A now-closed thread from yesterday, initiated by Scooter, explored the Catholic Church's "exoneration" of the Jews for killing Jesus two millennia ago--a "somewhat" belated apology which apparently first occurred several decades ago--but was just recently reemphasized by the Pope:

http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,127321


So how long until Mormon church follows suit?

In case you don't recall, the Book of Mormon is hardly Jew-friendly reading; its antisemitism perhaps culminates in the following extraordinarily bigoted and hateful exposition:

"Wherefore, as I said unto you, it must needs be expedient that Christ ... should come among the Jews, among those who are the more wicked part of the world; and they shall crucify him ... and there is none other nation on earth that would crucify their God. For should the mighty miracles be wrought among other nations they would repent, and know that he be their God. But because of priestcrafts and iniquities, they at Jerusalem will stiffen their necks against him, that he be crucified. Wherefore, because of their iniquities, destructions, famines, pestilences, and bloodshed shall come upon them; and they who shall not be destroyed shall be scattered among all nations." (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 10:3 - 6)

http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/10?lang=eng


How many of you had remembered that such a gem was once part of your "sacred beliefs?" I challenge anyone to produce a more explicit, antisemitic rant found anywhere in all of holy scripture!

So I would offer a tiny suggestion to "The Brethren" in SLC: it may be time to update the Book of Mormon (or scrap it altogether!). Perhaps it would serve the Mormon church well to follow its "evil," big sister, the "great whore of all the earth," into a new phase of reality. By purging notions of racial guilt and inferiority from its canon, Mormonism would be showing a substantial and good-faith shift in its collective thinking. Why not make this important fix? (It's not as if there is no precedent; the Book of Mormon has undergone many substantive changes to its text over the years--and other books of Mormon scripture have been edited even more heavily.) True, it would be just one step--one of many that need to be made by the Utah-based church--but such a move could at least be called a legitimate "scratch" to the surface of a certain "colorful" religion, which was, unfortunately, based on undeniably backward, early-nineteenth-century, American-frontier thinking.

Come on. If the "mother of abominations" can do it ....



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 03/04/2011 10:50AM by Fetal Deity.

I think the only reason that such a change will not occur anytime soon, is that the Mormon church has backed itself into the proverbial corner: "We believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God," with no caveats. At least with the Bible, they can always fall back on the "as far as it is translated correctly" excuse.

I'm not sure why the antisemitism of the BoM doesn't get more play. Whenever racism comes up in regards to the BoM it seems it's always about the "dark skin" issue; however, the hatefulness of the BoM in reference to the Jews is as least as extreme as it is with the "Lamanites."

Black, Indians and Jews are All Cursed
Alvin R. Dyer, The Meaning of Truth, rev. ed., p. 33
Birth into mortality is not a matter of chance occurrence or of uncalculated purpose. All is in accordance with a plan. Those who are in a lower division in the pre-mortal estate are born into this life under circumstances that best suit the opportunity to rise above that division, where the normal condition of their place has that encumbrance fitted to their own worthiness. Those who were in the less valiant division will be similarly born into mortality for the same intent of purpose. Those who were the noble ones, such as Abraham and such as all those who were born in the covenant of the patriarchal order, an order which was in the beginning and will be in the end, are consequently born into such a lineage of birth as will preserve their place which they had accepted in pre-mortality and are assigned to in mortality by foreordination. This explanation helps us to understand why there is a vast gradation of people upon the earth. Some are initially born to cursed lineages in varying degrees, such as the Negro, the Jew, and the Indian. Some are born to retarded civilizations although, as stated, within these lineages there are varying degrees.

There are also some very good quotes by BY, but it would take me a while to find them.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/2011 07:23PM by Jim Huston.

OK, maybe I should change my handle to "CursedSemite" or something.

So that's what you meant by "ouch" in your post above--makes sense!

So I'm curious, are you an exmo? And if so, had you read the BoM before you joined? And if you did, what did you think of all the name-calling and blanket accusations found in the BoM directed against the Jews?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/2011 07:37PM by Fetal Deity.

I was a kid when I joined and got out in my early 20s before any real lifelong damage was done.

This was a long time ago. Mormons pretended to like Jews back then; at least the ones I knew did.

I really smoked Hebrew at BYU though.

"killing" Jesus.

Wasn't that what Jesus was here for?

I never understood why a Christian didn't give every Jew a hearty clap on the back, buy him a drink and thank him for killing our savior.

If you're a Christian, than it was all part of "the plan," so the Jews should be congratulated, not "blamed." This reminds me of the Mormon concept that "the Fall" was vital to God's plan and, therefore, Adam and Eve's "transgression" allowed us all to exist in mortality and continue our progression; we should "thank" them, too!

and many others

is that many Christians BLAME the Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus (Skunk puppet put the term in quotes: "killing"), even though they should be "thanking" them, because without the Jews, God's plan for the The Atonement would have been frustrated. But as you correctly state, dr5--if you take the Bible at face value--there were many besides a few Jews who were involved in the death of Jesus Christ.

There is more. The LDS teachings of the gathering make the Mormons above the Jews. The Tenth Article of Faith is about the literal gathering of Israel. Mormonism teaches that LDS members have the birthright and hold the highest importance in this.

Here is an Institute Manual that has many good sources:

http://institute.lds.org/manual/doctrines-of-the-gospel-student-manual/doc-gosp-21-30-24.asp

“It is essential in this dispensation that Ephraim stand in his place at the head, exercising the birthright in Israel which was given to him by direct revelation. Therefore, Ephraim must be gathered first to prepare the way, through the gospel and the priesthood, for the rest of the tribes of Israel when the time comes for them to be gathered to Zion. The great majority of those who have come into the Church are Ephraimites. It is the exception to find one of any other tribe, unless it is of Manasseh."

“It is Ephraim, today, who holds the priesthood. It is with Ephraim that the Lord has made covenant and has revealed the fulness of the everlasting gospel. It is Ephraim who is building temples and performing the ordinances in them for both the living and for the dead. When the ‘lost tribes’ come—and it will be a most wonderful sight and a marvelous thing when they do come to Zion—in fulfilment of the promises made through Isaiah and Jeremiah, they will have to receive the crowning blessings from their brother Ephraim, the ‘firstborn’ in Israel” (Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3:252–53).

Apologists mention it too:

http://en.fairmormon.org/Book_of_Mormon/Stick_of_Ephraim/Erastus_Snow_statement

I have wondered how a Jewish convert might feel about this. The tribe of Ephraim stands at the head, above the Jews. And the magical fortune telling Stake Patriarchs tell who is from which tribe.

If Jews were told this before converting, most wouldn't convert.

But then there's LOTS of things they don't tell converts before converting.

My patriarch was a friend of mine; of course he knew where to put me, but he told me lots of cool stuff, probably because of our friendship.

...and will forward it to Abe Foxman, head of the ASDL
Right now he's pretty hot under his collar about some other "Mormon Quote". I'm sure he will bring tt up once a well-known Mormom politician eyes the preidency once more.

I recall when a member of the bishopric told me that the Jews deserved the Holocaust. My usually soft-spoken mother jumped all over him. I loved it!! Schmuck!!

I remember a few years ago, when Jewish and Mormon leaders met to discuss the Mormon, proxy baptisms of Holocaust victims. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, "Ernest Michel, chairman of the New York-based World Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, called the meetings 'warm and satisfactory.'"* Hmmmm, somehow I doubt that the antisemitism of the Mormon scriptures came up in that meeting!

One of the things Mormons and their leaders excel at is putting on a good PR show. I just wish the public had a better knowledge of the terrible things that Mormon scriptures claim. I would LOVE to see future Mormon presidential candidates forced to answer for their offensive beliefs--and if a particular candidate does NOT believe in certain verses found in the BoM, then I think he or she should have to make that clear, too! This could get VERY interesting!

Thanks, again! : )




*See quote at: http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SLTB&p_theme=sltb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=allfields%28warm%20and%20satisfactory%29%20AND%20date%284/1/2005%20to%204/20/2005%29&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=4/1/2005%20to%204/20/2005%29&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=%28%22warm%22%20and%20%22satisfactory%22%29&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/07/2011 05:17PM by Fetal Deity.

I thought that once you became a mormon your blood changed to jewish blood and we all became adopted jews? I seem to remember my patriarchal blessing telling me which tribe of Judah I belonged to. Aren't all non-momons gentiles?

So if you are really TBM, and anti-semite, what sort of twisted self loathing is that?

I thought of the same thing, Richard! It's the same "logic" as Brigham Young and others telling his dupes that Adam is God and the only God we have to do with, yet acknowliding that 'God kicked him out of the Garden of Eden'. So did "God" kicked himself out? LOL!
Stupid cult!

I save this until the thread is done and will forward it. I already forwarded it to some rabbi friends and asked them to forwad it as well.
Thanks for starting the thread and all the info contained in it.