African Book of Mormon translations starting to remove “skin of blackness” and other racist phraseology

[I Have Questions]

I think (along with Kishkumen) that this discovery is worth it’s own thread…

Shulem, this has completely passed me by. Can you give a quick summary of the facts presented to support the claim that the Church is removing racist passages from the Book of Mormon in copies bound for Africa? I’ve seen some speculation on line that the Chichewa Translation (2023) translates 2 Nephi 5:21, which originally referred to a "skin of blackness," into terms more closely resembling "blindness" or "spiritual darkness".

Is the Church secretly amending the Book of Mormon translation?

The gist of his presentation is that several verses that reveal racism in the Book of Mormon are omitted in selected versions for African saints. Here are a few clips:

• The LDS church appears to be engaged in a widespread practice of removing racist scripture from the Book of Mormon, primarily those copies of the Book of Mormon translated for developing nations up to and including those in Africa.

• Elder Gary Stevenson was tasked with going to the NAACP luncheon in January of twenty twenty and apologizing for the recent discovery that this old racist stuff had been included in the new manual. This is quite a thorn for the LDS church who's trying to make inroads with the NAACP and convince them that they're not still racist.

• Elder Stevenson preceded his remarks by expressing regret that the church's Come Follow Me Gospel Study Manual includes an old statement that dark skin in the Book of Mormon was the sign of a curse. Elder Stevenson disavowed that statement.

• Second Nephi five is the only chapter in the Book of Mormon not translated in full.

• …the first four chapters are translated but not all of the fifth chapter is translated if you look at the highlight you'll see it what is translated of chapter five of second Nephi in the selections Book of Mormon in ethic for the Nigerian saints, only verses one through twenty they stop at twenty they don't go past twenty they don't go into the racist language of the dark skin being a curse that is omitted and as we go through it you will see that this is the only instance in which a full chapter is not translated

• There is only one chapter in the Book of Mormon that is not completely translated, and that is Second Nephi five, which stops, as I said, at verse twenty. Every other chapter in the Book of Mormon is completely translated. It's not halted and cut off in the middle, which I think is significant.

• Jacob is not translated at all.

• Alma three, verses six through nine, verse fourteen and verse nineteen, we have the following. The Lord God set a mark upon them that they might not mix and believe in incorrect traditions. Whosoever did mingle his seed with that of the Lamanites did bring the same curse upon his seed. This was done that whosoever should mingle his seed should be cursed like unto them. All of that found in Alma chapter three. None of that found in the selection’s version of the Book of Mormon because it doesn't have Alma three in it.

• Third Nephi chapter two, verses fourteen through sixteen, which says their curse was taken from them. Talking about the Lamanites, their curse was taken from them and their skin became white like unto the Nephites. Once again, Third Nephi chapter two, not translated in the selections copy of the Book of Mormon.

Podcast: Removing Racist Scripture

RFM highlights apostle Gary Stevenson's fake facade and rips him a new one in showing how the Church is erasing racist passages from certain versions of the Book of Mormon for black Africans.

Great job, RFM! And you kept it well under an hour, thank God.

So in its translating of the Book of Mormon for distribution in Africa, the Church is taking away the references to “skin of blackness” even though the native languages would allow for an equivalent phrasing.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

I remember teaching people in Perú that the plan and precious part of the Bible changed, removed, and corrupted over time thus necessitating the Book of Mormon, The Most Perfect Book Ever.

[Shulem]

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.

Chichewa - English translator

Ndipo adachititsa thembelero kufikira kwa iwo, inde, angakhale thembelero lowawa chifukwa cha mphulupulu zawo. Pakuti taonani, iwo adalimbitsa mitima yawo motsutsana naye, kufikira iwo adakhala ngati mwala; kotero, pamene iwo adali oyera ndi okongola kwambiri, ndi okondweretsa, kuti asakope anthu anga, Ambuye Mulungu adachititsa khungu lakuda kubwera pa iwo.

TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH:

And he caused a curse to reach them, yes, it may be a painful curse because of their sins. For behold, they hardened their hearts against him, until they became like a stone; therefore, when they were pure and beautiful, and pleasing, so that they would not attract my people, the Lord God caused black blindness to come upon them.

The difference between the English version authorized by Joseph Smith given by the seer stone and that of what the Church presents in this African language is staggering.

[Shulem]

In 1851 the Book of Mormon was translated into Danish. Let's see how it compares when translated back into English:

Og han havde ladet forbandelsen komme over d-e-m, ja, en hård forbandelse på grund af deres ugudelighed. For se, de havde forhærdet hjertet mod ham, så de var blevet som flint; for se, da de var hvide og overordentlig skønne og tiltalende, og for at de ikke skulle være tillokkende for mit folk, lod Gud Herren d-e-m få en mørk hud.

TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH:

And he had brought upon them the curse, yea, a grievous curse, because of their wickedness. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, so that they had become like flint; for behold, since they were white and exceedingly beautiful and attractive, and that they should not be attractive to my people, God the Lord gave them a dark skin.

Google Translator:

And he had caused the curse to come upon them, yea, a sore curse because of their wickedness. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become as flint; for behold, when they were white and exceedingly fair and comely, and that they should not be attractive unto my people, the Lord God caused them to be dark in complexion.

In 1852 the Book of Mormon was translated into French. Let's see how it compares when translated back into English:

Et il avait fait tomber la malédiction sur eux, oui, une grande malédiction, à cause de leur iniquité. Car voici, ils s’étaient endurci le cœur contre lui, de sorte qu’il était devenu semblable à un caillou ; c’est pourquoi, comme ils étaient blancs et extrêmement beaux et agréables, afin qu’ils ne fussent pas séduisants pour mon peuple, le Seigneur Dieu fit venir sur eux une peau sombre.

TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH:

And he had brought upon them a curse, yea, a great curse, because of their iniquity. For, behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, so that he became like a stone; therefore, as they were white and exceedingly beautiful and pleasing, that they might not be attractive to my people, the Lord God caused dark skin to come upon them.

Google Translator:

He had brought a curse upon them, yes, a great curse, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, so that it had become like a stone; therefore, because they were fair and exceedingly beautiful and comely, so that they might not be a temptation to my people, the Lord God caused a dark skin to come upon them.

In 1852 the Book of Mormon was translated into German. Let's see how it compares when translated back into English:

Und er hatte wegen ihres Übeltuns den Fluch über sie kommen lassen, ja, einen schweren Fluch. Denn siehe, sie hatten ihr Herz gegen ihn verhärtet, sodass es wie ein Kieselstein geworden war. Deshalb, da sie weiß waren und überaus anmutig und angenehm, ließ Gott, der Herr, damit sie für mein Volk keinen Anreiz mehr hätten, ihre Haut schwärzlich werden.

TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH:

And he had caused a curse to come upon them because of their iniquity, yea, a severe curse. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, so that it became like a flint stone. Therefore, since they were white, and exceedingly comely and pleasing, the Lord God, that they might no longer be an attractive thing to my people, caused their skin to be blackened.

Google Translator:

And because of their wickedness, he had brought a curse upon them, a grievous curse. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, so that they had become like a stone. Therefore, because they were fair and exceedingly beautiful and pleasing, the Lord God, so that they would no longer be a temptation to my people, caused their skin to become dark.

In 1852 the Book of Mormon was translated into Italian. Let's see how it compares when translated back into English:

Ed egli fece venir su di loro la maledizione, sì, proprio una grave maledizione, a causa della loro iniquità. Poiché ecco, essi avevano indurito il loro cuore contro di lui, cosicché era diventato come pietra; pertanto, siccome erano bianchi e bellissimi e ben fatti, affinché non potessero essere motivo di seduzione per il mio popolo, il Signore Iddio fece venir su di loro una pelle scura.

TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH:

And he brought upon them the curse, yea, even a great curse, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their heart against him, so that he became as stone; therefore, since they were white and beautiful and well made, so that they could not be a source of seduction to my people, the Lord God caused dark skin to come upon them.

Google Translator:

And he brought a curse upon them, yes, a grievous curse, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, so that it had become like stone; therefore, because they were fair and beautiful and well-formed, so that they might not be a temptation to my people, the Lord God caused a dark skin to come upon them.

No problems with the translation as far as I can tell.

[Shulem]

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.

Chichewa - English translator

Ndipo adachititsa thembelero kufikira kwa iwo, inde, angakhale thembelero lowawa chifukwa cha mphulupulu zawo. Pakuti taonani, iwo adalimbitsa mitima yawo motsutsana naye, kufikira iwo adakhala ngati mwala; kotero, pamene iwo adali oyera ndi okongola kwambiri, ndi okondweretsa, kuti asakope anthu anga, Ambuye Mulungu adachititsa khungu lakuda kubwera pa iwo.

TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH:

And he caused a curse to reach them, yes, it may be a painful curse because of their sins. For behold, they hardened their hearts against him, until they became like a stone; therefore, when they were pure and beautiful, and pleasing, so that they would not attract my people, the Lord God caused black blindness to come upon them.

The difference between the English version authorized by Joseph Smith given by the seer stone and that of what the Church presents in this African language is staggering.

I ran the text into the Nyanja GOOGLE TRANSLATOR and got this:

And he caused a curse to come upon them, yea, even a bitter curse because of their iniquities. For behold, they hardened their hearts against him, until they became as a stone; therefore, while they were pure and very fair, and pleasant, that they should not attract my people, the Lord God caused blindness to come upon them.

The words "skin" and "black" are not included!

WTF?



It's my impression that Church leaders want black Africans to be blinded to the truth of the original Book of Mormon. But when they find out they have been duped -- there will be hell to pay! OMFG.

The consequences for this deception will be severe for leaders of the Church who think those people over in dark Africa are stupid just because they are black! That's what it seems like to me.

The word will get out!

[Shulem]

In 1855 the Church translated and published the Book of Mormon into the Hawaiian language. I snipped 2 Nephi 5:21 from the Church website and plugged it into the Google translator:

...lakou i ko lakou mau naau e ku e ia ia, a i lilo me he pohaku paea la; nolaila, me lakou i keokeo AI mamua, a nani loa a oluolu, haawi mai la ka Haku ke Akua i ili haulaula maluna o lakou, i ole lakou e lilo i mea hoowalewale i koʻu poe kanaka.

...they set their hearts against him, and became like a solid stone; therefore, although they were white before, and very beautiful and pleasant, the Lord God gave them a red skin, so that they would not become a temptation to my people.

Apparently the early saints had no problem identifying Lamanite skin color (red) in the Hawaiian version of the Book of Mormon. I'm sure that racist Brigham Young (evil tyrant) didn't give a damn, anyway. He sure as hell didn't care about black Africans, the seed of Cain. What we see today in the new translations for Africa, approved by leaders of the Church, is a COVER-UP and a lie. This news will get out and the African saints will have to deal with it.

GO RFM!

[Doctor Scratch]

“Not By Bread Alone” indeed. It’s hard to see this as being separate from Interpreter’s, uh, “colonialist” project in Africa. You sort of have to wonder if the COB put them up to it.

Quite appalling, regardless of how you interpret it.

[I Have Questions]

It would be interesting to hear from Dan McClellan on this. He worked within the translation department so would have some specific insight into whether or not this is deliberate evasion by the Church, or just a quirk within the process of translating it into those specific languages. On the face of it, it certainly looks like a deliberate effort to avoid the people in those parts of Africa understanding what the Book of Mormon actually says about black skin.

[Shulem]

“Not By Bread Alone” indeed. It’s hard to see this as being separate from Interpreter’s, uh, “colonialist” project in Africa. You sort of have to wonder if the COB put them up to it.

Quite appalling, regardless of how you interpret it.

That's a short opinion piece rolling off your news desk, sir. Anymore further to say on the subject? Come on, let it out.

I think to sum it up, the powers that be that run the translation department for Book of Mormon translations in Africa decided that black saints there aren't ready for meat but would be served milk instead. Their tender ears (hopefully one earring each) just aren't ready for strong reasonings and thus need not learn these racial truths until they are ready. Thus we see how the blacks are last to get everything: priesthood, temple, and to learn how dark skin is a curse from a white god who doesn't care for women of color. Everyone will be resurrected with white skin and nose-jewels are not allowed in the celestial levels. Nose jewelry is optional down below!

PS. Does heavenly Father wear a jockstrap when he plays ball with the kids?

[Shulem]

It would be interesting to hear from Dan McClellan on this. He worked within the translation department so would have some specific insight into whether or not this is deliberate evasion by the Church, or just a quirk within the process of translating it into those specific languages. On the face of it, it certainly looks like a deliberate effort to avoid the people in those parts of Africa understanding what the Book of Mormon actually says about black skin.

I also would like him to take a look at “Wither she did go” ?? and determine whether it's a 19th century add-on or legitimate language expressed by ancients. I wish someone would grab this cat by the tail. I've been very patient.