Friday, August 2, 2019

Bahá’í references to ‘white’ and ‘black’ faces


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)