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First Black man sealed in the Salt Lake Temple shares the moment he heard the 1978 priesthood revelation

In 1967, Isaac Thomas walked onto the Missouri Valley College campus on fraternity pledge night. As one of only 32 black students at the school, he stood out starkly, but, being an outgoing young man fresh from an all-black high school, Thomas didn’t think anything of it. He had never come face to face with the violence and hatred racism breeds—until that night.

Mormon Mia Love hopes to become the first black Republican woman in Congress

Other than her conservatism, there is little about Mia Love that doesn’t stand out in Utah. She is a black Republican, a 36-year-old mother of three, a fitness instructor and mayor of a growing town. Now, her congressional race against a popular incumbent whom Republicans have struggled to defeat has made Love a minor celebrity among GOP stalwarts.

Want to Start a Discussion About 2 Nephi 5 But Aren't Sure Where to Start? Try These Resources

By Morgan Pearson

On the airplane home from my mission, I sat next to a young journalist. If you've seen the old Church video A Labor of Love, you can imagine exactly what our conversation was like. He asked me a bunch of questions about my experience as a missionary, I cried as I relived the previous 18 months, and then like any missionary hoping to cap off their mission's end, I gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon. A few weeks later, I got a Facebook message from this man who said he had been reading the book I gave him but was confused by 2 Nephi 5. I was embarrassed that even after having spent 18 months as a missionary, I had to do some research before I replied. But what if we actually prepared for conversations like this? What if we tackled questions like these in our homes and talked them out as a family?

Famous Latter-day Saints

Jabari Parker Shares His Struggle Coming to Grips with Church History of Blacks and the Priesthood

Recently, The Ringer featured Jabari Parker and his Mormon faith. Here are a few highlights from the article:

Mormon History Group Honors Darius Gray

Seven years before President Spencer W. Kimball received a revelation allowing black men to be ordained to the priesthood in the LDS Church, Darius Gray knelt in prayer with two other black male Latter-day Saints. That soon led to the founding of what would be the Genesis group, a support organization for African-American church members formed with general leaders of the church — including Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles — as advisers.

Recommended by Us

June LDS Living Book Club: One man’s journey from Black Panther to Latter-day Saint

By Haley Lundberg

For the month of June, the LDS Living Book Club will join together to study “Panther to Priesthood” by Eddie Leroy Willis.

Kimberly Teitter: Interconnected Eternal Family Systems

Why are we the way that we are? This is a question licensed clinical psychologist, author, adjunct professor, and entrepreneur Kimberly Teitter has often explored—both in herself and in others. First, there's our divine identity. Then there is the influence of the generations that have come before us and the culture in which we were raised. As a Black Latter-day Saint who grew up in rural North Carolina, Kimberly shares how her experiences have shaped the way she sees the world.

Videos

After Killings, LDS Musicians Sing Powerful Song "Glory"

What was a peaceful march in Dallas last week turned into a scene of hate and bloodshed. As protestors marched to bring attention to the lives of two black men killed by police in Minnesota and Louisiana recently, a sniper opened fire on police officers, leaving five dead.

Latter-day Saint Life

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

By Eugene Orr

“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.”

Latter-day Saint Life

Prophets' Reactions When They Learned of the Priesthood Revelation: "I Sat Down on That Pile of Dirt and Cried"

By Danielle B. Wagner

June 8, 1978, is emblazoned into our collective memory as Latter-day Saints. Many of us identify with the sentiments of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who said, "I can remember exactly where I was. For us, that's the 'where we [were] when Kennedy was shot' [moment], this deep, deep, spiritual, emotional moment in the history of the Church."