LDS Church Advocates For Diversity While Having Historic Teachings of Racism and Homophobia: Part 2
The September issue of Liahona has a primary focus on diversity and many of the articles discuss how important unity is and how all members of the church should help create an environment that is welcoming to everyone regardless of race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, age, gender, education, socioeconomic status, ability level, or any other difference. It preaches that Jesus Christ (and by extension the LDS Church) condemns racial and cultural prejudice in any form. It also reminds members that “not only is creating unity in our diversity a commandment (see John 17:21; Doctrine and Covenants 38:27), but also it’s an opportunity for us to learn from and be blessed by our brothers and sisters of other cultures, ethnicities, and experiences. We hope this month’s issue helps all of us live more united in Christ”.
However, if you take a close look at the Church history and doctrine you can see that historically this has not always been the attitude presented. Not only were past teaching incredibly homophobic and racist, these teaching still permeate through current teaching and beliefs today.
Racism
Perhaps one of the most frustrating things about high control religions is their attempts to cover up or alter their history so that they can construct a certain image for themselves, one which vastly changes past teachings or beliefs. For the LDS Church their history of racism is no exception. As much as the Church likes to shy away from the fact that for a long time their leaders held and taught racist views it is a very big part of their history, and it is something that still permeates through some teachings today.
In their Gospel Topics essay Race and the Priesthood the Church say that they “disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects unrighteous actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else. Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form”. Within the essay they place a lot of focus on what happening historically at the time Priesthood ban was put into place, and they advise “Over time, Church leaders and members advanced many theories to explain the priesthood and temple restrictions. None of these explanations is accepted today as the official doctrine of the Church”.
When speaking of the Priesthood ban being lifted they state that “Church leaders pondered promises made by prophets such as Brigham Young that black members would one day receive priesthood and temple blessings. In June 1978, after ‘spending many hours in the Upper Room of the [Salt Lake] Temple supplicating the Lord for divine guidance,’ Church President Spencer W. Kimball, his counsellors in the First Presidency, and members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles received a revelation”. This revelation rescinded the restriction on priesthood ordination and “extended the blessings of the temple to all worthy Latter-day Saints, men and women”.
There are a few problems with the way this narrative is framed, it makes it seem as though the discriminatory views held were simply theoretical answers given by a handful of individuals as to why someone might be born with black skin. However these were not just the thoughts of leaders or church members, they were widespread teachings and beliefs that were justified using LDS scriptures and doctrine. The church also tries to suggest that the reason for lifting the ban was because of prayerful consideration and thoughts, but what they don’t mention is that in the time leading up to this “revelation” they were mounting political and social pressures to make this change, including a lawsuit by the NAACP and an ever-growing focus on civil rights.
Historical Context
In the September Liahona magazine they advise that through Jesus Christ church members can “help to create a global community of Saints in which everyone feels welcome and strives to live in peace and harmony with each other regardless of race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, age, gender, education, socioeconomic status, ability level, or any other difference”. In the article How Can I Help Overcome Prejudice? they advise to overcome prejudice that people must “Look inside first. We can commit to recognizing within ourselves and abandoning any ‘attitudes and actions of prejudice.' President Russell M. Nelson said, ‘Any of us who has prejudice toward another race needs to repent!’”, yet it seems like the LDS Church are unwilling to follow their own advice on this.
For example, in their FAQ the church has a question that states their position on “race relations”. Here they state that there was a period of time in the LDS church where they “stopped ordaining male members of African descent” and they claim “it is not known precisely why, how or when this restriction began in the Church, but it has ended”.
Not only do we have a clear record of how this policy came into place, but we also have a recorded history of how leaders felt there was scriptural justification for their prejudice. In answering this question the LDS Church denies their history and gives a disingenuous answer to avoid making themselves out in a poor light. This is the opposite of recognising prejudice and repenting.
In their Foundations of the Restoration Teacher Manual, the Church reminds teachers that they should “invite students to consider how they might respond if they were asked why the Church did not ordain men of African descent to the priesthood for a time. Affirm that it is appropriate to explain to others that we do not know why the priesthood restriction began and that we should share and testify of the truths we do know”. This reiterates the importance of teaching members that there is some “truth” out there that the leaders are unaware of with the priesthood ban, specifically why and how it started. However this is a false claim, the answers to these questions are well documented within church history. If the church wants to “testify of the truths” of what they know then they would be more open, and even apologetic about their history, instead of denying and attempting to cover it up.
The Priesthood Ban
Despite claiming in their FAQ that they do not know “precisely why, how or when this restriction began in the Church” the LDS church also recognises that in 1852 President Brigham Young “publicly announced that men of black African descent could no longer be ordained to the priesthood, though thereafter blacks continued to join the Church through baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Following the death of Brigham Young, subsequent Church presidents restricted blacks from receiving the temple endowment or being married in the temple”. They also claim that when reflecting upon a change to the policy that they considered the promises made by Brigham Young that “black members would one day receive priesthood and temple blessings”, however this is not accurate. In the speech that the LDS Church references Brigham Young actually said
I will put a mark upon you. That is that mark? You will see it on the countenances of every African tour ever did see upon the face of the earth, or ever will see. Now I tell you what I know; when the mark was put upon Cain, Able’s children was in all probability young, the Lord told Cain that he would not receive the blessings of his seed not his see, until the last posterity of Able had received the priesthood, until the reception of the earth. If there never was a prophet or apostle of Jesus Christ spoke it before, I tell you, this people that are commonly called Negroes are the children of old Cain. I know they are. I know that they cannot bear rule in the priesthood, for the curse upon them was to remain upon them, until the resedue of this posterity of Michal and his wife receive the blessings, the seed of Cain would have received had they not been cursed, and hold the keys of the priesthood until the times of the restitutions shall come, and the curse wiped off from the earth and from Michals seed. Then Cain’s seed will be had in remembrance, and the time come when that curse should be wiped off.
So while it is true that Brigham Young believed that people of colour would one day receive the priesthood he was very clear that this was not going to happen until after the resurrection.
Modern day racism
For an extensive accounting of the LDS Church and racism I would recommend having a look at The Changing World of Mormonism. It is vital to understand the history of the church in order to better understand how it influences current teachings and doctrine. The LDS church has tried to say that “over time, Church leaders and members advanced many theories to explain the priesthood and temple restrictions. None of these explanations is accepted today as the official doctrine of the Church”, but the fact is that these were not advanced as “theories” when they were put forward by church leaders. The racist attitudes expressed were teachings that were deeply rooted in racist ideology in church doctrine.
The LDS Church on Inter-racial Marriage
In 2021 you would think that these ideas would be a thing of the past, but unfortunately this is not the case. Historically the Book of Mormon has quite clearly suggested that having black skin is a curse from God and this doctrine still impacts teachings today.
An example of history permitting through to present-day teaching is the way that the church views inter-racial marriage.
In a letter written in 1947 President David O, McKay states “from the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith even until now, it 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”. He then goes on to say that intermarriage is “repugnant” and it does not have the sanction of the church as it is contrary to Church doctrine.
The full letter can be viewed here.
The Church as recently as 2013 was still teaching that LDS members should seek to marry someone with the same “racial background” as themselves (Aaronic Priesthood Manual, V3: pg 128). They argue that it is important for a couple to have similar backgrounds (including economic, and educational) because choosing a companion is a tremendous responsibility and that when “selecting a companion for life and for eternity, certainly the most careful planning and thinking and praying and fasting should be done to be sure that, of all the decisions, this one must not be wrong. In true marriage there must be a union of minds as well as of hearts. Emotions must not wholly determine decisions, but the mind and the heart, strengthened by fasting and prayer and serious consideration, will give one a maximum chance of marital happiness”. This teaching is not based on any factual evidence that marrying someone the same race as yourself is going to make you happier or more successful, they merely reference an article in The Eternal Marriage Manual which is a summary of a talk that was delivered by President Spencer W. Kimball.
The LDS Church and the “curse” of the Lamanites.
Another example of how racist teachings affect current teachings would be the 2020 Come Follow Me Manual for the study of the Book of Mormon. These books are available both in print and online to aid in the teaching of the LDS scriptures, each year a focus being on a particular book or Testament.
The print version of the book contains the very theory that the LDS church claims are no longer part of its belief system, that dark skin is a curse from God to the Lamanite people for their iniquities. This curse was said to have been given so that the Lamanites would not be enticing to the Nephites. they and their seed would be a loathsome people (2 Nephi 5: 21-23; 1980).
Somehow this belief that they claim was simply a theory put forward by some leaders was printed into the books used by the church all over the world.
While the LDS Church has recognised that this was printed in error and Church representative Irene Caso made a statement to advise “during the publication of the ‘Come, Follow Me’ manual for 2020, there was an error that resulted in the printing of material that doesn’t reflect the church’s current views on the topic,” and stated that a decision had been made to change the online version of this book, it seems that no further action has been taken.
The book was never recalled, and there is no official record on the LDS website to advise that a physical copy of the book contains inaccurate information. As a consequence it is entirely plausible that LDS leaders are teaching outdated information from this book.
It is not enough for the LDS Church to put out a couple of articles or talks saying to be inclusive of all members, they need to be taking more steps to root out the discriminatory teaching and practices. The Church advocates for repentance and owning up to mistakes that individual members have made, yet they have made no moves to apologise for the damage done to their followers. It is hypocritical for leaders to ask members to address their prejudice when they have made no public reparations for what is 150+ years of racism and homophobia.
If President Nelson has a sincere interest in making the Church an inclusive place for all then he has a responsibility to come forward with a contrite heart and announce that all racist teaching and practices are disavowed, and action needs to be taken to amend all online content to show that these views are no longer recognised as relevant. The church needs to stop hiding behind false information and insincere calls of inclusivity.
