Blacks and the Mormon Priesthood - Setting the Record Straight

For over a century The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prohibited the ordination of men who had Black African ancestry to offices in its priesthood. This "priesthood ban" was lifted in 1978 to the delight of most Church members, but puzzling questions and folklore surrounding the origin and reasons for the ban have lingered in Mormon popular culture.

In this book Marcus Martins offers a candid, doctrine-based personal commentary on the priesthood ban and its long-discredited rationale. Drawing on scripture, prophetic teaching, and decades of lived experience as a convert, bishop, and religion professor, he distinguishes fact from folklore, dismantles harmful hypotheses about premortal 'valiancy' and cursed lineages, and testifies of the gospel's universal blessings for all races and nations.

• Written by Marcus H. Martins, the first Latter-day Saint with Black African ancestry to serve a full-time mission after the 1978 revelation
• A faithful insider dismantles the folklore behind the priesthood ban without attacking past leaders
• Personal and doctrinal: part memoir, part theological framework
• Directly answers the questions members and investigators keep asking about race and the priesthood

Perfect for a Latter-day Saint (or thoughtful investigator) wrestling with the Church's pre-1978 priesthood ban who wants a faithful, scholarly, and personal treatment that separates doctrine from folklore.