In welcoming the group of approximately a hundred who attended the fireside, Brother Myers explained that he had been a Baptist preacher for fifteen years, starting at the age of twenty-one while serving in the military in Germany, before joining the Church in 1995. He told of the difficulties he had with the fact that Blacks could not be ordained to the priesthood before 1978. When he prayed for an answer to his concern about this issue, he received an answer that told him, "We'll deal with it later. Let me grow you in the Gospel first." He directed those gathered to 2 Nephi 26:33:
"For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile."Mat White: Stop Living the "Old Teachings"
Mat White, Cincinnati Stake high counselor and and ordinance worker in the Columbus Ohio Temple, briefly recounted his conversion story and his experiences as an African American who joined the Church in South Carolina. While in the military, a friend who had joined the Church pre-1978 and who had met with President Spencer W. Kimball influenced him to join the Church. Today, the Baptist ministers in his family—and there are a LOT of them!—are still shocked at his "white sheep" status, even twenty-four years after joining the Church. Brother White recounted his experience serving as a counselor in two bishoprics in South Carolina and the challenge some of the Saints had accepting him in that role. Despite those challenges, he expressed his great love of the gospel of Jesus Christ and told that it has enriched his life a hundred-fold. Six years ago, Brother White's life hung in the balance as the result of a stroke and serious heart condition; he had little chance of survival. Thanks to providence and a priesthood blessing, he says he is now able to do and be what he is, and to care for himself as well as anyone.
"A loving, kind Father in Heaven wants the best for each of His children," Brother White said. "We need to stop living the 'old teachings.' In our time, we need to help spread the gospel." Citing his love of the history of Blacks in the Church, he believes we need to sustain the foundation that they built. He desires to use his time left in mortality to make sure that the gospel goes forth to all of God's children. He testified that Joseph Smith, Jr. was and is a Prophet of the Lord, that the Book of Mormon is the word of the Father, and that we can draw close to Him by reading and abiding by the principles in that book.
"We need to embrace people of color wherever they are—anyone who wants to enhance his or her life by joining the kingdom of God on earth," Brother White concluded. Citing President Gordon B. Hinckley, he encouraged all to "nourish them with the good word of God."
President Don Harwell: Our Lineage from Proud, Strong People
In introducing Genesis Group President Don Harwell, Brother Myers described President Harwell's influence on him and on his family—especially his second oldest son. As a result of President Harwell's influence and his willingness to come to Columbus to baptize Brother Myers' son, the son accepted baptism.
President Harwell began his remarks by asking everyone in the assembly to turn around, get acquainted with someone seated near them, and get their telephone number and address. That exercise over, he observed that the gospel is not a gospel of sadness, but a gospel of joy and sharing the love of Jesus Christ. Nobody, he maintained, is excluded from the kingdom of God on earth. He encouraged two things:
- Stop living in the past. If someone tries to tell you that blacks are cursed, ask for evidence from the scriptures. It simply isn't there.
- If you are black and you are offended in the Church, get over it!
President Harwell went on to relate some very spiritual experiences he had at the University of Colorado and the fiery testimony that the Holy Ghost left with him of the truthfulness of this Church. He encourages all to read and study the Book of Mormon and to gain the promised testimony talked about in Moroni 10. "In Heaven, there is no color," he emphasized. "Heavenly Father loves no one more than others. Stand up and be counted. We are blessed to have the power of the priesthood of God, if we will just use it!" He testified that he knows the Church is true and that the presidents of the Church are truly prophets of the Lord. "Life will not be easy," he concluded, "but it will be easier if we follow the prophets. Adversity is for us to grow on."
Darius Gray: "Where All Those Negroes Came From"
President Gray invited the congregation to stand and sing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" before he started his dissertation on Blacks in the Bible. He indicated that his presentation on genealogy in the Bible would identify "Where all those Negroes came from," as he put it. He first cited Genesis 10:6-20 and encouraged all to study those verses. Displaying a map of Africa, he expounded on its size and the diversity of Black peoples on that continent.
Using what he noted was a Jewish timetable, he outlined the time from Adam and Eve through Noah and Ham, the supposed father of the Black race. After identifying the presumably Black descendents of Ham, he moved on to Abraham meeting Melchizedek, the King of Salem, which was in the land of one of the sons of Ham. "Melchizedek may not have been a 'Brother,' but he hung out with them, in any event," President Gray quipped. He pointed out that Abraham's wife Hagar was of the lineage of Ham, and it was her son Ishmael of whom the Lord made a mighty nation. He also pointed out that Judah married a Canaanite of the lineage of Ham (see Genesis 38:2-6).
"Read the story of Tamara, whose twin sons were begat by Judah," President Gray admonished. "Joseph's wife was probably Black as well, based on recent studies of the Hyksos occupation of Egypt, which indicates that it was too brief for the Hyksos to have been in power at the time of Joseph." Joseph's wife was identified as the daughter of a priest of the sun god, and not likely a Semite.
Moses married Zipporah of Midian, President Gray said, and he poitned out Numbers 12:1—the woman being discussed in that scripture is not named, and may very well not be Zipporah, but an Ethiopian woman that Moses married (see Numbers 12:1-10). Aaron's progeny married Blacks; his descendant Phineas was high priest in Israel for nineteen years and is a hero in Jewish literature. He recounted the story of the battle for Jericho and the harlot Rahab, a Canaanite, who was (probably) shown in vision that the Israelites would conquer. Her son, Boaz, married Ruth, whose progeny included Jesse and David, King of Israel, through whom the record reveals Jesus's genealogy comes (see Matthew 1:3).
President Gray emphasized that Jesus was a Jew, and without doubt is the Son of the Living God. However, he also noted that as such, he must have had the full, complete makeup of the Father and the genetic makeup of each of US.
President Gray also pointed out that many Blacks are portrayed in the New Testament, as well; as one example, he highlighted Philip's baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch (see Acts 8). He went on to remind the group that Simon the Cyrenian (current-day Libya) was probably not a Jew, but a Black man, and explained why he thought that (see Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, and Luke 23:26).
President Gray concluded by emphasizing that "the gospel is for ALL of God's children" and by bearing witness to the truthfulness of the Church. He has been a member in good standing since December 25, 1964, and related his touching conversion story.