Today we are joined with historian Matthew Harris to discuss Hugh B. Brown and his attempts to lift the priesthood and temple ban for black members of the church. Hugh B. Brown was an attorney and joined the Quorum of the Twelve in 1958 and joined the First Presidency in 1961. He made countless efforts to convince the Brethren that the ban on black members should be lifted and even told the New York Times that there was a strong possibility the ban would soon be removed. This response caused a great deal of problems at Church Headquarters. We are thrilled to announce that we have reached our donation goal to compensate Dr. Matt Harris for his contributions to this series. We sincerely thank everyone who supported this effort. While the goal to pay Matt has been met, producing this series incurred significant costs for the Open Stories Foundation. If you find value in this content and want to help cover these expenses and support future productions, we encourage you to donate at https://www.mormonstories.org/donate/ Your generosity makes a difference—thank you! Purchase Matt Harris’ book “Second Class Saints” https://www.amazon.com/Second-Class-Saints-Mormons-Struggle-Equality/dp/019769571X/ Show Notes: https://www.mormonstories.org/apostle-attempts-to-lift-ban/ 00:00:00 Beginning 00:06:35 Overview of today’s episode 00:14:00 The Church in Nigeria 00:26:55 Background of Hugh B. Brown 00:35:50 Hugh B. Brown proposed that the ban be lifted 00:45:20 How revelation works vs how members think it works 00:51:45 When Hugh B. Brown joined the First Presidency 00:59:40 Hugh B. Brown causes trouble with the New York Times 01:12:50 Article from “Look Magazine” 01:30:34 Church leaders using the word “darkie” 01:37:05 Surprised there was not a riot in the Quorum 01:41:55 The Birch Society 01:45:35 “When the saints write protest letters, we listen.” 01:48:40 “The Way to Perfection” book 01:58:00 Apologetic books defending the priesthood and temple ban 02:00:15 “When a man raises the Negro issue” ___________________ At Mormon Stories we explore, celebrate, and challenge Mormon culture through in-depth stories told by members and former members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as scholars, authors, LDS apologists, and other professionals. Our overall mission is to: 1. Facilitate informed consent amongst LDS Church members, investigators, and non-members regarding Mormon history, doctrine, and theology 2. Support Mormons (and members of other high-demand religions) who are experiencing a religious faith crisis 3. Promote healing, growth and community for those who choose to leave the LDS Church or other high demand religions 🤝Help us continue to deliver quality content by becoming a donor today One-time or recurring donations: https://donorbox.org/mormon-stories?default_interval=m Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories Venmo: https://account.venmo.com/u/mormonstories Paypal: https://paypal.me/mormonstories Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx6OgmoqJbOVRq-Lv1P7SzA/join Our Platforms: 🌐Mormon Stories Blog: https://www.mormonstories.org/episodes 🎙️Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mormonstories ✳️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4sDzk7dRjODTSEqzZKZJzk?si=148b0efc1ccc4404&nd=1 🍎Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mormon-stories-lds/id312094772 🖼️Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mormstories 📱TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mormonstoriespodcast 🎮Discord: https://discord.com/invite/kuX5p6yyjF Contact us: 📧 MormonStories@gmail.com 📬PO Box 171085, Salt Lake City, UT 84117