CEDRIC - I want to address the issue that the Mormons did not
allow blacks to hold leadership roles in the church.
The Mormon church was openly RACIST when
it was started, not God. LDS leaders changed their
beliefs about blacks in the church not because God
told them to but because it was not acceptable by
secular beliefs anymore.
Racism is still a nasty cloud that hangs over the LDS
and it shows when you say that some leaders do not
recommend interracial marriages. What happened to what
the Bible teaches that we all came from Adam and Eve?
The human race is all one race.
JOEL - Actually blacks were allowed to have some leadership
roles in the Church from the very beginning. I assume
you are refering to the priesthood that they were
denied for a period of time.
Sometimes people do strange things believing it is
God's will, but to charge an entire religious
organization of racism is an unfair assessment of the
facts.
Has our Church had members who were racist? Yes it has
and I am sure there are some who are now. That's to be
expected when considering a population of 12 million
people. And a few statements that came from some
church leaders in the past may sound racist now but
were really no more racist than what most every other
white american believed at the time they said those
things.
If you call our Church racist then both God and Jesus
would be considered racist for similar reasons. This
is not the only time restrictions have been placed on
who should and should not receive the full blessings
of the Gospel. At the time of Moses, the Melchizedek
Priesthood was taken from the children of Israel. In
its stead they were given the Aaronic, or Lesser,
Priesthood. This priesthood was restricted to worthy
males of the tribe of Levi. During His ministry, Jesus
instructed His twelve disciples that they were not to
go to any of the Gentile nations or to the Samaritans
to preach the Gospel, and that they were to go only to
the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew
10:5-6). The matter of who gets what at a particular
time according to race has been an issue with God at
various times throughout the history of the earth.
Consider that the Church has never rejected blacks for
membership, unlike the vast majority of white
protestant churches, nor has the Church ever
segregated its black members from the white. Also
consider, that the LDS church has always taught that
all children who die before the age of
accountability(8 years) are saved in the highest
kingdom of God(Celestial), regardless of race or
color.
One of the main reasons for the persecution that the
early LDS Saints suffered was because of their strong
position against slavery.
Church leaders of the past have told us that someday
everyone would be able to receive the full blessings
of the priesthood and Temple ordinances. Even Brigham
Young back in 1852 said, referring to blacks, that the
"time will come when they will have the privilege of
all we have the privilege of and more." (Brigham Young
Papers, Church Archives, Feb. 5, 1852). If he were a
racist person he would have said that the blacks would
never get the priesthood.
In 1947 President David O. McKay said, "Sometime in
God's eternal plan, the Negro will be given the right
to hold the priesthood. In the meantime, those of that
race who receive a testimony of the Restored Gospel
may have their family ties protected and other
blessings made secure, for in the justice and mercy of
the Lord they will possess all the blessings to which
they are entitled in the eternal plan of Salvation and
Exaltation."
The Church has never actually condemned inter-racial
marriage; but church leaders have in the past
recommended that people marry within their own race,
simply because of the cultural differences that can
sometimes strain a relationship. But I as I have mentioned in earlier questions you don't hear
our leaders talk about this much anymore because of how
people are more accepting and tolerant of cultural
differences in our modern day.
You said,
" LDS leaders changed their beliefs about blacks in
the church not because God told them to but because it
was not acceptable by secular beliefs anymore."
I think a more accurate statement would be:
"God changed His attitude about blacks in the church
because both the Church and the secular world were
ready to accept the change."
We are all children of God regardless of our so-called
race or color. We all originated from the same
parents, Adam and Eve. But God knows what is best for
His children and when to allow some children to have
some things and when not to allow them things as I
explained above. If you believe in the Bible you can't
disagree with this.
We believe that God gives us more blessings and
information about Him and His plan for us as we are
ready to accept it(Isaiah 28:13, John 16:12, 1 Cor. 3: 2). The world and the Church and the blacks were ready
for the change and so in 1978 God revealed to His
prophet that now was the time to make the change.
Of course most of what I have told you will only be
acccepted by members of our church who believe that
what our Church and its leaders teach is God's will.
Updated statement from the Church on Race and the Priesthood (2013)