Bachmann, Cain won't say Romney is a Christian

So is a “good Mormon” supposed to be unwaveringly pro-life? What sayeth the mystic documents?

So when will the LDS notably go homo as it loosened (if not abolished) its old racist policies? That would be a visible sign of jumping the shark.

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We are seeing it already, although slowly. They just appointed an openly gay man to a regional and fairly important position.

I have said for awhile now, that the LDS church will eventually have a ‘revelation’ allowing open homosexuality in the LDS church, but I don’t expect it for at least 5-10 years. A lot of it will depend upon other issues (like lawsuits) which is what finally made them have the ‘revelation’ allowing blacks the priesthood.

So is a “good Mormon” supposed to be unwaveringly pro-life? What sayeth the mystic documents?

Logically, yes (consistency with other doctrines).

Historically, if he's following the lead of what his leaders have done, then no.

Allow me to elaborate...First, the 'Logical Yes':

Mormons believe in a "pre-existence" where you & I were supposedly born as younger spirit siblings of Lucifer and Jesus. Then our parents there sent us to earth so that our spirits could inhabit a body. [IOW, we're all spirit-aliens from Kolob.]

Btw, this isn't obscure Mormon "fringe" doctrine; it's mainstream fair.

Now if the pre-existence were true. If spirits are literally breathlessly waiting [breathless in that they don't have a respiratory system yet] for bodies to be inhabited, then you would think that the Mormons would be the VERY MOST pro-life religious body on the face of the earth! I mean, after all, those spirits dawning a body who never get to live on earth due to being aborted...how "fair" is that?

So...if you're wonderin' how it is Mormons have been encouraged to have large families...then, hey, all ya have to do is note this belief of theirs to understand why.

Now, the 'Historical No':

This has two dimensions:
(a) The reality that Mormon leaders since Roe vs. Wade in 1973 have made many exceptions to allow for abortions -- including if the Mormon gods say 'yes' via an answer to prayer.
(b) The wishy-washiness of the Mormon gods on social issues. Hey, if the Mormon gods are wishy-washy on these issues, why wouldn't we expect disciples of them like Romney?

So, (a) what "indictments" are there vs. the Mormon leadership position on abortion since 1973?

FREEPER Notgonnatakeitanymore had this excellent post last week, which I cite:

Didn’t you assume Mormons were pro-life? That’s certainly the image their church attempts to broadcast, and most Mormons, in fact, mistakenly believe their church opposes abortion and regards it as an objective evil. But not so. Indeed, the Mormon church accepts abortion for a number of reasons. The Church Handbook of Instructions, approved in September, 1998, states that abortion may be performed in the following circumstances: pregnancy resulting from rape or incest; a competent physician says the life or health of the mother is in serious jeopardy; or a competent physician says that the “fetus” has severe defects that will not allow the “baby” to survive beyond birth. In any case, the persons responsible must first consult with their church leader and receive God’s approval in prayer (156). This same Handbook, the official policies of the Mormon church to be followed by all local church leaders throughout the world, also claims: “It is a fact that a child has life before birth. However, there is no direct revelation on when the spirit enters the body” (156). Previous teachings by former Mormon prophets referred to the unborn child as “a child,” “a baby,” a “human being,” and decried abortion as “killing,” “a grievous sin,” “a damnable practice.” Spencer W. Kimball, the prophet who died in 1985, taught, “We have repeatedly affirmed the position of the church in unalterably opposing all abortions” (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 189). It appears that this “unalterable” position, constantly “affirmed,” is just another in a series of doctrinal and moral teachings that Mormons have reworded, reworked, rescinded, or reneged—though never officially renounced. Such is the quality of the Mormon belief in “continuing revelation.” Don’t expect dogmatic or ethical consistency. Rather, look for expediency and conformity with “the times.” A further statement in the Handbook says: “The church has not favored or opposed legislative proposals or public demonstrations concerning abortion (156).” While the Mormon prophet claims to speak the mind and will of God, he can neither figure out when the unborn child becomes human or if it is God’s desire that we protect the unborn unconditionally.
Source: Mormon position on abortion [post #14]

The way I have summarized this in the past is:

Abortion: The official Mormon church position (see
http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_abor.htm) is that it's "OK" for an abortion if...
(a) Incest needs to be covered up;
(b) The baby is disabled and needs to be destroyed accordingly
(c) Mom's "health" (whatever that means...distinct from saying "life" of the mother)
(d) If the abortionist says it's "OK"
(e) If the Mormon god says it's "OK" in prayer...

E alone above could "justify" abortion to individual Mormons as long it overrides the person's conscience!

Well, the above covers (a) re: the Lds historical leadership stances on abortion...what about (b)?

Too many FREEPERS somehow think that Romney's wishy-washiness is "unconnected" to his faith. Well, the Mormon leadership has shown it can be morally wishy-washy whenever it's "convenient."

* It was "convenient" for the Mormon church leadership to pass homosexual rights for Salt Lake City 'cause they were coming off of what the MSM regarded "negative" media play re: Prop 8 in CA.

* It was "convenient" for their missionary program to support aspects of aliens being here illegally.

* And, at times, it's been "convenient" for daughters of Mormon leaders and others to get abortions.

* Certainly, it's been "convenient" for them to have a Harry Reid in Congress "watch out" for Mormon church interests.

* Historically, it was "convenient" for the Mormon god to change his mind about skin color...even if he didn't change Mormon racist "sacred book" passages depicting open racism.

* And it was "convenient" for the Mormon church to slowly rid itself of open polygamy because their church was threatened, their menfolk were in jail, and they wanted statehood. Even then, it was "convenient" for their original leader, Joseph Smith, to engage in sex with many women even though his own penned Book of Mormon called polygamy an "abomination."

I mean, imagine you're God. And you arrange to have the Book of Mormon published in 1830 -- a book that only speaks highly negatively of polygamy and calls it an "abomination." What? Would you then the very next year instruct your "prophet" to have sex with a l6 yo maidservant named Fanny & start your leaders to have many wives the next 14 years & beyond?

Sooooo....If you want to see the evidences of Mormon leadership wishy-washiness -- and why Romney tends to follow in that vein, just look at this evidence of liberal conveniences involving the Mormon church:

* Homosexual rights: Mormon church supports Salt Lake City's protections for gay rights and Mormons Back Salt Lake City Gay Rights Laws

* Illegal alien liberal policy nuances... note these headlines & stories: 2 LDS branch presidents in Utah deported to Guatemala, El Salvador and Considering The Disconnect Between Some LDS Church Members and Leadership on Immigration

And if you need further evidence of just how liberal the Mormon church leadership can be when it wants to be, then look at how Harry Reid was welcomed with such warm open arms by an all BYU student & faculty occasion for Reid to speak there: Reid gets warm reception at BYU

How sad and selfish. Souls are more important than politics. However, relating to politics, what a person believes and WHO they believe in MATTERS - big time.

Either way, Romney is not POTUS material.

It sure sounds like a church of political convenience.

Sounds like a confluence of imagined, if not real, spirits that are focused on how the political wind is blowing. One would expect, based on such a model, to see the LDS going conservative when they are in a conservative political milieu, and vice versa.

Anyhow it does seem a perfect recipe for flip flops so long as liberals and conservatives are tearing at one another for influence in the LDS.

If so, I hope Cain wises up to this, and chides Romney for every single inexplicable flip flop. Perry ought to know already. By the way what is Cain’s religious background? Is he something like an Anglican?

Wright preached Marxism, hatred of whites, hatred of Jews, hatred of America and liberation theology.

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Early LDS church practiced communism...called the United Order, hatred of America, hatred of gentile Christians and Jews , against Blacks...and their own version of ‘liberation theology’ that only whites will be ‘saved’ (earn Godhood). Also I threw in some on the doctrine of “Blood Atonement” where people were killed for apostasy (like Muslims), and for sleeping with Blacks.

Here are just a few quotes...

Quotes from The King Follett Discourse

The being and kind of being god is; the immortality of the intelligence of man

By Joseph Smith Jr., the Prophet

The King Follett Discourse was delivered by Joseph Smith President and Prophet of the Mormon Church before about twenty thousand Latter Day Saints at the April Conference of the Church, 1844, as the funeral sermon of Elder King Follett

Pg 4 - Every man has a natural , and in our country, a constitutional right to be a false prophet, as well as a true prophet.

Pg 5 - I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that god was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see. These are incomprehensible ideas to some, but they are simple. It is the first principle of the gospel to know for certainty the character of god and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another, and that he was once a man like us, yea, that God himself the father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did; and I will show it from the Bible.

These Quotes are contradicted in the Book of Mormon Moroni 8:18 and Mormon 9:9-10

Page 6 - Here then is eternal life - to know the only wise and true God and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you, namely by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power.

Page 7 -...but they shall be heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. What is it? To inherit the same power, the same glory and the same exaltation, until you arrive at the station of a god, and ascend the throne of eternal power, the same as those who have gone before. My Father worked out His kingdom with fear and trembling, and I must do the same; and when I get my Kingdom, I shall present it to my Father, so that he may obtain kingdom upon kingdom, and it will exalt him in glory. He will then take a higher exaltation, and I will take his place, and thereby become exalted myself.

Page 9 - In the beginning, the head of the gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it.

Page 10 - Now, I ask all who hear me why the learned men who are preaching salvation, say that God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing? The reason is, that they are unlearned in the things of God, and have not the gift of the Holy Ghost;

Page 12 - The mind or the intelligence which man possesses is co-equal with God himself. I know that my testimony is true;

Page 13 - That which has a beginning may have an end. There never was a time when there were not spirits; for they are co-equal with our Father in Heaven.

Page 14 - I might with boldness proclaim from the house-tops that God never had the power to create the spirit of man at all. God himself could not create himself.

Quotes from The Gospel Principles

Ch. 2 -Page 13 - Our Heavenly Parents Desired to Share Their Joy with Us - They wanted us to develop the godlike qualities that they have. To do this, we needed to leave our celestial home to be tested and to gain experience.

Ch. 2 -Page 17 - We learned that if we followed his plan, we would become like him. We would have a resurrected body; we would have all power in heaven ad on earth; we would become heavenly parents and have spirit children just as he does (D&C 132:19-20)

Quotes from Three Degrees of Glory

Pg 8 - We have frequently said that perhaps the grandest thought that has ever been brought forth to the children of men is the Mormon truism, namely: “As man is God once was, and as God is man may become....Then I wish to say to you that there are three degrees of glory in the celestial kingdom and only those who attain the highest degree of celestial glory will be candidates to become what God is.

“In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees: And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood, (meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage); And if he does not, he cannot obtain it. He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase.

Pg 10 - the eternity of the marriage covenant ought to be understood by Latter-day Saints clearly to be the sealing of at least one woman to one man for time and for all eternity.

Pg 22 - Now, my brothers and sisters, I would like you to understand that long before we were born into this earth we were tested and tried in our pre-existence and the fact that of the thousands of children born today, a certain proportion of them went to the Hotten-tots of the south sees, thousands went tot the Chinese mothers, thousands to Negro mothers, thousands to beautiful white Latter day Saint mothers. Why this difference? You cannot tell me that the entire group was just designated, marked, to go where they did.

Why is it in the Church we do not grant the priesthood to the negroes? It is alleged that the Prophet Joseph said - and I have no reason to dispute it - that it is because of some act committed by them before they came into this life. It is alleged that they were neutral, standing neither for Christ nor the devil. But, I am convinced it is because of some things they did before they came into this life that they have been denied the privilege. The races of today are very largely reaping the consequence of a previous life.

Pg 23 - Our particular branch is the House of Joseph through his son Ephraim. That is the group from whence shall come the majority of the candidates for Celestial Glory. That is why we are doing the work for our ancestors and not for theirs (baptism for the dead). Let us not imagine that in this dispensation we shall do the work for the dead Chinese or Hindus.

Pg 35 - Our status and condition will be like our Heavenly Father’s. He sent His only begotten Son to save and redeem mankind, but unless we accept the atonement and act in conformity tot he laws and requirements laid down for us, even god cannot save us.

http://www.contenderministries.org/mormonism/quotes.php

Here’s a very interesting perspective of the Order of Enoch by one of the apostles of the RLDS Church (Community of Christ). He left the RLDS church after serving as an apostle for two decades. From the book Forty Years in the Mormon Church - Why I left it by Apostle Richard C. Evans:

Page 145 Chapter iX The Order of Enoch

This Order is a mysterious affair, under which each member of the church is commanded to join, if he would secure salvation in the celestial splendours of the Kingdom of God; he must deed over to the President of the Order, who is the Presiding Bishop of the church, all his property of every kind and character, with a “deed and covenant that cannot be broken.” This property whether it is real estate or money, bank notes, bonds, insurance, farm implements, or jewelry, cows, hens, household goods or clothing, All must be deeded over, and then the Bishop will give you a deed of what he considers shall be your inheritance. This is said to be a little home, which of all your property you may have deeded to them, is the only part you may claim if you should leave, or be expelled from the church.

In a word, as explained by the good Bishops, when you are born into this world, you arrive with absolutely nothing in your possession, but life When you are born again into the Kingdom of God (which is the Mormon Church) you must start with absolutely nothing, but life. If you possess anything, it must be deeded over, that all starting on the same plane, may become stewards unto God, He being the proprietor of all, and it is clearly stated that if a member of the society dare to make claim that they own anything, no matter if you have deeded over millions, you are at once placed under the curse, which (according to the revelations through Joseph Smith, which will be quoted in this article) may be inflicted by those appointed to do the cursing.

After deeding all your property over, and you receive your inheritance, you go to work, but not for yourself, but the Order of Enoch, and you must make an inventory every year or month as required, and after taking out your living, the few or many dollars saved above bare living expenses, must be accounted for and handed over to the authorities of the Order.

The greatest blessing and honour you receive for all this deeding over to the Order, is that you receive a New Name, and an inheritance in Zion.

The history of this mysterious Order is a long, sad one. Many gave their all, got their new name, and finding out the wickedness of Mormonism, denounced it and fled for their lives to escape the curse. According to leading men who have left the church many failed to make their escape, and suffered the vengeance of the Destroying Angels, called the Danites.

The Lord, through Joseph Smith, is supposed to command Bishop Edward Partridge, in May 1831, to organizer this Order. The person joining the Order is distinction distinctly informed as follows: “When he shall appoint a man his portion give unto him a writing that shall secure unto him his portion, that he shall hold it, even this right and this inheritance in the church until he transgresses and is not accounted worthy to belong to the church. He shall not have power to claim that portion which he has consecrated unto the BishopÐtherefore, he shall not retain the gift, but shall only have claim on that portion that is deeded unto him.” Doc. and Cov., 51, 1.

A more extended description of this Order is given by revelation to Joseph Smith, from which we quote the following: “I give unto you, to prepare and organize yourselves by a bond or everlasting covenant that cannot be broken.” The Order is called “Permanent and everlasting establishment and Order unto My church — the salvation of man and the Glory of God — and if ye will that I give unto you a place in the celestial world ye must prepare yourselves by doing the things which I have commanded you and required of you.” In this revelation Joseph Smith receives two new names. He is called Enoch and then Gazelam. Others also received their new name, Joseph secures other names later, to which reference will be made. Doc. and Cov. 77, 1-2.

Perhaps I may right here show the secrecy of this Order in granting new names to Smith and others and even to houses, factories and towns, and to cover up and deceive those who are not numbered with the elect.

* Joseph Smith is called Baurak Ale, Enoch, Gazelam. Doc. and Cov., pages 196, 270, 271, 274, 276, 282 and 283.
* Newel K. Whitney is called Ahashdah. Doc. and Cov., pages 196, 243, 275.
* Sidney Rigdon is called Baneemy. Doc. and Cov., page 283.
* Martin Harris is called Mahemson. Doc. and Cov., page 274.
* Oliver Cowdery is called Olihah. Doc. and Cov., pages 274-275.
* Sidney Rigdon received another pretty name, Pelagorim. D. C. pages 196, 274.
* Joseph Smith received a fourth name-Seth. Page 244.
* John Johnson is called Sombre. D. C. pages 244, 274, 275.
* The City of New York is called “Cainhannoch,” D. C., page 279.
* Kirtland is called “Shinehah.” D. C. page 276.
* For the word “Print” read Shinelah. D. C,. page 277.
* For the word “Printing” read Shinelane. D. C. page 278.
* For “Shule” read Ashery. D. C. page 270.
* The Kirtland Tannery was called “Tanhanes.” D. C. page 274.
* The Printing House was called “Lane-shine-house.” D. C. page 274.
* The store was called “Ozondah.” D. C. page 274.
* Dollars were referred to as “Talents.” D. C. page 278.
* Frederick G. Williams was called “Shoderlaomach.” D. C. page 235-274.

We will leave these mysterious names of the faithful while the reader ponders over the question, why all this secrecy in the Mormon Order of Enoch. Perhaps the full reasons may not be known till that which is done in secret will be revealed upon the housetop.

All Must Join the Order For Salvation — Those Who Fail Will Be Cursed, And All Property Must Be Deeded To The Order Without Reserve.
“Organize yourselves by a bond or everlasting covenant that cannot be broken. If ye will that I give you a place in the celestial kingdom.” D. C. 77, 1, 2.

“Inasmuch as they have more than is needful for their necessities and their wants it shall be given unto my storehouse. Behold, this is what the Lord requires of every man in his stewardship, and behold none are exempt from this law who belong to the Church of the Living God.” D. C. 70, 2,-3.

“Therefore, verily I say unto you, it is expedient that my servants be bound together by a bond and a covenant that cannot be broken by transgression except judgment shall immediately follow-that every man may improve upon his talents, yea, even an hundredfold to become the common property of the whole church.” D. C. 81, 4.

“I give unto you counsel and a commandment concerning all the properties which belong to the Order, which I commanded to be organized, for the Salvation of men. Therefore, in as much as some of my servants have not kept the commandment but have broken the covenant I have cursed them with a very sore and grievous curse, for I the Lord have decreed in my heart that inasmuch as any man belonging to the Order shall be, found a transgressor, or in other words, shall break the covenant with which ye are bound he shall be cursed in this life, and shall be trodden down by whom I will.” D. C. 101, 1.

In this same revelation Joseph Smith and many other leaders received their inheritances, and their new names figured largely, and as Smith had several names, his inheritance was a splendid one.” D. C. 101, 3-8.

“Behold all these properties are mine or else your faith is vain, and ye are found hypocrites, and the covenants which ye have made unto me are broken, and if the properties are Mine then ye are stewards, otherwise ye are not stewards, and all moneys that you receive in your stewardship by improving upon the properties which I have appointed unto you in houses or in lands or in cattle or in all things, shall be cast into the treasury as fast as you receive moneys by hundreds or by fifties or by twenties or by tens, for it shall not be called his nor any part of it.” D. C. 101, 10-l2

“If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments and behold thou shalt consecrate all thy properties that thou hast with a deed that cannot be broken, and it shall come to pass that the Bishop of my church after that he has received the properties of my church that it cannot be taken from the church, he shall appoint

every man a steward over his own property, or that which he has received, inasmuch as is sufficient for himself and family.”

The above revelation was given to Joseph Smith, Feb. 1831. It is found in the Book of Commandments, chapter 44, page 75, and caused many to leave the church, so in the Doc. and Cov. it is found as section 42, page 78, with some material changes. In place of reading “All thy properties,” it is made to read “of thy properties.” But this contradicts all the rest of the revelations, and when one of the Elders preaching a sermon published in Zion’s Ensign for July 5th, 1917, quoting the original revelation, comments upon it as follows:

“It says here that they should consecrate all that they have, not a portion, not come up and consecrate something that you cannot use yourself, something that you can get along without, but God requires that you shall give it all to him, and then you are to receive back from the Bishop that which is necessary to support yourself and families, and then if he is able to make an increase, take that and bring forth a residue that in turn is to be given into the storehouse.” Zion’s Ensign, July 5, 1917.

The above is in keeping with what Joseph Smith wrote upon the subject: “A man is bound by the law of the church to consecrate to the Bishop before he can be considered a legal heir to the Kingdom of Zion, and this too without constraint, and unless he does this he cannot be acknowledged before the Lord on the church books.” Reorganized Church Hist., Vol. 1, page 300.

The above is in keeping with all the revelations and church resolutions on the subject, and we quote one more which was given in answer to prayer: “Verily, thus saith the Lord, I require all their surplus property to be put into the hands of the Bishop of Zion, for the building of mine house, and for the laying the foundation of Zion, and for the priesthood, and for the debts of the Presidency of my church.” Doc. and Cov. 106, 1.

This last revelation was given some time before Smith was killed, and the Order of Enoch received a rude shock at his death. While the Utah Mormon Church went to Salt Lake and continued to take the money from the people, the Reorganized Church was a little careful along money matters and for years young Joseph Smith had little to say regarding the Order of Enoch, indeed the Lord seemed to be a little doubtful of young Joseph and the money question, as would seem from the following revelation which the Lord is said to have given through the young prophet.

“When I said unto mine Apostles, ‘The Twelve will take measures in connection with the Bishop, to execute the law of tithing and let them before God see to it that the temporal means so obtained is truly used for the purpose of the church, and not as a weapon of power in the bands of one man for the oppression of others, or for the purpose of self-aggrandizement by anyone, be he whomsoever he may be, the one whom I had, called to preside over the church had not yet approved himself unto the scattered flock, and I gave this command unto the quorum

next in authority in spiritual things that the scattered ones and those who had been made to suffer, might have assurance that I would not suffer that he whom I had called should betray the confidence of the faithful, nor squander the moneys of the treasury for the purpose of self.” D. C. 122, 5.

Two point are made apparent in this revelation. First, that the contention made in this paper is true, in that the leaders of the church in the past had robbed the people and taken the money for themselves, as all the history proves; and second, that the Lord was not sure at the time but what young Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Reorganized Church, might follow in the wake of his father and the other leaders of the people of the old church. Be that as it may, the facts are the Prophet of the Reorganized Church had little to do with money matters for many years, and the Order of Enoch was almost a forgotten method of robbery but in the weak and declining years of Joseph Smith, when he became almost stone deaf and was totally blind, the Order of Enoch was revived by revelation through him, but even then it was a poor, weak thing for years, but after the young, strong son of Joseph Smith took his father’s place, the Order of Enoch sprang into prominence and at the last conference that I attended, April, 1918, I attended nine meetings of the Order of Bishops and one of the General Conference, in which all the priesthood discussed the Order of Enoch. The church is fast adopting all the terrors of the old order and there has been sent out by the Presiding Bishop many letters urging the people to comply with the law, and some are doing it. This is one last straw that compelled me to resign from the church. I opposed the action in the council of Bishops, and of course was reported to the young Prophet, I refused to make my inventory and hand over my property, nor would I teach others that they must do so, and of course I was not considered sound in the faith and was a poor Bishop.

In conclusion I submit part of a lengthy ‘Questionnaire’ sent out to the membership of the church in all the world. Strange to say the Bishop did not send them to Toronto, nor to me, but I soon received one and when written to, to comply, I refused to do so.

You are requested to make a complete report of all things concerning yourself and every member of your family, the physical defects of yourself, wife, daughters and sons must be explained to the good Bishop. The name, sex, age, number of the family, what kind of work they what wages they earn; you must report what fuel, food, water, rent, fire-insurance and other kinds of insurance, taxes, clothing and doctor bills you have to pay yearly; you must tell what property you have, every lot and farm, whether it belongs to yourself or you got it in marriage from your wife, you must give size of lot or farm, tell of all city or country property in your possession, if country land, you must tell if it is timbered, fruit, grass, waste, cultivation; if rented, how much rental you receive; if city property, you must give location, size, value, and state, street improvements if any; you must give full account of money in bank, or in your pocket, mortgages, loans, interest on loans,

stocks and bonds; you must give a complete account of how many shovels, rakes, hoes, plows and every other farm implement on the farm; you must tell how many hens, cows, horses, hogs and every other animal on the place ; you are compelled to describe the size and number of houses, and sheds, pig-stys and barns on each farm; you must tell about every wheelbarrow, wagon, auto, describe their value; you are to describe your jewelry, household goods, tell how many bedroom sets you have, chairs and tables and every other article you own must be described and valued.

This large sheet, of which I have but given a part, is sent to every member, and he with all these revelations about cursing and salvation depending upon your faithfulness or otherwise, is stirring up the people to fever heat.

If you can find a more complete document to take away a person’s liberty, independence, manhood, or womanhood; if you know of any church demand made upon the privacy of husband, wife, son or daughter; if you have heard of any ancient or modern method of taking away human liberty than the revelations of the Mormon Church, concluding with this inventory issued by the Reorganized Church, I have failed to hear of, or find it, and therefore this part, with every other part of Mormonism I am compelled to denounce.

“Wherefore, as I said unto you, it must needs be expedient that Christ ... should come among the Jews, among those who are the more wicked part of the world; and they shall crucify him ... and there is none other nation on earth that would crucify their God. For should the mighty miracles be wrought among other nations they would repent, and know that he be their God. But because of priestcrafts and iniquities, they at Jerusalem will stiffen their necks against him, that he be crucified. Wherefore, because of their iniquities, destructions, famines, pestilences, and bloodshed shall come upon them; and they who shall not be destroyed shall be scattered among all nations.” (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 10:3 - 6)

http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/10?lang=eng

Mormons and the Nazi’s -

“Hitler enjoyed at least as much popularity among German Saints as he did among the population in general. His apparent dynamism and self-confidence seemed to show a way out of the chaos and weakness of the Weimar years. Moreover, as ‘good Germans,’ the Mormons were acutely aware that Hitler had risen to power through legal channels... Some Church members even saw Hitler as God’s instrument, preparing the world for the millennium. Superficial parallels were drawn between the Church and the Nazi party with its emphasis on active involvement by every member... The vital importance of ‘Aryan’ ancestry gave new significance to genealogical research. And the Fuhrer himself, the non-smoking, non-drinking vegetarian who yielded to no one in his desire for absolute law and order, seemed to embody many of the most basic LDS virtues.”

- Alan F. Keele and Douglas F. Tobler, “The Fuhrer’s New Clothes: Helmuth Huebner and the Mormons in the Third Reich,” Sunstone, v. 5, no. 6, pp. 20-29

“... [S]ympathy [for some of the Nazi goals] was apparently shared by some members of the [Mormon] Church leadership. The Church’s German magazine, Der Stern, reminded its readers in 1935 that Senator Reed Smoot had long been a friend of Germany, and this attitude seemed to receive official sanction during President Grant’s 1937 visit. The message to the German Saints was clear: Stay here. Keep the Commandments. Try to get along the best you can, even under some limitations. We want to keep the Church intact and the missionaries working.”

- Alan F. Keele and Douglas F. Tobler, “The Fuhrer’s New Clothes: Helmuth Huebner and the Mormons in the Third Reich,” Sunstone, v. 5, no. 6, pp. 20-29

“The German Saints were not eager for a confrontation with their national government and they were happy to follow President Grant’s advice. By and large, the Mormons and the Nazis coexisted comfortably.”

- Alan F. Keele and Douglas F. Tobler, “The Fuhrer’s New Clothes: Helmuth Huebner and the Mormons in the Third Reich,” Sunstone, v. 5, no. 6, pp. 20-29

“... you do solemnly swear in the presence of Almighty God... that you will avenge the blood of Joseph Smith upon this nation, and so teach your children; that you will, from this day henceforth and forever, begin and carry out hostilities against this nation, and keep the same a profound secret now and forever. So help you God.”

- Apostle William Smith, Arguments Before the Committee On Privileges and Elections of the United States Senate In the Matter of the Protests Against the Right of Hon. Reed Smoot, A Senator from the State of Utah, to Hold His Seat, 1905, p. 231

“We will go to a land where there are at last no old settlers to quarrel with us…. We will leave this wicked nation, to themselves, for they have rejected the gospel, and I hope and pray that the wicked will kill one another & save us the trouble of doing it.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, quoted in “Journal of Heber C. Kimball,” under January 2, 1846; see Abanes, One Nation Under Gods, p. 216

“Who goes to the White House these days?... A gambler and a drunkard. And the Vice-President is the same. And no man can get either office unless he is a gambler and a drunkard, or a thief. And who goes to Congress? You may hunt clear through the Senate and House, and if you can find any men that are not liars, thieves, whoremongers, gamblers, and drunkards, I tell you they are mighty few, for no other kind of men can get in there.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, quoted in Hirshon, The Lion of the Lord: A Biography of the Mormon Leader, Brigham Young, 1969, pp. 278-279

“[U.S. President] Zachary Taylor is dead, and in hell. And I am glad of it.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, quoted in Perry Brocchus, “Utah Officials’ Report to President Fillmore,” Congressional Globe, new series, v. 25, p. 87; cited in B.H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, 1930, v. 3, p. 520, footnote #3

“Joseph Smith escaped many conspiracies against his life…. But the Lord said – ‘Now let my servant seal up his testimony with his blood;’ and that sealed up the damnation of the United States, not of individuals, but of the nation…. I am prophet enough to prophesy the downfall of the government that has driven us out…. Wo to the United States! I see them going to death and destruction.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, in William S. Harwell, ed., Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 1847-1850, 1997, pp. 221, 238

“The people of the rest of the country are our enemies…. When the government conflicts with heaven, we will be ranged under the banner of heaven and against the Government…. I defy the United States. I will obey God.”

- Prophet John Taylor, Salt Lake Tribune, January 6, 1880, quoted in Samuel W. Taylor, Rocky Mountain Empire, 1978, p. 29

“The American Nation will be broken in pieces.... you live in the day and hour of the judgments of God Almighty.... the hour of God’s judgment is at the door.... I wish to warn all nations.... Thrones will be cast down, nations will be overturned, anarchy will reign, all legal barriers will be broken down, and the laws will be trampled in the dust. You are about to be visited with war, sword, famine, pestilence, plague, earthquakes, whirlwinds, tempests, and with the flame of devouring fire.... the slain of the Lord will be many.”

- Prophet Wilford Woodruff, April 21, 1879, in Millennial Star, v. 41, p. 241

“Brigham raised his hand and said, ‘I swear by the eternal Heavens that I have unsheathed my sword, and I will never return it until the blood of the Prophet Joseph and Hyrum, and those who were slain in Missouri, is avenged. This whole nation is guilty of shedding their blood, by assenting to the deed, and holding its peace.’ ... Furthermore, every one who had passed through their endowments, in the Temple, were placed under the most sacred obligations to avenge the blood of the Prophet, whenever an opportunity offered, and to teach their children to do the same, thus making the entire Mormon people sworn and avowed enemies of the American nation.”

- Elder John D. Lee, Mormonism Unveiled, 1877, p. 160, online at http://www.helpingmormons.org/Rare_Books.htm

“These people [the Mormons] repudiate the authority of the United States in this country, and are in open rebellion against the general government…. So strong have been my apprehensions of danger to the surveyors that I scarcely deemed it prudent to send any out…. We are by no means sure that we will be permitted to leave, for it is boldly asserted we would not get away alive.”

- David H. Burr, Surveyor-General for Utah, August 30, 1856, letter to Thomas A. Hendricks, General Land Office, March 28, 1857; see Abanes, One Nation Under Gods, p. 229

“Mormon leaders consistently expressed their feelings that the war had been brought on by the wickedness of the United States, which had rejected Mormonism and permitted the death of the prophet of God and his servants…. Although the waste of lives was lamentable, a war between states would avenge the death of Joseph Smith. The Saints seemed especially gratified that Jackson County was a war zone and that Missouri would suffer the penalty of its cruelties to the Mormons. Besides avenging the blood of the innocent, the Lord would also prepare the way before his coming, which Mormons believed would occur in Jackson County, Missouri…. William Clayton wrote that such a spirit seemed to operate on Brigham Young’s mind: ‘All Latter-day Saints will not stay here [in Utah] forever. He [Young] talks much and frequently about Jackson County, Missouri.”

- Eugene E. Campbell, Establishing Zion: The Mormon Church in the American West, 1847-1869, 1988, p. 235

“So as to make you realize the enormity of Mormonism suffice it that I found them a community of traitors, murderers, fanatics, and whores. The people publicly rejoice at the reverse to our arms and thank God that the American government is gone as they term it, while their prophet and bishops preach treason from the pulpit. Federal officers are entirely powerless and talk in whispers for fear of being overheard by Brigham’s spies. Brigham Young rules with despotic sway and death by assassination is the penalty of disobedience to his command.”

- Colonel Patrick E. Conner, Union Army officer, letter dated September 14, 1862; see Abanes, One Nation Under Gods, p. 274

Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. (1805-1844):

“Had I anything to do with the negro, I would confine them by strict law to their own species...”

- Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., January 2, 1845, History of the Church, v. 5, pp. 21-218

Prophet Brigham Young (1801 -1877):

“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. The nations of the earth have transgressed every law that God has given, they have changed the ordinances and broken every covenant made with the fathers, and they are like a hungry man that dreameth that he eateth, and he awaketh and behold he is empty.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 10, p. 110

Prophet George Albert Smith (1870 – 1951):

“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 until now.... there is a growing tendency, particularly among some educators, as it manifests itself in this area, 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.”

- LDS First Presidency (George Albert Smith), letter to Virgil H. Sponberg (critic of the anti-black ban), May 5, 1947, quoted in Lester E. Bush, Mormonism’s Negro Doctrine: An Historical Overview, p. 42

Apostle Mark E. Peterson (1900 – 1984):

“We must not inter-marry with the Negro. Why? If I were to marry a Negro woman and have children by her, my children would oil be cursed as to the priesthood. Do I want my children cursed as to the priesthood? If there is one drop of Negro blood in my children, as I have read to you, they receive the curse. There isn’t any argument, therefore, as to inter-marriage with the Negro, is there?”

- Apostle Mark E. Peterson, “Race Problems – As They Effect the Church,” Address given at the Convention of Teachers of Religion on the College Level, delivered at BYU, August 27, 1954

Apostle Bruce R. McConkie (1915 – 1985):

“However, in a broad general sense, caste systems have their root and origin in the gospel itself, and when they operate according to the divine decree, the resultant restrictions and segregation are right and proper and have the approval of the Lord. To illustrate: Cain, Ham, and the whole negro race have been cursed with a black skin, the mark of Cain, so they can be identified as a caste apart, a people with whom the other descendants of Adam should not intermarry.”

- Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 114

Others:

“Brigham Young made a very strong statement on this matter when he 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.’ God has commanded Israel not to intermarry. To go against this commandment of God would be to sin. Those who willfully sin with their eyes open to this wrong will not be surprised to find that they will be separated from the presence of God in the world to come. This is spiritual death.... It does not matter if they are one-sixth Negro or one-one hundred and sixth, the curse of no Priesthood is still the same.... To intermarry with a Negro is to forfeit a ‘Nation of Priesthood holders.’”

- Elder John L. Lund, The Church and the Negro, pp. 54-55, 1967

Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. (1805 – 1844):

“I do not believe that the people of the North have any more right to say that the South shall not hold slaves, than the South have to say the North shall.... the first mention we have of slavery is found in the Holy Bible.... And so far from that prediction being averse to the mind of God, it [slavery] remains as a lasting monument of the decree of Jehovah, to the shame and confusion of all who have cried out against the South, in consequence of their holding the sons of Ham in servitude.”

- Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., History of the Church, v. 2, p. 438; online at http://www.antimormon.8m.com/hocindex.html

“Thirteenth – ‘Are the Mormons abolitionists?’ No, unless delivering the people from priestcraft, and the priests from the power of Satan, should be considered abolition. But we do not believe in setting the negroes free.”

- Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., History of the Church, v.3, p. 29; online at http://www.antimormon.8m.com/hocindex.html

Prophet Brigham Young (1801-1877):

“When all the other children of Adam have had the privilege of receiving the priesthood and of coming into the Kingdom of God and of being redeemed from the four quarters of the earth, and have received their resurrection from the dead, then it will be time enough to remove the curse from Cain and his posterity.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 2, pp. 142-143; online at http://journals.mormonfundamentalism.org/Vol_02/refJDvol2-27.html

“You must not think, from what I say, that I am opposed to slavery. No! The negro is damned, and is to serve his master till God chooses to remove the curse of Ham.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, New York Herald, May 4, 1855, as cited in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Spring 1973, p. 56

“The moment we consent to mingle with the seed of Cain the Church must go to destruction, - we should receive the curse which has been placed upon the seed of Cain, and never more be numbered with the children of Adam who are heirs to the priesthood until that curse be removed.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Brigham Young Addresses, Feb. 5, 1852, LDS historical department; online at http://www.geocities.com/solmes.geo/aam-brigham-young.html and http://home.teleport.com/~packham/byoung.htm

“Cain slew his brother.... and the Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and black skin. Trace mankind down to after the flood, and tehn 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; and the Abolitionists cannot help it, nor in the least alter that decree. How long is that race to endure the dreadful curse that is upon them? That curse will remain upon them, and they never can hold the Priesthood or share in it until all the other descendants of Adam have received the promises and enjoyed the blessings of the Priesthood and the keys thereof. Until the last ones of the residue of Adam’s children are brought up to that favorable position, the children of Cain cannot receive the first ordinances of the Priesthood. They were the first that were cursed, and they will be the last from whom the curse will be removed. When the residue of the family of Adam come up and receive their blessings, then the curse will be removed from the seed of Cain, and they will receive blessings in like proportion.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 7, pp. 290-291; online at http://journals.mormonfundamentalism.org/Vol_07/refJDvol7-44.html

“Why are so many of the inhabitants of the earth cursed with a sin 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. And when all the rest of the children have received their blessings in the Holy Priesthood, then that curse will be removed from the seed of Cain, and they will then come up and possess the priesthood, and receive all the blessings which we now are entitled to. The volition of the creature is free; this is a law of their existence, and the Lord cannot violate his own law; were he to do that, he would cease to be God. He has placed life and death before his children, and it is for them to choose. If they choose life, they receive the blessings of life; if they chose death, they must abide the penalty. This is a law which has always existed from all eternity, and will continue to exist throughout all the eternities to come.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 11, p. 272; online at http://journals.mormonfundamentalism.org/Vol_11/refJDvol11-41.html

“I am as much opposed to the principle of slavery as any man in the present acceptation or usage of the term, it is abused. I am opposed to abuseing [sic] that which God has decreed, to take a blessing, and make a curse of it. It is a great blessing to the seed of Adam to have the seed of Cain for servants.... Let this Church which is called the Kingdom of God on the earth; we will sommons [sic] the first presidency, the twelve, the high counsel, the Bishoprick [sic], and all the elders of Isreal [sic], suppose we summons them to apear [sic] here, and here declare that it is right to mingle our seed with the black race of Cain, that they shall come in with us and be pertakers [sic] with us of all the blessings God has given to us. On that very day, and hour we should do so, the priesthood is taken from this Church and the Kingdom of God leaves us to our fate.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Brigham Young Addresses, Feb. 5, 1852, LDS archives; online at http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/sermons_talks_interviews/brigham1852feb5_priesthoodandblacks.htm

Prophet John Taylor (1808 - 1887):

“For instance, the descendants of Cain cannot cast off their skin of blackness, at once, and immediately, although every should 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.”

- Prophet John Taylor, Millennial Star, v. 14, p. 418; online at http://www.lds-mormon.com/racism.shtml
-
“And after the flood we are told that the curse that had been pronounced upon Cain was continued through Ham’s wife, as he had married a wife of that seed. And why did it pass through the flood? Because it was necessary that the devil should have a representation upon the earth as well as God; and that man should be a free agent to act for himself, and that all men might have the opportunity of receiving or rejecting the truth, and be governed by it or not according to their wishes and abide the result; and that those who would be able to associate with the Gods in the eternal worlds. It is the same eternal programme. God knew it and Adam knew it.”

- Prophet John Taylor, Journal of Discourses, v. 22, p. 304; online at http://journals.mormonfundamentalism.org/Vol_22/JD22-297.html

Apostle Orson Hyde (1805-1878):

“We feel it to be our duty to define our position in relation to the subject of slavery. There are several men in the valley of the Salt Lake from the Southern States, who have their slaves with them.”

- Apostle Orson Hyde, Millennial Star, 1851, p. 63

Apostle George F. Richards ( 1861 - 1950 ):

“The Negro is an unfortunate man. He has been given a black skin. But that is as nothing compared with that greater handicap that he is not permitted to receive the Priesthood and the ordinances of the temple, necessary to prepare men and women to enter into and enjoy a fullness of glory in the celestial kingdom [i.e., godhood].”
- Apostle George F. Richards, Conference Report, April 1939, p. 58; online at http://www.ibae.org/html/fac139.html

Prophet David O. McKay (1873 - 1970):

“I know of no scriptural basis for denying the Priesthood to Negroes other than one verse in the Book of Abraham (1:26); however, I believe, as you suggest that the real reason dates back to our pre-existent life.”

- Prophet David O. McKay, as quoted in Mormonism and the Negro, Part 2, p. 19; online at http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/text/seed-of-cain.html and http://www.utlm.org/onlinebooks/changech10a.htm

Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith (1876 - 1972):

“Not only was Cain called to suffer, but because of his wickedness he became the father of an inferior race. A curse was placed upon him and that curse has been continued through his lineage and must do so while time endures.... they have been made to feel their inferiority and have been separated from the rest of mankind from the beginning.”

- Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, The Way to Perfection, p. 101, 1935; online at http://www.rickross.com/reference/mormon/mormon132.html and http://www.helpingmormons.org/Lectures.htm

“It is true that the negro race is barred from holding the Priesthood, and this has always been the case. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught this doctrine, and it was made known to him, although we know of no such statement in any revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants, Book of Mormon, or the Bible.”

- Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, The Improvement Era, v. 27, p. 565; online at http://www.utlm.org/onlinebooks/changech10a.htm

“It is very clear that the mark which was set upon the descendants of Cain was a skin of blackness... 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.”

- Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, Juvenile Instructor, v. 26, p. 635; online at http://www.lds-mormon.com/racism.shtml and http://www.mrm.org/multimedia/text/pure-white.html

“There were no neutrals in the war in heaven. All took sides either with Christ or with Satan. Every man had his agency there, and men receive rewards here based upon their actions there, just as they will receive rewards hereafter for deeds done in the body. The Negro, evidently, is receiving the reward he merits.”

- Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, pp. 65-66; online at http://www.mormonismi.net/artikkelit/rasistisia_lausuntoja.shtml and http://www.fairlds.org/apol/misc/misc19.html

“There is a reason why one man is born black and with other disadvantages, while another is born white with great advantages. The reason is that we once had an estate before we come here, and were obedient, more or less, to the laws that were given us there. Those who were faithful in all things there received greater blessings here, and those who were not faithful received less.”

- Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, p. 61; online at http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/response/qa/blacks_disadvantage.htm and http://www.bcmmin.org/aframer.html

“It is not the authorities of the Church who have placed a restriction on him [the black man] regarding the holding of the Priesthood. It was not the Prophet Joseph Smith.... It was the Lord!”

- Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, quoted in John J. Stewart, The Glory of Mormonism, 1963, p. 154

Apostle LeGrand Richards (1886 – 1983):

“Walters: On this revelation, of the priesthood to the Negro, I’ve heard all kinds of stories: I’ve heard that Joseph Smith appeared; and then I heard another story that Spencer Kimball had had a concern about this for some time, and simply shared it with the apostles, and they decided that this was the right time to move in that direction. Are any of those stories true, or are they all?
[Apostle LeGrand] Richards: Well, the last one is pretty true, and I might tell you what provoked it in a way. Down in Brazil, there is so much Negro blood in the population there that it’s hard to get leaders that don’t have Negro blood in them. We just built a temple down there. It’s going to be dedicated in October. All those people with Negro blood in them have been raising money to build that temple. If we don’t change, then they can’t even use it. Well, Brother Kimball worried about it, and he prayed a lot about it.”

- Apostle LeGrand Richards in an interview with Wesley P. Walters and Chris Vlachos, August 16, 1978, Church Office Building, available online at: http://www.lds-mormon.com/legrand_richards.shtml

Apostle Bruce R. McConkie (1915-1985):

“Negroes in this life are denied the priesthood; under no circumstances can they hold this delegation of authority from the Almighty. The gospel message of salvation is not carried affirmatively to them.... Negroes are not equal with other races where the receipt of certain spiritual blessings are concerned...”

- Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 477, 1958; online at http://www.mormonismi.net/artikkelit/mustanopin_loppu.shtml

Apostle Mark E. Peterson (1900 - 1984):

“When he told Enoch not to preach the gospel to the descendants of Cain who were black, the Lord engaged in segregation.”

- Apostle Mark E. Peterson, “Race Problems – As They Effect the Church,” Address given at the Convention of Teachers of Religion on the College Level, delivered at BYU, August 27, 1954; online at http://www.mormonismi.net/mep1954/

“I think the Lord segregated the Negro and who is man to change that segregation?”

- Apostle Mark E. Peterson, “Race Problems As They Affect The Church,” Address At the Convention of Teachers of Religion On the College Level, delivered at BYU, August 27, 1954; see Abanes, One Nation Under God, p. 363; online at http://www.mormonismi.net/mep1954/

“Is there reason then why the type of birth we receive in this life is not a reflection of our worthiness or lack of it in the pre-existent life? ... can we account in any other way for the birth of some of the children of God in darkest Africa, or in flood-ridden China, or among the starving hordes of India, while some of the rest of us are born here in the United States? We cannot escape the conclusion that because of performance in our pre-existence some of us are born as Chinese, some as Japanese, some as Latter-day Saints. There are rewards and punishments, fully in harmony with His established policy in dealing with sinners and saints, rewarding all according to their deeds....
“Let us consider the great mercy of God for a moment. A Chinese, born in China with a dark skin, and with all the handicaps of that race, seems to have little opportunity. But think of the mercy of God to Chinese people who are willing to accept the gospel. In spite of whatever they might have done in the pre-existence to justify being born over there as Chinamen, if they now, in this life, accept the gospel and live it the rest of their lives they can have the Priesthood, go to the temple and receive endowments and sealings, and that means they can have exaltation. Isn’t the mercy of God marvelous? Think of the Negro, cursed as to the Priesthood.... This Negro, who, in the pre-existence lived the type of life which justified the Lord in sending him to the earth in the lineage of Cain with a black skin, and possibly being born in darkest Africa – if that Negro is willing when he hears the gospel to accept it, he may have many of the blessings of the gospel. In spite of all he did in the pre-existent life, the Lord is willing.... to give him the blessings of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. If that Negro is faithful all his days, he can and will enter the Celestial Kingdom. He will go there as a servant, but he will get celestial glory.”

- Apostle Mark E. Peterson, “Race Problems – As They Effect the Church,” Address given at the Convention of Teachers of Religion on the College Level, delivered at BYU, August 27, 1954; online at http://www.mormonismi.net/mep1954/

“We must not inter-marry with the Negro. Why? If I were to marry a Negro woman and have children by her, my children would oil be cursed as to the priesthood. Do I want my children cursed as to the priesthood? If there is one drop of Negro blood in my children, as I have read to you, they receive the curse. There isn’t any argument, therefore, as to inter-marriage with the Negro, is there?”

- Apostle Mark E. Peterson, “Race Problems – As They Effect the Church,” Address given at the Convention of Teachers of Religion on the College Level, delivered at BYU, August 27, 1954; online at http://www.mormonismi.net/mep1954/

Apostle N. Eldon Tanner (1898 - 1982):

“The Church has no intention of changing its doctrine on the Negro. Throughout the history of the original Christian church, the Negro never held the priesthood. There’s really nothing we can do to change this. It’s a law of God.’”

- Apostle N. Eldon Tanner, Seattle Magazine, Dec. 1967, p. 60; online at http://www.watchman.org/lds/smorgas.htm

Others:

“Having learned with extreme regret, that an article entitled, ‘Free People of Color,’ in the last number of the Star, has been misunderstood, we feel in duty bound to state, in this Extra, that our intention was not only to stop free people of color from emigrating to this state [Utah], but to prevent them from being admitted as members of the Church.”

- The Evening and the Morning Star, July 16, 1833, reprinted in History of the Church, v. 1, pp. 378-379; online at http://www.geocities.com/solmes.geo/response-lds-truth-blacks-hc-377-379.html

“... a black skin is a mark of the curse of heaven placed upon some portions of mankind.”

- Juvenile Instructor, v. 3, p. 157; online at http://www.utlm.org/onlinebooks/changech10a.htm

“In fact we believe it to be a great sin in the eyes of our Heavenly Father for a white person to marry a black one. And further, that it is a proof of the mercy of God that no such race appear to be able to continue for many generations.”

- Juvenile Instructor, v. 3, p. 165; online at http://www.spotlightministries.org.uk/ldsrace.htm

“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.... We understand that when God made man in his own image and pronounced him very good, that he made him white.”

- Juvenile Instructor, v. 3, p. 157; online at http://www.xmission.com/~country/chngwrld/chap9a.htm

“Those who believe that the Church ‘gave in’ on the polygamy issue and subsequently should give in on the Negro question are not only misinformed about Church History, but are apparently unaware of Church doctrine.... Therefore, those who hope that pressure will bring about a revelation need to take a closer look at Mormon history and the order of heaven.”

- Elder John L. Lund, The Church and the Negro, pp. 104-105, 1967; online at http://www.utlm.org/onlinebooks/changech10a.htm

“Those who would try to pressure the Prophet to give the Negroes the Priesthood do not understand the plan of God nor the order of heaven. Revelation is the expressed will of God to man. Revelation is not man’s will expressed to God. All the social, political, and governmental pressure in the world is not going to change what God has decreed to be.”

- Elder John L. Lund, The Church and the Negro, p. 109; online at http://www.mormonismi.net/artikkelit/mustien_pappeus.shtml

“First, [before the seed of Cain get the priesthood] all of Adam’s children will have to resurrect and secondly, the seed of Abel must have an opportunity to possess the Priesthood. These events will not occur until sometime after the end of the millennium.”

- Elder John L. Lund, The Church and the Negro, pp. 109-110

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has no call to carry the Gospel to the Negro, and it does not do so.”

- Elder Arthur M. Richardson, That Ye May Not Be Desired, p. 13; online at http://www.churches-of-christ.net/tracts/job081u.htm

“Also, the gospel was not carried to this segregated black group... the Negroes tread the earth with black dishonorable bodies as a judgment of God because at the time of decision in the pre-existence they were faint-hearted and exhibited an infirmity of purpose – they were not valiant in the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, they were entitled to no better earthly lineage than that of the first early murderer, Cain. They were to be the ‘servant of servants.’ They were to be segregated. No effort was made to carry the gospel to them as a people.”

- Elder Arthur M. Richardson, That Ye May Not Be Deceived, pp. 9-10; online at http://www.utlm.org/onlinebooks/changech10a.htm

“... No direct efforts have been made to proselyte among them [Negroes].”

- Elder William E. Berrett, Vice President of Brigham Young University, Mormonism and the Negro, Part 2, p. 5; online at http://www.utlm.org/onlinebooks/changech10a.htm

“Even Joseph’s ‘calling for the end of slavery by 1850’ in his Presidential campaign is not so liberal as Brodie supposes.... Joseph Smith was, therefore, to some degree a racist, a segregationist, a colonizer, and only incidentally a supporter of abolition. He had some elements of liberalism in his thinking, but these had definite limits. His record... is marked with ambiguity.”

- Marvin Hill, BYU Professor, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Autumn 1970, p. 99

“A different thing is going on in South America where Mormon missionaries are pushing ahead full throttle. There the former careful selection to keep out ‘white Negroes’ has been allowed to slide a little.... ‘There is no question but that in Brazil they have been ordaining priests who are part Negro,’ said one careful observer.”

- Wallace Turner, The Mormon Establishment, p. 261, 1966

“The Negro Mormon can hold no office whatsoever in a church which offers some office to every one of its male members at some time in his life. A gray-haired Negro Mormon who may have spent his adult life in careful practice of all the complicated and demanding rules set down by the LDS church stands disenfranchised before the altar where a youth whose beard is just beginning to fuzz may preside.”

- Wallace Turner, The Mormon Establishment, pp. 243-244

“The Quorum upheld a decision by John Widtsoe denying a temple recommend to a ‘sister having one thirty-second of negro blood in her veins...’”

- Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Spring 1973, p. 66

Because of LDS policy toward nonwhites,
“the late sixties found the Brigham Young University the focal point of militant protests. Sports events provided the context for protests, boycotts, disrupted games, mass demonstrations, and ‘riots.’ At one point the conflict among schools within the Western Athletic Conference became so intense that the conference almost disbanded. Administrators, already embroiled in student demonstrations over Vietnam, began to separate themselves from the Mormon school. Stanford University, for instance, severed all relations with Brigham Young University.”

- O. Kendall White, Jr., and Daryl White, “Abandoning an Unpopular Policy: An Analysis of the Decision Granting the Mormon Priesthood to Blacks,” Sociological Analysis, v. 41, p. 233, Fall 1980

“In all humility I must say that God has not inspired me to feel good about the Church’s practices regarding Negroes.... when my wife and I went to San Francisco Ward’s bishop to renew our temple recommends, he told us that anyone who could not accept the Church’s stand on Negroes as a divine doctrine was not supporting the General Authorities and could not go to the temple. Later, in an interview with the stake president we were told the same thing: if you express doubts about the divinity of this ‘doctrine’ you cannot go to the temple.”

- Grant Syphers, LDS scholar, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Winter 1967, p. 6

“My plea, then to the civil rights organizations and to all critics of the Mormon Church is: get off our backs! ... agitation over the ‘Negro issue’ by non-Mormon groups, or even by Mormon liberals, is likely simply to increase the resistance to change.”

- Armand L. Mauss, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Winter 1967, pp. 38-39

“The Church is either true or it isn’t. If it changes its stand on the strength of the ‘great stream of modern religious and social thought,’ it will be proven criticism.... If the Church is true it will hold to its beliefs in spite of its members. If it is false, more power to the easy-way-out philosophers who claim to know the ‘imperious truths of the contemporary world.’”

- Paul C. Richards, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Autumn 1967, p. 6

“The revelation that the church is talking about with respect to the Negro and the priesthood should have been sought 50 years ago – not now when we are forced into looking for one. Even if a revelation should come now, we have compromised our position because it looks as if we have been forced into seeking it, which will be true.”

- Donald Ira French, Jr., Mormon elder and writer, Time, Nov. 1, 1963

“A 12-year-old boy scout has been denied a senior patrol leadership in his troop because he is black, Don L. Cope, black ombudsman for the state, said Wednesday.... The ombudsman said Mormon ‘troop policy is that in order to become a patrol leader, he must be a deacon’s quorum president in the LDS church. Since the boy cannot hold the priesthood, he cannot become a patrol leader.”

- Salt Lake Tribune, July 18, 1974

“The Saints would have been so much better off if they had never gone near Missouri because they... compromised their position by adopting an idea that already prevailed... that ‘Negroes are cursed with a black skin and that they are intended as the curse of Noah on Canaan goes, to be ‘servant of servants.’”

- Sterling McMurrin, “The Mormon Doctrine and the Negro,” address given to the Salt Lake Branch of the N.A.A.C.P., March 1969

“There are Negroes born into families of wealth and refinement, others who are blessed with great talents, and there are those born into the lowest classes of society in Africa, in squalor and ignorance, living out their lives in a fashion akin to that of the animals. Does not this infinite variety of circumstance give further evidence of man’s being assigned that station in life which he has merited by his performance in the premortal existence.”

- John J. Stewart, The Glory of Mormonism, 1963, inside front flap book cover and p. 44

“When God allows a spirit to take on a Negroid body, do you suppose He is unaware of the fact that he will suffer a social stigma? Therefore, if you say this Church is unjust in not allowing the Negro to bear the Priesthood, you must, to be consistent, likewise say that God is even more unjust in giving him a black skin.”

- John J. Stewart, The Glory of Mormonism, 1963, p. 154

“I want to talk to you a little bit now about something that is not missionary work, and what I say is NOT to be given to your investigators [potential converts] by any matter of means.... Why is it that you are white and not colored?.. God is not unjust to cause a righteous spirit to be born as a cursed member of the black race.”

- LDS European Mission president, Alvin R. Dyer, “For What Purpose?,” Missionary Conference in Oslo, Norway, March 18, 1961, printed in The Negro in Mormon Theology, pp. 48-58

“With the concurrence of President McKay, a young man of known Negro ancestry was ordained to the priesthood after receiving a patriarchal blessing which did not assign him to a ‘cursed’ lineage. In another case, President McKay authorized two children with Negro ancestry to be sealed in the temple to the white couple who had adopted them.”

- Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Spring 1973, p. 45

“[A Negro] looks as though he has been put in an oven and burnt to a cinder.... His hair baked crisp, his nose melted to his face, and the color of his eyes runs into the whites. Some men look as if they had only been burned brown; but he appears to have gone a stage further, and been cooked until he was quite black.”

- “From Caucasian to Negro,” quoted in Bush, Mormonism’s Negro Doctrine: An Historical Overview, pp. 57-58, endnote #99

“I [am] opposed to hanging, even if a man kill another, I will shoot him, or cut off his head, spill his blood on the ground, and let the smoke thereof ascend up to God; and if ever I have the privilege of making a law on that subject, I will have it so.”

- Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., History of the Church, v. 5, p. 296, 1949

“[My life was in danger] if I remained there, because of my protest against the doctrine of Blood Atonement and other new doctrines that were brought into the Church.”

- Apostle William Smith, brother of Joseph Smith, Jr., Temple Lot Case, p. 98

“I will tell you how much I love those characters. If they had any respect to their own welfare, they would come forth and say, whether Joseph Smith was a Prophet or not, ‘We shed his blood, and now let us atone for it;’ and they would be willing to have their heads chopped off, that their blood might run upon the ground, and the smoke of it rise before the Lord as an incense for their sins.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 2, p. 179, February 18, 1855

“The time has been in Israel under the law of God, the celestial law, or that which pertains to the celestial law, for it is one of the laws of that kingdom where our Father dwells, that if a man was found guilty of adultery, he must have his blood shed, and that is near at hand.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 4, p. 219

“Will you love your brothers and sisters likewise, when they have committed a sin that cannot be atoned for without the shedding of their blood? Will you love that man or woman well enough to shed their blood? That is what Jesus Christ meant.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Deseret News, April 16, 1856

“Any of you who understand the principles of eternity – if you have sinned a sin requiring the shedding of blood, except the sin unto death – would not be satisfied or rest until your blood should be spilled, that you might gain the salvation you desire. This is the way to love mankind.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Deseret News, April 16, 1856

“I say, rather than that apostates should flourish here, I will unsheath [sic] my bowie knife, and conquer or die [Great commotion in the congregation, and a simultaneous burst of feeling, assenting to the declaration.]. Now, you nasty apostates, clear out, or judgment will be put to the line, and righteousness to the plummet [Voices, generally, ‘go it, go it.’]. If you say it is right, raise your hands [All hands up.]. Let us call upon the Lord to assist us in this, and every good work.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 1, p. 83; online at http://journals.mormonfundamentalism.org/Vol_01/refJDvol1-16.html

“Suppose you found your brother in bed with your wife, and put a javelin through both of them. You would be justified, and they would atone for their sins, and be received into the Kingdom of God. I would at once do so, in such a case; and under the circumstances, I have no wife whom I love so well that I would not put a javelin through her heart, and I would do it with clean hands.... There is not a man or woman, who violates the covenants made with their God, that will not be required to pay the debt. The blood of Christ will never wipe that out, your own blood must atone for it.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 1, pp. 108-109

“If you want to know what to do with a thief that you may find stealing, I say kill him on the spot, and never suffer him to commit another iniquity. I will prove by my works whether I can mete out justice to such persons, or not. I would consider it just as much my duty to do that, as to baptize a man for the remission of his sins.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 1, pp. 108-109

I know that there are transgressors, who, if they knew themselves and the only condition upon which they can obtain forgiveness, would beg of their brethren to shed their blood, that the smoke might ascend to God as an offering to appease the wrath that is kindled against them, and that the law might have its course.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 4, p. 43

“Now take a person in this congregation who has knowledge with regard to being saved... and suppose that he has committed a sin that he knows will deprive him of that exaltation which he desires, and that he cannot attain to it without the shedding of blood, and also knows that by having his blood shed he will atone for that sin and may be saved and exalted with the God, is there a man or woman in this house but what would say, ‘shed my blood that I may be saved and exalted with the Gods?’”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 4, pp. 219-220

“It is true that the blood of the Son of God was shed for sins through the fall and those committed by men, yet men can commit sins which it [the blood of Christ] can never remit.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 4, p. 54

“This is loving your neighbour as ourselves; if he needs help, help him; and if he wants salvation and it is necessary to spill his blood on the earth in order that he may be saved, spill it.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 4, p. 220

“If men turn traitors to God and His servants, their blood will surely be shed, or else they will be damned, and that too according to their covenants.”

- Apostle Heber C. Kimball, Journal of Discourses, v. 4, p. 375

“It is not fully comprehended why it was necessary that Jesus Christ should leave the heavens, ... and come upon the earth to offer himself up a sacrifice; ... why this should be, why it was necessary that his blood should be shed is an apparent mystery.... What sins of the world did he take away? We are told that it is the sin which Adam committed.”

- Prophet John Taylor, Journal of Discourses, v. 10, pp. 114-115

“The people of Utah are the only ones in this nation who have taken effectual measures... to prevent adulteries and criminal connections between the sexes. The punishment, for these crimes is death to both male and female. And this law is written on the hearths and printed in the thoughts of the whole people.”

- Apostle Orson Pratt, The Seer, p. 223

“I say, there are men and women that I would advise to go to the Presidency immediately, and ask him to appoint a committee to attend to their care; and then let a place be selected, and let that committee shed their blood. We have amongst us that are full of all manner of abominations, those who need to have their blood shed, for water will not do, their sins are too deep a dye... I believe that there are a great many; and if they are covenant breakers we need a place designated, where we can shed their blood... Brethren and sisters, we want you to repent and forsake your sins. And you who have committed sins that cannot be forgiven through baptism, let your blood be shed, and let the smoke ascend, that the incense thereof may come up before God as an atonement for your sins, and that the sinners in Zion may be afraid.”

- Apostle Jebediah M. Grant, 2nd counselor to Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 4, pp. 49-51

“We would not kill a man, of course, unless we killed him to save him...”

- Apostle Jebediah M. Grant, Deseret News, July 27, 1854

“I would have a tendency to place terror on those who leave these parts [Utah], that may prove their salvation when they see the heads of thieves taken off, or shot down before the public... I believe it would be pleasing in the sight of heaven to sanctify ourselves and put these things out of our midst.”

- Apostle Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses, v. 1, p. 73

“... We may talk of men being redeemed by the efficacy of his [Christ’s] blood; but the truth is that that blood has no efficacy to wash away our sins. That must depend upon our own action.”

- Apostle Amasa M. Lyman, Apostle, Journal of Discourses, v. 7, p. 299, 1859

“Has Jesus done anything that will bring salvation to you and me? The chief of what he has done is that he has revealed the plan of the Gospel – the scheme of human redemption, and manifested himself among his brethren; and we may say he has done a great deal more, for he has shed his blood for it. So have others shed their blood. But whose blood has cleansed you and me? It is said that the blood of Jesus cleanses from all sins. Then why is it that we remain sinners? It is simply because the blood of Jesus has not cleansed us from sin – because it has not reached us.”

- Apostle Amasa M. Lyman, Apostle, Journal of Discourses, v. 7, p. 298

“... inasmuch as the blood of Christ was shed for original sin unconditionally, but for the remission of actual sin conditionally.”

- Apostle Charles W. Penrose, Journal of Discourses, v. 21, pp. 81-82

“The principle, the only one that beats and throbs through the heart of the entire inhabitants of this Territory, is simply this: The man who seduces his neighbors wife must die, and her nearest relative must kill him!”

- Apostle George A. Smith, Journal of Discourses, v. 1, p. 97

“Joseph Smith taught that there were certain sins so grievous that man may commit, that they will place the transgressors beyond the power of the atonement of Christ. If these offenses are committed, then the blood of Christ will not cleanse them from their sins even though they repent. Therefore their only hope is to have their blood shed to atone, as far as possible, in their behalf. This is scriptural doctrine, and is taught in all the standard works of the Church.”

- Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, v. 1, pp. 135-136, 1954

“The Mormons believe in blood atonement. It is taught by the leaders, and believed by the people, that the Priesthood are inspired and cannot give a wrong order. It is the belief of all that I ever heard talk of these things – and I have been with the Church since the dark days in Jackson County – that the authority that orders is the only responsible party and the Danite who does the killing only an instrument, and commits no wrong.... Punishment by death is the penalty for refusing to obey the orders of the Priesthood.
“I knew of many men being killed in Nauvoo by the Danites. It was then the rule that all the enemies of the Prophet Joseph should be killed, and I know of many a man who was quietly put out of the way by the orders of Joseph and his apostles while the Church was there. It has always been a well understood doctrine of the Church that it is right and praiseworthy to kill every person who speaks evil of the Prophet. This doctrine was strictly lived up to in Utah...”

- Elder John D. Lee, Brigham Young’s adopted son and member of the Danites, John D. Lee Diaries

“The Missourians have robbed, plundered and murdered our people. We should take our revenge on them as thoroughly as possible, and regain what we have lost in Missouri. The simplest way would be if our people would go to Missouri and buy their horses and cattle on credit, and then not pay for them; and our merchants would go to St. Louis and take their large quantities of goods on credit and then, when the notes become due, simply not pay them.”

- Hyrum Smith, in Salt Lake Tribune, July 31, 1887

“He [Brigham Young] called upon the Lord to bless this place [winter quarters in Council Bluffs, Iowa] for the good of the Saints and curse every Gentile who should attempt to settle here, with sickness, rottenness and death. Also to curse the land of Missouri that it might cease to bring forth grain or fruit of any kind to its inhabitants, and that they might be cursed [with] sickness, rottenness and death; that their flesh might consume away on their bones. And their blood be turned to maggots, and that their torments never cease, but increase until they leave the land and it be blessed for possession of the Saints.”

- Diary of Mary Haskin Parker Richards, typescript, Sunday, May 14, 1848, Marriott Library, University of Utah, p. 69

“... omit from the prayer circle all reference to avenging the blood of the prophets.”

- George F. Richards, Apostle, February 15, 1927, John Buerger, “The Development of the Mormon Temple Endowment Ceremony,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Winter 1987, v. 20, no. 4, p. 55

“I from this day declare myself the Avenger of the blood of those innocent men, and the innocent cause of Zion.”

- Danite pledge to the Prophet, Alanson Ripley to “Dear brethren in Christ Jesus,” with Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Caleb Baldwin, Alexander McRae, and Lyman Wight identified by initials at end of letter, April 10, 1839, see Hill, Quest for Refuge, p. 100 and Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy: Origins of Power, p. 113

“You and each of you do covenant and promise that you will pray, and never cease to pray, Almighty God to avenge the blood of the prophets upon this nation, and that you will teach the same to your children and your children’s children unto the third and fourth generations.”

- U.S. Senate Document 486 (59th Congress, 1st Session) Proceedings Before the Committee on Privileges and Elections of the United States Senate in the Matter of the Protests Against the Right of Hon. Reed Smoot, a Senator from the State of Utah, to hold his Seat, pp. 6-7 (Oath was removed from temple ceremony on February 15, 1927)

“[There is] no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith. If Joseph Smith was verily a prophet, and if he told the truth...no man can reject that testimony without incurring the most dreadful consequences, for he cannot enter the kingdom of God”

- Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, v. 1, p. 190

“No man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith...every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 7, p. 289

“For hundreds of years the world was wrapped in a veil of spiritual darkness, until there was not one fundamental truth belonging to the place of salvation ...Joseph Smith declared that in the year 1820 the Lord revealed to him that all the ‘Christian’ churches were in error, teaching for commandments the doctrines of men.”

- Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, v. 3, p. 282

“He that confesseth not that Jesus has come in the flesh and sent Joseph Smith with the fullness of the Gospel to this generation, is not of God, but is anti-christ”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 9, p. 312

“If we get our salvation, we shall have to pass by him [Joseph Smith]; if we enter our glory, it will be through the authority he has received. We cannot get around him [Joseph Smith]”

- Apostle George Q. Cannon, Melchizedek Priesthood Study Guide, 1988, p. 142

“I tell you, Joseph holds the keys, and none of us can get into the celestial kingdom without passing by him. We have not got rid of him, but he stands there as the sentinel, holding the keys of the kingdom of God.. But I tell you, the pinch will be with those that have mingled with us, stood next to us, weighed our spirits, tried us, and proven us: there will be a pinch, in my view, to get past them. The others, perhaps, will say, If brother Joseph is satisfied with you, you may pass. If it is all right with him, it is all right with me. Then if Joseph shall say to a man, or if brother Brigham say to a man, I forgive you your sins, ‘Whosoever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them;’ if you who have suffered and felt the weight of transgression—if you have generosity enough to forgive the sinner, I will forgive him: you cannot have more generosity than I have. I have given you power to forgive sins, and when the Lord gives a gift, he does not take it back again.”

- Apostle Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses, v. 6, p. 154

I can probably find even more quotes...

Cain is Baptist, IIRC Southern Baptist, and an associate Minister in his church.

"I can probably find even more quotes.."

Mercy, please have mercy on us poor souls not interested in this. Especially those of us on smartphones with iffy connections.

A short and sweet synopsis with links would be nice.

Sorry, he asked for quotes to back up my claim. FWIW, I only ever give quotes anymore when asked for them to avoid such things.

For me it’s Romney’s policies that matter, not his Mormonism.

- - - -
His policies (and flip flopping) are a RESULT of his Mormonism, not in spite of it.

And do we really need a POTUS who relies only on feelings rather than facts as a measure of truth?

You don’t need to provide more quotes. These are plenty: