265 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
265 lines
13 KiB
Plaintext
LDS statements concerning the Negro
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It was no less an authority than Brigham Young who uttered these
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words, as scripture, about the Negro during the era of slavery:
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"Cain conversed with God every day, and knew all about the plan
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of creating this earth, for his father told him. But for the
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want of humility, and through jealousy, and an anxiety to possess
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the kingdom, and to have the whole of it under his own control,
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and not allow any body else the right to say one word,what did he
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do? He killed his brother. The Lord put a mark on him... When
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all the other children of Adam have had the privilege of
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receiving the Priesthood, and of coming into the kingdom of God,
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and of being redeemed from the four quarters of the earth, and
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have received their resurrection from the dead, then it will be
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time enough to remove the curse from Cain and his posterity. He
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deprived his brother of the privilege of pursuing the his journey
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through life, and of extending his kingdom by multiplying upon
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the earth; and because he did this, he is the last to share in
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the joys of the kingdom of God."
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Joseph Fielding Smith
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quoting Young's Journal of Discourses,
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vol.2, pp.142-143
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in his book "The Way of Perfection", p. 106
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To summarize Smith's quote of Young, the conditions of the curse
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being removed from the Negro are as follows:
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1) When all the other children of Adam (Adam was the God of the
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Mormons as Young preached at that time) have had the privilege of
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receiving the Priesthood.
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2) When all the other children of Adam (Mormons) have been
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resurrected.
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The question is put forth then: has every Mormon received the
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Priesthood and resurrection? If so, then the Negro nations should be
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receiving the full emphasis of Mormon missionary work. Since that isn't
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the case, then the "revelation" of Young, and affirmed by Fielding Smith,
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is false and the manifesto of 1978(?) is also false or in direct
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contradiction of the prophets.
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The words of Wilford Woodruff, also a former "prophet, seer, and
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revelator" of the LDS had this to day:
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"President Woodruff, in his journal, records the words of
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President Young as follows:
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The Lord said I will not kill Cain, but I will put a mark upon
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him, and that mark will be seen upon the face of every negro upon
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the face of the earth; and it is the decree of God that the mark
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shall remain upon the seed of Cain until the seed of Abel shall
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be redeemed' and Cain shall not receive the priesthood, until the
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time of that redemption. Any man having one drop of the seed of
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Cain in him cannot receive the priesthood; but the day will come
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when all that race will be redeemed and possess all the blessings
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which we now have."
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"Wilford Woodruff-History of His
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Life and Labors", p. 351
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Here we have Pres. Woodruff affirming yet again the "revelations" of
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the black as uttered by the mouth of Brigham Young. Here are some other
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words from other Mormon leaders/sources that carry on the tradition of
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the Mormon/Negro position:
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"Negroes in this life are denied the priesthood; under no
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circumstances can they hold this delegation of authority from the
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Almighty. The gospel message of salvation is not carried
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affirmatively to them... Negroes are not equal to other races
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where the receipt of certain spiritual blessings are
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concerned...."
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Bruce R. McConkie
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"Mormon Doctrine", p.527
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"Think of the Negro, cursed as to the Priesthood... This negro,
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who, in the pre-existence lived the type of life which justified
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the Lord in sending Him to the earth in the lineage of Cain with
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a black skin, and possible being born in darkest Africa- if that
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negro is willing when he hears the gospel to accept it, he may
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have many of the blessings of the gospel. In spite of all he did
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in the pre-existent life, the Lord is willing, if the Negro
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accepts the gospel with real, sincere faith, and is really
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converted, to give him the blessings of baptism and the gift of
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the Holy Ghost. If that Negro is faithful all his days, he can
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and will enter the celestial kingdom. He will go there as a
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servant, but he will get celestial glory."
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"Race Problems-As the Affect the Church"
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Address by Mark E. Petersen at
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the Convention of Teachers of
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Religion on the college level,
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Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
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August 27, 1954
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"Frankly, sincerely, and somewhat abruptly, President Brigham
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Young has told us that the mark of Cain was a 'blackskin.' For
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the Latter-day Saint no further explanation is required.... The
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question as to what the mark of Cain was, and is, is thus
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answered - a black skin for him and his posterity."
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"The Church and the Negro",
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1967, p. 13-14
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"Cain slew his brother. Cain might have been killed, and that
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would have put a termination to that line of human beings. This
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was not to be, and the Lord put a mark upon the him, which is the
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flat nose and black skin."
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"Journal of Discourses"
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Vol.7, p.290
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Delivered October 16, 1859
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The following, taken from an LDS Sunday School book, puts the LDS
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position on the black in it's real context and meaning:
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"We will first inquire into the results of the approbation or
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displeasure of God upon a people, starting with the belief that a
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black skin is a mark of the curse of heaven placed upon some
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portions of mankind. Some, however, will argue that a blackskin
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is not a curse, nor a white skin a blessing. In fact some have
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been so FOOLISH AS TO BELIEVE AND SAY that a black skin is a
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blessing, and that the negro is the finest type of a perfect man
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that exists on the earth but to us SUCH TEACHINGS ARE
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FOOLISHNESS. We understand that when God made man in his own
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image and pronounced him very good, THAT HE MADE HIM WHITE. We
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have no record of any of God's favored servants BEING OF A BLACK
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RACE. All his prophets and apostles belonged to the most
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handsome race on the face of the earth -Israel, who still, as
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represented in the scattered tribe of Judah, bear the impress of
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their former beauty. In this race was born His Son Jesus, who,we
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are told was very lovely, and "in the express image of His
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Father's person," and every angel who ever brought a message of
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God's mercy to man was beautiful to look upon, clad in the purest
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white and with a countenance as bright as the noonday sun."
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"Juvenile Instructor"
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vol.3, p. 157
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As you see, even God is described as a white man as was Jesus, and
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the notion of the negro being a blessed race "foolishness." And this in
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a sunday school book being taught to children.
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There are many more examples, but this gives the gist of the basis
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of their doctrine: the mere utterances of men during a time of the US
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where the black was regarded as no better than dirt and relegated to
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slavery. Even Petersen's words give a new twist: the Negro, if he
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accepts the LDS way and is faithful, will still be slaves ("servants") in
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the celestial heaven to the white exalted gods and other whites of said
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heaven. Couple that with the non-fulfillment of Young's "revelation" of
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the black redemption and that it hasn't happened, and the 1978 revocation
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of the tradition in contradiction to the prophet's "revelations" sets the
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LDS in rather a bad light as they can't rightly explain, nor justify,
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their continued racism against the black.
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Their own BOM contradicts their theology:
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"Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake
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of his goodness? Behold I say unto you NAY; BUT ALL MEN ARE
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PRIVILEGED THE ONE LIKE UNTO THE OTHER, AND NONE ARE FORBIDDEN."
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(emphasis mine)
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2 Nephi 26:28
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"...and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of
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men; and he inviteth ALL to come unto him and partake of his
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goodness; AND HE DENIETH NONE THAT COME UNTO HIM, BLACK AND
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WHITE, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the
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heathen; AND ALL ARE ALIKE UNTO GOD, BOTH JEW AND GENTILE."
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(emphasis mine)
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2 Nephi 26:33
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Even former President Joseph Fielding Smith admitted there was
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no "scriptural basis" for the Negro doctrine:
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"...We know of no such statement in any revelation in the
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'Doctrine and Covenants', the 'Book of Mormon' or the Bible."
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"The Improvement Era"
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Vol. 27, p. 565
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Even David O. McKay, another former president, tried to evade the
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issue of scripturality by reasoning it to their "pre-existence" doctrine:
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"...however, I believe...that the real reason dates back to our
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pre-existent life."
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"Mormonism and the Negro"
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Part Two, p. 19
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The reader must agree with Smith that there is no scriptural basis,
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LDS or otherwise, for their doctrine on the Negro.
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It seems that the LDS will have a lot to account for in disobeying
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God's word (as the BOM is purported to be) in their doctrine on the
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black. As the above BOM verses state, no blessing of God is to be denied
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to anyone who accepts God, that means the Negro is entitled to the Mormon
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Priesthood just as much as the white Mormon enjoys it. Therefore, the
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LDS doctrine on the Negro is no more than a doctrine of prejudiced men,
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and not of God.
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The Bible is also clear as to the blessings of God not knowing race,
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creed, skin color, social status, etc.:
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"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
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For as many of you as have been baptized Christ have put on
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Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond
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nor free, there is neither male nor female; FOR YE ARE ALL ONE IN
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CHRIST JESUS. And if ye be Christs, then ye are Abraham's seed,
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and heirs according to the promise." (emphasis mine)
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Galatians 3:26-29
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Here, Paul is describing the lack of any barrier based on sex,
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status, race, etc., to those who are part of Christ's church and who have
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Christ as Lord.
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"Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man
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with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in
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knowledge after the image of him that created him; where there is
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neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision,
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Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, BUT CHRIST IS ALL, AND IN
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ALL." (emphasis mine)
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Colossians 3:9-11
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The same declaration as in Galatians. There are no divisions of
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class, etc., in the body of christian believers. All are equal in God's
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sight and entitled to the same blessings.
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There are other scriptures to affirm this point. See Colossians
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1:20-23, 27-28, 2:9-10, and the capping scripture, Acts 10:9-33 where God
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reveals that there is nothing unclean that God has cleansed (meaning
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Gentiles to the Jew) and all are eligible to receive God's blessings.
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In summary: the LDS doctrine on the Negro is a farce, it has no
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scriptural basis, and it is perpetuated to this day because of prejudice
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and the desire of exclusiveness in the organization and to keeping the
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black in the position of slave. My interpretation is not of any part of
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this. The words are self evident, and the Greek of the New Testament is
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self-explanatory. One need only consult a Greek lexicon of the Bible and
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use it with an interlinear to discover the true meanings of the Greek
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texts.
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Ken Simmons
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For more information see below:
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This file has been brought to you by the ministry of the;
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Southern Maryland Christian Information Service BBS, (SMCIS)
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(301) 862-3160 HST
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P.O. Box 463
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California, MD 20619
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Sysop: Buggs Bugnon
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