Talk:Elijah Abel/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: 10W40 (talk · contribs) 16:35, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

1. It is reasonably well written.

   a (prose, spelling, and grammar): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):

   Passes in terms of grammar and writing quality.

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable.

   a (reference section): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR): d (copyvio and plagiarism):

   I cranked up the copyvio engine. There is nothing even close to this article anywhere else.

3. It is broad in its coverage.

   a (major aspects): b (focused):

   I noticed that few tidbits of information were missing. Adel is often described as an octoroon (one eighth black), although it does not appear that anyone has worked out his exact blood quantum. There were two other 19th century black Mormon priests: Black Pete and Lewis Walker.

The most serious problem with the article is that it doesn't explain the controversies that are the context of most RS coverage of the subject. There were Mormon meetings concerning Abel in 1843 and in 1879. Both were turning points in terms of Mormon racial policy. At best, the article deals with these meetings indirectly. Here is Bringhurst on the 1843 meeting:

This decision represents an important turning point not only for Elijah Abel but for all Mormon blacks. For the first time race was used as a criterion for limiting the activities of a black Latter-day Saint. Until 1843, Abel had suffered no known racial discrimination despite his status as one of Mormonism’s few black members. (There is a link to Bringhurst in the "Comments" section below.)

According to Bringhurst, when the Mormons moved West they began to encounter more Blacks. Policy was revised as fear of miscegenation grew.

As for the 1879 meeting, Oxford calls it "one of the most important about the priesthood restriction in Church history." This meeting discussed Adel's priesthood and concluded that it was valid and had never been revoked.

1. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

   There is a section on "Persecution", but no explanation of why anyone would want to expel Abel from the Church. Perhaps the reader is supposed to think of him as a civil rights martyr. Adel's priesthood is a disputed point of Mormon theology, as I explain in the "Comments" section below.

2. It is stable.

   No edit wars, etc.:

3. It is illustrated by images and other media, where possible and appropriate.

   a (images are tagged and non-free content have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):

4. Overall:

   Pass/Fail:

Comments

I read three accounts of Abel's life, Jackson's Elijah Abel (2013), The Oxford Handbook of Mormonism (pp. 269-270), and Bringhurst's "Elijah Abel and the Changing Status of Blacks Within Mormonism" to prepare for this review.

Anyone who wants to edit this article should read Bringhurst's essay first. It sums up Abel's significance in Mormon history in a way that's brief and to the point -- something this article fails to do. Prior to the divine revelation of 1978, it was generally understood that Blacks were banned from the Mormon priesthood. So how was it possible for Abel to became a priest? The "no Black priests" policy was obviously instituted sometime after Abel was ordained in 1836. There is a great deal of controversy concerning who instituted it and why. None of this is explained or even acknowledged in the article, which focuses on biographical detail.

Elijah Abel...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.

• Second "Latter Day Saint movement" is repetitious. I suggest "church."
• I know there is a link, but you should explain what a is "seventy" anyway. The word should be capitalized as "Seventy."
• The following sentence uses "Latter-day Saint." Do we prefer hyphen or no hyphen?
• Most people call this group the "Mormon Church." Shouldn't that be mentioned?

Abel was born in Maryland on July 25 to Delilah and Andrew Abel.

• Jackson gives the maiden name of Abel's mother as "Delilah Williams," so that can be added.

It is unclear what year he was born- some sources put the year at 1808, others at 1810.

• I suggest replacing the hyphen with a period.

He was baptized into the Church of Christ in September 1832 by Ezekiel Roberts.

• Not many readers will know that the Church changed its name from "Church of Christ" to "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." It isn't explained in the article. It shouldn't be since this detail would be distracting. You can avoid this problem by calling it "the church."

Some sources state that Abel was ordained by Joseph Smith, while other records indicate that he was ordained to the priesthood by Zebedee Coltrin.

• This seems a rather abrupt way to deal with the controversy, which Jackson spends several pages on. This was the issue the church leaders hashed out at the 1879 meeting. Coltrin is often quoted as saying that he, “never had such unpleasant feelings in my life" as when he ordained Abel. "I said I never would again Annoint another person who had Negro blood in him. [sic] unless I was commanded by the Prophet to do so.” That's a quote that belongs in the article.

Also at that time, Abel was accused by non-Mormons of murdering a mother and five children.

• This is left hanging. Perhaps there should be some follow up. Jackson says the handbill accusing Abel of murder went up in St. Lawrence after he left the county, so he never faced his accusers.

Abel was never convicted of this crime, but his missionary travels were often punctuated with similar troubles and persecutions.

• I assume this was a common problem for Mormon missionaries at the time. The article should clarify this point.