Mormonism on Blacks

The Mark and Loss of Priesthood
Brigham Young, the second prophet of the Church, explained that "Cain slew his brother...and the Lord put a mark upon him which is the flat nose and black skin," and that modern blacks are descendants of Cain and "never can hold the Priesthood" until certain conditions are met.

Joseph Fielding Smith, the tenth prophet of the Church, said regarding the blessing of holding the priesthood: "There is a reason why one man is born black with other disadvantages, while another is born white with great advantages...those who were faithful in all things [in the pre-existence] received greater blessings here and those who were not so faithful received less...The Negro, evidently is receiving the reward he merits."

Joseph Smith said that "No person having the least particle of Negro blood can hold the Priesthood." According to an LDS scholar, "the Priesthood has been mistakenly given to some Negroes who are light of color. However...when Negro ancestry is discovered...he is suspended in the use of that Priesthood."

Intelligence of the Negro
According to Brigham Young, "You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind." Note, however, that this does not represent official church policy.

Interacial Marriages
Brigham Young said that "if the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the [African race], the penalty under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so." An LDS scholar explains that "intermarriage would bring a pollution of the seed with its subsequent loss of blessings...intermarriage with the Negro means the loss of Priesthood blessings."

Slavery
George Albert Smith, the eighth president of the church, taught that blacks are slaves because that is the will of God. In fact, anyone trying to emancipate the slaves are working against God's plan and can not be successful. It is also wrong to try to give a black person any leadership.

Recommended Reading
Blacks and the LDS Church