“The Lamanites Hath He Hated Because Their Deeds Have Been Evil Continually”

“This is strong language. One would assume that Samuel did not mean to convey the thought that God actually hated the Lamanites, at least not in the sense that mortal men hate one another. Rather, because of their rebellion, because they rejected the light and spurned the association with God through the Spirit that they might have enjoyed, they alienated themselves from the love of the Father. It is not that God does not love them, but that he simply is unable to bless them as he would those who choose the right. ’If you keep not my commandments,’ a modern revelation attests, ’the love of the Father shall not continue with you, therefore you shall walk in darkness’ (D&C 95:12).” (McConkie and Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, vol. 3, p.418)