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

[malkie]

Maybe I am misunderstanding the discussion, but when Smith opposed people with black skin to people who were "white and delightsome" I am pretty sure, given the society he lived in, that he was referring to people whose skin was of a black colour and people whose skin was of a light colour, the white colour being seen as a more desirable colour of skin than the black colour.

Maybe there exist some languages in the world that cannot manage to express the concepts of black skin and white skin, but I tend to think it unlikely. If the distinction is not made in translations of the Book of Mormon into other languages, my bet is that it has happened because the translator had been told to avoid indicating directly to African readers that according to Mormon scripture they had the 'not so good' skin colour.

Skin and color are the operative words that describe the physical nature of the Book of Mormon curse. If those words are omitted in new translations, then it changes everything. Prior to 1978, a black man could not hold the priesthood or enter a temple solely on the basis he was black (dark skin) because it identified him as being of Ham's lineage. So, it was always, always, about skin color.

I used to think that refusing black men entry to the temple was a "side effect" of their inability to hold the priesthood. However, prior to the lifting of the ban, black women could not enter the temple either.

Not to suggest that reddit is a rock solid reference point for just about anything, but there's some interesting discussion in the reddit thread Could Black Women Attend the Temple prior to 1978?, including about the "one drop" rule, and BY's statement about how white men who "mixed their blood" with black women were subject to the death penalty:

Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so.

[Morley]

No, a white man could not marry a black woman in the temple. As I understand it, it wasn’t just about priesthood, it was about sealing. That’s not usually talked about.

[malkie]

No, a white man could not marry a black woman in the temple. As I understand it, it wasn’t just about priesthood, it was about sealing. That’s not usually talked about.

Since a black woman could not enter the temple for any reason, sealing was moot.

[I Have Questions]

From the OP...

• 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.

If I have this right, the Church has removed completely, the racist sections of the Book of Mormon from African translations of the Book of Mormon. So their Book of Mormon is incomplete. The Church is deliberately hiding the truth from Black African members. This is ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE!

One of the Church’s stated gospel principles is “Honesty” and this is how that is defined…

Lying is intentionally deceiving others. Bearing false witness is one form of lying. The Lord gave this commandment to the children of Israel: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour” (Exodus 20:16). Jesus also taught this when He was on earth (see Matthew 19:18). There are many other forms of lying. When we speak untruths, we are guilty of lying. We can also intentionally deceive others by a gesture or a look, by silence, or by telling only part of the truth. Whenever we lead people in any way to believe something that is not true, we are not being honest.

The Church is deceiving African Saints by not publishing the full Book of Mormon in their languages. Once again the Brethren fail to practice what they preach. Once again they decide to operate nefariously in the shadows, hoping their actions won’t be discovered. I hope somebody like Jana Riess is investigating this.

[Chap]

If I have this right, the Church has removed completely, the racist sections of the Book of Mormon from African translations of the Book of Mormon. So their Book of Mormon is incomplete. The Church is deliberately hiding the truth from Black African members. This is ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE!

Massive indeed. But surprising? Not very.

The fact that the Mormon deity inflicted black skin on previously white people as a punishment is being treated as one of those "small flecks of history"* that should be ignored. How kind of the CoJCoLDS to save African enquirers problems by doing the ignoring for them!


* Which Mormon leader was it who coined that phrase?

[Equality]

If I have this right, the Church has removed completely, the racist sections of the Book of Mormon from African translations of the Book of Mormon. So their Book of Mormon is incomplete. The Church is deliberately hiding the truth from Black African members. This is ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE!

Massive indeed. But surprising? Not very.

The fact that the Mormon deity inflicted black skin on previously white people as a punishment is being treated as one of those "small flecks of history"* that should be ignored. How kind of the CoJCoLDS to save African enquirers problems by doing the ignoring for them!


* Which Mormon leader was it who coined that phrase?

Hinckley, Gordon B., I believe. To Mike Wallace.

[Morley]

No, a white man could not marry a black woman in the temple. As I understand it, it wasn’t just about priesthood, it was about sealing. That’s not usually talked about.

Since a black woman could not enter the temple for any reason, sealing was moot.

So, basically, you're keeping people out of heaven--or at least out of the Celestial Kingdom. As you say, it's really much worse than denying some men the priesthood.

[malkie]

Since a black woman could not enter the temple for any reason, sealing was moot.

So, basically, you're keeping people out of heaven--or at least out of the Celestial Kingdom. As you say, it's really much worse than denying some men the priesthood.

I wonder if the church made it a priority, immediately after lifting the ban, to ensure that all prior black members had their temple work done.

[Shulem]

Since a black woman could not enter the temple for any reason, sealing was moot.

So, basically, you're keeping people out of heaven--or at least out of the Celestial Kingdom. As you say, it's really much worse than denying some men the priesthood.

Blacks (descendants of Ham via Cain) were not even permitted to enter the early Utah temples to perform manual labor or general services for upkeep and maintenance. Blacks were barred from the temple, period. Let that sink in and you'll begin to understand just how bad racism was under the vicious leadership of Brigham Young and his racist successors. The Church was more racist than you can possibly imagine. The so-called Spirit® that inspired those men was evil, pernicious, and bloody awful. It was anything but a time of enlightenment which is what you'd expect from men who are suppose to be above it all in transcending the cruelty of the world.

Brigham Young possessed a spirit of Satan.

[Shulem]

If I have this right, the Church has removed completely, the racist sections of the Book of Mormon from African translations of the Book of Mormon. So their Book of Mormon is incomplete. The Church is deliberately hiding the truth from Black African members. This is ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE!

It is so massive and such a miscalculation on the part of Church leaders that it will come back to bite them in the ass. I think we will see the disappearance of the Book of Abraham Facsimiles, not all at once, but in selective versions of LDS foreign scriptures. It will happen rather covertly. They will test it and see what happens and eventually the Facsimiles will disappear from all LDS scripture. Then selected portions of the Book of Abraham will be modified.

I foresee it. I trust my instincts.