[toc]In May of 2018, the top leadership of the LDS Church and the NAACP met together for the first time ever. Prior to this meeting, I created a satire website which attempted to answer the question of what it might look like if the church was to do what it instructs its members to do and make a full acknowledgment, apology and repentance for the errors of its past – in this case, the error of racist teachings and policy. I wanted to do this in a compelling way which would reach people both inside and outside of the church, black, white or any other background. There have been past efforts to promote the idea of the church taking such a step as an apology to promote institutional accountability, but they have been met with a lukewarm response.
Past Efforts
Dr. Darron Smith previously started a change.org petition to urge an apology. Dr. Smith was a black convert to the church as a youth who only later learned the troubling past racist teachings of the church and has since become a vocal advocate for progress on the race issue in the church – arguing strongly that such progress must start with an apology that comes from the very source from which the error originated and with as much visibility.
“Our goal is to get the Mormon Church to apologize for its racist actions and teachings, just as other faith-based traditions have apologized. This is necessary is to disprove the prevailing notion that God “had His reasons” why humans denigrated and discriminated against other human beings based on race. When the Church refuses to give an apology, it leaves its millions of members left to question whether this was really God’s will rather than human racist actions.”
– Darron Smith change.org
It was upon reading his argument in 2015 that I first considered the importance of an apology from the church. Additionally, research in psychology has been demonstrating objectively that reconciliatory actions, specifically apology, are an essential part of repairing relationships and forgiveness.
In 2016, an Op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune by Julienna Viegas-haws, a black woman raised in the church only to later learn of its troubling history on race, made a similar appeal for an apology.
“Until the LDS leadership openly and publicly apologizes for the hurt they have caused to women, Blacks and LGBTQ members, I can no longer take the leaders seriously. Not only sincere apologies are needed but reparative actions such as diversifying the leadership should also take place.” – Julienna Viegas-haws sltrib.com
Both appeals were met with little response. The petition at change.org has only around 1,000 signatures in 6 year. Contrast this with the petition to have the New York Times revise the obituary for deceased LDS Prophet Thomas S Monson received over 150,000 signatures in just a few days.
While there have been proponents of apology – there have also been those who argue that such actions are not actually needed or helpful.
“[Marvin] Perkins doesn’t think that blacks need an apology, but added that white members do. “An apology benefits the person giving it,” he said, “more than the ones receiving it.” – Salt Lake Tribune, July 2013
I set out to create an unconventional and compelling case for the need and importance of an apology on race – both for the power of reconciliation towards those who were hurt and continue to feel its echoes as well as for those who were not directly affected by the ban but continue to carry its distortions.
I saw from history that direct appeals are met with little to no response and with my experience in studying how groups such as the LDS church immediately disregard the perspective of outsiders I felt that a different approach might reach more people. If I could get people to imagine a world where the church did the right thing on this issue, then maybe they could see the power of that possibility.
This had been done before on the subject of the Washington Redskin’s team name and mascot, which many consider to be offensive and racist. A Native American activist group created a satire website purporting to rebrand the team under the less offensive “Washington Redhawks” which many people thought was real and reacted positively toward. You can read about that event here. The activists wanted to create a positive feeling when people considered the possibility that the team would make a change in the right direction.
The pasquinade apology on Mormon Racism attempted to have a similar effect. This post serves as an archive of the text of that satirical apology and the response to it.
The Apology News Release
The apology was released as a satire news site designed to look very similar to the actual Mormon Newsroom.
You can see the archive of the original satire website on archive.org. The text of that release is as follows:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints issues the following statement:
RACISM
Throughout history and continuing into modern times, the issue of racism has caused great suffering and division. Racism affects the hearts and minds of individuals and leads to the uncharitable and harmful treatment of God’s children. Institutions may also display racism, by enacting policies and perpetuating teachings which harm minorities directly or through purposeful exclusion leading to lost opportunities for blessings.
UNIVERSAL LOVE
In His earthly ministry, the Savior, Jesus Christ, taught that the injunction to “love thy neighbor as thyself” was equal in importance to the commandment to love God Himself. In giving this instruction, Christ offered no caveats, no qualifications, and no limitations.
UNIVERSAL REPENTANCE
This central, universal teaching of Christian love was accompanied in Christ’s ministry by a universal call for repentance. As all have sinned, Christ taught repentance, not only to his disciples but also to those Apostles whom he called in his ministry, following the pattern previously established of ancient Prophets acknowledging error, humbling themselves, confessing their sins and making restitution before God and those whom they have wronged. Such admonitions for universal repentance were reinforced in the latter days when the Lord stated:
“Hearken and hear, O ye inhabitants of the earth. Listen, ye elders of my church together, and hear the voice of the Lord; for he calleth upon all men, and he commandeth all men everywhere to repent.” D&C 133:16
RECONCILIATION INITIATIVE
Five years ago, an initiative began in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to fulfill Christ’s paired teachings of universal love and repentance. In the October 2013 General Conference, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency stated:
“…to be perfectly frank, there have been times when members or leaders in the Church have simply made mistakes. There may have been things said or done that were not in harmony with our values, principles, or doctrine.” Come, Join with Us
CONFESSION
This admission of error by the brethren was then followed by a detailed confession in the form of a Gospel Topic Essay published on the church website just two short months later in December of 2013. This essay, entitled “Race and the Priesthood” gave further details to Elder Uchtdorf’s statement by describing these specific errors in the main text and associated footnotes:
Supporting segregation through the organization of race based congregations.
The denial of Priesthood and Temple blessings to families of African descent.
The perpetuation of slavery in Mormon-controlled Utah, advocated by church leaders.
Teaching anti-miscegenation and discouraging interracial marriages.
Teaching that dark skin was a sign of God’s curse on the posterity of Cain
Teaching that slavery was a second curse on the black skinned posterity of Cain through Ham.
Teaching that blacks were not valiant in the premortal battle against Lucifer and consequently banned from Priesthood and Temple Blessings
The sealing of a black woman, Jane Manning James, as an eternal servitor, or slave, to Joseph Smith after denying her requests for her personal sealing to her own family.
Requiring South African converts to trace their ancestry and confirm had no “Negroid forebears”
Failure of the Brethren to discern God’s principle of universal brotherhood in 1954 after praying for an answer on the matter of race and the priesthood.
Failure of the Brethren to discern the import of the Book of Mormon’s declaration that the gospel message of salvation should go forth to “every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.” and that “all are alike unto God”
In describing these errors, the “Race and the Priesthood” essay outlined the process where church leaders in 1978 rescinded the ban on priesthood and temple blessings. The essay further acknowledged the erroneous teachings which lingered in church lessons and culture in this important statement:
“Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects unrighteous actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else. Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form.”
Since the release of that essay nearly 5 years ago, the Church as a whole – both leaders and members – have been able to reflect on the significance of these past failures, allowing true sorrow and a change of heart to pave the way for true repentance.
APOLOGY
On Thursday, May 17, 2018, LDS Church President Russell M. Nelson and his counselors and the Quorum of the Twelve met with the national leadership of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People at the Church administration building on Temple Square. In a room filled to capacity by these leaders and members of the media, President Nelson issued the following statement, a transcript of which may be downloaded here:
“As I look around, I am reminded that this is not the first time leaders of our church have sat in counsel with the leadership of the NAACP. The first meeting, in 1963, prior to the October general conference resulted in a remarkable statement on civil rights read by President Hugh B. Brown over the tabernacle pulpit. It was a beginning. As I ponder on it now, I recognize how much we as a church must learn from our past.
It is with a solemn heart that I address you all today. I have upon my shoulders a mantle that I don’t suppose you can see with your eyes. It has a weight of its own, and represents the responsibility and duty that accompany this office which I hold – the holy stewardship for the children of God both within and outside of our faith. The trust inherent to that stewardship is no small part of its weight.
This prophetic mantle of this dispensation of the fullness of times began on the shoulder of the founder of our faith, the Prophet Joseph Smith. I imagine Joseph’s shoulders strained at times to bear the weight of the mantle until they were relieved of that calling on the ground outside of Carthage Jail. Still, the mantle passed on.
To each of the brethren who have born it since then, those men who have passed through the office I now hold, its weight and shape have persisted – adapted to the needs of the people and the inspired direction of our creator. Each of us bear the same duty and responsibility in accepting this office, and in so doing we also may be called upon to act on the principle of that mantle in completing or responding to matters started by our institutional and ecclesiastical forbears who also bore it before us. It is in that capacity that I address you now, this day.
Today, as Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I offer a full unqualified apology for the error of racism which was taught from this office and in the tabernacle and over the pulpits of our churches the world over. I am joined by my counselors in the First Presidency and the full Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in making this apology and we collectively bear witness and testimony of the devastating effects of racism which were perpetuated by leaders of the church in the past.
Institutionally in the past, we taught false and hurtful ideas about curses, skin color, and spiritual worthiness, and we were wrong. We taught false notions of white supremacy in civil and religious life, heinous ideas of pure white blood, and erroneously condemned interracial marriage, and we were wrong. We took it upon ourselves to interpret scripture to justify these false ideas and closed our hearts and minds to the truth of God’s love even when it could be found in God’s written word, ancient and revealed, and we were wrong. We hardened our hearts to the plain and simple truth of Universal Brotherhood and equality of all before God, and we were wrong.
We withheld from our brothers and sisters the joys of Temple service, the security of an eternal family, the peace of hope for full exaltation, complete fellowship among the saints and the duty and blessing of the Priesthood, and we were wrong. We operated in the political sphere and used our influence to fight against civil rights when we should have been on the front lines in defense of those rights, and we were wrong. We reproved good men and women whose hearts were enlightened and whose voices were raised to God for equality, and we were wrong.
We have previously acknowledged that the false and racist explanations for the Priesthood and Temple restriction were wrong and disavowed them. Today, I am declaring that the ban itself was wrong. It was not of God but of fallible men, born of ignorance, pride and sin.
We stand humbly before our God and the world this day to prostrate our souls and beg forgiveness. With the mantle of authority also comes accountability. Though we did not originate these teachings and policies, we cannot deny accountability for their harm. Many of us were living and secure in our places of Priesthood privilege during those days and did not speak out against their falsehood when it was our duty, and each of us now feels the weight of institutional responsibility for those affronts to God’s precious children.
Our souls are harrowed up by the memory of this sin. To every man, woman, and child and to every family scarred by this hurtful sin, we humbly ask for forgiveness. We plead forgiveness of God and forgiveness from all of you in this room and throughout the world.
Throughout the scriptures, the Lord has called for his people to humble themselves and correct the error of their ways – the leaders most of all. Members may be faithful in following the teachings and instructions of their leaders, but if their leaders are in error, how much greater is their need for repentance because of their influence?
Just as individual repentance is commanded by the Lord, so too is institutional repentance, and we, the prophets and apostles must take the lead. We began our own institutional repentance in 1978 when the restriction on Priesthood and temple blessings was removed. I learned as a surgeon how a wound which is not fully healed may fester, and I have come to see the principle true for our church. For us, this wound of racism has taken the form of lingering false ideas which have remained in the hearts of both leaders and members resulting in cultural divisions which fester below the surface.
Today, I am cleansing the wound and completing that doctrinal restitution by acknowledging that there are false racist ideas which have been enshrined in our canonized scripture. This is not as surprising as you might imagine – in the very title page the Prophet Moroni himself states that the Book of Mormon may contain errors which are “the mistakes of men” and this is true of any scripture.
With that in mind, I am announcing the formation of a Scriptural Review Committee on Race. This committee is composed of representatives from The Quorum of the Twelve, The Relief Society, The Seventy and key members of BYU and CES faculty in sociology and race relations and will be presided over by the President of the Genesis Group. The committee will take the next 6 months to review our current body of modern revealed canonized scripture and identify those faults of men around racism which have been left uncorrected. They will consult with experts in sociology, race relations, and theology from both inside and outside of the church and present their recommendations at the October General Conference this fall. Those recommendations may take the form of additional footnotes, updated headers, additional explanatory text or even full removal of offending passages.
We will all have time to prayerfully consider their findings and recommendations before the April 2019 General conference where they will be presented to the body of the church for a sustaining vote according to the law of Common Consent as contained in the Doctrine and Covenants. Following the April 2019 conference the Correlation department of the church will complete the requisite systematic revision of all manuals, videos and publications.
True repentance requires a deep introspection and thorough understanding of the degree of the offense. Though it may sometimes be painful, it carries a hope for a brighter future free from the mistakes of the past. Though we have been chastened of the Lord, we are hopeful for “whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth.”
It is my prayer that we all examine our hearts and root out those aspects of ourselves which may have been shaped by the racism of our past. As leaders and as members we must constantly guard against these biases. The strongest ally we have in this endeavor is Christ. He set the example of unconditional love and charity. If we measure our hearts against that standard and always strive to meet it, changing where we must even though it may be difficult – then we can stay on the path of discipleship and grow in faith and love for all of God’s children.
On behalf of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, its current and past leaders and members, I offer this humble apology and plead for forgiveness in the merciful name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”
CONCLUSION
Following President Nelson’s remarks, First Presidency counsellors President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring joined NAACP leaders in making a joint statement affirming the statement of apology and repentance offered by the Prophet and calling for a season of introspection and reconciliation in the coming months as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints undertakes a solemn process of institutional repentance.
Members throughout the world are encouraged to view the upcoming First Presidency-sponsored event on June 1, 2018, celebrating the 1978 revelation on the priesthood on its 40th anniversary. BeOne.lds.org has been created to provide more information about the event, which will feature a message from the First Presidency, stories of faith of Church members and music from Gladys Knight, the Saints Unified Voices, Alex Boyé, the Bonner family, the Unity Gospel Choir International and members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Accompanying Article
To accompany the news release a separate news release was published which provided a commentary on the import of the various sections of the release. This was published on Medium.com and you can view an archive of it on archive.org. Here is the text of that article:
Mormon President Russel M Nelson met with NAACP leaders today
Today, President Russel M. Nelson and dozens of other LDS leaders joined the leadership of the NAACP for a historic meeting at the Church Administration building on Temple Square. A transcript of the Mormon Church leader’s remarks and an official statement have been made available on the Church-Newsroom website.
Apology
After some introductory remarks, President Nelson delivered an unprecedented address in which the Prophet made an unqualified apology for the history of racism in the LDS Church.
“ Today, as Prophet, Seer and Revelator, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I offer a full unqualified apology for the error of racism which was taught from this office and in the tabernacle and over the pulpits of our churches the world over. I am joined by my counselors in the First Presidency and the full Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in making this apology and we collectively bear witness and testimony of the devastating effects of racism which were perpetuated by leaders of the church in the past.”
Past Teachings
Nelson went on to point out in remarkable detail the various ways in which church leaders of the past conveyed racist ideas in official capacity.
“ Institutionally in the past, we taught false and hurtful ideas about curses, skin color, and spiritual worthiness, and we were wrong. We taught false notions of white supremacy in civil and religious life, heinous ideas of pure white blood, and erroneously condemned interracial marriage, and we were wrong. We took it upon ourselves to interpret scripture to justify these false ideas and closed our hearts and minds to the truth of God’s love even when it could be found in God’s written word, ancient and revealed, and we were wrong. We hardened our hearts to the plain and simple truth of Universal Brotherhood and equality of all before God, and we were wrong.”
Past Policies
After detailing these disavowed teachings and acknowledging church leaders role in conveying them, the 93 year old former heart surgeon who now heads the Utah based worldwide faith went on to outline church policies and actions which had been justified by those racist ideas.
“ We withheld from our brothers and sisters the joys of Temple service, the security of an eternal family, the peace of hope for full exaltation, complete fellowship among the saints and the duty and blessing of the Priesthood, and we were wrong. We operated in the political sphere and used our influence to fight against civil rights when we should have been on the front lines in defense of those rights, and we were wrong. We reproved good men and women whose hearts were enlightened and whose voices were raised to God for equality, and we were wrong.”
Rightness of the Ban
Nelson then went on to address a lingering issue. While an essay on “Race and the Priesthood” posted to the official church website in 2013 had previously disavowed the erroneous explanations for the restriction on black men receiving the Priesthood, the rightness of the ban itself had never been addressed.
“We have previously acknowledged that the false and racist explanations for the Priesthood and Temple restriction were wrong and disavowed them. Today, I am declaring that the ban itself was wrong. It was not of God but of fallible men, born of ignorance, pride and sin.”
Plea for Forgiveness
Upon completion of this detailed institutional “confession” of wrongdoing, Nelson made a heartfelt plea for forgiveness.
“Our souls are harrowed up by the memory of this sin. To every man, woman, and child and to every family scarred by this hurtful sin, we humbly ask for forgiveness. We plead forgiveness of God and forgiveness from all of you in this room and throughout the world.”
Lingering Effects
After some brief comments on the necessity of institutional accountability, Nelson addressed what he described as a “festering wound” which has affected the church as a result of unresolved issues around race.
“ For us, this wound of racism has taken the form of lingering false ideas which have remained in the hearts of both leaders and members resulting in cultural divisions which fester below the surface.”
Scripture Review
In a completely unexpected turn, Nelson then addressed what many have described as a sore spot with the faith — the presence of racist themes within the LDS scriptures themselves.
“ Today, I am cleansing the wound and completing that doctrinal restitution by acknowledging that there are false racist ideas which have been enshrined in our canonized scripture.”
As a remedy, Nelson detailed a plan to review and amend the body of revealed scripture originally canonized by the church in conference of 1835. A new “Scriptural Review Committee on Race” was announced to be composed of various church leaders and scholars.
Remarkably, the committee will be presided over by the head of the Genesis Group instead of an Apostle. The Genesis Group is an organization established in October 1971 as a dependent branch to serve the needs of African-American Latter-day Saints. Its leaders are called from the African-American community within the church.
The committee will consult with church leaders, academics, and theologians both inside the church and in the wider religious community and will publish their recommendations at the October 2018 general conference allowing a period of review before presenting it to the body of the church for approval in the general conference in April 2019.
Reflection
President Nelson then closed his remarks with a plea for introspection.
“It is my prayer that we all examine our hearts and root out those aspects of ourselves which may have been shaped by the racism of our past. As leaders and as members we must constantly guard against these biases. The strongest ally we have in this endeavor is Christ. He set the example of unconditional love and charity. If we measure our hearts against that standard and always strive to meet it, changing where we must even though it may be difficult — then we can stay on the path of discipleship and grow in faith and love for all of God’s children.”
Reaction
The Prophets remarks were received with great enthusiasm. The leaders of the NAACP, a group which has actively protested past church teachings and policies, stood and applauded the statement.
Derick Johnson, President & CEO of the NAACP, joined President Nelson at the podium and in his remarks thanked him for “such a profound and deep acknowledgement and confession of the hurtful realities of the past that I have never before seen offered by any church or other institution.” adding that “True reconciliation can never take place without the humility and validation that accompany the type of unqualified apology which has been offered here this day. That you have followed-up this apology with firm actions to continue to root out the sources of racism is to be applauded and we look forward to men and women of color taking their place in shepherding your people”
Darius Grey, black LDS church member and former president of the Genesis Group, was present at the event. “As a black Mormon, I have witnessed and experience the pain President Nelson spoke of. This apology means a lot. I think it is finally possible for the wound to heal. I was struck by the depth of his statement and the humility it required. I am eager to see what the future holds for people of color who will feel even more bold and eager to stand up and declare ‘I am a Latter-Day Saint’ and do it with pride.”
This is the first meeting between leaders of these groups since 1963 when threatened protests by the NAACP over the LDS Church policy restricting Priesthood from all black members lead to a meeting which resulted in a landmark statement by the church in support of civil rights. The church subsequently ended its ban on priesthood ordination in June of 1978.
Following the event, the church published an official statement on the apology for racism and published the text of President Nelson’s remarks in a letter addressed to local and general leaders worldwide.
Final Statement
After some time listening to the ensuing discussion and reflecting on how the apology was put forward, I submitted the following statement to the Deseret News, who declined to publish it. I then submitted this statement to Peggy Fletcher Stack for publication in the Salt Lake Tribune and replaced the satire website with its contents.
May 21, 2018
On May 17th, 2018 I published an apology under the heading of a satirical news release. Its intention was to bring awareness to the potential healing and reconciliation which could be realized in the LDS church with such an apology. However, there was something very short-sighted, hurtful, and ultimately wrong about my approach.
While I understood that apologies have tremendous power to heal, I was unaware the spiritual need for apology felt in the hearts of Mormon persons of color was so deep and abiding. As a result, I caused tremendous pain for black Mormons who have patiently waited for so long. I am deeply sorry.
Whatever my intentions, I am responsible for the unintended consequences of my actions. I have listened to many powerful expressions of the pain I caused and have been humbled further by my own ignorance. I am devastated that I have added to the suffering that you have born and continue to feel.
I have removed the satire apology web page. I have made the satire website domain name available to transfer to the church without cost, should they request it. Even with these steps, I understand that I cannot remove the deep wounds that I have reopened.
Many people in and out of the church have already come to the conclusions of the apology on their own and defended it on the strength of that conviction. While the apology was not from the leaders of the church it was the true reflection of my own heart and represents my personal statement of apology for my complicity as a member of almost 40 years. I deeply regret that as a member I never stopped to consider the impact of past and present teachings on race and vocally reject them. The apology reflects my sincere desire for healing and progress in the church.
The church belongs as much to the members as it does to the leaders. Joseph Smith stated that Mormons have a right to embrace all, and every item of truth, without limitation “when that truth is clearly demonstrated to our minds, and we have the highest degree of evidence of the same.” I believe the healing power of an expression of apology on this issue carries the evidence of truth. I stand with anyone who chooses to embrace that message for themselves and make it real for their fellow brothers and sisters in Zion.
If there is to be healing in the church, it will come on the foundation of love and goodwill within the church. I humbly apologize for the pain I caused.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Streeter
The apology drew strong feelings on both sides of the issues. I am in the process of collecting any of the ensuing discussion about the issue here. Please add any other sources, critical or supportive of the apology, in a comment on this page and I can add it to the list.
Web News Coverage
A Fox news channel originally accepted the apology as an official statement and briefly published a report which you can see by clicking on the image here
All of this was in the weeks immediately prior to the Be One celebration. Many of the responses to the apology called upon the church leaders to make bold progress in reconciliation at that event. While the event honored the life and history of many saints of color – it was ultimately subverted and distorted when Elder Dallin H Oaks gave the key address.
In his talk, Oaks affirmed that the Priesthood Ban was a direct commandment of God to the leaders of the church, though God did not provide the reasons for it. He further explained his own experience in praying about the flawed reasons leaders had given for the ban, determining that they were not true and yet still holding loyalty to those leaders as a higher value than truth or compassion for those hurt under the burden of those reasons.
I created several responses to Oaks’ statements which you can see here:
