I am doing some research on what the original D+C says about Jews. Can anyone refer me to any (easily-obtained!) material about this--preferably online?

I've read that the original D+C was pretty negative about Jews, and I have read several times that the "church" changes earlier original texts to be less racist and more attuned to today;'s values, so I assume that the current text of D+C is not the same as the orginal.

(And i know for certain that there is one Morg book, perhaps the Encyclopedia of the church (or whatever the exact title is), in which the entry on "Negroes" has been removed. In my memory, that was written decades ago by McConkie, was negtive and of course stupid, and does not appear in the current edition--tho I have a photocopy of the original essay.)

I don't know if this is helpful or not. It's not an exact response to your specific query but, yes, it's likely online somewhere. It could take some time and searching around. This is a preview though of what the thinking was in the early days.

From JSTOR (Mormon reference)

Review: The Jews and Their Future in Early LDS Doctrine
Reviewed Work: Mormons and Jews: Early Mormon Theologies of Israel by Steven Epperson

Review by: Grant Underwood

https://www.jstor.org/stable/43042155

Excerpts:

“Despite the reservations of early Mormons about the apostate Christian world around them, their “perceptions of Jewish people and Judaism were mediated by the canon of Christian scripture and filtered through the common opinion of [Joseph] Smith’s contemporaries informed over the centuries by anti-Judaic theologies and anti-Jewish prejudice.”

“Thus, Epperson argues that early Mormonism included such ideas as the abrogation of the former covenant with Israel, deicide followed by centuries of punishing afflictions, and, especially, the hope that one day Jews would be converted to Christ and gather to Palestine.”

“The book presents a “deep theological rift in the [early] Mormon leadership over the issue of the Jewish people.”

In one of life's little coincidences, Steve Epperson, last I heard, lived within walking distance of Nightingale. He was a BYU professor who got fired because he lost his temple recommend because he wasn't regularly attending church on Sundays because he was volunteering doing food service for homeless people under the 4th South viaduct in SLC.

The bishop probably sensed that Steve had really had it with Mormonism, and I suppose the bishop was indeed correct.

Steve had divinity college degrees, and taught history of religion at BYU. When he got bounced there, he decided to become a UU minister. He did an internship in Utah, though I don't recall the specific congregation. He then moved to a permanent posting in White Rock or Surrey BC, just SE of Vancouver.

This all happened between 1997 and 2002 more or less. I am pretty sure he would be retired by now, so he may or may not still be in BC, but I did find a web site that mentioned him in connection with a BC therapy group or something like that.

https://www.deseret.com/1997/1/31/19292547/byu-professor-says-dismissal-was-rather-shocking

https://www.straight.com/article-468726/vancouver/best-vancouver-2011-bright-lights-steven-epperson

Jesus had a lot to say about a portion of the Jews, the Cohen who are Levites or sons of Aaron. Remember, that Israel was broken into two countries, Israel and Judah. It was only the 10 tribes of Israel that got taken into captivity, but the tribe of Levi was the priesthood of both peoples Jews (Judah) and Israeli (Israel) and they both had groups of these priesthood holding tribe. Now, here's an issue that Joseph Smith/Brigham Young didn't think about. Levites or sons of Aaron are natural born priesthood holders. They can't pass their or sell their lineage or step away from it because it's inherited, blood inherited gene. So now the Levites in Israel are still recognized because of their genealogy and DNA proves they're unique. These people are known as the Kohen or Levitical priests/rabbis. but along comes ancestral DNA and proves their DNA is different than the "common" Jews. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohen

Now in the modern age, there is a South African tribe which claimed to be Judean, they practiced all of the laws of Moses, had the same stories, etc... They decided to test the blood and they found that the Lemba have the DNA of the Kohen and are accepted as being "Jews" or Black Jews. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8900243/

The problems would have been and still could be that any member of this tribe could claim the Bishopric of any ward into which they live. Imagine a black man walking into the racist wards of Idaho and claiming the Bishopric! Because that's exactly what D&C 68:16-18 and D&C 107:6, 13-16 states. Now the office of the Bishopric is to take and portion out the properties and welfares/fast offerings of the ward(s) they're in charge of.

Could anyone really see this happening at MorgCorp or LDSinc. Now days? No because the office of the Presiding Bishopric of the church just merged into the Corporation of the First President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints just a couple of years ago. So it really did become a solely owned non-profit corporation.

In my day this was explained away as yes they have the right to preside over a ward but they have to be called to do so.

Yes, but the Levitical Priests and the Sons of Aaron are not the same thing and do not have the same powers. D&C 107 is explicit about the difference.

It is only the direct sons of Aaron who have the authority to preside over a ward. The Levites as a tribe only have the lesser priesthood, which means that the Lemba could not walk into an LDS congregation and claim the authority of bishopric.

OK, so if that is correct about "direct sone os Aaron", then presumably anyone presiding over a ward can demonstrate Jewish ancestors.

Now, why do I suspect that is not honored.....

Not quite.

D&C 107: 17 says that while the descendants of Aaron have inherited authority to serve as bishops, all holders of the higher Melchizedek priesthood are also authorized to do so as well.

When I went to BYU in 1967, there were those irritating students from the Orson Hyde Club who had studied for a semester in Israel, and even worked on a kibbutz to get the real Israel experience; I doubt there are kibbutzes anymore, but they were The Thing back in the day. Armed with a repertoire of Israel folk dances, they would f*cking dance around your cafeteria table and in the hallways of the ELWC, annoying all who encountered them. At that time, they also insulted the Jews a lot by insisting, "We're just like you!" They praised Israel and all things Jewish, and went on and on about Hyde blessing the "Holy Land" for the return of the Jews.

What they didn't know was that the Mormons' rapport with Jews was much like that with Blacks -- they distrusted and reviled them before seeing an advantage in accepting them. Then they became outsized heroes of the church. Still, the church knew/knows sod-all about the Jews except within the context that they embrace. What the OH Clubbers didn't know was how the Mormons supported Nazi Germany, and told the German members to make nice with Hitler. The sad thing was how anti-Semitic J. Reuben Clark, counsellor in the First Presidency, was, and how much he supported the Nazis. And then what did the church do to honor Clark? They named the BYU law school after him, the pro-Nazi. One shouldn't be surprised; they had named the library after the racist Harold B. Lee, who demanded that Blacks not be admitted to the university, justifying his decision with the cheap, common, and well-worn trope, "What if one of our girls married one of those Negro boys?"

+++++1000

What do gynecologists say about the D&C ?