2 Ne 5:21-25

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The Book of Mormon > Second Nephi > Chapter 5

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1 Questions
2 Lexical notes
3 Exegesis
4 Related links

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Questions

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Verse 20-25

These verses seem problematic to many. At first glance it appears that God is cursing the Lamanites for their lack of obedience by giving them black skin. If God gives black skin as a punishment (or curse), that seems to suggest that those with black skin are inferior in the eyes of God. But this is not what we want to believe of God, because it suggests an imperfection in him who has no imperfection. On the other hand, modifying our views on the equality of different races is an unacceptable way of resolving the tension. What is the best way to read these verses in order to resolve the tension? What is a faithful, yet less disturbing, reading of this verse?

Is it reasonable to interpret the nature of the cursing as being cut off from the present of the Lord (see v.20)? What does it mean to be cut off from the presence of the Lord? No more angels for Laman and Lemuel? No more working Liahona? No more Holy Ghost? No more contemporary prophet? In what way do the Nephites enjoy the presence of the Lord that the Lamanites do not?

What do these verses about being cut off from the presence of the Lord suggest about his nature? Many members find comfort in the view that we move away from the Lord rather than him moving away from us. But in these verses, the Lamanites are "cut off" from the Lord's presence (see v.20). He "causes" the curse to come on them (v. 21) and he "causes" the skin of blackness to come on them (v.21). He "causes" that they become loathsome (v.22). In other words, when Laman and Lemuel are cut off from the presence of the Lord, this isn't simply something that do to themselves, but something that the Lord has done to them.

What other scriptures can we look to for evidence that God doesn't value his children according to the color of their skin?

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Verse 22

In verse 22, the Lord tells Nephi that he will cause the Lamanites to be loathsome to the Nephites.

What does loathsome mean? Are the Lamanites loathsome to the Nephites because they have black skin? Are they loathsome because they are idle (see v. 24)? Are they loathsome because of some other aspect of the curse? Are they loathsome as a result of their iniquities and failure to hearken or are they loathsome as a result of the curse the Lord causes because of the Lamanites' iniquities and failure to hearken? Verse 22 suggests that if the Lamanites were to change their ways then they would not be loathsome. Is this because they would no longer have black skins (no need for the Lord to worry about whether they are enticing to the Nephites if they are on the strait and narrow), or is it because the Nephites would have thought of being separated from the presence of the Lord as loathsome?
Why does the Lord make the Lamanites loathsome to the Nephites?
When the sons of Mosiah went to preach to the Lamanites did they see them as loathsome? More broadly, did the people of King Mosiah continue to see the Lamanites as loathsome during this time period?

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Verse 23

In verse 23, we are told that those who mix with the Lamanites will be cursed with the same cursing. A natural way to intepret this is to suppose that the Lamanites are given the curse of black skin and anyone who mixes with them gets black skin. But what if we interpret the curse to mean being cut off from the presence of the Lord? Can verse 23 reasonably be read this way? Those who mix with the Lamanites will be cut off from the presence of the Lord just as the Lamanites were--a sore cursing indeed.

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