| Brochure Title: | The Mormon Negro: Blessed or Cursed |
|---|---|
| Author: | Dale Brown |
| Publisher: | Published by the author |
| Year: | 2002 |
| Pages: | 1 |
| Rating: | -4 |
Tract Misrepresents LDS Stance Regarding Blacks
Review by Mark Jasinski
During the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, a number of anti-Mormon pamphlets were passed out around Temple Square and other venues. This is an examination of one such tract that purposefully presents lies as truth and misrepresents the doctrine of the LDS Church, as well as the Word of God. The purpose of this review is to present a point-by-point analysis of the lies and half-truths in Mr. Brown’s publication.
Information in the left column is verbatim from Mr. Brown’s tract. Information in the right column reflects the actual views of the LDS Church.
For more in-depth information on this topic, refer to the FAIR Apologetics Index: http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai080.html
| Mr. Brown’s Assertions | A Truthful Response | |
| The Lie: “Unless you were of the chosen race white and delightsome like its founders, you were considered loathsome and cursed with a skin of blackness.” | The Truth: Asians, Native Americans, Latin Americans, Pacific Islanders, as well as white Europeans, are and always have been actively involved in the LDS Church. Blacks have never been barred from membership in the Church. “White and delightsome” refers to an inter-family dispute among Book of Mormon descendants of Lehi, a Jew who came from Jerusalem to America around 600 BC, not to blacks. | |
| The Lie: “In fact the Book of Mormon teaches cursed shall be the seed of him that mixeth with their seed; for they shall be cursed even with the same cursing. (2 Nephi 5:21-23).” | The Truth: This refers to the inter-family dispute among Book of Mormon peoples and has nothing to do with blacks. | |
| The Lie: “The Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, the early literature and statements of the prophet Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon church, is riddled with racial bigotry.” | The Truth: The Book of Mormon makes only one reference to race. It explicitly includes all people in the salvation of God: “[the Lord] inviteth them all to come 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 alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.” (2 Nephi 26:33). Although Joseph Smith believed races should be separated, he was no bigot. Here is a statement by Joseph Smith about black slaves: “They come into the world slaves, mentally and physically. Change their situation with the white and they would be like them. They have souls and are subjects of salvation. Go into Cincinnati and find one educated and who rides in his carriage. He has risen by the power of his mind to his exalted state of respectability. Slaves in Washington are more refined than the president.” (Joseph Smith Journal 1842-43, pp. 40-41). In March, 1844, Smith gave asylum in his home to a black man falsely accused of robbery and arrested and fined the man who whipped him. (“The Diaries and Journals of Joseph Smith.” Scott Faulring, ed. Signature Books, 1989, p. 461). Of slavery, Smith said, “I have always advised them [men who own slaves and join the Mormon Church] to bring their slaves into a free country, set them free, educate them and give them their equal rights.” (Faulring, p. 260). | |
| The Lie: “Though the church has gone to great lengths to put on a new face and to do the politically right thing, it was nevertheless founded on principles that no prophet of God would stand for. Apostle Paul wrote that God is not a respecter of persons, There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abrahams offspring, heirs according to promise (Gal. 3: 28 & 29).” | The Truth: Compare with 2 Nephi 26:33, quoted above, and it is obvious that the two scriptures are compatible. | |
| The Lie: “Brigham Young continued with the bigotry after Smiths death, Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot, this will always be so (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 10, p. 110).” | The Truth: Indeed, blacks of African ancestry were not allowed to hold the priesthood in the LDS Church until 1978. However, they could be members of the Church in full standing and officiate in auxiliary organizations such as the Sunday School. As demonstrated above, Joseph Smith was not a bigot. Neither was Brigham Young. The quote given refers to people caught in the act of adultery, and was largely rhetorical. No one was ever executed for this reason. | |
| The Lie: “BLACKS CAN BECOME WHITE THROUGH REPENTANCE And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a white and delightsome people (2 Nephi 30:6, 3 Nephi 2:15).” | The Truth: The author has helpfully put this lie in BOLD CAPS. This scripture has nothing to do with blacks. Again it refers to the inter-family dispute among people in the Book of Mormon. Other than the verse mentioned above, there is no reference to blacks in the Book of Mormon. Anyone with a passing familiarity with the Book of Mormon would know this. The author is either ignorant of the contents of the Book of Mormon or is deliberately misrepresenting it. | |
| The Lie: “It is clear from the Bible that all believers are part of a royal priesthood regardless of their skin color. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for Gods own possession, that you ma) proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9, Rev. 1:6).” | The Truth: 1 Peter 2:9 is addressed to Christian congregations, mostly Gentiles, in Roman provinces in Asia Minor. To assert that it refers to a priesthood of all believers in the world is to wrest it from its context and give it meaning that Peter obviously did not intend. John’s Revelation is also addressed to a select group, the seven Churches in Asia (see Rev 1:4). | |
| The Lie: “As Christians, our service consists of merely the sacrifice of our lips and offering of ourselves to him.” | The Truth: The Lord does not need our lips. Besides, we would look funny without them and we couldn’t whistle, kiss, or play the trumpet. “Never neglect to show kindness and to share what you have with others; for such are the sacrifices which God approves.” (Heb 13:16). “You also, as living stones, must be built up into a spiritual temple, and form a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5). The true doctrine of sacrifice is found in 3 Nephi 9:20: “And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost.” | |
| The Half Lie: “More recent versions have been changed to a less offensive ‘pure and delightsome.'” |
