A high-ranking leader from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints vowed support this week for “peaceful efforts to overcome racism” while lamenting that some people in the movements are attacking religious freedom.
Quentin L. Cook also defended early church leader Brigham Young. Young has been criticized for espousing racist views during his lifetime in the 1800s. Young instituted a ban on Black men from being in the religion’s lay priesthood that was rooted in a belief that black skin was a curse and stayed in effect until 1978.