I'd like to get some discussion going about prejudice in this Church, both official and unofficial. Let's not revisit the past, but let's talk about where we are today and the things that have been said, by the Quorum of the Twelve and the First Presidency since October 1978.
I keep finding hatred in the rank and file membership, whether it's bigotry against people of other faiths; racism against minorities; prejudice about lifestyle, dress, tatoos, or grooming; or, thinly-veiled digs against a group while hiding behind "standing for righteousness" or "political discourse."
Here are some recent examples from my life to get the discussion going.
1) This past Summer, I asked for permission to plant an EQ garden on the large lot behind our Church (it is Church-owned). Directly behind the lot is a large apartment complex that had been "section 8-ed" which means that gov't subsidies allow lowerclass families to live there. The complex is overwhelmingly African American in population. While discussing possible crops to plant, the WML said, "I wouldn't plant any watermelons back there, you'll never get a one of 'em." Everyone laughs as I sit there and wait for someone in the bishopric to reprove them....no one does.
2) Translation annoyance. On occasion we'll have someone from Latin America come to buy cars at the Darlington Raceway auto auction and the come to Church. We have no Spanish session in the stake, so I offer to translate. As quiet as I try to be, and with people knowing full well what I'm doing, they will still shush me. When I tell them what I'm doing afterwards, they say, "they should learn to speak English."
3) Many a time while living in Utah did I hear the same people say that they "weren't racist" while the term "Mexican" and "Dirty Mexicans" flew from their lips. I can't count how many times people have openly ripped on hispanics.
4) Whenever one of the BYU athletes got busted for shoplifting, people would say things like "well what did you expect?"
5) What I call xenoparlophobia....whenever I'm speaking Spanish or Portuguese with someone at Church, people often assume that I'm speaking about them.
6) I'm in the Atlanta temple one time a few years back and my wife gets asked if she'll come stand in so a man can be sealed to his deceased wife. My wife is asked if it's ok for her to do it if the man is black. I am about to rebuke someone in the temple when the sister explains, embarrassed, that someone else had been asked, but when she came in the sealing room and saw him, she said, "no," turned around and left.
7) My own family is overwhelmingly LDS and Southern. My wife's family is Washington County, Utah Mormon. My family is deeply prejudiced against blacks collectively, though they love certain "good ones." My wife's extended family thinks Mexican immigrants are a cancer that grows worse every day (nevermind that Washington County used to BE Mexico). If I try and talk to my family about why it's wrong to be prejudiced about blacks, I get called a "bleeding-heart liberal" and scorned.
8) Missionary from Utah in my ward here about three weeks ago says, "My new companion used to be down in Georgetown and he says it's a lot better here; it's a lot less black."
9) Homophobia. The nervous worrying about someone being gay jokes just don't stop. Whether it was on the mission, at BYU, in my ward, or in my branch. When I've said, "A practicing homosexual is no worse a sinner than any other fornicator" I've been told I was wrong, that it's worse than adultery (I hadn't realized adultery was a hetero only act) because it's an "unnatural act" (apparently oral sex is unnatural to some people too, fyi). If you want to make Mormon men uncomfortable, just talk openly about homosexuality, mention that you have a colleague who is gay, and the judging and nervousness and more judging will all show up, sometimes even with the cliche nervous laughter.
I can go on and on. I think I'd like to write a letter to the First Presidency and ask them to address directly the issue of bigotry in the LDS Church today and why it's wrong. There was an Ensign article about seven or eight years ago by a Seventy, but I'd like to see one of the big guns train his sights on hatred and call it out, by name, say it's wrong, and make people realize that it's not Christlike. There have been many times in my life since I converted that I didn't recognize something was a sin until someone called me on it. I mean I knew, but I didn't think it was that bad.
Am I right, am I wrong, am I a leftist pig?
I keep finding hatred in the rank and file membership, whether it's bigotry against people of other faiths; racism against minorities; prejudice about lifestyle, dress, tatoos, or grooming; or, thinly-veiled digs against a group while hiding behind "standing for righteousness" or "political discourse."
Here are some recent examples from my life to get the discussion going.
1) This past Summer, I asked for permission to plant an EQ garden on the large lot behind our Church (it is Church-owned). Directly behind the lot is a large apartment complex that had been "section 8-ed" which means that gov't subsidies allow lowerclass families to live there. The complex is overwhelmingly African American in population. While discussing possible crops to plant, the WML said, "I wouldn't plant any watermelons back there, you'll never get a one of 'em." Everyone laughs as I sit there and wait for someone in the bishopric to reprove them....no one does.
2) Translation annoyance. On occasion we'll have someone from Latin America come to buy cars at the Darlington Raceway auto auction and the come to Church. We have no Spanish session in the stake, so I offer to translate. As quiet as I try to be, and with people knowing full well what I'm doing, they will still shush me. When I tell them what I'm doing afterwards, they say, "they should learn to speak English."
3) Many a time while living in Utah did I hear the same people say that they "weren't racist" while the term "Mexican" and "Dirty Mexicans" flew from their lips. I can't count how many times people have openly ripped on hispanics.
4) Whenever one of the BYU athletes got busted for shoplifting, people would say things like "well what did you expect?"
5) What I call xenoparlophobia....whenever I'm speaking Spanish or Portuguese with someone at Church, people often assume that I'm speaking about them.
6) I'm in the Atlanta temple one time a few years back and my wife gets asked if she'll come stand in so a man can be sealed to his deceased wife. My wife is asked if it's ok for her to do it if the man is black. I am about to rebuke someone in the temple when the sister explains, embarrassed, that someone else had been asked, but when she came in the sealing room and saw him, she said, "no," turned around and left.
7) My own family is overwhelmingly LDS and Southern. My wife's family is Washington County, Utah Mormon. My family is deeply prejudiced against blacks collectively, though they love certain "good ones." My wife's extended family thinks Mexican immigrants are a cancer that grows worse every day (nevermind that Washington County used to BE Mexico). If I try and talk to my family about why it's wrong to be prejudiced about blacks, I get called a "bleeding-heart liberal" and scorned.
8) Missionary from Utah in my ward here about three weeks ago says, "My new companion used to be down in Georgetown and he says it's a lot better here; it's a lot less black."
9) Homophobia. The nervous worrying about someone being gay jokes just don't stop. Whether it was on the mission, at BYU, in my ward, or in my branch. When I've said, "A practicing homosexual is no worse a sinner than any other fornicator" I've been told I was wrong, that it's worse than adultery (I hadn't realized adultery was a hetero only act) because it's an "unnatural act" (apparently oral sex is unnatural to some people too, fyi). If you want to make Mormon men uncomfortable, just talk openly about homosexuality, mention that you have a colleague who is gay, and the judging and nervousness and more judging will all show up, sometimes even with the cliche nervous laughter.
I can go on and on. I think I'd like to write a letter to the First Presidency and ask them to address directly the issue of bigotry in the LDS Church today and why it's wrong. There was an Ensign article about seven or eight years ago by a Seventy, but I'd like to see one of the big guns train his sights on hatred and call it out, by name, say it's wrong, and make people realize that it's not Christlike. There have been many times in my life since I converted that I didn't recognize something was a sin until someone called me on it. I mean I knew, but I didn't think it was that bad.
Am I right, am I wrong, am I a leftist pig?
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