Kurzbeschreibung:
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! From 1849 to 1978, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints LDS Church had a policy against ordaining black men of African descent to the priesthood. Under the same policy, black men and women of African descent were prohibited from participating in the temple Endowment and sealings, ordinances that the church teaches are necessary for the highest degree of salvation. However, the LDS Church has always had an open membership policy for all races, and black people who were aware of the racial policy did join the church. In 1978, church leaders ceased the racial restriction policy, declaring that they had received a revelation instructing them to do so. Today, the church opposes racial discrimination and racism of any kind. In 1997, there were approximately 500,000 black members of the LDS Church, accounting for about 5% of the total membership; most black members live in Africa, Brazil and the Caribbean. Since 1997, the black membership has grown substantially, especially in West Africa, where two temples have been built.
