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August 27, 2019 9:07 am
.1 Mormonism program that examines the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from a biblical perspective viewpoint when Mormonism is sponsored by Mormonism research ministry since 1979 Mormonism research ministry has been dedicated to equipping the body of Christ with answers regarding the Christian faith in a manner that expresses gentleness and respect.
And now, your host for today's viewpoint on Mormonism welcome to this additional viewpoint on Mormonism. I'm your host Bill McKeever Feldman director Mormonism research ministry with me today is Eric Johnson. My colleague at MRM we continue looking at an article that was in the August 2019 addition of & magazine in the portraits of faith section. It is a portrait of the faith of a black member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a young lady by the name of Tamika Barnes and yesterday Eric.
We were discussing the fact that this topic seems to be about a place at this time of year and then let me explain what I mean by that folks what we were discussing yesterday is the fact that this issue of the priesthood ban on those of African descent usually gets mentioned around June because that's the month in which it was announced that the ban was lifted or in the case of the 40th anniversary which was last year. Why August 2019 does the subject come up. We don't really know but as you mentioned yesterday, Eric. I think you're correct that this is still a very sore issue with a lot of members of the LDS church. Obviously it was a sore issue with Tamika but the whole point of featuring her in this edition of & is because certainly in the eyes of the leadership she came out with flying colors. She came out still having faith in the church still having faith in the restored gospel of Mormonism and that's what we read yesterday in the introduction, it says, thanks to the book of Mormon. She held tight ceiling type, which is fascinating because the book of Mormon is something that we can talk about it another time, but really that's going to take away all of the problems of the ban on those of African descent to be able to go to the temple and do work for themselves. As we were talking about yesterday. We are reading from the digital version of this article because on page 6 in the August 2019 addition it's just a few paragraphs very short paragraphs. One of the paragraphs is just a very short sentence but there is a digital edition that it calls your attention to on page 6 and so we are going from the digital edition, which is a little bit longer and fills in some of the blanks that this shortened version. The hard copy doesn't do as we mentioned yesterday. Tamika Barnes makes the statement she had never had doubt that the gospel was true and you have to understand folks when you hear that word gospel in the Mormon contacts. This is talking about the restored gospel of Mormonism.
This is not the gospel as Christians understand it to be in the New Testament. This is a version of the gospel, which quite frankly, if you really dissected isn't good news anyway, but this is what she's talking about.
Then she goes on to say in the same sentence, but after college I was reading about the priesthood ban on African Americans, actually it wasn't just the ban on African-Americans. It was a ban on all members who were of African descent.
That band covered all of them and so we shouldn't just think it was just those that lived in the United States. It was a ban against all of them that could trace their roots back to the continent of Africa. She says it really began to bother me, not so much the band but what people said were the reasons for the ban and now were going to get into one of those reasons that bothered Tamika Barnes to write some people said things like you are in is valiant in the war in heaven are here not as intelligent or as faithful me stop you there Eric because I think we need to explain what she's referring to. You weren't as valiant in the war in heaven. What is she talking about.
If you're not familiar with the doctor of Mormonism you may not know that in its theology there was in what was known as the preexistence all of God's spirit children lived in this preexistence state before we came to earth to take on mortal bodies in order to prove ourselves worthy in order to become gods in the next life. Let me read to you from gospel principles. This is the most recent addition to thousand and nine addition, pages 15 and 16 because our heavenly father chose Jesus Christ to be our Savior. Satan now. I might mention Satan in this context is a spirit son of God the father is spirit, brother of Jesus.
In fact, he would be one of our spirit brothers as well because all human beings existed in this preexistence state as spirit children of God, Satan became angry and rebelled. There was war in heaven. Satan and his followers fought against Jesus Christ and his followers the Savior's followers.
Quote overcame and then in brackets it says Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, citing Revelation 1211.
It states that I have a question that this is the preexistence Jesus hasn't taken on his own body. Yet there is no incarnation at this time that this event supposedly takes place. So if Jesus doesn't have a mortal body. Then what in the world is this phrase by the blood of the Lamb even mean Jesus didn't have blood in the preexistence we have no leader saying anything like that is just the take Revelation 1211 bit from its pages and place it in the preexistence.
Is that really what Revelation 12 is talking about now.
No not at all verse for Mormons to use to try to justify this alleged war in heaven as they understand gospel principles goes on to say in this great rebellion, Satan and all the spirits who followed him were sent away from the presence of God, and cast down from heaven 1/3 part of the host of heaven were punished for following Satan and then it says to see Dr. and covenants section 29 verse 36 the end of this paragraph says they were denied the right to receive mortal bodies, and of course you have to receive a mortal body in the theology of Mormonism in order to have any hope of becoming a God in the next life. Now, that certainly does raise a question. How did the Mormon Holy Ghost, whose 1/3 member of the Mormon Godhead ever become a part of the Godhead because the Holy Ghost in Mormonism never had a body as far as we know there's no explanation as to how the Holy Ghost became a part of the Godhead and did it without getting a body but that's the way it is in Mormonism and so you just have to accept it by faith in hope that there's an answer somewhere next explanation somewhere that might be what we would call an unspoken truth, like heavenly mother.
Same reasoning we would say what how can we say there's a heavenly mother when she's never mentioned any of the Scripture. When Tamika Brown mentions this, you work as valiant in the war in heaven. We've explained the war in heaven but now let's explain the other half of that statement you weren't as valiant in the war in heaven now, I would argue that this is probably coming from fellow members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and that takes us back to yesterday when we had mentioned that they had been put forward by some Latter Day Saints and you and I are speculating as to exactly though some Latter Day Saints are it sure seems like in the context of the entire article that it's more referring to the people who were talking to her and they would've had to have known the war in heaven and being valiant. Those are terms that only Latter Day Saints would know so she's being criticized within her own ward, perhaps, and especially the second part, you're not as intelligent or as faithful, if that's being told to her by fellow Latter Day Saints. I think that's racist. Actually will. It makes you wonder after 40 years. This is still floating around. You would think by now the church could have corralled those speculations as she calls them and the people with no that's not something you want to keep repeating what is she talking about this word valiant will let me read you a very quick statement from George F Richards, George F. Richards was a Mormon apostle years ago back in October 1947 he gave a conference message, and in it he said the Negro race have been forbidden the priesthood and the higher Temple blessings, presumably because of their not having been valiant while in the spirit it does not pay to be anything but valiant. That's where that word comes from what he is referring to is that in this war in heaven will Lucifer, as he was known in the preexistence was able to get one third of God spirit children to join him in this rebellion there was one third of God spirit children who were not as quote unquote valiant as they could have been. And because they were not as valiant as they could've been God. You could say in his mercy he was still going to allow these spirit children to come to earth and gain mortal bodies, but they would also be marked with the dark skin to show everyone that we would have to assume this, everyone would be the leaders of the LDS church that was going to come about. Later on, through Joseph Smith. It was supposed to mark them so they would know who would not be allowed to hold this priesthood that is the reason for the black skin will Brigham Young said the flat nose and the black skin. That's what Brigham Young said so this is where it comes from.
They were valiant.
I'm off to get a mortal body, but not valiant enough to be able to get the priesthood and Brigham Young also taught that the priesthood would not be made available to people such as this until after the resurrection, not 1978 so that gives you a little bit of the background now, what did Marquis Peterson have to say about this is the real disturbing quote that Marquis Peterson gave on August 27, 1954, page 11.
He said we cannot escape the conclusion that because of performance in the preexistence. Some of us are born as Chinese some is Japanese some is Indian some is Negro some is American some is Latter Day Saints. These are rewards and punishments falling in harmony with his established policy in dealing with sinners and saints rewarding all according to their deeds.
Reading the statement like that in the 21st century. I would hope you would find it to be incredibly repugnant.
I'm sure for a lot of people, even when he said it back in 1954. It made many people very uneasy, but notice what he says we cannot escape the conclusion that because of performance in the preexistence we think is talking about. He's talking about this war in heaven, and as a result of our performance in this preexistence.
Some of us are born as Chinese some is Japanese some is Indian some is Negro some is American some is Latter Day Saints.
These are rewards and punishments we have to ask yourself what you think Mark E. Peterson, a Mormon apostle. In this talk he gave race problems as they affect the church when you think of those categories. In his mind, were rewards and what you think were punishments.
Obviously, you would think, well, some as Americans will since Mark Peterson was American. I'm sure that was probably overboard and some Latter Day Saints well.
Marquis Peterson be a latter-day St. He probably sees that as a reward. So why do you think in this sentence would be the punishments in the mind of Mark Peterson will obviously being born as Negroes.
That of course is the punishment because Negroes were being punished for much of the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints by not being allowed to hold this all important priesthood position so you're going to be punished by being given a nationality, a heritage and a religion that is opposite of what could have been the very best had you been valiant in the preexistence and the make it worse. Eric you don't even know why because remembering Mormonism all of our experiences in the preexistence were wiped from our memory as we came from that spirit, state into mortality during the birth process.
Thank you for listening. If you would like more information is research ministry. We encourage you to visit our website www.mrm.org you can request a free newsletter Mormonism research. We hope you will join us again as we look at another viewpoint is