Mormon Racism
by Rocky Hulse of Mormon
Outreach
(Updated from the Midwest
Expositor Newsletters of January, April, July and October 2004 written by Rocky
Hulse)
January 3, 2013
This article is written
about the Mormon Doctrine concerning Africans. This article will cover the
history, doctrine, contradictions and the denial by the Mormon Church about its
racist doctrine concerning those of African descent.
I am going to say
right up front that there are parts of this information that are quite
inflammatory, and downright derogatory towards anyone who is not white. I
will use the term “negro,” often during this newsletter. I’m not using it
to offend anyone, it is simply the term used in the majority of the quotes, as
it was the vernacular of the day.
Please don’t get mad
at the messenger, me. I will simply do what our ministry always does, in
all facets of research: accurately and truthfully document all that we present.
This information will undoubtedly offend both Mormons and non-Mormons alike;
however, the truth needs to be told. We don’t skirt the hard issues; we
research them and give the information to you, because you have a right to know
what Mormonism is really about. Why does this ministry exist? Simply because
the Mormon Church will never show you the information I will present in this
article. Modern Mormonism is all about hiding or rewriting the past, to hide
the embarrassing truth!
I have spent upwards
of 200 hours of research on this topic, and all the while one thing has rung
loud and clear: Of all the subjects of Mormonism that I have studied to date,
and I have studied many, no single Doctrine of Mormonism more clearly shows
that Mormon leaders are mere men, with no “higher calling” placed upon them, as
Mormonism claims, than this “racist doctrine.”
NEGRO PENALTY REMOVED
History shows us that
on June 8, 1978, the First Presidency of the Mormon Church issued a letter
allowing blacks full eligibility to all benefits of Mormonism, which up until
that time were withheld from them. Let’s look at that letter:
"Dear
Brethren:
As we have witnessed
the expansion of the work of the Lord over the earth, we have been grateful
that people of many nations have responded to the message of the restored
gospel, and have joined the Church in ever-increasing numbers. This, in
turn, has inspired us with a desire to extend to every worthy member of the
Church all of the privileges and blessings which the gospel affords.
Aware of the promises
made by the prophets and presidents of the Church who have preceded us that at
some time, in God's eternal plan, all of our brethren who are worthy may
receive the priesthood, and witnessing the faithfulness of those from whom the
priesthood has been withheld, we have pleaded long and earnestly in behalf of
these, our faithful brethren, spending many hours in the Upper Room of the
Temple supplicating the Lord for divine guidance.
He has heard our
prayers, and by revelation has confirmed that the long-promised day has come
when every faithful, worthy man in the Church may receive the holy priesthood,
with power to exercise its divine authority, and enjoy with his loved ones
every blessing that flows therefrom, including the blessings of the
temple. Accordingly, all worthy male members of the Church may be ordained
to the priesthood without regard for race or color. Priesthood leaders are
instructed to follow the policy of carefully interviewing all candidates for
ordination to either the Aaronic or the Melchizedek Priesthood to insure that
they meet the established standards for worthiness.
We declare with
soberness that the Lord has now made known his will for the blessing of all his
children throughout the earth who will hearken to the voice of his authorized
servants, and prepare themselves to receive every blessing of the gospel.
Sincerely
yours,
The First Presidency
(Sunstone July 78, pg 12)
NEGROES NOT ENTITLED
TO FULL BLESSINGS OF THE GOSPEL
Why was there a need
for a “Revelation” to allow all worthy brethren to receive the Mormon
Priesthood? Another letter from the First Presidency, the highest level of
the Mormon Church:
“From the days of the
Prophet Joseph even until now, it has been the doctrine of the Church, never
questioned by any of the Church leaders, that the Negroes are not entitled to
the full blessings of the Gospel.” (Letter of LDS First Presidency to Dr.
Lowery Nelson, July 17, 1947, quoted in Mormonism
and the Negro, pages 42 and 43)
MORMON LEADERS,
ORACLES OF GOD ON EARTH
As you can see, the
Mormon Church believed that blacks were not entitled to ‘the full blessings of
the gospel’ (in Mormon vocabulary, “gospel” means Mormonism). Twice I’ve
quoted the First Presidency of the Mormon Church, 31 years apart, contradicting
each other. Who is the “First Presidency?” The ‘First
Presidency’ of the Mormon Church is the absolute top of the leadership
pyramid. The ultimate and highest leaders of the Mormon Church are the
First Presidency:
THE PROPHET
(OR PRESIDENT)
/
\
1ST COUNSELOR
2ND COUNSELOR
Directly under the
First Presidency is the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; often referred to as the
Council of the Twelve. These fifteen men, the three men of the First
Presidency and the Twelve Apostles, are revered by Mormons as the “Oracles of
God” on earth.
“Men who receive
revelations or oracles for the people are themselves called oracles. (2 Sam. 16:23.)
Members of the First Presidency, [and] Council of the Twelve … – because they
are appointed and sustained as prophets, seers, and revelators to the Church –
are known as the living oracles.”
(Teachings of the Living Prophets,
Student Manual Religion 333, p. 6)
These fifteen men,
according to Mormonism, have a special spiritual endowment in connection with
teaching people:
“Although the Church
has many men who serve as “General Authorities,” only the First Presidency and
the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are sustained as prophets,
seers, and revelators.” (Teachings of the
Living Prophets, Student Manual Religion 333, p. 8)
“It should be in mind
that some of the General Authorities have had assigned to them a special
calling; they possess a special gift; they are sustained as prophets, seers,
and revelators, which gives them a special spiritual endowment in connection
with their teaching the people. They have the right, the power,
and authority to declare the mind and will of God to his people…”
(Teachings of the Living Prophets,
Student Manual Religion 333, p. 9)
I wanted to lay out
here the belief of Mormonism about these fifteen men, because I’m going to be
quoting men who held these offices. As noted in the two quotes from the
First Presidency, the historical Mormon stance was that blacks were not
entitled to the “full blessings of the gospel”.
MORMONISM DENIES
NEGROES THE PRIESTHOOD, AND DOES NOT PREACH TO THEM
Mormon Apostle Bruce
R. McConkie, in his Mormon foundational work, Mormon Doctrine, said:
“Negroes in
this life are denied the priesthood; under no circumstances can they hold this
delegation of authority from the Almighty. (Abra. 1:20-27.) The gospel
message of salvation is not carried affirmatively to them (Moses 7:8, 12,
22) although sometimes negroes search out the truth, join the Church, and
become by righteous living heirs of the celestial kingdom of heaven.
President Brigham Young and others have taught that in the future eternity
worthy and qualified negroes will receive the priesthood and every gospel
blessing available to any man. (Way to
Perfection, pp. 97-111.) … The negroes are not equal with other races where
the receipt of certain spiritual blessings are concerned, particularly the
priesthood and the temple blessings that flow therefrom, but this inequality is
not of man’s origin. It is the Lord’s doing, is based on his eternal laws
and grows out of the lack of spiritual valiance of those concerned in their first
estate.” (Mormon Doctrine, pp
527-528)
What we clearly see
here from this Mormon Apostle, who has “special authority,” and is an oracle of
God on earth (and of note he is quoting two former Mormon Prophets) are four
primary Mormon points:
- Negroes are denied the priesthood in this life,
and under no circumstances can they hold it;
- That the gospel message (Mormonism) is not
‘carried affirmatively to them’;
- That they are not equal with other races
where the receipt of certain spiritual blessings are concerned;
- These prejudices are based on Eternal Law and
grow out of the lack of spiritual valiance of those concerned in their
‘first estate’ (‘first estate’ in the Mormon vocabulary refers to the
unique Mormon Doctrine of ‘Pre-existence’ – that man pre-existed on a
Spirit World prior to coming to earth, his ‘second estate’).
MORMONISM’S THEORY OF
THE RACES
Let’s recap what we
just covered: Blacks are denied the Mormon Priesthood; Mormonism was not to be
preached to them; they were not equal to other races as far as Mormon blessings
were concerned; and, this is all due to their lack of spiritual valiance in
their pre-earth life (‘first estate’).
Mormonism teaches
that the races of people here on earth began in a pre-existent, pre-earth
life. Christianity does not teach or believe this, because it is not
taught in the Bible. The premise for these beliefs comes entirely from
Mormon unique scriptures.
BLACKS CURSED WITH A
DARK SKIN
Mormonism teaches
that blacks, because of their lack of valiancy in the ‘pre-existence’ were
cursed with a dark skin, and in order to come to this earth had to come through
the lineage of Cain. Mormonism teaches Cain was cursed with a black skin for
killing his brother Abel. In the “History
of the Church” under the date of January 25, 1842, in Nauvoo, Illinois,
Joseph Smith taught that Negroes were the “sons of Cain”:
“In the evening
debated with John C. Bennett and others to show that the Indians have greater
cause to complain of the treatment of the whites, than the negroes, or sons
of Cain.” (History of the Church, Vol
4, p. 501)
NEGROES AN INFERIOR
RACE
The 10th Mormon
Prophet, Joseph Fielding Smith, in his book “The Way to Perfection,” taught
that not only were Negroes the sons of Cain, but that they were an inferior
race:
“Not only was Cain
called upon to suffer, but because of his wickedness he became the father of an
inferior race.” (The Way to
Perfection, p. 101)
NEGRO BLOOD THROUGH
THE FLOOD
Mormonism teaches
that Noah’s son Ham carried the Negro blood through the flood:
“Noah’s son Ham
married Egyptus, a descendant of Cain, thus preserving the negro lineage
through the flood. (Abra. 1:20-27)” (Mormon
Doctrine, p. 527)
A SINGLE DROP OF
BLOOD
According to
Mormonism, what qualified a person to be considered a Negro? A “single drop” of Negro
blood. Mormon Apostle Mark E. Peterson gave an address at the Convention
of Teachers of Religion on the College Level at Brigham Young University,
Provo, Utah, on August 27, 1954. He said, quoting the former 4th
Mormon Prophet, Wilford Woodruff:
“President
Wilford Woodruff added, ‘The Lord said, ‘I will not kill Cain, but I will put a
mark upon him, and that mark will be seen upon every face of every Negro upon
the face of the earth. And it is the decree of God that mark shall remain
upon the seed of Cain, until the seed of Abel shall be redeemed, and Cain shall
not receive the priesthood until the time of that redemption. Any man
having one drop of the blood of Cain in him cannot receive the
priesthood. But the day will come when all that race will be redeemed and
possess all the blessings which we now have.” (quoted from “Mormons and Negroes,” p. 7 of the
speech)
CURSE REMAINS UNTIL
ABEL’S SEED IS REDEEMED IN THE NEXT LIFE
According to
Mormonism blacks were given the mark of Cain, a black skin, and that mark will
remain until the seed of Abel shall be redeemed. When will that day
come? When will the Negro receive all the blessings? As we’ve seen,
that can only happen after the “seed of Abel shall be redeemed.” But Cain
killed Abel, so Abel didn’t have any seed (children). How will the seed
of Abel be redeemed? Mormonism teaches this redemption will happen in the
next life.
What is the Mormon teaching of when the curse will be
removed? On December 3, 1854, Brigham Young said:
“When all the
other children of Adam have had the privilege of receiving the Priesthood,
and of coming into the kingdom of God, and of being redeemed from the four
quarters of the earth, and have received their resurrection from the
dead, then it will be time enough to remove the curse from Cain and his
posterity. He deprived his brother of the privilege of pursuing his
journey through life, and of extending his kingdom by multiplying upon the
earth; and because he did this, he is the last to share the joys of the kingdom
of God.” (Journal of Discourses, Vol
2, p. 142)
On August 19, 1866,
Brigham Young continued:
“Why are so many of
the inhabitants of the earth cursed with a sin of blackness? It
comes in consequence of their fathers rejecting the power of the Holy
Priesthood, and the law of God. They will go down to death. And
when all the rest of the children have received their blessings in the Holy Priesthood,
then that curse will be removed from the seed of Cain, and they will then come
up and possess the priesthood, and receive all the blessings which we now are
entitled to. The volition of the creature is free; this is a law of their
existence, and the Lord cannot violate his own law; were he to do that, he
would cease to he God.” (Journal of
Discourses, Vol 11, p. 272)
THE PENALTY FOR
INTER-RACIAL MARRIAGE IS DEATH ON THE SPOT
Brigham Young
taught that mixing your blood with someone who had even one drop of African
blood in them was death on the spot:
“Shall I tell you the
law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man
who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain,
the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This
will always be so.” (Journal of
Discourses, Vol 10, p. 110)
Brigham Young says
the negroes “will go down to death” and when all the rest of human kind have
received their blessings in the holy priesthood, then the curse will be
removed, and not until. He states that it is the Law of the Lord and He
cannot violate His law or He would cease to be God. But, the Mormon
Church did change the Law. So, I guess God ceased to be God, or we have a
false prophet somewhere. However, we approach this, the Mormon Church
comes up lacking.
THE DOCTRINE
Let’s
look at some Doctrine:
“From the days of the
Prophet Joseph even until now, it has been the doctrine of the Church, never questioned by any of the
Church leaders, that the Negroes are
not entitled to the full blessings of the Gospel.” (Letter of LDS
First Presidency to Dr. Lowery Nelson, July 17, 1947, quoted in Mormonism and the Negro, pages 42 and
43)
This doctrine that
blacks are inferior has its roots in the Mormon unique doctrine of man’s
pre-existence. Let’s look at that Mormon unique belief. The 2nd
Mormon Prophet, Brigham Young, said on December 28, 1862:
“There never was a
time when man did not exist, and there never will be time when he will
cease to exist. Eternity is without confines, and all things animate and
inanimate have their existence in it. The Priesthood of God, that was
given to the ancients and is given to men in the latter-days, as co-equal in
duration with eternity—is without beginning of days or end of life.
It is unchangeable in its system of government and its Gospel of
salvation. It gives to Gods and angels their supremacy and power,
and offers wealth, influence, posterity, exaltations, power, glory, kingdoms
and thrones, ceaseless in their duration, to all who will accept them on the
terms upon which they are offered.” (Journal
of Discourses, Vol 10, p. 5)
As you can see from
this quote, Brigham Young brought forward some strange teachings that are
totally foreign to the Bible and are “Anti-Christian":
- That man existed eternally
- The “priesthood” of God given to man in the
latter-days, is what makes man co-equal with God
- The ‘priesthood’ of Mormonism gives to Gods and
angels their supremacy and power
- For those who accept this Mormon Priesthood, it
offers them wealth, influence, posterity, exaltations,
power, glory, kingdoms and thrones.
Mormon Apostle Orson
Pratt taught extensively on the Mormon unique doctrine of a pre-earth life:
“I have already told
you that the spirits of men and women, all had a previous existence, thousands
of years ago, in the heavens, in the presence of God; and I have already told
you that among them are many spirits that are more noble, more intelligent than
others, that were called the great and mighty ones, reserved until the
dispensation of the fulness of times, to come forth upon the face of the earth,
through a noble parentage that shall train their young and tender minds in the
truths of eternity…” (Journal of
Discourses Vol 1, pp. 62-63, August 29, 1852)
PRE-EXISTENCE
In a nutshell, let me
briefly describe the Mormon doctrine of pre-existence:
Mormonism teaches
that anyone who ever has, or ever will, live on this earth existed in a pre-existent
life prior to coming to earth. This doctrine states that we all existed
eternally as ‘pure intelligence’.
Then through a celestial marital relationship between our polygamous God father
and one of his many wives, our ‘pure intelligence’ was converted into a
‘spiritual’ pregnancy in our God mother. Nine months later we, all humans
born on this earth, were born as spirit babies into the ‘pre-existence’.
We grew up to adult
spirithood in the ‘pre-existence’ and progressed as far as we could as spirits;
then something had to be done, as we could progress no further as
spirits. We needed a mortal body to continue our progression to
‘Godhood’. So, Mormon theology says a “Council of the Gods” was convened,
and all the ‘great ones’ were there: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph Smith,
Brigham Young, Jesus and even Lucifer – yes in Mormonism Lucifer was a God.
The “Council of the
Gods” convened to decide what to do with all of God’s spirit children.
Lucifer stood up and addressed the Council and proposed a plan where an earth
would be created for the spirit children to go and get their mortal
bodies. He, Lucifer, would go down to earth and usher all of God’s
children through life and not allow them to sin. For his efforts, he
believed he should receive all the glory for doing this. When he had
finished, he sat down.
Then Elohim, the
Mormon name for the head God of this earth, called on Lucifer’s brother to
address the council; his name was Jesus. Yes in Mormonism, Lucifer
and Jesus are brothers. Jesus proposed a plan to build an earth for God’s
spirit children to come to and receive their mortal bodies; however, he
proposed that man should be given ‘free-agency’ to live life as he saw
fit. Man could follow God or live a life of sin. Jesus proposed
that he would come to earth and die for the sin of man, for those who would
repent, so they could come and live with their ‘Father God’ again.
Elohim accepted
Jesus’ plan. This made Lucifer furious and he rebelled against God and
started a war in heaven. When the war was over, one third of all the
‘spirit children’, including Lucifer, were cast out of heaven and were destined
to become the devil and his demons here on earth.
Your performance in the ‘pre-existence’ and how valiant you
were in the war in heaven, determined your status of birth in this life.
The more valiant in heaven, the whiter your skin color. The most valiant
were reserved to be born white and born into a Mormon home on this earth.
The more pigmentation in your skin the less valiant you were in heaven.
Mormon teaching is that Blacks sided with Lucifer but didn’t actually fight
with him; therefore, they were not kicked out of heaven but, were cursed with a
black skin and were denied the future privilege on earth of receiving the
Mormon Priesthood.
BLATANT PREJUDICE
Let’s look at a
statement by Mormon Apostle Melvin J. Ballard. Remember, as an Apostle in
Mormonism, he has the “right, the
power and authority to declare the mind and will of God”…
“Now, my brothers and
sisters, I would like you to understand that long before we were born into this
earth we were tested and tried in our pre-existence and the fact that of the thousands
of children born today, a certain proportion of them went to the Hottentots
of the south seas, thousands went to the Chinese mothers, thousands to Negro
mothers, thousands to beautiful white Latter-day Saint mothers. Why this
difference? You cannot tell me that the entire group was just designated,
marked, to go where they did. That they were men and women of equal
worthiness. There are no infant spirits born. They had a being ages before
they come into this life. They appear in infant bodies, but they were tested,
proven souls. Therefore, I say to you that long before we came into this
life all groups and races of men existed as they exist today. Like attracts to
like. Why is it in this Church we do not grant the priesthood to the
Negroes? It is alleged that the Prophet Joseph said--and I have
no reason to dispute it--that it is because of some act committed by them before
they came into this life. It is alleged that they were neutral, standing
neither for Christ nor the devil. But, I am convinced it is because of some
things they did before they came into this life that they have been
denied the privilege. The races of today are very largely reaping the
consequences of a previous life.” (Three
Degrees of Glory, pp. 21-22)
Mormon authors Lester
Bush and Armand Mauss, in their book “Neither
White Nor Black” discuss the compromise of 10th Mormon Prophet Joseph
Fielding Smith on the varying Mormon doctrine on what constituted the curse on
the Negroes:
“The Way to
Perfection seemingly reconciled these two positions. Treading a fine line,
Apostle Smith distinguished between the neutrality condemned by Brigham Young
and another condition comprised of those ‘who did not stand valiantly,’ who ‘were
almost persuaded, were indifferent, and who sympathized with Lucifer, but did
not follow him.’ The ‘sin’ of this latter group ‘was not one that merited the
extreme punishment which was inflicted on the devil and his angels. They were
not denied the privilege of receiving the second estate but were permitted to
come to the earth-life with some restrictions placed upon them. That the negro
race, for instance, have been placed under restrictions because of their
attitude in the world of spirits, few will doubt.’" (Lester Bush &
Armand Mauss, Neither White Nor Black,
pp. 87-88)
THE DOCTRINE IS CHANGED
I have
shown thus far in this article quotes outlining the history and the doctrine
behind the Mormon teaching that those of African decent are an inferior race,
cursed with a black skin because of their actions in a previous life, that they
were not entitled to the rights and blessings of Mormonism, and that this
restriction would remain until this earth was long over. Contradicting their
doctrine and numerous ‘Prophets and Apostles’, whom Mormons belief to be
‘oracles’ of God, the Mormon Church reversed “God’s Law” and the restriction
was removed in 1978. The official letter from the First Presidency , dated,
June 8, 1978, was quoted at the beginning of this article.
This
was the official notification of the “Revelation” which changed the Mormon
Church’s 140 plus year anti-black doctrine. You’ll notice that this letter
states that a revelation was received changing the anti-black position of the
Mormon Church in reference to blacks holding the priesthood and taking part in
the Mormon Temple ceremonies to become Gods in the next world. It’s now 35
years later and a “Revelation” has never been produced. This is amazingly
similar to the “Revelation” that stopped polygamy. The last two
revelations that the Mormon Church received have been because of controversial
doctrinal practices: Polygamy and Prejudice. In both cases the Mormon
Church was under heavy pressure to cease these practices – and along comes a
revelation; it should be noted, these revelations are like no others.
THUS SAITH THE LORD – NOT!
The
Mormon Church “Canon” contains four books of scripture. One of those is
named “The Doctrine and Covenants.”
This book is purported to contain the revelations given to Joseph Smith,
the founding Prophet of Mormonism, and is revered by Mormons as
scripture. These “revelations” are divided into “Sections”; there are 138
Sections and two “Official Declarations” in the Doctrine and Covenants. In these “revelations” from God given to
Joseph Smith, God spoke directly to Joseph as evidenced by the statements
penned by him stating “Thus saith the Lord.” The quotes of “The Doctrine and Covenants” leave no
room for questioning these revelations as being from God.
When
Joseph Smith and his successor, Brigham Young, died, God must have changed his
way of communicating with His modern day prophets, because the last two
“Revelations” received, polygamy and prejudice, have glaringly been missing the
“Thus saith the Lord” delivery. Why is it that the last two revelations,
given because of direct pressure on the Mormon Church to change its doctrinal
positions, do not have God speaking? Maybe it is because these last two
revelations were human realization, vice Holy Revelation. (Now, don’t get
me wrong here, I do not believe the “Revelations” of The Doctrine and Covenants received by Joseph Smith were from God,
anything but. I’m using this line of reasoning to make a point.)
The
letter from the Mormon Presidency which reverses the Mormon Church’s Anti-Black
Doctrine is attempting to rewrite Mormon History as to when the Negroes will be
allowed to hold the Mormon Priesthood. Let’s look at what the Mormon
“First Presidency” wrote:
“Aware
of the promises made by the prophets
and presidents of the Church who have preceded us that at some time, in God's eternal plan, all of our
brethren who are worthy may receive the priesthood, and
witnessing the faithfulness of those from whom the priesthood has been
withheld, we have pleaded long and earnestly in behalf of these, our faithful
brethren, spending many hours in the Upper Room of the Temple supplicating the
Lord for divine guidance.
He has
heard our prayers, and by revelation has confirmed that the long-promised
day has come when every faithful, worthy man in the Church may receive the
holy priesthood, with power to exercise its divine authority, and enjoy with
his loved ones every blessing that flows therefrom, including the blessings of
the temple.” (quoted from the Letter from the First Presidency dated June 8,
1978)
This
letter leads the uninformed to believe that previous “prophets and presidents”
promised that at some undefined time in the future the Negroes could receive
all of the blessings everyone was entitled to.
TWO BIG, MAJOR STIPULATIONS
When
did these previous “prophets and presidents” say this “time, in God's eternal plan,” was going to
happen? In the book “The Church and
the Negro” published in 1967, 11 years before “The Revelation” changing the
anti-black doctrine, Mormon writer John L. Lund discusses the two stipulations
before the priesthood can be given:
“The
prophets have declared that there are at least two major stipulations that have
to be met before the Negroes will be allowed to possess the Priesthood.
The first requirement relates to time. The Negroes will not be allowed to
hold the Priesthood during mortality, in fact, not until after the resurrection
of all of Adam’s children. The other stipulation requires that Abel’s
seed receive the first opportunity of having the Priesthood.” (The Church and the Negro, p. 47)
This
Mormon writer clearly lays
out that previous Mormon Prophets have dictated two major requirements: (1) The
first requirement relates to time. The Negroes will not be allowed to
hold the Priesthood during mortality, in fact, not until after the resurrection
of all of Adam’s children. (2) The other stipulation requires that Abel’s
seed receive the first opportunity of having the Priesthood.
NEGROES CANNOT HOLD THE PRIESTHOOD
IN MORTALITY
Let’s
look at these previous prophets. Brigham Young on December 3, 1854 said
that the Negroes will not have the privilege of receiving the priesthood until:
“…all the other children of Adam have had the
privilege of receiving the Priesthood, and of coming into the kingdom of God,
and of being redeemed from the four quarters of the earth, and have received
their resurrection from the dead, then it will be time enough to remove the
curse from Cain and his posterity.” (Journal
of Discourses, Vol 2, p. 143)
Twelve
years later on August 19, 1866, Brigham Young speaking on the Negro and the
priesthood said:
“They
will go down to death. And when all the rest of the children have
received their blessings in the Holy Priesthood, then that curse will be
removed from the seed of Cain, and they will then come up and possess the
priesthood, and receive all the blessings which we now are entitled to.
The volition of the creature is free; this is a law of their existence, and
the Lord cannot violate his own law; were he to do that, he would cease to
he God.” (Journal of Discourses, Vol
11, p. 272)
These
quotes from the second Mormon Prophet, Brigham Young, clearly show that the
Negroes must pass through mortality; they must die, before they can hold the
Mormon Priesthood. Brigham stated this was from the Lord and that He
cannot violate His law or He would cease to exist.
ABEL’S SEED MUST FIRST BE RESURRECTED
I’m
going to quote again from the book “The
Church and the Negro”:
“The
second major stipulation that needs to be met before the Negroes can be allowed
to possess the priesthood is the requirement that Abel’s seed receive the
opportunity of holding the priesthood first.”
“The
Prophet Joseph taught that Negroes could not hold the Priesthood or act in any
of its offices until the seed of Abel received that Priesthood.” (Milton R.
Hunter, Pearl of Great Price Commentary
(Salt Lake City Utah: Bookcraft, 1951), p. 142) (The Church and the Negro, p. 48)
The
book “The Church and the Negro”
answers the obvious question then for us: “When will Abel’s seed receive the
priesthood?”:
“It
will first of all be necessary that Abel marry, and then be resurrected,
and ultimately exalted in the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom so that
he can have a continuation of his seed.168 It will then be necessary
for Abel to create an earth for his spirit children to come to and experience
mortality. These children will have to be “redeemed” or
resurrected. After the resurrection or redemption of Abel’s seed,
Cain’s descendants, the Negroes, will then be allowed to possess the Priesthood.
Joseph Fielding Smith has said that ‘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 to their ‘second’ estate.’169 This earth life is considered the
‘second’ estate and those Negroes who prove through their individual
righteousness their worth will certainly be blessed by God to possess the
Priesthood in that distant future
when Abel’s seed has been redeemed.” (The Church and the Negro, p. 49)
These
quotes of the 2nd and 10th Mormon Prophets, without question show that the
Negroes cannot hold the Mormon Priesthood in this life, it will only happen in
a future world. According to Brigham Young, this is God’s Law and if He
were to change it “He would cease to be God.” Then along comes Mormon
Prophet number 12, Spencer W. Kimball, who up and changes God’s Law. So,
according to Brigham Young, GOD CEASED TO BE GOD, or ALL THE MORMON
PROPHETS FROM NUMBER 1, JOSEPH SMITH, TO NUMBER 11, HAROLD B. LEE, WERE WRONG –
WHICH MAKES THEM FALSE PROPHETS! The Mormon Church can’t have it both
ways. ACCORDING TO THEIR OWN
PROPHETS, EITHER GOD CEASED TO BE GOD AND ALL PROPHETS BEFORE KIMBALL WERE
FALSE, OR HE (KIMBALL) WAS A FALSE PROPHET. The facts
simply do not bear out any other conclusion.
PROMOTING A NEW IMAGE
The “Church News” is an official publication
of the Mormon Church. It is published by the Deseret Newspaper Company
owned by the Mormon Church. On the front cover of the May 31, 2003 issue
are two black men sporting white shirts and black name tags, which identify
them as Mormon Missionaries. The cover says:
25 years since priesthood revelation
‘The long-promised day has come when every faithful,
worthy man in the Church may receive the holy priesthood.’ Official
Declaration – 2, Doctrine and Covenants
Denial
and deceit by the Mormon Church of the anti-black doctrine appears to be the
way to avoid facing the reality that this anti-black doctrine proves that
Mormonism is a false religion.
The
front cover of the Church News was laid out such that, under the picture of the
two black missionaries, was the above statement that “The long-promised day has come…”
That statement perpetuates the lie the Mormon Church is putting forward to hide
the truth of their anti-black doctrine. That statement ignores history,
and insinuates that the previous Mormon Prophets all prophesied that a “Day
would come,” and that is true, they did all prophecy that “a day would come”
when the blacks could hold the priesthood; but, that day, they all said, or
agreed with the position of the previous prophets, was to be in the next life -
after the resurrection.
ON SOME OTHER WORLD
The
10th Mormon Prophet, Joseph Fielding Smith, who served as Prophet until he died
in 1972, wrote a series of books called “Answers
to Gospel Questions.” In Volume
2 of that series he answers a question concerning when Negroes will be
allowed to receive the Mormon Priesthood:
“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 to their ‘second’ estate.” (Answers to Gospel Questions, Vol 2, p. 188)
GOD’S ORACLES ON EARTH
The
Mormon Prophet, Joseph Fielding Smith, died holding this doctrinal position,
just six years prior to the 12th Mormon Prophet, Spencer W. Kimball, changing
the anti-black doctrine. Remember, Mormons believe that Mormon Prophets
and Apostles are “GOD’S ORACLES ON EARTH”:
“Although the Church has many men who
serve as ‘General Authorities,’ only the First Presidency and the members of
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are sustained as prophets, seers, and
revelators. (Teachings of the Living
Prophets, Student Manual Religion 333, p. 8)
“It should be in mind that some of the
General Authorities have had assigned to them a special calling; they possess a
special gift; they are sustained as prophets, seers, and revelators, which
gives them a special spiritual endowment in connection with their teaching the
people. They have the right, the power, and authority
to declare the mind and will of God to his people…” (Teachings of the Living Prophets,
Student Manual Religion 333, p. 9)
WAIT A MINUTE!!
Oracle number 10 and all previous Oracles, back to number 1, say that blacks
will not be allowed to hold the priesthood until after the resurrection in
another world. Oracle number 12 comes along and reverses the
doctrine. HOW CAN THAT BE? One of the Oracles has to be wrong! The 13th
Prophet of the Mormon Church, Ezra Taft Benson, gave a speech at Brigham Young University
on February 26, 1980. This speech was after the reversal of the
anti-black doctrine. The speech by Prophet Benson was called “FOURTEEN FUNDAMENTALS IN FOLLOWING THE
PROPHETS.” Let me quote from the speech concerning the Fourth
Fundamental:
FOURTH: The Prophet
Will Never Lead The Church Astray.
President Wilford Woodruff stated:
“I say to Israel, the Lord will never
permit me or any other man who stands as president of the Church to lead you astray.
It is not in the program. It is not in the mind of God.” (The Discourses
of Wilford Woodruff, pp 212-213)
President Marion G. Romney tells
of this incident which happened to him: “I remember years ago when I was a Bishop I had President
(Heber J.) Grant talk to our ward. After the meeting I drove him home …
Standing by me, he put his arm over my shoulder and said: ‘My boy, you
always keep your eye on the President of the Church, and if he ever tells you
to do anything, and it is wrong, and you do it, the Lord will bless you for
it.’ Then with a twinkle in his eye, he said, ‘But you don’t need to
worry. The Lord will never let his mouthpiece lead the people astray.”
(CR, October 1960, p. 78.) (Following The Brethren, Part 1, pp. 5-6)
MORMONISM HAS A PROBLEM
We see
that the Mormon Church teaches that Prophets and Apostles are God’s Oracles on
Earth. They have the “Right,
the Power, and the Authority to declare the mind and the will of God,”
and the Lord will never permit them to
lead you astray. WELL,
SOMEONE HERE IS LEADING SOMEONE ASTRAY!! THE MORMON CHURCH CAN’T HAVE IT
BOTH WAYS!
The
12th Mormon Prophet can’t come along and reverse what 11 other Prophets have
all stated directly or indirectly was God’s Law. Either they were all wrong
and led the Church astray, or number 12 led the Church astray. Which is
it?
JESUS’ CHARGE TO HIS APOSTLES
(Mark 16:15)
“And he said unto them, Go ye into
all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
What
was the Mormon Church’s doctrinal position up until June 8, 1978? In the
foundational work, Mormon Doctrine, by Mormon Apostle Bruce McConkie we read:
“Negroes in this life are denied the
priesthood; under no circumstances can they hold this delegation of authority
from the Almighty. (Abra. 1:20-27.) The message of the gospel is not carried
affirmatively to them…” (Mormon
Doctrine, p. 527)
Now
let’s look at the utter hypocrisy that the Mormon Church is putting forth today; a complete
denial of “God’s Law” as taught by their Prophets and Apostles. An
article in the June 1990 “Ensign” magazine, the official magazine of the Mormon
Church, titled “A Hike to Eternity.” This article shows the absolute
denial of Mormonism about their racist doctrine. The article tells of a
mixed race family that lived below the Oakland, California Temple, as it is
built on the side of a hill. Let me quote from the article:
“We had lived just below the
Oakland Temple for more than a year, but we had never gone near it. We were an interracial
family and, though we had heard the Mormons now allowed blacks to hold the
priesthood, we were certain we wouldn’t be welcome there. Besides, we really
weren’t interested in going anywhere near a church with such a well-known image
of discrimination against blacks … Michael, I don’t think we’d better go
there,” I said. “Mormons don’t like blacks, and they especially don’t like
mixed families.”
The
story continues with the family taking a hike and ending up at the
Temple. They sneak into a tour group and the Mormons leading the group
are so nice to them. One thing leads to another and they take the
missionary lessons and join the Mormon Church. The article concludes with
this:
“In the intervening decade, our family’s
“hike to eternity” has carried us halfway around the world and back again to
our present home in Oregon. We’ve taken some wrong turns and detours along the
way, and some of the trail has been rough. But in all our wanderings, we
have never found hide nor hair of the racism we had worried about. What we have
found is a world filled with Bodines and Nelsons—Church member “co-hikers” who
are always ready to reacquaint us with the map and put us back on the right
path to eternity. (“A Hike to Eternity,” Ensign,
June 1990)
This article perpetuates a lie that the Mormon
Church has never been racist and fully accepts “MIXED RACE MARRIAGES.”
MIXED RACE MARRIAGES
What
did Brigham Young say about mixed race marriages?
“Shall I
tell you the law of God in regard to
the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes
his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God,
is death on the spot. This will always be so.” (Journal
of Discourses Vol. 10, p.110)
Do you
see the deception? The Mormon Church is in utter denial of its past. You
can say, “Well, men of other Christian Churches made racial statements over the
years.” You’re absolutely right; however, the Mormon Church says its
leaders are God’s Oracles
on earth and have the “Right,
the Power, and the Authority to declare the mind and the will
of God,” and the Lord will never permit them to lead you
astray. No one else says that. This article clearly show that the
Mormon Prophets and Apostles weren’t led by God; rather, they are simply sinful
men led by their environment and egos.
PREJUDICIAL STATEMENTS
In an
interview with LOOK Magazine on October 22, 1963, the 10th Mormon Prophet,
Joseph Fielding Smith, said:
“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.” (Mormonism 101, p. 233)
The 3rd Mormon
Prophet, John Taylor, said blacks were the Devil’s representatives on earth:
“And after the flood
we are told that the curse that had been pronounced upon Cain was continued
through Ham’s wife, as he had married a wife of that seed. And why did it
pass through the flood? Because it was necessary that the Devil should
have a representative upon the earth as well as God;” (Journal of Discourses, Vol 22, p. 304)
The 2nd
Mormon Prophet, Brigham Young, said:
“You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely,
disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly
all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind.”
(The Essential Brigham Young, p.132)
Brigham
Young’s First Counselor, George A. Smith said this:
“There is not a man, from the President of
the United States to the Editors of their sanctorums, clear down to the
low-bred letter-writers in this Territory, but would rob the coppers from a
dead nigger’s eyes, if they had a good opportunity.” (Journal of Discourses, Vol 5, p. 110)
Mormonism
today promotes a story that the Church was opposed to slavery. NOT TRUE. Joseph
Smith, the founding Prophet of Mormonism, said the Church was opposed to
setting the Negro free:
“Thirteenth-‘Are the Mormons
Abolitionists?’
“No, unless delivering the people from priestcraft,
and the priests from the power of Satan, should be considered abolition.
But we do not believe in setting the negroes free.” (History of the Church, Vol 3, p 29)
The Mormon Church today is deceitful
about its position on slavery in the past. In an article in the Church’s
official magazine the “Ensign,” April
1996, titled “Shepherding in Mississippi’s Jackson Stake,” under the subheading
“No Prejudice Within These Walls,” we see the deception by the use of the word
“continues”, thus inferring a non-slavery position was always held by the Church:
“More than a century ago, the United States was ripped apart over the
issue of slavery. But today the restored gospel continues to be a healing
balm and force for mutual understanding and unity among members of all races
and backgrounds. They attend church together, worshipping and learning about
love, service, and Heavenly Father’s plan for them.” (Ensign, Apr. 1996, p. 40)
Brigham
Young (B.Y.) in an interview with abolitionist Horace Greely (H.G.), Editor of
the New York Tribune, at Salt Lake
City, on July 13, 1859 said this:
“H.G. – What is the position of
your church with respect to slavery?”
“B.Y. – We consider it of DIVINE
INSTITUTION, and not to be abolished until the curse pronounced on
Ham shall have been removed from his descendants.”
“H.G. – Are there SLAVES now held
in this territory?”
“B.Y. – THERE ARE.”
“H.G. – Do your territorial laws uphold
slavery?”
“B.Y. – Those laws are printed – you can
read them for yourself.”
(Interview reprinted in the Salt Lake Tribune, Aug. 15, 1993)
Slavery
in America was anything but a “DIVINE INSTITUTION” as Brigham told Horace
Greely. Our ministry has a copy of those laws – The Act of Organizing the Territory of Utah, dated 1852.
Beginning on page 80 and running through page 82 “An Act in Relation to
Service,” which lays out the law for slavery in Utah.
Utah
was the only territory in the Western United States that allowed slavery, and
it was drawn up by a legislature that was made up of 100 percent Mormon
men. The Mormon Church is trying its best to promote an image of
universal acceptance of all men as equals. The Mormon Church may have changed
its position in allowing blacks to hold the Mormon Priesthood and enter their
temples to perform the ordinances they believe are required to becomes Gods;
however, the teachings that blacks are an inferior race and have been cursed
with a black skin because of their actions in the “Pre-existence” have not
changed, and are still part of Mormon Theology!
No
other doctrine of Mormonism more clearly shows the contradictions between
present and past Mormon Prophets and Apostles. These men were not, are not,
“Called of God.”
This
article clearly shows the prejudicial Mormon teaching on the African race and
how today they are promoting a two faced position towards blacks, while
retaining those false prejudicial teachings in their theology. The
Mormon Church is a false religion and is absolutely not Biblical in its beliefs
and is NOT JUST ANOTHER CHRISTIAN RELIGION! Mormonism is a religion promoting
itself as Christian and needs to be exposed!!
(underlining,
bolding and sustained capitalization emphasis throughout the article is mine)
© Copyright 2013 Rocky Hulse—Permission
granted to reproduce for non-commercial purposes, provided text is not changed
and this copyright notice is included.
