nephi.

This was like Cain. He killed Abel and was cursed he was naked and he was dark etc.

Laman and Lemuel have been “through the temple” They had a garment ( skin) with marks placed upon them. To cover their nakedness. They had made covenants that were binding and had ramifications of cursing if not adhered to.

Then they attempted to murder nephi.

Broke covenant, removed nephite temple garment (a white skin), put on different garments- (a Black skin), and marked themselves to distinguish themselves physically from the Nephites.

Fast forward to Alma 3. They are quite different now from each other. The Lamanites have been cursed for decades/centuries and they are still marking themselves after the manner of their fathers. Their Skins go about their loins are dark and contrast the white skin or garment of the Nephites.

The endowment is key to understanding Alma 3:4-6

What does it mean to Disavow the Words of a Prophet?

Ponder the word disavow...

We have in the past had statements, explaining the temple and priesthood ban, from beloved leaders of our church regarding race. These bans were removed from African Americans in 1978. Prior to that there were bans on other races. These explanations have now been disavowed.

What on earth does disavow mean?

President Oaks was a Utah Supreme Court Justice.

He spoke at the “Be one” celebration. He said “The reasons that had been given to try to explain the prior restrictions on members of African ancestry — even those previously voiced by revered Church leaders — were promptly and publicly disavowed.”

*** Update - the disavowal has gone further - Elder Stevenson said  "Our position as a Church is clear. We do condemn all racism, past or present, in any form and we disavow any theory that black or dark skin is a sign of a curse. We are brothers and sisters and I consider you friends.”

There are 2 definitions of disavowed, the common definition, and the legal one.

Common definition
Disavow transitive verb1 : to deny responsibility for : REPUDIATE disavowed the actions of his subordinates 2 : to refuse to acknowledge or accept : DISCLAIM

Legal definition.
TO DISAVOW.1.  To deny the authority by which an agent pretends to have acted as when he has exceeded the bounds of his authority.      2. It is the duty of the principal to fulfill the contracts which have been entered into by his authorized agent; and when an agent has exceeded his authority, he ought promptly to disavow such act, so that the other party may have his remedy against the agent. See Agent; Principal.

I think the first definition, found in a regular dictionary doesn't fit what President Oaks was saying.

I submit that President Oaks is using his background as a lawyer and justice, to legally define the disavowal of the actions of beloved former leaders. I believe he means definition #2

This is a serious matter. This is historic. This definition fits.

By this definition a prophet can act within authority and without authority. When it’s determined that they are out of authority the actions are disavowed. This does not dismiss the authority that they do have. Nor does it fix the problems that the actions may have caused.

As a collective the church members faithfully followed direction that had no divine authority or mandate. Sadly there have been serious ramifications. When some of our members read these passages it adds an unnecessary burden to their membership in the kingdom.

This requires no gymnastics. It’s straightforward. It’s straight up agency. We fought for Agency. We act as agents of God. We can be incorrect agents. Prophets can be prophets and act outside of authority.

We have traditionally interpreted scriptures with racial overtones incorrectly. We must disavow these incorrect teachings. It’s imperative.

We can teach an enlightened view.

Ark the Cherub Angels Sing!

In Don Bradley's book The Lost 116 pages he compares the Ark of the Covenant to the Stone Box that Joseph and Emma were led to by the Angel Moroni.

The "ark" that Joseph found was inverse to that of the Ark of the covenant.  Meaning that the Nephite Ark was stone, and the Plates were of Gold.  Whereas the Mosaic Ark was Gold and the Commandments in Stone.

The Arks contained the temple relics. All of these point to the Savior.

Here is a table of contents:

Ark of the Covenant	Nephite Ark	Meaning
Cherubs	Moroni	Angelic Security
10 commandments	Book of Mormon	Word of God
Mercy Seat	Stone	Revelation
Goliath's Sword	Laban's Sword	Deliverance
Ephod	Breast Plate	Righteousness
Manna	Liahona	Food
Stones touched by God	Interpreters	He reveals himself
Aaron's Rod	Liahona	Will of the Lord

The day I listened to the podcast that talked about the Arks, we had the Sister Missionaries over for a meal.  They shared a video for the message. The video was "For God so Loved the World"

Did you catch something in the opening scenes,  What was stone?

The tomb! 

Let's add it to the Table

Ark of the Covenant	Nephite Ark	Tomb	Meaning
Cherubs	Moroni	Angels	Angelic Security
10 commandments	Book of Mormon	Christ is the Word	Word of God
Mercy Seat	Stone	Christ is the Judge	Revelation
Goliath's Sword	Laban's Sword	Christ delivers us from sin	Deliverance
Ephod	Breast Plate	Christ will gather is Sheep	Righteousness
Manna	Liahona	Christ is the Bread of Life	Food
Stones touched by God	Interpreters	He is Risen!	He Reveals himself
Aaron's Rod	Liahona	He is the way, truth, life	Will of the Lord

There are more columns we can add.  There was one more that was in the video.  The Birth of Christ!

Birth	Meaning
Angels	Angelic Security
The Son of God	Word of God
Born in a Cave of Stone, Placed in a manger of Stone	Revelation
The hope of Atonement	Deliverance
Swaddling Clothes	Righteousness
Animals Eat their food from the manger	Food
A New Star in Heavens	He is born/Reveals Himself
Wise men sought him	Will of the Lord

Are there examples of other Arks?

Emma came to get the plates with Joseph, Mary witnessed the resurrected Savior, the High Priest guarded the Ark in the Holy of Holies. Shepherds, and Wisemen witnessed the Birth of the Savior.

All sacred relics pointed to the Savior.  They pointed to the atonement and resurrection.  They guide us to Him and the hope and peace that is found in Him.

Connecting the Ark's is critical to remembering the Savior.  These objects served to connect testimony and the love of God through time.  To remember that covenants made in Holy Temples are sacred and to be guarded, and remembered.  That we honor Christ by remembering and loving and coming to Him.

I ordered Don's book The Lost 116 Pages today, I am excited to read it.    

Symbolism of Garments and Darkness Part #6

I enjoy conversing with other bloggers. Recently I came across a blog post that had a point I had not pondered. I asked for permission to link to their blog.

Nakedness before God

Alma's teachings from Nephi's temple

These point specifically to the teachings of Alma and Moroni concerning the Garment. These are wonderful temple connections.  The breaking of the covenant and the wearing of the garment were very important to the Nephite prophets.  They described their Lamanite brethren often in terms of the lack of clothing that they had on. e.g. Naked, or Naked except... etc.

There is an entry from Book of Mormon Central that I read concerning the Gadianton robbers.  They take a Skin and die it in blood and wear it during their guerilla attacks.  This would have been an insult and a mockery of the atonement, and the garment that the nephites wore.

https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/why-did-the-gadianton-robbers-wear-a-lamb-skin

By dying their skin in blood, and girding themselves with a lamb-skin, the Gadianton robbers may have been making a mockery of the Lamb of God, whose blood was sacrificed for the sins of the world. In a temple setting, priests ritually executed lambs with solemnity and care. However, in this woeful battle, the Gadianton Robbers blasphemously slaughtered the animal and smeared themselves in blood.

There are some fantastic resources at the bottom of the linked article for further reading.

Ancient use for Blackness and the Smoking Gun. Part #5

The Blackness Smoking Gun!

I spent a great deal of time pondering.

Then on Dec 10th it hit me. Try the Quran, its religious!

So I went to the Quran and word searched "black." There were several hits, however one in particular seemed relevant.

Here is what I found.

Quran 3:106 on the day when [some] faces will turn white and [some] faces will turn black. As for those whose faces turn black [it will be said to them], ‘Did you disbelieve after your faith? So taste the punishment because of what you used to disbelieve.’

Interestingly, this Scripture is a source of disagreement between some muslim scholars.  Some feel that this scripture is to be interpreted literally, while others believe it is just an idiom or figure of speech.

I had found one, now there must be more.  I pondered what other texts were religious that may have been from that time period.

If hit me like a ton of bricks, what about the apocrypha?

I searched the apocrypha, and found this in Esdras.

2 Esdras 7:47-61 especially verse 55

 47 For what profit is it for men now in this present time to live in heaviness, and after death to look for punishment? 
48 O thou Adam, what hast thou done? for though it was thou that sinned, thou art not fallen alone, but we all that come of thee. 
49 For what profit is it unto us, if there be promised us an immortal time, whereas we have done the works that bring death? 
50 And that there is promised us an everlasting hope, whereas ourselves being most wicked are made vain? 
51 And that there are laid up for us dwellings of health and safety, whereas we have lived wickedly? 52 And that the glory of the most High is kept to defend them which have led a wary life, whereas we have walked in the most wicked ways of all? 
53 And that there should be shewed a paradise, whose fruit endureth for ever, wherein is security and medicine, since we shall not enter into it? 
54 (For we have walked in unpleasant places.) 
55 And that the faces of them which have used abstinence shall shine above the stars, whereas our faces shall be blacker than darkness? 
56 For while we lived and committed iniquity, we considered not that we should begin to suffer for it after death. 
57 Then answered he me, and said, This is the condition of the battle, which man that is born upon the earth shall fight; 
58 That, if he be overcome, he shall suffer as thou hast said: but if he get the victory, he shall receive the thing that I say. 
59 For this is the life whereof Moses spake unto the people while he lived, saying, Choose thee life, that thou mayest live. 
60 Nevertheless they believed not him, nor yet the prophets after him, no nor me which have spoken unto them, 
61 That there should not be such heaviness in their destruction, as shall be joy over them that are persuaded to salvation.

I was jubilant.

To me this was the smoking gun. Contemporary usage for referring to sin as black faces or skin.

The faces of those were were disbelieving, and have committed iniquity were black. In contrast to those who have chosen to believe.

Part #6 Symbolism of Black and White Garment

Nibley and the Nativity. Part #4

Ponder the Light the World video The Christ Child and the Innkeeper.

Maybe watch it again watch for all the inns and innkeepers.

Ok

No innkeeper.

What?!  Why?!  Ok here we go. Prophets and leaders and my mom and dad have taught me no room in the Inn meant the hotel was full. We have waxed poetic about this for over a century.

Well, turns out we were wrong.

See the Inn is better translated as a guest room or loft. Turns out we were the last to find out, it’s been in other bible translations for well... forever.

We just use KJV and they said inn probably because they would go to the pub after a day of translating.

So should we have to make a big deal about this change?

I submit that we don’t. We don’t need a revelation. It’s already revealed we have just been blind.

Nibley and Dead Ends with Lehi in the desert.

Where do you go if you want to find ancient parallels or setting that could be related to the Book of Mormon?

Book of Mormon Central is an excellent collection of the unique aspects of The Book of Mormon. One of the reference materials I came across was Lehi in the Desert by Nibley.

Nibley recorded the following in his book Lehi in the Desert, regarding ancient Hebrew Idiom for Blackness:

“This amazing coincidentia oppositorum is the clash of black and white. With the Arabs, to be white of countenance is to be blessed and to be black of countenance is to be cursed; there are parallel expressions in Hebrew and Egyptian.”

The Problem is that he didn't provide any references for its use, he just said it was so.

So where are we to go to find these clashes of black and white in Arabian texts?I didn't know any other ancient texts.  So I googled blackness in Books.Google.com. I didn't find much of anything for a religious text.

Nibley had made a claim but there was no reference.

Click here for Part #5 Ancient use of Blackness

Colors - Part #3

Melanin Levels:

Ponder the melanin levels of those historically closest and furthest from the Equator. If you watched the Marvin Perkins video in Part #2 you would have seen his excellent work showing the differences in skin tone and proximity to the Equator.

Mormonism has no clear statements on world history and geology. However we have had the influence of literal interpretations during our correlation efforts of the 1960's and 1970's. We had influential Apostles, like Bruce R McConkie, and President Joseph Fielding Smith who had a literal slant of interpretation. The 60's and 70's were a time of growth for the church, so many were baptised or born into a church with a predominant literal view of scripture. Some of our members have "Young Earth Creationism" views. This view necessitates a way to have differences in skin color explained in a relatively short 6000-8000 years. Others have a view of Creation that were periods of creation, that are not bound by a specific amount of time. These members typically have a view that the Book of Genesis, portions of the Book of Abraham, Moses, and Book of Mormon, are allegorical. This is especially true with Adam and Eve.

Let's suppose that God did punish Laman's offspring with a literal black skin, and bless Nephi with a literal white. Why do humans have different skin colors. What advantage does having dark skin give you in equatorial regions, how does white help when you live by the North Pole? I can think of no greater punishment for a people who are purportedly living in Meso America or outside somewhere in the Great Lakes, Baja, or wherever you place the geography of the Book of Mormon, than to be exceedingly white. I have seen first hand what happens to exceedingly white when it is left unprotected to the sun. It blisters up.

Vitamin D is essential for our bones. We get Rickets without it. Our bodies have adapted. Heavenly Father made us absorb vitamin D better the further we are from the equator. Lower melanin levels in the skin absorbs UV rays and vitamin D more abundantly than higher concentrations of melanin. Higher melanin levels protected our ancestors who lived in warm sunshine. It protects against melanoma and protects expectant mothers folate levels. So by design our wonderful bodies protect us no matter where we live. God would not make one of his groups of children more susceptible to disease, lower infant mortality levels, awful sunburns and melanoma by making them not just white, but exceedingly white. If color of skin was the indicator of righteousness in 550 BC then the most righteous people would have been those living in Scandinavia herding reindeer. I hope you find this preposterous. That’s because it actually is preposterous. God protects and loves his children; he made our bodies adaptable. https://blog.ed.ted.com/2016/03/22/the-science-of-skin-color-in-ted-ed-gifs/ Cultural differences are defining kind of on the same vein as melanin levels. People have been classifying themselves since the dawn of civilization.

When I was in high school we had preppy kids, headbangers, nerds, punks, grungy moshers, jocks and so forth. These groups were different. They wore different clothes, smoked at different doors, listened to different music, had unique hairstyles. They had tribal and cultural cues that differentiated each other. Even within my high school a veritable united nations of ethnic backgrounds we were identified not by skin tone but by our tribe.

Are literal interpretations really trying to say that the main method that Nephi and Laman could tell their families apart would be to essentially make one team wear a different permanent jersey color

Lamanites, who separated from the Nephites, left the covenant path, went into the wilderness, changed their diets, shorn their hair, changed their garments and wore animal skins, and put red marks on their foreheads, would certainly be able to tell if a Nephite were in their midst. They didn’t need color of skin to separate them. They could tell each other apart in so many ways. If a lamanite woman brought her nephite boyfriend home for dinner, they would be able to tell. “Hey you aren’t from around here, tell us about your family”

Other examples of this are, the caste systems in India, Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, and many more https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste

We also see gangs using different colors of clothing, tatoos, or other markings to show what side they are on.

Society's use visible clues other than skin type to divide into sub groups. The text of the Book of Mormon mentions many other indicators of differences.  If skin color were the primary differentiator, the other reasons given would be superfluous.

What About Bad Nephites?

Ponder Sharem, King Noah, Korihor what do they have in common. And stop….

Did you ponder why other nephites who are wicked just blend right in?  Nehor Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah? They are the worst kind of wicked. Sarcastic me would say, God forgets to skin color change them? 

Shouldn't God have made them not enticing, and had them be marked with blackness as well?

Why only change the skin color of the Lamanites?  If others are bad, why wouldn't all wicked people change skin color.

Why? Because God never changed any shades in first place. These men didn't join the Lamanites and mark themselves.

Colors

Ponder an artists color wheel

Can you see what’s missing?

There is no black or white. You cannot make white with any color. That would make it— not white, or, impure. White is actually the absence of color. Likewise black - Black is the absence of light. It is made by combining Red, Yellow and Blue, which are the basis for all color.

All humans, even the lightest, and the darkest, are the same color. We are all a shade of brown. Some have a deeper shade, others a lighter. But we are all a beautiful brown.

https://www.crayola.com/explore-colors/brown.aspx

If you want to believe the Book of Mormon literally you have to believe that God made some pitch black people and some stark white.

If God wanted us to know a specific color he would have instructed Nephi to discuss shades of brown. The Book of Mormon is the most correct book. It could not get a color scheme wrong and maintain that claim.

Red

Ponder what Native Americans were referred to as in Joseph Smith Jr’s day. 
Go to books.google.com. Search for terms (racist ones— I hope you don’t know any) that you think may have been used for native Americans in the  1820’s
Hint Jeopardy style: A Potomac basin NFL team that plays at Fedex field in the United States capital.  That uses this controversial colorful epithet as its namesake. 
What is Redskin?
Yes! Redskin, Also heathen, savages etc. there are horrible names that were and continue to be spoken of Native Americans. 
Now look up Redskin in Books.google.com. Set the date parameters from 1650-1829. You’ll find some books in the 1820’s that use the slur redskins, or red 
You know what you won’t find‽

Blackness

What’s with Joseph calling natives Black?

Ok honestly ask yourself. Was Joseph foolish enough to use a term that is usually reserved for African Americans, and apply it to natives?

A criticism is that Joseph used terms unique to the 1800’s and ideas from his culture or milieu. Then he is supposed to have inserted the 19th century issues into the Book of Mormon. 

Why would he get a pejorative terms for Natives wrong? 

I looked for uses of the word Blackness in describing anyone.  

Prior to 1830 it is not in usage.  There are uses of "Blackaroon" or Black to describe Sub Saharan Africans, but "Blackness" is not used to describe people. It's use was in scientific usage to describe a quality of black. 

The other uses were biblical for example in Isaiah it speaks of the Heavens being covered in blackness. Blackness alluding to a veil blocking the light/revelation of heaven.

White

How is Black and White used in other Scriptures

Let’s look at biblical usage: white: the Psalmist is taking a bath he’s feeling dirty, literally and metaphorically. In his double life he’s a "Peeping Tom" who sends men to the front line so he can commit adultery.

He pleads with the Lord to cleanse him. But look at the language. In theory he is a "white" man.

He’s using a hyssop (2. (in biblical use) a wild shrub of uncertain identity whose twigs were used for sprinkling in ancient Jewish rites of purification.) and purifying himself.  Begging to be made whiter! He’s already white. 

Jacob 3: 8 

[8] O my brethren, I fear that unless ye shall repent of your sins that their skins will be whiter than yours, when ye shall be brought with them before the throne of God.

Do we really think Jacob is speaking literally here...that he was worried for the Nephites that the Lamanites might become whiter in their skin color than they were.  The context is also similar in that David was lamenting his breaking the law of chastity and Jacob was specifically chastising the Nephites for seeking more wives and concubines, while crediting the Laminaties for maintaining one wife.

Then we have Jeremiah (contemporary of Nephi): He’s bemoaning the wickedness of His people. Jeremiah 8:21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.

He’s black. 

What‽ Look at the footnote it’s a known Hebrew idiom for gloomy.  See where it takes you. Nahum 2:10 She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.

Joel 2:6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.

So if Joseph is copying the Bible, did he just mess up? Is he using a term out of place did he not understand Jeremiah Joel and Nahum?

Nope he uses it perfectly and may have not even understood it himself. 

A person, David, cannot get whiter by bathing, this is clearly idiom. A person's skin color does not turn black due to the sinning of the children of God.

Colors in the Book of Mormon

Here are 3 stanzas in the Book of Mormon. Ponder ..,black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.


..,both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous;
...both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church, having no respect to persons as to those who stood in need.


In this section I am going to defer to Marvin Perkins: all italics are his

2 Nephi 26:3
2 Nephi 26:33 “and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.” 

Well, you now know that this has nothing to do with race. They’re talking about the wicked or the righteous, those who, you know, have left the fold, or those who stay in the fold. Now, the beautiful thing about it is that he gave (“he” being the Lord) gave Joseph Smith the same pattern to translate with a slight twist in each of these three. So, here you have the same pattern with your – “black and white, bond and free, male and female.” 

Now compare that to Alma 1:30 and Alma 11:44.
Alma 1:30 & 11:44
Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous;
Alma 11:44
…and they did not set their hearts upon riches; therefore they were liberal to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church, having no respect to persons as to those who stood in need.
Alma 1:30
Now, in Alma 1:30 and behold “…they did not set their hearts upon riches; therefore they were liberal to all, both old and young,” (there’s your pattern) “…bond and free… male and female, whether out of the church or in the church,” There’s your black or white.
How about Alma 11: 44? “Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free… male and female,” (again, there’s your pattern) “both the wicked and the righteous.
...thanks Marvin.
We have been wresting this scripture as much as we have 2 Nephi 5:21
By interpreting "black, white" as nationality or race we cement the tragedy of assigning skin color based on righteousness and cursing.  We have tried to explain it away by saying that it was the mark, but not a curse, and that the curse is no longer there, but that the mark stayed, but is no longer to be interpreted as a sign of the curse.
This is painful mental gymnastics to try and comprehend. This leads to misunderstanding, confusion, and sometimes disaffection from the church.
Click here for part #4 Nibley & Nativity

Such an Idiom! - Part #2

Here is your assignment for #2 think of some idioms or metaphors that you see in The Book of Mormon. Hint here is one, Hardened their hearts.

Note: I feel like for this section you would be best just spending an hour to listen to or read up on Marvin Perkins. An especially good hour of your time should be spent watching on Youtube, a presentation that he did for a group of saints in Sweden. 

https://youtu.be/i_UsOPZ_-uI  The thrust of Marvin’s talk isn’t just the Priesthood and Temple restrictions for members of sub saharan African descent, he does such a good job of sharing insight into the idioms.

Idiom examples. Skin of blackness, scales of darkness, hard heart, blind eyes, Stiff necks, scales over eyes,  exceedingly white all are idioms.  There are many idioms in the Book of Mormon, the ones I’ll list here are specific to body parts.

Hardened their hearts 2 Ne 5: 21

Stiffened their necks 2 Ne 6:10

Sidney Sperry  Wrote about idioms https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1107&context=jbms

“Opened their mouth”

“By the hands of” Alma 9:10

The heart in ancient Israel was thought to be where our intelligence was stored. We had our thoughts in our hearts. The brain was just a bunch of grey matter in your skull. To have a hard heart was to have one’s thoughts not centered on God. Indeed it was choosing spiritual separation from God.

A stiff necked person was one who is stubborn and unchanging. No desire to repent.

The skin covers our body. If we are pure, we are white. If we are sinful we are black. The reference to skin, means that the difference can be observed. It is visual, and one can tell gloomy from pure. Gloomy - in an otherwise healthy individual, looks sad. Purity-radiates. 

Ancient Hebrews used body parts to compare to a degree of faithfulness, so why not use skin to describe all over sinfulness and atrociousness in wickedness?

1828 Dictionary: Flint: noun -  3. Any thing proverbially hard; as a heart of flint

This is telling us that it is a proverb - from same source: http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/Poverb  

PROVERB 3. In Scripture, it sometimes signifies a moral sentence or maxim that is enigmatical; a dark saying of the wise that requires interpretation.

Why Flint? This is to help establish that Nephi is speaking proverbially in this verse.  

He also uses “hardened their hearts against him.” This is a clear idiom meaning thag http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/hardened  

HARDENED, participle passive Made hard, or more hard or compact; made unfeeling; made obstinate; confirmed in error or vice. Someone who has hardened their heart is unfeeling, made obstinate or is confirmed in error or vice.

http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/heart 

HEART  4. The seat of the affections and passions, as of love, joy, grief, enmity, 

courage, pleasure etc. The heart is deceitful above all things. Every imagination of the thoughts of the heart is evil continually. We read of an honest and good heart and an evil heart of unbelief, a willing heart a heavy heart sorrow of heart a hard heart a proud heart a pure heart The heart faints in adversity, or under discouragement, that is, courage fails; the heart is deceived, enlarged, reproved, lifted up, fixed, established, moved, etc.

So a heart can be hardened. This is a familiar axiom. Most have grown up understanding that we don’t want our hearts proverbially in the wrong place, or set on the wrong things.

Taking an Idiom literally is a poor way to understand scripture. 

Let’s take for instance the hard heart.  If we take this literally we are saying that people, who are sinful and set their hearts on the things of the world, are basically suffering a major heart attack. Their arteries are clogged and death is imminent. This of course is foolish.  

The idiom does not need much interpretation we know that God doesn’t smite people with a literal hard heart.

How about a stiff neck? I think that if there were Lamanite and Nephite chiropractors, that they would have done really good business depending on who was not righteous at a particular time. 

Again, we know that this is a figure of speech and that God does not make the wicked and stubborn among us require Ibuprofen, massage, alignment, and a warm bath to be soothed.

Scales of Darkness, 2 Nephi 30:6

6 And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a pure and a delightsome people.

This verse was the one that Joseph changed in 1840, he took out the idiom of white and changed it to pure.  When we understand that there are other idioms in this scripture we also see the ancient textual evidence come forth.  Notice, that Nephi also gives God a "hand" in this scripture. 

I don't know if Nephi was trying to help us understand God's corporeal nature here, or if this is just another idiom.

How about a skin of blackness; why use skin?  Well, the Lamanites were really bad. Nephi’s brothers were plotting to kill him.  They were rebelling against a great light. They had seen an angel, had Laban delivered to them, watched their brother build a boat, and many other miracles, yet they persisted in extreme wickedness so much so that their countenances had a change that was defining.  They were all over bad.  The body part that is all over us is our skin.  It is not a stretch mark to see that this idiom fits.  There is a pattern of comparing righteousness and wickedness to body parts.  The very scripture in 2 Ne 5:21 has the idiom for hard heart before discussing a skin of blackness.  Blackness, remember, is enormity in wickedness. 

Many in the church, choose to interpret this blackness as an indication of race.

This is a controversial interpretation. It requires setting aside the definition of the day, and also disregards the idiom that surrounds it.

One reason that this happens is that it is hard to get Idiom correct.  Idiom by definition is supposed to not translate well.

An idiom (also called idiomatic expression) is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning conventionally understood by native speakers. This meaning is different from the literal meaning of the idiom's individual elements. 

In other words, idioms don't mean exactly what the words say.

Let’s keep going, we are just getting started.  Click for Part 3 Melanin Levels 

Is it truly Black and White? - Part #1

A large portion of The Book of Mormon is dedicated to describing the two major groups of people and their interactions with each other and with God.The Nephites carried the priesthood, and the ordinances associated with the temple, while the Lamanites spurned the covenants, temple, and priesthood, bringing upon themselves a curse.

The Book of Mormon describes the differences between the two groups in several ways. The most controversial of these are "skin of blackness," and "enticing."

There are several reasons that on the surface these words are offensive. Some may read these and find that the terms are racial, and demeaning.  Others may find that these passages are incongruent with a loving God. This can lead to disaffection and dismissal of The Book of Mormon, or at minimum raise questions as to the reason this is in the book.

The premise of this series of posts is that the "Skin of Blackness" mentioned in The Book of Mormon is not literal, and that "enticing" is not meant as physically sensual.

The problem is, how can we tell what a verse of scripture means, when we don't have the original work. In this case we don't have a copy of the Gold Plates to compare to the words revealed to Joseph Smith.

The Book of Mormon was translated in 1828 and 1829. The claim is that it was translated into the words of our day, (early 19th century).

I use a dictionary that was relevant to Joseph’s day.  the 1828 Websters.

Assignment #1 right click the link, or press and hold your finger, and choose the option to open a new tab in your web browser, and pull up the following link http://webstersdictionary1828.com/

The Book of Mormon was translated by 1829, the closest contemporary dictionary was the 1828 dictionary.  It should therefore contain the ways in which the words in the Book of Mormon were to be defined.

If we want to understand what words mean, we need to consider them in context.

Word meanings change over time. A common example is the word “cool,” Cool used to only mean references to temperature or aloofness.  Now the word describes a particular confidence and swagger that an individual or object carries.

Think of what you define these terms as.  Then look up the definitions of the following 3 words from my favorite scripture in The Book of Mormon: 2 Nephi 5:21


White

Blackness

Enticing

Did you use the dictionary to find other definitions?
Let's review these together.

White:

WHITE, adjective [G.]

1. Being in the color of pure snow; snowy; not dark; as white paper; a white skin.

2. Pale; destitute of color in the cheeks, or of the tinge of blood color; as white with fear.

3. Having the color of purity; pure; clean; free from spot; as white robed innocence.

4. Gray; as white hair; a venerable man, white with age.

5. Pure; unblemished.

No whiter page than Addisons remains.

6. In a scriptural sense, purified from sin; sanctified. Psalms 51:7.

What do you think? #1 says color of pure snow...a white skin. #2 is when the color leaves your face, like anytime I am on a plane and there is turbulence. #3 Purity, #4 ?, #5 Pure -- Addison's remains are the vitiligo, or white patches on the skin from Addison's disease.


#6 is a religious definition, purified, with the reference to Psalms 51:7  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

What about when it comes to the “skin of Blackness” if we use the definition for Blackness then we arrive at our next point.

BLACK'NESS, noun The quality of being black; black color; darkness; atrociousness or enormity in wickedness.



I pondered what “quality of being black”  means, and landed on that it is a descriptor, not a color mention.  The “black color” is a little tricky because if that was the only definition then we’d stop and interpret this as being color of ones skin. Darkness could mean dark skin.


OK how about Enticing? This is a difficult word to understand in 2 Ne 5:21, it makes it seem like the lamanites are ugly, or unsexy.  It appears that God is keeping them apart by their looks. First, God doesn’t have ugly children, they are all made in His Image. So why would he make some ugly?

http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/Enticing

ENTI'CING, participle present tense Inciting to evil; urging to sin by motives, flattery or
persuasion; alluring.
1. Having the qualities that entice or allure.

It is important to note there is nothing that talks about physical attractiveness here. Only "Inciting to Evil, Urging to sin by motives flattery, or persuasion."

Word use changes over time, these were accepted definitions right at the time and place where Joseph Smith was.  There are other dictionaries that were in use at this time they largely agree with each other on the definitions of these words.  This is an American Dictionary, and it was especially useful in giving religious definitions to words that were biblical. Some of the other dictionaries do not give the religious definitions of words.

The Book of Mormon is a religious text, it is fitting that the Webster’s has definitions that are in harmony with revealed truths.

Joseph incidentally used the word "pure" when he updated the Book of Mormon in 1840

2Ne 30:6

1830 edition: " they shall be a white and a delightsome people."
1840 edition: " they shall be a pure and a delightsome people."
This use of the word pure is consistent with how white is defined in the 1828 Dictionary.  By the time 1840 rolled around there was likely already changes to how the word white was being used.

Here are the uses of the word Entice in The Book of Mormon - sadly we have used a present day understanding of enticing.  We think of it as seducing, which in the context of a separation of two sets of people, leads us to connote sexual attractiveness.

So the best thing to do is compare it's use to other uses in The Book of Mormon, here are all of them.

2 Nephi 2:16 Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.

2 Nephi 5:21  And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. 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.

2 Nephi 9:39 O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal.

Mosiah 3:19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

Helaman 6:26 Now behold, those secret oaths and covenants did not come forth unto Gadianton from the records which were delivered unto Helaman; but behold, they were put into the heart of Gadianton by that same being who did entice our first parents to partake of the forbidden fruit --

Helaman 7:16  Yea, how could you have given way to the enticing of him who is seeking to hurl away your souls down to everlasting misery and endless wo?

Moroni 7:12 Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that which is evil continually.

13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.

There is nothing that indicates any other use is different than the definition of 1828.  It is apparent that the 2 Ne 5:21 use has been wrested by us and critics of the church to a present day understanding of sexual attractiveness.

I have found the 1828 dictionary to be helpful in my Book of Mormon Study.  The Oxford dictionary is great as well, look for "Archaic" definitions.

Part 2 Skin of Blackness