Mormon Stories Podcast 1712: Joining the Mormon Church as a Black Teenager - Channel Achenbach Pt. 1
Fans of Mormon stories will be familiar with Channel Achenbach, who has been a guest on LDS Discussions' Race & Mormon Scripture Part 1, Gender Discrimination in the Mormon Church with John Larsen and Mormon Leader Ahmad Corbitt Condemns Activism Towards the LDS Church or they may know her from her tiktok channel, @Bettenoir4. This will be a 3-part series of Channel’s story.
In Part 1 We get some background on Channel’s family growing up, how black families and black culture differ substantially from Mormon white culture, what led Channel to seek God and how that led to her joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Channel tells us the good, bad & ugly of how she was treated as a black teenage convert, when she learned of the Church’s racism, and ways that she accepted, excused, and eventually internalized it to see herself as “less” than her white counterparts.
This became most apparent in dating and marriage. While white men in the church may find her exotic and are willing to date her, Channel finds that they are unwilling to marry her as “mixing seed” would pass her “curse” [black skin] to children that could otherwise have two white parents. As Channel loses herself and what makes her unique to the cultural expectations of the Church she marries another black member of the church at the counsel of her Bishop against her better judgment.
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