Mormon Church
The 1830 publication of the "Book of Mormon" by Joseph Smith, officially established the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ believe that Smith, under divine guidance, translated a set of golden plates into the Book of Mormon. This was the first of several literary works that were said to contain proper doctrine of the beliefs and views of the Mormon religion. Throughout the development of the Church, several aspects of the Mormon religion have caused many of its members to be persecuted by outside parties. During the last half of the nineteenth-century the government formed strict laws to thwart the strong beliefs of polygamy until church leaders denounced the practice. In the twentieth century the Church came under fire because of its controversial ideas considering African Americans. Ideas of Caucasian supremacy can be found throughout doctrines and scripture that exist in important Church documents. Until recently the Latter-day Saint Church had denied the priesthood, as well as several other religious practices to anyone that was of African decent. Heavy criticism from both non-Mormon and Mormon parties mounted until 1978, when then Church president Spencer Kimball an
In1974 the NAACP filled a lawsuit with a Federal court against the Church in support of Byron Marchant, an African-American Mormon scoutmaster14. Mormon-sponsored Boy Scout troops required any senior patrol leaders to hold the title of priesthood, thus blacks were excluded. As a result to the lawsuit the Church reversed it's discriminatory policy against scoutmasters'. Further attempts to segregate African-Americans are evident through the formation of the Genesis Group. The Genesis Group was formed for the estimated two hundred black Mormons who resided in Salt Lake City. The group held meeting in a chapel that was also used for several branches of the Liberty Stake. Several other historians have dismissed the so-called "Missouri thesis," arguing that the denial of priesthood came under the leadership of Brigham Young. A major fact that argues against the Missouri thesis was the record of the first African American priest; Elijah Abel was ordained an elder in the Melchizedek priesthood on March 3, 18366. It is believed that Abel was a close friend of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He was able to perform several church ordinances, including performing marriages, because he was recognized by the state of Ohio as a licensed minister of the Church. While participating in missionary work for the Church, controversial attitudes were directed towards Abel from both Mormon and non-Mormon parties. Citizens in upstate New York accused Abel of murder and offered a reward for his apprehension, but fortunately he was able to clear his name and was aloud to leave un-harmed. A large portion of the Book of Mormon describes the history of several pre-Christian civilizations that existed throughout America. A group of Israelites lead by a righteous man named Nephi established a society of god loving people. Nephi's two brothers Laman and Lemuel rose up against their brother and formed a band of dissidents that rejected Nephi's religious ideas. The righteous people came to be called the Nephites, while the nomadic dissidents were called Lamanites. The Lamanites were cursed by the Lord with the skin of darkness and became known as "a dark, and loathsome, and filthy people full of idleness and all manner of Abomination"1. Eventually the nations of the Amlicites and the Zoramites were cast with dark skin and joined the Lamanites. The Nephite ultimately turned ungodly and became extinct due to numerous battles fought both among themselves and with the Lamanites. The inability of the Church to avoid social pressures was most likely the main reason for the revelation. Negative media, criticism from the African American community, threats of civil rights lawsuits, and internal disarray reached a boiling point. Furthermore the spread of the Church to multi-racial countries located in Central and South America and Asia made it increasingly difficult to point out which members of the Church contained the so-called seed of Cain. Allowing equal rights for African-Americans allowed the Church to vastly expand its missionary work to urban Cities in the United States as well as to African Countries. Studies conducted by the Church as of January 1, 1980 provided information on the increase of diversity among Mormon members living abroad: South America contained a total of over three-hundred thousand members, Mexico contained more than two-hundred and thirty thousand members, while the continent of Africa registered more than eight thousand members19. The second half to the twentieth-century marked the height of Mormon disparagement over the race issue. The Civil rights movement received full support from the government and many popular non-Mormon religious denominations. People from both within the Church and outside the Church began to take notice of the injustice treatment of black Mormons. Organizations such as the NAACP and National Urban League began to criticize both the State of Utah and the Mormon Church ove
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3079
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)
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