After the Manner of the Lamanites

A few months ago I wrote about the challenging passage in 2 Nephi 5 related to the “skin of blackness” of the Lamanites based on ideas from Dr. Jan Martin. She in particular suggested that the Lamanites did not have an actual change of skin color but that they tattooed themselves with black ink, and that the “skin of blackness” was simply Nephi’s way of describing this when he didn’t have a word for tattoo. I became more convinced of this theory as I read again the story of the Amlicites and what they did to themselves in fulfillment of the Lord’s promise that He would “mark” any who rejected the correct traditions of the Nephites and their devotion to the commandments of the Lord. Mormon wrote this about the Amlicites, “And the Amlicites were distinguished from the Nephites, for they had marked themselves with red in their foreheads after the manner of the Lamanites; nevertheless they had not shorn their heads like unto the Lamanites” (Alma 3:4). The key phrase here is that they marked themselves “after the manner of the Lamanites.” To me that language indicates that what the Amlicites were doing was to pattern themselves after what the Lamanites had done to themselves. It would be odd if they chose the color red to mimic Lamanites who simply had a black skin pigmentation—that wouldn’t be “after the manner of the Lamanites” at all. How would red in the forehead be similar to someone with natural black skin color? But if the Lamanites had been marked with black tattoos on their body, and the Amlicites used red tattoos on their body, then indeed what they did to themselves would be after the manner of the Lamanites. This phrase to me suggests that what Mormon was telling us about the Amlicites teaches us also about what had happened to the Lamanites.   

Mormon continued, “And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers…. Now we will return again to the Amlicites, for they also had a mark set upon them; yea, they set the mark upon themselves, yea, even a mark of red upon their foreheads. 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 separated from thee and thy seed, from this time henceforth and forever, except they repent of their wickedness and turn to me that I may have mercy upon them. And again: I will set a mark upon him that mingleth his seed with thy brethren, that they may be cursed also. And again: I will set a mark upon him that fighteth against thee and thy seed…. 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 rebellion against God; therefore it was expedient that the curse should fall upon them.” The instructive part about this to me is that the Lord said, “I will set a mark upon him that fighteth against thee and thy seed” but then as well that the Amlicites “set the mark upon themselves, yea, even a mark of red upon their foreheads.” In other words, when the Lord said that He did it, this doesn’t preclude the possibility that they actually did it to themselves (unknowingly fulfilling God’s promise). Since the Amlicites did this “after the manner of the Lamanites,” the natural assumption would be that the Lamanites did the same thing to themselves. The only difference, it would seem, is that the Amlicites marked themselves (possibly with tattoos) using a red substance, while the Lamanites did it to themselves with a black substance. The Amlicites must have wanted to still stay distinct from the Lamanites while also breaking from the Nephites, so they didn’t copy the Lamanites exactly. And even though Mormon also said that “the Lord set a mark upon [the Lamanites]” it can still mean that the Lamanites actually did it to themselves, unknowingly fulfilling the Lord’s promise of distinguishing His people from those who rejected Him. If this is indeed what happened, it suggests that the skin of blackness of the Lamanites had nothing to do with race or skin color and was all about how they had marked themselves to show their rejection of the Lord and His covenant with the Nephites. The most important message here is that no one was cursed arbitrarily by the Lord; that cursing was based fully on agency and a choice to reject God’s covenant: “Now I would that ye should see that they brought upon themselves the curse; and even so doth every man that is cursed bring upon himself his own condemnation” (Alma 3:14-16, 18-19).