Quotes About Nephites

passing: the righteous, fair-skinned Nephites, led by Nephi, and their bitter adversaries, the Lamanites, as the followers of Laman were known. The Lamanites were "an idle people, full of mischief and subtlety," whose behavior was so annoying to God that He cursed the whole lot of them with dark skin to punish them for their impiety.

America is a place of many great events. Here is where Adam dwelt, where the Garden of Eden was located. America was the place of former civilizations, including Adam's, the Jaredites', and Nephites'.

A curious aspect of the Lamanite curse is that no matter how wicked the Nephites become, even if they exceed the wickedness of the Lamanites, their skin remains white. To many of Smith's pre-Darwinian contemporaries, racism blunted the discomfort people felt when they were confronted with human diversity and what they considered to be a challenge to the Adam and Eve story.