"Nearly every decade for over a century—beginning with the church's formation in the 1830s until the 1970s—has seen some denunciations of miscegenation, with most of them focusing on black-white marriages."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interracial_marriage_and_The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints#:~:text=In%201888%2C%20the%20government%20of,and%20a%20%22white%20person%22

Later than the 1970s.

2003:Eternal Marriage student manual page 169

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/shared/content/english/pdf/language-materials/35311_eng.pdf

"Because of this, we recommend that people marry
those who are of the same racial background
generally,"

economic and social and educational background."

Translation: Stay in your lane, poors.

Notice how "social and economic and educational background" is used as code for race. This is pure Jim Crow.

Social and economic background also keeps the Mormon royalty isolated from the masses.

Lot's Wife Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Notice how "social and economic and educational
> background" is used as code for race. This is
> pure Jim Crow.

Actually I think can take it at face value, they explicitly said race in the previous paragraph. No need for code words. They did not want the janitors son dating the Bishop/dentist’s daughter.

Hmmm. I could've sworn I heard the church preach that a marriage will be successful as long as both partners follow the gospel. I guess there were some exceptions to that rule.

Anti-miscegenation Law - makes some mixed race marriages illegal

Utah 1888 law made it illegal for a "negro" or "mongolian" (of Asian descent Japanese, Korean, Chinese and so on) to marry a "white person". The 1888 law was in effect until repealed in 1963. Wyoming repealed their anti-miscegenation law in 1965.

14 states still had anti-miscegenation laws on the books in 1967, but the case of LOVING V. VIRGINIA ended that whole mess.

In 1966 (3 years after the Utah law was repealed), a white LDS woman married a black man. The woman had been through the temple rituals. Local bishop/stake president told the woman that due to her marriage choice, she was to be banned from entering the temple, and her "temple endowments are ineffective".

President David O McKay overruled the invalidation of the endowment, but upheld the temple ban. She was SOL (sorry outta luck).

Anderson, Devery S. (2011). The Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History. Salt Lake City: Signature Books. p. xlvi. ISBN 9781560852117.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2020 08:58PM by mrx.

When the ban was lifted, my then father-in-law said if he was ever in a temple and a Black person walked in, he'd get up and walk out. And I know he would have. He's long dead now, I'm sure he never had to witness that atrocity.

Well, there's the history of Q.Walker Lewis who was a devout follower of Joseph Smith and LDS Elder and believer. Then he went to Utah in 1851 and learned of Young's teachings about Blacks and Priesthood and the bigotry shown to his son for marrying a white woman. So Lewis went back home and left the church. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/lewis-q-walker-1798-1856/?fbclid=IwAR1AdvRdMLPnL4zHGezwX4nkZEeEiJZa_mn7wo5IyfWUZkaQUtDDip-soZw

LDS Historical Rhetoric & Praxis
Regarding Marriage Between Whites and Blacks
http://www.connellodonovan.com/black_white_marriage.html



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2020 05:41AM by anybody.

Warning. In todays climate I feel I need to warn you that some may be offended by my post. But to illustrate my experience I am telling it like it was.

Both Joseph and Brigham encourage plural marriages with Lamanite women.

In the early 80s when I had married my Native American wife she was often shunned in church until they found out she was a "Lamanite" then they couldn't do enough for her.

The saintly matrons in the temple were grumbling about me marrying a "darkie" (yes they said that) until I said she's from such n such tribe then they brightened up and said "oh a Lamanite! That's ok then."

That's fascinating.

May I ask where those temples were? I'm wondering if the "darkie" comments were in the SLC area or the product of some other region.

Ogden temple.

The temple president and wife were very nice. Met them before the endowment while my wife was getting washed and anointed.

The problem ladies were the ones helping her dress and do the initiation. Just before she went with them I overheard the comment.

In context. And with a warning.

Growing up Brazil nuts were called N toes.
Black liquorish bears were called N babies
We ate at Sambo's pancake house.

So hearing elderly women talk this way wasn't really unusual.

But I knew enough to clear up their perception so they'd treat my wife better.

Wow. Thank you.

And that's the problem. These women probably grew up in Utah, in an almost exclusively white, "educated" society, and this kind of casual racism was entirely normal.

I imagine it still is for a lot of people, certainly more than I usually think. I live in a relatively progressive, small Midwest city and, let me tell you, as soon as you drive outside the city limits racism is on full display. I mean, Confederate flags proudly flying outside farmhouses-level racism (and this is in a state that *didn't* secede).

The only way out of this is education (for whites especially) on issues of race and oppression, and increasing educational and economic opportunities for minorities--not just removing the stumbling blocks we've placed in their way, but turning those blocks into steps and staircases of upward mobility. The norms of our culture have to change or this kind of racism will always be with us.

most of the above 'problems' were a Direct Result of not having an (effective) PR crew onboard. That's been resolved now, TG.

We have a large Japanese Canadian population here in southern Alberta and I can remember back in the 60s where Japanese/Caucasian couples were getting married and old white lady tongues would be wagging including my own mother's.

Thanks alot!

In these days when apologists and church throws B.Y. under the bus it is interesting to read these quotes which show that Joseph Smith was just as racist as prophets after him.

"At the same August 1908 meeting during which the temple and priesthood ban were organized Joseph F. Smith asserted that his uncle [Joseph Smith] declared the ordination of the 'octoroon' Elijah Abel 'null and void' when he discovered that Abel was 'tainted with negro blood."

"Two Negroes were discovered who had been given the priesthood, and local leaders wanted to know what should be done. Once again George Q. Cannon spoke up: 'President Young held to the doctrine that no man tainted with negro blood was eligible to the priesthood; that President Taylor held to the same doctrine, claiming to have been taught it by the Prophet Joseph Smith.'

" Thursday, December 16, 1897 At 11 o’clock the First Presidency went to the Temple ... The question also came up whether a white man who was married to a woman having negro blood in her veins could receive the Priesthood. I explained what President Taylor had taught me when I was a boy in Nauvoo concerning this matter; he had received it from the Prophet Joseph, who said that a man bearing the Priesthood who should marry or associate with a negress, or one of that seed, if the penalty of the law were executed upon him, he and her and the offspring would be killed; that it was contrary to the law of God for men bearing the Priesthood to have association with that seed. In this case submitted to us a white man had married a woman with negro blood in her ignorantly; yet if he were to receive the Priesthood and still continue his association with his wife the offspring of the marriage might make a claim or claims that would interfere with the purposes of the Lord and His curse upon the seed of Cain."

Ah, the good old days. When will they finally invent that time machine? You don't really want to see me here and now anyhow.