Book of Mormon, D & C, Pearl of Great Price

The people of the Book of Mormon lived in the Americas in ancient times. However, they initially came here from Jerusalem, fleeing around 600 B.C. and bringing with them the scriptures available to that point. As a result, they had the law of Moses and, until the Savior appeared to them between his death and resurrection, they practiced it.

Jacob, the third prophet of the Book of Mormon and son of the first prophet, brother of the second, explained the purpose of the records they kept, which was written for people of a future time (our time), including their descendants.

4 For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us.

5 Behold, they believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name, and also we worship the Father in his name. And for this intent we keep the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him; and for this cause it is sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was accounted unto Abraham in the wilderness to be obedient unto the commands of God in offering up his son Isaac, which is a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son. (Jacob 4)

The purpose of the law of Moses was to prepare the Jews for the coming of the Savior. M. Russell Ballard, an apostle of the Lord in modern times, explained:

“…everything about Mosaic sacrifice focused on Christ. Like Christ, the priest acted as the mediator between the people and their God. Like Christ, the priest had to have the right parentage to officiate in his office. Like Christ, the offerer through obedience willingly sacrificed what was required by the law.

The part of sacrifice that most strongly paralleled the Savior was the offering itself. Notice with me some of these parallels.

First, like Christ, the animal was chosen and anointed by the laying on of hands. (The Hebrew title Messiah and the Greek title Christ both mean “the Anointed One.”) Second, the animal was to have its life’s blood spilt. Third, it had to be without blemish—totally free from physical flaws, complete, whole, and perfect. Fourth, the sacrifice had to be clean and worthy. Fifth, the sacrifice had to be domesticated; that is, not wild but tame and of help to man. Sixth and seventh, for the original sacrifice practiced by Adam and the most common sacrifice in the law of Moses, the animal had to be a firstborn and a male. Eighth, the sacrifice of grain had to be ground into flour and made into breadstuffs, which reminds us of our Lord’s title the Bread of Life. Ninth, the firstfruits that were offered remind us that Christ was the firstfruits of the Resurrection.”

(M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign, Oct 1998, 7. Please see article for Biblical references.)

The Nephites, as the people who kept the Book of Mormon record were known, knew of Christ. Their prophets had seen Him in visions, and even knew what His name would be. They knew that someday He would come to them as well, for a brief few days. His coming would be different than that of the time in Jerusalem, since He would come after his death to teach them.

So, although they were far from their first homeland of Jerusalem, they too awaited the birth of a Savior. Through spiritual signs, they would know when He was born and they’d know when He died. When He died, it would finally be their opportunity to learn from Him and to have the church established through His authority, just as the Savior established it in Jerusalem.

In the meantime, the Law of Moses helped them to understand the sacrifice He would make for them and would teach them discipline and obedience. While we don’t know exactly what was in the five books of Moses they brought with them, we can presume it was the Torah or nearly the Torah, and the laws mentioned throughout the book appear to be similar to those practiced in Old Testament times. In addition, they had prophets of their own, of course, and God could communicate to them exactly what was expected.

Jacob was the third prophet of the Book of Mormon. His family had left Jerusalem before he was born, when his father, Lehi, a prophet, was in danger. They came to a new land in the Americas. Sometime after their arrival, their father died. Lehi had two older sons who were wicked and they and their families had taken to persecuting and even trying to kill a younger son named Nephi. Nephi became the prophet after his father’s death, and the persecutions became so strong, the two factions of the family split off. Nephi took his family and friends away from those who chose to follow his older brother, Laman.

Over time, however, the Nephites became wealthy, which led to pride because they took full credit for their wealth instead of crediting God. Pride led to a letting down of obedience and moral standards. Jacob, who became the prophet when Nephi died, called his people together and spoke firmly to them, outlining their sins, including a serious problem in which the men were not honoring their marriage vows.

Jacob told them they hated the Lamanites due to their dark skins. The skin had been darkened by God in order to ensure the two groups didn’t initially intermarry. This helped to protect the Nephites from the wickedness of the Lamanites and helped them to recognize their enemy. However, the Nephites, as people sometimes will, had forgotten the purpose of the mark and had instead treated it entirely as a racial issue, not a religious one.
He told them in firm terms that they, the Nephites, had become more wicked than the Lamanites in many ways, particularly in terms of how they treated marriage. He said the Lamanites loved their spouses and their children, and some Nephites no longer did that. He explained that the Lamanite wickedness was because their fathers had trained them to be that way. The Nephites, raised in the gospel, had no such excuse. He warned them to stop judging Lamanites by their skin color and to be more concerned with their own wickedness.
“Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, which is the word of God, that ye revile no more against them because of the darkness of their skins; neither shall ye revile against them because of their filthiness; but ye shall remember your own filthiness, and remember that their filthiness came because of their fathers.” (Jacob 3:9)

Gordon B. Hinckley, a previous prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in an important church conference:

“Now I am told that racial slurs and denigrating remarks are sometimes heard among us. I remind you that no man who makes disparaging remarks concerning those of another race can consider himself a true disciple of Christ. Nor can he consider himself to be in harmony with the teachings of the Church of Christ…Let us all recognize that each of us is a son or daughter of our Father in Heaven, who loves all of His children.

Brethren, there is no basis for racial hatred... If any within the sound of my voice is inclined to indulge in this, then let him go before the Lord and ask for forgiveness and be no more involved in such.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Need for Greater Kindness,” Ensign, May 2006, 58–6)

Over the years, the Church’s diversity has grown as the gospel has spread into many lands. I live in a very diverse ward (congregation) in a large city. Within the halls of the church on Sundays, we see people with every shade of skin color. Anyone can be asked to pray or speak, and prayers and “talks” are given in many different languages. Sunday School classes are taught in three languages and English classes are taught on Wednesdays.

Last year, our congregation had a cultural fair. Immigrants just in our own congregation were asked to create display tables for their countries. More than 35 countries were represented, and that didn’t include all the countries represented in our congregation, since not everyone chose to do a table. People of all races and nationalities can be seen in leadership positions in our congregation.

Unlike many churches, the Church of Jesus Christ has never held separate services for black and white worshippers. Congregations are determined by boundary lines and everyone who lives within the boundaries of a congregation is expected to attend that congregation.

Church materials today can be found in 157 languages and churches can be found in nearly every country in the world, where legally allowed. We have truly become a worldwide church.
For more on race relations within the church, visit the Newsroom at LDS.org.