pgs. 214 and 215...they might reap their rewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad...

6 And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a ^acurse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion against their brethren, who consisted of Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph, and Sam, who were just and holy men.

7 And their brethren sought to destroy them, therefore they were cursed; and the Lord God set a ^amark upon them, yea, upon Laman and Lemuel, and also the sons of Ishmael, and Ishmaelitish women.

8 And this was done that their seed might be distinguished from the seed of their brethren, that thereby the Lord God might preserve his people, that they might not ^amix and believe in incorrect ^btraditions which would prove their destruction.

9 And it came to pass that whosoever did mingle his seed with that of the Lamanites did bring the same curse upon his seed.

10 Therefore, whosoever suffered himself to be led away by the Lamanites was called under that head, and there was a mark set upon him.

11 And it came to pass that whosoever would not believe in the ^atradition of the Lamanites, but believed those records which were brought out of the land of Jerusalem, and also in the tradition of their fathers, which were correct, who believed in the commandments of God and kept them, were ^bcalled the Nephites, or the people of Nephi, from that time forth—

12 And it is they who have kept the records which are ^atrue of their people, and also of the people of the Lamanites.

13 Now we will return again to the Amlicites, for they also had a ^amark set upon them; yea, they set the mark upon themselves, yea, even a mark of red upon their foreheads.

14 Thus the word of God is fulfilled, for these are the words which he said to Nephi: Behold, the Lamanites have I cursed, and I will set a mark on them that they and their seed may be ^aseparated from thee and thy seed, from this time henceforth and forever, except they repent of their wickedness and ^bturn to me that I may have mercy upon them.

15 And again: I will set a mark upon him that mingleth his seed with thy brethren, that they may be cursed also.

16 And again: I will set a mark upon him that fighteth against thee and thy seed.

17 And again, I say he that departeth from thee shall no more be called thy seed; and I will bless thee, and whomsoever shall be called thy seed, henceforth and forever; and these were the promises of the Lord unto Nephi and to his seed.

18 Now the Amlicites knew not that they were fulfilling the words of God when they began to mark themselves in their foreheads; nevertheless they had come out in open ^arebellion against God; therefore it was expedient that the curse should fall upon them.

19 Now I would that ye should see that they brought upon themselves the ^acurse; and even so doth every man that is cursed bring upon himself his own condemnation.

20 Now it came to pass that not many days after the battle which was fought in the land of Zarahemla, by the Lamanites and the Amlicites, that there was another army of the Lamanites came in upon the people of Nephi, in the ^asame place where the first army met the Amlicites.

21 And it came to pass that there was an army sent to drive them out of their land.

22 Now Alma himself being afflicted with a ^awound did not go up to battle at this time against the Lamanites;

23 But he sent up a numerous army against them; and they went up and slew many of the Lamanites, and drove the remainder of them out of the borders of their land.

24 And then they returned again and began to establish peace in the land, being troubled no more for a time with their enemies.

25 Now all these things were done, yea, all these wars and contentions were commenced and ended in the *fifth year of the reign of the judges.

26 And in one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent to the eternal world, that they might reap their ^arewards according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one.

27 For every man receiveth ^awages of him whom he listeth to ^bobey, and this according to the words of the spirit of prophecy; therefore let it be according to the truth. And thus endeth the fifth year of the reign of the judges.

* VERSE 25 (87 B.C.).

THE BOOK OF ALMA

THE SON OF ALMA

CHAPTER 4

Alma baptizes thousands of converts—Iniquity enters the Church, and the Church’s progress is hindered—Nephihah is appointed chief judge—Alma, as high priest, devotes himself to the ministry. Between 86 and 83 B.C.

1 Now it came to pass in the *sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, there were no contentions nor wars in the ^aland of Zarahemla;

2 But the people were afflicted, yea, greatly afflicted for the loss of their brethren, and also for the ^aloss of their flocks and herds, and also for the loss of their fields of grain, which were trodden under foot and destroyed by the Lamanites.

3 And so great were their afflictions that every soul had cause to mourn; and they believed that it was the judgments of God sent upon them because of their wickedness and their abominations; therefore they were ^aawakened to a remembrance of their duty.

4 And they began to establish the ^achurch more fully; yea, and many were ^bbaptized in the ^cwaters of Sidon and were joined to the church of God; yea, they were baptized by the hand of Alma, who had been consecrated the ^dhigh priest over the people of the church, by the hand of his father Alma.

5 And it came to pass in the *seventh year of the reign of the judges there were about three thousand five hundred souls that united themselves to the ^achurch of God and were baptized. And thus ended the seventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi; and there was continual peace in all that time.


The "mark" and the "curse" in verse 6 are often wondered to have any connection with people of any specific ethnicity in our world today. I found this explanation from a book of questions and answers by Joseph Fielding Smith that explains that it does not. I am happy to share this information because I don't think it is well known enough among people both in and out of the church.

Question: "The question I have is concerning the present status of the Lamanites. I know that Laman and Lemuel and their families were cursed, but to what extent is this curse carried today? Was the darker skin all or just part of the curse? Will this curse be completely forgotten and taken away by the Lord on the basis of repentance and complete acceptance of the gospel?


Answer: 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. The curse wa the withdrawal of the Spirit of the Lord and the Lamanites becoming a "loathsome and filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations" (1 Nephi 12:23). The Lord commanded the Nephites not to intermarry with them, for if they did they would partake of the curse.
At the time of the Saviour's visit to the Nephites all of the people became united, and the curse and the dark skin which was its sign were removed. The two peoples became one and lived in full harmony and peace for about two hundred years.
There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites nor any manner of -ites; ut they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.
The dark skin of those who have come into the Church is no longer considered to be a sign of the curse. (Joseph Fileding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, 5 vols.)