Racism, Mormonism, and the United States

The Mormon church used to discriminate against people who werent caucasian, they have since removed anything regarding discrimination of ones color. Simply put, they have expanded their religion exponentially across the globe since. Even so, thirty five years after they changed their teachings, some blacks still feel as if they are being discriminated against because of the color of their skin. A United States citizen by the name of Amram Musungu joined the LDS church in 1992 as a 14-year-old grew up in Kenya and spoke about many prejudices he, and other people with darker skin experience here in the United States while attending church. The author is trying to bring to light the racial issues that are still among us even in todays society. This isnt just a religious issue. Ms. Stack emphasizes that the Mormon religion is trying to eradicate the hateful thoughts and ideas by encouraging members to visit each others houses, and do activities together. The hope is that with close interaction, the people will come to realize they arent so different from one another. Ms. Stack is bringing up this topic of racism in order for the discussion to be opened, once it is open, there can be action taken. Even in todays society there are demonstrations of racism. From discriminatory comments, to public displays of hatred, the United States is still at war with racism. I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. I am a caucasian female, and throughout my life I have been exposed to many people from all walks of life. I grew up in Kearns and went to elementary school with children of all nationalities, so I never gave skin color a second thought. When I moved to Holladay the kids up there were all caucasian. While in Holladay, we had some kids from Kenya come to our school. I witnessed cruelty from the caucasian kids toward the colored kids. I took it upon myself to try to help the colored kids adjust, everyone else just wanted to

teach them naughty words, because they didnt speak much English. Racism isnt only in religion, it is throughout the entirety of society. In class we spoke a lot about how different religions try fit into society, but this is how society tries to fit into religion. Religions are constantly changing, whether it be societal pressure or not. Racism is something that affects not just religions, but also the human race as a whole.

Works Cited Stack, Fletcher. Religious News Service. The Salt Lake Tribune. 7 Jun. 2013. Web. 25 Nov.
2013