Genesis Group

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Genesis Group

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Genesis Group
Formation	June 8, 1971; 53 years ago (1971-06-08)
Founders	Thomas Monson, Gordon B. Hinckley, Boyd K. Packer, Ruffin Bridgeforth, Eugene Orr, Darius Gray
Founded at	Salt Lake City, Utah
Leader	Davis Stovall
Parent organization	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Black people and the Latter Day Saint movement

Overview articles Black people and Mormonism Black people and early Mormonism History of African Americans in Utah Black Mormons Genesis Group LDS temple and priesthood policies 1978 Revelation on Priesthood
Historical teachings Mormon teachings on skin color Curses of Cain and Ham Mormonism and slavery History of slavery in Utah Act in Relation to Service Joseph Smith's views Premortal life Patriarchal blessings Civil rights and Mormonism Segregation Interracial marriage Lynching of Thomas Coleman
Living people Michelle Amos Thurl Bailey Alex Boyé Alan Cherry Brandon Davies Joseph Freeman Darius Gray Keith N. Hamilton Alvin B. Jackson Frank Jackson Peter M. Johnson JTM Bryan Kehl Gladys Knight Mia Love Burgess Owens Mark Paredes Jabari Parker Marvin Perkins Darron Smith Catherine Stokes Shaquille Walker Winston Wilkinson Jamal Willis
Deceased people Elijah Abel Joseph T. Ball Amanda and Samuel Chambers Eldridge Cleaver Gobo Fango Green Flake Mary Lee Pugh Hope Jane Manning James Peter Kerr Walker Lewis William McCary
Category Pan-Africanism
v t e

The Genesis Group is an auxiliary organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS church) for African-American members and their families.

History

[edit]

LDS Church leaders Thomas Monson, Gordon B. Hinckley, and Boyd K. Packer established the Genesis Group with Ruffin Bridgeforth, Eugene Orr, and Darius Gray on June 8, 1971 in Salt Lake City, Utah.^[1] It was first organized to provide members an organization where they could affiliate with fellow African-American members.

The Genesis group provided meetings for Black members of the LDS church; specifically, Relief Society, Primary, Young Men, Young Women and testimony meetings. Members of Genesis were still expected to attend Sunday meetings in their home wards,^[2] which at the time were sacrament meeting, Priesthood meetings, and Sunday School.^[3] It was like a branch, a small group of members, but without priesthood authority. The group was led by Ruffin Bridgeforth from 1971 through 1978.^[2] Shortly after the church's June 8, 1978, announcement of the revelation extending the priesthood to all worthy male members of the church, the group's attendance dropped, and officially discontinued in 1987. Participation decreased in part because it added additional time commitments to already demanding LDS church membership. In 1985, Marva Collins started a "Genesis II" group in Oakland, California, and published a newsletter focused on news about Black Mormons until 1988.^[2]

The Genesis Group was reorganized in 1996, based on a perception that African Americans still had unique issues and could benefit from a chance to affiliate with one another. Leaders of the group include Darius Gray (1997–2003), Don Harwell (2003–2018), and Davis Stovall (2018-present).^[4]^[5] Stake and High Councilmen were assigned to represent The Genesis Group in local organization, and a General authority was assigned to be a liaison to the group.^[6]

Other Genesis groups have existed in Washington, D.C.^[2] In 2007, similar support groups existed in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, Los Angeles, and Houston.^[4] The Genesis Group meets on the first Sunday of every month in Salt Lake City.^[7]

References

[edit]

^ Fletcher Stack, Peggy (January 8, 2018). "Black Mormon support group laments loss of their prophet 'champion,' looks to the Genesis of even greater influence". The Salt Lake Tribune.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Embry, Jessie L. (1994). Black Saints in a white church : contemporary African American Mormons. Salt Lake City: Signature Books. pp. 183–191. ISBN 1560850442.
^ Christensen, Tom (April 18, 2014). "History of the LDS three-hour Sunday block". Standard-Examiner. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
^ ^a ^b Stack, Peggy Fletcher (July 7, 2007). "Faithful witness". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
^ Walch, Tad (January 7, 2018). "LDS Church reorganizes Genesis Group leadership". DeseretNews.com. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
^ Embry, Jessie L. (1990). "Separate but Equal? Black Branches, Genesis Groups, or Integrated Wards?" (PDF). Dialogue. 23 (1). Retrieved July 17, 2017.
^ "Discussing the Priesthood Ban with Members of the Genesis Group", Latter-day Saint Perspectives, 5 July 2017. Retrieved on 9 April 2021.

External links

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Genesis Facebook Group

v t e Black people and the Latter Day Saint movement
Overview articles	Black people and Mormonism Black people and early Mormonism History of African Americans in Utah Black Mormons Genesis Group LDS temple and priesthood policies 1978 Revelation on Priesthood
Historical teachings	Mormon teachings on skin color Curses of Cain and Ham Mormonism and slavery History of slavery in Utah Act in Relation to Service Joseph Smith's views Premortal life Patriarchal blessings Civil rights and Mormonism Segregation Interracial marriage Lynching of Thomas Coleman
Living people	Michelle Amos Thurl Bailey Alex Boyé Alan Cherry Brandon Davies Joseph Freeman Darius Gray Keith N. Hamilton Alvin B. Jackson Frank Jackson Peter M. Johnson JTM Bryan Kehl Gladys Knight Mia Love Burgess Owens Mark Paredes Jabari Parker Marvin Perkins Darron Smith Catherine Stokes Shaquille Walker Winston Wilkinson Jamal Willis
Deceased people	Elijah Abel Joseph T. Ball Amanda and Samuel Chambers Eldridge Cleaver Gobo Fango Green Flake Mary Lee Pugh Hope Jane Manning James Peter Kerr Walker Lewis William McCary
Category Pan-Africanism

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