Why did the LDS not allow blacks to hold the priesthood?

Question

I'm LDS and my husband is black and is a convert. I just need more explanation to why the church wouldn't allow blacks the priesthood until recently. The question bothers me and I need answers. Please help

Answer 1

Its nothing deep.

The church is racist and sexist.. they have been for years....

Answer 2

Be sure to ask the Southern Baptists about the mark of Cain. They used the curse of Cain as a justification for slavery. All the Mormons did was deny blacks the priesthood. And be sure to ask the Protestants why they used the curse of Cain as an excuse to not ordain blacks to the clergy up until the 1960s or so. To answer your question, it did not happen suddenly. All of the church leaders from the days of Joseph Smith knew the day would come when it would happen. It finally happened while Spencer W. Kimball was the president of the church.

Answer 3

Our priesthood is GOD'S priesthood. God gives His piesthood to whomever He wants.

In the Old Testament, only those who were of the tribe of Levi could hold the priesthood and officiate within the temple. Even Jesus did not hold the priesthood to officiate in the temple.

We don't know why the priesthood was witheld from blacks of African descent. God never said why. Many blacks in the churc still have a problem with this, even tho they philosophically accept that God can give His priesthood to whomever He wants wen ever He wants.

Have you heard of the Genesis group? This is a group of LDS who are blacks. I have posted the web link below. They can answer this much better than I can.

Answer 4

That was changed over 30 years ago. Prior to 1978, Black men were able to hold the Aaronic Priesthood, but not the Melchizedek. See the link below for the official change in this doctrine:

Answer 5

You should get a hold of the testimony of Thurl Bailey. He went through some of these same questions when he was investigating the church. This one issue was all that held him back. The answer that he accepted was basically until 1978 it wasn't time yet. Neither blacks nor whites were prepared.

That may not be an answer for everyone, but he understood. It was not just a question of theology. It was a question of how hearts can change.

Answer 6

There is no clear explanation ,but here is a short passage from jefflindsay.com

The revelation of 1978 announced by President Spencer W. Kimball giving all worthy men the privilege of holding the priesthood is consistent with the principles of LDS theology and essential to a consistent interpretation of its scripture. As recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, Joseph Smith claimed that at some future day, high priests will be ordained out of "every nation, kindred, tongue and people" (D&C 77:13). It is impossible to have high priests from every nation while excluding Africans. Joseph Smith stated that, if the work progressed, we would see people of every color, including the African "Hottentots," worship in the house of the Lord [History of the Church, 4:216]. .

If you want to read more, just go to jefflindsay.com, there is also a "BlackLDS.org' you can go to for more support.

Answer 7

i don't know the specifics to your question as far as not being able to hold the priesthood (i am not LDS), but i do disagree with many of the answers you have received that the mormon church is 'racist'. black people were allowed to attend church. in fact, the early mormons were against slavery. this is one of the reasons they were forced out of missouri.

people are quick to point out the faults of others while ignoring their own.

Answer 8

There may be all kinds of reasons we can't even imagine as mortals with limited understanding of why God does the things he does. It may have been as simple as having missionary work concentrate on one particular area of the world more than another until it was time to work with more people in Africa. Not one person has mentioned the practice of voodoo, so I will. I met a man a few years ago from Haiti, Luckner Huggins, who is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he wrote a book about how the practice of voodoo in Haiti has slowed down the spiritual progress of people there. That religion started in Africa, and there are basic tenets which are so contrary to basic Christianity of any kind, that it interferes with reliance on Heavenly Father and the power of Jesus Christ's Atonement because it has counterfeit "priests" who use evil spirits to accomplish certain things. Other Christian ministers have even set up campaigns to show how evil voodoo is (there have, of course, been other pagan religions in the past which have been as bad or worse). If you are interested in reading Luckner's book, you can check it out at the website below. But it is my opinion that God was simply waiting for a sufficient number of blacks not only in America, but also in Africa and regions throughout the world, to be ready to communicate with each other, to commit to a single family unit, and to be willing to meet on a regular basis. The Church is growing over in Africa by leaps and bounds now, and I would also pay homage to the Christian missionaries from other churches who have labored for CENTURIES to first introduce basic Christianity to Africa before the people were ready for moving on to higher laws.
By the way, maybe your husband would be interested in learning about early black members of the Church like Green Flake and Jane Manning James. When I went to the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers museum last summer, they had an informative little booklet on several early members of the Church who were black. Have a happy day, and I send you a gummy bear.

Answer 9

This is a question that many people ask and I think it's fine and completely normal for you to ask it. You'll hear lots of personal opinion on the topic as well as a lot of falsehood. Please pay no attention to people who teach either of these things.

I've been involved with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints my whole life and I've never heard any kind of official church policy on why blacks were not allowed to hold the priesthood for a period of time. I don't think there is an official church doctrine on this question. So I'm pretty sure that anything that anyone tells you about this question will be his/her own personal opinion. You can weigh these ideas for the "ring" of truth to see how they sit with you and compare them to the scriptures to see if you think they are reasonable.

I don't want to include my personal opinion so as not to make the mistake I have just mentioned. However, I will tell you some things about priesthood that might help you to have a better perspective on the question. While we often look at holding the priesthood as something that gives special honor to the priesthood holder, I think a better way to look at the priesthood is to look at it as the responsibility to serve. I mean, the priesthood is used to perform ordinances, such as baptism, giving blessings, and so forth, but a priesthood holder cannot do these things for himself and therefore cannot use it in a selfish way. The priesthood can only be used in service of others. Just because someone doesn't hold the priesthood doesn't prevent him/her from serving others. Holding the priesthood is also not a requirement for personal salvation; many small children die without receiving the priesthood, for example, and our church clearly teaches that they are saved.

During Old Testament times not all of the members of the house of Israel were allowed to hold the priesthood, either. The Levites were specifically chosen to hold the priesthood, and no one who didn't come from that family line could hold the priesthood. So it's really not that unusual for God to have groups of people who hold priesthood and groups who don't. God is no respecter of persons. "...he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile." (2 Nephi 26:33)

I hope this has helped you get a better perspective on things. Feel free to e-mail me if you'd like to ask me any more questions.

Answer 10

They have been allowed to participate in the priesthood since 1978 when LDS members and non-LDS people complained. Of course, they couldn't just change because of pressure....they had to wait until your prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, had a "revelation" from God that blacks were be ok for the priesthood. Until then, having black skin was seen as a curse from God.

http://www.lds-mormon.com/t0000467.shtml

Incidentally, Jospeh Smith was fine with black men being ordained to the priesthood (and he had ordained a couple of them) and so was Brigham Young....initially. But in 1847, Brigham Young changed that:

http://www.angelfire.com/mo2/blackmormon/homepage.html

Answer 11

Joseph Smith taught that blacks had the curse of Cain and could not hold the priesthood. Brigham Young said blacks were an inferior race and would never be allow to hold it and that blacks had been inferior spirits in the preexistence. In 1978, under pressure from civil rights groups Spencer Kimball claimed to have a revelation allowing it.

But yes, the mormon church was very racist = this is well documented.