Response to an Atheist Anti-Mormon Who Accuses Brigham Young of Fabricating Ban on Giving Blacks the Priesthood

"Let this Church which is called the Kingdom of God on the earth. We will summons the First Presidency, the Twelve, the High Council, the Bishopric, and all the Elders of Israel, suppose we summons them to appear here, and here declare that it is right to mingle our seed, with the black race of Cain, that they shall come in with us and be partakers with us of all the blessings that God has given to us. on that very day and hour we should do so, the Priesthood is taken from THIS CHURCH AND KINGDOM and god leaves us to our fate. The moment we consent to mingle with the seed of Cain, the Church must go to destruction we should receive the curse which has been placed upon the seed of Cain, and never more be numbered with the children of Adam who are heirs to the Priesthood until that curse be removed."

(Brigham Young Addresses, Ms D, 1234, Box 48, Folder 3, dated Feb. 5, 1852, located in the LDS Historical Dept. SLC, UT.)

Retroprophet wrote on alt.religion.mormon:

> Banning blacks from the Priesthood was not a policy of
> the Church from its very beginning.
>
> In addition to the well-documented case of Elder Elijah Able,
> letters written by Wilford Woodruff and even Brigham Young,
> before Young instituted the ban around 1849, refer to black Elders
> -- what more evidence that you are wrong do you need?

You sir are a liar as we have proven over and over before.

The Prophet Joseph Smith was commanded by God to withdraw the priesthood from Elijah Able [sic], and revoke the ordination. There is no exception. The continued church's policy over the years is an evident fact that Presidents Young, Taylor, Woodruff and Snow, as well as Heber C. Kimball, William Clayton, and other leaders of the time, all knew of this excluding doctrine and continued to abide by it. Although there is no official Church record as to the revocation, Elijah Able affirmed the fact to father, Thomas A. Shreeve, when both were living in the Salt Lake 10th Ward, during 1872-1877. At the time, Bro. Able told young Thomas, who baptized Able's grandchildren, that the Prophet Joseph "came to him with tears in his eyes one day, and told him [Abel] that he had been commanded by the Lord to withdraw the holy priesthood from him."
Patriarch Shreeve testified many times before his death in 1931 of the facts in the case, and of his close [106] relationship with Brother Able. As of this date there are still living three members of the Shreeve family, who know of the facts to which their father testified Elijah Able told him. (Caleb A. Shreeve, Sr., The Salt Lake Tribune, "Forum," 26 Oct. 1970)

In 1879 Zebedee Coltrin related to a small group of Priesthood leaders that Brother Joseph had told him in 1834 that "the Spirit of the Lord saith the Negro has no right nor cannot hold the Priesthood."
(Nuttall Journal 1:293)

You may say Joseph was a devil, if you like, but he is at home and still holds the keys of the kingdom, which were committed to him by heavenly messengers, and always will. Do you ask who brother Brigham is? He is an humble instrument in the hands of God, to keep His people in the path he has marked out through the instrumentality of his servant Joseph and to travel in which is all I ask of them." (Brigham Young; Contributor 10:2)

It would be oompletely out of character for Brigham Young to invent a doctrine that wasn't taught by Joseph Smith. He was zealous in keeping the commandments of the Lord given through Joseph.