NAACP - wasmormon.org

LDS Church On Same-Sex Marriages

“We exchanged expressions of joy, and I walked back to the hillside. I sat down on the pile of dirt we had been moving and beckoned to my sons. As I told them that all worthy male members of the Church could now be ordained to the priesthood, I wept for joy. That is the scene etched in my memory of this unforgettable announcement 40 years ago — sitting on a pile of dirt and weeping as I told my sons of this divine revelation.” - President Dallin H. Oaks, LDS Apostle On The Lifting of the Priesthood Ban at 'Be One' Celebration, June 1, 2018 | wasmormon.org/same-sex/

The Mormon church is famously (or infamously) known for not allowing or supporting same-sex relationships or marriages. There is a trail of history showing the church to be opposed to honoring same-sex couples in society. They vehemently opposed Prop 8, and mobilized membership to work on continuing to outlaw same-sex marriages in the state of …

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President Oaks Fibbing For The Lord Again – Prompt and Public Disavowal of Racism?

“Institutionally, the Church reacted swiftly to the revelation on the priesthood. Ordinations and temple recommends came immediately. The reasons that had been given to try to explain the prior restrictions on members of African ancestry — even those previously voiced by revered Church leaders — were promptly and publicly disavowed.” - President Dallin H. Oaks, 2018 'Be One' Celebration, 40 Years Since Priesthood Ban | wasmormon.org

The church celebrates its own decision to stop the racially discriminatory practice of banning the priesthood from anyone of African descent in 1978. To show that they are not racist, they wanted to point out that it has now been 40 years since they stopped being racist. There was a big self-congratulatory spectacle planned for …

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Racist Brigham Young

Brigham Young, the second President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon Church), held racially discriminatory beliefs. These views included views on interracial marriage and the mixing of races and he taught them as doctrine from God at the pulpit of the church for decades. He calls it the law …

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First Presidency Urged for Segregation

"It seems to us that it ought to be possible to work this situation out without causing any feelings on the part of anybody. If the white sisters feel that they may not sit with them or near them, we feel very sure that if the colored sisters were discreetly approached, they would be happy to sit at one side in the rear or somewhere where they would not wound the sensibilities of the complaining sisters. We will rely upon your tact and discretion to work this out so as not to hurt the feelings on the part of anyone." - Letter to President Ezra T. Benson, Washington D.C. Stake President, From the First Presidency Heber J. Grant, J. Reuben Clark, Jr., and David O. McKay, Dated 23 June 1942 | wasmormon.org

Let’s examine the common Mormon apologist argument that leaders are simply “men of their times” through a story of racist thoughts and practices in the church. Priesthood Ban The church enjoys celebrating the lifting of the priesthood ban in 1978. But we can’t give them any credit for doing it either, since it was the …

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Does President Nelson Talk With God? Do Any Church Leaders?

"Wendy, you won’t believe what has been happening for two hours. The Lord has given me detailed instruction about a process I am to follow." LDS Church President Russell M Nelson, 2018 | wasmormon.org

Russell M. Nelson would have us believe he is in direct conversation with Jesus and with God the Father. Neil Anderson recounts a story from Wendy Nelson (Russell M. Nelson’s second wife) on his Facebook page which details Russell M. Nelson’s frequent practice of receiving revelation. It’s so frequent that he keeps a lined yellow …

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Racism and Victim Blaming From God’s Anointed

"If you allow the people of the church to turn you against the church, then you were not worthy to be in the church in the first place" - Ezra Taft Benson, speaking to Natalie Palmer-Taylor, a black mother upset that her child was a target of a racial epithet from another member, 1988 | wasmormon.org

When Natalie Palmer-Taylor’s son was the target of a racial epithet hurled by another Mormon youth, she went to the church’s headquarters to complain. Ezra Taft Benson received her complaint and retorted with this dismissive challenge: ‘If you allow the people of the church to turn you against the church, then you were not worthy …

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Standing Against Racism?

"How grateful I am that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has from its beginnings stood strongly against racism in any of its malignant manifestations." - Elder Alexander B Morrison, First Quorum of the Seventy | wasmormon.org

Unfortunately, racism—the abhorrent and morally destructive theory that claims superiority of one person over another by reason of race, color, ethnicity, or cultural background—remains one of the abiding sins of societies the world over. The cause of much of the strife and conflict in the world, racism is an offense against God and a tool …

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Apostles Discuss Reasons For Lifting the Priesthood Ban

Was the ban on ordaining blacks to the priesthood a matter of policy or doctrine? "I don't know that it's possible to distinguish between policy and doctrine in a church that believes in continuing revelation and sustains its leader as a prophet... I'm not sure I could justify the difference in doctrine and policy in the fact that before 1978 a person could not hold the priesthood and after 1978 they could hold the priesthood." - Elder Dallin H Oaks, AP interview. Provo Daily Herald June 5 1988 | wasmormon.org

There has been a lot of discussion in Mormondom regarding race and the priesthood. The church denied the priesthood from black members (specifically those of African descent) from the 1850s until 1978. They did not relent through the end of slavery, through the proposed State of Deseret joining the United States as Utah, and through …

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1969 Official First Presidency Statement on the Doctrines of Banning Blacks from the Priesthood

"From the beginning of this dispensation, Joseph Smith and all succeeding presidents of the Church have taught that Negroes, while spirit children of a common Father, and the progeny of our earthly parents Adam and Eve, were not yet to receive the priesthood, for reasons which we believe are known to God, but which He has not made fully known to man." - Statement of the LDS First Presidency David O McKay, Hugh B Brown, and N Eldon Tanner, December 15, 1969, regarding the position of the church with regard to the Negro. | wasmormon.org

Just as the statement from the First Presidency in 1949, there was another statement issued in 1969 regarding the stance of the church on denying the priesthood to any black member of the church. In 1949, the First Presidency consisted of George Albert Smith, J Reuben Clark & David O McKay. In 1969, the presidency …

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Byron Marchant, Accused Dissident, Unjustifiably Excommunicated for Opposing Priesthood Ban in 1977

Byron Marchant, opposed the church policy of withholding the priesthood from blacks, and voted opposed in General Conference, October 1977. He was quickly excommunicated. The priesthood ban was lifted in June 1978 and the Official Declaration 2 was canonized in the next General Conference, October 1978. | wasmormon.org

Among the first votes of dissent in the modern Mormon church occurred in 1977, in opposition to the church doctrine banning blacks from any priesthood ordination and temple endowment. A member voted opposed to sustaining church leadership in General Conference 1977 and was subsequently excommunicated. Then less than 1 year later the church downgraded the …

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Mormon Church Whitewashes Racist History in Essay

"In two speeches delivered before the Utah territorial legislature in January and February 1852, Brigham Young announced a policy restricting men of black African descent from priesthood ordination. At the same time, President Young said that at some future day, black Church members would “have [all] the privilege and more” enjoyed by other members." - Race and the Priesthood, LDS Church Gospel Topic Essay | wasmormon.org

The LDS Church had a longstanding policy that restricted men of African descent from holding the priesthood, which is the authority to act in God’s name, and even entering the temple, where members make holy covenants with God. This policy was based on teachings and interpretations that linked African lineage to the biblical story of …

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Brigham Young’s Racist Remarks on Slaves, Seed, and Priesthood Doctrines

"What is that mark? You will see it on the countenance of every African you ever did see upon the face of the earth, or ever will see. Now I tell you what I know; when the mark was put upon Cain, Abels's children were in all probability young; the Lord told Cain that he should not receive the blessings of the priesthood nor his seed, until the last of the posterity of Able had received the priesthood, until the redemption of the earth. If there never was a prophet or apostle of Jesus Christ who spoke it before, I tell you, the people that are commonly called negroes are the children of old Cain. I know they are, I know that they cannot bear rule in the priesthood." - Mormon Prophet, LDS Church President, Governor of Utah, Brigham Young on February 5, 1852 | wasmormon.org

The church claims in their Gospel Topic Essay on Race and the Priesthood that Brigham Young announced the “policy” to deny priesthood to blacks and that he also said that “at some future day, black Church members would “have [all] the privilege and more” enjoyed by other members”. This is incredibly misleading. They want to …

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The Lowry Nelson Letters and Racist Mormon Doctrine

"From the days of the Prophet Joseph even until now, it has been the doctrine of the Church, never questioned by any of the Church leaders, that the Negroes are not entitled to the full blessings of the Gospel." - First Presidency of George Albert Smith to Dr Lowry Nelson, 1947 | wasmormon.org

Lowry Nelson, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota and the Utah State Agricultural College, engaged in a series of communications in 1947 with the First Presidency of the LDS Church regarding the issue of race and the priesthood. Who Was …

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Russell Nelson to receive the Gandhi-King-Mandela Peace Prize

Russell M Nelson to receive the Gandhi-King-Mandela Peace Prize - Biographies for Russell M Nelson reveal nothing he's done towards equality, non-violence, promoting non-discrimination, or working to end racism or hatred in the world. It seems that they are recognizing him for the donation from the church, and if so, it would mean that the Mormon church leader is continuing the very Mormon tradition of conning the world into seeing him as an outstanding moral leader. The same way that Joseph Smith was able to eschew his treasure digging cont-artist past, and found a religion based on faith. The religion based on believing that emotion teaches truth, can't possibly be challenged. Nelson (Russell M) has made a pleasant extension of goodwill to the NAACP and they've apparently believed his emotion-laden discourse about loving one another and all being God's children over the mountain of evidence that the church is not anti-racist and has never even approached that side of the spectrum. This is the same church that denied full membership to blacks until 1978! That's a full decade after MLK was assassinated in 1968, and nearly 15 years after the civil rights act was passed in 1964. The act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, and also the act which the church vehemently opposed. Supporting forgiveness and growth and second chances, but many still can't fathom giving a leader this award, when he has done nothing to warrant such recognition. He leads a church with a horrible track record for non-violence, non-discrimination, and racism. He leads a church that sustains policies of discrimination, systemic racism, and racist doctrines still today. The church continues to oppress those who it deems acceptable.

Mormon Church President, Russell M Nelson is being honored by the Martin Luther King Jr International Chapel on Morehouse College Campus in Atlanta, Georgia. He is to receive a new award, the first recipient, which is to be called the Gandhi-King-Mandela Peace Prize. This is in coordination with the Gandhi-King-Ikeda Institute at the chapel. What …

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Mormons and the NAACP – Blacks and the Priesthood

The church has made much self-congratulation and self-promotion PR regarding its new relationship with the NAACP in the past couple of years. They are speaking words of unity and shared vision, which is great, but there is a backstory. The Backstory of Blacks and the church The race relations between the church and blacks is …

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