18 Or, that a cursing should come upon you for the space of many generations; and ye are visited by sword, and by famine, and are hated, and are led according to the will and captivity of the devil.
This is the prophetic scripture that kind of sets the tone
for the animosity between Nephites and Lamanites in the future. I’m sure Lehi
had to know that his sons would split up and become two nations. That doesn’t
mean that he should stop trying to prevent it from happening though. It was
inevitable; the only thing really keeping the family together up until this
point was Lehi and Sariah. In a few chapters, the Nephites will have to
separate themselves for their survival. At that point the Lord curses the
Lamanites. There is an outward manifestation of that in the dark skin, but the
real curse goes much deeper and has much more eternal consequences than skin
color. I’ll discuss that in greater detail when we get there, but for now, the
worst part of the prophecy is the last part, the part about being led according
to the will and captivity of the devil. If they could overcome that one, they
can avoid the other consequences as a result.
- 2 Nephi 5: 20–24
