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arieh0310
Guest
I was answering your statement about prophetic infallability. What this thread is trying to convey is the blatant racism taught by leaders and the BOM since the church’s inception.
“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 from the First Presidency of the Mormon Church, July 17, 1947, as cited in Mormonism and the Negro, by John J. Stewart, 1960, pages 46-47)
Bruce R. McConkie, who later served as an Apostle in the church, made this statement in 1958:
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"Negroes in this life are denied the priesthood; under no circumstances can they hold this delegation of authority from the Almighty.... The gospel message of salvation is not carried affirmatively to them...
"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,.." (Mormon Doctrine, 1958, page 477)Apostle Petersen, who died in 1984, held some very strong views concerning Indians and other dark-skinned races. In a speech given at the church’s Brigham Young University, Apostle Petersen gave the following information concerning the doctrine of pre-existence and how it affected the various races:
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"We cannot escape the conclusion that because of performance in our pre-existence some of us are born as Chinese, some as Japanese, some as Indians, some as Negroes, some as Americans, some as Latter-day Saints. These are rewards and punishments... Is it not reasonable to believe that less worthy spirits would come through less favored lineage? Does this not account in very large part for the various grades of color and degrees of intelligence we find in the earth?...
"Now let's talk 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.... In placing a curse on Laman and Lemuel *, He engaged in segregation.... When He forbade inter-marriages... He established segregation.... Who placed the Chinese in China? The Lord did. It was an act of segregation.... in the cases of the Lamanites [Indians] 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 under threat of extension of the curse. (2 Nephi 5:21)...
"Let us consider the great mercy of God for a moment. A Chinese, born in China with a dark skin, and with all the handicaps of that race seems to have little opportunity. But think of the mercy of God to Chinese people who are willing to accept the gospel. In spite of whatever they might have done in the pre-existence to justify being born over there as Chinamen, if they now, in this life, accept the gospel and live it the rest of their lives they can have the Priesthood, go to the temple and receive endowments and sealings, and that means they can have exaltation. Isn't the mercy of God marvelous?
"Think of the Negro, cursed as to the Priesthood... This negro, who, in the pre-existence lived the type of life which justified the Lord in sending him to the earth in the lineage of Cain with a black skin... In spite of all he did in the pre-existent life, the Lord is willing, if the Negro accepts the gospel... he can and will enter the celestial kingdom. He will go there as a servant, but he will get celestial glory." (Race Problems — As They Affect The Church, Address by Apostle Mark E. Petersen at the Convention of Teachers of Religion on the College Level, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, August 27, 1954)