NOM

I have read this letter in the past (https://www.scribd.com/document/1678275 ... rge-Romney), but I just rediscovered it and have read it a couple of times through yesterday. I am REALLY bothered by it. It says it is just a “friend to a friend” type document, (reminds me of “not by commandment or constraint, but a word of wisdom”) but then it is written on Church letterhead, assuredly using Church resources (being dictated to a Church secretary) by a Prophet, Seer and Revelator.
How in the world can this kind of intolerance be ordained of God?

It's really hard to see apostles as prophets, seers, or revelators with a letter like this. Delbert Stapley is a definitely a good company man that follows orders and promotes the official policy. This letter shows no foresight at all nor any good solutions. It's a very embarrassing letter at this point showing the divide between church policy versus a surprisingly thoughtful governor.

Kudos to George Romney for not listening to Elder Stapley's racist tripe.

I have always felt sorry for Delbert Stapley. Imagine having a job where it is your job to answer questions like this and you would get fired for even seeing how bad the official company line is. But it is your job to regurgitate the company line, not think for yourself and see Romney's point.

I never want to be in a position where I am not allowed to think something through and listen to my own conscience. Because even back then, if someone thought this whole situation through, it bothered the crap out of them. In 67, my now husband had nightmares about his mission call, because he knew he could not go to the American South and teach about the church because he felt the doctrine (and no matter what the church says now, the exclusion of blacks from priesthood and temple was doctrine back then) was dead wrong. It started bothering me as soon as I was old enough to consider it. I could see it was wrong.

So, I have always felt kind of sorry for anyone without freedom of conscience, the thought freedom to think for yourself and decide if something is good or bad. But, no, your *job* is to explain how something so racist or sexist or homophobic is what God wants. It just makes me shudder. The few times I was challenged on how I could be Mormon when the church had such a racist doctrine, I said that there are racists in every church. I could not support the doctrine and said as much. And, yeah, it got me in trouble, but at least I knew that the God I believed in was not *that* God.

Besides, you just have to feel sorry for anyone named Delbert.

Thanks for sharing this letter. It is new to me. What a douche bag. That's my mind unfiltered. It is hard to understand how people can have such disdain for another race. This is the thought process of those who developed and influenced this religion. How can anyone who sees this not be turned off by the church?

Some may say, "Look that's behind us, don't worry about those little flecks of history." Sadly, those little flecks are part of the history that made the church what it is today. We need to acknowledge them in order to look at ourselves honestly. If we ignore past mistakes, can we really overcome them?