People deserve informed consent about how the Mormon church has treated people of color

The Informed Consent Problem: Why the LDS Church's Racial History Demands Transparency

When someone joins the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they are making a lifelong commitment. They will invest decades of time, money, identity, and spiritual labor based on what they understand to be true about the institution. Yet many converts and lifelong members discover in their 30s, 40s, or even later that the church withheld a substantial history regarding its treatment of people of color. This raises a fundamental ethical question: does the LDS Church have an obligation to provide informed consent about its documented racial past?

The answer, according to critics and some members themselves, is unambiguously yes. No one should build their identity around an institution without knowing how that institution has historically treated certain groups of people. This is not about theology or matters of faith. It is about basic disclosure and human dignity.

Background: The Historical Record on Race and the LDS Church

The LDS Church's documented relationship with Black members and African Americans spans nearly two centuries. For most of that history, the record is difficult to reconcile with the church's modern teachings on equality and brotherhood.

From 1849 until 1978, the church maintained a formal policy barring Black men from the priesthood. This was not a minor detail in Mormon theology. The priesthood is central to LDS belief and practice. For generations, this meant that Black members could not perform essential religious ceremonies, could not lead congregations, and could not hold authority in the church structure.