As Mormon abridges the (large) plates of Nephi, he begins to tell of the Amlicites marking themselves (v. 4) and feels a need to explain the mark set upon the Lamanites. The mark of the dark skin came because of transgression and rebellion against their brethren (v. 6). The rebellion was really against the Lord because these “just and holy men,” as Mormon calls them, were following the commandments they had been given. Their rebellion was not merely a disagreement, but went to the extreme of seeking to destroy those who were following the Lord. As Nephi told his brothers earlier, “ye are murderers in your hearts” (1 Nephi 17:44). These actions help us to understand why they were cursed. The curse was not the dark skin but their being “cut off from the presence of the Lord” (2 Nephi 5:20). The dark skin was a mark to distinguish them from the true followers of the Lord, and to keep them from integrating and believing in incorrect traditions that would prove their destruction (Alma 3:8). This threat was so serious that the Lord withdrew his Spirit (the curse) from those who mingled with them. He also set a mark upon those with whom they mingled (vv. 9–10). The Nephites who believed in the plates of brass (v. 11), having the Spirit of the Lord, would be able to keep a true record (v. 12) for future readers. Mormon, “a disciple [apostle] of Jesus Christ” (3 Nephi 5:13), was able to recognize the truth of these records by the “workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me” (Words of Mormon 1:7).