Church President Condemns Racism; Pleads For Peace, Respect

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement on his social media pages condemning racism in light of the death of George Floyd and protests that have erupted into violence across the country.

The statement was posted Monday afternoon.

“We join with many throughout this nation and around the world who are deeply saddened at recent evidences of racism and a blatant disregard for human life, the statement read. “We abhor the reality that some would deny others respect and the most basic of freedoms because of the color of his or her skin.”

Demonstrations in several US cities over the weekend led to vandalism, violence and looting – including in downtown Salt Lake City.

A protest near Washington Square Saturday afternoon turned violent when a handful of people overturned an unoccupied police squad car on 400 South and 200 East, and set the car on fire.

Several hundred people then marched to the Utah State Capitol Building and protested there. Troopers from the Utah Highway Patrol lined the stairway leading to the entrance to keep people from entering the building.

It was a similar scene in Atlanta, Miami, Los Angeles, Nashville, Detroit and multiple other cities as people gathered to demonstrate against the death of George Floyd in Minnesota on Monday, May 25.

Four officers with the Minneapolis Police Department were fired due to their involvement in Floyd’s arrest. Former officer Derek Chauvin was seen in video with his knee to Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes 46 seconds.

Officers called for an ambulance after he became unresponsive, but he was declared dead at the hospital.

“The Creator of us all calls on each of us to abandon attitudes of prejudice against any group of God’s children. Any of us who has prejudice toward another race needs to repent,” said President Nelson. “During the Savior’s earthly mission, He constantly ministered to those who were excluded, marginalized, judged, overlooked, abused, and discounted. As His followers, can we do anything less? The answer is no! We believe in freedom, kindness, and fairness for all of God’s children!”