Color in Bright Light

1. The saga continues. Before I proceed, on this occasion I will alert the reader to the fact that I have chosen to quote several passages, some of length, out of the conviction that the context for this particular "race and color" scripture, as it may be called, was abundantly clear anciently, but that starting in the racially divided nineteenth century, Latter-day Saints (and in all fairness, a good many others) were predisposed by their racially divided society to understand the passage as a commentary on race and color. I will endeavor to demonstrate that the passage has no connection with human physical characteristics.
2. The question that I will deal with can succinctly be conveyed to the reader as it is put to me: "But doesn't The Book of Mormon actually give an account of dark(-skinned) people who became white(-skinned) as a result of their righteousness?" 
3. Again I ask, how does the passage in question actually read? What does the text actually say? The verse in question comes from The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, from the book called Third Nephi, chapter 2, verses 14-16:
• (14) And it came to pass that those Lamanites who had united with the Nephites were numbered among the Nephites;
• (15) And their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites;
• (16) And their young men and their daughters became exceedingly fair, and they were numbered among the Nephites, and were called Nephites. And thus ended the tenth year.
4. For the reader who is unacquainted with the key characters and groups of The Book of Mormon, "Lamanites" is a collective term referring to unconverted Amerindians and includes some actual descendants of Israelites who assimilated to the dominant cultures and religions of the region. The term "Nephites" is a collective term referring to converted Amerindians among whom there were descendants of Israelites who had preserved their ancient Israelite religion while, unsurprisingly, assimilating culturally and linguistically to the dominant cultures and languages of the region. More to the point, the Lamanites were described as being "dark-skinned" as a curse from God, whereas the Nephites remained "white-skinned" for their faithfulness. (Hint: This may be the third installment in the trilogy).
5. Fact, the text states that the skin of those Lamanites who had united with the Nephites  became "white" like unto the Nephites. This issue will be dealt with shortly, but for many Mormons (myself included), the point where we had become solidly convinced that the scripture was clearly referring to skin color is the statement that "their young men and daughters" became "exceedingly fair". 
6. When we Latter-day Saints paraphrase this verse (which is admittedly extremely rare, for we seldom dwell on the topic except in private, and then usually with some discomfort at what this passage seemingly describes), we usually say "their sons and their daughters turned white." The reason I wish to cite our usual (though again, infrequent) paraphrasing is that the verse does not actually say "sons and daughters" but "their young men and their daughters". 
7. But doesn't "their young men" mean "their sons"? Surely, I concede, that in the context of offspring the statement "their young men and their daughters" could just be an instance of stylistic expression. But on a quick search I found 42 references to "sons and daughters" in The Book of Mormon alone, and no doubt there are more. An even greater number of "sons and daughters" references are to be found in The Bible. As for the usage of "sons and daughters" in The Book of Mormon, a passage in Third Nephi 9:2 is exemplary not only because it purports to be the voice of Jesus, but because it was presumably written by the same author who wrote Third Nephi 2:14-16, namely, the prophet Nephi. In this excerpt the voice of Jesus addresses the people of Nephi after catastrophic natural disasters had laid their civilization to waste, and Jesus with sorrow refers to the victims as "the fair sons and daughters" of his people. 
• (2) Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they are fallen!
8. Herein lies the key, I believe, to what is being said in Third Nephi 2:16, for one detail in particular reveals the author's intent: young men. If The Book of Mormon writers, including the writer of the book of Third Nephi, had no aversion to using the expression "sons and daughters" when in reference to actual offspring or the population at large (there are over 40 such reference in The Book of Mormon alone), why here did the writer choose to record "their young men and their daughters"? In fact, the combination "young men and daughters" is used exactly only once in the entire Book of Mormon, and indeed the combination "young men and daughters" is absent in the other three books of scripture (The Bible, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price). The next closest match to the pairing of young men and daughters is found in Joel 2:28 and quoted with some alteration in Acts 2:17:
• (28) And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 
• (17) And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
9. In the citations from Joel and Acts, the word "sons" is paired with "daughters", and "old men" with "young men", but we do not have the combination of "young men and daughters" as we do in Third Nephi.
10. The expressions "young men" and "daughters" themselves had great significance to an ancient Hebrew prophet, and he is the most quoted prophet in The Book of Mormon: Isaiah. 
11. Isaiah, like his predecessor Moses, was of the royal court. Subsequently Isaiah received a superb education and had almost unprecedented access to the top leadership, political and ecclesiastical, of his day. Isaiah was also a gifted poet, and as someone skilled in expression, he found in daily experience the source for much of his symbolism. One of his more frequent sources for motifs was the military, and specifically, the soldiers. (Isaiah 13:17-18)
• (17) Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.
• (18) Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.
12. Here we encounter Isaiah describing "young men" but separately from "the fruit of the womb" and "children". Isaiah's expression "young men", as a concrete referent, denotes soldiers, the vanguard of the defensive (or as the case may be, offensive) forces. Whole empires would rise or fall based on, in large measure, the prowess of the young troops. The reader should take note that this passage of Isaiah is quoted almost verbatim in The Book of Mormon, the relevant verse being Second Nephi 23:18.
13. Isaiah drew from the military significance of young men as the main supply of soldiers, and used "young men" in a different sense. By folding these young men under the authority of elders, the lying prophet, and errant leaders Isaiah seems to attribute a spiritual role to the young men, and to this extent it would probably not be incorrect to infer a priestly function. I cite Isaiah 9:14-17
• (14) Therefore the LORD will cut from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
• (15) The ancient and honourable , he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.
• (16) For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
• (17) Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and and evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
14. What is of interest in Isaiah's passage is that the ancient, i.e. "elder", and honorable as well as the lying prophet and the leaders of the people had gone astray, and for this reason the Lord would take no pleasure in "the young men" or have mercy on the fatherless and widows of the people (the distressed survivors of fallen adult soldiers). The imagery is bold, for it draws on combat scenery and its aftermath and forges a parallel to the spiritual battle. In the spiritual conflicts too there are combat casualties and distressed survivors, only these people had mobilized not with the objective of supporting the Lord's work, therefore the Lord could not apply his mercy to them, for the people had shunned his offer. The principle is salient, that the vanguard of defense, the young men, will not find the Lord's favor (i.e. success, prosperity, his presence), and consequently the nation will collapse, if the people choose to follow errant leaders, which means emulating examples that the people knew to be wrong. The reader should take note that the passage just cited is quoted almost verbatim in The Book of Mormon, the relevant verse being Second Nephi 19:17. 
15. Book of Mormon writers also used phrase "young men" in a military sense, as in Mosiah 10:9, "...and I also caused that all my old men that could bear arms, and also all my young men that were able to bear arms, should gather themselves together to go to battle against the Lamanites; and I did place them in their ranks, every man according to his age."
16. Assuming that I have demonstrated a possible link to Isaiah's usage of "young men", would not the reference to "daughters" be straightforward enough in regards to female offspring? Isaiah used "daughters", indeed "women" and "daughters", in a manner that may suggest that "women" represented his people at one level, presumably one of some authority, and "daughters" as his people under the authority of the former. Such an ordering is a consistent model Isaiah used, that of leaders and followers. I cite Isaiah 32:9-18:
• (9) Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech.
• (10) Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come.
• (11) Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins.
• (12) They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine.
• (13) Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city; 
• (14) Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;
• (15) Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
• (16) Then judgement shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
• (17) And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
• (18) And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;
17. The readers will notice that only "women" and "daughters" are addressed, and for their "ease" or "carelessness" they face a prolonged period of desolation, but when they strip off the garments (presumably their finery, i.e. their pride and sins) and repent, then the Spirit will be poured on them from on high, peace and the effect of righteousness and assurance will abide forever, and, most telling, "my people" shall dwell in peaceable habitation. The reason "my people" is relevant here is because this citation seems to suggest that the earlier referents of "women" and "daughters" were symbolic of the "people" of the Lord, and as such the relationship between "women" and "daughters" had to be of one engendering the other, "they shall lament for the teats" (i.e. lactation, mother nourishing offspring), which is why I suggest that "women" refers to those at a certain level of authority and daughters to those subject to the former.
18. I would refer the reader to a passage where, ostensibly the Lord excoriates young women for their vanity, (or so the citation is often interpreted), but would invite the reader to contemplate what the prophet may actually have intended. It may be profitable to bear in mind that "daughters" may represent the covenant people, specifically as those subject to others in authority. I cite Isaiah 3:16-26 and Isaiah 4:3-5:
• (16) Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet;
• (17) Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.
• (18) In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,
• (19) The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,
• (20) The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs,  and the headbands, and the tablets, and the earrings,
• (21) The rings, and nose jewels,
• (22) The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,
• (23) The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.
• (24) And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.
• (25) Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.
• (26) And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.
• (3) And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:
• (4) When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgement, and by the spirit of burning.
• (5) And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.
19. There is much in the above passage to analyze, and I am not pretending to be capable of conducting a point by point exposition. However the reader may interpret the passages from Isaiah 3 and 4, we have here a similar pairing of "daughters" and "men", which recalls the pairing of "their young men and their daughters" used in Third Nephi. In the above-cited Isaiah passage the Lord reveals that he will cleanse the daughters of Zion specifically by the Spirit of judgment and the Spirit of burning. Isaiah then conveys that the Lord shall dwell among his people, as conveyed through the imagery of the Exodus from Egypt, namely the cloud of smoke by day, and the flaming fire by night. It is notable that the Lord shall dwell among his people after cleansing the "filth of the daughters of Zion", which detail yet again indicates to me that "daughters" is being used to refer to the covenant people collectively. The reader will note that the above cited passages are quoted nearly verbatim in The Book of Mormon in Second Nephi, chapters 13 and 14.
20. But what of turning white? I certainly am not purporting to establish a conclusive link between the phrase "their young men and their daughters" to Isaiah's passages, though the linguistic similarity is noteworthy. But what of their turning white/exceedingly fair? I would cite another Isaiah passage, Isaiah 9:2:
• (2) The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
21. The darkness that is upon people is a spiritual darkness, and this absence of light has no bearing on actual skin hues, but the people become bathed in light as they receive the Messiah. The reader will note that the same passage of Isaiah is quoted nearly identically in Second Nephi 19:2. 
22. We Latter-day Saints often cite the above passage of Isaiah with reference to the Lord Jesus extending his influence among those who passed from mortality to the world of spirits. Certainly I agree, though I would remind the careful reader that the same influence, the same spiritual illumination comes to the living in much the same way. When the apostle Matthew described the commencement of Jesus' earthly ministry, he recorded the following (Matthew 4:16): 
• (16) The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
23. The passage in Third Nephi 2:14-16 does not describe the process, the actual step by step of conversion to "white" or "exceedingly fair", but The Book of Mormon is actually abundant in its descriptions of this process. Though this passage is somewhat lengthy, in the instance of this posting I concluded that some detail is necessary for a proper framing of the expression "becoming white".
24. In The Book of Mormon, in the book of Helaman, the writer records an encounter between two missionaries of extraordinary faith, Nephi and Lehi, and their jailers, the latter who are on the point of executing the pair of missionaries, and this after subjecting the two preachers to several days of deprivation. The encounter is, in my opinion, the definitive example of what is meant by The Book of Mormon's writers when they describe people turning white through faith and conversion. I cite Helaman 5:28-48, a passage which begins with the jailers.
• (28) And it came to pass that they were overshadowed with a cloud of darkness, and an awful solemn fear came upon them.
• (29) And it came to pass that there came a voice as if it were above the cloud of darkness, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings.
• (30) And  it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul--
• (31) And notwithstanding the mildness of the voice, behold the earth shook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison trembled again, as if it were about to tumble to the earth; and behold the cloud of darkness, which had overshadowed them, did not disperse--
• (32) And behold the voice came again, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand; and seek no more to destroy my servants. And it came to pass that the earth shook again, and the walls trembled.
• (33) And also again the third time the voice came, and did speak unto them marvelous words which cannot be uttered by man; and the walls did tremble again, and the earth shook as if it were about to divide asunder.
• (34) And it came to pass that the Lamanites could not flee because of the cloud of darkness which did overshadow them; yea, and also they were immovable because of the fear which did come upon them.
• (35) Now there was one among them who was a Nephite by birth, who had once belonged to the church of God but had dissented from them.
• (36) And it came to pass that he turned him about, and behold, he saw through the cloud of darkness the faces of Nephi and Lehi; and behold, they did shine exceedingly, even as the faces of angels. And he beheld that they did lift their eyes to heaven; and they were in the attitude as if talking or lifting their voices to some being whom they beheld.
• (37) And it came to pass that this man did cry unto the multitude that they might turn and look. And behold, there was power given unto them that they did turn and look; and they did behold the faces of Nephi and Lehi.
• (38) And they said unto the man: Behold, what do all these things mean, and who is it with whom these men do converse?
• (39) Now the man's name was Aminadab. And Aminadab said unto them: They do converse with the angels of God.
• (40) And it came to pass that the Lamanites said unto him: What shall we do, that this cloud of darkness may be removed from overshadowing us?
• (41) And Aminadab said unto them: You must repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ, who was taught unto you by Alma, and Amulek, and Zeezrom; and when ye shall do this, the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you.
• (42) And it came to pass that they all did begin to cry unto the voice of him who had shaken the earth; yea, they did cry even until the cloud of darkness was dispersed.
• (43) And it came to pass that when they cast their eyes about , and saw that the cloud of darkness was dispersed from overshadowing them, behold, they saw that they were encircled about, yea every soul, by a pillar of fire.
• (44) And Nephi and Lehi were in the midst of them; yea, they were encircled about; yea, they were as if in the midst of a flaming fire, yet it did harm them not, neither did it take hold upon the walls of the prison; and they were filled with that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory.
• (45) And behold, the Holy Spirit of God did come down from heaven, and did enter into their hearts, and they were filled as if with fire, and they could speak forth marvelous words.
• (46) And it came to pass that there came a voice unto them, yea, a pleasant voice, as if it were a whisper, saying:
• (47) Peace, peace be unto you because of your faith in my Well Beloved, who was from the foundation of the world.
• (48) And now, when they heard this they cast up their eyes as if to behold from whence the voice came; and behold, they saw the heavens open; and angels came down out of heaven and ministered unto them.
25. A lengthy passage, but it is the definitive play-by-play "dark turning white" episode in the whole scriptural record. In this encounter the Lord allows certain jailers to see their spiritual state, one of deep darkness overshadowing them. The jailers are struck with fear, but then see that their captives' faces are shining with light, and a pillar of fire encircles them. The voice of God calls the jailers to repentance, and one of the jailers, having once been a believer, is stirred to remembrance, and he encourages his companions to call upon the voice until they have faith in Christ. The jailers do so, and the darkness dissipates as the great light shines upon them. Soon the jailers too have become encircled in a pillar of fire as the Holy Spirit of God comes upon them. A more detailed step-by-step description of the process could hardly be imagined, and the readers is reminded how well these steps concur with the very Isaiah passages cited above, to wit, that the people dwell in darkness, that through repentance the people invite the Spirit of God upon them, which Spirit cleanses them, the Light rests upon the people, and the people begin to enjoy the presence of the Lord among them.
26. I realize that the Isaiah passages may have only a coincidental linguistic similarity, and the reader is not obligated to modify his or her view on the passage from 3 Nephi 2:14-16. One additional aspect of the "young men and daughters" passage seems problematic: Why did Nephi not dwell on the details of the conversion to white/exceedingly fair? Nephi makes his statement in a matter-of-fact fashion as if the mere mentioning itself was sufficient for the reader to comprehend what the event consisted of. In my experience, such usage in passing is typical of idiomatic expressions. That is to say, linguistically, the usage of the expressions "becoming white" and "becoming exceedingly fair" concords with their utilization as idiomatic expressions, ones clearly understandable in their ancient religious and cultural framework, but unfortunately evoking imagery of racial superiority in an era when societies had divided and elevated or subjected whole populations based on physical characteristics. 
27. As a tidbit, when in English we say "blacks and whites", we understand this to be people of African ancestry and people of European ancestry. When Russians say "blacks and whites", they understand this to be "black-haired people, usually Turkic peoples of southern Russian" and "blonds, ethnic Slavs, usually northern Russians." In the Russian example, both groups are Caucasian, but hair color and ethnicity are implied by the same two referents that in English seem so clearly to refer to African vs. European ancestry. I suspect an analogous situation is present in the ancient references to dark skin turning white, that is, that the ancients understood this as the light of the Lord falling upon those who had been in darkness, whereas in our modern usage of skin color, we understood the passage to be one of racial characteristics undergoing a metamorphosis.
28. In conclusion I submit the case to the reader to decide for him or herself whether or not these citations on "their young men and their daughters" turning white/exceedingly fair symbolizes the Holy Spirit of God falling upon the priesthood holders and the people they serve, two groups who together constituted a very people of God. However we conclude though, the excerpts I have brought forward your consideration are, even if viewed as randomly selected, in the very least, actually textual.