LDS Church urges members to call out racism in their congregations

Jesus was not a white European-looking man, God has no problem with interracial marriage, and Latter-day Saints should intervene when fellow congregants make racist comments.

So says a new resource dedicated to the topic of race released this week on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ website and in its Gospel Library app.

Tucked under the section titled “Topics and Questions,” the webpage comes more than a decade after the church’s publication of the landmark “Race and the Priesthood” Gospel Topics essay addressing, among other points, the faith’s former racist practices.

In many ways, the new offering, titled “Race and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” reflects the earlier piece, including withholding a definitive reason for the church’s now-discarded policy that banned Black Latter-day Saints for more than a century from receiving the priesthood or entering the faith’s temples.

“There is no documented revelation related to the origin of the priesthood and temple restriction,” the new article states. It was instituted under then-church leader Brigham Young in 1852 and removed by a successor, Spencer W. Kimball, in 1978.

“It does not own,” Black Latter-day Saint Markeeda Elliott of Lehi lamented, “the fact that Blacks were denied entrance to the temple due to racism.”

At the same time, both resources disavow a once-common argument that dark skin is an indication of God’s judgment. The latest piece does so in particularly swift fashion, answering the question, “‘Is dark skin a curse or sign of divine disfavor?’” with a simple “‘No.’”

Said Black Latter-day Saint LaShawn Williams of Orem, “That was the best full stop I’ve ever seen the church do, and I want more of it.”

This uncharacteristic directness is found in pockets throughout the write-up, which stands apart from its predecessor by tackling head-on, Q&A-style, issues tied to current debates and events, including diverse representation in art and recent efforts by the church to support Black communities. Meanwhile, at a time when American society has become embroiled over what, exactly, constitutes a Nazi salute, the webpage resurfaces a previous statement, issued in the wake of the 2017 Charlottesville, Virginia, white nationalist rally, denouncing white supremacy in all its forms.

Here’s what the new release says about:

• Whether Latter-day Saints teach that Jesus was white, “as is sometimes depicted in church art?”: “No. Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem to a Jewish woman and raised in Nazareth.”

• White supremacy: “White supremacist attitudes are morally wrong and sinful, and we condemn them. Church members who promote or pursue a ‘white culture’ or white supremacy agenda are not in harmony with the teachings of the church.”

• Book of Mormon verses referring to God cursing the unrighteous with “a skin of blackness”: “The nature and appearance of this mark are not fully understood. … Latter-day Saints are blessed as they heed the Book of Mormon’s repeated warnings against pride and embrace its teaching that ‘all are alike unto God.’”

• Whether today’s church leaders and members are racist: “We all have to guard against racism. Sometimes we may sin and say unkind or hurtful things to another based on their race or nationality. When we do, we must repent and seek the divine assistance of Jesus Christ to be in good standing with the Lord.”

• What to do when racism occurs at church: “If racial prejudice arises in our congregations, we can look for ways to kindly and courageously speak up for the dignity and rights of those who are harmed or marginalized. … It’s important that we stand up for each other and defend what is right. … We can talk to local leaders for counsel on how to help stop racism within our congregations.”

• Interracial marriage: “The church does not teach that mixed-race marriages are wrong and does not discourage interracial marriage.”

Overall, these and other answers have left some Black members feeling ambivalent.

“As a Black woman in the church, raising a Black family,” Cedar Hills resident Vanessa Bonner said, “this article brings up many emotions — some validating, some frustrating and some that leave me wanting more.”

On the one hand, Bonner said, she “appreciate[s] the church’s disavowal of past theories used to justify racial restrictions.”

She explained: “For many Black members — especially converts like myself — it is necessary to hear that those explanations were not doctrinal and that the church is striving to align more fully with the gospel’s teachings of love and unity.”

Then again, Bonner said, the new essay missed a critical opportunity to center the “lived experience” of Black members.

The webpage quotes from three Black Latter-day Saint leaders. Among them is former Area Seventy Tony Parker on the need to address instances of racism directly with the individual at fault.

“If someone says something to hurt my feelings,” he said, “I need to find a way to help him understand why that hurt.”

Nonetheless, Bonner said, the resource could have gone further “to fully address the challenges Black families still face within the church” and provide specifics about how members can “support Black members in meaningful ways beyond simply stating, ‘We are all children of God.’”

Places where the church could begin include, she suggested, highlighting the “importance of Black voices in leadership, culturally inclusive resources, or the unique spiritual and social experiences of Black Latter-day Saints.”

LaShawn Williams expressed a similar frustration. As a mental health clinician who has worked with many Black Latter-day Saints, she was particularly disappointed in the answer to the question, “Are church members and leaders racist?”

“This should have been a hard, ‘Yes,’” the president of the Mormon Mental Health Association said, citing the racist “sludge” her family and clients have faced through the years at the hands of fellow church members.

“The sooner folks admit that they are or have benefited from anti-Black racism with a broken heart and a contrite spirit,” she said, “the sooner we can heal this part … of the body of Christ.”