THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

OFFICE OF THE FIRST PRESIDENCY

SALT LAKE CITY 11, UTAH

Sept. 27, 1961

Honorable Stewart L. Udall

Secretary of the Interior

Washington, D. C.

Dear Secretary Udall:

We appreciate very much your thoughtfulness in advising us of the growing criticism of the Church with regard to the issues of racial equality and the rights of minority groups.

We agree with you that it is a matter of great concern to the Church, and that it deserves our wise attention. We hasten to assure you that this is a matter which has received the closest, the wisest and, we hope, the most inspired attention of which the brethren are capable.

In considering this question in the past, practically every president of the Church has made some statement in reference thereto. When we read

the three letters which you enclosed to President McKay, his immediate comment was, 'We admit negroes to the Church by baptism, but we do not let them receive the Priesthood."

We have always felt that we could do more for the Negro than any other church. We know that through baptism the door to the celestial kingdom of

God is opened. In 1949 the First Presidency, after discussion with the Council of the Twelve, wrote the following:

"The attitude of the Church with reference to negroes remains as it has always stood. It is not a matter of the declaration of a policy but of direct commandment from the Lord, on which is founded the doctrine of the Church from the days of its organization, to the effect that negroes may become members of the Church but that they are not entitled to the priesthood at the present time. The prophets of the Lord have made several statements as to the operation of the principle. President Brigham Young said:· 'Why are so many of the inhabitants of the earth cursed with a skin of blackness? It comes in consequence of their fathers rejecting the power of the holy priesthood, and the law of God. They will go down to death. And when all the rest of the children have received their blessings in the holy priesthood, then that curse will be removed from the seed of Cain, and they will then come up and possess the priesthood, and receive all the blessings which we are now entitled to.'

"President Wilford Woodruff made the following statement: 'The Day will come when all that race will be redeemed and possess all the blessings which we now have.'

"The position of the Church regarding the negro may be understood when another doctrine of the Church is kept in mind, namely, that the conduct of spirits in the pre-mortal existence has some determining effect upon the conditions and circumstances under which these spirits take on mortality, and that while the details of this principle have not been made known, the principle itself indicates that the coming to this earth and taking on mortality is a privilege that is given to those who maintained their first estate; and that the worth of the privilege is so great that spirits are willing to come to earth and take on bodies no matter what the handicap may be as to the kind of bodies they are to secure; and that among the handicaps failure of the right to enjoy in mortality the blessings of the priesthood, is a handicap which spirits are willing to assume in order that they might come to earth. Under this principle there is no injustice whatsoever involved in this deprivation as to the holding of the priesthood by the negroes. "

There are several other statements that have been made and letters written upon the subject. We thought it might be of interest to you to have a letter written to a prominent educator in July of 1947 [referring to a letter of the First Presidency to Lowry Nelson, 17 July 1947], from which we quote the entire substance:

"We might make this initial remark: the social side of the Restored Gospel is only an incident of it; it is not the end thereof.

"The basic element of your ideas and concepts seems to be that all God's children stand in equal positions before Him in all things.

Your knowledge of the Gospel will indicate to you that this is contrary to the very fundamentals of God's dealings with Israel dating from the time of His promise to Abraham regarding Abraham's seed and their position vis-a-vis God Himself. Indeed, some of God's children were assigned to superior positions before the world was formed. We are aware that some higher critics do not accept this, but the Church does.

"Your position seems to lose sight of the revelations of the Lord touching the preexistence of our spirits, the rebellion in heaven, and the doctrines that our birth into this life and the advantages under which we may be born, have a relationship in the life heretofore.

"From the days of the Prophet Joseph even until now, it has been the doctrine of the Church, never questioned by any of the Church leaders, that the Negroes are not entitled to the full blessings of the Gospel.

"Furthermore, your ideas, as we understand them, appear to contemplate the intermarriage of the Negro and White races, a concept which has heretofore been most repugnant to most normal-minded people from the ancient patriarchs till now. God's rule for Israel, His chosen people, has been endogamous. Modern Israel has been similarly directed.

"We are not unmindful of the fact that there is a growing tendency, particularly among some educators, as it manifests itself in this area, toward the breaking down of race barriers in the matter of intermarriage between whites and blacks, but it does not have the sanction of the Church and is contrary to Church doctrine."

You will see that President McKay's remarks at the moment are in keeping with the statements of his predecessors.

Now, so far as the Tooele situation is concerned, we must leave it entirely to the community of Tooele. Whether they welcome the Negro, lend him money, or what they do, is their responsibility. The fact is that we do not welcome negroes into social affairs, because if we did, it would lead to intermarriage, and we do not favor intermarriage. We recommend that negroes marry negroes, and that whites marry whites, and we cannot modify this statement. We recommend that Japanese marry Japanese, and that Hawaiians marry Hawaiians. The cross between the Hawaiian and the Chinese makes a good citizen, and we do not oppose it, but we look with disfavor upon negroes marrying whites, for their own happiness. The only reason we object to their social participation is because that inevitably will lead to intermarriage, and we cannot change that until the Lord gives a revelation otherwise.

The Church maintains that all citizens are, under the Constitution of the United States, as it has been amended, entitled to all the freedom and to all the liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. Negroes who are converted to the principles of the restored gospel, as promulgated by the Church, are entitled to membership in the Church, upon being properly baptized, and, except for the holding of the Priesthood, are entitled to the blessings and privileges otherwise granted members of the Church. You no doubt are aware of the fact that the Prophet Joseph Smith was against slavery and that the anti-slavery beliefs of the Church under Joseph Smith are credited by some as being one of the chief causes of their troubles in Missouri and the terrible persecutions which were endured by our people in that state. Furthermore, the Prophet announced that if he had the power he would free all the slaves, and, curiously) his plan was to buy the slaves their freedom.

We are in entire accord with a statement President Clark once made:

"I have the deepest and most profound sympathy for the position of the negro, which, looked at from an earthly point of view, ia perhaps not explainable, but neither is the position of the Indian nor the Australian bushman; however, as you may or may not know, there are, in our philosophy, some principles which may account for these mortal inequalities."

The likelihood of moving into Tooele a large group of negro families has been brought to our attention previously by our mutual friend Eugene Merrill. We do not anticipate any trouble. We have good leadership in the two stakes in Tooele and believe that both from a church and a civic standpoint that the community will adapt itself to whatever circumstances and conditions may arise.

Thanking you very kindly for your interest once again, we are

Faithfully, your brethren

[signature] Henry D. Moyle

[signature] Hugh B. Brown