Black Pete, or Peter Kerr, was an early member 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 ...

, and the second black man to be ordained to the priesthood in that faith.

Biography

Peter Kerr was born 1775, to an enslaved woman named Kino, who was of

Mandinka Mandinka, Mandika, Mandinkha, Mandinko, or Mandingo may refer to: Media * ''Mandingo'' (novel), a bestselling novel published in 1957 * ''Mandingo'' (film), a 1975 film based on the eponymous 1957 novel * ''Mandingo (play)'', a play by Jack Kir ...

heritage. He and his mother lived in western

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, where they were enslaved to a man named John Kerr Jr. Following Kerr's death, Peter was willed to his son, who moved to

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, a free state, in 1813. Peter was freed from servitude, and came into contact with a group known as "The Family," which practiced a combination of Christian principles and

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

. Many members of that group converted to

Mormonism Mormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of t ...

in the early 1830s, including Peter. There is, however, no official record of his baptism, but his membership was recognized by

George A. Smith George Albert Smith (June 26, 1817 – September 1, 1875) was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and as a member of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

, another member of the church, and in local newspapers. He was notably accustomed to seeing "angels and letters hatwould come down from heaven..." and once jumped off a bridge to catch a letter, which he said was delivered by a black angel. He acted as a Revelator in the community, was ordained to the priesthood, and baptized others into the faith, along with

Levi W. Hancock Levi Ward Hancock (April 7, 1803 – June 10, 1882) was an early convert to Mormonism and was a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for nearly fifty years. He was also one of the witnesses of the Book of Command ...

, Edson Fuller, and Herman Bassett. A colleague, Reuben Harmon, mentioned that "White women would chase him about..." and Peter soon entered into a relationship with fourteen-year-old Lovina Williams, of whom he said he had received revelation to marry. Lovina replied that if she received a revelation as well, she would marry him. Peter consulted the prophet

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...

, about whether he should marry Lovina, but Smith said he could not receive personal revelation for him. Peter and Lovina did not marry, and, after 1831, there is no record of him. Some scholars have suggested that he died, being around 60 years old in 1835, when the average lifespan of an African-American man at the time was around forty.

External links

Black Members in Church History

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Peter (Revelator) 1775 births Year of death unknown African-American Latter Day Saints Converts to Mormonism American freedmen Latter Day Saints from Pennsylvania Mormon mystics American people of Mandinka descent

Biography

External links

See also

References