Racist Elder Stapley Letter To Gov. George Romney

[cjcampbell]

Both sides on any given issue can sometimes play the 'race' card unduly. I have no doubt about that...

I struggled for a long time trying to fathom why so many of those who claimed to be opposed to racism were in fact extremely racist themselves. It occurred to me to ask a question: If you think you have something to gain by calling your enemies racists, what does that say about yourself?

Rather, if you think so many people are so easily manipulated, what does that say about your basic view of mankind?

Politicians on both sides play the race card not because they do not believe that people of other races are inferior. They play it precisely because of their low opinion of those of other races! And of mankind in general! The only sort of person who publicly reviles another for racism is one who thinks the rest of us are idiots.

[RenegadeOfPhunk]

The only sort of person who publicly reviles another for racism is one who thinks the rest of us are idiots.

Hmmm. I don't know if I really agree with this - as a blanket rule I mean. There were certainly times then - and there are still times now - when a spade just has to be called a spade.

...in this particular case though? I can clearly see the political reasons for doing this, and - on that very specific point - I don't think highly of it. Besides - I don't think it was particularly effective either. If the point is to try and say that church attitudes will affect Romney's judgement in office, doesn't the example actually point away from that conclusion?! I see no evidence that Mitt Romney's father took one bit of notice of Stapley's 'advice'.

Doesn't the example actually point towards non-conformity in LDS attitude, and not bowing to LDS authority on any given issue?

But anyway, I accept the central point you are making. I just think that if all LDS replies were as fair-minded and as intelligent as yours, there wouldn't be much point in going for the 'race-bait' in the first place.

But it's a seperate point...

[DH]

I was glad to see that Elder Stapley made it clear that the letter was his personal opinion, and not something official from the Church. Though I abhor his attitude towards the blacks, I don't think he was an evil man. As a friend of mine says, people are "bundles of contradictions." In other words, an otherwise good person may do/think/believe/say something bad. That's not an excuse for adhering to bad beliefs or doing bad things, but a recognition that that's not all there is to a person. It's great that George Romney proceeded to stick to his convictions and pursue civil rights despite what Elder Stapley said.

DH

[kamenraider]

I wonder if Elder Stapley also thought there was a connection between the writing of Stephen G. Taggart's book, and his death before it was published.

[cjcampbell]

Hmmm. I don't know if I really agree with this - as a blanket rule I mean. There were certainly times then - and there are still times now - when a spade just has to be called a spade.

[RenegadeOfPhunk]

cjcampbell,

Ermm - ok

I'm here all week. Try the veal...

Just so we are clear, I do NOT see the letter cited in the OP as an instance of calling 'a spade a spade'. And I don't mean the content of the letter. I mean the act of making it public, and highlighting it...

[BlueDreams]

I am surprised that there is no thread on this already. I was intending just to lurk and see what people here had to say about the letter published in the Boston Globe from Apostle Elder Delbert Stapley to then Governor George Romney, but as it's not here already...

In short, Elder Stapley takes Gov. Romney to task for being progressive on civil rights as it is not in harmony with the gospel. To the Governor's credit, apparently he stepped up his efforts on endorsing civil rights a bit following receipt of the letter.

The letter can be read here.

There are lots of pertinent topics that this brings up, e.g., an apostle attempting to influence policy of a sitting governor, or the fortitude of standing for something contrary to the direct advice of an apostle, but in my view there are two insightful blogs discussing the letter from a more crucial angle. One at By common consent and the other at Main street plaza. Both are efforts to grapple at what it means to have something so ugly associated with something you hold dear. It is not easy to reconcile that many of the most horrifying attitudes and perpetrations in history have come from otherwise 'good' people. It is even more difficult when those 'good' people are ours.

An especially prescient comment comes from Aaron Brown on the BCC blog

There is also a hand written note in the margin saying that he (Romney) replied. It would certainly be interesting to know what he replied.

I think the first part of the letter said enough to me. It's personal thought and he was wrong. More so, it's personal thought common to those day and gone now. A shame? Yes. But I don't hold it against them. In the not so long run, these things were corrected and the majority of society has moved passed them and continues to do so.

With luv,

BD

[cjcampbell]

This reminds me of the reason the Israelites had to wander through the wilderness for 40 years. They had to wait for the older generation with all their traditions to die off. It is very true we are products of our society and upbringing and it may take a lot to do away with those things. That may be the very reason the Lord waited so long to lift the Priesthood ban. My generation was one which began to question those traditions and to look for more equality, and our children in turn wonder what all the fuss was about. Unfortunately there are still some of my generation who chose to pass on prejudices to their children, but fortunately those are a minority.

Heck, I know one young fellow who said to me, "When 10% of the population is responsible for 90% of the crime, you have to know that it is hereditary." <sigh> It isn't just the older generation, and I guess thinking that it is is just another irrational generalization.

[katherine the great]

The most interesting thing I see about this letter is that it is a resident of Utah giving political advice to the governor of Michigan. The only common tie between the two men is clearly the church. This letter would obviously make most modern LDS Americans cringe, but Utah was extremely racist during this time. They still weren't as racist, however, as southerners of the time (or even now in some parts of the South.) I think the civil rights movement brought about changes in spite of this letter or other efforts to the contrary, so things are progressing as they should be.

[ruski_canuk]

Are you suggesting that Romney's increased efforts came as a result of receiving this letter?

What is your evidence?

Having lived through the 50s and 60s, I have to say that somewhere along the way, the civil

rights movement acquired baggage that has devastated the African American culture, especially

with regards to the strong family ethos it once had, and specifically to the effects it has had

on black American men. In the future, there will be many, many more who will hang their heads

in shame over what has happened to this good people, and mostly they will be those who have exploited

the Blacks and extracted power from that exploitation - both within

the ranks of black and white American leadership. Those are the truly horrible men. In many

ways, black Americans remain slaves today...slaves of a welfare state that was supposedly created

to free them from oppression, but which has had just the opposite effect. In reading Elder Stapley's

personal letter, I find no evidence that he wished upon black Americans what has actually happened

to them. I believe he, too, would mourn the devastation brought on them by supposedly well-intentioned

political and religious leaders.

Bernard

Nice post Bernard. Curiously, we are never contented with actual equality and believe that 2 wrongs make a right. Too bad things like affirmative action and native treatises exist which perpetuate hatred, poverty and injustice. I remember a great black economist (can't remember the name) who advocated against these handouts.

Renegade: what kind of liberal ? That term has no meaning nowadays as it has been hijacked by pseudo-communists of all stripes.

[Garden Girl]

In any of these types of posts regarding blacks and Mormonism, the thing I find wearisome is the hypocracy of pointing a finger at the Mormons because of the priesthood ban (not membership ban, and there were black Church members in that era) as opposed to the various denominations and individuals who did not allow blacks to join their congregations... who would attend their segregated church on Sundays preaching brotherly love, and then the rest of the week still require blacks to drink from different water fountains... go to the bathroom on different toilets... to not join certain organizations, sports, or social clubs... as you well know, the list could go on and on and was widespread across the country at that time. I never see anyone blasting those denominations or individuals. It's always the Mormons and the priesthood ban...

In June 1995 the Southern Baptist Convention apologized to blacks for its racist beginnings (SBC broke away from the Amer Bap Assoc in 1840's so its members could continue to own slaves). I don't see the same criticism of SBC as LDS... SBC has some of the strongest critics of LDS, even here on this board, including condemning the priesthood ban...

Fortunately, everyone has come a long way, and must continue to make every effort to assure continued progress...

The only reason to bring up the Stapley letter is to try and discredit Romney for being LDS, and the LDS Church... but I think it was Renegade that pointed out that this fails because it shows that Gov Geo Romney did not allow the "Church" or even an individual member, an apostle yet, to interfere in his judgment on the issues... and I don't foresee Mitt Romney doing so either...

The Garden Girl

[katherine the great]

In any of these types of posts regarding blacks and Mormonism, the thing I find wearisome is the hypocracy of pointing a finger at the Mormons because of the priesthood ban (not membership ban, and there were black Church members in that era) as opposed to the various denominations and individuals who did not allow blacks to join their congregations... who would attend their segregated church on Sundays preaching brotherly love, and then the rest of the week still require blacks to drink from different water fountains...

The Garden Girl

I think that the problem most people have with it (and I admit that I struggle with it as well) is that we do claim to be the one true church and our prophets claim to be God's mouthpiece on earth. From that perspective, we would expect our church to lead the world when truth is manifest, not be among the last to jump on the bandwagon. Yes, our leaders are human and subject to very human flaws, but I don't think it unreasonable to have the basic expectation that an apostle of God would be somewhat more inspired and in tune with God's will than the average, everyday person. Those are my thoughts anyway.

[Avatar4321]

Is there any real evidence that this is an accurate record? I cant imagine the Romney family would release something like this, nor can i imagine that a critic who had something like this would have waited for decades until Romney was running for President. Sorry but something smells funny.

[Avatar4321]

I wonder if Elder Stapley also thought there was a connection between the writing of Stephen G. Taggart's book, and his death before it was published.

I wonder if Elder Stapley actually wrote said letter. And im honestly quite amazed how fast some of you are just assuming it is.

[ruski_canuk]

Is there any real evidence that this is an accurate record? I cant imagine the Romney family would release something like this, nor can i imagine that a critic who had something like this would have waited for decades until Romney was running for President. Sorry but something smells funny.

[blessing]

Let that skepticism flow through your body that you address every claim of truth or authenticity in a similar fashion!

[/blessing]

[katherine the great]

I wonder if Elder Stapley actually wrote said letter. And im honestly quite amazed how fast some of you are just assuming it is.

That is a good point. Apparently the letter was leaked to the press, but what steps did they take to have the document authenticated? After the Mark Hoffman fiasco, we should all be wary of forgeries.

[SolarPowered]

After the Mark Hoffman fiasco, we should all be wary of forgeries.

Not only the Mark Hoffman debacle, but in the last presidential election we had exactly this sort of shenanigan with the Dan Rather forgeries. And with many Democrats feeling that they were unjustly and immorally "swift-boated" in that election, I suspect that there are not a few who would feel perfectly justified in cranking out this sort of thing.

That said, neither would I be entirely shocked if the letter were to prove authentic.

[katherine the great]

That said, neither would I be entirely shocked if the letter were to prove authentic.

Neither would I, but I would like know what measures were taken to authenticate it. I think we can also learn a valuable lesson to never put in print that which we would not want the whole world to some day know!

[Avatar4321]

Not only the Mark Hoffman debacle, but in the last presidential election we had exactly this sort of shenanigan with the Dan Rather forgeries. And with many Democrats feeling that they were unjustly and immorally "swift-boated" in that election, I suspect that there are not a few who would feel perfectly justified in cranking out this sort of thing.

That said, neither would I be entirely shocked if the letter were to prove authentic.

I would be shocked, not because of any of the content, but because i cant possibly think of any reason any critic of the Church who would have it would wait this long to share it and I cant imagine the Romney family letting a letter like this out if they had it.

[kamenraider]

I thought maybe one of Mitt Romney's people put the letter out in order to demonstrate that George Romney was independent from the LDS church leaders as far as his political platform and personal views were concerned. I thought this because the attached note points out that George stepped up his support for civil rights after receiving the letter in spite of Elder Stapley's counsel against doing so.

[Hawkmoon]

Thank you in return.

And this is where I'll have to respectfully disagree.

Civil rights does not equal big goverment.

Civil rights does not equal socialism. (I can be an all-out nothing-but capitalism nutball, and still be 'equal rights'. It just means that - for instance - I think all races have every right to out-earn any other race they like. Yes, I'm being overly simplistic, but I'm not the one who wants to divert the thread into these kinds of topics. Philosophy regarding social monatery systems shouldn't be forced into other social issues hap-handedly...).

I'm sorry, but I see this as an attempt to make the issue at hand into other issues - without due warrant.

Now, if you have evidence that when Stapler talked about civil rights, he meant 'all these other things', then by all means - let's see it.

But until then, I see that you (and others) feel it appropiate to link all these issues together. And nothing more...

I don't think you know what capitalism is to be frank... at least not from the gist of your post as I am reading it. However, while I agree that Civil Rights, in and of itself, has little to do with Big Government... the simple fact is-- Civil Rights as it was implemented and is used today does in fact equate to Big Government. In this respect Bernard is spot on, IMO.

[gitxsanartist]

It is a very ego-centric perspective that tries to evaluate others by the standards of a different time. Historically speaking, Elder Stapley was a product of his time and upbringing. In 40 years time, it may be that someone will judge you harshly for a point of view that has changed for the better. Our culture today continues to be racist in many ways; perhaps not quite as overtly as those who were already senior citizens in the 1960's, but certainly we are incredibly racist today. I am old enough to remember that era and to know that Elder Stapley may not have been able to overcome his limited understanding of the racial issues of that day but he was not a "horrible man."

May I suggest you take the time to understand the world of the past and others before jumping to conclusions about their morality?

I think we can realize that alot of what he said was simply because he was a product of his time. The part that makes all of us cringe is that he justifies this racism with teaching of the prophet Joseph Smith. He explains that the racist attitudes and behavior is actually part of God's plan and therefore it raises the uneasy question in our minds, does it still apply today?

[katherine the great]

I would be shocked, not because of any of the content, but because i cant possibly think of any reason any critic of the Church who would have it would wait this long to share it and I cant imagine the Romney family letting a letter like this out if they had it.

Maybe it wasn't in the possession of the Romney family. It could have been filed away with official correspondence by mistake.

[Hawkmoon]

That is the public reason given.

In reality, many on the left are just as racist in every sense of the word as many on the right. For instance, Steve Sailer at www.isteve.com has been outspoken for many years on racial / gender issues and the hypocrisy of the left on those subjects. And he's been labeled racist for being so.

[sarcasm] But who would do the menial work that real Americans refuse to do? [/sarcasm]

[Hawkmoon]

Nice post Bernard. Curiously, we are never contented with actual equality and believe that 2 wrongs make a right. Too bad things like affirmative action and native treatises exist which perpetuate hatred, poverty and injustice. I remember a great black economist (can't remember the name) who advocated against these handouts.

Renegade: what kind of liberal ? That term has no meaning nowadays as it has been hijacked by pseudo-communists of all stripes.

Perhaps Thomas Sowell... a great man he is.