Lifting The Veil

The attempt to defend the LDS priesthood ban and slavery under Brigham Young by comparing them to biblical laws or suggesting they were “benevolent” misses the profound moral failures involved and falls far short of true Christian repentance and accountability. Christians must reject any justification that minimizes sin or excuses systemic injustice, no matter the era or context. First, the claim that LDS leaders have no reason to apologize for blocking Black men from the priesthood because Christian churches do not apologize for failures related to biblical commands misunderstands the gospel entirely. Jesus’ law is one of love, repentance, and restoration. When the church or its leaders sin, true Christian humility calls for confession, repentance, and seeking forgiveness. Silence or deflection is not godly. Christ’s example was to take responsibility for sin and call others to repentance, even when it was unpopular (John 8:11; 1 John 1:9). Second, the priesthood ban was a clear injus...

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 an...

You might hear Mormons point to some early church scriptures that say slavery is wrong—like Doctrine and Covenants 101:79, which says it’s “not right that any man should be in bondage,” or D&C 134:12, which calls slavery “dangerous to the peace of every government.” Those verses sound pretty good, especially for the 1800s when slavery was still common in the U.S. But the story doesn’t end there. Despite these statements, the LDS Church actually kept some pretty racist policies for a long time. For over 100 years, Black men were not allowed to hold the priesthood, and Black members couldn’t participate in important temple ceremonies until 1978. That’s a huge deal because it basically meant Black members were excluded from full participation in the faith (Bringhurst). Even worse, the Church taught that Black skin was a curse from God, linked to stories like the curse of Cain. This wasn’t just an old rumor—it was official teaching that justified racial discrimination. On the other han...