Book of Mormon Racism & Skin of Blackness w/ Neil & Jasmin Rappleye | LDS Discussions 56 | Ep. 1924

The Book of Mormon's "Skin of Blackness": How Apologists and Critics Clash Over Racism in LDS Scripture

For generations, Latter-day Saints have wrestled with a troubling passage in the Book of Mormon. In 2 Nephi 5:21, the text describes a divine curse upon the Lamanites, descendants of Lehi's wayward sons, manifesting as a "skin of blackness." This language has shaped how the Church and its members understood race, identity, and divine favor for nearly two centuries. Yet today, scholars and apologists remain fundamentally divided over what the text actually says and what it has meant in practice. According to a recent episode of the Mormon Stories Podcast examining these competing interpretations, the debate exposes a deeper tension: between what scripture literally states and what believers have historically understood it to mean.

The question matters because millions have built their understanding of their own ancestry and spiritual standing on this doctrine. For Indigenous members and those of color, the implications have been personal and lasting.

Background: The Text and Its Historical Reception

The Book of Mormon, published in 1830, made explicit claims about the Lamanites and divine punishment. The narrative holds that God marked the Lamanites with dark skin to distinguish them from the righteous Nephites and to render them "loathsome" in appearance. Joseph Smith and early Church leaders immediately understood this passage in concrete terms: the Lamanites were the ancestors of Native Americans.

This interpretation shaped missionary work from the beginning. Smith commissioned missions to Native American populations based directly on the Book of Mormon narrative. Church leaders taught members, particularly Indigenous converts, that their dark skin resulted from ancient divine judgment. As one participant in the Mormon Stories discussion recounted, she learned as a child that her own dark skin was a consequence of Lamanite ancestry and ancestral sin.