Mother, mother
There’s too many of you crying[1]“…they took up a howling and a lamentation for the loss of the slain of their people; and so great were their cries, their howlings and lamentations, that they did rend the air … Continue reading
Brother, brother, brother
There’s far too many of you dying[2]“…O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen! But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your … Continue reading
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today, yeah[3]“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must … Continue reading
Father, father
We don’t need to escalate[4]The law against escalation is canonized in the Sermon on the Mount:
38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye … Continue reading
You see, war is not the answer[5]“And now, because of this great thing which my people, the Nephites, had done, they began to boast in their own strength, and began to swear before the heavens that they would avenge themselves … Continue reading
For only love can conquer hate[6]“Perfect love casteth out all fear” -1 John 4:18; Moroni 8:16
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today[7]“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” -Matthew 24:12-13
Picket lines and picket signs
Don’t punish me with brutality[8]“There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, when will you be satisfied? We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police … Continue reading
Talk to me
So you can see
Oh, what’s going on (What’s going on)[9]Marvin Gaye had watched the Watts race-riots of 1965 and asked himself, “How can I still sing love songs after this?” Not too long after, his singing partner died of cancer; he suffered … Continue reading
What’s going on (What’s going on)[10]“It is against the law of our brethren, which was established by my father, that there should be any slaves among them.” -Alma 27:9. A verse that we really wish Brigham Young had taken … Continue reading
What’s going on (What’s going on)
What’s going on (What’s going on)
[11]Both an inquiry and a declaration; i.e. “What’s going on with you” as well as “This is what’s going on right now.” Because this all is still going on, right … Continue reading
Right on, baby
Right on, baby
Right on
Mother, mother
Everybody thinks we’re wrong[12]“yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” -John 16:2
Oh, but who are they to judge us[13]Matt 7:1-2
Simply ’cause our hair is long[14]“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” -John 7:24. We are fond of pointing out that in the Joseph Smith Translation, the Prophet amended “Judge … Continue reading
Oh, you know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Picket lines and picket signs
Don’t punish me with brutality
Come on talk to me
So you can see
What’s going on (What’s going on)
Yeah, what’s going on (What’s going on)
Tell me what’s going on (What’s going on)
I’ll tell you[15]“seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them.” -Alma 4:19, what’s going on (What’s going on)
Right on, baby, right on
Right on, baby
Right on, baby, right on
References
| ↑1 | “…they took up a howling and a lamentation for the loss of the slain of their people; and so great were their cries, their howlings and lamentations, that they did rend the air exceedingly.” -Ether 15:16 |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | “…O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen! But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return.” -Mormon 6:18-19 |
| ↑3 | “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail–” -Moroni 7:46 |
| ↑4 | The law against escalation is canonized in the Sermon on the Mount:
38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. -Matthew 5:38-42; 3 Nephi 12:38-42 |
| ↑5 | “And now, because of this great thing which my people, the Nephites, had done, they began to boast in their own strength, and began to swear before the heavens that they would avenge themselves of the blood of their brethren who had been slain by their enemies. And they did swear by the heavens, and also by the throne of God, that they would go up to battle against their enemies, and would cut them off from the face of the land. And it came to pass that I, Mormon, did utterly refuse from this time forth to be a commander and a leader of this people, because of their wickedness and abomination.” -Mormon 3:9-11. Note that it was their very desire for war that marked them as irredeemably wicked and abominable, and marked for final destruction. |
| ↑6 | “Perfect love casteth out all fear” -1 John 4:18; Moroni 8:16 |
| ↑7 | “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” -Matthew 24:12-13 |
| ↑8 | “There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, when will you be satisfied? We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.” –Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have a Dream, 1963–as sadly relevant now as it was 60 years ago. |
| ↑9 | Marvin Gaye had watched the Watts race-riots of 1965 and asked himself, “How can I still sing love songs after this?” Not too long after, his singing partner died of cancer; he suffered through a divorce; he fell into a suicidal depression. This track was the ultimate fruit of his introspective time in the wilderness. |
| ↑10 | “It is against the law of our brethren, which was established by my father, that there should be any slaves among them.” -Alma 27:9. A verse that we really wish Brigham Young had taken far more to heart when he legalized slavery in Utah territory, and banned black people from holding the priesthood–which policy was still in full force when this classic song was released in 1971 (only 3 years after Ezra Taft Benson had claimed the civil rights movement was a secret communist plot in An Enemy Hath Done This); but it is still a scripture that we can cite in its full force on today, Juneteenth. |
| ↑11 | Both an inquiry and a declaration; i.e. “What’s going on with you” as well as “This is what’s going on right now.”
Because this all is still going on, right now. The George Floyd riots were only 3 years ago. 1978 is still within living memory. Black people are still far likelier to receive harsher sentences for the same crimes as white people, much more likely to be killed by police for no crime at all, much more likely to be passed over for jobs with similar qualifications, and passed over for housing loans with similar credit scores. A recent example: Alabama immediately passed a drivers license-requirement law after SCOTUS gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2016, then closed half the DMVs in the state–overwhelmingly in Black-majority counties. That is, we are still living with the after-effects of slavery and Jim Crow (to quote Faulkner, the past isn’t dead, it isn’t even past), which the new Juneteenth federal holiday, necessary though it may be, is by itself still grossly inadequate to address. The new holiday is only an outward change in appearance, which does not yet reflect a genuine change of heart. We still have not fully repented of our sins. |
| ↑12 | “yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.” -John 16:2 |
| ↑13 | Matt 7:1-2 |
| ↑14 | “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” -John 7:24. We are fond of pointing out that in the Joseph Smith Translation, the Prophet amended “Judge not” to mean “Judge righteous judgments.” We much less often note that Christ said the exact same thing already in John 7:24, as just noted–and what’s more, already specified that righteous judgment explicitly entails not judging by appearances.
This would be a good place to remind everyone that at present, the Church-approved picture of Jesus Christ–long-haired, facial hair, bare-shoulder–would not be allowed to attend a Church college, because we still judge far too much by appearances. It is the same sin we commit when we judge someone by the color of their skin. Yet as Christ-as-Jehovah had already told Samuel anciently: “for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” -1 Samuel 16:7 |
| ↑15 | “seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them.” -Alma 4:19 |