NOM

This is a great lesson for members of the church. I hope they will both read and ponderize it:
https://medium.com/@Ch_JesusChrist/lock ... 62180abf37

It would be ten times more impactful as a social statement if it included an apology. What a wonderful opportunity for the church to dig deep and go through the steps of repentance, and demonstrate that it's not just spouting platitudes. Can you imagine the prophet begging forgiveness from the leaders of the NAACP rather than boasting that they are "brothers from different mothers?" That would really be touching.

I wish the church would distribute neutral-color hats to all of its members that say "Make America Good Again" and require members to wear it at all times, even when doing yard work. Or how about a Proclamation To The World about how awesome all people are, rather than yet another one about how awesome the Mormon church is? Of course, they'd have to rescind the one about who gets to be in a legitimate family and who doesn't.

Remember how hated Jonathan Streeter was for writing a fake apology for the church? The offensive line was “I offer a full unqualified apology for the error of racism which was taught from this office and in the tabernacle and over the pulpits of our churches the world over.” The problem was that this was a reasonable and Christian thing for President Nelson to say. The bigger problem was that people believed it was reasonable and it cause deep hurt when they came to grips with the realization that it's exactly the kind of thing Nelson would never say.

What a unique opportunity for church leaders to ask themselves what Jesus would have them do, take a knee, and tearfully beg for forgiveness.

Here is where religion could actually have a good impact on the world. Unfortunately is means sloughing off their narcissistic tribal specialness, which is really what most religions are about; and in fact fuel the fire under the ice upon which our fragile global society sits. Evolve, adapt or die; time will tell and the cosmos doesn't care.

Hagoth wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:43 am

This is a great lesson for members of the church. I hope they will both read and ponderize it:
https://medium.com/@Ch_JesusChrist/lock ... 62180abf37

It would be ten times more impactful as a social statement if it included an apology. What a wonderful opportunity for the church to dig deep and go through the steps of repentance, and demonstrate that it's not just spouting platitudes. Can you imagine the prophet begging forgiveness from the leaders of the NAACP rather than boasting that they are "brothers from different mothers?" That would really be touching.

What a unique opportunity for church leaders to ask themselves what Jesus would have them do, take a knee, and tearfully beg for forgiveness.

I'm with you - I'd love to see this, but I'm not confident that it would ever happen. And it's simple why. They CANNOT throw old, racist prophets under the bus and still claim that prophets speak for Christ. So they can't or most likely won't, apologize. Or they think they can't. But the time is right, especially when one of my kids pointed out this little gem from the BYU student newspaper:

https://universe.byu.edu/2020/06/03/lis ... rJBamyPpsA

And that's when and why things will change in the church, when the young people have had enough, and young BYU journalists will get money quotes by great historians like W. Paul Reeve, who says this in the article:

"The Gospel Topics essay on race and the priesthood says the Church doesn’t stand by these teachings and leaders now condemn all forms of racism both in the present and the past. We taught that. We practiced, produced, created racism, and it was wrong. That’s what the church needs to say, Reeve said. Until then, he said, members will continue to think racist teachings like dark skin being a curse could be true. Until the Church actively teaches anti-racism, we’ll be stuck with our racism, Reeves said."

Bingo. And until that is officially denounced at the top, it will just ring hollow for those who know the history of racism the church produced.

This from the Trib:

https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/letters/ ... on-should/

Palerider wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 08, 2020 9:21 am

This from the Trib:
https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/letters/ ... on-should/

Likewise the Book of Abraham needs to repent for its racist promotion of "blood of Cain" discrimination, and the D&C needs to repent for, mistaking the Native Americans for "cursed" Lamanites, something which is now denied by the Gospel Topics DNA essay. Missionaries who were sent to those people, according to W.W. Phelps, were told to take additional "Lamanite" wives "that their posterity may become white, delightsome and just.”

In fact, God needs to repent for this because he's the one who makes that error. Too bad he didn't know about DNA back in those days.

So this stuff goes deep. A true denial of racism in the church would require a very thorough scrubbing with a potent disinfectant. I recommend sunshine.

You guys are right, they know they can't criticize the racist leaders of the past without undermining their own authority. They would rather perpetuate those wrongs to the detriment of our black brothers and sisters than state clearly and explicitly that past prophets were wrong and apologize accordingly.

Wouldn't the Church first have to feel regret for its past actions before it apologized?
Apologies are for the truly penitent.

Perhaps they are sticking to their story that God wanted them to be racially discriminatory?
Apologies are for those who recognize the nature of their wrong.

Or perhaps those who would do the issuing of the apology are just too proud and stiff-necked?
Apologies are for the humble.