Well, what to make of this little book?

Jerri Harwell is a black Latter-day Saint. She joined the Church prior to the priesthood revelation, and found herself struggling with the priesthood ban. Not much of a story so far. How many people of color must have been pained by this policy?

But Harwell is a strong, opinionated woman, and in this brief memoir, we meet a woman who knows her mind, has goals that must be met, and revels in her personal relationship with God.

Subtitled "A Story of Faith, Perseverance, and Conversion," the few pages of this book chronicle the high points of Harwell's journey into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Along the way, she learns to pray. And this is the foundation of all that follows.

Indeed, Harwell discovers that prayer is a two-way conversation. I found myself squirming a bit as she repeats, verbatim, conversations with God. Although she makes clear later in the book that not all of her discussions with God are audible, yet some are, and when God speaks, He speaks clearly.

One striking conversation with God is worth repeating here.

As I ended my prayer asking Heavenly Father why Blacks could not receive the priesthood, I felt a burning and heard the Lord say, "*I* have never given such a reason." I took Him at his word. All that I had been reading over the past several months were the opinions of men. The Lord Himself had never given a reason. I set aside all the stuff about curses, indecision, and fence sitters in the premortal life, and Bruce R. McConkie's doctrine. I had heard from the Lord Himself and from that point forward, I did not doubt Him, His answer, or my decision to join the LDS Church. (p. 14)

Wow! Here a woman of color, part of a "cursed race" (according to some), receiving revelation that causes her to toss Elder McConkie out and let the word of God in.

Later, we see Harwell turning down a calling to serve in the Relief Society presidency. She didn't want to do it, so she wasn't going to do it. She would later change her mind as she receives word from God that she needs to do this.

I'm always skeptical about such accounts, where folks hear directly from God, sometimes audibly. But, for some reason, I accept Harwell's sincerity. If she is as headstrong and stubborn as she claims, then perhaps the voice of God was the only thing that could move her to make changes in her life. The reader will have to decide whether the voice of God is genuine, or only an extension of her own beliefs.

Despite its brevity, "Leaning on Prayer" is a pretty good read. There aren't too many editing errors, and they don't detract from the story. In some places there are holes in the narrative. I wondered, from time to time, how we got from point A to point B. But, again, there is no lasting damage to the overall story.

Folks interested in the history of race relations within the Church will find this story encouraging.

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Jeff Needle
January 9, 2005