But of all the names Jesse Stott, 22, has been called, nothing hurts more than "fence sitter," he said. "I'd rather be called the n-word."

A folk belief still held by many Mormons is that blacks were neutral in the War in Heaven, or premortal life, slow to join Christ and consequently marked with dark skin. Stott is not neutral. He loves his church, the only one he's ever known since being adopted as a baby.

" 'God gave me a happiness the world can't take away,' " he said, quoting Alvin Jackson, a black member of the LDS stake presidency in Washington, D.C.

He is one of 10 children, most of whom are black or biracial, adopted by Suzanne Stott, a professional in the adoption world, and - in the case with eight of them - her former husband. "We, as Latter-day Saints, never would have considered adopting black children" because of the pre-1978 exclusion. The June 8 announcement left the pair "so happy, I just sobbed," she remembered.

Suzanne's core testimony never changed, but this issue had been a "stumbling block" for her, she said. Immediately after the ban was lifted, the couple requested their first black child.

The Salt Lake City home Jesse, a Salt Lake Community College student, grew up and still lives in is a nod to multiculturalism. There are Buddhas, a poster with Arabic writing and a black Jesus sits atop a mantel. Exposing her kids to their ethnic identities was always important to Suzanne. Her sons were in the Calvary Baptist Church Scout troop, she found them mentors, and she always attended Juneteenth and Kwanzaa celebrations, though she never forced the children to join her.

Only three of her 10 grown kids are still active in the LDS Church. Some consider it racist, Suzanne said. But for this mother and son, their beliefs are unwavering.

As a missionary in Washington, D.C., where "everybody [in church] was black," Jesse said, "I listened just a little bit more." Someday, he and Suzanne hope a black general authority will perk up his ears the same way.

- Jessica Ravitz