LDS Church denounces racism

[pam]

SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday issued a statement decrying racism and calling for peace, greater kindness and compassion following Saturday's rally in Virginia that spiraled into deadly violence.

"It is with great sadness and deep concern that we view the violence, conflict and tragedy of recent days in Charlottesville, Virginia. People of any faith, or of no faith at all, should be troubled by the increase of intolerance in both words and actions that we see everywhere.

https://www.ksl.com/?sid=45407971&nid=1016

[pam]

The Church has added the following clarification statement:

It has been called to our attention that there are some among the various pro-white and white supremacy communities who assert that the Church is neutral toward or in support of their views. Nothing could be further from the truth. In the New Testament, Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37-39). The Book of Mormon teaches “all are alike unto God” (2 Nephi 26:33).

White supremacist attitudes are morally wrong and sinful, and we condemn them. Church members who promote or pursue a “white culture” or white supremacy agenda are not in harmony with the teachings of the Church.

[Guest Godless]

I believe this second statement was made in response to a very outspoken and widely-followed LDS sister on Twitter who has been quite supportive of the "Unite the Right" movement. She has since made several remarks criticizing the church for (in her perception) turning its back on "white culture". She's a real piece of work. 

[Sunday21]

1 hour ago, pam said:

The Church has added the following clarification statement:

It has been called to our attention that there are some among the various pro-white and white supremacy communities who assert that the Church is neutral toward or in support of their views. Nothing could be further from the truth. In the New Testament, Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37-39). The Book of Mormon teaches “all are alike unto God” (2 Nephi 26:33).

White supremacist attitudes are morally wrong and sinful, and we condemn them. Church members who promote or pursue a “white culture” or white supremacy agenda are not in harmony with the teachings of the Church.

Thank goodness! I don't know any racist lds now but I did as a teenager!

[Guest MormonGator]

Just now, Sunday21 said:

Thank goodness! I don't know any racist lds now but I did as a teenager!

I knew several kids back in the 90's who said racist things, but I chalked it up to them being kids/immature/really stupid. They weren't LDS though. I didn't know any LDS growing up. 

[Sunday21]

Just now, MormonGator said:

I knew several kids back in the 90's who said racist things, but I chalked it up to them being kids/immature/really stupid. They weren't LDS though. I didn't know any LDS growing up. 

When I meet a racist, I just assume the immature/really stupid part! Actually I have not met a racist for years!

[Guest MormonGator]

1 minute ago, Sunday21 said:

When I meet a racist, I just assume the immature/really stupid part! Actually I have not met a racist for years!

"I'm not a racist, I hate everyone equally."-WC Fields. Or @mirkwood. I don't know. 

Edited August 16, 2017 by MormonGator

[Just_A_Guy]

1 hour ago, Godless said:

I believe this second statement was made in response to a very outspoken and widely-followed LDS sister on Twitter who has been quite supportive of the "Unite the Right" movement. She has since made several remarks criticizing the church for (in her perception) turning its back on "white culture". She's a real piece of work. 

I just looked at her twitter page, and now I need to take a shower.

The sad thing is--I think as a society we *do* need a renaissance of the best of traditionalist/Christian Enlightenment/Founding-Father-type values.  But this girl, and so many like her, are poisoning the well by talking about "culture" when they obviously really just mean "race".

Ick.

Edited August 16, 2017 by Just_A_Guy

[Guest Godless]

35 minutes ago, Just_A_Guy said:

But this girl, and so many like her, are poisoning the well by talking about "culture" when they obviously really just mean "race".

Ick.

Agreed. I love my German heritage, and I especially love living in an area that's rich with it. Same with my Irish heritage (minus the local roots part). It has nothing to do with my skin color, and I've never felt that my European heritage is being threatened. That some people feel otherwise tells me that they've grown accustomed to being the most influential race in our society and resent the rising influence of other cultures, which is pretty much the very definition of white supremacy.

As it happens, I also have ancestral connections to the Mayflower. That my ancestors helped settle America is something to take pride in. Some of the details that unraveled in the years that followed are not (dispacement of native population, Puritan zealoutry etc). To the best of my knowledge, I don't have any ancestral ties to the Confederacy. If I one day learn otherwise, it is not something I will embrace. Embrace the parts of your heritage that are worth embracing, but recognize and acknowledge the ugly bits for what they are. 

[prisonchaplain]

I have no issues with churches denounces racism, broadly. White Supremacy--particularly in God's name, is anti-Christian. I'm frustrated, though. What to say when a half white half black student tells my half white half Asian daughter she's white because she's not dark enough? And, if that angers me, is it because I'm protecting my privilege? For some, disagreeing with affirmative action, supporting law enforcement, calling for a color blind society, etc. are all examples of racism. Then there's the reality that if we have to say were not racist then many would say we are, yet if we don't say anything then we definitely are. ARRGH!

[BeccaKirstyn]

13 minutes ago, prisonchaplain said:

I have no issues with churches denounces racism, broadly. White Supremacy--particularly in God's name, is anti-Christian. I'm frustrated, though. What to say when a half white half black student tells my half white half Asian daughter she's white because she's not dark enough? And, if that angers me, is it because I'm protecting my privilege? For some, disagreeing with affirmative action, supporting law enforcement, calling for a color blind society, etc. are all examples of racism. Then there's the reality that if we have to say were not racist then many would say we are, yet if we don't say anything then we definitely are. ARRGH!

Welcome to the new societal standards where the price is right if you say exactly what you're supposed to. Nothing more, nothing less, or you're in the "wrong".

Edited August 16, 2017 by BeccaKirstyn

[Suzie]

4 hours ago, prisonchaplain said:

 What to say when a half white half black student tells my half white half Asian daughter she's white because she's not dark enough? And, if that angers me, is it because I'm protecting my privilege?

The girl in question doesn't sound very smart. However, this type of mentality occurs in ALL races.

People seem surprised at what happened in Virginia, I'm not sure why. These people have been living in the US ALL THIS TIME.

[person0]

White supremacy is evil, but so is white suppression, which I believe if we are honest, is probably the bigger problem in modern US society.  I venture to guess that in the past few years, racist, anti-white attitudes have resulted in more deaths than racist, white supremacist attitudes.  All evil, but only one is in the national headlines.

[JoCa]

9 hours ago, person0 said:

White supremacy is evil, but so is white suppression, which I believe if we are honest, is probably the bigger problem in modern US society.  I venture to guess that in the past few years, racist, anti-white attitudes have resulted in more deaths than racist, white supremacist attitudes.  All evil, but only one is in the national headlines.

I think it is very, very hard for disparate groups that look completely different to live in harmony together.  It can happen but in order for it to happen there has to be something much larger then their culture (or it has to be the same culture) that brings them together.  It's why whether we like it or not we live in a very segregated society.  Every city I have lived in has the black community, the Chinese community, the Hispanic community, the white community.  And each community is roughly 80% or greater in one culture or race. The black communities are generally 90-97% black, the Hispanics are in the 80%, etc. etc.

There was an incident in Atlanta were a white woman running on the democratic ticket for Governor of GA was shouted down by blacks who said she couldn't represent them and their community-they prevented her from speaking.  Call it racism, call it hegemony, call it whatever you want, but the fact remains that large groups of different ethnic individuals (not all individuals part of that ethnicity), want to be represented by individuals who look like them.

Quite frankly, the best thing we could do for race and ethnic relations in this country is to bring down the # of people a Representative represents, expand the House of Representatives from 550ish to 2000, so that each Representative represents saw 100,000 people (the Founders had it at 30k per).Gerrymandering wouldn't be a problem and then all the House becomes truly representative, black, Hispanic, etc. communities would feel their voice is heard, they'd have a say and so would everyone else.  A really simple fix is to diffuse political power not centralize it and control it.

Edited August 16, 2017 by JoCa

[anatess2]

13 hours ago, Godless said:

I believe this second statement was made in response to a very outspoken and widely-followed LDS sister on Twitter who has been quite supportive of the "Unite the Right" movement. She has since made several remarks criticizing the church for (in her perception) turning its back on "white culture". She's a real piece of work. 

Did anybody attempt to put a "there's no such thing as white culture" sign on her forehead?

[estradling75]

The problem isn't with having a "culture"  the problem is that we focus on the narrowest "Culture" we have and take that as the definition of what we are rather then the largest.

For example the largest "Culture" that I am a part of is the "Human Child of God"  When focus on that "Culture" I really do not have a problem getting along with other people.

But not all Cultures are that inclusive..  For example I am part of the "American" culture... which can be good but it does limit me.  I am also part of the "LDS" culture  which is also good but limiting.

Probably the most limiting is the culture that I am a part of is "Middle aged, white, male, heterosexual male, nerd/geek"   There is some great stuff in there, but if that is how I define myself (or even just a few of them) then I am going to have serious limits on getting along with other people.

 

[Guest]

13 hours ago, MormonGator said:

"I'm not a racist, I hate everyone equally."-WC Fields. Or @mirkwood. I don't know. 

Gotta love WC Fields... or @mirkwood

That reminds me of Lee Ermey's rant in Full Metal Jacket.

Quote

(at a Spinal Tap volume of 11).

If you ladies leave my island, if you survive recruit training, you will be a weapon. You will be a minister of death praying for war.

But until that day you are pukes. You are the lowest form of life on Earth. You are not even human *** beings. You are nothing but unorganized **** pieces of amphibian ****!

Because I am hard, you will not like me. But the more you hate me, the more you will learn. I am hard but I am fair. There is no racial bigotry here. I do not look down on (multiple racial epithets) or greasers. Here you are all equally worthless.

And my orders are to weed out all non-hackers who do not pack the gear to serve in my beloved Corps. Do you maggots understand that?

I love Ermey.

Edited August 16, 2017 by Guest

[Guest]

When my family moved to Colorado, we had some neighbors a couple houses away that had some kids our age.  They all played together well.

After being there for a few years, my three or four year old son asked,"Why is their skin so dark?" (They were black).

My wife and I both looked at each other kind of wondering.  It just occurred to us that at no time had we ever explained anything about race to any of our kids.  Mommy looked different because she was Mommy.  Daddy looked different because he was Daddy.  How to explain races to kids???

I said,"I've got dark hair.  Mommy has light hair.  You guys have something in between.  Some people have darker skin, others have lighter skin."

That seemed to satisfy him.  And we never brought it up again.  It wasn't that race is a taboo issue for us.  It just never mattered to the point that we never gave it a second thought until he asked the question.

[The Folk Prophet]

32 minutes ago, estradling75 said:

...serious limits on getting along with other people.

I resemble that remark.

[Guest MormonGator]

36 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

 

That reminds me of Lee Ermey's rant in Full Metal Jacket.

 

Woah. Dude. What's a good little LDS boy like you doing watching that movie?!

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, MormonGator said:

Woah. Dude. What's a good little LDS boy like you doing watching that movie?!

I haven't always been a "good little LDS boy".  I was a lot younger then.

[Guest MormonGator]

Just now, Carborendum said:

I haven't always been a "good little LDS boy".  I was a lot younger then.

Oh! Full Metal Jacket came out in 1987, so that makes you about 94 back then....dude, what do you consider young?! 

[zil]

2 minutes ago, MormonGator said:

Oh! Full Metal Jacket came out in 1987, so that makes you about 94 back then....dude, what do you consider young?! 

I tried to "like" that, and got a message saying "You are only allowed to give 100 likes per day. You cannot give any more likes today."  Now yesterday I may have given a gazillion likes, but I know I haven't given anything close to 100 today (or even UTC today).  I'm thinking there's a setting, code, or calculation somewhere that's messed up.

So, zil is having a special today: No likes for anyone!

[Guest MormonGator]

1 minute ago, zil said:

I tried to "like" that, and got a message saying "You are only allowed to give 100 likes per day. You cannot give any more likes today."  Now yesterday I may have given a gazillion likes, but I know I haven't given anything close to 100 today (or even UTC today).  I'm thinking there's a setting, code, or calculation somewhere that's messed up.

So, zil is having a special today: No likes for anyone!

Yeah seriously. That dude is so old.

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, MormonGator said:

Oh! Full Metal Jacket came out in 1987, so that makes you about 94 back then....dude, what do you consider young?! 

I was only 93 back then.  You forgot what day my birthday was.