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Alright, let’s follow your logic and see how that works. Only Jesus can decide what churches and religions are Christian, that’s what I’m assuming you are meaning, since the topics is Mormons in general and not any specific individual.

Say I am interested in Christianity, and want to convert, but not a member of any church. Which one should I join, and by what standard should I make my judgement? Does it matter, or am I free to just join whichever one I like the best, whether it be because they have cool music, or because they don’t make too many demands that would interfere with my lifestyle, or because they don’t “impose their morality” on me by telling me not to get an abortion? If not, why not?

What if a Muslim tells me that all the Christian churches have corrupted the Bible and they are the only ones who know the truth of Jesus’ mission? Would it be fine and dandy for me to join up with them? If not, why not?

How about the Christian Identity white supremacists who say that Jesus only came to save white Aryans, and that the Jews are the spawn of Satan, and other races are cursed descendants of Ham, or simply animals that walk on two legs? Maybe I should throw in with those guys? If not, why not?

How about the Christian Identity white supremacists who say that Jesus only came to save white Aryans, and that the Jews are the spawn of Satan, and other races are cursed descendants of Ham, or simply animals that walk on two legs?

HMMmmm...

"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.

Here are two examples from their 'other testament', the Book of Mormon.

2 Nephi 5: 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.'

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.'

August 27, 1954 in an address at Brigham Young University (BYU), Mormon Elder, Mark E Peterson, in speaking to a convention of teachers of religion at the college level, said:

"The discussion on civil rights, especially over the last 20 years, 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.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 feelings 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'...."

(Rosa Parks would have probably told Petersen under which wheel of the bus he should go sit.)

1967, (then) Mormon President Ezra Taft Benson said,

"The Communist program for revolution in America has been in progress for many years and is far advanced. First of all, we must not place the blame upon Negroes. They are merely the unfortunate group that has been selected by professional Communist agitators to be used as the primary source of cannon fodder."

We are told that on June 8, 1978, it was 'revealed' to the then president, Spencer Kimball, that people of color could now gain entry into the priesthood.

According to the church, Kimball spent many long hours petitioning God, begging him to give worthy black people the priesthood. God finally relented.

Sometime before the 'revelation' came to chief 'Prophet' Spencer Kimball in June 1978, General Authority, Bruce R McConkie had said:

"The Blacks are denied the Priesthood; under no circumstances can they hold this delegation of authority from the Almighty.
The Negroes are not equal with other races where the receipt of certain blessings are concerned, particularly the priesthood and the temple blessings that flow there from, but this inequality is not of man's origin, it is the Lord's doings."
(Mormon Doctrine, pp. 526-527).

When Mormon 'Apostle' Mark E Petersen spoke on 'Race Problems- As they affect the Church' at the BYU campus in 1954, the following was also said:

"...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, he can and will enter the celestial kingdom. He will go there as a servant, but he will get celestial glory."

When Mormon 'Prophet' and second President of the Church, Brigham Young, spoke in 1863 the following was also said:

"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, Vo. 10, p. 110)

Yeah; Native Americans are althroughout the Book of MORMON; too.

“I saw a striking contrast in the progress of the Indian people today ... they are fast becoming a white and delightsome people.... For years they have been growing delightsome, and they are now becoming white and delightsome, as they were promised.... The children in the home placement program in Utah are often lighter than their brothers and sisters in the hogans on the reservation.

At one meeting a father and mother and their sixteen-year-old daughter were present, the little member girl-sixteen-sitting between the dark father and mother, and it was evident she was several shades lighter than her parents—on the same reservation, in the same hogan, subject to the same sun and wind and weather.... These young members of the Church are changing to whiteness and to delightsomeness.

One white elder jokingly said that he and his companion were donating blood regularly to the hospital in the hope that the process might be accelerated.

(Improvement Era, December 1960, pp.922-23). (p. 209)

Stupid comparison. If you want to pick a particular Christian denomination, there are over 300 brands out there which want your business. You can narrow them down with an evaluation at beliefnet.org, pick up one of the comparative religion books by Leo Rosten (a Jewish boy, but very analytical and fair) or even go to the denomination's own website so you can get a reality view of what they actually believe rather than a distorted view from your local pastors, the more irrational of whom are usually more concerned about losing a part of their revenue and influence stream than they are about your soul.

However, as you probably know, my statement (and Glen Beck's) isn't based on making a theological purity test. It is based on the need to make political alliances to advance a freer and more moral America. This includes making alliances with people who share your vision of a more moral America but with whom you may have strong theological disagreements. Conservative Catholics seem to get that. So do rational Evangelicals. And Conservative Jews. And even the small subset of Pro-American Muslims out there who, believe it or not, actually exist. Plus, of course, Mormons, who vote more conservatively than any of the foregoing groups. You don't throw rocks at and drive away people who are on your side even if you disagree with their theology.

Ask Andrew Jackson how the Battle of New Orleans would have turned out if he had made anti-piracy law enforcement a bigger priority than defeating an invading enemy army.