The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints claims to be the church Jesus organized and by Jesus restored to the earth in 1830 through our prophet Joseph Smith. My testimony of that restoration is not threatened by the mistakes and misdeeds of the leaders of the church. Though the Book of Mormon and church covenants prohibited racism, the pro-slavery peoples who joined the church would not allow blacks to hold the priesthood even though Joseph ordained at least one black. Because the church members refused to believe the Book of Mormon regarding their racism the Lord gave them a book they could believe called the Pearl of Great Price which justified racism. It was done in accordance with Jacob 4:14 in the Book of Mormon because they looked for things they could not understand instead of believing the words of plainness. They expected to establish a Zion of Peace in Independence, Missouri, but because of their disobedience they were scourged from city to city. In Jeremiah 17:6. Jeremiah saw them driven to a salt place. Here they would not be allowed to establish a Zion of Peace because they were not worthy, so Joseph Smith pointed them towards polygamy which the Book of Mormon declares a whoredom and an abomination. Members are not discouraged from believing that polygamy is an essential practice in heaven. Even after the priesthood was made available to men of all races they still refuse to admit that Brigham Young insisted that African blacks would never receive the priesthood during their mortal lives. Brigham Young insisted that African blacks would never receive the priesthood during their mortal lives. Brigham's false teachings have been covered up. However, we still follow his practice of allowing unbaptized children to partake of the emblems of the sacrament in spite of the Book of Mormon teaching against it. Recently they began the practice of placing Elders Quorums in charge of High Priests.