No. But there sure as hell are branches in that configuration. So, Branch Presidents, yes, Bishops no.

Ron

All over Africa.

Which precludes them from being African American, I guess.

Double LOL

Unless an African-American relocated to Africa for some reason. I guess he'd become an African-American-African or something.

I think the DC branch has hardly any black members, even though the city is 60% black. If DC isn't majority black, then what is?

but the vast majority of the people on the roles were inactive). You are correct, there were very few black members

I guess it became a ward at some point. I lived on the Hill for 8 years and had home teachers and missionaries pop over from time to time. I don't know how they got my address, because I never once showed up at the converted Safeway they call a chapel.

So, I guess I was one of those long list of inactives. I liked the missionaries stopping by, but the EQP who came by was a major jerk.

Hey, I'm curious about that now that you brought it up! Ten years ago, in Madrid, Spain we had an "African branch" in English (mostly Nigerians) but it was consolidated into the "English-language ward" around 2002. And all the leaders were white Americans anyway.

If we had black branches in Europe at one time, perhaps they have (had) some in the USA?

but I've heard that some inner city branches have a BP imported from the suburbs.

Yep, I've been to a branch like that ... 90% AA and whites sitting up front.

I've heard later that local SP changed boundaries, more whites came in, AA stopped (mostly) coming.

There was a ward in Ft. Lauderdale, about twelve years ago, that was predominately black, and the bishopric was white. I was told, and I am not being a dick here either, trust me, that the reason they bring in white bishops is because, "they need to have trustworthy priesthood leaders in charge and you just can't find them among the african american community." Yep, I had the same reaction.

And my response is not capable to being posted on this site, suffice it to say I ran out of words by the time I was finished, making up a few new variations along the way.

So, yep, the import the little c---------s from white suburbia I guess.

'There was a ward in Ft. Lauderdale, about twelve years ago, that was predominately black, and the bishopric was white. I was told, and I am not being a dick here either, trust me, that the reason they bring in white bishops is because, "they need to have trustworthy priesthood leaders in charge and you just can't find them among the african american community." '

Not that they can't find them, but that the A-A community probably isn't/wasn't interested in getting that involved with the church, knowing what they know of its history. The priesthood ban and its sudden and cynical change are still a recent memory, it wasn't all that long ago. Maybe in another thirty years?

Exactly.

But, the ward was a pretty big ward at the time. Not sure why they couldn't find anyone from among the brethren attending?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm????????????????? CoughCoughRacismCoughCough

I seem to remember the bish is also AA.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2011 05:23PM by rodolfo.

I have been wondering if the CoJCoLDS has become more African-American friendly during the 30+ years since they were granted the right to hold the Priesthood. Has that made any real difference or are the AA's still discriminated against within The Church? It doesn't sound like there has been a rush-to-join-the-Church by the AA community in the USA.

Why don't you ask them:

http://newsroom.lds.org/leadership-and-organization

; )

I served part of my mission in Baltimore visa waiting. Plenty of African members in the inner city branches, but they parachuted in big fat white guys from the county to be in the branch presidency.

When I was living in Cayman we had a black branch president, but he was basically the only African descended man who would come. THere were a few part member African families though.

I attended a ward in west Philadelphia that was predominantly black. All the PH leaders and area authorities were white. They did have a black RS pres for a time though.

And it's disturbing to me, albeit not surprising, that many of us have had the same experience of being in wards/branches with a high concentration of black people and yet they need to bring in white guys for the leadership positions.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think there is a black GA stateside. I think they have that one token guy representing some part of Africa.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2011 02:10AM by goldenrule.

There are very few blacks in the Mormon church in the US, so there will be even fewer bishops. These statistics are from Kosmin B.A., Mayer, E. & A. Keysar (2001). American Religious Indentification Survey. New York: The Graduate Center of the City University of New York:

http://forum-home.980544.n3.nabble.com/Mormonen-niet-noodzakelijkerwijs-wie-zij-zelf-zeggen-tp3295993p3295993.html

The Pew Forum found slightly more blacks (3%), but still very few:

http://pewforum.org/Christian/Mormon/A-Portrait-of-Mormons-in-the-US.aspx#3

Basically, the LDS church is one of the most segregated churches in the US. I guess negroes don't want that cadillac after all...

"Basically, the LDS church is one of the most segregated churches in the US."

No, that would have to be COGIC or AME. Or one of several other predominantly A-A churches in the U.S.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_church

Oh that's right, that was the Mormon church. Nice try "!".

I understand that part of the reason for the creation of A-A churches in the U.S. was due to segregation on the part of white churches.

However, this has surely not been the case anymore, at least for the last generation. I'm talking mainstream churches, not the LDS in particular.

So isn't about time we saw some outreach on the part of these black churches to attract more white people to their ranks?

COGIC (Church of God in Christ) for instance does not have a single non-black person in leadership. It's 2011, for cryin' out loud! You can't help but conclude they're not really making much of an outreach effort.

I don't think most folks here will like this news...



National Organization for Marriage Honors COGIC Presiding Bishop and Mother Willie Mae Rivers

WASHINGTON, DC – Tuesday, June 2, 2010, Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr. and senior women’s leader Mother Willie Mae Rivers of the Church of God in Christ accepted the National Organization for Marriage’s (NOM) 2010 Marriage Protector Award. Bishop Blake is the worldwide leader of the Church Of God In Christ (COGIC), and Mother Rivers is the senior women’s leader. COGIC is one of the largest African-American denominations in the United States, and has a worldwide membership of 5 million people in 60 countries. The award was given to acknowledge “the steadfast witness of the Church of God in Christ in defending marriage as the union of husband and wife.”

NOM Chairman Maggie Gallagher presented the award at the 60th Annual Womens International Convention/Crusade of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) at the Los Angeles Convention Center. “We are blessed by your courage, your clarity, and your conviction,” Gallagher conveyed to COGIC. “I am here to present an award, but the honor is really ours–to acknowledge with gratitude the contributions of COGIC in standing for the truth that to make a marriage you need a husband and wife. At a time when so many powerful voices argue that this idea is rooted only in hatred and bigotry, we are blessed by your witness to the truth, which is really God’s truth, about marriage,” Maggie Gallagher told the assembled 20,000 African-American women and COGIC bishops, and other church leaders.

http://cogic.net/cogiccms/presidingbishop/

(Funny, I don't remember reading any news stories about anti-COGIC protests. What's up with that?)

and after all that we've done for them.

I know of one in the past in Detroit. One in oakland had a high ratio.

Huh, here's one!

Joseph Freeman

The first black man of Hamitic lineage to be ordained since Enoch Abel (Elijah Abel's grandson) was Joseph Freeman; a black convert to the Church who had once studied to become a black Holiness church minister. He first discovered the Church while in the U.S. Air Force in Hawaii in the early 1970s. He was crushed when he first was told of the Priesthood-ban. Yet, he prayed about it and received an overwhelming feeling of peace. He was baptized, and later married a Mormon Tongan woman. He remained faithful and active before and after the 1978 Revelation and currently (2003 A.D.) serves as an LDS bishop (a lay-leader of a congregation of about 250 Mormons) in Salt Lake City.

When I visited for F&T meeting in south side of Atlanta I think most of the people and the leadership (possibly all the leadership) were black. Two kids' testimony was even a poem by Tupac, but other than that it was all regular run-of-the-mill Mo testimonies no matter what culture the person that was telling them was from.

The RS lady and the mishie that chaperoned me were also black, although the mishie was from Logan, UT.

Being non-white, never-mo, and knowing the history of LDS, let's just say the whole situation made me very sad... but also WTF!