The Church and the Negroid People, pp. 1-3 “The problem of the races is not new. The various races have been with us since written 
The Bible does not mention if or how the curse and mark placed upon Cain survived the great flood. In the account of Noah and his sons there is a curse referred to as being placed on Canaan, son of Ham by his grandfather Noah. …
The Biblical account indicates a separation of the descendants of Canaan from the lands occupied by the descendants of Shem and Japheth.
The Biblical writers make little attempt to record the history of other than Israelite peoples and distinguish these as descendants of Shem. These we find very conscious of racial streams.
Thus, Abraham sends for a woman from among his own people at Haran as wife for his son Isaac. And Isaac’s son finds a wife in the same land. The Jews returning from Babylon after the captivity reestablished Jerusalem but purged out all who could not trace their genealogy to Israel. …” — William E. Berrett, Vice President of BYU [emp. added]
Genesis 4:11-12 “And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; 12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.”
Genesis 4:13-14 “And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.”
Genesis 4:15-16 “And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. 16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.”
We purposefully separated the bible passages above for the purpose of showing how the Church rejected the truth so easily seen in God’s word.
Don’t let the Church mislead you into thinking they don’t know why some were born black, and others white. If they don’t know why, then why did they opine on this topic, and discriminate against people of color? Here’s what their 11th prophet, Harold B. Lee said –
Behavior in Pre-existence Causes Nationalities “There is no truth more plainly taught in the Gospel than that our condition in the next world will depend upon the kind of lives we live here…Now perhaps you will have a partial answer to some of your questions as to why, if God is a just Father, that some of his children are born of an enlightened race and in a time when the Gospel is upon the earth, while others are born of a heathen parentage in a benighted, backward country; and still others are born to parents who have the mark of a black skin with which the seed of Cain were cursed and whose descendants were to be denied the rights of the priesthood of God” – LDS Prophet, Harold B. Lee, 1973
Truth:
The Church will be playing the victim role until they confess, and repent of their racist lies, and denials. The real obstacle standing in their way is themselves.
The author of our LDS reference today knew exactly what he was saying, and knew it was wrong. He didn’t become the VP of BYU because of luck. Mr. Berrett was a well-schooled pupil of all things Mormon.
As an FYI, Mr. Berrett’s booklet was the 2nd half of the well known LDS book, ‘Mormonism and the Negro’, written by John J. Stewart in 1960. It’s beyond sad these men would spend so much time lying, and blaming God for the troubles of racism, instead of themselves.
Stating the Bible made little attempt at describing other people groups is also disingenuous. The Bible is a story of God’s people, and His interaction with them through history. It’s very clear on why God didn’t want the Israelites intermingling with others. If you want further information about the other people groups, read a World History book.
Not long after these two men wrote this book, I was sitting in many a Sacrament meeting, and Sunday school classes being taught that having dark features was a sign of rejecting Jesus. Being black Welsh, you can imagine my reaction, and I’m sure I’m not alone.
Pray for people to reject all of Mormon doctrine, and turn to Jesus who heals, and saves!
I’ve included excerpts of a great article on the ‘Mark of Cain’, by GotQuestions.org. It gives great insight, and is well worth the read!
With Love in Christ;
Michelle
GotQuestions.org “The nature of the mark on Cain has been the subject of much debate and speculation. The Hebrew word translated “mark” is ‘owth and refers to a “mark, sign, or token.” Elsewhere in the Hebrew Scriptures, ‘owth is used 79 times and is most frequently translated as “sign.” So, the Hebrew word does not identify the exact nature of the mark God put on Cain. Whatever it was, it was a sign/indicator that Cain was not to be killed. Some propose that the mark was a scar, or some kind of tattoo. Whatever the case, the precise nature of the mark is not the focus of the passage. The focus is that God would not allow people to exact vengeance against Cain. Whatever the mark on Cain was, it served this purpose.
In the past, many believed the mark on Cain to be dark skin—that God changed the color of Cain’s skin to black in order to identify him. Since Cain also received a curse, the belief that the mark was black skin caused many to believe that people of dark skin were cursed. Many used the “mark of Cain” teaching as a justification for the African slave trade and discrimination against people with black/dark skin. This interpretation of the mark of Cain is completely unbiblical. Nowhere in the Hebrew Scriptures is ‘owth used to refer to skin color. The curse on Cain in Genesis chapter 4 was on Cain himself. Nothing is said of Cain’s curse being passed on to his descendants. There is absolutely no biblical basis to claim that Cain’s descendants had dark skin. Further, unless one of Noah’s sons’ wives was a descendant of Cain (possible but unlikely), Cain’s line was terminated by the Flood.” [Retrieved 11.14.20]