So I came across a discussion on another forum that does not need to be named. Here’s a paraphrase of what a guy wrote:Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects unrighteous actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else. Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form.
I was disappointed to find a member saying anything to defend or perpetuate the theories in any way. Sure, we don’t have a revelation directly from God saying “that theory is false,” but I think disavowing something is stronger than saying “we don’t know so we won’t teach it.” I argued that disavowing something is saying “We deny any support for it and will no longer have anything to do with it” and that it could mean to repudiate.Saying a theory is disavowed is different from having a revelation stating the theory is false. The church is saying, "We don’t know if it’s true so we’re not going to teach it anymore."
I was astounded at the way some people took up arms against me to defend the disavowed theories. They said I was attacking the integrity of teachings of past prophets and they will stand up for them until they are specifically condemned.
I posited that the statement “Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form” could very well apply to the sentence that precedes it. I told them that proclaiming it's possible that the disavowed theories might be true gives life to them, however faint and unintentional it may be, and thus the theories are perpetuated. I let them know that perpetuating the theories can be hurtful to black people and could be harmful to church growth. Astonishingly, they argued against that and one guy asked how the theories (e.g.: black people were not valiant in the pre-existence and are under the curse of Cain) could be hurtful to black people!
I didn’t make much progress with those people and it’s no good to argue anymore.
So, what does “the Church disavows the theories” really mean? Why was that word chosen?