Oh, and Ronan, I never said anything about Joseph Smith banning. I DID say that he defended the rights of blacks.

So, pray tell, how do you get anything racist from that? For your information, I have more black and polynesian friends than I ever had white. And I am as Irish and English as they come.

If you idiots had half a brain, you should be able to see that I was defending the notion that blacks were withheld the priesthood NOT BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN as some of YOU have purported in this thread, but because the Africa culture’s time was not yet. You know, it really is that simple!!!

Instead, you come back with this yellow journalistic bull.

Nevermind. I will just leave and conclude that nobody here is openminded enough to learn anything from their elders. My goodness!

Arrow>>>—-stupidity—>

Nobody seems to dare to even speculate as to why the African people were last in receiving the priesthood. But, I stand by the fact that God is not a racist and skin color has nothing to do with righteous living. Those who cite comments of supposed racism by our leaders can certainly be countered by those acts of defense for freedom of slaves by say, Joseph Smith.

Lastly, of course there is culpability upon those whites who bought slaves. But, had you left the individual element out of the cultural context in which I presented the ideas, you might have agreed that Africa was, especially at that time, waaay behind the curve of being a civilized society as compared to your European detractors. Regardless, I hold most of the culpability upon those who sold there own people.

You know MCQ, you remind of all those who love to argue the exception, or the out-of-context, against a general observation. Oh well, I love free speech…go at it odd fellow.

The LDS Chuch never taught that blacks could only get into heaven as slaves. In fact, here is a quote from Joseph Fielding Smith in 1958: “if a Negro is baptized and remains true and loyal, he will enter the celestial kingdom.” Note that one who enters the Celestial kingdom has “all” the glory of God, hardly a slave. Maher likely took a quote from an anti-Mormon site which, in turn, likely grabbed some obscure quote and presented it as doctrine, a frequent move…

On the Brigham Young thing, it is important to note that it’s from the Journal of Discouses which is historically problematic, but let’s look at what he is saying: He is saying that if a white man of the ‘chosen seed’ were to ‘mix his blood’ with the seed of Cain, the penalty is ‘death on the spot’ – now, this is a strange statement, but it’s important to note he is talking about a white man who holds the priesthood – and he mentions no penalty for the black woman. In 1863 there were very few places where blacks could marry whites, so he is likely talkling about a man, holding the priesthood, and either forncating or comitting adultry. Now, again, it is a strange statement, but I don’t think it is strictly racist – this seems more clear when you look at a quote from Brigham Young is the same Journal, on the following page “For their abuse of [the Black African] race, the whites will be cursed, unless they repent.”

It is very easy to call Brigham Young a racist, the Church policy was technically racist, a policy based on race, however, taking the full measure of him and not one statement, he emerges as much more complex than that.