In 1947, Lowry Nelson, a respected Mormon academic, challenged the LDS Church’s racist policies in a series of letters to top leadership. Occurring on the cusp of the Civil Rights Movement, the First Presidency reacted by doubling down on encoding white supremacy into Mormon doctrine. Nelson wasn’t ready to give up though and continued to flirt with excommunication by publishing his correspondence with the brethren in a national magazine. Explore with us the story behind these letters and the national reaction once they became public.

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Purchase Matt Harris’ book, Second-Class Saints: Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial Equality

You can read The Lowry Nelson Letters directly on our website:

Lowry Nelson 1st Presidency Exchange [PDF]