Standing up to racism

You have probably heard about a Duke volleyball player being called the N-word while playing BYU, and if you have heard that you have probably also heard people calling it a hoax.

There have been many good things written about that. Here is one:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/mike-freeman/2022/09/07/duke-volleyball-rachel-richardson-racial-slur-byu/7994409001/

I believe Rachel Richardson, and I do not believe that BYU investigating itself and failing to find proof is evidence that it didn't happen. 

That is not exactly what this post is about, but it is inspired by that, and continues logically from last week's post. We live in a country with a racist past. In fact, much of that legacy starts with English colonizing which goes all around the globe. Racism has had a wide and deep influence.

We are also members of a church that has not really dealt with our own racist history. I have written about this before; nothing new.

I do want to use it as a springboard to talk about ways we can be better.

First off, there was no video proof or recording. This is where audience members can be handy. You have phones that record things. When you see or hear racist behavior, making a record of that can be helpful. 

It is unfortunate that so many people require video evidence instead of believing marginalized people about their own lived experiences. Since that is the state of the world, look at how many incriminating videos have come up because of both improved cell phone technology and increased use of security cameras. It shows a lot of white people being racist and lying. 

If we go by history, it is way more likely that there was an overtly racist BYU student than lies on the part of the player who told her coach during the game -- which the facility staff took seriously enough to respond -- and called her father upset right after.

That makes me want to say that when you notice something, whip out that cell phone. See if you can help.

Do not be a bystander.

Except that it is so easy not to notice when you are white.

Some of that is that it just doesn't hit the same, but some of it may also be starting to notice, and then pushing it away.

Maybe you see a Black person detained by police, and there may be that nagging voice, but then you think that is just a few bad apples, and this in front of you is certainly fine, and does not require any observation.

Maybe someone you know makes a racist joke or a complaint, but it was just kind of racist and no one in the targeted group is around, so while you are not specifically endorsing it you are not calling it out either.

Or maybe you don't get the racist intent, because you try so hard to not even notice color. 

To really become anti-racist will require a change in thought.

The first step may just be noticing color. 

Look at the people around you: people in your ward, or from your school, or at work or even on the streets around you? Who is Black? Who is brown? Who is queer? Who is disabled? 

Who gets marginalized?

No, don't run to them and ask them to teach you about bigotry and assure you that you have never harmed them.

Do pay attention to them.

Do read more about those who have chosen to share their experiences, and I mean THEIR experiences; white people writing about racism is a poor substitute.

I have seen suggestions that the coaches should have called off the game, or at least halted it until the offender was ejected. Instead, an officer and four ushers were moved to the area. Ending the game would have disappointed a lot of people, I am sure, but is what did happen better?

For the changes we need to make, there will be discomfort. That can come with examining your own behavior, and it can come with expressing disapproval at what others say and do. After all, are any of them really bad people? Maybe not; it can be pretty reductive to think of people as good or bad. 

However, if we keep choosing comfort or security or anything else other than integrity and justice, we may become bad people. We will certainly shortchange the good we can do.

Part of a conditioning toward politeness is that the people who ignore social niceties are better able to get away with it. There is no virtue in maintaining a pleasant veneer over rot. There is no honor in even passively supporting bullies.

There were so many churches helping during the height of the Civil Rights era, but not ours. Maybe our shame in our own conduct held us back. There were people who gave their lives for equality, and yet with so many not committing to equality, and so many committing to fighting equality with every dirty trick in the book, there is too much still needing to be done.

Think about the need for charity, and integrity, and humility. 

Think about the members that our church had running for school boards, and what they represented.

What do you need to do?

Related posts:

https://preparedspork.blogspot.com/2020/08/mormons-and-racism.html 

https://preparedspork.blogspot.com/2021/01/how-will-you-fight-white-supremacy-today.html 

That last one started a series, but racism has been a recurring theme. I look forward to the time when that is no longer necessary.

My Talk: Racism

We need to embrace God’s children compassionately and eliminate any prejudice, including racism, sexism, and nationalism. Let it be said that we truly believe the blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ are for every child of God. -- Elder M. Russell Ballard, "The Trek Continues!, October 2017 General Conference

Yes, the conclusion is about the bigotry.

For what is mentioned in the rest of the talk, that admonition may seem a little odd; nationalism was not mentioned at all. Neither does it say anything about racism or sexism, except in that early on there is a mention of Jane Manning James, a Black woman and an early member of the church.  

She is not even specifically mentioned as Black, but being mentioned as the daughter of a freed slave implies it, even if you don't recognize the name. Elder Ballard calls her remarkable and mentions hardships she faced, but there are no stories, and only one quote from her. It seems like a non sequitur. 

The context is there: we are reminded that we still have things to work on. That includes the reminders that greed can lead us to dishonest behavior and ruin, and that seeking miracle cures or secret knowledge that comes from neither church leaders nor doctors is probably not going to help your health. Even though it is completely possible that the people who need to hear those messages most will not recognize themselves, probably everyone can still think of someone who should relate (maybe the same people for both financial and medical quackery if doTerra is involved).

But, whom at church would you think of as needing to eliminate prejudices like racism, sexism, and nationalism?

It was definitely an issue then. After the recent presidential campaign and the start of Trump's presidency (the Muslim ban happened in 2017, among other things), there is a reason why people would need reminders. So, early in the talk there is a reminder that Black people can be good and admirable, and then toward the end, a reminder that those -isms are bad, and that we can't afford them. 

It's all there, but in the mildest way possible.

Isn't it time that we start saying that part loud?

I have understood why we don't. People get very offended at being called racist, where they will say ridiculous things like that is the real racism. Many men in the church may theoretically be able to acknowledge that sexism is bad, but somehow their leadership role justifies a lot of things that sure sound like sexism. Nationalism actually made it a little more obvious than usual, but it is still so easy to discard.

Yes, if we speak out against the bigotry -- clearly and without equivocation -- we will lose people, but we are losing people anyway, including some really good ones.

Besides that, the bigots are really in need of repentance, which seems like a reason to call them to it. The gentle hints have been given plenty of time that seems to prove them ineffective.

I don't think it is all fear of offending, but also some embarrassment. One of the hardships of Jane Manning James' life was not being able to go to the temple or be sealed to her family in her lifetime. They made special arrangements to have her sealed to the Smith family as a servant. 

It is reasonable for the church to be embarrassed about its past racism, but avoiding that discomfort only results in continued racism, which we need to eliminate.

I don't deny those can be complicated, awkward conversations, but we need to have them. 

I know people whose faith was damaged by the essays, and others who reconciled their concerns by pushing them out of their minds, but that cuts off growth. It is possible to believe that Brigham Young was both a prophet and a racist. Our prophets are not perfect, but they can still do good, important things, just like the imperfect members that they lead.

I propose to you, though, that if there are times when change seems slow in coming, that it may be more the fault of the members than the leaders. 

Would Brigham Young have been called on his racism more quickly if the young church were ready for it? Perhaps.

And what is our intransigence preventing now? 

Because as much as we each need repentance and growth individually, we also all affect each other.

My Talk: Greed

Although it is appropriate and important to remember the historic 19th-century Mormon pioneer trek, we need to remember that “the trek through life continues!” for each of us as we prove our own “faith in every footstep.”

-- "The Trek Continues", Elder M. Russell Ballard, October 2017 General Conference

There were two things that especially stuck out to me in Elder Ballards counsel for our days, so those will be two different posts. 

Actually, there are kind of three things, but two of them really go together. First...

Do not listen to those who entice you with get-rich schemes. Our members have lost far too much money, so be careful.

In some places, too many of our people are looking beyond the mark and seeking secret knowledge in expensive and questionable practices to provide healing and support.

An official Church statement, issued one year ago, states: “We urge Church members to be cautious about participating in any group that promises—in exchange for money—miraculous healings or that claims to have special methods for accessing healing power outside of properly ordained priesthood holders.”

The Church Handbook counsels: “Members should not use medical or health practices that are ethically or legally questionable. Local leaders should advise members who have health problems to consult with competent professional practitioners who are licensed in the countries where they practice.”

Brothers and sisters, be wise and aware that such practices may be emotionally appealing but may ultimately prove to be spiritually and physically harmful.

It did not strike me in 2017. 

It could have. I know our people love multi-level marketing schemes and alternative health practices.

I only served in two areas on my mission. In one, there was a full Laotian branch (two actually), but in the other area it was a Lao group in an Anglo ward. Suddenly, once we started having dinner appointments with the white members, we received sales pitches on knives and supplements that treated all sorts of long-term condition. This was also where I first learned that ear candling exists.

These were all good people, and at the time I didn't think any more about it than that it was kind of weird.

Looking at this talk from 2017 now, this was less than a year before surface fractures started appearing at LuLaRoe. It was a full three years before a global pandemic started that would lead to members choosing to not only ignore science but also ignore caring for others, some getting angry at the counsel of our prophet -- who has extensive medical training -- because it contradicted what their political leader said.

Elder Ballard's talk feels different now.

In fact, there is some church history that has distrust of doctors built in. There was a time when not only was prejudice against the Mormons high but also medical science was not far advanced. I remember an old family friend being annoyed when her husband's heart medication was making him more lively; she did not want modern medicine to be the way he was helped. Her father had been excommunicated for speaking out against doctors. 

That was a long time ago. We should be better now.

If I may go on a tangent for a moment, I had brought in one other conference talk, though I could not tell you the date or the speaker's name. I don't want to look it up, because I don't need a reason to hold something against a general authority.

The talk in itself was fine, but there was a mention of Halloween, and he kept reiterating that it was not his favorite holiday, making his contempt for it clear. 

Halloween is my favorite holiday, but the reason it is relevant here is that I remember thinking him saying that was a sign of being infected by evangelicals. Saints have been having Halloween parties for decades, and the only way we have been at all weird about it has been the prohibition on masks.

I mention that because prosperity gospel and contempt for the poor are not things that the true gospel promotes. There are many things that have become entrenched mindsets for other religious groups that are not from us, and yet we take them in. 

I promise you that they will not love us for being like them, and I promise that the love we need to have for others will be harder to maintain with that influence.

“The worst fear I have about this people is that they will get rich in this country, forget God and His people, wax fat, and kick themselves out of the Church and go to hell. This people will stand mobbing, robbing, poverty and all manner of persecution and be true. But my greatest fear is that they cannot stand wealth.” – Brigham Young

Attempts to get rich, and a focus on getting rich, can do enough harm, even without the wealth being obtained.

From Elder Ballard again:

For our pioneer ancestors, independence and self-reliance were vital, but their sense of community was just as important. They worked together and helped one another overcome the physical and emotional challenges of their time.

For me, in many ways that abandonment of community has been the most discouraging part. It's not just that people who should know better would not act to protect themselves, but that they would also not face a minor inconvenience to protect the disabled and the immune-compromised, the young and the old.

In fact, our willingness to care for each other is not just the best way of surviving difficult times in the last days, but also perhaps the best indicator of our alliance with Christ, who always chose to serve and help.

The will play a key part in the final post for next week.

My Talk: Change

Getting back to that first batch of names submitted for ordinances... the way to submit at the time was to pick up family group sheets from the church library, fill them out, and mail them to Salt Lake City. There were two different addresses, depending on whether your names were from before or after 1500. After a few weeks they would send a report of which ones had been approved, and cards for those people had been sent to the temple you designated. You had to request a name at the desk before you went in for your session.

When I was submitting names from The Harris Wheel, you took a diskette to the family history library and the were matched against a database on CDs. You took a separate diskette to the temple, and they printed the file there. The internet was not widely used at the time, but I could see that was the direction things were going. I am still not sure that I saw how much easier it would become.

When I think about the changes I have seen during my lifetime, you would think I was 100 (I am only 50).

My earliest church memory is being in nursery on a Tuesday morning, while my mother was in Relief Society. I remember going to Primary after school on Wednesdays. Then all of that changed. All of those meetings were changed to a three hour block. There are children here who will only remember two hour meetings.

We went from one quorum of the 70 to twelve. Budget contributions ended and they changed it so that all missionaries paid the same amount monthly, regardless of where they served. Minimum ages for missionaries have changed, and the number of missionary training centers increased, along with a recent addition of home learning.

When I was born there were 13 temples in operation. Today there are 168 operating, 46 under construction or renovation, and 68 announced. 

Many of those changes are a response to the growth that we have seen, but they also sometimes come as a preparation for more growth, before it happens. 

That is where we get to the crux of the talk that my talk was based on: Elder M. Russell Ballard's "The Trek Continues!" from the October 2017 General Conference.

He makes the point that even 170 years since Brigham Young declared "This is the right place," we were still not able to rest on our laurels; there was still more work to be done.

As it is, my strongest conference memory of Elder Ballard comes from October 1993 and April 1994, both of which occurred while I was in the mission field.

I remember that April feeling like the speakers were repeating their subjects, so the subtext was that six months ago, we were not listening. That was my feeling, but Brother Ballad removed all doubt when he mentioned going to leadership trainings since speaking on ward councils and the importance of getting input from everyone. When he would look for demonstrations of that, he found many bishops had taken this to mean distributing assignments among more council members, but they were not really taking feedback.

Without exception, the bishop took charge of the situation immediately and said, “Here’s the problem, and here’s what I think we should do to solve it.” Then he made assignments to the various ward council members. This was a good exercise in delegation, I suppose, but it did not even begin to use the experience and wisdom of council members to address the problem.

Eventually I asked the bishop to try again, only this time to solicit ideas and recommendations from his council members before making any assignments. I especially encouraged him to ask the sisters for their ideas. When the bishop opened the meeting to council members and invited them to counsel together, the effect was like opening the floodgates of heaven.

We really have too much to do; it could never be appropriate to expect one person in the ward to have all of the insight. Even breaking it down to a presidency or committee level, there are counselors and other members because we need other perspectives and relationships and guidance and care. 

It is clear that our work is not done, so what is most important for us as we attempt to finish our journey? And what did Elder Ballard say about that?