Blessed to Have Genesis by Chris Paige
The Genesis Group newsletter arrived in my mailbox today and after reading it thoroughly, I am moved to sit down and write this letter.
My husband, a convert and a Black man, joined the Church in 1995. At that time, he was one of about six Black Saints in the Fairfield, California Stake. Due to work, we relocated to Redding, California. He is now the only Black adult member that I have seen in this stake since we’ve moved here two years ago.
Perhaps, I am more sensitive to his being such a minority in our Church, because I have experienced this myself on a small scale. For many Sundays, while my husband and I were dating, many years ago, I attended his parents’ home church, an all-Black congregation, Shiloh Baptist Church. Everyone was very friendly, and I was always greeted warmly and with affection. I have not one bad thing to say about the good people of that church. However, in all honesty I can say that it was strange to be the only White face in the crowd. Even more than strange, I always felt like an outsider.
I know that my husband at times feels this way while sitting in our LDS congregations. Many times, after a special musical number or performance during Sacrament meeting, I have seen him start to bring his hands together to applaud and show his appreciation for the talent displayed. I smile to hear him quietly say, "Amen" when he agrees wholeheartedly with a speaker’s message. And how he longs for the music and soulful voices of that small Baptist congregation.
I would like to add here that none of this makes any difference, but I can’t. I can’t because the second Sunday in our new ward a Sister approached me and very cordially stated that she had seen my husband at her golf course. I was surprised at this. My husband is in medical sales and often plays golf with Orthopedic Surgeons and other ER staff. Yet, I knew he had not played at the golf course she was referring to. "Yes," she said. "Isn’t he the groundskeeper at Tierra Oaks?"
I can say that my husband being a Black member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints makes things awkward at times. Like a few months ago, when our nine-year-old son came home from Sunday school and asked us what color Jesus was. Naturally, we asked why this was important for him to know. He told us that his Primary teacher told him that Jesus was White and that Jesus could not possibly have been Black because Blacks were cursed — cursed with the mark of Cain.
My heart breaks as our family experiences over and over again that outside feeling of being a minority among the Saints. I wish I could say that my husband’s love of the Church has carried him through the hard spots, but it hasn’t been. His love of the Lord is profound. Yet, he continually struggles with concepts of the doctrine. Remarkably, whenever something like this happens, the Lord places someone there to fellowship my husband. It has almost always been another Black man.
I am so thankful for The Genesis Group. Just knowing that there are actually Black LDS members is comforting. I love the newsletters and appreciate all those who take the time to make them possible. I pray that one day there won’t be a need for such a group as The Genesis Group, but for right now, in this time, I feel blessed to have it.
