Chapter 2
Wickedness and
abominations increase among the people—The Nephites and Lamanites unite to
defend themselves against the Gadianton robbers—Converted Lamanites become
white and are called Nephites. About A.D. 5–16
Five years have passed since the signs of the Savior’s birth
had been given to the Nephites. The effects of the signs had slowly worn off. They
began to turn away from the truth and began to reject what they had seen and
heard.
The devil got hold of them. They came up with ways to explain
what had occurred. “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil
heart of unbelief, in departing [GR apostatizing, withdrawing from] from the
living God” (Hebrews 3:12).
What we see is the devil doing what he does best – deceive
us, preventing us to acknowledge the truth. “The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left
off to be wise, and to do good” (Psalms
36:3).
“Judge [OR Vindicate] me, O God, and plead my cause against
an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man” (Psalms
43:1).
“He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he
that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight” (Psalms 101:7).
“Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue” (Psalms
120:2).
“The wicked worketh a deceitful work…” (Proverbs 11:18).
“[T]he counsels of the wicked are deceit” (Proverbs 12:5).
“He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit
within him” (Proverbs 26:24).
They turned away from truth, believing the doctrine of Christ
was vain and foolish. “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a
stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is
wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians
1:23-25).[1]
More people began to embrace wickedness. They rejected any
future signs or wonder. Satan went throughout the land, leading people away
from truth and into sin. “And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then
Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from
walking up and down in it” (Job 1:7).
Satan used the same arguments Korihor used when challenging
Alma2 and Amulek.
O ye that are bound down under a
foolish and a vain hope, why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things? Why
do ye look for a Christ? For no man can know of anything which is to come.
Behold, these things which ye call
prophecies, which ye say are handed down by holy prophets, behold, they are
foolish traditions of your fathers.
How do ye know of their surety? Behold,
ye cannot know of things which ye do not see; therefore ye cannot know that
there shall be a Christ.
Ye look forward and say that ye see
a remission of your sins. But behold, it is the effect of a frenzied mind; and
this derangement of your minds comes because of the traditions of your fathers,
which lead you away into a belief of things which are not so.
And many more such things did he
say unto them, telling them that there could be no atonement made for the sins
of men, but every man fared in this life according to the management of the
creature; therefore every man prospered according to his genius, and that every
man conquered according to his strength; and whatsoever a man did was no crime.
And thus he did preach unto them,
leading away the hearts of many, causing them to lift up their heads in their
wickedness, yea, leading away many women, and also men, to commit
whoredoms—telling them that when a man was dead, that was the end thereof” (Alma
30:13-18).
We learn the Nephites had changed how they calculated their years.
They began to base their years on when the signs of Christ’s birth have been
given. Nine years have passed since the birth of Christ.
At this point, Mormon tells us Nephi3, the father
of Nephi4, had not returned to Zarahemla. He could not be found
throughout the land.[2]
In spite of all the preaching and prophesies throughout the
land, the people remained in wickedness, rejecting the words of God. Amulek had
warned, “For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even
until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and
he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from
you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this
is the final state of the wicked” (Alma 34:35).
In the thirteenth year, the Gadianton robbers had spread
throughout the land. They were effective at killing and laying waste to cities.
The Nephites and Lamanites realized their only hope was to battle the robbers.
As we have been told, the Gadianton robbers would eventually
be responsible for the destruction of Nephite society. Towards the end, Mormon
would write, “But behold, the land was filled with robbers and with Lamanites;
and notwithstanding the great destruction which hung over my people, they did
not repent of their evil doings; therefore there was blood and carnage spread
throughout all the face of the land, both on the part of the Nephites and also
on the part of the Lamanites; and it was one complete revolution throughout all
the face of the land” (Mormon 2:8).
Things were so bad, the righteous Lamanites united with
Nephites to protect themselves and their families. They fought against the
robbers to maintain their rights, the right to worship, the right to freedom,
and the right to liberty.
In the manner of such hosts, the
Gadiantons were able to defy the police and the military and put punitory
forces to flight (3 Nephi 2:11—12). It took a general strike to starve them out
because, like all military, “there was no way that they could subsist save it
were to plunder and rob and murder” (3 Nephi 4:5). Then there came another time
of peace, and many of the robbers were reformed and rehabilitated—they were
human beings after all; “and now there was nothing in all the land to hinder
the people from prospering continually, except they should fall into
transgression” (3 Nephi 6:5). It was clear sailing ahead, a happy ending to a
storm-tossed journey, a splendid economic boom and the flowering of a business
civilization. And how long did it stay on course? For about two years—when “there
became a great inequality in all the land, insomuch that the church began to be
broken up” (3 Nephi 6:14). Broken up into what? Why, to be sure, into “ranks,
according to their riches and chances for learning,” a yuppie civilization (3
Nephi 6:12). And what caused it all? The same rich TV mix: “Now the cause of
this iniquity was this: Satan [was] stirring up the people with pride, tempting
them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the
world” (3 Nephi 6:15).[3]
The war was brutal. The Nephites and the Lamanites who had
united with the Nephites feared for their safety.
The designations Lamanite and
Nephite are frequently used in the Book of Mormon more to signify one’s loyalty
than one’s genealogy (e.g., see Jacob 1:14; Mosiah 25:12–13; Alma 3:10–11, 17;
45:13–14; 47:35; Helaman 11:24; 3 Nephi 2:14, 16; 4 Nephi 1:36–38). Nephite dissenters,
for example, fell under the general category of “Lamanites” once they were thus
allied, and no doubt other, non-Nephite populations, did so as well. And the
same is true for groups that allied themselves with the Nephites; they took on
the designation “Nephites” even though genetically unrelated to any in Lehi’s
party; see, for example, John L. Sorenson, “When Lehi’s Party Arrived in the
Land, Did They Find Others There?” JBMS 1/1 (1992): 1–34. This assumption of
peoples into one general category or another is not surprising. It is not
uncommon, for example, for the Lord to designate a particular “seed” with whom
someone will be “numbered,” regardless of actual ancestral relationships.[4]
Mormon then informs us the curse was taken from the Lamanites
who had affiliated with the Nephites and their skin became white like the Nephites.
What does this mean? There has been much speculation as to what the “dark” skin
means. I would like to add mine.
It must be pointed out that we don’t know what is meant by “white.”
For example, 2 Nephi 30:6 originally read, “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 white and a delightsome
people” (2 Nephi 30:6) (emphasis mine).
Joseph Smith would later change this to read: “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” (2 Nephi 30:6) (emphasis mine).
The fact is we don’t know why Joseph changed 2 Nephi 30:6
and did not change 3 Nephi 2:15.
Jacob taught, “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” (Jacob 3:8)
(emphasis mine). It is clear Jacob is referring to purity, as he is referring
to being judged by God.
What was the curse?
Wherefore, the word of the Lord was
fulfilled which he spake unto me, saying that: Inasmuch as they will not
hearken unto thy words they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And
behold, they were cut off from his presence.
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.
And thus saith the Lord God: I will
cause that they shall be loathsome unto thy people, save they shall repent of
their iniquities.
And cursed shall be the seed of him
that mixeth with their seed; for they shall be cursed even with the same
cursing. And the Lord spake it, and it was done
And because of their cursing which
was upon them they did become an idle people, full of mischief and subtlety,
and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of prey (2 Nephi 5:20-24).
The curse is they would become “an idle people, full of mischief
and subtlety” (2 Nephi 5:24). As we read the Book of Mormon, we see this is a
good description of the wicked Lamanites. Mormon described the curse, “Thus
they were a very indolent people, many of whom did worship idols, and the curse
of God had fallen upon them because of the traditions of their fathers;
notwithstanding the promises of the Lord were extended unto them on the
conditions of repentance” (Alma 17:15).
When the Lamanites were righteous, the curse is lifted. “And
they began to be a very industrious people; yea, and they were friendly with
the Nephites; therefore, they did open a correspondence with them, and the curse
of God did no more follow them” (Alma 23:18). This fits in with the explanation
in 3 Nephi 2:15.
What about the “skin of darkness?” Was that part of the
curse? I would argue, no, it wasn’t. We don’t know when the “skin of darkness”
came upon the Lamanites. Some LDS scholars, such as Dr. John L. Sorenson, argue
it was immediate.
We have no idea when the “skin of darkness” fell upon the
Lamanites. I believe the “skin of darkness” was based on genetics. The people
living in the Americas at the time had a darker skin than Lehi’s party. It is
very likely the Lamanites mixed with the indigenous people. The dark skin would
have been passes on to their offspring. Nephi would have disapproved of the
intermarriage, as he would have considered the indigenous people gentiles. Marrying
a non-believer would not have been acceptable.
Dr. Sorenson rejects genetics as he doesn’t believe there
was enough time for there to be inter-marriage to be responsible. I would reply
we learn in 2 Nephi 5, Nephi is writing this between thirty and forty years
after the fact. We don’t know when the family actually split. Taking into
account Nephi’s timeline, I believe genetics is the most likely explanation.
Getting back to 3 Nephi 2.
The war continued, but the combined Nephite and Lamanite
army made progress in the battle against the robbers.
Even so, they were in a bad situation, with destruction a
constant threat.
[1] “But
we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks
foolishness;
“But unto them who believe, are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and
the wisdom of God.
“Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and
the weakness of God is stronger than men” (JST 1 Corinthians 1:23-25).
[2] “And
Nephi, the son of Helaman, had departed out of the land of Zarahemla, giving
charge unto his son Nephi, who was his eldest son, concerning the plates of
brass, and all the records which had been kept, and all those things which had
been kept sacred from the departure of Lehi out of Jerusalem. Then he departed
out of the land, and whither he went, no man knoweth; and his son Nephi did
keep the records in his stead, yea, the record of this people” (3 Nephi 1:2-3).
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