In a pretty
decent overview of “Mormonism” from a Bahá’í perspective, Serge Van Neck wrote
the following about “white” and “black” faces in Bahá’í writings, which have
interesting parallels to “white” and “black” skins in the Book of Mormon:
Bahá’í
references to ‘white’ and ‘black’ faces
Interestingly, the Bahá’í Writings also refer
to faces turning white or black, although there is clearly not to be taken
literally. In the following prayers, references to ‘white’ and ‘black’ faces
are spiritually discerned:
. . .
I beseech Thee by Thy Name, through which the faces of them that are nigh unto
Thee have turned white, and the hearts of such as are devoted to Thee have
winged their flight towards Thee, to grant that I may, at all times and under
all conditions, lay hold on Thy cord, and be rid of all attachment to anyone
except Thee . . .(Bahá’u’lláh, Prayers
and Meditations, CXXXVII)
Blessed is the man that turneth towards Thee,
and woe betide him who standeth aloof from Thee, who denieth Thee and
repudiateth Thy signs in this Revelation wherein the faces of the exponents of
denial have turned black and the faces of the exponents of truthfulness have
turned white . . . (Ibid. CLXXVIII)
These are understood to describe one’s inner
state of being as opposed to our outward appearance, not least because a
literal interpretation would be contrary to every Bahá’í principle from the
oneness of mankind to the harmony of science and religion. One thing to keep in
mind is that the Bahá’u’lláh, in many of His Writings, addressed a
predominately Muslim audience, and He appears to be referring here to a verse
from the Qur’án regarding ‘Clear Signs’:
Let there arise out of you a band of people
inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is
wrong: They are the ones to attain felicity. Be not like those who are divided
amongst themselves and fall into disputations after receiving Clear Signs: For
them is a dreadful penalty,--On the Day when some faces will be (lit up with)
white, and some faces will be (in the gloom of) black: To those whose faces
will be black, (will be said): ‘Did ye reject Faith after accepting it? Taste
then the penalty for rejecting Faith,’ But those whose faces will be (lit with)
white—they will be in (the light of) God’s mercy: therein to dwell (for ever).
(Qur’án 3:104-107)
Thus, ‘white’ and ‘black’ faces are a
metaphor for the acceptance or denial of certain clear signs concerning the new
revelation from God. Those whose faces have turned white are ‘people inviting
to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong,’ or
in the Words of Bahá’u’lláh, ‘the exponents of truthfulness.’ Conversely, those
whose faces have turned black are equated with ‘those who are divided amongst
themselves and fall into disputations after receiving Clear Signs,’ or ‘the
exponents of denial.’ (Serge Van Neck, Commonalities:
A Positive Look at Latter-day Saints from a Bahá’í Perspective [Oxford:
George Ronald, 2009], 354-55)
While the
author seems to reject the possibility of this being a meaningful parallel to
the Book of Mormon’s use of white and black “skins,” recent scholarship has
shown that this is indeed a meaningful parallel. For a discussion of “skins” in
the Book of Mormon, see:
Ethan
Sproat, "Skins
as Garments in the Book of Mormon: A Textual Exegesis," Journal of
Book of Mormon Studies 24/1 (2015)
