Why do Mormons believe that African Americans are less than human?

Question

Any "religion" that thinks that Joseph Smith should have many wives has to be full of nuts! I can't believe that they are one of the newest religions and yet they have a history of treating women like cattle (polygamy) and they actually have a history of believing that African Americans are less than human. It's no wonder that they were outlawed by the United States government. While the Mormons were living in caves in the desert (like the Arabs that practiced polygamy as well) the American government pressured them into changing their church laws to conform with the laws of Christianity. This Mitt Romney pig has no place in American government. I wonder if his constituents new that he was part of a group like that?

Puggz

Their faith is based on it. It was one of their teachings. You don't find that in any other religion except for Islam.

Answer 1

Maybe they spent some time in an inner city neighborhood.

Answer 2

Try taking a look at the Old Testament on the concept of polygamy. King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines (a legal position that was more than a fiance but less than a wife). Jacob (Israel) had two wives and two concubines. Even Abraham had a wife and a concubine. Show me one Christian or Jewish denomination that doesn't accept all of that as fact. Are you going to call them "nuts" who treat women like cattle as well?

And show me one case where the Mormon Church as a whole ever maintained that those of African descent were less than human (I'm refering to official Mormon Church doctrine here, not anti-Mormon literature). In fact, if you pay any attention to history, one of the leading causes of persecution against the Mormon Church in southern states like Missouri prior to the U.S. Civil War was because the Church always maintained an anti-slavery stance, and many Southerners were afraid that too many Mormons in their state would create a voting block that would get representatives into the state governments that would get that state to go from a slave state to a free state. (And that's a LOT more than most churches, including virtually all other major Christian denominations, did, and I'm sure than anyone who took the time to investigate found that many Southern Christians were actually slave owners. Talk about treating someone as being less than human!)

But, I don't really expect you to accept any of this (heck, you actually believe that all early Mormons lived in caves, so there's no reason to think you'd believe anything else that I say).

Answer 3

Boy do YOU need to brush up on what we believe!!!

We do NOT teach that blacks are less than human, and never have. I know, some of our WAY in the past leaders have said things tat make it SOUND like they believed that, but if you read it all in context, you will see that's not what they were saying. I am giving you a web site for blacks in the LDS church. Also a couple of unofficial sites. I don't think that these blacks think that we believe them to be less than human.

And I don't see how plural marriage treated women like cattle. And I don't remember any Mormons living in caves. When was this?

Mitt Romney is a pig, just because he's Mormon? Yes, everyone knows he's Mormon. But, he doesn't belong to an organizaiton like you describe.

Answer 4

That is a false statement. Mormons don't think African Americans are less than human.

Remember your history. It was the good christians in the southern and eastern part of the USA that thought African Americans were less than human.

Please study history more.

Answer 5

All the Apostles and Profits have maintained that anything THEY say is to be taken as the Word of God, no matter what time period. Of course, now the general authorities say that only the words of the LIVING profit count, and not the dead ones. Gods Word is subject to Salt Lake's approval.

This hardly sounds like an opinion from Elder Mark E Peterson's infamous BYU Speech:
"Now we are generous with the *****. We are willing that the ***** have the highest kind of education. I would be willing to let every ***** drive a Cadillac if they could afford it. I would be willing that they have all the advantages they can get out of life in the world. But let them enjoy these things among themselves"
...A Chinese, born in china with a dark skin, and with all the handicaps of that race seems to have little opportunity. But think of the mercy of god to Chinese people who are willing to accept the gospel. In spite of whatever they might have done in the pre-existence to justify being born over there as chinamen, if they now, in this life accept the gospel and live it the rest of their lives they can have the priesthood, go to the temple and receive endowments and sealings, and that means they can have exaltation.”
"The ***** seeks absorption with the white race. He will not be satisfied until he achieves it by intermarriage. That is his objective and we must face it. We must not feel so sorry for Negroes that we will open our arms and embrace them with everything we have."
This was delivered in the late 50's, so all you mormon teenyboppers have parents and grandparents who believed this to be Divine Truth and Scripture. If you state otherwise, you're either lying or a complete imbecile.

All the church needs to do is publicly renounce ALL the racist doctrine and teachings of the church. But, since that includes denouncing the Book of Mormon, that ain't gonna happen.

Answer 6

Last time I checked , we were at war with the Taliban. Why should we let one of their cousins inti the White House?

This one happened 150 years ago but I think its still relevant because Mitt Romneys church pardoned a terrorist mass murderer of Americans.

It was September 11, 1857. A wagon train of 160 settlers on their way to California was massacred by a bunch of Mormons dressed in Indian clothes. 17 children under the age of 8 were spared and lived to tell their story.
1st. They dressed as Indians but after five days they changed tactics.
2nd. Then they went a bit away ,dressed back into normal clothes and acted like the Rescue Party who had negotiated a deal with the"Indians".
3rd, Then confiscated all the guns as part of the deal for "saving" the travellers and Mormon dissidents( who were the reason for the attack in the first place).
4th. Took everybody off a mile or so and shot them all. 2 men got away but were eventually tracked down and killed a day or so later.
5th. Took the 17 children they had not killed back with them to Salt Lake City.
6th. Got away with it. After a publicized trial, with the childrens own testimony admitted into the court, only 1 man was convicted and shot, John D. Lee. ( pardoned by Church 1960)

It ended up being called the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The first time in U.S. history that U.S. citizens were massacred on U.S. soil by religious wackos. This event is even more significant because the total U.S. population at the time was much smaller.(I dont know the exact numbers, maybe only 30 million or so) In todays numbers it would be around 1400 dead.

Answer 7

WTH are you talking about?

Get your facts together before you talk about things you know nothing about. The only truth you have mentioned is that Mitt Romney is a pig. And not because of his religion. Last time I read a history book .. it wasn't only the Mormons that were discriminating against a whole race of Africans-Americans, it was an entire country. Now who is nuts?

If you are basing your opinion on comments by the snake-oil salesman Sharpton- well you get an F for FAILURE.

EDIT: I used to live in UTAH, and am extremely versed with all this religious crap. And your crap is way off! You are spreading blatant lies.

Answer 8

Sound like you got the wrong idea about us. Please recheck your sources.

You misunderstood the LDS past history, and I will not be able to explain it in a few words.

But look what LDS have established now, if you still reject that, then you are living in hatred and ignorance.

Answer 9

Because the religion they are derived from got started when people truly felt that black people were less than human. Or are you talking about people from Africa who have become American citizens? If you are talking about them then I the same answer applies.

Answer 10

You are a downright slanderous liar! Shame on you and your descendants. Anyone that is less than human are the ones that lack wisdom, integrity, and the common sense to know it.
Hmmmm, sounds like the asker!

Answer 11

I am absolutely no defender of Mormonism. I think the religion is absolutely false. A cursed lie.

I do think however that we must be fair and this evaluation is not completely fair. (Although I find plenty of other completely fair reasons to come to my conclusion on Mormonism).

Much of the Christian religion also considered black people as lesser people in the past. They used the Scripture in Genesis as to Noah and his sons (arguing black people are descendants of Ham and therefore cursed people) as excuse to treat them as slaves, and to treat them as animals. (This was not of course what those Scripture intended for us to do, yet men perverted them).

Many atheists have been guilty of this as well in the past, arguing that black people, and other races are less evolved and are "lesser" than others (one of the byproducts that spurred on the Nazi agenda....but was not singularly the belief of the Nazi, but actually of a great many others).

The Mormon's had this opinion more recently but it would be hypocritical for us to say they were the only people to hold that black people (or persons of color) were lesser beings than others.

Again...Mormonism is a false religion despite what I say here.

As to Romney...I can of course see why a African American (or black person, person of color, for not all are from Africa) would be quite put off with voting for a man who's religion is in question as to racism. I think this is a legitimate concern. I do not think Romney is a racist however but I think everyone has to evaluate that for themselves, and I can certainly understand why "people of color" would hold him to a much higher standard in that regard than I would.