In this episode, host Jason R. Smith interviews Dr. Matthew L. Harris about his new book, Second-Class Saints: Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial Equality, published by Oxford University Press. 
In this groundbreaking work, Harris tells the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints&#39; 126 year priesthood and temple ban against those of African ancestry which ended in June 1978.
Harris is a professor of history at Colorado State University-Pueblo. His particular focus is in religion and the law, church and state, American Religions, civil rights, legal history, and Mormon Studies. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including Watchman on the Tower: Ezra Taft Benson and the Making of the Mormon Right.
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Second-Class-Saints-Mormons-Struggle-Equality/dp/019769571X/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://www.amazon.com/Second-Class-Saints-Mormons-Struggle-Equality/dp/019769571X/</a>

24 - Sister to the Prophet with Dr. Kyle R. Walker

In reflection of our annual conference, Whitmer Cast will bring you a cornucopia of podcast hosts, essays, and historians to share the joy of restoration history with a broader audience. As the first historian of the early restoration movement, John Whitmer chronicled the beginnings of Joseph Smith’s Church of Christ (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) from its inception. Whitmer Cast, produced by the John Whitmer Historical Association, is proud to continue John Whitmer’s legacy in highlighting the fascinating field of Mormon restoration and Community of Christ Studies.