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Racial issues and the Church of Jesus Christ/Blacks and the priesthood/Pre-existence: Difference between revisions
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:Joseph Smith had declared that the Negroes were not neutral in heaven for all the spirits took sides, but `the posterity of Cain are black because he (Cain) committed murder. He killed Abel and God set a mark upon his posterity." (The Improvement Era, Joseph Fielding Smith, p. 105) | :Joseph Smith had declared that the Negroes were not neutral in heaven for all the spirits took sides, but `the posterity of Cain are black because he (Cain) committed murder. He killed Abel and God set a mark upon his posterity." (The Improvement Era, Joseph Fielding Smith, p. 105) | ||
December 25, 1869: I attended the School of the Prophets. Many questions were | |||
asked. President Young answered them. Lorenzo Young asked if the spirits of | |||
Negroes were neutral in heaven. He said someone said Joseph Smith said they | |||
were. President Young said no they were not. There were no neutral spirits in | |||
heaven at the time of the rebellion. All took sides. He said if anyone said | |||
that he heard the Prophet Joseph say that the spirits of the Blacks were | |||
neutral in heaven, he would not believe them, for he heard Joseph say to the | |||
contrary. All spirits are pure that come from the presence of God. The | |||
posterity of Cain are black because he commit[ted] murder. He killed Abel and God | |||
set a mark upon his posterity. But the spirits are pure that enter their | |||
tabernacles and there will be a chance for the redemption of all the children | |||
of Adam except the sons of perdition. (Wilford Woodruff's Journal, entry dated Dec. 25, 1869) | |||
There is a reason why one man is born black and with other disadvantages, while another is born white with great advantage. The reason is that we once had an estate before we came here, and were obedient, more or less, to the laws that were given us there. Those who were faithful in all things there received greater blessings here, and those who were not faithful received less.... There were no neutrals in the war in heaven. All took sides either with Christ or with Satan. Every man had his agency there, and men receive rewards here based upon their actions there, just as they will receive rewards hereafter for deeds done in the body. The Negro, evidently, is receiving the reward he merits. (Doctrines of Salvation, Volume 1, pp. 66-67.) | |||
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Revision as of 04:16, 8 July 2008
This article is a draft. FairMormon editors are currently editing it. We welcome your suggestions on improving the content.
Criticism
- Critics claim that LDS scripture states that those with lighter skin color "are favored because of what they did as spirits in a pre-earth life."
- Critics claim that the Church taught that people who were born with dark skin were "neutral" in the pre-existence.
Source(s) of the criticism
- The God Makers (Cartoon)
- Simon Southerton, Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church (Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books, 2004) 12. ( Index of claims )
- Jerald and Sandra Tanner, The Changing World of Mormonism (Moody Press, 1979), 291–293.( Index of claims )
Response
Joseph Smith never taught the idea that those born with black skin were "neutral" during the war in heaven. Brigham Young, when asked this question, repudiated the idea:
- ...no, they were not, there were no neutral [spirits] in heaven at the time of the rebellion, all took sides…. All spirits are pure that came from the presence of God.[1]
Conclusion
Endnotes
- [note] Journal History, 25 December 1869, citing Wilford Woodruff’s journal.
Further reading
FAIR wiki articles
FAIR web site
- FAIR Topical Guide: