Journal of Discords

The Quote “Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so.” — Brigham Young, JoD 10:110 (March 8, 1863) Lyrics [Intro - Somber piano, slow tempo] [Verse 1 - Spoken word style, building into melody] March eighth, eighteen sixty-three Tabernacle, Salt Lake City Prophet stands before the congregation "Shall I tell you," he begins "Shall I tell you the law of God?" Everyone leans in to listen [Verse 2 - Melody establishes, minor key] "In regard to the African race" His voice is steady, certain, clear "If the white man of the chosen seed Mixes his blood with the seed of Cain" He pauses for the weight to land "The penalty, under the law of God..." [Chorus - Full, powerful, deliberate] Death on the spot Death on the spot This is the law of God, he says This will always be so Always be so Death on the spot This will always be so [Verse 3 - Building intensity] Civil War is raging, nation torn "I'm no abolitionist," he claims "Neither am I pro-slavery" Standing in the middle ground Then declares that love across the line Deserves death by divine command [Chorus] [Bridge - Tempo slows, piano solo, then spoken/sung] One hundred and fifty years pass December, two thousand thirteen The church releases a quiet statement "We disavow the theories advanced in the past" "That mixed-race marriages are a sin" The law of God... Was just a theory? [Verse 4 - Quiet, testimonial] Today in temples, all across the land Interracial couples kneel and pray Sealed for time and all eternity By the same church that declared Their love deserved death on the spot Under the eternal law of God [Final Chorus - Raw, powerful] Death on the spot He said death on the spot This is the law of God This will always be so But always meant One hundred and fifty years Till it was too embarrassing To keep saying so [Outro - Piano fading, spoken] "This will always be so" (Repeat, growing quieter) "This will always be so" "This will always..." [Silence] Historical Context The Setting: March 8, 1863 — Salt Lake Tabernacle. The Civil War is raging. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was issued just two months prior. The nation is torn over slavery, race, and freedom. ...

The Quote “You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, un-comely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind… The Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and black skin.” — Brigham Young, JoD 7:290-291 (October 9, 1859) Lyrics [Intro: Somber acoustic guitar, fingerpicked, haunting] [Verse 1: Speak-sing, testimony voice] October morning, eighteen fifty-nine Brigham stood in the Tabernacle, said he'd gather truth divine "God has created of one blood," he told the gathered crowd "All the nations, black and white, copper-colored" — spoke it loud [Pre-Chorus: Building] But then he taught intelligence And what the Lord had shown About the classes of the human race And curses set in stone [Chorus: Full voice, letting horror speak] Flat nose and black skin That's the mark the Lord put on Uncouth, un-comely, disagreeable The curse of Cain lives on Flat nose and black skin Deprived of blessings from above This is what the prophet taught In the name of God's own love [Verse 2: Measured, each word weighted] "Cain slew his brother Abel, committed odious crime He'll be cursed the longest of any child of Adam's line The Lord put a mark upon him" — Brigham made it plain The flat nose and the black skin is the curse upon that stain [Bridge: Sparse, haunting, space between lines] One hundred nineteen years The priesthood was denied One hundred nineteen years While Black Saints testified Children couldn't be sealed To mothers and to fathers One hundred nineteen years Of theological slaughter [Verse 3: The reckoning] Nineteen seventy-eight, June The revelation came Black members could hold the priesthood now But no apology for shame Twenty thirteen, an essay Disavows the theories taught "Black skin is not divine disfavor" But what about what it wrought? [Final Chorus: Quieter, bearing witness] Flat nose and black skin That's what Brigham Young declared The mark of Cain, the curse of God One hundred nineteen years they bared The church disavows it now Says racism in any form But for a century and more This teaching was the norm [Outro: Instrumental, fading, unresolved] Historical Context The Setting: October 9, 1859, in the Tabernacle at Great Salt Lake City. Two years before the Civil War began. ...

The Quote “And after the flood we are told that the curse that had been pronounced upon Cain was continued through Ham’s wife, as he had married a wife of that seed. And why did it pass through the flood? Because it was necessary that the devil should have a representation upon the earth as well as God.” — John Taylor, JoD 22:304 (August 28, 1881) Lyrics [Intro] (Slow Hammond organ, somber) [Verse 1] Sunday afternoon in Provo August, eighteen eighty-one The prophet rose to tell them What their God had done He spoke of Noah's flood And why the curse survived "Why did it pass through the water?" Then the answer he supplied [Chorus] The devil needs representation That's what the prophet told God designed it, God required it A people bought and sold The curse of Cain through Ham's own wife Preserved by heaven's hand The devil needs representation So sayeth the promised land [Verse 2] "It was necessary," said the prophet Speaking plain and speaking clear Not whispered, not in private But for every soul to hear Published in the Journal For the faithful to receive The devil needs his people That's what you're supposed to believe [Chorus] [Bridge] (Tempo slows, choir enters soft) Two thousand thirteen An essay finally came "We disavow the theories" But they never spoke his name The devil's representation Now just "theories of the past" But for ninety-seven years Those theories held fast [Final Chorus] (Full choir, organ swelling) The devil had representation For ninety-seven years they bore the ban No priesthood, no temple, no promised land That's what they told the children of God "Why did it last so long?" we ask The prophets never told God's children called the devil's own By the man who claimed to speak for God [Outro] (Organ fading, spoken) "Because it was necessary that the devil should have a representation upon the earth" (Silence) Historical Context The Setting: August 28, 1881 — Sunday afternoon, Provo Stake Conference. John Taylor was serving as President of the Church. ...

The Quote “God has given us a revelation in regard to celestial marriage. I did not make it… They would like us to tone it down, change it, and make it applicable to the notions of the day. This we cannot do; nor can we interfere with the commandments of God to meet the persuasions of men… We have to stand by our covenants… Living, we will proclaim them. Dying, we will be true to them.” — John Taylor, JoD 25:309-310 (October 6-7, 1884) ...

The Quote “Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, Saint and sinner! When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is MICHAEL, the Archangel, the ANCIENT OF DAYS! about whom holy men have written and spoken—HE is our FATHER and our GOD, and the only God with whom WE have to do. Every man upon the earth, professing Christians or non-professing, must hear it, and will know it sooner or later.” — Brigham Young, JoD 1:50 (April 9, 1852) ...

The Quote “Monogamy, or restrictions by law to one wife, is no part of the economy of Heaven among men. Such a system was commenced by the founders of the Roman Empire… Rome became combated by a barbarous and warlike people, who had been nourished in adultery from their infancy. They knew not their fathers, for they were the sons of a multitude who all ranged the forest, destitute of any order save in their predatory expeditions against their neighbours. They kidnapped their wives from the Sabine nation. Thus monogamy originated in crime, and has been sustained by crime… This monogamic order of marriage, so esteemed by modern Christians as a holy sacrament and divine institution, is nothing but a system established by a set of robbers.” — Brigham Young, JoD 9:322-323 (July 6, 1862) ...

The Quote “What would a man of God say, who felt aright, when Joseph asked him for his money? He would say, ‘Yes, and I wish I had more to help to build up the kingdom of God.’ Or if he came and said, ‘I want your wife?’ ‘O yes,’ he would say, ‘here she is; there are plenty more.’” — Jedediah M. Grant, JoD 2:14 (February 19, 1854) Lyrics Coming Soon ...

The Quote “There are sins that men commit for which they cannot receive forgiveness in this world, or in that which is to come, and if they had their eyes open to see their true condition, they would be perfectly willing to have their blood spilt upon the ground, that the smoke thereof might ascend to heaven as an offering for their sins; and the smoking incense would atone for their sins.” — Brigham Young, JoD 4:53 (September 21, 1856) ...

The Quote “I would rather undertake to convert five thousand Lamanites, than to convert one of those poor miserable creatures, whose fathers killed the Savior, and who say, ‘Amen to the deed,’ to this day. Yea, I would rather undertake to convert the devil himself, if it were possible.” — Brigham Young, JoD 2:142 (December 3, 1854) Lyrics Coming Soon Historical Context The Setting: December 3, 1854 — Salt Lake Tabernacle. Brigham Young delivers a discourse on spiritual gifts, the spirit world, and the relative difficulty of converting different peoples. ...

The Quote “The only men who become Gods, even the Sons of God, are those who enter into polygamy. Others attain unto a glory and may even be permitted to come into the presence of the Father and the Son; but they cannot reign as kings in glory, because they had blessings offered unto them, and they refused to accept them.” — Brigham Young, JoD 11:269 (August 19, 1866) The Failed Prophecy “If we do not embrace that principle soon, the keys will be turned against us. If we do not keep the same law that our Heavenly Father has kept, we cannot go with him… I wish here to say to the Elders of Israel, and to all the members of this Church and kingdom, that it is in the hearts of many of them to wish that the doctrine of polygamy was not taught and practiced by us… It is the word of the Lord, and I wish to say to you, and all the world, that if you desire with all your hearts to obtain the blessings which Abraham obtained, you will be polygamists at least in your faith, or you will come short of enjoying the salvation and the glory which Abraham has obtained.” — Brigham Young, JoD 11:269 ...