“We Are Family: A Discussion on Overcoming Prejudice with Elder Jack N. Gerard and the Reverend Amos C. Brown,” Liahona, September 2021
We Are Family: A Discussion on Overcoming Prejudice with Elder Jack N. Gerard and the Reverend Amos C. Brown
Elder Jack N. Gerard of the Seventy had a discussion with Reverend Brown in San Francisco, California, in March 2021.
Photograph by Tiffany Tong
Elder Gerard: As President Russell M. Nelson has said, we need to focus on doing everything we can together as followers of Jesus Christ to root out the evils of racism and prejudice.1 As fellow Christians, what work is there yet to do?
Reverend Brown: We developed this inhumane, dichotomous attitude and actions of them against us, us against them. We have not mastered that pronoun we. We are family. We came from one Creator. And as the scripture says, we are all made of one blood.2
This thing of racism in the world is a man-made, woman-made, nonsense expression.
Regardless of how different we may be with external features, we are one as human beings. Every person is endowed, imbued with the sacred, and we should respect the worth and dignity of all persons. And all peoples means all.
Elder Gerard: You’ve had a lifetime of experience. What are some of the other changes we need to continue to work toward?
Light of the World, by Walter Rane, may not be copied
Reverend Brown: When we stay focused on Jesus, we will be able to rid our society, our congregations, and the world of this evil action of man and woman’s inhumanity to each other. It’s all about love. What is love? Practical expressions of seeking, laboring untiringly for the best of the beloved.
We need to be engaged with each other. People tend to hate each other because they fear each other. They fear each other because they do not know each other. And they do not know each other because of a lack of communication. We must communicate with each other, listen to each other, see each other, feel each other’s pain, and celebrate with each other in times of joy and accomplishment.
Above: President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Wendy, meet with the Reverend Amos C. Brown and the Reverend Theresa A. Dear at the 2019 national convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Photograph by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Elder Gerard: President Nelson said: “God does not love one race more than another. His doctrine on this matter is clear. He invites all to come unto Him.” He has called upon the members of our church to “lead out in abandoning attitudes and actions of prejudice.”3 In your opinion, what are the best ways for average people to work toward eradicating prejudice in their own lives?
Reverend Brown: First, the regular person should be good to himself or herself by knowing that God loves them and they don’t have to take shortcuts to importance or to be mean to others by elevating oneself. They need to say, “I’m going to use what I have for the good of others and not just myself.” Many people are dying spiritually because they are focusing only on self, never concerned about the welfare of other selves.
Elder Gerard: Are there any universal principles that you would share for how individuals can make a difference in their communities in overcoming racism and prejudice, no matter where they are in the world?
Reverend Brown: I don’t mean to make it simplistic, but it is simple: do unto others as you would have them do unto you.4 We reap what we sow. Injustice anywhere, as Dr. [Martin Luther] King said, gets around to affecting all of us everywhere.5 It is like the ripples of the waves. When you throw a pebble in the water, there are ripples. We ought to be about making positive ripples.
That’s what we have to do, every person right where you are. Be kind, do the right thing, and love and respect all people. They are God’s opportunity for you to touch their messy situations and leave them better than they were before.