Slavery and Freedom in Doctrine and Covenants 87

Freedom Halifax, 1814 by Richard Rudnicki

I took the name of my 5th great grandmother to the temple today. Mary Liston was one of the formerly enslaved black refugees who fled from Richmond, Virginia during the War of 1812. Her husband John assisted the British in exchange for their freedom and safe passage to the Maritime provinces of Canada, where they remained for the rest of their lives.

As a result, slavery was on my mind as I went through the endowment session. I have never been struck as much by the warnings about oppression and tyranny as I was today.

I saw the warning about the followers of Satan possessing the bodies of the descendants of Adam and Eve in a new light because of that. What if that's not in the sense of demonic possession? What if that's about exploitation, tyranny, and corruption?

I reread Section 87 from the Doctrine and Covenants because of it. That's the one where Joseph Smith accurately predicted the start of the Civil War in South Carolina decades before it happened, and the global destruction that would come about because of the slave trade. This section talks about the global conflict that will be born out of the American Civil War. It's a conflict rooted in the American gentry exploiting the bodies of others for the purposes of enriching themselves.

The conflict has never ended and is very much alive and well today.

Why is the human race being subject to the wrath and indignation of Almighty God? Because the violent exploitation of human beings to enrich the wealthy has not ceased.

Who is to be avenged of God? The enslaved, the oppressed, and all those who are victims of tyranny and corruption.

There is nothing divine about the oppression and tyranny that surrounds us right now at the hands of this current administration. The very sight of it offends God and will bring about the violent destruction of our country if it doesn't stop.

I participated in something truly incredible today. I felt the blood and voices of my ancestors crying from the ground for justice. I joined my prayers and voice with them in behalf of those who are oppressed in my country, in the direct fulfillment of that prophecy.

There's so much talk about freedom in LDS communities during the month of July. What a farce to celebrate America as a free nation when we have more innocent incarcerated people here than ever before.

The freedom that exists in America has always been aspirational. It has failed to materialize for so many. I am a descendant of many of those for whom that freedom was a thing hoped for, but not seen. I got to touch their hope today, the force that compels someone forward to fight for change when it all feels so impossible. Specifically when the worst people in society are attempting to make true freedom impossible.

It may not change the world, but it changed me. 

That counts for something.