There is much MISinformation about Mormons and the Mormon Faith in the African-American Community. Many in that community believe Mormons are "racist" or "don't like black folks" or "is a white folks church" or "used to believe that black folks were the children of the Devil" etc. Because of such false rumor and misinformation, this book was written. Darrick Evenson
March 2004

Welcome to Black Mormon History 101!

What is a "Black Mormon"?

Black Mormons are Mormons of black African lineage (bloodline). They are Latter-day Saints of black African ancestry. They are "Members" of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; commonly known as The Mormon Church (also called "The LDS Church" or The Mormon Faith). There have been Black Mormons since 1832; two years after the official founding of the Church in New York State in 1830. One of the first Seventies of the LDS Church was a Black Mormon by the name of Elijah Abel (1810-1884). Because of his great faith, he was ordained to the Priesthood and became a member of the Third Quorum of Seventy; a priesthood-office just under Apostle. He was a personal friend to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and helped to rescue him from mobs in Missouri bent upon taking his life. Elijah Abel's son Enoch and grandson Elijah were also ordained to various offices in the Priesthood. Elijah Abel died in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the age of 74; just after having served a mission for the Church in Canada and Cincinnati, Ohio.

Drawing of Elijah Abel and Darius Gray at the Elijah Abel Memorial (City Cemetary, Salt Lake City, Utah)

Because of the Priesthood-ban (see below) the numbers of Black Mormons remained low until about the mid-1960s; when tens of thousands of black Africans began to form independent Book of Mormon-believing congregations in West Africa. A few of these men, like Joseph W.B. Johnson of Ghana, began to have visions of Jesus Christ or the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City. They didn't know what these visions meant until they came across old pamphlets or articles which had pictures of the Salt Lake Temple on them, or had a story about the Mormons. These men found copies of The Book of Mormon left by travelers, and they would read them and then form their own congregations; sometimes in the thousands.

The Prophet Joseph Smith

The Mormon Faith was founded by Joseph Smith Jr. (1806-1844) ; whom Mormons consider to be a Prophet of God. He is considered a latter~day "John the Baptist". In the year 1820, he had a vision of the Father and the Son. Jesus Himself instructed Joseph Smith to restore His Church, and to gather the Elect of God in the last days.

In 1820, confused about religion, he asked God in fervent prayer which church was true; for they all claimed to have the "truth" but they contradicted each other. God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph in a vision, and told him not to join any church, but to remain worthy and a great work would come to pass by his hand in the last days.

The First Vision of Joseph Smith (1820)

Later, the Angel Moroni (an ancient Jewish prophet who lived in America) revealed to Joseph tablets of gold, written by Moroni and his father Mormon; another ancient Jewish prophet who lived in America. Joseph Smith was given the gold plates, and the power to translate them into English; into The Book of Mormon.

Joseph receives the plates from Moroni (c.1826)

The LORD commands Joseph Smith to establish restore His Church to it's original purity in the last days. It is eventually called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was formally established in 1830, near Palmyra, New York State. In 1830, the United States had millions of black Africans; the great majority of them were slaves living in the Southern States. Free blacks existed, but they were second-class citizens at best. The vast great majority of white men in the days of Joseph Smith (North and South) believed that "Negroes" were "naturally inferior" to whites.

Joseph Smith~Advocate for the Black People

Joseph Smith was a great advocate for the black people; in a time in which many of his fellow white countrymen owned black slaves, and in a time which almost all white Americans believed that "Negroes" were "inherently inferior" to white people. The Prophet Joseph Smith did not believe that Negroes were inherently "inferior" to whites. He said that they were the way they were only because the whites did not allow them to be educated. He said that if one "changed their situation" and educated them "they would be like" the whites. He advocated the freedom, education, and the granting of "equal rights" to blacks at a time when only a small minority of Abolitionists believed that blacks should be granted equal rights. When he was once asked what advice he would give to a man who came into the Church with 100 black slaves, the Prophet replied:

"I have advised them to bring their slaves into a free country and set them free~educate them~and give them equal rights." (Compilation on the Negro in Mormonism, p.40)

"Break off the shackles of the poor black man and hire him to labor like other human beings." (History of The Church 5:209)

The Prophet Joseph Smith (1806-1844)

Joseph Smith was not just a Prophet and Seer! He was also the Mayor of Nauvoo, Illinois; at that time the largest city in that state. He was also the Lt.General of the Nauvoo Legion; the Mormon militia in Illinois.

Lt.Gen. Joseph Smith promising to protect Nauvoo from anti-Mormon mobs

In 1843 Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon founded the Mormon Reform Party (not in any way affiliated with the current "Reform Party" in the U.S.); the only political party at that time that advocated the freedom and the granting of equal rights to blacks! At that time, no other American political party wanted blacks to have equal rights (not even the Abolitionist Party which also sought to end slavery). The Mormon Reform Party publication Joseph Smith's Views on the Power and Policy of the Government of the United States called for the end of slavery and the education and granting of equal rights to black folks! This publication was widely read and disseminated; especially in Illinois. Joseph Smith called on Congress to sell the millions of acres of Federal public lands and use the money to purchase the slaves from their masters, to free them, educate them, and give them equal rights.

A Mormon Reform Party political poster (1843)

Some feel that this publication was read by Abraham Lincoln; a young Illinois lawyer and politician who lived not very far from Nauvoo in 1843 when Joseph Smith ran for the U.S Presidency. As candidate and later as President, Lincoln would call for the sale of Federal public lands to pay the Southern white slaveowners and free the slaves; just as Joseph Smith had advocated decades before. But Congress rejected that plan. Wealthy white railroad and mining barons wanted the public lands for themselves. Congress rejected the plan, and soon the Civil War started in 1860 in South Carolina; just as Joseph Smith had prophesied it would back in 1832:

"VERILY, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls,
2 And the time will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at this place.
3 For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, and they [Britain] shall call upon other nations, in order to defend themsevles against others nations [Germany, Austria-Hungary], and then war shall be poured out upon all nations.
4 And it shall come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against their masters, who shall be marshaled and disciplined for war.
(Doctrine & Covenants section 87)

During his 1843 Presidencial campaign, Joseph Smith's call to end black slavery and the granting of "equal rights" for blacks was becoming very popular with many people, but he was hated by white men in the South who wanted slavery to continue, and he was hated by some white men in the North who did not want equality for free blacks. In June of 1844, Joseph Smith was assassinated in Carthage, Illinois, by an anti-Mormon mob. Some of the mob were later members of a secret society in Illinois called the Knights of the Golden Circle. They were very anti-Black. They existed in the North and the South. Southern Illinois (called "Egypt") was colonized by many Southern whites. After the Civil War, Congress made the KGC illegal. A few KGC members then formed a new organization called the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (from the Greek Kuklos which means "circle" and the Scottish klan which means "family"). The KKK was just a rehashing of the Knights of the Golden Circle, but under a new name! The LDS Church, through the Deseret News (whose editorials back then were written by Mormon Apostles) strongly condemned the KKK and called upon the American government to immediately "root out and destroy" it (this was in 1868 when the Klan was first formed)! Unfortunately, America didn't listen.

During Joseph Smith's time as President of the Church, at least two black men were ordained to the Priesthood: Elijah Abel (who also became a Seventy) and Walker Lewis. Perhaps there are more, but there is no firm record of them. Elijah Abel was a carpenter and undertaker, and a personal friend of Joseph Smith. He was adopted by Joseph Smith Sr.; father of the Prophet, as a son (not formally). Thus, Elijah Abel was informally the adopted "brother" of Joseph Smith. When anti-Mormons had Joseph Smith jailed in Liberty, Missouri, on false charges, it was Elijah Abel and a few other brave Mormons who rescued him from certain death. Elijah Abel eventually went west to Utah with the Mormons led by Brigham Young. He was called to be a member of the 3rd Quorum of Seventy; the 5th highest council of the Church at that time. He served a mission to Canada at age 72, and died in Salt Lake City at age 74. His son Enoch and his grandson Elijah was also ordained to the Priesthood.

Once, as the Mayor of Nauvoo, Illinois (a Mormon city on the banks of the Mississippi) Joseph was told of a black man in Nauvoo named Anthony who had sold liquor on Sunday; which was a violation of the Nauvoo City Code. Mormon writer Mary Frost Adams tells us what happened:

"While he was acting as mayor of the city, a colored man named Anthony was arrested for selling liquor on Sunday, contrary to law. He pleaded that the reason he had done so was that he might raise the money to purchase the liberty of a dear child held as a slave in a Southern State. He had been able to purchase the liberty of himself and his wife and now wished to bring his little child to their new home. Joseph said, 'I am sorry, Anthony, but the law must be observed and we will have to impose a fine.' The next day Brother Joseph presented Anthony with a fine horse, directing him to sell it, and use the money obtained for the purchase of the child." (Young Woman's Journal, p.538)

For this reason, and others, the Prophet Joseph Smith was absolutely hated by many white men; who wanted to see him dead, and the Church destroyed. A group of white men in Nauvoo (which included thieves, counterfeiters, and several prominent Church leaders who wanted to take over the Church and put Joseph 'out of the way), formed a cabal and started a publication called The Nauvoo Expositor; which claimed that Joseph Smith was a "fallen prophet" and an evil licentious "tyrant" who needed to be overthrown. The paper contained many exaggerations and untruths. Joseph Smith and the Nauvoo City Council had the paper closed, and the type destroyed. In the 1840s it was not uncommon for a City Council to declare a local press "libelous" and shut it down. Back then, pornography and libel was not considered "free speech" as it is today. Using the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor as the excuse they needed, anti-Mormon mobs and the state militia of Missouri threatened to invade Nauvoo, Illinois (the Mormon city), kill all the Mormon leaders (especially the Prophet), and destroy the city and scatter the Mormons. Joseph Smith immediately called-up the Nauvoo Legion (city militia) to defend the city. The governor of Illinois wanted to try to placate the Missourians, and anti-Mormon mobs in Illiniois, so he had Joseph Smith arrested for destroying the type of the Nauvoo Expositor. Discovering that was legal under the Nauvoo Charter, he then had Joseph Smith arrested for "treason"; for calling up the militia without the express written permission of the Governor of Illinois. The Prophet felt he had the right; since he was the Lt.Gen of the Nauvoo Legion, and he could not be sure if the Governor would protect Nauvoo. The Prophet was arrested and imprisoned in Carthage Jail, in Carthage, Illinois. Only a few days later, on June 24th 1844, a mob of white men (with faces pained black) stormed the jail and killed the Prophet, his brother Hyrum. They also seriously wounded John Taylor, a Mormon Apostle who would later become the 3rd President of the Church.

Just days before his death Joseph Smith is purported to have said:

"I am going like a lamb to the slaughter, but I am as calm as a Summer's morning. I have a conscience void of offense toward God and man. If they take my life I shall die an innocent man, and my blood shall cry from the ground for vengeance, and it shall be said of me 'He was murdered in cold blood'. (History of the Church 6:555)

Painting of Hyrum Smith (dead), Joseph Smith (left) and Willard Richards holding his cane and trying to keep mob from coming in. John Taylor (at right of door) was later shot numerous times by the Anti-Mormon mob but survived his wounds.

The Martyrdom of Joseph Smith (Carthage, Ill., 1844)

Some men (non-mormons) who later claimed to be eye-witness of the martyrdom said that when one of the mob tried to cut-off Joseph Smith's head, a light came down from heaven and stuck the knife-wielding assassin paralyzed.

Despite what the governor of Illinois tried to do, the anti-Mormon mobs in Illinois attacked Nauvoo anyway. The Mormons and the mob fought many small battles. The Mormons even had to defend themselves against canon-fire! Finally, the anti-Mormon mob and the Mormons made an agreement to allow the Mormons to leave the city. Brigham Young led the Mormons from Nauvoo, Illinois, to the Great Salt Lake Basin in what is now the state of Utah. There, the Mormons founded Salt Lake City, and hundreds of other cities and towns in the Western United States.

Brigham Young, the 2nd President of the Church, held the same view of "Negroes" as did the great majority of white Americans in his day. He held the very same view as did the American President Abraham Lincoln. He considered "Negroes" to be "inferior", but that they should be treated "like we treat our own children" and not like beasts of burden; as they were then treated as slaves in the South. Brigham Young said:

"Negroes should be treated like human beings, and not worse than dumb brutes. For their abuse of that race, the whites shall be cursed, unless they repent." (Journal of Discourses 10:111)

"The Lamanites or Indians are just as much the children of our Father and God as we are. So also are the Africans." (Journal of Discourses 11:272)

"Men will be called to Judgment for the way they have treated the Negro." (J.D. 10:250)

Brigham Young (2nd President LDS Church)

Black Mormons & The Curse of Cain Doctrine

There have been black Mormons since 1832; two years after the Mormon Faith was founded. Membership in the Church for blacks has never been denied. Some of the first Mormon pioneers in Utah (1840s) were black.

Since 1852, black (the Priesthood is open only to males) of Hamitic lineage (bloodline) and any man of white-skin or any other skin-color who is of Hamitic lineage (even white men with blond hair and blue eyes who have at least one known black African ancestor) have not been ordained to the Mormon Priesthood (i.e. the orders of Aaron and Melchizedek). This is because Brigham Young taught that "Negroes" were the descendants of Cain through the wife of Ham, the son of Noah. He first taught this in 1852. Brigham Young (and other Presidents of the Church) taught that Negroes were the children of God, but they were also the descendants of Cain (the firstborn son of Adam and Eve), and because Cain was "cursed as pertaining to the Priesthood", his descendants (black Africans) could not hold the Priesthood in mortality, but that "one day" the curse was be lifted off that posterity, and that men of Hamitic lineage in the Church would hold the Priesthood like everyone else.

During the era of the Priesthood-ban (1852-1978) blacks were still allowed to become Members of the Church; although relatively few did. During this time the descendants of Elijah Abel were still ordained to Priesthood-offices. Why his descendants were exempted from the Priesthood-ban is unknown; even to Mormon historians.

There is no evidence for a "Priesthood-ban" during the Church-presidency of Joseph Smith (1830-1844). He is known to have authorized the ordination of free black men (called "Freemen of Color"). He also is known to have said that black slaves could be baptized, but not ordained to the Priesthood. There is no recorded sermon, letter, revelation, or statement from the Prophet Joseph Smith that speaks of the Priesthood-ban or that the descendants of Cain could not hold the Priesthood. The only "confirmations" we have are from 7 men (four of them Apostles) who claim that Joseph Smith told them that "Negroes" had "no right" to the Priesthood; based upon their memories of conversations they had with the Prophet.

There is no clear and direct evidence that the Prophet Joseph Smith originated what is now referred to as "The Priesthood-ban". However, we DO know that he considered "Negroes" to be "the sons of Cain" (History of the Church 4:501). We also know he translated The Book of Abraham; a volume of Mormon scripture in which it says that the ancient Egyptians were the descendants of Ham, and that they were "blessed with wisdom" but "cursed as pertaining to the Priesthood" (Abraham 1:26). The ancient Egyptians were Hamites; the descendants of Ham, the son of Noah. They were also Cainites; the descendants of Ham's wife, a Cainite woman. Mormon presidents (including Joseph Smith) believed that black Africans were also Hamites; the descendants of Ham, the son of Noah. According to Mormon scripture, Ham married "Egyptus"; a Cainite woman (descendant of Cain). And thus, the Cainite lineage survived the great flood and passed to the ancient Egyptians, and from them to the Nubians, and from the Nubians into the native African population via the migrations over millenia of black Hamitic tribes which had Nubian blood (lineage).

The Book of Abraham

The Priesthood-ban stems from the Book of Abraham; in the Pearl of Great Price. Mormons revere the following as "Standard Works" of Scripture for the Church:

*Bible
*Book of Mormon
*Doctrine & Covenants
*Pearl of Great Price

In 1839 the Church bought some ancient Egyptian papyrus from a man named Michael Chandler; who inherited them from an Italian egyptologist. Among the papyrus was the Egyptian Book of the Dead, etc. Joseph Smith claimed that he translated a portion of the papyrus, and the translation resulted in The Book of Abraham; which is Abraham's account of his sojourn in Egypt. A fuller account that is found in Genesis. The Book of Abraham was not published to the Church until 1843; just a year before Joseph Smith was killed.

A portion of the ancient Egyptian papyrus from which Joseph Smith "translated" The Book of Abraham

Several verses in The Book of Abraham seem to say that the Ancient Egyptians were of Canaanite blood, and thus they were "blessed with wisdom and the blessings of the earth" but "cursed as pertaining to the Priesthood" (Abraham 1:26). Mormon prophets since the time of Brigham Young, starting in 1852 with the first "Curse of Cain" sermon, have interpreted Abraham 1:26 as applying to all "Negroes". From 1852 to 1955 it was applied to all black-skinned people everywhere. After 1955, it was interpreted to apply only to black Africans; since they alone were "Hamites" (descendants of Ham and his Cainite wife). Black-skinned peoples in India, Indonesia, and Polynesia were no longer considered to be Hamites by Mormon prophets after 1955.

In the early 19th century, all Bible-believing Americans believed the "Negroes" were the descendants of Ham, the son of Noah. Some also believed that Negroes were the descendants of Cain, and that the "Mark of Cain" was a "black skin". The 18th century African-American poetess Phillis Wheatley (born in Senegal in 1753) wrote:

Phillis Wheatley was not a Mormon! There were no "Mormons" in her day! The Mormon Faith did not begin until 1830. Wheatley wrote that whites believed in her day that "Negroes" were "as black as Cain". That was the general belief among white Europeans and white Americans (both Catholic and Protestant) in her day, and in the days of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.

The ancient tradition that the "Mark of Cain" was a black face, or a black skin, comes from ancient Jewish writings; like the Babylonian Talmud, the Midrash, etc. Such a tradition existed in Catholic Europe during the Middle-Ages and afterwards. The first English immigrants to America (pilgrims and puritans) brought such a tradition with them from England. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were the descendants of early English immigrants to America.

Joseph Smith's "translation" of Genesis (The Book of Moses in The Pearl of Great Price--a volume of Mormon scripture) seems to confirm the ancient tradition, saying that "the seed of Cain were black" (Moses 3:22). According to The Book of Abraham (also in The Pearl of Great Price), the Ancient Egyptians were Canaanites by blood; meaning descendant of Canaan, the son of Ham and a woman named "Egyptus" who was a descendant of Cain. In other words, while many Bible-believers believed that all the Cainites drowned in the Great Flood, Mormons were taught that the Cainite lineage survived the flood, and that Ham, the son of Noah, married a Cainite woman; thus preserving the Cainite lineage. The Canaanites settled what is now Israel/Palestine, and also Egypt and Sudan.

Do Mormons believe that Cain was the first "Negro"?

Most 19th century and early 20th century Mormons believed that Cain was the first "Negro"; that God changed him from a white man (the son of Adam and Eve) into a Negro (black African), and that Cain's wife (a white daughter of Adam and Eve) and their children also became full-blooded Negroes. Older and rural Mormons often retain this belief. More educated and urban Mormons usually can be classed as either "Orthodox" or "Sunstone". The "Sunstone" Mormons refer to educated Liberal Mormons. They don't believe that Cain was black or turned black. Many don't even believe Cain existed at all, but is an ancient myth recorded in the Bible. Many accept what Liberal Bible scholars say; that the KENITES (Cainites) were a group of wandering smiths (metal-artisans), and that the "Mark of Cain" was a "T" (Tau) on the forehead; a tribal mark. They usually don't believe Adam or Eve exited, but that is myth or mere parable.

Educated and urban "Orthodox" Mormons usually believe whatever the President and Apostles of the Church tell them is official Church doctrine. Up until 1978 they were told that "Negroes" were the children of God in spirit, but the children of Cain in mortality. Orthodox Mormons accepted that. Since 1978, the Curse of Cain doctrine has not been actively taught in the Church; so Orthodox Mormons today (2003A.D.) usually don't 'think' about it, and may have never thought about it. Their personal opinions vary widely on the subject; if they have any opinion on the subject at all.

Nubian Diffusion Theory

Some orthodox Mormon intellectuals in the Church believe in a theory (not official doctrine) called the "Nubian Diffusion Theory"; that the black Africans inherited the Hamitic lineage (bloodline) from the ancient Nubians; who had the blood of the ancient Egyptians in them.

Two ancient Nubians

Mormon scripture says that Ham, the son of Noah, married a Cainite woman named "Zeptah" or perhaps "Egyptus". The descendants of Ham and Zeptah are called "Hamites". The Hamites were thus Cainites; because they were the descendants of Cain via Ham's Cainite wife. The ancient Egyptians were Canaanites; the descendants of Canaan; the son of Ham and Zeptah (a Cainite woman). Thus, the Ancient Egyptians were the descendants of Ham, and thus "Cainites" because Ham's wife was a Cainite woman. The ancient Nubians intermarried and intermingled with the ancient Egyptians; thus inheriting the lineage (bloodline) of Cain.

An ancient Egyptian painting show (from left to right) a Syrian, a Nubian, a Canaanite, and an Egyptian. The Ancient Egyptians were a racially mixed people; part Canaanite (Semitic), and part Nubian (Negro).

The ancient Nubians (who inherited the Cainite bloodline from the Egyptians) migrated south and west and spread their bloodline throughout black Africa; via the Bantus, Dogons, Yorubans, and other Hamitic tribes. One African tribe, the Bantus, can be found all over black Africa. They have a Hamitic lineage. They migrated from Central Africa to West Africa and into East and South Africa; intermingling with other native African tribes, and spreading the Hamitic lineage (bloodline) throughout Pathros (black Africa). Thus, over thousands of years of migration and intermingling, all black African tribes eventually became the descendants of Cain through Ham's Cainite wife. But they are also descendants of Noah, the father of Ham. They inherited both a Cainite and a Sethite lineage.

In other words, the Nubian Diffusion Theory says:

*Adam and Eve were the first Adamites; the founders of the Adamic Race; a new race of men that are white-skinned (not exposed to the Sun's ultraviolate rays for hundreds of thousands of years as were the black-skinned or brown-skinned pre-Adamic races).
*Cain the white man is cursed with a denial of the Priesthood in mortality as well as a "curse" upon the ground that it would not yield friut for him. His posterity inherits his curse. His posterity become artisans in metal ("smiths"). They are the first Adamites to build cities, and are the first to use musicial instruments.
*The 'mark of Cain' (a black skin) is not a curse, but a blessing of protection. Cain the man never becomes a 'Negro', but KAYIN the people (i.e. the Cainites) intermarry with pre-Adamite (black-skinned) peoples.
*Ham, the son of Noah, marries a Cainite woman. They have a son named Canaan. Some Canaanites settle into Egypt and intermarry with Nubians. The Nubians later migrate into West Africa and Central Africa and intermarry with many tribes; eventually the Hamtic/Cainite bloodline is spread throughout all of Parthos (i.e. black Africa).

Map shows Egyptians (Canaanites who settled around the Nile Delta), and Nubians (black Africans with Canaanite blood via intermarriage with Egyptians), and the migration of Nubians and Bantus (who had Nubian blood) throughout black Africa (spread the Cainite bloodline). The map does not show further Nubian migration to West Africa. Most West African tribes tie their ancestry to ancient Egypt or Nubia.

Basically, those Mormons who have any knowledge or belief at all concerning the Curse of Cain doctrine fall within three beliefs:

*Cain was the first Negro. Adam and Eve were the first human beings on earth, and white. From Adam and Eve sprang all the races we have today; Negro, Mongolian, Amerind, Melanesian, Malaysian, Polynesian, Aboriginal, etc. Some call this the "Old Orthodox Mormon" view.

*Cain as a man probably never existed at all. Cain refers to the KAYIN, the wandering Semitic "smiths" who marked themselves on the forehead with a "T" as a tribal protection mark. Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, was a KAYIN, and also a "priest" of the Most High God. Adam and Eve never existed, but is a myth or perhaps a parable representing "Men" and "Women". Cain as a man never existed, but is also a myth. Some call this the "Sunstone Mormon" view.

*Cain refers to the WHITE son of Adam and Eve; the first man and woman of the Adamic race. There were races, and prophets, before Adam on this planet. The "Mark of KAYIN" refers not to the man named Cain (Hebrew: KAYIN), but to the people named "Cain" (Kayin); who became black by intermarrying with black-skinned pre-Adamic peoples (i.e. Negroes). Adam and Eve were not the first human beings, but the first Adamites; the first to "show blood in the face" (i.e. blush). Some call this the "New Orthodox Mormon" view.

Under the Old Orthodox Mormon view, Cain was a white man who was punished, and he became the first "Negro". But, the punishment or "curse" was NOT a black skin! The Bible says that the "mark" of Cain was from the LORD, and a "protection" so that anyone who killed him would get 7-fold retribution in return. It was to "protect" Cain (KAYIN). A protection is a "blessing"; not a curse! The Old Orthodox Mormon view said that the Mark of Cain was a black skin and Negroid features, as a way to "protect" him. Why a black skin and negroid features protected Cain from vengeance at all was never explained in the Old Orthodox Mormon view.

Under the Sunstone Mormon view, Cain never existed as a real person. Sunstone Mormons appeal to Liberal Bible scholars, who say that the "Mark of KAYIN" was a tribal mark on the forehead, to say to those that killed any KAYIN that the entire KAYIN tribe would avenge their death. The tribal mark was a sign of protection; to make any thieves or thugs think twice about killing a KAYIN.

Under the New Orthodox Mormon view, Cain was a white man, and was cursed by God as a WHITE MAN. Cain never became "black"; except perhaps becoming "black" from wandering naked in the Land of Nod (a hot desert). The "Mark of Cain" was a "black skin"; a "protection" from the Sun, and a protection from vengeful white-skinned Sethites seeking a blood-feud. If the Cainites (KAYIN) could ally himself with black-skinned peoples, and intermarry with them, then the Sethites (small in number) would think twice about a blood-feud with the Cainites; now allied and confederated with a very numerous pre-Adamic black-skinned people.

Which is the "official" view of the Mormon Faith?

There isn't any. Members can hold any one of them, and do.

Yet, most Mormons have 'never thought about it' and have no real belief about the Curse of Cain doctrine one way or the other; unless they are over 50 and remember it taught by Mormon Apostles and others in the Church when they were young; during the 1960s and especially before that time.

Many younger Mormons (born after 1978) are unaware of the Curse of Cain doctrine and some of the older teachings of the Church, and are often only barely aware that black Mormon men could not hold the Priesthood before 1978 (except for Elijah Abel, his descendants, and Walker Lewis). If they say, "We never knew that!" they are not lying! They simply have never been taught about this aspect of Mormon history. After you read this article, you'll know more than they do about the subject.

The Holy Priesthood

The Holy Priesthood is defined as the Power of God delegated to Man to act in His Name. The ancient Israelite priesthood consisted of Aaron (the brother of Moses) and the rest of the Levites; one tribe of Israel. Only the Levites (the descendants of Levi) were allowed to perform ordinances in the Temple of God in Jerusalem. They wore special white garments, and before they could enter the Temple to perform rites (ordinances) there they had to be washed with water and anointed with olive oil. The Washings and Anointings were symbolic of purity and sanctity. The Levites included:

*The High Priest
*The Priests
*The Levites

The High Priest wore very special garments. He entered the Holy of Holies (the most Holy part of the Temple where the Glory of the LORD dwelt) once a year, and performed ordinances there. The Priests also performed various rite and rituals (ordinances) and were assited by men who were referred to simply as "Levites".

Four Levites carrying the Ark of the Covenant

The sacred duty of the Levites were to "minister" in the House of the LORD.

A Priest next to the High Priest

The purpose of the Temple of the LORD was for the Priesthood of God to offer sacrifices unto the LORD; in the form of animal sacrifices. The Israelites offered the firstborn among various animals as a sin-offering for their sins. The blood of these firstborn animals would be offered to atone for their sins; both individually and collectively. Christians (including Mormon Christians) believe that the purpose of the Temple of the LORD was to teach the Israelites about sin and the atonement for sin; that the LORD must be appeased by blood. Jesus Christ was the Spotless Lamb of God that came into the world to atone for the sins of the World; via His shed blood. He was the firstborn of God.

The Priests and Levites wore special white garments; a symbol of purity and sanctity. The other tribes of Israel could worship in the Temple, but they could not perform ordinances there. The other Israelites (the Jews included) were banned from the Priesthood because they did not valiantly fight on the side of Moses during Korah's rebellion. It says in the Book of Exodus that after Moses went up to the Mountain of the LORD, a man named Korah convinced the Israelites to rebel. He convinced Aaron to make a Golden Calf so they could worship it. When Moses came down from the mountain, he saw the rebellion. He said, "Who's on the Lord's side?" and immediately the Levites (the descendants of Levi--Moses was also a Levite) came to the side of Moses, and fought "valiantly" against Korah and the rebels. As a reward for their valiantly siding with Moses, they were rewarded with the Priesthood.

Cleon Skousen, the great Mormon storyteller, wrote:

"The Lord's preferred way is to have a kingdom of priests not a tribe of priests. The Lord would like to have every worthy person enjoy priesthood privileges, but when a nation rejects the responsibilities of priesthood service as Israel had done, the Lord's only alternative was to build a firm core of responsible leadership in whatever group seemed most likely to carry the load. In a time of crisis it had met the test. Moses had stood at the gates of the camp right after the ugly incident of worshipping the golden calf and had cried out, 'Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me.' The scripture says: 'And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.' Not another single tribe stepped forward. Now the Levites received their reward for that act of courageous commitment." (The Third Thousand Years, p.367)

Gentiles (non-israelites) were not allowed inside the Temple at all; only in a courtyard outside of the Temple called the "Court of the Gentiles". They could not even enter the Temple.

The High Priest, Priests, and Levites were called Qadeshiym; which means "Separated Out for a Special Purpose". In Latin the Hebrew word Qadeshiym is "Santos". In English and French it is "Saints". It simply means:

*Chosen
*Special
*Elect
*Elite

It does not mean "Superior", but "Special" and "Separated-Out for a Special Purpose". The Israelites were the Chosen People of the LORD. The Levites were the Chosen of the Chosen; the "Elect" of the LORD.

They were His "Saints".

The Israelite "Saints" were not "saints" like in the Catholic or Orthodox churches. They were not celebate. They were not monks and nuns. They were all married, and had wives and children. They were not "preachers" or "pastors" like most churches have today. People did not pray to them after they died. They were not necessarily more "holy" than other Israelites! They were just expected to have a higher standard, and be "clean" from the world. They had a special duty and "calling". Their duty was to perform sacred ordinances in the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem. This is what they did. Only the male Levites held the Priesthood. The female Levites were exempt.

There was another Priesthood mentioned in the Bible. It is called the "Order of Melchizedek". This is mentioned in Psalms 110:4 and Hebrews 1:17. Melchizedek is called "King of Salem, and priest of the Most High God." (Hebrews 1:1). Mormons believe he was Shem; the firstborn son of Noah. The Order of Melchizedek is older than the Order of Aaron, and much more powerful. Jesus is called a "high priest after the Order of Melchizedek" (Hebrews 1:17). Mormons believe that Jesus shared His Priesthood with His Apostles, and that His apostles shared Jesus' Priesthood with others called "Elders". Mormons believe that Peter, James, and John, acting as Angels of the LORD, bestowed the Melchizedek Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in 1829 as part of the "Restoration" of all things.

Peter, James, and John, as Angels, confirming the Melchizedek Priesthood (Jesus' Priesthood He had given them) upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in 1829

Mormons are "Latter-day Saints"; meaning the Qadeshiym of the latter-days; the modern days we now live in and the "last days" before the Second Coming of Christ. This is why the Church is named "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints".

Mormon Temples are NOT for the shedding of blood; whether animal or human. Jesus Christ offered "the final sacrifice for sin". However, Mormon Temples are for the purpose of performing divine Ordinances such as:

*Endowments
*Sealings
*Baptisms for the Dead

Endowments prepare us for death (the "other side of the veil") and the Resurrection of the Dead. It teaches us the "Signs and Tokens" we must know to pass-by the angels--who stand as sentinels--and return to the presence of the Father. Those who return to the Presence of the Father shall gain the highest reward in Heaven; which is called "EXALTATION". It means to be "exalted" and become "an heir of God and joint-heir with Christ"; to inherit all that Jesus has inherited from the Father. We "take out" Covenants (agreements) with God as part of the Endowment Ceremony. We covenant with Him to obey certain Laws, then He will bless us with certain earthly and heavenly rewards called "Blessings".

Sealings are ordinances that allow faithful husbands to be "sealed" to faithful wives, and children to be "sealed" to their parents. Without such Sealings, done by the "Sealing Power" that Jesus gave to Peter (Matthew 18:18), we must enter the eternities single and alone. With such sealings, faithful Latter-day Saints who endure to the end can be with their spouses and loved ones for all eternity.

Baptisms for the Dead are baptisms of living people done in the name of people who are dead. Dead bodies are not baptized in Mormon Temples! Living people are baptized "on behalf of" the dead (see 1 Corinthians 15:29). These baptisms allow people who have passed on "to the other side of the veil" the opportunity to ender the Kingdom of God; if they so choose. For those who have not had the opportunity to hear the Gospel in this life, one opporunity is granted them in the Afterlife. But if they reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ in mortal life, they have no opportunity again in the Afterlife. All men and women will have only one opportunity to hear and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The LDS Priesthood consists of three orders:

*The Aaronic Order
*The Melchizedek Order
*The Patriarchal Order

The Aaronic Order is composed of deacons, teachers, priests, and bishops. In the Mormon Faith today these offices are held by boys and young men from 13 to about 18. Bishops must also be High Priests; which is a Melchizedek Order office. High Priests are older men; usually at least 40, but sometimes as young as 25. Most of them are over 50. Bishops are not "preachers" like in Protestant churches. They simply "oversee" local congregations called "Wards".

The Melchizedek Order is composed of Elders, High Priests, and Apostles. All active and worthy Mormon men are expected to hold the office of Elder after the age of 18. To go on a full-time mission (become a missionary) a Mormon male must be an Elder. Mormon females are exempt from the Priesthood, but may also become missionaries.

The Patriarchal Order consists of Evangelists; meaning "Those Who Give Good News". Each STAKE (6 to 12 Wards) has at least one Patriarch, who gives members "Patriachal Blessings"; which is a prophetic blessing upon them should they remain faithful.

The LDS Priesthood is not anything like the Roman Catholic priesthood, or the Orthodox priesthood, or the "ministry" in Protestant churches! It is not a profession. It is not a vocation. Every active (faithful) male in the Mormon Faith is expected to "advance" through the various offices of the Priesthood from Deacon to Elder. One does not "study" for the Priesthood. One must merely be "worthy" of it (morally clean) and active in the Church. One must be male. Women are exempt from the Priesthood. The Priesthood in the Mormon Faith is like an Army; with soldiers and officers. The Mormon Priesthood consists of:

*Priesthood-holders
*Priesthood-officers

As in an army, officers are also soldiers, but soldiers are usually not also officers. In the Mormon Faith, all worthy males over the age of 13 are "Priesthood-holders". Those who have "pastorates" over others are called "Priesthood-officers" which include Branch Presidents, Presiding Elders, Bishops, Stake Presidents, Elder's Quorum Presidents, Deacon's Quorum Presidents, Teacher's Quorum Presidents, Mission Presidents, Area Presidents, Seventies, Apostles, Presiding High Priest of the High Priesthood (the President of the Church).

In the Mormon Faith, males need the Priesthood in order to go on missions (become missionaries) and to perform and receive sacred Higher Ordinances in Mormon Temples; like Sealings and Endowments. Females are exempt from such requirements. They may become missionaries, and receive the Higher Ordinances in Mormon Temples without the Priesthood. Mormon women have a "Relief Society"; which is their fellowship and service organization in the Mormon Faith.

When the Nauvoo Temple openned in 1846 (the first Mormon Temple which included Higher Ordinances), black Mormons could receive Endowments, Sealings, and perform baptisms for the Dead just like all Mormons could. In 1852, President Brigham Young banned black Mormons from the Temple altogether. He said this was because, as "Canaanites" (i.e. descendants of Canaan, the sons of Ham and his Cainite wife) they were also Cainites, and under the "Curse of Cain"; which was a denial of the Priesthood. Brigham Young taught that "Negroes" (the respectful term for black Africans at that time) were the "seed" (descendants) of Cain; the firstborn son of Adam and Eve. He taught that the "Mark of Cain" was a black skin and negroid features. He taught that the "Canaanites" (as he called black Africans) could not hold the Holy Priesthood until the "other children" of Adam first had the opportunity. He said (in 1866):

"And when all the rest of the children of Adam have received their blessings in the Holy Priesthood, then that curse shall be removed from the seed of Cain, and they will come up and receive all the blessings which we now are entitled to." (Journal of Discourses 11:272)

In 1901, another Church President decreed that black Mormons to perform Baptisms for the Dead in Mormon Temple; since they could be baptized without being able to hold the Priesthood. However, Hamites were still banned from the Higher Ordinances of Mormon Temples; Endowments and Sealings.

In 1955, President David O. McKay directed that non-Hamitic black-skinned peoples receive the Holy Priesthood and all Temple ordinances. Black Africans are not the only black-skinned race. The Dravidians and Tamils of India are black-skinned; as are the Papauns of New Guinea, the Fijians and Melanesians of the South Pacific, the Negritoes of Indonesia and the Philippines, and the Aborigines of Australia. This remarkable move showed that President McKay did not think the Curse of Cain applied to all black-skinned people, but only to black Africans; the descendants of native African tribes as well as the Ancient Egyptians. The Curse of Cain was upon the Ancient Egyptians; because they were the descendants of Canaan; the son of Ham and his Cainite wife.

All during the Priesthood-ban white-skinned Anglos were also banned from the Priesthood (and the Higher Orindances of the Temple) if it was discovered they had a "Hamitic lineage" (i.e. at least one black African ancestor).

In 1978, President Spencer W. Kimball issued "Official Declaration 2" which allowed "all worthy males" the Priesthood without reference to race or color. Today (2004 A.D.) all Temple ordinances are open to black Mormons. All Priesthood-offices are also open to male Mormons of Hamitic lineage.

The Curse of Cain doctrine today

The Curse of Cain doctrine (i.e. that black Africans are the descendants of Cain and inherit his curse as pertaining to the Priesthood) is not actively taught in the Mormon Faith today. It has not been actively taught since the 1960s. This has left many Mormons confused about it. Some think it was Church doctrine, and some think it wasn't. Some younger Mormons are totally unware of it!

Even though many Mormons are confused about the Priesthood-ban, those who have researched its history thoroughly know that the Priesthood~ban was always presented (from the days of Brigham Young) as an official policy of the Church; a policy based upon the Curse of Cain Doctrine, which was itself presented as an official doctrine of the Church from the days of Brigham Young (2nd President of the Church/1850s) until the days of Spencer W. Kimball (12th President of the Church/1970s). Even though the Priesthood~ban was "lifted" from off the Hamitic lineage in 1978, the First Presidency of the Church has not (until this day) reputiated it. Even though the Curse of Cain doctrine is no longer actively "taught", it remains "on the books" as an official doctrine of the Church. It will remain so until, and if, it is officially repudiated by an official statement of The First Presidency. There are no current signals that The First Presidency (the President of the Church and his two Counsellors/Senior Apostles) will repudiate the Curse of Cain doctrine/Priesthood~ban legacy.

The First Presidency (c.2003)

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints includes the President of the Church, and his two Counsellors (who are also Apostles). They are the Senior Apostles in the Church. The President of the Church is considered a "Living Prophet" who communicates with the LORD Jesus Christ often; in the "Upper Room" in the Salt Lake Temple. The three together are the highest quorum (council) in the Church, and they, as a body, direct the Church. Whenever they speak as one voice it is the official policy of the Church. Their official statements and actions are the official policies of the Church, and binding upon all Latter-day Saints.

Even though there are no signs that the Curse of Cain doctrine or Priesthood~ban legacy will ever be repudiated, the Quorum of the Twelve (Apostles) of the Church did repudiate "racism" (the belief that one race is "superior" to others~which the Curse of Cain doctrine never taught) in a statement in 1987:

"We repudiate efforts to deny to any person his or her inalienable rights on the abhorrent and tragic theory of the superiority of one race or color over another." (LDS Church Global Media Guide, 1987)

"At baptism we covenant to 'mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort thosue that stand in need of comfort.' (Mosiah 18:9). It is altogether appropriate that we should work to conquer all the unfair things that exist in this imperfect, unfair world: racism, illiteracy, povery, disease, and all the rest." (New Era, July 1989, Q&A section)

"God's second commandment, love thy neighbor, clearly leaves no room for racism." (Ensign, May 1995, p.66)

Were some Mormon presidents and apostles "racist"?

Some apostles and presidents of the Church did accept a moderate racist worldview; as did the vast great majority of white Americans of their day! These men simply accepted the consensus reality of the day (taught in universities and accepted by almost all educated and uneducated white Americans) that said that Negroes were "inherently inferior" to Caucasians. However, it should be noted, not even one Mormon apostle or president adhered to a radical racist worldview such as one held by Ku Klux Klan or other white-supremacist groups. Indeed, Mormon apostles always strongly condemned the KKK and other white-supremacist groups; via their editorials in the Deseret News (see Black Mormons & The Priesthood-ban via the link below).

One Mormon leader that is oft-quoted by Anti-Mormons and others who wish to make Mormons seem "racist" is Joseph Fielding Smith (1876-1972); the grand-newphew of the Prophet Joseph Smith. He was the son of Joseph F. Smith; the 6th President of the Church and son of Hyrum Smith (the Prophet's brother who was killed in Carthage, Illionois, in 1844). Joseph Fielding Smith was the 10th President of the Church (1970-72).

Joseph Fielding Smith was born in 1876, and grew up at at time when almost all white Americans believed, and were taught from elementary school through university, that whites (and especially Anglo-Saxons) were "superior" race and that Negroes were an "inferior" race.

In 1930 he authored a book titled The Way of Perfection (NOT published by the Church) in which he said that Negroes were "an inferior race" (p.101). When he wrote that, Joseph Fielding Smith (the grand-nephew of the Prophet Joseph Smith) was an Apostle in the Church. Yet, the Church refused to publish The Way of Perfection. So, he had it published elsewhere.

At the time, 1930, also all white Americans believed that "Negroes" were "an inferior race"; both educated and uneducated white Americans as well as white Europeans. This was the commonly-held view of the day; taught by all American and European universities.

In 1930, all of the major Protestant denominations held this view. In 1930, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah's Witnesses) held this same view, and said that Negroes were "under the curse of Canaan" and that "Caucasian blood" was "naturally superior" to Negro blood (see Zion's Watch Tower July 15, 1902, p.215, and The Golden Age 1926, p. 483 and The Golden Age, 1929, p.702). Blacks were segregated in "Kingdom Halls" until the 1950s. Yet, today, one cannot find an African-American who believes that the Jehovah's Witnesses are or ever were "racist".

The Assemblies of God held this same view; that Negroes were "inferior" and the white race "superior"(The Pentecostal Evangel, 21 July 1926, p.7). The founder of what became the Assemblies of God was Charles Fox Parham; an avid supporter of the KKK. During the 1930s, one of the leaders of the Assembles of God was A.B. Cox; a member and leader of the KKK. Before the 1960s, blacks were not allowed as members of the Assemblies of God let alone pastors or ministers! Yet, today, one cannot find an African-American with the slightest notion that the Assemblies of God was or is "racist".

The Seventh-day Adventist Church held the very same view about blacks. Ellen G. White, the "prophetess" of the SDA Church once wrote that Negroes were "a poor, wretched, ignorant race, who scarcely know anything of purity and righteousness" and "who could lie even when it is in their interest to speak the truth." (E.G. White and Race Relations, p.112). Blacks were segregated in the SDA Church up until the 1980s. Yet, one cannot find an African-American who thinks the SDA Church is or was ever "racist".

Research shows that Joseph Fielding Smith was an avid reader of books by George McCready Price; a Seventh-day Adventist, a white-racist, and self-trained "geologist" who was the father of "Creation Science" (also called "Scientific Creationism"). Price's books (most of them racist and pseudo-scientific) were published by the official publishing arm of the Seventh-day Adventist church. Joseph Fielding Smith became a staunch Creationist, and often opposed other Mormon Apostles who believed in evolution and pre-Adamites. He believed that Evolution--even Divinely-guided Evolution, was "Satan's chief weapon in this dispensation to destroy the mission of Jesus Christ." (The Search for Harmony: Essays on Science and Mormonism, p.vii)

In 1843, Hyrum Smith, the brother of the Prophet Joseph Smith, with his brother's approval, wrote:

"There were prophets before Adam, and Joseph has the spirit and power of all the Prophets." (Millennial Star 23:406)

"There were prophets before, and Joseph has the spirit and power of all the prophets." (History of the Church 6:346)

As a young man in the 1920s Joseph Fielding Smith came across the books of George McCready Price; whose "scientific" arguments for Creationism, to the laymen, seemed plausible. Joseph Fielding Smith accepted them, and became a crusading Mormon Creationist for most of the rest of his life. What convinced Joseph Fielding Smith in the 1920s and 1930s that Negroes were "an inferior race" was NOT the Curse of Cain doctrine (which says the Cainites were SUPERIOR in wisdom), nor even Mormon culture, but white American culture at that time, and the writings of George McCready Price; a racist, a pseudo-geologist, and a Seventh-day Adventist.

Decades later, Joseph Fielding Smith did an "about-face" and changed his views regarding blacks. In 1962 he wrote:

"The Latter-day Saints, so commonly called 'Mormons', have no animosity toward the Negro. Neither have they described him as belonging to an 'INFERIOR' race." (Deseret News, Church Section, June 14, 1962)

In 1963 Joseph Fielding Smith was interviewed by LOOK magazine (then a major American periodical). The author of the article reminded Elder Smith of his 1930 publication where he wrote that Negroes were "an inferior race". Elder Smith replied:

"The Mormon Church does not believe, nor does it teach, that the Negro is an inferior being. Mentally, and physically, the Negro is capable of great achievement, as great and in some cases greater than the potentiality of the white race. He can become a lawyer, a doctor, a scientist, and he can achieve great heights. The word 'inferior' is indeed unfortunate." (LOOK magazine, Oct. 22, 1963)

Joseph Fielding Smith (c.1970)

Anti-Mormons and others still use Joseph Fielding Smith's racial statements in The Way of Perfection to "prove" that Mormons and the Mormon Faith is or was "racist".

As 10th President of the Church (1970-1972), Joseph Fielding Smith said only positive things about "Negroes", and never spoke a word about Creationism.

Generally-speaking, most Mormon apostles held the same views on race as did most white Americans of their day. They were the children of their times and culture.

Is this article an official LDS Church statement?

NO! It is privately published. However, the author has studied the subjects contained herein perhaps more than any other living person. The facts are factual. The opinions are personal. For an official Church statement on the Curse of Cain/Priesthood-ban one must contact the Church itself. You can call 1-800-463-3860 during normal business hours and ask for "Public Affairs" or "The Office of the First Presidency", or you can write:

Public Affairs
Church of Jesus Christ L.D.S.
50 East North Temple St.
Salt Lake City, UT 84150

You can contact the Genesis Group of Black Latter-day Saints (the official Church fellowship organization for black Members in North America) at:

President Harwell
The Genesis Group
6720 Hollow Drive
Salt Lake City, UT 84121

(801) 943-3332 (no collect calls or calls after regular business hours please. You can email President Harwell at president_harwell@ldsgenesisgroup.org

You can also go to the Genesis Group Website at:

Genesis groups currently exist in Utah, Greater Los Angeles, and Atlanta Georgia. More groups are forming.

A Brief Summary of the Curse of Cain/Priesthood-ban Legacy

The following is a brief summery of the Curse of Cain doctrine which began with a sermon by Brigham Young in 1852, the legacy of the Priesthood-ban policy, what led up to and after the 1978 Revelation which lifted the ban, and the history of black Latter-day Saints from Elijah Abel until today.

*The Church teaches as doctrine that Adam and Eve were literal historic people. The Hebrew word for Adam is awdawm (aw="to show" + dawm="blood"--Strong's Dictionary of Hebrew Words, #119); which means "to show blood (in the face)". Only one race can blush (show blood in the face). Adam and Eve were the first man and woman of a new race; the Adamic Race. We are all their descendants because we all have Adamic blood; since the Adamic Race has diffused its bloodline throughtout the world for the last 6,000 years.

* There is no official Church doctrine on whether Adam and Eve were the first human beings on earth, or whether Adam and Eve were the first of the Adamic Race. Mormon prophets and apostles have held both views. Mormons are allowed to hold either view.(Some of the more liberal Mormons, called "Sunstone" Mormons, don't believe Adam and Eve existed, but are parables regarding "Men" and "Women").

*A child of Adam and Eve was Cain (Hebrew: KAYIN), who was a tiller of the soil, offered a sacrifice to the LORD in a state of unworthiness; meaning he was not "worthy" to offer a sacrifice to the LORD, but he offered it anyway. The LORD rejected Cain's sacrifice, and Cain lost his birthright to the Priesthood. The birthright fell upon Abel, the second son of Adam and Eve.

*Enraged and angered, Cain kills his brother Abel; mistakenly thinking that the birthright to the Priesthood would automatically revert back to him once his brother Abel was dead.

*Instead of the birthright reverting back to Cain, the LORD curses Cain with a denial of the Priesthood for him and his posterity until Abel was resurrected, had children, and all the Abelites had the Priesthood (or at least were offered it) first. It was against the Justice of God to let the Cainites have the Priesthood before the Abelites first had the opportunity to receive it.

*The remaining son of Adam and Eve, Seth, was given the Priesthood, and he and his descendants (the Sethites) had the Priesthood while the Cainites, the descendants of Cain, were denied it. They were banned from holding the Priesthood. The LORD commanded that the Sethites remain separate from the Cainites. The Cainites were the first to build cities, use musicial instruments, and work in metal. The Cainites were "civilized" city-dwellers, but the Sethites remained farmers and shepherds.

*The Sethites disobeyed the Law of the LORD, and intermarried with the Cainites. In response, the LORD sent the Great Flood upon the entire land (Heb: eretz); which killed all the Adamites except for Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives. All living things in that entire land (Hebrew: ERETZ) died in the Flood; except for Noah, his wife, his three sons, their wives, and the animals on the Ark. Some Mormons believe that the Flood covered the entire earth; even Mount Everest. Other Mormons believe the Flood was local, and covered only the "land" (translated "earth" in English Bibles) were Noah lived. Sunstone Mormons don't believe the story of Noah and the Flood at all, but believe it is myth). Members are allowed to hold different views on this.

*According to Mormon scriptures, one of Noah's sons, named Ham, married a Cainite woman named "Egyptus"; thus preserving the Cainite lineage (and the curse) through the flood. This is why, when Noah became drunk from wine after the flood, he said, "Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants unto his brethren" (Genesis 9:25). Canaan was the son of Ham and Egyptus, and inherited the Curse of Cain. The Jews, the descendants of Judah, the son of Jacob (Israel), who was a descendant of Shem, son of Noah, called Canaanites "dogs"; which mean "servants". Jesus too, a Jew, referred to Canaanites as "dogs" (Matt. 15:27).

*The Canaanites, the descendants of Canaan, son of Ham and Egyptus, settled in what is now Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and Egypt. In Egypt they met native African peoples, and intermingled with them. The Ancient Egyptians were part white and part black, or a Mulatto race. They had the Hamitic blood from the Canaanites, and blood from the native African peoples of the Nile Valley (the Nubians).

*According to The Book of Abraham (a Mormon book of scripture) a "son" (descendant) of Ham and Egyptus was the first Pharoah of Egypt. He was a "righteous man" and desired to follow the ways of the LORD, but he was of that lineage (bloodline) which was "blessed with wisdom" and "the blessings of the earth" but "cursed as pertaining to the Priesthood" (Abraham 1:26). So, Pharoah started an imitation priesthood; to imitate the true Priesthood of God. Some believe this was the priesthood of Amon (also Amen,Ahman, Min or Amoun); the Egyptian Creator-God whose name means "Hidden" or "Unknown". Some believe that the name Mormon comes from the ancient Egyptian Mor-i-Amon ("Beloved of Amon").

*The Egyptians grew into a wise and mighty people. But their wealth and victory in battle made them prideful and arrogant. They enslaved the Israelites; the descendants of Jacob called "Israel" (Heb: "Prevailer with God"). The Egyptians enslaved the Israelites for 450 years.

*God rose up Moses as a prophet to free His people from the Egyptians. The common Egyptians suffered the plagues because their pharoah refused to let the Israelites go. Because of their pride, arrogance, materialism, and racism, the LORD promised that He would "scatter" the Egyptians among the inhabitants of Pathros (black Africa), and, in the "latter days" He would send men "in ships" to enslave the descendants of the Egyptians and scatter them among the nations (see Ezekiel chaps 29 and 30). The prophet Ezekiel wrote:

"In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians [Khooshim in Hebrew which means "Negroes"] afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the days of Egypt [slavery]."(Ezekiel 30:9)

"And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations [of black Africa], and will disperse them through the countries [via the slave-trade]; and they shall know that I am LORD." (Ezekiel 30:26)

The slavetrade dispersed black Africans to many countries

*The Egyptians enslaved the Israelites for 450 years. In response to this, the LORD decrees that He would scatter the Egyptians among the nations of black Africa, and then men in ships to scatter the "Ethiopians" (the original Hebrew doesn't say "Ethiopians" but says "Khooshiym" which means "Negroes" and refers to all black Africans) among many countries, and they would "know the LORD" (become converted to the worship of the Hebrew God).

*Some see the Black African Disaspora (i.e. dispersion throughout the Americas and Europe because of slavery)as a literal fulfillment of these prophecies. African-American and African scholars who see the Black African Disaspora as a fulfillment of Bible prophecy are called "Bible Afro-Centrists". The Black African people (Hamites), the descendants of the Ancient Egyptians (Canites) and native African peoples, inherited the "blessings" and the "curses" of the LORD. They became the "slaves" of Europeans (Japhethites) and Arabs (Semites) for 450 years. Europeans and Arabs ruled black Africa for 450 years. The black slave trade continued for 450 years. What goes around comes around.

*A thousand years after the Israelites left Egypt, the Greeks, the Assyrians, the Persians, and then the Romans invaded Egypt, and conquered the Egyptians. Many of the Egyptians fled to Nubia, and intermarried with the black Nubian tribes (who were, by the way, civilized thousands of years before white Europeans were). The white immigrants from Persia, Greece, Assyria, and Rome became known as "Copts". They did not intermarry with the native Eygptians or the Nubians, but remained to themselves. Over the next two thousand years, many Nubians (who now had an Egyptian lineage as well as a native African lineage) migrated into West and Central Africa. Over time they conquered and intermingled with native African tribes; one after another. Eventually, these intermingled tribes intermarried with other native African tribes, who migrated further east and south. Over millennia the ancient Egyptian bloodline was thus dispersed throughout the native African tribes. Black Africans share two lineages (bloodlines); one from the ancient native African tribes, and the other from the Ancient Egyptians via the Nubians. The Curse of Cain (upon the Cainite Egyptian people) was transmitted to black African via the Nubians.

*Beginning in the 1500s Portuguese (and later Spanish, French, and English) ships landed in Africa, and began to enslave many of the tribes-people there; a fulfillment of the LORD's word to Ezekiel and other prophets. Black Africans were enslaved for about 450 years. What goes around, comes around. Some (including many black historians and scholars) see this as a fulfillment of Bible prophecy, and a punishment upon the descendants of the ancient Egyptians (who mingled with the African tribes over millennia) for their enslaving the Israelites.

*In 1820 a young boy named Joseph Smith Jr. is a Seeker of Truth. He is confused by the claims of the conflicting churches. If God's Truth is One, then why many different churches and religions all claiming to be "The Truth". He goes to God in prayer. God the Father and Jesus Christ appear to Joseph Smith in a vision near Palmyra, New York, in 1820. Joseph is told to join no church, but to prepare himself for a great work. Many angels appear to Joseph Smith in the years to come, and confer upon him priesthood "keys" for the gathering of the Elect in the last days.

*Several black men are ordained in Joseph's day; Elijah Abel, Walker Lewis, and perhaps William McCary (who later formed his own black denomination). Joseph tells his Elders not to ordain black slaves to the Priesthood. Several early Mormons who knew Joseph Smith later say that Joseph said that "Negroes" had "no right to the Priesthood". No revelation, sermon or written statement of Joseph Smith can be found to confirm this; leaving many historians to question whether the Prophet wanted all blacks to be banned, or only mere black slaves (i.e. because slaves could not travel freely and use the Priesthood). The debate continues today among Mormon historians and scholars as to who was the orginator of the Priesthood-ban; Joseph Smith, or Brigham Young. Frankly, we just don't know. All we do know is that the Curse of Cain doctrine was taught as official Church doctrine by Church leaders since 1852. Today, it is no longer actively taught, but it has never been repudiated. Only The First Presidency of the Church can repudiate it.

*In the early 1840s Joseph Smith becomes an Abolitionist; advocating freedom for black slaves. He also reveals that he does not believe in "inherent Negro inferiority"; a view shared by almost all white men (including Abolitionists) in his day. Joseph Smith goes even further; declaring that Negroes should not only be freed but "educated and given equal rights". Joseph Smith runs for President of the United States in the Mormon Reform Party ticket in 1843-44. He is arrested in May of 1844 on charges of treason (for calling up the Mormon militia to defend the Mormon city of Nauvoo against mobs who threaten the city, but neglects to ask the Governor of Illionis for permission to do this). He and his brother Hyrum are killed in Carthage Jail, Carthage Illinois, awaiting trial for the charge of "high treason"; for calling-up the Nauvoo Legion without the express written permission of the Governor of Illinois.

*Brigham Young, the senior Apostle, wins a contest for the successorship of the Church after Joseph is killed. While giving a speech after the Prophet's death, hundreds in the crowd later claim that Brigham Young's face and voice transforms into that of the martyred Prophet. For them, it is a miracle and divine confirmation that Brigham Young, as Chief Apostle, should lead the Church. He proves an excellent organizer. In 1846 he leads the Mormons from Nauvoo through the American great plains to the valley of the Great Salt Lake; then a barren wilderness.

* In February 1852, Brigham Young, as President of the Church, begins to preach the Curse of Cain doctrine; that Negroes are the descendants of Cain, and cannot hold the Priesthood until Abel is resurrected, has children, and his children receive it first. But, he adds, the curse would one day be removed, and the "Canaanites" (as he often called blacks) would be given the Priesthood and all the blessings associated with it. During this time Elijah Abel, a black Mormon, continues as a member of the Third Quorum of Seventy; although he is denied the Higher Ordinances of the Temple. Elijah Abel, as a carpenter, continues to work on the Salt Lake Temple; which takes 40 years to build (1853-1893). On Jan. 3, 1854, Brigham Young invites Elijah Abel to a dance at Social Hall in Salt Lake City; indicating he still considered Abel to be among his friends and inner-circle. Abel is sent on a mission to Canada and Cincinnati at age 72. Elijah's son Enoch is ordained to various offices in the Priesthood while Brigham Young is still alive. The descendants of Elijah and Enoch Abel marry Lamanites (Native Americans) and whites, and today, all of Elijah Abel's descendants are white.

*Other Mormon Presidents continue the "ban" on blacks receiving the Priesthood. Every mention of it by them reveals they believe it is from the LORD, and that the Prophet Joseph Smith taught it. Only a few hundred blacks are Members of the Church at any one time. Because of the Priesthood~ban, black converts are very few and far-between. Missionaries are told not to seek them out "affirmatively", but to teach and baptize them if they seek the missionaries out and are sincere. A small number of black converts are baptized each year.

*In 1948 Mormon Apostles want the Priesthood-ban to be recinded. They ask Church President George A. Smith to inquire of the LORD. President Smith reports back that he inquired of the LORD, and the LORD said "Not yet".

*In the early 1950s some black Africans get copies of The Book of Mormon and Church pamphlets by various means. They write to Salt Lake City and request more information. They are told to "wait".

*In 1955 LDS Church President David O. McKay declares that all non-Hamitic black-skinned peoples can receive the Priesthood and the Higher Ordinances (sealings and endowments) of Mormon Temples. Before that time the Church considered all black-skinned peoples everywhere to be Cainites, but President McKay determines that only the descendants of the Ancient Egyptians are Cainites. It is believed that all black Africans, and anyone with a drop of black African blood, has the blood in the ancient Egyptians in them. Black-skinned peoples such as Melanesians, Fijians, Aborigines, Negritoes, and Dravidians are no longer under the Priesthood-ban.

*In the 1960s several black African seekers of Truth receive visions of Jesus Christ, or angels, or of the Salt Lake Temple; only to later come across a copy of The Book of Mormon or a Reader's Digest article on the Church showing a photo of the Salt Lake Temple. They see this as revelation, and contact the Church requesting missionaries. They are told to be patient. Several Mormon emissaries are sent, but little is done. Some of these black African men begin to form their own congregations, calling them "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter~day Saints, Inc." or "The Mormon Church of Nigeria" or various other names. They preach the Joseph Smith Story and use The Book of Mormon and make thousands of converts; sometimes tens of thousands of converts. Some of them suffer terrible persecution. One of them, Joseph W.B. Johnson of Ghana, preaches full-time without outside compensation, and converts many thousands to belief in Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon

Leaders of "The Mormon Church of Nigeria" (1965 photo)

*About 1963 the Church sends emissaries to West Africa where independent Book of Mormon-believing congegations have formed. Church leaders ("The Brethren") consider inviting these congregations into the Church, and using rotating senior missionaries (i.e. older--usually retired--men on 1 to 3-year missions) as priesthood-holders and priesthood-leaders in black "Mormon" congregations so that the Sacrement can be blessed and passed and so that official baptisms can take place. Several emissaries are sent to West Africa to seek out black "Mormon" congregations. Often, when the black "Elders" of these congregations hear that they would not be able to bless the Sacrament, pass it, or baptize, they are very hesitant about asking their congregations to join the Church or allow senior missionaries to officiate in their congregations. A few black "Elders" and "Pastors" of these independent congregations demand paid-positions before they will allow LDS emissaries to speak to their congregations. Others demand to know why they can't be Elders in their own congregations they themselves created! LDS emissaries reply that the Church has no "paid" local officers, and attempts are made (often quite lamely) to explain the Priesthood-ban. Often, they are simply told, "Because that is Church policy". Only a few dozen black congregations (mostly in eastern Nigeria) express any real interest in joining the Church at this time. Lamar Williams, one Mormon emissary, returns to Salt Lake from Nigeria with the names of 15,000 "Mormon" Nigerians who want to be baptized into the Church. The LDS emissaries report back to "The Brethren" (the 15 Apostles who lead the Church), who then discuss plans to build schools and clinics for Ghanaian and Nigerian "Mormon" congregations, and use white Senior Missionaries (i.e. retired older men on full-time missions) to baptize and administer the Sacrament while allowing local black leaders are allowed to continue to preach in their own congregations in non-priesthood offices called "Pastors". However, the Nigerian civil-war breaks-out about this time and halts these plans. The Nigerian government refuses all new visas to LDS emissaries. The government of Ghana would soon do the same.

*In 1965 a black Nigerian student in California reads a TIME magazine article titled "Black Saints of Nigeria"; about independent "Mormon" congregations there. The article says that Mormon leaders plan to use white missionaries to lead black "Mormon" congregations; because blacks are considered to have inherited a "curse" upon Cain, and cannot serve as "priests". The Nigerian student reads and article, and becomes enraged! The Nigerian student attends a very Liberal university in California where discussion about "Mormon racism" is current and popular. The student writes an article for an English-language Nigerian newspaper. The article is titled "Evil Saints"; saying the Church is "racist" and has evil conspiratorial plans for Nigeria and other West African countries. He sends Anti-Mormon literature to the embassies of Ghana and Nigeria; where black "Mormon" congregations had already formed. The Anti-Mormon literature eventually reaches back to black officials back in Africa. The black African officials then read quotes by Brigham Young and other Church leaders that blacks are "children of Cain" and "cursed" (they are never told the whole story), and believe the Mormon Church is "racist". Secretly, the black African officials demand huge bribes from the Church, or threaten to deny Mormon emissaries visas into their countries. The Church offers to build schools and clinics for the black "Mormon" congregations as well as send experts in agriculture, mining, engineering, manufacturing, and healthcare to train local black African citizens (of whatever religion) of those countries in order to better the lives of black West Africans. But the Church utterly refuses to bribe black African officials (knowing the funds would go into Swiss bank accounts and not help poor blacks or "Mormon" blacks in West Africa). The black African officials become ENRAGED, and then publicly declare the Church "racist" and officially deny further visas to white Mormon emissaries.

*In 1965 the Nigerian civil-war begins. During and after the Nigerian civil-war the Church tries to get food and medicine to black independent "Mormon" congregations in eastern Nigeria. The Nigerian government refuses to allow this. Almost all of the black "Mormon" congregations in Nigeria belong to the Ibo and Efik tribe; the leaders of which (none of them "Mormons") seek to form an independent nation of "Biafra" out of sections of eastern Nigeria. The Nigerian government considers all Ibos and Efiks to be rebels or potential rebels. Over a million Nigerians (mostly Ibos and Efiks) die from hunger and disease during the cvil-war; many of them children. Visas would not be granted again until after the 1978 Revelation.

*In the mid-1960s the American Civil-Rights movement is in the forefront of the media in a big way. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a Southern black minister and civil-rights leader, is becoming a hero of the Civil-Rights movement. Various black race-riots occur in major American cities. Americans are shown on television white policemen attacking peaceful black and white civil-rights protestors with police-dogs and fire-hoses. A number of civil-rights workers, both black and white, are killed or harassed in the South by white racists. At about this time, in 1965, TIME magazine does a story called "Black Saints of Nigeria"; about West Africans forming their own black Book-of-Mormon believing congregations. The TIME article includes a sub-story about the Church denying blacks the Priesthood. The African-American community, who had known little or nothing about Mormons by this time, takes notice.

*Anti-Mormons, and others, begin to use the Priesthood-ban as a way to make Mormons and the Church unpopular among many Americans; especially black Americans. Many magazines and newspapers, staffed by Liberal journalists, write articles on the Church's "denial of civil rights" (i.e. the Priesthood) to blacks. Many of these articles have inaccuracies or exaggerations. Many African-Americans read these articles, and begin to tell their friends and relatives that the Mormons are "racist" and "hate black folks". Rumors about the Church continue to spread and grow and get worse with the retelling. In less than a year or so the African-American community is convinced that "Mormons" are as "bad as the Klan"; if not worse. Many exaggerations and false rumors about Mormons and the Mormon Faith still exist in the African-American Community to this day.

*In the late 1960s and early 1970s the image of the "Mormon Church" is very negative in many areas; especially among blacks, hippies, and Liberal whites. Student groups in many universities protest the Church, and demand that universities refuse to let athletic events continue with Brigham Young University; the Church-owned school. Some universities, like Stanford University, refuse to allow their teams to play teams from BYU. At other events, BYU players are threatened, spit-upon, and harassed by some black and white students and protesters. Black organizations like the Black Panthers threaten to kill Mormon leaders and attack Mormon churches. Missionaries are spit-upon and threatened by some black and white Americans. African-American leaders, like the Rev. Jesse Jackson, demand that the Church allow blacks "their civil-rights as Americans" and end the ban on ordaining them. The Church chooses to mostly remain silent. When it speaks it merely emphasizes that "Negroes" are sons and daughters of God, and deserve all the civil-rights that every other American has. The Church says that the Priesthood is "not a civil-right" of Americans, but a divine priviledge. The Church declares that nobody who does not believe in the Church should desire a Priesthood which they (the protestors) believe is false! The Church reiterates that the Priesthood-ban is a "doctrine of the Church" and from the LORD, and that only He could remove the ban, and only when He thinks it is time to do so.

*On the 8th of June 1971 three active black Mormons in Utah (Ruffin Bridgeforth Jr., Darius Gray, and Eugene Orr) form an organization in Salt Lake City, Utah; called the Genesis Group. Their goal is to provide a fellowship group for black Members in the area as well as to try to activite other black Mormons who had gone inactive. In October of that year, they are made an official auxiliary organization of the Church.

*In the mid-1970s the Church has several hundred thousand Brazilian Members. The Church planned to build a Temple for them in Sao Paulo, Brazil. If a Brazilian did not outwardly "appear" to be Negro or part-Negro, they were given the Priesthood. However, when many of these white and brown-skinned Brazilian Mormons did their genealogy (all Mormons do genealogy so they can do Temple Work for their ancestors) it is discovered most of them have at least one black African ancestor (as most white and brown-skinned Brazilians do). A delema is created. All these men with Hamitic lineage have the Priesthood. Some are bishops and branch presidents or even Stake Presidents. What to do? Should the brethren already ordained have their Priesthood revoked once it is discovered they have a Hamitic bloodline? Should the tens of thousands of Brazilians who sacrificed in order to help build the Temple in Sao Paulo then not be allowed to take part in its Higher Ordinances (endowments and sealings) once their Hamitic lineage is discovered? There were white men, with blond hair and blue eyes, in North America who had been denied the Priesthood when it was discovered they had a Hamitic lineage. But now, it was discovered that just about all Brazilian men had a Hamitic lineage; as least one black African ancestor! What could be done? There were discussions among the Twelve and the First Presidency. Options were discussed, but no firm final decision is made. When priesthood-officers in Brazil inquire of the First Presidency, they are told that no ordinations should be revoked. However, men who discover they have a Hamitic lineage are told not to exercize their priesthood, and many are released as priesthood-offices once their Hamitic lineage is discovered. They are told, "Wait, wait" for further instuctions. Further instructions would not come until June, 1978.

*On the 8th of June 1978 (7 years to the day from the formation of the Genesis Group), President Spencer W. Kimball announces to an assembly of Priesthood-officers in the Salt Lake Temple that he has received a revelation from the LORD. The Priesthood-ban had been abrogated. All worthy males, or whatever color or race, would now be allowed to be ordained. The news is carried by all major newsmedia in the United States. Active black Members are usually "stunned"; having been told many times before that they would never hold the Priesthood in mortal life. Most white Mormons are overjoyed. Some white racist Mormons leave the Church and join polygamist groups. Joseph Freeman, a former Holiness Church lay minister, who joined the Church years before, was the first black Mormon on record to be ordained after the 1978 Revelation.

*After the 1978 Revelation, the Church sends many emissaries back to West Africa where black independent "Latter-day Saint" congregations and denominations were already formed. Most of these people are eventually baptized into the Church, and most of the Elders of these congregations are ordained to various offices of the Priesthood. By 2004 A.D., The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has hundreds of thousands of black Members in the U.S., South America, the Caribbean, and Africa.

Must Members of the Church believe that the Curse of Cain doctrine/Priesthood-ban was of God?

The short answer is: "No". To get baptized into the Church, candidates are not asked if they accept either. To receive a Temple Recommend (a must to receive the rites and blessings administered in LDS Temples) Members are not asked about the Curse of Cain/Priesthood-ban. All that Members of the Church must do to remain in good-standing in the Church is live morally, pay their tithe, attend Church meeting regularly, and sustain the current leaders of the Church and their policies. The Priesthood-ban is no longer a policy of the Church. The Curse of Cain doctrine is not longer actively "taught", but it has not been officially repudiated either. Members can, if they choose, believe that the priesthood-ban was a "mistake" of Brigham Young; as long as they do not pretend to speak "for the Church". They can hold such views, and express them to others, as their personal opinion.

Most black Members will have "problems" with the Curse of Cain doctrine. It is resolved either by them going inactive, leaving the Church, ignoring it, accepting it as a "mistake" of the past, or accepting it (often after fervent prayer) as the Will of the Lord.

Most faithful black Mormons see the Curse of Cain/Priesthood-ban legacy as a trial of their faith that the LORD has sent for them to overcome; remembering Jesus' words:

"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me upon my throne, even as I overcame and am sat upon the Father's throne." (Revelations 3:20)

Is the Mormon Faith "racist" or "white-supremacist"?

If the Mormon Faith was "racist" and "white-sumpremacist" then it would have denied membership to all peoples who were not white. This never happened. The Church sent missionaires to Polynesia, China, and even Africa as early as the 1840s. Membership in the Church has always been open to everyone. The Priesthood (which only males over the age of 12 can hold) has been open to non-whites since the founding of the Church in 1830. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was perhaps the first Church to fully integrate Native Americans and champion their rights. So, the Church is not "white-supremacist"; nor has it ever been.

Was the "Curse of Cain" doctrine or the Priesthood-ban "racist"?

Under the formal dictionary definition, "No"! The term "racism" refers to the belief that one race or nation or ethnic group is "superior" to others. The Curse of Cain doctrine never said that. Indeed, the Cainites were "civilized" before the Sethites ever were. The ancient Egyptians were a "Cainite" people, but cannot be called an "inferior" people. Indeed, the Ancient Egyptians were civilized many thousands of years before white Europeans! They were "blessed with wisdom" but "cursed as pertaining to the Priesthood" (Abraham 1:26).

However, under the "popular" definition of "racism" (i.e. whatever a black person wishes to consider to be "racist" therefore is "racist") then yes, it was "racist". Of course, under this second definition, God is a racist because He chose one race (the Israelites) over others for special blessings, and He chose one tribe of the Israelites over the other tribes to be His Priesthood; to be His Qadoshiym ("Saints"). Under the second "popular" definition of racism, the Prophet Noah must have been a "racist". Noah cursed the Canaanites to be a "servant of servants" (Gen. 9:25). Moses cursed the Moabites and Ammonites, that they not be allowed to become Israelites:

"No Ammonite or Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even down to the tenth generation." (Deut. 23:3 NIV)

The prophet Ezra was "racist" because he told the Israelites to divorce their Canaanite wives (Ezra 10:1-16). The prophet Zechariah was "racist" because he declared that Canaanites could not worship in the House of the LORD:

"On that day HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the LORD's house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar. Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice willtake some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD Almighty." (Zech. 14:20)

Even Jesus called Canaanites "dogs" (Matt. 7:6); which means He must be considered a "racist" under the popular definition. The LORD, through Moses, only allowed one tribe, the Levites (Moses was a Levite), the Priesthood! In ancient Israel, only the Levites could be priests. Was this "racist"? Perhaps, some may think so. But, under the dictionary definition of "racism", the Curse of Cain/Priesthood-ban was NOT "racist"; because it never put-forth the Cainite/Hamite lineage as "inferior" to other lineages.

Under the Priesthood-ban, black-skinned negroid Melanesians and Fijians (who resemble black Africans quite closely) could hold the Priesthood (any office), and receive the Higher Ordinances of the Temple (endowments and sealings), but a white man with blond hair and blue eyes, if he had a Hamitic lineage (at least one black African or "Hamitic" ancestor) was banned from holding the Priesthood or from receiving the Higher Ordinances of the Temple!

Was that "racist"?

What the LORD decrees is His business, and not ours to judge. He has the right to do with His Priesthood whatever He wants to! Not us! His Will is not determined by the "political correctness" of the day! The Bible itself could be called "racist" under the popular definition; since the LORD chooses one race among others for special blessings, and others for curses. Indeed, the LORD "cursed" the Israelites as much as He "blessed" them! Was this too "racist"?

Latter-day Saints, of whatever color, should not be concerned with what the "World" (Babylon) thinks is "racist" or not. They should only be concerned with obeying the Will of the LORD in all things, and accepting His Wisdom and not the "wisdom" of men or the popular philosophies or fads of the day. After all, "racism" itself was once a very popular philosophy of men; accepted by almost all white folks! Don't trust the World (Babylon) and its changing fads and philosophies! The World will fail you! The LORD never will.

Racism or white-supremacism actually comes from Social-Darwinists, who did not believe in God. They taught that the white race was "superior" or more evolved as some species of animals are more evolved than others. This was very popular in European and American universities up until World War II. Almost all white Americans--especially educated ones--accepted it. But this popular Philosophy of Man has nothing to do with the Word of the LORD.

In conclusion, the "Curse of Cain doctrine/Priesthood-ban policy" cannot be defined as "racist". Many blacks (and Liberal whites) will consider the Curse of Cain/Priesthood-ban be to "racist". Why? Because they don't fancy it. They don't fancy the thought of their lineage being "cursed". All we can say is that the Cainite lineage was also "blessed"! They were "blessed with wisdom" but "cursed as pertaining to the Priesthood" (Abraham 1:26). Indeed, the LORD alternatively blesses and curses all lineages, bloodlines, and nations; according to how they obey Him, or rebel against Him. The Israelites were "cursed" as many times as they were "blessed"! But they were still His Chosen People.

Sunstone Mormons

Some Members of the LDS Church are quite "Liberal" in their thinking. These are usually "generational" Mormons, or Mormons who were born into the Church and have Mormon ancestors back many generations. They often call themselves "Sunstone Mormons"; after the independent Liberal Mormon magazine named Sunstone. Most of them are "Mormons" by blood and baptism only, but not by true sincere belief. They will often say, "Oh, yes, the Church used to teach that, but that was racist! We don't teach that anymore. That was wrong. That was not of God!" Please understand they are voicing only their own personal opinions. They are not speaking for the Church, or other Mormons, or even most black Mormons. Only The First Presidency can speak for the Church, and they have never repudiated the Curse of Cain doctrine nor the Priesthood-ban legacy.

Denying the Curse of Cain Legacy

Some "Mormons" will (even the most "orthodox" and "conservative" ones) try to deny and distance themselves from the Curse of Cain legacy by saying, "Well, that was just their [Church leaders] personal opinion!" or saying, "Some early Mormons believed that, but not the Church leaders!" or even "The Brethren [Church leaders] never taught that as official Church doctrine!" Some Mormons, fearing ridicule or embarassment, will lie and deny the Church ever taught the Curse of Cain doctrine! If you ask them why men of Hamitic lineage were denied the Priesthood until 1978, they will say, "Oh, that's a good question! We really don't know why!" That too...is a lie! Why do they lie? Why? Because they are embarassed, and they don't wish to lose face and be thought of as "racist". They fear the ridicule of men instead of fearing the LORD. They don't want their neighbors or their fellow students or their co-workers to look down upon them. They seek the praise of men and the praise of the World more than they seek the Will of God!

I personally have seen Mormons tell people, "No, the Church never taught that black people were the descendants of Cain at all!" I would approach them and say, "But you know they DID!" They would tell me, "Oh, well, I don't agree with them [i.e. past Mormon Prophets]!" I would reply, "Then say that! Don't lie and say they never taught it, because they did; as official Church doctrine, for over 150 years!" Yet, most often, they continue to deny it as before.

Some Mormons will deny the past regarding the Curse of Cain/Priesthood-ban by refusing to acknowledge it, or speak about it, or hear it recalled. These include some "Sunstone" Mormons and many Orthodox Mormons.

Many younger Mormons, born after 1978, have never been told about the Curse of Cain doctrine and the Priesthood-ban policy. Their parents never tell them. Their Church teachers never tell them. So, if they say, "I've never heard of that!" they are not lying. They simply have never been informed. Their parents (if they are Mormon) never tell them, and the Curse of Cain doctrine is no longer actively taught in Sunday School or even in Seminary (where Mormon high-school students spend one-hour per school-day in religious instruction). It is not taught in LDS Institutes of Religion; where Mormon students take LDS religion classes while attending university. It is simply not "taught" any more in the LDS Church. But it has never been officially repudiated either. It remains an official doctrine of the Church and will remain so until and unless The First Presidency makes an official statement repudiating it. There are no signs (2003 A.D.) that they will repudiate it.

In truth, the Church did teach the Curse of Cain doctrine, as official Church doctrine, for over 150 years. That cannot be denied! True Latter-day Saints should not be concerned with what foolish and sinful little men and women think, but with what the LORD thinks! The LORD once said:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neighter are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8)

The Genesis Group

On June 8th, 1971, Ruffin Bridgeforth Jr. (a black convert from Louisiana), and several other black Members of the Church formed the "Genesis Group"; a fellowship organization of black Mormons. The Genesis Groups continues to this day as an official auxilary organization of the Church for black Members (and their family members of other races) in North America. Black Mormons are in no way required to join the Genesis Group. Their are no "segregated" congregations in the Church! The Genesis Group is simply a "fellowship" organization for those black Members (and their family members of other races) who want to fellowship with each other. Genesis Group branches exist in some major metropolitan areas. These are not Church units like Wards or Branches. They are fellowship and service organizations.

The "1978 Revelation" is announced to the world on June 8th, 1978, seven years to the day after the Genesis Group was founded by three black Members in Salt Lake City. Their website is:

There are no segregated black congregations in the Church. Some wards and branches (large and small congregations) are black or predominantly black in North America merely because the neighborhood they live in is black or predominantly black. Black or predominantly black wards and branches exist in Washington D.C., Harlem (New York City), Detroit Michigan, South Los Angeles and Oakland California, Chicago Illinois, and Atlanta, Georgia.

The 1978 Revelation

It was Brigham Young, the successor of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and second President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that first preached the "Curse of Cain Doctrine" on Feb. 9th, 1852. Before that time, black freeman (non-slaves) were ordained to the Priesthood, and black men and women were allowed all the ordinances of the Mormon Temple. In fact, in 1847, Brigham Young said:

"We have one of the best Elders an African in Lowell." (12 March 1847, LDS Church Archives)

Mormon historians still debate as to why Brigham Young at first accepted blacks in the Priesthood, but later rejected them. Here are some theories:

*Because of a black Member named "Black Pete" who seduced a number of white Mormon women. This enraged Brigham Young; who henceforth banned black males from the Priesthood.

*Because Zebedee Coltrin, a white Mormon convert from the South, had told Brigham Young that the Prophet Joseph Smith had told him that "Negroes had no right to the Priesthood"; although Coltrin himself had ordained Elijah Abel a Seventy under Joseph's direction. Zebedee lied, and simply did not want "Negroes" to hold the Priesthood. Brigham Young believed him.

*Because white Mormons were still racist and not ready for a lot of black Members, so the LORD allowed this to happen but--of course--never "approved" of it.

*Because before 1852 The Book of Abraham was not part of the "Standard Works" (i.e. Mormon books of scripture). The Book of Abraham had first been published in a Mormon periodical in 1843; when Brigham Young and ther other Apostles were in England on missions. In 1852, The Book of Abraham was added to the Mormon canon of scripture, and Abraham 1:26 says that the Canaanites were "blessed with wisdom" but "cursed as pertaining to the Priesthood". Brigham Young, as President of the Church, interpreted this to refer to all Negroes; whom he sometimes referred to as "Canaanites".

All these are theories and speculations only. We don't know why Brigham Young forbade Hamites the Priesthood or worship in Mormon Temples after 1852. All we know as a fact is that he did, and this was official Church Policy from that time until June 8th, 1978. His justification for doing so was that "Negroes" were the decendants of Cain, and inherited "The Curse of Cain"; which was a denial of the Priesthood in mortal life. But even Brigham Young taught that some Negroes would be heirs of the Celestial Kingdom (the highest glory in Heaven).

After February 9th, 1852, Hamites were no longer allowed in Mormon Temples; although they were still allowed into the Church as Members. Notwithstanding the new priesthood-ban policy, Elijah Abel continued as a Seventy, and his son Enoch and his grandson Elijah were ordained to various Priesthood offices. Yet, Elijah Abel and his wife and sons were denied entry into Mormon Temples. Why this was, we simply don't know.

Brigham Young declared that the Curse of Cain would "one day" be removed from off the posterity of Cain, and when that "day" came Negroes would receive the blessings of the Priesthood and the House of the LORD.

In June of 1978, Church President Spencer W. Kimball, the 12th President of the Church, declared to the Church, and then the world, that the ban was lifted and "all worthy males" regardless of race or color could be ordained to the offices of the Priesthood. At no time did President Kimball or The First Presidency declare that the ban had been a "mistake" or that the Curse of Cain doctrine was repudiated. The First Presidency presented the Revelation as the fulfillment of the promise that Negroes would one day receive the Priesthood. At that time, 1978, there were probably no more than 1000 black Mormons in the Church. This is known today as "The 1978 Revelation" (Official Declaration 2 in Doctrine and Covenants). Official Declaration 2 reads:

June 8 1978
To all general and local priesthood officers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world:

Dear Brethren:

As we have witnessed the expansion of the work of the Lord over the earth, we have been grateful that people of many nations have responded to the message of the restored gospel, and have joined the Church in ever-increasing numbers. This, in turn, has inspired us with a desire to extend to every worthy member of the Church all the privileges and blessings which the gospel affords.

Aware of the promises made by the prophets and presidents of the Church who have preceded us that at some time, in God's eternal plan, all of our brethren who are worthy may receive the priesthood, and witnessing the faithfulness of those from whom the priesthood has been withheld, we have pleaded long and earnestly in behalf of these, our faithful brethren, spending many hours in the Upper Room of the Temple supplicating the Lord for divine guidance.

He has heard our prayers, and by revelation has confirmed that the long-promised day has come when every faithful, worthy man in the Church may receive the holy priesthood, with power to exercise its divine authority, and enjoy with his loved ones every blessing that flows therefrom, including the blessings of the temple. Accordingly, all worthy male members of the Church may be ordained to the priesthod without regard for race and color. Priesthood leaders are instructed to follow the policy of carefully interviewing all candidates for ordination to either the Aaronic or the Melchizedek Priesthood to insure that they meet the established standards for worthiness.

We declare with soberness that the Lord has now made known his will for the blessing of all his children throughout the earth who will hearken to the voice of his authorized servznts, and prepare themselves to receive every blessing of the gospel.

Sincerely yours,
SPENCER W. KIMBALL
N. ELDON TANNER
MARION G. ROMNEY
The First Presidency

June 8th, 1978, is sometimes referred to by orthodox Mormons as "The Promised Day"; meaning the "day" prophesied by Brigham Young in which the Curse of Cain would be removed off of his posterity.

It should be noted that Official Declaration 2 is not the "1978 Revelation" itself, but only a "declaration" that the Revelation was received. The 1978 Revelation was not a verbal revelation, but a divine confirmation from the LORD of the decision by President Kimball to end the Priesthood-ban upon the Hamitic lineage. Divine confirmations are a form of divine revelation.

Spencer W. Kimball (12th President LDS Church)

It is said that President Kimball supplicated and petitioned the LORD for "many months" ~in a room called "The Upper Room" of Salt Lake Temple~asking Him to lift the Priesthood-ban from off of "our black brethren". It is said he did this because of the exceeding faith of the black Members of the Genesis Group, and of the Mulatto (white-skinned and dark-skinned Brazilians with mixed European and African ancestry) Mormons of Brazil; who had sacrificed so much to build a temple in Sao Paulo. Seeing this great faith and sacrifice, President Kimball, and The Brethren as a whole, were moved to supplicate and petition the LORD for an lifting of the Priesthood~ban from off the Hamitic lineage. Most Mormons thought the lifting of the ban would not occur until after the Millennium, but the LORD had other plans.

The Salt Lake Temple (Salt Lake City, Utah)

The Upper Room (Salt Lake Temple)

The Upper Room (also called the "Holy of Holies") is where the President of the Church, who is considered a "Living Prophet", communicates with the LORD Jesus Christ and receives divine Revelation from Him.

The LORD heard the prayers of His servants, and the Priesthood-ban was lifted on June 1, 1978. The First Presidency made an announcement one week later in a Solumn Assembly in the Salt Lake Temple before Church leaders; exactly 7 years to the day that the Genesis Group was formed. The statement was released to the Media the next day. Major American media outlets covered the story; sometimes on the front page! The vast great majority of white Mormons were overjoyed at the news; as were the few hundred active black Mormons in North America, and the thousands of faithful black African "Mormons" who had not been baptized into the Church, but were members of independent 'Book of Mormon' believing congregations in Africa. Most of these independent congregations would eventually join the Church.

Joseph W.B. Johnson of Ghana

The LORD was preparing the way in black Africa many years before the 1978 Revelation!

One of the first black Africans who received the Priesthood after the 1978 Revelation was Joseph W.B. Johnson of Ghana; a man who had a "vision" of Jesus and many angels in 1964; telling him teach The Book of Mormon and the Joseph Smith Story to his countrymen. He later recounted this vision:

"One early morning about 5:30 am, while about to prepare for my daily work, I saw the heavens open and angels with trumpets singing songs of praise unto God...In the course of this I heard my name mentioned thrice, 'Johnson, Johnson, Johnson. If you will take up my work as I command you, I will bless you and your land.' Trembling and in tears, I replied, 'Lord, with Thy help I will do whatever you will command me.' From that day onward, I was constrained by that Spirit to go from street to street...to deliver the message which we read from The Book of Mormon...I did exactly as the Lord commanded me...and immediately our persecution started." (Mormon Identities in Transition, p.84)

In 2004 Joseph W.B. Johson became a Patriach (a bestower of sacred blessings to Members via Priesthood authority).

Today (2004) Ghana contains many missions, stakes, wards, and branches of the Church. The Ghana Accra Temple was dedicated in January of 2004.

Two Ghanaian Stake Presidents

The Angel Moroni statue on the Accra Temple

The Aba Nigeria Temple

Joseph Freeman

The first black man of Hamitic lineage to be ordained since Enoch Abel (Elijah Abel's grandson) was Joseph Freeman; a black convert to the Church who had once studied to become a black Holiness church minister. He first discovered the Church while in the U.S. Air Force in Hawaii in the early 1970s. He was crushed when he first was told of the Priesthood-ban. Yet, he prayed about it and received an overwhelming feeling of peace. He was baptized, and later married a Mormon Tongan woman. He remained faithful and active before and after the 1978 Revelation and currently (2003 A.D.) serves as an LDS bishop (a lay-leader of a congregation of about 250 Mormons) in Salt Lake City.

Joseph Freeman and family (June, 1978)

Elder Helvecio Martíns

Helvecio Martíns was born a poor full-blooded Negro in a favela (ghetto) in Rio de Janeiro in 1930. After many years of working by day and attending school by night, he gained a university education. He rose by the power of mind and will to become one of the top executives in Brazil's major enegy company by 1972. Also in that year white American Mormon missionaries knocked on his door, and taught him the Gospel. When he was first told of the Priesthood-ban he became quite angry, but soon he prayed about it and received an overwhelming feeling of peace. He and his wife and family were baptized into the Church. At that time (1972) the Church in Brazil had many Mulatto members, but few full-blooded Negro members. Although not allowed to even become a Deacon, Br. Martíns eventually became a Gospel Doctrine teacher and the Church Spokesman for southern Brazil. After the 1978 Revelation, Br. Martíns received the Priesthood. He became a bishop, a High Councilor in a Stake, and a Mission President. While a Mission President in northeastern Brazil, he was called by The First Presidency to become a member of the 2nd Quorum of Seventy; the 5th highest quorum in the Church. He was the first black Seventy since Elijah Abel.

Elder Helvecio Martíns (c.1990)

His son, Marcus Martíns, was one of the first Mormon missionaries of Hamitic lineage since Elijah Abel. Dr. Martíns is now Chair of the Dept. of Religious Education at BYU-Hawaii.

Marcus Martíns, Ph.D. (c.2003)

Elder and Sister Chukwurah

In General Conference in 1997, Elder Christopher Chukwurah was sustained an Area Authority Seventy, and his wife Sister Florance Chukwurah was sustained as a member of the Relief Society General Board in October of 2003. Both are Nigerian Members.

Black Mormons Worldwide

Since the 1978 Revelation (granting all worthy males the Priesthood) the numbers of Black Mormons have risen dramatically. Today (2001 A.D.) the number of Black Mormons worldwide number anywhere from 350,000 to perhaps 500,000 (this would include "Mulattoes"; or people of part-black and part-white descent). About 150,000 Black Mormons live in Africa, about 150,000 (or more) in Brazil, about 20,000 in the Caribbean, anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 in the U.S., and the rest in other countries.

In 2003, The First Presidency announced the construction of two Temples in the black African countries of Ghana and Nigeria. Mormon Temples are not ordinary houses of worship, but are places where very sacred rites take place; Endowments, Sealings, and Baptisms for the Dead.

The Accra Ghana LDS Temple

Mormon Temples in Africa (2003 A.D.)

Little Known FACTS About Black Mormons

Black Mormons were among the first to travel to Utah with Brigham Young and the early Mormon pioneers. The man that actually led the Mormons into Salt Lake Valley (at that time a hostile desert) was Green Flake; a slave of a Southerner who converted to the Church. Green Flake was baptized at age 15. Brigham Young had Flake freed in 1854. Flake died a faithful Mormon. Fort Union, Utah, was originally a Black Mormon community 20 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Samuel D. Chambers (1831-1929) was a Black Mormon from Mississippi who converted to the Church in 1844, and in 1870 he moved to Salt Lake City. He was one of the largest land-owners and wealthiest men in Salt Lake Valley.

Dan Bankhead Freeman was another early African-American Mormon who worked as a blacksmith in Corinne, Utah:

Jane Manning James was one of the most faithful Mormons in Utah. President Joseph F. Smith spoke at her funeral:

Jane James and Isaac Manning

Jane can be seen in the very center of the photo of Mormons at General Conference about the year 1897. Can you find the other black Mormon in this photo?

Mary Ann Perkins was a black Mormon pioneer who settled in Bountiful, Utah:

Mary Ann Perkins (c. 1910)

John Brown accompanied Brigham Young on his entrance to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. He was among the first Mormons to enter what is now the state of Utah. In 1848 he travelled back to his home state of Mississippi in order to lead the Mississippi Mormons (both black and white) to the Salt Lake Valley. In the spring of 1848 57 white and 37 black Mormons left Mississippi in 11 wagons. John Brown later said:

"Every man, woman and child, both white and black, gazed at us with astonishment as we passed their habitations." [i.e. both black and whites in Mississippi couldn't believe that a black man was leading 11 wagons of almost 100 souls~both black and whites together] (from Black Latter-day Saints Pioneers online)

John Brown: Leader of the Mississippi Mormon immigration to Utah

There were only a few hundred Black Mormons in Utah at any given time before the 1960s. Here is a portait of three members of one early Black Mormon family:

Lucinda Flake (sitting) with her two granddaughters (Fort Union, Utah, c.1880s)

The First African-American Police Detective

The very FIRST African-American police detective in the United States was Paul Cephas Howell, a black Mormon who moved from the South to Salt Lake City in 1886. Mormon Church President Wilford Woodruff arranged for his employment as a police officer with the Salt Lake City Police Department; a department overwhelmingly Mormon. Officer Howell became a Detective with that department; the first African-American police detective.

Len and Mary Hope

Len and Mary Hope joined the Church in Cincinnati in the late 1940s, and later migrated to Utah.

Len and Mary Hope with a Mormon official

Darius Gray

Darius (pronounced "Dehr-rAI-us") Gray was a black man who let Mormon Missionaries teach him the Joseph Smith Story in 1964. This was during the Civil Rights Movement days in America. Darius relates:

"I found out the night before I was to be baptized that I wouldn't be able to hold the priesthood. I said, 'No way would I be baptized into that church tomorrow.' But I took it to God that night." (Deseret News, January 20, 2003)

Darius Gray with Frederick Douglas IV

Darius Gray became well-known throughout North America as an author, and the founder of the "Freeman's Bank Record"; the largest genealogical record of African-Americans names in the world. Gray assisted Alex Haley (author of Roots) in his research on his own family history for the book Roots and Queeny. Gray is the author of the Standing on the Promises trilogy of (about black Mormon pioneers), and lectures about African-American genealogy throughout the North America. In January, 2003, Darius Gray received the NAACP Martin Luther King Jr., Civil-Rights Award.

Darius Gray (2003 photos)

If you would like Bro. Gray to give a talk at your ward, or a lecture to your civic group, then you can contact him at: (801) 562-1324. He gives talks on Black Mormon history and heritage as well as African-American genealogy.

From Black Panther to Black Mormon

LeRoy Eldridge Cleaver, the Minister of Information in the early Black Panther Party, and the author of the international bestseller Soul on Ice (1968)--once considered the "Manifesto" of Black Nationalists and even white Radicals.

Cleaver was the most well-known American Black Nationalist and Radical in the 1960s. He was the most well-known Black Panther in the 1960s; the Party being a combination of Black Nationalism and Marxism. After fleeing the U.S. to avoid a manslaughter charge (he was with other Panthers in a shootout with Oakland California Police in 1969) he exiled himself to Algeria and later Cuba. He soon became disillusioned with Communism and Socialism when he saw that socialist countries were no "paradises of the workers" as he had been led to believe. He had a "born-again" experience in Cuba, and became a born-again Christian. He returned to the U.S. in 1975 and was given many years of probation (he was not the shooter). Being a famous figure for years, Cleaver was "wined and dined" by prominent Evangelicals and was offered multimillion dollar contracts to start his own Christian television ministry. He declined this, perferring to work (at a low salary) with young black men in a prison ministry. He concern was not becoming wealthy, but to work with young black men in prisons; to convert them to Christ as the way to free them from crime and gangs. By 1982 he had become disillusioned with the commercialism and showmanshipism of Evangelical Christianity, and he started looking into alternative religions. Also in 1982 he met Cleon Skousen, founder of the Freeman Institute (now called the National Center for Constitutional Studies). Cleaver gave talks for the Freeman Institute, and Skousen (a well-known Mormon author and former FBI agent) introduced Cleaver and his wife to the Mormon Faith. In 1984 he was baptized into the LDS Church. He remained a Member of it (although later not always active) until his death in 1998, at age 62, of diabetes.

Cleaver in 1968 as the Presidential Candidate of the Peace and Freedom Party

Cleaver speaking at a Mormon ward (c. 1992)

Other Prominent Black Mormon Converts

In 1981 Modibo Diarra, the president of the National Teacher's Union of Mali, became a Mormon after much prayer and study of various religions and churches. Converting to a "Christian" church in Mali is very dangerous! But Br. Diarra remains faithful.

Modibo Diarra

In 1983, Joe Jordan, a former Nation of Islam minister, joined with his wife Penny. Br. Jordan later became a branch president in East Cleaveland, Ohio.

Penny and Joe Jordan

In 1989 Jesse Thomas Jr., a former Baptist preacher, joined the Church, and now serves in local priesthood-leadership positions. He is also starting a Genesis Group in the Denver area.

Jesse Thomas Jr. in front of the Denver Temple

In 1990 Elder Helvecio Martíns (a prominent Afro-Brazilian business leader) became a Member of the Second Quorum of Seventy; the fifth highest council in the Church.

In 1995 Lee Radcliff, a black Baptist minister who served as a pastor in Chicago and Mississippi for decades, joined the Church. He is only one of many current or former black ministers who join the Church after 1978.

Lee Radcliff

Late '60s and early '70s R&B singer Gladys Knight became a Mormon in 1998 after her son Jimmy and his family did. Gladys Knight was the singer in the R&B group Gladys Knight and the Pips. Today (2001 A.D.) she writes and performs Mormon Gospel music.

A number of African-American athletes have become Mormons; including the famous college and NFL football great Burgess Owens, and the NBA All-Star player Thurl Bailey (who now composes Mormon music).

Burgess Owens

Prominent Black African Mormons

In recent years several prominent black Africans have joined the Church, Julia Nompi Mavimbela (black South African woman's leader and founder of the National Council of African Women), and Justice Yohannes Chane; formerly of the Ethiopian Supreme Court. But most Black Mormons are just average folks from all walks of life.

A group of Ghanaian Mormons during the Accra Temple Open-House (the only time non-mormons are allowed to tour a new Mormon Temple)

An Elder's Quorum meeting in the Atlanta Branch (2003)

Are Mormons Racist?

Research shows that white Mormons had the very same attitude towards black folks as did the vast majority of white Americans for their day and time. The white Mormon attitude towards black folks during the 1930s and 1940s, for example, was equivolent to the general white American atttude in the West, Mid-West, and North-East for the same time periods.

Today (2003 A.D.), faithful and active Mormons are simply not "racist"! You can find some inactive (those who do not attend Church nor follow Mormon prophets or laws) who may be racist, but these are "Mormons" in name only. Also, you can find some Mormon converts from the South, or white South Africans, or perhaps others areas, who were raised in racist non-LDS homes who still may retain such beliefs. If they share such beliefs with others, they may face Church discipline. But, generally speaking, Mormons (Latter~day Saints) are NOT "racist", and actually have some of the most pro-Black attitudes among white Americans. This is confirmed by NON-mormon sociological studies (see Mauss, Armand L. All Abraham's Children, pp.252-55).

There is a LOT of false rumors and misinformation in the African-American Community (and some in black Africa) regarding the subject of Mormons, the Mormon Faith, and the Mormon attitude toward black folks. A 35-page online article (in two sections) has been written to answer commonly-asked questions concerning the Church and people of black African descent: it is called Black Mormons & The Priesthood-ban. (see link below)

Do Mormons believe that black folks are the devil's children?

NO! Another false rumor! The Church has always taught that black folks were the literal spirit-sons and spirit-daughters of God.

Do Mormons believe that black folks were "fence sitters" or "less valiant" in the War in Heaven?

Many have, and some still do today, but that was never official Mormon doctrine.

Orson Hyde, an early Mormon apostle, gave a lecture in 1847 before a High Priest Quorum where he said that some spirits were "neutral" in the War in Heaven, and this is why they were born into a lineage which could not have the Priesthood. But this doctrine was refuted by Brigham Young; the President of the Church at that time. It is considered false doctrine.

In previous decades many have believed in the "Less Valiant Theory", but this too is not official Church doctrine! Orson Pratt, an early Apostle, wrote in 1854 in The Seer (a Mormon publication in England) that "it may be" that some spirits were "less valiant" in the pre-existent "War in Heaven" where all spirits either followed Jesus or Lucifer. All who followed Jesus became human beings. All who followed Lucifer were denied human births, and are now known as "demons". Pratt speculated that those born into the Cainite lineage may have been punished for something they did in the pre-existence; perhaps being "less valiant" in the War in Heaven. The First Presidency under Brigham Young later "condemned" The Seer. However, some later Church leaders advocated the "Less Valiant Theory" as a "reasonable explanation". It is simply NOT official Church doctrine. Never was. Official Church doctrine is that the spirits of black folks--the sons and daughters of God-- followed Jesus and fought against Lucifer and his angels in the War in Heaven.

Was the Curse of Cain doctrine official?

Yes!, the Curse of Cain doctrine was always presented as an official doctrine of the Church; from the days of Brigham Young (who introduced it in 1852) onward. The Priesthood-ban was an official "policy" of the Church not to ordain men with Hamitic lineage; from 1852 to 1978. This included all black Africans, and even white men who had at least one black African ancestor. Wallace Turner, a journalist for The New York Times, and a non-mormon, wrote in 1966:

"The most serious problem facing the LDS Church today is the Negro Question....A man can have skin as black as a moonless night--and he can be a full-fledged member of the Mormon Priesthood. But he can have blue eyes, white skin, and blond curly hair and have an African Negro in his ancestry and find himself rejected by the Mormons as an applicant for the Priesthood...." (The Mormon Establishment, pp.218-9)

*Fijians (black-skinned natives of the Fiji Islands)
*Melanesians (i.e. black-skinned Polynesians)
*Aboriginals (Native Australians)
*Negritoes (black-skinned negroid peoples of the Philipines, Indonesia, and Malaysia)
*Tamils and Dravidians (black-skinned natives of southern and eastern India)
*Papuans (black-skinned natives of New Guinea)

Apparently, President David O. McKay did not believe that Cain was the first "Negro", but possibly believed that the African race was much older than Adam and Eve. He may have believed that black Africans were denied the Priesthood NOT because of their native African blood, but because of their Ancient Egyptian blood. The Ancient Egyptians were a Cainite people; the descendants of Ham, the son of Noah, and his Cainite wife. This was mean that the native African bloodline was pure, but that the Ancient Egyptian bloodline was "blessed with wisdom" but "cursed as pertaining to the Priesthood" (Abraham 1:26). Black Africans are the descendants of both native Africans, and the Ancient Egyptians via the Nubians of Sudan and southern Egypt. This might be why he lifted the restriction off of non-African black-skinned peoples; because they did not have a Cainite/Hamitic lineage (bloodline).

After 1955, but before June 8th of 1978, black-skinned peoples could be found in all priesthood-offices, and they could be found partaking of the Higher Ordinances of Mormon Temples; if they did not have the blood of the Ancient Egyptians in them. In 1972, the Salt Lake Tribune reported President Harold B. Lee (11th President of the Church):

"President Lee said skin color is not what keeps the Negro from the Priesthood. It is strictly a matter of lineage and involves only African Negroes. In comparison, he noted, dark of black islanders, such as Fijians, Tongans, Samoans, or Maoris, are all permitted full rights to the Priesthood." (Salt Lake Tribune, Sept. 24th, 1972)

The Priesthood-ban was the official policy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1852 to 1978. The Curse of Cain doctrine was an official doctrine of the Church; taught by Mormon Prophets and Apostles, published in official Mormon publications, and sanctioned by The First Presidency in several letters titled "The First Presidency on the Negro Question".

Any Mormon who says to you "It was never official Church doctrine" is either lying (and some do), or is sincerely mistaken. Young Mormons are never taught the Curse of Cain doctrine, and they are never taught about the Priesthood-ban. So, if they say, "I've never heard that before!" they are not lying. You may wish to inform them yourself.

Do Black Mormons accept the Curse of Cain doctrine and Priesthood-ban as having come from God?

Some do and some do not. It is difficult to say how many do, and how many don't. Most black African members have never heard of the Priesthood-ban. Most African-American Members have. According to one study, about 24% of active black Mormons in the U.S. accept it as coming from the LORD. About 7% of active black Mormons in the U.S. say it was definitely NOT from the LORD. The rest are unsure either way. Some believe that it was only the personal opinions of early Church leaders. However, The First Presidency of the Church issued an official statement "On the Negro Question" in 1947 which stated:

"From the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith even until now, it has been the doctrine of the Church, never questioned by church leaders, that the Negroes are not entitled to the full blessings of the Gospel [i.e. the Priesthood]." ( Statement of The First Presidency on the Negro Question, July 17, 1949, quoted in Mormonism and the Negro, pp.46-7)

"Racial prejudice is of the devil. Racial prejudice is of ignorance. There is not a place for it in the Gospel of Jesus Christ." ( Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p.237)

Black Mormons who confront the Curse of Cain legacy will:

*Ignore it and forget it, saying "That's all in the past, let's move on!"

*Say, "It was a mistake of the past that was righted by the 1978 Revelation".

*Become shocked, angry, and leave the Church in bitterness.

*Go into "denial" and deny the Church taught it, or taught it officially, as a way to "live" with the past.

*Go inactive (no longer go to Church).

*Ask the LORD in prayer, "Was this your doing Lord?"

*Swallow their prides and accept it humbly as the Will of the LORD and carry on in faithfulness.

Mormons believe that the "Elect" shall "endure to the end"; meaning that the Elect of the LORD (a portion of the Latter-day Saints) shall remain in the Church and remain faithful until the end of the lives in spite of the Curse of Cain legacy. And perhaps this is how it should be.

President Spencer W. Kimball

Spencer W. Kimball (1895-1985) was a businessman (banking, insurance, real estate) in Stafford, Arizona. He was a descendant of Heber J. Kimball; one of the original Apostles of the Restoration. He was also at one time the state director of Rotary Clubs in Arizona (Rotary is one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the world). In 1968 he founded Ayuda; an American-based organization of physicians and dentists who offer their services for free to the poor (mostly Indians) in Central America.

"Intolerance by Church members is despicable. A special problem now exists with respect to blacks because they may not now [1972] receive the Priesthood. Some members of the Church would justify their own un-Christian discrimination against blacks because of that rule with respect to the Priesthood, but while this restriction has been imposed by the Lord, it is not for us to add burdens upon the shoulders of our black brethren. They who have received Christ in faith through authoritative baptism are heirs to the Celestial Kingdom along with men of all other races. And those who remain faithful to theend may expect that God may finally grant them all blessings they ahve merited through their righteousness. Such matters are in the Lord's hands. It is for us to extend our love to all." (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p.237)

"I am not sure that there will be a change, although there could be. We are under the dictates of our Heavenly Father, and this is not my policy or the Church's policy. It is the policy of the Lord who established it, and I know of no change, although we are subject to Revelations of the Lord in case He should ever wish to make a change." (Teachings of Spcencer W. Kimball, p.449 emphasis added)

David O. McKay

Another Church President that strongly and frequently condemned racism was David O. McKay (1873-1970); the 9th President of the Church. David O. McKay was known to condemn racism and intolerance as well, but he too was a staunch supporter of the Priesthood-ban. He once said in 1944:

"America has the great opportunity to lead the world from political intrigue and cheap demogoguery, from national seflishness, from unrighteous usurpation of power, and from unholy aggrandizement. She must prove to the people of the world that she has no selfish ends to serve, no desire for conquest, nor of national or race superiority. When these ideals are established, America can blaze the trail and lead the world to peace." (Teachings of David O. McKay, pp.281-2)

David O. McKay (9th President of the LDS Church)

It was President McKay who issued a policy-change in 1955 which allowed non-Hamitic black-skinned peoples the Priesthood and Higher Ordinances of Mormon Temples.

Afro-LDS Books and Videos

Today (2003) there are a few books and one video in the LDS market that deal with Afro-Mormon subjects:

1)Black Mormons & The Priesthood~ban as a book (much expanded from the website) is available via Sam Weller's Books of Salt Lake City. 120 pages softcover. Fully illustrated. $8.96 plus shipping and handling. Telephone orders accepted. Call 1-800-333-7269. The author is Darrick Evenson.

2) All Abraham's Children is a book by Armand Mauss that is a sociological study of race and color in the Mormon Faith. Available via Deseret Book and most LDS bookstores.

3) Standing On The Promises is a trilogy of "faction" (fiction based upon historical facts and people) novels by Darius Gray and Margaret Blair Young. The novels begin with Elijah Abel and continue until the 1978 Revelation and beyond. Available via Deseret Book and most LDS bookstores. Ask the clerk to show you where they are.

Standing on the Promises trilogy

4) Safe Journey by Glenn L. Pace; formerly of the Presiding Bishopric. Elder Pace tells of his three years in Africa; as an emissary, missionary, and as an agent of LDS Charities in Africa.

5) Pioneers of Africa is a video-documentary about the first black Mormons in Africa. Includes many personal interviews. See link below to order.

6) There are some out-of-print books that you cannot find in LDS bookstores such as In the Lord's Due Time by Joseph Freeman, It's You And Me Lord by Alan Cherry, and Neither Black nor White by Jessie Embry, and A Soul So Rebellious by Mary Francis Sturlaugson. You can find copies of these in the BYU Library and some of the larger LDS Insitutes of Religion (next to large univerities and colleges in the Western U.S.), and you can usually get them via interlibrary loan if you live in the U.S.

7) More books and films are expected in the future; including one documentary film titled "The 11th Hour: Blacks and the LDS Church". This is a faith-promoting documentary by black Mormon film producers Wayne L. Lee and Robert J. Foster. You can read more about that film at:

www.blackLDS.com/eleventh.html

"The 11th Hour: Blacks and the LDS Church"

The 11th Hour video should be in LDS bookstores by Summer of 2005.

Afro-Centrist Books and Websites

For those who would like to learn more about Afro-Centrism and the Ancient Egyptian/Black African connection, we recommend the following books:

*Bible Legacy of the Black Race

*No Apology Necessary (Just Respect)

*Return to Glory (by Joel A. Freeman)

None of these are "Mormon" publications. You can order any of these books from any large bookstore chain in North America (not from LDS bookstores).

Another place to understand the Ancient Egyptian ancestry of black Africans (or "Afrikans") is via the Clegg Series on the Internet. It offers videos as well as online articles. The Clegg Series is also not a Mormon publication.

Where the Jaredites Black?

The Book of Mormon is about a small group of Jews who fled Jerusalmen in 600 B.C. and sailed to America. However, there is an older book within The Book of Mormon called The Book of Ether. It tells about a group of people who fled the Tower of Babel at least 3000 years before Christ who were called the "Jaredites". A prophet led them. His name was Mahonri Moriancumr; otherwise known as "The Brother of Jared".

The Jaredites lived in the "Valley of Nimrod" at the time of the Tower of Babel. Because they were a righteous people the LORD did not confound their language as He did the other peopels.

There are a number of reasons to believe that the Jaredites were Hamites:

1. All of the Jaredite names are Hamitic, and the descendants of Ham were black. The Jaredite name "Aha" is Hamitic, and was the name of several Egyptian pharaohs. The Jaredite names Aaron and Levi are also Hamitic; these are Canaanite names. The Hamitic term for "prisoner" is "Ether"; which is the name of the man who wrote The Book of Ether; who was a prisoner.

2. Most Mormon scholars believe that the Jaredites were the ancient Olmecs; the first civilization on the American continent. The Olmecs lived in Southern Mexico and Central America long ago. Many scholars are convinced that the Olmecs (Jaredites?) were in fact "Negroes" because of the many giant Olmec heads which have been found over the last 50 years.

3. The Jaredites were from the Valley of Nimrod, who was a Hamite. The language of the Jaredites was not confounded; which strongly suggests they spoke the language of Nimrod.

4. Parley P. Pratt (an original Mormon apostle) wrote a letter to a John Van Cott that the Kinderhook Plates (a set of 6 copper plates allegedly found in a mound in Kinderhook, Illinois) "contain a genealogy of one of the Jaredites back to Ham the son of Noah." (Pratt to Van Cott, LDS Church Archives).

5. The Jaredites had oaths "handed down even from Cain." (Ether 8:16)

6. There is an ancient tradition, claimed by Carlos de Siguenza y Gongorra (1645-1700), that in some ancient Aztec records (later destroyed) there was a statement that the original settlers of Mexico were descended from Mizraim, the son of Ham, and came to Mexico shortly after the confusion of tongues (The Jaredites Were Black, by David Grant Stewart, 1978, p.22)

The Jaredites are considered the LORD's first "Chosen People"; long before Abraham lived or his descendants the Israelites existed. The Jaredites were His first righteous people. They may well have been black!

Requesting the Missionaries

If you would like to speak with the missionaries then all you need to do is order a FREE copy of The Book of Mormon. To do that (if you live in the U.S. or Canada) you need only call this number:

Just call and say you want them to send you a free copy of The Book of Mormon. Missionaries will come deliver it to you. If you're not in the U.S. or Canada, then just look for "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" in the telephone directory, or go online at www.mormons.com.

You can only go to the following website to request the missionaries:
www.mormons.org

Eternal Marriage: Adams and Eves on other Worlds

If you would like to know why people become Mormons, the answer is that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the ONLY Church on earth which claims to have the "sealing power" of Jesus Christ; to bind on earth what shall be bound in Heaven:

"Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 18:18)

Mormons believe that Peter, as an Angel of the LORD, appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in 1829, and gave them the "sealing power" that Jesus had given him. With this sealing power, faithful Mormons will--if they are sealed in the Temple--become literal Adams and Eves on other worlds in the Cosmos. All other Christians will become Ministering Angels; like eternal "Monks" or "Nuns".

Eternal Marriage is only for the Elect! Those who are not the Elect (whom Jesus called "The Children of This World") shall become like the angels in Heaven; who marry not nor are given in marriage. Jesus referred to His elect disciples as "The Children of Light" and said: "Ye are NOT of the World" (John 15:19 ).

Those who deny the possibility of Eternal Marriage quote Jesus' response (Matthew 22:30) to the question the Sadducees put to him; that a Sadducee woman had 8 husbands, so whose wife would she be in the Resurrection? The Sadducees did not believe in the Resurrection. They were trying to catch Jesus in a snare. They knew He was teaching Eternal Marriage, so they told of a woman who had 8 husbands, whose wife would she be in the Resurrection? Jesus replied that "the Children of this world" are not married in Heaven, but are as the angels in Heaven. This is true! Mormons also believe that "The Children of This World" shall not be married in the Resurrection, but shall be like the angels in Heaven; eternal monks and nuns. But the "Children of Light" (Jesus' Elect) shall receive a better reward!

The Sadducees were not asking Jesus the fate of HIS disciples in the Resurrection, but the fate of a Sadducee woman and her eight Sadducee husbands! In LDS doctrine, they will become like the angels in heaven (this is what Jesus said), but in Catholic and Protestant doctrine the woman and her seven husbands will burn in Hell-fire for all eternity because they were not Christians.

Only the "Mormon" interpretation can be true! Otherwise, Jesus lied to the Sadducees (by telling them the woman and her seven husbands would go to Heaven and be angels there).

What does the "binding and loosening" in Matthew 16:19 and 18:18 refer to?

a. Demons bound or loosed in Heaven or on earth?
b. Christians being saved or unsaved in heaven or on earth?
c. Angels being chained or unchained in heaven or on earth?
d. Saints (Elect Christians) bound or loosed in heaven or on earth?

What does "bound" and "loosed" mean? In the Greek it says DEO (bound) and LUO (loosed). It must refer to Christians being "bound" or "loosed". Paul wrote, "For the woman that hath a husband is bound [DEO] by Law to the husband." (Romans 7:2). He wrote, "Art thou bound [DEO] to a wife? seek not to be loosed [LUO]. Art thou loosed [LUO] from a wife? seek not a wife." (1 Corinthians 7:27)

Jesus tells Peter:

"And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind [DEO] on earth shall be bound [DEO] in heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose [LUO] on earth shall be loosed [LUO] in heaven. (Matthew 16:19)

Does it refer to demons being bound and loosed on earth and in heaven? Does it refer to angels being bound or loosed on earth or in heaven? Does it refer to the Pope saving or damning those on earth who shall be saved or damned IN HEAVEN? What does the "binding" and "loosening" refer to?

Jesus' words in Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 18:18 refers to marriage in Heaven. It cannot refer to anything else. It cannot refer to "loosening" demons on earth or in heaven, or "binding" angels on earth or in heaven! It refers to marriage, and nothing else.

This "sealing power" was given to Peter by Jesus, and Peter (as an Angel) gave this sealing power to Joseph Smith.

Peter, James, and John, as angels, confirm the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in 1829 near Harmony, Penn.

The Restoration of All Things in the Last Days includes the restoring of the sealing power of Jesus, that He gave to Peter, who in turns restores this power to the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1829. The President of the Church has this power, and he ordains deputies (called "Sealers") who perform eternal marriage ceremonies in Sealing Rooms in Mormon Temples throughout the world. If a couple remains faithful and worthy "to the end" then they shall not be angels in Heaven, but become Adams and Eves on other worlds. They shall eventually--over eons--receive the title of "gods". They receive a better reward than other Christians--who merely become angels in Heaven (like eternal monks and nuns).

A typical Sealing Room in a Mormon Temple

The purpose of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to gather all the Elect Christians from among the other Churches, and indeed all the Elect souls from all other religions, into the Church so that they can enjoy the blessings of the Sealing Power of the Temple, and be united as husband and wives--and as eternal families--for all eternity.

Faithful Mormons become literal Adams and Eves on New Worlds

Anciently, the Levites were the Priesthood of the LORD. His priests. The "Elect" of the LORD. They were called Qadoshiym; which in Hebrew means "separated out for a special purpose". It means "elect" or "chosen" or "special" or even "elite". In Latin, the word for Qadoshiym is "Santos", or, in English: "Saints". Mormons are the Saints of the Latter-days, or Latter~day Saints. We are the Priesthood of God in the Latter-days.

Those who do not hearken unto the Voice of the LORD in the latter-days, and who do not receive the Higher Ordinances of the Temple (endowments and sealings), and who do not "endure to the end" in faithfulness, will become as the angels of Heaven; single and alone for all eternity (like eternal "monks" and "nuns").

Brigham Young said that "Adam and Eve were the names of the first man and woman on every earth that is ever organized." (Joseph Lee Robinson Journal, 6-8 Oct., 1854, LDS Archives). He said:

"After men have got their exaltations and their crowns--have become Gods, even the sons of GOD--are made King of kings and Lord of lords, they have the power then of propagating their species in spirit; and that is the first of their operations with regard to organizing a world. Power is then given to them to organize the elements, and then commence the organization of tabernacles [bodies]. How can they do it? Have they to go to that earth? Yes, and Adam will have to go there, and he cannot do without an Eve; he must have an Eve to commence the work of generation, and they will go into the Garden, and continue to eat and drink of the fruits of the corporeal world, until this grosser matter is diffused sufficiently through their celestial bodies to enable them, according to established laws, to produce mortal tabernacles for their spiritual children." (Journal of Discourses 6:275)

"Before me I see a house full of Eves. What a crowd of reflections the word 'Eve' is calculated to bring up! Eve was a name or title conferred upon our first mother, because she was actually to be the mother of all the human beings who should live upon this earth. I am looking upon a congregation designed to be just such beings." (Millennial Star 31:267)

We recognize that many people of Hamitic descent (and others) won't accept the Mormon Faith, and will continue to view the Mormon Faith as "racist". That's ok! The Mormon Faith is not for you! The Mormon Faith is not for everyone. It is not for the proud. It is for the Elect of God. It is not for the prideful, but for the humble, the sincere Seeker of Truth, the true lowly Servant of God, the Chosen, the Elect, the Pure-in-Heart.

At the top of most LDS Temples is the statue of an angel blowing a trumpet. This is a symbol of the gathering together of the Elect of God from the four corners of the earth.

Jesus said:

"And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to another." (Matthew 24:31)

It is ONLY in Mormon Temples that husbands can be sealed to wives and children to parents for time and all eternity. We invite you to discover more. Contact the missionaries today! You have nothing to lose, and only Eternal Life to gain!

Call for the missionaries today!

The Mormon Faith & Black Folks

The Mormon Faith & Black Folks is now online! Over 300 pages divided into 62 chapters! The most complete work on the Church and blacks ever written. No copyright! Just click on the link below!

Black Mormons & The Priesthood-ban F.A.Q.

Many other false rumors about Mormons and the Mormon Faith that are popular in the African-American Community are answered in a 35-page online article titled Black Mormons & The Priesthood-ban F.A.Q.. Please go to:

Conclusion

The Mormons did not invent black African slavery. That was invented first by Arab Muslims, and then by Catholic and then Protestant Europeans. The Mormons did not invent "racism". That was invented by men who did not believe in God. The Mormons did not create the KKK or other anti-black organizations; those were created by "Protestants". The Church always strongly condemned the KKK and other anti-black groups (see Black Mormons & The Priesthood-ban F.A.Q.). The Mormons did not segregate blacks or create "Jim Crow" laws. Again, those were created by Protestants (mostly Baptists and Methodists) in the South.

The Prophet Joseph Smith was a great advocate for the rights of black people! He was far ahead of his time. He may have been killed for that! Black folks in Utah faired better than in many parts of the U.S. during the same decades! The white Mormon attitude toward black folks was no better and no worse than the general Northern and Mid-Western white American attitude for the same time periods. Today, Mormons and Utah and elsewhere have some of the most pro-Black attitudes that can be found anywhere.

Today (2003), in the African-American Community, there still exists many false and exaggerated rumors about Mormons that are, for the most part, believed! African-Americans, who were for centuries the victims of prejudice ("to pre-judge~to judge something without knowing the facts") should be the first people NOT to pre-judge Mormons, and to believe false rumors. Unfortunately, for the most part, this is not the case.

The Mormon Faith is for the Elect of God; nobody else. Who are the Elect? The LORD said to the Prophet Joseph Smith:

"And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of Mine elect; for Mine elect hear My Voice and harden not their hearts." (D&C 29:7)

Some Things to Remember...

• The Holy Priesthood of the Mormon Faith is totally different than the priesthood or ministry of other churches. It includes the ancient Jewish Priesthood (Aaronic) and the Priesthood of Jesus (Melchizedek) which is even more ancient.
• Mormons are Saints of the Latter-days, or Latter-day Saints. They are the Qadeshiym of Jesus Christ of the Last Days before the Second Advent.
• The Prophet Joseph Smith a great advocate for the black people; calling for their freedom, education, and the granting of equal rights. He may have been killed for this. He had free black men ordained to both orders of Priesthood; including Elijah Abel who was a Seventy Apostle.
• The Curse of Cain doctrine began with President Brigham Young in 1852. The Priesthood-ban policy was based upon the Curse of Cain doctrine; which is based upon Abraham 1:26 in The Pearl of Great Price. Both the doctrine and the policy were OFFICIAL from that time until 1978 when the policy ended. The Curse of Cain doctrine has yet to be repudiated, and remains an official doctrine of the Church.
• A black skin was NEVER A CURSE, but rather a protection (a blessing) from the LORD. The Curse of Cain was a denial of the Priesthood in mortality for his descendants; until the curse was removed by the LORD.
• Mormon Prophets and Apostles were American Yankees (New Englanders) and had the very same view of black folks as did the vast great majority of Yankees in their day and time. Some of them had a moderately-racist viewpoint, which MOST white Yankee Americans also had in their day and time.
• The Less Valiant Theory is NOT a doctrine of the Mormon Faith, and never was. It is theological speculation by Orson Pratt only.
• The Jaredites, the LORD's chosen people who lived long before the Israelites, may have been black.
• Mormons are NOT required to believe in the Curse of Cain doctrine in order to be good Members of the Church. They are only required to accept currently-taught doctrines and policies.
• Mormons who say that the Church never taught the Curse of Cain doctrine are either lying or ignorant of Mormon history. Many younger Mormons have never been taught this aspect of Church history, and they sincerely don't know about it.
• Mormons today are NOT racists, but will accept you with open and loving arms!
• Mormons are CHRISTIANS and worship JESUS CHRIST, and NOT Joseph Smith (nor the ancient American prophet Mormon)!
• Only The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the Sealing Power of God; the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. It can seal faithful husbands to their faithful wives, and faithful parents to their faithful children, as Eternal Families. No other church or religion can offer this.
• There are hundreds of thousands of Black Latter-day Saints in the world today.
• The purpose of the LDS Church is to gather the Elect of God and seal them as eternal families in our Temples.
• To contact the missionaires just call 1-800-528-2225 (U.S.) or go online (international) at www.mormons.org