I continue to receive emails from fellow Black Republicans trying to sell me – and others – on support for Mitt Romney. The most recent was from the Chair of a Black Republican organization entitled, “Prominent Black Mormons.” The email (and post) is styled as an attempt to dismiss charges of racism against Mormons. The defense used by the author is that there are Black Mormons. Hence the title: “Prominent Black Mormons.” My response is…SO WHAT?
So, because some Black people decided to ignore the bigoted ideology of the Mormon Church that means Mormon ideology isn’t racist? There were Negroes in the Confederate Army…does that mean the Confederacy wasn’t racist? We must be smarter than this and stop selling ourselves for the crumbs of our (former) masters.
Negroes…we are FREE to use our natural minds! We shouldn’t have to shovel crap any longer. Stature, standing and prestige in the eyes of Whites shouldn’t be of such importance that scholarship, integrity and truth go out the window.
The example that would refute racism in Mormon theology IS NOT the presence (nor absence) of Black people. It would be a refutation of racist scripture in their texts. For instance, from the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 5:20-25 states:
20 Wherefore, the word of the Lord was fulfilled which he spake unto me, saying that: Inasmuch as they will not hearken unto thy words they shall be bcut off from the presence of the Lord. And behold, they were cut off from his presence.
21 And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them.
22 And thus saith the Lord God: I will cause that they shall be loathsome unto thy people, save they shall repent of their iniquities.
23 And cursed shall be the seed of him that mixeth with their seed; for they shall be cursed even with the same cursing. And the Lord spake it, and it was done.
24 And because of their cursing which was upon them they did become an idle people, full of mischief and subtlety, and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of prey.
25 And the Lord God said unto me: They shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in remembrance of me; and inasmuch as they will not remember me, and hearken unto my words, they shall scourge them even unto destruction.
I have fervently searched for a refutation of Joseph Smith and this passage. I have found none. If you know of any, please post it to the comments! Nevertheless, this passage remains in Mormon Canon.
Forget the fact that Mormons…the descendants of Moroni (the Mormon prophet – NOT Jesus), son of Mormon, believe themselves to be descendants of Jacob – and a lost tribe of Israel – who migrated to the Americas in the 600s BCE. According to their theology and history, in the 6th century AD, Native Americans came is slaughtered all the Europeans – stealing this land from Whites. Their messianic vision is to reclaim America for “it’s rightful owners” (i.e. White European Americans). Joseph Smith hoped to effect this petit-apocolypse by running for US President in 1844. Herein lies the parallels and problems with Romney’s candidacy – sans a refutation of problematic Mormon theology/ideology. And, Frances, this is not an “angry Black man” speaking…this is Mormon theology that can be researched, traced and verified. For more info, see [amazon_link id=”0670021261″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Diarmaid MacCulloch’s Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years[/amazon_link], pgs. 906-908.
It’s disconcerting that few on the Right – especially Blacks – took no issue with the Mainstream forcing President Obama to refute the Christian Liberation Theology of Rev. Wright, which was the same theology of Dr. King (who Black Republicans love to hail as one of their own), yet we want to silence any who present a similar challenge to the non-Christian Mormon theology. It’s interesting that President Obama was considered ineligible (by some) to stand for the Presidency because he might have been a Muslim, yet faith has no bearing when it comes to Gov. Romney’s (AND Harry Reid’s) Mormonism. And for those who think Mormonism is a “branch” of Christianity, I present Flava Flav: DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE!!!! If they revere a prophet other than Jesus, they cannot be Christian. Moroni is the Mormon prophet, so they are no more Christian than Muslims (who, like Mormons, also believe Jesus to be a prophet – just not the final prophet).
For a group of people who are against paternalistic politics typically exemplified by Democrats, it’s striking that simply because a White person may have marched for Civil Rights, we are supposed to ignore their paternalistic mores. Many have argued in support of Abolition and Civil Rights without believing Black people to be of equal humanity, i.e. [amazon_link id=”1566195519″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Harriet Beecher Stowe[/amazon_link], among many others. Additionally, many in the GOP would argue that by being in the Democratic Party, Blacks have signed up to support their own demise. So, why does the presence of Blacks in the Mormon faith automatically validate Mormon ideology?
Negroes…we are FREE to use our natural minds! We shouldn’t have to shovel crap any longer. Stature, standing and prestige in the eyes of Whites shouldn’t be of such importance that scholarship, integrity and truth go out the window. We must be smarter…those who struggled before us fought too hard for freedom, for us to simply cede our intellect to the whims of the Mainstream.
This is not to say that Mormons are bad people. It is a question of where individual Mormons – especially one running for President of all Americans – stand in their “core values.” The text from the Second Book of Nephi in the Book of Mormon does wreak of racism. Mitt Romney was a Bishop and President of the Mormon Church. Eventhough some may say that position might be misinterpreted, he certainly had the gravitas to make profound statements refuting various doctrine that are degrading to the humanity of individuals. Yet, no one has yet posed that question and challenged Governor Romney. Moreover, no statement exists from Mr. Romney, refuting the distancing himself from Mormon Scripture on the issue. Rather, when speaking with the late Tim Russert, Mitt Romney stated he would not distance himself from his faith. See the video:
So, for Blacks of good sense – and any person of conscience to simply excuse this connection is puzzling. Maybe some may not see it important enough to sway their vote. But, surely Blacks of stature within the Republican Party should be faithful to their Charge they have to Keep, and pose the questions that would make Mr. Romney a more viable (and authentic) candidate for Blacks to consider. This issue is of critical importance, because it shapes the very way policy will be developed. And, as we have seen by both Parties through the course of history, even well-intentioned policy has the potential to cause harm if not informed by sound ideology at the foundation. Certainly, we should have answers that satisfy the questions on this issue rather than dancing around it as if it is of no consequence. We should not simply be rubber-stamping a Party nominee so we may continue to eat from the trough.
Negroes, We are Free to Use Our Natural Minds…let us use them! (Part II to come…later this evening)
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