A Latter-day Saint Case for Reparations

 

Fearing that Mormon settlers would bring free black people with them to Missouri, local militias attacked the church’s publication house in Jackson County in July of 1833. They destroyed personal and church property. They attempted to destroy the only printed copies of The Book of Commandments, a book which would later become the Doctrine and Covenants. 

The mob dragged Bishop Edward Partridge and Charles Allen into the street. Saints, the church’s narrative history, describes the violence: 

“Call upon your Jesus!” a voice cried out. The mob shoved Edward and Charles to the ground, and Hicks began stripping off the bishop’s clothes. Edward resisted, and someone in the crowd demanded that Hicks let the bishop keep his shirt and trousers on. Relenting, Hicks tore away Edward’s hat, coat, and vest and turned him over to the mob. 

Two men stepped forward and covered the prisoners head to foot in tar and feathers. The tar burned, eating away at their skin like acid. 

Joseph Smith, who from miles away knew of the violence but not the degree, penned a revelation that is now D&C 98, the apparent word of the Lord concerning how the saints should respond and how God would respond to the violence committed in Missouri. 

“And I, the Lord, would fight their battles,” the prophet wrote, “and their children’s battles, and their children’s children’s, until they had avenged themselves on all their enemies, to the third and fourth generation.” (D&C 98:37) 

Now, there are two kinds of revelations in the D&C: Revelations that dictate doctrine, and revelations that offer specific instruction for specific situations. Some sections blur the lines between these two categories. D&C 98 is an example of that second kind. The Lord was responding to a specific situation. But the way the Lord deals with this situation is enlightening. It reveals the kind of God we worship. It reveals something about how God deals with his children, and what framework of justice he operates on. Also, the Lord specifically says, “Behold, this is an ensample unto all people, saith the Lord your God, for justification before me.” (verse 38) 

If you thought that this post was going to be about the state of Missouri paying reparations to current Latter-day Saints, I am sorry to disappoint you. There are so many subjective steps in the revelation, so it’s hard to determine, for instance, if the violence in this isolated case was made up for in subsequent years. It does seem to me, though, that God’s justice is mostly restorative--that he is more concerned with restoration of loss than retribution. And if the current economic standing of the church and its members is any indication, perhaps the price has already been made up many times over for the property loss of 1833. And if the civil war’s impact on Missouri is any indication, the people of Missouri have received more than their share of violence in regard to how they treated settlers from the antebellum north. In short, I don’t think your Mormon reparations check is going to come in the mail alongside your stimulus check in 2021, nor do I think it should. 

But here’s the point I do want to make. If God is the kind of God who demands restoration for mistreatment even across generations, and if he is willing to fight his children’s battles, enacting vengeance upon the descendants of the perpetrators of violence, then American members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should be the fiercest possible advocates for reparations paid to the descendants of American slaves. 

Let’s review a little more of D&C 98. 

You know Jesus said to forgive people 70 x 7, right? He has more to say on the topic. 

39 And again, verily I say unto you, if after thine enemy has come upon thee the first time, he repent and come unto thee praying thy forgiveness, thou shalt forgive him, and shalt hold it no more as a testimony against thine enemy— 

40 And so on unto the second and third time; and as oft as thine enemy repenteth of the trespass wherewith he has trespassed against thee, thou shalt forgive him, until seventy times seven. 

41 And if he trespass against thee and repent not the first time, nevertheless thou shalt forgive him. 

42 And if he trespass against thee the second time, and repent not, nevertheless thou shalt forgive him. 

43 And if he trespass against thee the third time, and repent not, thou shalt also forgive him. 

So God expects us to forgive freely, whether or not those who trespass against us admit fault and ask for forgiveness. But he offers the saints a limit. 

44 But if he trespass against thee the fourth time thou shalt not forgive him, but shalt bring these testimonies before the Lord; and they shall not be blotted out until he repent and reward thee four-fold in all things wherewith he has trespassed against thee. 

If someone trespasses against you 4 times without any sign of penitence, God expects that person to restore what was lost unto you by 4. 

45 And if he do this, thou shalt forgive him with all thine heart; and if he do not this, I, the Lord, will avenge thee of thine enemy an hundred-fold; 

So if the enemy does not restore justice. God will take it by force by 100. But he does make it clear in the revelation that this might not happen for generations (I assume most often on the other side of mortality). 

46 And upon his children, and upon his children’s children of all them that hate me, unto the third and fourth generation. 

Now might be a good time to start counting. Did slave owners trespass against those they enslaved more than 4 times? Yes. Every day enslaved is a gross violation of a person’s human rights. Did slave owners repent after 4 trespasses? No. While there are likely cases of slave owners who not only freed their slaves but empowered them to move beyond slavery with financial support, the south literally fought a war to defend the institution of slavery and withhold restoration from black Americans. During post-war reconstruction, white southerners fought even harder to oppress black southerners. In the Jim Crow era and beyond, black suffering was further compounded through segregation, redlining, limitations on voting rights, workplace discrimination, the prison-industrial complex, a racist war on drugs, and many many other human rights abuses that continue today. 

I don’t know all of the ins and outs of how God deals with the most heinous of sins humans can commit and their intergenerational effects. But it seems like if he really does deal in the sort of justice described in D&C 98, then the descendants of slave owners are likely in danger of immense amounts of divine wrath. Unless they repent, including a restoration of what was lost by fourfold: 

47 But if the children shall repent, or the children’s children, and turn to the Lord their God, with all their hearts and with all their might, mind, and strength, and restore four-fold for all their trespasses wherewith they have trespassed, or wherewith their fathers have trespassed, or their fathers’ fathers, then thine indignation shall be turned away; 

48 And vengeance shall no more come upon them, saith the Lord thy God, and their trespasses shall never be brought any more as a testimony before the Lord against them. Amen. 

Is it possible to pay back the damage caused to black Americans even one fold? Probably not. But I believe God expects us to try (with all our hearts and with all our might, mind, and strength). It seems like most white people, Mormons included, have pretty much dismissed the idea of reparations. But if you believe in the God of the Restoration, and the one described in the Doctrine and Covenants, then you believe in the kind of God who would demand something like reparations when tremendous suffering has been caused. And it seems like he would demand it from the descendants of the perpetrators. 

If you need some non-religious reasons for reparations, I refer you to Ta’Nehisi Coates’s essay, “The Case For Reparations.” 

Will it hurt the economy to redistribute wealth in such a large manner? Probably. Will it hurt white people’s status in the economy? Almost definitely. But let’s have some pioneer spirit! 

"The pioneers cared for each other irrespective of social, economic, or political background. Even when it slowed their progress, caused inconvenience, or meant personal sacrifice and toil, they helped each other. In our goal-driven and partisan world, individual or party objectives can take precedence over taking care of others or strengthening the kingdom of God. In today’s society, reaching certain ideological goals can appear to be a measure of our worth. Setting and achieving goals can be a wonderful thing. But when success in reaching goals comes at the expense of disregarding, ignoring, or hurting others, the cost of that success may be too precious." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf, The Ensign Magazine, July 2015 

 As a world, we desperately need this kind of pioneer spirit.