People have asked me, "How can you, as a black man, be a member of the Mormon Church? Is the Church racist?" or "I thought the Church was racist." What I tell them is that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most racially unifying organizations in the history of the world. It is powerful in its potential to help all of the human family see one another as children of God. I think that black people and white people and Asians and Hispanics and Aboriginal people from all over the world are coming together in the gospel, in Christ, and are becoming one under the banner of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's as if part of the marvelous work and a wonder that was prophesied would come about in these last days, which we know is the gospel of Jesus Christ, includes unity of the human family. The Book of Mormon is one of the most racially unifying books in the world. It's the only book of scripture where God explicitly tells people of one color to reach out across color barriers to those of another color with the gospel of Jesus Christ, where God organizes a society in the context of a large family--I'm thinking of Lehi and Sariah--who have children who then become divided and assume different colors and different cultures. But throughout their history, God tells the righteous of whatever color to reach out to those of the other color. And ultimately, in 4 Nephi, He brings that whole family back to one in Christ. And the scriptures say, "Surely there could not be a happier people among all the people ... created by the hand of God." And I think that's what God wants for His children in these latter days.
