Setting the Record Straight: Blacks and the Mormon Priesthood

Why were male black members of the Church banned from holding the priesthood?

Why was the ban lifted?

Are Latter-day Saints racists?

For over a century The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prohibited the ordination of men who had Black African ancestry to offices in its priesthood.

This "priesthood ban" was lifted in 1978 to the delight of most Church members, but puzzling questions and folklore surrounding the origin and reasons for the ban have lingered in Mormon popular culture.

In a deeply doctrinal discussion of this controversial subject in Mormon history, Professor Marcus H. Martins shares personal reflections based on his experiences as a Black member of the Church who lived through the final years of the ban. His analysis debunks old myths and folklore, and it introduces a gospel-based framework for racial and cultural relations in contemporary societies.