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The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1861-1868
On January 1, 1861, N.B. Johnson wrote to Brigham Young, "Hon President Brigham Young of the Church of Latter-day Saints of Jesus Christ to your excellence in the holy priesthood I had written a few lines by way of a question as my mind have been & are rather embarrasst on the account of some who pretend pretend [sic] to understand all mysteries conserning the following question theirfore after I had Aplied to three different Bishop for <an> answer & thea told me they were not able to to [sic] answered such a question as it was something new to them.... Theirfore I was assured by the holy spirit that you could desolve the query wich i hope you will condescend to do.... The question as follows am i a lawfulll heir or not to the Priesthood my progeny is as follows all on my father's side was <the> white race of man.... On my mothers side my great grandmother was near a full Blooded Canaanite my grandmother was about 3/4 of the Canaanite my Mothers Father was about one seventh of the Canaanite.... Now pleas to let me know, whether I am a legal heir or not to the priesthood.... [illegible] Father [Isaac] Morley told me i was in a Blessing he siad i was of the seed of Ephraim & a legal heir.... but I hope you will plead to give your disesion as it will put an end to all controversy & it was agreeable to thy feelings i would like to see a discorse [on] this subject that is how fair would any legal seed could mix with the Canaanite && then clame an heirship to the priesthood such a discorse <would> give <light> to thousands in Israel or to all the latter day sts. in gen[eral] if you do answer my personal query pleas to direct in care of Bishop [Franklin W.] Young Payson City
"I remain your well wisher in the gosple of Jesus Christ
N.B. Johnson
"If the Lord permits I yet hope to see you in a proper time face to face as I desire to say some what to thee about my own affairs as I was from my boyhood naturally gifted to fore<see> future events both as to myself &C others yet I have bin leed astray by the spirits of darkness but the God of hope new my heart & showed me my errer for in a nights vision thre[e] different times eather they spirit or your guiding angel or something <in> thy apperance told me of my most secr[e]t sins & warned me in the in [erased] name of Christ <to> flee from the wrath to come yet after all of this I have evil spirits to contend with but the Lord is my helper inasmuch i obay [illegible] his servants.... I now conclude
"So may the Lord help thee farewell well
N.B. Johnson"
"I told no persons these things only I said I seen my errer."
"I remain your well wisher in the gosple of Jesus Christ
N.B. Johnson
"If the Lord permits I yet hope to see you in a proper time face to face as I desire to say some what to thee about my own affairs as I was from my boyhood naturally gifted to fore<see> future events both as to myself &C others yet I have bin leed astray by the spirits of darkness but the God of hope new my heart & showed me my errer for in a nights vision thre[e] different times eather they spirit or your guiding angel or something <in> thy apperance told me of my most secr[e]t sins & warned me in the in [erased] name of Christ <to> flee from the wrath to come yet after all of this I have evil spirits to contend with but the Lord is my helper inasmuch i obay [illegible] his servants.... I now conclude
"So may the Lord help thee farewell well
N.B. Johnson"
"I told no persons these things only I said I seen my errer."
A Prophet Among Us
On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces in South Carolina opened fire on Fort Sumter and began the American Civil War, as per Joseph Smith's prophecy. On May 5 the Philadelphia Sunday Mercury carried an article called "A Mormon Prophecy", which said, "We have in our possession a pamphlet, published in Liverpool in 1851, containing a selection from the 'revelations, translations and narratives' of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism. In view of our present troubles, this prediction seems to be in progress of fulfillment, whether Joe Smith was a humbug or not." It then reprinted the Civil War prophecy and concluded, "The war began in South Carolina. Insurrections of slaves are already dreaded. Famine will certainly afflict some Southern communities. The interference of Great Britain, on account of the want of cotton, is not improbable, if the war is protracted. In the meantime, a general war in Europe appears to be imminent. Have we not had a prophet among us?"
In writing of this in the Millennial Star in May, Elder Orson Hyde may have referenced another prophecy by Joseph Smith, this one unpublished. He wrote, "You have scarcely yet read the preface of your national troubles. Many nations will be drawn into the American maelstrom that now whirls through the land; and after many days, when the demon of war shall have exhausted his strength and madness upon American soil, by the destruction of all that can court or provoke opposition, excite cupidity [greed], inspire revenge, or feed ambition, he will remove his headquarters to the banks of the Rhine."
In October the telegraph line from Nebraska to California was completed with the Pacific and Overland Telegraph Companies meeting in Salt Lake City, and Brigham Young sent a telegram to Abraham Lincoln assuring him that Utah was still loyal to the Union. This was despite the government's anti-polygamy legislation and Brigham Young's personal distaste for President Lincoln. By order of Congress, Utah ended slavery in 1862 along with the other U.S. territories.
In writing of this in the Millennial Star in May, Elder Orson Hyde may have referenced another prophecy by Joseph Smith, this one unpublished. He wrote, "You have scarcely yet read the preface of your national troubles. Many nations will be drawn into the American maelstrom that now whirls through the land; and after many days, when the demon of war shall have exhausted his strength and madness upon American soil, by the destruction of all that can court or provoke opposition, excite cupidity [greed], inspire revenge, or feed ambition, he will remove his headquarters to the banks of the Rhine."
In October the telegraph line from Nebraska to California was completed with the Pacific and Overland Telegraph Companies meeting in Salt Lake City, and Brigham Young sent a telegram to Abraham Lincoln assuring him that Utah was still loyal to the Union. This was despite the government's anti-polygamy legislation and Brigham Young's personal distaste for President Lincoln. By order of Congress, Utah ended slavery in 1862 along with the other U.S. territories.
Race Mixing and Humane Treatment
According to the Journal of Discourses, in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on March 8, 1863, Brigham Young said "The rank, rabid abolitionists, whom I call black-hearted Republicans, have set the whole national fabric on fire. Do you know this, Democrats? They have kindled the fire that is raging now from the north to the south, and from the south to the north. I am no abolitionist, neither am I a proslavery man; I hate some of their principles and especially some of their conduct, as I do the gates of hell. The Southerners make the negroes, and the Northerners worship them; this is all the difference between slaveholders. and abolitionists. I would like the President of the United States and all the world to hear this.
"Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so. The nations of the earth have transgressed every law that God has given, they have changed the ordinances and broken every covenant made with the fathers, and they are like a hungry man that dreameth that he eateth, and he awaketh and behold he is empty.
"The following saying of the prophet is fulfilled: 'Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel; for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor. Arise and thrash O daughter of Zion, &c.' God rules in the armies of Heaven and does his pleasure upon the earth, and no man can help it. Who can stay the hand of Jehovah, or turn aside the providences of the Almighty? I say to all men and all women, submit to God, to his ordinances and to His rule; serve Him, and cease your quarrelling, and stay the shedding of each other's blood.
"If the Government of the United States, in Congress assembled, had the right to pass an anti-polygamy bill, they had also the right to pass a law that slaves should not be abused as they have been; they had also a right to make a law that negroes should be used like human beings, and not worse than dumb brutes. For their abuse of that race, the whites will be cursed, unless they repent.
"I am neither an abolitionist nor a pro-slavery man. If I could have been influenced by private injury to choose one side in preference to the other, I should certainly be against the pro-slavery side of the question, for it was pro-slavery men that pointed the bayonet at me and my brethren in Missouri, and said, 'Damn you we will kill you.' I have not much love for them, only in the Gospel. I would cause them to repent, if I could, and make them good men and a good community. I have no fellowship for their avarice, blindness, and ungodly actions. To be great, is to be good before the Heavens and before all good men. I will not fellowship the wicked in their sins, so help me God."
This is his final known quote on race mixing and death, after those from 1847 and 1852. They appear to be a part of his broader concept of blood atonement, or capital punishment for certain grievous sins, which was hyperbolic rhetoric common to the era and to Brigham Young in particular. William H. Douglas commented, "Do you see the contradictions? He goes from white people and black people who marry one another should be killed to all killing should completely cease to whites will be punished for their treatment of black people in three paragraphs, one right after the other. You cannot say God commands that a certain group of people should be killed and then say God commands that all killing should stop without massively contradicting yourself. He further adds that white people will be punished for treating black people like animals. So how do we explain this contradiction?...
"Perhaps [George D.] Watt edited something out. Perhaps Watt added his own ideas in. Perhaps he tweaked it to say what he wanted or what he thought Brigham meant by changing a few words. The point is that I don’t know. No one knows. Not right now anyway. Most of the information we have is flawed, coming as it does from someone we know essentially forged the words of Brigham Young and presented them to the church and the world as authentic."
"Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so. The nations of the earth have transgressed every law that God has given, they have changed the ordinances and broken every covenant made with the fathers, and they are like a hungry man that dreameth that he eateth, and he awaketh and behold he is empty.
"The following saying of the prophet is fulfilled: 'Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel; for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor. Arise and thrash O daughter of Zion, &c.' God rules in the armies of Heaven and does his pleasure upon the earth, and no man can help it. Who can stay the hand of Jehovah, or turn aside the providences of the Almighty? I say to all men and all women, submit to God, to his ordinances and to His rule; serve Him, and cease your quarrelling, and stay the shedding of each other's blood.
"If the Government of the United States, in Congress assembled, had the right to pass an anti-polygamy bill, they had also the right to pass a law that slaves should not be abused as they have been; they had also a right to make a law that negroes should be used like human beings, and not worse than dumb brutes. For their abuse of that race, the whites will be cursed, unless they repent.
"I am neither an abolitionist nor a pro-slavery man. If I could have been influenced by private injury to choose one side in preference to the other, I should certainly be against the pro-slavery side of the question, for it was pro-slavery men that pointed the bayonet at me and my brethren in Missouri, and said, 'Damn you we will kill you.' I have not much love for them, only in the Gospel. I would cause them to repent, if I could, and make them good men and a good community. I have no fellowship for their avarice, blindness, and ungodly actions. To be great, is to be good before the Heavens and before all good men. I will not fellowship the wicked in their sins, so help me God."
This is his final known quote on race mixing and death, after those from 1847 and 1852. They appear to be a part of his broader concept of blood atonement, or capital punishment for certain grievous sins, which was hyperbolic rhetoric common to the era and to Brigham Young in particular. William H. Douglas commented, "Do you see the contradictions? He goes from white people and black people who marry one another should be killed to all killing should completely cease to whites will be punished for their treatment of black people in three paragraphs, one right after the other. You cannot say God commands that a certain group of people should be killed and then say God commands that all killing should stop without massively contradicting yourself. He further adds that white people will be punished for treating black people like animals. So how do we explain this contradiction?...
"Perhaps [George D.] Watt edited something out. Perhaps Watt added his own ideas in. Perhaps he tweaked it to say what he wanted or what he thought Brigham meant by changing a few words. The point is that I don’t know. No one knows. Not right now anyway. Most of the information we have is flawed, coming as it does from someone we know essentially forged the words of Brigham Young and presented them to the church and the world as authentic."
The American Civil War
Latter-day Saints during the early 1860s believed that black people would remain the "servant[s] of servants" regardless of efforts to free them, and that the American Civil War would spread into a worldwide conflict that would hasten the Second Coming. This latter idea was based on the portion of Joseph Smith's Civil War prophecy saying that war would be "poured out upon all nations", which is now interpreted in light of the fact that since then war has occured somewhere in the world literally on a daily basis.
According to the Journal of Discourses, in the Salt Lake City Bowery on October 6, 1863, Brigham Young said, "What is the cause of all this waste of life and treasure? To tell it in a plain, truthful way, one portion of the country wish to raise their negroes or black slaves and the other portion wish to free them, and, apparently, to almost worship them. Well, raise and worship them, who cares? I should never fight one moment about it, for the cause of human improvement is not in the least advanced by the dreadful war which now convulses our unhappy country. Ham will continue to be the servant of servants, as the Lord has decreed, until the curse is removed. Will the present struggle free the slave? No; but they are now wasting away the black race by thousands. Many of the blacks are treated worse than we treat our dumb brutes; and men will be called to judgment for the way they have treated the negro, and they will receive the condemnation of a guilty conscience, by the just Judge whose attributes are justice and truth.
"Treat the slaves kindly and let them live, for Ham must be the servant of servants until the curse is removed. Can you destroy the decrees of the Almighty? You cannot. Yet our Christian brethren think that they are going to overthrow the sentence of the Almighty upon the seed of Ham. They cannot do that, though they may kill them by thousands and tens of thousands. According to accounts, in all probability not less than one million men, from twenty to forty years of age, have gone to the silent grave in this useless war, in a little over two years, and all to gratify the caprice of a few - I do not think I have a suitable name for them, shall we call them abolitionists; slaveholders, religious bigots, or political aspirants? Call them what you will, they are wasting away each other, and it seems as though they will not be satisfied until they have brought universal destruction and desolation upon the whole country. It appears as though they would destroy every person; perhaps they will, but I think they will not." Though to modern readers this appears as a prophecy, none of the Mormons who were actually present during his speech seem to have viewed it as such. When Brigham Young was proven wrong less than two years later, none of them recorded losing their testimonies or leaving the Church because of it.
John Taylor said a few days later, on October 25, "These things ought to be a warning to us. We comfort our souls sometimes on the fulfillment of the prophecies of God. We say 'Mormonism' must be true because Joseph Smith prophesied thus and so concerning a division of this nation, and that the calamities which are now causing it to mourn should commence in South Carolina. That is true, he did prophecy that, and did foretell the events that have since transpired, and did tell where the commencement of those difficulties should originate. Well, if this is true, are not other things true? If it is true that the Lord has revealed a certain amount of truth in relation to these matters, is it not as true that He has revealed other truths in which we are as individuals interested; and if it is true that God has commenced to deal with other nations as He is doing with this until war and desolation shall spread through the earth, it is just as true that we ought to be very careful what we are doing to secure the favor of God and to fulfill our destiny upon the earth in a manner which will meet his designs."
The autobiography of Thomas Alston, a pioneer in 1865, mentions: "Our train was composed of an independent company in charge of one Captain Walker. Among the members of the company was a family from South Africa named Kershaw; there were two colored men who strenuously objected to being called niggers, saying they were Kaffirs [a South African term for black people]." On April 12, 1865, the South African Mission was closed. No official reason was given, but the difficult necessity of converts emigrating to Utah and restrictions by the government on the number of missionaries were likely factors. 278 South African converts, most of them Europeans, had emigrated to Utah since 1855.
According to the Journal of Discourses, in the Salt Lake City Bowery on October 6, 1863, Brigham Young said, "What is the cause of all this waste of life and treasure? To tell it in a plain, truthful way, one portion of the country wish to raise their negroes or black slaves and the other portion wish to free them, and, apparently, to almost worship them. Well, raise and worship them, who cares? I should never fight one moment about it, for the cause of human improvement is not in the least advanced by the dreadful war which now convulses our unhappy country. Ham will continue to be the servant of servants, as the Lord has decreed, until the curse is removed. Will the present struggle free the slave? No; but they are now wasting away the black race by thousands. Many of the blacks are treated worse than we treat our dumb brutes; and men will be called to judgment for the way they have treated the negro, and they will receive the condemnation of a guilty conscience, by the just Judge whose attributes are justice and truth.
"Treat the slaves kindly and let them live, for Ham must be the servant of servants until the curse is removed. Can you destroy the decrees of the Almighty? You cannot. Yet our Christian brethren think that they are going to overthrow the sentence of the Almighty upon the seed of Ham. They cannot do that, though they may kill them by thousands and tens of thousands. According to accounts, in all probability not less than one million men, from twenty to forty years of age, have gone to the silent grave in this useless war, in a little over two years, and all to gratify the caprice of a few - I do not think I have a suitable name for them, shall we call them abolitionists; slaveholders, religious bigots, or political aspirants? Call them what you will, they are wasting away each other, and it seems as though they will not be satisfied until they have brought universal destruction and desolation upon the whole country. It appears as though they would destroy every person; perhaps they will, but I think they will not." Though to modern readers this appears as a prophecy, none of the Mormons who were actually present during his speech seem to have viewed it as such. When Brigham Young was proven wrong less than two years later, none of them recorded losing their testimonies or leaving the Church because of it.
John Taylor said a few days later, on October 25, "These things ought to be a warning to us. We comfort our souls sometimes on the fulfillment of the prophecies of God. We say 'Mormonism' must be true because Joseph Smith prophesied thus and so concerning a division of this nation, and that the calamities which are now causing it to mourn should commence in South Carolina. That is true, he did prophecy that, and did foretell the events that have since transpired, and did tell where the commencement of those difficulties should originate. Well, if this is true, are not other things true? If it is true that the Lord has revealed a certain amount of truth in relation to these matters, is it not as true that He has revealed other truths in which we are as individuals interested; and if it is true that God has commenced to deal with other nations as He is doing with this until war and desolation shall spread through the earth, it is just as true that we ought to be very careful what we are doing to secure the favor of God and to fulfill our destiny upon the earth in a manner which will meet his designs."
The autobiography of Thomas Alston, a pioneer in 1865, mentions: "Our train was composed of an independent company in charge of one Captain Walker. Among the members of the company was a family from South Africa named Kershaw; there were two colored men who strenuously objected to being called niggers, saying they were Kaffirs [a South African term for black people]." On April 12, 1865, the South African Mission was closed. No official reason was given, but the difficult necessity of converts emigrating to Utah and restrictions by the government on the number of missionaries were likely factors. 278 South African converts, most of them Europeans, had emigrated to Utah since 1855.
RLDS Revelation
The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day [sic] Saints (now Community of Christ) splintered off from the main Latter-day Saint group after the Nauvoo period, believing that the Church should be run by Joseph Smith's descendants rather than Brigham Young. It has no affiliation with the LDS Church; but examining and comparing its own course of development is interesting. Though its members also believed that dark skin was a curse, they never enacted a prohibition against black men receiving the priesthood. A temple restriction would have been moot because they had no temples for a long time and the one that stands today is open to the public.
On May 4, 1865, just five days before the end of the Civil War, its President Joseph Smith III received a revelation that became Section 116 of their version of the Doctrine and Covenants. The introduction reads: "A council of the first Presidency and the Quorum of Twelve was in session at the home of Bishop Israel L. Rogers in Kendall County, Illinois, May 1-5, 1865. Among other things the council was concerned about 'the ordination of men of the Negro race.' President Joseph Smith was asked to seek divine guidance in this connection, and the revelation was received in response to the fasting and prayers of the members of the council. It should be studied against the background of the American Civil War and with the social and educational status of the American Negro of that period in mind."
The revelation read in part, "Lo! It is my will that my gospel shall be preached to all nations in every land, and that men of every tongue shall minister before me: therefore it is expedient in me that you ordain priests unto me, of every race who receive the teachings of my law, and become heirs according to the promise....
"Be not hasty in ordaining men of the Negro race to offices in my church, for verily I say unto you, all are not acceptable unto me as servants, nevertheless I will that all may be saved, but every man in his own order, and there are some who are chosen instruments to be ministers to their own race. Be ye content, I the Lord have spoken it."
Joseph Smith III recalled, "I was of the opinion at the time that the term 'priests' occurring in the opening portion of the revelation covered the authority as ordinarily represented by anyone properly ordained according to the New Testament plan. This opinion, however, did not prevail with a majority of the members of the Council, who believed that... such ordinations should be restricted to the office of priest, only. I did not contend for my own understanding very strongly, as at the time there was no apparent necessity for making any such serious discrimination; since the office of priest would permit the preaching of the Word, I felt that time would either soften asperities or the Lord would make the matter still plainer by further direction."
William D. Russell noted, "Despite the 1865 revelation and the other pronouncements, very few blacks were ordained to the priesthood. It was not until 1889 that a black man was ordained to the Melchisedec [sic] priesthood, and he was a Canadian, Emanuel Eaton." RLDS historian Roger D. Launius concluded that the church "was largely unwilling to move beyond the bounds of polite American ideas on the race question; it was wedded to the social norm, whatever it happened to be at the time." Its proselyting success among black Americans was limited, and those few who did join showed "their willingness to unite with an unpopular, small, and basically Caucasian church".
On May 4, 1865, just five days before the end of the Civil War, its President Joseph Smith III received a revelation that became Section 116 of their version of the Doctrine and Covenants. The introduction reads: "A council of the first Presidency and the Quorum of Twelve was in session at the home of Bishop Israel L. Rogers in Kendall County, Illinois, May 1-5, 1865. Among other things the council was concerned about 'the ordination of men of the Negro race.' President Joseph Smith was asked to seek divine guidance in this connection, and the revelation was received in response to the fasting and prayers of the members of the council. It should be studied against the background of the American Civil War and with the social and educational status of the American Negro of that period in mind."
The revelation read in part, "Lo! It is my will that my gospel shall be preached to all nations in every land, and that men of every tongue shall minister before me: therefore it is expedient in me that you ordain priests unto me, of every race who receive the teachings of my law, and become heirs according to the promise....
"Be not hasty in ordaining men of the Negro race to offices in my church, for verily I say unto you, all are not acceptable unto me as servants, nevertheless I will that all may be saved, but every man in his own order, and there are some who are chosen instruments to be ministers to their own race. Be ye content, I the Lord have spoken it."
Joseph Smith III recalled, "I was of the opinion at the time that the term 'priests' occurring in the opening portion of the revelation covered the authority as ordinarily represented by anyone properly ordained according to the New Testament plan. This opinion, however, did not prevail with a majority of the members of the Council, who believed that... such ordinations should be restricted to the office of priest, only. I did not contend for my own understanding very strongly, as at the time there was no apparent necessity for making any such serious discrimination; since the office of priest would permit the preaching of the Word, I felt that time would either soften asperities or the Lord would make the matter still plainer by further direction."
William D. Russell noted, "Despite the 1865 revelation and the other pronouncements, very few blacks were ordained to the priesthood. It was not until 1889 that a black man was ordained to the Melchisedec [sic] priesthood, and he was a Canadian, Emanuel Eaton." RLDS historian Roger D. Launius concluded that the church "was largely unwilling to move beyond the bounds of polite American ideas on the race question; it was wedded to the social norm, whatever it happened to be at the time." Its proselyting success among black Americans was limited, and those few who did join showed "their willingness to unite with an unpopular, small, and basically Caucasian church".
Aftermath of the American Civil War
When the Civil War ended, and slavery along with it, Latter-day Saints had to reevaluate some of their assumptions about the curse of Ham to be a "servant of servants" and the imminence of the Second Coming. Most of them, including Brigham Young, discarded these assumptions and moved on with little difficulty. They had largely opposed slavery despite their distaste for the abolitionist movement, and were not displeased by the war's outcome. Converts from the South, however, were less enthusiastic. According to the New York Daily Tribune, which reported it two months later, on September 24, 1865 Elder Heber C. Kimball shared his opinion of the Civil War's climax.
"'Thou shalt not interfere with thy neighbor's wife, nor his daughter, his house, nor his man servant, nor his maid servant.' Christ said this; but our enemies don't believe it. That was the trouble between the North and the South. The Abolitionists of the North stole the niggers and caused it all. The nigger was well off and happy. How do you know this, Brother Heber? Why, God bless your soul, I used to live in the South, and I know! Now they have set the nigger free; and a beautiful thing they have done for him, haven't they?"
Elsewhere in the United States, the curses of Ham and Cain fell into disuse among Protestants, as they had been invented to rationalize slavery and were now moot. In Utah, however, where the Mormons were developing in relative isolation, the curse of Cain continued to be used in support of the priesthood ban.
In 1866 the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day [sic] Saints declared, "As the Author of Life and Salvation does not discriminate among His rational creatures on account of Color neither does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." This was in keeping with the revelation received by Joseph Smith III the previous year; however as a practical matter it proved impossible to implement in Southern congregations where white and black people remained segregated.
In the Millennial Star on August 18, 1866, Elder Orson Pratt answered fourteen questions from William Wolstenholme of Preston, England, including "How is it that the American war has terminated, without any or all of the nations being drawn into it? How is it that Great Britain has not been called by the Southern States to assist them against the Northern States? And how is it that the slaves have not arisen en mass in accordance with the revelation and prophecy given to Joseph Smith? For there are no slaves in America now, the Civil Rights Bill having passed both houses of Congress."
Elder Pratt responded, "First, there is nothing in the revelation, alluded to, which either indicates or declares that all nations, or even one foreign nation should be drawn into the American war. Second, the Southern States did, by their representatives sent to England expressly for the purpose, call most earnestly upon Great Britain to assist them against the North: but Great Britain did not yield to their entreaties. Third, There is no revelation that the slaves should arise 'en mass;' but it reads thus: 'And it shall come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against their masters, who shall be marshalled and disciplined for war.' Before the termination of the American war, the North brought into the field on Southern soil about one hundred thousand of marshalled and disciplined slaves to fight against their masters.
"But the greatest terrors of the American Republic are yet to come. And the black race who one-third of a century ago, were called slaves in the prophecy, in contradistinction to their masters the white race, will 'after many days' inaugurate a scene of general massacre far more horrible than anything that has yet occurred. Moreover, the Lord gave us a sign that we might know the beginnings of a war which woudl eventually become universal. Or as the revelation expressed it: 'The days will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at that place,' meaning South Carolina mentioned in the previous sentence. England is mentioned by name as beign one of hte participators in the general calamity. The days will come when every jot and tittle of this great modern revelation will be fulfilled; when Zion, in America, will be the only people upon all the face of the earth dwelling in peace. For further information upon this subject, you are referred to an article in the 32nd. No. of the present Vol. of the STAR, entitled 'THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE LATTER-DAY WARS.'"
"'Thou shalt not interfere with thy neighbor's wife, nor his daughter, his house, nor his man servant, nor his maid servant.' Christ said this; but our enemies don't believe it. That was the trouble between the North and the South. The Abolitionists of the North stole the niggers and caused it all. The nigger was well off and happy. How do you know this, Brother Heber? Why, God bless your soul, I used to live in the South, and I know! Now they have set the nigger free; and a beautiful thing they have done for him, haven't they?"
Elsewhere in the United States, the curses of Ham and Cain fell into disuse among Protestants, as they had been invented to rationalize slavery and were now moot. In Utah, however, where the Mormons were developing in relative isolation, the curse of Cain continued to be used in support of the priesthood ban.
In 1866 the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day [sic] Saints declared, "As the Author of Life and Salvation does not discriminate among His rational creatures on account of Color neither does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." This was in keeping with the revelation received by Joseph Smith III the previous year; however as a practical matter it proved impossible to implement in Southern congregations where white and black people remained segregated.
In the Millennial Star on August 18, 1866, Elder Orson Pratt answered fourteen questions from William Wolstenholme of Preston, England, including "How is it that the American war has terminated, without any or all of the nations being drawn into it? How is it that Great Britain has not been called by the Southern States to assist them against the Northern States? And how is it that the slaves have not arisen en mass in accordance with the revelation and prophecy given to Joseph Smith? For there are no slaves in America now, the Civil Rights Bill having passed both houses of Congress."
Elder Pratt responded, "First, there is nothing in the revelation, alluded to, which either indicates or declares that all nations, or even one foreign nation should be drawn into the American war. Second, the Southern States did, by their representatives sent to England expressly for the purpose, call most earnestly upon Great Britain to assist them against the North: but Great Britain did not yield to their entreaties. Third, There is no revelation that the slaves should arise 'en mass;' but it reads thus: 'And it shall come to pass, after many days, slaves shall rise up against their masters, who shall be marshalled and disciplined for war.' Before the termination of the American war, the North brought into the field on Southern soil about one hundred thousand of marshalled and disciplined slaves to fight against their masters.
"But the greatest terrors of the American Republic are yet to come. And the black race who one-third of a century ago, were called slaves in the prophecy, in contradistinction to their masters the white race, will 'after many days' inaugurate a scene of general massacre far more horrible than anything that has yet occurred. Moreover, the Lord gave us a sign that we might know the beginnings of a war which woudl eventually become universal. Or as the revelation expressed it: 'The days will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at that place,' meaning South Carolina mentioned in the previous sentence. England is mentioned by name as beign one of hte participators in the general calamity. The days will come when every jot and tittle of this great modern revelation will be fulfilled; when Zion, in America, will be the only people upon all the face of the earth dwelling in peace. For further information upon this subject, you are referred to an article in the 32nd. No. of the present Vol. of the STAR, entitled 'THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE LATTER-DAY WARS.'"
Priesthood for the Seed of Cain
According to the Journal of Discourses, while speaking in the Salt Lake Bowery on August 19, 1866, Brigham Young concluded, "I have endeavored to give you a few items relating to the celestial kingdom of God and to the other kingdoms which the Lord has prepared for his children. The Lamanites or Indians are just as much the children of our Father and God as we are. So also are the Africans. But we are also the children of adoption through obedience to the Gospel of his Son. Why are so many of the inhabitants of the earth cursed with a sin of blackness? It comes in consequence of their fathers rejecting the power of the Holy Priesthood, and the law of God. They will go down to death. And when all the rest of the children have received their blessings in the Holy Priesthood, then that curse will be removed from the seed of Cain, and they will then come up and possess the priesthood, and receive all the blessings which we now are entitled to. The volition of the creature is free; this is a law of their existence, and the Lord cannot violate his own law; were he to do that, he would cease to be God. He has placed life and death before his children, and it is for them to choose. If they choose life, they receive the blessings of life; if they choose death, they must abide the penalty. This is a law which has always existed from all eternity, and will continue to exist throughout all the eternities to come. Every intelligent being must have the power of choice, and God brings forth the results of the acts of his creatures to promote his kingdom and subserve his purposes in the salvation and exaltation of his children. If the Lord could have his own way, he would have all the human family to enter into his church and kingdom, receive the Holy Priesthood and come into the celestial kingdom of our Father and God, by the power of their own choice."
Voting Restrictions Removed
On February 4, 1867, according to a letter from Brigham Young to Latter-day Saint ally Thomas Kane in October 1869, the Constitution of the State of Deseret was amended to remove the words "free, white, male" from voting requirements, with fourteen thousand in favor of the change and thirty against. This had the dual effect of giving both black people and women the right to vote.
Man and His Varieties
The Juvenile Instructor, owned and edited by Elder George Q. Cannon, began in 1866 as a private monthly magazine for the children and youth of the Church (it did not become an official church publication until it was purchased by the Deseret Sunday School Union in 1901). It was the first American children's magazine published west of the Mississippi river. Though religious in overall tone and focused mainly on gospel instruction, it also sought to educate children on secular topics, often conflating the two as the gospel was seen to encompass everything.
In 1868 it ran a series of seven articles by George Reynolds titled "Man and His Varieties". It covered the various "races" of mankind - Caucasians, Mongolians, Negroes Malayans, and [Native] Americans - and relied both on Mormon ideas and contemporary science, though the author believed the earth was six thousand years old and mocked organic evolution as "ridiculous to those who know by revelation that men are the sons of God, not the improved descendants of monkeys, mice or oysters." The first article, published on August 15, began:
"When our little readers from the various settlements visit Salt Lake City to attend Conference, they see thousands of Saints who have been gathered together from almost every part of the world. While sitting in meeting and looking upon the vast congregation, they have, no doubt, noticed how different the Saints gathered from one nation look, to those brought from other nations. Yet it is hard for them to tell exactly where the difference lies; still, they often fancy they can tell by looking at a brother or sister, if he or she comes from England, Scotland, Denmark, Switzerland or Germany. After meeting, should they walk down Main Street, they may perchance meet a Negro, a Chinaman, a Mexican, or an Indian. How different these appear to the Saints they have been looking at in meeting; yet they all have two eyes, two ears, a nose, mouth, chin, cheeks, forehead, head, neck, body, arms and legs. All are made about the same. Then where is the difference, and what has caused it? Do our little friends ever think of these things, and wonder why all men are not alike? Either all white, or all black, or all copper colored. We have no doubt they do think of these things, and we will now try to tell them through the pages of the JUVENILE INSTRUCTOR, some of the reasons that have caused this great diversity of appearance in the different races of the human family."
On September 15 the article "From Caucasian to Negro" overviewed the five races. It said, "Next in order stands the Negro race, the lowest in intelligence and the most barbarous of all the children of men. The race whose intellect is the least developed, whose advancement has been the slowest, who appear to be the least capable of improvement of all people. The hand of the Lord appears to be heavy upon them, dwarfing them by the side of their fellow men in every thing good and great.
"The Negro is described as having a black skin, black, wooly hair, projecting jaws, thick lips, a flat nose and receding skull. He is generally well made and robust; but with very large hands and feet. In fact, he looks as though he had been put in an oven and burnt to a crisp before he was properly finished making. His hair baked crisp, his nose melted to his face, and the color of his eyes run into the whites. Some men look as if they had only been burned brown, but he appears to have gone a stage further, and been cooked until he was quite black. This description will do well enough for the inhabitants of Ashantee [sic], Dahomey [in present-day Benin], Loango [in present-day Republic of the Congo], Congo, Angola, Benguela, and other parts of the west coast of Africa, as well as many of the tribes who dwell in the interior of that continent. But among no race are there greater differences in appearance than amongst the various people classed in this race; for in it are usually included the Kafirs, Hottentots, Bushmen, and the inhabitants of the eastern coast of Africa, as well as the natives of Australia, Van Diemans Land, New Guinea, New Caledonia and some other islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans."
In 1868 it ran a series of seven articles by George Reynolds titled "Man and His Varieties". It covered the various "races" of mankind - Caucasians, Mongolians, Negroes Malayans, and [Native] Americans - and relied both on Mormon ideas and contemporary science, though the author believed the earth was six thousand years old and mocked organic evolution as "ridiculous to those who know by revelation that men are the sons of God, not the improved descendants of monkeys, mice or oysters." The first article, published on August 15, began:
"When our little readers from the various settlements visit Salt Lake City to attend Conference, they see thousands of Saints who have been gathered together from almost every part of the world. While sitting in meeting and looking upon the vast congregation, they have, no doubt, noticed how different the Saints gathered from one nation look, to those brought from other nations. Yet it is hard for them to tell exactly where the difference lies; still, they often fancy they can tell by looking at a brother or sister, if he or she comes from England, Scotland, Denmark, Switzerland or Germany. After meeting, should they walk down Main Street, they may perchance meet a Negro, a Chinaman, a Mexican, or an Indian. How different these appear to the Saints they have been looking at in meeting; yet they all have two eyes, two ears, a nose, mouth, chin, cheeks, forehead, head, neck, body, arms and legs. All are made about the same. Then where is the difference, and what has caused it? Do our little friends ever think of these things, and wonder why all men are not alike? Either all white, or all black, or all copper colored. We have no doubt they do think of these things, and we will now try to tell them through the pages of the JUVENILE INSTRUCTOR, some of the reasons that have caused this great diversity of appearance in the different races of the human family."
On September 15 the article "From Caucasian to Negro" overviewed the five races. It said, "Next in order stands the Negro race, the lowest in intelligence and the most barbarous of all the children of men. The race whose intellect is the least developed, whose advancement has been the slowest, who appear to be the least capable of improvement of all people. The hand of the Lord appears to be heavy upon them, dwarfing them by the side of their fellow men in every thing good and great.
"The Negro is described as having a black skin, black, wooly hair, projecting jaws, thick lips, a flat nose and receding skull. He is generally well made and robust; but with very large hands and feet. In fact, he looks as though he had been put in an oven and burnt to a crisp before he was properly finished making. His hair baked crisp, his nose melted to his face, and the color of his eyes run into the whites. Some men look as if they had only been burned brown, but he appears to have gone a stage further, and been cooked until he was quite black. This description will do well enough for the inhabitants of Ashantee [sic], Dahomey [in present-day Benin], Loango [in present-day Republic of the Congo], Congo, Angola, Benguela, and other parts of the west coast of Africa, as well as many of the tribes who dwell in the interior of that continent. But among no race are there greater differences in appearance than amongst the various people classed in this race; for in it are usually included the Kafirs, Hottentots, Bushmen, and the inhabitants of the eastern coast of Africa, as well as the natives of Australia, Van Diemans Land, New Guinea, New Caledonia and some other islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans."
The article for October 15, entitled "The Negro Race", read: "Amongst the many causes that have contributed to change the appearance of the human family and make mankind appear to be of different races, we must consider the blessing or curse of God the greatest of all. Then add to this, difference of climate, variety of food, entirely opposite modes of life, either civilized or savage, stationary or wandering, combined with the results of the varied religions existing among men, and we shall be able to understand why there is so great a diversity in the human family.
"We will first inquire into the results of the approbation or displeasure of God upon a people, starting with the belief that a black skin is a mark of the curse of heaven placed upon some portions of mankind. Some, however, will argue that a black skin is not a curse, nor a white skin a blessing. In fact, some have been so foolish as to believe and say that a black skin is a blessing, and that the negro is the finest type of a perfect man that exists on the earth; but to us such teachings are foolishness. We understand that when God made man in his own image and pronounced him very good, that he made him white. We have no record of any of God's favored servants being of a black race. All His prophets and apostles belonged to the most handsome race on the face of the earth - Israel, who still, as represented in the scattered tribe of Judah, bear the impress of their former beauty. In this race was born His Son Jesus, who, we are told was very lovely, and 'in the express image of his Fathor's person,' and every angel who ever brought a message of God's mercy to man was beautiful to look upon, clad in the purest white and with a countenance bright as the noonday sun.
"When God cursed Cain for murdering his brother Abel, He set a mark upon him that all meeting him might know him. No mark could be so plain to his fellow-men as a black skin. This was the mark God placed upon him, and which his children bore. After the flood this curse fell upon the seed of Ham, through the sin of their father, and his descendants bear it to this day. The Bible tells us but little of the races that sprung from Ham, but from that little, and from the traditions of various tribes, we are led to believe that from him came the Canaanites, the Philistines, the Egyptians and most of the earliest inhabitants of Africa.
"We are told in the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price, that Egypt was discovered by a woman, who was a daughter of Ham, the son of Noah. This was probably the first portion of Africa inhabited by men after the flood, it being the nearest to the land (Asia Minor) where the ark rested and the children of Noah first settled. From Egypt the families of men gradually spread out to the southward, up the river Nile and along the borders of the Ked Sea, and westward by the shores of the Mediterranean.
"The pure Negro, as represented by the people of Guinea and its neighboring countries, is generally regarded as the unmixed descendant of Ham. Our engraving of a Negro is of this type. Their skin is quite black, their hair woolly and black, their intelligence stunted, and they appear never to have arisen from the most savage state of barbarism. But it must not be supposed that all the inhabitants of Africa are of this unmixed black class, for it is not so; some of the mountain tribes of that continent approach to nearly white. Hence, we sometimes hear travelers speak of white Kafirs, white Arabs, &c. There are also quite a number of African tribes who vary in color from olive to dark brown and reddish black. They are also as varied in their size, height and build as they are in color. We will tell you some little of two of these African races known as the Abyssinians and Kafirs."
The article for November 1, "Mixed Races - The Effects of Climate", said: "Some writers deny the possibility of a mixed race of people existing for any great length of time upon the earth. They say the race would entirely die out or return in characteristics of mind and body to one of the races from which it sprung. There is a great deal of truth in this when referring to the extreme varieties of man as they now exist. We do not believe in the permanency of a race descended from people so wide apart as the Anglo-Saxon and Negro. In fact we believe it to be a great sin in the eyes of our Heavenly Father for a white person to marry a black one. And further, that it is proof of the mercy of God that no such race appears able to continue for many generations. This idea, however, of white and black people intermarrying is very popular just now in New England and other parts of the United States, and foolish writers and preachers try to encourage it. This is what is called miscegenation. But because races so far separate from each other as the white man and the negro do not readily blend, it is no reason that others nearer allied in character and appearance should not do so, especially in the early days after the flood, when there was probably nothing like the difference in mankind, that exists between their descendants now. Indeed some of the most learned writers tell us, we do not know with how much truth, that new races of men have sprung up within the last two or three hundred years....
"We must now consider the effect of climate on men and women in changing their appearance and color. Some have thought that climate had all to do in making the skin of a man black, white or red. This cannot be so from the fact that many comparatively fair races dwell in the hottest regions of the earth, while some very dark races live in temperate or cold countries. We, however, must believe this much, that people of the same or kindred races who live in different climates will be fairest in the coolest portion of their country, and darkest in the hottest parts, that is, if those warmest parts lie within the tropics. But we have nothing to prove that a hot climate will change a European into a Negro, nor a cold climate turn a Negro into a fair-skinned, light-haired being, nor will it so affect his descendants, no matter how many hundred years they may live in this new climate."
The final article on November 15 concluded, "While the many great characteristics that are natural to all men, however greatly they may vary in minor points, confirms [sic] the great truth that God has made of one blood all the nations of the earth. All are His children, all the subjects of His care. For the day will come, when all men capable of receiving the priesthood, enlightened by the spirit of God and guided by its whisperings, will lose their extravagances of character and appearance, and become 'a white and delightsome people' physically as well as morally. When they will be as God first made Adam 'in His own image' and 'very good.'"
In the late 1860s the Ku Klux Klan began to flourish among Southerners who were angered by the outcome of the Civil War and the loss of their livelihood. Despite the Saints' distaste for the abolitionist movement and sympathy for Southern slaveholders, both for political more than racial reasons, they also held the Klan in great contempt on religious grounds. In 1868 an editorial in the Millennial Star, under the editorship of either Elder Franklin D. Richards or Elder Albert Carrington, said "The Ku Klux Klan, the Loyal League, the Grand Army of the Republic, all secret, oath-bound orders are spreading fear and dismay through North and South... secret orders are not 'new things under the Sun', though they are called by new names. They have existed at intervals from the earliest ages, and originated with him who tempted Eve to sin."
Next: The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1869-1878
Main Page: Latter-day Saint Racial History
"We will first inquire into the results of the approbation or displeasure of God upon a people, starting with the belief that a black skin is a mark of the curse of heaven placed upon some portions of mankind. Some, however, will argue that a black skin is not a curse, nor a white skin a blessing. In fact, some have been so foolish as to believe and say that a black skin is a blessing, and that the negro is the finest type of a perfect man that exists on the earth; but to us such teachings are foolishness. We understand that when God made man in his own image and pronounced him very good, that he made him white. We have no record of any of God's favored servants being of a black race. All His prophets and apostles belonged to the most handsome race on the face of the earth - Israel, who still, as represented in the scattered tribe of Judah, bear the impress of their former beauty. In this race was born His Son Jesus, who, we are told was very lovely, and 'in the express image of his Fathor's person,' and every angel who ever brought a message of God's mercy to man was beautiful to look upon, clad in the purest white and with a countenance bright as the noonday sun.
"When God cursed Cain for murdering his brother Abel, He set a mark upon him that all meeting him might know him. No mark could be so plain to his fellow-men as a black skin. This was the mark God placed upon him, and which his children bore. After the flood this curse fell upon the seed of Ham, through the sin of their father, and his descendants bear it to this day. The Bible tells us but little of the races that sprung from Ham, but from that little, and from the traditions of various tribes, we are led to believe that from him came the Canaanites, the Philistines, the Egyptians and most of the earliest inhabitants of Africa.
"We are told in the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price, that Egypt was discovered by a woman, who was a daughter of Ham, the son of Noah. This was probably the first portion of Africa inhabited by men after the flood, it being the nearest to the land (Asia Minor) where the ark rested and the children of Noah first settled. From Egypt the families of men gradually spread out to the southward, up the river Nile and along the borders of the Ked Sea, and westward by the shores of the Mediterranean.
"The pure Negro, as represented by the people of Guinea and its neighboring countries, is generally regarded as the unmixed descendant of Ham. Our engraving of a Negro is of this type. Their skin is quite black, their hair woolly and black, their intelligence stunted, and they appear never to have arisen from the most savage state of barbarism. But it must not be supposed that all the inhabitants of Africa are of this unmixed black class, for it is not so; some of the mountain tribes of that continent approach to nearly white. Hence, we sometimes hear travelers speak of white Kafirs, white Arabs, &c. There are also quite a number of African tribes who vary in color from olive to dark brown and reddish black. They are also as varied in their size, height and build as they are in color. We will tell you some little of two of these African races known as the Abyssinians and Kafirs."
The article for November 1, "Mixed Races - The Effects of Climate", said: "Some writers deny the possibility of a mixed race of people existing for any great length of time upon the earth. They say the race would entirely die out or return in characteristics of mind and body to one of the races from which it sprung. There is a great deal of truth in this when referring to the extreme varieties of man as they now exist. We do not believe in the permanency of a race descended from people so wide apart as the Anglo-Saxon and Negro. In fact we believe it to be a great sin in the eyes of our Heavenly Father for a white person to marry a black one. And further, that it is proof of the mercy of God that no such race appears able to continue for many generations. This idea, however, of white and black people intermarrying is very popular just now in New England and other parts of the United States, and foolish writers and preachers try to encourage it. This is what is called miscegenation. But because races so far separate from each other as the white man and the negro do not readily blend, it is no reason that others nearer allied in character and appearance should not do so, especially in the early days after the flood, when there was probably nothing like the difference in mankind, that exists between their descendants now. Indeed some of the most learned writers tell us, we do not know with how much truth, that new races of men have sprung up within the last two or three hundred years....
"We must now consider the effect of climate on men and women in changing their appearance and color. Some have thought that climate had all to do in making the skin of a man black, white or red. This cannot be so from the fact that many comparatively fair races dwell in the hottest regions of the earth, while some very dark races live in temperate or cold countries. We, however, must believe this much, that people of the same or kindred races who live in different climates will be fairest in the coolest portion of their country, and darkest in the hottest parts, that is, if those warmest parts lie within the tropics. But we have nothing to prove that a hot climate will change a European into a Negro, nor a cold climate turn a Negro into a fair-skinned, light-haired being, nor will it so affect his descendants, no matter how many hundred years they may live in this new climate."
The final article on November 15 concluded, "While the many great characteristics that are natural to all men, however greatly they may vary in minor points, confirms [sic] the great truth that God has made of one blood all the nations of the earth. All are His children, all the subjects of His care. For the day will come, when all men capable of receiving the priesthood, enlightened by the spirit of God and guided by its whisperings, will lose their extravagances of character and appearance, and become 'a white and delightsome people' physically as well as morally. When they will be as God first made Adam 'in His own image' and 'very good.'"
In the late 1860s the Ku Klux Klan began to flourish among Southerners who were angered by the outcome of the Civil War and the loss of their livelihood. Despite the Saints' distaste for the abolitionist movement and sympathy for Southern slaveholders, both for political more than racial reasons, they also held the Klan in great contempt on religious grounds. In 1868 an editorial in the Millennial Star, under the editorship of either Elder Franklin D. Richards or Elder Albert Carrington, said "The Ku Klux Klan, the Loyal League, the Grand Army of the Republic, all secret, oath-bound orders are spreading fear and dismay through North and South... secret orders are not 'new things under the Sun', though they are called by new names. They have existed at intervals from the earliest ages, and originated with him who tempted Eve to sin."
Next: The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1869-1878
Main Page: Latter-day Saint Racial History
