EXHIBITS
Blacks & the Priesthood: Timeline
Timeline of Civil Rights Events
Timeline
On this page, you can compare and contrast how world events may have impacted the leaders of the church's decision to give those who are of African decent the priesthood. We start in the early 1800's, when Joseph Smith has the "first vision" which is when the church claims that God and his son Jesus tell Joseph Smith that he needs to bring the one true church to earth (referring to the LDS church). This also is around the time the Missouri Compromise is underway, where the divide between slave states and free states was decided. As you travel down the timeline, notice major events on the "World Events" side (such as the civil war, World Wars, and the Civil Rights movement), cause reactions on the "Church Events" side (such as taking away the priesthood from Elijah Abel, the First Presidency claiming that blacks are not entitled to the priesthood, and finally the repeal of the race ban on the priesthood). I have highlighted some of the most interesting articles and pictures that will benefit the viewer to look at when reading this timeline.
Elijah Abel: Ordained Man of Color
Elijah Abel was born in Maryland and is believed to have used the underground railway to escape slavery by traveling to Canada. His parents were Delilah and Andrew Abel. Elijah was baptized in September 1832 by Ezekiel Roberts. Able is one of the earliest African American priesthood holders for the Church. In March 1836, he was ordained an Elder in The LDS church.
From the evidence, we have we believe he was ordained by Joseph Smith. In 1853 Elijah asked to receive his endowment and was denied by Brigham Young. In 1883, he is still on Church records as a Seventy.
Wynetta Willis Martin Clarke
Wynetta Willis Martin Clark was one of the first African Americans to sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the first African American to be a member of the faculty at Brigham Young University.
She married and had two daughters, but the marriage dissolved. A friend introduced her to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and she was baptized in 1966. A few years later, she moved to Utah to audition for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and was invited to join the choir.
She felt it was her personal mission to prove to the world that there were African-American Mormons and that Mormons were not racist. She toured with the choir for two years. She then accepted a position at BYU to train nurses. This decision to have Wynetta Clarke be apart of the Tabernacle Choir was a huge step towards the decision to lift the ban on the Priesthood. It teseted the waters on how the rest of the members of the church would react when the announcement would be lifted.
Interview with Church Apostle Spencer Kimball
After the announcement that blacks could receive the priesthood, this was an article that was released in the August 7, 1978 issue of TIME magazine. This snippet talks about how the LDS Church's issues have changed over the years.
"He (Church President Kimball) realized that the decision would be a turning point in the history of the church" (Meyers, TIME magazine). This decision triggered a major rise in Mormon membership across the nation and across the world. Membership grew exponentially and shortly after, the 4 million members that have been recorded grew to an impressive membership of 10 million.
“Parishioners struggle over how their churches should relate to society” (Meyers, TIME magazine). This issue of church ideals and practices in an ever-changing society is a problem church leaders still face today. The question of "how does the doctrine of the church stay applicable to modern views?" is always a concern.