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The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1879 -1889

Council Minutes

From 1879 to 1947, a key source of information about the evolution of the priesthood ban is the "Minutes of the Council of the Twelve and of the First Presidency", hereafter referred to as "Council Minutes". These are found in the Adam S. Bennion Papers at BYU and the George Albert Smith Papers at the University of Utah. Unfortunately, only brief summaries of the pertinent discussions are recorded in these minutes. It should also be remembered that because these discussions took place behind closed doors and the concepts explored therein were not presented to the general membership, they cannot be said to represent binding LDS doctrine. The interplay of divine inspiration and personal opinion is left a mystery by the brief summaries, but if the Lord had wanted them to take His Church in a different direction, He would have intervened.

Interview with Zebedee Coltrin

After Brigham Young's death, rumors were circulating that Zebedee Coltrin had said that Joseph Smith had allowed black men to hold the priesthood, and Elder John Taylor wished to investigate them. Accordingly, an entry in the Journal History of the Church records, "NEGRO - PRIESTHOOD NOT TO BE CONFERRED UPON NEGRO 1879. Saturday, May 31st, 1879, at the house of A[braham] O. Smoot, Provo City, Utah, Utah County, at 5 o'clock P.M. President John Taylor, Elders Brigham Young [Jr.], Abram O. Smoot, Zebedee Coltrin and L. John Nuttell met, and the subject of ordaining Negroes to the Priesthood was discussed.

"President Taylor said: 'Some parties have said to me that Brother Zebedee Coltrin had talked to the Prophet Joseph Smith on this subject, and they said that he (Coltrin) thought it was not right for them to have the Priesthood. Whereupon the Prophet said to him that Peter on a certain occasion had a vision wherein he saw heaven opened, and certain vessel descended unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners and let down to earth; wherein all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air - And there came a voice to him: Rise, Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said, Not so Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God had cleansed, that call not thou common. And the Prophet Joseph then said to Bro Coltrin, as the Angel said to Peter, 'What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.'

"President Taylor asked Bro Coltrin: 'Did the Prophet Joseph ever make such a statement to you?' Bro Coltrin: 'No sir; he never said anything of the kind in his life to me.' President Taylor: 'What did he say?' Bro Coltrin: 'The spring that we went up in Zion's camp in 1834, Bro Joseph sent Bro J. P. Green and me out south to gather up means to assist in gathering out the Saints from Jackson County, Missouri. On our return home we got in conversation about the Negro having a right to the Priesthood - and I took the side he had no right - Bro Green argued that he had. The subject got so warm between us that he said he would report me to Bro Joseph when we got home for preaching false doctrine, which doctrine that I advocated was that the Negro could not hold the Priesthood. 'All right,' said I, 'I hope you will.'

'And when we got home to Kirtland we both went into Bro Joseph's office together to make our returns and Bro. Green was as good as his word and reported to Bro Joseph that I had said that the Negro could not hold the Priesthood - Bro Joseph Kind of dropt [sic] his head and rested it on his hand for a minute. and then said Bro Zebedee is right, for the Spirit of the Lord saith the Negro has no right nor cannot hold the Priesthood. He made no reference to scripture at all - but such was his decision - I don't recollect ever having any conversation with him afterwards, but I have heard him say in public, that no person having the least particle of Negro blood can hold the Priesthood.'

"Bro Coltrin further said: Bro Abel was ordained a Seventy. [sic] because he had labored on the Temple. (it must have been into the 2nd Quorum) and when the Prophet Joseph learned of his lineage, he was dropped from the quorum and another was put in his place. I was one of the first Seven Presidents of the Quorum of the Seventy at the time he was dropped.' President Taylor: 'Bro Zebedee, you are not one of the Seven Presidents now. What have you been doing?'

"Bro Coltrin: 'I was acting then as one of the First Seven Presidents of Seventy and was ordered back into the Quorum of High Priests. I can tell you how that thing first started. Bro Winchester and Bro Jared Carter while on the Brick Yard at Kirtland (Bro Winchester a Seventy and Bro Jared a High Priest) got to contending which held the highest office. Carter was rebuking him on account of his folly, which he said he had no right to do, as he held a higher Priesthood than he did. Jared contended he didn't because he was a High Priest. This thing came to the ears of Uncle Joseph Smith, and then they went to the Prophet Joseph with it. The Prophet then inquired of the Lord, and he afterwards directed that we be put back with the Quorum of High Priests, and other men (five) were then ordained to the Presidency of Seventies, and three out of that five apostatized. Brothers Joseph Young and Levi Hancock were retained and the other five filled the number.

'In the washing and Anointing of Bro Abel at Kirtland I anointed him and while I had my hands upon his head, I never had such unpleasant feelings in my life - and I said I would never again Anoint another person who had Negro blood in him. [sic] unless I was commanded by the Prophet to do so.' ZEBEDEE COLTRIN, Attest: L. John Nuttall

"Brother A. O. Smoot said 'W. W. Patten, Warren Parish and Thomas B. Marsh were laboring in the Southern States in 1835 and 1836. There were Negroes who made application for baptism. And the question arose with them whether Negroes were entitled to hold the Priesthood. And by those brethren it was decided they would not confer the Priesthood until they had consulted the Prophet Joseph, and subsequently they communicated with him. His decision, as I understood was, they were not entitled to the Priesthood, nor yet to be baptized without the consent of their Masters. In after years when I became acquainted with Joseph myself in the Far West, about the year 1838, I received from Bro Joseph substantially the same instructions. It was on my application to him, what should be done with the Negro in the South, as I was preaching to them. He said I could baptize them by consent of their masters, but not to confer the Priesthood upon them.' (Signed) A. O. Smoot, Attest: L. John Nuttall"

Council Discussion of the Interview

According to the Council Minutes of June 4, Elijah Ables' patriarchal blessing was read, following which "Brother Joseph F. Smith said he thought Brother Coltrin's memory was incorrect as to Brother Abel being dropped from the quorum of Seventies, to which he belonged, as Brother Abel had in his possession, (which also he had shown Brother J.F.S.) his certificate as a Seventy, given to him in 1841, and signed by Elder Joseph Young, Sen., and A.P. Rockwood, and still later one given in this city. Brother Abel's account of the persons who washed and annointed him in the Kirtland Temple also disagreed with the statement of Brother Coltrin, whilst he stated that Brother Coltrin ordained him a Seventy. Brother Abel also states that the Prophet Joseph told him he was entitled to the priesthood, (Brother Abel is understood to be an octeroon [mixed-race individual]).

"President Taylor said that in his case it was probably like many other things done in the early days of the Church, such as baptism for the dead; at first, persons were baptized without records being taken and as the Lord gave further light and revelation things were done with greater order; but what had been done through lack of knowledge, that was not altogether correct in detail, was allowed to remain. He thought that probably it was so in Brother Abel's case; that he, having been ordained before the word of the Lord was fully understood, it was allowed to remain. The matter was then dropped, with the understanding that Brother Joseph Young, Sen. be spoken to on the subject."

Gobo Fango

The story of a black convert from South Africa named Gobo Fango, as related by J. Austin Hunter: "He lived in Kaysville with the Lewis Whitesides family who had secured him from a family named Talbot, Utah pioneers of 1861 from South Africa. He slept outside in a shed in cold weather and his feet were frozen. As a result he limped all his life. Gobo came to Grantsville as a young boy when Mary Ann Whitesides Hunter wrote to her brother Lewis, and asked him to let her have the boy to herd sheep. At this time Mary Ann's daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret, were herding sheep between Tooele and Grantsville and Mary Ann began to worry about their lack of training in household duties. They were happy to get Gobo who, as their hired man, took over the sheepherding.

"Sometime about 1880 two of my brothers moved to Oakley, Idaho, and took my father's sheep with them. Gobo went along to herd the sheep. At that time there was a cattle and sheepmen's war going on. One day two cattlemen rode up to Gobo and pretended to be his friends, but one of them named Bedky, shot him. Gobo managed to crawl back to camp where he found a piece of paper and, dipping a small stick in his own blood, he wrote a will. He had saved his money and gave $500 to the Grantsville Relief Society and also left some money for Mary Ann Whitesides Hunter and her youngest daughter, Roseta."

George Q. Cannon Joins the First Presidency

On October 10, 1880, Elder John Taylor was officially ordained as President of the Church, but he had already been functioning in this role for some time. Perhaps more significant in some ways was Elder George Q. Cannon's call to the First Presidency, which gave him greater influence in Council discussions. President Cannon was very confident that he knew and remembered the teachings of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young on black people and the priesthood, and he shared them freely with President Taylor and both of his successors. In this way he had a great influence on the policy as it was still being shaped.

The Devil Should have a Representation

According to the Journal of Discourses, while speaking of the Atonement in August 1881, President John Taylor said, "And after the flood we are told that the curse that had been pronounced upon Cain was continued through Ham's wife, as he had married a wife of that seed. And why did it pass through the flood? Because it was necessary that the devil should have a representation upon the earth as well as God; and that man should be a free agent to act for himself, and that all men might have the opportunity of receiving or rejecting the truth, and be governed by it or not according to their wishes and abide the result; and that those who would be able to maintain correct principles under all circumstances, might be able to associate with the Gods in the eternal worlds. It is the same eternal programme. God knew it and Adam knew it."

​This quote as recorded seems at first glance to say that white people represent God and black people represent the devil, particularly when critics decline to cite past the first semi-colon. However, the rest of the text would not follow from such an assertion, unless President Taylor somehow believed that black people were responsible for temptation and wickedness. Instead he may have meant that the seed of Cain, despite being "cursed", were allowed to continue living on the Earth because, like "all men", they deserved "the opportunity of receiving and rejecting the truth" and so forth.

General Smith's Views

In retrospect, Joseph Smith's presidential campaign platform was widely viewed as having been decided, at least in part, by revelation. In April 1882 Elder Erastus Snow said, "Had the people of America listened to the voice of the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith, they would have long since freed their slaves in an amicable, an honorable and economical manner without the shedding of blood. But they disdained the counsels of the Lord. The Prophet Joseph published his views in pamphlet form on the powers and duties of the national government on the then much-mooted question of slavery, in which he treated upon the compact of the United States as between the North and South on this question of slavery; and proposed an easy and honorable plan of settling the question without violating that compact or encroaching upon the rights of each other;

"And that was, to negotiate with the Southern States for the gradual emancipation of their slaves, the consideration to be met by the national treasury, and fixing a time after which all children should be born free, thus providing for a gradual emancipation, and that they might not feel that they were robbed, and by their being gradually emancipated they would have been prepared gradually for free government and free labor, and thus the ill and unpleasant consequences would have been measurably averted, at least, of turning loose a horde of uncultivated people who were totally unprepared for American citizenship. Had they listened to this proposition, less than a tenth part of the cost of the war would have freed all the slaves, and that too without bloodshed, and the utter devastation of the Southern States would have been spared."

The Twin Relics of Barbarism

In October 1882 Elder Erastus Snow began a talk on polygamy by stating, "I believe it was in 1856, that the Republican Party was organized; at their first convention held in Philadelphia, they incorporated in their platform the noted plank, 'the twin relics of barbarism - slavery and polygamy,' and pledged themselves to rid the country of these two evils. For sixteen years they have labored incessantly to this end; but they know not the thoughts of the Lord, nor understand his counsels. Nevertheless, they are his servants to execute his purposes, and they doubtless have a desire to accomplish all that he designs with regard to them. 

"Have they succeeded in strangling the twins? So far as slavery is concerned they have succeeded in abolishing it in the obnoxious forms in which it prevailed in the Southern States; but still it exists and is likely to continue to exist, in a modified form, while wickedness exists upon the earth. Africans and white men are in bondage, not in the same form as that in which the southern slaves were held before the war, for the extreme excesses perpetrated under that system, in many particulars, were very great wrongs to mankind, and very grievous in the sight of heaven and of right-thinking people. And changes were determined in the mind of Jehovah, and have been effected...

"The Prophet Joseph Smith, the year before he was slain, testified of these things; and although he taught this social system to the Latter-day Saints; and to the more devout, wise and prudent of the women of Israel, as hundreds can testify, have testified, and are able to testify to-day, yet it was necessary in introducing it and facing the opposition and the prejudices of the age, to proceed wisely in these instructions. And while his name was before the people of the United States as a candidate for the Presidency, and national questions were being discussed pro and con by the Latter-day Saints and throughout the nation by all the political societies of the time, Joseph Smith took occasion to issue a pamphlet containing his views of the powers and policy of the Government of the United States; he also preached some sermons upon the subject in Nauvoo; and in this the Prophet counselled the people of the United States in relation to the manner of disposing of the vexed question of slavery, which he recognized as an evil - 

"That is, the form in which it existed in the United States, which should be abolished; but rather than proceed to its abolishment by waging war against the institution, as the anti-slavery men were trying to do, counselled that this desired change, the modification of this system of labor in the south, be effected on a principle of honor, equity and peace; that a fund should be created, a sinking fund of the nation, for the abolishment of slavery; and to negotiate with the States in behalf of the slave-owners, for the gradual emancipation of the slaves, their owners to be reasonably compensated for the freedom of their servants, and in process of years to change the status of the negro, make his labor free, and place him in a condition to be educated and elevated; and still maintain the faith of the nation and the faith of the northern states with the southern states.

"Thus it was that the true policy and counsel of heaven to our nation was manifested and spurned. The extremists of the north, the anti-slavery agitators heeded it not; and neither party approached the subject with any earnest determination to effect an honorable settlement of this question. The few statesmen that made propositions in the Congress of the United States looking to this result, to the accomplishment of the liberation of the slaves, settling this question on the basis proposed by the Prophet Joseph Smith; but whether they were influenced by his advice, or whether the same spirit that moved upon Joseph, moved also upon these statesmen - there were some that made advances looking to the accomplishment of the object in this way - but it was not generally received or favored, or it was deemed impracticable. At all events the sequel proved that the opposing elements warred against each other, culminating in that great fratricidal war which resulted in the shedding of so much blood, and the impoverishing of one-half of the nation."

Plural Marriage

On October 10, 1884 the Salt Lake Tribune reported on a Mormon convention sending delegates to Congress over the polygamy issue. It reported Angus M. Cannon as saying, "I feel it an insult heaped upon Mr. Caine to ask him to go to Washington as our Delegate, because he will have to tell Congress that he believes in the highest law known to God and man, but has not had courage to live up to it. I hope he will soon see the error of his ways, and embrace the whole gospel. I had rather see a colored man, who is my friend here, sent to Washington, because he is not capable of receiving the priesthood, and can never reach the highest celestial glory of the kingdom of God. This colored man could go and stand upon the floor of Congress as the peer of every man there, and would be able to say conscientiously that he had not accepted the doctrine of plurality, because he could not. This man could not, of course, represent the kingdom of God in these valleys of the mountains, but would be a consistent Delegate."

Death of Elijah Ables

In late December 1884 the Deseret News reported, "Died: Elijah Abel, in the 13th Ward, December 25, Christmas day, 1884 of old age and debility, consequent upon exposure while laboring in the ministry in Ohio. Deceased was born in Washington County, Maryland, July 23, 1810; joined the Church and was ordained an elder as appears by certificate dated March 3d, 1836; was subsequently ordained a Seventy, again, as appears by certificate, dated April 4, 1841; labored successfully in Canada and also performed a mission in the United States, from which he returned about two weeks ago. He died in full faith of the Gospel. Funeral at 16th Ward Assembly Rooms Saturday, December 27th, at 10 a.m. Friends invited."

The Book of Abraham

B.H. Roberts, editor of the youth magazine Contributor but not yet a member of the Seventy, seems to have been the first in several decades to return to the theory of Elder Orson Hyde regarding the doctrine of the premortal existence and the war between God's and Satan's followers, as they pertained to black people. This time it was suggested as a reason for the priesthood ban, and also incorporated a biased and selective reading of the book of Abraham in the recently canonized Pearl of Great Price, which would become a very popular explanation for decades to come.

In an article titled "To the Youth of Israel" in the May 1885 issue, he wrote: "Others there were, who may not have rebelled against God, and yet were so indifferent in their support of the righteous cause of our Redeemer, that they forfeited certain privileges and powers granted to those who were more valiant for God and correct principle." This proposed lack of valiance was carefully differentiated from the repudiated concept of outright neutrality.

"We have, I think, a demonstration of this in the seed of Ham. The first Pharaoh - patriarch-king of Egypt - was a grandson of Ham: ...[Noah] cursed him as pertaining to the Priesthood... Now, why is it that the seed of Ham was cursed as pertaining to the Priesthood? Why is it that his seed 'could not have right to the Priesthood' [Abraham 1:27]?​

​"Ham's wife was named 'Egyptus, which in the Chaldaic signifies that which is forbidden; and thus from Ham sprang that race which preserved that curse in the land.' [Abraham 1:23-24]... Was the wife of Ham, as her name signifies, of a race with which those who held the Priesthood were forbidden to intermarry? Was she a descendant of Cain, who was cursed for murdering his brother? And was it by Ham marrying her, and she being saved from the flood in the ark, that 'the race which preserved the curse in the land' was perpetuated? If so, then I believe that race is the one through which it is ordained those spirits that were not valiant in the great rebellion in heaven should come; who, through their indifference or lack of integrity to righteousness, rendered themselves unworthy of the Priesthood and its powers, and hence it is withheld from them to this day."

Venus

Venus, formerly one of two slaves owned by the John H. Redd family, exemplified early on the heartache that would be felt by black Mormons over the next several decades at being denied priesthood and temple blessings. Jane Redd Spillsbury recounted, "Venus had a beautiful voice and sang in the Spanish Fork choir for many years. My fondest memory of her is seeing her sitting in her seat at church every Sunday dressed in a red velvet gown, her eyes rolling and her mouth opened wide as she sang the gospel songs she loved to sing. When the Redd family moved to New Harmony she chose to stay in Spanish Fork where her loved 'Massa' and 'Missy' were buried, but her son Luke went with the Redd family to New Harmony." According to The Negro Pioneer, "Venus was also a midwife and delivered babies for many of the mothers in Spanish Fork. On April 29, 1860, she presided at the birth of the Gardner twins, Serena and Seranus who lived to be ninety and ninety-six years old, respectively. Some of the Spanish Fork people remember Venus as being tall, very polite and quiet and always immaculate in her dress. She had a great desire to go to the temple, and when she found out that the temple was closed to Negroes, she scratched her arm until it bled and said: 'See, my blood is as white as anyone's.'"

The Ninth Cavalry

In 1886 the federal government established Fort Duchesne in northeastern Utah and sent several detachments of soldiers to protect white citizens from Native Americans. On August 20 two companies of black cavalry, B and C of the Ninth Cavalry, were among the arrivals. The Salt Lake Tribune reported on September 12 that "the white infantrymen and the black cavalrymen fraternize without any discrimination as to color. They associate, eat and... presumably sleep and fight the fested bedbugs together."

Sue Watson recounted, "There is no race of people on earth, probably, that enjoys life and society better than the Negroes of the South. No people are prouder of fine clothing and elegant jewelry, and yet, when they cannot get these coveted adornments, instead of turning blue over it, their ebony countenances shine and sparkle just as brightly, bedecked in mock ostentation, or even in rags. Highly emotional in their natures, they are inclined to look upon the funny side of things, and not to fret and worry over troubles that may never come. If you want to see a picture of happiness, all over, go to one of these Southern, colored camp meetings, and witness their dramatic performances and hearty acts of devotion.

"When the soldiers were stationed at Fort Duchesne, a gay and pretty young woman named Susan Nell was working in a hotel in Vernal owned and operated by Mr. and Mrs. John Glen. A Negro wife from Fort Duchesne had come to Vernal to buy the 'fancy groceries' for the Christmas dinner for the Negro soldiers, their wives and children. The staple goods could not be purchased at the fort. She was a charming little woman, very black and not a bit ashamed of her color. Her exuberant singing voice seemed so near the surface that it instinctively slipped out at times in beautiful arias that made everyone who heard it stop to listen. This was before the days of 'canned music' and people were always hungry for the sound of song.

"The day before Christmas, with the fancy groceries collected and a few presents for the children tucked among the packages, the happy little woman was ready to go back to the Fort. The livery stable was just around the block from the hotel and when Susan heard the familiar crack of the whip and the 'Yeat, get to hell out of here - you, etc,' she ran to help with the boxes for she knew the stage would be in front of the hotel in just a minute. The driver stowed her boxes in the 'boot,' a trunk-like contraption on the back of the stage with a canvas cover that came down over luggage and packages, then gave the Negro woman a 'hand' up into the stage. But a 'southern gentleman' inside suddenly began to shout in short staccato sentences, and as the little woman began to back down to the stage with a look of pain and horror on her sweet face, the southern 'gentleman' appeared above her, snarling and cursing - 'a warped soul trying to be big and aching for importance.' They drove away without her.

"That night, Christmas Eve in Vernal, the hotel diners were delighted at the sound of a deep beautiful contralto voice singing the lovely old Negro spirituals. Finally Susan brought the singer into the dining room and she sang the old favorite Christmas carols, the diners joining in with gusto. They all knew her story. Emotions ran high, and many a 'strong man of the West' surreptitiously wiped away a tear that had crept onto his bewhiskered cheek.

"The first pioneer museum center and social gathering place in Merrill's Ward (now Naples) in the late '90s was Roberts Hall, owned and operated by Ephraim Roberts who had built the long log building first for a pottery plant. Soon all the women in Uintah County were well supplied with pickle crocks, cream jars, etc., so the enterprising Ephraim hired a guitarist and a harmonica player, and turned his pottery into a dance hall. His son, Monte Roberts, was manager, bouncer and host and well qualified for all three jobs. Few people had cash in those days, but just about everyone had produce, cedar posts, squash, chickens, potatoes, fruits - even a haunch of venison could buy dance tickets.

"One evening, a handsome young Negro soldier from Fort Duchesne came into the hall and paid cash money for a ticket. His manners were impeccable and his uniform was clean and well-fitted. He asked the manager to introduce him to some girls, and still listening to the jingle of 'hard cash' in his pocket, the manager did so. The soldier's dancing was smooth and circumspect; nevertheless, the manager soon found himself backed into a corner, facing a sturdy group of irate farm lads who threatened him with sudden extinction if he introduced that 'Negro' to any more of their girls. There was still Brown's Hall up in town, they told him, and Uncle Jake Workman's Hall west of town. They would take their girls there next time. The boys need not have worried, however, for when they again faced the hall they discovered that the gentleman in question had left as quietly as he had arrived."

Death of John Taylor

On July 25, 1887, John Taylor died of congestive heart failure. It was widely believed that the stress of evading the government's anti-polygamy campaign had caused or exacerbated the decline of his health, and so he many members considered him a martyr. Elder Wilford Woodruff now led the Church although he would not be ordained as President for two more years. Like his predecessor, he would have to deal with the implications of a ban he did not know the origin of, and in particular the requests of Jane Manning James to receive her endowments and sealing.

Paul Cephas Howell

Around 1888, a former slave named Paul Cephas Howell moved with his wife Eliza, four daughters, and son Abner from Louisiana to Salt Lake City, Utah. They started by wagon from Dodge City, Kansas but sold out in Trinidad, Colorado. Mr. Howell continued by train and worked to earn money so his family could join him. There President Wilford Woodruff arranged for him to join the police department and become the first black police detective in the United States. He stood guard at the front gate during the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple. His police badge remained in the family and his great-grandson, Jacob Green Jr., also served on the force.

Jane Manning James' Second Patriarchal Blessing

On October 10, 1889, Jane Manning James received a second patriarchal blessing from Patriarch John Smith. This one said, "[T]he Lord has heard thy petitions. He knowest the secrets of thy heart, He has witnessed thy trials and although thy life has been somewhat checkered, His hand has been over thee for good and thou shalt verily receive thy reward... Therefore let thy heart be comforted, look always upon the bright side for better days await thee... Many shall bless thee in thine old age and as a Mother in Israel thou shalt be known among the people. Therefore again I say unto thee be comforted, for all shall be well with thee both here and hereafter..."

Next: The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1890-1899