"Marry in your own race"

[BlueK]

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

What about light-skinned Puerto Ricans with black Dominicans? They're both Latino.

Latino is not a race. You can be Latino and be white, brown or black. The quote Waters is referring to when taken literally would seem to say a white Latino shouldn't marry a black one.

[Indy Coug]

Originally Posted by BlueK

Latino is not a race. You can be Latino and be white, brown or black. The quote Waters is referring to when taken literally would seem to say a white Latino shouldn't marry a black one.

You see the whole problem here is it doesn't say or even imply "shouldn't". "Shouldn't" is too strong of a term, IMO.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

You see the whole problem here is it doesn't say or even imply "shouldn't". "Shouldn't" is too strong of a term, IMO.

You think?

[BlueK]

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

You see the whole problem here is it doesn't say or even imply "shouldn't". "Shouldn't" is too strong of a term, IMO.

you really think those listening don't get the impression that it is counseling against marrying outside one's race?

[Indy Coug]

Originally Posted by BlueK

you really think those listening don't get the impression that it is counseling against marrying outside one's race?

People get the impression that Mountain Dew is against the Word of Wisdom.

[BlueK]

Originally Posted by Indy Coug

People get the impression that Mountain Dew is against the Word of Wisdom.

is there anything in the official church manuals that say anything about mt. dew? I didn't think so. It's an outdated quote. It should come out. I'm surprised no one has pointed out it was made before 1978.

[Indy Coug]

Originally Posted by BlueK

is there anything in the official church manuals that say anything about mt. dew? I didn't think so. It's an outdated quote. It should come out. I'm surprised no one has pointed out it was made before 1978.

I don't have a problem with it coming out, I have a problem with Waters' over-the-top misrepresentation of what it actually says.

[Snowcat]

I believe the stament needs to be removed, sooner rather than later.

Three points:

1. Given the history of the church and race relations, wouldn't it make sense for the chruch to go out of the way to avoid the appearance of lingering racial prejudices?

2. I believe there are many inside the church who equate racial differences with cultural differences. Race does not equal culture.

3. We have a diverse membership in the church. We should be becoming one becasue of our common beliefs rather than segregating along artificial barriers (race, culture, language, country etc).

[fusnik11]

I know the guy who oversees the manuals for the church.

You only need to know one thing about him:

He thinks Richard Bushman's book is the work of Satan himself.

So keeping that in mind, is it really that odd that that statement is maintained in church curriculum?

[LA Ute]

. . . so I haven't followed this thread.

I was unaware of the offending language (we never got to this lesson when I was YM president, I guess, or maybe I wasn't there that day):

Manual 3, lesson 31:

"Compare the results of the vote with the following statement by President Spencer W. Kimball. Have a young man read it.

“'We recommend that people marry those who are of the same racial background generally, and of somewhat the same economic and social and educational background (some of those are not an absolute necessity, but preferred), and above all, the same religious background, without question'” (“Marriage and Divorce,” in 1976 Devotional Speeches of the Year [Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1977], p. 144)."[/I]

I have these responses:

1. I really hope this comes out of the manual. It's dated and too easy to misunderstand. (I am mildly surprised that it's still there. The Church has changed a lot since the early 70's.) In fact, I'm going to write a letter to that effect.

2. I bet this will come out of the manuals the next time a revised version is printed.

3. It's actually a pretty benign statement and is simply an effort to help kids understand ways to maximize their chances of a successful marriage.

4. My wife and I don't care a whit about the racial background of our kids' marriage choices. We care a lot about whether the prospective partner has a testimony and is spiritually committed to the gospel, has good character, etc.

5. I do think people need to be realistic about marital choices. I read a DesNews story about an African-American Mormon woman who married a white Mormon man, then complained that everyone treated them as "different" in the town they lived in. That town? Rexburg, Idaho. Well, ya think?