In this episode, Terryl Givens and Paul Reeve explore the history of the Church’s priesthood-temple ban that concluded in 1978.
Paul is the Simmons Professor of Mormon Studies at the University of Utah. His award-winning book, Religion of a Different Color: Race and the Mormon Struggle for Whiteness, is considered by many the best book written to date on the subject.
Dr. Reeve has also written a fantastic essay that addresses how to make sense of our history of denying priesthood and temple blessings to our Black brothers and sisters. It’s a fascinating read—and you really shouldn’t miss it. You can view it on our website here:
https://faithmatters.org/making-sense-of-the-churchs-history-on-race/
In this episode, Paul and Terryl go both wide and deep on the priesthood-temple ban. Among other historical details, they discuss how the church was broadly criticized as being too inclusive in its early years—not white enough. This became a factor in Brigham Young’s 1852 decision to ban Black people from the priesthood and temple.
They also explore some of the explanations that developed in the church to explain the ban during its 126 year duration—and how each of these explanations have since been rejected and disavowed by the church.
We think this is an incredibly important and insightful episode. We suspect you’ll enjoy it.
230. Infinite Ways to God - A Conversation with David Butler
229. The Soloists - A Conversation with Mallory Everton & Diana Brown
228. Duty vs. Desire in Marriage - A Conversation with Jennifer Finlayson-Fife
227. The Counter-culture of Commitment - A Conversation with Pete Davis
Fully Alive - A Conversation with Elizabeth Oldfield
Life after Doom - A Conversation with Brian McLaren
225. The Call to be in the World - A Conversation with Astrid Tuminez
224. Not Fearing Others' Faith Journeys - A Conversation with Valerie Hamaker
223. Freedom from the Burden of Judging - A Conversation with Michael Wilcox (Part 2)
222. Freedom from the Burden of Judging - A Conversation with Michael Wilcox (Part 1)
221. The Amen Effect - A Conversation with Rabbi Sharon Brous
220. Pioneering Peace - A Conversation with Eboo Patel
219. What's the Future of Women at Church? A Conversation with Neylan McBaine and Bethany Brady Spalding
218. A New Book Every Time - A Conversation with Bob Rees
217. Surveying the Saints — A Conversation with Josh Coates
216. Big Stories, Little Saints — A Conversation with Sarah and Josh Sabey
215. Finding the Still Point in Tension — John Kesler and Thomas McConkie
214. Gathering All Safely In — A Conversation with Liz and Jordon Sharp
213. Leading Deseret Book — A Conversation with Laurel Day
212. Is God Disappointed in Me? — A Conversation with Kurt Francom
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