A video of an African American woman detailing her experiences of racism within the Mormon church has begun to circulate online.
The woman, introduced as Channel Achenbach was on the Mormon Stories Podcast in November last year, though the video was uploaded in 2023.
In the video, she explained how she was told she was not permitted to marry a white man as her "seed was cursed". She was also told that she must only marry a Black man to prevent her children from being "cursed"
The episode was uploaded on January 2 to the Mormon Stories Podcast YouTube page but snippets of her testimony have begun to circulate on other social media platforms such as TikTok.
Speaking to the host John Dehlin, Achenbach explained conversations and teachings she received from leaders of the Mormon Church.
She said: "[The leaders] said 'You know what, we think it is best you get married.
"'You are older, you have served the mission, you are a great candidate for marriage but you need to find a Black man.
"I remember I kept asking 'where am I supposed to find a Black man?'
"They said 'It doesn't matter, you find a Black man, you convert him or go to an area where there are predominately Black men.'"
Achenbach detailed how this direction began to get frustrating. She also explained how she eventually confronted one of her leaders about the instructions to only go for a Black man.
On the podcast, she continued: "[I said] 'say it, I need you to say it. So Black people and white people aren't supposed to mix?
"They were like 'no they're not.' I said 'is there a reason?
"They said 'yes, because your seed is cursed. If your seed mixes with their seed then your children, your husband won't be cursed, but your children will be. Do you want that for your family?"
Speaking about the story, Achenbach sarcastically said: "Two Black people, we're just going to stay cursed. So you want me to find a Black man so I could be cursed with him and so our kids can be cursed, got it."
In another video, where Achenbach also spoke on the podcast, she laid out what she would need from the Mormon Church to stop talking about her experiences.
"First of all you are going to have to apologize to me and everybody else, that is a demand, " she said.
"Number 2, you are going to have to unteach that, meaning actively teach anti-racism.
"You are gonna have to say 'hey, we are human, we got it wrong, we messed up, we have no problems with interracial marriage, we have no problem with Black people.
"That stuff that in the pre-existence is wrong, it is not true, it wasn't of God, we made mistakes."
Newsweek has contacted the Mormon Church for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Gerrard Kaonga is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter and is based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on U.S. ... Read more
