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Joseph Fielding Smith (10th prophet):
Question: "The question I have is concerning the present status of the Lamanites. I know that Laman and Lemuel and their families were cursed, but to what extent is this curse carried today? Was the darker skin all or just part of the curse? Will this curse be completely forgotten and taken away by the Lord on the basis of repentance and complete acceptance of the gospel?"
Answer: The dark skin was placed upon the Lamanites so that they could be distinguished from the Nephites and to keep the two peoples from mixing. The dark skin was the sign of the curse. The curse was the withdrawal of the Spirit of the Lord and the Lamanites becoming a "loathsome and filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations.'' The Lord commanded the Nephites not to intermarry with them, for if they did they would partake of the curse.
At the time of the Savior's visit to the Nephites all of the people became united, and the curse and the dark skin which was its sign were removed. The two peoples became one and lived in full harmony and peace for about two hundred years. There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of --ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.
After the people again forgot the Lord and dissensions arose, some of them took upon themselves the name Lamanites and the dark skin returned. When the Lamanites fully repent and sincerely receive the gospel, the Lord has promised to remove the dark skin. The Lord declared by revelation that, "before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose"
The dark skin of those who have come into the Church is no longer to be considered a sign of the curse. Many of these converts are delightsome and have the Spirit of the Lord. Perhaps there are some Lamanites today who are losing the dark pigment. Many of the members of the Church among the Catawba Indians of the South could readily pass as of the white race; also in other parts of the South.
Source: Smith, Joseph Fielding. Answers to Gospel Questions. Vol. 3. 122 - 123 Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1959-1961.
The American Indians are a remnant of the ancient inhabitants of this continent. Their forefathers were an enlightened people. They had the Gospel among them and the power of God was manifested in their midst; but when they became wicked and turned away from God, the judgments of the Almighty fell upon them and they were overthrown and destroyed by warfares. The Lamanites, now a down-trodden people, are a remnant of the house of Israel. The curse of God has followed them as it has done the Jews, though the Jews have not been darkened in their skin as have the Lamanites.
Source: Richards, F. D. ed., Journal of Discourses. 1854-1886. Liverpool: 26 vols. Vol. 22, 174 - 175. Wilford Woodruff (fourth prophet), June 12, 1881.
I wish now to put you in mind of a few things. Do you pray for Israel? You will no doubt answer in the affirmative. These Indians are the seed of Israel, through the loins of Joseph who was sold into Egypt; they are the children of Abraham, and belong to the chosen seed; were it not so, you would never have seen them with dark, red skins. This is in consequence of the curse that has been placed upon them, which never would have come upon them in the world, had their fathers not violated the order of God, which was formerly among them; for in proportion to the light they sinned against, so were they reduced by the curse of God, which has been visited upon their children for many generations.
Source: Richards, F. D. ed., Journal of Discourses. 1854-1886. Liverpool: 26 vols. Vol. 1, 106. Brigham Young (second prophet), May 8, 1853.