Marcus Helvécio Martins (born 22 April 1959)Martins, Helvecio and Mark Grover. ''The Autobiography of Helvecio Martins'', (Salt Lake City: Aspen Books, 1994) p. 29 is the former dean and department chair for religious education at

Brigham Young University–Hawaii Brigham Young University–Hawaii (BYU–Hawaii) is a private university in Laie, Hawaii. It is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). BYU-Hawaii was founded in 1955, and became a satellite campus of ...

(BYU–Hawaii), and also the author of ''Setting the Record Straight: Blacks and the Mormon Priesthood''. Martins was the first black member to serve as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

after the revelation extending the priesthood 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) to all male members regardless of race or color. Martins is the son of

Helvécio Martins __NOTOC__ Helvécio Martins (27 July 1930 – 14 May 2005) was the first person of Black African Afro-Brazilian, descent to be called as a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Born to descendants of A ...

, the first Latter-day Saint of African descent to serve as an LDS Church general authority.

Early years and career

Marcus Helvécio Martins was born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, and became an American citizen in 2010. In the 1970s and 80s in Brazil, Martins worked as a construction inspector and later as a systems analyst. Martins then went to Provo,

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 ...

, where he studied for six years at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYU), earning degrees in

business management Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

organizational behavior Organizational behavior (OB) or organisational behaviour is the: "study of human behavior in organizational settings, the interface between human behavior and the organization, and the organization itself".Moorhead, G., & Griffin, R. W. (1995) ...

, and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

. During his doctoral work, he was a part-time Religion and Sociology instructor at BYU, and later worked as a religion professor at then-

Ricks College Ricks may refer to: People * Andre Ricks (born 1996), American basketball player * Bob Ricks (21st century), American police chief * Christopher Ricks (born 1933), British literary critic and scholar * Doug Ricks, American politician and member o ...

(now BYU–Idaho), before taking a position at BYU–Hawaii in 2000. As a department chair, associate dean, and dean of religious education at BYU–Hawaii, he put forth initiatives to enhance religious education through the use of

educational technology Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refer ...

and

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

. He also served as chair of the Faculty Advisory Council (akin to a faculty senate), and member of the strategic planning and academic planning committees. He was the first BYU–Hawaii professor to work closely with BYU Television (BYUtv) in taking academic lectures to an international audience. In 2002, he was elected “Teacher of the Year” by BYU–Hawaii's President's Council, and in 2017 he was elected “Honored Professor of the Year” by BYU–Hawaii's Honors Council. He has spoken to professional and ecclesiastical audiences throughout the United States, Brazil, and Japan, and participated in professional conferences in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, the U.K., and Qatar. He participated in the documentary “Messiah: Behold the Lamb of God”, broadcast on BYUtv. He has several video lectures on religion-related topics on his YouTube channel, and in 2016 began speaking in online multi-stake devotionals internationally, along with frequent informal online chats on doctrine with audiences worldwide. He has also participated in podcasts, interviews, and articles to the media. Among his topics of interest are: strategic management in a global environment, computer technology, law, politics, and world languages and cultures. His research focuses on temple symbolism, and the impact of globalization forces, technology, and immigration on the growth of the LDS Church, as well as consequences of the doctrines of the restoration on daily religiosity. In 2007, Martins published the book “Setting the Record Straight: Blacks and the Mormon Priesthood” and in 2017 he wrote the manuscript “The Priesthood: Earthly Symbols and Heavenly Realities”.

Family and church service

Martins and his parents joined the LDS Church in 1972. In 1978, Marcus Martins became engaged to Mirian Abelin Barbosa, who had just returned from serving in the church's Brazil

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

South Mission. Initially they planned on getting married in May 1978, but then planned to postpone the marriage until after the dedication of the

São Paulo Brazil Temple The São Paulo Brazil Temple (formerly the São Paulo Temple) is the 19th constructed and 17th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Located in the Brazilian city of São Paulo, it was the first LDS templ ...

, so she could be

sealed Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

to her parents at the same time. However, she then decided not to follow that plan and they set a new marriage date of August 5. On June 8, 1978, Official Declaration—2 was announced. After much contemplation and prayer, and with Mirian's support, Martins decided to postpone the wedding so he could serve a mission. He served in the Brazil São Paulo North Mission from 1978 to 1980.Martins. ''Setting the Record Straight: Blacks and the Mormon Priesthood'', back cover After returning from his mission, he married Mirian on December 19, 1980. Over the years, Martins has served in the LDS Church twice as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

(in Brazil and Hawaii), seven times as a high councilor, and as a temple ordinance worker, among other positions. In the early 1980s, he participated in a new translation of the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude date ...

into Portuguese.Rosemarie Howard
"Marcus Martins Named New Chair of L2 Committee"
2007-03-20, byuh.edu, accessed 2008-05-02. From 2011 to 2014, he was

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the Brazil São Paulo North Mission, the same mission he had served in as a young missionary.

Notes

References

* *

External links

* Marcus H. Martins
personal website
*Marcus H. Martins
"Forty Years After the 40th Year: Expectations for the Future of Black Members in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"
presented at Brigham Young University's Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship's conference "40 Years: Commemorating the 1978 Priesthood and Temple Revelation", 2018-10-12 * Marcus H. Martins
"Forty Years After 126 Years: Reflections from an Aging Black Man in Zion"
presented at the University of Utah's Tanner Humanities Center's “Black, White, and Mormon II”: A Conference on Race in the LDS Church Since the 1978, 2018-06-30 * Marcus H. Martins
"The Doctrine of the Priesthood and Gender Issues"
presented at Brigham Young University's Religion Faculty Forum, 2016-02-25 * Marcus H. Martins,
"Thirty Years After the 'Long Promised Day': Reflections and Expectations"
presented at the

Orem Utah Orem is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States, in the northern part of the state. It is adjacent to Provo, Lindon, and Vineyard and is approximately south of Salt Lake City. Orem is one of the principal cities of the Provo-Orem, Utah Me ...

Institute of Religion An Institute of Religion is a local organization that provides religious education for young adults (ages 18–30) who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Local institutes may function in church meetinghous ...

, 2008-02-29 * Martins on YouTube
Dr. Martins' YouTube Channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martins, Marcus 1959 births Brazilian leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Brazilian Mormon missionaries Brigham Young University alumni Brigham Young University–Hawaii faculty Brigham Young University–Idaho faculty English–Portuguese translators Mormon missionaries in Brazil Mormonism and race Living people Brazilian academics Brazilian male writers American Latter Day Saint writers 20th-century Mormon missionaries Brazilian emigrants to the United States Black Mormons Mission presidents (LDS Church) 21st-century Mormon missionaries Translators of the Book of Mormon 20th-century translators 21st-century translators Missionary linguists