Current Mormon views on blacks and racism?

The real problem is not that present day mormons are racist, in fact I think many would welcome more diversity in their chapels.

The crux of the problem is so much has been said, not only in the 19th century, but as late as the late 1960's. No apology issued, no bone offered african americans who were obvious the target of this animosity.

This is also ingrained in their religious doctrine, especially in the Book of Mormon's constant delineation of white skin equals righteousness; dark skin a curse from god. The apologist like to say this is merely a metaphor. It is not, and if you believe the BoM is true, you have inadvertently supported racism based on skin color.

If we're talking about the same god, the one who made us all, how can any contemporary religious group still claim and teach righteous superiority?

Even tho some of our past leaders talked as if they were racist, I don't believe that they were. Ignorant, maybe, prejudiced, but not racist. And it continues today, in Utah, to a certain extent.

However, we were one of the few churches that did not segregate black members from others. No, we didn't give them the priesthood until 1978. Why? God ONLY knows.

As for the quote from Brigham Young:

<<BRIGHAM YOUNG, Journal of Discourses:

"Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African Race? If the White man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so... You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind. This was not to be, and the Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and black skin. Trace mankind down to after the flood, and then another curse is pronounced upon the same race--that they should be the "servant of servants;" and they will be, until that curse is removed.">>

The first part, about "mixing seed". Notice that it's the WHITE MAN of the CHOSEN SEED who is the one who is threatened with death if he mixes his seed. And it can't be marriage he was talking about, since inter-marriage between white man and slaves was against the law. He also said, later in that talk, that if the US government didn't end slavery, the white race would be cursed.

In the second part, from a different talk, Brigham Young said that they were SEEMINGLY deprived.

He also said, that the blacks WOULD someday receive the priesthood, and all it's blessings.

Good on you for taking on the LDS church against such an obviously discriminatory teaching. It has restored my faith that not all mormons blindly follow the leaders and teaching of the church.You have done well to bring this up, most mormons would not know it has even been taught let alone where to find it. Ubnfortunately the mormons of early days did teach exactly that and it was not until about the 1960's that the teaching was overruled by the prophet of that time.

I am LDS. We believe that everyone of every race is a beloved child of God, and we treat everyone equally. Any member of the Church who does not is going against everything we believe in.

I know in the past African American males were not to hold the higher priesthood because they were believed to be cursed in accordance with the old testament. However, the old testament also says that this was only to be for 11 generations or something like that. The curse has long since expired. When the Church realized this, that rule changed.

I am LDS and I am Hispanic and have dark skin, I live in the US and I attend a Spanish ward that is mixed in the same building with another branch in English where almost ALL of the people is white and I have never been discriminated or something alike, people from the Hispanic and American ward are very nice to me and I have never felt out of place or something like that. I have gone to the visitor's center of the temple and most of the people are white and everyone was very nice to me. From my ward which is Hispanic I think I am the person with the darkest skin and same! I am treated very good. And I, I would treat anyone from any race the same, everyone deserves to be respected and accepted. Mormons aren't racist.

Not many black people responding...maybe YahooAnswers is sort of like country music.

I think it's rediculous to go back in time and attribute individual comments about race to a whole body of people (you could find comments that appear racist by almost anyone back in the day). Black people were always accepted in the Mormon faith and were members. The early Mormons were some of the most outspoken people against slavery. It is true black people weren't allowed to hold the Priesthood until the late 70's, but I certainly find many things in the Bible I don't understand on a worldly level either. I have faith and I believe God answers our prayers. There are more members of the Mormon faith outside of the U.S. and I think it keeps growing because it is good, and despite what those who want to prevent it it will continue to grow. Trust in God, hold close to Christ and be happy.

I remember when my dad was doing Mormon mission work with some of the elders in our ward. One time they were all laughing because the visited a black man, and went through the "gospel" with him and they explained, as it was pre 1980, that he couldn't have the priesthood. The man told them that he wanted to just join the church, he did not want to be a priest (the man meant pastor). My dad and the elders thought it was funny. They told that story over and over again, each time exaggerating the poor man's dialect.

I remember when the new pages to the D&C were issued in 79-80. Many mormons were upset by it. Even if the LDS policy has changed, I wonder if the attitudes have?

There is no current racism in the LDS church. There may be from some members, but there are probably racist people in any faith. I am LDS, aka Mormon, and there were plenty of black people in my ward when I lived down South, and they were never looked down on. Some even held high positions in the Preisthood. In particular, there were some who were also some of my best friends I've ever made in the Church.

I'm LDS. Our Elders Quorum President is black, as is our last Young Women President.

In those days there was a lot of racism, but we are more enlightened now. I've been LDS 13 years and never seen any racism.

I do know this: Baptists owned slaves in the South, and went to church every Sunday, and Jesus blessed their slavery, cause they were white and superior somehow...

As for Mormons I don't think they owned slaves.