# The LDS Church's Statement on the US Elections **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 7, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226 "2012-11-07T15:34:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/281 "2012-11-13T01:41:36Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > Again, there was racism in the early Church, in early America, in modern America, probably in your own circle of friends. However the modern Church isn’t racist. My own sister-in-law is sealed in marriage to her Samoan husband, and my other bro-in-law married a native American woman. That is a lot more progressive than a lot of people in the US who are non-Mormon. It is more accepted for races to intermarry in the Church than it is more the mainstream culture where I live in Memphis. I appreciate how progressive the Church is about race. No matter how progressive April’s Mormon relatives are, it should be noted (as Rhodes mentioned) that current teaching manuals for Mormon youth have included the following advice: > [@](#): > > We recommend that people marry those who are of the same racial background generally, and of somewhat the same economic and social and educational background (some of those are not an absolute necessity, but preferred), and above all, the same religious background, without question. Make of that what you will. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/282 "2012-11-13T01:43:16Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > And there is the attitude I am talking about. How dare a church progress and become more enlightened, there must be some nefarious reason behind it. So you do agree that the ‘curse’ teaching and the policy of denying the priesthood to black people was racist? I got the impression you were reluctant to come to that conclusion. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/283 "2012-11-13T01:47:10Z")
But but Mormons only despise gays and deny women leadership roles and make claims about Christian history entirely unsupported by archaeological record and disrespect all other religions by baptising dead folks now! We’re not racist anymore! ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/284 "2012-11-13T02:10:14Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > So you do agree that the ‘curse’ teaching and the policy of denying the priesthood to black people was racist? I got the impression you were reluctant to come to that conclusion. Mormons have always been very reluctant to own up to past mistakes for a very simple reason: admitting past fault acknowledges that the Prophet at that time was wrong. If the Prophet, who is in direct communication with God, is wrong, then either God didn’t bother to mention, “Pssst, Brigham, hating black people is wrong!” or the Prophet didn’t bother to listen properly. Neither option is particularly appealing. ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/285 "2012-11-13T02:11:43Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > But but Mormons only despise gays and deny women leadership roles and make claims about Christian history entirely unsupported by archaeological record and disrespect all other religions by baptising dead folks now! We’re not racist anymore! Tell my Relief Society President she has been denied a leadership role and she will probably laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/286 "2012-11-13T02:13:03Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > Tell my Relief Society President she has been denied a leadership role and she will probably laugh. Tell me how high up the ladder she can go as a woman in your religion. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/287 "2012-11-13T02:15:17Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Tell me how high up the ladder she can go as a woman in your religion. And could she do it as a single woman, a gay woman, a single gay woman? ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/288 "2012-11-13T02:16:26Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > Tell my Relief Society President she has been denied a leadership role and she will probably laugh. While she is laughing, maybe she can try to help her booger-eating 12-year-old son to pass the bread and water. She’ll be forbidden, because he has the Priesthood authority and she never will. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/289 "2012-11-13T02:19:34Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It’s enshrined in the First Amendment. But yes, Dolan used his congratulations to repeat some bullshit Romney and Ryan touted on the campaign trail. Of course more Catholics voted for Obama than for Romney anyway, to say nothing of how New York Catholics probably voted. I didn’t know Romney/Ryan were spouting that BS too, but it isn’t a surprise given all the other angles they tried. It’s at least good to see that most Catholics have a healthier respect for worldly reality than for the dogma of their religious leaders. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/290 "2012-11-13T02:30:05Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > I already linked to a website run by black Mormons to help answer any questions you may have about that. It’s up thread somewhere. I don’t feel as qualified to answer those things as a black Mormon would be since it affects them much more than it affects me personally. So you can look at that site. > > here it is [http://www.blacklds.org/](http://www.blacklds.org/) > > Or people could automatically dismiss them just because they are Mormon, which seems to be the theme in this thread so far. Have you looked at your cite? It is not “a website run **by** black Mormons”, it is “a website run **for** black Mormons.” (It’s on the front page, at the top, right below the title.) If you go to the “About Us” notice: > [@](#): > > This site started as an idea shared by Scott Gordon, Renee Olson, and Juliann Reynolds. It is now run by a team of eight dedicated members including (pictured left-to-right below) Scott Gordon, Margaret Young, Richard Miller, Marvin Perkins, Chris Kite, Dana King, Darius Gray, and Renee Olson. Scott Gordon is the president of FAIR, the discredited apologist web sit. FAIR operates the site, using some black members as a face for it. > [@April\_R](#): > > I try to find resources which back up what I am saying, but most get dismissed as apologetics or simply wrong because they are directly from a Mormon source. I can’t fight blanket dismissal of what I am saying, so I try my best. Cite? Please show _once_ where this has occurred. Your cites are dismissed because they are worthless, not who they come from. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > Tell me how high up the ladder she can go as a woman in your religion. The highest up on the ladder will still never get her above a 12-year-old boy. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/291 "2012-11-13T02:34:33Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > Tell my Relief Society President she has been denied a leadership role and she will probably laugh. Take a look at [The Relief Society](https://www.lds.org/callings/relief-society/leader-resources/relief-society-presidency-board?lang=eng), folks and tell me if you’ve noticed what they all have in common. You forgot to mention that the Mormon Relief Society is all-female axillary, **April R**. Your president isn’t even on the same _ladder_ as the menfolk. edited to add: And of course they are all good Mormon wives with two of them having 6 children each, and one with 13 children. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/292 "2012-11-13T02:42:26Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > You forgot to mention that the Mormon Relief Society is all-female **axillary** Hey, take those ‘axillary’ comments to the pit! The _arm_pit!! 😉 It’s hard to overcome the zeal of the convert, even in the face of input from folks who spent decades deep in the fold of the faith. That’s not unique to LDS. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/293 "2012-11-13T02:45:32Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Hey, take those ‘axillary’ comments to the pit! The _arm_pit!! 😉 It’s a fair cop 😃 ---
**Author:** ![EverwonderWhy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EverwonderWhy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EverwonderWhy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/294 "2012-11-13T04:20:14Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > Tell my Relief Society President she has been denied a leadership role and she will probably laugh. Women have no say in the leadership of the church, they can’t even offer the benediction in General Conference. When was the last time a female gave a talk in priesthood? Never. The whole age eligibility change for female missionaries was made without any consultation or input from female “leaders”. Females can’t even conduct their own meetings or activities without a priesthood holder present. The Young Men (YM) get much larger budget than the Young Women (YW). The YM get far more recognition and better activities than the YW do. And I’m not even touching the misogyny of the temple, which even many believing members find so horrible that although they still remain LDS they refuse to ever go back to the Temple. Women can not hold their babies when they are blessed, serve as a ‘witness’ when their own children are baptized, are excluded from serving as ward clerks, financial auditors (these aren’t even “priesthood” positions!), etc. The tired old trope of priesthood = motherhood is crap. Motherhood = Fatherhood. > **[Leaders & Ministry - Church News](https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders/)** How many women are listed as leaders compared to men? Perhaps you should avail yourself to [feministmormonhousewives.net](http://www.feministmormonhousewives.org/2010/01/women-are-inferior-to-men/) and inform yourself. At least these True Believing Mormon (TBM) women have a clue and raise the issue of their second class status. If you’re alright with old men telling you how many earrings you can wear, or that you need to wear pantyhose and that you need to dress modestly so men don’t have sexual thoughts, etc, more power to you. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/295 "2012-11-13T05:41:59Z")
I’m not sure what the problem is with women in LDS leadership positions. They have binders full of women. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/296 "2012-11-13T15:13:28Z")
I notice that the harder the questions and the more damning the evidence, the less likely **April R** is to respond to it. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/297 "2012-11-13T15:51:40Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > I notice that the harder the questions and the more damning the evidence, the less likely **April R** is to respond to it. I think it’s because she’s taking it personally. That church and others which practice shunning ensnare members in such an insular community that criticism is an unfamiliar concept. A member could defend her personal attachment to the church (I’m a white, married, submissive female so it’s a great fit for my personality and lifestyle." “I’m surrounded by family and friends who belong to the church and don’t feel the need to branch out”), but attempting to take the brunt of scholarly, apostate, and cultural criticism of the whole church is a big, discouraging task. Can’t blame her for stepping away. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/298 "2012-11-13T16:24:02Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > I think it’s because she’s taking it personally. That church and others which practice shunning ensnare members in such an insular community that criticism is an unfamiliar concept. A member could defend her personal attachment to the church (I’m a white, married, submissive female so it’s a great fit for my personality and lifestyle." “I’m surrounded by family and friends who belong to the church and don’t feel the need to branch out”), but attempting to take the brunt of scholarly, apostate, and cultural criticism of the whole church is a big, discouraging task. Can’t blame her for stepping away. Still, on a board devoted to eradicating ignorance, it’s a shame. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/299 "2012-11-13T17:28:26Z")
I can’t believe that she gave that cite to show how women have positions of power, when it shows the exact opposite. Does anyone know who the highest ranked female in the Mormon Church? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226/300 "2012-11-13T17:41:24Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > Tell my Relief Society President she has been denied a leadership role and she will probably laugh. As someone who grew up in the LDS church, this statement made me LOL hard. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lds-churchs-statement-on-the-us-elections/640226.md?page=16)