Little help on dark skin in the Book of Mormon, please

[_malkie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQFev9IX-70

Watch and please learn something folks.... The same things exist in the Bible.

Yeah - that makes it alright.

Why do apologists and their wannabes seem to think this is a good argument against all sorts of criticisms?

[_bcspace]

So, in the end, the Book of Mormon writers simply adopted a racist view of the time and put it in the Book of Mormon as scripture and now the Church is stuck with what was obviously a mistaken view of some racists regarding the Bible when the Bible said no such thing. Correct?

Wow. It seems like such a simple way to discard the Book of Mormon as mere writings of men of a certain time. How is the Church going to get out of this one down the road? It seems every Mormon who believes in the Book of Mormon has to believe God, at least in one instance in the Americas, used the darkening of one's skin as a "curse." Is this a ticking time bomb.

Please correct or add to my understanding on these points.

Completely incorrect. I'll give you the official doctrine:

2 Nephi 5:20–25. The Lamanites Were Cursed

• Verses 20–25 in 2 Nephi 5 answer at least four
questions about the curse that came to the Lamanites:

1. What was the curse?

The curse is clearly defined in verse 20 as being “cut
off from the presence of the Lord.”

2. What caused the curse?

According to verse 21, the cause of the curse came
“because of their iniquity” and “hardened . . . hearts.”
Since the days of Adam’s Fall, wickedness has
resulted in being cut off from the presence of the
Lord (see 1 Nephi 2:21; 2 Nephi 4:4; 9:6; Alma 9:13;
Ether 10:11).

3. What was the mark or sign set upon the
Lamanites?

It is also explained in verse 21 that so “they might
not be enticing unto my people [the Nephites] the
Lord did cause a skin of blackness to come upon
them [the Lamanites].” It would appear that this was
done to limit the spreading of more wickedness.
Later Alma suggested this same motive when he
explained that “the skins of the Lamanites were
dark . . . that thereby the Lord God might preserve
his people, that they might not mix and believe
in incorrect traditions” (Alma 3:6, 8). Throughout
scripture we find warnings of the Lord not to marry
unbelievers (see Deuteronomy 7:2–3; 2 Corinthians
6:14); the result of doing so was often that the
righteous were turned away from the Lord (see
Deuteronomy 7:4; 1 Kings 11:4; D&C 74:5).
Some people have mistakenly thought that the
dark skin placed upon the Lamanites was the
curse. President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972)
explained that the dark skin was not the curse:
“The dark skin was placed upon the Lamanites so
that they could be distinguished from the Nephites
and to keep the two peoples from mixing. The dark
skin was the sign of the curse [not the curse itself ].
The curse was the withdrawal of the Spirit of the
Lord. . . .

“The dark skin of those who have come into the
Church is no longer to be considered a sign of the
curse. . . . These converts are delightsome and have
the Spirit of the Lord” (Answers to Gospel Questions,
comp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., 5 vols. [1957–66],
3:122–23).

4. What was the result of the curse?
Finally in verse 24 we learn that the result of the
curse—being cut off from the presence of the
Lord—is that they “become an idle people, full of
mischief and subtlety.”

One great blessing is that the curse is only valid as
long as people are wicked. If they repent, the “curse
of God [will] no more follow them” (Alma 23:18).
There are many examples of righteous Lamanites
who repented and enjoyed the Spirit of the Lord; one
of them even became a prophet (see Helaman 13:5).

Book of Mormon Institute Manual

[_Themis]

Because they weren't of the same lineage....

The ban only applied to those of "African Descent", no matter the color. Some white members were denied the Priesthood or had it removed.

Blacks of the Islands, Central/South America, India, etc. WERE still given the Priesthood.
The issue had nothing to do with racism "by" the Church. If it had to do anything with racism, it was because of the racism against the black African, which note primarily ended the same period the ban was removed.

Race is a part of linage, and the ban was on those of a certain race. There is a certain amount of stupidity to argue this as though it somehow makes it all better.

2. "Lamanite" was a term used primarily in the Book of Mormon to refer to everyone "non-Nephite".
It was the Book of Mormon's term equivalent to the Bibles "Gentile". Thus, when LDS, the Book of Mormon's Title page etc. refers to "Lamanites", it's not simply and only referring to those descended from Laman/Lemual.

As bcspace argument makes, the mark of the curse was dark skin(although his argument is just what I said about being stupid enough to make this argument as though it makes it all better), and Laminate was used to describe descendants of Laman and lemual's group that was cursed in the first part of the Book of Mormon. Later it was used more as a political description.

[_Drifting]

So, in the end, the Book of Mormon writers simply adopted a racist view of the time and put it in the Book of Mormon as scripture and now the Church is stuck with what was obviously a mistaken view of some racists regarding the Bible when the Bible said no such thing. Correct?

Wow. It seems like such a simple way to discard the Book of Mormon as mere writings of men of a certain time. How is the Church going to get out of this one down the road? It seems every Mormon who believes in the Book of Mormon has to believe God, at least in one instance in the Americas, used the darkening of one's skin as a "curse." Is this a ticking time bomb.

Please correct or add to my understanding on these points.

Completely incorrect. I'll give you the official doctrine:

2 Nephi 5:20–25. The Lamanites Were Cursed

• Verses 20–25 in 2 Nephi 5 answer at least four
questions about the curse that came to the Lamanites:

1. What was the curse?

The curse is clearly defined in verse 20 as being “cut
off from the presence of the Lord.”

2. What caused the curse?

According to verse 21, the cause of the curse came
“because of their iniquity” and “hardened . . . hearts.”
Since the days of Adam’s Fall, wickedness has
resulted in being cut off from the presence of the
Lord (see 1 Nephi 2:21; 2 Nephi 4:4; 9:6; Alma 9:13;
Ether 10:11).

3. What was the mark or sign set upon the
Lamanites?

It is also explained in verse 21 that so “they might
not be enticing unto my people [the Nephites] the
Lord did cause a skin of blackness to come upon
them [the Lamanites].” It would appear that this was
done to limit the spreading of more wickedness.
Later Alma suggested this same motive when he
explained that “the skins of the Lamanites were
dark . . . that thereby the Lord God might preserve
his people, that they might not mix and believe
in incorrect traditions” (Alma 3:6, 8). Throughout
scripture we find warnings of the Lord not to marry
unbelievers (see Deuteronomy 7:2–3; 2 Corinthians
6:14); the result of doing so was often that the
righteous were turned away from the Lord (see
Deuteronomy 7:4; 1 Kings 11:4; D&C 74:5).
Some people have mistakenly thought that the
dark skin placed upon the Lamanites was the
curse. President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972)
explained that the dark skin was not the curse:
“The dark skin was placed upon the Lamanites so
that they could be distinguished from the Nephites
and to keep the two peoples from mixing. The dark
skin was the sign of the curse [not the curse itself ].
The curse was the withdrawal of the Spirit of the
Lord. . . .

“The dark skin of those who have come into the
Church is no longer to be considered a sign of the
curse. . . . These converts are delightsome and have
the Spirit of the Lord” (Answers to Gospel Questions,
comp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., 5 vols. [1957–66],
3:122–23).

4. What was the result of the curse?
Finally in verse 24 we learn that the result of the
curse—being cut off from the presence of the
Lord—is that they “become an idle people, full of
mischief and subtlety.”

One great blessing is that the curse is only valid as
long as people are wicked. If they repent, the “curse
of God [will] no more follow them” (Alma 23:18).
There are many examples of righteous Lamanites
who repented and enjoyed the Spirit of the Lord; one
of them even became a prophet (see Helaman 13:5).

Book of Mormon Institute Manual

Completely incorrect.
I will give you the official doctrine on the matter.

“The origins of priesthood availability are not entirely clear. Some explanations with respect to this matter were made in the absence of direct revelation and references to these explanations are sometimes cited in publications. These previous personal statements do not represent Church doctrine.”

And

For a time in the Church there was a restriction on the priesthood for male members of African descent.  It is not known precisely why, how, or when this restriction began in the Church but what is clear is that it ended decades ago. Some have attempted to explain the reason for this restriction but these attempts should be viewed as speculation and opinion, not doctrine. The Church is not bound by speculation or opinions given with limited understanding.

Mormon Newsroom Statements 2012