An End to Enmity

Loving as God Loves

On May 9th, 1969, in the midst of ongoing tensions about segregated swimming pools, Fred Rogers did something simple yet moving on an episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. He invited a Black police officer played by François Clemmons to dip his feet in a pool with him.

It’s easy to forget how severe tensions were at the time. Steeped in racism, some people threw nails into pools and beat up Black people who tried to swim with them. In one instance a hotel manager in Florida got so angry he dumped acid in the hotel pool when he saw a Black family swimming in it.

Like so much of what Mr. Rogers did on his TV program, the moment with François Clemmons subtly referenced his Christian faith without giving any sense of superiority. It called attention to the importance of the second great commandment, to love your neighbor.

It also alluded to a verse from the Sermon on the Mount: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

At first glance, this connection might seem like a stretch. How is dipping your feet in a pool connected to being perfect?

Back in high school, I memorized “be ye perfect” as part of the scripture mastery program for my Latter-day Saint seminary class. At the time, I assumed it was a command to never have a sexy thought. (Not great for someone with scrupulous tendencies!) I didn’t realize it back then, but I had overlooked a crucial word in the verse: therefore.

“Be ye therefore perfect.”

Therefore points to the verses that precede it, verses that talk about how God’s love is perfect, universal, for all people—just like the rain and the rays of the sun.

Given this, a paraphrase of the passage might read:

You have heard that it has been said that you should love provincially—that you should only love people who are part of your tribe. But I say that you should love all people, just as God sends rain and sunshine to all people. You should therefore love universally like God does.

This is the subtle message behind Mr. Rogers putting his feet in the pool: Our love should be for everyone.¹