Christopher M. Runyan Indianapolis, Ind.
I enjoyed the article “Genesis provides support …” in the Sept. 16 edition of The Daily Universe. I believe the Genesis group benefits not only black members in the Salt Lake Valley, but also members who live elsewhere.
As did Eckert, I first heard of the branch while serving a mission. I served for twenty-three months in the urban areas of Oakland and San Francisco, Calif. While contacting people on the streets, I was questioned by five to 10 people a week of African descent concerning their status in the church. Often these people felt the church viewed blacks as inferior because for a period of time the priesthood was withheld from them.
My African-American investigators asked similar questions. I, like Eckert, “look(ed) for a way to make converts (and non-members) feel more comfortable in the church.” Obviously the general authorities of the church felt the same concern in the early seventies. Their concern led to their forming of the Genesis group.
Although most of those I served among can’t attend the Genesis group monthly, they still benefit from it. publications by members of the group about early black pioneers such as Jane Mannings James, and Green Flake have given black members in Oakland something to have pride in.
With this pride, individuals such as Betty Stevenson, the first black Relief Society president and Rodney Carey, one of first black missionaries, formed the first Mormon gospel choir called “Unity.” Their efforts through song and speech to tell the community about black history in the church have done much to help spread the gospel.
The Book of Mormon teaches that “all are alike unto God.” The Genesis group helps convey this principle through “cultural sharing and interaction,” and by doing so, benefits church members around the world.
