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Marcus Martins is a former mission president who served as the first Black missionary following the 1978 revelation on the priesthood. In a 2021 “All In” episode, he discusses how misguided attempts at explaining the priesthood ban hold lessons for all of us regarding racism of all kinds.
By now the notion that we are in the midst of a Mormon moment is clichéd, although if Rick Santorum continues to threaten Mitt Romney in the GOP primaries, the public focus on the Latter-day Saints could fade. For the time being, however, my religion is being examined in the public square like never before. It can be an uncomfortable experience. Consider a recent Washington Post article on race and Mormonism. Before 1978, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints denied its priesthood, which is normally extended to all adult males, to black men. In examining the legacy of that ban, the Post interviewed Randy Bott, a religion professor at church-owned Brigham Young University.
"I say unto you, be one," a new Church website reads, quoting Doctrine and Covenants 38:27.
Editor's Note: This is an opinion piece published in 2017 and represents the thoughts and experiences of one black Latter-day Saint. Read the Church's 2013 essay "Race and the Priesthood" to learn more.
On June 1, 2018, a worldwide celebration will be held celebrating the 40 year anniversary of the 1978 revelation that extended the priesthood to all worthy male members of the Church. The First Presidency announced the celebration on April 9, which will be held in Salt Lake City.
In 1830, the same year the Church was organized, a former slave named Peter became the first documented Black member of the Church. Nearly 200 years later, Mauli Bonner first heard Peter's story when he started exploring his own faith as a Black member of the Church. This journey led him to Paul Reeve, a professor at the University of Utah who has studied Blacks in Church history extensively. On today's episode, Mauli and Paul explain not only the importance of the stories of early Black Latter-day Saints, but also how their stories can strengthen our faith and our testimonies of the restored gospel.
We all want to be good member missionaries, and usually we can answer questions about our religion without too much difficulty. But occasionally a particularly difficult question comes up. Thankfully, the Church is providing valuable resources and very recently released new topic pages to help with these challenging questions at the "Gospel Topics" section of LDS.org.
The following article, posted on lds.org, shares the story of six faithful black Latter-day Saints who were members of the Church when the priesthood ban was lifted.
Read the touching responses of black members of the LDS Church when they learned about the 1978 priesthood revelation by following the link below.
The following is from the 2014 BYU Religious Education Student Symposium. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the revelation that extended the priesthood to black men in the Church, we wanted to share this article highlighting female black pioneers and their sacrifices for their faith.