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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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:...were more valiant than others- Those who were less valiant in pre-existence and who thereby had certain spiritual restrictions imposed upon them during mortality are known to us as the Negroes. Such spirits are sent to earth through the lineage of Cain, the mark put upon him for his rebellion against God and his murder of Abel.. The present status of the Negro rests purely and simply on the foundation of pre-existence" (Mormon Doctrine, op. 527, 1958 edition???) | :...were more valiant than others- Those who were less valiant in pre-existence and who thereby had certain spiritual restrictions imposed upon them during mortality are known to us as the Negroes. Such spirits are sent to earth through the lineage of Cain, the mark put upon him for his rebellion against God and his murder of Abel.. The present status of the Negro rests purely and simply on the foundation of pre-existence" (Mormon Doctrine, op. 527, 1958 edition???) | ||
Brigham Young said: | |||
: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) | |||
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Revision as of 04:07, 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: