Lizard Jew wrote:examples abound!
think early oppasition to slavery, early black elders, and the 2nd earliest women suffrage in the usa.
even now the church favors laws protecting gays and lesbiens in work and living.
Welcome to the board!
I have a hard time with the examples you've used to support your claim that the church has "long led the way in civil rights". Picking out exceptional cases to generalize about a whole is considered fallacious. And, it doesn't do you any favors when those exceptions call to mind obvious unfavorable points that more closely represent the bigger historical picture.
Early opposition to slavery?: at various times some church leaders said things that indicated opposition to slavery (ex. Joseph Smith said and did a few things that indicated he was at some point open-minded on some issues concerning the subject of race), but slavery was legal in Utah, slaves were once acceptable as a form of tithing, and Brigham Young was unambiguous in his belief that slavery was the right relationship blacks should have toward whites.
Early black elders?: How many? Two? Three? Ten? And then the practice was completely and officially discontinued until YEARS after the Civil Rights Movement. In the 60's, the NAACP approached the church, asking it to support Civil Rights legislation and discontinue its racist institutional practices-- the church's response? First they refused meetings. Then they decided to stay silent on the matter. That's not something to brag about.
Women's Suffrage: For whatever political reasons, the church allowed this, and I am truly grateful. But when you line it up with what the church says about gender roles currently, how many women were treated in the practice of polygamy (and I do recognize that there were exceptions where women were able to do really great progressive things, etc.) and what the church has said about the role of women historically, and their considerable support in defeating the ERA, the big picture doesn't look progressive by any standard.
Church favoring laws protecting gays and lesbians in work and living?: I think supporting such laws is a step in the right direction, but when you look at the bigger picture-- opposition to gay marriage, involvement and support of DOMA, the terribly homophobic things leaders say, homophobia in church culture, etc. It just looks like a concession the church made in order to not look like a completely homophobic institution.
The church may do a lot of good in the world, but the claim that it took on any early role in championing civil rights generally, is hard to square with the historical facts. The current situation is closer to acceptable, but I wouldn't say they are leading the way in any sense currently or historically (except in the case of women's suffrage-- I'll give you that, but it doesn't diminish the fact that the church is a fundamentally patriarchal institution that has always discriminated against women).
