The Mormon Apocrypha

In 1985, the first temple in Africa was dedicated. Located in Johannesburg, South Africa, it was a great step forward for the preaching of the gospel in Africa. Dedicated 24–25 August 1985 by Gordon B. Hinckley Almighty and Eternal Father in Heaven whom we love and worship, on this day of dedication we come unto Thee in the name of Thy Son Jesus Christ. We are assembled in this holy house which we present unto Thee. It has been built through the consecrations of Thy faithful sons and daughters. They have given generously of their means to rear it unto Thee as an expression of their love for Thee and of their faith in the eternal ordinances which Thou hast revealed for the salvation and blessing of Thy children. We pray that Thou wilt accept our offering and that Thou wilt honor this house with Thy holy presence. Let Thy Spirit constantly abide here and touch the hearts of all who shall enter. Beloved Father, our hearts are filled with gratitude on this historic day in the chronicles of...

 Joseph W. Sitati was born in Bungoma, Kenya on the 16th of May 1952.  He married Gladys Nangoni in July 1976. and gave birth to five children. He joined the Church in 1986, serving as a branch president, stake president, district president, counselor in a mission presidency, and mission president. In 2009, he was sustained as a general authority, becoming the second person of African descent to be ordained as one. (The first being Helvecio Martins.) He was released in October 2022, giving one last conference talk. Titled Patterns of Discipleship, it goes over traits a disciple of Christ would possess.  Pattern of Faith This morning our two children and three grandchildren in North America, and about half of the world, saw the brightness of the sun rising majestically in the east. The other three children and seven grandchildren in Africa, and the other half of the world, saw darkness gradually creep upon them as the sun sank over the horizon in the west. This timeless co...

After Joseph Smiths death, many churches spung up from his church. Most went to Utah with Brigham Young, many went up to Wisconsin and Michigan to follow James Strang, and some joined the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints. But within rural Illinois, there were a collection of congregations not affiliated with any group. In the spring of 1853, the congregations joined together, vowing to continue the original teachings of the church. In 1863, the were officially organized as a single church, under the leadership of Granville Hendrick. Hendrick was ordained as a prophet, seer and revelator, though he later distanced himself from the term as he thought it was unscriptural. They soon relocated to Independence, Missouri and bought the land Joseph Smith prophesied at temple would be built on known as the temple lot. Today, there they are still in Independence, and still own the Temple Lot, despite getting into a lawsuit with the RLDS Church. Temple Lot Plaque The Church...

Racism is a hard thing to talk about. But it is something to be talked about. Within this talk at BYU, delivered on April 6, 2022, Ryan Gabriel goes over how Christ and his teachings can help use heal the painful legacy of racism. In the spring of 2018, I was fortunate enough, along with a group of faculty and administrative colleagues here at BYU, to travel with a group of students to the southern United States to visit a number of famous civil rights sites. One of these sites was the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. The 16th Street Baptist Church was a hub of civil rights activity in the 1950s and 1960s. It was a meeting place for civil rights leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth. Parishioners of the church marched through the streets of Birmingham with the hope that their action would integrate a deeply divided city. Outside of the church rests a small plaque that memorializes the deaths of four young girls: Addie Mae ...

Elder Helvécio Martins was the first person of Black African descent to be called as a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Born to descendants of African slaves in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Martins joined the LDS Church in 1972, despite his knowledge that the LDS Church did not then allow members of Black African descent to hold the priesthood or to receive temple ordinances. On 9 June 1978, Martins and his family heard of the announcement that the LDS Church was lifting the priesthood ban. After Martins received the priesthood and his temple ordinances, he served in the church as a bishop, counselor to a stake president, and as president of the Brazil Fortaleza Mission. In April 1990, church president Ezra Taft Benson called Martins as a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy. Martins became the first black general authority in the LDS Church. After serving a standard five-year term as a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy, Martins was honora...