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Racism in the LDS church: A partial success story

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Two conflicts between the LDS and the the federal government:

The LDS church has had a fascinating and turbulent history. They have had two major conflicts with the federal government.

The first occurred in the mid-19th century when the Mormon practice of polygyny -- a form of polygamy -- was the main reason why statehood for Utah was initially rejected. Six additional refusals followed, between 1849 and 1887. In 1890, as the government was about to seize the assets of the LDS Church, the LDS Prophet received a revelation from God. This was the "Great Accommodation" that at least temporarily suspended the practice of polygyny -- a form of polygamy. On 1896-JAN-4, Utah became the 45th state in the union.

Pressure was also felt by the LDS during the 1970's because of the LDS' institutionalized racism. The IRS was threatening to cancel the church's non-profit tax exempt status. University sports teams were refusing to compete in Utah. This pressure was relieved on 1978-JUN-6 when prophet of the church believed that he had received a new revelation from God to end the practice of discrimination against persons of African-American heritage.

Topics covered in this section:

	Statements about race in the Book of Mormon
	Racist statements by LDS leaders
	Resolution of racism in the LDS church:

Copyright © 1997 to 2012 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2002-AUG-12
Latest update: 2012-MAR-11
Author: B.A. Robinson

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