Civil rights and Mormonism
Civil rights and Mormonism have been intertwined since the religion's start, with founder
Some slave owners brought their slaves with them to the
After the Civil War, issues of civil rights went largely unnoticed until the civil rights movement of the 1960s. The
Slavery
Statements on slavery from early church leaders
The period from 1830 to 1844 was of fundamental importance in shaping Mormon beliefs and customs with regard to race.[1]: 18 Joseph Smith supported and opposed slavery at different points in his life. In 1835, someone (very likely Oliver Cowdery) wrote an official declaration that opposed baptizing slaves against the will of their masters. Joseph Smith would support this declaration. In the statement, they also wrote that it was not right to make slaves "dissatisfied with their situations." The statement became part of the Doctrine and Covenants.[1]: 17
Smith wrote an essay in 1836, published in Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate, which was strongly anti-abolitionist.[1]: 22 In the essay, he gave five reasons for opposing the abolition of slavery:[1]: 22
- Smith feared racial miscegenationand race war, stating that abolitionism was "calculated to ... set loose, upon the world a community of people who might peradventure, overrun our country and violate the most sacred principles of human society, chastity and virtue."
- Smith believed that any evil inherent in slavery would already have been known and realised by "men of piety" from the Southern slave states—but they had no objection to it.
- Smith "did not believe that the people of the North have any more right to say that the South shall not hold slaves, than the South have to say the North shall."
- Smith believed that abolitionism went against the "decree of Jehovah" whereby the Old Testament, in his understanding, decreed that blacks were cursed and destined to be slaves.
- Smith placed great importance on biblical precedents for slavery, for example in Abraham, Leviticus, Ephesians, and Timothy; and he quoted Paul in the New Testament: "Servants be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, the singleness of your heart."[1]: 37
Smith probably wanted to distance Mormons from abolitionists, since many Mormons were living in Missouri, a pro-slavery state.
Because of slave owners who were converting to the church in Missouri, there was much confusion regarding the church's position on slavery. These same feelings arose during the
In Utah Territory
The first known slaves to enter the Utah Territory came west with the congregations of Mississippi. By 1850, 100 Black people had arrived, the majority of whom were enslaved.[4] After the pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, they continued to buy and sell slaves as property. Many prominent members of the church were slave owners, including William Henry Hooper, Abraham O. Smoot, and Charles C. Rich.[1]: 33 Church members would use their slaves as tithing, both lending out their slaves to work for the church[5] as well as giving their slaves to the church.[6][7]: 34 Though initially opposed to it, by the early 1850s Brigham Young was a "firm believer in slavery".[1]: 32–33 [8][9] Young and Heber C. Kimball used the slave labor that had been donated as tithing and then eventually granted their freedom.[6][7]: 52 The church opposed slaves who wanted to escape their masters.[10][11]: 268
After the
Utah was the only western state or territory that had slaves in 1850,[14] but slavery was never important economically in Utah, and there were fewer than 100 slaves in the territory.[15] In 1860, the census showed that 29 of the 59 black people in Utah Territory were slaves. When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, Utah sided with the Union, and slavery ended in 1862 when the United States Congress abolished slavery in Utah Territory.[16][17]
In San Bernardino
In 1851, a company of 437 Mormons under direction of
Black suffrage
As in other places in Illinois, only free white males could vote in Nauvoo.[28]
When Utah Territory was created, suffrage was only granted to free white males.[29] At that time, only a few states had allowed black suffrage. Brigham Young explained that this was connected to the priesthood ban. He argued that black suffrage would help make blacks equal to whites, which would result in a curse.[1]: 39 On January 10, 1867, Congress passed the Territorial Suffrage Act, which prohibited denying suffrage based on race or previous condition of servitude, which nullified Utah's ban on black suffrage.[30]
Civil rights movement
Before the civil rights movement, the LDS Church's doctrine-based policy went largely unnoticed and unchallenged for around a century[15][31] with the First Presidency stating in 1947 that the doctrine of the LDS Church which banned interracial marriage and black people from entering the temple or receiving the priesthood was never questioned by any of the church leaders.[32][33]: 90 In 1958, apostle Joseph Fielding Smith published Answers to Gospel Questions, which stated that blacks should "receive all the rights and privileges [...] as declared in the Declaration of Independence." He went on to say that black people should not be barred from any type of employment or education, and should be free "to make their lives as happy as it is possible without interference from white men, labor unions, or from any other source."[34]
The church also advocated for segregation laws and enforced segregation in its facilities.
In 1959, the Utah State Advisory Committee to the
NAACP involvement
In the 1960s, the
In 1965, the church leadership met with the NAACP, and agreed to publish an editorial in church-owned newspaper the Deseret News, which would support civil rights legislation pending in the Utah legislature. The church failed to follow-through on the commitment, and Tanner explained, "We have decided to remain silent".[36] In March 1965, the NAACP led an anti-discrimination march in Salt Lake City, protesting church policies.[36] In response, McKay agreed to let the Deseret News reprint the civil rights statement from 1963 as an "official" statement. In 1966, the NAACP issued a statement criticizing the church, saying the church "[had] maintained a rigid and continuous segregation stand" and that the church had made "no effort to counteract the widespread discriminatory practices in education, in housing, in employment, and other areas of life."[40]: 71
Since the early part of the 20th century, each
Benson and the civil rights movement
After Hugh B. Brown's statement in support of civil rights in 1963, apostle Ezra Taft Benson began to state in speeches that the civil rights movement was a Communist plot. Ralph R. Harding, a congressman from Idaho, criticized Benson's extreme views. Soon afterward, the First Presidency appointed Benson to oversee the European mission of the church. Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith privately expressed that he hoped the appointment would help to temper Benson's extreme political views. Benson returned in 1965 and had not changed his political views. He gave an inflammatory speech in general conference, parts of which were removed when the talk appeared in official church publications.[1]: 78
In the October 1967
Sports protests
African-American athletes protested against LDS Church policies by boycotting several sporting events with Brigham Young University. In 1968, after the
Equal Rights Amendment
In the 1970s, the LDS Church came out against the Equal Rights Amendment. The LDS Church in Utah requested that ten women from each ward attend the Utah International Women's Year in 1977 to support the church's position on the Equal Rights Amendment and other women's issues. The fourteen thousand attendees, mostly Mormon women recruited in their wards, voted on platforms before hearing their discussion and rejected all the national resolutions[49]—even those that did not advocate a moral position opposed to that of the LDS Church.[50] In 1978, the LDS Church encouraged nine thousand female members in greater Las Vegas, Nevada, to canvass their neighborhoods with anti–Equal Rights Amendment pamphlets and encouraged all members to vote.[49]: 636–637 Nevada did not ratify the amendment.[49]: 637 Sonia Johnson[51] fought against the church in support of the Equal Rights Amendment and was excommunicated; a December 1979 excommunication letter claimed that Johnson was charged with a variety of misdeeds, including hindering the worldwide missionary program, damaging internal Mormon social programs, and teaching false doctrine.[52] Also in 1979, the Alice Reynolds forum was forbidden from discussing the amendment in the Alice Reynolds reading room at Brigham Young University; the club subsequently found a different place to meet.[53]: 52
Marriage
Marriage has always been an important aspect of Mormon doctrine and culture. Early Mormon communities banned interracial marriages but supported polygamous marriage. When challenged on polygamy, they often defended the practice based on the First Amendment. Later, as interracial marriage and same-sex marriage became more of a public issue, the church opposed the practice based on the laws of God.
Polygamy
The private practice of polygamy was instituted in the 1830s by founder
Interracial marriage
In reference to interracial marriage, Joseph Smith taught that black and white people should be restricted by law to their own "species".
Church leaders consistently opposed marriage between different ethnicities. In 1954, apostle Mark E. Petersen taught that segregation was inspired by God, arguing that "what God hath separated, let not man bring together again". He warned that black people were fighting for civil rights so that they could marry white people.[40]: 65 Apostle Boyd K. Packer publicly stated in 1977 that "We've always counseled in the Church for our Mexican members to marry Mexicans, our Japanese members to marry Japanese, our Caucasians to marry Caucasians, our Polynesian members to marry Polynesians. ... The counsel has been wise."[70] Nearly every decade for over a century—beginning with the church's formation in the 1830s until the 1970s—has seen some denunciation against miscegenation, with most focusing on black-white marriage.[2]: 42–43
Same-sex marriage
Beginning in the mid-1990s, the LDS Church began to focus its attention on the issue of same-sex marriages.
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-252-08121-7.
- ^ a b c Bush, Lester E. (1973). "Mormonism's Negro Doctrine: An Historical Overview" (PDF). Dialogue. 8 (1).
- ^ Carter, Kate B. (1965). The Story of the Negro Pioneer. Salt Lake City, Utah: Daughters of Utah Pioneers.
We feel it to be our duty to define our position in relation to the subject of slavery. There are several in the Valley of the Salt Lake from the Southern States, who have their slaves with them. There is no law in Utah to authorize slavery, neither any to prohibit it. If the slave is disposed to leave his master, no power exists there, either legal or moral, that will prevent him. But if the slave chooses to remain with his master, none are allowed to interfere between the master and the slave. All the slaves that are there appear to be perfectly contented and satisfied. When a man in the Southern states embraces our faith, the Church says to him, if your slaves wish to remain with you, and to go with you, put them not away; but if they choose to leave you, or are not satisfied to remain with you, it is for you to sell them, or let them go free, as your own conscience may direct you. The Church, on this point, assumes not the responsibility to direct. The laws of the land recognize slavery, we do not wish to oppose the laws of the country. If there is sin in selling a slave, let the individual who sells him bear that sin, and not the Church.Millennial Star, February 15, 1851.
- ^ ISBN 9780275957995.
- ^ Flake, Joel. "Green Flake: His Life and Legacy" (1999) [Textual Record]. Americana Collection, Box: BX 8670.1 .F5992f 1999, p. 8. Provo, Utah: L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University.
- ^ a b Kristen Rogers-Iversen (September 2, 2007). "Utah settlers' black slaves caught in 'new wilderness'". The Salt Lake Tribune.
- ^ ISBN 9780974607627.
- ISBN 0934964017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
[I]nasmuch as we believe in the Bible, … we must believe in Slavery. This colored race have [sic] been subjected to severe curses, which they have … brought upon themselves. … I am a firm believer in Slavery. … A strong abolitionist feeling has power over [many brethren] and they commence to whisper … 'I am afraid it is not right.' I know [slavery] is right, and there should be a law made to have the slaves serve their masters, because they are not capable of ruling themselves. … I am firm in the belief that they ought to dwell in servitude. … When a master has a Negro, and uses him well, [the slave] is much better off than if he was free. … good wholesome servitude, I know there is nothing better than that.
- ^ Watt, George D. (23 January 1852). "Speech by Governor Young in Joint Session of the Legislature, giving counsel on a bill in relation to African Slavery, given at Salt Lake City, on Friday, January 23rd, 1852". Brigham Young Papers. History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: 1–3. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
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- ^ Negro Slaves in Utah by Jack Beller, Utah Historical Quarterly, vol. 2, no. 4, 1929, pp. 124–126
- ^ FAIR.
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- ^ "Brief History Alex Bankhead and Marinda Redd Bankhead (mention of Dr Pinney of Salem)". The Broad Ax. March 25, 1899.
- ^ Nicholas R. Cataldo (1998). "Former Slave Played Major Role In San Bernardino's Early History:Lizzy Flake Rowan". City of San Bernardino. Archived from the original on 2016-09-23. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
- ^ "The Latter-Day Saints' Millennial Star, Volume 17". 1855. p. 63.
Most of those who take slaves there pass over with them in a little while to San Bernardino ... How many slaves are now held there they could not say, but the number relatively was by no means small. A single person had taken between forty and fifty, and many had gone in with smaller numbers.
- ^ Mark Gutglueck. "Mormons Created And Then Abandoned San Bernardino". San Bernardino County Sentinel.
- ISBN 9781632491909.
- ^ a b Benjamin Hayes. "Mason v. Smith".
none of the said persons of color can read and write, and are almost entirely ignorant of the laws of the state of California as well as those of the State of Texas, and of their rights
- ^ Smith, S. (2020, February 7). Pacific bound: California's 1852 fugitive slave law •. Blackpast. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/pacific-bound-california-s-1852-fugitive-slave-law/
- ^ Swatt, S. (2020, September 12). From enslaved to wealthy philanthropist. Cal@170 by the California State Library. https://cal170.library.ca.gov/biddy-mason-from-enslaved-to-wealthy-philanthropist/#:~:text=Biddy%20Mason%2C%20Public%20Domain%2C%20National%20Park%20Service&text=California%20has%20been%20admitted%20to,transported%20African%20Americans%20in%20jeopardy .
- ^ a b U.S. Department of the Interior. (n.d.) Bridget "Biddy" Mason. National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/people/biddymason.htm
- ^ a b c Swatt, S. (2020, September 12). From enslaved to wealthy philanthropist. Cal@170 by the California State Library. https://cal170.library.ca.gov/biddy-mason-from-enslaved-to-wealthy-philanthropist/#:~:text=Biddy%20Mason%2C%20Public%20Domain%2C%20National%20Park%20Service&text=California%20has%20been%20admitted%20to,transported%20African%20Americans%20in%20jeopardy .
- ^ Williams, J. K. (2006b). Bridget “Biddy” Mason: From slave to businesswoman. Compass Point Books.
- ISBN 9780791485200.
- ^ Acts, Resolutions, and Memorials Passed at the ... Annual, and Special Sessions, of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah. Brigham H. Young, Printers. 1866. p. 26.
- ^ Congressional Globe, 39th Congress, 2nd Session, pp. 381–82 - See more at: http://www.blackpast.org/primarywest/territorial-suffrage-act-1867#sthash.dqdUkXeh.dpuf
- ^ Richard Bushman (2008). Mormonism: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 111.
- ISBN 0252069595. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
[I]t has been the doctrine of the Church, never questioned by any of the Church leaders, that the Negroes are not entitled to the full blessings of the Gospel.
- ISBN 0-941214-22-2.
- ^ "Black History Timeline - Blacklds.org". Blacklds.org. Archived from the original on 21 March 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
- ^ Ronald G. Coleman. "Blacks in Utah History: An Unknown Legacy". Archived from the original on 2017-12-30. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
- ^ a b c d Glen W. Davidson, "Mormon Missionaries and the Race Question," The Christian Century, September 29, 1965, pp. 1183–86.
- ^ Oliver, David (May 28, 1965). "Negro Views". Newspapers.com. p. 2. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
- ^ Oliver, David (1963). A Negro on Mormonism.
- ^ Russell, Janan Graham (28 August 2016). "Choosing to Stay in the Mormon Church Despite Its Racist Legacy". The Atlantic. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
- ^ ISBN 0-87480-822-7.
- ^ "Mormon Scout Troop Sued Over Treatment of Black". Reno Gazette. Associated Press. 24 July 1974. p. 3. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017.
Spokesmen for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People say they will take legal action against a rule of Mormon-sponsored Boy Scout troops that denied a black youth a leadership post. ... The issue came to light last week when Utah's black ombudsman, Don L. Cope, said an unidentified 12-year-old black Scout was denied the post of senior patrol leader because he was not a deacon's quorum president in the Mormon church. ... Church spokesmen acknowledged last week that 'one of the policies of the church in regard to scouting is that the deacon's quorum president also serves as senior patrol leader.'
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Netfirms - This site is temporarily unavailable". www.bsa-discrimination.org.
- ISBN 0-252-02803-1.
Even the long-standing and intimate association with the Boy Scouts of America was temporarily jeopardized when it became apparent that boy leadership roles in local Mormon troops were tied to the lay priesthood, thereby effectively barring from leadership any black boys belonging to church-sponsored Boy Scout troops.
- ^ Benson, Ezra. "Trust Not in the Arm of Flesh". scriptures.byu.edu. Brigham Young University. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ Benson, Ezra (1968). Civil Rights: Tool of Communist Deception. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book. pp. 1–13. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ a b Fried, Gil; Michael Hiller (1997). "ADR in youth and intercollegiate athletics". Brigham Young University Law Review., p. 1, p. 10
- ^ Lartey, Jamiles (10 March 2018). "Wyoming's Black 14 matter more than ever in post-Kaepernick America". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
- ^ James J. Kilpatrick (December 11, 1969). "A Sturdy Discipline Serves Mormons Well". Evening Independent.
- ^ S2CID 145676379.
- S2CID 254390792. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ Young, Neil J. (June 13, 2012). "Equal Rights, Gay Rights and the Mormon Church". The New York Times. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- ^ Sillitoe, Linda (1980). "Church Politics and Sonia Johnson: The Central Conundrum" (PDF). Sunstone. Vol. 5, no. 1. Salt Lake City, Utah: Sunstone Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 22, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- S2CID 254337747. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- ^ OCLC 30473917, archived from the originalon 2017-04-17, retrieved 2019-04-26
- ^ Reynolds v. United States “The History of The Supreme Court”
- ^ Official Declaration 1
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Probably by 'confinement to their own species' he meant no intermarriage.
- ^ Smith, George (1948). History of the Church, Vol. 5. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company. p. 217.
- ^ Smith, George (1948). History of the Church, Vol. 6. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company. p. 210. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
- ^ Smith, Joseph. "Journal, December 1842–June 1844; Book 3, 15 July 1843–29 February 1844". Joseph Smith Papers. LDS Church.
- ISBN 978-0674049673. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
If they [the couple and child] were far away from the Gentiles [non-Mormons] they wo[ul]d all have to be killed[.] [W]hen they mingle seed it is death to all. If a black man & white woman come to you & demand baptism can you deny them? [T]he law is their seed shall not be amalg[a]mated. Mulattoes are like mules[,] they can't have the children, but if they will be Eunuchs for the Kingdom of God's Heaven's sake they may have a place in the Temple.
- ISBN 0934964017.
Were the children of God to mingle their seed with the seed of Cain [i.e. black people] it would not only bring the curse of being deprived of the power of the Priesthood upon them[selves] but they entail it upon their children after them, and they cannot get rid of it. If a man in an unguarded moment should commit such a transgression, if he would walk up and say ["]cut off my head,["] and [one then] kill[ed the] man, woman and child, it would do a great deal towards atoning for the sin. Would this be to curse them? No, it would be a blessing to them—it would do them good, that they might be saved with their brethren. A many would shudder should they hear us talk about killing folk, but it is one of the greatest blessings to some to kill them, although the true principles of it are not understood.
- ^ Young, Brigham (1865). "The Persecutions of the Saints—Their Loyalty to the Constitution—The Mormon Battalion—The Laws of God Relative to the African Race" (PDF). Journal of Discourses. 10: 110.
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.
- ^ Schaeffer, Frank (12 January 2009). "Perspectives on Marriage: Score 1 For Gay America — 0 To The Mormons". huffingtonpost.com. Huffington Post.
- ^ a b c Mason, Patrick Q. "The Prohibition of Interracial Marriage in Utah,1888-1963". Utah Historical Quarterly. Archived from the original on 2018-04-09. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
- ^ Smith, John Henry (1882). The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star Vol. 44. London. p. 639. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
The caste population of Utah according to the last census in 1880, was as follows: "Mormons," 120,283; Gentiles, 14,156; Apostates, 6,988; Josephites, 820; Doubtful, 1,716.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ISBN 1585442054.
Prior to 1930 Utah's predominantly Mormon population (65 percent classified as practicing Mormons in 1930) took justifiable pride in its tradition of self-sufficiency.
- ^ Bulkeley, Deborah (13 April 2007). "Mixed marriages on rise". Deseret News. LDS Church. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
- ^ Packer, Boyd. "Follow the Rule". byu.edu. LDS Church. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
We've always counseled in the Church for our Mexican members to marry Mexicans, our Japanese members to marry Japanese, our Caucasians to marry Caucasians, our Polynesian members to marry Polynesians. The counsel has been wise. ... You might even say, "I can show you local Church leaders or perhaps even general leaders who have married out of their race." I say, "Yes—exceptions." Then I would remind you of that Relief Society woman's near-scriptural statement, "We'd like to follow the rule first, and then we'll take care of the exceptions."
- ^ Karger, Fred (15 October 2016). "Mormon Church Bleeding Members Over Gay Marriage". Huffington Post. HuffPost MultiCultural News. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- ^ Payne, Seth R. (February 2017). "Mormonism and Same-Sex Marriage: Theological Underpinnings and New Perspectives". Journal of Catholic Legal Studies. 51 (41): 50.
- ^ "First Presidency Statement on Same-Gender Marriage". LDS Church. October 20, 2004. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
- ^ Jarvik, Elaine (May 27, 2006), "LDS to push marriage amendment", Deseret Morning News
- ^ Jesse McKinley and Kirk Johnson (November 14, 2008), "Mormons Tipped Scale in Ban on Gay Marriage", The New York Times, retrieved February 14, 2012
- ^ Moore, Carrie A. (6 November 2008). "California's Prop. 8". Deseret News. LDS church.
When asked about whether Latter-day Saints who publicly opposed Prop. 8 would be subject to some kind of church discipline, Elder Clayton said those judgments are left up to local bishops and stake presidents and the particular circumstances involved.
- ^ Berkes, Howard (January 9, 2009), "New Mormon Temple: Sacred Or Secret?", All Things Considered, NPR