Black Mormon History and Me

I think my children are perfect - not in the sense that they don't make mistakes - but in the sense that they were created by God and are made in his image. They are beautiful. Sometimes I sit back and look at them, overwhelmed by how truly remarkable they are. The word "grateful" is just hollow in trying to explain the depth of feelings I have for my Father in Heaven for all the miraculous events that let me be their mother.

There was a time when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not allow blacks to hold the priesthood or participate in temple ordinances. I don't know why. I was raised on theories as to why it might be, some of which seemed to make sense and some that didn't. I was always bothered by it. There were phrases of scripture that spoke of righteous people being "white and delightsome" while others were marked for sin by being made dark. Those scriptures are now worded "pure and delightsome." I was raised with the idea that after the resurrection all people would be white. I now hope that is not true. I don't want my children to ever be white. They are beautiful as they are. I do think that when we are resurrected, we will be glorious and bright, regardless of skin tone.

I was 10 years old when this priesthood ban was lifted. I still remember how I felt and how emotional my parents were about it. I didn't understand the significance at that time and I'm not sure I fully understand it still. My eyes have been opened in so many ways since adopting my children, but I still don't know what it's like to be raised black in America or to be a black Mormon. I'll never know exactly what that is like.

Not long ago, the Washington Post ran an article about this history. In this article, a very popular professor from Brigham Young University was quoted about his opinions as to why blacks were not given the priesthood. His comments were hurtful and patronizing. This same professor was my high school religion teacher. He was a great teacher and I learned more from him than I have learned from a religion teacher before or since, but from time to time he would say something that I didn't feel was right. I always knew that he had a habit of teaching personal beliefs as doctrine. Did this make him a bad teacher? No. All teachers do this to some degree. As a student - whether of religion or another subject - it is our responsibility to take what we learn and apply it to our lives as we see fit. It is our responsibility to distinguish what we accept as truth and what we regard as opinion. Was he wrong in what he said to the Washington Post? Dead wrong.

In response to this article, the LDS church has come out with two statements. First is a statement condemning racism and second is a statement regarding this article in particular. I am grateful that these statements have been made. For me, they are sufficient. We can't rewrite the past. The world we live in today is not the world that existed when the LDS church was founded. I can't second guess what happened then. There are others who are not satisfied. I don't question them. They have their own experiences and frame of reference.

Someday I will have to explain all of these events to my children. I will not have all the answers. I can only rely on the things I do know.

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true and prophets receive revelation.
• Members of the LDS church are not perfect and some of them are prejudiced, whether they realize it or not. This applies to blacks, whites and to me. We all have prejudices.
• I am glad I went to BYU. It was a great place for me to get my education.
• My children are children of God and he loves them as much as he loves any of his children.
• My children are created in the image of God - and they are perfect.

Mine is a simple faith. I believe what I believe. I don't analyze it or try to define it. I believe it because of how it makes me feel and because of a lifetime of experiences that have reconfirmed this to me. I do not doubt. Some say this makes me naive, but I say this makes me happy - completely happy.

For a summary of the Washington Post article and the aftermath, you can read here. The original article is found here.