Black Baptism

In the fall of 1956 I was transferred to Fresno, California to be district leader of the Central Valley district. The district covered the central valley from Modesto to Visalia. I served in this position for nine months until my mission was over. Of the many experiences I had one that stands out.

One of my duties was to interview candidates for baptism into the LDS church. It was a time of racial unrest in the whole country. In my first area in East Oakland we lived on the fringe of a black ghetto. This was where the Black Panther movement started shortly after this time. In knocking on doors, which is how we solicited prospects for membership in the church, we often encountered black people. We were instructed not to teach black people the gospel. This instruction bothered me. When one of the leaders of the church visited our mission, Apostle Delbert Stapley, I ask him about this issue.

Me:  “Elder Stapley, why are we instructed to avoid teaching the gospel to Negros?”

 Elder Stapley:  “Elder Knight, this is not the right time to proselyte Negros. The church is just not prepared to deal with the issue at this time. I’m sure this will change. If  Negro people come to you and ask to learn about the church of course teach them. Just don’t solicit black people as you knock on doors.”

I didn’t feel completely comfortable with the instruction but I followed it. So when I received a phone call from the elders who were working in Merced I faced a moral dilemma.

Me: “Hello, Elder Knight speaking.”

Elder Jones: “Hi Elder Knight. This is Elder Jones in Merced. We have a family ready for baptism. Can you come up here and interview them soon?”

Me: “Wonderful! We can be there at 7 o’clock Monday night. Will that be okay?

Elder Jones: “That will be great. Come to our apartment and we will go to the investigators home together. By the way just a heads up. The couple are Negroes. He is an airman from Castle Air Force Base near Merced. They are from Chicago.”

There was a long pause while I considered what to say next.

Me: “How did you meet these investigators?”

Elder Jones: “We met them tracting (going door to door).”

Me: “Do you know the rule about teaching Negros?”

Elder Jones: “Yes, we know the rule, but when we met them we didn’t realize they were Negroes. They looked white to us.”

Me: “okay. I will see you Monday night at 7 o’clock at your place.”

I met the family and interviewed them for baptism. They were a great couple and were accepted into the ward where they had many friends from the Air Force base.

Now there is one thing I know about the two elders in Merced after this interview. They will lie about other things or they experienced a miracle when they met this black family.

The only repercussion from this baptism was from the Stake President. After the next stake conference the Stake President took me aside and told me a story.

State President: “I want to tell you a story about a friend of mine. He received a note from a member that said he had an acquaintance who was interested in learning about the Church. The address was on the note so my friend set about making a visit. He ended up way out in the country, down a little lane where he found a small wooden house. He knocked on the door and a black man answered and said, ‘What can I do for you.’ He said, ‘I’m lost. Can you give me directions to the highway.’

Me: “Thank you. That was an interesting story.”