Let’s Talk about Race and Priesthood

by W. Paul Reeve

Few topics related to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are as complex and painful to understand as the policy that for 130 years restricted members of Black African descent from priesthood ordination and receiving temple ordinances. The impact of this policy has been deeply felt by generations of faithful members of the Church. Through the lens of modern scholarship and a trust in revelation, historian W. Paul Reeve offers vital historical context and insight on the origins of the restrictions, race relations both within and outside of the Church, the effects of implementing and eventually removing the policy, and other questions surrounding this sensitive topic. Reeve explores three phases of racial priesthood and temple restrictions in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: first, when there were no racial barriers to receiving the priesthood and temple ordinances; second, the 130-year period when there were racial restrictions; and third, a return to “the original universalism.”

Genres: History, Religion, Lds, Faith, Nonfiction, Mormonism, Race

175 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 9, 2023

About the author

W. Paul Reeve is Chair of the History Department and Simmons Chair of Mormon Studies at the University of Utah where he teaches courses on Utah history, Mormon history, and the history of the U.S. West. His book, Religion of a Different Color: Race and the Mormon Struggle for Whiteness, (Oxford, 2015) received the Mormon History Association’s Best Book Award, the John Whitmer Historical Association’s Smith-Pettit Best Book Award, and the Utah State Historical Society’s Francis Armstrong Madsen Best History Book Award. In 2023, Deseret Book published his Let's Talk about Race and Priesthood, with a foreword by Darius Gray. He is the recipient of the Utah Council for the Social Studies’ University Teacher of the Year award. He is Project Manager and General Editor of a digital database, Century of Black Mormons, designed to identify all known Black Latter-day Saints baptized between 1830 and 1930. The database is live at http://centuryofblackmormons.org

Reviews

[Courtney Hatch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t say things like this lightly: Dr Reeve is the perfect person to write this book—and he wrote it perfectly. Read it.

[Christopher Angulo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reeve is one one of the most balanced, careful, thoughtful, and charitable scholars that I have come across. His writings bring wisdom and enlightenment. His detail to history provides a wealth of information and knowledge. This book in particular is such a gem! It is short and follows a similar pattern that Saints does (stories focused on individuals mixed with historical analysis). The order of the book helps you take in the history of blacks and the priesthood. The citations guide the interested reader to further writings that go into further detail on the subject at hand. The book probes the issue, answering some questions, but leaving the reader to search for further answers themselves. This book is such a wonderful introduction to the subject and should be read by all.

[Lauren - · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horrifying but well documented and important. This quote is a pretty good summation of my faith these days: "There are no easy answers that will satisfy everyone, but in my estimation, our faith is stronger for having wrestled with such questions."

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So hard to read, but so worth the read and such an important book to read. Mr Reeve handled the topic with such insight and candour. I hope that this book becomes widely known and read in the LDS faith community. False teachings need to be abolished from people's hearts and minds.

[Walter Swingle · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much is packed into this short book. The stories are powerful and so important. This is essential reading for “rooting out racism” in the church.

[David Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this 50 stars if I could. To the extent people are familiar with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), they tend to know about our history with polygamy, or our belief in an additional book of scripture (the Book of Mormon), or they've seen the play, or they've seen our missionaries, or they're aware that many (not all) U.S. Latter Day Saints are politically conservative.

They may also be aware that our church has an unfortunate history with race. For 130 years, until 1978, the LDS Church prevented black men and women from full participation in church ordinances. Black men could neither hold the Priesthood nor attend the temple and black women were prevented from attending the temple, site of our most holy ordinances. Note that blacks could be baptized and join the church, but were not eligible for higher ordinances, that was expected to come at a later date.

Prohibiting full participation by blacks was a strange policy move for the early church. Early 19th century white members of the Church were themselves considered non-white by high-caste Americans. The early Church baptized both free and enslaved blacks, ordained black men to the Priesthood, and allowed black men and women to participate in temple ordinances. When violent mobs and militias drove early church members out of Missouri, it was because they feared that Joseph Smith's statements on religious and racial universalism would create an abolitionist LDS voting block (pro and anti-slavery sentiments were evenly divided in the state) and cause free blacks to move to the state, thus thwarting Missouri's aim of becoming a slave state under the Missouri compromise.

What changed? It's probably best that you read the book for the answer to that question. Perhaps it's not surprising that a church founded in the United States would mirror our national sin of racism for so long. It would be nice if the nation and the church had lived up to their stated ideals, but, alas, both lacked the foresight to see the long-term consequences of their actions. For those who tend to see our church leaders as infallible, this is a reminder that this was a decision rooted in culture rather than divinity, and even leaders have agency.

The LDS Church has traditionally gauged its health via its growth. Since 1978, the Church has expanded its missionary efforts in African and Latin American countries. Certain central African countries are currently among the fastest growing LDS communities and Brazil is a global center of strength. As a teenager, from 1975 to 1978, I lived with my family in Kinshasa in what was then Zaire (now The Democratic Republic of Congo). As far as we knew, my family of five and another couple (all white expatriates) were the only members of the LDS faith in the country at the time. Shortly after we left Zaire in 1978, the Church expanded priesthood and temple ordinances to all members of the Church. I can still summon the feeling of relief and the lifting of a sense of shame that I felt at that time.

Aside from a 2013 explainer on its website, the Church has been loathe to apologize officially or discuss the full arc of this history, perhaps preferring to look forward rather than back. Academics have explored this history, but, to my knowledge, this (with the aid of newly discovered documents) is the most complete synthesis of the history of this issue. We are indebted to Dr. Reeve for his work.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Latter-day Saint family should consider having a copy of this small book on their shelf. Published by Deseret Book, it mostly focuses on the history surrounding the temple/priesthood ban, but author W. Paul Reeve also succinctly dismantles every popular argument used to claim the temple/priesthood ban was divinely inspired, part of a scriptural pattern, or justified by the cultural norms of the day.

I can't help but feel that greater awareness of the historical facts surrounding this topic would go a long way towards fulfilling church leaders' admonition to "root out racism".

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is extremely well-written, and it has cleared up so many of my questions. Although it made me physically upset at times, I have learned so much. I have learned that God's work will continue move forward for the faithful even when it seems like all odds are stacked against you, and I also learned the importance of questions and receiving personal revelation. Everyone should read this!

[Ryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

My brief review will likely only be understood by Latter-day Saint readers, and may not be appreciated by many of them. In only read this book because others around me were reading it and discussing it. I would not recommend it to others because I don't find it to be helpful for many reasons. I'll go over just three here. It has significant inconsistencies in the arguments it puts forth, which makes it rather unconvincing. For example, the author argues for an idyllic, unprejudiced, early stage of the Restoration where blacks and whites were ordained to the priesthood together. But it glosses over, and all but ignores the facts that no slaves were ordained to the priesthood, the early Church did not advocate preaching the gospel to enslaved peoples, and that Joseph Smith favored or countenanced plans to export emancipated slaves outside of the United States, similar to other antebellum schemes. Those facts don't mesh well with the universalistic, egalitarian society that the author seems to want to create out of the past. There are many, many problems like this throughout the book. It makes me wonder who did the editing for this book.
The book also raises significant theological and ecclesiastical answers regarding the role of a Prophet that it doesn't offer any satisfactory or meaningful answers to. It sometimes even resorts to straw man arguments in its responses.
But my biggest issue with the book is that is falls into the same trap as all previous man-made explanations relative to the priesthood restriction in the LDS Church. One of the main takeaways from the Church's "Race and the Priesthood" article (which I'm told the author of this book contributed to) is that mortals should refrain from trying to make their own explanations for things that the Lord hasn't given revealed explanations for. It almost always turns out badly. Now I realize that the author's response will be that the priesthood restriction was never of divine origins, but that is the author's assumption that he then builds a very flimsy unconvincing case around, which rests almost entirely on the notion that the misused agency of supposed prophets can thwart the work of God for over 120 years.
But conveniently, the author concludes the book by basically saying that anyone who disagrees with him is just being "defensive."

[Symbria Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure how to rate this… it’s a deeply uncomfortable read, but necessary and educational. I applaud his ability to state the realities without justifying, appeasing, or otherwise imposing personal indignations. And I appreciated his commentary as I sat reeling and searching my own mind to make sense of the past and what it means for us now. I appreciated his expertise in my efforts to be educated and informed in matters that I believe in.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

All members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would benefit from reading this book.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow - this is a must read for all LDS church members. Fantastic research, packed into a digestible portion for lay members.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book does have a few issues, as it ends up being sometimes a too apologetic piece, at times it skips over a couple of particularly heinous comments, and then it adopts some elements in the end that are not consistent with doctrine itself. That being said, this does bring to light a lot of research that allows one to properly view the racial climate of the Latter-Day Saint church's history and how one can be informed on it rather than in the dark and furthering common falsehoods. The main strength of the book is showing the inconsistency of basically every leader up to Spencer W. Kimball in both public and private statements on the matter and it's really no wonder a war and a Civil Rights Movement were fought over these ideas! No one at the time seemed to be able to address their preconceived notions and upbringing with the obvious scripture that showed how stupid those cultural insertions had been. I had no idea that like my fellow Irish kinsmen Latter-Day Saints were considered sub-human and not "white;" just fascinating the entrenched traditions of those times. Through this book and my own pondering of it I was able to write an essay that helps me to understand these issues better and to understand my own feelings on them, so I was very grateful to it for that as well. I'm glad this got published and I think it's an important read, though perhaps for someone who is already scripturally literate (milk before meat principle) rather than someone just diving in without any prior knowledge.

[Ashley Funk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Challenging topic treated with candor, fairness, and faith. Some past statements from Church leaders about race are shocking and deeply troubling. This book explores historical context, cultural attitudes, personal prejudice, and hurtful practices. It exposes painful truths of the past without making excuses. It invites Church members to own past hurts and lead in making choices that appropriately reflect the teachings of Jesus Christ. Well done.

[Terrell Baldwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book! I've had questions about this topic for several years. The author brings his insight into an understandable perspective. A very enjoyable book that had me wanting more.

[Tofupup · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes tough to read, but essential reading for Latter-day Saints.

[Randi Cline · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very raw and heavy read but very important. Reeve did a fabulous job untangling culturally inherited misinterpretations from true doctrine. His candid rejections of past excuses for the priesthood race restriction were eloquently and clearly explained and defended.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was eye-opening and enlightening. I feel like I understand so much more about this topic, even though we don’t necessarily have all of the answers. The history was fascinating, and the author’s breakdown and rebuttal of all the various theories and arguments for the priesthood ban was phenomenal. A quick but important read.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

A difficult book to get through because of the complete racism of our past leaders. I learned so much by listening to this and it helped me understand but not accept the past beliefs. I’m grateful I was raised in a home where no race or nationality was above another. My parents loved having all cultures in our home so that we could learn from them. This racism begins in the home and I hope it ends there.

[Kevin Folkman · Rating 5 out of 5]

For an outsider, the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with its lay leadership, can seem unusual. Some of the positions are familiar, but don’t always have the same meaning as other churches. The concept of priesthood is also different. Every worthy male member over a certain age holds priesthood authority in the LDS church, while priesthood in many other denominations is generally limited to those in leadership roles. Within the LDS Church, it is understood that the leadership and governance of the church is universally linked with priesthood authority which is widely distributed throughout its membership. For over 120 years, that authority was restricted by racial heritage. Many current members of the church may not be old enough to have personally experienced the policy that banned members of African descent from holding priesthood offices and restricted their access to temple ordinances, or the revelation that ended the policy 45 years ago. That history raises questions leaving many members looking for answers.
Let’s Talk About Race and Priesthood, by Paul Reeve, is a small volume from Deseret Book that does an excellent job of answering many of those questions, but not all. Reeve is particularly well qualified to write on the priesthood/temple ban. He has devoted much of his academic career to studying and writing about the topic of race and the Church, including his previous work, Religion of a Different Color: Race and the Mormon Struggle for Whiteness. Reeve has also led the effort at the University of Utah to create and maintain a database, A Century of Black Mormons, that documents the names and biographical information on Black members of the Church during the years of the priesthood/temple ban.
The topic of race and priesthood has long been of interest to this reviewer. Reeve succinctly and comprehensively relates the history of the ban with many new details previously unknown to me. Reeve has organized the book into three sections, the first dealing with the universal acceptance of Blacks who joined during the Church’s first twenty years. Black male members were ordained to the priesthood and served missions, and individual Black members received as much of the temple ordinances as existed during the brief period when those rites were introduced in Kirtland and Nauvoo.
Reeve’s second section then deals with the beginnings of the ban during the presidency of Brigham Young, and the racially-based segregation of temple ordinances and priesthood that lasted until 1978. Reeve correctly identifies the most likely and well-documented reasons for the ban as the fear of miscegenation, or mixing of the races through marriage. He explains how over time, as succeeding church leaders dealt with the issues of the ban, various justifications were articulated, despite some obvious conflicts with scriptural admonishments about the universal nature of Christ’s restored gospel. This led to concepts such as the Black race being cursed as descendants of Cain who slew Abel, or the idea that Blacks were fence-sitters during the pre-existent War in Heaven. Reeve deals with each of justifications, providing as much an answer as can be found. Reeve notes that the search for justification came at a cost:

“[At the turn of the 20th Century}…Church leaders moved incrementally away from their own Black members towards whiteness and its corresponding acceptability. It was a racial passage, however, that came with a price. That price included racial prejudice, policies, teachings, and practices that became tightly woven into the fabric of the Church and would take another seventy years to begin to unravel.” [p87]

Over time, those justifications became more and more problematic, as the church expanded internationally into South America and Africa. Reeve shows how attitudes among the First Presidency and Quorum of Twelve struggled with the issues resulting from the ban, and President Spencer W. Kimball’s year’s long struggle leading up to the 1978 revelation ending the ban.
One of the most vexing questions for members has to do with whether or not the ban was instituted by revelation, either to Joseph Smith or Brigham Young, during their presidencies. Reeve does not believe that such a revelation occurred. As Reeve notes, there is no contemporary evidence for such a revelation. [Note 1] As with much of history, there continues to be gaps in knowledge that can’t easily be filled. As President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, “To be perfectly frank, there have been times when members or leaders in the church have simply made mistakes…God is perfect…but he works through us---His imperfect children---and imperfect people make mistakes.”[p122]
The third and final section is about post-1978 inclusion and how we move forward as a church from this legacy of what has the appearance of racist theology. It includes a number of quotations on turning away from racism and prejudice. Bruce R. McConkie of the Twelve made perhaps the most emphatic statement in 1978 when he proclaimed “Forget everything that I have said, or what President Brigham Young or George Q. Cannon, or whomsoever has said in days past that is contrary to the present revelation. We spoke with a limited understanding and without the light and knowledge that has now come into the world.” [p110] President Dallin H. Oaks said “we must do better to help root out racism.” [p111]
Another question that Reeve responds to is how we react to the idea that our leaders that we confirm and sustain as prophets, seers and revelators, may have gotten something so wrong. He quotes Jeffrey R. Holland of the Twelve saying “Be kind regarding human frailty---your own as well as that of those who serve with you in a Church led by volunteer, mortal men and women…imperfect people are all that God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but he deals with it. So should we.” [p122] As Reeve says it, “…the message seems clear: God is accustomed to working through fallible folks.” [p123]
Every page in Let’s Talk About Race and Priesthood reveals solidly researched information and insights that will help readers better understand the many questions surrounding the ban.. This small volume has a greater chance of being read by more members of the Church, both due to its availability, and the important perceived endorsement as a book produced by Deseret Book, the Church’s official publishing outlet.
Some readers will have difficulty with the information in this book. Reeve notes that in 2010, 32 years after the ban ended, he was asked by a twelve-year-old deacon in his ward, “Why are Black people cursed?” indicating that the problem is still very much with us. [p113] While the thrust of Reeve’s book may be about helping individuals come to terms with race and the priesthood as it pertains to the Church, its greater lesson may be about increasing our awareness of how institutions, including the Church, can succumb to cultural and societal norms that are not in tune with Christ’s restored gospel. Current Church President Russell M. Nelson, along with leaders of the NAACP, recently issued a joint statement recognizing how racism goes beyond individual feelings and attitudes. In the statement, they called on “government, business, and educational leaders at every level to review processes, laws, and organizational attitudes regarding racism and root them out once and for all. [p129]
Understanding leads to individual change, and individuals then can influence families, business, government, and organizations, no matter how large, to change as well. Let’s Talk About Race and Priesthood is an important step to understanding the priesthood/temple ban, and then furthering that process of change.

1. Normally even an unpublished revelation would have created some kind of paper trail. No evidence of such a revelation can be found in any of the minutes of First Presidency or Quorum of the Twelve meetings from that time, nor is there any reference to such a revelation in their journals, personal correspondence, or public speaking on the matter. Lack of evidence, however, is not evidence of lack in any conclusive way. Given the amount of research on this topic, and the huge volume of documents and information gathered by the Joseph Smith Papers Project, it seems unlikely that such a revelation beginning the ban occurred. See also Real vs. Rumor: How to Dispel Latter-day Myths, Keith Erekson, Deseret Book, 2021, pps 15-17; also, discussion in a Church History conference call for America Northwest Area, May 6, 2021, reviewer’s notes.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

SOOOO good. Hands down the best thing I've read on the topic. I've dabbled a little in reading Paul Reeve's work, primarily in entries in his Century of Black Mormons database (which is quality work), and appreciated him as a historian, but this won me over to him as a writer. His writing is clear and warm, with laser precision. He always gave the right amount of primary source, enough to provide nuanced understanding, but not enough to bog the text down. He championed the voices and experiences of marginalized people whenever possible, while never losing sight of how they fit into his overall narrative. He has charity, but holds people absolutely accountable for their mistakes (and there are many, many mistakes). His argument is beautifully reasoned and supported. Highly recommended.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let’s Talk About Race and Priesthood by W. Paul Reeve is a thought-provoking and insightful book that explores some key aspects of the intersection of race and religion in the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To me, this volume is up there with Brittany Chapman Nash’s Let’s Talk About Polygamy as both the best and most important entries in a fantastic series. Reeve, a professor of history at the University of Utah, draws on his extensive research to provide a nuanced and detailed account of the Church’s racial policies and practices from its founding in the early 19th century to the present day.

The book is organized into three main sections, each of which examines a different aspect of the relationship between race and priesthood in the Church. In the first section, Reeve discusses the Church’s initial openness to African American members in the early 19th century, their cultural context, and steps that led to the eventual adoption of a ban on the ordination of and performance of temple ordinances for individuals with black African ancestry in the mid-20th century.

In the second section, Reeve examines the experience of those who were affected by the priesthood and temple ban. He draws on a range of sources, including personal letters, diaries, and oral histories, to paint a vivid picture of how race has shaped the experiences of African American members of the Church and how they came to be excluded from key ordinances in the Church. He also describes how the ban solidified over time and justifications for the ban developed within the Church.

In the third and final section, Reeve describes the lifting of the ban, lingering issues since 1978, and then looks to the future, exploring the challenges that the Church faces as it seeks to become more racially inclusive and diverse. He discusses the efforts that the Church has made in recent years to address past racial injustices, as well as the ongoing work that needs to be done to create a more equitable and inclusive community.

I have studied the topic of the priesthood and temple ban pretty extensively and it’s something that is important to me to understand. (For anyone who might doubt my interest and investment in the topic, I have something like a dozen posts about it that I’ve written over the years to which I can refer you.) Let’s Talk About Race and the Priesthood takes a massive amount of information and background research and distills it into a very accessible book. It also offered some information of which I was not aware, such as the extent to which Orson Pratt opposed slavery in Utah Territory and how difficult it was to enforce the ban evenly throughout Latin America, where segregation and avoidance of interracial relationships were not as normalized as they were in the United States.

I was also impressed with how candid and straightforward Reeve was throughout, talking directly to the problems, but also offering some of his own insights and thoughts that have come from deepy wrestling with this history as a practicing member of the Church. I think the main thing that I would have appreciated having more of would be some wrestling with the portrayal of race in the Book of Mormon and the relationship of that portrayal with the beliefs that underpinned the ban, but that is something that probably speaks more about my own wrestles rather than anything lacking in the book.

Thus, W. Paul Reeve’s Let’s Talk About Race and Priesthood is an important and timely book that sheds light on a complex and often fraught topic. Reeve’s careful analysis and engaging writing make this book a valuable resource for anyone interested in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Consider me a fan. Also, consider picking up a copy and reading it. It’s well worth it.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Reeve does it again, this time in a volume that can be read in a single day. He shows that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints initially offered the ordinances of the Restored Gospel to all people. He then details how Church leaders increasingly restricted the roles Black Latter-day Saints could serve in the Church as they instituted a systematic, but ultimately unenforceable, ban on priesthood and temple ordinances from those with "one-drop" of African ancestry. I particularly appreciated the stories of Latter-day Saints from Latin America that illustrated just how problematic the Church's race-based policies were on the global level. Finally, Reeve addresses how Spencer Kimball dismantled the race restrictions.

Most helpful, Reeve offers up his personal insights from wrestling with the historical material for decades. First, he unequivocally denounces the ban: "I do not believe the racial restrictions were of divine origins" (111). Then, he forcefully rejects past justifications for the ban (113):

"Black people are not now nor were they ever cursed by God."
"Black people are not descendants of Cain, Ham, or Canaan."
"Black people were not neutral, less valiant, evil, or fence-sitters in the premortal realm."

And, perhaps most helpful of all, he dismantles the common justifications he still hears from Latter-day Saints:

1. "Some people have suggested that the Lord spreads the gospel in stages according to a divine timeline: First to the Jews and then to the Gentiles as a parallel to first white people and then to Black people." (115)
2. "In the Old Testament, the tribe of Levi was given priesthood authority while members of other tribes were not." (116)
3. "the racial turbulence of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was so fraught in the United States that ordaining Black men to the priesthood would have brought down the Church." (116)
4. "the racial restrictions were merely products of an unenlightened past. Everyone was racist back then. They did not know any better." (117)

Each one of these proposals is flawed.

"Rather than deny or defend the racism, what if we were willing to acknowledge its ugliness and to collectively lift its weight?" (128), Reeve pleads. "To esteem our brothers and sisters as ourselves is a call to recognize the diversity that exists among us, to see color and do the work that it takes to understand what life looks like from someone else's perspective. Jane Manning James was repeatedly denied temple admission and Freda Beaulieu waited over sixty-nine years to enter a temple—am i willing to esteem their experiences as my own? Elijah Able was denied his endowment and the chance to be sealed to his wife—am I willing to claim his flesh as my own? Marie Graves was denied access to Sunday worship services because she was Black—am I willing to walk a mile in her shoes?" (132)

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review was written in 2 parts:
1. Observations made after having read ⅓ of the book:
• It is written to persuade.
• The structure, a 3-part classification of events, is intended to persuade, lastingly.
• Classification is an invention. It may be used to facilitate understanding, and/or recollection, and/or persuasion.
• Classification is definitionally interpretive and simplifying. Simplification, is a form of data reduction: data and typically information are sacrificed for simplicity.
• It’s noteworthy that the author would not write the book for Deseret Publishing unless the editorial staff agreed to the book’s classification scheme.
• After noting that Joseph, in 1836, publicly spoke the curse of Cain rationale, the writing seems apologist … as if seeking to minimize and dismiss Joseph’s use as it has the potential to compromise the classification scheme.

2. Observations at completion:
• The case for purity of attitudes wrt race prior to Brigham Young feels (and needlessly so) overstated given the evidence presented / available. (This observation continues from the previous bullet, an observation made earlier).
• However, it seems clear whatever racist attitudes existed did not influence religious practices affecting non-whites i.e. practices wrt to religious privileges were inclusive.
• The (a) manifestation of amalgamation seems to have been the trigger for Brigham’s change of mind.
• The events of the ensuing 130 years provide a model (a non-example) which demonstrates how error may perpetuate including its formation, solidification, exacerbation, and petrification.
• We are yet afflicted, post-1978, as evidenced by still prevalent specious arguments regarding why it happened or was allowed to happen.
• The sometimes-said-to-be-a-burden errant history is rather a gift which if accepted might help to free us from the notion that error cannot be repented of and free us from the poetically ironic enslavement by sin.
• Acceptance includes embracing, and even teaching a truer account, truer than “Church records offer no clear insights into the origins of this practice.” It would seem doing so might enable all to learn from it.

Wonderings:
• The principle of repentance is foundational to the LDS faith. Scripture makes that plain and makes plain what repentance consists of. For example, “By this ye may know if a [person] repenteth of [their] sins — behold [they] will confess them and forsake them” (DC 58:43). Repentance as such is understood as an individual matter. As regularly taught and understood it includes recognition, sorrow, confession, restitution, and forsaking.
• Is it also an institutional matter?
• Or under what conditions might it be an institutional matter?
• If such is indeed a thing, what constitutes institutional repentance?
• When might an institution “know if [it] repenteth of [its] sins…?”

[Carl · Rating 5 out of 5]

These short little "Let's Talk About" books are fantastic, and this one was no disappointment.

I've read Dr. Reeve's book "Religion of a Different Color" and found it a deeply fascinating book. This shorter volume covers more ground in many ways, but has the advantage of (what I assume) are a few more years of scholarship and research into early LDS converts of African descent showing that, indeed, the Church of Jesus Christ began as racially universal, but then shifted into a racial exclusion mode, returning to its roots in 1978 after the revelation was received. Reeve relies on his own research as well as that of several other scholars to show the complications from the racial exclusion policy, and why (to his argument) it should never have been implemented in the first place.

I myself have been reluctant to attribute the policy to outright error, not confident enough in my own thinking to condemn those from my religion who came before me and who lived in different times. Reeve systematically goes through every justification and explanation about the exclusion policy and dismantles them all. And while I am still reluctant to simply say "this was a monumental screw-up," I am more open to thinking that than I ever was before. I don't know that I'll ever get there. My dedication to the Church also means not going beyond what the Church has officially said, but Reeve has no similar compunctions (and I hold him no ill will or think less of him because of this personality difference between us, both members of the Church) and boldly states that he thinks this was an error. This in a book published by Deseret Book, no less, whatever imprimatur comes from that fact. Reeve wants us to continue to divest ourselves of the problems of racism that arise in the Church even today, as do I, and I do wonder if his approach of direct confrontation and condemnation would do better than my approach of let it die out slowly by moving on.

In a few hundred years, I don't think it will really matter.

In a billion years, it certainly won't.

But I don't live a few hundred or a billion years from now. I live now. And this book challenges me in all the right ways as a member of the Church, and I am better for it.

[Bentley Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book itself is relatively short—just shy of 140 pages without counting footnotes. But it does a marvelous job of recounting the history of race-based policies and history in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as providing a modern look at the issue, a call to action, and finding a path forward.

This is an absolute must-read book for anyone interested in this topic. And it’s one that I wish every member of the Church would read to better understand this history and how we can do better moving forward.

Some believers may be troubled by Professor Reeve’s conclusion that the previous priesthood ban did not come from God. However, Professor Reeve makes compelling arguments for that conclusion and for rejecting several theories that people have used in attempting to justify the ban.

For me—as a believing, practicing member of the Church—Dr. Reeve’s conclusion is logical, compelling, and the only one I find to be in line with core Church teachings and revelation. At the end of the day, we are left with a choice between believing that either:
(A) imperfect, mortal men made mistakes due to their own prejudices, biases, and flaws, or
(B) that contrary to scripture, God is a respecter of persons who discriminated against an entire race without any justification.

Presented with that choice, it seems to me—and to Professor Reeve—that the only reasonable explanation is the first: that the priesthood ban was the product of flawed mortal men rather than an act of discrimination and prejudice on God’s part. Indeed, choosing the latter would be squarely at odds with biblical and Latter-day Saint scriptures that teach that God is no respecter of persons and that “all are alike unto God,” regardless of race or other attributes.

With respect to the book, I would also add that Darius Gray’s foreword and perspective is equally worth reading and consideration. Few people in the Church have grappled with these issues more deeply and faithfully than Darius Gray. Would that more of us were like him and gave greater consideration to his experience and perspective.

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this twice to catch details I missed the first time. This is a heavy topic, but Reeve did a good job diving into it and helped me understand it more fully and from different angles. Using Darius Gray's story for the foreword was a nice addition. It's interesting that we all have African in our bloodline. I appreciated hearing how Spencer W. Kimball wrestled with the issue with reframing his thinking, seeking revelation, and working towards unity among the Quorum of the 12. It was tough to learn which members of the quorum were not on board, but I appreciated that Bruce R. McConkie made a public apology and statement to BYU after the lift of the ban. It was interesting to read how sticky the situation was prior to the lift of the ban in terms of individual stories (the stake president who found African ancestry and was released from his calling as one example). I can't imagine the faith it would take to sacrifice money and time building a temple knowing you were not allowed to enter it to participate in saving ordinances. Frieda's story in Ch. 17 about setting aside tithing in her first marriage and also her faith during a blessing was very moving.

Quotes I jotted down while listening:
"God called weak vessels so we wouldn't put our faith in them but in God."
"We need to acknowledge the ugliness and collectively lift the weight."
"Join in the work of inclusion."

[Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! The ban on the Priesthood from black members of African descent is grievously part of church history and this book does not skimp out on the hard facts. Because one leaders personal beliefs were mistakenly taken for revelation for the church as a whole, systemic racism took root and grew within the church. Erroneous and hurtful practices and teachings barred not only worthy male members from holding an office in the Priesthood, but worthy members from receiving ordinances of the Priesthood. This was difficult for me to read and learn about. It took prayerful contemplation for me to grapple with the feelings of hurt I felt forwards the enacting leaders and the people affected by their actions. Plainly laid out in a no holds barred approach, the author thoroughly explains the history of the restriction, how it began, the personal effects it had, and what led up to (as well as the results) of the 1978 revelation. Plain and simple, all people, even leaders called by God are not infallible, but God loves all people, we are His children, and He invites everyone to come unto Him.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't tell you how wonderful this is! I knew as tears formed in my eyes during the foreword and intro that this was important history to address, and much needed on so many levels! Kudos to Deseret Book for promoting this message and Reeves for writing it and telling it so well.
This book is divided into 3 phases of history of the LDS church concerning its evolving ideas on racism and subsequent policies written that excluded black members of the church from receiving equal rights. Devastating results, but so important to own and learn from. By definition of this author and research-- no excuses. No mental gymnastics to make it the will of God. Accept that prophets/leaders are human, and do not blindly accept everything as TRUTH.
This brave suggestion and lesson can set the church on a path of healing if it will continue in this endeavor. By addressing racism, I saw so many parallels to other minorities the church has yet to fully include. Keep moving forward, you're getting there.

[Sam Nicholes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it Again?
⭐️ - I would read it again.

Recommend it?
⭐️ - I recommend it as a good read. It is a quick read that can connect you to important scriptural and historical sources on the topics of race, theology, and justice

Objective Takeaway
⭐️ - Dr. Reeves breaks down the racial history of the church in a comprehensible, accessible way, friendly to a general audience. He identifies how social and cultural ideas and beliefs influenced and cause divisiveness in the church in matters of race and theology. He explains how he personally wrestled with these issues to resolve them.

Subjective Takeaway
⭐️ - It was a good exercise in wrestling with difficult questions and emotions about the human condition: The fallibility of leaders; God’s allowance of mistakes and sins and everything in between; how we direct and use our faith despite the messiness of life.

Writing, Diction, and Audience
⭐️ - Well written; concise and to the point. Language is accessible to a general audience.