This verse reinforces the interpretation that what was involved was not physiology but attractiveness based on availability for marriage. This change has happened not through righteousness, but because “they were numbered among the Nephites, and were called Nephites” and, hence, available for marriage. Their attractiveness as possible marriage partners follows from their political affiliation even more than their religious beliefs. While there were certainly reasons why a political Nephite might select a spouse from a Nephite faction that shared the same religion, there is never any indication of a formal prohibition or “curse” upon Nephite unbelievers. The “curse” is operative only on Lamanites and only while they are separate from the Nephites.