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Elijah Abel

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Elijah Abel
Photo of Elijah Abel
Third Quorum of the Seventy
1839 – December 25, 1884 (1884-12-25)
Called byJoseph Smith
Elder
March 3, 1836 (1836-03-03) – December 25, 1884 (1884-12-25)
Called byJoseph Smith
Personal details
Born(1808-07-25)July 25, 1808
Frederick, Maryland
DiedDecember 25, 1884(1884-12-25) (aged 76)
Salt Lake City, Utah Territory
Resting placeSalt Lake City Cemetery
40°46′37.92″N 111°51′28.8″W / 40.7772000°N 111.858000°W / 40.7772000; -111.858000

Elijah Abel (July 25, 1808 – December 25, 1884)[1] Was one of the earliest African-American members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was the first African-American elder and seventy in the Latter Day Saint movement. Abel was also the first and one of the few black members in the early history of the Latter-day Saint movement to receive the priesthood.[2]

Life

Abel was born in Maryland on July 25 to Delilah and Andrew Abel.[3][4] It is unclear what year he was born- some sources put the year at 1808, others at 1810.[3][5] Abel's mother was a slave from South Carolina, and his family later moved to Canada, possibly by way of the underground railroad.[5] : 2  He was baptized into the Church of Christ in September 1832 by Ezekiel Roberts.[3] Soon after, Abel moved to Kirtland, Ohio to live with the main body of Latter-day Saints.[6]: 38 

Elijah Abel was ordained an elder of the church March 3, 1836.[5]: 2  Some sources state that Abel was ordained by Joseph Smith,[7][8] while other records indicate that he was ordained to the priesthood by Zebedee Coltrin.[9] Six months after his ordination, Abel was made a member of the Seventies Quorum on December 20, 1836.[5]: 2  At this time he was also given his patriarchal blessing from Joseph Smith, Sr.[6]: 38  The common practice when giving patriarchal blessings was to declare an individual to be a descendant of a specific tribe of Israel. Abel, however, was declared an "orphan", but promised "Thou shalt be made equal to thy brethren, and thy soul be white in eternity and thy robes glittering."[10] : 131  During the late 1830s, Abel worked as a missionary in New York and Canada.[6]: 38  In June 1838, while Abel was serving in St. Lawrence County, New York, he baptized Eunice Kenney.[5]: 3  Also at that time, Abel was accused by non-Mormons of murdering a mother and five children. Abel was never convicted of this crime, but his missionary travels were often punctuated with similar troubles and persecutions.[5]: 3 

Abel moved from Kirtland to Nauvoo, Illinois in 1839. While living in Nauvoo, Abel continued to perform many duties for the church. One such duty was performing baptisms for the dead, of which Abel is known to have performed at least two: one for a friend "John F. Lancaster" and for his mother.[5]: 4  Another of Abel's duties included acting as a mortician at the request of Joseph Smith.[6]: 38  Abel also worked in Nauvoo as a carpenter, and it is clear that while Abel was in Nauvoo he was personally acquainted with Joseph Smith. In 1841, Abel was part of a group of seven men who attempted to rescue Joseph Smith after his arrest in Quincy, Illinois, although by the time they reached Quincy, Smith had been taken back to Nauvoo.[11]

In 1842 Abel moved again, this time to Cincinnati,Ohio. Here he continued to be a carpenter and married Mary Ann Adams.[6]: 38  Abel acted as a leader of the church in Cincinnati, and was recognized as such by Joseph Smith, who stated "Go to Cincinnati ... and find an educated negro, who rides in his carriage, and you will see a man who had risen by the power of his own mind to his exalted state of respectability."[10]: 133  Not all church leaders were as accepting of Abel, however. In June 1843, while presiding over a regional conference held in Cincinnati, Apostle John E. Page stated that while "he respected a coloured Brother, wisdom forbid that we should introduce (him) before the public".[5]: 5  Apostles Orson Pratt and Heber C. Kimball supported Page's statements, and when Abel was called to his second mission (this time a local one) he was instructed to visit and teach only the "coloured population".[5]: 5 

In 1853, Abel and his family migrated in the Appleton Harmon pioneer company to Utah Territory, the new headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[12] Abel continued to work as a carpenter while in Utah as part of the L.D.S. public works program, one of his main projects being the Salt Lake Temple. In addition to his carpentry, the Abels managed the Farnham Hotel.[4] By 1860, two more children were born to Elijah and Mary Ann.[12] Very little is known about the personal lives of the Abel family. It is known that they moved to Ogden, Utah for a short time before returning to Salt Lake City.[5]: 6  Although it is unclear how many children Elijah and Mary Ann had, there was at least one daughter named Delilah, after Abel's mother.[13]

In Utah, Abel remained a seventy and continued to be active in church activities. He was re-baptized in 1857 as part of the "Mormon Reformation".[6]: 39  Abel's wife Mary Ann died in 1878.[5]: 8  In 1884 Abel served a final mission to Ohio and Canada, during which he became ill. His poor health caused him to return to Utah in December 1884. He died two weeks after his return, on Christmas Day, 1884.[5]: 8  Elijah Abel was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery.[14]

Persecution

Although Abel remained a faithful member of the church his entire life, he was not exempt from discrimination that existed in his church and state. His membership, participation, and leadership in the church was frequently questioned and challenged. After moving to Utah, Abel asked president of the church Brigham Young for permission to be sealed to his wife and children, which was denied.[6]: 39  Abel requested a sealing again five years later, this time to President John Taylor.[6]: 39  His request was again denied, and he was also not allowed to enter the temple to be endowed.[6]

While there were no attempts to take away Abel's priesthood authority, that authority was repeatedly challenged by church leaders. In 1879 Zebedee Coltrin made the claim that Abel had been ordained to the Seventy in exchange for his work on the Nauvoo Temple, but that later Joseph Smith had "dropped" Abel from the Quorum.[6]: 39  John Taylor stated that Abel had been given the priesthood, but that it had later been removed.[6] : 39  In 1904, Church President Joseph F. Smith declared Abel's ordination to the priesthood was "declared null and void by the [Joseph Smith] himself because of his blackness".[10] This statement was inaccurate, since Abel had served in the Third Quorum of the Seventy until 1883, and Joseph F. Smith had been the one to ordain Abel to serve a mission in 1884.[6]: 24  LDS Apostle Joseph Fielding Smith went so far as to suggest that there had been two Elijah Abels—one white and one black.[6] : 39 

  • Front of Grave Marker
    Front of Grave Marker
  • Back of Grave Marker
    Back of Grave Marker

Legacy

Though Abel died in 1884, his life and in particular his ordination to the priesthood were a topic of conversation and debate long after his death. When questions concerning Blacks receiving the priesthood or temple blessings arose, the story of Elijah Abel was often told.[5]: 8 

Abel's son and grandson, Enoch and Elijah, were ordained to the priesthood: Enoch was ordained an elder on November 27, 1900; and Elijah was ordained an elder on September 29, 1935.[15]

In 2002, a monument was erected in Salt Lake City over Abel's grave site to memorialize him, his wife and his descendants. The monument was dedicated by LDS Church Apostle M. Russell Ballard.[16]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Grave Marker of Elijah Abel. [front] File:ElijahAbelGraveFront.jpg
  2. ^ Page 46 of The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith Bowman, Matthew (2012). Random House. ISBN 978-0-679-64491-0
  3. ^ a b c Reasons; Patrick (15 July 1971). "They Had a Dream: Elijah Abel". The Troy Record. Troy, New York. p. 18. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Elijah Abel". www.blacklds.org. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Hawkins, Chester L. (4 December 1985). Report on Elijah Abel and His Priesthood. L. Tom Perry Special Collections; Harold B. Lee Library: Unpublished. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Embry, Jessie L. (1994). Black Saints in a White Church: Contemporary African American Mormons. Salt Lake City, Utah: Signature Books. p. 23. ISBN 1-56085-044-2.
  7. ^ Jackson, W. Kesler (2013). Elijah Abel: The Life and Times of a Black Priesthood Holder. Cedar Fort. p. 1833. ISBN 1-4621-0356-1. --the ordination was performed by "Joseph the martyred propet" himself.
  8. ^ "Gospel Topics: Race and the Priesthood", LDS.org, LDS Church, archived from the original on 2014-12-09 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Minutes of the Seventies Journal, Hazen Aldrich, entry for 20 December 1836. LDS Church Archives as cited by Alma Allred in, "The Traditions of Their Fathers, Myth versus Reality in LDS Scriptural Writings" in Newell G. Bringhurst and Darron T. Smith (eds.) (2006), Black and Mormon (Urbana: University of Illinois Press)
  10. ^ a b c Bringhurst, Newell G. (1981). Saints, Slaves, and Blacks: The Changing Place of Black People Within Mormonism. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 149. ISBN 0-313-22752-7.
  11. ^ History of the Church, 4:365.
  12. ^ a b Coleman, Ronald Gerald (1980). A History of Blacks in Utah: 1825–1910. Harold B. Lee Library; Provo, Utah: Unpublished. p. 59.
  13. ^ Jackson, W. Kesler (2013). Elijah Abel: The Life and Times of a Black Priesthood Holder. Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort, Incorporated. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-4621-1151-0.
  14. ^ "Cemeteries and Burials Database: Burial Information: ABLE, ELIJAH". Salt Lake City, Utah: Utah Division of State History. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
  15. ^ Newell G. Bringhurst, "The 'Missouri Thesis' Revisisted: Early Mormonism, Slavery, and the Status of Black People" in Newell G. Bringhurst and Darron T. Smith (eds.) (2006). Black and Mormon (Urbana: University of Illinois Press) pp. 13–33 at p. 30.
  16. ^ Lynn Arave (September 30, 2002). "Monument in S.L. erected in honor of black pioneer". Deseret Morning News. p. B3. Retrieved 2009-06-30.

References

Further reading

  • Jackson, William Kesler (2013), Elijah Abel: The Life and Times of a Black Priesthood Holder, Springville, Utah: CFI (Cedar Fort, Inc.), ISBN 978-1-4621-1151-0, LCCN 2012044964, OCLC 808415486
  • Stevenson, Russell (2014), Black Mormon: The Story of Elijah Ables (self-published), CreateSpace, ISBN 978-1-5008-4313-7
  • Stevenson, Russel W. 2013. A Negro Preacher: The Worlds of Elijah Ables. Journal of Mormon History Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 165–254.
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