Latter-day Saint missionaries in southern states welcome Black people in their meetings.[1] The meetings are also threatened by the Ku Klux Klan.[2]

In reference to the priesthood ban, B. H. Roberts,[BIO] one of the presidents of the Seventy, argues that some of the "most favored sons of God"—including Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, and Black people—"are called to pass through the thickest of afflictions [and] are the most blessed."[3]

Apostle George Q. Cannon[BIO] recalls that as a boy in Nauvoo, he was taught the priesthood restriction originated with Joseph Smith.[BIO][4]

As President of the Church, Joseph F. Smith[BIO] recalls that Brigham Young[BIO] was "emphatic" that a "single drop" of "negro blood" would disqualify a person from priesthood and temple blessings.[5]

President Joseph F. Smith writes to bishop David O. McKay,[BIO] stating that teachings related to the ban originated with Joseph Smith and possibly implies that Elijah Able[BIO] receiving the priesthood was an exception because he was not a "full-blooded negro."[6]

President Joseph F. Smith states in General Conference that people "unfortunate enough not to be white" are sometimes "superior to many of their boasting white brothers."[7]

In a theology course, B. H. Roberts cites academic William Benjamin Smith[BIO] in support of curtailing social equality between Black and white people in order to reduce interracial marriage.[8]

"The Negro and the Priesthood" published by an unknown author in Liahona: The Elders’ Journal claims that Brigham Young taught that Blacks "did not possess sufficient innate spiritual strength" to hold the priesthood.[9]

President Joseph F. Smith states in a First Presidency meeting with the Twelve that any ordination of Black people to the priesthood must be "regarded as invalid."[10]

Black Latter-day Saints Samuel[BIO] and Amanda Chambers[BIO] reportedly arrange for white temple workers to serve as proxies in baptisms for their deceased ancestors and friends.[11]

Booker T. Washington[BIO] reports that he was told by Samuel Chambers,[BIO] a Black Latter-day Saint living in Utah, that "colored people" are "treated well" by the Church.[12]

William P. Daniels,[BIO] a Black South African man, is reportedly told in a blessing by President Joseph F. Smith that "someday, perhaps in the next life" Daniels would hold the priesthood."[13]

Apostle David O. McKay[BIO] requests an exception to the restriction and is denied by President Heber J. Grant,[BIO] stating, "Until the Lord gives us a revelation regarding that matter, we shall have to maintain the policy."[14]

The national Ku Klux Klan organization reports a strong increase in Utah membership despite "powerful opposition" from the Church.[15]

In his book The Way to Perfection, Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith[BIO] attributes the origin of the priesthood restrictions on Black Saints to Joseph Smith.[16]

Black Latter-day Saint William P. Daniels[BIO] is set apart as president of the Love Branch in South Africa, though he was not ordained to the priesthood.[17]

At the suggestion of First Presidency counselor J. Reuben Clark,[BIO] the Church reviews the policy on priesthood eligibility.[18] The "one drop" policy[19] is upheld.[20]

Elder Harold B. Lee gives a series of radio lectures and offers a "pre-existence" rationale for the priesthood ban—possibly representing the first proposal of the rationale.[21]

Black Saints Len[BIO] and Mary Hope[BIO] receive the sacrament at home due to being asked not to attend meetings at the Cincinnati, Ohio branch.[22]

In response to a letter of concern by Latter-day Saint sociologist Lowry Nelson,[BIO] President George Albert Smith[BIO] and his counselors give a rationale for the priesthood ban based on premortal differences and attribute the policy to Joseph Smith.[23]

A meeting of the First Presidency and Council of the Twelve considers a request by O. J. Umondak of Nigeria for missionaries to be sent to his country.[24]

J. Reuben Clark highlights concerns about difficulties in administering the priesthood restriction in Brazil[25] and proposes that Black Saints could serve in "work of the Aaronic Priesthood grades."[26]

In a letter to a BYU student, David O. McKay says he "know[s] of no other basis" for the restriction besides the Book of Abraham and that he believes the restriction "dates back to our pre-existent life."[27]

First Presidency counselor J. Reuben Clark recommends blood donated to Latter-day Saint hospitals be segregated "to protect the purity of the blood stream of the people of this Church."[28] At this time, blood segregation was standard policy with the American Red Cross.[29]

The First Presidency produces a standard response to queries about the priesthood restriction to be used in personal correspondence which states that the restriction is not "policy," but a "direct commandment from the Lord."[30]

BYU student leaders write a letter to the BYU Universe student newspaper to protest racial discrimination.[31]

The First Presidency writes a sympathetic letter to Herbert A. Ford,[BIO] a Black member, with the promise that the restriction would be removed someday.[32]

Three apostles separately encourage Black Latter-days Saint Abner and Martha Howell to undertake a "mission" to Black members in various cities of the United States.[33]

South Africa mission president Evan P. Wright[BIO] tells the First Presidency that they are "badly in need" of priesthood leaders due to strict requirements denying the ordination of those of African descent.[34]

Ernest L. Wilkinson states that David O. McKay told him that "the relationship of the Church to the colored person was one of the most pressing problems that had to be faced and resolved."[35]

Church President David O. McKay lifts the requirement in South Africa for white Latter-day Saints to prove non-African genealogy prior to priesthood ordination.[36]

Sterling M. McMurrin[BIO] reports that in March 1954,[37] President David O. McKay told him that the priesthood restriction "is a practice, not a doctrine," that "the practice will some day be changed," and that "there is no such doctrine" of the "divine curse" upon Blacks.[38] However, McMurrin also stated that McKay referenced the Pearl of Great Price as a "scriptural precedent" for the restriction.[39]

In a public seminar, Adam S. Bennion[BIO] reportedly said that Church leaders were discussing the priesthood restriction in a special committee and that President David O. McKay had "pled with the Lord" but the time was not "ripe."[40]

In the wake of a landmark Supreme Court ruling on desegregation, Brown v. Board of Education,[41] Apostle Mark E. Petersen condemns the civil rights movement and defends the Church's priesthood policy.[42]

President McKay reportedly approves previously-denied temple blessings for two siblings who were believed to have Black ancestry.[43]

Catholic sociologist Thomas F. O'Dea[BIO] writes a chapter on "Sources of Strain and Conflict" in his book entitled The Mormons but does not mention the priesthood restriction.[44] Church historian Leonard Arrington[BIO] writes to O'Dea about his omission.[45]

President McKay authorizes Fijians, the only group of Polynesians under restriction, for ordination to the priesthood.[46]

Joseph Fielding Smith[BIO] says that Black people cannot receive the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in their patriarchal blessings until the Lord removes the restriction.[47]

Harold B. Lee[BIO] reportedly promises two Black Latter-day Saint women that if they remain "true and faithful" then the "policy of the Church will change" related to the priesthood.[48]

Bruce R. McConkie publishes the first edition of Mormon Doctrine,[49] which argues that Black people were "less valiant" in the "preexistence."[50]

John J. Stewart,[BIO] a professor of journalism at Utah State University, publishes Mormonism and the Negro which defended the Church's priesthood restriction.[51]

BYU Anthropology professor John L. Sorenson[BIO] attempts to counter criticism of the First Presidency on racial issues by saying that "Mormon doctrine on the Negro probably has little effect on practical situations involving discrimination."[52]

BYU's Daily Universe reports Salt Lake City NAACP president Albert B. Fritz[BIO] saying that the civil rights situation in Provo has "improved" but was "deplorable" just a few years ago.[53]

BYU president Ernest L. Wilkinson reports that three apostles who were members of the BYU Board of Trustees[54] "were in favor of barring colored students from BYU."[55]

President David O. McKay writes in his diary that the "only reason" for the priesthood restriction is found in the Book of Abraham.[56]

In a letter to First Presidency members Henry D. Moyle[BIO] and Hugh B. Brown,[BIO] Stewart L. Udall,[BIO] a disaffected Latter-day Saint[57] and the US Secretary of the Interior, calls for the Church to clarify its position toward Black people.[58] In their response, Moyle and Brown refer to ideas about premortal origins for the priesthood restriction and interracial marriage.[59]

In McCall's magazine, Clare Boothe Luce[BIO] writes that Latter-day Saint governor and civil rights advocate George Romney's views on civil rights "differ . . . from those of his church," which seems to teach "that the Negroes have inferior souls."[60]

Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith disputes the statement of Clare Boothe Luce about the Church's views on Black people and said her comments about George Romney's purported differences were based on a "false premise."[61]

LaMar S. Williams[BIO] is set apart to begin a mission in Nigeria.[62] He is told by David O. McKay that worthy male Black Saints could lead groups of members and pass the sacrament.[63]

A Nigerian newspaper prints a long article by Ambrose Chukka[BIO] describing the priesthood ban and concluding that the Latter-day Saints "must not be allowed into the country."[64]

The New York Times quotes President Hugh B. Brown[BIO] as saying, "We are in the midst of a survey looking toward the possibility of admitting Negroes," though President Brown later disputed the accuracy of how he was quoted.[65]

Joseph Fielding Smith reportedly tells Eugene England[BIO] that the "pre-existence" rationale for the priesthood restriction is "not definitely stated in the scriptures" and that England did "not have to believe" it.[66]

Look magazine publishes an article by University of Utah student Jeff Nye[BIO] that criticized Joseph Fielding Smith and the priesthood restriction.[67] In response, the NAACP threatened a protest on Temple Square unless the Church made a statement.[68]

In General Conference, Hugh B. Brown reads a public statement calling for the "establishment of full civil equality for all of God's children."[69]

Speaking in the Logan Tabernacle in Utah, Ezra Taft Benson[BIO] maintains that the civil rights movement is a "phony" front for Communism.[70]

Addressing an issue with varying historical precedents,[71] President David O. McKay approves the policy that baptisms for the dead of Blacks should be "performed by others than negroes if this can be accomplished without offense."[72]

Joseph William Billy Johnson[BIO] organizes the first Latter-day Saint branches in Ghana, though without Church authorization.[73]

After BYU grants scholarships to about a half dozen Nigerian students, Apostle Harold B. Lee voices opposition to the scholarship program because it "created a social situation at BYU."[74]

President David O. McKay decides that the Church should establish itself in Nigeria, "despite not being able to confer the priesthood."[75]

After prayerful discussions by the First Presidency and the Twelve[76] about LaMar Williams' mission to establish the Church in Nigeria, it is decided to call him home because "the time was not right."[77] Months later, a coup against the Nigerian government ignites a series of conflicts resulting in the Nigerian Civil War.[78]

David L. Brewer[BIO] publishes a doctoral dissertation entitled "Utah Elites and Utah Racial Norms" highlighting a diversity of views in the state about civil rights and the priesthood and temple ban.[79]

In a talk to BYU students, Ezra Taft Benson states that "there is nothing wrong with civil rights – it's what is being done in the name of civil rights that is shocking," referring to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s alleged involvement with Communism.[80]

Nigerian Church pioneer Anthony U. Obinna[BIO] converts to the Church and, without authorization, begins organizing Latter-day Saint congregations.[81]

In an open letter, Latter-day Saint and U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Stewart L. Udall, calls publicly for the removal of the "restriction now imposed on Negro fellowship."[82] Spencer W. Kimball and Delbert L. Stapley[BIO] send letters to Udall expressing their disappointment in his attitude.[83][84]

In General Conference, Ezra Taft Benson denounces the civil rights movement as a "tool of Communist deception" but that "we must not place the blame upon Negroes."[85]

The Deseret News reports that First Presidency counselor Hugh B. Brown expresses "deep sorrow and shock" after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.[BIO][86]

Black athletes at the University of Texas El-Paso are the first of several academic institutions[87] that call for boycotts of games with BYU.[88]

Black students at San Jose State University boycott BYU football games.[89] BYU students debate the issue in the Daily Universe.[90][91]

President McKay reportedly prays about the possibility of changing the priesthood restriction on several occasions during this period, but each time the answer was "not yet."[92]

After a year-long investigation, the Health, Education, and Welfare Office for Civil Rights concludes that BYU is "in compliance with" the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[93]

According to the Daily Universe, BYU students plan events for a "Brotherhood Week" to increase understanding of racial issues and perform service for needy communities, but later university and Church directives "pretty much cut the heart out of the week."[94]

An advance copy of Stephen G. Taggart's[BIO] 1970 book, Mormonism's Negro Policy, which examined the origins of the priesthood restriction and called for a reversal of the ban,[95] prompts multiple discussions among First Presidency counselors at this time.[96]

The Eugene Register-Guard reports that fourteen University of Wyoming Laramie football players were dismissed from their team after revealing their plan to wear black armbands to protest alleged racist policies at BYU and in the Church.[97] The incident is reported in Sports Illustrated.[98]

In response to the incident involving fourteen University of Wyoming players, The Salt Lake Tribune reports that BYU student officers write and submit a statement on civil rights to the BYU administration.[99]

In response to the protests from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and the increasingly vocal protests against BYU,[100] Ernest L. Wilkinson[BIO] submitted a document[101] that stated that BYU "in no way restricts anyone from attending BYU because of the color of his skin."[102]

In a special BYU board meeting,[103] Ernest L. Wilkinson explains that BYU has been labeled "racist and un-Christian" by its critics[104] and proposes new policies related to Black students.[105] The following month, a new policy was adopted to recruit Black students.[106]

Stanford University announces that it will not schedule future athletic events with BYU because of the Church's priesthood restriction.[107]

BYU President Ernest L. Wilkinson records in his diary that he had a "very strong feeling" against the priesthood ban in a meeting with the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) university presidents.[108]

After considerable debate,[109] the First Presidency issues a letter[110] to Church leadership declaring their support for "full Constitutional privileges" for Black people[111] and also stating that the restriction was part of a plan "extending back to man’s pre-existent state."[112]

The Salt Lake Tribune reports First Presidency counselor Hugh B. Brown as saying that the priesthood restriction "will change in the not-too-distant future."[113]

Stephen G. Taggart's book, Mormonism's Negro Policy, is published. It argues that the priesthood and temple restrictions originated with Joseph Smith and were triggered by local circumstances in the South.[114]

The Black Student Union of the University of Washington launches a series of protests seeking to sever relations with BYU,[115] but the protests subside after the attorney general of Washington issues an opinion favorable to BYU.[116] Similar opinions were given in Wyoming and Utah, and a lawsuit against BYU was dismissed.[117]

BYU publishes full-page ads in various newspapers in Washington and Oregon stating that BYU accepted "any race, creed, color, or national origin."[118] BYU prepares and distributes a four-page information booklet that explains that the Church "is not racist" and that the priesthood restriction will someday be lifted.[119]

An editorial in the Tucson Daily Citizen reports that a University of Arizona committee that investigated BYU concluded that "BYU is no more racist than any other university" and recommended to the WAC that further demonstrations be suspended.[120]

In a letter to the First Presidency,[121] Caleb A. Shreeve, Sr.[BIO] recounts a purported conversation between Elijah Able[BIO] and Joseph Smith[BIO] wherein Able's priesthood was rescinded.[122]

In Brazil, missionaries use lineage lessons to teach potential converts about the priesthood restriction and to determine the possibility of whether they are of African descent.[123]

In his diary, President Wilkinson records a meeting with the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) university presidents where it was decided that Arizona State cannot exclude BYU from the playing schedule due to the priesthood restriction.[124]

According to Edward Kimball, a general policy for Black Saints to receive patriarchal blessings is approved in 1971.[125]

President Joseph Fielding Smith approves the organization of the Genesis Group, an official Church body that provides support to Black Saints.[126]

Harold B. Lee becomes president of the Church, and journalists from Newsweek, Los Angeles Times, and other publications speculate about the lifting of the priesthood restriction.[127]

Lester Bush[BIO] publishes "Mormonism's Negro Policy" in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought which argues that the restriction originated with Brigham Young rather than Joseph Smith.[128]

Church President Harold B. Lee says that it is "only a matter of time before the Negro gets full status in the Church."[129] He reportedly fasts and prays about the restriction and receives the answer "not yet."[130]

Edward L. Kimball[BIO] reports various members receiving spiritual premonitions and personal blessings anticipating the lifting of the priesthood ban during this time.[131]

Spencer W. Kimball is ordained president of the Church.[132] Reportedly, when asked, he said the day had not yet come to lift the restriction and that "should the day come it will be a matter of revelation."[133]

The Miami News and the New York Times report that the NAACP intends to sue the Boy Scouts because of a Church policy that discriminated against Black scouts by designating deacon's quorum presidents to be senior patrol leaders.[134]

Church changes its policy of deacon quorum presidents serving as senior patrol leaders in the Boy Scouts, and the NAACP lawsuit is dismissed.[135]

Volume 6 of James R. Clark's Messages of the First Presidency is published. None of the three First Presidency statements relating to the priesthood restriction up to this point were included in the compilation.[136]

São Paulo Brazil Temple is announced.[137] Church leaders recognize the dilemma that many Saints of African descent in Brazil would not be able to attend the temple under current policy.[138]

The unauthorized ordination of a Black member of the Church to the priesthood by Douglas A. Wallace[BIO] is reported nationally.[139] The event sows division in the Genesis Group.[140]

Bruce R. McConkie reports that President Kimball asked apostles to give him memos on the subject of the priesthood and temple restriction[141]

Church historian Leonard Arrington takes a confidential request from Neal A. Maxwell[BIO] to find a quote about Black people from Joseph Fielding Smith—Arrington believes this is an indication that Maxwell was working on a memorandum on the restriction.[142]

According to Edward Kimball, Church President Spencer W. Kimball goes to the temple to pray about the restriction and on March 23, he tells his counselors that his impression was "to lift the restriction on the blacks."[143]

President Kimball reportedly asks "the Twelve to join the presidency in praying that God would give them an answer. Thereafter he talked with the Twelve individually."[144]

LeGrand Richards reportedly sees President Wilford Woodruff in the Salt Lake Temple during a discussion of the priesthood restriction.[145]

President Kimball leads the First Presidency and ten Apostles in prayer—they describe a revelatory confirmation to lift the priesthood restriction.[146][147]

During a meeting with all available General Authorities, an announcement of the lifting of the temple and priesthood restrictions is given to the press for public release.[148]

General Sunday School president Russell M. Nelson receives a dream wherein Harold B. Lee states that he would have received the same priesthood revelation as Spencer W. Kimball, had he remained living as prophet.[149]