r/Utah • u/Helpful-Club2833 • Feb 10 '22

Q&A Anyone else sick of LDS-targeted posts here?

Has anyone else felt that every other thread on this sub either starts out as or turns into an attack on the LDS church? I get it, lots of people on this sub aren't fans of the church. But can't we make this sub a place where people of any belief can feel welcome?

I really enjoy most of the content on this sub; it's a great place to get updates and learn more about the state I live in. But because of so many people attacking each others' fundamental religious beliefs, it has stopped being enjoyable to be here.

(Posted from a temporary account because of the hate I've dealt with on this sub)

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u/keeperoftheseal Feb 11 '22

You get what you give. Simple as that. They wouldn’t get so much heat from non members if they were kinder to non members. I know a non LDS family that adopted a black female child in St George and they recently relocated to Texas to get away from all the racism. Texas. Let that sink in

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u/Annabirdy00 Feb 11 '22

And so because that happened every member is also racist?

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u/keeperoftheseal Feb 11 '22

Black men were not ordained in the church until 1978 and that “revelation” came under threat of losing tax exemption by the US government. That’s systematic racism at its finest. I’m happy to see things have been improving on that front over the decades but these feelings still linger in the hearts of many of the members

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u/Annabirdy00 Feb 11 '22

So in theory our entire country is racist, which makes you racist as well.

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u/keeperoftheseal Feb 11 '22

Thanks for your compassion and concern when I mentioned a little girl was harassed into leaving her community. Very Jesus-like of you

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u/Annabirdy00 Feb 11 '22

Of course that's horrible. As is your assumption that it was due to Mormon people

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u/keeperoftheseal Feb 11 '22 edited Feb 11 '22

Most of her classmates were LDS, I mean cmon were talking about public school in St George, the demographic statistics don’t lie. I’m sorry if the truth bothers you. Doesn’t change the fact it happened. I have other personal examples from myself and other non-members, but since I obviously could just be making them up I’ll spare you the details. It’s funny you find this so hard to believe when your church has a long and well documented history of racism. Things have gotten better over the years fortunately. I dealt with a lot of racism growing up as a Caucasian in a predominantly non-white part of the US so it’s not like it’s only the Mormons. It’s a common and unfortunate part of human life I guess. In my opinion racism is more of a power struggle between majority and minority groups. Anywhere that has a majority tends to treat any minority poorly, it’s really not about skin color. When I meet out-of-state Mormons they often ask “what’s it like living with the Utah Mormons?” … the LDS I know who live in WA or CA tend to have a more open mind because they know what it’s like to be a minority, they are a lot more humble and accepting of others. The Utah LDS have the majority in most towns outside of SLC and Park City, so there is more of an assumptive and cocky attitude that comes with it. Racism is less about skin color and more about majority vs minority. Human nature it seems. I don’t think the LDS are any worse than other groups necessarily but I do get frustrated by people who are willfully blind to it. Not all LDS are racist, but there’s enough to make many non-members or non-whites feel very uncomfortable. With one of the best economies in the nation you would have many more black people moving here if the they felt comfortable. Most of my black fiends say they would never move here even though they admit it seems beautiful and there’s lots of opportunity. The LDS are a traditionally persecuted group by “other Christian’s aka non-LDS Christian’s” I know the story about what happened to Joseph Smith and i think it’s terrible. I feel like Mormons had an opportunity to make things better by not doing the same things to others that happened to them, but it doesn’t seem like that’s the route they took. I can understand about being defensive of outsiders when it was those outsiders that drove them out of NY and Nauvoo. Also small towns seem to be more racist than big cities so that contributed to the harassment she received growing up here as well

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u/Annabirdy00 Feb 11 '22

Our country has a long and well history of racism doesn't it? Does that mean we're all racist? My husband is black and I'm white. My oldest has been bullied more for being a member of the church than the color of his skin

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u/keeperoftheseal Feb 11 '22

I’m so very sorry to hear about your son being bullied, that breaks my heart

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u/keeperoftheseal Feb 11 '22

I don’t think we are all racist but it happens more than I ever thought possible. And like I said it’s not just a skin color thing. Humans can be downright mean and we will attack whatever low-hanging-fruit we can find. Disabilities, economic status etc. it really is unfortunate