Thread by @AntiRacistJazz

Friends it's time to talk about my church a bit. I preface this thread by saying I'm currently an active and lifelong member of the LDS Church & was employed at the church's university BYU for 8 yrs. I speak as an insider who loves my faith and wants it to be better. #takenote 1/

It's no secret that my church is a predominant part of Utah culture. It's also no secret that racism has been part of its history. Up until 4 yrs before I was born Black men were barred from being ordained to the priesthood and Black women from receiving temple ordinances. 2/

While LDS congregations have been racially integrated from the beginning, those restrictions were a form of segregation. All LDS men are expected to be ordained to the priesthood and all members expected to participate in temple rituals. Except Black ppl until 1978. 3/

Race-based restrictions became increasingly uncomfortable for some church members, especially as more Black ppl began to convert to the church in other countries like Brazil. The civil rights movement increased pressure on the church to change, including NCAA boycotts of BYU. 4/

One of religion's saving graces is they often contain the seeds for their own future change, internal ideas to critique their worst excesses, and my church is no exception: The Book of Mormon declared "all are alike unto God," the founder ordained Black ppl to the priesthood. 5/

In the meantime, my church needed to explain why Black ppl were treated differently. So they pointed to things like the "curse of Cain" and the "curse of Ham," where biblical figures are said to be cursed bc of sin, passing the curses down through their lineages. 6/

Those reasons echoed longstanding Christian defenses of slavery. But LDS also drew on our own unique doctrines to justify it, such as the belief that all ppl lived in a premortal life b4 being born, and that premortal decisions resulted in mortal blessings or restrictions. 7/

Black ppl were said to be "less valiant," less righteous in premortality, resulting in their being born into a lineage that was restricted from full church participation. These reasons place responsibility on Black ppl and suggest white ppl were just doing God's will. 8/

After the bans were finally lifted many members celebrated, but still needed to explain why it took so long. New theories came up, like that Black ppl weren't ready for the responsibility, or the church would've been too persecuted by slavers etc. if they allowed integration. 9/

We needed these theories because members believe the church is led by prophets who receive revelation/direction from God, so the assumption is that practically everything church leaders did must have been God's will. Including the racial restrictions. 10/

One big consequence of the restrictions was discouraging interracial marriage. LDS believe in order to receive all of God's blessings you must be married in the temple. The racial restrictions prevented Black ppl from participating there. Although leaders no longer discourage 11/

interracial marriage, attitudes against it persist. It's not easy to find, but there's still an instruction manual written for the church's Young Men's organization on the official website saying interracial marriages cause problems for couples and are not encouraged. 12/

With all that in mind I wasn't too surprised that a top leader in the YM's org recently delivered an address to church youth in Alpine, Utah which included racist remarks. He apologized (see here), but it's worth unpacking what he said more directly. 13/
thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-mi…

Brad Wilcox raised this hypothetical question people might ask about the church: "How come the blacks didn't get the priesthood until 1978? What's up with that Brother Wilcox? What, [church president] Brigham Young was a jerk, members of the church were prejudiced?" 14/

Wilcox's tone was sarcastic and flippant, suggesting that such a question was asked in bad faith or antagonistically. And saying "the blacks" signals ignorance and insensitivity about how to even speak about Black ppl, let alone with Black ppl. He answered the Q like this: 15/

"Maybe we're asking the wrong question. Maybe instead of saying why did the blacks have to wait until 1978, maybe what we should be asking is why did the whites and other races have to wait until 1829? One thousand twenty-nine years they waited." I'll explain. 16/

LDS believe Jesus founded a church including priesthood in ancient times which was eventually broken up and lost during a "great apostasy." Then it was restored to earth in 1829. So in that grand scheme, Black ppl only had to wait an extra 125 yrs compared to "the whites." 17/

Lots of problems. 1st, "white ppl" were an invention of the 17th, 18th, 18th centuries, the category meant to contrast to "darker" races which were declared inferior. So it makes no sense to say white ppl waited 1,829 yrs because whiteness didn't even exist for that long. 18/

2nd, Wilcox ignores the fact that church founder Joseph Smith ordained some Black men to the priesthood, so initially Black ppl were being integrated until Brigham Young became church president and instituted the ban in the 1850s. He erases Black pioneers from the narrative. 19/

That's an important point bc in his apology, Wilcox says he only meant to say we need to have faith in "God's timing," that it was God who instituted the ban even though the church's first prophet did otherwise. 20/

After Young the church instituted a "one drop" policy: just one drop of "Negro blood" disqualified a person from full church participation. One Black ancestor. Today, advances in genetic science show that such a policy has no basis in reality: 21/

most if not all white ppl share genes with common African ancestors. Therefore, perhaps all of the church's original members including leaders should've been disqualified from holding the priesthood or participating in LDS temple rituals. science.org/content/articl…

Wilcox's answer appeals to some white audiences by placing them on a similar footing to Black ppl in terms of priesthood access. It centralizes white experiences, ignores the fact that Black ppl were originally ordained, & is based on outdated views of race and genes. 22/

For more history, check out this great book by @uofuhistory professor @WPaulReeve: "Religion of a Different Color." It shows how whiteness itself is a social construct, how Mormons had to fight to be identified as white, & how racism spread in the church. amzn.to/3LjEeTJ

@uofuhistory @WPaulReeve I interviewed Dr. Reeve and @Keepapitchinin about the book when I hosted BYU's Maxwell Institute Podcast. Give both parts a listen. Part 1: mi.byu.edu/mip-22-reeve-p… and Part 2: mi.byu.edu/mip-23-mormoni…

@uofuhistory @WPaulReeve @Keepapitchinin In 2013 the church began publishing Gospel Topics Essays on various issues including one on "Race and the Priesthood." It outlined the ban's historical context & directly debunked racist justifications for it, condemning all racism "past and present." 26/ churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/g…

@uofuhistory @WPaulReeve @Keepapitchinin But though the church denounced the racist explanations, it didn't denounce the restrictions themselves. Leaders officially adopted a position that "we don't know why" God restricted Black ppl from being ordained to the priesthood or worshipping in temple ceremonies. 27/

The problem is, that leaves a really uncomfortable explanatory gap that people like Wilcox will keep trying to fill up with more racist justifications/obfuscations. Top leaders still believe the restrictions were God's will rather than mistakes on the part of church leaders. 28/

I think they're concerned that admitting such a mistake would weaken the credibility of church leadership, therefore their own authority. A slippery slope: what else might they get wrong? But I think attributing racist restrictions to God is what really weakens it. 29/

As a church member I believe God doesn't direct everything the church does. Leaders are imperfect, they have agency, and they make mistakes. Just like we all do. We see in the Bible where leaders hold prejudiced views that God doesn't support. (See Acts 10.) 30/

I'm genuinely impressed that Brad Wilcox apologized. It takes a lot of courage. But his apology leaves in place the belief that God directed the racial restriction. I think he believes God did, but as a church leader he couldn't publicly express a contrary opinion anyway. 31/

But I can. I'm just a regular old member. Other members who are reading this thread can, too. When it comes up in church meetings or discussions with family/friends. My antiracist efforts include speaking from my heart about my own faith and how I want it to be better. 32/

Speaking up with love doesn't come without risks. Some members might ostracize, you might lose callings, etc. But to me the greater risk is that our silence breathes life into racism, harming BIPOC church members and our own integrity. 33/

After all, there are real-world repercussions for racist attitudes. Just a few weeks ago in Alpine, the same place Wilcox spoke, a young Black man was harassed with racist taunts on a school bus. 34/ fox13now.com/news/local-new…

Imagine if Brad Wilcox decided to address that circumstance with the youth! Current church pres. Russell M. Nelson has directly called on members everywhere to "lead out in abandoning attitudes and actions of prejudice,” one among many things that inspired me to start JFAR. 35/

I love that my church has officially rejected many racist justifications for race-based restrictions. But more will come. And I wait for leaders to take the next step of disclaiming the restrictions themselves and to confront racism more pointedly and consistently. 36/

In the meantime I'll say so myself, and invite other members to "lead out in abandoning attitudes and actions of prejudice" by speaking up when we hear racist justifications and racist ideas especially in church settings. 37/

Much more could be said, but feel free to reach out if you'd like to talk with me more about all of this. And I invite Latter-day Saints and other folks in Utah to follow @SISTASinZION and @BTBLDS, and @jamcjon, Black church members with things to say.

/end for now #takenote

PS: scholar @TaylorPetrey discusses historic LDS disapproval interracial marriage in this podcast episode: firesidepod.org/episodes/petrey

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