Mormonism and the

Blacks and other non-Caucasians still possess "dark skins" which Mormonism alleges to be an indication of inferiority, a mark of unworthiness in the pre-existence. Does this mean that the Mormon priesthood is now available to the "unworthy and inferior," as well as to those self-proclaimed "worthy and superior" individuals whom God has allegedly rewarded with "white and delightsome" skins?

THE "EVIL," THE "VILE," THE "IGNORANT," & THE "WICKED"

LDS - "... [T]he land was left to the possession of the red men [Native Americans], who were without intelligence.... [T]he land was again peopled, in a measure, by a rude, wild, revengeful, warlike and barbarous race. � Such are our Indians." LDS "Historian" Oliver Cowdery, LDS Messenger and Advocate, Vol. 1, July, 1835, p, 158.

LDS - "And the skins of the Lamanites [Native Americans] were dark ...which was a curse upon them.... And this was done that their seed might be distinguished from the seed of their brethren, that thereby the Lord God might preserve his people, that they might not mix and believe in incorrect traditions which would prove their destruction." Book of Mormon, Alma 3:6-8.

LDS - "Thus the word of God is fulfilled...: Behold, the Lamanites [native Americans] have I cursed, and I will set a mark on them that they and their seed may be separated from thee and thy seed, from this time henceforth and forever, except they repent of their wickedness and turn to me that I may have mercy upon them." Book of Mormon, Alma 3:14.

LDS - "Here are the Lamanites [native Americans].... Their wickedness was not so great as those [Jews] who slew the Son of God. ...Is their curse as great as that of those in Palestine? No, it is light, in comparison. They began to thirst for each other's blood, and massacred each other, from generation to generation, until they sunk into wickedness, and evil principles the most degrading, and have become loathsome and vile. Still the curse will be removed from them before it will be removed from the children of Judah; and they will become a �white and delightsome people." LDS "Prophet" Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 2, p. 143, 1854.

LDS - "And the Gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them; wherefore ...their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a white a delightsome people." Book of Mormon (1830 edition), 2 Nephi, Chapter XII, p. 117. Note: This passage from the original Book of Mormon has subsequently been altered by Mormonism's leaders. The Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 30:6, now reads: "they shall be a PURE and a delightsome people." Substituting "pure" for "white" seems to indicate that Mormonism considers those two words to be interchangeable. The logical assumption, then, is that Mormonism also considers "NON-white" to be the equivalent of "impure." Even in this attempt to obscure its racist "scripture," Mormonism continues to divulge its underlying doctrine of white supremacy.

LDS - "I would rather undertake to convert five thousand Lamanites [Native Americans], than to convert one of those poor miserable creatures [Jews] whose fathers killed the Savior.... Yes, I would rather undertake to convert the Devil himself, if it were possible. ...I would say, leave them, and come home, the Lord does not require you to stay there, for they must suffer and be damned ... [L]eave them to live and die in their sins and ignorance. ... [T]hey take pleasure in their wickedness..." LDS "Prophet" Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 2, p. 143, 1854.

Note: Brigham Young held Jews responsible for the death of Christ. He taught that Jews were likewise cursed with a dark skin and were essentially beyond the reach of the Gospel message. Perhaps it didn't occur to Young that Christ Himself had pleaded for the forgiveness of the Jews who were responsible for His death.

DON'T "TAINT THE WELL-SPRING"

�... [T]he Negro seeks absorption with the white race. He will not be satisfied until he achieves it by intermarriage. That is his objective and we must face it. We must not ...feel so sorry for Negroes that we will open our arms and embrace them with everything we have." LDS "Apostle" Mark E. Petersen, "Race Problems - As They Affect The Church," Address delivered at Brigham Young University, August 27, 1954, as quoted in Jerald and Sandra Tanner's book entitled, "The Changing World of Mormonism," pp. 306-307.

LDS - "If we sit with Negroes at our tables, if we entertain them as our guests and social equals, if we disregard the color line in all other relations, is it possible to maintain it fixedly in the sexual relation, in the marriage of our sons and daughters, in the propagation of our species? Unquestionably, No! ... [O]nce the middle wall of social partition [is] broken down, the mingling of tides of life would begin instantly and proceed steadily. ...As a race, the Southern Caucasian would be irreversibly doomed. For no possible check could be given to this process once established. ...The moment the bar of absolute separation is thrown down in the south, that moment the bloom of her spirit is blighted forever, the promise of her destiny is annulled, the proud fabric of her future slips into dust and ashes. No other conceivable disaster that might befall the south could, for an instant, compare with such miscegenation within her borders. Flood and fire, fever and famine and the sword - even ignorance, indolence, and carpet-baggery - she may endure and conquer while her blood remains pure; but once taint the well-spring of her life, and all is lost � even honor itself. " William Benjamin Smith, The Color Line, as quoted in LDS "Historian" B.H. Roberts' book entitled "First Year Book in the Seventy's Course in Theology," 1931, pp. 231 � 233.

LDS - "But some may deny that the mongrelization of the southern people would ...corrupt or degrade the Southern stock of humanity. If so, then such a one has yet to learn the largest-writ (sic) lessons of history and the most impressive doctrines of biological science. That the Negro is markedly inferior to the Caucasian is proved both craniologically and by six thousand years of planet-wide experimentation...." William Benjamin Smith, The Color Line, as quoted in LDS "Historian" B.H. Roberts' book entitled "First Year Book in the Seventy's Course in Theology," 1931, p. 232.

LDS - "But let me tell you further. Let my seed mingle with the seed of Cain, that brings the curse upon me, and upon my generations.... On that very day, and hour we should do so, the priesthood is taken from this church and kingdom [,] and God leaves us to our fate." LDS "Prophet" Brigham Young, Brigham Young Addresses, Ms d 1234, Box 48, folder 3, Feb. 5, 1852, as quoted in Bob Witte's book entitled "Where Does It Say That?", p. 2-9.

LDS - "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." LDS

"Prophet" Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 10, p.110, 1863.

Mormonism Contradicts Itself

LDS - "... [W]orthy males of all races can now receive the Melchizedek Priesthood.... It means that members of all races may now be married in the temple, although interracial marriages are discouraged by the Brethren...." LDS "Apostle" Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, pp. 526-528, 1979 printing of 1966 edition.

Note: Mormonism grudgingly allowed blacks to enter its priesthood in 1978. But notice the continuing racial prejudice, even as the group attempts to declare that blacks are now acceptable!

"A CASTE APART"

LDS - "...[I]n a broad sense, caste systems have their root and origin in the gospel itself, and when they operate according to the divine decree, the resultant restrictions and segregation are right and proper and have the approval of the Lord. To illustrate: Cain, Ham, and the whole negro race have been cursed with a black skin, the mark of Cain, so they can be identified as a caste apart, a people with whom the other descendants of Adam should not intermarry." LDS "Apostle" Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, pp. 108-109, 1966 edition.

LDS - "...When the Lord chose the nations to which the spirits were to come, determining that some would be Japanese and some would be Chinese and some Negroes and some Americans, he engaged in an act of segregation. ...When He cursed the descendants of Cain as to the Priesthood, he engaged in segregation.... Who placed the Negroes originally in darkest Africa? Was it some man, or was it God? And when He placed them there, he segregated them.... The Lord segregated the people both as to blood and place of residence. At least in the cases of the Lamanites [Native Americans] and the Negroes we have the definite word of the Lord himself that He placed a dark skin upon them as a curse � as a punishment and as a sign to all others. He forbade intermarriage with them...." LDS "Apostle" Mark E. Petersen, "Race Problems - As They Affect The Church," Address delivered at Brigham Young University, August 27, 1954, as quoted in Jerald and Sandra Tanner's book entitled, "The Changing World of Mormonism," pp. 306-307

LDS - "Here, then, is laid bare the nerve of the whole matter: Is the south [southern U.S.] justified in this absolute denial of social equality to the Negro, no matter what his virtues or abilities or accomplishments? We affirm, then, that the South id entirely right in thus keeping open at all times, at all hazards, and at all sacrifices an impassible social chasm between black and white. This she must do in behalf of her blood, her essence, of the stock of her Caucasian race." William Benjamin Smith, The Color Line, as quoted in LDS "Historian" B.H. Roberts' book entitled "First Year Book in the Seventy's Course in Theology," 1931, p. 231.

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