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.
75. A Divided Church: What's Going on in Arizona? — Mesa Mayor John Giles and Councilwoman Julie Spilsbury
74. Restoring the People of God: An Excerpt of "Restoration" by Patrick Mason
73. Belonging and Boundaries — A Conversation with Jennifer Finlayson-Fife
72. Is the Church as True as the Gospel? — A Conversation with Terryl Givens
71. Celebrating Our Divine Mother: A Conversation with Bethany Brady Spalding and McArthur Krishna
70. A Better Heart — A Conversation with Tom Christofferson
69. Constitution by a Thread (Part 2) — With Thomas B. Griffith, Kurt Francom, and Bill Turnbull
68. Is the Constitution Hanging by a Thread? — A Conversation with Thomas B. Griffith
67. Faith’s Dance With Doubt — A Conversation with Brian McLaren
66. Atonement: From Penal Substitution to Radical Healing — An Excerpt from "All Things New" by Terryl and Fiona Givens
65. OCD Isn't What You Think It Is — A Conversation with Bonnie Young
64. Women Creating Sacred Spaces — Carol Lynn Pearson, Jana Spangler, and Becky Edwards
63. Beliefs, Biomes, and CRISPR - Dr. Laura Bridgewater with Terryl Givens
62. An Urgent Invitation to Women - Claudia Bushman with Terryl Givens
61. Repentance as Transformation — Thomas McConkie and Adam Miller
60. Discipleship vs Partisanship — Former Congressman Ben McAdams with Terryl Givens
59. Restoration: God's Call to the 21st-Century World - Patrick Mason
58. Congressman John Curtis with Terryl Givens—Healing our Nation's Wounds
57. All Things New - Fiona and Terryl Givens
56. The Most American Religion - McKay Coppins with Terryl Givens
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