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The LDS church does not teach that Jesus was a poligamist.

anymore.

In fact, there is no information that he was ever married.

except in the Journal of Discourses (the Ensign of its day), where one of the G.A.’s taught that Jesus was a polygamist.

The LDS church does not teach or practice poligamy nor do any of its members.

in this life. Polygamy in/for the afterlife is still taught and practiced.

Even if a member shows empathy toward any group that supports poligamy, they are quickly repremanded, and if they continue their association, they may be ex-commnicated.

In other words, the various branches of Mormonism (such as the CoJCoL-dS in Salt Lake and the FLDS) don’t get along with one another.

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We have that exact picture in our building next to where the young women meet. I know what the intention is, but it has ALWAYS made me feel uncomfortable, particularly when investigators come in and see it.

Investigators already hear rumors about certain past church leaders that have claimed Jesus as a polygamist, so without knowing anything else, they might see this picture and run! I swear if I didn’t know any better, that is exactly what I would have thought- O.K. so the Mormons DO believe that Jesus was a polygamist.

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If you are going to use a proxy value to measure diversity in the membership you shouldn’t be surprised if your results are inaccurate. I don’t know why someone who allegedly values diversity would seek to devalue and marginalize the membership of millions of non-caucasian people in an organization because they do not belong to the leadership. Should I let my Asian friends know you don’t think their membership counts?

I would love to continue this discussion but I”m leaving on a road trip and won’t have internet access for the rest of today and possibly tomorrow. Until then, au revoir.

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Yes, there may be three or four token men of color or from different countries than the US or Canada. Many of the apostles are in fact related by blood or marriage – descended from the early mormons.

So, given the nature of the leadership, I think it’s safe to say that the LDS leadership in Salt Lake does not value diversity. Otherwise they would work to be more inclusive of men with different backgrounds.

When watching General conference, one could be struck by all the diversity and women one saw on the stand. Currently I just observe how male, elderly and caucasian the majority of the leadership is. Faiths like the Community of Christ (formerly RLDS) has a woman in their first presidency. I’m not suggesting that one faith is right, just that it’s more than possible to bring in diversity in the leadership if you are interested.

I don’t think anyone here was giving the impression that ALL mormons are a certain way, ALL mormons live in Utah, ALL mormons believe in polygamy or are white, etc. I may have misread some of the comments. I think that some LDS do meet these characteristics – just as people in many different groups could meet the same characteristics.

The question also remains, as Mathew suggests, if the LDS leadership wants to promote diversity, diverse perspectives and tolerance, why is this poster on sale at the bookstore? What is the message that it is supposed to send to the audience? Why isn’t some of the art from Ghana or Tongo on sale? Is it because it’s just not as popular/there isn’t a market for those pieces of art? I don’t know the answer.

But I do know I would never have heard this conversation in my young women’s courses or in sacrament meeting – while I was active.

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You definitely sound like you are well qualified to test your thesis. I wonder if you know my sister who would have been getting her masters degree in epidemiology at Cal at the same time you were there. Were you active in the singles branch/ward there?

I have some concern with the parameters you set out in your proposal, namely that they make the usual mistake of using North American Mormonism as a proxy for the whole. The urge within and without Mormonism to treat the Utah-centric North American experience as representative is problematic on several levels, one of the most important being that it marginalizes the experiences of Saints in other parts of the world. Ironically, or perhaps not, the church itself has been at the vanguard in promoting a more global vision of Mormon arts through its sponsorship of the International Art Competition.

It’s your time and your study, but from my point of view, it would be more interesting to look at depictions in Mormon art from, say, South America or Ghana. And by including non-North American Mormon artists you get the added bonus of recognizing their experience and work as authentically Mormon. If you insist on using North America as your yardstick, perhaps you should compare ratios of depicitions of different races within Mormon art from two regions such as Ghana and Colorado.

On an only slightly related note, the biggest problem with the depiction that started this thread is that it just isn’t very good. Including more minorities or women in less submissive postures isn’t going to redeem it. Better artists handle some of the same themes better:
http://www.wga.hu/art/r/rubens/12religi/39religi.jpg
http://www.networkingtheinternet.com/images/marymagdelene-judas-gospel.jpg
http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/SODimages2/054_MaryMagdalene.jpg

CWC,

You seem to have misread my comment about the zitty dude at BYU and missed my point about the zitty dude potentially being nice at the supermarket. Take a moment to reread it and let me know if you think your second paragraph is still responsive. Hint: I used the word “abhorrent” when referencing Tum2′s experience.

I have not at any point argued that many Mormons do not have racist views.

I did not compare Mormon racism to Jewish frugality but I will stipulate that the comparison is ludicrous.

Tum2,

I agree with Pompous One and CWC that you should continue to post here. You actually read what I wrote which I appreciate. I found it ironic to encounter your statement on a thread so full of outrage at the “othering” of individuals but your sincere apologies are completely disarming.

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Mathew – you’re grasping at very thin straws. It is beyond irrelevant whether the pimply white fellow at BYU would be a Super Nice Guy to talk to at the supermarket (you might want to go read Hellmut’s post about Hannah Arendt and the Mormon experience). The fact is, he made quite racist remarks to Tum2, and in doing so, HE represented his entire religion in saying ‘the church’ supported (tacitly or explicitly) his views about polygamous miscegenation.

I will also note that in the research I used to do for the church, I analysed very large, longitudinal data sets, as well as qualitative depth interviews, that support Tum2′s point quite well: Mormons do tend to have quite racist views. Yes, to this day. The legacy of the PH ban and its underpinning folk AND official doctrines do not go away so easily. (Particularly when the leadership leaves them lying dormant rather than truly putting an end to them.)

Comparing mormon racism to such a stereotype as Jewish ‘frugality’ is ludicrous and offensive. I reject any comparison between the Mormon experience and the Jewish experience on its face. You show me ONE (white) mormon who’s suffering in society ANYWHERE because of mormonism’s history of racism, and society’s prejudicial rejection of said mormon due to that racist history, and then we’ll talk.

Tum2, I hope you’ll continue to post here – you have said nothing that needs to be deleted or edited. Please don’t believe for a second that Mathew speaks for anyone but himself.

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