By Jerald and Sandra Tanner
For many years the Mormon Church leaders have taught that a Negro cannot hold the Priesthood. Bruce R. McConkie, of the Council of the Seventy, stated:
Negroes in this life are denied the priesthood; under no circumstances can they hold this delegation of authority from the Almighty. (Mormon Doctrine, page 477)
The Mormon historian Joseph Fielding Smith has criticized the Reorganized Church for ordaining a “few” Negroes to the Priesthood:
In the “Reorganized” Church they have a few, at least, of the Negro race, that they have “ordained to the priesthood” but it is contrary to the word of God. (Origin of the Reorganized Church, page 130)
The Mormon leaders teach that a person with even “one drop of Negro blood” cannot hold the Priesthood. The Mormon Apostle Mark E. Petersen stated:
If I were to marry a Negro woman and have children by her, my children would all be cursed as to the Priesthood. . . . If there is one drop of Negro blood in my children, as I have read to you, they receive the curse. (Race Problems—As They Affect the Church, Address by Mark E. Petersen at the Convention of Teachers of Religion on the College Level, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, August 27, 1954, 1965 reprint, page 7)
Outwardly the Mormon doctrine concerning the Negro seems to be firm and absolute. “One drop of Negro blood,” the Mormon leaders declare, would prevent a man from holding the Priesthood. The truth is, however, that some people with Negro blood are being ordained to the Priesthood.
Although we were aware of the fact that a “colored man” by the name of Elijah Abel held the Priesthood in the Mormon Church, we were very astonished to learn that his descendants have also been ordained to the Priesthood. This information was found by Bob Phillips—who has done a tremendous job of tracing Elijah Abel’s descendants. The following is a copy of a chart, given to us by Bob Phillips, showing that Elijah Abel and his descendants were ordained to the Priesthood:
Ordinations to Priesthood
| Elijah Able | Ordained an Elder March 3, 1836. Ordained a Seventy April 4, 1841. Nauvoo, Illinois |
| Enoch Able (son of Elijah) | Ordained an Elder November 10, 1900. by John Q. Adams Logan 5th Ward, Utah |
| Elijah Able (grandson of Elijah) son of Enoch | Ordained a Priest July 5, 1934 by J. C. Hogenson Ordained an Elder September 29, 1935. by Reuben S. Hill Logan 10th Ward, Utah |
After receiving this chart we began to search through the records in the Genealogical Society, which is owned by the Mormon Church, to see if we could confirm the statement that Elijah Abel’s descendants have been ordained to the Priesthood. With the help of Bob Phillips we were able to find information that proves that the Negro blood in the Abel family has not prevented some of them from holding the Priesthood. We have obtained a photograph of Elijah Abel’s grandson’s ward membership record which proves that he was ordained to the Priesthood. This photograph is included in a new book we have just finished printing entitled, Joseph Smith’s Curse Upon the Negro.
Bob Phillips states that there are at least sixty descendants of Elijah Abel in the Mormon Church. At least forty of these live within a radius of 100 miles of Salt Lake City, and, of course, some of them hold the Priesthood and are doing missionary work for the Church. Elijah Abel had six daughters, therefore many of his descendants do not have the name Abel. Some of their children were apparently adopted into “white” families in Utah. It is evident, then, that some members of the Mormon Church who believe they are “white” are in reality part Negro.
In the book, Joseph Smith’s Curse Upon the Negro, we devote six pages to Elijah Abel, his descendants and other Negroes who have held the Priesthood in the Mormon Church.
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