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
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
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