In the autobiography of Kay, a text dating to the First Intermediate Period in Egypt (2181 BC – 2055 BC), Kay describes himself thusly in line 3:
ḥḏ ẖr nfr bỉt
"bright of face, good of character"
In the same line, he is said to be:
p3ḫ ḥt šw m snkt
“Open-hearted, free of darkness.”
Such should remind one of 2 Nephi 30:6, where “white” (in later editions, “pure”) are used to describe the then-future Jews and Gentiles and their spiritual state and that of the spiritual nature of the Lamanites. As we read in the 1830 Book of Mormon:
And now, I would prophesy somewhat more concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. For after the book of which I have spoken shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall believe the words which are written; and they shall carry them forth unto the remnant of our seed. And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are a descendant of the Jews. And the Gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them; wherefore, they shall be restored unto the knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers. And then shall they rejoice, for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a white and a delightsome people.
For more on the topic, see:
Book of Mormon Central, What Does it Mean to be a White and Delightsome People?
John A. Tvedtnes, The Charge of Racism in the Book of Mormon
On the autobiography of Kay, one can read the Egyptian text in Egyptian Reading Book, Volume 1: Exercises and Middle Egyptian Texts, ed. A. De Buck (Leyden: Nederlandsch Archaeologisch-Philologisch Instituut Voor Het Nabije Oosten, 1948), 73-74
(My thanks to my friend Stephen Smoot for making me aware of the autobiography of Kay and sharing materials with me. Be sure to check out his excellent blog)
