Blacks and the priesthood/Deny based on race

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Blacks and the priesthood: Summary Blessings denied by race? Origins of the ban Pre-1978 statements LDS scripture and the ban Lifting the ban Pre-existence? Social pressure and the ban? Repudiated ideas Racist statements? Blacks slaves in heaven Death for race mixers? Prophetic fallibility Slaves in heaven?
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Contents 1 Does God deny privileges based on race? 2 Endnotes 3 Further reading 3.1 FAIR wiki articles 3.2 FAIR web site 3.3 Video 3.4 External links 3.5 Printed material

Does God deny privileges based on race?

It is abundantly clear from the Bible and other scriptures that, in certain circumstances and for various reasons, God has given certain privileges and responsibilities to certain groups and withheld them (or allowed them to be withheld) from others. Examples of this include:

• God made a special covenant with Abraham, and reaffirmed it with his descendants the Israelites, beginning with Moses. While conversion to the Israelite religion was possible, it was rare, and the Lord forbade Israel from intermarrying with the surrounding foreign nations.
• Within the Israelite community itself, only the Levites were tasked with performing the ordinances of the tabernacle, and later the temple (Num. 3:5-13; Num. 8:5-26). With this privilege came certain sacrifices; for example, the Levites did not receive a land of inheritance when Israel took control of Canaan (Josh. 14:4).
• During Jesus' mortal ministry, he instructed his disciples to only preach to the Jews (Matt. 10:5-6). It was only during the later apostolic ministry that Peter received a revelation authorizing the gospel to go to the Gentiles (Acts 10).

The last two are especially instructive, in that there is no apparent reason why non-Levite Israelites in Old Testament times and Gentiles in early New Testament times could not receive the same privileges as others. Sometimes God operates on a timetable that he chooses not to explain.

Endnotes

None

Further reading

FAIR wiki articles

1978 Priesthood revelation wiki articles

• Blacks and the priesthood (summary)
  • Blessings denied by race?
  • Origins of the ban
  • Understanding pre-1978 statements
  • LDS scripture and the ban
  • Lifting the ban
  • Social pressure and the ban?
  • Repudiated ideas
• Fallibility of prophets
• Racist statements by Church leaders
  • Do blacks go to heaven as slaves?
  • Death the penalty for race mixing?

FAIR web site

1978 Priesthood revelation FAIR articles

• FAIR Topical Guide: Blacks and the priesthood FAIR link
  
• FAIR Topical Guide: Infallibility of prophets FAIR link
  
• FAIR Topical Guide: Personal beliefs of prophets FAIR link
  
• FAIR Topical Guide: Race and cultural issues FAIR link
  
• FAIR BlackLDS site: FAIR link (Key source)
• Marcus H. Martins, "A Black Man in Zion: Reflections on Race in the Restored Gospel" (2006 FAIR Conference presentation). FAIR link PDF link
• Mike Parker, "Dispelling the Myth of the 'Curse of Cain'" (one-page handout that argues against Cain's curse being black skin and a priesthood ban). PDF link

Video

Blacks in the Bible, Darius Gray, 2005 FAIR Conference

• Part 1: Blacks in the Bible
• Part 2: Blacks in the Bible
• Part 3: Blacks in the Bible

Reaching Black Saints, Marvin Perkins, 2005 FAIR Conference

• Part 1: Reaching Black Saints
• Part 2: Reaching Black Saints
• Part 3: Reaching Black Saints
• Part 4: Reaching Black Saints
• Part 5: Reaching Black Saints

External links

1978 Priesthood revelation on-line articles

• Lester E. Bush, Jr., "Mormonism's Negro Doctrine: An Historical Overview," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 8:1 (Spring 1973): 11–68. (Bush argues for Brigham Young as author of the priesthood ban.) off-site
• Lester E. Bush, Jr. and Armand L. Mauss, eds., Neither White Nor Black: Mormon Scholars Confront the Race Issue in a Universal Church, (Salt Lake City, Signature Books, 1984). ISBN 0941214222. off-site
• Ronald K. Esplin, "Brigham Young and Priesthood Denial to the Blacks: An Alternate View," Brigham Young University Studies 19:3 (Spring 1979): 394–402.. (Esplin argues for Joseph Smith as the author of the priesthood ban.) PDF link
• Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Need for Greater Kindness," Ensign (May 2006): 58–61. off-site
• Marcus H. Martins, "All Are (Really) Alike Unto God: Personal Reflections on the 1978 Revelation." off-site
• Marcus H. Martins, "'Thinking Way Back': Considerations on Race, Pre-Existence, and Mortality," expanded version of a talk presented at a meeting of The Genesis Group, a branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, held in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 1 August 1999. off-site
• Seth R. Payne, "A Work in Progress: The Latter-day Saint Struggle with Blacks and the Priesthood," paper submitted at Yale Divinity School, 5 May 2006. PDF link
• John A. Tvedtnes, "The Charge of 'Racism' in the Book of Mormon," FARMS Review 15/2 (2003): 183–198. off-site PDF link

Printed material

1978 Priesthood revelation printed materials

• David M. Goldberg, The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity and Islam (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003). ISBN 0691123705 (2005 paperback edition).
• Stephen R. Hayes, Noah's Curse: The Biblical Justification of American Slavery (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002). ISBN 0195313070 (2007 paperback edition).
• Edward L. Kimball, Lengthen Your Stride: The Presidency of Spencer W. Kimball (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2005), Chapters 20–24. ISBN 1590384571 (CD version)
• Armand L. Mauss, All Abraham's Children: Changing Mormon Conceptions of Race and Lineage (Chicago and Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2003). ISBN 0252028031.
• Alexander B. Morrison, Dawning of a Brighter Day (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book Co., 1990). ISBN 978-0875793382. ISBN 087579338X.