Black Latter-day Saints still would like an apology, LDS theologian says

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a fraught history on race. For more than a century, members of African descent were barred from the priesthood and temple. That restriction ended in 1978, but questions of race and inclusion have continued to affect the American-born faith. In recent years, the church has worked to build bridges with the African American community, most notably through a partnership with the NAACP, and it is growing rapidly on the African continent.

Theologian and Latter-day Saint James Jones says more work remains to address racism in the faith. The headline of the Mormon Land podcast episode states that Black Latter-day Saints still would like an apology from the church.

James C. Jones, a second-generation Black Latter-day Saint, is a New York-based writer, speaker, teacher and podcaster. He has worked to help fellow believers understand the pain experienced by members of color. He wrote an anti-racism curriculum for members that was slated to be published by Deseret Book but never was. He earned a master’s degree at Union Theological Seminary and has come to believe that Mormon theology embraces all ethnicities.

The episode was recorded in New York. Jones discusses the former priesthood and temple ban, his personal encounters with discrimination in the church, and his curriculum on race. He also describes how his Latter-day Saint faith was changed by his experience at graduate school. A curriculum that was prepared but not published reflects the difficulty of speaking openly about hard history, a call to truthful speech in love (Ephesians 4:15).

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