| Menu |
Apostle Mark E. Petersen gave a speech on this subject:
"God has commanded Israel not to intermarry. To go against this commandment of God would be in sin. Those who willfully sin with their eyes open to this wrong will not be surprised to find that they will be separated from the presence of God in the world to come. This is spiritual death...."
"The reason that one would lose his blessings by marrying a Negro is due to the restriction placed upon them. 'No person having the least particle of Negro blood can hold the Priesthood.'(He's quoting Brigham Young here.) It does not matter if they are one-sixth Negro or one-hundred and sixth, the curse of no Priesthood is the same. If an individual who is entitled to the Priesthood marries a Negro, the Lord has decreed that only spirits who are not eligible for the Priesthood will come to that marriage as children. to intermarry with a Negro is to forfeit a 'Nation of Priesthood holders.'"
Source: Race Problems -- As They Affect The Church, Address by Mark E. Petersen at the Convention of Teachers of Religion on the College Level, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, August 27, 1954.
There are instances of racial prejudice in all groups and I'm not saying it was unique to Mormonism. But Mormonism was one of the few who attributed inequality as a decision and judgment directly from God. Here is one of the strongest examples I've run across.