Tag: Priesthood

  • Church Disipline

    Church Disipline

    Image: Kate Kelly is an American Mormon feminist and human rights attorney who founded Ordain Women, an organization advocating for the ordination of women to the priesthood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Kelly was excommunicated from the LDS Church in 2014. 1

    Excerpt from Handbook 1: Stake Presidents and Bishops, 6.2.1: 2

    6.2.1

    Stake President
    The stake president has authority over Church discipline in the stake. However, bishops normally administer Church discipline unless evidence indicates that a man who holds the Melchizedek Priesthood is likely to be excommunicated. In that case, the stake president convenes a stake disciplinary council. When a stake president convenes a disciplinary council, the participation of the stake presidency and high council is required as outlined in “Stake Disciplinary Councils” in 6.10.1.

    References

  • Section 132

    Section 132

    Image: Portrait of Emma Smith, wife of Joseph Smith Jr.

    *Post with commentary*

    The polygamy revelation in D&C 132 [footnote]Doctrine and Covenants 132 – LDS.org[/footnote] has been a ‘hot potato’ the LDS church has had to constantly juggle. Discard it—you lose a pillar of celestial marriage doctrine. Keep it—you canonize an abusive practice.

    This year’s (2017) official Sunday School lesson manual deftly avoids any mention of polygamy, cherry picking verses 7, 19–24, 30–31. It instructs the teacher to avoid discussing polygamy and instead focus on the concept of eternal marriage. I am going to look at the bits you might have missed in Sunday School.

    The setting.
    The revelation regarding polygamy was recorded in the summer of 1843. At the time Joseph had over 20 wives, several of whom were already married to other men. Emma, only recently made aware of (some of) Joseph’s polygamous unions was resistant the doctrine. Exasperated with Emma’s stubbornness, Joseph restricted her from receiving the endowment, unless she ‘acquiesce to the request’. Two days after Emma’s birthday (July 12), Hyrum told Joseph ‘If you will write the revelation on Celestial Marriage, I will take and read it to Emma, and I believe I can convince her of its truth, and you will hereafter have peace.’ At which point Joseph dictated the revelation to William Clayton “sentence by sentence.” Upon returning from delivering the revelation to Emma, Hyrum recounted that “I have never received a more severe talking to in my life.” To which Joseph replied “I told you you did not know Emma as well as I did.”

    So with that context in mind, section 132 will start to become clearer. I recommend reading it in its entirety.

    The context of the 1843 revelation is about polygamy and concubinage.

    “1 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines—”

    Here we also learn that polygamy is considered doctrinal, and later a law. Note that Isaac only had one wife, Rebekah.

     

    The ‘new and everlasting covenant’ was synonymous with polygamy. Though later expanded to include other rites and ordinances.

    “For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.”

    “6 And as pertaining to the new and everlasting covenant, it was instituted for the fulness of my glory…”

    Brigham Young and other early leaders often taught that polygamy was a requirement for highest exaltation.
    “The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy.” – Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol.11, p.268 – p.269

     

    Those who don’t marry under the law or who are single, become servants for those married under the law.

    “16 Therefore, when they [those who marry outside of the covenant] are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory.”

    “17 For these angels did not abide my law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity; and from henceforth are not gods, but are angels of God forever and ever.”

    “20 …Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.”

    The theology at this point hadn’t evolved to include eternal progression or post-death unions. Rather, condemning the unwed to eternal servitude.

     

    Women are said to be GIVEN and TAKEN throughout the revelation. (Emphasis added)

    “37 Abraham RECEIVED concubines, and they bore him children…”

    “38 David also RECEIVED many wives and concubines…”

    “39 David’s wives and concubines were GIVEN unto him of me…”

    “44 …then shall you [Joseph] have power…to TAKE her and GIVE her unto him that hath not committed adultery.”

    “62 And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they BELONG to him, and they are GIVEN unto him; therefore is he justified.”

     

    The lord condones David’s & Solomon’s polygamy in D&C after condemning it in the Book of Mormon.

    “37 Abraham received concubines, and they bore him children; and it was accounted unto him for righteousness…”

    “38 David also received many wives and concubines and also Solomon…and in nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me.”

    “Jacob 2:24 Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord…”

     

    If a wife’s husband commits adultery, Joseph has the power to ’take and give her’ to another man.

    “44 And if she hath not committed adultery, but is innocent and hath not broken her vow, and she knoweth it, and I reveal it unto you, my servant Joseph, then shall you have power, by the power of my Holy Priesthood, to take her and give her unto him that hath not committed adultery but hath been faithful; for he shall be made ruler over many.”

    …

    Emma may have threatened to practice plural marriage herself.

    “51 Verily, I say unto you: A commandment I give unto mine handmaid, Emma Smith, your wife, whom I have given unto you, that she stay herself and partake not of that which I commanded you to offer unto her; for I did it, saith the Lord, to prove you all, as I did Abraham, and that I might require an offering at your hand, by covenant and sacrifice.”

    “54 And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else…”

    From William Clayton’s journal, “This A.M. President Joseph took me and conversed considerable concerning some delicate matters. Said [Emma] wanted to lay a snare for me. He told me last night of this and said he had felt troubled. He said [Emma] had treated him coldly and badly since I came…and he knew she was disposed to be revenged on him for some things. She thought that if he would indulge himself she would too.”

    …

    The lord threatens to destroy Emma, unless she falls in line.

    “54 And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law.”

    “64 And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, if any man have a wife, who holds the keys of this power, and he teaches unto her the law of my priesthood, as pertaining to these things, then shall she believe and administer unto him, or she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord your God; for I will destroy her; for I will magnify my name upon all those who receive and abide in my law.”

    …

    If you lie about being a virgin you shall be destroyed.

    “52 And let mine handmaid, Emma Smith, receive all those that have been given unto my servant Joseph, and who are virtuous and pure before me; and those who are not pure, and have said they were pure, shall be destroyed, saith the Lord God.”

     

    The lord tells Emma to forgive Joseph his indiscretions.

    “56 And again, verily I say, let mine handmaid forgive my servant Joseph his trespasses; and then shall she be forgiven her trespasses, wherein she has trespassed against me…”

     

    Joseph establishes rules for plural marriage… and then breaks them.

    “61 …if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else.”

    “62 And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore is he justified.”

    “63 But if one or either of the ten virgins, after she is espoused, shall be with another man, she has committed adultery, and shall be destroyed; for they are given unto him to multiply and replenish the earth…”

    1 – The first wife must give consent (Law of Sarah)—Emma only approved of perhaps 4 of Josephs 34+ wives.
    2 – They must be virgins and not married—Though Joseph married virgins, he also married other mens wives.
    3 – The purpose of polygamy is to ‘multiply and replenish the earth’—Not only did Joseph avoid producing offspring through these polygamous unions, later polygamous practices often resulted in fewer children.

     

    If Emma is still resistant to polygamy she has transgressed and Joseph doesn’t have to get her consent.

    “65 Therefore, it shall be lawful in me, if she receive not this law, for him to receive all things whatsoever I, the Lord his God, will give unto him, because she did not believe and administer unto him according to my word; and she then becomes the transgressor; and he is exempt from the law of Sarah, who administered unto Abraham according to the law when I commanded Abraham to take Hagar to wife.”

    Crash Course:

    Remembering the Wives of Joseph Smith – Wives of Joseph Smith
    Did Emma Smith approve of polygamy?
    D&C 132: A revelation of men, not God – Mormon Stories
    Doctrine and Covenants 132 – Joseph Smith Papers
    Year of Polygamy (Podcast) 

     

  • Give and Take

    Give and Take

    Image: LDS Temple sealing room

    Excerpt from the LDS temple marriage ceremony (sealing of spouses). [footnote]The LDS Endowment, Sealings [/footnote]

    [The sealer sits at the head of the altar with two witnesses, one seated at his right and the other at his left. The bride and groom kneel at opposite sides of the altar, facing one another, clothed in the robes of the holy priesthood. They take each other by the right hand in the patriarchal grip.]

    SEALER: Brother _________, do you take Sister _________ by the right hand and receive her unto yourself to be your lawfully wedded wife, for time and all eternity, with a covenant and promise that you will observe and keep all the laws, rites, and ordinances pertaining to this holy order of matrimony in the new and everlasting covenant; and this you do in the presence of God, angels, and these witnesses of your own free will and choice?

    GROOM: Yes.

    SEALER: Sister _________, do you take Brother _________ by the right hand and give yourself to him to be his lawfully wedded wife, and receive him to be your lawfully wedded husband, for time and all eternity, with a covenant and promise that you will observe and keep all the laws, rites, and ordinances pertaining to this holy order of matrimony in the new and everlasting covenant; and this you do in the presence of God, angels, and these witnesses of your own free will and choice?

    BRIDE: Yes.

    SEALER: By virtue of the holy priesthood and the authority vested in me, I pronounce you, _________ and _________, legally and lawfully husband and wife for time and all eternity; and I seal upon you the blessings of the holy resurrection, with power to come forth in the morning of the first resurrection, clothed in glory, immortality, and eternal lives.
    I seal upon you the blessings of kingdoms, thrones, principalities, powers, dominions, and exaltations, with all the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and say unto you: be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, that you may have joy and rejoicing in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

    All these blessings, together with all the blessings appertaining unto the new and everlasting covenant, I seal upon you by virtue of the holy priesthood, through your faithfulness, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

     

    Crash Course:

    The LDS Endowment, Sealings

    Temple Oaths – Mormon Think

    Mormonism and Masonry (Podcast) – Mormon Expressions

    Occultic and Masonic Influence in Early Mormonism

    Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo – LDS.org

  • Not Policy, Doctrine

    Not Policy, Doctrine

    Image: George Albert Smith, President of the LDS Church, May 21, 1945 – April 4, 1951  [footnote]George Albert Smith – Wikipedia[/footnote]

    Excerpt from ‘Statement of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’, August 17, 1949

    “The attitude of the Church with reference to the Negroes remains as it has always stood. It is not a matter of the declaration of a policy but of direct commandment from the Lord, on which is founded the doctrine of the Church from the days of its organization, to the effect that Negroes may become members of the Church but that they are not entitled to the Priesthood at the present time. The prophets of the Lord have made several statements as to the operation of the principle.

    President Brigham Young said: “Why are so many of the inhabitants of the earth cursed with a skin 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.”

    President Wilford Woodruff made the following statement: “The day will come when all that race will be redeemed and possess all the blessings which we now have.”

    The position of the Church regarding the Negro may be understood when another doctrine of the Church is kept in mind, namely, that the conduct of spirits in the premortal existence has some determining effect upon the conditions and circumstances under which these spirits take on mortality and that while the details of this principle have not been made known, the mortality is a privilege that is given to those who maintain their first estate; and that the worth of the privilege is so great that spirits are willing to come to earth and take on bodies no matter what the handicap may be as to the kind of bodies they are to secure; and that among the handicaps, failure of the right to enjoy in mortality the blessings of the priesthood is a handicap which spirits are willing to assume in order that they might come to earth. Under this principle there is no injustice whatsoever involved in this deprivation as to the holding of the priesthood by the Negroes.”

     


    Reference:
    Statement of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, August 17, 1949, Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City.

    Links to references of the statement:
    Statements made by Church leaders regarding the priesthood ban – Fair Mormon
    Letter from the First Presidency to Stewart Udall – Archive.org
    Mormonism and the Negro – Archive.org

  • Incriminate Themselves

    Incriminate Themselves

    Excerpt from Utah Layton Priesthood Leadership Conference, February 15, 2014:[footnote]Utah Layton Priesthood Leadership Conference – Mormon Leaks[/footnote]

    Q. How do you handle a temple recommend interview with individuals who claim to support the brethren but the individual is clearly supportive of issues that are against the teachings of the prophet such as same-sex marriage?

    A. Elder Perry: This is difficult for many people, as they are sympathetic to a loved one who struggles. I do not believe they are born with it. It is a temptation like any other. As long as they keep their support of that loved one within their family, leave it up to them. Elder Tanner taught us how to ask questions in the temple recommend interview. Ask them the questions and if necessary they will incriminate themselves. Put the burden on them. They have to come forward and if we ask the questions the right way I think they will. Say to them “now on this recommend there are three signatures, the first will be yours. As a witness in front of these other witness and God himself, if you feel comfortable putting your name on this recommend then we will join in recommending you as worthy to enter the House of the Lord. The laws of marriage will not change. Homosexual marriages will always be sin in the eyes of the Lord and they will be judged accordingly for living that way.


    Crash Course:

    Timeline of Mormon Thinking About Homosexuality – Rational Faiths
    Utah Layton Priesthood Leadership Conference – Mormon Leaks

  • Showing Affection

    Showing Affection

    Excerpt from Utah Layton Priesthood Leadership Conference, February 15, 2014:[footnote]Utah Layton Priesthood Leadership Conference – Mormon Leaks[/footnote]

    Q. How should you address a same-sex couple in a Sacrament Meeting who are showing inappropriate affection?

    A. Elder Perry: Refer to the Jan 9th letter issued by the Senior Brethren. We do not turn anyone away from Sacrament Meeting, but all are to behave appropriately while there. I would invite them to come into my office right after and let them know how they were out of line. I would let them know that repentance is possible. The scriptures have not changed. Adultery is still adultery. Fornication is still fornication. We should continually warn those living in sin that they are jeopardizing their eternal salvation. Sin is sin. There is no way they can develop laws which will change the laws of the Lord. We must show them now that we believe in the right type of marriage and use the Proclamation to teach this. This is what we have always believed in. This is what all the prophets and the Savior himself believed in. We must be on the strong side of defending marriage and defending God’s plan for His children. This evil will divide out nation in half. We have to be more vigorous. We have to be certain that our legislature protects the Church. you know they [evil] never stop. They move one inch at a time until they have forced upon all. you would be amazed at the network we have among other religious organizations to protect religious freedom. Unfortunately the Supreme Court is listening to the voice of the people through the administration that is currently in place. The individual members of the Church must step up and get involved. It must come from the people, not the general authorities. As local leaders you have a fine line to walk between dictating and teaching the doctrine so that there will be a revival of lay members stepping up to fight for God’s cause. So that people in important positions and courts will see that the majority voice of the people will always be in favor of the Lord. If we do not follow him you can expect calamities to come. he will not let this go forward to destroy the basic family unit He has created for the progression of His children. We have a great responsibility on us and I hope you take it seriously. Teach correct principles and doctrines of what the Lord has established.

     


    Crash Course:

    Timeline of Mormon Thinking About Homosexuality – Rational Faiths
    Utah Layton Priesthood Leadership Conference – Mormon Leaks

  • Manly Things

    Manly Things

    Excerpt from Utah Layton Priesthood Leadership Conference, February 15, 2014:[footnote]Utah Layton Priesthood Leadership Conference – Mormon Leaks[/footnote]

    Q. How do you help a young man or young woman who comes in and says “I think that I’m gay“?

    A. Elder Perry. Give them association with manly things, strong men that represent the ideal of relationships, a man who is vigorous and knows the power he holds.

     


    Crash Course:

    Timeline of Mormon Thinking About Homosexuality – Rational Faiths
    Utah Layton Priesthood Leadership Conference – Mormon Leaks

  • The Relief Society

    The Relief Society

    Image: Artists portrayal of Joseph Smith Jr. addressing the Relief Society

    The LDS Relief Society is lauded as one of the oldest and largest women’s organizations in the world. Yet it is an organization that is presided over, budgeted and organized by men.[footnote]The Relief Society – WikiPedia[/footnote]

     

    Crash Course:
    The Relief Society – WikiPedia
    Nauvoo Women: An Overlooked History of the Mormon Relief Society
    Joseph Smith’s Teachings about Priesthood, Temple, and Women  – LDS Gospel Topic Essay
    Psychologist’s Response to Women and Priesthood essay – Mormon Transitions
    How the temple is sexist (and the church is, too) – Young Mormon Feminist
    First prayer by woman offered at Mormon conference (video) – Salt Lake Tribune

  • We Love Our Women

    We Love Our Women

    Image: 2017 April General Conference, view from inside the LDS Conference Center

    A 2015 Time article (citing a ARIS Study) shows for every 100 male members there are 150 female members (in the state of Utah) of the LDS church:[footnote]What Two Religions Tell Us About The Modern Dating Crisis, 2015 – Time[/footnote]

    One of my web searches turned up a study from Trinity College’s American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) on the demographics of Mormons. According to the ARIS study, there are now 150 Mormon women for every 100 Mormon men in the state of Utah—a 50 percent oversupply of women. On a lark, I emailed my friend Cynthia Bowman,* a devout Mormon who grew up in Salt Lake City and returns there often, and asked her whether Mormon sex ratios are as lopsided as the ARIS study claimed.

    Here is a summation of the April 2017 LDS General Conference addresses – https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/04?lang=eng

    Interesting to note that a woman wasn’t allowed to pray in General Conference till the Spring of 2013. [footnote]First prayer by woman offered at Mormon conference (video) – Salt Lake Tribune[/footnote]

     

    Crash Course:
    April 2017 LDS General Conference – LDS.org
    Joseph Smith’s Teachings about Priesthood, Temple, and Women  – LDS Gospel Topic Essay
    Psychologist’s Response to Women and Priesthood essay – Mormon Transitions
    How the temple is sexist (and the church is, too) – Young Mormon Feminist
    First prayer by woman offered at Mormon conference (video) – Salt Lake Tribune

  • Arm to the Square

    Arm to the Square

    Image: Nauvoo Illinois, LDS Temple.

    Masonic First Degree, Duegard of a fellow craft mason:[footnote]DUNCAN’S RITUAL AND MONITOR OF FREEMASONRY.[/footnote]

    The left arm, as far as the elbow, should be held in a horizontal position, and the rest of the arm in a vertical position, forming a square. The right hand detached from the stomach, fingers extending outward.

    PENALTY

    Draw the right hand rapidly across the neck, as represented in the cut, and drop the arm to the side.

    ‘All this I most solemnly, sincerely promise and swear, with a firm and steadfast resolution to perform the same, without any mental reservation or secret evasion of mind whatever, binding myself under no less penalty than that of having my throat cut across, 1 my tongue torn out by its roots, and my body buried in the rough sands of the sea, at low-water mark, 2 where the tide ebbs and flows twice in twenty-four hours, should I ever knowingly violate this my Entered Apprentice obligation. So help me God, and keep me steadfast in the due performance of the same.’

    The Sign and Penalty of the First Token of the Aaronic Priesthood, LDS Endowment Ceremony (note: the penalty was removed in 1990)[footnote]Handshakes, signs and penalties of the LDS endowment ceremony[/footnote]

    Is made by bringing the right arm to the square, the palm of the hand forward, the fingers close together, and the thumb extended.

    PENALTY, pre 1930

    The participant placed his or her right hand palm-down with the thumb extended and the tip of the thumb just under the left ear. The execution of the gesture was made by drawing the tip of the thumb swiftly across the throat until the thumb was just under the right ear, then dropping the hand and arm quickly to the side of the participant’s body.

    ADAM : “We, and each of us, covenant and promise that we will not reveal any of the secrets of this, the first token of the Aaronic priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign or penalty. Should we do so, we agree that our throats be cut from ear to ear and our tongues torn out by their roots.“

     

     

     

    Crash Course:
    Temple Oaths – Mormon Think
    Secret Masonic Handshakes, Passwords, Grips And Signs Of Blue Lodge Masonry 
    Mormonism and Masonry (Podcast) – Mormon Expressions
    The LDS Endowment – For Latter-day Saints, the endowment serves as a rite of adult initiation.
    Masonic Symbols and the LDS Temple – Sandra Tanner
    Masonry and Mormonism, an Interview with Greg Kearney (Podcast) – Mormon Stories
    Similarities between Freemasonry and the Mormon endowment – Richard Packham

  • Has it a name?

    Has it a name?

    Image: Salt Lake City LDS Temple

    To anyone who has knowledge of both the LDS Temple Ceremony (especially the pre-1990 temple ceremony) and Mason Rites it is very apparent that they have many similarities. Many things are exactly the same. Even knowledgeable Mormons admit that the endowment ceremony (especially in its earlier versions) contains many details that are similar to the Masonic initiation rites of Joseph Smith’s day. The symbols, oaths, handclasps, and terminology resemble the Masonic ritual in hundreds of ways.

    Masonic pass grip of a fellow craft:[footnote]Secret Masonic Handshakes, Passwords, Grips And Signs Of Blue Lodge Masonry [/footnote]

    The hand is taken as in an ordinary hand shake, and the Mason presses the top of his thumb against the space between the first and second knuckle joints of the first two fingers of his fellow Mason; the fellow Mason also presses his thumb on the corresponding part of the first Mason’s hand.
    The name of this grip is “Shibboleth”. When a candidate is imparted with this grip and its usage it is done in this manner:

    First, the Worshipful Master says to the candidate:

    “I now present my right hand in token of the continuance of friendship and brotherly love, and will invest you with the pass-grip, pass-word, real grip and word of a Fellow Craft. As you are uninstructed, he who has hitherto answered for you, will do so at this time. Give me the grip of an Entered Apprentice.”

    As previously explained from the Entered Apprentice degree, he then has this exchange with the Senior Deacon, who is standing next to the candidate, who is still kneeling at the altar, after having assume the obligation of this degree):

    WM: Brother Senior Deacon.
    SD: Worshipful Master.
    WM: Will you be off or from?
    SD: From.
    WM: From what and to what?
    SD: From the grip of an Entered Apprentice to the pass-grip of a Fellow Craft.
    (At this time, the candidate is shown the Pass Grip)
    WM: Pass. What is that?
    SD: The pass-grip of a Fellow Craft.
    WM: Has it a name?
    SD: It has.
    WM: Will you give it to me?
    SD: I did not so receive it; neither will I so impart it.
    WM: How will you dispose of it?
    SD: Letter or syllable it.
    WM: Syllable it and begin.
    SD: You begin.
    WM: Begin you.
    SD: Shib
    WM: bo
    SD: leth
    WM: Shibboleth, my Brother, is the name of this grip. You should always remember it, for should you be present at the opening or a Fellow Crafts Lodge, this pass-word will be demanded of you by one of the Deacons, and should you be unable to give it, it would cause confusion in the Craft.

    From the LDS endowment ceremony, Second Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood:[footnote]LDS Endowment Ceremony – Second Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood[/footnote]

    PETER: The Lord then gives the second token of the Melchizedek priesthood, the patriarchal grip, or Sure Sign of the Nail, and asks:
    LORD: What is that?
    PETER: The second token of the Melchizedek priesthood, the patriarchal grip, or Sure Sign of the Nail.
    LORD: Has it a name?
    PETER: It has.
    LORD: Will you give it to me?
    PETER: I cannot. I have not yet received it. For this purpose I have come to converse with the Lord through the veil.
    LORD: You shall receive it, upon the five points of fellowship, through the veil.
    PETER: The five points of fellowship are: inside of right foot by the side of right foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand to back, and mouth to ear. The Lord then gives the name of this token and asks:
    LORD: What is that?
    PETER: The second token of the Melchizedek priesthood, the patriarchal grip, or Sure Sign of the Nail.
    LORD: Has it a name?
    PETER: It has.
    LORD: Will you give it to me?
    PETER: I will, upon the five points of fellowship, through the veil.The person then repeats back to the Lord the name of this token as he received it, whereupon the Lord says:
    LORD: That is correct.

     

    Crash Course:
    Temple Oaths – Mormon Think
    Secret Masonic Handshakes, Passwords, Grips And Signs Of Blue Lodge Masonry 
    Mormonism and Masonry (Podcast) – Mormon Expressions
    The LDS Endowment – For Latter-day Saints, the endowment serves as a rite of adult initiation.
    Masonic Symbols and the LDS Temple – Sandra Tanner
    Masonry and Mormonism, an Interview with Greg Kearney (Podcast) – Mormon Stories
    Occultic and Masonic Influence in Early Mormonism – Joel B. Groat

  • Not Equal

    Not Equal

    Image: Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, LDS Prophet

    Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine:[footnote]Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 114[/footnote]

    ‘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 . . . 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 an his eternal laws of justice, and grows out of the lack of Spiritual valiance of those concerned in their first estate.’

     

    Crash Course:

  • Death on the Spot

    Death on the Spot

    Image: Brigham Young, LDS Prophet

    Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses:[footnote]Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 10, p. 110[/footnote]

    “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. The nations of the earth have transgressed every law that God has given, they have changed the ordinances and broken every covenant made with the fathers, and they are like a hungry man that dreameth that he eateth, and he awaketh and behold he is empty.”

     

    Crash Course:

  • Servant

    Servant

    Image: Apostle Mark E. Petersen

    Apostle Mark E. Petersen, “Race Problems – as they affect the church:[footnote]Mark E. Petersen, “Race Problems – as they affect the church,” August 27, 1954, p. 17[/footnote]

    “In spite of all he did in the pre-existent life, the Lord is willing, if the Negro accepts the gospel with real, sincere faith, and is really converted, 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 a celestial resurrection. He will get a place in the celestial glory. He will not go then with even the honorable men of the earth to the terrestrial glory, nor with the ones spoken of as being without law”

     

    Crash Course:

  • Interracial

    Interracial

    Image: George Albert Smith, LDS Prophet.

    LDS First Presidency, letter to Virgil H. Sponberg (critic of the anti-black ban), May 5, 1947: [footnote]LDS First Presidency (George Albert Smith), letter to Virgil H. Sponberg (critic of the anti-black ban), May 5, 1947, quoted in Lester E. Bush, Mormonism’s Negro Doctrine: An Historical Overview, p. 42 [/footnote]

    “Your ideas, as we understand them, appear to contemplate the intermarriage of the Negro and white races, a concept which has heretofore been most repugnant to most normal-minded people from the ancient patriarchs until now…. there is a growing tendency, particularly among some educators, as it manifests itself in this area, toward the breaking down of race barriers in the matter of intermarriage between whites and blacks, but it does not have the sanction of the Church and is contrary to Church doctrine.”


    Crash Course:

     

  • So-Called Civil Rights

    So-Called Civil Rights

    From Elder Ezra Taft Benson Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, 1967:[footnote]Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, October 1967, pp. 34-39[/footnote]

    False solicitude for the unfortunate

    “Such timely counsel could help save our country from Communism, as the same masters of deceit are showing the same false solicitude for the unfortunate in the name of civil rights.

    Now there is nothing wrong with civil rights; it is what’s being done in the name of civil rights that is alarming.

    There is no doubt that the so-called civil rights movement as it exists today is used as a Communist program for revolution in America just as agrarian reform was used by the Communists to take over China and Cuba.

    This shocking statement can be confirmed by an objective study of Communist literature and activities and by knowledgeable Negroes and others who have worked within the Communist movement.

    As far back as 1928, the Communists declared that the cultural, economic, and social differences between the races in America could be exploited by them to create the animosity, fear, and hatred between large segments of our people that would be necessary beginning ingredients for their revolution.”

     

     

    Crash Course:

    Race and the Priesthood – LDS Gospel Topic Essay
    Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, October 1967, pp. 34-39
    Mormons are not Racist (Video) – Brother Jake
    Letter from Apostle Delbert Stapley to Governor George Romney – Topic: Race and civil rights.
    Mormonism and the Negro – John J. Stewart

  • Repugnant

    Repugnant

    LDS First Presidency (George Albert Smith), letter to Virgil H. Sponberg (critic of the anti-black ban), May 5, 1947:[footnote]Mormonism’s Negro Doctrine: An Historical Overview  – Lester Bush[/footnote]

    “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. Furthermore, your ideas, as we understand them, appear to contemplate the intermarriage of the Negro and White races, a concept which has heretofore been most repugnant to most normal-minded people from the ancient patriarchs till now. God’s rule for Israel, His Chosen People, has been endogamous. Modern Israel has been similarly directed. We are not unmindful of the fact that there is growing tendency, particularly among some educators, as it manifests itself in this area, toward the breaking down of race barriers in the matter of intermarriage between whites and blacks, but it does not have the sanction of the Church and is contrary to Church doctrine.”

     

     

    Crash Course:

    Black Marriage – Mormon Think
  • Slaves Submit

    Slaves Submit

    From the Bible, 1 Peter 2:18:[footnote]1 Peter 2:18 – Bible[/footnote]

    18 Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the cruel.

     

    Crash Course:

  • Secret not Sacred

    Secret not Sacred

    Excerpt from the pre-1930 endowment ceremony:[footnote]Why the need for secret death oaths in the LDS Temple Endowment Ceremony?  [/footnote]

    ADAM : “We, and each of us, covenant and promise that we will not reveal any of the secrets of this, the first token of the Aaronic priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign or penalty. Should we do so, we agree that our throats be cut from ear to ear and our tongues torn out by their roots.”

    ADAM: “All bow your heads and say Yes.”

    TEMPLE PATRONS: “Yes.” (All patrons sit down.)

    PETER: “The brethren and sisters will now stand, push back the seats, place the robe on the left shoulder, and receive the Second Token of the Aaronic Priesthood. We and each of us do covenant and promise that we will not reveal the secrets of this, the Second Token of the Aaronic Priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign, grip or penalty. Should we do so, we agree to have our breasts cut open and our hearts and vitals torn from our bodies and given to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.”

    “All bow your heads and say yes.”

    TEMPLE PATRONS: “Yes.” (All patrons sit down.)

    PETER: “We and each of us do covenant and promise that we will not reveal any of the secrets of this, the First Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood, with its accompanying name, sign or penalty. Should we do so, we agree that our bodies be cut asunder in the midst and all our bowels gush out.”

    “All bow your heads and say yes.”

    TEMPLE PATRONS: “Yes.” (All patrons sit down.)

     

    Crash Course:

    Why the need for secret death oaths in the LDS Temple Endowment Ceremony?
    Temple Oaths – Mormon Think
    Mormonism and Masonry (Podcast) – Mormon Expressions
    The LDS Endowment – For Latter-day Saints, the endowment serves as a rite of adult initiation.
    Masonic Symbols and the LDS Temple – Sandra Tanner
    Masonry and Mormonism, an Interview with Greg Kearney (Podcast) – Mormon Stories
    Occultic and Masonic Influence in Early Mormonism – Joel B. Groat

  • No Paid Ministry

    No Paid Ministry

    Image: Thomas S. Monson, LDS Church President. 

    From the April 2006 General Conference address ‘Our Sacred Priesthood Trust’:[footnote]Our Sacred Priesthood Trust – LDS April 2006 General Conference[/footnote]

    I have experienced many opportunities. One occurred 21 years ago, prior to the time when the German Democratic Republic—or East Germany, as it was more commonly known—was freed from Communist rule. I was visiting with the East German state secretary, Minister Gysi. At that time our temple at Freiberg, in East Germany, was under construction, along with two or three meetinghouses. Minister Gysi and I visited on a number of subjects, including our worldwide building program. He then asked, “Why is your church so wealthy that you can afford to build buildings in our country and throughout the world? How do you get your money?”

    I answered that the Church is not wealthy but that we follow the ancient biblical principle of tithing, which principle is reemphasized in our modern scripture. I explained also that our Church has no paid ministry and indicated that these were two reasons why we were able to build the buildings then under way, including the beautiful temple at Freiberg.

    From a 2014 letter to First Quorum of the 70 addressing living allowance increase:[footnote]First Q70 Living Allowance – Mormon Leaks[/footnote]

    In Accordance with approved procedures, the annual General Authority base allowance has been increased from $116,400 to $120,000. This will begin with your paycheck issued on January 10, 2014 (pay period 1).

    Detailed information on the t2014 medical benefits and related premiums was sent to you earlier by Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators.

     

     

     

     

    Crash Course:

    How the Mormons Make Money – Bloomberg

    LDS Church Finances – Wikipedia

    Mormon Leaks

    Church Finances, 1947-Style – By Common Consent

    What does “unpaid ministry” look like? – Eric Johnson

  • National Equalization

    National Equalization

    Image: Joseph Smith Jr. – Mormon Prophet

    Views of Joseph Smith Jr. regarding race, from The History of the Church:[footnote]History of the Church, Volume 5, pages 218-219 [/footnote]

    The Prophet’s View of the Negro Race.

    At five went to Mr. Sollars’ with Elders Hyde and Richards. Elder Hyde inquired the situation of the negro. I replied, they came into the world slaves mentally and physically. Change their situation with the whites, and they would be like them. They have souls, and are subjects of salvation. Go into Cincinnati or any city, and find an educated negro, who rides in his carriage, and you will see a man who has risen by the powers of his own mind to his exalted state of respectability. The slaves in Washington are more refined than many in high places, and the black boys will take the shine of many of those they brush and wait on.

    Elder Hyde remarked, “Put them on the level, and they will rise above me.” I replied, if I raised you to be my equal, and then attempted to oppress you, would you not be indignant and try to rise above me, as did Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer, and many others, who said I was a fallen Prophet, and they were capable of leading the people, although I never attempted to oppress them, but had always been lifting them up? Had I anything to do with the negro, I would confine them by strict law to their own species, and put them on a national equalization.


    Crash Course:

  • Darkies

    Darkies

    Image: Joseph Fielding Smith

    Excerpt from a 1963 Look Magazine interview with Joseph Fielding Smith:[footnote]Look Magazine, Oct 22, 1963, p. 79 [/footnote]

    “I would not want you to believe that we bear any animosity toward the Negro. ‘Darkies’ are a wonderful people, and they have their place in our church.”


    Crash Course:

    Blacks and the Priesthood – Mormon Think
  • Pure Blood

    Pure Blood

    Image: Rosa Parks, Civil Rights Activist

    Excerpt from Historian D. Michael Quinn’s article on ‘Utah Mormon discrimination against the Blacks’:

    [footnote]Prelude to the National “Defense of Marriage” Campaign: Civil Discrimination Against Feared or Despised Minorities – D. Michael Quinn [/footnote]

    ‘In 1953, a First Presidency secretary also informed a white Mormon about the less-obvious extent of Utah’s racial segregation: “The L.D.S. Hospital here in Salt Lake City has a blood bank which does not contain any colored blood.” According to presidency counselor J. Reuben Clark, this policy of segregating African-American blood from the blood donated by so-called “white people” was intended “to protect the purity of the blood streams of the people of this Church.”’


    Crash Course:

    Race and the Priesthood Essay – LDS.org
    Statements about race in the Book of Mormon – Religious Tolerance
    Black people in Mormon doctrine – Wikipedia
    Blacks and the Priesthood – Mormon Think
    Prelude to the National “Defenseof Marriage” Campaign: Civil Discrimination Against Feared or Despised Minorities – D. Michael Quinn
    Mormons and the NAACP – Blacks and the Priesthood – wasmormon.org

    Mormons and the NAACP – Blacks and the Priesthood
  • Utah Segregation

    Utah Segregation

    Excerpt from Historian D. Michael Quinn’s article on ‘Utah Mormon discrimination against the Blacks’:[footnote]Prelude to the National “Defense of Marriage” Campaign: Civil Discrimination Against Feared or Despised Minorities – D. Michael Quinn [/footnote]

    “Even after federal emancipation of America’s slaves in the 1860s, LDS church president Brigham Young referred to African-American slavery as a religious necessity. Earlier, as both church president and governor, he had instructed the Utah legislature in 1852 to legalize the slavery of African-Americans. This directly contradicted Joseph Smith’s proposal in 1844 “to abolish slavery by the year 1850″ by financially compensating Southern slave-owners through the sale of federal lands in the West.90 Utah Mormonism’s reversal of Joseph Smith’s social policy toward Negroes was mirrored by the refusal of LDS presidents after 1844 to follow the founding prophet’s example of giving the priesthood to blacks who were not slaves.

    For more than a century, Utah restricted African-Americans from patronizing white restaurants and hotels, prohibited them from public swimming pools, and required them to sit in the balconies of theaters During World War II, African-Americans wearing their nation’s uniform had to sit in the balcony of Utah theaters, while German prisoners-of war sat on the main floor with white servicemen and civilians. Utah law also prohibited marriage between a white person and a black (including persons only one-eighth Negro).”

     


    Crash Course:

  • Civil Rights

    Civil Rights

    Image: Martin Luther King Jr., Civil Rights Activist

    From an address by Ezra Taft Benson in the April 1965 General Conference:[footnote]Not commanded in all things – Ezra Taft Benson, April 1965 [/footnote]

    What are we doing to fight it? Before I left for Europe I warned how the communists were using the civil rights movement to promote revolution and eventual takeover of this country. When are we going to wake up? What do you know about the dangerous civil rights agitation in Mississippi! do you fear the destruction of all vestiges of state government?

    Now brethren, the Lord never promised there would not be traitors in the Church. We have the ignorant, the sleepy and the deceived who provide temptations and avenues of apostasy for the unwary and the unfaithful, but we have a prophet at our head and he has spoken. Now what are we going to do about it?

    Do Homework

    Brethren, if we had done our homework and were faithful we could step forward at this time and help save this country.

     


    Crash Course:

    Not commanded in all things – Ezra Taft Benson, April 1965
    Blacks and the Priesthood – Mormon Think
    Mormon racism in perspective – Elder Mark E. Peterson
  • Confirmed Racist

    Confirmed Racist

    Image: Martin Luther King Jr., Civil Rights Activist

    Excerpts from an address by Apostle Mark E. Peterson given at the Convention of Teachers of Religion on the College Level
    Brigham Young University Provo, Utah – August 27, 1954[footnote]Race Problems—As They Affect The Church – Mark E. Petersen, 1954 [/footnote]

    “God has commanded Israel not to intermarry. To go against this commandment of God would be in sin. Those who willfully sin with their eyes open to this wrong will not be surprised to find that they will be separated from the presence of God in the world to come. This is spiritual death….

    The reason that one would lose his blessings by marrying a Negro is due to the restriction placed upon them. “No person having the least particle of Negro blood can hold the Priesthood” (Brigham Young). It does not matter if they are one-sixth Negro or one-hundred and sixth, the curse of no Priesthood is the same. If an individual who is entitled to the Priesthood marries a Negro, the Lord has decreed that only spirits who are not eligible for the Priesthood will come to that marriage as children. To intermarry with a Negro is to forfeit a “Nation of Priesthood holders”….

    The discussion on civil rights, especially over the last 20 years, has drawn some very sharp lines. It has blinded the thinking of some of our own people, I believe. They have allowed their political affiliations to color their thinking to some extent, and then, of course, they have been persuaded by some of the arguments that have been put forth….We who teach in the Church certainly must have our feet on the ground and not to be led astray by the philosophies of men on this subject….

    I think I have read enough to give you an idea of what the Negro is after. He is not just seeking the opportunity of sitting down in a cafe where white people eat. He isn’t just trying to ride on the same streetcar or the same Pullman car with white people. It isn’t that he just desires to go to the same theater as the white people. From this, and other interviews I have read, it appears that the 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 allow our feelings to carry us away, nor must we feel so sorry for Negroes that we will open our arms and embrace them with everything we have. Remember the little statement that we used to say about sin, “First we pity, then endure, then embrace”….

    Now let’s talk about segregation again for a few moments. Was segregation a wrong principle? 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 told Enoch not preach the gospel to the descendants of Cain who were black, the Lord engaged in 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 and the Negro 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 under threat of extension of the curse. And He certainly segregated the descendants of Cain when He cursed the Negro as to the Priesthood, and drew an absolute line. You may even say He dropped an Iron curtain there….

    Now we are generous with the Negro. We are willing that the Negro have the highest education. I would be willing to let every Negro drive a Cadillac if they could afford it. I would be willing that they have all the advantages they can get out of life in the world. But let them enjoy these things among themselves. I think the Lord segregated the Negro and who is man to change that segregation? It reminds me of the scripture on marriage, “what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Only here we have the reverse of the thing — what God hath separated, let not man bring together again.”

    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 their 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, if the Negro accepts the gospel with real, sincere faith, and is really converted, 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.”

     


    Crash Course:

    Race Problems—As They Affect The Church – Mark E. Petersen, 1954
    Blacks and the Priesthood – Mormon Think
    Mormon racism in perspective – Elder Mark E. Peterson
  • Loathsome

    Loathsome

    The Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 5:21-25), in describing the ‘curse of dark skin’ that afflicted the Lamanites (American Indian), reads:[footnote]2 Nephi 5 – The Book of Mormon [/footnote]

    21 And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them.

    22 And thus saith the Lord God: I will cause that they shall be loathsome unto thy people, save they shall repent of their iniquities.

    23 And cursed shall be the seed of him that mixeth with their seed; for they shall be cursed even with the same cursing. And the Lord spake it, and it was done.

    24 And because of their cursing which was upon them they did become an idle people, full of mischief and subtlety, and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of prey.

    25 And the Lord God said unto me: They shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in remembrance of me; and inasmuch as they will not remember me, and hearken unto my words, they shall scourge them even unto destruction.

     


    Crash Course:

    2 Nephi 5 – The Book of Mormon
    Blacks and the Priesthood – Mormon Think
    Mormon racism in perspective – Elder Mark E. Peterson
  • Scales of Darkness

    Scales of Darkness

    Until 1981 2 Nephi 30:6 in the Book of Mormon taught that dark-skinned Lamanites (Indians) would eventually experience a change in the color of their skin should they embrace the Book of Mormon. This passage read:

    “And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and 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 and a delightsome people.”

    In 1981 the Church changed the text of The Book of Mormon to read:

    “And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and 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 pure and a delightsome people.”

     


    Crash Course:

    Blacks and the Priesthood – Mormon Think
    Mormon racism in perspective – Elder Mark E. Peterson
  • Shades Lighter

    Shades Lighter

    Image: Spencer W. Kimball

    From the October 1960 LDS General Conference, Spencer W. Kimball:[footnote]The Day of the Lamanites -1960 General Conference, Spencer W. Kimball [/footnote]

    “At one meeting a father and mother and their sixteen-year-old daughter were present, the little member girl—sixteen—sitting between the dark father and mother, and it was evident she was several shades lighter than her parents—on the same reservation, in the same hogan, subject to the same sun and wind and weather. There was the doctor in a Utah city who for two years had had an Indian boy in his home who stated that he was some shades lighter than the younger brother just coming into the program from the reservation. These young members of the Church are changing to whiteness and to delightsomeness. One white elder jokingly said that he and his companion were donating blood regularly to the hospital in the hope that the process might be accelerated.”

     


    Crash Course:

    The Day of the Lamanites -1960 General Conference, Spencer W. Kimball
    Blacks and the Priesthood – Mormon Think
    Mormon racism in perspective – Elder Mark E. Peterson
  • White and Delightsome

    White and Delightsome

    Image: Apostle LeGrand Richards

    In a 1978 interview Apostle LeGrand Richards spoke on the topic of  ‘giving the priesthood to the Negro’:[footnote]Interview with Apostle LeGrand Richards -16th August 1978, Church office Building [/footnote]

    WALTERS (Interviewer): Is there still a tendency to feel that people are born with black skin because of some previous situation, or do we consider that black skin is no sign anymore of anything inferior in any sense of the word?

    RICHARDS: Well, we don’t want to get that as a doctrine. Think of it as you will. You know, Paul said “Now we see in part and we know in part; we see through a glass darkly. When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away, then we will see as we are seen, and know as we are known.” Now the Church’s attitude today is to prefer to leave it until we know. The Lord has never indicated that black skin came because of being less faithful. Now, the Indian; we know why he was changed, don’t we? The Book of Mormon tells us that; and he has a dark skin, but he has a promise there that through faithfulness, that they all again become a white and delightsome people. So we haven’t anything like that on the colored thing.

     


    Crash Course:

    Interview with Apostle LeGrand Richards – 16th August 1978, Church office Building
    Blacks and the Priesthood – Mormon Think
    Mormon racism in perspective – Elder Mark E. Peterson
  • Becoming White

    Becoming White

    Lesson 19, A white and Blessed People:[footnote]Manual for the Priests’ Quorum, Nephi Jensen – Deseret News Press, 1927 [/footnote]

    LESSON NINETEEN

    A WHITE AND BLESSED PEOPLE

    (a) Activity Period: (About 15 minutes.) Prayer.—Roll Call—Consider ways of getting attendance of absent members.—Report of assignments performed.—Assignments for ensuing week.—Social and fraternal activities.—Instructions by Bishop.

    (b) Lesson Period: (15 to 30 minutes.) Report of number who have read lesson.

    Statement of Facts.

    1. The Lamanites, because of the iniquity of their fathers, were cursed with a skin of darkness.
    2. They became an idle and a loathsome people, shut off largely from the blessings of the Lord.
    3. Prayers have been offered by servants of the Lord for their restoration.
    4. It has been prophesied that they shall one day become a white and delightsome and blessed people.
    5. Whenever they have obeyed the Gospel in the past, their dark skin has been removed, and they have become fair and beautiful and civilized.

    Argument.

    When the Indians or Lamanites receive and obey the Gospel in our day and from henceforth, they shall become as white and blessed a people as any in the Church today. This will take place before many generations have passed.

    A WHITE AND BLESSED PEOPLE

    For their rebellion and iniquity in hardening their hearts against the Lord and his chosen spokesmen, the Lord caused a curse to come upon the Lamanites, and those who intermarried with them. Before thy had…

     

     


    Crash Course:

    Blacks and the Priesthood – Mormon Think
    Mormon racism in perspective – Elder Mark E. Peterson
  • Weren’t Not Racist

    Weren’t Not Racist

    Image: Brigham Young

    In 1855 Brigham Young said: “You must not think, from what I say, that I am opposed to slavery. No! The negro is damned, and is to serve his master till God chooses to remove the curse of Ham…”[footnote]New York Herald, May 4, 1855, as cited in Dialogue, Spring 1973, p. 56 [/footnote]


    Crash Course:

    Blacks and the Priesthood – Mormon Think
    Mormon racism in perspective – Elder Mark E. Peterson
    The Way to Perfection – Curse of Cain
    The Improvement Era – December 1960
  • Choose the Rights

    Choose the Rights

    Excerpt from the 2013 BYU devotional, by Elaine S. Dalton – General President of the Young Women’s organization[footnote] “Prophetic Priorities and Dedicated Disciples” BYU Devotional – Elaine S. Dalton, January 15, 2013 [/footnote]

    “Young women, you will be the ones who will provide the example of virtuous womanhood and motherhood. You will continue to be virtuous, lovely, praiseworthy and of good report. You will also be the ones to provide an example of family life in a time when families are under attack, being redefined and disintegrating. You will understand your roles and your responsibilities and thus will see no need to lobby for rights.”


    Crash Course:

    “Prophetic Priorities and Dedicated Disciples” BYU Devotional – Elaine S. Dalton

    Joseph Smith’s Teachings about Priesthood, Temple, and Women  – LDS Gospel Topic Essay

    How the temple is sexist (and the church is, too) – Young Mormon Feminist

    The Church and the Proposed Equal Rights Amendment: A Moral Issue – LDS.org