by _~

I was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 18 years before I had an opportunity to know a black member of the church. I moved to Mississippi in late 1984 and came to know sister Carrie Webster Cole in the Meridian ward in Mississippi. She had a warm and sweet spirit that impressed me. But, whenever I heard her pray, it brought tears to my eyes due to her humble and sweet spirit. You can tell a lot about one's spirituality when you hear them pray. When I hear Carrie pray, I can feel the strength of her spirit, her humility and how close her relationship is with the Lord. For years, she sat in church meetings as the only black member in the congregation. Some other black members would come and go, but Carrie was always faithful and always there. In 1995, Lee Radcliff joined the church and started attending the Meridian ward. He too was extremely faithful, and to me, was a male version of Carrie. After I was called as Branch President in Laurel, Mississippi I had the opportunity to work closely with a large number of black members. Approximately one-third of our active members were black. I learned there that in the community of black members, there were many other Lee Radcliffs and Carrie Webster Coles. For most of these people, life is simple; family, food, clothing, transportation and the Lord. They are so unencumbered with the things of the world, which blesses them with a greater focus on the true priorities in life.

In 1997, we decided to do a special fireside to honor the black pioneers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I started searching for materials on black Latter-day Saints, but found a surprising lack of information. So, I contacted the Church archives in Salt Lake City and they forwarded some materials to me on early black members of the church. When I read some of their accounts, it brought tears to my eyes as I witnessed their great faith, spiritual strength and the persecution they endured. I discovered that many of these early black Latter-day Saints were spiritual giants. I have also come to know that we had spiritual giants in some of our current black members of our stake. So, we invited some of them to speak in this special fireside. They read some of the historical accounts of early black pioneers in the church, in addition to telling their own stories as modern day Black Latter-day Saint Pioneers.

Recently, the Lord blessed me with an insightful experience. I was invited by a black friend to attend a local meeting of the NAACP. I went into this room with approximately 200 black men and women, and I was the only white person there. I was treated kindly and with the utmost respect by all of them.

But as I sat there and looked around, none of my race or color was present, and I felt like I was a stranger in a strange land. As I reflected on my feelings, I thought of Carrie Webster Cole, Lee Radcliff and other black members who came to church week after week and sat there either by themselves or with a small handful of their own race. Even though our white members treat them with great love, I wondered if they sometimes feel like I felt in that NAACP meeting.

One great thing about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, is that it teaches us that we are all children of the same Heavenly Father. That we are all brothers and sisters, no matter what our race or nationality. We are all of the same human family. In the wards and branches in Mississippi, I have witnessed how black and white can worship, serve and love together. As one black member, Sister Mary Williams says, "We don't know about black or white here. This is the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and we love one another. We all just blends in together."

In preparing for this fireside, we discovered, the blacks have a great legacy in the church, that dates back to the beginning. Their ancestors were valiant, strong in the faith, and many were spiritual giants. As the number of black members in the church increases, many set alone in our ward and branches. They too are pioneers; modern day Black Latter-day Saint Pioneers.

This fireside was attended by a large crowd, and some drove nearly 100 miles to attend. It was one of those special meetings, where great love prevails and the spirit attends in great strength. Afterwards, everybody was enjoying the strength of the spirit so much, they just stayed and talked with each other and didn't want to go home. It was a wonderful evening.

As The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints becomes a world-wide church, we need to make an effort to know and understand our black members. We need to invite them into our homes, to love and fellowship them so they don't feel alone in any respect. Our display of this pure love will move us one step closer, as we seek to understand, embrace, love and worship with our brothers and sisters from all the races and nations of the earth.