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The Book of Moses and Race
Book of Moses | Race
The Book of Moses and Race
Moses 7 is part of a vision of the prophet Enoch. Verses 8 and 22 have caused some concern for some. The texts state:
8 For behold, the Lord shall curse the land with much heat, and the barrenness thereof shall go forth forever; and there was a blackness came upon all the children of Canaan, that they were despised among all people.
22 And Enoch also beheld the residue of the people which were the sons of Adam; and they were a mixture of all the seed of Adam save it was the seed of Cain, for the seed of Cain were black, and had not place among them.
Some wonder if these verses can justify seeing black skin as a sign of divine disfavor or curse.
The Text Never Connects Blackness to Skin Color
Author Stephen O. Smoot explains clearly why these verses should not be interpreted as referring to a literal change in skin color.
The text describes a curse of barrenness upon the land of the people of Canaan as well as a "blackness" covering the people. The curse applies only to the land, however, with no mention of a curse upon the pre-Flood Canaanites themselves. The "blackness" of the people of Canaan is never explicitly depicted in a racialized manner (that is, as speaking of skin color). Elsewhere in the text, "blackness" is used to describe the presence of Satan in contrast to the brilliant glory of God, suggesting that a spiritual or metaphorical reading of the "blackness" of the Canaanites and the descendants of Cain (Moses 7꞉22) is to be preferred. (See the commentary at 1:15.) Modern leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have officially rejected any racist interpretations of these and related passages of scripture that attempt to link personal worthiness and value in the eyes of God with skin color.[1]
Author Adam Stokes has also proposed alternative, informed, non-racist readings of the Book of Moses' passages at length.[2]
Notes
- ↑ Stephen O. Smoot, The Pearl of Great Price: A Study Edition for Latter-day Saints (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2022), 38.
- ↑ Adam Stokes, "The People of Canaan: A New Reading of Moses 7," Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 47/6 (17 September 2021). [159–180] link.