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| + | #REDIRECT [[Origin of the priesthood ban]] |
| − | ==The origin of the priesthood ban==
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| − | The origin of the priesthood ban is one of the most difficult questions to answer. Its origins are not clear, and this affected both how members and leaders have seen the ban, and the steps necessary to rescind it. The Church has never provided an official reason for the ban.
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| − | Members have generally taken one of three perspectives:
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| − | # the ban was based on revelation to Joseph Smith, and was continued by his successors until President Kimball | |
| − | # the ban did not originate with Joseph Smith, but was implemented by Brigham Young by revelation
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| − | # the ban began as a series of administrative policy decisions, rather than a revealed doctrine, and drew partly upon ideas regarding race common in mid-19th century America. The passage of time gave greater authority to this policy than intended.
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| − | The difficulty in deciding between these options arises because:<br>
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| − | a) there is no contemporary account of a revelation underlying the ban; but<br>
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| − | b) many early members nevertheless believed that there had been such a revelation; and<br>
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| − | c) priesthood ordination of African blacks was a rare event, which became even more rare with time.
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| − | The history behind the practice in the modern Church of withholding the priesthood based on race is described well by Lester Bush in a 1984 book.{{ref|bush1}} A good timeline can be found at FAIR's '''BlackLDS''' site: {{fairlink|url=http://www.blacklds.org/mormon/history.html}}.
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| − | Early missionaries to the southern states were instructed not to ordain slaves because it was feared that this might encourage a slave revolt. {{ref|revolt1}}Some free blacks were given the priesthood such as Elijah Abel, Walker Lewis, William McCary, and Abel's descendants. Those who hold that the ban had a revelatory basis see these early ordinations as events which occured prior to the revelation or without knowledge of it, while those who see the ban as more of a social/cultural phenomenon point to these ordinations as an example of the "pragmatic grounds" upon which decisions about black ordination were made.
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| − | The priesthood ban became more comprehensive under Brigham Young's presidency, although he did not present a specific revelation on the subject. Brigham's earliest recorded comments on the subject indicated that he believed blacks should not receive the priesthood because they were the descendants of Cain and therefore a "cursed" people.{{ref|bush2}} Those who believe the ban had a revelatory basis point to this as an example of the prophet learning "line upon line," with revelation being implemented more rigorously. Those who see the influence of cultural factors and institutional practice behind the ban consider this evidence that the ban was based on Brigham's cultural and scriptural assumptions, and point out that such beliefs were common among most Christians in Antebellum America.{{ref|smith1}}
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| − | Later, George Q. Cannon and others concluded that the ban had a revelatory basis.{{ref|bush3}} Nearly forty years after the ban started, B.H. Roberts was the first to argue, based on the Book of Abraham, that the curse of Cain had continued to modern blacks through the lineage of Ham.{{ref|bhroberts}}
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| − | Joseph Fielding Smith opined that blacks may have been less valiant in the pre-mortal conflict between God and Satan (however, he rejected that they may have been neutral in the war in heaven).{{ref|jfs1}}
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| − | ==Endnotes==
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| − | #{{note|bush1}}{{NeitherWhiteNorBlack0}}
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| − | #{{note|revolt1}} ''Neither White nor Black'', 55–61, 77.}
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| − | #{{note|bush2}}''Neither White nor Black'', 70–72.
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| − | #{{note|bush3}}''Neither White nor Black'', 79–81.
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| − | #{{note|smith1}}For a history of such ideas in American Christian thought generally, see H. Shelton Smith, ''In His Image, But...: Racism in Southern Religion, 1780–1910'' (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1972), 131. ISBN 082230273X
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| − | #{{note|roberts1}}B.H. Roberts, "To the Youth of Israel," ''The Contributor'' 6 (May 1885): 296–97.
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| − | #{{note|jfs1}}{{DoS1|vol=1|start=65}}
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| − | ==Further reading==
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| − | ===FAIR wiki articles===
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| − | {{BlacksPriesthoodWiki}}
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| − | ===FAIR web site===
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| − | {{BlacksPriesthoodFAIR}}
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| − | ===External links===
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| − | {{BlacksPriesthoodLinks}}
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| − | ===Printed material===
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| − | {{BlacksPriesthoodPrint}}
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