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| Friday, Feb 25, 2005, at 09:59 AM I Give Up Trying To Talk Sense To Mormons Posted By MoNoMo MORMON RACISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| I had this long conversation with a good TBM friend of mine last night.
I had sent him and some other African Americans in the church a link to Darron Smith's book Black and Mormon and the recent press coverage about that book.
Apparently that caused quite a stir and concern amongst my former church leaders that I was trying to ruin people's testimonies, since my former bishop and stake president called these friends of mine to make sure that their testimonies were still strong.
He's one of the main reason I am no longer a member of the church. He is African American and married to a 6th Generation mormon woman. He's been in my ward for probably about the past 8 years or so. To be honest, he's the first African American I would say that I've ever really formed a close relationship with. Over that period of time we've had many conversations about race in the church. He has always had issues with the racism he has encountered in the church, but not enough to affect his testimony negatively, since, as he puts it, "If I did not have spiritual experiences that confirmed to me that this church was absolutely true, I'd just walk away right now." (he's in a tough spot with 9 kids and a 6th Generation mormon wife who would probably leave him if he left the church.) My exit out of the church started when I looked at him and asked myself, "What would it be like to be black and Mormon?" I couldn't imagine how blacks could belong to the church if they knew the full extent of the racism. As I have discussed the issue of Mormon racism with the African Americans Mormons I know, I've found that they are generally unaware of the statements on race that have been made by past prophets. They are unfamiliar with the passages of Mormon scriptures that deal with race. They have not been indoctrinated and are not privy to the Mormon teachings on race that were shared with me and my children. On one occasion my son asked his seminary teacher about some of Brigham Young's statements on race. He mentioned that Brigham Young said that the punishment for mixing your blood with the seed of cain (blacks) was that the curse of cain would come upon you and your future generations. It always had been and always would be. (I think he actually said that it was death by stoning, but racism is just as blatent.) His teacher responded, "I hate to say it, but that's true." I said, "Oh my gosh! She actually said that?" "Oh yeah." I found myself saying, "Were there any black people in the room?" My son said, "No. Thank God!" But what difference should it make if there are black people in the room? Shouldn't the white children be just as offended by such blatent racism that contradicts the central commandment of Jesus Christ, to love our fellow men as ourselves? To me the fact that my children are still taught things in private that would not be shared in public because of their blatent racism, is a serious moral failing. Shouldn't I be allowed to teach my children to stand up and denounce such blatant racism whenever and whereever they encounter it? Shouldn't I be allowed to speak out against blatant racism without fear of reprisal and discipline? If I complained to my bishop about his wife teaching my children racist folklore it would go nowhere since he probably shares those racist notions. If I complained to my stake president about the racist doctrines still being taught to my children I know it would be useless since he thinks Mormon racism is based on divine revelation and blacks don't deserve any kind of an apology. As mormons we are not allowed to go above the heads of our local leaders with our questions. So we are left to find out answers to our nagging questions on our own. I've gone to my past 3 bishops over the period of 12 years with my nagging questions. They never answered them honestly. One bishop said that the "Curse of Cain" was not doctrinal and that we did not know the reason why God witheld the priesthood from blacks." First off it is doctrinal, since Mormon scriptures clearly articulate that the curse of cain is black skin and Mormon prophets between the time of Brigham Young and Spencer W. Kimball went even further in clearly stating that blacks are descendants of cain and would not recieve the priesthood until after all the sons of Abel had recieved it, which has obviously been proven false. When I asked my last bishop why blacks were denied the priesthood for 120 years of the church's history? He asked me why God had witheld the priesthood from the earth for 1900 years between the time of Christ and the time it was restored through Joseph Smith? (Which has nothing to do with discrimination, since all people were equally denied the priesthood.) But it wasn't just about being denied the priesthood, blacks were discriminated against. They could not enter into the temple. Holding the priesthood is not a pre-requisit to enter into the temple since women and children are able to enter the temple all the time without the priesthood. Blacks have clearly been discriminated against and continue to be discriminated against behind closed doors in the church. The next generation of children are being indoctrinated the way my generation was indoctrinated to believe that it is wrong for white people to date or marry blacks. Teachers in the Mormon church will continue to teach the next generation racist myths until the leadership of the mormon church debunks those myths by issuing a clear statement that racism is wrong and will not be tolerated in the church that is supposed to represent Jesus Christ who commanded us to love one another as ourselves. Had the church made that statement three years ago, I might still be a member today. I ended the conversation by saying to my friend, "Mormons do not only discriminate against blacks they also discriminate against Native Americans by insisting that they are descendants of Lamanites. My kids are descendants of Native Americans and it offends me to hear that they are taught they are descended from an evil race of people cursed with dark skin." That was the point at which our conversation went downhill. He told me that the BOM did not say that Lamanites are the principle ancestors of American Indians and even if it did it is possible that there were actually such a small group of Lamanites that were introduced to such a huge population of Asian imigrants that their DNA would have been absorbed and all traces vanished. At that point I just told him, "Hey we all believe what we want to believe and we find ways to justify it. You go ahead and believe that if you want. I'm not going to impinge on your rights to do so. But my conscience tells me, that's does not make any sense. That is not true. That is wrong. I've got a much simpler explanation for it but I had to arrive at it after a lot of study. I'm not going to do your homework for you. The information is just as available to you as it was to me. If you are interested in an answer that makes more sense, it is available. There are answers that make sense, but you just have to have the courage to follow the answers to where they lead. If you really want to learn, you can't start out with a pre-concieved dogmatic position from which you refuse to budge. If you don't want to learn, that's up to you. The only reason I ever brought it up was because I know it is an issue you are dealing with and trying to resolve, not only for yourself, but for your children. The only way anything is ever going to change in the church is for people like you and your children to have the courage to speak up. Call attention to the racism in the church and denounce it as wrong, despite the consequences. It is an opportunity for you to be heard. To make a positive change in the world. To tear down the racial barriers that separate people. As for me, I have gave up trying to affect change in the church when I felt threatened with discipline for speaking to people about my issues. A church that represents the savior should not have to resort to discipline against people who have the courage to speak up and denounce statements that run contrary to the commandments of Jesus Christ and basic human decency and compassion. |
| Tuesday, May 17, 2005, at 07:38 AM Remember: Racism Is At The Very Heart Of The Book Of Mormon Posted By Anonymous MORMON RACISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| I was reminded by one of Baura's posts that the doctrine of the LDS church is that the ancient inhabitants of the American continent were wicked and that a sign of their wickedness was a dark skin. (See I have to agree with the kid on this one as posted in the "How do you..." thread started by Ed.) Alma 3: 6 "And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a curse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion against their brethren, who consisted of Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph, and Sam, who were just and holy men." This same racist approach to people of color was the basis for denying people of African descent from partaking of priesthood blessings, a clear indication of which was their dark skin. According to the church the dark skin was a mark placed upon Cain and his posterity so they would not be killed. (Gen. 4: 15) The church officially claimed from the pulpit for many, many years that a dark skin identified those who were cursed and could not receive the priesthood. Then, magically, the lord washed it all away by telling Spencer Wooley "It's all good. They're forgiven. Give them the PH." When I think of how the crutch is trying to spin its way out of these racist pronouncements about African and Native Americans, or I see African American members of the church marching up the "Y" on MLK day...it makes me sick...but it's proof that the PR machine of the crutch works with some people. |
| Thursday, Sep 8, 2005, at 08:18 AM No Matter How You Look At It, The Church's Position On Race Is Logically Indefensible Posted By Anonymous MORMON RACISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| Possibility one: The church was right when it claimed blacks are a cursed race. The church has now fallen into apostasy by abandoning that idea. Fair-skinned Elohim must be quite nettled right about now. When Jesus comes again, he'll no doubt have a few harsh words with the craven, PR-conscious GAs who made the choice to deemphasize inspired racist doctrine.
Possibility two: The church was wrong when it claimed blacks are a cursed race. The doctrine was never inspired by God to begin with. If Brigham Young--God's mouthpiece--was dead wrong about an idea he so staunchly and steadfastly promoted as God's true doctrine, then it is perfectly reasonable to think any prophet, at any time, could be wrong about anything. Possibility three: The church was right about blacks being cursed, but as it turns out, Jesus doesn't like seeing the church get negative publicity any more than Hinckley does. He therefore instructed the church's mortal leaders to phase out the racist doctrine, despite the fact that the doctrine was true. (Is this the same Jesus who fearlessly criticized the ruling class of his day? Who tossed money-changers out of the temple? Who willingly took upon himself all the anguish of every person who has ever lived, and then allowed himself to be crucified? It strikes me as a bit out of character for a man of such cast-iron principles to yield so easily to worldly pressure.) The point I'm trying to make with this post is that Hinckley and other PR-conscious GAs shouldn't be able to get away with saying "that's all behind us" when it comes to the racist doctrine of Mormonism. Okay, so he's telling us the church is making its best efforts to ditch racism. That's great and commendable, but he's not off the hook yet. He still needs to give a full explanation as to why the doctrine was introduced in the first place. I want to hear more than racially friendly PR talking points. I want Hinckley to address this from a logical standpoint. Something tells me I'll be holding my breath a long time. |
| Wednesday, Sep 14, 2005, at 08:21 AM Why Mormon Racism Is Worse Than Most Posted By Anonymous MORMON RACISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| No matter how you look at it, racism is awful, but the Mormon church has taken it to a new level.
What makes Mormon church's racism so awful are the following two points.
What really floors me is the following passage from the Book of Mormon. It talks about equal treatment of blacks and then immediately justifies slavery in the same passage. 2 Ne. 26: 33: For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to ccome unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, BLACK and white, BOND and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are like unto God, both Jew and Gentile. |
| Friday, Sep 30, 2005, at 08:14 AM What Is That Outrageous Mormon Ad About On Tv? The One With The Little "Black" Boy And The Potato Chip? Posted By Anonymous MORMON RACISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| What kind of craziness is it to put an ad like that on TV? Who do they think they are kidding? Looks like it is time to tell the "people of color" about the history of Mormonism and it's racist roots! Let them play: that was then, this is now and see how far they get with it, especially with the quotes right there in their "most accurately translated book" the Book of Mormon and from their own "inspired" prophets and leaders! How to look really stupid and not very PC in todays climate: Racist Roots of Mormonism taught in their own scriptures: The Book of hese are quotes from Mormon leaders: Racist teachings from book-Vol. 2 "Answers to Gospel Questions" (Five Volumes by Joseph Fielding Smith 1957 to 1966) Joseph Fielding Smith http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/daily/history/people/smith_joseph_fielding_eom.htm The Descendants ofCain 173 Question: "My study of the scriptures has resulted in some 'unorthodox' conclusions, about which, if untenable, I should like to be put right with respect to the following: 173 "1. The black race comes through only one of Ham's sons--Canaan. 173 "2. The people known as Egyptians are not cursed with a black skin but have received another curse barring them from the priesthood. Egyptus was not a black woman. 173 "3. Negroes are not precluded from holding the priesthood. 1 call attention to II Nephi 5:21. 173 "4. The curse pronounced by Noah on Pharaoh 'pertaining to the priesthood' was not because of the color of his skin. The first Pharaoh established an imitation patriarchal order of government patterned after the patriarchal reign of Adam, and also Noah. He could not have that 'right of priesthood' that is, the right of the patriarchal order, because he was not of the proper lineage. The right of that order was conferred upon Shem, the rightful heir." 173 Answer: In the study of the scriptures, and especially these of a very ancient date, the first consideration is to discover that we have received such a meager record covering centuries of time. From Adam to Abraham is about 2000 years, yet it is all recorded in some twelve or fourteen pages. This history is, therefore, at best only a synopsis and most of the vital things are not even mentioned. Then again, this record has come down to us through manuscripts, many times copied and many times translated so that much of the "plain and precious" parts have been eliminated or changed. If we had the record in its purity and fulness as it was originally given, all of these obscure matters would be cleared. THE PATRIARCHAL PRIESTHOOD 174 It is not expedient to go into this matter in the fulness which, perhaps, the subject demands, but here are a few reflections which may not have been considered. It is true that the patriarchalpriesthood was handed down from father to son, and that the keys of it belonged to the oldest son by right of primogeniture; but notwithstanding this, all of the faithful men who obtained the priesthood had this patriarchal office from the days of Adam down to the days of Moses. This order of the priesthood was the one conferred upon these ancient prophets and teachers, whether they were the first-born or the last born, if they were faithful. 175 Your attention is called to the fact that if this priesthood was the right of the first-born only, then the right would have been vested in Japheth, not Shem, after the flood, for Japheth was older than Shem. It could not be, then, on the ground of primogeniture that the descendants of Ham were denied the patriarchal priesthood. If this order was to be followed down to Moses, then Moses should not have been called to lead Israel, for he was of the tribe of Levi. Then again, we should remember that Moses got his priesthood fromJethro, who was not a descendant of Israel, but of Abraham through a younger branch of his family. 175 BLACK SKIN WAS NOT THE CURSE 175 The next question: "Was Cain cursed with a black skin?" Technically the black skin was not the curse, but the mark of the curse. The scriptures do not say that Cain was made black, but we read that his descendants were. 1 We may well suppose that Cain was also black and that this was the mark the Lord placed upon him. 175 The question also arises: "Why was it that Enoch and others of the prophets before the flood, avoided preaching the gospel to the descendants of Cain?" 175 We learn that Noah was 450 years old when Japheth was born, and he was 492 when Shem was born, and Ham was born eight years later. Noah was a righteous man, and therefore we must conclude that he followed the admonition of the Lord to multiply. We reach the conclusion then, that Noah had numerous sons and daughters, but only three of his sons and their wives had faith enough to follow Noah into the Ark. What of the others? We get some light from the Pearl of Great Price: 175 And the Lord said unto Noah: The daughters of thy sons have sold themselves; for behold mine anger is kindled against the sons of men, for they will not hearken to my voice. 176 THE SEED OF CAIN HAD TO BE PRESERVED 176 Could it not be said of Ham that he was righteous in that he followed his father into the Ark? The seed of Cain had to be preserved, and Cain was chosen for that mission. It is very possible that Ham received his name due to the fact that he married a black woman. We learn that the names of many individuals in those early years were given them--and often changed--due to incidents which occurred in their lives. For example, Esau's name was changed to Edom, and Jacob's name to Israel, and Abraham was at first known as Abram. It is likely that Ham's name was changed because he had a black wife, for ham is an adjective in Egyptian for black. The name Egyptus means forbidden. 5 Is it not reasonable to believe that this has reference to the fact that her descendants, as well as her ancestors, were denied some great blessing? And that that great blessing was denial of the priesthood? 177 We are informed that the right to the priesthood was denied Pharaoh, and this is in full accord with the attitude of Enoch and others before the flood. Then is it not reasonable to think that Ham named one of his sons Caanan after Cain? We may not be justified in declaring that the daughters of Ham were fair before the flood. We have no evidence that Ham had either sons or daughters before the flood. We have no evidence that it was the sons and daughters of any of the sons who entered the Ark who received the condemnation of the Lord. It could have been sons and daughters of other sons who refused to hearken to their father, and to the sons who rebelled, there may have been daughters who were fair. In fact, this is the plain implication of the scriptures. 177 SIGNIFICANT EXPRESSIONS OF SCRIPTURE 177 Reference that the "blood of the Canaanites was preserved in the land," and thus from Ham sprang the race which preserved the curse in the land are significant expressions. Again we read: "Now, Pharaoh being of the lineage by which he could not have right to the priesthood, notwithstanding the Pharaohs would fain claim it from Noah through Ham," is also significant. Is it not possible also that the Lord did curse the land so that it did not produce in its strength to Cain; and is it not possible that the Lord could have modified this in the case of some of Cain's descendants wherein they showed some measure of righteousness? 177 It is true that the Negro race in their native land occupy lands of much heat, as well as they did before the flood, but such discussion does not aid us much in the matter of the curse placed onCain and his posterity. In regard to this we should be satisfied with what the Lord has revealed in relation to Cain and his posterity. The Pearl of Great Price tells us definitely that the Egyptians were denied the priesthood. The Prophet taught his brethren that Cain was denied the priesthood and his posterity also to the latest generations. The promise was given that this curse, or restriction, will be removed, when the time comes in some future sphere, when Abel will have posterity. This evidence is collected and published in The Way to Perfection, chapters 15 and 16. 178 Fortunately for the Negro, he is not denied entrance into the Church. He may be baptized for the remission of his sins and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and if true and faithful to the end, he may enter the celestial kingdom. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds out more for the Negro than any other religious denomination. Salvation in the Kingdom of God is open to him,with the promise that in the due time of the Lord, if he receives the gospel, all restrictions will be removed. We have in the Church many good, honest, faithful Negroes who fully understand. 178 EVERY SPIRIT INNOCENT IN THE BEGINNING 178 We are taught that every spirit was innocent in the beginning in the spirit world. It is equally true that every spirit comes into this world innocent as far as sin in this world is concerned. It is one of the most abominable, cruel and unreasonable doctrines that Satan ever introduced into this world to lay at the door of innocent, helpless babies, a sin which they never committed. Jesus Christ paid the debt for "original sin," or the bringing of death into the world. No other soul ever born, or that may yet be born, will be charged with any taint because of Adam's Fall. Jesus Christ came and paid that debt, and the sprinkling or touching the body of a baby with water to cleanse it from original sin, and to condemn it to "limbo," and denyit the mercies of the Lord if it is not so touched or sprinkled, comes close to being an unforgivable sin. Spirits who have received the privilege of coming to this earth had their agency in that spirit world. Some of them failed because of rebellion and were cast out with Lucifer. Others were not valiant and therefore came into this world under some restriction, and the Lord deals with them according to their works. QUOTES on RACIST teachings re: Mark of the Curse of Cain = BLACK SKIN Those who were less valiant in pre-existence and who thereby had certain spiritual restrictions imposed upon them during mortality are known to us as the negroes. >Such spirits are sent to earth through the lineage of Cain, the mark put upon him for his rebellion against God and his murder of Abel being a black skin. (Moses 5:16-41; 7:8,12,22.) This is from a speech by Mark Peterson at BYU. I found it athttp://www.realmormonhistory.com/god&skin.htm I remember seeing a quote from BY saying basically the same thing, that Negros will only be allow in heaven as servants. “Think of the Negro, CURSED AS TO THE PRIESTHOOD.... This negro, who, in the pre-existence lived the type of life which justified the Lord in sending him to the earth in the lineage of Cain with a BLACK SKIN, and possibly being born in darkest Africa—if that negro is willing when he hears the gospel to accept it, he may have many of the blessings of the gospel. IN SPITE OF ALL HE DID IN THE PRE-EXISTENT LIFE, the Lord is willing, if the Negro accepts the gospel with real, sincere faith, and is really converted, to give him the blessings of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. If that Negro is faithful all his days, he can and will enter the celestial kingdom. He will go there AS A SERVANT, but he will get celestial glory.” (Race Problems as They Affect the Church, an address by Apostle Mark E. Petersen, delivered at the Convention of Teachers of Religion on the College Level, Brigham Young University, August 27,1954) Noah's son Ham married Egyptus, a descendant of Cain, thus preserving the negro lineage through the flood. (Abra. 1:20-27.) Negroes in this life are denied the priesthood; under no circumstances can they hold this delegation of authority from the Almighty." (1966 edition, page 527, under NEGROES; this statement has been taken out of the 1979 edition and has been replaced with the 1978 revelation.) In past Mormon theology a black skin is a sign of God's displeasure. In the Mormon Sunday School publication, Juvenile Instructor, the following statement appeared: We will first inquire into the results of the approbation or displeasure of God upon a people, starting with the belief that a black skin is a mark of the curse of Heaven placed upon some portions of mankind. Some, however, will argue that a black skin is not a curse, nor a white skin a blessing.In fact, some have been so foolish as to believe and say that a black skin is a blessing, and that the negro is the finest type of a perfect man that exists on the earth; but to us such teachings are foolishness. We understand that when God made man in his own image and pronounced him very good, that he made him white. We have no record of any of God's favored servants being of a black race...every angel who ever brought a message of God's mercy to man was beautiful to look upon, clad in the purest white and with a countenance bright as the noonday sun. (Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 3, page 157, October 15, 1868) "Not only was Cain called upon to suffer, but because of his wickedness he became the father of an inferior race." -Joseph Fielding Smith, The Way to Perfection, p. 101 "It was well understood by the early elders of the Church that the mark which was placed on Cain and which his posterity inherited was the black skin. The Book of Moses informs us that Cain and his descendants were black." -Joseph Fielding Smith, The Way to Perfection, p. 107 "According to Brigham Young, Joseph Smith classified these people as "The seed of Cain. Young said the "Joseph Smith had declared that the Negroes were not neutral in heaven for all the spirits took sides, but `the posterity of Cain are black because he (Cain) committed murder. He killed Abel and God set a mark upon his posterity." -Joseph Fielding Smith, The Improvement Era, "There is a reason why one man is born black and with other disadvantages, while another is born white with great advantage. The reason is that we once had an estate before we came here, and were obedient, more or less, to the laws that were given us there. Those who were faithful in all things there received greater blessings here, and those who were not faithful received less.... There were no neutrals in the war in heaven. All took sides either with Christ or with Satan. Every man had his agency there, and men receive rewards here based upon their actions there, just as they will receive rewards hereafter for deeds done in the body. The Negro, evidently, is receiving the reward he merits." -Joseph Fielding SmithDoctrines of Salvation, Vol.1, pages 66-67 "In the spirit of sympathy, mercy, and faith, we will also hope that blessings may eventually be given to our negro brethren, for they are our brethren - children of God - notwithstanding their black covering emblematical of eternal darkness." -Joseph Fielding Smith, The Way to Perfection, p. 102 "I would not want you to believe that we bear any animosity toward the Negro. 'Darkies' are wonderful people, and they have their place in our church." - Joseph Fielding Smith, Look magazine, October 22, 1963, page 79 Another LDS apostle said the following: There is a reason why one man is born black and with other disadvantages, while another is born white with great advantages. The reason isthat we once had an estate before we came here, and were obedient, more or less, to the laws that were given us there. Those who were faithful in all things there received greater blessings here, and those who were not faithful received less...There were no neutrals in the war in heaven. All took sides either with Christ or with Satan. Every man had his agency there, and men receive rewards here based upon their actions there, just as they will receive rewards hereafter for deeds done in the body. The Negro, evidently, is receiving the reward he merits. (Doctrines of Salvation, by Joseph Fielding Smith, 1954; 1:61, 65-66) This is how they wiggle out of the "racist" claim: Q. Isn't believing that black folks are or were cursed by God a 'racist' belief? No. That is not how 'racism' is defined. God alternatively blesses and curses all nations according to how they adhere or reject His Laws and Prophets. The Bible records many curses upon various peoples, for example: The LORD curses all women to bear children in great suffering because the Serpent (Satan) deceived Eve. The LORD curses all men to earn their bread by the sweat of their brow because Adam partook of the forbidden fruit. The LORD curses the Egyptians with plagues because Pharoah refused to let the Israelites go out of Egypt. The LORD curses the Moabites and Ammonites because they did not provide food and water to the Israelites in the desert wilderness. The LORD promises to curse the ISRAELITES, His own chosen people, if they do not adhere to His commandments. The LORD has a history of blessing and cursing nations and lineages according to how they obey or disobey His laws, and according to how they adhere to or ignore His prophets. These blessings and cursings have absolutely nothing to do with racism!http://www.lightplanet.com/response/doctrines/Blacks1.html QUOTES on RACIST teachings re: Mark of the Curse of Cain = BLACK SKIN Those who were less valiant in pre-existence and who thereby had certain spiritual restrictions imposed upon them during mortality are known to us as the negroes. >Such spirits are sent to earth through the lineage of Cain, the mark put upon him for his rebellion against God and his murder of Abel being a black skin. (Moses 5:16-41; 7:8,12,22.) Noah's son Ham married Egyptus, a descendant of Cain, thus preserving the negro lineage through the flood. (Abra. 1:20-27.) Negroes in this life are denied the priesthood; under no circumstances can they hold this delegation of authority from the Almighty." (1966 edition, page 527, under NEGROES; this statement has been taken out of the 1979 edition and has been replaced with the 1978 revelation.) In past Mormon theology a black skin is a sign of God's displeasure. 'Mormon Doctrine" Bruce R. McConkie In the Mormon Sunday School publication, Juvenile Instructor, the following statement appeared: We will first inquire into the results of the approbation or displeasure of God upon a people, starting with the belief that a black skin is a mark of the curse of Heaven placed upon some portions of mankind. Some, however, will argue that a black skin is not a curse, nor a white skin a blessing. In fact, some have been so foolish as to believe and say that a black skin is a blessing, and that the negro is the finest type of a perfect man that exists on the earth; but to us such teachings are foolishness. We understand that when God made man in his own image and pronounced him very good, that he made him white. We have no record of any of God's favored servants being of a black race...every angel who ever brought a message of God's mercy to man was beautiful to look upon, clad in the purest white and with a countenance bright as the noonday sun. (Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 3, page 157, October 15, 1868) "Not only was Cain called upon to suffer, but because of his wickedness he became the father of an inferior race." -Joseph Fielding Smith, The Way to Perfection, p. 101 "It was well understood by the early elders of the Church that the mark which was placed on Cain and which his posterity inherited was the black skin. The Book of Moses informs us that Cain and his descendants were black." -Joseph Fielding Smith, The Way to Perfection, p. 107 "According to Brigham Young, Joseph Smith classified these people as "The seed of Cain. Young said the "Joseph Smith had declared that the Negroes were not neutral in heaven for all the spirits took sides, but `the posterity of Cain are black because he (Cain) committed murder. He killed Abel and God set a mark upon his posterity." -Joseph Fielding Smith, The Improvement Era, ... "There is a reason why one man is born black and with other disadvantages, while another is born white with great advantage. The reason is that we once had an estate before we came here, and were obedient, more or less, to the laws that were given us there. Those who were faithful in all things there received greater blessings here, and those who were not faithful received less.... There were no neutrals in the war in heaven. All took sides either with Christ or with Satan. Every man had his agency there, and men receive rewards here based upon their actions there, just as they will receive rewards hereafter for deeds done in the body. The Negro, evidently, is receiving the reward he merits." -Joseph Fielding SmithDoctrines of Salvation, Vol.1, pages 66-67 "In the spirit of sympathy, mercy, and faith, we will also hope that blessings may eventually be given to our negro brethren, for they are our brethren - children of God - notwithstanding their black covering emblematical of eternal darkness." -Joseph Fielding Smith, The Way to Perfection, p. 102 "I would not want you to believe that we bear any animosity toward the Negro. 'Darkies' are wonderful people, and they have their place in our church." - Joseph Fielding Smith, Look magazine, October 22, 1963, page 79 Another LDS apostle said the following: There is a reason why one man is born black and with other disadvantages, while another is born white with great advantages. The reason is that we once had an estate before we came here, and were obedient, more or less, to the laws that were given us there. Those who were faithful in all things there received greater blessings here, and those who were not faithful received less...There were no neutrals in the war in heaven. All took sides either with Christ or with Satan. Every man had his agency there, and men receive rewards here based upon their actions there, just as they will receive rewards hereafter for deeds done in the body. The Negro, evidently, is receiving the reward he merits. (Doctrines of Salvation, by Joseph Fielding Smith, 1954; 1:61, 65-66) There is a lotmore info on the Internet.This is just a small portion. Another interesting article: (excerpt: In a teaching known as the "curse of Cain," Mormon doctrine states that God marked Cain with blackness and cursed him so he would forever be persecuted. Several other teachings in the Book of Mormon speak of black skin as vile and evil and white skin as "pure and delightsome." The scriptures imply God would darken the skin of people who fell out of his favor and lighten that of those who pleased him. Young, in his "Journal of Discourses," described "some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind" and connected them to Cain, saying "the Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and black skin." `Old dogmas die hard' Such texts, Mauss believes, will be a burden for the church and its black members until church leaders make an explicit and public disavowal. "Discredited doctrines about why some people are black have continued to circulate among Mormon whites in various places, despite the fact that no church leaders have taught such things for at least a whole generation," Mauss said. "Old dogmas die hard." Asked why leaders have not formally repudiated the teachings, spokeswoman Kim Farah referred to a statement made by Hinckley in 1998: "The 1978 revelation continues to speak for itself. ... I don't see anything further that we need to do." http://www.rickross.com/reference/mormon/mormon253.html |
| Friday, Sep 30, 2005, at 08:26 AM The Embarrassing Truth About Mormonism Posted By Anonymous MORMON RACISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| "You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind.
The first man that committed the odious crime of killing one of his brethren will be cursed the longest of any one of the children of Adam. Cain slew his brother. Cain might have been killed, and that would have put a termination to that line of human beings. This was not to be, and the Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and black skin. Trace mankind down to after the flood, and then another curse is pronounced upon the same race--that they should be the "servant of servants;" and they will be, until that curse is removed." Brigham Young-President and second 'Prophet' of the Mormon Church, 1844-1877- Extract from Journal of Discourses. My telephone call two weeks ago to the local arm of the church was quite specific in its request. Backed up by an e-mail to the organisation, I wanted to know the date of arrival in Jamaica, the membership and details of any outreach programme in force. Most importantly, I wanted to know why an organisation grounded in white supremacy would want Jamaica as one of its permanent postings considering that 95 per cent of Jamaicans are black-skinned. Continue Reading http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/column... |
| Monday, Oct 3, 2005, at 07:43 AM Black Mormons, The Love Of Christ, And The Mormon Chain Of Command Posted By Anonymous MORMON RACISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| In 1942 two LDS women attended Relief Society in a Washington D.C. area ward. These two faithful Latter-Day Saints stood out from the crowd because they were Black. The other women in the ward could have bonded together and said, "Even though there is segregation and racial strife among the gentiles we welcome you here with open arms." They didn't. What they did was complain to the Bishop about having to sit next to Black women. The Bishop, a "judge in Israel," could have said to the complaining women, "Get down on your knees and ask your heavenly father to forgive you for your hateful, racist thoughts and feelings and accept these faithful sisters with open arms." He didn't. He, instead, asked his Stake President what to do. The Stake President could have said to the bishop, "Tell those sisters to get down on their knees and ask their Heavenly Father to purge the racism and hatred out of their hearts and tell them to welcome these sisters-in-Christ with open arms." He didn't. Instead he wrote to the First Presidency for instructions on how to handle it. The First Presidency could have told the stake president to instruct the bishop to call the racist sisters to repentence and that they should be proud to sit next to fellow believers no matter what their race. They didn't. The First Presidency wrote back to the Stake President: "It seems to us that it ought to be possible to work this situation out without causing any feelings on the part of anybody. If the white sisters feel that they may not sit with them or near them, we feel sure that if the colored sisters were discretely approached, they would be happy to sit at one side in the rear or somewhere where they would not wound the sensibilities of the complaining sisters." [letter June 23, 1942 from First Presidency to Stake President Ezra Taft Benson (yes, THAT Ezra Taft Benson)] Yep, this is certainly a Church overflowing, top to bottom, with the love of Christ isn't it? |
| Thursday, Feb 9, 2006, at 08:22 AM Why I Can't Be A Mormon Posted By T-bone MORMON RACISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| I remember living in a white middle-class neighborhood in Idaho. One neighbor owned a sports store (running shoes, running shorts, etc.). He also traveled around the West to run marathons. Another neighbor was a dentist. Another was a computer programmer who let us use his TRS-80.
Later, when I got to high school, we had computer classes and typing classes. They were just starting to encourage boys to take typing because computers were becoming the big thing in the 80's. It was no longer a secretarial (therefore, single-sex) skill. My school had a debate team, a marching band that traveled a lot, and an excellent sports program. These experiences, which I thought were a typical upbringing, prepared me for adulthood in American society. Enter a new African-American girl at my law school. I could tell after speaking to her for a few minutes that she came from a socio-economic class that was disadvantaged. Her computer skills were not the same as somebody who comes from a middle-class upbringing, and her background was not strong academically. So she was having basic problems with the computer. I work in the lab at the school, so I took some time with her and showed her how to get some basic tasks accomplished. She was so happy. Even better, I made difference in somebody's life. It cost me nothing, but paid enormous dividends. Then it suddenly hit me. She's not only learning some very difficult concepts, she's still learning how to use a computer. She probably didn't grow up with a computer programmer as her neighbor. She proably didn't have computer classes in her high school. Years and years after slavery ended, we are still seeing the effects. I could tell after a very short conversation that my classmate came from a low socio-economic situation. With money, it's a vicious cycle. The rich really do get richer, and poor really do get poorer. Parents who can't get good jobs can't afford to send their kids to good schools. Those kids might even have to give up college and go straight to work after high school. Blacks were not put on a level playing field when slavery ended, so why would we think that blacks were put on a level playing field when they were given the priesthood. They were put in the game, but whites had a huge head start. Whether or not the LDS church had an “official” policy of racial discrimination (aside from not allowing blacks to hold the priesthood), when I was growing up the general attitude in the ward was that blacks were naturally dishonest and immoral. After all, you have to be honest and moral to hold the priesthood, right? If blacks can’t hold the priesthood, what does that mean? Think of it this way, what did it mean when somebody in your ward had to wait to be ordained an elder? Getting the picture? My little experience with an African-American student who did not have the advantages I had growing up just reminded me how far we still need to go in overcoming ignorant things we were taught growing up in a racist church. Discrimination is wrong because it deprives people of chances that everybody should have. The Mormon Church is a racist organization (don’t believe me, do the research). For anything good that comes out of being a Mormon, which is not even exclusive to Mormons, it is not enough to counter the racism and sexism (should we tackle that in another thread?). That’s why I can’t be part of it. |
| Monday, Mar 6, 2006, at 07:31 AM More Lies: Mormon Racism Only "Folklore" Posted By Deconstructor MORMON RACISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| SL Tribune reporter and TBM, Peggy Fletcher, continues to propagate the lie that Mormon racism was merely church folklore, and not based on scripture or revelation. Look how she quotes from pro-LDS (although critical) sources in her new article: "[Armand Mauss] and others have tried to get the LDS Church to repudiate what they see as racist folklore once used to defend the ban: The idea that blacks descended from Cain, the biblical figure who murdered his brother, or that blacks couldn't choose between God and Satan in the pre-Earth life, making them "fence-sitters in heaven."" "These ideas, though never based in revelation or canonical sources, were authoritatively taught by LDS leaders as late as the 1980s," says Armand Mauss, professor emeritus of sociology at Washington State University and author of All Abraham's Children: Changing Mormon Conceptions of Lineage and Race." "To counter the perceived racism, the LDS Church has taken steps to show its openness to people of color." "Its official position on the ban is that only God knows the reason it took so long to eliminate." "Racist folklore will remain in the church until LDS officials publicly repudiate it from the pulpit - at stake conferences, ward conferences and General Conference," [Darron Smith] says." - http://www.sltrib.com/faith/ci_3567756 Racist "folklore?" "Perceived" Racism? What kind of spin is this? The LDS Church's consistent and official racism is not mere folklore or perception. It is reality. Mormon scripture: bad races are cursed with black skin 2 Nephi 5:21 21 And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them. 3 Nephi 2:14-15 14 And it came to pass that those Lamanites who had united with the Nephites were numbered among the Nephites; 15 And their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites; Moses 7:22 22 And Enoch also beheld the residue of the people which were the sons of Adam; and they were a mixture of all the seed of Adam save it was the seed of Cain, for the seed of Cain were black, and had not place among them. Abraham 1:21-24,27 21 Now this king of Egypt was a descendant from the loins of Ham, and was a partaker of the blood of the Canaanites by birth. 22 From this descent sprang all the Egyptians, and thus the blood of the Canaanites was preserved in the land. 23 The land of Egypt being first discovered by a woman, who was the daughter of Ham, and the daughter of Egyptus, which in the Chaldean signifies Egypt, which signifies that which is forbidden; 24 When this woman discovered the land it was under water, who afterward settled her sons in it; and thus, from Ham, sprang that race which preserved the curse in the land. 27 Now, Pharaoh being of that lineage by which he could not have the right of Priesthood, notwithstanding the Pharaohs would fain claim it from Noah, through Ham, therefore my father was led away by their idolatry; Official LDS Church Publications Explain Racist LDS Scriptures "The Book of Abraham is rich both in doctrine and in historical incidents. Of the latter the fact of the large influence (if not identity) of Egyptian religious ideas in Chaldea in the days of Abraham is established; the descent of the black race (Negro) from Cain, the first murderer; the preservation of that race through the flood by the wife of Ham--"Egyptus," which in the Chaldean signifies "Egypt," "which signifies that which is forbidden"--the descendants of "Egyptus" were cursed as pertaining to the priesthood--that is, they were barred from holding that divine power; the origin also of the Egyptians--these things, together with the account of Abraham migrating from Chaldea to Egypt, constitute the chief historical items that are contained in the book. - Comprehensive History of the Church, Vol.2, Ch.47, Pg.128 "Their skin is quite black, their hair woolly and black, their intelligence stunted, and they appear never to have arisen from the most savage state of barbarism.” - The Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 3, page 157 "Is or is it not apparent from reason and analogy as drawn from a careful reading of the Scriptures, that God causes the saints, or people that fall away from his church to be cursed in time, with a black skin? Was or was not Cain, being marked, obliged to inherit the curse, he and his children, forever? And if so, as Ham, like other sons of God, might break the rule of God, by marrying out of the church, did or did he not, have a Canaanite wife, whereby some of the black seed was preserved through the flood, and his son, Canaan, after he laughed at his grandfather's nakedness, heired three curses: one from Cain for killing Abel; one from Ham for marrying a black wife, and one from Noah for ridiculing what God had respect for? Are or are not the Indians a sample of marking with blackness for rebellion against God's holy word and holy order? And can or can we not observe in the countenances of almost all nations, except the Gentile, a dark, sallow hue, which tells the sons of God, without a line of history, that they have fallen or changed from the original beauty and grace of father Adam?" - LDS Messenger and Advocate (Mar 1835) William Phelps "Letter No. 5," Pg.82 "History and common observation show that these predictions have been fulfilled to the letter. The descendants of Ham, besides a black skin which has ever been a curse that has followed an apostate of the holy priesthood, as well as a black heart, have been servants to both Shem and Japheth, and the abolitionists are trying to make void the curse of God, but it will require more power than man possesses to counteract the decrees of eternal wisdom." - Times and Seasons, Vol.6, Pg.857 The LDS Church's racism isn't just from some isolated quote from one or two church leaders. The racist teaching from the Mormon pulpit is prolific and consistent over time. If God didn't agree with his prophets teaching these things in His church, then why did they continue over generations? There's a big difference between folklore and Mormon scripture. When the president and prophet of the church stands at the pulpit and teaches the laws of God, that isn't folklore. The list of "inspired" LDS Prophets that have taught racist doctrine from the pulpit is too large to cite here. But here's a good sampling: http://www.realmormonhistory.com/god&skin.htm Even more powerful a statement, here is how the church has been behaving in Jamaica recently: http://www.i4m.com/think/comments/mormon-racism.htm It's looks like only true believers are buying into the new excuses for Mormon racism. Maybe that is the main purpose for them anyway? |
| Monday, Aug 7, 2006, at 06:59 AM Mormons Typically Do Not Know What Their Own Scriptures And/Or What Leaders Teach Or Have Taught Posted By SusieQ#1 MORMON RACISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| In addition, in true form, they change the meaning of words. They do not recognize the common definitions of words like: racist.
The BOM and Bible are full of racist quotes. Not racist, it is how God works: blessings and curses. Here are just a few BOM quotes. There are many more. 1 Nephi 12:23 "became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations." 2 Nephi 5:21 "that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them." Alma 3:6 "skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a curse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion." Alma 3:9 "whosoever did mingle his seed with that of the Lamanites did bring the same curse upon his seed." Mormon 5:15 "shall become a dark, a filthy, and a loathsome people, beyond the description of that which ever hath been amongst us." Here are a few interesting quotes: "I would not want you to believe that we bear any animosity toward the Negro. 'Darkies' are wonderful people, and they have their place in our church." - Joseph Fielding Smith, Look magazine, October 22, 1963, page 79 "Doctrines of Salvation" There is a reason why one man is born black and with other disadvantages, while another is born white with great advantages. The reason is that we once had an estate before we came here, and were obedient, more or less, to the laws that were given us there. Those who were faithful in all things there received greater blessings here, and those who were not faithful received less...There were no neutrals in the war in heaven. All took sides either with Christ or with Satan. Every man had his agency there, and men receive rewards here based upon their actions there, just as they will receive rewards hereafter for deeds done in the body. The Negro, evidently, is receiving the reward he merits. (Doctrines of Salvation, by Joseph Fielding Smith, 1954; 1:61, 65-66) This is how they wiggle out of the "racist" claim: Q. Isn't believing that black folks are or were cursed by God a 'racist' belief? No. That is not how 'racism' is defined. God alternatively blesses and curses all nations according to how they adhere or reject His Laws and Prophets. The Bible records many curses upon various peoples, for example: The LORD curses all women to bear children in great suffering because the Serpent (Satan) deceived Eve. The LORD curses all men to earn their bread by the sweat of their brow because Adam partook of the forbidden fruit. The LORD curses the Egyptians with plagues because Pharoah refused to let the Israelites go out of Egypt. The LORD curses the Moabites and Ammonites because they did not provide food and water to the Israelites in the desert wilderness. The LORD promises to curse the ISRAELITES, His own chosen people, if they do not adhere to His commandments. The LORD has a history of blessing and cursing nations and lineages according to how they obey or disobey His laws, and according to how they adhere to or ignore His prophets. [Here is the explanation that says it all.] These blessings and cursings have absolutely nothing to do with racism. |
| Friday, Dec 15, 2006, at 08:15 AM The Mormon Church's Official White Supremacist Demand That Pro-Black Protesters "Re-Orient" Their Wayward Thinking And Accept The Word Of God That Blacks Are Inferior Beings Posted By Sourcerer MORMON RACISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| In 1947, Dr. Lowry Nelson, a professor at then-Utah State Agricultural College in Logan, Utah, dispatched a letter to the Mormon First Presidency challenging the official exclusionary and racially biased position of the LDS Church toward people of African descent.
In writing his letter of protest, Lowry was no insignificant malcontent but, rather, a Mormon who came to the table with impeccable credentials: "Nelson earned a B.S. degree at Utah State University in 1916. He spent the next two decades working mainly in Utah. He served as the County Agricultural agent in Sanpete County, Utah in 1919, he became the field agriculturist for the People's Sugar Company in 1920 and edited the Utah Farmer from 1920-1922. He was associated with Brigham Young University from 1921-1935. During the Depression he worked for the Utah Relief Administration in 1934, he was regional advisor to the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, and in 1935 became director of the Resettlement Administration. He was then director of the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station at Logan. In 1937 he received a position at the University of Minnesota in the Sociology Department. . . . "Dr. Nelson's works include several monographs and a multitude of articles and papers ranging from rural life in Latin America, the United States and Canada as well as studies on various Mormon Villages in Utah. Dr. Nelson died in Provo, Utah in 1986." http://library.usu.edu/Specol/manuscr... _____ It was from this distinguished professional career track and deep Mormon background that on 16 June 1947, Lowry wrote the First Presidency, taking issue with the Mormon Church's anti-Black doctrine. On 17 July of the same year, the First Presidency replied thusly: "Dear Brother Nelson: "As you have been advised, your letter of June 16 was received in due course . . . We have carefully considered [its] content; and are glad to advise you as follows: "We make this initial remark: the social side of the Restored Gospel is only an incident of it; it is not the end thereof. "The basic element of your ideas and concepts seems to be that all God's children stand in equal positions before Him in all things. Your knowledge of the Gospel will indicate to you that this is contrary to the very fundamentals of God's dealings with Israel dating from the time of His promise to Abraham regarding Abraham's seed and their position vis-a-vis God Himself. Indeed, some of God's children were assinged to superior positions before the world was formed. "We are aware that some Higher Critics do not accept this, but the Church does. Your position seems to lose sight of the revelations of the Lord touching the pre-existence of our spirits, the rebellion in heaven, and the doctrines that our birth into this life and the advantages under which we may be born, have a religionship in the life heretofore. "From the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith even until now, it is has been the doctrine of the Church, never questioned by any of the Church leaders, that the Negroes are not entitled to the full blessings of the Gospel. "Furthermore, your ideas, as we understand them, appear to contemplate the intermarriage of the Negro and White races, a concept which has heretofore been most repugnant to most normal-minded people from the ancient partiarchs till now. God's rule for Israel, His Chosen People, has been endogamous [meaning 'marriage within a specific tribe or similar social unit']. Modern Israel has been similarly directed. "We are not unmindful of the fact that there is a growing tendency, particularly among some educators, as it manifests itself in this are, toward the breaking down of race barriers in the matter of intermarriage between whites and blacks, but it does not have the sanction of the Church and is contrary to Church doctrine. "Faithfully yours, [signed] George Albert Smith J. Reuben Clark, Jr. David O. McKay The First Presidency" (John J. Stewart and William E. Bennett, Mormonism and the Negro," [Orem, Utah: Community Press, 1960], pp. 46-47; see also, http://www.signaturebookslibrary.org/... and http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/re... ) _____ Lowry followed up with another letter to the First Presidency, dated 8 October 1947, in which he expressed his disappointment with the Mormon Church's officially, blatantly racist position, expressing his conclusions as follows: “The attitude of the Church in regard to the Negro makes me very sad. I do not believe God is a racist.” The First Presidency replied: “We feel very sure that you are aware of the doctrines of the Church. They are either true or not true. Our testimony is that they are true. Under these circumstances we may not permit ourselves to be too much impressed by the reasonings of men, however well founded they may seem to be. We should like to say this to you in all sincerity, that you are too fine a man to permit yourself to be led off from the principles of the Gospel by worldly learning. "You have too much of a potentiality for doing good and we therefore prayerfully hope that you can re-orient your thinking and bring it in line with the revealed Word of God.” (Stewart and Bennett, "Mormonism and the Negro," p.28) _____ What other proof is needed than that from the Mormon "prophets'" own "official" mouths, demonstrating beyond doubt that the LDS Church is an embarrassingly bigoted, backwater cult? |
| Friday, Apr 18, 2008, at 12:45 PM Brazil, Blacks And The Priesthood Posted By Owen D. West, III MORMON RACISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| I entered the Old Mission Home across from the SLC temple in 1975. I had been called to be an LDS missionary in the Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Mission. After two months in the LTM in Provo (the Language Training Mission) my group was sent to Texas to work while we awaited our visas. Ten months after entering the Mission Home in SLC we finally arrived in Brazil in November, just before Thanksgiving back in the US.
I worked in Rio and in its suburbs for a few months before being called as the Financial Secretary (the Contador) for the Mission. (As a result of this experience I majored in accounting on my return and I’m a CPA today.) In those days we were a “real” mission, providing support to branches from Rio to Manaus. There were only two Stakes, one in Rio and one on the other side of the bay in Niteroi. I worked as the Financial Secretary in the Mission Home for seven months, paying the bills for the Mission, exchanging US dollars for Cruzeiros at a travel agency (where we got a better rate than that given by the banks), and receiving the tithes and offerings from the branches including donations for the new temple being built in San Paulo. My Mission President, Helio da Rocha Camargo One day my Mission President, Helio da Rocha Camargo, who later served as a General Authority in the Quorum of the Seventy, came racing into my office with a piece of newspaper folded in such a way that I could only see a picture of a man. The president asked me several very direct questions. I thought I was being tested. He first asked, “Elder, would you teach the gospel to this man?” I looked at the man and he appeared to be Black. We weren’t supposed to teach the gospel to Blacks but only pray with them and invite them to attend the church of their choice. We followed this same policy while I was a missionary in the Texas/Dallas Mission. I looked up at the president and explained in carefully chosen words that since this man appeared to be Black that I wouldn’t teach him the gospel but would invite him to pray and to attend the church of his choice. President Camargo pressed on. “Elder, say this man wants to come to our church and to learn more about it, what would you do then?” I told him just as I’d had been instructed to do, that I would welcome him at church and teach him but would not encourage him to be baptized. "Elder, what would you do if this man asked you to be baptized; would you baptize him?" I responded that I would first have to teach the special lesson that the Church had written concerning those who were of the lineage of Cain. This was a special lesson that anyone with the marks of the lineage of Cain had to hear and had to accept without reservation before being baptized. These marks amounted to what we would call “racial profiling” in our current time. In northern Brazil, interracial unions were very common and socially acceptable. These unions over the years had produced a very beautiful people that were not obviously Black called Mulattos. We were taught to looked for the marks of the lineage of Cain. I was taught to look at the difference in color between the top of a person’s hand and the palm. A lighter palm or a distinct transition of dark to light skin, looking at the skin between the forefinger and the thumb, was a sign of “the lineage” as we called it. We also looked for wide and flat noses andkinky, tightly curled hair. At that time if you had Black ancestry from Africa (“Injo Africano”) while you could be baptized, you and your children would never be allowed to hold the priesthood. This meant that people with “the lineage” were not eligible to go to the new temple that was being built in San Paulo. We had to explain this to these people before they could be baptized. Not yet knowing where my mission president was going with his line of questioning, I told him that I would baptize this man if he accepted the “lineage lesson”. Next, President Camargo, obviously sensing that he was backing me into a corner, asked me if this man could receive the Priesthood? I had to say that from the picture it didn’t appear like this man would ever receive the Priesthood because he was clearly of Black ancestry, no doubt about it, no need to see his palms or analyze his nose or his hair. “No”, I told my president. With that final answer, the trap that he had carefully led me into fell shut. He had me. I had said exactly what he had been looking for me to say, which was the official Church position at the time concerning Blacks, those with the lineage of Cain. He opened the folded newspaper and to my great surprise revealed the current issue of the Church News that I had not seen nor read. On the front page was the picture of a new Bishop from the one of the Pacific Islands. (The Church News is an official publication of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.) President Camargo in an almost frantic voice at this point asks me how is it possible that this man, blacker than most people in Rio with “the lineage” can receive the Priesthood and become a Bishop! You see my president didn’t believe the church’s current teaching that some Blacks were from Africa while others were not. He believed all Blacks were of the same race and that if Cain started the race then they were all his descendants. If this Black man from the Pacific could hold the Priesthood and become a Bishop why couldn’t all the people from his country of Brazil be treated in exactly the same way? Then in a rare moment for any missionary, my president confided in me as to why he was so upset. He held out his hand in front of my eyes and showed me the top of his hand and his palm. He pointed to his nose. He pointed to his hair. He knew he had the marks of “the lineage” and he told me so. He told me that the only reason that he was ordained to the Priesthood was that he didn’t know his ancestry for sure and was not aware of any family ties to Africa. (Perhaps these marks were conveniently overlooked since he had been a Methodist minister who left his church over the practice of infant baptism). He was very upset about the teachings of the Church as contained in the Pearl of Great Price and the derived teachings of various General Authorities concerning the descendants of Cain. He asked me why was the Church building a temple that most of the people from Northern Brazil could not go inside? He made me defend the Church’s position. We lived with the “lineage lesson” and this doctrine my entire mission. I taught the “lineage lesson” to all of our converts in Brazil. It was never rejected and we baptized many people who believed that God the Father and Jesus Christ had appeared to the boy Joseph Smith. Shortly after returning from my mission I heard the news reported on the radio that all worthy men could receive the Priesthood and attend the temple with their families. I was very happy for this change in a church doctrine that I had once defended and accepted as being true. I am saddened to learn that the LDS church is today trying to rewrite it’s history by denying that it ever espoused a rational that explained and supported why Blacks could be denied the Priesthood. Brigham Young taught that in the future eternity, worthy and qualified negroes would receive the priesthood. Bruce R. McConkie reaffirmed as recently as 1975 in his book entitled Mormon Doctrine, second edition, 16th printing, that "Negroes in this life are denied the priesthood; under no circumstances can they hold this delegation of authority from the Almighty. (Abraham 1:20-27)" The only pre-1978 quotes that can be found on this point of doctrine are those supportive of the teaching of Joseph Smith that those of African decent through Ham would not receive the priesthood in this life but in the next if worthy. Apparently this is yet another example of a teaching of Joseph Smith and other LDS prophets that has been shown to be false: "Joseph Smith has left very little on record in his own words outside of the Pearl of Great Price. During the course of a discussion in Nauvoo in 1842, on the question as to whether the Negroes or the Indians have received the greater ill-treatment from the whites, the Prophet Joseph said: 'The Indians have greater cause to complain of the treatment of the whites, than the Negroes, or sons of Cain.' (D.H.C., 4:501.) But we all know it is due to his teachings that the Negro today is barred from the Priesthood." (Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., The Way to Perfection, p.111) "Brigham Young did not originate the doctrine that Negroes could not hold the Priesthood in this life but some day some of them may be granted that privilege, but he was taught it by the Prophet Joseph." (Milton R. Hunter, Pearl of Great Price Commentary, p.142) "The Pearl of Great Price tells us definitely that the Egyptians were denied the priesthood. The Prophet [Joseph Smith] taught his brethren that Cain was denied the priesthood and his posterity also to the latest generations. The promise was given that this curse, or restriction, will be removed, when the time comes in some future sphere, when Abel will have posterity. This evidence is collected and published in The Way to Perfection, chapters 15 and 16." (Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, Vol.2, p.177) "Kindly see chapters 15 and 16, in The Way to Perfection, for further light in relation to the reason why the Negro cannot receive the priesthood. In brief, it is as follows: Because of transgression in the first estate which deprives him in this second estate. Since Cain slew his brother Abel in order to obtain all the rights of priesthood to descend through his lineage, the Lord decreed that the children of Cain should not have the privilege of bearing the priesthood until Abel had posterity who could have the priesthood and that will have to be in the far distant future. When this is accomplished on some other world, then the restrictions will be removed from the children of Cain who have been true in this 'second' estate." (Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, Vol.2, p.188) It appears then that Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and subsequent men were false prophets since they taught us that those of African decent through Cain would NOT receive the priesthood in this life and NOT BEFORE the posterity of Able! What was true pre-1978 must be true today or else it must be declared that this LDS doctrine as preached pre-1978 was false. The LDS can't have Truth both ways! Owen D. West, III (Brazil Rio de Janeiro Mission 1975 – 1977) |
| Tuesday, Jun 10, 2008, at 08:51 AM Thirty Years Ago Today - A Phone Call Posted By Gypsy Rose MORMON RACISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| 30 years today I received a phone call from LDS social services. Good news Gypsy the prophet has received a revelation. We can now place the 4 month old baby (seed of Cain) in a home.
My baby girl was born to a really fair mother (me) and a mixed race father. All along I had been truthful about her heritage. When she was born she was fair, okay white. I went through the process of saying goodbye, and left her in what at the time I thought was loving caring people. Within the week a received a phone call asking me if there could be a different father since she wasn't "turning" black. What? I said no. Time went on and I started to wonder about the whole thing, but I had signed the papers, and they were very clear it was permanent. I called and asked how it was going. "Well, she is in a baby boarding home as we are having trouble finding her a home. She is too light to place in a black home and we cannot put her in a white home since she has black in her." I was assured that the people who had her loved her and were planning to adopt her. So when I received this call I was somewhat confused, but not ever really paying attention to the religion growing up, I didn't realize how racist these people were. In 2000 we were reunited, and come to find out she had been going from foster home to foster home till God spoke to Spencer W. Kimball. On the positive side, when I met her she was still trying to please her adoptive parents by going to church once in a while. She is done with the Mormon Church. Anytime anyone from the church tries to talk to me about the church I tell them go get your prophet bring him to my house and have them explain to me how a bunch of people who put the name of Christ on all the buildings they worship in - can do that to an infant. They always say we don't have all the answers. I tell them that is when I will listen to your drivel, go get your prophet. Needless to say they never bring him around. So for me today it means something different. I am glad to have her back in my life, she lives close by and I have a grandson. |
| Thursday, Jan 8, 2009, at 08:24 AM Fact, Not "Fleck": The Mormon Church's Institutional Bigotry Posted By Steve Benson MORMON RACISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| In a 1996 CBS "60 Minutes" interview with then-Mormon Church president Gordon B. Hinckley, host Mike Wallace noted, "[Mormon] Church policy had it that Blacks had the mark of Cain. Brigham Young said, 'Cain slew his brother, and the Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and black skin.'"
Hinckley's slick reply was to dishonestly assert that such institutionalized Mormon doctrinal bigotry was the exception, not the rule, insisting: "It's behind us. Look, that's behind us. Don't worry about those little flecks of history." (CBS "60 Minutes." Mike Wallace interview with Gordon B. Hinckley, broadcast 7 April 1996) The racism one still sees expressed in larger contemporary society by uneducated and uninformed individuals languishing in the prisons of their prejudice is the same kind of race-based hate that has regularly dripped from the mouths of Mormonism's supposed "prophets, seers and revelators." One would expect the alleged spokesmen of God to be above racist hate-mongering but the words of Mormonism's leadership themselves prove that such is not the case. The deeply-embedded, canonized, scripturally-recorded, presently-accepted and on-the-books roots of Mormon race hate are well known and readily accessible for review. For examples of this skin-based prejudice, as laid out in LDS unholy writ, see: http://www.truthandgrace.com/Racism.h... http://www.exmormon.org/blacks1.htm http://www.realmormonhistory.com/god&... The basic point to be made here is that abhorrent racist views that linger in so-called "modern" society are no different, either in substance or tone, from the blatant bigotry expressed by Mormon Church leaders toward people of African lineage. When today's Mormons defend the heritage of their Church's leadership as supposedly being comprised of "prophets, seers and revelators" led by God in passing righteous judgment on humankind, they would do well to realize that what they are really rallying behind are the rantings of blatant White separatists, racists and bigots who have sought to give their hateful opinions the white and delightsome sheen of credibility by wrapping them in the cloak of "holy" scripture. Below are but a few examples of racist ideology that has sounded from the highest pulpits of Mormon Church leadership. **Mormon Doctrine: Ignorant, Uneducated, Uncultivated, Degraded, Jealous, Angry, Unchaste, Unvirtuous, Criminal, Freed Black Slaves Pose a Mortal Threat to Civilized White Society and, Thus, Must Remain in Divinely-Decreed Slavery--or Be Hung** --Joseph Smith spewed: ”Dear Sir--[Kirtland] having recently been visited by a gentleman who advocated the principles or doctrines of those who are called abolitionists and his presence having created an interest in that subject, if you deem the following reflections of any service, or think they will have a tendency to correct the opinions of the Southern public . . . you are at liberty to give them publicity . . . “I fear that the sound might go out, that 'an Abolitionist' had held forth several times to this community . . . all, except a very few, attended to their own vocations, and left the gentleman to hold forth his own arguments to nearly naked walls. “I am aware that many, who profess to preach the Gospel, complain against their brethren of the same faith who reside in the South and are ready to withdraw the hand of fellowship because they will not renounce the principle of slavery and raise their voice against every thing of the kind. This must be a tender point, and one which should call forth the candid reflections of all men, and more especially before they advance in an opposition calculated to lay waste the fair states of the South and let loose upon the world a community of people who might, peradventure, overrun our country and violate the most sacred principles of human society, chastity and virtue. . . . “I do not believe that the people of the North have any more right to say that the South shall not hold slaves, than the South have to say the North shall. How any community can ever be excited with the chatter of such persons, boys and others, who are too indolent to obtain their living by honest industry and are incapable of pursuing any occupation of a professional nature, is unaccountable to me; and when I see persons in the free states, signing documents against slavery, it is no less, in my mind, than an army of influence, and a declaration of hostilities against the people of the South. “What course can sooner divide our Union? After having expressed myself so freely upon this subject, I do not doubt, but those who have been forward in raising their voices against the South will cry out against me as being uncharitable, unfeeling, unkind and wholly unacquainted with the Gospel of Christ. . . . the first mention we have of slavery is found in the Holy Bible . . . And so far from that prediction being averse to the mind of God, it remains as a lasting monument of the decree of Jehovah, to the shame and confusion of all who have cried out against the South, in consequence of their holding the sons of Ham in servitude . . . “I can say, the curse is not yet taken off from the sons of Canaan, neither will be until it is affected by as great a power as caused it to come; and the people who interfere the least with the purposes of God in this matter, will come under the least condemnation before Him; and those who are determined to pursue a course, which shows an opposition, and a feverish restlessness against the decrees of the Lord,, will learn, when perhaps it is too late for their own good, that God can do his own work, without the aid of those who are not dictated by His counsel.” (Joseph Smith, "History of the Church," vol. 2, pp. 436-438) --Oliver Cowdery spewed: ”All who are acquainted with the situation of slave States know that the life of every White is in constant danger and to insinuate anything which could possibly be interpreted by a slave--that it was not just to hold human beings in bondage--would be jeopardizing the life of every White inhabitant in the country. For the moment an insurrection should break out, no respect would be paid to age, sex or religion by an enraged, jealous and ignorant Black banditti. "And the individual who would not immediately report anyone who might be found influencing the minds of slaves with evil would be beneath the slave himself and unworthy the privilege of a free government.” (Oliver Cowdery, "Outrage in Jackson County," in "Evening and Morning Star," 2, January 1834, p. 122) --John Taylor spewed: ” . . . I would not talk to him [abolitionist Horace Greeley]; I felt myself superior to such a mean, contemptible cur. I knew he was not after truth, but falsehood. This Greeley is one of their popular characters in the East, and one that supports the stealing of [N-word] and the Underground Railroad . . . [H] e is one of the prominent newspaper editors in the Eastern country and he is a poor, miserable curse.” (John Taylor, "Journal of Discourses," vol. 5, p. 119) --Official Mormon publications spewed: “Where can be the common sense of any wishing to see the slaves of the south set at liberty . . . Such a thing could not take place without corrupting all civil and wholesome society, of both the north and the south! Let the Blacks of the South be free and our community is overrun with paupers and a reckless mass of human beings, uncultivated, untaught and unaccustomed to provide for themselves the necessaries of life— endangering the chastity of every female who might by chance be found in our streets—our prisons filled with convicts, and the hang-man wearied with executing the functions of his office! “This must unavoidably be the case, every rational man must admit, who has ever traveled in the slave states, or we must open our houses unfold our arms, and bid these degraded and degrading sons of Canaan, a hear[t]y welcome and a free admittance to all we possess! A society of this nature, to us, is so intolerably degrading, that the bare reflection causes our feelings to recoil, and our hearts to revolt. . . . [T]he project of emancipation is destructive to our government and the notion of amalgamation is devilish! — And insensible to feeling must be the heart, and low indeed must be the mind, that would consent for a moment, to see his fair daughter, his sister, or perhaps, his bosom companion, in the embrace of a Negro! . . .” ("Messenger and Advocate," vol. 2, pp. 299-301) **Mormon Doctrine: Blacks Are a Second-Class Race, Undeserving of Equal Treatment** Joseph Fielding Smith spewed: "Not only was Cain called upon to suffer, but because of his wickedness he became the father of an inferior race. . . . Millions of souls have come into this world cursed with a black skin . . . These are the descendants of Cain. Moreover, they have been made to feel their inferiority and have been separated from the rest of mankind from the beginning. Enoch saw the people of Canaan, descendants of Cain, and he says, 'and there was a blackness came upon all the children of Canaan, that they were despised among all people.'" “There is a reason why one man is born black and with other disadvantages, while another is born white with great advantages. The reason is that we once had an estate before we came here, and were obedient; more or less, to the laws that were given us there.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, "The Way to Perfection," 1931, pp. 101-102; and Smith, "Doctrines of Salvation," vol. 1, p. 61) Bruce R. McConkie spewed: ”The Negroes are not equal with other races . . . “Negroes are not equal with other races where the receipt of certain spiritual blessings are concerned . . . “ (Bruce R. McConkie, "Mormon Doctrine," 1966 ed., pp. 527-28; and ibid., 1958 ed., p. 477)) **Mormon Doctrine: Blacks Are Animalistic, Sub-Intelligent, Vile, Cursed with Physical Ugliness, Possessing Dishonorable Bodies, Associates of Satan and Rulers Over Satan** --Brigham Young spewed: “You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind. The first man that committed the odious crime of killing of one his brethren [Cain] will be cursed the longest of any children of Adam. . . [T]he Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and the black skin.” (Brigham Young, "Journal of Discourses," vol. 7, 1859 p. 290) --Orson Hyde spewed: “At the time the devil was cast out of heaven, there were some spirits that did not know who had authority, whether God or the Devil. They consequently did not take a very active part on either side but, rather, thought the Devil had been abused and considered he had, rather, the best claim to the government. “These spirits were not considered bad enough to be cast down to hell, and never have bodies; neither were they considered worthy of an honorable body on this earth but it came to pass that Ham, the son of Noah, saw the nakedness of his father while he lay drunk in his tent and he with 'wicked joy,' ran like Rigdon and made the wonderful disclosure to his brethren; while Shem and Japheth took a garment, with pity and compassion, laid it upon their shoulders—went backwards and covered their father . . . “The conduct of the former brought the curse of slavery upon him, while that of the latter secured blessings, jurisdiction, power and dominion . . . Canaan, the son of Ham, received the curse; for Noah wished to place the curse as remote from himself as possible. “He therefore placed it upon his grandson instead of his son. Now, it would seem cruel to force pure celestial spirits into the world through the lineage of Canaan that had been cursed. This would be ill appropriate, putting the precious and vile together. But those spirits in heaven that rather lent an influence to the Devil, thinking he had a little the best right to govern, but did not take a very active part any way were required to come into the world and take bodies information concerning the doctrine of pre-existence.” (Orson Hyde, “Is There Reason Then Why the Type of Birth We Receive in This Life Is Not in the Accursed Lineage of Canaan; and Hence the Negro or African Race?” speech delivered before the High Priests' Quorum, Nauvoo, Illinois, 27 April 1845, published in Liverpool, England, p. 30) --Bruce R. McConkie spewed: “Though he was a rebel and an associate of Lucifer in the pre-existence and though he was a liar from the beginning whose name was Perdition, Cain managed to attain the privilege of mortal birth. Under Adam's tutelage, he began in this life to serve God. . . . [H]e came out in open rebellion, fought God, worshiped Lucifer and slew Abel. . . . “As a result of his rebellion, Cain was cursed with a dark skin; he became the father of the Negroes, and those spirits who are not worthy to receive the priesthood are born through his lineage. He became the first mortal to be cursed as a son of perdition. As a result of his mortal birth he is assured of a tangible body of flesh and bones in eternity, a fact which will enable him to rule over Satan.” (Bruce R. McConkie, "Mormon Doctrine," p. 102) --Official Mormon Church publications spewed: “. . . [T]he descendants of Cain cannot cast off their skin of blackness, at once, and immediately, although every soul of them should repent, . . . Cain and his posterity must wear the mark which God put upon them; and his white friends may wash the race of Cain with fuller’s soap every day, they cannot wash way God’s mark . . . " ("Millennial Star," vol. 14, p. 418) **Mormon Doctrine: Blacks Are Social Pariahs Who Must Be Kept Separate from White Society in Order to Preserve the Purity of the White Race** --B.H. Roberts (with a little help from a like-minded White supremacist/separatist) spewed: ”If we sit with Negroes at our tables, if we entertain them as our guests and social equals, if we disregard the color line in all other relations, is it possible to maintain it fixedly in the sexual relation, in the marriage of our sons and daughters, in the propagation of our species? Unquestionably, No! . . . [O]nce the middle wall of social partition [is] broken down, the mingling of tides of life would begin instantly and proceed steadily. . . . As a race, the Southern Caucasian would be irreversibly doomed. For no possible check could be given to this process once established. . . . The moment the bar of absolute separation is thrown down in the south, that moment the bloom of her spirit is blighted forever, the promise of her destiny is annulled, the proud fabric of her future slips into dust and ashes. No other conceivable disaster that might befall the south could, for an instant, compare with such miscegenation within her borders. Flood and fire, fever and famine and the sword-- even ignorance, indolence, and carpet-baggery--she may endure and conquer while her blood remains pure; but once taint the well-spring of her life, and all is lost—even honor itself.” “But some may deny that the mongrelization of the southern people would . . . corrupt or degrade the southern stock of humanity. If so, then such a one has yet to learn the largest-writ (sic) lessons of history and the most impressive doctrines of biological science. That the Negro is markedly inferior to the Caucasian is proved both craniologically and by six thousand years of planet-wide experimentation." "Here, then, is laid bare the nerve of the whole matter: Is the South [the southern U.S.] justified in this absolute denial of social equality to the Negro, no matter what his virtues or abilities or accomplishments? We affirm, then, that the South is entirely right in thus keeping open at all times, at all hazards, and at all sacrifices an impassible social chasm between Black and White. This she must do in behalf of her blood, her essence, of the stock of her Caucasian Race.” (William Benjamin Smith, "The Color Line," as quoted approvingly by B.H. Roberts in his manual, "First Year Book in the Seventy’s Course in Theology," 1931, pp. 231-33) --Mark E. Petersen spewed: “The discussion on civil rights . . . has drawn some very sharp lines. It has blinded the thinking of some of our own people, I believe. They have allowed their political affiliations to color their thinking to some extent, and then, of course, they have been persuaded by some of the arguments that have been put forth . . . “We who teach in the Church certainly must have our feet on the ground and not be led astray by the philosophies of men on this subject . . . “I think I have read enough to give you an idea of what the Negro is after. He is not just seeking the opportunity of sitting down in a cafe where white people eat. He isn't just trying to ride on the same streetcar or the same Pullman car with white people. It isn't that he just desires to go to the same theater as the white people. From this, and other interviews I have read, it appears that the Negro seeks absorption with the White race. He will not be satisfied until he achieves it by intermarriage. That is his objective and we must face it. We must not allow our feeling to carry us away, nor must we feel so sorry for Negroes that we will open our arms and embrace them with everything we have. Remember the little statement that we used to say about sin, 'First we pity, then endure then embrace.’ . . . “Now let's talk segregation . . . for a few moments. Was segregation a wrong principle? When the Lord chose the nations to which the spirits were to come, determining that some would be Japanese and some would be Chinese and some Negroes and some Americans, He engaged in an act of segregation. . . . “When he told Enoch not to preach the gospel to the descendants of Cain who were black, the Lord engaged in segregation. When He cursed the descendants of Cain as to the Priesthood, He engaged in segregation . . . Who placed the Negroes originally in darkest Africa? Was it some man, or was it God? And when He placed them there, He segregated them . . . The Lord segregated the people both as to blood and place of residence. At least in the cases of the Lamanites and the Negroes we have the definite word of the Lord Himself that He placed a dark skin upon them as a curse—as a punishment and as a sign to all others. He forbade intermarriage with them under threat of extension of the curse. (2 Nephi 5:21) And He certainly segregated the descendants of Cain when He cursed the Negro as to the Priesthood, and drew an absolute line. You may even say He dropped an Iron curtain there. . . . “Now we are generous with the Negro. We are willing that the Negro have the highest kind of education. I would be willing to let every Negro drive a Cadillac if they could afford it. I would be willing that they have all the advantages they can get out of life in the world but let him enjoy these things among themselves. I think the Lord segregated the Negro and who is man to change that segregation? It reminds me of the scripture on marriage, 'What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.' Only here we have the reverse of the thing— What God hath separated, let no man bring together again.” (Mark E. Peterson, “Race Problems as They Affect the Church,” address delivered at the Convention of Teachers of Religion on the College Level, Brigham Young University, 27 August 1954) Society's Historical Language of Bigotry is Mormonism’s Historical Bigoted Theology It bears keeping in mind that racist venom still unfortunately heard in backwater corners of today's society is merely an echo of the White supremacist mindset of Mormonism's own prophets of prejudice. Contrary to what LDS Church president Hinckley claimed, long-sanctioned and piously-promoted official Mormon racism is not a "little fleck of history." It is a firmly-rooted fact. |
| Friday, Feb 27, 2009, at 07:54 AM Not Only Did The Mormon Church Segregate Blood, It Ordered Segregated Seating In Church Posted By Steve Benson MORMON RACISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| In 1940, my grandfather Ezra Taft Benson was appointed the first president of the newly-organized Washington [D.C.] stake. According the Sheri Dew in her Church-published biography on Ezra Taft Benson, he proved to be “forward-thinking” as he dealt with the “many and complex” problems facing the stake. (Sheri L. Dew, "Ezra Taft Benson: A Biography" [Salt Lake City, Utah: Desert Book Company, 1987), pp.157-58).
Dew failed to mention that one of those “problems” had to do with Black women sitting too close to White women during Relief Society lessons. In a letter to “President Ezra T. Benson, Washington [D.C.] Stake,” dated 23 June 1942, the First Presidency issued him a directive to segregate the races during Mormon class time: “Dear President Benson: “Through the General Board of the Relief Society, who reported to the Presiding Bishopric, and they to us, it comes to us that you have in the Capitol Reef Ward in Washington two colored sisters who apparently are faithful members of the Church. “The report comes to us that prior to a meeting which was to be held between the Relief Societies of the Washington Ward and the Capitol Ward, Bishop Brossard of the Washington Ward called up the President of the Relief Society of the Capitol Ward and told her that these two colored sisters should [not] be permitted to attend because the President of the Capitol Ward Relief Society failed to carry out the request made of her by the Bishop of the other ward. “We can appreciate that the situation may present a problem in Washington, but President Clark recalls that in the Catholic churches in Washington at the time he lived there, colored and white communicants used the same church at the same time. He never entered the church to see how the matter was carried out, but he knew that the facts were as stated. “From this fact we are assuming that there is not in Washington any such feeling as exists in the South where the colored people are apparently not permitted by their white brethren and sisters to come into the meeting houses and worship with them. We feel that we cannot refuse baptism to a colored person who is otherwise worthy, and we feel that we cannot refuses to permit these people to come into our meeting houses and worship once we baptize them. “It seems to us that it ought to be possible to work this situation out without causing any feelings on the part of anybody. If the white sisters feel that they may not sit with them or near them, we feel very sure that if the colored sisters were discreetly approached, they would be happy to sit at one side in the rear or somewhere where they would not wound the sensibilities of the complaining sisters. We will rely upon your tact and discretion to work this out so as not to hurt the feelings on the part of anyone. “Of course, probably each one of the sisters who can afford it, has a colored maid in her house to do the work and to do the cooking for her, and it would seem that under these circumstances they should be willing to let them sit in Church and worship with them. “Faithfully your brethren, [signed] “Heber J. Grant J. Reuben Clark, Jr. David O. McKay” Attempting to downplay the condescending bigotry evidenced in the First Presidency’s orders to my grandfather, Mormon historian Lester Bush argued that “[i]t is, of course, no more justified to apply the social values of 1970 to this period than it was to impose them on the nineteenth century, and the point to be made is not that the Church had ‘racist’ ideas as recently as 1950. . . . On the other hand, from our present perspective it is impossible to mistake the role of values and concepts which have since been rejected in the formulation of many aspects of previous Church policy.” (Bush, "Mormonism’s Negro Doctrine: An Historical Overview," p. 43) There is no record that Ezra Taft Benson resisted this directive from Salt Lake City. The First Presidency was apparently impressed with my grandfather’s willingness to do as he was told, however. A year later, he was called into the Quorum of Twelve Apostles. (Lester E. Bush, Jr., compilation of “scattered” and incomplete “notes” on the “history of the Negro in the LDS Church,” pp. 241-42; see also, Bush, Mormonism’s Negro Doctrine: An Historical Overview [Arlington, Virginia: Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought], reprint of original article in Dialogue, Vol. 8., No. 1, Spring 1973, p. 43) |
| Monday, Apr 13, 2009, at 08:01 AM Race Problems - As They Affect The Church Posted By Mark E. Petersen MORMON RACISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| "Is there reason then why the type of birth we receive in this life is not A
REFLECTION OF OUR WORTHINESS or LACK OF IT IN THE PRE-EXISTENT LIFE? ...[C]an
we account in any other way for the birth of some of the children of God in
DARKEST AFRICA, or in FLOOD-RIDDEN CHINA, or among the STARVING HORDES OF
INDIA, while some of the rest of us are born here in the United States? We
cannot escape the conclusion that BECAUSE OF PERFORMANCE IN OUR PRE-EXISTENCE
some of us are born as CHINESE, some as JAPANESE, some as Latter-day Saints.
A CHINESE, BORN IN CHINA WITH A DARK SKIN, and with all the HANDICAPS OF THAT RACE seems to have little opportunity. But think of the mercy of God to Chinese people who are willing to accept the gospel. IN SPITE OF WHATEVER THEY MIGHT HAVE DONE IN THE PRE-EXISTENCE TO JUSTIFY BEING BORN OVER THERE AS CHINAMEN, if they now, in this life accept the gospel and live it the rest of their lives they can have the Priesthood, go to the temple and receive endowments and sealings, and that means they can have exaltation. Isn't the mercy of God marvelous? Think of the Negro, cursed as to the priesthood.... THIS NEGRO, WHO, IN THE PRE-EXISTENCE LIVED THE TYPE OF LIFE WHICH JUSTIFIED THE LORD IN SENDING HIM TO EARTH IN THE LINEAGE OF CAIN WITH A BLACK SKIN, AND POSSIBLY BEING BORN IN DARKEST AFRICA.... IN SPITE OF ALL HE DID IN THE PRE-EXISTENT LIFE, the Lord is willing, if the Negro accepts the gospel with real, sincere faith, and is really converted, to give him the blessings of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. IF THAT NEGRO IS FAITHFUL ALL HIS DAYS, he can and will enter the celestial kingdom. HE WILL GO THERE AS A SERVANT, but he will get celestial glory." This talk was given by Mormon Apostle Mark E. Petersen at Brigham Young University, August 27, 1954 |
| Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009, at 07:51 AM 17 Aug 1951 First Presidency Message Regarding The Negro Posted By confused MORMON RACISM -Guid- | ↑ |
| The following talk was delivered by the First Presidency of the Mormon Church on August 17th, 1951:
"The attitude of the church regarding Negroes remains as it has always stood. It is not the matter of a declaration of policy but of direct commandment from the Lord, on which is founded the doctrine of the church from the days of its organization, to the effect that negroes may become members of the church but that they are not entitled to the Priesthood at the present time. The prophets of the Lord have made several statements as to the operations of the principle. President Brigham Young said: "Why a skin of blackness? It comes as a consequence of their fathers rejecting the power of the holy priesthood, and the law of God. They will go down to death. And when all the other children have received their blessings in the holy priesthood, then their curse will be removed from the seed of Cain, and they will come up and possess the priesthood, and receive all the blessings which we are now entitled to." President Wilford Woodruff made the following statement: "The day will come when all that race will be redeemed and receive all of the blessings which we now have." The doctrine of the church regarding the negro may be understood when another doctrine of the church is kept in mind, namely, that the conduct of the spirits in the preexistence has some effect upon the conditions and circumstances under which these spirits take on mortality, and while the details of this principle have not been made known, the principle itself indicates that the coming to this earth and taking on mortality is a privilege that is given to those that maintained their first estate; and the worth of the privilege is so great that spirits are willing to come to earth and take on bodies no matter what the handicap may be as to the kind of bodies they are to secure; and that among the handicaps, failure of the right to enjoy in mortality the blessings of the priesthood, is a handicap which spirits are willing to assume in order that they might come to earth. Under this principle there is no injustice whatsoever involved in the deprivation as to the holding of the priesthood by the Negroes. Why the Negro was denied the priesthood from the days of Adam to our day is not known. The few facts from our pre-earth life and our entrance into mortality must be taken into account in any attempt at an explanation. 1.Not all intelligences reached the same degree of attainment in the pre-earth life. (Abraham 3: 19-26) 2.Man will be punished for his own sins and not for Adams transgression. If this is carried further, it would imply that the Negro is punished or allotted to a certain position on this earth, not because of Cain's transgression; but came to earth through the loins of Cain because of his failure to achieve stature in the spirit world. 3. All spirits are born innocent into this world.(D&C 93:38) 4. The Negro was a follower of Jehovah in the Pre-earth life. (There were no neutrals) |