JOEL - In some cases you are right when you say that people have an ignorant point of view regarding non-white races. Unfortunately there will always be some people in every religion with racist attitudes; including a few past, present, and future LDS members. And they will find themselves under the judgment and condemnaton of God for being this way.
Perhaps I could start with a few quotes from the leadership of our church to represent what our attitude is or should be with regard to race.

From the First Presidency of the Church:
"In view of current public interest in the question of equality of men and women of all races, the Church has issued the following statement:
“The concern of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the well-being and equality of all men and women was well defined by President Ezra Taft Benson as he began his present responsibilities:
“ ‘My heart has been filled with an overwhelming love and compassion for all members of our Heavenly Father’s children everywhere. I love all our Father’s children.’ (President Ezra Taft Benson, 11 November 1985. Church News, 17 Nov. 1985, pp. 3, 7.)
“ ‘We say again, as we have said many times before, that we believe that all men are the children of the same God, and that it is a moral evil for any person or group of persons to deny any human being the right to gainful employment, to full educational opportunity, and to every privilege of citizenship.
“ ‘There is in this Church no doctrine, belief, or practice that is intended to deny the enjoyment of full civil rights by any person regardless of race, color, or creed.
“ ‘We call upon all men, everywhere, both within and outside the Church, to commit themselves to the establishment of full civil equality for all of God’s children. Anything less than this defeats our high ideal of the brotherhood of man.’ (President Hugh B. Brown, 6 October 1963. Improvement Era, Dec. 1963, p. 1058.)
“We repudiate efforts to deny to any person his or her inalienable dignity and rights on the abhorrent and tragic theory of the superiority of one race or color over another.” (News of the Church,” Ensign, Feb. 1988, 74)

Here is another one from 1992:
“We call upon all people everywhere to recommit themselves to the time-honored ideals of tolerance and mutual respect. We sincerely believe that as we acknowledge one another with consideration and compassion we will discover that we can all peacefully coexist despite our deepest differences.” Statement of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve, 18 Oct. 1992; as quoted in Church News, 24 Oct. 1992, p. 4.

Perhaps I can address some of your concerns regarding the sources of some of the things you have read.

Brigham Young's Journal of Discourses:
The Journal of Discourses has some problems with accuracy in terms of exactly what was said by Brigham Young and others. Speeches were recorded in shorthand and rewritten sometime later, often without giving the speaker the opportunity to proofread the speech. There was never any official revelation from God that was declared from within those discourses. They reflect the opinions and biases of the speakers as well as the bias and memory of them who recorded and later published them.
According to these and other records it is apparent that Brigham Young did believe that the Blacks would someday receive the priesthood, although it appears that he believed that it would not happen until after the second coming of Christ and the resurrection. This was an opinion of his that turned out to be wrong. Brigham Young was a prophet of God, but like any other human he was not perfect, and may have expressed a few opinions of his own regarding the black race, that may have simply been a reflection of the general attitude of his times.

"Changing World of Mormonism":
Any information or opinions expressed in this book are subject to the bias of the authors, Gerald and Sandra Tanner, who have been long time critics of the LDS Church. So please consider the source.

Book of Mormon:
We believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. Any seemingly offensive scriptures do not originate from Joseph Smith or the Church, but have to do with God's dealings with the people at the time. It was God Himself who placed the curse on the Lamanites:
"And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a curse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion against their brethren," (Alma 3:6)
They were cursed because they had become a "dark, and loathsome" people(2 Nephi 5: 20-22), because of their unbelief and sinful nature, not just because of their ancestry.
The Book of Mormon also explains that in the sight of God, race, color, and nationality make no difference:
"He inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile" (2 Ne. 26:33).
Despite this Book of Mormon scripture, which everyone knew about from the beginning times of the restored church, there were still some who were influenced by the prevailing attitudes of the times in regards to the treatment of blacks and other races. Attitudes and opinions in the church today have greatly improved.
The apostle Paul taught in the New Testament that God "hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth" (Acts 17:26). We are all brothers and sisters as stated by our church leaders:
“Our message … is one of special love and concern for the eternal welfare of all men and women, regardless of religious belief, race, or nationality, knowing that we are truly brothers and sisters because we are the sons and daughters of the same Eternal Father” (First Presidency statement, 15 Feb. 1978).