The Genesis Group is an auxiliary organization of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS church) for

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

members and their families.

History

LDS Church leaders Thomas Monson, Gordon B. Hinckley, and Boyd K. Packer established the Genesis Group with Ruffin Bridgeforth, Eugene Orr, and

Darius Gray Darius Gray is an African-American Latter-day Saint speaker and writer. Gray was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs, Colorado. He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in 1964. He attended Brig ...

on October 19, 1971 in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

. 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 The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 1 ...

Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

, Young Men, Young Women and testimony meetings. Members of Genesis were still expected to attend Sunday meetings in their home wards, which at the time were

sacrament meeting Sacrament meeting is the primary weekly Sunday worship service in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Sacrament meetings are held in the chapel of a meetinghouse by each individual ward (or branch). The service is pres ...

, Priesthood meetings, and

Sunday School ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

. It was like a Ward (LDS Church), branch, a small group of members, but without priesthood authority. The group was led by Ruffin Bridgeforth from 1971 through 1978. Shortly after the church's June 8, 1978, announcement of the

revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...

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 Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, and published a newsletter focused on news about Black Mormons until 1988. 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). 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. Other Genesis groups have existed in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

In 2007, similar support groups existed in

Hattiesburg, Mississippi Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County, Mississippi, Forrest County (where it is the county seat and most populous city) and extending west into Lamar County, Mississippi, Lamar County. The ci ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

and

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. The Genesis Group meets on the first Sunday of every month in Salt Lake City."Discussing the Priesthood Ban with Members of the Genesis Group"
''Latter-day Saint Perspectives'', 5 July 2017. Retrieved on 9 April 2021.

References

External links

Genesis Facebook Group
{{Black people and the Latter Day Saint movement African-American history of Utah Organizational subdivisions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Christian organizations established in 1971 Mormonism and race African-American Latter Day Saints 1971 establishments in Utah Latter Day Saint culture Post–civil rights era in African-American history

History

See also

References

External links