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Mormon in Mali Works with Muslims in a Critical Struggle

November 14th, 2012

Please read this powerful story of Yeah Samake, a Mormon leader in Mali who is working with the moral majority of Muslims to secure a democracy. They are fighting against Al Qaeda and others who strive to kidnap Islam.

See also his comments of the importance of President Obama’s 2008 election and ongoing opportunities; and the role that Mitt Romney has taken and could yet take in helping his country and ours.

Pastor to Pastor: President Hinckley’s Personal Apology for Racism in the Church

September 22nd, 2012

Read http://www.patheos.com/Mormon/Pastor-to-Pastor-Margaret-Blair-Young-09-18-2012 for the article by Maragaret Blair Young. Here are excerpts:

“Yes, there are children of light and children of darkness, but the distinction is not based on skin color, but on their reception of the Word. And even with the children of darkness who turn away from the Word, God works earnestly for their repentance from their evil ways. God yearns for their return unto the embrace of Creation” (Pastor Cecil Murray in Twice Tested by Fire).

Just before Pastor Murray came to BYU, he met with Gordon B. Hinckley. In that meeting, President Hinckley offered him an apology for the LDS Church’s participation in slavery and in racism—using the same spirit Pastor Murray had urged me to use when I approached my angry son. In truth, Dr. Murray himself had some cause for anger; he had personally been confronted by the past Mormon teaching that Blacks were cursed. In an email on April 7, 2007, he told me, “In the Air Force I first encountered this teaching when stationed at Thule, Greenland, and lodging with two Mormons. They reminded me of this teaching constantly.”

Certainly, many things led President Hinckley to speak boldly against racism during April Conference, 2006. Perhaps Pastor Murray even had an effect. President Hinckley said: “[N]o man who makes disparaging remarks concerning those of another race can consider himself a true disciple of Christ . . . How can any man holding the Melchizedek Priesthood arrogantly assume that he is eligible for the priesthood whereas another who lives a righteous life but whose skin is of a different color, is ineligible?”

This is the tribute Pastor Murray paid to his fellow pastor, President Gordon B. Hinckley:

President Hinckley is a true messenger of our Lord. Two years ago, I was invited to Salt Lake City by the LDS Church, and President Hinckley took his personal time to sit with our small group that was touring the many ministries and apologized to me in front of the group. That was amazing! Now the [LDS] Church pushes Blacks to learn their lineage via the Church. That will open eyes and doors that will open new avenues of life.

See www.blackmormonfilm.com in the Long Trailer where Pastor Murray recounts his conversation with President Hinckley.

 

The Genesis Group: Support for Black Latter-day Saints

August 21st, 2012

The Genesis Group: Support for Black Latter-day Saints. By Margaret Blair Young 

… As Gray puts it, “Back then, having three black Mormons together was like having a quorum. There weren’t many of us.” In fact, in

http://ldsmag.com/article/1/11298

Flake descendant ironically embodies LDS, pioneer history

July 24th, 2012

Deseret News – July 23, 2012

When Brigham Young first entered the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, he did so in the back of a fine, white carriage donated to the Mormon pioneer leader by a faithful follower, James Madison Flake.

Young was ill and couldn’t drive the rig himself, so Green Flake drove the carriage and was among those who actually heard Young say, “This is the right place.”

And then, speaking to Green Flake, Young added, “Drive on!” Green Flake, at that time a black slave, was later given his freedom by Young. …

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765591796/Flake-descendant-ironically-embodies-LDS-pioneer-history.html

For a poem about Green Flake, see http://www.blacklds.org/community/green-flake-and-abraham-poem

Also of interest http://www.chriswkite.blogspot.com/2012/07/they-bulders-of-nation-freeing-captives.html

BYU Ambassadors Visit South Africa

June 15th, 2012

Go to this link to see videos of the BYU Young Ambassadors’ trip to South Africa.

http://youngambassadors.byu.edu/wordpress/?page_id=183

DVD Release for Nobody Knows

May 21st, 2012

DVD Release for Nobody Knows:
A Documentary About African American History in the Mormon Church

PROVO, Utah, May 1st, 2012 — Nobody Knows LLC proudly presents Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons. This documentary tells the story of African Americans in the LDS Church, beginning from the earliest days of the Mormon faith. The DVD release of the film features 72 minutes of footage in addition to 100 minutes of special features.

Praise for Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons

The award-winning documentary Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons has been showcased in a truncated form on the Documentary Channel, where—in addition to regular showings—the film was featured as part of “the Best of Black Documentary Cinema.”
 
This balanced documentary gives an unflinching look at how the policies and members of the LDS Church played into the topic of race relations from the days of the Old American West through the 21st century. With a political race this November that is likely to feature both an LDS and an African American candidate, the subject matter is becoming increasingly topical.

About the Film

While few are aware of the true extent of African American presence in the LDS Church, the reality is that Black members of the LDS Church were prominent in Mormon history from the faith’s earliest days. One of the vanguard companies of Mormon pioneers included three “colored servants” (slaves), and subsequent pioneer companies included both freeborn Blacks (such as Jane Manning James) and enslaved Blacks.
 
This documentary delves into that little-known legacy, and confronts the hard issues which surfaced in the most turbulent years of the Civil Rights Movement, when the Church continued to restrict its priesthood from those of African descent (a policy put into place in 1852). The film discusses the context for that restriction, and how it was finally lifted. It also addresses the challenges of modern Black Mormon pioneers.
 
The DVD includes interviews with renowned scholars, theologians, historians, and sociologists, as well as many African American Mormons and descendants of Black Mormon pioneers. Prominent individuals interviewed include Pastor Cecil Murray, Dr. Armand Mauss, Dr. Newell Bringhurst, Martin Luther King III, and Darius Aidan Gray.
 
First released in 2009, the current DVD edition features an extended cut of the film and 100 minutes of special features.

About the Filmmakers

Filmmakers Darius Aidan Gray and Margaret Blair Young are respected as authorities on African American history in the American west. Gray and Young cooperatively authored the acclaimed trilogy Standing on the Promises and worked together to produce a short documentary on Jane Manning James.
 
Young has authored six encyclopedia articles and other scholarly papers on Blacks in the western United States, as well as the stage play I Am Jane. Young also headed the documentary project The Wisdom of Our Years, which featured Civil Rights–related stories of Black Utah residents. Gray has served as an LDS Church spokesman for African American issues (including the Freedman Bank genealogical project), gives frequent lectures on Black history and genealogy, and is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post’s “Black Voices.”

Special Features

DVD bonus materials include:
  • Bonus interviews with prominent experts on Civil Rights, Black history, and Mormonism.
  • Additional “untold stories” of present-day Black Mormons.
  • Tape recordings that capture the faith, struggles, and insights of Black Mormons throughout the 20th century.
  • Video content that comes from decades of never-seen footage.
  • And more!
The DVD is priced at $19.99 + S/H and can be purchased at BlackMormonFilm.com. The website also provides additional information on the documentary, news on upcoming events and showings, an extended nine minute trailer for the film.

Chicago’s Jabari Parker Balances Faith, Fierceness on the court

April 24th, 2012

Jabari Parker has been compared to Grant Hill, but with better shooting ability

As a devout Mormon, Parker strives to balance both athletics, Christian faith

Parker has already paid unofficial visits to Michigan State, Kentucky and Duke

See May 2012 Sports Illustrated cover story

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/seth_davis/07/18/Jabari.Parker.Peach.Jam/index.html

 
 
 

Max Mueller on Blacks and the Priesthood

March 20th, 2012

See http://www.fairblog.org/2012/03/09/fair-conversations-episode-16-max-mueller-on-blacks-and-the-priesthood/

Max Mueller, a Ph.D. candidate in religious history at Harvard University, wrote a response (to a recent Washington Post article) for Slate which stated:

For many Mormons, reading Bott’s words was like unearthing a theological dinosaur long thought extinct but suddenly rediscovered in the corner of an obscure BYU office. His positions seem radically out of place in a modern church with an international membership that includes probably some 500,000 Mormons of African descent. The church’s expensive and ubiquitous “I’m a Mormon” public relations campaign has been carefully and deliberately multiethnic; Mormon leaders want the world to view the religion as the diverse global community it has become. Unfortunately, Bott’s beliefs, though arcane, represent a strain of Mormonism that has persisted well past the 1978 revelation.

Bishop Bethel Responds to Rev Dozier on Racism

March 16th, 2012
See:
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2012/03/broward_pastor_blasts_mitt_rom.html
 
This article includes the following:
 
Fred Bethel, who is African-American, is a Mormon bishop in Fort Lauderdale.

Here’s what he said via email:

“I can appreciate Rev. Dozier’s active participation in the 2012 presidential campaign and support for his candidate. But the delegate lead Romney currently has, demonstrates that most Americans do not share Rev Dozier’s concerns about a racial divide if Romney is the nominee. Americans are very smart and are most concerned about fixing the economy and together getting Americans back to work.As a 40 year old African American Bishop for the past five years here in the Ft. Lauderdale, FL area, I have experienced a multicultural atmosphere within our house of worship. When you step into our service, it’s hard to tell which cultural group is the majority.

Every religion has members that struggle with or embrace inequality in some form. Ours is no exception. However, just as in every religion, it’s important to separate the people and their personal struggles from the actual doctrine of the church. Three simple points help to illustrate that the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not prejudice against Blacks or any other group:

1. The Book of Mormon was originally written in, and translated from an African language, Egyptian.

2. The Book of Mormon and the LDS version of the King James Bible, actually clarifies that the use of the words “skin”, “black” and “darkness” are referring to the state of the spirit, heart and mind, and not a reference to race or literal skin color at all

3. The Doctrine & Covenants, the book of divine instructions for establishing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, clearly states numerous times that all are equal and all are to receive alike.

We would invite Rev Dozier and anyone else who would like to gain clarity on these issues to attend one of the African American Outreach Program classes put on throughout the country by regular members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or by simply viewing the Blacks in the Scriptures DVD series by Marvin Perkins and Darius Gray, two African American Latter-day Saints. Information on the DVD series and where classes are held can be found at www.BlacksintheScriptures.com

The Church’s position is clear—we believe all people are God’s children and are equal in His eyes and in the Church. We do not tolerate racism in any form.”

 

See also:

http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/293039/black-clergy-group-demand-romney-renounce-mormonism

Jane Manning James – Black Pioneer

March 8th, 2012

If perseverance in the face of persecution is a mark of divine chosenness and a key to Mormon identity, then black Latter-day Saints are “doubly Mormon,” argues Max Mueller, a Harvard-trained non-Mormon scholar.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsfaithblog/53668023-180/mormon-james-lds-mueller.html.csp