Who were the last Black men ordained to the priesthood during Joseph Smith’s lifetime?

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Who and when was the last black person ordained to the Priesthood during Joseph Smith’s lifetime?

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Abel’s service did not end there. He was later ordained as a Seventy—a significant leadership office—on April 4, 1841, in Nauvoo, and he received a second certificate in Salt Lake City that further attested to his calling. Throughout his life, Abel served missions and acted as a prominent example of Black participation in Church leadership.

However, the story of Elijah Able also reveals complexities. In later decades, some Church authorities retroactively questioned or even annulled his ordination. President Harold B. Lee, referencing earlier Church leaders, noted that Abel’s ordination was “declared null and void by the Prophet himself and so likewise by the next three presidents who succeeded the Prophet Joseph.”  Such statements likely arose in an era when a priesthood restriction had become codified policy rather than reflecting the practice in Joseph Smith’s time.

Another notable example, though less well-known, is Q. Walker Lewis—a Black man who lived in Lowell, Massachusetts, and was reportedly ordained by William Smith (Joseph Smith’s brother) between 1841 and 1844. Walker Lewis was remembered as a “meek, humble” elder, and his ordination is further corroborated by William Appleby, who described Lewis as active in local Church leadership. While primary documentation remains sparse compared to Abel, the consistency across sources supports Lewis’s inclusion among ordained Black men in the early Church.

There is also suggestive evidence that Lewis’s son, Enoch Lewis, may have received ordination to the priesthood as well, though this remains less conclusive. Appleby noted that Enoch Lewis, who was married to a white woman, may have been ordained an elder at some point between 1842 and 1847.

The case of Joseph Ball further illustrates the complexities of racial identity in antebellum America. Ball, whose father hailed from Jamaica, was classified in early records as “non-white” or “free colored,” though subsequent censuses listed him and his family as “white.” Ball himself served as an elder and even as branch president in Lowell, yet his racial identity was not foregrounded by his peers at the time. The ambiguity surrounding Ball’s experience testifies to both the fluidity and rigidity of racial categorizations in early American society.

Speculation persists that other early Black Saints, such as “Black Pete,” may also have held the priesthood, though no direct documentary evidence supports this. Historical accounts describe “Black Pete” as a spiritual leader and “revelator” in the early Kirtland community, and it is possible that he and some associates believed they had authority to preach and baptize. However, historians emphasize the absence of conclusive proof regarding any formal ordination.

Despite these documented cases, they remained exceptions. Newell G. Bringhurst, historian of Black Saints, cataloged around twenty-two Black Saints in Nauvoo from 1839–1846, but aside from Elijah Able, none are recorded as receiving priesthood ordinations or temple ordinances during Joseph Smith’s lifetime.

The Kirtland and Nauvoo Temples symbolized the culminating promises of the Restoration: access to sacred ordinances intended to bind families eternally and bring the blessings of salvation to all God’s children. How did Black members fit into this vision in practice?

Elijah Able again stands out as the sole documented Black member to have participated in temple ordinances during Joseph Smith’s life. In 1836, Able received his washing and anointing (an early version of the temple endowment) in the Kirtland Temple, as recorded by both Zebedee Coltrin and Joseph F. Smith. This rite affirmed Able’s full participation in Church spiritual life at the time.

Later, in Nauvoo, records indicate that Able performed baptisms for the dead for his mother and a friend—Demonstrating a continued, if rare, Black presence in pivotal temple rites. For other Black Saints in Nauvoo, no evidence has emerged of participation in these ordinances during Joseph Smith’s lifetime.

Interestingly, the ideal of universal participation was articulated in prophetic language as the Nauvoo Temple was announced in 1840. The First Presidency explicitly described the temple as a place of worship for “persons of all languages, and of every tongue, and of every color,” envisioning people from “every nation” gathering to partake in its blessings. Joseph Smith himself taught in 1844 that all nations would receive their endowments, reinforcing this inclusive ideal.

However, these principles existed in dialogue with social reality. Even as the Church projected a vision of racial and national inclusivity, the actual participation of Black Saints in temple ordinances remained minimal, with only Elijah Able documented as a participant before 1844.

The fate of Black priesthood holders after Joseph Smith’s death illustrates shifting institutional policies. As previously noted, Church presidents in later decades declared some early ordinations “null and void,” even as individuals like Elijah Able continued faithful service. Over time, the practice of ordaining Black men ceased, followed by the formalization of a priesthood ban around 1852, during Brigham Young’s presidency.

The reasons behind the restriction have been debated, but remain officially unrevealed. In the absence of a clear doctrine, a host of speculative rationales took root—some linking the ban to biblical figures, others invoking supposed premortal choices or lines of ancestry. After the landmark 1978 revelation extending the priesthood to all worthy male members, Church leaders emphasized a break with past explanations. Notably, Elder Bruce R. McConkie stated in 1978:

“Forget everything that I have said, or what President Brigham Young … has said in days past that is contrary to the present revelation … We have now had added a new flood of intelligence and light on this particular subject, and it erases all the darkness and all the views and all the thoughts of the past,”

As faithful Latter-day Saints and historians look back at this complicated history, they are encouraged to study individual stories, learn about trailblazers like Elijah Able and Walker Lewis, and recognize the growth and continuing challenges in establishing greater inclusion in the Church.