Black and Mormon

Description

The year 2003 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the lifting of the ban excluding black members from the priesthood of the Mormon church. The articles collected in Newell G. Bringhurst and Darron T. Smith's Black and Mormon look at the mechanisms used to keep blacks from full participation, the motives behind the ban, and the kind of changes that have--and have not--taken place within the church since the revelation responsible for its end.    This challenging collection is required reading for anyone concerned with the history of racism, discrimination, and the Latter-day Saints.    Contents Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The “Missouri Thesis” Revisited: Early Mormonism, Slavery, and the Status of Black People 2. The Traditions of Their Fathers: Myth versus Reality in LDS Scriptural Writings 3. Two Perspectives: The Religious Hopes of “Worthy” African American Latter-day Saints before the 1978 Revelation 4. Spanning the Priesthood Revelation (1978): Two Multigenerational Case Studies 5. Casting Off the “Curse of Cain”: The Extent and Limits of Progress since 1978 6. African American Latter-day Saints: A Sociological Perspective 7. “How Do Things Look on the Ground?” The LDS African American Community in Atlanta, Georgia 8. Unpacking Whiteness in Zion: Some Personal Reflections and General Observations Contributors Index