In 1947, Lowry Nelson, a respected Mormon academic, challenged the LDS Church's racist policies in a series of letters to top leadership. Occurring on the cusp of the Civil Rights Movement, the First Presidency reacted by doubling down on encoding white supremacy into Mormon doctrine. Nelson wasn't ready to give up though and continued to flirt with excommunication by publishing his correspondence with the brethren in a national magazine. Explore with us the story behind these letters and the national reaction once they became public. 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/ You can read The Lowry Nelson Letters directly on our website! https://www.mormonstories.org/other/Lowry_Nelson_1st_Presidency_Exchange.pdf Show Notes: https://www.mormonstories.org/professor-confronted-mormon-racism/ Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:00 Who was Lowry Nelson? 00:05:44 Scriptural justifications 00:12:01 Any outright opponents prior to Lowry Nelson? 00:15:40 1947 Lowry Nelson Background 00:26:40 Reading the Lowry Nelson Letters 00:33:22 Report of the Cuba visit by Heber Meeks 00:36:30 Lowry Nelson’s letter to Heber Meeks 00:43:15 Lowry Nelson writes to the First Presidency 00:49:00 Response back from the First Presidency 00:53:00 Rules and restrictions for blacks 01:06:15 Saying that Joseph Smith is the originator of the ban 01:11:15 J Reuben Clark 01:18:55 Interracial marriage “obviously repugnant” 01:24:55 How doctrine works 01:28:50 Calling the racism doctrine 01:41:29 The 1949 Statement 01:48:05 This was never meant for public consumption 01:54:07 This is the first of three statements the church will make on race 01:58:22 When the ban would be lifted 02:00:55 How do we know that this 1949 Statement was in response to Lowry Nelson? 02:02:29 The final exchange between Nelson and the First Presidency 02:06:50 This became a debate in a national magazine 02:12:55 Letter from the secretary of the First Presidency 02:17:45 The letter appearing in the “Nation” 02:19:30 Apologetic responses to the Nation article 02:31:05 What happened to Lowry Nelson? 02:44:10 How did Lowry Nelson avoid excommunication? ___________________ 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