Most of us know the controversial history of the church with regards to Blacks and Native Americans and Middle Easterners. It frequently leads to a question of why a Black or Native American would join a church with such doctrine and history.

JS would have been very aware of issues with Blacks and slavery, and we know he was fascinated by Indians. His Bible background would have introduced him to Middle Easterners.

In 1800, two thirds of the world population was Asian. That includes Middle Easterners, but I'm guessing that more than half the people of the world in JS's day were from China, India, Japan and places beyond the Middle East.

Are Asians ever mentioned in early Mormonism? Did JS ever meet any?

In his day, Westerners were just starting to realize that the world isn't simply made up of what they called Caucasoid, Negroid and Mongoloid races back then. There was little awareness of the diversity of Asian peoples, their skin color and physical features much less their many cultures.

Mormonism, like JS, was blind to Asians beyond the Middle East even though they may well have outnumbered everyone else put together.

Once again, the Mormon God reflects what JS knew in his time and place, not what a real God would have known. Why are they different from us? Instead of giving a reason based on religion, JS completely ignored them because they just weren't part of his world. So why would an Asian be interested in joining such a church?

Sometimes what is missing is as fascinating as what he got wrong.

There are plenty of good criticisms of Mormonism, but this is not one of them.

The BoM purports to be a record of ancient Israelites in the Americas. It would make no sense to include any Asian characters. The Doctrine and Covenants purports to be a set of revelations given to the members of an American church, so of course it does not speak to people living in Asia, or Europe or Iceland for that matter.

There are a number of statements in Mormon scripture with a universal message. Off the top of my head I can think of 2nd Nephi's statement that 'God denieth none that come unto him, neither black and white, bond or free' and that 'all are alike unto God'. I'm sure virtually every Church President has made a number of references to the gospel expanding through the whole earth, and that God's love is available to everybody regardless of race.

In the 70's, the Church Presidency issued a statement saying, in part, “great religious leaders of the world such as Mohammed, Confucius, and the Reformers, as well as philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and others, received a portion of God’s light. Moral truths were given to them by God to enlighten whole nations and to bring a higher level of understanding to individuals”. You can find quotes from Joseph Smith saying similar things.

We are all aware of the racism in Mormonism's history. Nevertheless, there is room in Mormon theology and scripture for people of all races. The notion that 'The Mormon God' (as you put it) is only interested in white Americans is not born out in Church doctrine.

Makes one wonder about interracial marriage laws in Utah. It was a greater crime to marry an asian than a native american.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-miscegenation_laws

anon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It was a greater crime to marry an asian
> than a native american.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-miscegenation_la
> ws


You could say the same about almost all other Western (and some Midwestern) states. Anti-miscegenation laws, and racism towards Asians are way bigger than Mormonism.

Nice to excuse it because it was no different than what everyone else did. Being "in the world but not of the world" was just another lie.

Inspired Prophets my ass. Couldn't even mention Asians in their scriptures.

They still teach their young men not to marry outside of their own race.

One of my parents was Asian, and Utah would not give them a marriage license. This was in 1957!!! Unbelievable.

I was discussing how the Mormon God ignored half his children in the forming of a uniquely American church.

I'm aware the church has changed, as it constantly does, to be more mainstream.

I don't think JS gave a thought to Asians, but I think if there was a God like the one he described, that God would more likely be inclusive from the get-go instead of just learning about Asians later on. In fact I think he would have sent Jesus to Beijing instead to a few left over Hebrews in the Americas.

The problem is that the criticism you're making of Mormonism can be applied to practically any religion.

Christianity: Why did Jesus only minister amongst the Jews in his time on earth? Why did he never mention the Asians?

Islam: Why did God reveal himself to an Arab shepherd? Why do so many aspects of Islam continue to be influenced by Arab cutlure? What does this mean for Asians?

Judaism: Why did God single out one group of people to be his 'chosen people'? Are Asian people less 'chosen'?

Every religion will offer the same explanation: though God may at times speak to and work through specific, exclusive groups and people, the message should be shared with everyone. Everyone is welcome.

This tradition is just as strong (if not stronger) in Mormonism as it is in other religions.

Maybe it should be applied to practicly every relegion.

Christianity was in China about 200 years after the magic gold plates were supposedly buried in New York.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_China#Earliest_period

Evidence of the early Christians can be found in China, but no comparable evidence for Nephites has ever been found in America.

...otherwise God would have no group to magically transform Lamanite DNA and appearance to, so that it worked out as an answer for the apologists...

Perhaps we were going to be in the BoM sequel. JS realized that people would start asking questions of why Jesus forgot about us Asians.

While the whole Asian-no Asian thing is debatable, the point about what is NOT in the BoM being as interesting as the incorrect stuff that IS there. This made me think of cotton. We all know that American indigenes had no silk (it was a Chinese secret at that time) or linen (flax was introduced by Europeans). But aboriginal Americans did wear cotton. Cotton is never even mentioned in the BoM, as far as I know.

You know muslims and jews are not allowed to eat the meat from pigs and dogs? When they "received" their scriptures, their cultures knew dogs and pigs, but not, say, ostrich. Isn't it strange that their books don't tell them whether or not it is ok to eat any of the animals, like the ostrich, that they hadn't heard about yet, but have become acquainted with since?

My girlfriend's grandparents are both full Japanese and joined the church a few decades ago.

Don't know why.

When I was a missionary in Japan, there were several members who considered the Japanese to be one of the Lost 10 Tribes. From what I understand there are a lot of similarities between Japanese Shinto and Judaism, or so they said. I even had one investigator tell an old story about how Jesus appeared to the Japanese hundreds of years ago down in Fukuoka.

I believed that when I was a missionary and whenever I read anything about the "isles of the sea" in the BoM, I always thought they were talking about Japan. I thought that some day some Japanese Apostle would release the ancient Japanese scriptures like the BoM.

When I was a TBM I considered Asians to be like the Lamanites, once part of the House of Israel but now cursed.

“Is there reason then why the type of birth we receive in this life is not a reflection of our worthiness or lack of it in the pre-existent life? ... can we account in any other way for the birth of some of the children of God in darkest Africa, or in flood-ridden CHINA, or among the starving hordes of INDIA, while some of the rest of us are born here in the United States? We cannot escape the conclusion that because of performance in our pre-existence some of us are born as CHINESE, some as JAPANESE, some as Latter-day Saints. There are rewards and punishments, fully in harmony with His established policy in dealing with sinners and saints, rewarding all according to their deeds....

“Let us consider the great mercy of God for a moment. A CHINESE, born in China with a dark skin, and with all the handicaps of that race, seems to have little opportunity. But think of the mercy of God to CHINESE people who are willing to accept the gospel. In spite of whatever they might have done in the pre-existence to justify being born over there as CHINAMEN, if they now, in this life, accept the gospel and live it the rest of their lives they can have the Priesthood, go to the temple and receive endowments and sealings, and that means they can have exaltation. Isn’t the mercy of God marvelous? Think of the Negro, cursed as to the Priesthood.... This Negro, who, in the pre-existence lived the type of life which justified the Lord in sending him to the earth in the lineage of Cain with a black skin, and possibly being born in darkest Africa – if that Negro is willing when he hears the gospel to accept it, he may have many of the blessings of the gospel. In spite of all he did in the pre-existent life, the Lord is willing.... to give him the blessings of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. If that Negro is faithful all his days, he can and will enter the Celestial Kingdom. He will go there as a servant, but he will get celestial glory.” Apostle Mark E. Peterson, “Race Problems – As They Effect the Church,” Address given at the Convention of Teachers of Religion on the College Level, delivered at BYU, August 27, 1954; online at http://www.mormonismi.net/mep1954/

And this just a few years after WWII where 10-20 million Chinese died. It was all their own fault for being naughty in the pre existence.

I guess Markie never heard of the theory that only the most inept spirits got sent to easy lives like in the US. The strongest toughest spirits got the harder lives.

That is an incredible quote, right up their with Kimball's GC talk about the Indians with lighter skins.

as I read this part of the Word of Wisdom.

"Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain."

He completely left out rice, which is a staple for a large percentage of the world's population.

And that quote by Mark E. Peterson is horrific! I wonder what perceived "handicaps of that race" he was talking about.

Like 4,500 years of written language.

Like advanced science, mathematics, and astronomy when Europe was in the Dark Ages.

Like medicines, many of which we still use.

Like figuring out how to produce the world's most beautiful fabric from the cocoons of a damn worm.

Like bureaucracy long before Europe had bureaucrats. Or government.

Like movable type long before Gutenberg (even though they abandoned it because calligraphy was more aesthetic).

Like being the only ones with the muscle and perseverance to build the American transcontinental railroad through the Sierra Nevada when others said it couldn't be done.

You know... Handicaps. Stupid dark and loathsome Chinese. Goddamn losers.

What do the eastern religions have to say about caucasoids?

The Bible is similarly ignorant about Asians as well. 19th century Europeans and Americans never broke Asians down when they said that of Noah's sons, blacks came from Ham, whites from Shem, and Middle Easerners from Japeth.

Its just more damning evidence that mormonism is not real. Jesus should have told joe that in the future there would be something in science called DNA to help catch bad guys and to learn about people all over the earth.

The Book of Mormon could have mentioned Asia and how they tie to American DNA. The book of ether could have said more. Maybe another brother of Jared thought the submarine barges were a stupid idea and took his family to china. Or Lehi could have wandered off through china so laman and lemuel could get many wives and their boat trip would be closer across the bearing strait instead of the long route eastward over the ocean.

There would not be a DNA problem now. Instead the book of mormon leaves it out just like the bible. But unlike the bible, the book of mormon claims that middle eastern people came to america. The bible is better off for not mentioning any of it.

A neighbor told me today that she and her husband have resigned from the cult, because Prop 8 put them over the edge. She said, "HOW could we have ever believed that stuff?"

Very interesting post and thread, Heresy.

"God" is God of this World--and everyone in it. Mormons are so very racist, elitist, and ego-centric!

"CHINAMEN?"

You better believe it. I was once temple married to a
a great white girl and she was treated like gold in the
church. Unfortenetly when re-married to Asian, We were
treated like shit and in fact the bishop felt I didnt
deserve her but good enough for his 2nd wife.
His drained out, never smiling white wife had become a slave
to this bishop, he be better off with a happy Asian woman
who would becken to his call and keep a sweet smile on
his face....

Asian woman are beautifal, especially LDS.
Tho my racist past mormon friends made sure to break that
marrige, with their nazi tactics caught up in a hate game
against asians and jews but they lost the battle and now
we have multicultured australaia...

The bishop later terminated me from attending church
because I expressed anger in my negitive behaviour toward
racists in the church,and didnt want to rock the boat
gutless bishop he was. Better that one man perish than
a whole stake of white racist bastards and bitches
that pertitioned and had my asian wife sent home to die
on execution death row, as she was a christian tv reporter
against muslem corruption.. My story of hell beond description
no true blue LDS wants to hear. What a fantasy land,when
underneath the principality of deception are illumanti
type of nazies and spies in the church, that will kill ya
if you go against the prophet..Mormonism is closer to nazism
than one may think. They flew the nazi flags on mormon chappels
in world war 2 as not to rock the boat,yet the articals of
faith say not to support corrupt govenements.
What a scam mormonism is. Flee from the thugs of mormonism.

majorfraser2004@yahoo.com Find a true christian church.