Today, I’m saddened to share that Eugene Orr passed away this morning, Monday, September 22, 2025, in Alberta, Canada. Eugene was one of the three original Black men, alongside Ruffin Bridgeforth Jr. (1923–1997) and Darius Gray, who worked closely with three Apostles to organize and establish Genesis Group on October 19, 1971.

I became Genesis Group president on January 7, 2024, and my first conversation with Eugene was in early September 2024. I was driving home when I got a call from a number I didn’t recognize. When I answered, the voice on the other end said with energy, “This is Eugene! When is Genesis Group going to be a ward?” I paused and thought to myself, “Eugene?” Then it hit me—it was Eugene Orr on the phone, one of the original founding members of Genesis Group.

Eugene’s contributions have been widely felt, and today I send our heartfelt condolences on behalf of Deseret Book to the Orr family.

Thank you, Eugene.

You can learn more about his life and contributions through this article he wrote:

Latter-day Saint Life

Genesis Group: How 3 faith-filled men began the Black American member movement in the Church

This article is an adapted excerpt from Eugene’s essay in My Lord, He Calls Me: Stories of Faith by Black American Latter-day Saints and tells the story of how Genesis Group began.

“For all of us Black members, this formation of our own group and having our own Black presidency presiding over it was a giant leap toward racial equity in the Church and beyond.”

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