Recovery to Mormonism

Aren’t Mormons Racist?

Recovery to Mormonism sites will tell you that Mormons are intensely racist.  After all, blacks couldn’t have the priesthood until 1978, Mormon leaders and even prophets have made racist statements, and wasn’t there something in the Book of Mormon about black skin and cursing?

So.  Are they right?

Let’s admit one thing first: Yes.  Mormon leaders have made racist statements.  Sometimes very racist. 

However, we must promptly follow this up with: we are all products of our times.  Being Mormon, even being a prophet, does not mean that one will believe no false things, nor be free of racism or sexism. 

But let’s put this into context. 

Joseph Smith was extremely progressive for his era.  Although against interracial marriage, as most people were and remained for another century and more, he thought that black people had the same capabilities as white people.  He famously remarked that were black people given the same opportunities as white ones, they would do just as well.  He was very impressed by freed and educated blacks. 1

And the first black convert, Elijah Abel, held the priesthood and still held it when he died.  The ban on black people holding the priesthood did not exist in the beginning. 2

However, the idea that black people were Cain’s descendants and marked as such was—this was not, however, a uniquely Mormon idea.  It was a very common idea at the time, and one of those used to justify slavery.  Joseph Smith himself believed that blacks were Cain’s descendants.  It just didn’t, to him, mean that they were also spiritually, mentally, or in any other way inferior.

Not everyone felt the same way.  Brigham Young did not ordain black people to the priesthood, nor believe that they could be.  And the myth that the “mark of Cain” made black people unworthy persisted.  Theories were spun from the myth.  Some Church leaders believed that black people had been “less worthy” in the war in heaven and were thus born into black bodies.  The problem with this and other theories was that they only worked if you already believed them—the scriptures said no such thing, nor was any revelation given to support them.  Even the scripture commonly cited to prove that black people bear Cain’s mark does not state what the mark was—and that Cain’s descendants are later described as black does not prove that even he was (nor that no other descendants of anyone else could have been black).  The scriptures are not nearly so definite on the matter. 3

Besides, someone is doubtless a descendant of Cain somewhere.  It shouldn’t and doesn’t matter.  The Lord never said that no descendant of Cain could be saved—salvation is for all, regardless of who we are.  And this is Mormon doctrine.

And we must put this even further into context.  While the Mormon Church has been endlessly criticized for not giving blacks the priesthood, that they allowed black members into white congregations at all was rather remarkable.  Mormons never practiced segregation in the congregation.  There have never been white groups and black groups.  While this might seem rather faint praise, we must also remember that many, many churches have kept the races carefully separate and some may do so even now.  If we sought to condemn any denomination for racism, we might, in all fairness, have to condemn most or all of them, save, perhaps, for those created after the Civil Rights movement.  People reflect their times. 4

The Declaration in 1978 was a revelation from God asserted that all worthy men could receive the priesthood and we have had any number of strong statements since against racism and prejudice.  We had them before, as well, but we did also have those embarrassing statements which proved leaders to be men of their times.  But the Church is progressive and the statements of living prophets outweigh statements of those now dead.

What of this skin of blackness talked about in the Book of Mormon?  Presumably given to the Lamanites?  Ex-Mormons and anti-Mormons claim that the Mormon belief is that Native Americans are to turn white after they’re converted, the curse being lifted.

This is a misreading of the text.  While debate still runs on, even among Mormons, about exactly what the skin of blackness was (and perhaps it was just symbolic, which there is some Biblical justification for), Mormons agree on one thing—the curse had nothing to do with skin color.  The curse was separation from God.  Although there is disagreement as to whether "skin of darkness" is symbolic, that the Lamanites would literally become "white and delightsome" (in a racial sense) if they repented seems doubtful. It simply does not reflect the reality of the Book of Mormon.

In only one instance does the Lamanites’ skin turn white.  Even if this is not meant to be symbolic at all, we must take the context into account.  This is the one instance where the Nephites and the Lamanites live in one place and occupy the same culture.  We may be speaking of intermarriage, but we are probably not speaking of righteousness.  Several times, Lamanites becomes extremely righteous and surpass the Nephites—in none of those times are they described as being “white.”

And, in fact, after this one instance where Lamanites are described as white, the wicked are destroyed, leaving, presumably, only righteous (or righteous-ish) people.  Then Christ comes and the Book of Mormon peoples enter a golden age and all live together for some generations.  When they break up into factions again, there is no mention of someone becoming suddenly dark-skinned.  Nor do any of the many apostate Nephites become dark.

So, an at all careful reading of the Book of Mormon does not support the idea that dark skin is evil and white skin is not.  And the Lamanites, regardless, are put forth as a chosen people of God in a way that the Caucasian Americans are not.  While the mention of dark skin might make readers uncomfortable, if the Book of Mormon is racist, it is racist in a very odd way indeed.  The Lamanites are never innately inferior, just fooled by their traditions.  When they convert, they often (very often) surpass the Nephites.

1. Lamanites, the Seed of Cain, and Polygamy (Juliann Reynolds)

2. Black Latter-day Saints: A Faith-FULL History (Margaret Blair Young)

3. The LDS Church and the Race Issue: A Study in Misplaced Apologetics (Armand L. Mauss)

4. Lamanites, the Seed of Cain, and Polygamy