May 30 – James 2:9 – “But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.”
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Without condemning the individual Mormon, ask him/her for their opinion about Mr. Bednar’s statement and why the Church banned blacks from holding the priesthood until June 1978. The person you’re speaking with may not hold any animosity towards people of color, but their Church has a long sordid history of doing so. Find out if they think Christians in the early church condemned people of color, and if so why. ALWAYS use the Bible as the rule book! Your personal opinion shouldn’t come into play here – only facts.
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“Come and See”; “Latter-day Saints take seriously this responsibility to teach all people in all nations about the Lord Jesus Christ and His restored gospel. We believe the same Church founded by the Savior anciently has been reestablished on the earth by Him in the latter days. The doctrine, principles, priesthood authority, ordinances, and covenants of His gospel are found today in His Church.” — David A. Bednar
If racism exists in the church, it exists within the hearts of individual members. I don’t believe that the church, as an organization, condones racism, however, individual members likely do. A lot of Mormons believe that we should love people of color, however, many of them also believe that there are inherent differences in the way people were created. Just my observation
Yeah, I’ve seen this as well. Then I’ve also seen my own family members that’ve adopted the racist theology and actually quote their canon, and/or past leaders. After working in ministry for 25+ yrs I’ve seen one end of the spectrum to the other. I’ve even had LDS members call and yell vehemently at me to say they’re not racist and the things I’ve posted are just my imagination.
As always, I guarantee the authenticity of every quote I’ve ever published. If I’ve listed something incorrectly I ask the reader to show me where it is so I can fix it immediately, pull it, and apologize.
I’m not here to bash the Mormon people – I love them dearly and wouldn’t dream of doing any such thing. I remember all too well what it was like being LDS with the confusion in my heart along with the unabashed loyalty I had for my heritage. Unfortunately, it was a dismal experience – hence my exodus.