MORMON RACIST DOCUMENTS AND A SBC RESOLUTION
By Wm. Dwight McKissic, Sr.
June 12, 2012
When did Spencer Kimball, LDS President, state that curses against Black people are no longer in effect? Baptist Press cites Tal Davis, a former interfaith witness consultant with the North American Mission Board and now Executive Vice President of MarketFaith Ministries of Tallahassee, FL, making such a claim. Can Davis or anyone else document this claim?
According to Joanna Brooks, a Mormon author:
“To my knowledge, no Church leader has ever stood at the pulpit and formally renounced the idea that Cain or Ham are the source of racial Blackness and the priesthood ban. Perceptive observers note that the LDS Church leadership prefers to let old doctrines fade away quietly rather than address them directly. On race issues especially, I think this leads to missed opportunities. While younger generations of Mormons may rarely think about and may not even know about the Church’s history with African-Americans, older Mormons continue to quietly harbor outmoded ideas, and many non-Mormons, especially African-Americans, are aware of the Church’s past teachings but without a formal renunciation do not know whether such doctrines continue. In 2006, Church President Gordon B. Hinckley did state over the pulpit at General Conference that racism is unequivocally wrong and totally unacceptable among Church members. His comments were welcomed by African-American Mormons and their allies.
Still, I’m looking forward to the day when more Mormons will say out loud: We were wrong. We were wrong about Cain. Wrong about Ham. And wrong to deny the priesthood to people of African descent. For in this regard, the curse has been ours to bear.”
There is a growing awareness and acceptance of Mormonism—particularly among Blacks—in Africa and America. In the Baptist Press article, Tal Davis mentioned evangelizing Mormon Church members with the true gospel as a reason to not affirm this Resolution. Wouldn’t equipping African and African American Christians from being influenced by Mormon good deeds to accept Mormonism be a good reason to affirm this Resolution? I Peter 3:15 commands that believers be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about our faith. When a Mormon knocks on an African or African American door, wouldn’t this resolution equip the African/African Americans to defend the Christian faith?
Persons might take the Mormon documents at face value unless the SBC warns them.
I’ve never known Southern Baptists to be squeamish or timid about denouncing Mormonism. Why now?
June 12, 2012 at 8:08 pm
One might wonder also where all the African American Mormons are. Surely they’d be calling on them and inviting them into their organization too, if they’d denounced their former racism, right?
And I’d think they’d also educate the rank and file to confess that they were wrong in that, as well. Much as Germany has with respect to the holocaust, and the SBC with slavery (to the extent it has).
I listened to Ed Stetzer’s broadcast concerning Mormonism and it was quite helpful to me, personally, although I already had a lot of fun talking to Mormons myself. They just don’t seem to stop by any more, but I hope they do. I’ll ask them point blank about this, next time.
June 12, 2012 at 8:25 pm
Bob,
One of the anticipated joys of being in NOLA in addition to the election of Fred Luter, is to see you and hopefully, Peg. Remind CB that he is suppose to buy me a meal.
Mormonism is growing in Island countries–where there are a lot of Blacks–and in Africa. Most of the Blacks who become Mormons are totally unaware of the racists heritage and teachings found in their “Bibles”. When they discover this they often become inactive or leave the Mormon church. I hope and pray that Southern Baptists won’t miss this opportunity to alarm and educate potential converts to Mormonism about the fundamentally flawed and racists teachings in their authoritative documents, that I can find no record where this has ever been recanted or repented of by any LDS official. Allowing Black males to serve as priests starting in 1978 falls far short of repenting of these racists statements that remain in their “Bibles”.
Dwight
June 12, 2012 at 8:11 pm
If stating disagreements with Mormonism is a hindrance to Mormon evangelism, wouldn’t the SBC and NAMB have applied that logic to all the other statements and documents issued by the SBC that do not reflect Mormonism in a positive light?
Dwight
June 15, 2012 at 8:42 am
Dwight,
Happy Birthday my dear friend. As you celebrate I am reminded that God birth you for such a time as this. I am in A conference in H-Town and just finish reading your blog and fully agree with your kingdom minded agenda. You are an officer in the kingdom and a welcomed voice for the King. I believe we have allowed the worlds culture to cloud the Kingdom culture, I have been guilty of that and ask for God’s forgiveness. I pray that we get back to the constitution of the kingdom which has never been amended (the bible). If we get back to a Kingdom View as suppose to the world’s view we will then understand that those of the kingdom are govern by the King who is self selected, self sustained and need no super PAC. Well I must be about my fathers business be bless!
George