January 17, 2018
To our sisters and brothers in the Africa Field, Haiti, and El Salvador:
We greet you in the name of Christ and in the peace that Christ seeks for all human life. Recently, the US president allegedly made derogatory comments about people from Africa, Haiti, and El Salvador. The reported comments are hurtful to many people around the world and in the church. We are deeply sorry and distressed by any statement that devalues another human life and creates division. We also are greatly concerned about any attitude that implies that some lives are of less value than others because of one’s nation of origin. This simply is not true.
As a worldwide faith community formed by the gospel of Christ and our Enduring Principles, we are saddened by the continued racism and injustice in the world. It is not God’s will when humans are diminished based on where people live, the color of their skin, or by other categories used to divide and devalue. Our Enduring Principles in Community of Christ speak clearly of the Worth of All Persons. And we proclaim the Sacredness of Creation, which includes each human life as created by God, who then said “it was very good” (Genesis 1:31 NRSV).
As Community of Christ we uphold the principle of Unity in Diversity. We stand in solidarity with you as members of the church and citizens of the world. We offer our voices and our lives to speak against acts of hatred expressed in racial, gender, and religious injustice that demean human life. Jesus tore down dividing walls (Ephesians 2:14), and God has called the church to uphold the welfare of all human life (Doctrine and Covenants 163:4).
We join all of you as we pray for peace and the end of racism in our world. We pray all world leaders will encounter the peace of Christ that makes all things new. And we hold all of you in prayer as we live with hope and determination to make God’s peaceable reign—Zion—reality throughout the world.
In the spirit of peace and love,
The First Presidency