Regarding the relationship of Blacks and the Church, it is logical that we should be asked, and indeed have been asked, “why did your Church deny your priesthood to the Blacks for so long? Are you prejudiced against the Blacks?”

Since the restoration of the Church in 1830, Blacks have been welcomed to the fellowship of the Church. Several Blacks joined the Church when they were slaves in the 1830s and, after being freed, went west with the great pioneer exodus from Illinois to Utah.

The Church denounces the idea that any particular race of people is superior to another. President Spencer W. Kimball, in speaking of race and racism said: “We do wish that there would be no racial prejudice. . . . Racial prejudice is of the devil. . . . There is no place for it in the gospel of Jesus Christ.” It is the goal of the Church to take the gospel to those of all nations and races. We agree with the teaching of the apostle Paul in the New Testament that God “hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26). In the sight of God, race, color, and nationality make no difference, an idea stressed in the Book of Mormon: “He [Christ] inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile” (2 Nephi 26:33).

Until June 1978, male black members of the Church could not hold the priesthood, function in callings requiring priesthood authority, or participate in temple or priesthood ordinances. Early in this dispensation, the Lord had revealed that those of the black race were not to receive the priesthood and temple blessings. This revelation did not receive specific scriptural status in the Doctrine and Covenants. We know that not all revelations are made public. In 1949 the First Presidency reaffirmed the Lord’s previous command:

The attitude of the Church with reference to the Negroes remains as it has always stood. It is not a matter of the declaration of a policy but of direct commandment from the Lord, on which is founded the doctrine of the Church from the days of its organization, to the effect that Negroes may become members of the Church but that they are not entitled to the priesthood at the present time (see statement of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 17 August 1949, Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah).

The reasons for this restriction have not been given by the Lord. Generally, however, it has been felt that Blacks have been denied the priesthood because of their lineage. According to the book of Abraham, the descendants of Cain were to be denied the priesthood of God (Abraham 1: 21-27).

The gospel has not always been sent to all people. From the beginning, the Lord has sent the gospel to people according to his priorities, and the priesthood has been given selectively. Why the Lord, in his wisdom, chooses to withhold certain privileges or blessings from certain people for a period of time are not generally known. During the fourteen centuries from Moses to Christ, only the descendants of the house of Israel had the gospel (actually that portion of the gospel known as the law of Moses). Only the tribe of Levi was permitted to hold the Aaronic priesthood, and a few others were chosen to hold the Melchizedek priesthood. During the mortal ministry of Christ he preached the gospel only to the lost sheep of the lineage of Jacob or Israel, and he so commanded his apostles (Matthew 10:6). He did make a few minor exceptions because of the faith and devotion of some Gentile people. One woman from Canaan was willing, figuratively, to eat the crumbs that fell from the Master’s table. This caused him to say to her, “O woman, great is thy faith” (Matthew 15:28; Mark 7:27-28). It was only after Jesus’s death and ascension that Peter received a revelation from the Lord directing him that the time was right to take the gospel to the Gentiles (see Acts 10 and 11).

But why? Why do some have to wait longer than others for the blessings of the gospel and priesthood? We can only presume that the reason lies in our obedience and diligence in support of the gospel and of Jesus Christ during our life in our premortal existence.

On June 1, 1978, after some years of prayer and meditation, President Spencer W. Kimball, in the Salt Lake Temple prayed to the Lord. Three members of the First Presidency and ten members of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles were present (Elder Mark E. Peterson was in South America, and Elder Delbert L. Stapley was in the hospital). After President Kimball prayed, the answer came by the power of the Holy Ghost. The Lord revealed to all present that the time was now at hand for extending the blessings of the priesthood to the Blacks. This revelation was announced to the membership of the Church eight days later on June 9, 1978. On September 30, 1978, President N. Eldon Tanner of the First Presidency, under the direction of President Kimball, read a letter from the First Presidency dated June 8, 1978 to the membership of the Church in General Conference. This letter and the report of its being read to the Church was later canonized and is found in the Doctrine and Covenants as Official Declaration—2.

Today, black Latter-day Saints enjoy all of the blessings of Church membership and leadership enjoyed by anyone else.