Black people and Mormonism

During the history of the Latter Day Saint movement, the relationship between Black people and Mormonism has included enslavement, exclusion and inclusion, and official and unofficial discrimination.^[1]: 1–5 Black people have been involved with the Latter Day Saint movement since its inception in the 1830s.^[2]: 37 Their experiences have varied widely, depending on the denomination within Mormonism and the time of their involvement.^[1]: 1–5 From the mid-1800s to 1978, Mormonism's largest denomination – the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) – barred Black women and men from participating in the ordinances of its temples necessary for the highest level of salvation, prevented most men of Black African descent from being ordained into the church's lay, all-male priesthood, supported racial segregation in its communities and schools, taught that righteous Black people would be made white after death, and opposed interracial marriage. The temple and priesthood racial restrictions were lifted by church leaders in 1978. In 2013, the church disavowed its previous teachings on race for the first time.

The priesthoods of most other Mormon denominations, such as the Bickertonite and Strangite churches, have always been open to members of all races. The same is true in Mormonism's second-largest denomination, the Community of Christ (formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or the RLDS), except for a few years in which Black people were barred from the priesthood. More conservative denominations, such as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB), and the True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Saints of the Last Days (TLC), continue to exclude Black people.^[3]

The LDS Church's views on Black people have alternated throughout its history. About Black slavery, early church leaders went from neutrality to abolitionism to a pro-slavery view. As early as 1844, church leaders taught that Black people's spirits were less righteous in premortal life (before birth). Mormonism founder Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, his most influential successor as church president, said that Black people's skin color was the result of the mark of Cain and the curse of Ham. During the 20th century, many leaders of the LDS Church vocally opposed the civil rights movement. In recent decades, the church has condemned racism and increased its outreach efforts in Black communities. It is still accused of perpetuating implicit racism by not apologizing for, acknowledging, or adequately counteracting the effects of its past discriminatory practices and beliefs.^[4]: 7 Church leaders have worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (the NAACP) since the 2010s, and have donated millions of dollars to Black organizations.^[5]

There are an estimated 400,000 to one million Black LDS Church members worldwide, and at least five LDS Church temples in Africa. Fourteen more temples are at some stage of development or construction on the continent, in addition to several temples among communities of the African diaspora such as the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The Community of Christ has congregations in twelve African nations, with membership increasing.^[6]