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Previous: The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1890-1899
The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1900-1903
During the first half of the twentieth century, and occasionally afterward, the various First Presidencies corresponded with individual members inquiring about the priesthood ban or other racial issues. These letters were personal, intended for the recipients only and not as statements of doctrine or policy to the whole Church. Such a statement would not come until 1949. Today, contacting General Authorities with doctrinal questions (instead of asking local leaders) is strongly discouraged, and Church headquarters sends out form letters in response to certain frequent questions.
Dan Brockman
Columbia Call Jones recalled, "My father, Chester Call, Utah pioneer of 1848, and mother, Sarah Marie Dickson Call, were also pioneers of Chesterfield, Idaho, coming in the early 1880's. Father had previously served as a bishop in Bountiful, Davis County, Utah, for twenty years. When I was a child a Negro man named Dan Brockman lived at our home. He was treated as a member of the family. Mother did his washing and ironing and he sat at the table and ate with us. We had three bedrooms upstairs where the hired men slept, and Dan probably slept there as well, for we had no other sleeping quarters. He would hold me on his lap and rock me in the big rocker. He would sing to me the songs I loved, always in a southern brogue.
"I remember well the morning I was baptized. It was the 28th of January, 1900. Dan Brockman chopped a hole in the ice of the pond which was located in our backyard. It was a large pond which Father had made. My family and Dan were there to witness my baptism. Then came the wonderful experience of going to the church to be confirmed. As we were about to leave the house, my mother brought out a new coat for me to wear. Although it has been many years, I still remember clearly the words Dan Brockman said to me: 'Now off to Sunday School, Little Lass, and the wind and cold cannot touch you in that new coat.'"
A Certain Class of Spirits
On March 11, 1900, the Council Minutes record: "Letter from Ira N. Hinckley read, stating that a man in Oasis [Utah] named Church had received his patriarchal blessing in which he was told that he was of the lineage of Ephraim and that he should receive the priesthood and go on a mission But [sic] it is understood that he inherits some negro blood in him through his mother, and questions were being asked about the right of this party to hold the priesthood, some holding that he might do so provided the white blood predominates.
"President Snow, commenting on this subject, said that he asked President Brigham Young on one occasion [in 1849] why it was that millions and millions of people were cursed with a black skin, and when, if ever, this curse would be re-moved? President Young explained it to him this way, but whether the President had had this revealed to him or not he did not know, or whether he was giving his own personal views of what had been told him by the Prophet Joseph. He said that when Cain slew Abel he fully understood that the effects would not end with the killing of his brother, but that it extended to the spirits in eternity. He said that in the spirit world people were organized as they are here. There were patriarchs standing at the head of certain classes of spirits, and there were certain relationships existing which affected their coming into the world to take tabernacles; as, for instance, when Abel came into the world it was understood by Cain that the class of people he presided over as a prince, if they ever came into the world in the regular way, they would have come thru [sic] him.
"So with Cain, he was a prince presiding over a vast number of a certain class of spirits, and it was natural that they should come through him, if at all, and therefore when Cain slew Abel he understood that the taking of his brother's life was going to deprive the spirits over whom he [Abel] presided from coming into the world, perhaps for thousands and thousands of years; hence the sin was immense because the effects were immense. Then there was this understanding when the Lord executed judgement [sic] upon Cain; the spirits under his leadership still looked up to him, and rather than forsake him they were willing to bear his burdens and share the penalty imposed upon him. This was understood when the curse was pronounced upon him, and it was understood that this curse would remain upon his posterity until the class of spirits presided over by Abel should have the privilege of coming into the world and taking tabernacles, and then the curse would be removed.
"President Cannon remarked upon this subject, as he said, he had on a prior occasion when this subject was under consideration, that he had understood that the Prophet Joseph had said during this lifetime, that there would be a great wrong perpetrated if the seed of Cain were allowed to have the priesthood before Abel should have posterity to receive it, and this curse therefore was to remain upon the seed of Cain until the time should come that Abel should have posterity. He understood that the time could not come until Abel should beget spirits in the eternal worlds and those spirits obtain tabernacles; if it were otherwise the slayer would have advantage over the slain. President Cannon further remarked that it would seem that there was a class of spirits who had to take such bodies for the reason that Ham introduced this blood through the ark by marrying a woman of the accursed seed named Egyptus."
Pay Their Debts
At a General Conference in 1900, Elder Heber J. Grant recounted, "I went to a Negro minstrel show once, and there were about ten or fifteen on the stage. One of them rushed in with his hat off and said, 'Which of these here niggers am lost two dollars?' holding up a two dollar bill. There hadn't any of them lost two dollars. 'Well,' he said, 'if none of you have lost it, I found these two dollars right by the door here and it is my money.' They said all right, and he put it in his pocket. No sooner had he got it in his pocket than up jumped a nigger and said: 'Look here, George Washington Jones, you owe me two dollars; pay your honest debts!' He handed the two dollars to him. Another nigger jumps up and says: 'Look here, Julius C. Brown, you owes me two dollars; pay your debt.' He got it, and in this way it went clear round.
"When the last man got it, up jumps George Washington Jones, and says: 'Here, give me back the two dollars; you owes me two dollar.' No sooner had he got it in his pocket than a fellow rushes in and said 'which of you niggers has found two dollars?' George Washington Jones took it out of his pocket and said: 'Here, take your money and go home; we've all paid our debts.' I desire that the Latter-day Saints should all pay their debts. One reason why I desire this is, I am in debt myself and I want to pay my debts. I want to live to see the day when I shall owe no man anything. I want the Latter-day Saints to not only pray for me but to keep a little more money in the country so that I will stand a better chance to get some of it. If they will keep the commandments of God and do less praying, I will be obliged to them."
Dan Brockman
Columbia Call Jones recalled, "My father, Chester Call, Utah pioneer of 1848, and mother, Sarah Marie Dickson Call, were also pioneers of Chesterfield, Idaho, coming in the early 1880's. Father had previously served as a bishop in Bountiful, Davis County, Utah, for twenty years. When I was a child a Negro man named Dan Brockman lived at our home. He was treated as a member of the family. Mother did his washing and ironing and he sat at the table and ate with us. We had three bedrooms upstairs where the hired men slept, and Dan probably slept there as well, for we had no other sleeping quarters. He would hold me on his lap and rock me in the big rocker. He would sing to me the songs I loved, always in a southern brogue.
"I remember well the morning I was baptized. It was the 28th of January, 1900. Dan Brockman chopped a hole in the ice of the pond which was located in our backyard. It was a large pond which Father had made. My family and Dan were there to witness my baptism. Then came the wonderful experience of going to the church to be confirmed. As we were about to leave the house, my mother brought out a new coat for me to wear. Although it has been many years, I still remember clearly the words Dan Brockman said to me: 'Now off to Sunday School, Little Lass, and the wind and cold cannot touch you in that new coat.'"
A Certain Class of Spirits
On March 11, 1900, the Council Minutes record: "Letter from Ira N. Hinckley read, stating that a man in Oasis [Utah] named Church had received his patriarchal blessing in which he was told that he was of the lineage of Ephraim and that he should receive the priesthood and go on a mission But [sic] it is understood that he inherits some negro blood in him through his mother, and questions were being asked about the right of this party to hold the priesthood, some holding that he might do so provided the white blood predominates.
"President Snow, commenting on this subject, said that he asked President Brigham Young on one occasion [in 1849] why it was that millions and millions of people were cursed with a black skin, and when, if ever, this curse would be re-moved? President Young explained it to him this way, but whether the President had had this revealed to him or not he did not know, or whether he was giving his own personal views of what had been told him by the Prophet Joseph. He said that when Cain slew Abel he fully understood that the effects would not end with the killing of his brother, but that it extended to the spirits in eternity. He said that in the spirit world people were organized as they are here. There were patriarchs standing at the head of certain classes of spirits, and there were certain relationships existing which affected their coming into the world to take tabernacles; as, for instance, when Abel came into the world it was understood by Cain that the class of people he presided over as a prince, if they ever came into the world in the regular way, they would have come thru [sic] him.
"So with Cain, he was a prince presiding over a vast number of a certain class of spirits, and it was natural that they should come through him, if at all, and therefore when Cain slew Abel he understood that the taking of his brother's life was going to deprive the spirits over whom he [Abel] presided from coming into the world, perhaps for thousands and thousands of years; hence the sin was immense because the effects were immense. Then there was this understanding when the Lord executed judgement [sic] upon Cain; the spirits under his leadership still looked up to him, and rather than forsake him they were willing to bear his burdens and share the penalty imposed upon him. This was understood when the curse was pronounced upon him, and it was understood that this curse would remain upon his posterity until the class of spirits presided over by Abel should have the privilege of coming into the world and taking tabernacles, and then the curse would be removed.
"President Cannon remarked upon this subject, as he said, he had on a prior occasion when this subject was under consideration, that he had understood that the Prophet Joseph had said during this lifetime, that there would be a great wrong perpetrated if the seed of Cain were allowed to have the priesthood before Abel should have posterity to receive it, and this curse therefore was to remain upon the seed of Cain until the time should come that Abel should have posterity. He understood that the time could not come until Abel should beget spirits in the eternal worlds and those spirits obtain tabernacles; if it were otherwise the slayer would have advantage over the slain. President Cannon further remarked that it would seem that there was a class of spirits who had to take such bodies for the reason that Ham introduced this blood through the ark by marrying a woman of the accursed seed named Egyptus."
Pay Their Debts
At a General Conference in 1900, Elder Heber J. Grant recounted, "I went to a Negro minstrel show once, and there were about ten or fifteen on the stage. One of them rushed in with his hat off and said, 'Which of these here niggers am lost two dollars?' holding up a two dollar bill. There hadn't any of them lost two dollars. 'Well,' he said, 'if none of you have lost it, I found these two dollars right by the door here and it is my money.' They said all right, and he put it in his pocket. No sooner had he got it in his pocket than up jumped a nigger and said: 'Look here, George Washington Jones, you owe me two dollars; pay your honest debts!' He handed the two dollars to him. Another nigger jumps up and says: 'Look here, Julius C. Brown, you owes me two dollars; pay your debt.' He got it, and in this way it went clear round.
"When the last man got it, up jumps George Washington Jones, and says: 'Here, give me back the two dollars; you owes me two dollar.' No sooner had he got it in his pocket than a fellow rushes in and said 'which of you niggers has found two dollars?' George Washington Jones took it out of his pocket and said: 'Here, take your money and go home; we've all paid our debts.' I desire that the Latter-day Saints should all pay their debts. One reason why I desire this is, I am in debt myself and I want to pay my debts. I want to live to see the day when I shall owe no man anything. I want the Latter-day Saints to not only pray for me but to keep a little more money in the country so that I will stand a better chance to get some of it. If they will keep the commandments of God and do less praying, I will be obliged to them."
Status of the Negro
On May 17, 1900, a Deseret News editorial stated, "The progress made by the colored race in the United States since the Civil War is best appreciated when presented in the form of statistics. Here are some as given by Comptroller Charles G. Dawes, in an address before a club in Chicago reported by the Times-Herald of that city.
"The colored race, according to this report, furnish one-fifth of the number of all Protestant denominations in this country. The census of 1890 showed that they had 23,770 churches with a membership of about 2,700,000 souls. The educational status of the negro shows an equally remarkable progress. Ten years after the war 20.1 per cent of those of the age of 10 years and over had learned to read and write. In 1890 - twenty-five years after the war closed - the number who could read and write had increased to 45.2 per cent. The report of the United States commissioner of education for 1890 shows a total enrollment of 1,506,742 colored children in the public schools in the sixteen former slave States and the District of Columbia. The aggregate wealth of the colored population in the country, as reported up to Jan. 1899, amounted to $400,00,000. In 1890, about 2,000,000 colored men were engaged in agriculture, 172,970 in manufacturing, and 145,717 in trade and transportation.
"And all this has been accomplished in the short period of time since the emancipation. One generation is not much of an allowance for the transformation and regeneration of a race. Evolutionists count on ages for every little step of advance. It is perfectly clear that the lessons of civilization are not lost on the colored citizens of this country. Some years ago it used to be asserted that the negroes were an 'inferior' race, incapable of higher civilization. But this supposition has been challenged by many facts. Children of colored parents, when given equal opportunities with those of white people, have often attained as much prominence as their competitors; they have acquired as much knowledge, shown as much aptitude and ability. The unity of origin of the human race is indicated in the progress of a people that has within a brief time risen from savagery and servitude."
"The colored race, according to this report, furnish one-fifth of the number of all Protestant denominations in this country. The census of 1890 showed that they had 23,770 churches with a membership of about 2,700,000 souls. The educational status of the negro shows an equally remarkable progress. Ten years after the war 20.1 per cent of those of the age of 10 years and over had learned to read and write. In 1890 - twenty-five years after the war closed - the number who could read and write had increased to 45.2 per cent. The report of the United States commissioner of education for 1890 shows a total enrollment of 1,506,742 colored children in the public schools in the sixteen former slave States and the District of Columbia. The aggregate wealth of the colored population in the country, as reported up to Jan. 1899, amounted to $400,00,000. In 1890, about 2,000,000 colored men were engaged in agriculture, 172,970 in manufacturing, and 145,717 in trade and transportation.
"And all this has been accomplished in the short period of time since the emancipation. One generation is not much of an allowance for the transformation and regeneration of a race. Evolutionists count on ages for every little step of advance. It is perfectly clear that the lessons of civilization are not lost on the colored citizens of this country. Some years ago it used to be asserted that the negroes were an 'inferior' race, incapable of higher civilization. But this supposition has been challenged by many facts. Children of colored parents, when given equal opportunities with those of white people, have often attained as much prominence as their competitors; they have acquired as much knowledge, shown as much aptitude and ability. The unity of origin of the human race is indicated in the progress of a people that has within a brief time risen from savagery and servitude."
Priesthood Confusion
On August 18, 1900, the Council Minutes record: "Presidents Snow, Cannon, and Smith at the office. Letter read from President Ben E. Rich, conveying information that the President of the South Carolina Conference, G.R. Humphreys, had accidentally run across a village of negroes who were members of our Church and that two of the males had been ordained to the priesthood by the elder (Bond) who had baptized them, and Elder Humphreys wanted to know what should be done about this. The question was now considered.
"President Cannon informed President Snow that President Young had held to the doctrine that no man tainted with negro blood was eligible to the priesthood; that President Taylor held to the same doctrine, claiming to have been taught it by the Prophet Joseph Smith. President Cannon read from the Pearl of Great Price showing that negroes were debarred from the priesthood; also that Enoch in his day called upon all people to repent save it were the descendants of Cainan [sic]. President Snow intimated to President Cannon that this was one of the questions which it was understood would come up before the Council of First Presidency and Apostles for discussion the first time there should be a full attendance. President Cannon remarked to President Snow that as he regarded it the subject was really beyond the pale of discussion, unless, he, President Snow, had light to throw upon what had already been imparted.
"Brother Gibbs now reminded President Cannon that President Smith had on a previous occasion related something going to show how the full blooded negro came through the flood which had not to his knowledge appeared in our records, and suggested that President Smith be asked to repeat it. Upon being invited to do so President Smith said that he had been told that the idea originated with the Prophet Joseph, but of course he could not vouch for it. It was this: That the woman named Egyptus was in the family way by a man of her own race before Ham took her to wife, and that Cainan [sic] was a result of that illicit intercourse. This subject was now dropped without President Snow intimating that the subject would be further considered."
On November 10, 1900, Elijah Ables' son Enoch Able was ordained an Elder by John Q. Adams of the Logan 5th Ward. Nothing more is known about the circumstances of his ordination, but because the priesthood ban was not known to all members and Enoch's father had held the priesthood, Brother Adams may have thought nothing of it. Though Enoch was presumably light-skinned like his father, his obituary only three months later referred to him as "colored", so his race was not unknown.
"President Cannon informed President Snow that President Young had held to the doctrine that no man tainted with negro blood was eligible to the priesthood; that President Taylor held to the same doctrine, claiming to have been taught it by the Prophet Joseph Smith. President Cannon read from the Pearl of Great Price showing that negroes were debarred from the priesthood; also that Enoch in his day called upon all people to repent save it were the descendants of Cainan [sic]. President Snow intimated to President Cannon that this was one of the questions which it was understood would come up before the Council of First Presidency and Apostles for discussion the first time there should be a full attendance. President Cannon remarked to President Snow that as he regarded it the subject was really beyond the pale of discussion, unless, he, President Snow, had light to throw upon what had already been imparted.
"Brother Gibbs now reminded President Cannon that President Smith had on a previous occasion related something going to show how the full blooded negro came through the flood which had not to his knowledge appeared in our records, and suggested that President Smith be asked to repeat it. Upon being invited to do so President Smith said that he had been told that the idea originated with the Prophet Joseph, but of course he could not vouch for it. It was this: That the woman named Egyptus was in the family way by a man of her own race before Ham took her to wife, and that Cainan [sic] was a result of that illicit intercourse. This subject was now dropped without President Snow intimating that the subject would be further considered."
On November 10, 1900, Elijah Ables' son Enoch Able was ordained an Elder by John Q. Adams of the Logan 5th Ward. Nothing more is known about the circumstances of his ordination, but because the priesthood ban was not known to all members and Enoch's father had held the priesthood, Brother Adams may have thought nothing of it. Though Enoch was presumably light-skinned like his father, his obituary only three months later referred to him as "colored", so his race was not unknown.
Abner Howell, Star Athlete
Abner Howell was, in his own word, "always athletically inclined in baseball, football, and track." The Voice of the West by Wendell Ashton relates, "Football games seemed to receive more notice than any other local athletic event when the [Deseret] News was kicking off with its daily sports coverage. There were almost two entire columns describing the 34-0 victory of Salt Lake High over East Denver's footballer's on Thanksgiving Day in 1900. The game was attended by five thousand fans, including Utah's Governor Heber M. Wells, arriving in a beautifully rubber-tired vehicle. Those were the days when perspiring huskies discarded gear as they played, fists flew frequently, and a colored fullback named Abe Howell [according to the News] 'was everything from the bandwagon to the steam calliope' for Salt Lake High."
After the game, when the team went to a restaurant to celebrate, they were told that Abner would have to eat in the kitchen while the rest of them ate in the dining area. His teammate Nicholas Groesbeck Smith, a Mormon, replied that they would all eat in the kitchen. The restaurant relented and allowed Abner to eat in the dining room. His friendship with Smith continued after high school, and brought him into contact with many church leaders.
After the game, when the team went to a restaurant to celebrate, they were told that Abner would have to eat in the kitchen while the rest of them ate in the dining area. His teammate Nicholas Groesbeck Smith, a Mormon, replied that they would all eat in the kitchen. The restaurant relented and allowed Abner to eat in the dining room. His friendship with Smith continued after high school, and brought him into contact with many church leaders.
Jane and Isaac James
Anna Shipp recalled, "My parents and family moved from Manti to Salt Lake City in 1901 and located in the Third Ward. Each Sunday I remember seeing two Negroes sitting on the stand and of being told they had both been servants in the home of the Prophet Joseph Smith. They were very old and their skin looked like parchment, but they appeared to be strong and well. Jane Manning James and her brother Isaac were given the seats of honor, and I have heard them tell of the time they lived with the Prophet. They were devoted Latter-day Saints, and everyone in the Third Ward loved and respected them."
Death of Enoch Able
On February 23, 1901 the Logan City Journal reported, "Enoch Able, a colored resident of the Fifth ward, died at noon on Thursday, of pneumonia. Able left a wife and large family in destitute circumstances."
Death of Enoch Able
On February 23, 1901 the Logan City Journal reported, "Enoch Able, a colored resident of the Fifth ward, died at noon on Thursday, of pneumonia. Able left a wife and large family in destitute circumstances."
Joseph F. Smith Becomes the Prophet
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On October 10, 1901, President Lorenzo Snow died of pneumonia. A week later, Elder Joseph F. Smith was ordained to succeed him. President Smith was the son of Hyrum Smith and would be the last of the Presidents of the Church to have known Joseph Smith personally, but he had been five years old when both of them were martyred. George Q. Cannon had died a few months earlier and could no longer share his perspective. Consequently, when further deliberations arose regarding black people and the priesthood, he could do little more than refer to the words of past prophets and follow the now-established precedent as well as he knew how. Though well-known and respected as a theologian he never wrote on black people and the priesthood. He did break from precedent with a significant and groundbreaking revelation during his tenure, but it was on another subject entirely.
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Negro Blood
On January 2, 1902, the Council Minutes record: "Brother Clawson reporting his visit to Sevier [Utah] Stake said that while at Richfield he learned that a young man had married a woman who Was [sic] one-quarter negro, and now that one of his sons is about to marry, his intended wife wanted to know if the fact of his having inherited negro blood would be a bar to his receiving the priesthood and endowments.
"President Smith in replying to this question said that Presidents Young and Taylor were emphatic in denying to any person receiving the priesthood or endowments who had negro blood in their veins, and he further said that a man named Abel, an octoroon, and who had married a quadroon, applied to President Young for his endowments, he having been ordained a Seventy and received his patriarchal blessing in the days of the Prophet Joseph, but President Young put him off, and that Brother Abel failed to get his wish gratified by the President. It appeared that a promise was made to him in his patriarchal blessing to the effect that he should be the welding link between the black and white races, and that he should hold the initiative authority by which his race should be redeemed.
"He renewed his application to receive his endowments time after time to President Taylor, who at last submitted it to this Council, resulting in a decision unfavorable to Brother Abel. After his [President Taylor's] death the wife of Isaac James (known as Aunt Jane) asked to receive her own endowments and to be sealed; but President [sic] Woodruff, Cannon, and Smith decided that this could not be done, but decided that she might be adopted into the family of the Prophet Joseph Smith as a servant, which was done, a special ceremony having been prepared for the purpose. But Aunt Jane was not satisfied with this, and as a mark of her dissatisfaction she applied again after this for sealing blessings, but of course in vain.
"Brother John Henry Smith remarked that it seemed to him that persons in whose veins the white blood predominated should not be barred from the temple. President Smith, replying to this, referred to the doctrine taught by President Brigham Young which he (the speaker) said he believed in himself, to the effect that the children of Gentile parents, in whose veins might exist a single drop of the blood of Ephraim, might extract all the blood of Ephraim from his parents' veins, and be actually a full-blooded Ephramite [sic]. He also referred to the case of a man named Billingsby, whose ancestors away back married an Indian woman, and whose descendants in every branch of his family were pure whites, with one exception, and that exception was one pure blooded Indian in every branch of the family. The speaker said he mentioned this case because it was in line with President Young's doctrine on the subject; and the same had been found to be the case by stockmen engaged in the improvement of breeds.
"Assuming, therefore, this doctrine to be sound, while the children of a man in whose veins may yet exist a single drop of negro blood, might be entirely white, yet one of his descendants might turn out to be a pronounced negro. And the question in President Smith's mind was, when shall we get light enought [sic] to determine each case on its merits? He gave it as his opinion that in all cases where the blood of Cain showed itself, however slight, the line should be drawn there; but where children of tainted people were found to be pure Ephraimites, they might be admitted to the temple. This was only an opinion, however; the subject would no doubt be considered later. Brother Clawson regared [sic] this as an answer to the question and expressed himself satisfied with it."
Elder John Henry Smith's perspective differed from most contemporary Americans, who considered anyone with black ancestry in his appearance to be a "negro" regardless of how many white ancestors he also had. The concept related by President Joseph F. Smith in response was virtually identical to the scientific theory of "genetic throwback" which, though now discredited, was widely accepted at the time.
On January 2, 1902, the Council Minutes record: "Brother Clawson reporting his visit to Sevier [Utah] Stake said that while at Richfield he learned that a young man had married a woman who Was [sic] one-quarter negro, and now that one of his sons is about to marry, his intended wife wanted to know if the fact of his having inherited negro blood would be a bar to his receiving the priesthood and endowments.
"President Smith in replying to this question said that Presidents Young and Taylor were emphatic in denying to any person receiving the priesthood or endowments who had negro blood in their veins, and he further said that a man named Abel, an octoroon, and who had married a quadroon, applied to President Young for his endowments, he having been ordained a Seventy and received his patriarchal blessing in the days of the Prophet Joseph, but President Young put him off, and that Brother Abel failed to get his wish gratified by the President. It appeared that a promise was made to him in his patriarchal blessing to the effect that he should be the welding link between the black and white races, and that he should hold the initiative authority by which his race should be redeemed.
"He renewed his application to receive his endowments time after time to President Taylor, who at last submitted it to this Council, resulting in a decision unfavorable to Brother Abel. After his [President Taylor's] death the wife of Isaac James (known as Aunt Jane) asked to receive her own endowments and to be sealed; but President [sic] Woodruff, Cannon, and Smith decided that this could not be done, but decided that she might be adopted into the family of the Prophet Joseph Smith as a servant, which was done, a special ceremony having been prepared for the purpose. But Aunt Jane was not satisfied with this, and as a mark of her dissatisfaction she applied again after this for sealing blessings, but of course in vain.
"Brother John Henry Smith remarked that it seemed to him that persons in whose veins the white blood predominated should not be barred from the temple. President Smith, replying to this, referred to the doctrine taught by President Brigham Young which he (the speaker) said he believed in himself, to the effect that the children of Gentile parents, in whose veins might exist a single drop of the blood of Ephraim, might extract all the blood of Ephraim from his parents' veins, and be actually a full-blooded Ephramite [sic]. He also referred to the case of a man named Billingsby, whose ancestors away back married an Indian woman, and whose descendants in every branch of his family were pure whites, with one exception, and that exception was one pure blooded Indian in every branch of the family. The speaker said he mentioned this case because it was in line with President Young's doctrine on the subject; and the same had been found to be the case by stockmen engaged in the improvement of breeds.
"Assuming, therefore, this doctrine to be sound, while the children of a man in whose veins may yet exist a single drop of negro blood, might be entirely white, yet one of his descendants might turn out to be a pronounced negro. And the question in President Smith's mind was, when shall we get light enought [sic] to determine each case on its merits? He gave it as his opinion that in all cases where the blood of Cain showed itself, however slight, the line should be drawn there; but where children of tainted people were found to be pure Ephraimites, they might be admitted to the temple. This was only an opinion, however; the subject would no doubt be considered later. Brother Clawson regared [sic] this as an answer to the question and expressed himself satisfied with it."
Elder John Henry Smith's perspective differed from most contemporary Americans, who considered anyone with black ancestry in his appearance to be a "negro" regardless of how many white ancestors he also had. The concept related by President Joseph F. Smith in response was virtually identical to the scientific theory of "genetic throwback" which, though now discredited, was widely accepted at the time.
Samuel and Amanda Chambers
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Vidella Vance recounted: "Samuel and Amanda Chambers were very devout members of the Church. He kept the word of Wisdom faithfully and paid an honest and generous tithing, being the largest tithe payer in the Wilford Ward for a long time. On one occasion, when Wilford Ward members were contemplating adding an amusement hall and classrooms to the old chapel, which consisted of a chapel and classrooms in the basement, President Joseph F. Smith attended the conference to encourage the members in their endeavors. Samuel had offered the substantial sum of $1,000.00 to the building fund. After President Smith had delivered his address to the congregation he turned to Brother Chambers, who occupied his usual place, the front bench on the south side of the chapel, and said, 'I want to say a word to this good brother. There are not words to express or ways to tell the great blessings that await this faithful man, and he shall some day stand at the head of his race.'"
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During this time period and for the rest of his life, Samuel Chambers continued to bear his testimony in deacons' quorum meetings, but minutes taken by other clerks were not as detailed as those of Thomas C. Jones and so the specifics are unknown. His ward teacher, Mahonri White, remembered that he "testified like a man who held the priesthood" and "bore his testimony like an apostle... Samuel could holler pretty loud."
The Negro Problem
On May 12, 1903 the Deseret Evening News carried an editorial called "The Negro Problem" which said, "The decision of the Supreme court of the United States, in the case of the colored man who endeavored by mandamus [writ of mandate] to compel the registrar of his county in Alabama to place his name on the list, notwithstanding the amendment to the Constitution of that State which barred him out, is viewed with much dissatisfaction by many colored people and the advocates of their political privileges. There are two sides to the question, however, and in view of all the circumstances attending the situation, it is rather difficult for many to determine the right and the proper policy to pursue.
"The white people of the South naturally dread the menace of negro domination in political affairs. While submitting – as they must – to the 'fortunes of war,' and as most of them do willingly to the emancipation of the colored people, they cannot brook [tolerate] the force that pushes an 'inferior' element into attempted social and political equality with the culture and chivalry of Caucasian blood. The means that have been employed to evade or circumvent the provisions of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, may appear unjust and revolutionary to people in the North, who have not been reared in the atmosphere and surroundings where slavery once prevailed, and where it is held that the suppression of the colored race is absolutely necessary to the safety and progress of the States, where its numbers are great and its influence is threatening. But the very best people of the South have joined in the measures that have been adopted, and their position is to be considered in a fair view of the question involved.
"The decision of the court of last resort in the case referred to, very properly upholds the true doctrine of State’s rights. We used the word 'true' advisedly. For while there has been much error attached to it and which has brought great woe and misery, the foundations of our government are laid upon the principle of State sovereignty and popular rights. Each State has its own autonomy, and possesses all political power within its own borders that has not been yielded to the Federal authority. The Nation is supreme in its sphere. Its power extends to every foot of its domain. But that is limited by the national Constitution, which secures to every State in the Union all rights and prerogatives that are not by that instrument vested in the national government. The court recognizes that principle, and so the case goes back to Alabama where it properly belongs. Each State regulates its own affairs and so provides for the exercise of the elective franchise, subject, of course, to the provisions of the Constitution of our country. The negro in Alabama who was not allowed to register, was not denied the privilege on account of 'race color or previous condition of servitude,' but because he was not qualified under the laws of the State made applicable to all of her citizens, white and colored. The design was undoubtedly to limit the negro vote, and that is claimed to be a necessity, and whether just or unjust to the colored man appears to be so framed as to stand the constitutional test.
"In view of the discussion of the negro question, which is one of the problems yet before the country, we quote some pertinent remarks made by one of the ‘captains of industry in the South’ and reported recently in the New York Sun. John H. Kirby, of Houston, Texas, who is president of the great Kirby Lumber company, a native of the South, and thoroughly familiar with the situation there, was interviewed by a Sun correspondent. He touched rather upon the social than the political aspirations of the colored people, and said:
'The negro of ante-bellum days is the negro, who, unfortunately, is becoming only a small part of the black-skinned family in the South. Taught by their masters the proper lessons of humility and courtesy; taught a recognition of the social barriers which will forever bar the progress of the negro beyond the social environment which at present hedges his domain, the old slave negro and his children were well cared for, suffered no want, were faithful, industrious, and were a most important and component part of the South, as well as important and faithful factors in the individual white families of the South to whom 'Old Mammy' and 'Uncle Dave' were a part of the home life. They enjoyed the affection and trust of their superiors and returned an [sic] humble love and service which were practically unequalled in the history of all like conditions. I cannot say that I believe in the doctrine 'that education ruins the negro', for while it may unfit him in a sense for being a hewer of wood and a drawer of water, it should, if education means anything, force him to an intellectual condition wherein he should more firmly realize his position and recognize the inherent restrictions of his race in regard to the social conditions of mankind.
'There is a great deal of useless and harmful agitation in these discussions of the negro question, particularly by the papers of the North and East which reason by theory rather than by argument based upon even an average knowledge of the subject. The negro of the North is not the Negro of the South. His material environment differs absolutely, for, while the former is employed in occupations which keep him constantly and closely in touch with the dominant race, in the South he labors in the field and the farmyard and in channels of energy which, while controlled by the white man, do not necessarily mean an association in any sense other than that which exists between the employer and the employed. Because of the great preponderance of the negro race in the South the South should be let alone and permitted to determine the question by the ethics which govern the situation, viewed from the Southerner’s standpoint.
'In politics the negro has always been a disturbing feature, and is used by all parties, and in the main for vicious purposes. The negro was never intended to test the right of ballot. His enfranchisement was an error of judgment, and today, practically disenfranchised by legislative enactment in many of the States, he is content that such be the case, for I believe the race has little desire to meddle in questions the solution of which bears but immaterially upon his existence or upon his future. His official or social recognition by persons or officials in high places affects the negro more disastrously than it does the dominant race, while temporarily inducing a condition much to be regretted and which can have but one solution.'
"Mr. Kirby claims that in Texas the negro is denied none of his civil rights but at the same time he admits that, 'In Texas as in other of the Southern States, the negro is required to attend his own school, his own church, to ride in separate coaches on the railroads, to occupy separate waiting rooms in the railroad stations, and collectively to keep themselves separate and apart from their white friends who neither seek nor desire their society.'
"This will strike people in the North as carrying exclusiveness to an extreme, and drawing the line too sharply between the races, tending to foster that feeling of strife that sets them one against the other and occasions much of the trouble to be deplored. Yet we should not shut our eyes to the fact, that the Creator has made a distinction between white and colored human beings that indicates design as to their status, and there are physiological as well as religious reasons why their blood should not be intermingled. Thus there needs to be some wise restrictions in society, that each race may occupy the position for which it was designed and is adapted. The elevation of the colored race along possible lines, should be kept in view by the whites, and if this is pursued in the spirit of kindness and justice, the negro will not figure long as a 'problem' in these United States."
South African Mission Reopens
On July 25, 1903, following the conclusion of the Second Anglo-Boer War the previous year, the South African Mission was reopened after nearly forty years by Mission President Warren H. Lyon and Elders William R. Smith, Thomas L. Griffiths, and George A. Simpkins.
"The white people of the South naturally dread the menace of negro domination in political affairs. While submitting – as they must – to the 'fortunes of war,' and as most of them do willingly to the emancipation of the colored people, they cannot brook [tolerate] the force that pushes an 'inferior' element into attempted social and political equality with the culture and chivalry of Caucasian blood. The means that have been employed to evade or circumvent the provisions of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, may appear unjust and revolutionary to people in the North, who have not been reared in the atmosphere and surroundings where slavery once prevailed, and where it is held that the suppression of the colored race is absolutely necessary to the safety and progress of the States, where its numbers are great and its influence is threatening. But the very best people of the South have joined in the measures that have been adopted, and their position is to be considered in a fair view of the question involved.
"The decision of the court of last resort in the case referred to, very properly upholds the true doctrine of State’s rights. We used the word 'true' advisedly. For while there has been much error attached to it and which has brought great woe and misery, the foundations of our government are laid upon the principle of State sovereignty and popular rights. Each State has its own autonomy, and possesses all political power within its own borders that has not been yielded to the Federal authority. The Nation is supreme in its sphere. Its power extends to every foot of its domain. But that is limited by the national Constitution, which secures to every State in the Union all rights and prerogatives that are not by that instrument vested in the national government. The court recognizes that principle, and so the case goes back to Alabama where it properly belongs. Each State regulates its own affairs and so provides for the exercise of the elective franchise, subject, of course, to the provisions of the Constitution of our country. The negro in Alabama who was not allowed to register, was not denied the privilege on account of 'race color or previous condition of servitude,' but because he was not qualified under the laws of the State made applicable to all of her citizens, white and colored. The design was undoubtedly to limit the negro vote, and that is claimed to be a necessity, and whether just or unjust to the colored man appears to be so framed as to stand the constitutional test.
"In view of the discussion of the negro question, which is one of the problems yet before the country, we quote some pertinent remarks made by one of the ‘captains of industry in the South’ and reported recently in the New York Sun. John H. Kirby, of Houston, Texas, who is president of the great Kirby Lumber company, a native of the South, and thoroughly familiar with the situation there, was interviewed by a Sun correspondent. He touched rather upon the social than the political aspirations of the colored people, and said:
'The negro of ante-bellum days is the negro, who, unfortunately, is becoming only a small part of the black-skinned family in the South. Taught by their masters the proper lessons of humility and courtesy; taught a recognition of the social barriers which will forever bar the progress of the negro beyond the social environment which at present hedges his domain, the old slave negro and his children were well cared for, suffered no want, were faithful, industrious, and were a most important and component part of the South, as well as important and faithful factors in the individual white families of the South to whom 'Old Mammy' and 'Uncle Dave' were a part of the home life. They enjoyed the affection and trust of their superiors and returned an [sic] humble love and service which were practically unequalled in the history of all like conditions. I cannot say that I believe in the doctrine 'that education ruins the negro', for while it may unfit him in a sense for being a hewer of wood and a drawer of water, it should, if education means anything, force him to an intellectual condition wherein he should more firmly realize his position and recognize the inherent restrictions of his race in regard to the social conditions of mankind.
'There is a great deal of useless and harmful agitation in these discussions of the negro question, particularly by the papers of the North and East which reason by theory rather than by argument based upon even an average knowledge of the subject. The negro of the North is not the Negro of the South. His material environment differs absolutely, for, while the former is employed in occupations which keep him constantly and closely in touch with the dominant race, in the South he labors in the field and the farmyard and in channels of energy which, while controlled by the white man, do not necessarily mean an association in any sense other than that which exists between the employer and the employed. Because of the great preponderance of the negro race in the South the South should be let alone and permitted to determine the question by the ethics which govern the situation, viewed from the Southerner’s standpoint.
'In politics the negro has always been a disturbing feature, and is used by all parties, and in the main for vicious purposes. The negro was never intended to test the right of ballot. His enfranchisement was an error of judgment, and today, practically disenfranchised by legislative enactment in many of the States, he is content that such be the case, for I believe the race has little desire to meddle in questions the solution of which bears but immaterially upon his existence or upon his future. His official or social recognition by persons or officials in high places affects the negro more disastrously than it does the dominant race, while temporarily inducing a condition much to be regretted and which can have but one solution.'
"Mr. Kirby claims that in Texas the negro is denied none of his civil rights but at the same time he admits that, 'In Texas as in other of the Southern States, the negro is required to attend his own school, his own church, to ride in separate coaches on the railroads, to occupy separate waiting rooms in the railroad stations, and collectively to keep themselves separate and apart from their white friends who neither seek nor desire their society.'
"This will strike people in the North as carrying exclusiveness to an extreme, and drawing the line too sharply between the races, tending to foster that feeling of strife that sets them one against the other and occasions much of the trouble to be deplored. Yet we should not shut our eyes to the fact, that the Creator has made a distinction between white and colored human beings that indicates design as to their status, and there are physiological as well as religious reasons why their blood should not be intermingled. Thus there needs to be some wise restrictions in society, that each race may occupy the position for which it was designed and is adapted. The elevation of the colored race along possible lines, should be kept in view by the whites, and if this is pursued in the spirit of kindness and justice, the negro will not figure long as a 'problem' in these United States."
South African Mission Reopens
On July 25, 1903, following the conclusion of the Second Anglo-Boer War the previous year, the South African Mission was reopened after nearly forty years by Mission President Warren H. Lyon and Elders William R. Smith, Thomas L. Griffiths, and George A. Simpkins.
Death of Green Flake
A Salt Lake newspaper reported, "Green Flake, well known as a pioneer of 1847, died Tuesday, October 20, 1903, at the home of his son Abraham in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The deceased was one of the few colored men who accepted the faith of the Latter-day Saints in early days and who joined the pioneer band in its pilgrimage to the barren west. Mr. Flake first entered the Salt Lake Valley July 21, 1847, and resided here until after the death of his wife, when he moved to Gray's Lake, Idaho. He was 76 years of age [when he died] and a native of North Carolina. His wife died here 19 years ago and the body of her companion in life has been brought to this city where it will be laid beside her in the Union Cemetery. Father Flake leaves a son and a daughter, the latter, Mrs. Lucinda Stephens, who is now a resident of Teton Basin, Idaho. The deceased was a faithful Latter-day Saint, and to his dying day bore testimony to the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, with whose family he lived for a number of years prior to the Prophet's assassination. During these years Green's work was accepted as tithing."
Salvation for the Negro
On November 28, 1903 a Deseret News article said, "Some of our eastern contemporaries are copying, with comments more or less appropriate, a garbled report of some remarks said to have been made by a 'Mormon' speaker at the funeral of a colored man in this city. We paid no attention to the matter at the time of the publication of the account, because misrepresentation of the utterances of 'Mormon' preachers is a common occurrence in these parts, and is sometimes amusing, while at other times it is simply execrable. But when a solid public journal like the New York Evening Post indulges in a long repetition of the nonsense printed here, and sets it forth as held by the 'Mormon' Church, it appears to be time that something was said by way of correction and explanation. The Post commences by saying:
'Only one negro has ever entered heaven, and hereafter the gates of heaven are closed against the members of the black race. This is the latest doctrine promulgated by the Mormon Church, and the declaration announcing the doom of the colored race was made in a highly sensational manner by a high Mormon Church official during the funeral services of Eugene Burns, one of the most prominent colored men in Utah.' We announce, most positively, that 'the Mormon Church' has not promulgated any such 'doctrine' nor made any such 'announcement'. Nor do we believe that a member of the Church, to say nothing of 'a high Mormon Church official', entertains the notion set forth in the paragraph we have clipped from the New York Post. But if he should do so, that would not make it a doctrine of the Church, because it would run directly in opposition to established 'Mormon' teachings.
"There are a number of colored people belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who attend its services and partake of the sacrament of the Lord’s supper side by side with white members, and are proud to be numbered with the maligned 'Mormons'. They have every reason to anticipate a glory commensurate with their capacity and beyond anything that mortals can describe. We do not reproduce the stuff alleged to have been dealt out at the funeral reported, but simply state that it is not 'Mormon' doctrine, whether it was preached as published or not. This Church is not responsible for everything that may be spoken by one of its members or Elders. The speaker to whom the remarks are attributed is not a Patriarch, as reported, and holds no authority to promulgate doctrine except such as is held and recognized by the Church.
"While there is a distinction as to holding the Priesthood, between white and colored people in the 'Mormon' Church, and reasons for this have been revealed, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for 'every nation, kindred, tongue and people' on the earth, and through obedience to it, all mankind may be redeemed and will receive that degree of glory to which they become entitled through faithfulness, every man being 'judged according to his works.' Salvation is for all races and conditions of humanity, and all are the children of one Eternal Father, who desires that 'all may be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.' If our contemporaries who have copied the error here exposed will be just enough to correct it, they will be acting fairly with a Church which is constantly held up to obloquy [criticism] through the falsehoods circulated by its enemies."
Negroes and Heaven
On December 17 another article followed up: "'The funeral of a negro was being held in the First Baptist church at Salt Lake City when a prominent Mormon named Miner went into the pulpit and interrupted the ceremony, declaring that the dead man could not enter heaven. He said that an Ethiopian could not reach the state of exaltation necessary to entrance into heaven. His soul was doomed before his birth. There was only one negro in heaven, said he, and that was Joseph Smith’s servant.'
"We have already explained the subject referred to in the foregoing paragraph, which is taken from The Pathfinder, a religious paper published in Washington, D.C. Is it not strange that the religious publications in the United States never call attention to the truths set forth in 'Mormon' addresses and writings, but whenever there is an opportunity to vilify and misrepresent, they copy and repeat the falsehood till it is circulated throughout the land. And, no matter how clearly and positively such statements are refuted, they never have the fairness to correct the errors into which they have fallen or that they have wilfully invented. Now as to the paragraph from The Pathfinder: Elder Miner did NOT 'interrupt' the funeral ceremony, he was requested to make some remarks which he did; he did NOT declare 'the dead man could not enter heaven'; he did NOT say that 'an Ethiopian could not reach the state necessary to enter heaven'; he did NOT say 'his soul was doomed before his birth'; he did not say 'there was only one negro in heaven.'
"Every one of those assertions of The Pathfinder is untrue. Its story is like the description given by another religious journal of the crab; that is, 'A red fish that travels backward.' The criticism of a noted scientist was: 'The crab is not red, it is not a fish and it does not travel backward.' With these exceptions the description was pronounced correct. And so with the exceptions we have made to The Pathfinder’s negro story. But of course that paper is too religious to announce its mistake, and tell the public that the 'Mormons' do not believe any such rubbish as that which is attributed to them."
Next: The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1904-1907
'Only one negro has ever entered heaven, and hereafter the gates of heaven are closed against the members of the black race. This is the latest doctrine promulgated by the Mormon Church, and the declaration announcing the doom of the colored race was made in a highly sensational manner by a high Mormon Church official during the funeral services of Eugene Burns, one of the most prominent colored men in Utah.' We announce, most positively, that 'the Mormon Church' has not promulgated any such 'doctrine' nor made any such 'announcement'. Nor do we believe that a member of the Church, to say nothing of 'a high Mormon Church official', entertains the notion set forth in the paragraph we have clipped from the New York Post. But if he should do so, that would not make it a doctrine of the Church, because it would run directly in opposition to established 'Mormon' teachings.
"There are a number of colored people belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who attend its services and partake of the sacrament of the Lord’s supper side by side with white members, and are proud to be numbered with the maligned 'Mormons'. They have every reason to anticipate a glory commensurate with their capacity and beyond anything that mortals can describe. We do not reproduce the stuff alleged to have been dealt out at the funeral reported, but simply state that it is not 'Mormon' doctrine, whether it was preached as published or not. This Church is not responsible for everything that may be spoken by one of its members or Elders. The speaker to whom the remarks are attributed is not a Patriarch, as reported, and holds no authority to promulgate doctrine except such as is held and recognized by the Church.
"While there is a distinction as to holding the Priesthood, between white and colored people in the 'Mormon' Church, and reasons for this have been revealed, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for 'every nation, kindred, tongue and people' on the earth, and through obedience to it, all mankind may be redeemed and will receive that degree of glory to which they become entitled through faithfulness, every man being 'judged according to his works.' Salvation is for all races and conditions of humanity, and all are the children of one Eternal Father, who desires that 'all may be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.' If our contemporaries who have copied the error here exposed will be just enough to correct it, they will be acting fairly with a Church which is constantly held up to obloquy [criticism] through the falsehoods circulated by its enemies."
Negroes and Heaven
On December 17 another article followed up: "'The funeral of a negro was being held in the First Baptist church at Salt Lake City when a prominent Mormon named Miner went into the pulpit and interrupted the ceremony, declaring that the dead man could not enter heaven. He said that an Ethiopian could not reach the state of exaltation necessary to entrance into heaven. His soul was doomed before his birth. There was only one negro in heaven, said he, and that was Joseph Smith’s servant.'
"We have already explained the subject referred to in the foregoing paragraph, which is taken from The Pathfinder, a religious paper published in Washington, D.C. Is it not strange that the religious publications in the United States never call attention to the truths set forth in 'Mormon' addresses and writings, but whenever there is an opportunity to vilify and misrepresent, they copy and repeat the falsehood till it is circulated throughout the land. And, no matter how clearly and positively such statements are refuted, they never have the fairness to correct the errors into which they have fallen or that they have wilfully invented. Now as to the paragraph from The Pathfinder: Elder Miner did NOT 'interrupt' the funeral ceremony, he was requested to make some remarks which he did; he did NOT declare 'the dead man could not enter heaven'; he did NOT say that 'an Ethiopian could not reach the state necessary to enter heaven'; he did NOT say 'his soul was doomed before his birth'; he did not say 'there was only one negro in heaven.'
"Every one of those assertions of The Pathfinder is untrue. Its story is like the description given by another religious journal of the crab; that is, 'A red fish that travels backward.' The criticism of a noted scientist was: 'The crab is not red, it is not a fish and it does not travel backward.' With these exceptions the description was pronounced correct. And so with the exceptions we have made to The Pathfinder’s negro story. But of course that paper is too religious to announce its mistake, and tell the public that the 'Mormons' do not believe any such rubbish as that which is attributed to them."
Next: The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1904-1907
