All Abraham’s Children
By Armand L. Mauss
Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle
On 4/16/2003
University of Illinois Press , 2003. Hardback:
343 pages.
ISBN: 0-252-02803-1
Suggested retail price: $36.95 (US)
Matters of race and ethnicity have been with us throughout the span of recorded history. I’m not aware of any time when the exclusionary impulse has not been a part of the motivating rationale of clan and tribe. Determining who is “in” and who is “out” is often central to tribal definition, and as such merits the attention not just of anthropologists, but of sociologists and religionists as well.
Mauss, a sociologist by training, is also a Latter-day Saint, and thus takes a special interest in such matters within his own faith community. Indeed, the subtitle of the present work is “Changing Mormon Conceptions of Race and Lineage.” And Mauss, having studied this subject for many decades, is in a unique position to pull together the research and discussions that have proliferated within Mormonism, especially in light of an ongoing awareness of the weakness of its own historical positions.
“All Abraham’s Children” focuses on Mormonism’s relationship to three major groups: the Lamanites (racial descendants of the rebellious eldest son of Lehi in the Book of Mormon), the Jews, and those of “African lineage.” Each study presents its own unique problems, as will be seen shortly.
Identifying racial attitudes within Mormonism can be a tricky enterprise. Because Mormonism accepts the idea of “continuing revelation” — the capacity to clarify or even change direction with a single commandment from the Lord — it is not surprising that such attitudes will vary over a period of over 150 years. And when one considers the radical shifts in American society during that period, with strong advances not only in race relations but also in our understanding of the nature of revelation and the place of historicity in the revelatory process, it is to be expected that beliefs and attitudes will change.
The larger question within Mormonism involves the degree to which social mores and cultural demands impact the beliefs of a church based on revelation. When, for example, the priesthood was opened to all worthy males in 1979, critics questioned whether the change was mandated by God, or by pressures brought on by society and the state, or perhaps a combination of both.
And here is where Mauss makes a remarkable contribution to our understanding of these matters. Meticulously researched and, happily, told in an interesting and compact way, Mauss brings us through the complex and sometimes contradictory world of the Mormon journey toward racial understanding. He studies not just the trends within the Church, but the intersection of those trends with the larger society. I believe it is only in this context that his subject can be understood.
Mauss begins his treatment with an interesting survey of American attitudes toward its indigenous Indian population. Theories of an Israelite origin of the American Indians were not peculiar to Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Such claims were common at the time; Joseph’s ideas would not have been so unique.
What was different, however, was the esteem in which the Indians (“Lamanites”) were held among the Mormons. Indians were bound to be treated better by the Mormons than by others. And even though the relationship between the Indians and the Mormons was not always ideal, on balance, Indians fared much better when united with the Mormons.
About half the book is dedicated to the subject of the “Lamanites.” He explores the role of scholarship (and pseudo-scholarship) in formulating the “Lamanite identity,” a vexing problem in Mormon circles. He likewise shows the pendulum-like swings in Mormonism’s attention to the question. It is a fascinating story.
Mauss follows with a two-chapter study of Mormonism’s attitudes toward Jews, its unique relationship with the Jewish people, and manifestations of anti-semitism within the Mormon community. There is a focus on the peculiar Mormon belief, taught early on but not much mentioned these days, that the blood of coverts to Mormonism undergoes a literal change — one that physically identifies them with the blood line of the tribe of Ephraim. In this day of DNA and advanced science, such a claim is difficult to support. But it does provide a context for an understanding (in Mauss’ words) of the “dual partnership and blood tie” between Mormons and Jews.
The second chapter dealing with this subject is basically an historical and statistical overview of Mormon attitudes toward Jews over the years. It contains interesting data and much food for thought.
Mauss then deals with the subject of Mormonism and people of color. Here “inspired assumptions” (see below) run rampant. The “curse of Cain” is dealt with in its own chapter, along with efforts to distance itself from the assumptions about black skin that have survived generations of Mormonism. How did the doctrine of “no priesthood for Negroes” develop? Did Joseph Smith himself subscribe to it? What were the results of the official declaration opening the priesthood to all worthy males? And how did Mormonism confront the fluid civil rights issue in the U.S.? Mauss answers all these questions, and more.
Stylistically, Mauss begins each chapter with a series of citations from authoritative Mormon voices. In doing so, he illustrates how shifting attitudes accompany shifting times. An example: heading up chapter 3, “From Lamanites to Indians” (page 41), are the following quotes. The first is from Orson Pratt:
What says the Book of Mormon in relation to the building up of the New Jerusalem on this continent…? Does not that book say that the Lamanites are to be the principal operators in that important work, and that those who embrace the Gospel from among the Gentiles are to have the privilege of assisting the Lamanites to build up the city called the New Jerusalem?
The next (quoted in part) is from Bruce R. McConkie:
An occasional whiff of nonsense goes around the Church acclaiming that the Lamanites will build the temple in the New Jerusalem and that Ephraim and others will come to their assistance.
How does one account for such a clear discrepancy in the words of two men held in very high regard in their Church’s intellectual circles? They can’t both be right. And, in fact, McConkie is downright dismissive when referring to an idea promoted by a respected thinker, albeit of a different period.
And therein is a key to understanding Mauss’ work. If one is searching for a single “Mormon attitude” toward any particular racial group, you simply won’t find it. The accepted view changes over the years. New thinkers, new prophets, alter not just attitudes, but the underlying “facts” that inform those attitudes.
Consider for example, the Church’s position concerning the “Lamanites.” Given that no generally accepted view of Book of Mormon archaeology has ever been promulgated by the Church, and given that the Lamanites are described as being descendants of some of the Book of Mormon peoples, it would appear to be bit of a sticky thing to clearly identify any particular racial group as “Lamanite.”
But despite general agreement on Book of Mormon archaeology, certain peoples have been, at times, identified as “Lamanites,” the American Indians being a prominent example. In order to make the facts fit the theory, some scholars have had to promulgate a view of where the Book of Mormon lands are. But nothing of certainty has come forth as of yet.
Absent particular revelation, Mormonism has nurtured a particular process that I am calling “inspired assumption.” It can be seen in ward meetings, Sunday schools, Institute classes, in fact, virtually anywhere the Saints are gathered. Anecdotal evidence suggests that attitudes among the Mormons are often defined by such “inspired assumptions.” Lacking a trained clergy, such gatherings are often fertile ground for baseless teachings and giant leaps of understanding.
Mauss does a masterful job of pointing to the existence of assumptions as a continuing problem in the Church. For example, note these brief excerpts from his chapter 9, “The Campaign to Cast Off the Curse of Cain”:
It is not clear how much the lingering racial myths in the Mormon religious heritage affect missionary work or the congregational relationships between blacks and whites. (p. 261)To repudiate any of the cherished religious lore of their immediate ancestors seems to some Mormons, especially the older ones, to be almost a repudiation of the grandparents themselves, to say nothing of their teachers, who might have walked with God. (p. 262)
Further reading in this, perhaps the best chapter in the book, studies the effects of both religious, and family, legends in the perpetuation of stereotypes and the sometimes-astonishing longevity of cherished, but wrong, beliefs.
At heart, Mauss is a sociologist. And so it should come as no surprise that his focus throughout the work is on the interaction of society with Church doctrine and practice. His conclusions may be a bit discomfiting to some Latter-day Saints who have heretofore not studied out the issues as carefully as has Mauss. And, to be sure, the temptation to make the book larger and more complex must have been overwhelming. As a scholar and a student, Mauss no doubt had a considerable body of data from which to choose.
But his goal was to be understandable, not necessarily exhaustive. And he accomplishes this very nicely. The non-scholar will find this book readable and intriguing; the scholar is given sufficient reference with which he or she may pursue any particular angle of study.
I’m very glad to have read this book. It is an important addition to the corpus of writing concerning Mormonism and racial identity. It approaches its subject with objectivity and with courage. And readers will find herein a cogent and understandable study of a problem that continues to vex the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, written by one of their own, from a standpoint of sound scholarship and deep respect.
I highly recommend this book. It’s fully worth the cover price.