A Link Worth Pursuing

For those of you who have been concerned about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' position regarding the former priesthood ban, Ray (aka Papa D) has put together an excellent collection of "powerful modern prophetic utterances" clarifying the equality of all of God's children: Repudiating Racist Justifications Once and For All.

Go. Read. Remember.

[For additional information, see Official Declaration—2]

Update! Now showing at a Visitor's Center Near You!

Great news for those of you Californians who cannot make the Saturday's film festival in San Francisco to see "Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons." There will be a free showing at the Oakland Temple Visitor Center at 7 pm on Sunday, June 15th.

For those who missed my first post on this movie you can read it here.

A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons is a documentary about African American Latter-day Saints. The project is headed by Margaret Young and Darius Gray, authors of several award-winning books and articles about Black Mormons, and by Danor Gerald, a promising new filmmaker.

Few people, Mormon and non-Mormon, are aware that there has been an African American presence in the LDS Church from its earliest days, that the vanguard company of Mormon included three “colored servants” who were baptized Mormons, and whose descendants remained active in the Church for several generations. This documentary talks about that little-known legacy, and confronts the hard issues which surfaced in the most turbulent years of the Civil Rights Movement, when the Church restricted its priesthood from those of African descent. It discusses how that restriction was lifted and what the lives and challenges of the modern Black Mormon pioneers are.

I am thrilled that there will be a showing of "Nobody Knows: The Untold Story of Black Mormons" at 10th Annual San Francisco Black Film Festival. I have been watching this documentary's progress for some time now and have heard nothing but raves from those who have been lucky enough to see it.

Margaret Young (of BYU fame) and Darius Gray (mentioned in Dean Hughes' Hearts of the Fathers series) have worked long and hard to cover a sensitive topic with testimony and honesty. They will both be available for a question and answer session after the showing on the 14th.

I would not recommend this film for young viewers, as it is intense. Bring your hankies, my friends, and expect to be filled with sorrow for the trials of our brothers and sisters and filled with joy at the mercies of God.