Posted on 06/11/2011 6:41:16 AM PDT by Titus-Maximus
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah On Christmas Day in 1964, the day before Darius A. Gray was to be baptized as a Mormon, he learned that the church would not allow a black man, like him, to be in the priesthood.
I was not amused, Mr. Gray recalled with a rueful smile.
It was last Saturday, and we were sitting with about 300 other Mormons, including dozens of children, at the annual picnic of the Genesis Group, a social organization for black Mormons and their friends. Some were Latino or American Indian, and nearly half were white, the parents and siblings of adopted black children. It was the most racially integrated church event I had ever attended.
Having been introduced to Mormonism by kindly white neighbors in his hometown of Colorado Springs, the teenage Darius read his way through much of the scripture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He had no idea about the racist church policy. His newfound faith was badly shaken.
I went home and prayed, Mr. Gray said. And I received a personal revelation, an inspiration from God: This is the restored Gospel, and you are to join. So the next day, I entered into the waters of baptism. Then the next day I went to church as a member for the first time. And a little girl addressed him using a certain racial epithet. That was a first, too.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Maybe next they can do a story on Ol Miss and remind everyone about the integration struggle, just so we all know those rednecks are still really racists.
In this case, the paper’s criticism is valid. Brigham Young said that blacks could never hold the priesthood because they are inferior. Bruce McConkie repeated it a century later.
The church reversed the emphatic statements of its leaders, throwing them under the bus and exposing the caprice of their ‘eternal’ teachings.
At least some random Christian denomination allows one to confess and make amends for being a racist. I wonder how perfectly clean of racism the New York Times itself is? Hmmmm?
As a Mormon, I read the article and thought it was fair. What part to you find hateful?
A picnic was held last Saturday by members of the Genesis Group, a social organization for black Mormons and their friends.
Where’s the article about “Democrat Party’s Racist Past” with regard to blacks? The Democrat Party and its terrorist wing the KKK is the most virulently racist organization in the history of the country.
Hey, Romney was already 30 years old when he belonged to a church that excluded blacks as part of their priesthood...I've never heard Romney say he was sorry that here he was, a man past simply belonging to the faith of his fathers, belonging to a church whose temples effectively said, "No blacks allowed."
Therefore, some sneers are quite deserved. But, hey, if you're pro-Romney, just say so.
The following scanned copy of the letter cited below can be found here: 1964LdsApostleLetterToGeorgeRomney (Being a descendent of Mormons, I apologize to any African-Americans for what previous generations of Lds have said and done in racist actions & words -- and worse -- saying they represent God as His voice on these matters).
Jan 23, 1964 racist letter from Mormon apostle Delbert L. Stapley to George Romney on LDS "Council of the Twelve" letterhead: [Please note: A BYU professor is on record saying that Lds apostles are interchangeable, in representing the Lord, with the Lds "prophets"...see Stephen Robinson, How Wide the Divide]:
Page 1 excerpt: "I would like to suggest you read two items on this subject, both by the Prophet Joseph Smith. Turn to page 269 of Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith by Joseph Fielding Smith, and read beginning of the middle of the page under the caption, "The Status of the Negro," giving particular attention to the closing sentence on page 270. Also read from the History of the Church, Period 1, Volume 2, beginning on page 436, under 'The Prophet's Views on Abolition,' which article continues to the bottom of page 440."
Page Two excerpt: "I am sure you know that the Prophet Joseph Smith, in connection with the Negro problem of this country, proposed to Congress that they sell public lands and buy up the Negro slaves and transport them back to Africa from whence they came...The statements of Joseph Smith have been a helpful influence on me because they accord with my own understandings regarding the Negro. I cannot, in my own feelings, accept the idea of public accommodations; the taking from the Whites their wishes to satisfy the Negroes. I do not have any objection to recognizing the Negro in his place..."
Page 3 excerpt: "I fully agree the Negro is entitled to considerations...but not full social benefits nor inter-marriage privileges with the Whites, nor should the Whites be forced to accept them into restricted White areas. In my judgment, the present proposed Bill of Rights is vicious legislation. Now, don't think I am against the Negro person, because I have several of them in my employ. We must understand and recognize their status, and then, accordingly, provide for them...Faithfully your friend and brother, Delbert L. Stapley"
Now. "Brother" Stapley referenced Joseph Smith, as cited by Joseph Fielding Smith, in Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith...Here is a quote from those pages: Elder Hyde inquired the situation of the negro. I replied, they came into the world slaves, mentally and physically..." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 269)
We can tell whatever "god" they claimed to represent, it wasn't the God of the Bible.
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. - Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 5:21
One need only ask Mitt, and many will, if he believes the Book of Mormon is true. If Mitt says YES, he will be instantly branded as a bigot. If Mitt says NO, he will be instantly condemned for living and proclaiming a lie.
Good Question. A lot of people don't realize how much the KKK had become linked up with the Democrats in the 1920s.
The timing at least for this article has to do with the Mormon gods having a turnabout position this week 33 years ago.
Well, they have long supported the Democrats, the party of Jim Crow and slavery.
A while back I was reading about Black Amish and Mennonites in the south.
They are scared of Islamists blowing them up and they like to think eastern faiths as anything goes rainbow flag wavers, they are NOT.
No, they are simply cowards about the issue, and pick on whomever they know will not retaliate. I honestly believe that perhaps most of them know how the other faiths are, but don’t have the courage to bother with them.
For instance, while this is CNN, why do you think Anderson Cooper doesn’t publicly announce his homosexuality? The answer is most likely because given his visits to mainland Africa and the Middle East, where homosexuality is condemned, he doesn’t want to encourage some sort of mob uprising when he visits, IMO.
As long as we are going to dig into the past, we could examine the racist roots of the Democrat Party/Ku Klux Klan.
The New York Times IS at it again.
Instead of celebrating an event worthy of celebration, their dog-in-the-manger cynicism and anti-western and anti-Christian venom shows itself by rubbing the sores of corrected past errors.
They would probably castigate America for slavery of centuries past instead of celebrating its racial tolerance of today.
They are insidious enemies who work from within like worms in a ripe apple.
Kinda like the Southern Baptist Convention.. The message should Religious institutions are not perfect since it was created by man. Nothing is perfect and quite frankly there a lot of institutions in this country that had a racist past. Religious and non Religious.
The left tearing down Romney is more free press for Palin. Now she can bring up the fire bombing of her church and he the MSM is anti- Judeo/Christian.
If Romney is the nominee, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
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