Helvécio Martins
Helvécio Martins (born July 27, 1930 in Rio de Janeiro , † May 14, 2005 in São Paulo ) was the first General Authority of black (more precisely Afro-Brazilian ) origin in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .
Martins was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1930 . His ancestors were African slaves. He joined the LDS Church in 1972, knowing that black people at that time did not receive the priesthood and were not allowed to receive sacred rituals in the temple .
On June 9, 1978, Martins and his family heard of the publication of the revelation on the priesthood and that the LDS Church was lifting the prohibition on the priesthood. After receiving the priesthood and performing sacred rituals in the temple, Martins became a bishop, then a counselor to the stake president, and then a mission president for the Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Fortaleza .
In April 1990, then President of the Church , Ezra Taft Benson , called on Martins to become a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy . Martins became the first black General Authority in Church history.
After serving the usual five years in the Second Quorum of the Seventy , Martins was honorably discharged as a General Authority on September 30, 1995. He died in May 2005 at the age of 74 in São Paulo, Brazil.
The story of his life was published as a book.
His son, Marcus, became the director of the Institute of Religions at Brigham Young University of Hawaii .
See also
Individual evidence
Further literature
- Helvecio Martins and Mark Grover: The Autobiography of Elder Helvecio Martins . Aspen Books, 1994, ISBN 1-56236-218-6 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Martins, Helvécio |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Brazilian Mormon |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 27, 1930 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rio de Janeiro |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 14, 2005 |
| Place of death | São Paulo |