Stevenson, “For the Cause of Righteousness: A Global History of Blacks and Mormonism, 1830-2013” (reviewed by John Baucom)

Review
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Title: For the Cause of Righteousness: A Global History of Blacks and Mormonism, 1830-2013
Author: Russell W. Stevenson
Publisher: Greg Kofford Books
Genre: History
Year Published: 2014
Number of Pages: 450 pp.
Binding: Hardcover, Paperback, and Kindle
ISBN10: 1589585291
ISBN13: 978-1589585294
Price: $32.95

Reviewed by John Baucom for the Association for Mormon Letters.

Russell W. Stevenson’s “For the Cause of Righteousness” investigates the complex and controversial history between Mormonism and people of African descent. Barring a handful of exceptions, blacks were excluded from full participation in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints until 1978. Regardless of membership, blacks were restricted from LDS temple worship and priesthood ordination. Stevenson’s work contextualizes the issues surrounding Mormonism’s black ban by drawing on a variety of sources from West and South Africa, Brazil, and the United States.

Using a global perspective, Stevenson is better equipped to analyze the sensitive questions surrounding the implementation and abolishment of the LDS priesthood ban. For example: who bears the responsibility for barring blacks from the priesthood? Was racial exclusion implemented by one or many? Who guarded and upheld this policy? And, ultimately, who expanded the priesthood to all worthy males? This well-researched volume suggests a more complicated and multifaceted answer than a simple First Presidency announcement or speech. For Stevenson, these answers are revealed through the often-silent voices of ordinary Latter-day Saints.

“For the Cause of Righteousness” is divided into two parts. Part I chronologically traces both the development and dismantling of the LDS priesthood ban. Stevenson claims Mormonism’s stance toward race evolved as it transitioned following the death of its charismatic founder, Joseph Smith. Familiar stories of Elijah Ables, Walker Lewis, and Jane Manning James are wonderful examples of initial racial inclusion and later exclusion. For example, both Ables and Lewis were ordained to the priesthood under Joseph’s leadership. However, once institutionalized, the LDS Church became more racially exclusive, continually denying black appeals to participate in leadership and ritual.

Not only does Part I consider the restrictions on blacks within Mormonism, Stevenson further explores the faith’s self-inflicted limitations in spreading across the globe. In South Africa and Brazil, genealogy missionaries were assigned the arduous task of vetting a convert’s DNA. If a person’s bloodline could not be traced to Africa, they were cleared for priesthood or temple ordinances. Despite efforts in both countries, growth was noticeably stagnant and leadership was virtually nonexistent.

The second part of the book contains a vital collection of primary sources, which begin in the early 1830s and end in 2013. Each document includes a brief historical introduction with detailed footnotes to pull the source into context. Sources range from a comprehensive report of Brigham Young’s explanation of the priesthood ban, letters from Jane Manning James, and talks from Hugh B. Brown and Ezra Taft Benson concerning the Civil Rights Movement. Each document offers a unique window into Mormonism’s evolving racial ideology. However, a clear link between the characters from the Part I, and their respective primary documents found in Part II could have easily enabled the reader to jump between sections.

“For the Cause of Righteousness” is an indispensable and long overdue volume — not only for its content, but also in the way it presents Mormon history. Stevenson’s book crucially shifts away from both the typical top-down leadership narrative, and the “outsider’s” perspective of Mormon racism. Exploring the priesthood ban in the framework of a global community better explains the interaction between blacks and Mormons. Significantly, this work illuminates the average Latter-day Saints’ role in shaping the faith—not as submissive sheep, but as movers and shakers.

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