We Were Discriminated Against
By Jairo Osiris Barrera
I was a Mormon for 15 years, so was my mom. We went to an English-speaking ward, but little did I know that they were just being nice to us because a friend of my grandfather was protecting both of us from the living hell we went thru later on. When she passed away, we were left all alone. We were discriminated against and victimized in the most horrible ways possible. We were bullied to the point that both of us had to get out of the church. We both received threats for us “to leave or else” from the Bishop and the Elders Quorum President, who are both racists. I ended up leaving the church because of the trauma and spiritual abuse. I am in therapy, but I still cannot move on or forget all the horrible things they did to my mom and me.
How can we be more sensitive to people of all origins? How can we become better at removing the –ites and simply focusing on love? How would Christ have helped this family in need? How can we become better at looking past outward appearances and seeing into the heart, thus truly detecting the needs and goodness of others?
