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In the Lord's due time
In 1972, at age 19, Freeman enlisted in the United States Army and was stationed in Hawaii. While in Hawaii he became dissatisfied with the Holiness congregations he attended and began to study other Christian denominations. During this time he met several people who were Latter-day Saints including a sergeant in his unit. After several months of studying with Mormon missionaries, reading the Book of Mormon, and being fully informed of the restriction of priesthood ordination for men of African descent, Freeman stepped down from his role in the Holiness faith and was baptized and confirmed a member of the LDS Church on September 30, 1973. During the period of investigation prior to his baptism he met Toe Isapela Leituala, a Samoan convert to the faith of six years. The two were married on June 15, 1974. In 1975 Freeman left the military and the couple eventually moved to Salt Lake City, Utah.
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First published January 1, 1979
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January 3, 2026
THE TESTIMONY OF THE FIRST BLACK MAN TO RECEIVE THE LDS PRIESTHOOD
Joseph Freeman (b. 1952) was the first man of Black African descent to receive the Priesthood in the LDS Church. He converted in 1973 while he was serving in the U.S. Army.
In the first chapter of this 1979 book, he recalls his feelings after hearing of the 1978 announcement that ‘the priesthood is now available to all worthy males of the [LDS Church]: “My lifetime dream of becoming a complete follower and servant of Jesus Christ had come true. The yearning desire I’d had since joining the Church---to be found worthy to act in the name of the Lord, to know that I would have my family forever, to be able to bless and baptize my own children, to lead as a priesthood patriarch in our home---this tremendous blessing was now to be mine!… It suddenly dawned on me that I could now be sealed for time and eternity to my lovely wife and our three previous children in the temple. The temple! The thought took my breath away.” (Pg. 2-3)
He also acknowledges, “I was well acquainted with the scriptural story. I knew that since the beginning of the black race, when … Father Adam still walked the earth… the priesthood of God had been denied my race. I was aware that the first Pharaoh of Egypt… greatly longed for the priesthood … but that his racial origins prohibited him from bearing the priesthood… I knew that after Abraham’s writings scripture says little on the subject… After some initial uncertainties the principle had been set forth in this dispensation, too: blacks could still not hold the priesthood. Like other black converts, I had recognized and accepted this position. What the Church offered me in terms of truth and salvation was in any case to far above any other church’s concepts that I could live with even this limitation. To determine the true reason why the priesthood was denied---other than that the Lord had commanded it---was something else, for LDS speakers and writers on the subject did not deem able to clearly establish a specific reason. As to whether (and, if so, when) the limitation would be removed, the general assumption was that it would be removed one day, but probably few expected the limitation to be lifted before Millennium at the earliest.” (Pg. 5)
He suggests, “I can’t help but feel that my membership in the Church is closely related to the strong religious upbringing that I had, which in turn is closely tied to the religious orientation of my slave ancestors.” (Pg. 15-16) At the age of 10 he was baptized by immersion into the Holiness Church.” (Pg. 21) He admits, “Though I didn’t feel very successful in my formal attempt to ‘receive the Spirit,’ I had other experiences, such as dreams and answered prayers, that strengthened my religious convictions.” (Pg. 25) He notes, “there were certain ‘principles of the gospel’ which the Holiness faith taught and which the members expected their fellow ‘saints’ to observe. Abstinence from tobacco, alcohol, illicit sex, and even dancing were just a few of these.” (Pg. 33)
Later, “Ordination as a holiness minister was more of a licensing procedure than anything else. The major qualification for ordination was to preach a ‘trial sermon.’ Accordingly, I … satisfactorily preached my trial sermon. From that time on I was free to preach whenever I was asked to. I was really a minister! I could preach the gospel to others!… To say I was thrilled would be a great understatement.” (Pg. 36)
While in the Army, he met (and ultimately fell in love with) a young Samoan girl named Toe [pr. 'TOE-EE]', who had been on a mission for the Church. He recalls, “These Mormons had a special warmth that radiated to others, and even though I’d been told that day that neither I nor any other members of my race could hold the priesthood in the Mormon Church, I still felt this special warmth from these people.” (Pg. 52) He observes, “The whole idea of eternal marriage sounded great to me. But it didn’t seem fair that I should be automatically disqualified from something I had no control over. I’m sure that this is when the whole concept of eternal marriage really started becoming important to me; the principle… threatened the relationship that I hoped would eventually develop between Toe and me.” (Pg. 55)
He says, “I felt sure that somehow I WOULD hold the priesthood. I was concerned about being denied the blessing of temple marriage, but … I had the misconception that this ordinance could be performed in my behalf after I died… So I wasn’t particularly threatened nor did I really feel discriminated against because of the Negro/priesthood policy. But I couldn’t understand why I was the only black in Hawaii (or at least I had seen no others) to be drawn to the Church…” (Pg. 63-64)
Eventually, he concludes, “Of course there were many theories on the [Negro/priesthood] topic, and I read and listened to and analyzed them all. Some said Negroes were the unvaliant ones in the pre-earth life. Other said we were fence-sitters who couldn’t decide whether to follow Christ or Satan… All of this was disturbing because I couldn’t find scriptural proof for any of it. Finally… it dawned on me that we did not really know why this limitation had been placed on my race; no prophet had ever explained the exact reason. The important thing… was that I knew Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon was the word of God; and more importantly, I knew for sure that this was Christ’s church… Suddenly I didn’t worry anymore, for I felt certain that the time would come---whether it be in the Millennium… or even in this life---when I would be able to hold the priesthood.” (Pg. 67)
But he also cautions, “even though in the end we DID marry, that does not mean that I could advise someone else to make an interracial marriage. Our leaders have warned us about the dangers involved… ‘We recommend that people marry those who are of the same racial background generally.’ In this crucial matter the two people connected would need to be very sure they had the Lord’s approval before embarking on such a marriage.” (Pg. 72)
He reflects, “How my life had changed in the past year! I was married to the beautiful Samoan girl who had introduced me to the other great treasure in my life---the gospel. I had satisfied and calmed an inner turmoil that had raged within me for years by finding and accepting the light and truth of the gospel. The Lord had really blessed me.” (Pg. 78)
He notes, “I did feel, though, the desire and the need to associate with other members of my race---particularly those who had also embraced the Church…. I’d made inquiries about the Genesis group… I was finally told that the group didn’t actually exist… In 1977 we moved to a different part of Salt Lake which meant, that we became members of a different ward. We’d only been there a week or two when the bishop approached me and said, ‘I guess you’re aware of the Genesis group and have been meeting with them.’… we were introduced to the group of people I’d been searching for ever since we moved to Salt Lake. In the Genesis group we found a place where we felt additional purpose, responsibility, and a sense of belonging.” (Pg. 100-101)
He laments, “It almost seems that all members of the Church feel an increased desire to fellowship and reach out to black people, whereas prior to the revelation, missionary activity was not particularly directed toward the black population and I think Church members in general did not quite know how to deal with the rather awkward Negro/priesthood situation. Now there is no reason for anyone to … hesitate when a Negro asks about the church.” (Pg. 112)
This a very interesting LDS testimony---although some readers may still wonder about this doctrine.
Joseph Freeman (b. 1952) was the first man of Black African descent to receive the Priesthood in the LDS Church. He converted in 1973 while he was serving in the U.S. Army.
In the first chapter of this 1979 book, he recalls his feelings after hearing of the 1978 announcement that ‘the priesthood is now available to all worthy males of the [LDS Church]: “My lifetime dream of becoming a complete follower and servant of Jesus Christ had come true. The yearning desire I’d had since joining the Church---to be found worthy to act in the name of the Lord, to know that I would have my family forever, to be able to bless and baptize my own children, to lead as a priesthood patriarch in our home---this tremendous blessing was now to be mine!… It suddenly dawned on me that I could now be sealed for time and eternity to my lovely wife and our three previous children in the temple. The temple! The thought took my breath away.” (Pg. 2-3)
He also acknowledges, “I was well acquainted with the scriptural story. I knew that since the beginning of the black race, when … Father Adam still walked the earth… the priesthood of God had been denied my race. I was aware that the first Pharaoh of Egypt… greatly longed for the priesthood … but that his racial origins prohibited him from bearing the priesthood… I knew that after Abraham’s writings scripture says little on the subject… After some initial uncertainties the principle had been set forth in this dispensation, too: blacks could still not hold the priesthood. Like other black converts, I had recognized and accepted this position. What the Church offered me in terms of truth and salvation was in any case to far above any other church’s concepts that I could live with even this limitation. To determine the true reason why the priesthood was denied---other than that the Lord had commanded it---was something else, for LDS speakers and writers on the subject did not deem able to clearly establish a specific reason. As to whether (and, if so, when) the limitation would be removed, the general assumption was that it would be removed one day, but probably few expected the limitation to be lifted before Millennium at the earliest.” (Pg. 5)
He suggests, “I can’t help but feel that my membership in the Church is closely related to the strong religious upbringing that I had, which in turn is closely tied to the religious orientation of my slave ancestors.” (Pg. 15-16) At the age of 10 he was baptized by immersion into the Holiness Church.” (Pg. 21) He admits, “Though I didn’t feel very successful in my formal attempt to ‘receive the Spirit,’ I had other experiences, such as dreams and answered prayers, that strengthened my religious convictions.” (Pg. 25) He notes, “there were certain ‘principles of the gospel’ which the Holiness faith taught and which the members expected their fellow ‘saints’ to observe. Abstinence from tobacco, alcohol, illicit sex, and even dancing were just a few of these.” (Pg. 33)
Later, “Ordination as a holiness minister was more of a licensing procedure than anything else. The major qualification for ordination was to preach a ‘trial sermon.’ Accordingly, I … satisfactorily preached my trial sermon. From that time on I was free to preach whenever I was asked to. I was really a minister! I could preach the gospel to others!… To say I was thrilled would be a great understatement.” (Pg. 36)
While in the Army, he met (and ultimately fell in love with) a young Samoan girl named Toe [pr. 'TOE-EE]', who had been on a mission for the Church. He recalls, “These Mormons had a special warmth that radiated to others, and even though I’d been told that day that neither I nor any other members of my race could hold the priesthood in the Mormon Church, I still felt this special warmth from these people.” (Pg. 52) He observes, “The whole idea of eternal marriage sounded great to me. But it didn’t seem fair that I should be automatically disqualified from something I had no control over. I’m sure that this is when the whole concept of eternal marriage really started becoming important to me; the principle… threatened the relationship that I hoped would eventually develop between Toe and me.” (Pg. 55)
He says, “I felt sure that somehow I WOULD hold the priesthood. I was concerned about being denied the blessing of temple marriage, but … I had the misconception that this ordinance could be performed in my behalf after I died… So I wasn’t particularly threatened nor did I really feel discriminated against because of the Negro/priesthood policy. But I couldn’t understand why I was the only black in Hawaii (or at least I had seen no others) to be drawn to the Church…” (Pg. 63-64)
Eventually, he concludes, “Of course there were many theories on the [Negro/priesthood] topic, and I read and listened to and analyzed them all. Some said Negroes were the unvaliant ones in the pre-earth life. Other said we were fence-sitters who couldn’t decide whether to follow Christ or Satan… All of this was disturbing because I couldn’t find scriptural proof for any of it. Finally… it dawned on me that we did not really know why this limitation had been placed on my race; no prophet had ever explained the exact reason. The important thing… was that I knew Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon was the word of God; and more importantly, I knew for sure that this was Christ’s church… Suddenly I didn’t worry anymore, for I felt certain that the time would come---whether it be in the Millennium… or even in this life---when I would be able to hold the priesthood.” (Pg. 67)
But he also cautions, “even though in the end we DID marry, that does not mean that I could advise someone else to make an interracial marriage. Our leaders have warned us about the dangers involved… ‘We recommend that people marry those who are of the same racial background generally.’ In this crucial matter the two people connected would need to be very sure they had the Lord’s approval before embarking on such a marriage.” (Pg. 72)
He reflects, “How my life had changed in the past year! I was married to the beautiful Samoan girl who had introduced me to the other great treasure in my life---the gospel. I had satisfied and calmed an inner turmoil that had raged within me for years by finding and accepting the light and truth of the gospel. The Lord had really blessed me.” (Pg. 78)
He notes, “I did feel, though, the desire and the need to associate with other members of my race---particularly those who had also embraced the Church…. I’d made inquiries about the Genesis group… I was finally told that the group didn’t actually exist… In 1977 we moved to a different part of Salt Lake which meant, that we became members of a different ward. We’d only been there a week or two when the bishop approached me and said, ‘I guess you’re aware of the Genesis group and have been meeting with them.’… we were introduced to the group of people I’d been searching for ever since we moved to Salt Lake. In the Genesis group we found a place where we felt additional purpose, responsibility, and a sense of belonging.” (Pg. 100-101)
He laments, “It almost seems that all members of the Church feel an increased desire to fellowship and reach out to black people, whereas prior to the revelation, missionary activity was not particularly directed toward the black population and I think Church members in general did not quite know how to deal with the rather awkward Negro/priesthood situation. Now there is no reason for anyone to … hesitate when a Negro asks about the church.” (Pg. 112)
This a very interesting LDS testimony---although some readers may still wonder about this doctrine.
June 25, 2025
3.5 This is the story of the first black man to receive the Priesthood. It’s a great story but not much more than that. It would have been better if he talked more about his feelings or insights.
June 16, 2021
I really enjoyed this book about the first black man to receive the priesthood after the ban was lifted in 1978. This is a beautiful and inspiring story. I learned much about patience and understanding and putting love into the world no matter how you are getting treated by others. It doesn't take long to read and it's full of beautiful messages.
June 21, 2021
Easy quick read.
January 14, 2026
Very interesting autobiography.
February 24, 2009
A faith-promoting book written by the first blank to receive the priesthood following the 1978 revelation. Brother Freeman's faith is exemplary and inspiring.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews