God and Skin Color
In 1978, after decades of political wrangling and social turmoil, the Mormon church finally changed their policy barring people of African descent from being "ordained" with the priesthood. The church never admitted they were wrong to discriminate. Instead, they claimed that "God" had changed his mind on the topic, and that the church as a whole would now follow the latest decree from"God" himself, as revealed to his prophet and mouthpeice on Earth, Spencer W. Kimball.
The following is a collection of quotes from Mormon leaders and other Mormon sources that detail the origin and intensity of their racist beliefs.
Mormon Publication on God's preference for white skin:
“We will first inquire into the results of the approbation or DISPLEASURE OF GOD UPON A PEOPLE, starting with the belief that A BLACK SKIN IS A MARK OF THE CURSE OF HEAVEN PLACED UPON SOME PORTIONS OF MANKIND. Some, however, will argue that a black skin is not a curse, nor a white skin a blessing. In fact, some have been so foolish as to believe and say that a black skin is a blessing, and that the negro is the finest type of a perfect man that exists on the earth; but to us such teachings are foolishness. We understand that when God made man in his own image and pronounced him very good, that he made him white. We have no record of any of God's favored servants being of a black race....every angel who ever brought a message of God's mercy to man was beautiful to look upon, clad in the purest white and with a countenance BRIGHT as the noonday sun.”
(Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 3, page 157)
Mormon General Authority Alvin R. Dyer teaching missionaries in Norway why they are white:
“We have talked a lot about missionary work and heard the testimonies of those who have spoken. I want to talk to you a little bit now about something that is not missionary work, and what I say is NOT to be given to your investigators by any matter of means.... Why is it that you are white and not colored? Have you ever asked yourself that question? Who had anything to do with your being born into the Church and not born a Chinese or a Hindu, or a Negro? Is God such an unjust person that He would make you white and free and make a Negro CURSED under the CURSING OF CAIN that he sould not hold the Priesthood of God?...“I want to talk to you just briefly about this, not with any information that you would convey to your investigators, but that you, yourselves, may have a better understanding of what we are doing in the mission field today... There were three divisions of mankind in the pre-existence, and when you are born into this life, you are born into one of these three divisions of people. There is an imposed judgment placed upon everyone who leaves the Spirit World just the same as there will be when they leave this life and go into one of three places. When they left the Spirit World, they had already been judged by what they had done in the Spirit World and in their previous life. From what judgment is determined how they shall be born in this life? When you understand that, you know that God is not unjust to cause a righteous spirit to be born as a CURSED member of the BLACK RACE or to be CURSED as one of the other people who have been CURSED. Everything is in order. The procreation of man is orderly and in accordance with the plan of life and salvation. “In keeping with this thought, when Noah went into the Ark, here again he took with him his three sons—one representing the CURSED LINEAGE.... Those who have been cursed in the pre-existence were born through this lineage of Ham. “I suppose, and you may have often heard missionaries say it or have asked the question: Why is a Negro a Negro? And, you have heard this answer. 'Well, they must have been neutral in the pre-existence or they must have straddled the fence. That is the most common saying—they were neither hot nor cold, so the Lord made them Negroes. This, of course, is not true. The reason that spirits are born into Negro bodies is because those spirits rejected the Priesthood of God in the pre-existence. This is the reason why you have Negroes upon the earth. “You will observe that when Cain was influenced by the power of Lucifer to follow him...Cain rejected the counsel of God. He rejected again the Priesthood as his forebearers had done in the pre-existence. Therefore, the curse of the pre-existence was made institute through the loins of Cain. Consequently, you have the beginning of the race of men and women into which would be born those in the pre-existence who had rejected the Priesthood of God....Ham reinstated the curse of the pre-existence when he rejected the Priesthood of Noah, and in consequence of that he preserved the curse on the earth. Therefore, the Negroes to be born thereafter, or those who were to become Negroes, were to be born through the loins of Ham. “All of this is according to a well worked-out plan, that these millions and billions of spirits awaiting birth in the pre-existence would be born through a channel or race of people. Consequently, the cursed were to be born through Ham.... The cursed people are the descendants of Ham. The chosen people are the descendants of Shem... Through these lineages thespirits that compare with their station are born in this life. This is why you have colored people, why you have dark people and why you have white people.... “I don't know whether the knowledge or the revelation of these things will have an effect upon you as a missionary, but I know that it has an effect upon me,...the day will come when you know who you are, because you are a person of nobility. You may not fully know that now, but you were a person of nobility in the pre-existence. If you were not, you would have been born into one of these other channels, and you would not have been born in this day and age, because the Lord has withheld the CHOICE spirits of the pre-existence to come forth in this, the last dispensation,... I wanted you to know the reason why you are preaching the Gospel. There is a purpose behind it and knowing this as you do and knowing your NOBILITY—what kind of a missionary are you going to be from this day to the end of your mission?... “I have always thought and have proven the point many times that if you will place into the mind of a boy or a girl, firmly, that they are noble persons born of noble heritage in the pre-existence, they will never stoop to anything that is sordid.... I have made known to you today something you may not have known before, but you know them now because the Spirit bears record. “May the Lord bless you in it and bless you with this knowledge. I bear record of its truthfulness in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”
(“For What Purpose?,” a talk given by Alvin R. Dyer at the Missionary Conference in Oslo, Norway, March 18, 1961, printed in The Negro in Mormon Theology, pp. 48-58)
Mormon Apostle Pratt, on the superiority of the Mormons over "Fallen Nations", including Africans:
“...among the Saints is the most likely place for these spirits to take their tabernacles, through a just and righteous parentage. They are sent to THAT PEOPLE THAT ARE THE MOST RIGHTEOUS OF ANY OTHER PEOPLE UPON THE EARTH;...THIS IS THE REASON THE LORD IS SENDING THEM HERE,... The Lord has not kept them in store for five or six thousand years past, and kept them waiting for their bodies all this time to send them among the Hottentots, the AFRICAN NEGROES, the idolatrous Hindoos, or any other of the fallen nations that dwell upon the face of the earth. They are not kept in reserve in order to come forth to receive such a DEGRADED PARENTAGE upon the earth;...” (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1, p. 63)
Church leader Bruce R. McConkie, on the denial of equality for Africans:
“NEGROES IN THIS LIFE ARE DENIED THE PRIESTHOOD; under NO circumstances can they hold this delegation of authority from the Almighty. The gospel message of salvation IS NOT CARRIED AFFIRMATIVELY TO THEM... “NEGROES ARE NOT EQUAL WITH OTHER RACES WHERE THE RECEIPT OF CERTAIN SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS ARE CONCERNED...” (Mormon Doctrine, 1958, p. 477)
Future President of the Mormon church, Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:
“Not only was Cain called upon to suffer, but because of his wickedness HE BECAME THE FATHER OF AN INFERIOR RACE.”
(The Way to Perfection, page 101)
More from Smith:
“There is a reason why one man is BORN BLACK and with OTHER DISADVANTAGES, while another is BORN WHITE with great advantages. The reason is that we once had an estate before we came here, and were obedient; more or less, to the laws that were given us there.”
(Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1, page 61)
The Mormon prophet Brigham Young on the appearence of Africans:
“Cain slew his brother....and the Lord put a mark upon him, which is the FLAT NOSE AND BLACK SKIN...”
(Journal of Discourses, Vol. 7, pages 290-291)
From a Mormon Publication:
“Their skin is quite black, their hair woolly and black, THEIR INTELLIGENCE STUNTED, and they appear never to have arisen from the most savage state of barbarism.” The Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 3, page 157)
Besides a black skin, Africans have a black heart, according to Mormon publication Times and Seasons, edited by future prophet John Taylor:
“The descendants of Ham, besides A BLACK SKIN which has ever been a curse that has followed an apostate of the holy priesthood, as well as a BLACK HEART, have been servants to both Shem and Japheth, and the ABOLITIONISTS ARE TRYING TO MAKE VOID THE CURSE OF GOD, BUT IT WILL REQUIRE MORE POWER THAN MAN POSSESSES TO COUNTERACT THE DECREES OF ETERNAL WISDOM.”
(Times and Seasons, Vol. 6, page 857)
Apostle Orson Pratt taught that some people don't receive an "honourable body" because they sided with the Devil in a previous life:
“At the time the devil was cast out of heaven, there were some spirits that did not know who had authority, whether God or the devil. They consequently did NOT TAKE A VERY ACTIVE PART ON EITHER SIDE, BUT RATHER THOUGHT THE DEVIL HAD BEEN ABUSED, AND CONSIDERED HE HAD RATHER THE BEST CLAIM TO THE GOVERNMENT. These spirits were not considered bad enough to be cast down to hell, and never have bodies; neither were they CONSIDERED WORTHY OF AN HONOURABLE BODY on this earth: but it came to pass that Ham, the son of Noah, saw the nakedness of his father while he lay drunk in his tent, and he with 'wicked joy,' ran like Rigdon, and made the wonderful disclosure to his brethren; while Shem and Japheth took a garment, with pity and compassion, laid it upon their shoulders—went backwards and covered their father,... The conduct of the former BROUGHT THE CURSE OF SLAVERY upon him, while that of the latter secured blessings, jurisdiction, power and dominion....Canaan, the son of Ham, received the curse; for Noah wished to place the curse as remote from himself as possible. He therefore placed it upon his grandson instead of his son. Now, it would seem cruel to force PURE celestial spirits into the world through the lineage of Canaan that had been cursed. This would be ill appropriate, putting the PRECIOUS and VILE together. But those spirits in heaven that rather LENT AN INFLUENCE to the DEVIL, thinking he had a little the best right to govern, but did not take a very active part any way were required to come into the world and take bodies information concerning the doctrine of pre-existence: “Is there reason then why the type of birth we receive in this life is not in the ACCURSED lineage of Canaan; and hence the NEGRO or African race.”
(Speech of Elder Orson Hyde, delivered before the High Priests' Quorum, in Nauvoo. April 27th, 1845, printed in Liverpool, page 30)
According to the Book of Mormon, the church's sacred scripture, God darkens people who sin. This is the Mormon church's explanation for the color of the American Indians:
“...wherefore, as they were white, and exceeding 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.”
(Book of Mormon, page 61, 2 Nephi 5, verse 21)“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...” (Book of Mormon, page 201, Alma 3, verse 6)
“...for this people shall be scattered, and shall become a DARK, a filthy, and a loathsome people, beyond the description of that which ever hath been amongst us,...” (Book of Mormon, page 468, Mormon 5, verse 15)
The Book of Mormon, however, predicts that the Indians will repent of their sins and become white:
“...and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a WHITE AND DELIGHTSOME PEOPLE.”
(Book of Mormon, page 102, 2 Nephi 30, verse 6. (The word "WHITE" was changed to "PURE" in later editions of the Book of Mormon))
Mormon Publication claims that sinners turn dark:
“From this it is very clear that the mark which was set upon the descendants of Cain was a SKIN OF BLACKNESS, and there can be no doubt that this was the mark that Cain himself received; in fact, it HAS BEEN NOTICED IN OUR DAY THAT MEN WHO HAVE LOST THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD, AND FROM WHOM HIS BLESSINGS HAVE BEEN WITHDRAWN, HAVE TURNED DARK TO SUCH AN EXTENT AS TO EXCITE THE COMMENTS OF ALL WHO HAVE KNOWN THEM.”
(Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 26, page 635)
Dark skin is God's mark and even with help from his white friends, an African can't scrub it off:
“For instance, the descendants of Cain cannot cast off their SKIN OF BLACKNESS, at once, and immediately, although every soul of them should repent,...Cain and his posterity must wear the mark which God put upon them; and his white friends may WASH THE RACE OF CAIN WITH FULLER'S SOAP EVERY DAY, THEY CANNOT WASH AWAY GOD'S MARK;...” (Mormon publication, Millennial Star, Vol. 14, page 418)
People of Color Consort with the Devil
Also from McConkie: Cain was an associate of Lucifer and is the Father of the Negros.
“Though he was a rebel and AN ASSOCIATE OF LUCIFER IN PRE-EXISTENCE, and though he was a liar from the beginning whose name was Perdition, CAIN MANAGED TO ATTAIN THE PRIVILEGE OF MORTAL BIRTH. Under Adam's tutelage, he began in this life to serve God....he came out in open rebellion, fought God, worshiped Lucifer, and slew Abel.... “As a result of his rebellion, CAIN WAS CURSED WITH A DARK SKIN; he became the father of the Negroes, and those spirits who ARE NOT WORTHY to receive the priesthood are born through his lineage. He became the first mortal to be cursed as a son of perdition. As a result of his mortal birth he is assured of a tangible body of flesh and bones in eternity, a fact which will enable him to RULE over SATAN.”(Mormon Doctrine, p. 102)
According to the 3rd president of the Mormon church, John Taylor, Cain's curse of a dark skin marks the representatives of the Devil:
“And after the flood we are told that the CURSE that had been pronounced upon Cain was continued through HAM'S WIFE, as he had married a wife of that seed. And why did it pass through the flood? because it was necessary that the DEVIL SHOULD HAVE A REPRESENTATION upon the earth as well as God;...” (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 22, page 304)
Brigham Young: Death to inter-racial couples:
“Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the AFRICAN RACE? If the WHITE man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the PENALTY, under the LAW OF GOD, IS DEATH ON THE SPOT. THIS WILL ALWAYS BE SO.” (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 10, page 110)
Slavery - A Divine Institution
A letter written by Joseph Smith, the first Mormon prophet, to the Messenger and Advocate, an early Mormon newspaper, deriding those who would end slavery. Later, this letter was printed in "History of the Church":
“DEAR SIR: —This place (Kirtland) having recently been visited by a gentleman who advocated the principles or doctrines of those who are called ABOLITIONISTS, and his presence having created an interest in that subject, if you deem the following reflections of any service, or think they will have a tendency to correct the opinions of the Southern public,...you are at liberty to give them publicity... I FEAR that the sound might go out, that 'an Abolitionist' had held forth several times to this community,...all, except a very few, attended to their own vocations, and left the gentleman to hold forth his own arguments to nearly naked walls. I am aware that many, who PROFESS to preach the Gospel, complain against their brethren of the same faith, who reside in the South, and are ready to withdraw the hand of fellowship, because they will not renounce the principle of slavery, and raise their voice against every thing of the kind. This must be a tender point, and one which should call forth the candid reflections of all men, and more especially before they advance in an opposition calculated to lay waste the fair states of the South, and let loose upon the world a community of people, who might, peradventure, OVERRUN OUR COUNTRY, AND VIOLATE THE MOST SACRED PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN SOCIETY, CHASTITY AND VIRTUE.... I do not believe that the people of the North have any more right to say that the South shall not hold slaves, than the South have to say the North shall. “How any community can ever be excited with the CHATTER of such persons, boys and others, who are too indolent to obtain their living by honest industry, and are incapable of pursuing any occupation of a professional nature, is unaccountable to me; and when I see persons in the free states, signing documents against slavery, it is no less, in my mind, than an army of influence, and a DECLARATION OF HOSTILITIES, against the people of the South. What course can sooner divide our union? “After having expressed myself so freely upon this subject, I do not doubt, but those who have been forward in raising their voices against the South, will cry out against me as being uncharitable, unfeeling, unkind, and wholly unacquainted with the Gospel of Christ....the first mention we have of SLAVERY is found in the Holy Bible,... And so far from that prediction being averse to 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.... I can say, the CURSE IS NOT YET TAKEN OFF FROM THE SONS OF CANAAN, neither will be until it is affected by as great a power as caused it to come; and the people who INTERFERE THE LEAST WITH THE 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 DECREES 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 dictated by His counsel.”
(History of the Church, by Joseph Smith, Vol. 2, pages 436-438)
More from the Mormon newspaper Messenger and Advocate:
“Where can be the common sense of any wishing to see the slaves of the south set at liberty,... Such a thing could not take place without corrupting all civil and wholesome society, of both the north and the south! Let the BLACKS of the south be free, and our community is overrun with paupers, and a reckless mass of human beings, uncultivated, untaught and unaccustomed to provide for themselves the necessaries of life— endangering the chastity of every female who might by chance be found in our streets—our prisons filled with convicts, and the HANG-MAN WEARIED with executing the functions of his office! This must unavoidably be the case, every rational man must admit, who has ever travelled in the slave states, or we must open our houses unfold our arms, and bid these DEGRADED AND DEGRADING sons of Canaan, a hear[t]y welcome and a free admittance to all we possess! A society of this nature, to us, is so intolerably DEGRADING, that the bare reflection causes our feelings to recoil, and our hearts to revolt....the project of EMANSIPATION IS DESTRUCTIVE TO OUR GOVERNMENT, and the notion of amalgamation is devilish!— And insensible to feeling must be the heart, and low indeed must be the mind, that would consent for a moment, to see his fair daughter, his sister, or perhaps, his bosom companion, in the embrace of a NEGRO!...
(Messenger and Advocate, Vol. 2, pp. 299-301)
Brigham Young states that slavery is a divine institution:
“Ham will continue to be servant of servants, as the Lord decreed, until the curse is removed. WILL THE PRESENT STRUGGLE FREE THE SLAVE? NO; but they are now wasting away the black race by thousands.... “Treat the slaves kindly and let them live, for HAM MUST BE THE SERVANT OF SERVANTS UNTIL THE CURSE IS REMOVED. Can you destroy the decrees of the Almighty? YOU CANNOT. Yet our Christian brethren think that they are going to overthrow the sentence of the Almighty upon the seed of Ham. THEY CANNOT DO THAT, though they may kill them by thousands and tens of thousands.”
(Millennial Star, Vol. 25, page 787; also published in Journal of Discourses, Vol. 10, page 250)
John Taylor, who became the third President of the Mormon Church, had this to say concerning the abolitionist Horace Greeley after Mr. Greeley visited Utah:
“... I WOULD NOT TALK TO HIM: I FELT MYSELF SUPERIOR TO SUCH A MEAN CONTEMPTIBLE CUR. I knew he was not after truth, but falsehood. “This Greeley is one of their popular characters in the East, and one that supports the stealing of NIGGERS and the underground railroad....he is one of the prominent newspaper editors in the Eastern country, and he is a POOR, MISERABLE CURSE.” (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 5, page 119)
While giving sermons, Brigham Young had these things to say about the abolutionists:
“The rank, rabid ABOLITIONISTS, whom I call BLACK-HEARTED Republicans, have set the whole national fabric on fire.”
(Journal of Discourses, Vol. 10, page 110)
As part of a church instructional manual, Mormon church Historian B.H. Roberts, quoted from William B. Smith:
“Perhaps the most convincing book in JUSTIFICATION of the south in DENYING TO THE NEGRO RACE SOCIAL EQUALITY with the white race is the one written by William Benjamin Smith, entitled The Color Line, A Brief in Behalf of the Unborn, from which the following is a quotation:
“'Here, then, is laid bare the news of the whole matter: Is the south JUSTIFIED in this ABSOLUTE DENIAL OF SOCIAL EQUALITY to the NEGRO, no matter what his (personal) virtues or abilities or accomplishments? “'We affirm, then that the south is ENTIRELY RIGHT in thus keeping open at all times, at all hazards, and at all sacrifices an IMPASSIBLE SOCIAL CHASM BETWEEN BLACK AND WHITE. This she must do in behalf of her blood, her essence, of the stock of her Caucasian race.... The moment the bar of ABSOLUTE SEPERATION is thrown down in the south, that moment the bloom of her spirit is BLIGHTED FOREVER,... That the negro is MARKEDLY INFERIOR to the Caucasian is proved both craniologically and by six thousand years of planet-wide experimentation; and that the commingling of INFERIOR with SUPERIOR must lower the higher is just as certain as that the half-sum of two and six is only four.'
(The Color Line, pp. 7-12)” (First Year Book in the Seventy's Course in Theology, pages 231-233)
Church leader Bruce R. McConkie claims that a human caste system is part of the gospel:
“Certainly the caste systems in communist countries and in India, for instance, are man made and are not based on true principles. “However, in a broad sense, CASTE SYSTEMS have their ROOT and ORIGIN in the GOSPEL itself, and when they operate according to the DIVINE DECREE, the resultant restrictions and SEGREGATION ARE RIGHT AND PROPER AND HAVE THE APPROVAL OF THE LORD. To illustrate: Cain, Ham, and the whole negro race HAVE BEEN CURSED WITH A BLACK SKIN, the mark of Cain, so they can be identified as a CASTE APART, a people with whom the other descendants of Adam should not intermarry.”
(Mormon Doctrine, 1958, pp. 107-108)
The Mormon church owned Deseret News printed apostle and future prophet Ezra Taft Benson's words concerning civil rights:
“LOGAN, UTAH—Former agriculture secretary Ezra Taft Benson charged Friday night that the CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT in the South had been 'FOMENTED ALMOST ENTIRELY BY THE COMMUNISTS.' “Elder Benson, a member of the Council of the Twelve of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said in a speech at a public meeting here that the WHOLE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT WAS 'PHONY.'...
“'The whole slogan of 'civil right' as used to make trouble in the South today, is an exact parallel to the slogan of agrarian reform' which they used in China,' he added....
“'The pending 'civil rights' legislation is, I am convinced, about 10 per cent civil rights and 90 per cent a further extension of socialistic federal controls,' Elder Benson said, 'It is part of the PATTERN FOR THE COMMUNIST TAKE-OVER OF AMERICA.'“ (Deseret News, December 14, 1963)At the 135th annual conference of the Mormon church, apostle Bensen continued his diatribe:
“'What are we doing to fight it? BEFORE I LEFT FOR EUROPE I WARNED HOW THE COMMUNISTS WERE USING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT TO PROMOTE REVOLUTION AND EVENTUAL TAKEOVER OF THIS COUNTRY. WHEN ARE WE GOING TO WAKE UP? WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE DANGEROUS CIVIL RIGHTS AGITATION IN MISSISSIPPI? DO YOU FEAR THE DESTRUCTION OF ALL VESTIGES OF STATE GOVERNMENT? “'NOW, BRETHREN, THE LORD NEVER PROMISED THERE WOULD NOT BE TRAITORS IN THE CHURCH. WE HAVE THE IGNORANT, THE SLEEPY AND THE DECEIVED WHO PROVIDE TEMPTATIONS AND AVENUES OF APOSTACY FOR THE UNWARY AND THE UNFAITHFUL. BUT WE HAVE A PROPHET AT OUR HEAD AND HE HAS SPOKEN. NOW WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? Do Homework “'Brethren, if we had done our homework and were faithful we could step forward at this time and help save this country.” (Salt Lake Tribune,April 7, 1965, p. A-5)
Mark E. Petersen's Racist Talk at BYU
The Mormon apostle Mark E. Petersen gave a talk at Brigham Young University in 1954 concerning race relations. Here are select parts of that talk:
“Is there reason then why the type of birth we receive in this life is not a reflection of our WORTHINESS OR LACK OF IT in the pre-existent life?...can we account in any other of way for the birth of some of the children of God in darkest AFRICA, or in flood-ridden CHINA, or among the starving hordes of INDIA, while some of the rest of us are born here in the United States? We cannot escape the conclusion that because of performance in our pre-existence some of us are born as Chinese, some as Japanese, some as Indians, some as Negroes, some as Americans, some as Latter-day Saints. THESE ARE REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS, fully in harmony with His established policy in dealing with SINNERS AND SAINTS, rewarding all according to their deeds....
Using the Chinese as an example:
“Let us consider the great mercy of God for a moment. A Chinese, born in China with A DARK SKIN, and with all the handicaps of that race seems to have little opportunity. But think of the mercy of God to Chinese people who are willing to accept the gospel. IN SPITE OF WHATEVER THEY MIGHT HAVE DONE IN THE PRE-EXISTENCE TO JUSTIFY BEING BORN OVER THERE AS CHINAMEN, if they now, in this life, accept the gospel and live it the rest of their lives they can have the Priesthood, go to the temple and receive endowments and sealings, and that means they can have exaltation. Isn't the mercy of God marvelous?
Concerning Africans:
“Think of the Negro, CURSED AS TO THE PRIESTHOOD.... This negro, who, in the pre-existence lived the type of life which justified the Lord in sending him to the earth in the lineage of Cain with a BLACK SKIN, and possibly being born in darkest Africa—if that negro is willing when he hears the gospel to accept it, he may have many of the blessings of the gospel. IN SPITE OF ALL HE DID IN THE PRE-EXISTENT LIFE, the Lord is willing, if the Negro accepts the gospel with real, sincere faith, and is really converted, to give him the blessings of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. If that Negro is faithful all his days, he can and will enter the celestial kingdom. He will go there AS A SERVANT, but he will get celestial glory.”
On civil rights. What people of African decent want:
“The discussion on civil rights, especially over the last 20 years, has drawn some very sharp lines. It has blinded the thinking of some of our own people, I believe. They have allowed their political affiliations to color their thinking to some extent, and then, of course, they have been persuaded by some of the arguments that have been put forth.... We who teach in the Church certainly must have our feet on the ground and not be led astray by the philosophies of men on this subject... “I think I have read enough to give you an idea of what the negro is after. He is not just seeking the opportunity of sitting down in a cafe where white people eat. He isn't just trying to ride on the same streetcar or the same Pullman car with white people. It isn't that he just desires to go to the same theater as the white people. From this, and other interviews I have read, it appears that the negro seeks absorbtion with the white race. He will not be satisfied until he achieves it by intermarriage. That is his objective and we must face it. We must not allow our feeling to carry us away, nor must we feel so sorry for negroes that we will open our arms and embrace them with everything we have. Remember the little statement that we used to say about sin, 'First we pity, then endure, then embrace.'...
On segregation. A Godly principle:
“Now let's talk SEGREGATION again for a few moments. Was segregation a wrong principle? When the Lord chose the nations to which the spirits were to come, determining that some would be Japanese and some would be Chinese and some Negroes and some Americans, He engaged in an act of SEGREGATION.... When he told Enoch not to preach the gospel to the descendants of Cain who were BLACK, the Lord engaged in SEGREGATION. When He CURSED the descendants of Cain as to the Priesthood, He engaged in SEGREGATION.... “Who placed the Negroes originally in darkest Africa? Was it some man, or was it God? And when He placed them there, He SEGREGATED them....The Lord segregated the people both as to blood and place of residence. At least in the cases of the Lamanites and the Negroes we have the definite word of the Lord Himself that He placed a dark skin upon them as a curse—as a punishment and as a sign to all others. He forbade intermarriage with them under threat of extension of the curse. (2 Nephi 5:21) And He certainly SEGREGATED the descendants of Cain when He cursed the Negro as to the Priesthood, and drew an absolute line. You may even say He dropped an Iron curtain there....
Mr. Petersen would that every person of African decent drive a cadillac:
“Now we are generous with the negro. We are willing that the Negro have the highest kind of education. I would be willing to let every Negro drive a cadillac if they could afford it. I would be willing that they have all the advantages they can get out of life in the world. BUT LET THEM ENJOY THESE THINGS AMONG THEMSELVES, I think the Lord segregated the Negro and who is man to change that segregation? It reminds me of the scripture on marriage, 'what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.' Only here we have the reverse of the thing— WHAT GOD HATH SEPARATED, LET NOT MAN BRING TOGETHER AGAIN.”
(Race Problems as They Affect the Church, an address by Apostle Mark E. Petersen, delivered at the Convention of Teachers of Religion on the College Level, Brigham Young University, August 27,1954)
Surprize! Joseph Smith Ordained a Black Man
Despite all the rhetoric, Andrew Jenson, who was the Assistant Church Historian, recorded that a man of African decent was indeed ordained to the Mormon priesthood in the early days of the church:
“Abel, Elijah, the ONLY COLORED MAN WHO IS KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN ORDAINED TO THE PRIESTHOOD, ...he was ordained an ELDER March 3, 1836, and a SEVENTY April 4, 1841, AN EXCEPTION HAVING BEEN MADE IN HIS CASE WITH REGARD TO THE GENERAL RULE OF THE CHURCH IN RELATION TO COLORED PEOPLE.... In Nauvoo HE WAS INTIMATELY ACQUAINTED WITH THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH... In 1883, as a MEMBER of the Third Quorum of SEVENTY, he left Salt Lake City on a MISSION to Canada, during which he also performed missionary labors in the United States. Two weeks after his return he died, Dec. 25, 1884, of debility, consequent upon exposure while laboring in the MINISTRY in Ohio. He died in full faith of the gospel.”
(L.D.S. Biographical Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 577)
In 1884 the Mormon newspaper Deseret News printed Elijah Abel's obituary:
“ABLE.—In the 13th Ward, December 25th 1884, of old age and debility, consequent upon exposure while laboring IN THE MINISTRY in Ohio, Elijah Able. Deceased was born in Washington County, Maryland, July 25, 1810; joined the Church and was ordained an ELDER as appears by certificate dated March 3d, 1836; was subsequently ordained a SEVENTY as appears by certificate dated April 4, 1841; labored successfully in Canada and also performed a MISSION to the United States, from which he returned about two weeks ago. He died in FULL FAITH of the Gospel. “Funeral at 16th Ward Assembly Rooms Saturday, Dec. 27th, at 10 a.m. Friends invited.”
(Deseret News, Dec. 26, 1884)