Local Mormon Leader Addresses ‘Misconceptions’

Stacy J. Willis

Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1998 | 11:12 a.m.

Polygamy. Racism. The "Mormon Mafia."

From the 1800s, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been surrounded by controversial allegations.

Early Mormons struggled with opposing religious groups, government interests, and unwelcoming communities. They were driven out of many Midwestern cities, sometimes in bloody battle, before finding a home in Salt Lake City.

But Sen. Raymond Rawson, R-Las Vegas, a Mormon and former stake president, said he carries a deep sense of persecution not only because of the history of Mormon strife, but also because present-day bigotry against the Church is still widely tolerated.

"There are so many misconceptions out there," Rawson said.

Allegations that Mormons secretly still condone polygamy, are racist, and are trying to impose their values on entire communities through extensive networking in business and government create unfounded prejudice, Rawson said.

"If a person criticizes a Jewish member of the city council, there will be headlines about anti-Semitism," Rawson said. "But if they criticize a Mormon, it will go unchallenged."

Although the Church condoned polygamy until 1890, it no longer does so under any circumstance, Rawson said.

"The Church doesn't support it. Those that practice polygamy will lose their membership," he said. "I've sat in council with the Apostles and Prophet, and they've given the strictest counsel on this: 'Keep the Church pure from polygamy. See that it is not practiced in the Church today."'

"There isn't an official stance and then a secret agreement to condone it," he said.

Still, the presence of polygamous groups in the West, many of which were at least once members of the Church, continues to bring the issue to the surface. Recently Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, a descendant of Mormon polygamists, created a stir by dodging an opportunity to take a hard stance against such polygamous groups, citing their religious freedom.

"Politicians don't know what to do with the issue of polygamy," Rawson said. He said that years ago civil authorities began rounding up and arresting members of polygamous groups in Utah, but that by invading homes full of children and breaking up families, the authorities came off looking brutal. Now politicians are hesitant to take similar actions.

"There is a fear that it will look almost like genocide," he said.

Further, Rawson said, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not racist.

The roots of the connection between Mormonism and accusations of racism lie in Mormon scripture and in statements made by previous Church leaders.

The Pearl of Great Price, a book of Mormon scripture, elaborates on the Bible's story of Cain's sins and cites "blackness" as a mark of transgression:

"There was a blackness came upon all the children of Canaan, that they were despised among all people."

But the words of previous leaders, who are regarded as prophets by Church followers, were more emphatic about the secondary role of blacks:

"The Lord told Cain that he should not receive the blessings of the priesthood nor his seed ... this people that are commonly called Negroes are the children of old Cain ... they cannot bear rule in the priesthood," Brigham Young said in 1852.

But in 1978, President Spencer W. Kimball made the priesthood available to "every faithful worthy man in the Church ... without regard to race or color."

"It is possible now that a black person could eventually be there (in the Quorum of 12,)" said Robert McKee, Nevada Mission president.

Today singer Gladys Knight, an African-American, is among those who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Clark County -- a fact that many local church members point to as evidence of a multi-racial church.

Rawson said that instead of feeling prejudice against African-Americans, he feels a bond with them because he has endured similar prejudice as a Mormon.

"My ancestry is tied up in the same kind of prejudice," he said.

But perhaps the more insidious criticism of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that they control certain business and political entities through exclusive networking -- and that non-Mormons are therefore shut out of opportunities.

Taken to its extreme, this line of reasoning has caused some non-Mormons to believe that church members are plotting to "take over" by filling a community's leadership positions and favoring Mormon interests, Rawson said.

"(Critics) call it the 'Mormon Mafia,'" he said. "There is no such thing."

The Church has always asked its members to be involved in civic activities. This year, Church President Gordon B. Hinckley issued an order to members reminding them of that directive:

"Members should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness, while using gospel principles as a guide and while cooperating with other like-minded individuals ...

"We urge members of the Church to be full participants in political, governmental, and community affairs. Members of the Church are under special obligations to seek out and then uphold those leaders who are 'wise,' 'good,' and 'honest.'"

Rawson said it is merely a call to do community service.

"Some people read into that that we want to take over," he said. "But none of it is Kingship-oriented -- it's simply that we ought to serve."

Rawson is in his fourth term in the Nevada Legislature. His Mormon connections, he said, do not cause him to alter his votes, favor issues, or help certain business groups in any way that could be considered corrupt. If his legislative efforts reflect values common to Mormons, or if his network of associates consists largely of Mormons, it is due only to normal social behavior, he said.

Speculation abounds in Clark County that certain government sectors are dominated by members of the Mormon faith, and that it is even difficult for non-Mormons to land jobs in those agencies.

"If I write a letter of reference for someone trying to get onto the fire department, they'll say I'm stacking it with Mormons," Rawson said. "But every single person who asks me for a recommendation -- those that I know are qualified -- gets one."

He estimates that 80 percent of recommendations he gives for jobs and college scholarships are for people who are non-Mormon.

Rawson said the discrimination works in reverse -- that Mormons are sometimes discriminated against based on their religion when applying for jobs -- despite the illegality of such discrimination.

"I don't know how to express it, but there's just a flavor of prejudice out there," he said.