Blacks and the LDS Church

Before June 8, 1978, LDS males with black skin were not allowed to obtain the priesthood necessary to qualify for the Celestial Kingdom, a place where Mormons believe people will be able to progress to godhood. The very best they could hope for before this time was the bottom level of the Celestial Kingdom, where they could be servants for those on the top level.

After the First Presidency received a revelation from God, this changed. Today those with African ancestry can receive the priesthood. However, there was no repudiation of the belief that blacks were not as valiant in premortality, which was the cause for their "mark."

The issue came to the forefront at the end of February 2012 when a religion professor from BYU gave a two-hour interview with the Washington Post, verifying the racist nature of this belief. When the church heard about it, they released a speculation disagreeing with the church religion professor and saying that this was only "speculation." However, as I have demonstrated in the following two videos, this is not the case. I realize that the two videos (one 8 minutes, the other 10) contains many, many quotes from LDS leaders and teachers. This was done on purpose. But if you can invest 20 minutes, you will clearly see how this teaching was not just mere opinion, speculation, or folklore. It was really taught. This cannot be denied. Or, at least, it shouldn't be denied.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2Ed4Ox6m1U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCOEXVAhexo