The contrast to the unrighteous, and, therefore, cursed, Lamanites were the righteous Nephites, “who believed in the commandments of God and kept them.” The difference, once again, was not visual, but rather spiritual.
It is interesting that Mormon notes that it is the Nephites “who have kept the records which are true of their people, and also of the people of the Lamanites.” In verse 11, Mormon specifically indicates that Nephites should not mix with Lamanites and, therefore, not believe in Lamanite traditions, but rather in Nephite records. Even if no records are implied, there is certainly an implication that Lamanites told and believed a very different history than did the Nephites. Mormon ties their truth to the “records which were brought out of the land of Jerusalem,” or the brass plates.