Tomicka Barnes — Part 1

.1 examines the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from a biblical perspective viewpoint when Mormonism is sponsored by Mormonism research ministry since 1979 Mormonism research ministry has been dedicated to equipping the body of Christ with answers regarding the Christian faith in a manner that expresses gentleness and respect. And now, your host for today's viewpoint on Mormonism. So glad you could join us for this additional viewpoint on Mormonism. I'm your host Bill McKeever Feldman director Mormonism research ministry with me today is Eric Johnson. My colleague at M. R. M.

In the August 2019 edition of inside magazine there is a very short article on page 6 that features a portrait of faith.

That's what that category is called portraits of faith and it features a young black Mormon woman by the name of I believe it's pronounced Tamika Barnes DOM ICK a.

She's from Alabama where specifically the article does not say, but she is a member who apparently lives in the South and in this section. In this portraits of faith.

It talks about a crisis of faith that Tamika Barnes had when she started learning about some of Mormonism's history regarding what was known as the priesthood ban.

Now what is that for those of you who are not familiar with some of the background of Mormonism. For much of the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Those of African descent. Those of African heritage were not allowed to hold the priesthood, either Melchizedek or Aaronic.

They were not allowed to go to the temple to be sealed with their families for time and eternity, like other members in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in June 1978. This was all abandoned. It was reversed and the door was open for all faithful male members to hold the priesthood, including those of African descent and Mormon couples who were of African descent could also go to the temple and be sealed for time and eternity. Just like other members. That's what she's going to be referring to.

Now in this article on page 6 there is a picture of her. She seems to be a very nice young lady plana like a ukulele and in the picture. There's a little box looks, salmon colored where it says Discover more it says Seymour about Tamika's journey of faith including additional photos in the digital version of this article in the Gospel library app or at &.Church of Jesus Christ.org that's what were going to be reading from because the article itself is basically outside of a caption under the picture of her. There's four very short paragraphs. One of those is just a sentence. And so we thought we would go with the digital version that this article is referring people to go see and there is a little bit more information in there, although not a whole lot more.

But we feel that it's important to give you the whole picture instead of just the encapsulated version that you will find in the hard copy of the August 2019 edition of enzyme, though I think just having this article in the August 2019 edition of the insight magazine does something very clearly and the church is still having to deal with people talking about the revelation that supposedly took place in 1978. It hasn't gone away and I don't think they would have printed this unless they had thought that they needed to deal with this issue once again, because there's no special anniversary that 40th anniversary was in 2018 and nothing that would be historical. That would seem to bring this article into line and then the idea of this very short article they left a lot of room on the bottom where they could probably put the entire Internet version on here. I'm surprised they didn't do that because were only talking about another three or four or five paragraphs that they could've probably fit in in the picture is two thirds of the pages of pages six and seven I think you raise in excellent point, or even a couple of points here Eric because you're right, there is no reason to be talking about this in the August 2019 edition of inside like you say the 40th anniversary was 2018+ there is plenty of room. I think if they had just redesigned the two pages we see the picture in the short little article he could easily put the whole thing on those two pages with no problem whatsoever, but instead they want you to go find this article on the electronic version. Why is that I don't know. Is there some sinister reason behind it.

I don't know if a medical that far but certainly I would say it would've been very easy for the reader to have the whole article in front of them and I just want to make one more point on page 6.

The one column of what could have been three columns is the article and her small picture but we have more of a blank wall on page 6. Then pretty much the entire article of Tamika Barnes her small picture and the paragraphs were to be reading from let's look at the digital edition and let's read from it. What is it say Eric at the very beginning. It says it wasn't learning about the priesthood ban that shook Tamika's faith. It was a speculation behind that restriction put forward by some Latter Day Saints. Tamika faced a choice walk away from the church or hold to the rod, thanks to the book of Mormon. She held tight.

Let's dissect that for a little bit because a person who has no in-depth understanding about the priesthood ban would wonder what is this word speculation would is it talking about.

This is exactly what it's talking about when the church reversed its position in 1978 all of the reasons that were given up until 1978 for restricting those of African descent from having the priesthood all of a sudden was relegated to the realm of speculation. In other words, if you were to ask modern Latter Day Saints.

Why were Blacks banned from holding the priesthood. Don't be surprised if they say something like we don't know. In other words, all of the explanations given by the leadership of the church was all of a sudden relegated to the realm of speculation even though these statements came from profits and apostles in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, even first presidency statements now. If you're Latter Day Saints and you're listening to this I'm going to ask you this question. Do you really believe for a minute that the position found in a first presidency statement is mere speculation all wait. Be honest with yourself, you know it's not speculation. First presidency statements don't work that way. That's not speculation, but in this opening paragraph it says it was the speculation behind that restriction put forward by some latter-day Saints. Now the question is who are the sum in the Latter Day Saints are referring to is exactly now. It doesn't explain in this article how much in-depth research.

Ms. Barnes did in order to come to the conclusion that she comes to and that is of course to just ignore it and be a faithful Mormon. It doesn't tell us this, we don't know who she's talking about.

We don't know what this opening paragraph is really saying to us when it talks about some Latter Day Saints if she was led to believe that the some Latter Day Saints were just mere members in the church that she may have heard say something to that effect that this restriction had some reasons here there and everywhere I could see why she could easily dismiss it as well. That's just in Ward.

Rumor and naturally because she doesn't like what she hears. It would be easy to dismiss it. But what if in fact the some Latter Day Saints mentioned in this paragraph were, in fact, as I said earlier prophets and apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or even perhaps some of her fellow members who were telling her things that they had gotten from those very same prophets and apostles.

Well, as this paragraph goes on. Tamika faced a choice walk away from the church or hold to the rod, thanks to the book of Mormon. She held tight now were going to go into to paragraphs that are not found in the hardcopy version. What does it say in that first paragraph.

I grew up in the church I attended primary and went through the young women program. I loved it my best friends were Latter Day Saints. When I went away to college. However, my activity in the church wasn't as great as it should have been.

I never had a doubt that the gospel was true, but after college I was reading about the priesthood ban on African-Americans. It really began to bother me, not so much the band but what people said were the reasons for the band that's interesting that she says it that way.

It really began to bother me, not so much the band, why wouldn't the band bother you. I would think the band would bother you.

Why in the world should certain members because of their skin color be restricted from holding this very important priesthood because of Mormonism priesthood is everything but yet because of your skin color because of where your people came from. You're not allowed to hold this very important position or office in the church. Why would not bother, but she says it wasn't so much the band but what people said were the reasons for the band bill back in April 2019. I was in Memphis Tennessee outside the Temple open house that was occurring there and I ended up talking to a man who was an African-American who was thinking about joining the church had been going through lessons with the missionaries for over a year and so when a friend and I were telling him about some of the issues with the ban on Blacks being able to hold the priesthood before 1978 he had not heard of that and then as we got further and further into it. He looked at us. After about a half-hour of this and he said I never knew this and I have to do some more research but if what you're telling me is true, I can't join this church in good conscience, and I think that perhaps there are a lot of people out there who may not know, especially the further away you get from Utah.

There's not a whole lot of information available unless you go to the Internet and apparently people were not telling this man the missionaries were not at least telling him about the issue that I think is very important as I think Tamika is making clear in the in her article.

It's also fascinating to me Eric that she says but after college I was reading about the priesthood ban on African-Americans. She doesn't say where she's getting this material she may have been reading one of the gospel topics essays. I don't know that only goes back to the year 2013 was that when this all happened. We don't know these kind of details are not given to us in the article, but she said she was reading about the priesthood ban on African-Americans. If the way it's described in the gospel topics essays is what she was reading. I don't know why she would have a huge crisis because there's even though that gospel topics essay dealing with race and the priesthood brings a lot of information that probably a lot of Latter Day Saints were unfamiliar with. It still covers up in my opinion a lot of things that should've been in that essay that just were not in that essay.

So which you've had such a crisis of conscience just by reading the gospel topics essay again, we don't know what she's reading is she looking at websites that are critical of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and if so I'm sure she probably read more than she would've liked because I think those kind of websites, including hours MRM.org we try to put as much information as we possibly can so you get a more rounded understanding the bigger picture of the doctrine and the historical aspect that were trying to get across.

Tomorrow were going to continue looking at this very short article in the August 2019 edition of inside magazine that is a portrait of faith regarding this member, Tamika Barnes, thank you for listening.

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