Don ' t blame Brigham Young . He was only following God . Yeah , that ' s it . Blame it on God ! Here ' s one of my favorite quotes from the essay , with some things fixed The justifications for this restriction taught as doctrine by the prophets echoed the widespread ideas about racial inferiority that had been used to argue for the legalization of black servitude in the Territory of Utah . According to one view , which had been promulgated in the United States from at least the 1730 s and taught as doctrine by the prophets , blacks descended from the same lineage as the biblical Cain , who slew his brother Abel . Those who accepted this view including members who followed the prophets believed that God ' s curse on Cain was the mark of a dark skin . Black servitude was ~~ sometimes viewed as ~~ a second curse placed upon Noah ' s grandson Canaan as a result of Ham ' s indiscretion toward his father . Seriously , what ' s the use of a prophet who just echoes the ideas of the world ?