. . . from himself.
It is important to keep in mind historically-contexualized facts when Mormon Church apologists who--when confronted with the ugly realities of racist LDS Church doctrine, policy and practice--attempt to shrug off this foundational Mormon Church behavioral problem as being nothing more than the understandable foibles of the Mormon Church's imperfect human "prophets."
The big fly in the ointment is this:
These obviously deeply-flawed and blatantly-bigoted Mormon "prophets" have, throughout the history of the LDS Church, attempted to justify their racial prejudice on the basis of established, canonized, scripture as it exists in the founding texts of the Mormon Church itself.
Take, for example, the racist rhetoric of Joseph Fielding Smith (eventual president/"prophet" of the Mormon Church) who, as will be shown, defended his anti-Black views as being true, based on the words he invoked from officially-endorsed and -embraced Mormon Church scripture.
First, however, Joseph Fielding Smith threw a racist sop to these allegedly spiritually-deficient Blacks:
"I would not want you to believe that we bear any animosity toward the Negro. 'Darkies' are wonderful people, and they have their place in our Church."
(Joseph Fielding Smith, quoted in "Look" magazine, 22 October 1963, p. 79)
The "place" designated for these people Joseph Fielding Smith whom called "darkies" was not a place of equality but, rather, one of race-based inequality--a place which Smith asserted was established by the Mormon God who, Latter-day Saints insist, issued heavenly commands to the Mormon Church through divinely-revealed scripture via Mormonism's heaven-chosen "prophets."
Underscoring that assertion, here is where Joseph Fielding Smith made his go-to argument for the anti-Black positions he peddled in the name of White-priesthood
Mormonism:
"Let us reason together. In the Book of Moses, Chapter 4, and in the Book of Abraham, Chapter 8, we are taught that there was a council held in heaven and our Eternal Father presented a plan by which we could come down on the earth and receive tabernacles (bodies) of flesh and bones for our spirits which are begotten sons and daughters unto God. We learn also that one third of those spirits rebelled against the plan and
followed Satan.
"For this they were denied bodies of flesh and bones and have to remain spirits. Why do not those who complain about the Negro and the priesthood also complain about the punishment which was given to this third of the spirits? They were denied even the blessings of bodies!
"Was this an injustice on the part of our Eternal Father? Well, there were other spirits there who were not faithful in the keeping of this first estate. Yet they have not sinned away their right to receive bodies and come to earth and receive the resurrection. They were restricted in the privileges that were given to those who keep their first estate and who were promised to have 'glory added upon their heads
for ever and ever.' Therefore the Lord prepared a way through the lineage of Cain for these spirits to come to the earth, but under the restriction of priesthood."
(Joseph Fielding Smith, "Answers to Gospel Questions," vol. 2. vol. pp. 151-52.)
Again, ultimately appealing to Mormon scripture (keeping in mind that the Mormon God revealed to Joseph Smith the racially-poisoned content of the LDS-canonized Book of Abraham and Book of Moses), Joseph Fielding Smith declared to the Mormon faithful:
"If Abraham, Joseph and Moses had married Negro wives their descendants would have been denied the priesthood, according to the word of the Lord to Abraham. Had such a thing happened the Lord would not have called Israel as a chosen people, neither would he have chosen the Prophet Joseph Smith and neither would he have chosen the Prophet Joseph Smith and given him the keys of authority for the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, as he was a descendant of Joseph and of Abraham.
(Joseph Fielding Smith, "Answers to Gospel Questions," vol. 1, p. 169)
This festering racial bias was brought to you by an imperfect (and, may I add, fraudulent Mormon Church "prophet," Joseph Fielding Smith) who claimed God made him do it since it was God who revealed the Mormon Church playbook to Joseph Smith (and subsequent Mormon "prophets, seers and revelators").
The Mormon Church's supposed unique stake to "divine revelation" tracks back to God having allegedly dispensed his mind and will to the "one and only true church" of Jesus Christ (as Mormons like to describe it) . Thus, it takes the issue back not to imperfect racist humans who can't get it right but to the racist Mormon God who Mormons claim gets everything right.
This makes the Mormon God a self-described white supremacist and no "but-his prophets-are-only-human" argument will save this bigoted God--try as hard as Joseph Fielding Smith did to do just that.
Pumping his own book, Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:
"Kindly see chapters 15 and 16, in 'The Way to Perfection,' for further light in relation to the reason why the Negro cannot receive the priesthood. In brief, it is as follows: Because of transgression in the first estate which deprives him in this second estate. Since Cain slew his brother Abel in order to obtain all the rights of priesthood to descend through his lineage, the Lord decreed that the children of Cain should not have the privilege of bearing the priesthood until Abel had posterity who could have the priesthood and that will have to be in the far distant future. When this is accomplished on some other world, then the restrictions will be removed from the children of Cain who have been true in this 'second' estate."
(Joseph Fielding Smith, "Answers to Gospel Questions," vol. 2, p. 188)
But, wait, there's more:
"Not only was Cain called upon 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."
(Joseph Fielding Smith, "Way to Perfection," 1935, p. 101)
Earth to Joseph Fielding Smith: Times still "endures" while we now have to endure the spectacle of the Mormon Church frantically back-peddling on God's commandments to you and your fellow "prophets" going back to your ancestor who made the whole thing up in the first place.
Then this from Joseph Fielding Smith (emphasizing what the Mormon Church has officially taught since the inception of the Mormon Church (as has inconveniently and essentially been so acknowledged by subsequent First Presidency statements):
"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 came here, and were obedient; more or less, to the laws that were given us there. Those who were faithful in all things there [in the Mormon world of the pre-existence] received greater blessings here, and those who were not faithful received less. . . . 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"
(Joseph Fielding Smith, "Doctrines of Salvation," vol. 1, pp. 61, 65-66)
Then, dissing "the so-called Christian denominations" [i.e., the non-Mormon ones], Joseph Fielding Smith had the unholy hubris to claim that the racist Mormon Church as done more for Blacks than any other church:
"The Negro who accepts the doctrines of the Church and is baptized by an authorized minister of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is entitled to salvation in the celestial kingdom or the highest heaven spoken of by Paul. It is true that the work of the ministry is given to other peoples and why should the so-called Christian denominations
complain? How many Negroes have been placed as ministers over white congregations in the so-called Christian denominations?"
(Joseph Fielding Smith, "Church News," 14 July 1962)
_____
The unmitigated gall of it all.
Mormonism's problem with race, in one very real sense, actually IS the result of its imperfect, racist "prophets."
After all, it was these imperfect, racist Mormon 'prophets" who invented their imperfect, racist Mormon "God."
(originally posted under "Mormon Church Traces Black Priesthood Ban to Brigham Young," by Peggy Fletcher Stack, article first published in "Salt Lake Tribune" on 13 December 2013; see "Tribune" article and my comments above in reader commentary section, at:
http://www.sltrib.com/pages/comments?cid=57241071)
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2013 03:51AM by steve benson.