Today I’m speaking with Dr. Joseph Stuart, assistant professor of history at Brigham Young University. Dr. Stuart studies race and American religion, and we knew right away that we wanted to talk about Dr. Martin Luther King and the ongoing fight for civil rights and racial harmony in our society. Joseph had the great idea to pair one of Dr. King’s speech with a related talk by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf. Both of these deeply Christian men challenge us to wake up to the world around us and look for our individual places in God’s unfolding work of restoration.
In his 2019 speech to the NAACP, President Nelson quoted 2 Nephi 26:33, “black and white, bond and free, male and female… all are alike unto God,” and then said: “You who are gathered here in this room strive to make this heavenly truth an earthly reality. I commend you for it. And yet we all realize that, as a society and as a country, we have not yet achieved the harmony and mutual respect that would allow every man and woman and every boy and girl to become the very best version of themselves.”
In this conversation, Dr. Stuart and I talk about how we as Latter-day Saints can likewise “strive to make the heavenly truth” of racial equality “an earthly reality.” He provides fascinating historical background for Martin Luther King’s ministry, and he puts it all into a gospel context.
Dr. Stuart’s name and voice will be familiar to long-time listeners, because he hosted this podcast when he worked at the Institute as our public communications specialist a few years ago. It was fun to welcome him back on the other side of the microphone! I hope you enjoy the interview.
