Joseph Freeman (Mormon)

Joseph Freeman, Jr.

Joseph Freeman, Jr. (born July 24, 1952 ) is an American Mormon . He was the first African American to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood to serve as an elder in Latter-day Saints in the Church of Jesus Christ following the revelation on the priesthood in 1978 .

biography

Freeman was born in Vanceboro, North Carolina . His parents were Rose Lee Smith and Joseph Freeman, Sr.

At the age of ten, Freeman was baptized and became a member of the sanctification movement . This belief has been supported by his father's family for three generations. After graduating from high school, he was allowed to preach and fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a lay preacher in his faith.

In 1972, at the age of 19, Freeman joined the United States Army and was stationed in Hawaii . While in Hawaii, he became dissatisfied with the sanctification movement congregation he was attending and began studying other Christian denominations . At that time he met several Mormons , including a non-commissioned officer in his unit. After several months of reading and studying the Book of Mormon with the missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , who taught him about the prohibition of black people from the priesthood, he decided to abandon his previous faith and was baptized and confirmed as LDS Church member on September 30, 1973. While studying Mormonism, he met Toe Isapela Leituala, who joined the Church 6 years ago in Samoa . The two married on June 15, 1974. In 1975, Freeman left the Army and the couple moved to Salt Lake City .

On June 8, 1978, the First Presidency announced that President of the Church, Spencer W. Kimball , had received revelation on the priesthood .

On June 10, 1978, the stake priesthood met and the name Freeman was presented and received full approval for the ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood . Freeman was ordained as an elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood on June 11, 1978, exactly three days after the revelation was proclaimed. The ordination was performed by his bishop, Jay Harold Swain.

This was also unusual because the Aaronic Priesthood is usually given first, followed by the Melchizedek. Church leadership justified this with the long time Freeman spent as a good believer and with Revelation itself.

On July 23, 1978, Freeman was sealed in the Salt Lake Temple with his wife and two sons, Alexander and Zechariah . Thomas S. Monson presided over the ceremony.

In 1986, Freeman moved to Denver , where he worked as the caretaker for the local temple for 15 years. He moved back to Salt Lake City in 2001.

After 2001, Freeman moved to the Salt Lake Valley and served for some time as a bishop for the LDS Church.

Publications

• Joseph Freeman, Jr .: In the Lord's due time . Bookcraft, Salt Lake City, Utah 1979, ISBN 0-88494-382-8 ( archive.org ).

See also

• Blacks in Mormonism

literature

• Jean Torkelson: Black man a pioneer in Mormon priesthood: Joseph Freeman has served LDS Church for 20 years . In: Rocky Mountain News, Denver , May 29, 1998. 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Joseph Freeman, Jr. . Genesis Group. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 10, 2011. - “ Several men received the Aaronic priesthood prior to Freeman. ” 
2. ^ N. Eldon Tanner: Revelation on Priesthood Accepted, Church Officers Sustained . November 1978. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
3. ^ Newell G. Bringhurst, Darron T. Smith: The 'Missouri Thesis' Revisited: Early Mormonism, Slavery, and the Status of Black People . In: Black and Mormon . University of Illinois Press, Urbana 2004, ISBN 0-252-09060-8 , pp. 13-33 (30). - “ Elijah Abel — grandson of early Latter Day Saint Elijah Abel — received the Melchizedek priesthood and was ordained an elder on 29 September 1935, 99 years after his grandfather was also so ordained. ”
4. ^ Religion: Mormonism Enters a New Era . In: Time . August 7, 1978 ( time.com [accessed March 10, 2011]).
5. ↑ Eric Gorski: Mormons mark '78 end of ban on black priests. Halt of inexplicable policy hasn't boosted membership . In: Denver Post June 9, 2003, pp. A-01, Archive Article ID: 1153738 (NewsBank).
6. ↑ Darrick Evenson: Some Prominent Black Mormons . In: The Black Mormon Homepage . Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 10, 2011.