Yup; that's EXACTLY what this 'statement' has illustrated!
Posted on 01/02/2014 9:42:29 AM PST by Anton.Rutter
The Mormon Church has officially renounced the belief that dark skin is a sign of disfavor, or curse.
On the official website for The Mormon Church, www.lds.org, a statement has been posted titled "Race and the Priesthood," where blame for the belief that dark skinned people were inferior to whites is placed on the establishment of the church coming in 1830, a time of great racism in the United States.
The Church points out how previous leaders, most notably President Brigham Young, restricted Blacks from priesthood in the Church, receiving the temple endowment, or allowing them to be married in the temple. Theories to explain why the restrictions existed have been developed over time, but according to "Race and the Priesthood," "None of these explanations is accepted today as the official doctrine of the Church."
AlterNet points out that the biblical text, The Book of Mormon, teaches that "dark skin is a sign of God’s curse, while white skin is a sign of his blessing." With 15,000,000 members worldwide, the teachings of such racism and segregation from inception into the Church strikes a sour chord with modern belief systems of equality amongst all people. It has been a struggle to overcome this part of their heritage for the Mormon Church, according to AlterNet.
The Mormon Church acknowledges in "Race and the Priesthood" the origin stories of said belief in their scripture, but concludes that the Church today "disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects 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."
The decision to abandon the beliefs of inferiority for those with dark skin to white is a large step forward for The Mormon Church, and as Margaret Blair Young, an adjunct professor at Brigham Young University who has focused her documentary work on profiling the untold stories of Black Mormons, told The Guardian it is "a miracle."
Probably because a truly WORTHY Mormon canNOT eat a nice set of ribs from the grill in the summertime!
To do so would keep them OUT of god the father's presence forever!
Yup; that's EXACTLY what this 'statement' has illustrated!
Say... did anyone in this thread see the two fags get married on the Rose Baal float on New Year’s Day?
I was not near a tv set.
Don’t get us started! ;^)
Speaking of obsessed...
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Office of First President & Living Prophet®: April 21st, 2012
URGENT!
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No TV, just the ‘net.
Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God? And he answered, No. (Alma 11:28-29)
...and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil. (Alma 11:44)
...doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen. (2 Nephi 31:21)
...praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end. (Mormon 7:7)
...power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son--And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God, (Mosiah 15:3-5)
...of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them. (Ether 2:8)
VERSUS
According to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council of the Eternal God of all other gods before this world was, that should be reserved unto the finishing and the end thereof, when every man shall enter into his eternal presence and into his immortal rest. (Section 121:32)
And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife, and make a covenant with her for time and for all eternity, if that covenant is not by me or by my word, which is my law, and is not sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, through him whom I have anointed and appointed unto this power, then it is not valid neither of force when they are out of the world, because they are not joined by me, saith the Lord, neither by my word; when they are out of the world it cannot be received there, because the angels and the gods are appointed there, by whom they cannot pass; they cannot, therefore, inherit my glory; for my house is a house of order, saith the Lord God. And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them--Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths--then shall it be written in the Lamb's Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever. Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them. (Section 132:18-20)
Abraham received concubines, and they bore him children; and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, because they were given unto him, and he abode in my law; as Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods. (Section 132:37)
Mor4monism is not a denomination of Christianity..
but you can bet it will be the Christians fault in the future when these original tenets of Mormonism are mentioned..
as with other embarrassing/inconvenient beliefs that are not in the Bible we will be denounced as liars and making up things about the po lil ol Mormons..
ya notice that the opportunist Romneys rushed out and got themselves a token black baby..
how about that timing ???
Brigham Young - Under The Bus
According to a recent LDS church press release, Brigham Young was solely responsible for the racist doctrine of the Mormon Church.
President Dieter Uchtdorf, during the October General Conference of the LDS Church, said: “And, to be perfectly frank, there have been times when members or leaders in the church have simply made mistakes.” He was speaking of Brigham Young.
By throwing Young under the bus and making him the scapegoat for past misdeeds, the LDS Church conveniently overlooks the racism exhibited by their founder, Joseph Smith. It was Smith who believed that holding the sons of Ham in servitude was acceptable, calling slavery a divine “curse.” The LDS Church publication, the “Messenger and Advocate,” (vol. 2, pp. 289-301, April 1836), has Smith attesting that slavery as practiced by the Southern states was ordained by God and in keeping with the “gospel of Christ.”
The racist doctrine of the Mormon Church lasted for a period of 130 years or so and only ended in 1978 due to a “revelation” from God. It leaves one wondering how LDS prophets, who supposedly have an open line of communication with and who are so uniquely in harmony with the deities they exalt, could have carried on the Smith/Young legacy of bigotry for so long.
Who was it who said God’s anointed will not lead us astray? Sure, that’s right, it was that the same guy who called slavery a divine institution. Just saying.
(Nadauld, Kent, Topic: BLACKS AND THE PRIESTHOOD, “Brigham Young - Under The Bus”, The Mormon Curtain website, Dec 23, 2013)
Original Author(s):
Is this thread where the “Ravenous Wolves” are going to hang out? And Elsie, a 5.4 megabyte “hot-linked” picture? Really!?!? Please resize to under 500k and upload to an image hosting service! There are still a few “dial-up” Freepers out there!
The Mormon Church’s Essay on Blacks and the Priesthood is a Lie . . .
. . . one which the Mormon Church is currently and desperately employing in an unsuccessful effort to cover the tracks of its attack on Blacks in terms of both its:
a) historically official doctrinal status; and
b) its historically acknowledged tie-in to Joseph Smith.
The Mormon Church, on its official website, makes a grossly dishonest claim that the long-established official position of the Mormon Church banning Blacks from holding the priesthood was a policy and not a doctrine. In an essay entitled, “Race and the Priesthood,” the Mormon Church makes the following deliberately disingenuous and factually disproveable assertion:
“In two speeches delivered before the Utah territorial legislature in January and February 1852, [Mormon Church president] Brigham Young announced a POLICY restricting men of black African descent from priesthood ordination . . .
“ . . . [G]iven the long history of withholding the priesthood from men of black African descent, Church leaders believed that a revelation from God was needed to alter the POLICY and they made ongoing efforts to understand what should be done.”
(emphasis added)
(“Race and the Priesthood,” at: http://www.lds.org/topics/race-and-th...)
However, the highest authoritative decision-making body in the Mormon Church—the First Presidency (comprised of the Mormon Church president and his two counselors)—has directly and emphatically contradicted this latest lie from Latter-day Saint Central. The official position of the Mormon Church has historically, explicitly and unambiguously declared the Mormon Church anti-Black priesthood ban to be one of DOCTRINE, NOT POLICY.
Further, contrary to the ongoing false claims being made by the Mormon Church, there is documented evidence from the Mormon Church First Presidency itself that Joseph Smith was behind the DOCTRINAL Mormon anti-Black priesthood ban.
The proof:
—On 17 July 1947, the Mormon Church First Presidency wrote the following to Lowry Nelson, Mormon professor at Utah State Agricultural College regarding the status of Blacks in the eyes of the Mormon God:
“Dear Brother Nelson:
“. . . The basic element of your ideas and concepts seems to be that all God’s children stand in equal positions before Him in all things. Your knowledge of the Gospel will indicate to you that this is contrary to the very fundamentals of God’s dealings with Israel dating from the time of His promise to Abraham regarding Abraham’s seed and their position vis-a-vis God Himself. Indeed, some of God’s children were assigned to superior positions before the world was formed.
“We are aware that some Higher Critics do not accept this, but the Church does. Your position seems to lose sight of the revelations of the Lord touching the pre-existence of our spirits, the rebellion in heaven, and the DOCTRINES s that our birth into this life and the advantages under which we may be born, have a relationship in the life heretofore. 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.
“Furthermore, your ideas, as we understand them, appear to contemplate the intermarriage of the Negro and White races, a concept which has heretofore been most repugnant to most normal-minded people from the ancient patriarchs till now. God’s rule for Israel, His Chosen People, has been endogamous [meaning ‘marriage within a specific tribe or similar social unit’]. Modern Israel has been similarly directed. We are not unmindful of the fact that there is a growing tendency, particularly among some educators, as it manifests itself in this are, toward the breaking down of race barriers in the matter of intermarriage between Whites and Blacks, but it does not have the sanction of the Church and is contrary to Church doctrine.
“Faithfully yours,
George Albert Smith J. Reuben Clark, Jr. David O. McKay”
(emphasis added)
Nelson responded on 8 October:
“The attitude of the Church in regard to the Negro makes me very sad. I do not believe God is a racist.”
The First Presidency answered:
“We feel very sure that you are aware of THE DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH. They are either true or not true. Our testimony is that they are true. Under these circumstances we may not permit ourselves to be too much impressed by the reasonings of men, however well founded they may seem to be. We should like to say this to you in all sincerity, that you are too fine a man to permit yourself to be led off from the principles of the Gospel by worldly learning.
“You have too much of a potentiality for doing good and we therefore prayerfully hope that you can re-orient your thinking and bring it in line with the revealed Word of God.”
(emphasis added)
—An official First Presidency statement, dated 17 August 1949, again noting that the Mormon Church’s priesthood ban imposed against Blacks was a clear matter of DOCTRINE, NOT POLICY:
“THE ATTITUDE OF THE CHURCH WITH REFERENCE TO NEGROES REMAINS AS IT HAS ALWAYS STOOD. IT IS NOT A MATTER OF THE DECLARATION OF A POLICY BUT OF DIRECT COMMANDMENT FOM THE LORD, ON WHICH IS FOUNDED THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH FROM THE DAYS OF ITS ORGANIZATION, to the effect that Negroes may become members of the Church BUT THEY ARE NOT ENTITLED TO THE PRIESTHOOD AT THE PRESENT TIME. THE PROPHETS OF THE LORD HAVE MADE SEVERAL STATEMENTS AS TO THE OPERATION OF THE PRINCIPLE. President Brigham Young said: ‘Why are so many of the inhabitants of the earth cursed with a skin of blackness? It comes in consequence of their fathers rejecting the power of the holy priesthood, and the law of God. They will go down to death.’”
(emphasis added)
—During the 1960s civil rights movement where the Mormon Church was coming under increasing fire for its bigoted anti-Black priesthood stsand, Mormon church leaders circled the wagons and again issued another official First Presidency statement, dated 15 December 1969, invoking the words of then-Mormon Church president, David O. McKay and laying the orgins of the ban at the feet of Mormonism’s inventor, Joseph Smith:
“To General Authorities, Regional Representatives of the Twelve, Stake Presidents, Mission Presidents, and Bishops.
“Dear Brethren:
“In view of confusion that has arisen, it was decided at a meeting of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve to restate THE POSITION OF THE CHURCH WITH REGARD TO THE NEGRO BOTH IN SOCIETY AND IN THE CHURCH.
“A word of explanation concerning THE POSITION OF THE CHURCH.
“FROM THE BEGINNING OF THIS DISPENSATION, JOSEPH SMITH AND ALL SUCCEEDING PRESIDENTS OF THE CHURCH HAVE TAUGHT THAT NEGROES, while spirit children of a common Father, and the progeny of our earthly parents Adam and Eve, WERE NOT YET TO RECEIVE THE PRIESTHOOD, for reasons which we believe are known to God, but which He has not made fully known to man.
“Our living prophet, President David O. McKay, has said, ‘The seeming discrimination by the Church toward the Negro is not something which originated with man; but goes back into the beginning with God. . . . ‘Revelation assures us that this plan antedates man’s mortal existence, extending back to man’s pre-existent state.’ President McKay has also said, ‘Sometime in God’s eternal plan, the Negro will be given the right to hold the priesthood.’
“Faithfully your brethren,
“The First Presidency
” Hugh B. Brown N. Eldon Tanner”
(emphasis added)
Finally, for the DOCTRINAL, NOT POLICY, status which clearly and historically attended the Mormon Church’s anti-Black priesthood ban, see “Mormon Racism As doctrine, Not Merely Folklore or Tradition,”
Here’s their daily Mormon scripture study guide on the racism of their Mormon God, as noted in the article, “Racism as Doctrine, Not Merely Folklore or Tradition”:
—”Mormon Scripture: God Curses Bad Races with Black Skin
“2 Nephi 5:21: ‘And the Lord 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.’
“3 Nephi 2:14-1: ‘And it came to pass that those Lamanites who had united with the Nephites were numbered among the Nephites; And their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites.’
“Moses 7:22: ‘And Enoch also beheld the residue of the people which were the sons of Adam; and they were a mixture of all the seed of Adam save it was the seed of Cain, for the seed of Cain were black, and had not place among them.’
“Abraham 1:21-24,27: ‘Now this king of Egypt was a descendant from the loins of Ham, and was a partaker of the blood of the Canaanites by birth. From this descent sprang all the Egyptians, and thus the blood of the Canaanites was preserved in the land.’
“The land of Egypt being first discovered by a woman, who was the daughter of Ham, and the daughter of Egyptus, which in the Chaldean signifies Egypt, which signifies that which is forbidden; When this woman discovered the land it was under water, who afterward settled her sons in it; and thus, from Ham, sprang that race which preserved the curse in the land.”
“’Now, Pharaoh being of that lineage by which he could not have the right of Priesthood, notwithstanding the Pharaohs would fain claim it from Noah, through Ham, therefore my father was led away by their idolatry.’
—”Official LDS Church Publications Explain Racist LDS Scriptures
“’The Book of Abraham is rich both in doctrine and in historical incidents. Of the latter the fact of the large influence (if not identity) of Egyptian religious ideas in Chaldea in the days of Abraham is established; the descent of the black race, Negro, from Cain, the first murderer; the preservation of that race through the flood by the wife of Ham—”Egyptus,” which in the Chaldean signifies “Egypt,” “which signifies that which is forbidden”—the descendants of “Egyptus” were cursed as pertaining to the priesthood—that is, they were barred from holding that divine power; the origin also of the Egyptians—these things, together with the account of Abraham migrating from Chaldea to Egypt, constitute the chief historical items that are contained in the book./ (;Comprehensive History of the Church,’ vol. 2, Ch .47, p. 128)
“’From this it is very clear that the mark which was set upon the descendants of Cain was a skin of blackness, and there can be no doubt that this was the mark that Cain himself received; in fact, it has been noticed in our day that men who have lost the spirit of the Lord, and from whom His blessings have been withdrawn, have turned dark to such an extent as to excite the comments of all who have known them.’ (Official LDS Church manual, ‘The Juvenile Instructor,’ vol. 26, p. 635)
“’We will first inquire into the results of the approbation or displeasure of God upon a people, starting with the belief that a black skin is a mark of the curse of heaven placed upon some portions of mankind. Some, however, will argue that a black skin is not a curse, nor a white skin a blessing. In fact, some have been so foolish as to believe and say that a black skin is a blessing, and that the negro is the finest type of a perfect man that exists on the earth; but to us such teachings are foolishness. We understand that when God made man in his own image and pronounced him very good, that he made him white. We have no record of any of God’s favored servants being of a black race. . . . [E]very angel who ever brought a message of God’s mercy to man was beautiful to look upon, clad in the purest white and with a countenance bright as the noonday sun.” (Official LDS Church manual, ‘The Juvenile Instructor,’ vol. 3, p. 157)
“’For instance, the descendants of Cain cannot cast off their skin of blackness, at once, and immediately, although every soul of them should repent,... Cain and his posterity must wear the mark which God put upon them; and his white friends may wash the race of Cain with fuller’s soap every day, they cannot wash away God’s mark;. . . . ‘ (LDS Publication, ‘The Millennial Star, ‘ vol. 14, p. 418)
“Their skin is quite black, their hair woolly and black, their intelligence stunted, and they appear never to have arisen from the most savage state of barbarism.” (Official LDS Church manual, ‘The Juvenile Instructor,’vol. 3, p. 157)
“’Is or is it not apparent from reason and analogy as drawn from a careful reading of the Scriptures, that God causes the saints, or people that fall away from his church to be cursed in time, with a black skin? Was or was not Cain, being marked, obliged to inherit the curse, he and his children, forever? And if so, as Ham, like other sons of God, might break the rule of God, by marrying out of the church, did or did he not, have a Canaanite wife, whereby some of the black seed was preserved through the flood, and his son, Canaan, after he laughed at his grandfather’s nakedness, heired three curses: one from Cain for killing Abel; one from Ham for marrying a black wife, and one from Noah for ridiculing what God had respect for? Are or are not the Indians a sample of marking with blackness for rebellion against God’s holy word and holy order? And can or can we not observe in the countenances of almost all nations, except the Gentile, a dark, sallow hue, which tells the sons of God, without a line of history, that they have fallen or changed from the original beauty and grace of father Adam?’(Official LDS Publication, ‘The Messenger and Advocate’ (March 1835), p. 82)
“’History and common observation show that these predictions have been fulfilled to the letter. The descendants of Ham, besides a black skin which has ever been a curse that has followed an apostate of the holy priesthood, as well as a black heart, have been servants to both Shem and Japheth, and the abolitionists are trying to make void the curse of God, but it will require more power than man possesses to counteract the decrees of eternal wisdom.” (Official LDS Publication, ‘The Times and Seasons,’ vol. 6, p. 857)
“The LDS Church’s racism isn’t just from some isolated quote from one or two Church leaders. The racist teaching from the Mormon pulpit is prolific and consistent over time. If God didn’t agree with his prophets teaching these things in His Church, then why did they continue over generations? There’s a big difference between folklore and Mormon scripture. When the president and prophet of the church stands at the pulpit and teaches the laws of God, that isn’t folklore. . . . .
“Some Church members make the mistake of dismissing the racist statements of 19th-century Mormon leaders as ‘their own opinion,’ ‘not official doctrine,’ ‘products of their times,’ etc.
“Those same Church members assert that the only ‘official doctrine’ is the Standard Works and official statements of the First Presidency, and that if some leaders said something that didn’t come from those sources, it isn’t ‘binding on the membership,’ and it isn’t “canon” or “official doctrine.”
“However, an official statement of the LDS Church First Presidency issued on August 17, 1951, reads:
“’The position of the LDS Church regarding the Negro may be understood when another doctrine of the church is kept in mind, namely, that the conduct of spirits in the pre-mortal existence has some determining effect upon the conditions and circumstances under which these spirits take on mortality, and that while the details of this principle have not been made known, the principle itself indicates that the coming to this earth and taking on mortality is a privilege that is given to those who maintained their first estate; and that the worth of the privilege is so great that spirits are willing to come to earth and take on bodies no matter what the handicap may be as to the kind of bodies they are to secure; and that among the handicaps, failure of the right to enjoy in mortality the blessings of the priesthood is a handicap which spirits are willing to assume in order that they might come to earth. Under this principle there is no injustice whatsoever involved in this deprivation as to the holding of the priesthood by the Negroes.. . . . ‘
“’Man will be punished for his own sins and not for Adam’s transgression. If this is carried further, it would imply that the Negro is punished or alloted to a certain position on this earth, not because of Cain’s transgression, but came to earth through the loins of Cain because of his failure to achieve other stature in the spirit world.” (William E. Berrett’s ‘The Church and the Negroid People,’ pp. 16-17)
“Since it’s obvious from this official First Presidency statement that Church leaders taught and believed that people are born as Negroes because of their behavior in the pre-existence-—
-—”as well as being from the lineage of the ‘accursed’ Cain-—
-—”and the ‘sign’ of Cain’s curse was the black skin and flat nose, according to Church leaders-—
-—”then the fact that Negroes are still being born by the tens of thousands every day tells us that the God of Mormonism has never lifted the ‘curse of Cain,’ despite having the priesthood ban rescinded.
“Church members are terribly mistaken when they say that the ‘curse of Cain’ teachings were ‘folklore’ and ‘not official doctrine.’
“If the people of Jamaica can recognize the LDS Church’s racism, why can’t church members?: ‘The Embarrassing Truth about Mormonism, by Mark Wignall, “The Jamaca Observer,” 25 September 2005, at: http://www.i4m.com/think/comments/mor...; source for first article: at: http://www.i4m.com/think/history/morm...)
Today’s Mormon Church seems to have an official policy of lying about its official doctrines.
(Benson, Steve, Topic: LDS OFFICIAL ESSAYS, “The Mormon Church’s Essay On Blacks And The Priesthood Is A Lie” tHE Mormon curtain website, Dec 17, 2013)
Was Michael Jackson a closet mormon? ;)
I think the Jackson family were all Mormons...
I think they were JW
Broader Jackson family was at least (at one time) JWs
SOMEbody has to be!
After; the Living Prophet© says what GOD tells him to say.
And then the 12 yesmen chime in with a perfectly timed - AMEN!
And I used to be one of them!
Now I gots Fiber Optic to the HOUSE!!!
Eat yer little pea-pickin' HEARTS out!
Nobody cares about FACTS!
I think you’re right.
The wrong Jacksons...
(Good thing this wasn’t 150 years ago!)
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