Commenting on the claim that there were “neutrals” during the war in heaven, we read the following from the minutes for the Salt Lake School of the Prophets:
December 25, 1869; Saturday
The School of the Prophets met. Many questions were asked by the members and answered by President Brigham Young. Elder Lorenzo Snow asked if the spirits of negroes were neutral in Heaven, as some one had said that the Prophet Joseph [Smith] said they were? President Young said; No, they were not, there were no neutral spirits in Heaven at the time of the rebellion, all took sides. If any one says they heard the Prophet Joseph say that the spirit of the blacks were neutral in Heaven, he would not believe them, for he heard Joseph say to the contrary. All spirits are pure that came from the presence of God. The posterity of Cain are black because he committed murder. He killed Abel and God set a mark upon his posterity. But the spirits are pure that enter their tabernacles and there will be a chance for the redemption of all the children of Adam, except the sons of perdition. Wilford Woodruff made a speech upon apostasy. (Salt Lake School of the Prophets, 1867-1883 [ed. Devery S. Anderson; Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2018], 44, emphasis added)
