“Demythizing the Lamanites’ “Skin of Blackness.””

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It’s Friday, so — what a surprise! — a new article appeared today in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship.  Written by Gerrit M. Steenblik, it’s entitled

“Demythizing the Lamanites’ “Skin of Blackness.””

Abstract: Racial bias is antithetical to the Book of Mormon’s cardinal purpose: to proclaim the infinite grandeur of the atonement of Jesus Christ. The book teaches that the Lord welcomes and redeems the entire human family, “black and white, bond and free” — people of all hues from ebony to ivory. Critical thinkers have struggled to reconcile this leitmotif with the book’s mention of a “skin of blackness” that was “set upon” some of Lehi’s descendants. Earlier apologetics for that “mark” have been rooted in Old World texts and traditions. However, within the last twenty years, Mesoamerican archaeologists, anthropologists, and ethnohistorians have curated and interpreted artifacts that reveal an ancient Maya body paint tradition, chiefly for warfare, hunting, and nocturnal raiding. This discovery shifts possible explanations from the Old World to the New and suggests that any “mark” upon Book of Mormon people may have been self-applied. It also challenges arguments that the book demonstrates racism in either 600 bce or the early nineteenth-century.

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I’ve been sharing some of my favorite Christmas music.  But now, for something quite different, here’s a thrilling Nigerian carol, Betelehemu, sung in the original Yoruba by — of all people! — the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square in Salt Lake City:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9gXWuqZcNw

Awa yo, a ri Baba gb’ojule (We rejoice for we have a trustworthy father)
Awa yo, a ri Baba f’eyin ti (We rejoice for we have? a dependable father)
(repeat)

Ni bo labe Jesu? (Where was Jesus born)
Ni bo labe bisi? (Where was he born?)
(Repeat)

Betelehemu iluwa la, (Bethlehem, city of wonder)
Ni bo labe Baba o daju (That is where Father was born)

Inyi, inyi, furo (Praise, praise, be to Him)
Adupe fun o, jooni, (We thank you, today)
Baba olo reo (Gracious Father)

Betelehemu is a spectacular crowd-pleaser.

You should listen to and watch the entire thing.  It’s full of surprises.

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And, finally — such housecleaning needs to be taken care of, unfortunately, even during the Christmas season — here is the link to an important new entry on the very helpful Neville-Neville Land blog:

“Relying on the text and not on interpretation”