By Sandra Tanner

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Despite claims by modern LDS leadership that racist rhetoric and priesthood restrictions are nothing more than relics of unfortunate folklore, their scripture clearly shows a basis for what early LDS leaders defended as doctrine.
Consider the following examples from the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price.

Book of Mormon

• 1 Nephi 11:13 — (Mary)
  . . . she was exceedingly fair and white.

• 1 Nephi 12:23 — (Prophecy of Lamanites after Christ’s appearance)
  . . . they became a dark, and loathsome, and a fiIthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations.

• 1 Nephi 13:15 — (Gentiles)
  . . . they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people [Nephites] before they were slain.

• 2 Nephi 5:21 — (Lamanites)
  . . . And he [the Lord] had caused the cursing to come upon them . . . because of their iniquity . . . 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.

• 2 Nephi 30:6 — (Prophecy to Lamanites)
  . . . and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes . . . they shall be a white and delightsome people.
  [Changed to “pure and delightsome” in 1981 edition]

• Jacob 3:5
  . . . Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate because of their fiIthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins, are more righteous than you . . .

• Jacob 3:8-9
  . . . their skins will be whiter than yours . . . revile no more against them because of the darkness of their skins . . . and remember that their filthiness came because of their fathers.

• Alma 3:6
  And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a curse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion . . .

• Alma 3:8-9
  And this was done that their seed might be distinguished from the seed of their brethren . . . that they might not mix . . . whosoever did mingle his seed with that of the Lamanites did bring the same curse upon his seed.

• Alma 3:14
  Behold, the Lamanites have I cursed, and, and I will set a mark on them that they and their seed may be separated from thee and thy seed . . . forever, except they repent of their wickedness and turn to me . . .

• Alma 23:18
  . . . [Lamanites] did open a correspondence with them [Nephites] and the curse of God did no more follow them.

• 3 Nephi 2:14-16
  . . . Lamanites who had united with the Nephites were numbered among the Nephites; And their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites . . . became exceedingly fair . . .

• 3 Nephi 19:25, 30 — (Disciples)
  . . . they were as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness thereof did exceed all the whiteness . . . they were white, even as Jesus.

• Mormon 5:15, 17 — (Prophecy about Lamanites)
  . . . shall become a dark, a fiIthy, and a loathsome people, beyond the description of that which ever hath been amongst us . . . and this because of their unbelief and idolatry. . . . They were once a delightsome people . . .

Pearl of Great Price

• Moses 7:8, 12
  . . . a blackness came upon all the children of Canaan, that they were despised among all people. . . . Enoch continued to call upon all the people, save [except] it were the people of Canaan, to repent . . .

• Moses 7:22
  . . . for the seed of Cain were black and had not place among them [the sons of Adam].

• Abraham 1:21, 26, 27
  . . . king of Egypt [Pharaoh] was a descendant from the loins of Ham, and was a partaker of the blood of the Canaanites by birth. . . . cursed him as pertaining to the Priesthood. . . . Pharaoh being of that lineage by which he could not have the right of Priesthood . . .

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Footnotes:

1. Source: Brigham Young Addresses, Ms d 1234, Box 48, folder 3, dated February 5, 1852, located in the LDS Church Historical Department, Salt Lake City, Utah.
   See full transcript at: Brigham Young Speech on Slavery, Blacks, the Priesthood, and Blood Atonement. ↩︎