No Justification for Racism in God’s Name

To justify the racist priesthood ban in the LDS Church by appealing to the Levitical priesthood or the hardness of men's hearts is not only theologically flawed—it is a direct insult to the nature and character of God, who shows no partiality (Acts 10:34–35). The argument attempts to whitewash decades of racial discrimination under the banner of supposed divine patience, while ignoring the unbiblical foundations of the ban altogether.

The Levitical priesthood, as outlined in the Old Testament, was never based on race. It was based on tribal assignment, not skin color. And even then, it was part of a temporary covenant fulfilled in Christ (Hebrews 7:11–12). Once Jesus inaugurated the New Covenant, the priesthood was made spiritually accessible to all who are in Him—male, female, Jew, Gentile, Black, or white (Galatians 3:28). To compare this to the LDS priesthood ban, which was based on race, is to misapply the biblical text in a dangerous way. Jesus never established or endorsed any system that withheld spiritual blessings based on ethnicity or skin color.

Furthermore, the New Testament is filled with examples of the radical inclusion of all races and ethnicities in the Kingdom of God. The Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8), Cornelius the Gentile (Acts 10), and the multi-ethnic makeup of the church in Antioch (Acts 13) all stand as living proof that God welcomes all. There is no precedent—none—for a race-based spiritual exclusion in the body of Christ. To suggest that such a practice could have been divinely sanctioned is to defame the very Gospel of Jesus Christ, which tears down the dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2:14).

The so-called “1978 Revelation” in the LDS Church did not correct a biblical misunderstanding—it corrected a man-made policy rooted in racism, upheld by false prophets, and passed off as divine commandment. That is not revelation. That is repentance, long overdue and incomplete without public confession and apology. To say God “revealed” the end of a racist policy He allegedly implemented is to imply that God Himself changed His mind about race—a blasphemous claim in light of passages like Malachi 3:6: “I the LORD do not change.”

The Gospel Topics essay’s disavowal of past teachings is not enough. Let us be clear: Brigham Young and other LDS leaders taught that Black people were cursed, less valiant in the premortal life, and unworthy of the priesthood. These were not just "theories"—they were proclaimed as doctrine. They shaped institutional policy for over a century. And now that society has rejected racism, the LDS Church conveniently “disavows” those doctrines, while refusing to declare them false prophecy. That is not biblical repentance. That is institutional self-preservation.

To invoke Matthew 19 as a defense for this kind of error is a misuse of Christ’s teaching. Jesus was correcting divorce laws that had been twisted by human tradition, not excusing sin. The idea that God instituted the LDS priesthood ban “because of the hardness of their hearts” is utterly unbiblical. In Christ, there is no excuse for such partiality. The early church was rebuked for far less—for favoring the rich over the poor (James 2:1–4), let alone excluding entire ethnicities from sacred callings.

Christians must boldly rebuke this kind of revisionism. God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), and He does not contradict Himself. Any religious system that once taught racist doctrine as revelation and now shrinks back from admitting its error under the authority of Scripture is not from God. Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16). The fruits of this doctrine were exclusion, pride, and generational harm—not the love, justice, and unity found in the Gospel.

Christ is not divided. His Gospel never excluded by race. And He never gave room for any “priesthood” based on skin. The LDS Church cannot claim to represent the restored Gospel while still clinging to the legacy of false prophecy and moral compromise. The biblical Jesus—the Jesus of history, of Scripture, of truth—is calling His people out of every false system, including one that justified racial oppression for over a century in His name.

Selected Scripture References (NLT)

Acts 10:34–35 – “God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.”

Galatians 3:28 – “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 2:14 – “For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people...”

Hebrews 7:11–12 – The Levitical priesthood was temporary and replaced by the priesthood of Christ.

Malachi 3:6 – “I am the LORD, and I do not change.”

1 John 1:6 – “So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness.”

James 2:1–4 – God condemns favoritism of any kind in the church.

Matthew 7:16 – “You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act.”