What is your opinion on the Mormon "Curse of Cain Doctrine" about African Americans?

Question

From 1848 to 1978, blacks were not allowed to obtain the priesthood within the Mormon church, supposedly because they were descended from Cain and carried his curse of black skin (Moses 5:22, Pearl of Great Price). It is thought that those that had fought less valiantly during the War in Heaven between Jesus and his brother Lucifer (Satan) in the pre-existence were brought to Earth carrying the mark of Cain and were born as negroes (Mormon Doctrine, p.527, 1966 ed.). Blacks could not have the priesthood and were to be servants to the other races, according to God's commandment.

In 1978, the priesthood-ban was rescinded, but in 1997, when asked whether in retrospect the church had been wrong about the policy, the prophet answered "No, I don't think it was wrong. It, things, various things happened in different periods. There's a reason for them." (Australian TV Program COMPASS, Aust. Broadcasting Company, Nov. 9, 1997)

Should this be viewed as sacred beliefs or as racial bigotry?

Answer 1

Most churches have a past history of discrimination (Catholics discriminated against Jews and Muslims in the middle ages, southern Protestants discriminated against African Americans in the 18th and 19th centuries, some Muslims have discriminated against "infidels" in recent years, etc). Unfortunately, in the past (before I was born), Mormons taught some of the same things about blacks that Southern Protestants taught (Curse of Cain/Ham, etc) and so did not allow blacks to hold leadership positions in the church. Unlike Southern Protestants, however, Mormons never segragated their congregations and always taught that blacks could go to heaven.

However, all that changed decades ago. Modern Mormonism is very much opposed to discrimination of any kind. Ironically, many who discriminate against us (professional anti-Mormons) hypocritically accuse us of being discriminators!

The Mormon Church is not a racist church. I'm Mormon, and my wife is black. We were married in a Mormon temple, where the officiator told us that God approved of our marriage. My wife is treated well at church, as are the other African American members of our congregation. I've had a black bishop in several different Mormon congregations of which I've been a member.

Many anti-Mormons, however, intentionally misrepresent Mormon teachings in an attempt to discredit Mormonism. I've written about this type of discrimination on my site at http://www.allaboutmormons.com/brief_critique_anti-mormon_propaganda.php . Pay careful attention to the video at http://www.allaboutmormons.com/ENG_Video62.php .

To learn more about racial diversity in the Mormon church, visit http://www.allaboutmormons.com/racial_diversity_mormon_church.php .

Also, to see videos of black Mormons, visit these sites:

http://www.allaboutmormons.com/ENG_Video44.php
http://www.allaboutmormons.com/ENG_Video76.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6VOBVDcSec
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8V0oh2lNA0

Answer 2

Sacred beliefs.

Why? Because God can lift a curse as well as place one upon a specific group of people.

For example, the Israelites wandered the wilderness for 40 years because they were cursed to do so for their sins against God (golden calf, etc). After 40 years, all those that had participated in the sin had either died or repented sufficiently to have the curse lifted, and they were able to enter the promised land under the Lord's new prophet, Joshua.

The decision in 1978 to grant blacks with the priesthood was one inspired by God and that the leaders of the church had been considering for some time before hand. President Kimball had felt the matter weighing heavily on his mind from the time he was made an apostle in 1943. The Lord's granting the priesthood to all worthy males simply shows that those that were under the "Curse of Cain" are no longer the majority, if any, in the world's black community and so the curse was lifted.

Answer 3

Um.....look at the state of the world in the 19th and 20th century. Nearly everyone was racist. Nearly every group was racist by todays definitions.

There are reasons for it, however, one way to look at it is this: "How many people would have rejected Mormonism BECAUSE blacks could hold the priesthood" Perhaps God knew that America wasn't ready for this yet.

God has always determined who holds his priesthood and who does not. In ancient Israel blacks could not hold the priesthood either (read the old testament). Does this make all modern christians and Jews racist???

..........Or does it mean that God can choose whoever he wants to dictate the affairs of his church?

Answer 4

Most Book of Mormon scholars believe that the phrase about darkness was metaphorical and have shown examples of this usage in ancient near-East writings, including the Bible. In any case, the references are not used to apply to blacks or other ethnic groups, nor is it meant to imply that skin color is a measure of righteousness or acceptability before God.

Racist attitudes and assumptions have long permeated the cultures of the world, and these attitudes can easily stay with a person once they are in the Church. But racist attitudes are incompatible with the teachings of Christ. For example, six years before the 1978 revelation that extended the right to hold the Priesthood to all worthy males, President Spencer W. Kimball reiterated the teachings of the Church and of the Gospel:

"Intolerance by Church members is despicable. A special problem exists with respect to blacks because they may not now [1972] receive the priesthood. Some members of the Church would justify their own un-Christian discrimination against blacks because of that rule with respect to the priesthood, but while this restriction has been imposed by the Lord, it is not for us to add burdens upon the shoulders of our black brethren. They who have received Christ in faith through authoritative baptism are heirs to the celestial kingdom along with men of all other races. And those who remain faithful to the end may expect that God may finally grant them all blessings they have merited through their righteousness. Such matters are in the Lord's hands. It is for us to extend our love to all." (From a 1972 address reprinted in The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, Deseret Book, 1982.)

The Latter-day Saints I knew in 1978 were thrilled when the priesthood right was opened to all worthy males. When I lived in Atlanta, where there are quite a few African-American Latter-day Saints, I heard many white members express their joy at finally being able to serve in the priesthood with their African-American brethren and to attend the temple with them. There may be some members with strongly racist views, but I believe that they represent a tiny minority of the LDS people. Of course, bigoted attitudes can be subtle, pervasive, and hard to detect, making it impossible to certify that anyone is 100% free of prejudiced ideas. It's so easy to make assumptions about others based on their culture, their height, their skin color, their nationality, etc. I cannot claim that any Latter-day Saint is perfectly just and reasonable in all attitudes and assumptions, but I sense that most sincerely accept and respect those of different races. Problems common to humanity, including racism, may occur among the members, but the Church vigorously teaches that we are all brothers and sisters, children of one God.

Answer 5

It's not doctrine, for one thing. It's some theory thought up by some of our past leaders.

We don't know why God withheld the priesthood from blacks of African descent. We may neverknow.

Answer 6

I think it probably has more to do with the times, and the place of African Americans in US society, than the sacredness of text. But I doubt you'll ever hear someone in the Mormon church say they were wrong.

Answer 7

That's why Mormonism is considered a cult, because they have constantly had to ....Update" their bible,doctrine.
Good look alikes, not the real thing....