Read his full talk here.
The idea comes from an idea that Brigham Young espoused that to marry a Negro is "penalty under law" and "death on the spot", which is referring to a drastic measure called the Blood Atonement (which has been removed from LDS theology long ago). Simply put, Brigham Young and leaders of the LDS church until the "revelation" in 1978, believed that it was a curse that white members of the Church to marry black members. If this happened, the man would be immediately revoked of his priesthood and have no place with God in the Celestial Kingdom and is "death to us all" (Brigham Young, December 1847, meeting at Winter Quarters).
As of today, Church leadership and members accept, love, and strive to show the world that we (the Church) believe that all are children of God. This can be seen in Church videos, Mormon Messages, and other ad campaigns. We hardly ever see white Americans anymore--which is such a blessing. We see Asians, Africans, Russians, etc. Truly, the Mormon Church is a world-wide church--with its members growing at an unprecedented rate. That is such a cry away from the harsh words of Bruce R. McConkie as found in the book, "Mormon Doctrine". He says, "The whole negro race have been cursed with a black skin, the mark of Cain, so they can be identified as a caste apart, a people with whom the other descendants of Adam should not intermarry" (p. 114). His book is still being sold today.
Currently, the authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have a similar standpoint against same-sex marriage. They believe that it will lead to the destruction of humanity, society, and the American nation. These same ideas we held against black people in the early and modern times of the Church. They believed that the world would collapse and humanity be damned for all eternity if blacks were allowed the priesthood, and be able to be married civilly and in the temples.
Well, it's been 33 years since the 1978 revelation. Has the world fallen? Is society damned? Is God cursing the Church simply by being more loving? No. Because God loves all of His children, no matter what race, gender, sexuality, etc.
What will it take for the Church to accept same-gender marriage? Or, at least, accept and give full rights to their gay brothers and sisters? Too many gay men and women leave the Church, kill themselves, or hurt others because of their dis-fellowship and hatred by church members and leaders.
To me, the full acceptance of blacks into the Church is simply a "type and shadow" for things to come. Perhaps it was a training ground; a chance to learn and not repeat the same mistakes again.
No one knows what will happen for the future of the Church. It's true; this may never be accepted into the ideologies of the Church. But, on the flipside, you cannot say that it will never be accepted. To say so is to deny the power and mind of God.
For the time being, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should help, support, love, cherish, and enjoy the company of their gay brothers and sisters. Although the "Church" has a favorable view towards gays, some of its members and authorities do not. Things must change. If we, as a Church, and as a body of Christ hope to become more like Him who was perfect, we must learn to adapt; learn to change.
Darwin said, "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change."
If the Church wants to continue proclaiming the message of the Restored Gospel around the world, then they must change. If not, the Church will become a dwindling religion with no place in modern society.
Author's Note:
Wow. That sounds super preachy and anti-Mormon. I am not anti-Mormon. I love and cherish the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is part of who I am and I cannot deny that. However, as a gay member of the Church, I simply see a strong correlation between to the two ideas. In the past, the Church was bigoted towards blacks. Now, the Church loves them. I just see the same thing happening now with gays.
Andy,
ReplyDelete"With God, nothing is impossible". I pray for tolerance and love, as do many others. I think it will happen, perhaps by degrees. But the membership must be ready first, and that is where our words and examples can make a difference.
I wrote a post on my blog also dealing with this issue. I looked at it from a little different stand-point. (If you would like to read it, you can find it here: http://thestreetknowsmyname.blogspot.com/2011/09/what-abe-lincoln-taught-me.html )
ReplyDeleteThank you for your attention to the details of these matters.
yes the parallel seems pretty clear. The same thing happened in reverse with polygamy. The church leaders said they would never give it up. Just try to be a polygamist in the church today.
ReplyDeleteAndy, for what it's worth, I see *nothing* "anti-Mormon" about your post. I don't think you need to disclaim, but I can understand why you might feel like doing so.
ReplyDelete"No one knows what will happen for the future of the Church. It's true; this may never be accepted into the ideologies of the Church. But, on the flipside, you cannot say that it will never be accepted. To say so is to deny the power and mind of God."
That is so true. I love that last sentence and have thought it often, as it is relevant to all issues, not just this one (though particularly so to this one, especially to us, to whom it matters so much).
As for *Mormon Doctrine*, if you mean "sold today" as in used copies circulate, then yes, you're right. Printing stopped in 2010 (yay).
Nice post, Andy.
ReplyDeleteJust a point of clarification. The LDS Church is not actually "growing at an unprecedented rate." Its baptism rates in the developed world have practically flatlined; most growth is taking place in Latin America and Third World countries, where inactivity rates are also as much as 70% or 80% I believe. Some reports have as many as 80% of young single adults even in the US leaving the church.
The office that processes resignations from church membership has had to staff up in recent years to handle an increasing volume, and though the church will never release those figures, educated estimates put the number of resignations at around 100,000 per year now. Even in the United States, the activity rate is below 50%, and survey after survey reveal that the decades and millions of dollars spent on improving the church's PR have made little headway. Bottom line is that despite the popular perception of glowing growth statistics, worldwide there are only roughly 4 million active Latter-day Saints.
That is a much more sobering picture of the church's position in the world, but it's not lost on top leadership. They know that their opposition to Prop 8 was a huge self-inflicted wound that will take many many years to repair.
You are right that ultimately the church will have to face the possibility of changing its doctrine about gay marriage. It's changed doctrines before, numerous times. But this issue is different. To accept gay marriage would require the church to re-write its understanding of the plan of salvation more radically than has ever been done since Joseph Smith first preached polygamy. Do you really think the current crop of risk-averse corporate managers who run the church are willing to step up for that? If they don't, then I think you are right that the church will "become a dwindling religion with no place in society."
Oops, correction. Their support of Prop 8 and their opposition to marriage equality.
ReplyDelete