Brother Brigham, art thou a prophet?

Before I get into the main subject of this article, I want to begin with my assumptions:

• I believe racism is wrong yesterday, today, and forever.
• My own experience with God has left me to believe that God is not racist, but is a loving God who has the best interest of humanity at heart.
• People are complex. There is good and bad in all of us.
• If you’re reading this you’re familiar with basic terminology and jargon of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Current leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not mention Brigham Young much, or if they do, it is a white-washed version of the man that led the Mormon exodus. Church leaders and teachers may quote him in some of his more profound or beautiful statements, but there is rarely, if ever, an acknowledgment that he taught false and harmful ideas. And truthfully, there has never been an apology from the church for the harm his ideas caused.

Because of Brigham’s teachings, the church has had to find ways to distance itself from him for decades. This is because of his teachings of Adam and God, blood atonement, polygamy (though this didn’t originate with him), and race. They wouldn’t want its members to find that information because they have seen the destruction of faith it has caused for countless individuals. Faithful individuals.

In spite of the church distancing itself from Brigham, it is well documented that he taught racist ideas, ideas that led to the church denying black people priesthood and temple blessings. Temple blessings that are required to be exalted in the highest degree of glory with God according to church teachings.

Prior to Brigham Young’s leadership, there were actually a couple of black men ordained to the priesthood during Joseph Smith’s time. What’s more, Emma Smith invited Jane Manning, a tremendously faithful black woman, to be sealed to her and Joseph as a daughter. It appears from this small amount of evidence that, at the very least, Joseph and Emma Smith were more progressive in their ideas about race than Brigham Young was.

Here are a few examples of quotes from Brigham Young:

“Nor yet elevate them [black people], as some seem disposed, to an equality with those whom Nature and Nature’s God has indicated to be their masters, their superiors.”

Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah …, pgs. 109–110, Jan 5, 1852

“Ham must be the servant of servants until the curse is removed. Can you destroy the decrees of the Almighty? You cannot. Yet our Christian brethren think that they are going to overthrow the sentence of the Almighty upon the seed of Ham.”

Journal of Discourses, Vol. 10, pg. 250, Oct. 6, 1863

“You can see men and women who are sixty or seventy years of age looking young and handsome; but let them apostatize, and they will become gray-haired, wrinkled and black, just like the Devil.”

Journal of Discourses, Vol. 5, pg. 332, Oct. 7, 1857

In fact, here is an entire speech given before the Utah State Legislature that illustrates all too clearly the position of Brigham Young on black people: http://www.utlm.org/onlineresources/sermons_talks_interviews/brigham1852feb5_priesthoodandblacks.htm

To those of us who believe all men and women are equal in the site of God, these are truly disheartening statements. Statements like these from Brigham Young and other prophets and leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have caused many to spiral into doubt and, at times, to leave the church altogether.

How could it be possible that someone who claims to be a prophet of God could make statements such as these? I do not have an answer to that question other than to say either 1) Brigham Young was not a prophet, or 2) being a prophet is a lot messier than we are made to believe.

There are many in our time that brush off prophets and their racist statements and just say “oh he was just a product of his time.” Another idea that circulates heavily is that if Brigham Young had been race-inclusive then the church would never have survived because ideas about race equality were not popular at that time.

In the moments each year where members of the church ritually raise their rights hands to the square as a symbol that they “sustain” the leaders of the church, the apostles are also referred to as prophets, seers, and revelators. All three of these titles, to me, indicate an ability to look ahead, to see into the future, to speak directly to God. Indeed, the narrative of the church is that these men do speak with God.

Here are the questions (among others) in a lot of church member’s minds: what is the point of a prophet, if at every step of the way they appear to be behind the times rather than ahead of the world in treating people with love and dignity? Why is a prophet teaching something that most people today know to be wrong? And it isn’t just wrong today. It was always wrong. Isn’t a prophet, by definition, supposed to not be a product of his time? A prophet sees beyond his time. Church members are taught that prophets are watchmen on the tower, looking into the distance of time and sharing their unique perspective to protect us.

With socially progressive issues, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is almost always behind the world by decades and almost never leading the way. In fact, church leaders, in their time, teach members to keep themselves “unspotted from the world”. If becoming unspotted from the world is so critical, why then, decades later, does the church finally catch up to the world on social issues?

Why would the Lord supposedly send an angel with a flaming sword to force Joseph Smith to practice polygamy (yeah…he used that line) and not send one to disabuse Brigham of his racist ideology? Ending racism seems a much better use of an angel with a flaming sword. Instead of “Joseph, you need to marry that 14 year old girl or I’ll kill you”, how much more beautiful would it be to hear the story of “Brigham, you need to cease from your racist teachings and you need to teach that all men and women are equal before God and all are worthy of the same blessings”?

Imagine with me for a moment what could have been. Imagine those fiery statements from Brigham Young above. Imagine then that after Brigham had made those fiery statements above if the angel with a flaming sword came and chastised him, and commanded Brigham to teach the opposite! Imagine the model of repentance and change that would set forth to the church and to future generations! Imagine had Brigham Young, after being chastised by the Lord, declared to all the world that all men and women are equal in the eyes of God, regardless of skin color!

Imagine the welcome message that would have been to the enslaved, segregated, and mistreated populations of the United States at that time! Imagine the hope that teaching could inspire in the abolitionist movement! Imagine as a black person, having always been treated as lesser in the United States (slave or not) knowing there was a place in this country where you can go to be treated as an equal! That you could work together with a white person and earn an equal wage! That all children go to school together in Utah and receive equal opportunity for their future (100 years before that would have happened in the United States)!

Imagine what that would mean for the diversity that could have been a part of beautiful Utah! Imagine the powerful message that action would send to the rest of the people in this country and to the world!

Imagine that it is true that people of the United States are in opposition to this declaration or way of life! But then, imagine that God miraculously upholds his people when the states rise up in protest! Imagine the faith promoting miracles of the church surviving and thriving in spite of being centuries ahead of its time! That is a Sunday school lesson my heart yearns to attend.

To me, that would be a clear example of prophesy, seership, and revelation. Instead, we’re left making excuse after excuse for the men that constantly led people into unrighteous ideas of race and bigotry. Unfortunately, Brigham Young wasn’t the last, and though the current church is doing better, there is a long way yet to go. And imagine, for a time, that the current church leaders are capable of leading us ahead of the world instead of keeping us back because of the difficulty of change! That would be a church I would love to be a part of! That is not The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.