The Genesis Group is an auxiliary organization of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
(LDS church) for
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
members and their families.
History
LDS Church leaders
Thomas Monson
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
,
Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 1995 until his death in January 200 ...
, and
Boyd K. Packer
Boyd Kenneth Packer (September 10, 1924 – July 3, 2015) was an American religious leader and educator who served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church), president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jes ...
established the Genesis Group with Ruffin Bridgeforth, Eugene Orr, and
Darius Gray
Darius Gray is an African-American Latter-day Saint speaker and writer.
Gray was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in 1964. He attended Brigham Young University for one yea ...
on June 8, 1971 in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
,
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
. It was first organized to provide members an organization where they could affiliate with fellow African-American members.
The Genesis group provided meetings for black members of the LDS church; specifically,
Relief Society
The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 18 ...
,
Primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
* ...
,
Young Men,
Young Women and testimony meetings. Members of Genesis were still expected to attend Sunday meetings in their home wards,
which at the time were
sacrament meeting
Sacrament meeting is the weekly worship service held on Sunday in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
Sacrament meetings are held in individual wards or branches in the chapel of the meetinghouse. The bishop or branch ...
, Priesthood meetings, and
Sunday School
A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West.
Su ...
. It was like a
branch
A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk (botany), trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' ...
, a small group of members, but without priesthood authority. The group was led by Ruffin Bridgeforth from 1971 through 1978.
[ Shortly after the church's June 8, 1978, announcement of the ]revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
extending the priesthood to all worthy male members of the church, the group's attendance dropped, and officially discontinued in 1987. Participation decreased in part because it added additional time commitments to already demanding LDS church membership. In 1985, Marva Collins started a "Genesis II" group in Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
and published a newsletter focused on news about black Mormons until 1988.[
The Genesis Group was reorganized in 1996, based on a perception that African Americans still had unique issues and could benefit from a chance to affiliate with one another. Leaders of the group include Darius Gray (1997–2003), Don Harwell (2003–2018), and Davis Stovall (2018-present).] Stake and High Councilmen were assigned to represent The Genesis Group in local organization, and a General authority was assigned to be a liaison to the group.
Other Genesis groups have existed in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
[ In 2007, similar support groups existed in ]Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County, Mississippi, Forrest County (where it is the county seat and largest city) and extending west into Lamar County, Mississippi, Lamar County. The city popu ...
, Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
and Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
, Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
.[ The Genesis Group meets on the first Sunday of every month in Salt Lake City."Discussing the Priesthood Ban with Members of the Genesis Group"]
''Latter-day Saint Perspectives'', 5 July 2017. Retrieved on 9 April 2021.
See also
* 1978 Revelation on Priesthood
*Black Mormons
Since Mormonism’s foundation, Black people have been members, however the church placed restrictions on proselytization efforts among black people. Before 1978, black membership was small. It has since grown, and in 1997, there were approximatel ...
*Black people and early Mormonism
Early Mormonism had a range of doctrines related to race with regards to black people of African descent. References to black people, their social condition during the 19th and 20th centuries, and their spiritual place in Western Christianity as ...
* Black people in Mormon doctrine
*Black people and Mormonism
Over the past two centuries, the relationship between black people and Mormonism has included both official and unofficial discrimination.
From the mid-1800s to 1978, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) prevented mos ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Genesis Facebook Group
African-American history of Utah
Organizational subdivisions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Christian organizations established in 1971
Mormonism and race
African-American Latter Day Saints
1971 establishments in Utah
Latter Day Saint culture
Harold B. Lee Library-related 20th century articles