In his discussion of Enos 1:20-21, Brant Gardner wrote the following concerning the Nephite description of the Lamanites as being “filthy”:
“filthiness”: The Book of Mormon uses the term “filthiness”
(in all forms) to describe spiritual distance from God, not hygiene. This
should be read in conjunction with idolatry and not as a description of their lifestyle.
It is a probably a reference to the cultural definition of the Lamanite mark. (Brant
A. Gardner, Second Witness: Analytical and Contextual Commentary on the Book
of Mormon, 6 vols. [Salt Lake City: Greg Kofford Books, 2007], 3:17)
Gardner
notes the following texts as supporting this reading of filthy/filthiness:
And I said unto them that the water
which my father saw was filthiness; and so much was his mind swallowed up in
other things that he beheld not the filthiness of the water. . . . Wherefore,
if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast off also, as to the
things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness; wherefore,
they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their works; and if
their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be
filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so,
the kingdom of God must be filthy also. But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom
of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom
of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that
which is filthy. (1 Nephi 15:27, 33-34)
And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for
the Lord God hath spoken it, and it is his eternal word, which cannot pass
away, that they who are righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are
filthy shall be filthy still; wherefore, they who are filthy are the devil and
his angels; and they shall go away into everlasting fire, prepared for them;
and their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up
forever and ever and has no end. (2 Nephi 9:16)
But, wo, wo, unto you that are not
pure in heart, that are filthy this day before God; for except ye repent the
land is cursed for your sakes; and the Lamanites, which are not filthy like
unto you, nevertheless they are cursed with a sore cursing, shall scourge you
even unto destruction. . . . Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate
because of their filthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins,
are more righteous than you; for they have not forgotten the commandment of the
Lord, which was given unto our father-- that they should have save it were one
wife, and concubines they should have none, and there should not be whoredoms
committed among them. . . . 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. Wherefore, ye shall remember your children, how
that ye have grieved their hearts because of the example that ye have set
before them; and also, remember that ye may, because of your filthiness, bring
your children unto destruction, and their sins be heaped upon your heads at the
last day. (Jacob 3:3, 5, 9-10)
And again, he saith: If my people
shall sow filthiness they shall reap the chaff thereof in the whirlwind; and
the effect thereof is poison. And again he saith: If my people shall sow
filthiness they shall reap the east wind, which bringeth immediate destruction.
(Mosiah 7:30-31)
And now I ask of you, my brethren, how
will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God, having your
garments stained with blood and all manner of filthiness? Behold, what will
these things testify against you? (Alma 5:22)
And he doth not dwell in unholy
temples; neither can filthiness or anything which is unclean be received into
the kingdom of God; therefore I say unto you the time shall come, yea, and it
shall be at the last day, that he who is filthy shall remain in his filthiness.
(Alma 7:21)
Therefore they were not permitted to
enter into their synagogues to worship God, being esteemed as filthiness;
therefore they were poor; yea, they were esteemed by their brethren as dross;
therefore they were poor as to things of the world; and also they were poor in
heart. (Alma 32:3)
Behold, I say unto you that ye would
be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of
your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in
hell. . . . And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then
cometh the time that he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is
righteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and
he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still. (Mormon 9:4, 14)
