Multiracial choirs accented in blue, purple, green, maroon and orange — swaying in unison in front of the massive organ pipes — rocked a packed LDS Conference Center in downtown Salt Lake City on Friday night in an animated gala celebrating the 40th anniversary of the end of the Mormon church’s centurylong ban on blacks holding the priesthood and entering its temples.
Latter-day Saints from various African nations as well as Brazil, Haiti, Jamaica and other countries, told of their pioneering paths, stories often punctuated by wild applause from the audience, including multiple standing ovations.
The evening opened with a short speech by Dallin H.