A Mormon Stories series · Complete
Black Mormons and the struggle for racial equality, with Dr. Matt Harris.
19 episodes · 52 hours · 2024 · 19 transcripts
Today we are discussing pivotal moments, from the Church’s “Race and the Priesthood” essay to public statements on racism, and the ongoing struggle for meaningful engagement on these issues. Highlights include racial…
The series is meant to be heard in order. Begin at the beginning, or use the guide to jump in by theme.
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Second-Class Saints is an eighteen-part series on the history of the LDS Church’s priesthood and temple ban on Black members, with historian Matthew L. Harris. His 2024 book Second-Class Saints: Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial Equality (Oxford University Press) drew on unprecedented access to church leaders’ papers to document how the church created, defended, and finally abandoned the ban.
The series walks through that history in depth: the ban’s origins under Brigham Young, the “one drop” rule, the internal debates among apostles, the pressure of the civil rights era, Hugh B. Brown’s attempts to lift the ban, the 1978 revelation, and the church’s ongoing reckoning with its racial past. It is meant to be heard in order, but every episode stands on its own.
Second-Class Saints is produced by Mormon Stories Podcast and the Open Stories Foundation. Every episode is also published in the main Mormon Stories feed.
Books behind the series
Matthew L. Harris. Oxford University Press, 2024
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