New York Herald, May 4, 1855, as cited in Dialogue, Journal of Mormon Thought, Spring 1973, p. 56; “You must not think, from what I say, that I am opposed to slavery. No! The negro is damned, and is to serve his master till God chooses to remove the curse of Ham.” – Prophet Brigham Young
Acts 8:26-30; “And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?”
It doesn’t sound like the Ethiopian man was a slave or damned or even cursed for that matter. Back in those days no one rode in chariots unless they were part of the upper class. Another important factor in this story is that the man was reading. This too is a sign he wasn’t just an ordinary person.
Why would the Lord tell Phillip to run to this man if He had cursed him? When you read further into this passage it tells us Phillip baptized the Ethiopian man and he confessed Jesus as God.
If God accepted this Ethiopian man who more than likely a black man, why did Brigham have such a difficult time with the race issue?
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