Main Page: Latter-day Saint Racial History
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Previous: The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1931-1946
The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1947
In late 1946 a Utah Senate Committee, named the "Selvin Committe" after its chair Sol J. Selvin, was established to investigate discrimination against minorities in Utah's hotel and restaurant industries. Questionnaires were distributed to employers, trade union officials, government officials, and employees. The committee reported in January 1947 that "there is a substantial body of unfair and discriminatory practices in the state's industry, which operates to deny minority groups among our citizens equal rights to gainful employment." The committee recommended a law to reduce some of these policies, and one was enacted the following year, but did little to combat de facto segregation.
The Council Minutes of January 30, 1947, record "Letter read from President A. Reed Halverson of the New Zealand Mission stating that there has been an instance or two in the mission where men with a trace of Negro blood have been ordained to the Priesthood and are now taking part. He asks whether or not a person who has colored blood in his veins may receive the Priesthood and what should be done about these brethren who have already been ordained.
"In discussing this matter it was the sentiment of the Brethren that president Halverson should be informed that no one should be ordained to the Priesthood who is known to have Negro blood in his veins, and that if any one has been so ordained, if it is admitted or otherwise established, he should be instructed not to attempt to use the Priesthood in any other ordinations."
That same year a stake president in Long Beach named Virgil H. Sponberg wrote to the First Presidency, "Here in California we have such a lot of Negroes and are we as Latter-day Saints required to associate with the Negroes or talk the Gospel with them?"
The First Presidency responded on May 5, "No special effort has ever been made to proselyte among the Negro race, and social intercourse between the Whites and the Negroes should certainly not be encouraged because of leading to intermarriage, which the Lord has forbidden. This move which has now received some popular approval of trying to break down social barriers between the Whites and the Blacks is one that should not be encouraged because inevitably it means the mixing of the races if carried to its logical conclusion." Notwithstanding this strong recommendation, the Church still did not have an official policy against interracial marriages, and some did take place.
The Council Minutes of January 30, 1947, record "Letter read from President A. Reed Halverson of the New Zealand Mission stating that there has been an instance or two in the mission where men with a trace of Negro blood have been ordained to the Priesthood and are now taking part. He asks whether or not a person who has colored blood in his veins may receive the Priesthood and what should be done about these brethren who have already been ordained.
"In discussing this matter it was the sentiment of the Brethren that president Halverson should be informed that no one should be ordained to the Priesthood who is known to have Negro blood in his veins, and that if any one has been so ordained, if it is admitted or otherwise established, he should be instructed not to attempt to use the Priesthood in any other ordinations."
That same year a stake president in Long Beach named Virgil H. Sponberg wrote to the First Presidency, "Here in California we have such a lot of Negroes and are we as Latter-day Saints required to associate with the Negroes or talk the Gospel with them?"
The First Presidency responded on May 5, "No special effort has ever been made to proselyte among the Negro race, and social intercourse between the Whites and the Negroes should certainly not be encouraged because of leading to intermarriage, which the Lord has forbidden. This move which has now received some popular approval of trying to break down social barriers between the Whites and the Blacks is one that should not be encouraged because inevitably it means the mixing of the races if carried to its logical conclusion." Notwithstanding this strong recommendation, the Church still did not have an official policy against interracial marriages, and some did take place.
Proposed Mission in Cuba
The first noticeable agitation against the priesthood ban, which had previously been accepted by most leaders and members without question, occurred in 1947. On June 2 of that year Heber Meeks, President of the Southern States Mission, wrote to his friend at the University of Minnesota, Latter-day Saint sociologist Lowry Nelson,
"Dear Lowry:
"A short time ago at the request of the First Presidency I visited Cuba in view of doing missionary work on that island. While there I met Mr. Chester W. Young who was in Havana representing the Nation Office of Vital Statistics Pan-American Sanitary Bureau. He was very helpful to us and in the course of our conversation I learned that he was very well acquainted with you and wished to be remembered to you. We found both his wife and him to be very delightful and charming people.
"He advised me that you spent two years in Cuba making a study of rural communities. Your study there would be very helpful to us. I would appreciate your opinion as to the advisability of doing missionary work particularly in the rural sections of Cuba, knowing, of course, our concept of the Negro and his position as to the Priesthood.
"Are there groups of pure white blood in the rural sections, particularly in the small communities? If so, are they maintaining segregation from the Negroes? The best information we received was that in the rural communities there was not segregation of the races and it would be very difficult to find, with any degree of certainty, groups of pure white people.
"I would also like your reaction as to what progress you think the Church might be able to make in doing missionary work in Cuba in view of, particularly in the rural section, the ignorance and superstition of the people and their being so steeped in Catholicism. Do you think our message would have any appeal to them?
"My observation, and we made some very fine contacts with outstanding leaders in many of the fields of activity, was that in the urban communities there are groups to which we could make an appeal, particularly with the youth program of the Church. Many of the leaders expressed themselves that there was a great need for such a program as our Church has, in their communities.
"I assure you I will deeply appreciate any information you can give me along the lines as indicated. With kindest personal regards and best wishes, I am
"Sincerely your brother,
Heber Meeks
Mission President"
"Dear Lowry:
"A short time ago at the request of the First Presidency I visited Cuba in view of doing missionary work on that island. While there I met Mr. Chester W. Young who was in Havana representing the Nation Office of Vital Statistics Pan-American Sanitary Bureau. He was very helpful to us and in the course of our conversation I learned that he was very well acquainted with you and wished to be remembered to you. We found both his wife and him to be very delightful and charming people.
"He advised me that you spent two years in Cuba making a study of rural communities. Your study there would be very helpful to us. I would appreciate your opinion as to the advisability of doing missionary work particularly in the rural sections of Cuba, knowing, of course, our concept of the Negro and his position as to the Priesthood.
"Are there groups of pure white blood in the rural sections, particularly in the small communities? If so, are they maintaining segregation from the Negroes? The best information we received was that in the rural communities there was not segregation of the races and it would be very difficult to find, with any degree of certainty, groups of pure white people.
"I would also like your reaction as to what progress you think the Church might be able to make in doing missionary work in Cuba in view of, particularly in the rural section, the ignorance and superstition of the people and their being so steeped in Catholicism. Do you think our message would have any appeal to them?
"My observation, and we made some very fine contacts with outstanding leaders in many of the fields of activity, was that in the urban communities there are groups to which we could make an appeal, particularly with the youth program of the Church. Many of the leaders expressed themselves that there was a great need for such a program as our Church has, in their communities.
"I assure you I will deeply appreciate any information you can give me along the lines as indicated. With kindest personal regards and best wishes, I am
"Sincerely your brother,
Heber Meeks
Mission President"
Lowry Nelson Criticizes the Ban
Professor Nelson wrote back on July 26, "Dear Heber:
"It is nice to have word of you after so many years. I am writing this, as you see, from the alma mater where I am teaching the first term of the summer session. A thousand memories of student days flood in upon me every day. It is pleasant to see old friends and to make new ones among those who have joined the staff since I left.
"Yes, I spent a year in the Caribbean from September 1945 to September 1946. Most of my time was spent in Cuba, but I managed to get to some of the other islands as well. I have nearly completed a book about Cuba, but it will be some time before it is published. I was pleased to have word of my friend Chester Young, whom I saw in Havana and also in Santo Domingo during my year down there.
"The attitude of the Church in regard to the Negro makes me very sad. Your letter is the first intimation I have had that there was a fixed doctrine on this point. I had always known that certain statements have been made by authorities regarding the status of the Negro but I had never assumed that they constituted an irrevocable doctrine. I hope no final word has been said on this matter. I must say that I have never been able to accept the idea, and never shall. I do not believe that God is a racist. But if the Church has taken an irrevocable stand, I would dislike to see it enter Cuba or any other island where different races lived and establish missionary work. The white and colored people get along much better in the Caribbean and most of Latin-America than they do in the United States. Prejudice exists, there is no doubt, and the whites in many ways manifest their feelings of superiority, but there is much less of it than one finds in USA, especially in our South. For us to go into a situation like that and preach a doctrine of 'white supremacy' would, it seems to me, be a tragic disservice. I am speaking frankly, because I feel very keenly on this question. If world brotherhood and the universal God idea mean anything, it seems to me they mean equality of races. I fail to see how Mormonism or any other religion claiming to be more than a provincial church can take any other point of view; and there cannot be world peace until the pernicious doctrine of the superiority of one race and the inferiority of others is rooted out. This is my belief.
"In reference to Catholicism, while the Cubans are nominally Roman Catholic, they take the religion rather lightly. Wherever I went, I asked rural people about the church and they invariably told me that they saw the priest only once a year, when he came around to baptize the babies at $3.00 per head; like branding the calves at the annual roundup. Some families have crucifixes and other paraphernalia in their homes and carry on something of the ancient ritual, but my impression is that it means little to most of them.
"The Methodists, Presbyterians, and Baptists have, as you know, done a great deal of missionary work in the Island, and have rendered Cuba a great service in maintaining schools, hospitals, etc.' however, they have limited their work largely to the urban centers. There is a great service to be rendered rural Cubans if the right approach were made. Mormonism is well adapted to render such service with its system of lay leadership and many activity programs. Many rural Cubans have nothing in the way of organized social life. To them, the family is the basic institution and beyond it, the neighborhood. Our Church would provide them with something very sorely needed. It would develop leadership among them, provide them with hope and aspiration, give them a feeling of importance as individuals which they have never had. They have been exploited by priest and politician; they have been led to believe that the government is not any of their responsibility and that the Church is the business of the priest and the bishop. While there is a great deal of individualism among them, they have definite and discernible feelings of inferiority when it comes to matters of leadership.
"I am talking about the white people now; the rural people are predominantly white. That is, they are as white as Mediterranean peoples are - Spanish, Italians, etc., who have been in contact with 'color' for centuries. The Moors occupied Spain, you know, for seven centuries. There are no pure races; on this anthropologists are in general agreement. Of course, this does not mean that Negro blood exists throughout the white race or vice versa. There is grave doubt, however, as to the purity of the Nordic, Mediterranean, or even the Negro. Because I think our system of religious organization could serve the rural Cuban people as no other system could, I am sad to have to write you and say, for what my opinion is worth, that it would be better for the Cubans if we did not enter their island - unless we are willing to revise our racial theory. To teach them the pernicious doctrine of segregation and inequalities among races where it does not exist, or to lend religious sanction to where it has raised its ugly head would, it seems to me, be tragic. It seems to me we just fought a war over such ideas.
"I repeat, my frankness or bluntness, as you will, is born of a fervent desire to see the causes of war rooted out of the hearts of men. What limited study I have been able to give the subject leads me to the conclusion that ethnocentrism, and the smugness and intolerance which accompany it, is one of the first evils to be attacked if we are to achieve the goal of peace.
"I trust you will understand my writing you as I have.
"Sincerely,
Lowry Nelson
cc: Pres. George Albert Smith"
That same day Professor Nelson also wrote to President George Albert Smith: "Dear President Smith:
"I am in receipt today of a letter from President Heber Meeks, an old school friend, copy of which I am enclosing together with a copy of my reply. It is self-explanatory.
"Perhaps I am out of order, so to speak, in expressing myself as I have. I have done so out of strong conviction on the subject, and with the added impression that there is no irrevocable church doctrine on this subject. I am not unaware of statements and impressions which have been passed down, but I had never been brought face to face with the possibility that the doctrine was finally crystallized. I devoutly hope that such crystallization has not taken place. The many good friends of mixed blood - through no fault of theirs incidentally - which I have in the Caribbean and who know me to be a Mormon would be shocked indeed if I were to tell them my Church relegated them to an inferior status.
"As I told Heber, there is no doubt in my mind that our Church could perform a great service in Cuba, particularly in the rural areas, but it would be far better that we not go in at all, than to go in and promote racial distinction.
"I wanted you to know my feelings on this question and trust you will understand the spirit in which I say these things. I want to see us promote love and harmony among peoples of the earth.
"Sincerely,
Lowry Nelson"
"It is nice to have word of you after so many years. I am writing this, as you see, from the alma mater where I am teaching the first term of the summer session. A thousand memories of student days flood in upon me every day. It is pleasant to see old friends and to make new ones among those who have joined the staff since I left.
"Yes, I spent a year in the Caribbean from September 1945 to September 1946. Most of my time was spent in Cuba, but I managed to get to some of the other islands as well. I have nearly completed a book about Cuba, but it will be some time before it is published. I was pleased to have word of my friend Chester Young, whom I saw in Havana and also in Santo Domingo during my year down there.
"The attitude of the Church in regard to the Negro makes me very sad. Your letter is the first intimation I have had that there was a fixed doctrine on this point. I had always known that certain statements have been made by authorities regarding the status of the Negro but I had never assumed that they constituted an irrevocable doctrine. I hope no final word has been said on this matter. I must say that I have never been able to accept the idea, and never shall. I do not believe that God is a racist. But if the Church has taken an irrevocable stand, I would dislike to see it enter Cuba or any other island where different races lived and establish missionary work. The white and colored people get along much better in the Caribbean and most of Latin-America than they do in the United States. Prejudice exists, there is no doubt, and the whites in many ways manifest their feelings of superiority, but there is much less of it than one finds in USA, especially in our South. For us to go into a situation like that and preach a doctrine of 'white supremacy' would, it seems to me, be a tragic disservice. I am speaking frankly, because I feel very keenly on this question. If world brotherhood and the universal God idea mean anything, it seems to me they mean equality of races. I fail to see how Mormonism or any other religion claiming to be more than a provincial church can take any other point of view; and there cannot be world peace until the pernicious doctrine of the superiority of one race and the inferiority of others is rooted out. This is my belief.
"In reference to Catholicism, while the Cubans are nominally Roman Catholic, they take the religion rather lightly. Wherever I went, I asked rural people about the church and they invariably told me that they saw the priest only once a year, when he came around to baptize the babies at $3.00 per head; like branding the calves at the annual roundup. Some families have crucifixes and other paraphernalia in their homes and carry on something of the ancient ritual, but my impression is that it means little to most of them.
"The Methodists, Presbyterians, and Baptists have, as you know, done a great deal of missionary work in the Island, and have rendered Cuba a great service in maintaining schools, hospitals, etc.' however, they have limited their work largely to the urban centers. There is a great service to be rendered rural Cubans if the right approach were made. Mormonism is well adapted to render such service with its system of lay leadership and many activity programs. Many rural Cubans have nothing in the way of organized social life. To them, the family is the basic institution and beyond it, the neighborhood. Our Church would provide them with something very sorely needed. It would develop leadership among them, provide them with hope and aspiration, give them a feeling of importance as individuals which they have never had. They have been exploited by priest and politician; they have been led to believe that the government is not any of their responsibility and that the Church is the business of the priest and the bishop. While there is a great deal of individualism among them, they have definite and discernible feelings of inferiority when it comes to matters of leadership.
"I am talking about the white people now; the rural people are predominantly white. That is, they are as white as Mediterranean peoples are - Spanish, Italians, etc., who have been in contact with 'color' for centuries. The Moors occupied Spain, you know, for seven centuries. There are no pure races; on this anthropologists are in general agreement. Of course, this does not mean that Negro blood exists throughout the white race or vice versa. There is grave doubt, however, as to the purity of the Nordic, Mediterranean, or even the Negro. Because I think our system of religious organization could serve the rural Cuban people as no other system could, I am sad to have to write you and say, for what my opinion is worth, that it would be better for the Cubans if we did not enter their island - unless we are willing to revise our racial theory. To teach them the pernicious doctrine of segregation and inequalities among races where it does not exist, or to lend religious sanction to where it has raised its ugly head would, it seems to me, be tragic. It seems to me we just fought a war over such ideas.
"I repeat, my frankness or bluntness, as you will, is born of a fervent desire to see the causes of war rooted out of the hearts of men. What limited study I have been able to give the subject leads me to the conclusion that ethnocentrism, and the smugness and intolerance which accompany it, is one of the first evils to be attacked if we are to achieve the goal of peace.
"I trust you will understand my writing you as I have.
"Sincerely,
Lowry Nelson
cc: Pres. George Albert Smith"
That same day Professor Nelson also wrote to President George Albert Smith: "Dear President Smith:
"I am in receipt today of a letter from President Heber Meeks, an old school friend, copy of which I am enclosing together with a copy of my reply. It is self-explanatory.
"Perhaps I am out of order, so to speak, in expressing myself as I have. I have done so out of strong conviction on the subject, and with the added impression that there is no irrevocable church doctrine on this subject. I am not unaware of statements and impressions which have been passed down, but I had never been brought face to face with the possibility that the doctrine was finally crystallized. I devoutly hope that such crystallization has not taken place. The many good friends of mixed blood - through no fault of theirs incidentally - which I have in the Caribbean and who know me to be a Mormon would be shocked indeed if I were to tell them my Church relegated them to an inferior status.
"As I told Heber, there is no doubt in my mind that our Church could perform a great service in Cuba, particularly in the rural areas, but it would be far better that we not go in at all, than to go in and promote racial distinction.
"I wanted you to know my feelings on this question and trust you will understand the spirit in which I say these things. I want to see us promote love and harmony among peoples of the earth.
"Sincerely,
Lowry Nelson"
The First Presidency Responds to Lowry Nelson
President Smith's counselors, J. Reuben Clark Jr. and David O. McKay, had also been counselors to President Heber J. Grant during a previous run-in between Professor Nelson and the First Presidency thirteen years earlier. On that occasion a visitor to BYU had asked Professor Nelson, then serving on the faculty, about his attitude toward immortality. Professor Nelson had responded, "I suppose I would have to say that it is something I do not know. It is something one can consider as an hypothesis which cannot be tested by any method we know, whether it is true or not. Up to now, nobody has taken me up and shown me the pearly gates." Alarmed by this statement of agnosticism, the visitor complained to several people at BYU and in church leadership. Professor Nelson faced a First Presidency investigation, which was soon dropped.
The later First Presidency responded on July 17, "Dear Brother Nelson:
"As you have been advised, your letter of June 26 was received in due course, and likewise we now have a copy of your letter to President Meeks. We have carefully considered their contents, and are glad to advise you as follows:
"We make this initial remark; the social side of the Restored Gospel is only an incident of it; it is not the end thereof.
"The basic element of your ideas and concepts seems to be that all God's children stand in equal positions before Him in all things.
"Your knowledge of the Gospel will indicate to you that this is contrary to the very fundamentals of God's dealings with Israel dating from the time of His promise to Abraham regarding Abraham's seed and their position vis-a-vis God Himself. Indeed, some of God's children were assigned to superior positions before the world was formed. We are aware that some Higher Critics do not accept this, but the Church does.
"Your position seems to lose sight of the revelations of the Lord touching the pre-existence of our spirits, the rebellion in heaven, and the doctrines that our birth into this life and the advantages under which we may be born, have a relationship in the life heretofore.
"From the days of the Prophet Joseph even until now, it has been a doctrine of the Church, never questioned by any of the Church leaders, that the Negroes are not entitled to the full blessings of the Gospel.
"Furthermore, your ideas, as we understand them, appear to contemplate the intermarriage of the Negro and White races, a concept which has heretofore been most repugnant to most normal-minded people from the ancient patriarchs till now. God's rule for Israel, His Chosen People, has been endogamous. Modern Israel has been similarly directed.
"We are not unmindful of the fact that there is a growing tendency, particularly among some educators, as it manifests itself in this area, toward the breaking down of race barriers in the matter of intermarriage between whites and blacks, but it does not have the sanction of the Church and is contrary to Church doctrine.
"Faithfully yours,
George Albert Smith
J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
David O. McKay
The First Presidency"
On July 23, Heber Meeks submitted his report on Cuba to the First Presidency. He concluded,
"WHY WE SHOULD STAY OUT OF CUBA
Unfavorable Factors
"1. Possible reactions against the Church in introducing a doctrine of 'race superiority' into an existing condition of race equality. The reaction may come (a) from government (b) from Negro leaders (c) entire mulatto element (d) general public (e) our own government officials in Cuba.
"2. Difficulty fo determining the negro blood in large part of the population. Co-mingling of the races has been going on for many years. No adequate records kept by which color can be determined.
"3. The sins of the people (mixing white and colored blood through marriage) have denied them the blessings of the gospel.
"4. They are of Latin blood and if opposition arose, local or general, it would be swift, intense and ruthless.
"WHY WE SHOULD GO INTO CUBA
Favorable Factors
"1. It is the commission to the Church to preach the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.
"2. There are at least one million people on the island who are preserving their racial purity, that are entitled to all the blessings of the gospel.
"3. There is a great need for the gospel – the program of the Church – among the white people.
"4. The white element would be responsive to the program of the Church.
"5. With the right approach certain negro elements may respond to the gospel. They have in America.
"6. Cuba's nearness to America and an organized Mission would make a trial missionary effort feasible.
"7. The responsibility for the gospel not going to the five million Cuban people should be upon their own souls not ours.
"CONCLUSION
"I have endeavored to give you much information, without burdening you with too much detail, and make such analysis as would be most helpful to you.
"I believe I am fully cognizant of the unfavorable factors in doing missionary work among the Cuban people. There is danger of very strong reactions against our doctrine.
"But I cannot bring myself to recommend – after days of prayerful consideration that we stay out of Cuba. I canno overcome the feeling that these people are entitled to the truth.
"I believe there is an intelligent approach to the problem that would bring success to our missionary efforts.
"I also believe we would be doing a great service to that nation, politically, socially, and spiritually, to put in their hands the Light of the Everlasting Gospel.
"I am fully aware that you are entitled to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in making the decision. Whatever the Lord directs, we know will be right.
"Faithfully your brother,
Heber Meeks
Mission President"
On August 8, the First Presidency responded, "Dear President Meeks: We are in receipt of your very thorough-going report on your trip to Cuba and the opening of a mission there. This report will receive very careful consideration in connection with the reaching of a conclusion on the problems involved in opening a mission.
"We note that you seem to attach considerable importance to a communication sent to you by Dr. Lowry Nelson, that communication bearing date of June 26, 1947, which apparently was in response to a letter from you to Dr. Nelson under date of June 20, a copy of which was sent to us by Dr. Nelson.
"For your information we quote below a letter which we sent to Dr. Lowry Nelson covering some of the more important parts of his letter which he wrote to you. We wish to reiterate to you that the Church cannot view with any tolerance or symptom of approval this idea of the intermarriage of whites and blacks, and therefore all activities which would tend either directly or indirectly to encourage such intermarriages must be carefully avoided by the Church. The letter to Brother Nelson reads as follows...
"Again thanking you for the care with which you have prepared this report, we are
"Faithfully yours,
The First Presidency
G. Albert Smith
J. Reuben Clark Jr."
The Council Minutes of August 28, 1947 record, "Letter read from Elder John A. Widstoe calling attention to the engagement of a young couple, members of the Church, the sister having one thirty-second of negro blood in her veins. Brother Widstoe raises the question as to whether in such cases the individual having Negro blood might be recommended to the temple for marriage. Brother Widstoe states that he informed the couple of the ruling of the Church in the past that any one having negro blood in his veins cannot receive the Priesthood or go to the temple. Council approved the attitude indicated by Brother Widstoe."
The later First Presidency responded on July 17, "Dear Brother Nelson:
"As you have been advised, your letter of June 26 was received in due course, and likewise we now have a copy of your letter to President Meeks. We have carefully considered their contents, and are glad to advise you as follows:
"We make this initial remark; the social side of the Restored Gospel is only an incident of it; it is not the end thereof.
"The basic element of your ideas and concepts seems to be that all God's children stand in equal positions before Him in all things.
"Your knowledge of the Gospel will indicate to you that this is contrary to the very fundamentals of God's dealings with Israel dating from the time of His promise to Abraham regarding Abraham's seed and their position vis-a-vis God Himself. Indeed, some of God's children were assigned to superior positions before the world was formed. We are aware that some Higher Critics do not accept this, but the Church does.
"Your position seems to lose sight of the revelations of the Lord touching the pre-existence of our spirits, the rebellion in heaven, and the doctrines that our birth into this life and the advantages under which we may be born, have a relationship in the life heretofore.
"From the days of the Prophet Joseph even until now, it has been a doctrine of the Church, never questioned by any of the Church leaders, that the Negroes are not entitled to the full blessings of the Gospel.
"Furthermore, your ideas, as we understand them, appear to contemplate the intermarriage of the Negro and White races, a concept which has heretofore been most repugnant to most normal-minded people from the ancient patriarchs till now. God's rule for Israel, His Chosen People, has been endogamous. Modern Israel has been similarly directed.
"We are not unmindful of the fact that there is a growing tendency, particularly among some educators, as it manifests itself in this area, toward the breaking down of race barriers in the matter of intermarriage between whites and blacks, but it does not have the sanction of the Church and is contrary to Church doctrine.
"Faithfully yours,
George Albert Smith
J. Reuben Clark, Jr.
David O. McKay
The First Presidency"
On July 23, Heber Meeks submitted his report on Cuba to the First Presidency. He concluded,
"WHY WE SHOULD STAY OUT OF CUBA
Unfavorable Factors
"1. Possible reactions against the Church in introducing a doctrine of 'race superiority' into an existing condition of race equality. The reaction may come (a) from government (b) from Negro leaders (c) entire mulatto element (d) general public (e) our own government officials in Cuba.
"2. Difficulty fo determining the negro blood in large part of the population. Co-mingling of the races has been going on for many years. No adequate records kept by which color can be determined.
"3. The sins of the people (mixing white and colored blood through marriage) have denied them the blessings of the gospel.
"4. They are of Latin blood and if opposition arose, local or general, it would be swift, intense and ruthless.
"WHY WE SHOULD GO INTO CUBA
Favorable Factors
"1. It is the commission to the Church to preach the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.
"2. There are at least one million people on the island who are preserving their racial purity, that are entitled to all the blessings of the gospel.
"3. There is a great need for the gospel – the program of the Church – among the white people.
"4. The white element would be responsive to the program of the Church.
"5. With the right approach certain negro elements may respond to the gospel. They have in America.
"6. Cuba's nearness to America and an organized Mission would make a trial missionary effort feasible.
"7. The responsibility for the gospel not going to the five million Cuban people should be upon their own souls not ours.
"CONCLUSION
"I have endeavored to give you much information, without burdening you with too much detail, and make such analysis as would be most helpful to you.
"I believe I am fully cognizant of the unfavorable factors in doing missionary work among the Cuban people. There is danger of very strong reactions against our doctrine.
"But I cannot bring myself to recommend – after days of prayerful consideration that we stay out of Cuba. I canno overcome the feeling that these people are entitled to the truth.
"I believe there is an intelligent approach to the problem that would bring success to our missionary efforts.
"I also believe we would be doing a great service to that nation, politically, socially, and spiritually, to put in their hands the Light of the Everlasting Gospel.
"I am fully aware that you are entitled to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in making the decision. Whatever the Lord directs, we know will be right.
"Faithfully your brother,
Heber Meeks
Mission President"
On August 8, the First Presidency responded, "Dear President Meeks: We are in receipt of your very thorough-going report on your trip to Cuba and the opening of a mission there. This report will receive very careful consideration in connection with the reaching of a conclusion on the problems involved in opening a mission.
"We note that you seem to attach considerable importance to a communication sent to you by Dr. Lowry Nelson, that communication bearing date of June 26, 1947, which apparently was in response to a letter from you to Dr. Nelson under date of June 20, a copy of which was sent to us by Dr. Nelson.
"For your information we quote below a letter which we sent to Dr. Lowry Nelson covering some of the more important parts of his letter which he wrote to you. We wish to reiterate to you that the Church cannot view with any tolerance or symptom of approval this idea of the intermarriage of whites and blacks, and therefore all activities which would tend either directly or indirectly to encourage such intermarriages must be carefully avoided by the Church. The letter to Brother Nelson reads as follows...
"Again thanking you for the care with which you have prepared this report, we are
"Faithfully yours,
The First Presidency
G. Albert Smith
J. Reuben Clark Jr."
The Council Minutes of August 28, 1947 record, "Letter read from Elder John A. Widstoe calling attention to the engagement of a young couple, members of the Church, the sister having one thirty-second of negro blood in her veins. Brother Widstoe raises the question as to whether in such cases the individual having Negro blood might be recommended to the temple for marriage. Brother Widstoe states that he informed the couple of the ruling of the Church in the past that any one having negro blood in his veins cannot receive the Priesthood or go to the temple. Council approved the attitude indicated by Brother Widstoe."
David O. McKay Responds to Lowry Nelson
Dr. Nelson was dissatisfied with the response he received and could not reconcile it with his understanding of the gospel. He recalled, "As much as I was 'stunned' at Heber Meeks’ question regarding my knowledge of the existence of people of 'pure white blood,' this letter from the First Presidency was shocking. I knew these men quite well, especially Presidents Smith and McKay. I knew all of the McKay family; the youngest son, Morgan, had been a member of my fraternity in Logan. I referred in an earlier chapter to the assistance of Dr. and Mrs. George R. Hill during my illness. Mrs. Hill was a sister of David O. McKay I adored the whole family. I had associated with President Smith in Boy Scout work. When he came to Minneapolis (in 1943?) he made a special point of having a talk with me. President Clark I knew only casually. He was a member of the First Presidency when I was called 'on the carpet' earlier, as already described.
"There is no doubt in my mind that he drafted this letter to me. A lawyer by profession, he had spent most of his career in political positions in Washington: Undersecretary of State in the Harding-Coolidge era and Ambassador to Mexico under Hoover. It was while he was ambassador that he was named a Counselor to President Grant. However, he continued to spend most of his time in New York with the Foreign Bondholders Association until the 1930s.
"But the draftsman is only incidental. This was the law and the gospel on the subject. One revealing paragraph put words in my mouth that seem to favor intermarriage. This was gratuitous and I resented it, although I did not put my feeling in writing. It reveals the fear, as expressed by Southern whites, of 'mongrelization.' It was probably a basic factor in the continuation of the policy."
On October 8 he responded: "Dear Brethren: Your letter of July 17th sent to me at Logan was forwarded here, but I had already left for Europe and so did not get it until I returned to my office September 8. I want to thank you for it, and the attention you gave me. The letter is, however, a disappointment to me, as you may surmise it would be from what I said in my letter to President Meeks.
"It seems strange to me in retrospect - as it must have seemed to you - that I should have never before had to face up to this doctrine of the Church relative to the Negro. I remember that it was discussed from time to time during my boyhood and youth, in Priesthood meetings or elsewhere in Church classes; and always someone would say something about the Negroes 'sitting on the fence' during the Council in Heaven. They did not take a stand, it was said. Somehow there was never any very strong conviction manifest regarding the doctrine, perhaps because the question was rather an academic one to us in Ferron, where there were very few people who had ever seen a Negro, let along having lived in the same community with them. So the doctrine was always passed over lightly I should say, with no Scripture ever being quoted or referred to regarding the matter, except perhaps to refer to the curse of Cain, or of Ham and Canaan. (I went back and re-read the latter the other evening. It was difficult to find any element of justice in Noah's behavior toward Ham, since the latter merely reported to his brothers that his father was lying there in a drunken state and in a nude condition, and the other boys put a cover over him. Because Ham reported his father's condition, he was cursed.)
"But anyway, I really had never come face to face with the issue until this summer. In the meantime, since my youth, I have chosen to spend my professional career in the field of social sciences, the general purpose of which is to describe and understand human behavior. I probably should have had less difficulty with some of these problems - such as the race problem - had I remained in agronomy and chemistry, my undergraduate field of specialization. Be that as it may, my experience has been what it has been. As a sociologist, I have sincerely tried, and am still trying, to understand human social relations; the varied forms of organization, the processes of conflict, cooperation, competition, assimilation, why peoples and cultures differ one from another, etc.
"As one studies the history and characteristics of human societies, one soon comes to recognize certain basic principles. One of these is social change. Any given society over the years undergoes changes. It is forever in a state of flux. Some scholars have regarded such change as progress, and have even considered that progress is inevitable. Others chart the rise and fall of civilizations and think in terms of cyclical change. Others express still different hypotheses, but none of them consider society as a static entity.
"Another principle which stands out as one studies the development of cultures is the tendency of institutions to resist change. Although they are established, or grow up, originally as means to the end of satisfying the needs of man, they (the institutions) tend to become ends in themselves. It seems to me that Jesus was trying to get this point over to the society of his day, when he spoke of putting new wine in old bottles, and that the sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath. This was an affront to the legalism of the Pharisees, and others of similar outlook, and of course, the institutions had to be protected even at the cost of His crucifixion.
"Another principle that has come to occupy a central position in the analysis of human behavior is that of ethnocentrism. As defined by William Graham Sumner, who first developed the concept, it refers to the 'view of things in which one's own group is the center of everything and all others are sealed and rated with reference to it.' (The Folkways, p. 13.) Insofar as the 'out-group' differs from the 'in-group' it is regarded as inferior by the latter. A people with a different skin color would be automatically assigned to an inferior status. A language different from that of the in-group, is of course, an 'inferior' one; and so on. This tendency is common in all groups.
"Now, what does this add up to in my thinking? It means that (1) if one accepts the principle of cultural or social change and applies it to the Hebrews, the Old Testament history of the group is interpreted accordingly. In their early stages of development they had beliefs and practices, many of which, were subsequently supplanted by other ideas. Jehovah to the Hebrews of the Pentateuch was essentially a tribal deity. It was not until Amos that the idea of a universal God was proclaimed. And the concept of God as Love was an essential contribution of the mission of the Savior. (2) This, to me, represents a 'progressive revelation'. It seems to me that we still have much to learn about God, and some of our earlier notions of Him may yet undergo modification. (3) The early Hebrew notion of the colored people with whom they had contact in the Mediterranean basin, was quite naturally, that those people were inferior to themselves, a consequence of their extreme ethnocentrism.
"Why did they not have something to say about the Japanese or Chinese or the American Indian? To me the answer is that they did not know these groups existed. But one can be pretty certain that if they had known about them, they would have developed some similar explanation regarding their origin to that concerning the Negro, and would have assigned them also to a position less exalted than their own.
"(4) And once these things got written down - institutionalized - they assume an aura of the sacred. I refer in this respect not only to the Scripture, but to more secular documents as well - the Constitution of the United States, for instance, which many people do not want to change regardless of the apparent needs. So we are in the position, it seems to me, of accepting a doctrine regarding teh Negro which was enunciated by the Hebrews during a very early stage in their development. Moreover, and this is the important matter to me, it does not square with what seems an acceptable standard of justice today; nor with the letter or spirit of the teachings of Jesus Christ. I cannot find any support for such a doctrine of inequality in His recorded sayings.
"I am deeply troubled. Having decided through earnest study that one of the chief causes of war is the existence of ethnocentrism among the peoples of the world; that war is our major social evil which threatens to send all of us to destruction; and that we can ameliorate these feelings of ethnocentrism by promoting understanding of one people by others; I am now confronted with this doctrine of my own church which says in effect that white supremacy is part of God's plan for His children; that the Negro has been assigned by Him to be a hewer of wood and drawer of water for his white-skinned brethren. This makes us nominal allies of the Rankins and the Bilbos of Mississippi, a quite unhappy alliance for me, I assure you.
"This doctrine pressed to its logical conclusion would say that Dr. George Washington Carver, the late eminent and saintly Negro scientist, is by virtue of the color of his skin, inferior even to the least admirable white person, not because of the virtues he may or may not possess, but because - through no fault of his - there is a dark pigment in his skin. All of the people of India - who are not Negroes according to ethnological authority, but are Aryan - would presumably come under the Negro classification. I think of the intelligent, high-minded, clean-living Hindu who was a member of the International Committee over which I had the honor to preside at Geneva from August 4 to 10, this year. He drank not, smoked not, his ethical standards were such that you and I could applaud him. Where should he rank vis-a-vis the least reliable and admirable white person in Ferron? Or I could name you a real Negro with equal qualifications.
"Now, you say that the 'social side of the Restored Gospel is only an incident of it; it is not the end thereof.' It may not have the same concept of 'social' as you had in mind, but it seems to me that the only virtue we can recognize in men is that expressed in their relations with others; that is their 'social' relations. Are the virtues of honesty, chastity, humility, forgiveness, tolerance, love, kindness, justice, secondary? If so, what is primary? Love of God? Very well. But the second (law) is like unto it.
"I must beg your forgiveness for this intrusion upon your time. I realize that I am only one among hundreds of thousands with whom you have to be concerned. My little troubles I must try to work out myself. But I desire to be understood. That's why I have gone to such lengths to set down here the steps on my thinking. I am trying to be honest with myself and with others. I am trying to find my way in what is a very confused world. After seeing the devastation of Europe this summer, I am appalled by the sight of it, and the contemplation of what mankind can collectively do to himself, unless somehow we, collectively - the human family - can put love of each other above hatred and somehow come to a mutual respect based upon understanding, and recognize that others, although they may be different from us, are not by that fact alone inferior. Are we becoming so legalistic (after the fashion of the Pharisees) that we cannot adjust our institutions to the changing needs of mankind? Are we, as some have charged, more Hebraic than Christian?
"Sincerely your brother,
Lowry Nelson
Professor of Sociology
Evidently he also wrote a letter to President David O. McKay individually, for the latter responded with his own thoughts on November 3, which were later reprinted in Home Memories of President David O. McKay and the historical supplement to Mormonism and the Negro. He wrote "Dear Brother: In your letter to me of October 28, 1947, you say that you and some of your fellow students 'have been perturbed about the question of why the negroid race cannot hold the priesthood.'
"In reply I send you the following thoughts that I expressed to a friend upon the same subject.
"Stated briefly your problem is simply this:
"Since, as Paul states, the Lord 'hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth,' why is there shown in the Church of Christ discrimination against the colored race?
"This is a perplexing question, particularly in the light of the present trend of civilization to grant equality to all men irrespective of race, creed, or color. The answer, as I have sought it, cannot be found in abstract reasoning, for, in this case, reason to the soul is 'dim as the borrowed rays of moon and stars to lonely, weary, wandering travelers.'
"I know of no scriptural basis for denying the Priesthood to Negroes other than one verse in the Book of Abraham (1:26); however, I believe, as you suggest, that the real reason dates back to our pre-existant life.
"This means that the true answer to your question (and it is the only one that has ever given me satisfaction) has its foundation in faith - (1) Faith in a God of Justice, (2) Faith in the existence of an eternal plan of salvation for all God's children.
"Faith in a God of Justice Essential
"I say faith in a God of Justice, because if we hold the Lord responsible for the conditions of the Negro in his relationship to the Church, we must acknowledge justice as an attribute of the Eternal, or conceive Him as a discriminator and therefore unworthy of our worship. In seeking our answer, then, to the problem wherein discrimination seems apparent, we must accept the Lord as being upright, and that 'Justice and judgment are the habitation of His throne.' (Psalm 89:14), and we must believe that He will 'render to every man according to his work,' and that He 'shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.' (Eccl. 12-14) Accepting the truth that God is just and righteous, we may then set our minds at rest in the assurance that 'Whatsoever good thing any man doeth the same shall be received of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.' (Eph. 6:8)
"I emphasize Justice as an attribute of Deity, because it is the Lord who, though He 'made of one blood all nations,' also 'determined the bounds of their habitation.' In other words, the seeming discrimination of the Church toward the Negro is not something which originated with man, but goes back into the Beginning with God.
"It was the Lord who said that Pharaoh, the first Governor of Egypt, though 'a righteous man, blessed with the blessings of the earth, with the blessings of wisdom... could not have the Priesthood.'
"Now if we have faith in the justice of God, we are forced to the conclusion that this denial was not a deprivation of merited right. It may have been entirely in keeping with the eternal plan of salvation for all of the children of God.
"The Peopling of the Earth is in Accordance With a Great Plan
"Revelation assures us that this plan antedates man's mortal existence, extending back to man's pre-existent state. In that pre-mortal state, were 'intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these were many noble and great ones;
'And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: 'These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good.'
"Manifestly, from this revelation, we may infer two things: first, that there were many among those spirits different degrees of intelligence, varying grades and achievement, retarded and advanced spiritual attainment; second, that there were no national distinctions among those spirits such as Americans, Europeans, Asiatics, Australians, etc. Such 'bounds of habitation' would have to be 'determined' when the spirits entered upon their earthly existence or second estate.
"In the 'Blue Bird' Materlinck pictures unborn children summoned to earth life. As one group approaches the earth, the voices of the children earthward tending are heard in the distance to cry: 'The earth! The earth! I can see it; how beautiful it is! How bright it is!' Then following these cries of ecstasy there issued from out of the depth of the abyss a sweet song of gentleness and expectancy, in reference to which the author says: 'It is the song of the mothers coming out to meet them.'
"Materlinck's fairy play is not all fantasy or imagination, neither is Worthword's [sic] 'Ode on Intimations of Immortality' wherein he says:
'Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting,
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting
And cometh from afar;
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home;'
"For, as we have already quoted, it is given as a fact in revelation that Abraham was chosen before he was born. Songs of expectant parents come from all parts of the earth, and each little spirit is attracted to the spiritual and mortal parentage for which the spirit has prepared itself.
"Now if none of these spirits was permitted to enter mortality until they all were good and great and had become leaders, then the diversity of conditions among the children of men as we see them today would certainly seem to indicate discrimination and injustice. But if in their eagerness to take upon themselves bodies, the spirits were willing to come through any lineage for which they were worthy, or to which they were attracted, then they were given the full reward of merit, and were satisfied, yes, and even blessed.
"Accepting this theory of life, we have a reasonable explanation of existent conditions in the habitations of man. How the law of spiritual attraction works between the spirit and the expectant parents, has not been revealed, neither can finite mind fully understand. By analogy, however, we can perhaps get a glimpse of what might take place in that spirit world. In physics we refer to the law of attraction wherein some force acting mutually between particles of matter tends to draw them together and to keep them from separating. In chemistry, there is an attractive force exerted between atoms, which causes them to enter into combinations. We know, too, that there is an affinity between persons - a spiritual relationship or attraction wherein individuals are either drawn towards others or repelled by others. Might it not be so in the realm of the spirit - each individual attracted to the parentage for which it is prepared. Our place in this world would then be determined by our advancement or conditions in the pre-mortal state, just as our place in our future existence will be determined by what we do here in mortality.
"When, therefore, the Creator said to Abraham, and to others of his attainment 'You I will make my rulers,' there could exist no feeling of envy or of jealousy among the million other spirits, for those who were 'good and great' were but receiving their just reward, just as do members of a graduation class who have successfully completed their prescribed courses of study. The thousands of other students who have not yet attained that honor still have the privilege to seek it, or they may, if they choose, remain in satisfaction down in the grades.
"By the operation of some eternal law with which man is yet unfamiliar, spirits came through parentages for which they are worthy - some as Bushmen of Australia, some as Solomon Islanders, some as Americans, as Europeans, as Asiattics [sic], etc., etc., with all the varying degrees of mentality and spirituality manifest in parents of the different races that inhabit the earth.
"Of this we may be sure, each was satisfied and happy to come through the lineage to which he or she was attracted and for which, and only which, he or she was prepared.
"The Priesthood was given to those who were chosen as leaders. There were many who could not receive it, yet knew that it was possible for them at sometime in the eternal plan to achieve that honor. Even those who knew that they would not be prepared to receive it during their mortal existence were content in the realization that they could attain every earthly blessing - progress intellectually and spiritually, and possess to a limited degree the blessing of wisdom.
"George Washington Carver was one of the noblest souls that ever came to earth. He held a close kinship with his heavenly Father, and rendered a service to his fellowmen such as few have ever excelled. For every righteous endeavor, for every noble impulse, for every good deed performed in his useful life George Washington Carver will be rewarded, and so will every other man be he red, white, black or yellow, for God is no respector [sic] of persons.
"Sometime in God's eternal plan, the Negro will be given the right to hold the Priesthood. In the meantime, those of that race who receive the testimony of the Restored Gospel may have their family ties protected and other blessings made secure, for in the justice and mercy of the Lord they will possess all the blessings to which they are entitled in the eternal plan of Salvation and Exaltation.
"[2] Nephi 26:33, to which you refer, does not contradict what I have said above, because the Negro is entitled to come unto the Lord by baptism, confirmation, and to receive the assistance of the Church in living righteously.
"Sincerely yours,
David O. McKay"
"There is no doubt in my mind that he drafted this letter to me. A lawyer by profession, he had spent most of his career in political positions in Washington: Undersecretary of State in the Harding-Coolidge era and Ambassador to Mexico under Hoover. It was while he was ambassador that he was named a Counselor to President Grant. However, he continued to spend most of his time in New York with the Foreign Bondholders Association until the 1930s.
"But the draftsman is only incidental. This was the law and the gospel on the subject. One revealing paragraph put words in my mouth that seem to favor intermarriage. This was gratuitous and I resented it, although I did not put my feeling in writing. It reveals the fear, as expressed by Southern whites, of 'mongrelization.' It was probably a basic factor in the continuation of the policy."
On October 8 he responded: "Dear Brethren: Your letter of July 17th sent to me at Logan was forwarded here, but I had already left for Europe and so did not get it until I returned to my office September 8. I want to thank you for it, and the attention you gave me. The letter is, however, a disappointment to me, as you may surmise it would be from what I said in my letter to President Meeks.
"It seems strange to me in retrospect - as it must have seemed to you - that I should have never before had to face up to this doctrine of the Church relative to the Negro. I remember that it was discussed from time to time during my boyhood and youth, in Priesthood meetings or elsewhere in Church classes; and always someone would say something about the Negroes 'sitting on the fence' during the Council in Heaven. They did not take a stand, it was said. Somehow there was never any very strong conviction manifest regarding the doctrine, perhaps because the question was rather an academic one to us in Ferron, where there were very few people who had ever seen a Negro, let along having lived in the same community with them. So the doctrine was always passed over lightly I should say, with no Scripture ever being quoted or referred to regarding the matter, except perhaps to refer to the curse of Cain, or of Ham and Canaan. (I went back and re-read the latter the other evening. It was difficult to find any element of justice in Noah's behavior toward Ham, since the latter merely reported to his brothers that his father was lying there in a drunken state and in a nude condition, and the other boys put a cover over him. Because Ham reported his father's condition, he was cursed.)
"But anyway, I really had never come face to face with the issue until this summer. In the meantime, since my youth, I have chosen to spend my professional career in the field of social sciences, the general purpose of which is to describe and understand human behavior. I probably should have had less difficulty with some of these problems - such as the race problem - had I remained in agronomy and chemistry, my undergraduate field of specialization. Be that as it may, my experience has been what it has been. As a sociologist, I have sincerely tried, and am still trying, to understand human social relations; the varied forms of organization, the processes of conflict, cooperation, competition, assimilation, why peoples and cultures differ one from another, etc.
"As one studies the history and characteristics of human societies, one soon comes to recognize certain basic principles. One of these is social change. Any given society over the years undergoes changes. It is forever in a state of flux. Some scholars have regarded such change as progress, and have even considered that progress is inevitable. Others chart the rise and fall of civilizations and think in terms of cyclical change. Others express still different hypotheses, but none of them consider society as a static entity.
"Another principle which stands out as one studies the development of cultures is the tendency of institutions to resist change. Although they are established, or grow up, originally as means to the end of satisfying the needs of man, they (the institutions) tend to become ends in themselves. It seems to me that Jesus was trying to get this point over to the society of his day, when he spoke of putting new wine in old bottles, and that the sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath. This was an affront to the legalism of the Pharisees, and others of similar outlook, and of course, the institutions had to be protected even at the cost of His crucifixion.
"Another principle that has come to occupy a central position in the analysis of human behavior is that of ethnocentrism. As defined by William Graham Sumner, who first developed the concept, it refers to the 'view of things in which one's own group is the center of everything and all others are sealed and rated with reference to it.' (The Folkways, p. 13.) Insofar as the 'out-group' differs from the 'in-group' it is regarded as inferior by the latter. A people with a different skin color would be automatically assigned to an inferior status. A language different from that of the in-group, is of course, an 'inferior' one; and so on. This tendency is common in all groups.
"Now, what does this add up to in my thinking? It means that (1) if one accepts the principle of cultural or social change and applies it to the Hebrews, the Old Testament history of the group is interpreted accordingly. In their early stages of development they had beliefs and practices, many of which, were subsequently supplanted by other ideas. Jehovah to the Hebrews of the Pentateuch was essentially a tribal deity. It was not until Amos that the idea of a universal God was proclaimed. And the concept of God as Love was an essential contribution of the mission of the Savior. (2) This, to me, represents a 'progressive revelation'. It seems to me that we still have much to learn about God, and some of our earlier notions of Him may yet undergo modification. (3) The early Hebrew notion of the colored people with whom they had contact in the Mediterranean basin, was quite naturally, that those people were inferior to themselves, a consequence of their extreme ethnocentrism.
"Why did they not have something to say about the Japanese or Chinese or the American Indian? To me the answer is that they did not know these groups existed. But one can be pretty certain that if they had known about them, they would have developed some similar explanation regarding their origin to that concerning the Negro, and would have assigned them also to a position less exalted than their own.
"(4) And once these things got written down - institutionalized - they assume an aura of the sacred. I refer in this respect not only to the Scripture, but to more secular documents as well - the Constitution of the United States, for instance, which many people do not want to change regardless of the apparent needs. So we are in the position, it seems to me, of accepting a doctrine regarding teh Negro which was enunciated by the Hebrews during a very early stage in their development. Moreover, and this is the important matter to me, it does not square with what seems an acceptable standard of justice today; nor with the letter or spirit of the teachings of Jesus Christ. I cannot find any support for such a doctrine of inequality in His recorded sayings.
"I am deeply troubled. Having decided through earnest study that one of the chief causes of war is the existence of ethnocentrism among the peoples of the world; that war is our major social evil which threatens to send all of us to destruction; and that we can ameliorate these feelings of ethnocentrism by promoting understanding of one people by others; I am now confronted with this doctrine of my own church which says in effect that white supremacy is part of God's plan for His children; that the Negro has been assigned by Him to be a hewer of wood and drawer of water for his white-skinned brethren. This makes us nominal allies of the Rankins and the Bilbos of Mississippi, a quite unhappy alliance for me, I assure you.
"This doctrine pressed to its logical conclusion would say that Dr. George Washington Carver, the late eminent and saintly Negro scientist, is by virtue of the color of his skin, inferior even to the least admirable white person, not because of the virtues he may or may not possess, but because - through no fault of his - there is a dark pigment in his skin. All of the people of India - who are not Negroes according to ethnological authority, but are Aryan - would presumably come under the Negro classification. I think of the intelligent, high-minded, clean-living Hindu who was a member of the International Committee over which I had the honor to preside at Geneva from August 4 to 10, this year. He drank not, smoked not, his ethical standards were such that you and I could applaud him. Where should he rank vis-a-vis the least reliable and admirable white person in Ferron? Or I could name you a real Negro with equal qualifications.
"Now, you say that the 'social side of the Restored Gospel is only an incident of it; it is not the end thereof.' It may not have the same concept of 'social' as you had in mind, but it seems to me that the only virtue we can recognize in men is that expressed in their relations with others; that is their 'social' relations. Are the virtues of honesty, chastity, humility, forgiveness, tolerance, love, kindness, justice, secondary? If so, what is primary? Love of God? Very well. But the second (law) is like unto it.
"I must beg your forgiveness for this intrusion upon your time. I realize that I am only one among hundreds of thousands with whom you have to be concerned. My little troubles I must try to work out myself. But I desire to be understood. That's why I have gone to such lengths to set down here the steps on my thinking. I am trying to be honest with myself and with others. I am trying to find my way in what is a very confused world. After seeing the devastation of Europe this summer, I am appalled by the sight of it, and the contemplation of what mankind can collectively do to himself, unless somehow we, collectively - the human family - can put love of each other above hatred and somehow come to a mutual respect based upon understanding, and recognize that others, although they may be different from us, are not by that fact alone inferior. Are we becoming so legalistic (after the fashion of the Pharisees) that we cannot adjust our institutions to the changing needs of mankind? Are we, as some have charged, more Hebraic than Christian?
"Sincerely your brother,
Lowry Nelson
Professor of Sociology
Evidently he also wrote a letter to President David O. McKay individually, for the latter responded with his own thoughts on November 3, which were later reprinted in Home Memories of President David O. McKay and the historical supplement to Mormonism and the Negro. He wrote "Dear Brother: In your letter to me of October 28, 1947, you say that you and some of your fellow students 'have been perturbed about the question of why the negroid race cannot hold the priesthood.'
"In reply I send you the following thoughts that I expressed to a friend upon the same subject.
"Stated briefly your problem is simply this:
"Since, as Paul states, the Lord 'hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth,' why is there shown in the Church of Christ discrimination against the colored race?
"This is a perplexing question, particularly in the light of the present trend of civilization to grant equality to all men irrespective of race, creed, or color. The answer, as I have sought it, cannot be found in abstract reasoning, for, in this case, reason to the soul is 'dim as the borrowed rays of moon and stars to lonely, weary, wandering travelers.'
"I know of no scriptural basis for denying the Priesthood to Negroes other than one verse in the Book of Abraham (1:26); however, I believe, as you suggest, that the real reason dates back to our pre-existant life.
"This means that the true answer to your question (and it is the only one that has ever given me satisfaction) has its foundation in faith - (1) Faith in a God of Justice, (2) Faith in the existence of an eternal plan of salvation for all God's children.
"Faith in a God of Justice Essential
"I say faith in a God of Justice, because if we hold the Lord responsible for the conditions of the Negro in his relationship to the Church, we must acknowledge justice as an attribute of the Eternal, or conceive Him as a discriminator and therefore unworthy of our worship. In seeking our answer, then, to the problem wherein discrimination seems apparent, we must accept the Lord as being upright, and that 'Justice and judgment are the habitation of His throne.' (Psalm 89:14), and we must believe that He will 'render to every man according to his work,' and that He 'shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.' (Eccl. 12-14) Accepting the truth that God is just and righteous, we may then set our minds at rest in the assurance that 'Whatsoever good thing any man doeth the same shall be received of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.' (Eph. 6:8)
"I emphasize Justice as an attribute of Deity, because it is the Lord who, though He 'made of one blood all nations,' also 'determined the bounds of their habitation.' In other words, the seeming discrimination of the Church toward the Negro is not something which originated with man, but goes back into the Beginning with God.
"It was the Lord who said that Pharaoh, the first Governor of Egypt, though 'a righteous man, blessed with the blessings of the earth, with the blessings of wisdom... could not have the Priesthood.'
"Now if we have faith in the justice of God, we are forced to the conclusion that this denial was not a deprivation of merited right. It may have been entirely in keeping with the eternal plan of salvation for all of the children of God.
"The Peopling of the Earth is in Accordance With a Great Plan
"Revelation assures us that this plan antedates man's mortal existence, extending back to man's pre-existent state. In that pre-mortal state, were 'intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these were many noble and great ones;
'And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: 'These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good.'
"Manifestly, from this revelation, we may infer two things: first, that there were many among those spirits different degrees of intelligence, varying grades and achievement, retarded and advanced spiritual attainment; second, that there were no national distinctions among those spirits such as Americans, Europeans, Asiatics, Australians, etc. Such 'bounds of habitation' would have to be 'determined' when the spirits entered upon their earthly existence or second estate.
"In the 'Blue Bird' Materlinck pictures unborn children summoned to earth life. As one group approaches the earth, the voices of the children earthward tending are heard in the distance to cry: 'The earth! The earth! I can see it; how beautiful it is! How bright it is!' Then following these cries of ecstasy there issued from out of the depth of the abyss a sweet song of gentleness and expectancy, in reference to which the author says: 'It is the song of the mothers coming out to meet them.'
"Materlinck's fairy play is not all fantasy or imagination, neither is Worthword's [sic] 'Ode on Intimations of Immortality' wherein he says:
'Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting,
The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting
And cometh from afar;
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home;'
"For, as we have already quoted, it is given as a fact in revelation that Abraham was chosen before he was born. Songs of expectant parents come from all parts of the earth, and each little spirit is attracted to the spiritual and mortal parentage for which the spirit has prepared itself.
"Now if none of these spirits was permitted to enter mortality until they all were good and great and had become leaders, then the diversity of conditions among the children of men as we see them today would certainly seem to indicate discrimination and injustice. But if in their eagerness to take upon themselves bodies, the spirits were willing to come through any lineage for which they were worthy, or to which they were attracted, then they were given the full reward of merit, and were satisfied, yes, and even blessed.
"Accepting this theory of life, we have a reasonable explanation of existent conditions in the habitations of man. How the law of spiritual attraction works between the spirit and the expectant parents, has not been revealed, neither can finite mind fully understand. By analogy, however, we can perhaps get a glimpse of what might take place in that spirit world. In physics we refer to the law of attraction wherein some force acting mutually between particles of matter tends to draw them together and to keep them from separating. In chemistry, there is an attractive force exerted between atoms, which causes them to enter into combinations. We know, too, that there is an affinity between persons - a spiritual relationship or attraction wherein individuals are either drawn towards others or repelled by others. Might it not be so in the realm of the spirit - each individual attracted to the parentage for which it is prepared. Our place in this world would then be determined by our advancement or conditions in the pre-mortal state, just as our place in our future existence will be determined by what we do here in mortality.
"When, therefore, the Creator said to Abraham, and to others of his attainment 'You I will make my rulers,' there could exist no feeling of envy or of jealousy among the million other spirits, for those who were 'good and great' were but receiving their just reward, just as do members of a graduation class who have successfully completed their prescribed courses of study. The thousands of other students who have not yet attained that honor still have the privilege to seek it, or they may, if they choose, remain in satisfaction down in the grades.
"By the operation of some eternal law with which man is yet unfamiliar, spirits came through parentages for which they are worthy - some as Bushmen of Australia, some as Solomon Islanders, some as Americans, as Europeans, as Asiattics [sic], etc., etc., with all the varying degrees of mentality and spirituality manifest in parents of the different races that inhabit the earth.
"Of this we may be sure, each was satisfied and happy to come through the lineage to which he or she was attracted and for which, and only which, he or she was prepared.
"The Priesthood was given to those who were chosen as leaders. There were many who could not receive it, yet knew that it was possible for them at sometime in the eternal plan to achieve that honor. Even those who knew that they would not be prepared to receive it during their mortal existence were content in the realization that they could attain every earthly blessing - progress intellectually and spiritually, and possess to a limited degree the blessing of wisdom.
"George Washington Carver was one of the noblest souls that ever came to earth. He held a close kinship with his heavenly Father, and rendered a service to his fellowmen such as few have ever excelled. For every righteous endeavor, for every noble impulse, for every good deed performed in his useful life George Washington Carver will be rewarded, and so will every other man be he red, white, black or yellow, for God is no respector [sic] of persons.
"Sometime in God's eternal plan, the Negro will be given the right to hold the Priesthood. In the meantime, those of that race who receive the testimony of the Restored Gospel may have their family ties protected and other blessings made secure, for in the justice and mercy of the Lord they will possess all the blessings to which they are entitled in the eternal plan of Salvation and Exaltation.
"[2] Nephi 26:33, to which you refer, does not contradict what I have said above, because the Negro is entitled to come unto the Lord by baptism, confirmation, and to receive the assistance of the Church in living righteously.
"Sincerely yours,
David O. McKay"
First Presidency Deliberations on Race
The Council Minutes of October 9, 1947 state "Letter read from Evan A. Borrowman, a stake missionary in the Los Angeles stake, asking questions regarding the Church's attitude toward the negro. Attention was also called to correspondence with O.J. Umondak of Nigeria, Africa, asking that missionaries be sent to the people of that land. Elder Joseph Fielding Smith called attention to the report of the Council of the Twelve under the date of April 23, 1940, reporting on an assignment given by this Council regarding permitting a person to receive the Priesthood who has any degree of negro blood, at which time it was the recommendation of the Twelve that the ruling of the past being that a person with the slightest degree of negro blood cannot receive the Priesthood.
"President Clark called attention to the sentiment among many people in this country to the point that we should break down all racial lines, as a result of which sentiment negro people have acquired an assertiveness that they become impudent. President Clark again repeated what he had previously said on a number of occasions that in South America, and particularly Brazil, we are entering into a situation in doing missionary work among these people where it is very difficult if not impossible to tell who has negro blood and who has not. He said that if we are baptizing Brazilians we are almost certainly baptizing people of negro blood, and that if the Priesthood is conferred upon them, which it no doubt is, we are facing a very serious problem. President Clark said that his heart bleeds for the negroes, that he had had them in his home and some of them were very fine people, that he felt we should give them every right and blessing to which they are entitled. He said he was wondering whether we could not work out a plan whereby, while not conferring the Priesthood as such upon them, we could give them opportunity to participate in the work certainly of the Aaronic Priesthood grades.
"In connection with this discussion Brother [Joseph] Anderson, at the request of the First Presidency, read to the Council exerpts [sic] from minutes of the Council meeting held May 28, 1879 and June 4, 1879, in which this matter of ordaining to the priesthood brethren with colored blood in their veins was discussed at considerable length and which minutes give among other things [a] copy of a blessing under the hands of Joseph Smith Sr. upon Elijah Abel, a negro.
"The suggestion was made that a compilation be made for the Brethren of the Council of all material that can be brought together upon this subject. Elder Stephen L Richards moved that this material be prepared under the direction of the First Presidency in any way they may see fit. Motion seconded and unanimously approved.
"It was decided to postpone answer to the letter from Brother Borrowman and also to correspondence from O.J. Umondak of Nigeria, Africa, until the material regarding the negro question has been assembled and the Brethren have had an opportunity to look it over and digest it.
"President George F. Richards presented to the Council a question as to whether or not there would be any objection to a Brother [Len] Hope and his family (negroes), faithful members of the Church who live in Cincinati [sic], receiving patriarchal blessing. On motion, duly seconded, it was the decision of the Council that negroes who are faithful members of the Church are entitled to patriarchal blessings."
The First Presidency in turn responded again to Lowry Nelson on November 12, "We have your letter of October 8 in further development of the matter discussed in your earlier letter.
"We feel very sure that you are aware of the doctrines of the Church. They are either true or not true. Our testimony is that they are true. Under these circumstances we may not permit ourselves to be too much impressed by the reasonings of men, however well founded they may seem to be. We should like to say this to you in all sincerity, that you are too fine a man to permit yourself to be led off from the principles of the Gospel by worldly learning. You have too much of a potentiality for doing good and we therefore prayerfully hope that you can re-orient your thinking and bring it in line with the revealed Word of God.
"Faithfully yours,
THE FIRST PRESIDENCY
G. Albert Smith"
Lowry Nelson later wrote, "I showed this correspondence to some friends, perhaps three or four all told. They wanted copies and I gave them to them. In a short time I began receiving letters from persons in various parts of the country saying they had obtained a copy and congratulating me. I do not recall getting an unfavorable comment. I really began to feel some guilt for having released the letters to friends without permission of the First Presidency. Especially when it became apparent that the sub-rosa circulation was so widespread. But, after all, there was no secret about the doctrine, except for those who like myself were uninformed that the dogma was fixed. Kimball Young wrote me that he was surprised that I didn’t know the doctrine was in force. But, unlike Kimball, I had never served a mission for the Church, and certainly missionaries must be instructed on the matter before they leave.
"In any case, I had decided to dismiss the matter and do nothing more about it."
Next: The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1948-1954
Main Page: Latter-day Saint Racial History
"President Clark called attention to the sentiment among many people in this country to the point that we should break down all racial lines, as a result of which sentiment negro people have acquired an assertiveness that they become impudent. President Clark again repeated what he had previously said on a number of occasions that in South America, and particularly Brazil, we are entering into a situation in doing missionary work among these people where it is very difficult if not impossible to tell who has negro blood and who has not. He said that if we are baptizing Brazilians we are almost certainly baptizing people of negro blood, and that if the Priesthood is conferred upon them, which it no doubt is, we are facing a very serious problem. President Clark said that his heart bleeds for the negroes, that he had had them in his home and some of them were very fine people, that he felt we should give them every right and blessing to which they are entitled. He said he was wondering whether we could not work out a plan whereby, while not conferring the Priesthood as such upon them, we could give them opportunity to participate in the work certainly of the Aaronic Priesthood grades.
"In connection with this discussion Brother [Joseph] Anderson, at the request of the First Presidency, read to the Council exerpts [sic] from minutes of the Council meeting held May 28, 1879 and June 4, 1879, in which this matter of ordaining to the priesthood brethren with colored blood in their veins was discussed at considerable length and which minutes give among other things [a] copy of a blessing under the hands of Joseph Smith Sr. upon Elijah Abel, a negro.
"The suggestion was made that a compilation be made for the Brethren of the Council of all material that can be brought together upon this subject. Elder Stephen L Richards moved that this material be prepared under the direction of the First Presidency in any way they may see fit. Motion seconded and unanimously approved.
"It was decided to postpone answer to the letter from Brother Borrowman and also to correspondence from O.J. Umondak of Nigeria, Africa, until the material regarding the negro question has been assembled and the Brethren have had an opportunity to look it over and digest it.
"President George F. Richards presented to the Council a question as to whether or not there would be any objection to a Brother [Len] Hope and his family (negroes), faithful members of the Church who live in Cincinati [sic], receiving patriarchal blessing. On motion, duly seconded, it was the decision of the Council that negroes who are faithful members of the Church are entitled to patriarchal blessings."
The First Presidency in turn responded again to Lowry Nelson on November 12, "We have your letter of October 8 in further development of the matter discussed in your earlier letter.
"We feel very sure that you are aware of the doctrines of the Church. They are either true or not true. Our testimony is that they are true. Under these circumstances we may not permit ourselves to be too much impressed by the reasonings of men, however well founded they may seem to be. We should like to say this to you in all sincerity, that you are too fine a man to permit yourself to be led off from the principles of the Gospel by worldly learning. You have too much of a potentiality for doing good and we therefore prayerfully hope that you can re-orient your thinking and bring it in line with the revealed Word of God.
"Faithfully yours,
THE FIRST PRESIDENCY
G. Albert Smith"
Lowry Nelson later wrote, "I showed this correspondence to some friends, perhaps three or four all told. They wanted copies and I gave them to them. In a short time I began receiving letters from persons in various parts of the country saying they had obtained a copy and congratulating me. I do not recall getting an unfavorable comment. I really began to feel some guilt for having released the letters to friends without permission of the First Presidency. Especially when it became apparent that the sub-rosa circulation was so widespread. But, after all, there was no secret about the doctrine, except for those who like myself were uninformed that the dogma was fixed. Kimball Young wrote me that he was surprised that I didn’t know the doctrine was in force. But, unlike Kimball, I had never served a mission for the Church, and certainly missionaries must be instructed on the matter before they leave.
"In any case, I had decided to dismiss the matter and do nothing more about it."
Next: The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1948-1954
Main Page: Latter-day Saint Racial History
