I was raised in Utah’s predominant church and taught to believe that a black skin was the curse of Cain. This is, of course, biblical nonsense, ... was a white skin. ...

The Book of Mormon taught that the phenotypical features of Lamanites—their dark skin—came about as a consequence of unrighteousness. Unsurprisingly, the outlines of this story resembled general ...

As Bowman writes, “It is true that the single most frequent use of the word Cain in the legends and folk doctrine has been in association with the concept of a “curse” of dark skin, a mark ...

Some Latter-day Saints still cling to outdated theories, for instance, saying that “dark skin is part of the curse of Cain” or that Black people were “less valiant in the preexistence.” ...

Those who accepted this view believed that God’s “curse” on Cain was the mark of a dark skin. Black servitude was sometimes viewed as a second curse placed upon Noah’s grandson Canaan as a ...