Blacks and Mormonism
Encyclopedia
Early Mormonism
had a range of policies and doctrines relating to race in regard to African-descended people. References to black people, their social condition during the 19th century, and their spiritual place in Western Christianity as well as Mormon scriptures were complicated, with varying degrees and forms of discrimination against black people.
When the Mormons
migrated to Missouri
they encountered the pro-slavery sentiments of their neighbors. Joseph Smith, Jr. supported the laws regarding slaves and slaveholders.
Following the death of Joseph Smith, Jr.
, Mormon leaders beginning with Brigham Young
instituted a policy of excluding most people of black African descent (regardless of actual skin color) from Priesthood ordination and from participation in temple ceremonies. These practices continued in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) until September 30, 1978, when the highest bodies of church leadership lifted the ban after stating they had received a revelation.
The Lamanite nation was the original nation to disobey the teachings of the prophets in the Book of Mormon, and the Nephites were the original people to follow said teachings, though the Nephites rebel and repent throughout the book. The curse was also placed on the Lamanites' descendants "because of the traditions of their fathers", which would ultimately "be taken from [them] and be answered upon the heads of [their] parents"
The mark of blackness was placed upon the Lamanites so the Nephites "might not mix and believe in incorrect traditions which would prove their destruction" . The Book of Mormon records the Lord as forbidding miscegenation
between Lamanites and Nephites and saying they were to stay "separated from thee and thy seed [Nephites], from this time henceforth and forever, except they repent of their wickedness and turn to me that I may have mercy upon them" .
However, 2 Nephi 26:33 states: " inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come, black and white, bond and free, male and female...and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile." Although the Lamanites are labelled as wicked, they actually became more righteous than the Nephites as time passed. Helaman chapter 6.
Throughout the Book of Mormon narrative, several groups of Lamanites did repent and lose the curse. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies or Ammonites
"open[ed] a correspondence with them [Nephites], and the curse of God did no more follow them" . There is no reference to their skin color being changed. Later, the Book of Mormon records that an additional group of Lamanites converted and that "their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites… and they were numbered among the Nephites, and were called Nephites" .
The curse was also put on others who rebelled. One group of Nephites, called Amlicites
"had come out in open rebellion against God; therefore it was expedient that the curse should fall upon them". The Amlicites then put a mark upon themselves. At this point, the author stops the narrative to say "I would that ye should see that they brought upon themselves the curse; and even so doth every man that is cursed bring upon himself his own condemnation." Eventually, the Lamanites "had become, the more part of them, a righteous people, insomuch that their righteousness did exceed that of the Nephites, because of their firmness and their steadiness in the faith."
The Book of Mormon did not countenance any form of curse-based discrimination. It stated that the Lord "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". . In fact, prejudice against people of dark skin was condemned more than once, here being one example:
Mormon scholar and apologist Hugh Nibley discussed the Book of Mormon's depiction of Blacks in his writings (Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol.7, Ch.8, pp. 215–218)
“But if we are to take the Book of Mormon to task for its ethnological teachings, it might be well at first to learn what those teachings are. They turn out on investigation to be surprisingly complicated. There is no mention in the Book of Mormon of red skins versus white; indeed, there is no mention of red skin at all. What we find is a more or less steady process over long periods of time of mixing and separating of many closely related but not identical ethnic groups."
Coincidentally, on (December 16, 1833), Joseph Smith, Jr. dictated a passage in the Doctrine and Covenants stating that "it is not right that any man should be in bondage to another." .
In 1835, the Church issued an official statement indicating that because the United States
government allowed slavery, the Church would not "interfere with bond-servants, neither preach the gospel to, nor baptize them contrary to the will and wish of their masters, nor meddle with or influence them in the least to cause them to be dissatisfied with their situations in this life, thereby jeopardizing the lives of men." (LDS D&C
).
On February 6, 1835, an assistant president of the church, W. W. Phelps, wrote a letter theorizing that the curse of Cain
survived the deluge by passing through the wife of Ham, son of Noah
, who according to Phelps was a descendant of Cain. (Messenger and Advocate 1:82) In addition, Phelps introduced the idea of a third curse upon Ham himself for "marrying a black wife". (Id.) This black wife, according to Phelps, was not just a descendant of Cain, but one of the pre-flood "people of Canaan" (not directly related to the Biblical Canaan
ites after the flood).
In 1836, the rules established by the church for governing assemblies in the Kirtland Temple included attendees who were “bond or free, black or white.” (History of the Church, Vol.2, Ch.26, p. 368)
Writing for the Messenger and Advocate (April 9, 1836) newspaper on the subject of slavery, Joseph Smith states:
In April 1836, in the Messenger and Advocate pg. 290 Vol. II. No. 7. Kirtland, Ohio, Smith said the following:
In 1836, Warren Parrish
(Smith's secretary) wrote regarding the sentiments of the people of Kirtland:
The Church never denied membership based on race (although slaves had to have their master's permission to be baptized), and several black men were ordained to the priesthood during Joseph Smith's lifetime. The first known black Latter-day Saint was "Black Pete", who joined the Church in Kirtland, Ohio
, and there is some evidence that he held the LDS priesthood.http://www.signaturebookslibrary.org/neither/neither4.htm#Chapter4 Other African Americans, including Elijah Abel
in 1832, Joseph T. Ball in 1835 or 1836 (who also presided over the Boston Branch from 1844–1845), and Walker Lewis
in 1843 (and probably his son, Enoch Lovejoy Lewis), were ordained to the priesthood during Smith's lifetime.http://www.watchman.org/lds/elijahabel.htm William McCary
was ordained in Nauvoo
in 1846 by Apostle Orson Hyde.http://www.signaturebookslibrary.org/neither/neither4.htm#Chapter4 Two of the descendants of Elijah Abel were also ordained Elders
, and two other black men, Samuel Chambers and Edward Leggroan, were ordained Deacons
.http://www.watchman.org/lds/elijahabel.htm
Early black members in the Church were admitted to the temple
in Kirtland, Ohio, where Elijah Abel received the ritual
of washing and anointing
(see Journal of Zebedee Coltrin
). Abel also participated in at least two baptisms for the dead in Nauvoo, Illinois, as did Elder Joseph T. Ball.
By 1839 there were about a dozen black members in the Church. Nauvoo, Illinois was reported to have 22 black members, including free and slave, between 1839-1843 (Late Persecution of the Church of Latter-day Saints, 1840).
Beginning in 1842, Smith made known his increasingly strong anti-slavery position. In March 1842, he began studying some abolitionist literature, and stated, "it makes my blood boil within me to reflect upon the injustice, cruelty, and oppression of the rulers of the people. When will these things cease to be, and the Constitution and the laws again bear rule?" (History of the Church, 4:544).
On February 7, 1844, Joseph Smith wrote his views as a candidate for president of the United States. The anti-slavery plank of his platform called for a gradual end to slavery by the year 1850 . His plan called for the government to buy the freedom of slaves using money from the sale of public lands.
Joseph Smith's views of the true nature of the African American, according to the modern view, may be seen in the following exchange (as recorded in History of the Church, Volume 5, p. 216):
for the church to New York
and Upper Canada
. In 1836, he moved from Kirtland to Nauvoo, Illinois
, where he participated in the temple ordinance of baptism for the dead
. In 1843, a traveling high council visited Cincinnati, where Abel lived, but refused to recognize Abel for the sake of public appearance and called him to his second mission to the "colored population" of Cincinnati.
Abel rejoined the Latter-day Saints in Utah Territory
in 1853. By then, Brigham Young had formalized church's policies against black people. However, no attempt was made to remove Abel's priesthood or drop him from the Third Quorum of the Seventy. He remained active in the Quorum until his death.
Brigham Young freed Flake in 1854. Flake died a faithful member of The Church.
from Lowell
and Boston
, Massachusetts
, Lewis became a Latter Day Saint about 1842. In the summer of 1843, he was ordained an elder in the Melchizedek priesthood. His son, Enoch Lovejoy Lewis, also joined the Latter Day Saints about the same time, and Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier
heard young Enoch preaching in Lowell just after the death of Joseph Smith in July or August 1844. It has been speculated that Enoch led Young to instigate the ban against black men holding Mormon priesthood when Enoch L. Lewis married a white Mormon woman, Mary Matilda Webster, in Cambridge, Massachusetts
on September 18, 1846. On December 3, 1847, Young told the Quorom of the Twelve at Winter Quarters that "if they [Enoch and Matilda] were far away from the Gentiles they wod. [would] all be killed - when they mingle seed it is death to all." (Quorum of the Twelve Minutes, December 3, 1847, pp. 6–7, LDS Archives.)
Mormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
had a range of policies and doctrines relating to race in regard to African-descended people. References to black people, their social condition during the 19th century, and their spiritual place in Western Christianity as well as Mormon scriptures were complicated, with varying degrees and forms of discrimination against black people.
When the Mormons
Mormons
The Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, a religion started by Joseph Smith during the American Second Great Awakening. A vast majority of Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while a minority are members of other independent churches....
migrated to Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
they encountered the pro-slavery sentiments of their neighbors. Joseph Smith, Jr. supported the laws regarding slaves and slaveholders.
Following the death of Joseph Smith, Jr.
Death of Joseph Smith, Jr.
The death of Joseph Smith, Jr. on June 27, 1844 marked a turning point for the Latter Day Saint movement, of which Smith was the founder and leader. When he was attacked and killed by a mob, Smith was the mayor of Nauvoo, Illinois, and running for President of the United States...
, Mormon leaders beginning with Brigham Young
Brigham Young
Brigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and a settler of the Western United States. He was the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877, he founded Salt Lake City, and he served as the first governor of the Utah...
instituted a policy of excluding most people of black African descent (regardless of actual skin color) from Priesthood ordination and from participation in temple ceremonies. These practices continued in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) until September 30, 1978, when the highest bodies of church leadership lifted the ban after stating they had received a revelation.
New York era (1820s and early 1830s)
The first reference in Latter Day Saint writings describing dark skin as a curse and mark from God refers to Lamanites. The Book of Mormon, published in the late 1820s, states the following about a group of people who rebelled against God:And [God] had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people, the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them. And thus saith the Lord God; I will cause that they shall be loathsome unto thy people, save they shall repent of their iniquities."
The Lamanite nation was the original nation to disobey the teachings of the prophets in the Book of Mormon, and the Nephites were the original people to follow said teachings, though the Nephites rebel and repent throughout the book. The curse was also placed on the Lamanites' descendants "because of the traditions of their fathers", which would ultimately "be taken from [them] and be answered upon the heads of [their] parents"
The mark of blackness was placed upon the Lamanites so the Nephites "might not mix and believe in incorrect traditions which would prove their destruction" . The Book of Mormon records the Lord as forbidding miscegenation
Miscegenation
Miscegenation is the mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, sexual relations, and procreation....
between Lamanites and Nephites and saying they were to stay "separated from thee and thy seed [Nephites], from this time henceforth and forever, except they repent of their wickedness and turn to me that I may have mercy upon them" .
However, 2 Nephi 26:33 states: "
Throughout the Book of Mormon narrative, several groups of Lamanites did repent and lose the curse. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies or Ammonites
Ammonites (Book of Mormon)
According to the Book of Mormon, the Ammonites were a group of Lamanites who had been converted to the Christian religion of the Nephites by the missionary efforts of Ammon and his brothers. They rejected the traditions of their fathers and embraced the traditions of the Nephites. To distinguish...
"open[ed] a correspondence with them [Nephites], and the curse of God did no more follow them" . There is no reference to their skin color being changed. Later, the Book of Mormon records that an additional group of Lamanites converted and that "their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites… and they were numbered among the Nephites, and were called Nephites" .
The curse was also put on others who rebelled. One group of Nephites, called Amlicites
Amlicites
According to the Book of Mormon, the Amlicites were a break-off group of Nephites in the Book of Alma, in 87 B.C.-Origins:After the murder of Gideon mentioned in the book of Alma and the execution of Nehor, the man who introduced priestcraft to the Nephites, there arose one after the order of Nehor...
"had come out in open rebellion against God; therefore it was expedient that the curse should fall upon them". The Amlicites then put a mark upon themselves. At this point, the author stops the narrative to say "I would that ye should see that they brought upon themselves the curse; and even so doth every man that is cursed bring upon himself his own condemnation." Eventually, the Lamanites "had become, the more part of them, a righteous people, insomuch that their righteousness did exceed that of the Nephites, because of their firmness and their steadiness in the faith."
The Book of Mormon did not countenance any form of curse-based discrimination. It stated that the Lord "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". . In fact, prejudice against people of dark skin was condemned more than once, here being one example:
O my brethren, I fear that unless ye shall repent of your sins that their skins will be whiter than yours, when ye shall be brought with them before the throne of God. Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, which is the word of God, that ye revile no more against them because of the darkness of their skins; neither shall ye revile against them because of their filthiness..." .
Mormon scholar and apologist Hugh Nibley discussed the Book of Mormon's depiction of Blacks in his writings (Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol.7, Ch.8, pp. 215–218)
“But if we are to take the Book of Mormon to task for its ethnological teachings, it might be well at first to learn what those teachings are. They turn out on investigation to be surprisingly complicated. There is no mention in the Book of Mormon of red skins versus white; indeed, there is no mention of red skin at all. What we find is a more or less steady process over long periods of time of mixing and separating of many closely related but not identical ethnic groups."
Missouri era (early 1830s to 1838)
In the summer of 1833, W. W. Phelps published an article in the church's newspaper, seeming to invite free black people into the state to become Mormons, and reflecting "in connection with the wonderful events of this age, much is doing towards abolishing slavery, and colonizing the blacks, in Africa." ("Free People of Color"). Outrage followed Phelps' comments, (Roberts [1930] 1965, p. 378.) and he was forced to reverse his position, which he claimed was "misunderstood", but this reversal did not end the controversy, and the Mormons were violently expelled from Jackson County, Missouri five months later in December 1833 (Bush & Mauss 1984, p. 55).Coincidentally, on (December 16, 1833), Joseph Smith, Jr. dictated a passage in the Doctrine and Covenants stating that "it is not right that any man should be in bondage to another." .
In 1835, the Church issued an official statement indicating that because the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government allowed slavery, the Church would not "interfere with bond-servants, neither preach the gospel to, nor baptize them contrary to the will and wish of their masters, nor meddle with or influence them in the least to cause them to be dissatisfied with their situations in this life, thereby jeopardizing the lives of men." (LDS D&C
Doctrine and Covenants
The Doctrine and Covenants is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement...
).
On February 6, 1835, an assistant president of the church, W. W. Phelps, wrote a letter theorizing that the curse of Cain
Curse and mark of Cain
In Christianity and Judaism, the curse of Cain and the mark of Cain refer to the passages in the Biblical Book of Genesis where God declared that Cain, the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, was cursed for murdering his brother, and placed a mark upon him to warn others that killing Cain would provoke...
survived the deluge by passing through the wife of Ham, son of Noah
Ham, son of Noah
Ham , according to the Table of Nations in the Book of Genesis, was a son of Noah and the father of Cush, Mizraim, Phut and Canaan.- Hebrew Bible :The story of Ham is related in , King James Version:...
, who according to Phelps was a descendant of Cain. (Messenger and Advocate 1:82) In addition, Phelps introduced the idea of a third curse upon Ham himself for "marrying a black wife". (Id.) This black wife, according to Phelps, was not just a descendant of Cain, but one of the pre-flood "people of Canaan" (not directly related to the Biblical Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
ites after the flood).
In 1836, the rules established by the church for governing assemblies in the Kirtland Temple included attendees who were “bond or free, black or white.” (History of the Church, Vol.2, Ch.26, p. 368)
Writing for the Messenger and Advocate (April 9, 1836) newspaper on the subject of slavery, Joseph Smith states:
"After having expressed myself so freely upon this subject, I do not doubt but those who have been forward in raising their voice against the South, will cry out against me as being uncharitable, unfeeling and unkind-wholly unacquainted with the gospel of Christ.
It is my privilege then, to name certain passages from the bible, and examine the teachings of the ancients upon this nature, as the fact is incontrovertible, that the first mention we have of slavery is found in the holy bible, pronounced by a man who was perfect in his generation and walked with God.
And so far from that prediction's being averse from the mind of God it remains as a lasting monument of the decree of Jehovah, to the shame and confusion of all who have cried out against the South, in consequence of their holding the sons of Ham in servitude!
"And he said cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem and Canaan shall be his servant." —
"Trace the history of the world from this notable event down to this day, and you will find the fulfillment of this singular prophecy. What could have been the design of the Almighty in this wonderful occurrence is not for me to say; but I can say that the curse is not yet taken off the sons of Canaan, neither will be until it is affected by as great power as caused it to come; and the people who interfere the least with the decrees and purposes of God in this matter, will come under the least condemnation before him; and those who are determined to pursue a course which shows an opposition and a feverish restlessness against the designs of the Lord, will learn, when perhaps it is too late for their own good, that God can do his own work without the aid of those who are not dictate by his counsel." - (Joseph Smith Jr., Messenger and Advocate Vol. II, No. 7, April 1836, p. 290; History of the Church, Vol. 2, Ch. 30, pp. 436–40.)
In April 1836, in the Messenger and Advocate pg. 290 Vol. II. No. 7. Kirtland, Ohio, Smith said the following:
Thinking, perhaps, that the sound might go out, that "an abolitionist" had held forth several times to this community, and that the public feeling was not aroused to create mobs or disturbances, leaving the impression that all he said was concurred in, and received as gospel and the word of salvation. I am happy to say, that no violence or breach of the public peace was attempted, so far from this, that all except a very few, attended to their own avocations and left the gentleman to hold forth his own arguments to nearly naked walls.
In 1836, Warren Parrish
Warren Parrish
Warren Parrish was a leader in the early Latter Day Saint or Mormonism movement. Parrish held a number of positions of responsibility, including that of scribe to church president Joseph Smith Jr. Parrish and other leaders became disillusioned with Smith after the failure of the Kirtland Safety...
(Smith's secretary) wrote regarding the sentiments of the people of Kirtland:
Not long since a gentleman of the Presbyterian faith came to this town (Kirtland) and proposed to lecture upon the abolition question. Knowing that there was a large branch of the church of Latter Day Saints in this place, who, as a people, are liberal in our sentiments; he no doubt anticipated great success in establishing his doctrine among us. But in this he was mistaken. The doctrine of Christ and the systems of men are at issue and consequently will not harmonize together. (Messenger and Advocate Volume 2, Number 7)http://www.centerplace.org/history/ma/v2n07.htm
The Church never denied membership based on race (although slaves had to have their master's permission to be baptized), and several black men were ordained to the priesthood during Joseph Smith's lifetime. The first known black Latter-day Saint was "Black Pete", who joined the Church in Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Origins of Kirtland:...
, and there is some evidence that he held the LDS priesthood.http://www.signaturebookslibrary.org/neither/neither4.htm#Chapter4 Other African Americans, including Elijah Abel
Elijah Abel
Elijah Abel was the first black elder and seventy in the Latter Day Saint movement, and one of the few black members in the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to receive the priesthood.-Life:...
in 1832, Joseph T. Ball in 1835 or 1836 (who also presided over the Boston Branch from 1844–1845), and Walker Lewis
Walker Lewis
Walker Lewis was an early African American abolitionist, Freemason, and Mormon elder from Massachusetts.-Family and personal history:Lewis was born Friday, August 3, 1798 in Barre, Massachusetts to Peter P. Lewis and Minor Walker Lewis. His full name was Kwaku Walker Lewis, named after his...
in 1843 (and probably his son, Enoch Lovejoy Lewis), were ordained to the priesthood during Smith's lifetime.http://www.watchman.org/lds/elijahabel.htm William McCary
William McCary
Warner "William" McCary was an African American convert to Mormonism who was expelled from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1847 for claiming to be a prophet...
was ordained in Nauvoo
Nauvoo, Illinois
Nauvoo is a small city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. Although the population was just 1,063 at the 2000 census, and despite being difficult to reach due to its location in a remote corner of Illinois, Nauvoo attracts large numbers of visitors for its historic importance and its...
in 1846 by Apostle Orson Hyde.http://www.signaturebookslibrary.org/neither/neither4.htm#Chapter4 Two of the descendants of Elijah Abel were also ordained Elders
Elder (Mormonism)
Elder is a priesthood office in the Melchizedek Priesthood of denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints....
, and two other black men, Samuel Chambers and Edward Leggroan, were ordained Deacons
Deacon (Mormonism)
Deacon is a priesthood office in the Aaronic Priesthood of denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.-Deacons in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:...
.http://www.watchman.org/lds/elijahabel.htm
Early black members in the Church were admitted to the temple
Kirtland Temple
The Kirtland Temple is a National Historic Landmark in Kirtland, Ohio, USA, on the eastern edge of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Owned and operated by the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , the house of worship was the first temple to be...
in Kirtland, Ohio, where Elijah Abel received the ritual
Ordinance (Mormonism)
In Mormonism, an ordinance is a religious ritual of special significance, often involving the formation of a covenant with God. Ordinances are performed by the authority of the priesthood and in the name of Jesus Christ...
of washing and anointing
Washing and anointing
The washing and anointing is a temple ordinance of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that pertains to exaltation within the Celestial Kingdom. Combined, the two ordinances are known as the initiatory, which is performed for both the living and the dead.-History:Ritual anointings were...
(see Journal of Zebedee Coltrin
Zebedee Coltrin
Zebedee Coltrin was a Mormon pioneer and a general authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from 1835 to 1837....
). Abel also participated in at least two baptisms for the dead in Nauvoo, Illinois, as did Elder Joseph T. Ball.
Nauvoo era prior to Smith's death (1838 to 1844)
In 1838, Joseph Smith answered the following question while en route from Kirtland to Missouri, as follows: "Are the Mormons abolitionists? No ... we do not believe in setting the Negroes free."(Smith 1977, p. 120)By 1839 there were about a dozen black members in the Church. Nauvoo, Illinois was reported to have 22 black members, including free and slave, between 1839-1843 (Late Persecution of the Church of Latter-day Saints, 1840).
"In the evening debated with John C. BennettJohn C. BennettJohn Cook Bennett was an American physician and a ranking and influential—but short-lived—leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, who acted as second-in-command to Joseph Smith, Jr., for a brief period in the early 1840s....
and others to show that the Indians have greater cause to complain of the treatment of the whites, than the negroes or sons of Cain" (History of the Church 4:501.)
Beginning in 1842, Smith made known his increasingly strong anti-slavery position. In March 1842, he began studying some abolitionist literature, and stated, "it makes my blood boil within me to reflect upon the injustice, cruelty, and oppression of the rulers of the people. When will these things cease to be, and the Constitution and the laws again bear rule?" (History of the Church, 4:544).
On February 7, 1844, Joseph Smith wrote his views as a candidate for president of the United States. The anti-slavery plank of his platform called for a gradual end to slavery by the year 1850 . His plan called for the government to buy the freedom of slaves using money from the sale of public lands.
“My cogitations, like Daniel's have for a long time troubled me, when I viewed the condition of men throughout the world, and more especially in this boasted realm, where the Declaration of Independence ‘holds these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness;’ but at the same time some two or three millions of people are held as slaves for life, because the spirit in them is covered with a darker skin than ours.” (History of the Church, Vol.6, Ch.8, p.197 - p.198)
Joseph Smith's views of the true nature of the African American, according to the modern view, may be seen in the following exchange (as recorded in History of the Church, Volume 5, p. 216):
- Elder Hyde inquired about the situation of the negro. I replied, they came into the world slaves mentally and physically. Change their situation with the whites, and they would be like them. They have souls, and are subjects of salvation. Go into Cincinnati or any city, and find an educated negro, who rides in his carriage, and you will see a man who has risen by the powers of his own mind to his exalted state of respectability. The slaves in Washington are more refined than many in high places, and the black boys will take the shine of many of those they brush and wait on.
- Elder Hyde remarked, "Put them on the level, and they will rise above me." I replied, if I raised you to be my equal, and then attempted to oppress you, would you not be indignant and try to rise above me, as did Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer, and many others, who said I was a fallen Prophet, and they were capable of leading the people, although I never attempted to oppress them, but had always been lifting them up? Had I anything to do with the negro, I would confine them by strict law to their own species, and put them on a national equalization."
Elijah Abel
Although Joseph Smith is not known to have made any statements regarding blacks and the priesthood, he was aware of the ordination of at least one black man to the office of elder. Elijah Abel was ordained on March 3, 1836 by Zebedee Coltrin. Six months later, he was ordained to the office of seventy and was called to serve in the Third Quorum of the Seventy. Abel served his first missionMormon missionary
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
for the church to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
. In 1836, he moved from Kirtland to Nauvoo, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, where he participated in the temple ordinance of baptism for the dead
Baptism for the dead
Baptism for the dead, vicarious baptism or proxy baptism is the religious practice of baptizing a living person on behalf of one who is dead, with the living person acting as the deceased person's proxy...
. In 1843, a traveling high council visited Cincinnati, where Abel lived, but refused to recognize Abel for the sake of public appearance and called him to his second mission to the "colored population" of Cincinnati.
Abel rejoined the Latter-day Saints in Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
in 1853. By then, Brigham Young had formalized church's policies against black people. However, no attempt was made to remove Abel's priesthood or drop him from the Third Quorum of the Seventy. He remained active in the Quorum until his death.
Green Flake
Born in 1829 Green Flake, the slave of James Madison Flake, a convert to the LDS Church, was baptized at the age of 16 on April 7, 1844 by John Brown. He accompanied the Flake family to Nauvoo, Illinois. Green remained a slave but was a faithful member of the church throughout his life. From family diaries and the memory of a grandson, it is believed that it was Green who drove the carriage and team that brought President Brigham Young into the Salt Lake Valley.Brigham Young freed Flake in 1854. Flake died a faithful member of The Church.
Walker Lewis
Walker Lewis was another free black man who held the Mormon priesthood prior to the death of Joseph Smith. A prominent radical abolitionist, Episcopalian, and Most Worshipful Grand Master of FreemasonryFreemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
from Lowell
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
and Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, Lewis became a Latter Day Saint about 1842. In the summer of 1843, he was ordained an elder in the Melchizedek priesthood. His son, Enoch Lovejoy Lewis, also joined the Latter Day Saints about the same time, and Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier was an influential American Quaker poet and ardent advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. He is usually listed as one of the Fireside Poets...
heard young Enoch preaching in Lowell just after the death of Joseph Smith in July or August 1844. It has been speculated that Enoch led Young to instigate the ban against black men holding Mormon priesthood when Enoch L. Lewis married a white Mormon woman, Mary Matilda Webster, in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
on September 18, 1846. On December 3, 1847, Young told the Quorom of the Twelve at Winter Quarters that "if they [Enoch and Matilda] were far away from the Gentiles they wod. [would] all be killed - when they mingle seed it is death to all." (Quorum of the Twelve Minutes, December 3, 1847, pp. 6–7, LDS Archives.)
External links
- Neither White Nor Black: Mormon Scholars Confront the Race Issue in a Universal Church (The full text)
- Black Mormon: A Web Site Dedicated to Black Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- African Americans and Mormonism - A critical look at Blacks and the Priesthood in the LDS Church from exmormon.org
- Chronological Bibliography on the Negro Doctrine
- Authoritative Statements on the Status of Blacks
- Black Jaredite Theory
- More about the Olmec-Jaredite-Black theory
- Olmec-Jaredite-Black theory
- Essay on Latter-day Saint views on OD-2
- Current Strangite position statement.
- Utah Lighthouse Ministry, Section on Racism
- Brigham Young's Speech on Slavery, Blacks, and the Priesthood
- Curse of Cain? Racism in the Mormon Church
- In His Own Words (Article about FLDS Racism)
- Quotes from LDS sources regarding Blacks and Mormonism
- Racism, testimony are barriers for black LDS