Latter-day Saints examine racial history
Tim Townsend’s article on Monday touched on a topic close to my heart, that is: the experience of black members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To read his story, Black Mormons straddle two worlds on 30th anniversary – click here.
I have to admit, Tim’s story, while balanced and refreshing, was also hard to read. Especially hard for me to read was a comment made by my friend, Latter-day Saint (Mormon) convert, Nekisha Rhodes who says she is “comfortable being uncomfortable” as she struggles to learn more about the heritage of her new-found faith, a heritage that includes a church policy, lifted 30 years ago, prohibiting black male members from the priesthood.
Nekisha sounds much like many African American Latter-day Saints when they candidly express their faith and experience in the church. Catherine Stokes, Latter-day Saint and former assistant director, Office of Health Care Regulation, for the Illinois Department of Public Health, said:
“When I joined the Church, most of my friends and acquaintances thought I had taken leave of my senses. Some early comments were, ‘I thought you were smart until you joined the Mormon Church.’ ‘Are you the only black member they have?’…Are there diverse opinions about race among members of the Church? Of course there are, and they run the spectrum. At the same time, there is a no more welcoming, loving, helping place…The commonality of membership in the Church brings an instant rapport and is a true expression of Christian love.” ( source: church public affairs pamphlet, 5/03, 36876)
While Nekisha’s statement reflects her determined faith and love for her new church home, I doubt many leaders of our church would read Nekisha’s statement and not feel anxiety or wonder how we can help her and others to feel more comfortable.
Have we fallen short?
Nekisha’s and others’ statements are evidence we can do more.
Have we come far in healing our hearts over the last 30 years?
Yes.
But my question is, if we don’t look back, how can we measure how far we have come?
So I appreciate that my church is sponsoring the June 8th commemoration of the priesthood being extended to all worthy males, that opened the priesthood not only to black men, but Temple worship and Temple marriage and mission service to black men and women.
I am also grateful for the pioneering work of Darius Gray and Margaret Young who have produced a film: Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons . It is a sensitive work that examines the black Latter-day Saints’ experience, past and present. Learn more and see the trailer — click here.
Opportunities to look back can help us answer questions about the past. Even more importantly, such moments inspire some searching questions: “what can be the experience of black members of the church going forward?”
The value of studying and celebrating history is in what it portends for the future. It’s no wonder that those who are “uncomfortable” — black and white — want to look back to find reconciliation.
The value of looking back was apparent to me as our city of St. Louis commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Dred Scott decision. The commemoration committee choose to focus not on the infamous Supreme Court decision exclusively, but also on the honorable lives of Dred and Harriet Scott.
I represent my church on the Friends of Dred Scott commemoration committee that recently successfully completed a year-long commemoration with institutions gathered in St. Louis and across the United States giving tribute to two humble itinerant slaves — Dred and Harriet Scott — unsung heroes, who sought to bring about freedom for their posterity by peacefully appealing for justice through the court system. Their faith in the system was dashed by the heavy-handed Supreme Court decision that denied their petition for freedom. The decision further divided the nation and ultimately led to civil war that, while tragic, resulted in uniting the nation on a corrected course, one we are continuing to align ourselves more perfectly with, as Senator Barack Obama has recently acknowledged in his speech: A More Perfect Union.
The year-long Dred Scott 150th commemoration ended with an unprecedented Gala gathering of the community represented by diverse Missouri institutions. The spirit of the evening is one I hope we can capture everyday in every institution and neighborhood. There was no “us and them” mentality, but rather a feeling of goodwill reflected in renewed spirited determination to live our lives as Dred and Harriet did, standing for truth and justice.
Despite such good outcomes resulting from celebrating the past, some would say we need to just move on, stop talking about issues of equality. There seems to be two camps, each camp made-up of whites and blacks and others, in and out of the faith. Those who want to talk and those who don’t.
Paul Sleet, president of the Pagedale branch of the Church in St. Louis, Missouri, quoted in Tim Townsend’s article, acknowledged that within our faith, “people don’t want to talk about it.”
Assuming the best of intentions, those who “don’t want to talk” often believe that by looking back we dredge up old wounds better left untouched. Or that by examining and celebrating ethnicity and equality we are in some way acknowledging differences and thereby we are not being color-blind. Still, others just don’t know how to talk about it.
At an anti-racism workshop I attended the speaker made a statement that has stayed with me and I believe to be true. He said: “race matters until race doesn’t matter.”
Latter-day Saints want to achieve a color-blind community of members, where we esteem each person a brother or sister regardless of ethnicity. Ahmad Corbitt, black church leader and director of the New York Public Affairs Office for the church, is often quoted as saying that our outreach in predominately black communities is NOT about affirmative action, but it is about being Christian, loving our neighbor. He makes a key point about our motivations.
So the question might be asked: Can we talk about the issues without causing the divide to be enlarged or the wounds to be reopened?
I believe we can.
Talking is important to build understanding. But talking about issues of race is not easy for the aforementioned concerns of those who are reticent to talk.
I appreciate the pioneering efforts of Latter-day Saints, Marvin Perkins and Darius Gray, who are working to make the dialog easier. Their four-part DVD presentation –Blacks in the Scriptures – takes us way back to examine issues of race and equality in the scriptures. They are making a difference for some in our community — Latter-day Saints and others — who have longed for a sensitive and Christ-centered focus on issues of race.
As passionate as I am about dialog, I believe talk should inspire action.
In the city of St. Louis we have much work to do — people of all faiths and backgrounds –to bring people together. It begins and ends at the grassroots level within all institutions and families to enlarge our circles of friends to include those who may be different from us.
Faith-based organizations are especially positioned well to bring about change, new attitudes and understanding driven by their doctrines centered in justice and mercy, and as Christians, centered on the atonement. And families are where we find our most important role models.
As our church commemorates June 8th, this is my hope: that the celebrations will open our hearts and minds to new understandings, that we will be better informed about the experiences of our neighbors –our brothers and our sisters — and that we’ll become more capable in our spheres of leadership and influence to be sensitive to others.
Then perhaps Nekisha will say, “I am comfortable, period.”
Above photo is of Latter-day Saints in Ghana, courtesy of Kevin Miller, see more photos at blacklds.org.
Related links:
A Need for Greater Kindness, speech addressing racism, by then, Church President, Gordon B. Hinckley given in April 2006.
Paul Sleet, President of Pagedale branch, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — blogs about his ministry in Pagedale, Missouri, and shares messages with his flock.
Ahmad Corbitt – New York stake president and public affairs director.
www.blacklds.org — a website in support of black Latter-day Saints
Nekisha Rhodes, St. Louis LDS gospel singer on You Tube singing for St. Louis organization Better Family Life’s Unity Ball.
Blacks in the Scriptures – resource for dialoguing about issues of race and equality in the Church.
Nobody Knows: the Story of Black Mormons — film that takes a sensitive and balanced look at the past and present lives of black Latter-day Saints.
Discover Your Roots Missouri, an African American Family History Conference based in St. Louis, Missouri, sponsored by the Lindell ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other area institutions.
Black History Remembered – an initiative sponsored by the O’Fallon Illinois Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other other organizations to help youth commemorate the history in East St. Louis.
Darius Gray on Utah’s African-American Voices — discusses the Genesis Group, a church-spondored support group for black members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Genesis Group – church-sponsored support group for black LDS.
My Friend Nekisha – my story about friendship that crosses ethnic boundaries.
Alex Boye – black member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Christian singer.
Gladys Knight and the Saints United Voices Choir – grammy award winning choir made-up of diverse Latter-day Saints.
Dana King, 45, volunteers in public affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- St. Louis Missouri South Stake. She chairs the annual Discover Your Roots conference and serves on the Friends of Dred Scott committee. Dana is a contributor to outreach initiatives: knowyourneighbornet.org and BlackLDS.org. Dana is married, mother of two teens, and runs her interior design business. 
To Mike & D. Walker,
Please see the video clip from the link above for “Nobody Knows the Story of Black Mormons”. Rev Chip Murray of the First AME Church of LA has three parts in this clip. His last segment tells of Mormon President Hinckley apologizing to him for the Mormon role of racism in our country.
See the History section of http://www.blacklds.org for the 1978 statement where Apostle Bruce R. McConkie says he and other leaders were wrong in their past views on the priesthood ban. Other apologies and corrections have been given. God works with imperfect people.
The History timeline also shows the positive statements and actions by Mormon leaders - Joseph Smith said Blacks could do as much or more than Whites if given the chance and confirmed they were children of God. He ran for president on an anti-slavery platform in 1844 and that was one of the reasons the mob killed him. Scholars say Brigham Young’s racial views were comparable to Abraham Lincoln. Both made statements that were racist, yet accepted for the time. Even so Brigham helped Blacks in Utah gain their freedom before the Civil War.
I referred to the Apostle Peter as having a prejudice against the Gentiles. That’s true. As D Walker notes, a separation based on ritual cleanliness was engrained in Peter. Many other great leaders had their cultural biases. That is true of some Mormon leaders. Even Jesus has seemingly harsh words for Gentiles when he referred to them as dogs in one of His sayings. You have to look at the context of the time and try to understand their perspective.
I believe that the Mormon priesthood ban would have never happened if our nation had accepted God’s inspiration sooner to get rid of slavery. It could have been lifted sooner even so. Mormons adopted the racial attitudes toward priesthood that other Christians had adopted to rationalize slavery, discrimination, and segregation. Mormons have been making more progress than most churches toward integration and brotherhood. It’s amazing grace that God lets us learn from our mistakes.
God’s truth concerning race is as follows according to scripture:
For Christ Himself has brought us peace by making Jews and Gentiles one people. With his own body he broke down the wall that separated them and kept them enemies. He abolished the Jewish Law with its commandments and rules, in order to create out of the two races one new people in union with himself, in this way making peace. By His death on the cross Christ destroyed enmity, by means of the cross he united both races into one body and brought us back to God. So Christ came and preached the Good News of peace to all, to Gentiles, who were far away from God, and to the Jews, who were near to Him. It is through Christ that all of us, Jews and Gentiles, are able to come in the one Spirit into the presence of the Father. So then, Gentiles are not foreigners or strangers any longer; but are now citizens together with God’s people and members of the family of God. [Ephesians 2:14-18]
Peter was justified in his behavior because it was what God required of him all Jews before Christ begin his teachings. It was God’s truth that Gentiles were unclean and Jews were commanded by God to have this same attitude about Gentiles, and of course everyone understands that everyone non-Jew was considered Gentile.
Lastly, calling one a dog was a general insult referring Gentiles because Gentiles were not God’s people or children at that time, it was a general insult referring to sinners, fools and wicked people who where far away from God. No comparison to the practice in the Mormon church.
And Chris, you state that we have to look at the content of the time. I have, it was at a time when Christians had the word of God, that being said, all Christians who had access to God’s word were without excuse concerning their practice of racism.
It is a good thing however that Mormons is addressing and facing this evil that was part of their church’s indoctrination. God’s grace is sufficient to cover this grave sin as with all sin with true repentenace and worship of Him in spirit and truth.
To D Walker
Thanks for your comments. I agree with most of what you are saying. Paul’s words to the Ephesians are inspired. However, in his zeal to embrace the Gentiles, some scholars feel he became overly critical of the Jews. Or at least, Christians later misused his words to justify prejudice and persecution against the Jews. Martin Luther was an inspired reformer and yet he was guilty of anti-Semitism.
As for Peter’s view that Gentiles were unclean, I would say it was forgiveable rather than justified. Jesus had told Peter to take the gospel to all the world and he needed to change his view. Gentiles included dispersed remnants of Israel who did not view themselves as Gentiles - Samaritans thought they had the true temple and covenant. Jesus taught Peter that they were his neighbors to love.
The Bible essentially says all are cursed due to sin. The priesthood was for service and not for personal gain. It was typically passed from father to son and was often limited along tribal lines such as the Levites. Levites were chosen to serve and not given a land of inheritance. Thousands of years ago, descendants of Ham may have been temporarily cursed due to the sins of the fathers, but this never justified slavery and mistreatment of Blacks. It became a man-made curse.
The USA officially got rid of slavery after the Civil War, but in reality it persisted in other forms - forced labor, unjustified imprisonment, Jim Crow. Churches are officially not segregated, but most are not effectively integrated.
I believe God never wanted the priesthood ban. He may have allowed it as a test and waited eagerly until we were ready to accept it being lifted. Look at what has happened as a result of the 1978 change:
From: http://www.newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/background-information/race-relations
(In 1978 following the priesthood revelation) Newsweek’s Woodward went on to predict that the next steps were likely to be the creation of black congregations under the direction of black elders.
Woodward’s prediction is telling. Even in 1978, a decade after the civil rights movement changed the face of America, worshipers in many churches across the land remained, in effect, segregated. Most blacks still worshipped with blacks, and most whites with whites. Few ordained black ministers preached to white congregations and discrimination in other forms still existed years later.
In fact, nothing like that happened in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There was never any policy of segregated congregations. Where Mormons of various racial or ethnic backgrounds have lived as neighbors, they have always worshiped together throughout Church history. Blacks had long before 1978 been baptized as members, preached from the pulpit and offered prayers in largely white congregations — none of which required the member to hold priesthood office.
After announcing the change in June 1978, the Church immediately began ordaining active black male members to priesthood office wherever they attended throughout the world. The first temple in Africa was built in South Africa in 1981 and two more — in Ghana and Nigeria — were dedicated more recently.
The increase in ethnic diversity and international Church growth has been widely commented upon over the years since then. The Washington Post referred in a November 2007 headline to “the new face of global Mormonism.” The New York Times noted in a 2005 article that a new Church building in the city was “one of the most racially integrated congregations in Harlem, with about equal numbers of white and black worshippers.” …
Chris,
You state:
“Thousands of years ago, descendants of Ham may have been temporarily cursed due to the sins of the fathers, but this never justified slavery and mistreatment of Blacks. It became a man-made curse”.
The belief that the skin color of black people is a result of a curse on Ham and his descendants is taught nowhere in the Bible. Furthermore, it was not Ham who was cursed; it was his son, Canaan.
This false teachings within White churches have been used to foster racism againt Blacks within the body of Christ. It is completely made up with no truth what-so-ever.
Frederick Price made a point in his series, “Race, Religion and Racism”. that should be contemplated for anyone of the mind-set that Blacks were cursed with Black skin…
If God cursed Ham and the curse was blackness so that all of his children came out black, then what shade of black would they be? Black people come in every shade-but if God cursed Ham, it would mean that every cursed black person would have to be the same shade… If Ham were cursed, the color could never change, because it would not be determined by genetics, it would be determined by the curse. The only way that a child could come out a different shade than a parent who carries the curse would be if the curse changed.
I believe the whole curse idea came from the Protestant roots of Mormonism. It isn’t that Mormonism is a Protestant religion, but most of our believers came out of those churches. I lived through the sixties and seventies and recognize that many Mormons believed it, even some in positions of leadership. I typically ran into the belief when I talked with members from Utah or Idaho where the question came up infrequently because of the lack of diversity. But, I was always taught that it wasn’t true. It was OK for me to believe it wasn’t true as an active practicing Mormon (who held positions of leadership) because it was not put forward as a core church doctrine. It was discussed as speculation, as a possibility, as a belief of some, but not as official Church doctrine. There are two verses in our scripture that have been used as a support for the idea of cursing and skin color. I have always been taught that they were not being taken in proper context. So, this idea of cursing and skin is not central to our beliefs. As we read Journals, minutes and other historical data, we find a great diversity of opinion at all levels within the LDS church including in the highest councils.
D. Walker,
Wow! You misread what I wrote and added things I did not say. My intent was to emphasize that slavery and the mistreatment of Blacks was never justified by any ancient curse on the descendants of Ham.
I did not say skin color was a result of a curse. People improperly associated Black skin with the curse and mark of Cain and then extended it to descendants of Ham (at least from his wife). I do not know what the mark of Cain was, but I do read in the Bible that it was a protection and not a curse. A greater curse was to those who would harm his descendants.
Mormons actually have additional scriptures that refer to blessings given to the descendants of Ham. They say that the pharaohs came as wise leaders from this line and they received blessings of the earth and of wisdom leading to one of the greatest civilizations on earth.
See the link in the article for Blacks in the Bible. This DVD shows that descendants of Ham are throughout the Bible and are tied to many righteous and noteworthy people and even to our Lord Jesus.
Now science confirms that we are all connected. We all have roots in Africa and are just different shades of brown. I appreciate your comments. I just think you were reacting to what you thought I was implying and not to what I wrote.
I’m sorry Chris,
You are correct, whenever I hear anything mentioned concerning Ham or his descendants being cursed I guess I automatically think about the error of the teaching that Ham and his descendants were cursed with Black skin because Ham was not at all ever cursed and usually the mention of Ham and curses, refer to that teaching error.
D Walker,
Thanks for your gracious comments on this post and the other as well.
First, let me confess (no pun intended), I have been away from this site for far too long. Secondly, Tim tugged earlier this evening, and it worked. So, I now thank him. Tim, thank you. With all that is on my table to complete, I couldn’t help sharing a few observations from the many, many years spent throughout parts of W. Africa, primarily, and a very important time spent in South Africa. It always inspires and amazes me the furor in which continential Africans embrace religion from all places and from all sorts of theologies. Given that we academics still struggle with the legacy of colonialism, our role as anthropologists and the role of missionaries, Africans are generally so much more ready to embrace those of faith. It is not uncommon to attend mega-churches very similar to many here in the USA, and to commit an entire day to worhship and a number of days during the week. So, in short, as faiths go to Africa, they sometimes find a more welcoming reception than at home, wherever that might be. So, we of little faith can also learn something from our African sisters and brothers…..