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.
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).
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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.”
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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?”
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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. 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…
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. …
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
Go to this link to see videos of the BYU Young Ambassadors’ trip to South Africa.
Jabari Parker has been compared to Grant Hill, but with better shooting abilityAs a devout Mormon, Parker strives to balance both athletics, Christian faithParker 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, 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.
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:
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
