Mormon Church First Presidency's Officially-Stated Position Against Marital Race-Mixing Remains in Force Today . . .

by steve benson Feb 2012

Mormon First Presidency 1947 Signed Statement: "...From the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith even until now, it is 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."

--As Originally, Officially Stated

On 17 July 1947, the LDS First Presidency wrote the following to Lowry Nelson, Mormon professor at Utah State Agricultural College regarding the status of Blacks in the eyes of the Mormon God:

"Dear Brother Nelson:

". . . The basic element of your ideas and concepts seems to be that all God's children stand in equal positions before Him in all things. Your knowledge of the Gospel will indicate to you that this is contrary to the very fundamentals of God's dealings with Israel dating from the time of His promise to Abraham regarding Abraham's seed and their position vis-a-vis God Himself. Indeed, some of God's children were assinged to superior positions before the world was formed.

"We are aware that some Higher Critics do not accept this, but the Church does. Your position seems to lose sight of the revelations of the Lord touching the pre-existence of our spirits, the rebellion in heaven, and the doctrines that our birth into this life and the advantages under which we may be born, have a religionship in the life heretofore. From the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith even until now, it is 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 partiarchs till now. God's rule for Israel, His Chosen People, has been endogamous [meaning 'marriage within a specific tribe or similar social unit']. Modern Israel has been similarly directed. We are not unmindful of the fact that there is a growing tendency, particularly among some educators, as it manifests itself in this are, 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.

"Faithfully yours,

George Albert Smith
J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
David O. McKay"

[George Albert Smith was the Mormon prophet in 1947]

Lowry responded on 8 October:

"The attitude of the Church in regard to the Negro makes me very sad. I do not believe God is a racist."

The First Presidency answered:

"We feel very sure that you are aware of the doctrines of the Church. They are either true or not true. Our testimony is that they are true. Under these circumstances we may not permit ourselves to be too much impressed by the reasonings of men, however well founded they may seem to be. We should like to say this to you in all sincerity, that you are too fine a man to permit yourself to be led off from the principles of the Gospel by worldly learning.

"You have too much of a potentiality for doing good and we therefore prayerfully hope that you can re-orient your thinking and bring it in line with the revealed Word of God."
_____

--Fast Forward to the Present

Significantly, the anti-interracial marriage sentiments of eventual LDS church president Spencer W. Kimball were reprinted in the Mormon church-owned "Deseret News" on 17 June 1978, as part of the LDS church's official announcement of its 180-degree reversal on Mormonism's long-standing anti-Black priesthood ban.

To this day, Kimball's anti-interracial marriage statement stands officially unrevoked.

It reads as follows (as reported and requoted in June 1978 in the Mormon church-owned "Church News" section of the "Deseret News," where the LDS church first published its announcement on the lifting of its priesthood ban against Blacks):

“In an address to seminary & institute teachers at [BYU] . . . President Kimball, then a member of the Council of the 12, said: '. . . [T]here is one thing that I must mention & that is interracial marriages. When I said you must teach your young people to overcome their prejudices & accept the Indians, I did not mean that you would encourage intermarriage.’"

In the LDS church’s 2011 Aaronic Priesthood manual (Manual 3, Lesson 31, "Choosing an Eternal Companion"), interracial marriage has continued to be discouraged, via the words of Kimball:

“We recommend that people marry those who are of the same racial background generally & of somewhat the same economic & social & educational background (some of those are not an absolute necessity, but preferred), & above all, the same religious background, without question.” (Kimball, "Marriage and Divorce," BYU devotional, 1976, reprinted in "Devotional Speeches of the Year," 1977)

Mia
Re: Color It Bigoted: The First Presidency's Officially-Stated Position Against Marital Race-Mixing Remains in Force Today . . .
My mil, my husband ,stepson,his child, my sil, my grand child, my nephews spouse and their children All look hispanic. Some are, some are not. I could care less.
Who do these men think they are to tell people who they can or can't fall in love with?
Some in my family have a lot of money, some do not. It doesn't seem to matter which shade of beige they are. In my family it just so happens the darker they are the more money they have. My family is a melting pot of color and money. One does not determine the other. I cannot even begin to imagine sorting us out by color or money. Neither one determines who loves who. It is an insult to me and everyone that I love that the church was/is conniving to keep my family from being what it is. I do not believe that God ever had that kind of thinking in mind.
If race-mixing is a sin, so many in my family would be considered guilty. It is the most ridiculous concept ever. I can't imagine being separated in the next life because the people we love have a different shade of skin. That idea does not come from God. Pure and simple.

Alex Degaston
Steve, here is your reference
1. I did a screenshot of this lesson manual at http://www.degaston.com/lds2011_aaronic_manual_3_lesson31.png in case a revelation comes to Prophet Monson in the near future that this doctrine has changed.

2. See http://www.lds.org/manual/aaronic-priesthood-manual-3/lesson-31-choosing... for a direct link to the sacred website where this sacred lesson can be found right now.

I still think the keystone of Mormon racism can be found at http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng.

anybody
Re: Color It Bigoted: The First Presidency's Officially-Stated Position Against Marital Race-Mixing Remains in Force Today . . .
"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..."

Read the Bible, you clueless prophets -- Moses married Sephora, the eldest daughter of Jethro of Midian -- and she was "kushim" (i.e. dark skinned or black)

nowhere
Re: Color It Bigoted: The First Presidency's Officially-Stated Position Against Marital Race-Mixing Remains in Force Today . . .
The "god" that I understand is not a rascist nor a bigot! All the brethren who continually state the contrary or allude to some passage of misinterpreted scripture to validate their idle positions are missing the entire point of what it really means to love one another. Perhaps they never undestood the teachings of Jesus Christ whom so many revere as the master teacher. Maybe they never wanted to. Perhaps their pride got in the way and blinded them to the real truth.

There are many members of the church, however, who don't participate in this flawed mentality and strive to help their fellow brothers and sisters in overcoming the challenges of this world. I know many able-bodied men and women who could direct the policies and procedures of the church better and more lovingly than some of the brethren.

"Recovery from Mormonism - www.exmormon.org"