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Racial Issues

Mormon FAIR-Cast 131: Blacks and the LDS Priesthood

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In this episode, Darius Gray provides a partial chronology concerning Blacks and the LDS priesthood. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was established in 1830, at which time, its first president and prophet, Joseph Smith ordained all men unto the priesthood.  The only qualification is that they embrace the teachings of the Savior Jesus Christ and the promised restoration in preparation for the Second Coming of Christ.  After the death of Joseph Smith at the hands of a mob, it would be three years before Brigham Young was officially named as the next president, leader and prophet of the church.

In 1847, President Brigham Young began the practice of withholding the priesthood only from men of Black African descent.  It would be another two years before any official statement was made.  Even though there was never any clear explanation as to why there was a change in course from what the prophet of the restoration had begun, the practice was continued on through the years with a number of exceptions.  Enoch Abel, the son of Elijah Abel who was a Black man and ordained to this priesthood by Joseph Smith himself, was ordained to the priesthood in 1900.  Then in 1934, his son, Elijah, was also ordained to the priesthood.  There was much speculation as to why the priesthood was withheld from Blacks, in addition to attempts by church leadership to squash the ever growing possible reasons.  However, in light the absence of the originating justification and the inequality of man at the time, the created folklore permeated the LDS church.

The practice even managed to survive through the Civil Rights Movement, and then in 1978, then President Spencer W. Kimball announced a revelation which ended the priesthood ban.  At that time, many of African descent came into the church from all over the world.  It was genuinely assumed that the problem was now officially over.  However, again in light of the lack of explanation as to why the change in course, as well as the addressing of prior teaching, the majority of the members of the church continued, and continue to teach those things which the mere occurrence of the change contradicts.

This has created an incredible stumbling block for people of all races in and outside of the LDS church.  Missionaries and members don’t know how to answer the questions had by critics or investigators, and those who think they do unintentionally reinforce the discriminatory reputation the church is labeled with.  Many who see the blessings of the gospel or who would see them, can’t or won’t allow themselves to “look” because of the inability to receive adequate answers to past teachings and current scriptural passages.

This episode is an audio version of segment 4 of the Blacks in the Scriptures DVD Series . The complete DVD can be purchased at the FAIR Bookstore here. This presentation has been provided courtesy of Blacks in the Scriptures. The opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily represent the official views of FAIR or of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 130: Equality and Priesthood

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Marvin Perkins provides a scriptural compilation of the Lord’s command for all to be equal and to ordain to the priesthood all who will embrace the gospel work.

This episode is an audio version of segment 3 of the Blacks in the Scriptures DVD Series . The complete DVD can be purchased at the FAIR Bookstore here.

This presentation has been provided courtesy of Blacks in the Scriptures. The opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily represent the official views of FAIR or of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mormon FAIR-Cast: 129: Skin Color & Curses

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How can the Church better reach African Americans? What do the scriptures mean when they say that a person is “black?” Does it refer to skin color or is it metaphorical? What do the scriptures mean when they say that a person or people are cursed?

This episode is an audio version of segment 2 of the Blacks in the Scriptures DVD Series . The complete DVD can be purchased at the FAIR Bookstore here.

This presentation has been provided courtesy of Blacks in the Scriptures. The opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily represent the official views of FAIR or of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 128: Blacks in the Bible

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In a study performed by the Higher Education Institute, in association with UCLA, which concluded in 2005, African Americans ranked number one in seven of the twelve spirituality categories measured.  These deeply spiritual roots have been passed on from generation to generation of church goers and Bible faithful.  This commitment is especially impressive in light of the absence of positive religious teachings, mentions or artistic renderings of Black African ancestors in today’s Christian religions.

There are many who regularly mention Cain and Ham and the curses associated with them, leaving and reinforcing the impression that Black equates to cursed or less than.  Was there a positive Black presence in the biblical days?  If there was, wouldn’t the entire world benefit from this knowledge?  Those of African descent could gain a greater sense of self.  This could also help to repudiate much of the confusion about race and encourage unity.

Blacks in the Bible is the first of four segments in the Blacks in the Scriptures DVD series. The complete DVD can be purchased at the FAIR Bookstore here.

This presentation has been provided courtesy of Blacks in the Scriptures. The opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily represent the official views of FAIR or of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Mormon Moment: A Religion News Service Guide – Review

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Much has been said in popular media about the so-called “Mormon Moment”. The accuracy and fairness of recent media coverage of Mormonism has been a mixed bag, to say the least. It is sad to admit that there are plenty of media personalities who know next to nothing about Mormonism, and yet feel unconstrained to opine on this or that subject relating to Mormon doctrine or history. Unsurprisingly, those who are the most ignorant of Mormonism usually choose to write about the most complex and controversial aspects of Mormonism, such as polygamy, Mormon racial history, and esoteric aspects of Mormon belief and practice best left untouched by non-Mormon novices of Mormon history and doctrine. (Andrew Sullivan, I’m looking at you.)

[Read more…] about The Mormon Moment: A Religion News Service Guide – Review

Mormon FAIR-Cast 96: FAIR on the Radio Pt 1

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FAIR Board Chairman John Lynch and FAIR Member Stephen Smoot appeared on K-Talk radio, in Salt Lake City, Utah to discuss the mission of FAIR, its history and to take questions from callers. Some of the issues addressed were:

  • What are the core beliefs one must maintain in order to be considered an “orthodox” Mormon?
  • What is the distinction between knowledge and belief?
  • Why are there different versions of Joseph Smith’s first vision?
  • If Mitt Romney is elected President, will he be required to adopt the political positions of the Church?
  • Is the Church a racist or sexist organization?

John and Stephen also discussed the 2012 FAIR Conference that is being held in Utah on August 2 and 3 in Sandy, Utah.

This recording originally aired on June 27 and is posted here by permission of K-Talk Radio. The opinions expressed in this interview do not necessarily represent the views of FAIR or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Mormon FAIR-Cast 90: Mormons on the BBC

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This episode of the BBC World Service program, World Have Your Say, features members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The five-member panel answers questions from listeners from all over the world, including: Whether Mormons want to be recognized as a mainstream religion? What part of the Mormon faith is influenced by the Bible, and what part is influenced by the culture of its founders? Why is polygamy stereotypically linked to Mormonism? Would Mitt Romney be expected to spread the Mormon faith as a president? Why are Mormons secretive? Why are they not as open as other churches? What effect will the past ban on ordaining African Americans to the priesthood have on Mitt Romney’s ability to win over minority voters? What is the purpose of temples? What has generated the rapid spread of Mormonism? What would Christ think of a religion that teaches that it is the only true church? What is the Mormon view on the separation of church and state? What is it like to be a female member of the Church and a member of the Relief Society, the largest women’s organization in the world?

This program is posted here by permission of the BBC. The opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily represent the opinions of FAIR or of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint.

If Lamanites were black, why didn’t anyone notice?

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One of the most controversial verses in the Book of Mormon is 2 Nephi 5:21, which states:

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.

The focus of this verse has been the phrase “skin of blackness,” which is read rather literally as a change in pigmentation. It is much easier to compile a list of writers who take the phrase literally than of those who suggest an alternate reading. As a single representation of this reading, see Milton R. Hunter of the Council of the Seventy:

As is well-known, two peoples—a white race and those of a darker color—inhabited ancient America for approximately one thousand years’ time. The white race was called Nephites and the darker race Lamanites…. The reader may say: “Yes, we understand that there were a white race and a dark race in ancient America from approximately 600 B.C., until approximately 400 A.D., but we have understood also that by the latter date all the white people (Nephites), except Moroni, had been killed in a war with the darker people or Lamanites.”

It is true that the Nephite nation ended toward the close of the fifth century A.D., but probably many of the white Nephites were saved from death by joining the Lamanites. These then would not be followers of Christ and would be unfaithful ones. The last great war was not fought entirely on the lines of race, but probably the determining factor was that one group allied itself with the Lamanite traditions, and the other group followed the Nephite traditions, including a belief in Jesus Christ. Thus there probably were dark and white people in each army.[1]

The modern cultural assumption that a skin of blackness must equal black skin is probably informed by racial issues in the United States. The 1981 change in verse 2 Nephi 30:6 from “white and delightsome” to “pure and delightsome” is therefore similarly interpreted in the context of political correctness, and an accommodation to issues of race in the United States. Of course, the fact that the change was made in 1981 obscures the fact that it was a change that Joseph Smith made for the 1840 Nauvoo edition of the Book of Mormon.[2] While issues of race were certainly important in 1840, it is much less likely that the change was due to pressure to be politically correct in 1840 than it would have been had the change been unique to 1981.

I have elsewhere argued that this skin of blackness was a metaphor for a spiritual state rather than a change in pigmentation.[3] While there are arguments to be made for or against that proposition, the decision as to whether a “skin of blackness” is a description of a physical or spiritual change should be decided upon something stronger than personal preference for one reading or the other. The text is the final arbiter of such questions. What might the text tell us to help us decide? [Read more…] about If Lamanites were black, why didn’t anyone notice?

Mormon FAIR-Cast 79: Does Mitt Romney belong to a “racist religion”?

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In this episode of Religion Today that originally aired on March 11, 2012, Martin Tanner and the president of FAIR, Scott Gordon, discuss the recent allegation of a Florida minister that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a “racist religion.” The minister has called on Mitt Romney to, as the minister puts it: “openly renounce his racist Mormon Religion.” Tanner and Gordon discuss the past history of racism that was pervasive in many Churches, even before the founding of the LDS Church, and the way in which some racist attitudes and myths may have crept into the thinking of some early members of the Church. They emphasize the more recent statements from the Church that “unequivocally condemn[] racism, including any and all past racism by individuals both inside and outside the Church.” (See Official Statement here.)

Listeners should note that the first part of this recording was cut off. This recording was used by permission of KSL Radio and does not necessarily represent the views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of FAIR.

Dispelling the Myth of the “Curse of Cain”

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In connection with Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith, the priesthood ban is getting a lot of attention from the media again.

The most recent turn comes from The Washington Post, where reporter Jason Horowitz interviews Darius Gray and other black Latter-day Saints about their experience with and feelings about the ban. Searching for a theological explanation for the ban, Horowitz contacted BYU associate professor Randy Bott. Horowitz paraphrases Bott:

According to Mormon scriptures, the descendants of Cain, who slew his brother Abel, “were black.” One of Cain’s descendants was Egyptus, a woman Mormons believe was the namesake of Egypt. She married Ham, whose descendants were themselves cursed and, in the view of many Mormons, barred from the priesthood by his father, Noah. Bott points to the Mormon holy text, the Book of Abraham, as suggesting that all of the descendents of Ham and Egyptus were thus black and barred from the priesthood.

Professor Bott’s explanation is an example of how doctrinal folklore continues to be taught by well-meaning members of the Church. Ironically, the dubious “folk doctrine” in question is no longer even relevant, since it was created to explain a Church policy that was reversed nearly thirty-four years ago. [Read more…] about Dispelling the Myth of the “Curse of Cain”