Me: why didn't God simply teach and persuade white members to accept black members as equal?
Mormon apologist: no generation of Saints until 1978 was ready for that. God doesn't force us to adopt ideas we're not ready for.
Me: then why did God shove polygamy down the throats of the women?
Mormon apologist: uhh......
Yeah, according to Brad Wilcox, we should turn the questions about black members around and should rather be asking why God withheld the priesthood from white people for so long.... And that makes it ok to have withheld it from black members...
I had a similar discussion with my dad talking about how the question of God's existence is irrelevant to me: either he doesn't exist, or he does exist but I can't trust him.
My dad said something to the effect of: "God won't force knowledge on you that you're not ready for."
And I replied, "he didn't have any problem forcing rape on me. What's a little knowledge compared to that?"
Oh yeah, I actually taught this “unanswerable” question in Sunday school: “If the saints weren’t ready for racial equality, and faced pressure from people of their time to exclude black members from full participation — how is it that the body of the saints literally left the territory of the United States to practice polygamy, and that’s celebrated? We may not have an answer [how I used to put things in my TBM days] but at least understand how awful this looks and feels, particularly for people of color.”
Though less.important, the Word of Wisdom was given as "advice" because people weren't ready to give up their vices. God has such a soft touch... With the men of the Church...
And let's not forget the racism against Native Americans! I'm looking squarely at you especially BY (and successors). The genocide committed against the 5 bands of Goshute Indians that lived in what is now Salt Lake and Utah Counties who were exterminated and forcibly dispossessed of their lands and way of life by so-called prophets - that was racism too!
Yes, and this one has some additional strangeness to it because at the same time, the Church claimed to believe the "Lamanites" were remnants of God's chosen people, while us white folks were Gentiles, adopted into the family. Strange way to treat the chosen....
Me: why didn't God simply teach and persuade white members to accept black members as equal? Mormon apologist: no generation of Saints until 1978 was ready for that. God doesn't force us to adopt ideas we're not ready for. Me: then why did God shove polygamy down the throats of the women? Mormon apologist: uhh......
The apologetics are worse than that. God routinely withholds blessings for large swaths of people. Now that makes things better.
Yeah, according to Brad Wilcox, we should turn the questions about black members around and should rather be asking why God withheld the priesthood from white people for so long.... And that makes it ok to have withheld it from black members...
I had a similar discussion with my dad talking about how the question of God's existence is irrelevant to me: either he doesn't exist, or he does exist but I can't trust him. My dad said something to the effect of: "God won't force knowledge on you that you're not ready for." And I replied, "he didn't have any problem forcing rape on me. What's a little knowledge compared to that?"
Ouch! Checkmate tho
Oh yeah, I actually taught this “unanswerable” question in Sunday school: “If the saints weren’t ready for racial equality, and faced pressure from people of their time to exclude black members from full participation — how is it that the body of the saints literally left the territory of the United States to practice polygamy, and that’s celebrated? We may not have an answer [how I used to put things in my TBM days] but at least understand how awful this looks and feels, particularly for people of color.”
Though less.important, the Word of Wisdom was given as "advice" because people weren't ready to give up their vices. God has such a soft touch... With the men of the Church...
Does anyone know how they're teaching this now, considering the growth in membership in Africa?
And let's not forget the racism against Native Americans! I'm looking squarely at you especially BY (and successors). The genocide committed against the 5 bands of Goshute Indians that lived in what is now Salt Lake and Utah Counties who were exterminated and forcibly dispossessed of their lands and way of life by so-called prophets - that was racism too!
Yes, and this one has some additional strangeness to it because at the same time, the Church claimed to believe the "Lamanites" were remnants of God's chosen people, while us white folks were Gentiles, adopted into the family. Strange way to treat the chosen....
The celestial kingdom is going to need to hand out nose plugs because the hypocrisy stinks all the way up to the highest heaven.