This morning Pres. Nelson and other church leaders met with the leadership of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). Watch the press conference from this morning HERE.
Pres. Nelson spoke about this meeting today on his Facebook page. He said,
“It was my pleasure today to meet with national officials of the NAACP to affirm the fundamental doctrine—and heartfelt conviction—of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that all people are God’s precious children and are therefore brothers and sisters. Nearly a quarter century ago, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles proclaimed that “all human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.”
Today, in unity with such capable and impressive leaders as the national officials of the NAACP, we are impressed to call on people of this nation and, indeed, the entire world to demonstrate greater civility, racial and ethnic harmony, and mutual respect. In meetings this morning, we have begun to explore ways—such as education and humanitarian service—in which our respective members and others can serve and move forward together, lifting our brothers and sisters who need our help, just as our Savior, Jesus Christ, would have us do. These are His words: “I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine” (D&C 38:27).
Together we invite all people, organizations, and governments to work with greater civility, eliminating prejudice of all kinds, and focusing more on the many areas and interests that we all have in common. As we lead our people to work cooperatively, we will all achieve the respect, regard, and blessings that God seeks for all of His children.
Considering the toxic environment of most social media, the online public square and the real public square, this is good council for all people to follow. Latter-day Saints can and should lead the way in promoting civility. Let’s get to it!
Hey, not to be tangent-man, but this morning I got a notification about some kind of Church anti-racism announcement, but when I clicked to read it the thing was gone. Did anyone else get that notice?
So, that was a bit of fake news. Someone registered a domain name that was very similar to that of the Mormon Newsroom. They stole the content and graphics, and basically brand hijacked. They wrote a fake press release and then it started to be shared on facebook and other social media platforms. Even Fox 13 New in SLC was duped and reported it. The deception was quickly discovered and debunked. The person who did this admitted it on an anti-Mormon facebook page and said he did it to get people to question the church. In his quest to embarrass the Church he ended up hurting regular people — particularly African-American members of the church.
I suspected that might have been the case. I’ve seen stories go up and come down fast on blogs before, for that very reason. Lame on the people responsible for the fakery, but good on M* for getting it dealt with.
It was a lot of people that helped to debunk it. There were a lot of faithful members of the church who noticed it, warned their friends, reported it to facebook and helped to expose the truth.
Serious question here. Why did they meet with them? What was the point? This served no purpose whatsoever other than making conservatives who honor freedom cringe. I am having a hard time reconciling the LDS Church meeting with these toxic political hacks in the same way others were with them meeting Trump.
But why delete the old post? They could have just edited the post to what their feelings were after finding out it was fake.
Jettboy, I don’t know. I know the NAACP is pretty politically charged, but I’m sure the Church has its reasons. The message they presented yesterday was good though, It was the truth, and we can embrace the truth.
CJ: What post are you referring to?
Jettboy, just from the outside looking in, it seems one purpose would be to help debunk some of the false claims around that the church is anti-black. I can see how some would get that idea with the whole priesthood issue in the past that many point to as proof. It is important that all know they are wanted and accepted by God.
While the NAACP leans left, it is moderate relative to other groups I will not name. Encouraging moderation is good when the alternative is dangerously radical. There are some issues where there is no room for moderation, but cooperation on charitable activities with a long-standing organization that is caught between alliance with the radicals and standing up for what might truly benefit the people they claim to represent makes sense.