Mormonism & Blacks

Before June of 1978, blacks were not allowed to hold the priesthood, due to "the curse of Cain". Because they could not hold priesthood, they were not permitted into the temple to do the ordinances and eternal marriage that are neccessary for salvation/exaltation. This excluded blacks from the oppertunity of doing the ordinances and eternal marriage (that are neccessary for salvation/exaltation) because of their skin color, which is "the mark of Cain".
 In 1978 president/prophet Spencer W. Kimball announced that blacks could now hold the priesthood!---just in time for the opening of the new temple in Brazil, that many "dark skinned" Brazilians had contributed to. Lucky for them<-- (the Brazilians), they were now able to enter into the temple building that they contributed to and now also able to do the ordinances and eternal marriage neccessary for Salvation/exaltation.

The curse of Cain - taught by the Mormon Church:
Because Cain killed his brother Able, God cursed Cain with dark skin. Now all of Cains descendants would have "the mark of Cain". After the flood of Noah this curse was preserved through Ham.
 If you were "noble" in the pre-existant life, then you would have an "honorable" (white) body down here. The spirits who were "less noble", and lent an influence to the devil, came into the world and took bodies of the "accursed" lineage of Canaan (dark skin). Due to the dark skinned people having a lack of integrity to righteosness in the pre-existant life, they rendered themselves unworthy of the priesthood and its powers.
*Mormonism still teaches about this curse in their doctrin today.
*While the priesthood ban has been lifted the church has yet to clarify its theological view on race or why the ban was ever instituted.

In this video I go over some verses in the mormon doctrine about the curse of Cain. Here are the verses: (2Nephi 5:21), (1Nephi 12:23), (Alma 3:6), (Jacob 3:5), (Jacob 3:8), (Mormon 5:15), (Moses 7:8), (Moses 7:22), (Abraham 1:24), (Abraham 1:26-27).

This is the 15th President/Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley. He is asked about blacks & the priesthood in an interview with 60 minutes.

This is a conversation I had on missionary chat (on mormon.org) about the curse of Cain. Benjamin claimed that the Book of Mormon does not mention the curse nor did it even mention blacks, when I presented him with verses from mormon doctrin that mention the curse, he was unable to explain mormon doctrine to me, and promptly had to leave the conversation.