Alma 3:13-28

13 Now we will return again to the Amlicites, for they also had a mark set upon them; yea, they set the mark upon themselves, yea, even a mark of red upon their foreheads.

14 Thus the word of God is fulfilled, for these are the words which he said to Nephi: Behold, the Lamanites have I cursed, and I will set a mark on them that they and their seed may be separated from thee and thy seed, from this time henceforth and forever, except they repent of their wickedness and turn to me that I may have mercy upon them.

15 And again: I will set a mark upon him that mingleth his seed with thy brethren, that they may be cursed also.

16 And again: I will set a mark upon him that fighteth against thee and thy seed.

17 And again, I say he that departeth from thee shall no more be called thy seed; and I will bless thee, and whomsoever shall be called thy seed, henceforth and forever; and these were the promises of the Lord unto Nephi and to his seed.

18 Now the Amlicites knew not that they were fulfilling the words of God when they began to mark themselves in their foreheads; nevertheless they had come out in open rebellion against God; therefore it was expedient that the curse should fall upon them.

19 Now I would that ye should see that they brought upon themselves the curse; and even so doth every man that is cursed bring upon himself his own condemnation.

20 Now it came to pass that not many days after the battle which was fought in the land of Zarahemla, by the Lamanites and the Amlicites, that there was another army of the Lamanites came in upon the people of Nephi, in the same place where the first army met the Amlicites.

21 And it came to pass that there was an army sent to drive them out of their land.

22 Now Alma himself being afflicted with a wound did not go up to battle at this time against the Lamanites;

23 But he sent up a numerous army against them; and they went up and slew many of the Lamanites, and drove the remainder of them out of the borders of their land.

24 And then they returned again and began to establish peace in the land, being troubled no more for a time with their enemies.

25 Now all these things were done, yea, all these wars and contentions were commenced and ended in the fifth year of the reign of the judges.

26 And in one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent to the eternal world, that they might reap their rewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one.

27 For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey, and this according to the words of the spirit of prophecy; therefore let it be according to the truth. And thus endeth the fifth year of the reign of the judges. (Alma 3:13-27).

When the Amlicites placed a mark on themselves, they fulfilled the word of the Lord. The Lamanites were set apart because a mark was placed upon them to separate them from the Nephites.

Mormon explains the mark.

“And again: I will set a mark upon him that mingleth his seed with thy brethren, that they may be cursed also.

“And again: I will set a mark upon him that fighteth against thee and thy seed.

“And again, I say he that departeth from thee shall no more be called thy seed; and I will bless thee, and whomsoever shall be called thy seed, henceforth and forever; and these were the promises of the Lord unto Nephi and to his seed” (Alma 3:15-17).

So, what is this mark? “Was dark skin really a curse pronounced on the Lamanites by God? That seems to be a widely held belief, but what does the Book of Mormon itself say? As reported in Alma, the Lord, speaking to Nephi, distinguished between the curse and the mark. ‘Behold, the Lamanites have I cursed, and I will set a mark on them that they and their seed may be separated from thee and thy seed’ (Alma 3:14). At the time this promise was given to Nephi, the curse had already been enacted, while the mark, a change in skin color, was yet to come. The Lord also told Nephi that others who mingled with the Lamanites (including his own posterity) would be both cursed and marked.”[1]

“[W]hen a group of Nephites severs their connection to the Nephite tradition by marking their foreheads (Alma 3:4), this reminds the narrator (Mormon) of how the Lamanites were first marked off from the Nephites (Alma 3:6-9). For Mormon, this marking is not a matter of race or descent but of adherence to different traditions (Alma 3:11).[2]

By marking themselves, the Amlicites were unaware they were fulfilling God’s words. They were rebelling again Him, and the curse fell upon them. Mormon reminds us they brought this curse upon themselves through the choices they made.

Shortly after the Nephites had defeated the Amlicite/Lamanite army, another Lamanite army attacked the Nephites at the same place the battle with the Amlicite/Lamanite army occurred. They intended to drive the Nephites out of their land.

Alma had not recovered from the wounds he received in the previous battle, so he had to remain behind. He sent a large army to go against the Lamanites. This army successfully drove the Lamanite army out of their land. Peace had been established.

During this year of war, “thousands and tens of thousands of souls [were] sent to the eternal world, that they might reap their rewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad” (Alma 3:26).

And thus ended the 5^th year of the reign of the judges.

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[1] The Charge of “Racism” in the Book of Mormon, John A. Tvedtness, FARMS Review 15/2 (2003): 186.

[2] Positivism and the Priority of Ideology in Mosiah-First Theories of Book of Mormon Production, Alan Goff, FARMS Review 16/1 (2004): 32.