Elijah Abel, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Elijah Abel

First black elder and seventy in the Latter Day Saint Movement

Date of Birth: 25-Jul-1808

Place of Birth: Frederick, Maryland, United States

Date of Death: 25-Dec-1884

Profession: religious leader

Zodiac Sign: Leo

Elijah Abel, or Able (July 25, 1808 – December 25, 1884) was one of the earliest African-American members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
He is considered by many to have been the first African-American elder and seventy in the Latter Day Saint movement.
Abel, although predominantly of Scotch and English descent, appears by his African heritage to have been the first and one of the few black members in the early history of the church to have received the priesthood.
And it was his distinction to be the faith's first missionary to have descended in part through African bloodline.
But in 1849, Brigham Young declared all African-Americans ineligible to hold the priesthood and Abel's claim to priesthood right was also challenged.
As a skilled carpenter, Abel often committed his services to the furthering of the work and to the building of LDS temples.
He died in 1884, shortly after serving a final mission for the church (in his lifetime he officially served three) to Cincinnati, Ohio.