Byron Marchant was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who made history by taking a stand against the church’s racial policies at a pivotal time. In 1977, Marchant openly opposed the LDS Church’s priesthood ban on Black members, a policy that had been in place for over a century. The ban prohibited Black men from holding the priesthood and denied Black members the ability to participate in the church’s temple ceremonies, key aspects of full participation in Mormon life.
During the October 1977 General Conference, a rare and highly visible event in the church where leadership positions are sustained by a vote of church members, Marchant became the first person ever to publicly vote in opposition to the church leadership. He specifically opposed N. Eldon Tanner, of the first presidency, and other top leaders because of their continued enforcement of the priesthood ban. His public dissent in this sacred setting sent shockwaves through the Mormon community. Shortly afterward, Marchant was excommunicated from the church for his actions and his vocal criticism of the priesthood ban.
However, just one year later in June 1978, the LDS Church reversed its policy on Black members and lifted the priesthood ban. President Kimball declared a new revelation that allowed Black men to hold the priesthood and extended temple privileges to all Black members. Marchant’s bold protest, while controversial at the time, preceded this monumental change, highlighting his courage in speaking out against a policy that many felt was unjust. Though Marchant’s excommunication remained, his actions have been seen as part of the broader movement within and outside the church to challenge racial discrimination. The timing of the church’s reversal of the ban, just a year after his public opposition, is significant in the context of his protest and the lifting of the ban.
I was raised in the LDS church. In 1977, I was excommunicated for publicly opposing a sustaining vote of a General Authority in General Conference due to the black priesthood ban. I was a Mormon.
In October 1977, I voted not to sustain N. Eldon Tanner in the Tabernacle, it was because he lied when he put his signature on a 15 December 1969 First Presidency letter which states “From the beginning of this dispensation, Joseph Smith and all succeeding presidents of the Church have taught that Negroes, while spirit children of a common Father, and the progeny of our earthly parents Adam and Eve, were not yet to receive the priesthood.” The 1969 statement was historically false, because Joseph Smith in 1836 had signed the Elijah Able Elder License.
N. E. Tanner was wrong in the 1969 First Presidency Letter. I publicly opposed him and explained why, but he never recanted his statment, even after it was shown to be false. His statement is false because Joseph Smith signed the 1836 Elijah Able Ordination License, which proves Joseph Smith didn’t teach the priesthood ban. The church apostle, Nathan Eldon Tanner, was found to be lying, but I was the one excommunicated. Rather than the church appreciating the correction, I was kicked out for speaking truth and pointing out the incorrect statement of the church leaders. In the 1977 excommunication trial, I was not allowed to present my “Accused” defense (per D&C 102:18-19), so the excommunication did not follow the prescribed procedure and should not be valid.
In 1978 the church changed their policy of banning the priesthood from blacks. My wife passed away in September 1979, but we celebrated the 9 June 1978 LDS black priesthood change together. My 7 June 1978 lawsuit against Kimball happened at the right time to show that it was THE pivotal push over the edge. The LDS Church could not admit to having made a mistake so they covered the whole thing up until 2013 when they finally published the news which I had told them about in 1977 as a Gospel Topic Essay.
My belief in Mormonism was on the decline in October 1977, influenced in part through discovering Smith’s signature on Able’s 1836 Ordination License in August 1977 and reading the 1977 “Spalding Enigma” book. By then I was acquainted with John Fitzgerald, Doug Wallace and Vernal Holley. In fact, I probably learned about the book, Who Really Wrote the Book of Mormon, from Vern Holley. In my studies through the 1980s, I wrote a paper for an anthropology class called “Mormon Exaggerations”. The 1986 Signature Books publication, Dale Morgan On Early Mormonism, edited by John Walker, was an eye opener for me (especially chapter 3). Some of my pissed-off relatives decided to steal my Social Security Survivor’s Benefits and use it to bribe and kidnap our (their deceased mother and me) two young (12 and 16 years old) daughters.
Realizing there was no historical foundation to support any 1820 First Vision was crucial to my LDS Faith investigations, resulting in my belief that The Old Testament, The New Testament and The Book of Mormon are all fiction. Anyone who wishes to convince me otherwise will need to first go through the Old Testament which cannot be considered as reliable evidence (lacking the required archaeological support) for what allegedly had happened in ancient Israel.
I became an atheist when I learned of three French and German scholars, Jean-Baptiste Mirabaud, Baron d’Holbach and Bruno Bauer. The first two wrote and published Système de la Nature (System of Nature) and Bauer wrote Christus und die Cäsaren (Christ and The Caesars), which was originally published in 1877.
Mormonism is a hoax. Though I no longer believe my youthful Mormon mythology, I will be ever grateful for the contributions of the (to use an Anthropological term) “Mormon Tribal Community” wherein I learned the many lessons from this cultural milieu of my youth that have served me.
Myself, John W. Fitzgerald, Douglas A. Wallace, and attorney Brian M. Barnard, as dedicated gadflies during that period of time (1970-1978), acting as a team brought attention to the falsehood of the 1969 policy letter, thereby resulting in the 9 June 1978 change. A few years ago I summarized my story in a letter I sent to President Russell M. Nelson. I have not received any response from any church leaders regarding my letter. I can conclude that LDS Church leaders are in awe of what can be accomplished when members and former members, along with non LDS associates, work as a well oiled machine to defeat false nonsense.
Byron
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