Ok, I'll ask again. Non-Mormons only, please?

Question

Sorry for the last question, it's not my spelling, it's my keyboard acting up.

I want to know specific law suits that were brought against the church that supposedly led to the LDS church giving blacks the priesthood. All the anti-Mormons say that this was why, and I dont' know any specific suits.

The priesthood is NOT a civil rights issue, because it's not a job. II bet if you look hard enough, you won't find anything about any law suit. No one would have, because it would have been a violation of the first amendment.

Answer 1

In 1974 the Mormon doctrine of discrimination against blacks brought the Boy Scouts into a serious confrontation with the NAACP. The Boy Scouts of America did not discriminate because of race, but LDS sponsored troops did have a policy of racial discrimination. On July 18, 1974, the Salt Lake Tribune reported:

"A 12-year-old boy scout has been denied a senior patrol leadership in his troop because he is black", Don L. Cope, black ombudsman for the state, said Wednesday.

Mormon 'troop policy is that in order for a scout to become a patrol leader, he must be a deacon's quorum president in the LDS Church. Since the boy cannot hold the priesthood, he cannot become a patrol leader.' "

Shortly before Boy Scout officials were to appear in Federal Court Friday morning on charges of discrimination, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a policy change which will allow black youths to be senior patrol leaders, a position formerly reserved for white LDS youths in troops sponsored by the church. An LDS Church spokesman said Friday under the "guidelines set forth in the statement, a young man other than president of the deacons quorum could (now) become the senior patrol leader if he is better qualified". - (Salt Lake Tribune, August 3,1974).

Mormon President Spencer W. Kimball "had been subpoenaed to testify" in the suit (Ibid., Oct. 23), but on Nov. 7, 1974 the Tribune reported: "A suit claiming discrimination against blacks by the Boy Scouts of America was dismissed Wednesday in federal court...all parties to the suit..signed an agreement stating the alleged discrimination 'has been discontinued.'"
http://www.bsa-discrimination.org/html/lds-top.html

2003 Mesa Az. Mormons dicriminating against blacks and non-mormons
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/comsite5/bin/pdinventory.pl?pdlanding=1&referid=2930&purchase_type=ITM&item_id=0286-9051509

This shows that the issue is still unresolved.

Answer 2

Are you inplying that prior to 1978 is was permissible for the General Authorities to castigate and denigrate African Americans as a less than noble people? A people who must remain separate from the white man's world, and remain subject to his generosity and offerings?

So, the Civil Rights's movement was not about giving and enforcing equality since the church was not barring blacks from any employed position, yet deny equal rights to salvation? Tell us all again why this is justifiable.

Or was it a number of other items, like the refusal of college teams to play BYU and thus deny KSL the 'rights' to sell airtime? Or the problems of converting Brazilians and Jamaicans because of the Africa heritage? Or the Boy Scouts church membership denying black Americans the same church privileges as white members?

Civil Rights? Well, the Prophet himself said it was a Communist Plot.

Answer 3

I don't know if there were any lawsuits brought against the LDS church to allow "blacks" to join your priesthood---but I do wonder why this was an issue at all---and why it took so long to resolve it?----Blessings!

Answer 4

I remember when I was mormon, the church use to say that if people were mormon it would be all over the news, this has nothing to do with blacks or the African American, but I like th estory on 20/20 about the LDS girl who was going to get married in the temple and her mom didn't want her to get married in their hometwon, the girl was going to get married were her husband-to-be wanted her to get married. The parents kidnapped her and took her until she swore she would not marry her husband-to-be, well she married him in the temple anyways.

Answer 5

I've never heard anything about any law suits. To me it just makes sense, the civil rights movements came along, a lot of organizations resisted and finally "caved in" under pressure.

Liesel.

Answer 6

I don't know of any, but I have never cared to look. There is fact, and there is perception. In our media driven society perception is often more powerful than fact. What has the Church of Latter Day Saints done to impact this perception?

Answer 7

There were no lawsuits.