Death on the Spot

The Quote

“Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so.” — Brigham Young, JoD 10:110 (March 8, 1863)

Lyrics

[Intro - Somber piano, slow tempo]

[Verse 1 - Spoken word style, building into melody]
March eighth, eighteen sixty-three
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City
Prophet stands before the congregation
"Shall I tell you," he begins
"Shall I tell you the law of God?"
Everyone leans in to listen

[Verse 2 - Melody establishes, minor key]
"In regard to the African race"
His voice is steady, certain, clear
"If the white man of the chosen seed
Mixes his blood with the seed of Cain"
He pauses for the weight to land
"The penalty, under the law of God..."

[Chorus - Full, powerful, deliberate]
Death on the spot
Death on the spot
This is the law of God, he says
This will always be so
Always be so
Death on the spot
This will always be so

[Verse 3 - Building intensity]
Civil War is raging, nation torn
"I'm no abolitionist," he claims
"Neither am I pro-slavery"
Standing in the middle ground
Then declares that love across the line
Deserves death by divine command

[Chorus]

[Bridge - Tempo slows, piano solo, then spoken/sung]
One hundred and fifty years pass
December, two thousand thirteen
The church releases a quiet statement
"We disavow the theories advanced in the past"
"That mixed-race marriages are a sin"
The law of God...
Was just a theory?

[Verse 4 - Quiet, testimonial]
Today in temples, all across the land
Interracial couples kneel and pray
Sealed for time and all eternity
By the same church that declared
Their love deserved death on the spot
Under the eternal law of God

[Final Chorus - Raw, powerful]
Death on the spot
He said death on the spot
This is the law of God
This will always be so
But always meant
One hundred and fifty years
Till it was too embarrassing
To keep saying so

[Outro - Piano fading, spoken]
"This will always be so"
(Repeat, growing quieter)
"This will always be so"
"This will always..."
[Silence]

Historical Context

The Setting: March 8, 1863 — Salt Lake Tabernacle. The Civil War is raging. Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was issued just two months prior. The nation is torn over slavery, race, and freedom.

The Speaker: Brigham Young — Second President of the LDS Church (1847-1877), Prophet, Seer, and Revelator. The most prolific speaker in the Journal of Discourses.

The Aftermath:

• 1978 (115 years later): Official Declaration 2 ends priesthood/temple ban
• 2013 (150 years later): “Race and the Priesthood” essay disavows the teaching as “theories advanced in the past”

The Modern Disavowal

“Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects unrighteous actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else.” — “Race and the Priesthood” Gospel Topics Essay, 2013

In memory of all those harmed by this doctrine.