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.
7
And it shall come to pass that the Jews which are scattered also shall begin to
believe in Christ; and they shall begin to gather in upon the face of the land;
and as many as shall believe in Christ shall also become a delightsome people.
8
And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall commence his work among all
nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about the restoration of his
people upon the earth.
Nephi writes that when the Book of Mormon will go forth to the world, many will “know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God” (2 Nephi 30:6). The things that have prevented them from knowing the truth will go away. Those who accept the word of God will become a “pure and delightsome people” (2 Nephi 30:6).
Verse
6 is a verse critics of the Book of Mormon use to attack the Church. In the original version of the Book of
Mormon, verse 6 read, “a white
and delightsome people.” This, they
claim, is a sign of racism in the Bok of Mormon. “In her second example, [Carol Lynn] Pearson
observes that "white and delightsome" in the Book of Mormon has been
changed to "pure and delightsome," "clearly because we do not
want to offend people of color" (p. 39).”[1]
As
with claims the critics make, this claim doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. As Paul Harvey said, “And now, for the rest
of the story.”
In
the original manuscript, Joseph Smith translated the phrase to read, “white and
delightsome.” (Delightsome means “very
pleasing.”) In 1840, Joseph Smith
reviewed the Book of Mormon and made some changes. This was one of them. From 1840 to 1852, the verse read “pure and
delightsome.” How did the change happen?
In
1852, a new edition of the Book of Mormon was published in England. This is the Liverpool Edition. The word “pure” somehow was changed backed to
“white” under the direction of Franklin Richards. At the time, he was not aware of the changes
made in 1840. So, from 1852 to 1981, the
word “white” was used. In the 1981
Edition, Joseph Smith’s change was restored.[2]
[John]Tvedtnes
discussed Joseph Smith's emendation of 2 Nephi 30:6. In this verse, the
Nephites are promised that they will receive a knowledge of the Savior. They
are also promised that "the scales of darkness shall fall from their eyes;
and not many generations shall pass away among them, save they shall be a pure
and delightsome people." Although this passage read "white and
delightsome" in the original manuscript, Joseph Smith changed the word
white to pure, probably to avoid the misinterpretation that skin color would
literally change. In the Bible and other ancient texts, the term white is
sometimes used in the sense of "pure" rather than of color.[3]
In
Hebrew, “white” and “pure” were used interchangeably. Daniel 12:10 is an excellent example of how
it is used. “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked
shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall
understand.”
One
last observation. The verse must be
taken in context. This set of verses
explains the day would come when the Lamanites and Jews would accept Christ and
obtain a fulfillment of the promises made by the Lord. Another way to look at the end of this verse
could be, “Those who accept the word of God will become a pure and delightsome
people” unto the Lord.
Nephi
continues discussing the Jews. The day
will come when the Jews will begin to accept Christ. At that time “they shall begin to gather in
upon the face of the land” (2 Nephi 30:7).
Having accepted Christ, the Jews will become a “delightsome people.”
Nephi
is reiterating some of his previous words
“And
after they have been scattered, and the Lord God hath scourged them by other
nations for the space of many generations, yea, even down from generation to
generation until they shall be persuaded to believe in Christ, the Son of God,
and the atonement, which is infinite for all mankind—and when that day shall
come that they shall believe in Christ, and worship the Father in his name,
with pure hearts and clean hands, and look not forward any more for another
Messiah, then, at that time, the day will come that it must needs be expedient
that they should believe these things.
“And
the Lord will set his hand again the second time to restore his people from
their lost and fallen state. Wherefore,
he will proceed to do a marvelous work and a wonder among the children of men”
(2 Nephi 25:16-17).
When
the time comes, the Lord begins this work “among all nations, kindreds, tongues,
and people” (2 Nephi 30:8) this will mark the Lord bringing “the restoration of
his people upon the earth.”
Noel
Reynolds comments:
“Nephi
foresees that the Lord will ‘commence his work among all nations, kindreds,
tongues and people.’ At the end, the Lord will ‘cause a great division among
the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea,
even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire’ (2 Nephi 30:8, 10).
This is a paraphrase of the final verse of the allegory of the olive tree
(Jacob 5:77). At that day, Nephi informs us, ‘Satan shall have power over the
hearts of the children of men no more’ (2 Nephi 30:18), another point taken
from Zenos (1 Nephi 22:15, 26).”[4]
[1]
Nephite Feminism Revisited: Thoughts on Carol Lynn Pearson's View of Women in
the Book of Mormon, Kevin and Shauna Christensen, Maxwell Institute.
[2]
Book of Mormon Editions, Larry W. Draper, Maxwell Institute.
[3]
Institute Researchers Share Findings at LDS Apologetics Conference, Maxwell
Institute.
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