Main Page: Latter-day Saint Racial History
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Previous: The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1913-1930
The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1931-1946
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The Way to Perfection
George McCready Price was a Seventh-day Adventist and self-trained "geologist" who rejected evolution as antithetical to God and became the father of modern creation science. In The Phantom of Organic Evolution, based on the writings of Ellen G. White, Mr. Price claimed that mixing between humans and animals had produced "degenerate or hybridized men" such as Negroes, Mongolians, and apes. God had sent Noah's flood to wipe these hybrids out and leave only the pure humans and animals, but after the Tower of Babel the cross-breeding began to occur again. Mr. Price achieved widespread notice when his theories were used by William Jennings Bryan during the Scopes Trial in 1925, and Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, also an adamant young-earth creationist, was enthralled with his work (though Elder James E. Talmage, a geologist, was not). In 1931, Elder Smith self-published his own book The Way to Perfection. On the priesthood ban, he wrote: |
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"We have learned through the word of the Lord to Abraham that spirits in the pre-existence were graded. That is, some were more intelligent than others, some more faithful, while some actually rebelled and lost their standing and the privilege of receiving the second estate... Among those who fell there must have been some superior intelligences. Lucifer, himself, was of this kind, and it was because of this that he was able to influence so many of his fellow spirits. How many were almost persuaded, were indifferent, and who sympathized with Lucifer, we do not know. The scriptures are silent on this point. It is a reasonable conclusion however, that there were many who did not stand valiantly with Michael in the great battle for the protection of the free agency and the plan for the merited exaltation of mankind, although they may not have openly rebelled. We may justify ourselves in this conclusion by several passages of scripture which seem to have a bearing on this thought. Man had his agency and because of it one-third of the hosts rebelled.
"We naturally conclude that others among the two-thirds did not show the loyalty to their Redeemer that they should. Their sin was not one that merited the extreme punishment which was inflicted on the devil and his angels. They were not denied the privilege of receiving the second estate, but were permitted to come to the earth-life with some restrictions placed upon them. That the Negro race, for instance, have been placed under restrictions because of their attitude in the world of spirits, few will doubt. It cannot be looked upon as just that they should be deprived of the power of the Priesthood without it being a punishment for some act, or acts, performed before they were born. Yet, like all other spirits who come into this world, they come innocent before God so far as mortal existence is concerned, and here, under certain restrictions, they may work out their second estate. If they prove faithful in this estate, without doubt, our Eternal Father, who is just and true, will reward them accordingly and there will be in store for them some blessings of exaltation...
"Not only was Cain called upon to suffer, but because of his wickedness he became the father of an inferior race. A curse was placed upon him and that curse has been continued through his lineage and must do so while time endures. Millions of souls have come into this world with black skin and have been denied the privilege of Priesthood and the fullness of the blessings of the Gospel. These are the descendants of Cain. Moreover, they have been made to feel their inferiority and have been separated from the rest of mankind from the beginning. Enoch saw the people of Canaan, descendants of Cain, and he says, 'and there was a blackness came upon all the children of Canaan, that they were despised among all people'... But what a contrast! The sons of Seth, Enoch and Noah honored by the blessings and rights of Priesthood!... And the sons of Cain, denied the Priesthood; not privileged to receive the covenants of glory in the kingdom of God!
"In justice it should be said that there have been among the seed of Cain many who have been honorable and who have lived according to the best light they had in this second estate. Let us pray that the Lord may bless them with some blessings of exaltation, if not the fullness, for their integrity here. In the spirit of sympathy, mercy and faith, we will hope that blessings may eventually be given to our Negro brethren, for they are our brethren - children of God - notwithstanding their black covering emblematic of eternal darkness...
"The name of Ham is also rather significant, for it means 'swarthy' or 'black'. It is possible that this is an appellation given to the third son of Noah because of the part he played in preserving through his lineage - and that most likely, as we have tried to show, through his wife Egyptus - the race of blacks upon whom the curse was placed... Ham, through Egyptus, continued the curse which was placed upon the seed of Cain. Because of that curse this dark race was separated and isolated from all the rest of Adam's posterity before the flood, and since that time the same condition has continued, and they have been 'despised among all people'. This doctrine did not originate with President Brigham Young but was taught by the Prophet Joseph Smith... we all know it is due to his teachings that the Negro today is barred from the Priesthood."
"We naturally conclude that others among the two-thirds did not show the loyalty to their Redeemer that they should. Their sin was not one that merited the extreme punishment which was inflicted on the devil and his angels. They were not denied the privilege of receiving the second estate, but were permitted to come to the earth-life with some restrictions placed upon them. That the Negro race, for instance, have been placed under restrictions because of their attitude in the world of spirits, few will doubt. It cannot be looked upon as just that they should be deprived of the power of the Priesthood without it being a punishment for some act, or acts, performed before they were born. Yet, like all other spirits who come into this world, they come innocent before God so far as mortal existence is concerned, and here, under certain restrictions, they may work out their second estate. If they prove faithful in this estate, without doubt, our Eternal Father, who is just and true, will reward them accordingly and there will be in store for them some blessings of exaltation...
"Not only was Cain called upon to suffer, but because of his wickedness he became the father of an inferior race. A curse was placed upon him and that curse has been continued through his lineage and must do so while time endures. Millions of souls have come into this world with black skin and have been denied the privilege of Priesthood and the fullness of the blessings of the Gospel. These are the descendants of Cain. Moreover, they have been made to feel their inferiority and have been separated from the rest of mankind from the beginning. Enoch saw the people of Canaan, descendants of Cain, and he says, 'and there was a blackness came upon all the children of Canaan, that they were despised among all people'... But what a contrast! The sons of Seth, Enoch and Noah honored by the blessings and rights of Priesthood!... And the sons of Cain, denied the Priesthood; not privileged to receive the covenants of glory in the kingdom of God!
"In justice it should be said that there have been among the seed of Cain many who have been honorable and who have lived according to the best light they had in this second estate. Let us pray that the Lord may bless them with some blessings of exaltation, if not the fullness, for their integrity here. In the spirit of sympathy, mercy and faith, we will hope that blessings may eventually be given to our Negro brethren, for they are our brethren - children of God - notwithstanding their black covering emblematic of eternal darkness...
"The name of Ham is also rather significant, for it means 'swarthy' or 'black'. It is possible that this is an appellation given to the third son of Noah because of the part he played in preserving through his lineage - and that most likely, as we have tried to show, through his wife Egyptus - the race of blacks upon whom the curse was placed... Ham, through Egyptus, continued the curse which was placed upon the seed of Cain. Because of that curse this dark race was separated and isolated from all the rest of Adam's posterity before the flood, and since that time the same condition has continued, and they have been 'despised among all people'. This doctrine did not originate with President Brigham Young but was taught by the Prophet Joseph Smith... we all know it is due to his teachings that the Negro today is barred from the Priesthood."
The Seed of Abel
Elijah Ables, son of Enoch Ables and grandson of the first Elijah Ables, was ordained a Priest on July 5, 1934 by J.C. Hogenson and an Elder on September 29, 1935 by Ruben S. Hill of the Logan Utah 10th Ward, continuing a family legacy of black priesthood holders. It is believed that many of Elijah Ables' descendants, already relatively light-skinned, married into white families and and lost their blackness over the generations. It may be a testament to God's sense of humor that while early church leaders believed that the "seed of Abel" would need to receive the priesthood before the "curse of Cain" could be lifted, the descendants of a man named Abel (though his original surname was "Ables", it was misspelled by virtually everyone) were among the very few black men to receive the priesthood between 1847 and 1978.
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Ethiopian Invasion
On October 3, 1935, Italian forces led by General Emilio de Bono invaded Ethiopia and began the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. In that month's General Conference, Elder David O. McKay said, "What a different world this would be if men would accumulate wealth, for example, not as an end but as a means of blessing human beings and improving human relations. A Christian conception of the right and value of a human soul, even though his skin be dark, would have prevented the slaughter that is at this moment being perpetuated in Ethiopia." |
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The poorly equipped Ethiopian armies were quickly defeated and their country was annexed, though guerrilla warfare continued.
Len and Mary Hope
In 1954 Elder Mark E. Petersen recalled, "Some years ago, back in 1936 to be exact, I became acquainted with a Negro family in Cincinnati, Ohio. I was back there for three months in connection with a newspaper assignment [for the Deseret News]. I went to Church there and became acquainted with the family of a Negro man named Len Hope. Accidentally he had found some of our tracts when he lived down in Mississippi. He read them and became interested. He wrote to the mission headquarters for a Book of Mormon, and by his own study, converted himself. Later he met the Elders and joined the Church [on June 22, 1919]. Then he joined the army in the first World War. When he came back, having carried a Book of Mormon with him all through the war and studied it carefully he converted his Negro sweetheart whom he married and she was baptized [on September 15, 1925]. Then they moved up to Cincinnati to escape the 'Jim Crow' law. Up in Cincinnati, some of the members of the Church became extremely prejudiced against this Negro family. They met in a group, decided what to do and went to the Branch President, and said that either the Hope family must leave or they would all leave. The Branch President ruled that Brother Hope and his family could not come to Church meetings. It broke their hearts. But, the missionaries went out to the Hope home and there conducted Sunday School every Sunday, and served them the Sacrament."
Loran Stephenson, Mary Hope's bishop at the time of her death, recalled her story about the branch president during this incident. "I don't know anything about him other than the fact that she called him Brother Anderson. Brother Anderson was red-eyed; he was just crying. He told them that this was the hardest visit that he had ever to anybody in his life. He would rather give up his right arm than to have to make this call, but there were objections in the branch to them attending church because they were black." When asked if they had been forbidden from attending church Elder Marion D. Hanks, who had served a mission in the area and known the family, said "No, I think it was more subtle than that. It was just understood. It had been made known to them that they were not to be there."
Elder Petersen's story continued, "I had the privilege of visiting with the Hope family. I was in their home. I saw how their song book had been literally worn out and likewise their Doctrine and Covenants and Book of Mormon. As soon as I got to my hotel that Sunday afternoon, I wrote home to my wife and had her send them a supply of books. They were very faithful people. Brother Hope died just a little while ago. He was a man who was as thoroughly converted to the Gospel as any one I know. He was a full tithe payer all through the depression. He earned the most meager kind of living, but he never failed to pay his tithing. The Branch President showed me the tithing records, and all through the depression Brother Hope paid $1.50 a week. It was a full tithing. Sometimes Brother Hope didn't even have that, so he went into the hills and picked berries and sold them on the streets of Cincinnati to get enough money to pay that $1.50 tithing.
"And then Brother Hope told me, as a testimony, that in the Negro area of Cincinnati where he lived, during the depression he didn't know of one man who had a job. But he said, 'I had a job. I paid my tithing and during that whole depression, I didn't lose one day's work. Sometimes I didn't make much money on that day, and I did have to go out into the hills and get berries, but I always had an income.' Brother Hope asked me if it would be possible for him to have baptisms for the dead done in the temple on behalf of members of his family who had passed on. I went to President [Joseph Fielding] Smith and he said, 'Yes, you get their records and we will take them over to the temple and have the baptisms done for them.' I did, and we performed vicarious baptisms for these Negroes. Only the baptisms and confirmations - nothing else, but we did that much. [Evidently by this time the policy of allowing black people to perform baptisms for the dead had been reversed.] Again I thought of the great mercy of Almighty God, and how He is willing to lift people up if they do their part."
Loran Stephenson, Mary Hope's bishop at the time of her death, recalled her story about the branch president during this incident. "I don't know anything about him other than the fact that she called him Brother Anderson. Brother Anderson was red-eyed; he was just crying. He told them that this was the hardest visit that he had ever to anybody in his life. He would rather give up his right arm than to have to make this call, but there were objections in the branch to them attending church because they were black." When asked if they had been forbidden from attending church Elder Marion D. Hanks, who had served a mission in the area and known the family, said "No, I think it was more subtle than that. It was just understood. It had been made known to them that they were not to be there."
Elder Petersen's story continued, "I had the privilege of visiting with the Hope family. I was in their home. I saw how their song book had been literally worn out and likewise their Doctrine and Covenants and Book of Mormon. As soon as I got to my hotel that Sunday afternoon, I wrote home to my wife and had her send them a supply of books. They were very faithful people. Brother Hope died just a little while ago. He was a man who was as thoroughly converted to the Gospel as any one I know. He was a full tithe payer all through the depression. He earned the most meager kind of living, but he never failed to pay his tithing. The Branch President showed me the tithing records, and all through the depression Brother Hope paid $1.50 a week. It was a full tithing. Sometimes Brother Hope didn't even have that, so he went into the hills and picked berries and sold them on the streets of Cincinnati to get enough money to pay that $1.50 tithing.
"And then Brother Hope told me, as a testimony, that in the Negro area of Cincinnati where he lived, during the depression he didn't know of one man who had a job. But he said, 'I had a job. I paid my tithing and during that whole depression, I didn't lose one day's work. Sometimes I didn't make much money on that day, and I did have to go out into the hills and get berries, but I always had an income.' Brother Hope asked me if it would be possible for him to have baptisms for the dead done in the temple on behalf of members of his family who had passed on. I went to President [Joseph Fielding] Smith and he said, 'Yes, you get their records and we will take them over to the temple and have the baptisms done for them.' I did, and we performed vicarious baptisms for these Negroes. Only the baptisms and confirmations - nothing else, but we did that much. [Evidently by this time the policy of allowing black people to perform baptisms for the dead had been reversed.] Again I thought of the great mercy of Almighty God, and how He is willing to lift people up if they do their part."
Abner Howell
Abner Howell's letter to Kate B. Carter continues, "I did not go to church much until I was married and my first child was old enough to be baptized. My wife and I were baptized [in 1921] and then was when I became active in the Church and have been ever since. I knew President Grant since I was a boy, and always liked him because he used to let me in the baseball games when he used to play 2nd base on the team. Then in 1902 he took 50 missionaries to organize the Japanese Mission. I was the porter on the car that took them to Portland, Oregon. When he left me there he told me about living a good straight life and then our paths did not cross anymore until 1936 when he was President of the Church, and had started the church welfare plan and I began to work for the Church. I helped build all the buildings in the welfare center. I did other work for the Church; I tore down the last of the old tithing office. It was while working there that he gave me this letter that I will copy:
'Dear Brother Howell, The Presidency has been delighted with the splendid work that you have done in tearing down the old tithing office building, and in order to express a little appreciation I am giving myself the pleasure of handing you a copy of the little pamphlet that I issued during the holiday entitled 'Treasures I would Share.' I am also handing you a copy of a book entitled 'The Power of Truth.' While I was in England I purchased 4500 copies of the book and the copyright. I consider the first, second, and last paragraphs of the first article in this book as fine as almost anything I have read. Wishing you abundant success in the battle of life, I remain, Heber J. Grant.' This has always increased my faith, to think that such a man would think of me as one of his 4500 friends. I have not the time to write just what he wanted me to read, but it is the best of advice. That was in 1936-1939 when I spent those happy days working for the Church."
'Dear Brother Howell, The Presidency has been delighted with the splendid work that you have done in tearing down the old tithing office building, and in order to express a little appreciation I am giving myself the pleasure of handing you a copy of the little pamphlet that I issued during the holiday entitled 'Treasures I would Share.' I am also handing you a copy of a book entitled 'The Power of Truth.' While I was in England I purchased 4500 copies of the book and the copyright. I consider the first, second, and last paragraphs of the first article in this book as fine as almost anything I have read. Wishing you abundant success in the battle of life, I remain, Heber J. Grant.' This has always increased my faith, to think that such a man would think of me as one of his 4500 friends. I have not the time to write just what he wanted me to read, but it is the best of advice. That was in 1936-1939 when I spent those happy days working for the Church."
Death of William Paul Daniels
The October 1936 issue of Cumorah's Southern Messenger, the South African church newsletter, said, "A pang of sorrow at the parting will be in the hearts of many that read of the passing of that noble soul, William P. Daniels, who died at Stellenbosch, Cape, on the 13th of October, in his 72nd year. A very fitting tribute was paid to his memory in the service held at 'Cumorah,' on the 14th, and his Elders carried him for the last time from 'Cumorah,' the place that he loved so well. In order to satisfy his own mind and conscience when Brother Daniels first came in contact with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he determined to go to Utah and obtain first-hand knowledge of the claims of this Church. His visit to Utah resulted in his baptism into the Church on the and he returned to his home in Cape Town with a sincere testimony of the truth of the Gospel.
"His life since his return to his native country has been an attempt to put into practice what he accepted with heart and soul as the Truth. He has been an example of faith, love and devotion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His home has always been a shrine of hospitality and the new missionaries' introduction into the missionary work was started with one of those famous Daniels' dinners, including the 'Penguin eggs.' Scores of missionaries have been in his home to partake of the sweet spirit which won for the little branch the name, 'The Branch of Love.' Peace be to his soul! He welcomed the opportunity of passing on to his new estate. When the books are opened it will be found that he merits a rich reward. May the comforting influence of the Holy Spirit be with his dear wife and his family and may they continue worthy of the blessings that he pronounced upon their heads as he quietly passed to the spirit world. - B. "
One-Eighth Negro
The Council Minutes of October 29, 1936 relate: "Letter read from President W. Francis Bailey of the Hawaiian Mission stating that Brother William Pakale, a priest, and Brother John L. Pea, who have recently been discovered to be one-eighth negro, have heretofore officiated in some baptisms and other ordinances. President Bailey asks for a ruling as to what should be done in such cases. After some discussion of the matter, Elder Stephen L. Richards moved that the matter be referred to Elder George Albert Smith, who will attend the approaching Oahu Stake Conference, with instructions that in the event he should find that a considerable number of people are involved, we assuming the authority was given to those brethren to officiate in these ordinances, that ratification of their acts be authorized. In the event he should discover that there are only one or two affected, and that the matter can be readily taken care of, it may be advisable to have re-baptism performed. Motion seconded by Brother [Melvin J.] Ballard and unanimously approved."
General Conference
On April 7, 1939, Elder George F. Richards said in General Conference, "The negro is an unfortunate man. He has been given a black skin. But that is nothing compared with that greater handicap that he is not permitted to receive the Priesthood and the ordinances of the temple, necessary to prepare men and women to enter into and enjoy a fullness of glory in the celestial kingdom. What is the reason for this condition, we ask, and I find it to my satisfaction to think that as spirit children of our Eternal Father they were not valiant in the fight. We are told that Michael and his angels fought, and we understand that we stood with Christ our Lord, on the platform, 'Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever'. I cannot conceive our Father consigning his children to a condition such as that of the negro race, if they had been valiant in the spirit world in that war in heaven. Neither could they have been a part of those who rebelled and were cast down, for the latter had not the privilege of tabernacling in the flesh. Somewhere along the line were these spirits, indifferent perhaps, and possibly neutral in the war. We have no definite knowledge concerning this. But I learn this lesson from it, brothers and sisters, and I believe we all should, that it does not pay in religious matters, matters that concern our eternal salvation, to be indifferent, neutral, or lukewarm."
This was the first and only instance when the "less valiant in the premortal existence" theory was even mentioned in General Conference. On this occasion Elder Richards made explicit multiple times that he was speaking his personal opinion, though he was evidently unaware that Brigham Young had repudiated the "neutrality" variation of the theory. Although the theory was often implicitly treated by leaders and members as a doctrine, this brief mention demonstrated that it was not.
"His life since his return to his native country has been an attempt to put into practice what he accepted with heart and soul as the Truth. He has been an example of faith, love and devotion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His home has always been a shrine of hospitality and the new missionaries' introduction into the missionary work was started with one of those famous Daniels' dinners, including the 'Penguin eggs.' Scores of missionaries have been in his home to partake of the sweet spirit which won for the little branch the name, 'The Branch of Love.' Peace be to his soul! He welcomed the opportunity of passing on to his new estate. When the books are opened it will be found that he merits a rich reward. May the comforting influence of the Holy Spirit be with his dear wife and his family and may they continue worthy of the blessings that he pronounced upon their heads as he quietly passed to the spirit world. - B. "
One-Eighth Negro
The Council Minutes of October 29, 1936 relate: "Letter read from President W. Francis Bailey of the Hawaiian Mission stating that Brother William Pakale, a priest, and Brother John L. Pea, who have recently been discovered to be one-eighth negro, have heretofore officiated in some baptisms and other ordinances. President Bailey asks for a ruling as to what should be done in such cases. After some discussion of the matter, Elder Stephen L. Richards moved that the matter be referred to Elder George Albert Smith, who will attend the approaching Oahu Stake Conference, with instructions that in the event he should find that a considerable number of people are involved, we assuming the authority was given to those brethren to officiate in these ordinances, that ratification of their acts be authorized. In the event he should discover that there are only one or two affected, and that the matter can be readily taken care of, it may be advisable to have re-baptism performed. Motion seconded by Brother [Melvin J.] Ballard and unanimously approved."
General Conference
On April 7, 1939, Elder George F. Richards said in General Conference, "The negro is an unfortunate man. He has been given a black skin. But that is nothing compared with that greater handicap that he is not permitted to receive the Priesthood and the ordinances of the temple, necessary to prepare men and women to enter into and enjoy a fullness of glory in the celestial kingdom. What is the reason for this condition, we ask, and I find it to my satisfaction to think that as spirit children of our Eternal Father they were not valiant in the fight. We are told that Michael and his angels fought, and we understand that we stood with Christ our Lord, on the platform, 'Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever'. I cannot conceive our Father consigning his children to a condition such as that of the negro race, if they had been valiant in the spirit world in that war in heaven. Neither could they have been a part of those who rebelled and were cast down, for the latter had not the privilege of tabernacling in the flesh. Somewhere along the line were these spirits, indifferent perhaps, and possibly neutral in the war. We have no definite knowledge concerning this. But I learn this lesson from it, brothers and sisters, and I believe we all should, that it does not pay in religious matters, matters that concern our eternal salvation, to be indifferent, neutral, or lukewarm."
This was the first and only instance when the "less valiant in the premortal existence" theory was even mentioned in General Conference. On this occasion Elder Richards made explicit multiple times that he was speaking his personal opinion, though he was evidently unaware that Brigham Young had repudiated the "neutrality" variation of the theory. Although the theory was often implicitly treated by leaders and members as a doctrine, this brief mention demonstrated that it was not.
Conundrum in Brazil
After the Church's arrival in Brazil, it mostly proselyted among Germans and other immigrants rather than the native Portuguese-speaking population. One probable reason for this was that Native American, European, and African lineages were so intertwined as to make determining priesthood eligibility a difficult and time-consuming process. However, when World War II broke out the Brazilian government outlawed German-based organizations, and the missionaries were forced to turn their attention to the Portuguese-speakers who would provide a foundation for much greater growth in the future. A special lesson was adopted in addition to the standard ones, which discussed priesthood eligibility in a doctrinal and historical context, and missionaries often helped prospective converts look through family photo albums for evidence of African ancestry.
Mission presidents had great autonomy from the General Authorities, both in applying the priesthood ban on a case-by-case basis and in dealing with the inevitable errors when they were discovered. Approaches varied widely. Some cases were ignored or procrastinated indefinitely, while others had their priesthood suspended.An intermediate solution was to suspend a man's priesthood for formal ecclesiastical functions, but continue allowing him to exercise it within his own home.
Negro Blood
The Council Minutes of January 25, 1940, record that "Attention was brought to a postscript on a letter from President Roscoe C. Cox of the Hawaiian Mission, calling attention to a recommendation he had received for ordination of two boys to the office of Deacon, the mother of these boys having some Negro blood in her veins. President Clark explained that this matter has come up at various times in the past, that is the question of what should be done with those people who are faithful in the Church who are supposed to have some Negro blood in their veins.
"President Clark said at his request the clerk of the Council had copied from the old records of the Council discussions that have been had in the past on this subject. He said that he was positive that it was impossible with reference to the Brazilians to tell those who have Negro blood and those who have not, and we are baptizing these people into the Church. The question also arises pertaining to the people in South Africa where we are doing missionary work, and in the Southern States, also in the islands of the Pacific. President Clark suggested that this matter be referred to the Twelve who might appoint a sub-committee to go into the matter with great care and make some ruling or re-affirm whatever ruling has been made on this question in the past as to whether or not one drop of negro blood deprives a man of the right to receive the priesthood. Brother [John A.] Widtsoe moved the adoption of President Clark's suggestion. Motion seconded and unanimously approved."
South African Mission
In November 1940, the vulnerability of Britain's overseas holdings and the recent Japanese occupation of French Indochina motivated the First Presidency to reassign all foreign missionaries in the South Pacific and South Africa. South African Mission President Richard E. Folland and his family were allowed to stay, however, as were the few local missionaries. They traveled the country as much as wartime restrictions would allow and made sure the local church organizations remained staffed and functioning. Proselyting continued but was severely curtailed.
Mission presidents had great autonomy from the General Authorities, both in applying the priesthood ban on a case-by-case basis and in dealing with the inevitable errors when they were discovered. Approaches varied widely. Some cases were ignored or procrastinated indefinitely, while others had their priesthood suspended.An intermediate solution was to suspend a man's priesthood for formal ecclesiastical functions, but continue allowing him to exercise it within his own home.
Negro Blood
The Council Minutes of January 25, 1940, record that "Attention was brought to a postscript on a letter from President Roscoe C. Cox of the Hawaiian Mission, calling attention to a recommendation he had received for ordination of two boys to the office of Deacon, the mother of these boys having some Negro blood in her veins. President Clark explained that this matter has come up at various times in the past, that is the question of what should be done with those people who are faithful in the Church who are supposed to have some Negro blood in their veins.
"President Clark said at his request the clerk of the Council had copied from the old records of the Council discussions that have been had in the past on this subject. He said that he was positive that it was impossible with reference to the Brazilians to tell those who have Negro blood and those who have not, and we are baptizing these people into the Church. The question also arises pertaining to the people in South Africa where we are doing missionary work, and in the Southern States, also in the islands of the Pacific. President Clark suggested that this matter be referred to the Twelve who might appoint a sub-committee to go into the matter with great care and make some ruling or re-affirm whatever ruling has been made on this question in the past as to whether or not one drop of negro blood deprives a man of the right to receive the priesthood. Brother [John A.] Widtsoe moved the adoption of President Clark's suggestion. Motion seconded and unanimously approved."
South African Mission
In November 1940, the vulnerability of Britain's overseas holdings and the recent Japanese occupation of French Indochina motivated the First Presidency to reassign all foreign missionaries in the South Pacific and South Africa. South African Mission President Richard E. Folland and his family were allowed to stay, however, as were the few local missionaries. They traveled the country as much as wartime restrictions would allow and made sure the local church organizations remained staffed and functioning. Proselyting continued but was severely curtailed.
Len and Mary Hope
The Hopes with young missionary Marion D. Hanks.
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By the early 1940s the Hope family, though still unwelcome in their Cincinnati branch, were allowed to attend district conferences. Elder Marion D. Hanks, then a local missionary who brought them the sacrament and stayed in their home while he was sick, recalled that some members avoided greeting the Hopes because they "were not advanced in their sense of the value of other human beings but geared that to their own sense of ethnic purity and color." At the time he "felt some defensiveness. I used to go stand by them while the guests arrived with other missionaries... I was not able to accommodate other people's sense of propriety in trying to keep black people away.
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"One interesting thing about the Hopes not being accepted at the normal worship service in the Cincinnati, Ohio, branch of the one true church was they held a meeting at the Hope home every first Sunday of the month. There would be a testimony meeting and an instruction period followed by a meal which the Hopes would prepare for those who came... When I learned of that, I began attending immediately. For nearly a year in Cincinnati, I spent my first Sunday afternoons at the Hope home. They would bear testimony in order from Len, Mary, Rose, down to Vernon who could barely talk."
Mary Hope's last bishop before her death, Loran Stephenson, said that "I never sensed any kind of frustration, impatience, or resentment of any kind" about the years of being cut off from the congregation, although "I could tell from Sister Hope's expression that she was disappointed that they could not attend church. They would have loved to have been Latter-day Saints in a full sense."
Mary Hope's last bishop before her death, Loran Stephenson, said that "I never sensed any kind of frustration, impatience, or resentment of any kind" about the years of being cut off from the congregation, although "I could tell from Sister Hope's expression that she was disappointed that they could not attend church. They would have loved to have been Latter-day Saints in a full sense."
Colored Sisters in D.C.
On June 23, 1942, the First Presidency wrote to President Ezra Taft Benson of the Washington D.C. Stake, "Dear President Benson: Through the General Board of the Relief Society, who reported to the Presiding Bishopric, and they to us, it comes to us that you have in the Capitol Ward in Washington two colored sisters who apparently are faithful members of the Church. The report comes to us that prior to a meeting which was to be held between the Relief Societies of the Washington Ward and the Capitol Ward, Bishop Brossard of the Washington Ward called up the President of the Relief Society of the Capitol Ward and told her that these two colored sisters should not be permitted to attend because the President of the Capitol Ward Relief Society failed to carry out the request made of her by the Bishop of the other ward.
"We can appreciate that the situation may present a problem in Washington, but President Clark recalls that in the Catholic churches in Washington at the time he lived there, colored and white communicants used the same church at the same time. He never entered the church to see how the matter was carried out, but he knew that the facts were as stated. From this fact we are assuming that there is not in Washington any such feeling as exists in the South where the colored people are apparently not permitted by their white brethren and sisters to come into the meeting houses and worship with them. We feel that we cannot refuse baptism to a colored person who is otherwise worthy, and we feel that we cannot refuse to permit these people to come into our meeting houses and worship once we baptize them.
"It seems to us that it ought to be possible to work this situation out without causing any feelings on the part of anybody. If the white sisters feel that they may not sit with them or near them, we feel very sure that if the colored sisters were discreetly approached, they would be happy to sit at one side in the rear or somewhere where they would not wound the sensibilities of the complaining sisters. We will rely upon your tact and discretion to work this out so as not to hurt the feelings on the part of anyone. Of course, probably each one of the sisters who can afford it, has a colored maid in her house to do the work and to do the cooking for her, and it would seem that under these circumstances they should be willing to let them sit in Church and worship with them.
"Faithfully your brethren,
Heber J. Grant
J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
David O. McKay"
RLDS Segregation
In 1943, in an article in the Saints' Herald, the Presiding Patriarch of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day [sic] Saints (later Community of Christ) called for improved race relations in the United States. Nonetheless, he continued the church's policy of conceding to the inevitability of segregation, writing "If and when we make a real effort to proselyte among colored people we will find it wiser to keep congregations separated according to their color until there comes better general adjustment."
Russell Jensen
One day during World War II, several white American soldiers were talking and eating in the mess hall when a black man walked in. All of them got up and left, with the exception of a Latter-day Saint from Idaho named Russell Jensen. Brother Jensen bought the man a soda and sat and talked with him for a while. Later, when Brother Jensen's ankle was sprained and a cruel superior officer was making him carry heavy loads anyway, the man showed up and helped him out. This story will not be found in any history book but I share it as a matter of personal pride, because Russell Jensen is my great-grandfather.
Deseret Gymnasium
M. Lynn Bennion recounted that also during World War II, "As a member of the USO [United Services Organizations] Council I asked President McKay if the Church-owned Deseret Gymnasium could be opened to the soldiers just as the YMCAs all over the country had opened their doors. President McKay's quick response was: 'Yes, their uniform will be their entrance ticket.' At the next Council meeting I was informed that some of our soldiers had been turned away by the gymnasium authorities. President McKay inquired and was told that they were negro soldiers and that business men in town, who used the gym would not tolerate swimming with negroes. He asked me to try to 'smooth the matter over', a painful task for me. At the time black soldiers had their own USO location in Salt Lake City. I was disappointed in President McKay's not taking a stronger stand."
"We can appreciate that the situation may present a problem in Washington, but President Clark recalls that in the Catholic churches in Washington at the time he lived there, colored and white communicants used the same church at the same time. He never entered the church to see how the matter was carried out, but he knew that the facts were as stated. From this fact we are assuming that there is not in Washington any such feeling as exists in the South where the colored people are apparently not permitted by their white brethren and sisters to come into the meeting houses and worship with them. We feel that we cannot refuse baptism to a colored person who is otherwise worthy, and we feel that we cannot refuse to permit these people to come into our meeting houses and worship once we baptize them.
"It seems to us that it ought to be possible to work this situation out without causing any feelings on the part of anybody. If the white sisters feel that they may not sit with them or near them, we feel very sure that if the colored sisters were discreetly approached, they would be happy to sit at one side in the rear or somewhere where they would not wound the sensibilities of the complaining sisters. We will rely upon your tact and discretion to work this out so as not to hurt the feelings on the part of anyone. Of course, probably each one of the sisters who can afford it, has a colored maid in her house to do the work and to do the cooking for her, and it would seem that under these circumstances they should be willing to let them sit in Church and worship with them.
"Faithfully your brethren,
Heber J. Grant
J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
David O. McKay"
RLDS Segregation
In 1943, in an article in the Saints' Herald, the Presiding Patriarch of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day [sic] Saints (later Community of Christ) called for improved race relations in the United States. Nonetheless, he continued the church's policy of conceding to the inevitability of segregation, writing "If and when we make a real effort to proselyte among colored people we will find it wiser to keep congregations separated according to their color until there comes better general adjustment."
Russell Jensen
One day during World War II, several white American soldiers were talking and eating in the mess hall when a black man walked in. All of them got up and left, with the exception of a Latter-day Saint from Idaho named Russell Jensen. Brother Jensen bought the man a soda and sat and talked with him for a while. Later, when Brother Jensen's ankle was sprained and a cruel superior officer was making him carry heavy loads anyway, the man showed up and helped him out. This story will not be found in any history book but I share it as a matter of personal pride, because Russell Jensen is my great-grandfather.
Deseret Gymnasium
M. Lynn Bennion recounted that also during World War II, "As a member of the USO [United Services Organizations] Council I asked President McKay if the Church-owned Deseret Gymnasium could be opened to the soldiers just as the YMCAs all over the country had opened their doors. President McKay's quick response was: 'Yes, their uniform will be their entrance ticket.' At the next Council meeting I was informed that some of our soldiers had been turned away by the gymnasium authorities. President McKay inquired and was told that they were negro soldiers and that business men in town, who used the gym would not tolerate swimming with negroes. He asked me to try to 'smooth the matter over', a painful task for me. At the time black soldiers had their own USO location in Salt Lake City. I was disappointed in President McKay's not taking a stronger stand."
George Albert Smith Becomes the Prophet
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President Heber J. Grant died on May 14, 1945, of heart failure caused by arteriosclerosis. George Albert Smith was ordained on May 25 to succeed him. Like President Grant, President Smith had never publicly expressed his personal views on black people or the priesthood ban, and did not do so now as the prophet, but it was during his tenure that some members began questioning the ban (before then, most had never heard of it) and he issued the first official First Presidency statement on the subject. This statement is usually cited incompletely and appears to declare as a doctrine that black people were less valiant in the premortal existence, but taken in full, as shown later on, it did nothing of the sort.
No Master Race |
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In the 1946 edition of his book Evidences and Reconciliations: Aids to Faith in a Modern Day, Apostle John A. Widtsoe wrote "The Nazi betrayers of Germany declared that the Germans are a 'master race,' to whom other nations should be subservient. Indeed, the German word herrenvolk, used freely during the late war, connotes a people which has serfs, upon whose toil the herrenvolk live in luxury. This stupid and insolent claim originated in some conceited brain several generations ago. It was not, at first, taken seriously by the German people. But it had such appeal to human vanity that it was fanned into popular favor by several philosophers. At least one of these, the most often quoted (Nietzsche), was of unsound mind. Hitler, himself mentally ill, used the doctrine of German superiority over all other peoples as a bulwark for his incredibly insane, inhuman ideas which threw the whole world into horrible, bloody warfare. The recent military defeat of the axis powers has laid low for the time being, it is hoped forever, the untenable notion of German superiority among the nations.
"Belief in a 'master race' is an evidence of ignorance of the long history of man on earth. The procession through the ages of Egypt, Babylon, Greece, the various nations of Europe, and many others, refutes the doctrine of the final superiority in any one nation. However, when power came into the hands of these ignorant and mentally oblique proponents of the 'master race' theory, they entered into this unhappy war much as a goat butts its head against a solid wall. Ignorance is blind. Human experience has shown that in all peoples, even in those whom we call semi-civilized or barbarian, lie powers of body, mind, and spirit, which may be developed to match our most 'civilized' attainments. Cultivation of these gifts, under the further influence of environment and heredity, will lift men of every land and clime into greater power. It may take longer with some than with others, because of their stage of development, but the possibility of growth is there. As a mass, in innate qualities, there is little difference among races...
"The 'master race' claims are sheer poppycock, used by characterless men to further their own interests. There has never been a monopoly of mastery in human achievement by any one nation. To claim so is simply to allow the lawless nationalism to run wild... The 'master race' doctrine of the late war was an ugly delusion, conceived by the powers of evil, whose prince is Satan, the devil." Though the status of black people in the United States had slowly yet substantially improved through the decades since the Civil War, World War II served as a wakeup call that drastically accelerated the process. First, the atrocities of Nazi Germany against Jews and other minorities forced Americans to recognize the consequences of racism taken to its extreme, and by extension to take notice of the more subtle consequences of racism in their own nation. Second, black men in the military - particularly the fighter pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen - had once again proven that their bravery and valor in combat could equal or exceed that of their white comrades.
Interracial Marriage
On June 8, 1946 President J. Reuben Clark gave a speech called "Plain Talk to Girls", later reported in the Improvement Era, and said, "We should hate nobody, and having said that, I wish to urge a word of caution, particularly to you young girls. It is sought today in certain quarters to break down all race prejudice, and at the end of the road, which they who urge this see, is intermarriage. This is what it finally comes to. Now, you should hate nobody; you should give to every man and every woman, no matter what the color of his or her skin may be, full civil rights. You should treat them as brothers and sisters, but do not ever let that wicked virus get into your systems that brotherhood either permits or entitles you to mix races which are inconsistent. Biologically, it is wrong; spiritually, it is wrong."
"Belief in a 'master race' is an evidence of ignorance of the long history of man on earth. The procession through the ages of Egypt, Babylon, Greece, the various nations of Europe, and many others, refutes the doctrine of the final superiority in any one nation. However, when power came into the hands of these ignorant and mentally oblique proponents of the 'master race' theory, they entered into this unhappy war much as a goat butts its head against a solid wall. Ignorance is blind. Human experience has shown that in all peoples, even in those whom we call semi-civilized or barbarian, lie powers of body, mind, and spirit, which may be developed to match our most 'civilized' attainments. Cultivation of these gifts, under the further influence of environment and heredity, will lift men of every land and clime into greater power. It may take longer with some than with others, because of their stage of development, but the possibility of growth is there. As a mass, in innate qualities, there is little difference among races...
"The 'master race' claims are sheer poppycock, used by characterless men to further their own interests. There has never been a monopoly of mastery in human achievement by any one nation. To claim so is simply to allow the lawless nationalism to run wild... The 'master race' doctrine of the late war was an ugly delusion, conceived by the powers of evil, whose prince is Satan, the devil." Though the status of black people in the United States had slowly yet substantially improved through the decades since the Civil War, World War II served as a wakeup call that drastically accelerated the process. First, the atrocities of Nazi Germany against Jews and other minorities forced Americans to recognize the consequences of racism taken to its extreme, and by extension to take notice of the more subtle consequences of racism in their own nation. Second, black men in the military - particularly the fighter pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen - had once again proven that their bravery and valor in combat could equal or exceed that of their white comrades.
Interracial Marriage
On June 8, 1946 President J. Reuben Clark gave a speech called "Plain Talk to Girls", later reported in the Improvement Era, and said, "We should hate nobody, and having said that, I wish to urge a word of caution, particularly to you young girls. It is sought today in certain quarters to break down all race prejudice, and at the end of the road, which they who urge this see, is intermarriage. This is what it finally comes to. Now, you should hate nobody; you should give to every man and every woman, no matter what the color of his or her skin may be, full civil rights. You should treat them as brothers and sisters, but do not ever let that wicked virus get into your systems that brotherhood either permits or entitles you to mix races which are inconsistent. Biologically, it is wrong; spiritually, it is wrong."
Interest from West Africa
The Council Minutes of October 24, 1946 record "Letter read from June B. Sharp of the South African Mission regarding a letter that has been forwarded to him by the office of the First Presidency and the correspondence that President Sharp had had with O.J. Umordak of Afaha Ofiong, Mbiaso Post Office, Uyo District, Nigeria, in which Mr. Umordak pleads for missionaries to be sent to Nigeria and also asks for literature regarding the Church. These people are Africans of the black race. President Sharp asks if he should comply with [the] man's request to send literature to him. After some discussion regarding our responsibility in proclaiming the Gospel to the world, Council decided to give the matter further consideration before making reply." This was the first known instance of someone in West Africa learning about the Church, gaining a testimony, and requesting the Church's establishment in his land. For a few years it was the only such instance, but soon the requests for missionaries and literature would deluge church headquarters and demand a solution.
Next: The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1947
Next: The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1947
