Loved every word of this. And, the pictures are precious. Scientific DNA is something I appreciate as well. I am basically half Italian and half English, but I love the little drops of blood that makes me a part of the world. This might be one of my favorite At Last She Writes It. Thanks for sharing. I just love ALSSI.
What really gets me about Matt Harris’ book is how the prophet David O. McKay and a committee he organized realized way back in 1954 that the priesthood/temple ban wasn’t doctrinal, then it took them 24 years to get rid of it. Makes me wonder if there have been other committees like this in more recent years.
Yes! That is an unbelievable bit I don't think most members knew, and how would they? Sadly,, I am sure we are 24 years away from other important changes...ahem women's equality and LGBTQ. ~C
You are a beautiful woman from a beautiful ancestry. I’m sorry you have experienced racism Cynthia. It was (and is) wrong. Full stop. No ifs ands or buts. It would do my heart so much good to hear a genuine and honest and FULL apology for the church’s stance. So much good. And in that vein, to see the church stand up for the atrocities being inflicted upon immigrants today in our country. It’s really discouraging. Sending love.
The original policy is bad enough (and I'm sorry for the ways this has affected you personally!) but in my mind, even worse is the church allowing the original policy - still, after all these years - to be interpreted as God's will, and not to have apologized for it and stomped down hard on those who continue to talk about "less valiant in the pre-existence." I still hear that nonsense.
I love your last sentence. Beautiful product of humanity, indeed! Thank you for sharing your family’s story, Cynthia! One thing that hadn’t clicked for me before reading “Second-Class Saints” was that a huge part of the Brethren’s reluctance to abandon the “one-drop rule” or allow Black members the priesthood/temple was their fear of interracial marriage. Even after the ban was lifted, that fear still showed up in policies like their hesitancy to recruit students of color for sports, since they worried it would increase the melanated population on campus and increase the odds of mixing. Gasp!
Cynthia, you are a true product of humanity which is exactly what a daughter of God is. If we are all children of God then that God must surely be of every race. What a disgusting stain that long period is on the history of this church.
At age 62 I learned that one of my great grandmothers, an LDS convert in Nauvoo, had a Black father. Sarah Mode Hofhine lived her life as a white Mormon woman, got her temple endowments in Nauvoo, then came to Utah, leaving behind her Black family in Pennsylvania. I have often thought that if she had looked a little less white, and a little more Black, the whole trajectory of her progeny - including me - would likely not have been LDS.
It's really crazy when you start to look at all our family trees and realize this was impossible to police...and yet our church leaders held on for sooooooo long. :(
I can't help but also think of how Senior Leadership held on soooooo long to teaching that being gay is a choice. Actually, I am not sure some of them still believe that based on David Archuleta and others accounts.
Archuleta's book, "Devout" was inspirational. It's about time the cork comes of the bottle where prejudice and bias is so think! I loved 2nd Class Saints as well. Church History has opened my eyes to what has been a closed book for the better part of my life, and I am now 80 years old, and I SEE!
This is a great essay, Cynthia. Those are very special drops of blood you carry. We also have a few mixed marriages in our family and I absolutely love our Mexican granddaughter-in-law! She is beautiful and cheerful inside and out. My parents tried (believe it or not) to raise me up as a prejudiced person, as they were. From infancy I was not having any of it. I’m not sure how I knew it was wrong and can only claim the Spirit of Christ I was born with was the answer.
what's crazy is nobody (that I know of) really saw my parents' marriage as 'mixed' because my mom is considered "white", yet she's from a different country and spoke a different primary language than my dad. (Althouhg my dad is fluent in Spanish.) We just make up all these rules around what is ok and not okay and what is 'mixed' and what isn't. ~C
Thank you for sharing your story with us Cynthia. 🙏❤️Reading Second Class Saints was one of the big things that contributed to my shifting feelings about the church. 🫤 Pulling back the curtains and seeing how the church worked was eye opening.
for me it was reading David O Mckay's book by Greg Prince 5+ years ago that pulled the curtain back on lds church leadership.......Second Class Saints just made me even sadder. ~C
Same - I first read the book on David O’McKay and then 2nd Class Saints. I’ll never forget the confused feelings I had as a teen in England and a YM in our youth group not being able to have the priesthood. He could pass as white but apparently had mixed parentage. It felt so itchy, wrong and uncomfortable for all in that little circle.
Loved every word of this. And, the pictures are precious. Scientific DNA is something I appreciate as well. I am basically half Italian and half English, but I love the little drops of blood that makes me a part of the world. This might be one of my favorite At Last She Writes It. Thanks for sharing. I just love ALSSI.
What really gets me about Matt Harris’ book is how the prophet David O. McKay and a committee he organized realized way back in 1954 that the priesthood/temple ban wasn’t doctrinal, then it took them 24 years to get rid of it. Makes me wonder if there have been other committees like this in more recent years.
Yes! That is an unbelievable bit I don't think most members knew, and how would they? Sadly,, I am sure we are 24 years away from other important changes...ahem women's equality and LGBTQ. ~C
You are a beautiful woman from a beautiful ancestry. I’m sorry you have experienced racism Cynthia. It was (and is) wrong. Full stop. No ifs ands or buts. It would do my heart so much good to hear a genuine and honest and FULL apology for the church’s stance. So much good. And in that vein, to see the church stand up for the atrocities being inflicted upon immigrants today in our country. It’s really discouraging. Sending love.
I will never understand the refusal to apologize. Never. ~C
The original policy is bad enough (and I'm sorry for the ways this has affected you personally!) but in my mind, even worse is the church allowing the original policy - still, after all these years - to be interpreted as God's will, and not to have apologized for it and stomped down hard on those who continue to talk about "less valiant in the pre-existence." I still hear that nonsense.
Such a great article, thank you for being you, so human 💜💜
I love your last sentence. Beautiful product of humanity, indeed! Thank you for sharing your family’s story, Cynthia! One thing that hadn’t clicked for me before reading “Second-Class Saints” was that a huge part of the Brethren’s reluctance to abandon the “one-drop rule” or allow Black members the priesthood/temple was their fear of interracial marriage. Even after the ban was lifted, that fear still showed up in policies like their hesitancy to recruit students of color for sports, since they worried it would increase the melanated population on campus and increase the odds of mixing. Gasp!
Yes! I wasn’t aware of that until reading the book either! 😩
Cynthia, you are a true product of humanity which is exactly what a daughter of God is. If we are all children of God then that God must surely be of every race. What a disgusting stain that long period is on the history of this church.
At age 62 I learned that one of my great grandmothers, an LDS convert in Nauvoo, had a Black father. Sarah Mode Hofhine lived her life as a white Mormon woman, got her temple endowments in Nauvoo, then came to Utah, leaving behind her Black family in Pennsylvania. I have often thought that if she had looked a little less white, and a little more Black, the whole trajectory of her progeny - including me - would likely not have been LDS.
It's really crazy when you start to look at all our family trees and realize this was impossible to police...and yet our church leaders held on for sooooooo long. :(
I can't help but also think of how Senior Leadership held on soooooo long to teaching that being gay is a choice. Actually, I am not sure some of them still believe that based on David Archuleta and others accounts.
Archuleta's book, "Devout" was inspirational. It's about time the cork comes of the bottle where prejudice and bias is so think! I loved 2nd Class Saints as well. Church History has opened my eyes to what has been a closed book for the better part of my life, and I am now 80 years old, and I SEE!
Oops, Thick! I'm allowed a mistake or two a day!
This is a great essay, Cynthia. Those are very special drops of blood you carry. We also have a few mixed marriages in our family and I absolutely love our Mexican granddaughter-in-law! She is beautiful and cheerful inside and out. My parents tried (believe it or not) to raise me up as a prejudiced person, as they were. From infancy I was not having any of it. I’m not sure how I knew it was wrong and can only claim the Spirit of Christ I was born with was the answer.
what's crazy is nobody (that I know of) really saw my parents' marriage as 'mixed' because my mom is considered "white", yet she's from a different country and spoke a different primary language than my dad. (Althouhg my dad is fluent in Spanish.) We just make up all these rules around what is ok and not okay and what is 'mixed' and what isn't. ~C
Thank you for sharing your story with us Cynthia. 🙏❤️Reading Second Class Saints was one of the big things that contributed to my shifting feelings about the church. 🫤 Pulling back the curtains and seeing how the church worked was eye opening.
for me it was reading David O Mckay's book by Greg Prince 5+ years ago that pulled the curtain back on lds church leadership.......Second Class Saints just made me even sadder. ~C
Same - I first read the book on David O’McKay and then 2nd Class Saints. I’ll never forget the confused feelings I had as a teen in England and a YM in our youth group not being able to have the priesthood. He could pass as white but apparently had mixed parentage. It felt so itchy, wrong and uncomfortable for all in that little circle.