Black History

February 15, 2024 09:16 AM MST
“Knowledge that Christ suffers with us can provide solace to our hearts and minds while reflecting on the injustices done to our brothers and sisters.”
6 Min Read
February 12, 2024 07:11 AM MST
‘I have been overwhelmed with a sense of belonging. I have been inspired, humbled, and changed.’
5 Min Read
February 02, 2024 09:08 AM MST
Margarett lived in the Salt Lake Valley in the late 1800s. Her story is a powerful reminder that no heart, and no life, is too broken for Christ to heal.
7 Min Read
April 12, 2023 12:10 PM MDT
“When I started nosing through old photo albums, I discovered my mom was the first Black woman to receive a mission call.”
9 Min Read
March 13, 2023 06:12 AM MDT
In February 1970, the Associated Press carried this headline: “White LDS Choir Gets Touch of Color.”
5 Min Read
February 27, 2023 04:39 PM MST
When I reflect on how I found the gospel, I realize that my family’s experiences informed two important pieces of my testimony.
5 Min Read
By  Eugene Orr
February 25, 2023 08:00 AM MST
“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.”
6 Min Read
February 23, 2023 12:00 PM MST
Around 900 people attended in person, and more than 1,000 members watched virtually in Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Nevada, and Arizona.
1 Min Read
February 22, 2023 12:00 PM MST
“The story of the First Vision was a stark contrast to the beneficent yet mysterious being that I grew up with, and I loved that it showed a God who cared personally for His children.”
6 Min Read
February 22, 2023 08:00 AM MST
“My journey of trying to be the best disciple I can be has given me the confidence and the freedom to live at my best unapologetically.”
4 Min Read
February 21, 2023 02:38 PM MST
“Major events in the nation, and within the Church, have necessitated honest examinations of our past, and of our hearts.”
9 Min Read
February 21, 2023 08:00 AM MST
In small and simple ways, we can be instruments in the Lord’s hands by helping all people feel His love through our words and actions.
6 Min Read
February 13, 2023 12:20 PM MST
“I cried tears of joy that I had found the Lord’s Church on earth!”
7 Min Read
February 01, 2023 07:00 AM MST
In 1951, Martha Ann and her husband, Abner, were called to serve an extraordinary mission, one that was never again duplicated.
7 Min Read
January 31, 2023 07:00 AM MST
This beautiful new collection of personal essays comes from Black American Latter-day Saints who, despite societal and cultural struggles, have remained strong in their faith.
1 Min Read
July 22, 2022 06:00 AM MDT
A new monument honoring early Black pioneers will be dedicated on Friday, July 22, corresponding with the 175th anniversary of the first wagon company’s 1847 arrival in the Salt Lake Valley.
1 Min Read
July 19, 2022 07:00 AM MDT
Mauli Bonner came away from the 2018 “Be One” celebration a changed man with an intense desire to learn more about Black pioneers and to teach others about them.
7 Min Read
June 14, 2022 12:20 PM MDT
Mauli Bonner is on a mission—a mission to have a monument built to honor Black Latter-day Saints. It all began with a desire to learn more about his heritage as a Black member of the Church. Thus, he began a journey that many would’ve thought would shake his testimony. But instead, he found his testimony being strengthened.
5 Min Read
June 07, 2022 03:26 PM MDT
“Life was a disappointment to me. I was living terribly, breaking my mother’s heart. And I thought, ‘There’s got to be something better than this.’”
1 Min Read
May 27, 2022 07:00 AM MDT
For the month of June, the LDS Living Book Club will join together to study “Panther to Priesthood” by Eddie Leroy Willis.
1 Min Read
“I hope that people could speak more openly about Black Latter-day Saint history and that we could hear more of their experiences. As a Black woman, it is important to me to know of other strong Black people, to learn of their accomplishments and about their lives.”
2 Min Read
February 23, 2022 05:00 AM MST
Let’s seek to be less passive and more aggressive in this fight against racism. And more importantly, let us look up to Him who created us perfectly in His image.
7 Min Read
February 17, 2022 03:31 PM MST
We hope you will take the time to watch and listen to some of these stories and acknowledge the beauty of diversity, the importance of equality, and the power of discussion and conversation.
5 Min Read
February 17, 2022 09:02 AM MST
Wanda was so overjoyed by the blessings of the Church that she tried to share the good news of the gospel with anybody who would listen! She especially wanted to let Black Americans know that they didn’t have to struggle.
7 Min Read
January 17, 2022 10:40 AM MST
Two teenage sisters set off with their mom on a road trip across the country to learn about their roots and their Jesus—and they came home different people.
7 Min Read
February 18, 2021 07:04 PM MST
After hearing from a drill instructor at basic training for the Air Force that the Church was racist, Isaac almost stopped his pursuit of the gospel. But after attending a church meeting for the first time with some of his fellow basic training buddies, that all changed.
3 Min Read
February 12, 2021 09:12 PM MST
“Negro spirituals”—songs that were often sung by African American slaves as they worked—are something that we, in our faith tradition, may not be very familiar with. But in a recent Instagram live video, Yahosh Bonner shares the history surrounding these songs:
1 Min Read
February 12, 2021 04:42 PM MST
Celebrate Black History Month with free access to this week’s episode of LDS Living’s Come, Follow Me podcast, The Sunday on Monday study group. An episode that focuses on the experiences of Black members of the Church, is now available for free on Deseret Bookshelf through the end of February 2021.
1 Min Read
January 18, 2021 12:00 PM MST
I remember and honor Dr. King for that night at midnight when he sat at that tiny kitchen table, his head bowed over a cup of coffee, praying to God when he was losing his courage.
4 Min Read
June 13, 2019 01:52 PM MDT
Ardis E. Parshall became tearful as she walked across the cemetery lawn to see the new monument honoring William and Marie Graves. Although she knew their story, it was like she was meeting them in person for the first time.
13 Min Read
By  LDS Living
April 06, 2019 06:35 PM MDT
During the Saturday afternoon session of general conference, President Dallin H. Oaks announced the calls of 10 General Authority Seventies and 55 Area Seventies during the Saturday afternoon session of the April 2019 general conference.
1 Min Read
January 21, 2019 11:36 AM MST
“This message is my message to young people. They should have it in their hearts. Let us dig the soil of bitterness, throw in a seed, show love, and see what fruits it can give.”
4 Min Read
January 19, 2019 03:53 PM MST
Thomas had never come face to face with the violence and hatred racism breeds—until he walked onto the Missouri Valley College campus in 1967.
10 Min Read
June 12, 2018 12:47 PM MDT
In April 1913, Booker T. Washington did The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a favor.
4 Min Read
May 23, 2018 07:59 PM MDT
A new Church History Library exhibit brings the history of black Latter-day Saints to life with 16 documents, photographs, oral histories, and autobiographies from Saints throughout the world.
1 Min Read
May 08, 2018 08:01 PM MDT
What a powerful testimony from this Latter-day Saint and a fellow sister in the Church: "My faith is in God. . . . I don’t think I could live my life as well or as happily if I weren’t a member of the Church. Thanks to the Savior and His gospel, I can become better and find peace through any struggle I have."
1 Min Read
May 01, 2018 10:30 PM MDT
When Daryl Planks married his wife Rachel in 2012, he knew she was a Mormon.
10 Min Read
February 28, 2018 01:21 PM MST
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the revelation on the priesthood in June 1978, which allowed all worthy black male Church members’ to have the priesthood. As we celebrate this event, let us learn more about our black brothers and sisters around the world.
1 Min Read
By  LDS Living
January 13, 2017 05:46 PM MST
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a special time to remember the sacrifices made to help bring racial equality to America. Help your family understand the importance of these events with a lesson from the children's book She Stood for Freedom.
3 Min Read
January 20, 2014 09:49 AM MST
Editor's note: In an effort to ensure that we are sharing accurate information with our readers, we have removed this 2014 article due to a lack of reliable sources.
1 Min Read