Revelation on the Priesthood & Black LDS History

Elijah Able, ordained an elder in 1832

A few months ago I spent some time reading about the history of many African-Americans in the early Church after it was restored in 1830. It was inspired by a short interview I heard on public radio or television regarding an upcoming film produced by black members of the Church entitled, "Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons". At this web site promoting the film you can view a trailer and make donations to furthering the promotion of the film and production of the DVD. It was already shown in Utah and many other states and is supposed to be shown here in Utah again soon. Details on how the film has been received so far have been discussed here. In late January, The Deseret News also had an article on the release of the movie.

This June (2008) marks the 30-year anniversary of the revelation on the Priesthood given to President Spencer W. Kimball. A celebration is being held in the Salt Lake Tabernacle to celebrate the event. Tickets are available at the Church's events website. Details from that page are:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will present the Church Commemoration of the Revelation on the Priesthood on Sunday, June 8, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. in the Tabernacle on Temple Square. Elder Sheldon F. Child of the Seventy will be the speaker for this event, with several Church members also giving inspirational messages. A multicultural choir will be performing under the direction of Mack Wilberg on Sunday, June 8, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. in the Tabernacle on Temple Square.

Jane Manning James (center), early pioneer who traveled west to Utah with the early saints

The experiences of these early saints are really wonderful. They were faithful despite prejudice and ignorance. Other than the web sites linked above, you may want to visit http://www.blacklds.org . This site has great information and testimonies.

They also had more information on Elijah Abel and Jane Manning James. Read the life history of Sister James there! It is awesome. I thought it was cool that the western timeline entry at www.blackpast.org had a little bit more on Elijah in the entry for 1847:

1847—Three African Americans, Green Flake, Oscar Crosby, and Hark Lay, accompany Brigham Young who leads the first Mormon pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley. The slaves of Southern Mormons, these men are sent ahead to help prepare for Mormon settlers to follow. Today, their names are inscribed on the Brigham Young monument in downtown Salt Lake City.

In closing, I recommend that you read the front of the grave marker below from the Wikipedia entry for Jane Manning James in Salt Lake City.

Click to view larger image and to read what it says!

Sister James says it best!