Interracial marriage and the LDS Church

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This is a short, easier-to-understand overview of how the LDS Church has talked about interracial marriage over time.

For much of its history, church leaders opposed interracial marriage. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, some leaders taught that such marriages were wrong and even that they should be discouraged or punished in extreme cases. Brigham Young, a key early leader, taught that Black–White marriages could have serious consequences for the couple and their children. There were some limited exceptions—White men sometimes married Native American women—but generally, interracial marriages between White members and Native American men were not accepted, and Native American women who married White men often faced exclusion.

In Utah and within church culture, racial ideas were tied to laws and social life. The state and church authorities at times restricted marriages across racial lines, and many church manuals and teachings suggested that race affected who could hold priesthood authority or participate fully in temple rites. Over the years, some leaders linked priesthood and temple blessings to race, which meant that interracial couples faced more barriers than same-race couples.

In 1978 the church changed a major policy: Black members were allowed to hold the priesthood and participate in temple ordinances. This was a major shift that made some interracial marriages possible in temple settings. However, the church continued to discourage interracial marriage in many official materials for a long time afterward.

From the mid-20th century onward, some church leaders publicly discouraged interracial dating and marriage, even as social attitudes and laws in the United States were changing. Publications and speeches often taught that race mattered in marriage, and some well-known church writings reflected those views for many years.

In 2013 the church took a clear step to address the past: it published an essay called Race and the Priesthood. The essay disavowed the old teaching that interracial marriage was a sin and acknowledged that those old teachings were influenced by racism in society at that time.

Today the church does not have a policy that bans or condemns interracial marriage. Official statements say there is no prohibition, and the church emphasizes that people should be treated with respect regardless of race. Still, some older church materials and practices historically discouraged interracial marriage, and a few of those ideas have persisted in older manuals or discussions.

Recent research has shown that race-related issues in the church have influenced some people to leave the church, highlighting how important these conversations are for understanding people’s faith journeys.

In summary, the LDS Church has moved away from viewing interracial marriage as sinful or forbidden. It no longer enforces a prohibition, while acknowledging that past teachings were shaped by racist ideas of their times and that the church is committed to moving toward greater inclusion and equality.