In the following year, Smith taught that the curse of Ham came from God, and it stated that blacks were cursed with servitude. He warned those who tried to interfere with slavery that God could do his own work. Without reversing his opinion on the curse of Ham, Smith started expressing more anti-slavery positions starting in 1842. After Smith's death, leaders of the LDS Church continued to teach that black Africans were under the curse of Ham and that those who tried to abolish slavery were going against the decrees of God, although the day would come when the curse would be nullified through the saving powers of Jesus Christ. In addition, based on his interpretation of the Book of Abraham, Brigham Young believed that, as a result of this curse, negroes were banned from the Mormon priesthood.