Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 7 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 19 years, 10 months ago by
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Is it true that the Mormon religion viewed black people as inferior until the 1970s?
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Name : Peter, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 25, City : Detroit, State : MI, Country : United States, Occupation : Copy editor, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,Black people were not judged inferior to white people according to Mormon religious text (both the Bible and Book of Mormon). Within the Book of Mormon, it specifically states that God ‘denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God…'(2 Nephi 26:33). I think where it gets confusing is the issue of why black men in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints were denied the priesthood up until 1978. This was changed through revelation of one of the Mormon prophets. Obviously, we wonder why, at all, or at least why this was so slow in coming. The only suggestion I can give you is that people are far from perfect. I am guessing it was the members themselves who were not readily open-minded. There were plenty of black people in the Church before 1978. The Church got put under the pressure of either being racist or a sellout, but being politically correct wasn’t the issue. Members had to really change the way they thought and start practicing the beliefs before the Church could progress. I joined the Church because there is equality seen there today. The past is ugly for black people in every aspect of history, so I just go with what feels right in the present.
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Name : C. Kohrman, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Mormon, Age : 23, City : Philadelphia, State : PA, Country : United States, Occupation : artist/political painter, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,In the Mormon book ‘Pearl of Great Price’ which is considered a holy work, it is explained that the 1/3 of angels who rebelled against God where thrown down to earth and became demons. The 1/3 of the angels who fought hard for God enter the bodies of white skinned babies, and the 1/3 of the angels who didn’t rebel but at the same time did not fight very hard for God enter the bodies of black skinned babies. I think that speaks for itself.
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Name : John29331, City : Detroit, State : MI, Country : United States,Excellent response from Chip. To this I would add (with the disclaimer that this is my opinion, not necessarily Church doctrine–and certainly not a perfect answer either): We all have many talents, many gifts, and not all are the same. For example, I’ve always believed that while women and men are certainly equal, and should be treat with equal respect, they have different roles. I grew up ‘Mormon’, and it was never taught or implied that African-descended people were inferior. But I did get the impression in our faith that God had a role that was different for African-descended people (at that time), even though he CERTAINLY loved (and loves) them as much as any other. I certainly value their contribution to the human race, as I believe all true Mormons do.
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Name : Matt L., Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian (Mormon), Age : 34, City : Mountain View (San Jose), State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Insurance Agent, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,The Mormons believed up until 1976 that when Lucifer (who is now called the devil) decided he was too good for God and wanted to do his own thing, a third of the angels went down with him (the demons) and another third were undecided. So in the Mormon religion they believe that the third who were undecided became people of color. The other third who stayed with God were made to be perfect Americans who got to be prosperous people.
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Name : Audre, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 21, City : Tucson, State : AZ, Country : United States, Occupation : Day Care Teacher, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class,The immediately previous message is wrong; very, very wrong. But kind of funny nonetheless.
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Name : Edward, Religion : Mormon, Age : 35, City : Everett, State : WA, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College,Being LDS, I know the correct answer to this question. Black people are desendants of Cain, and desendants of Cain could not hold the preisthood for reasons God knows clearly and I don’t. I know of no other curse given by God that has been lifted, and it’s a great blessing to this generation that the gifts to serve with the preisthood have been made available to black members. The preisthood is not a right, it’s a responsibility.
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Name : A-Clark29567, City : SLC, State : UT, Country : United States,This is not Mormon or Latter Day Saint doctrine. This is what someone has misconstrued regarding the great war in heaven. It is in Revelations 12 about the great war in heaven where Satan wished to FORCE men and women to do what he wanted, denying us the blessing of agency to chose our own decisions. This is a great blessing that Heavenly Father has given each and every one of us. It shows that there was choice before we came to earth. When Satan was banished from Heavenly Father’s presence, his followers (who chose Satans way of their own accord) left with him and they were a third of the hosts of heaven. THEY DID NOT, WILL THEY EVER, RECEIVE A PHYSICAL BODY. The other two thirds CHOSE to follow God’s way and came to earth (and are still coming to earth). In Genesis 4 it teaches of the curse of Cain, this is where Cain was given the ‘mark’ (black skin). Heavenly Father loves all of his children and does not judge any people of colour for Cain’s sin. There is no prejudice against black people, or any other races, in the LDS church. All you need to do is visit the South Pacific and you will find that a large majority of LDS or ‘mormons’ are pacific islanders or maori, AND they hold the priesthood and excersize it faithfully.
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Name : Amy, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Mormon, Age : 24, City : Wellington, State : NA, Country : New Zealand, Occupation : alcohol and drug counsellor, Education level : 2 Years of College,
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