Main Page: Latter-day Saint Racial History
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The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1978
Isaac Thomas recalled, "In January 1978, I started wondering, 'Who is going to help me raise my kids? My sons won't be able to have the priesthood. What am I gonna do with my daughters who can't be taken to the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity?' I asked all the religion professors. I went the rounds and asked everybody that I knew. All said, 'Isaac, everything will be cleared up in the Millennium.' That is fine for the Millennium, but what about today? I started having these questions about the priesthood that never affected me for six years."
Police officer David Olson, who had been accidentally wounded by a fellow police officer during surveillance of Latter-day Saint dissident Douglas Wallace, wrote a letter to the Editor of the Salt Lake Tribune on January 18, 1978, in which he criticized the Church's response to the incident. He wrote, "I would also like to thank Spencer W. Kimball for his incorrect press release concerning the police involvement combined with the LDS Church's efforts to restrict Douglas A. Wallace from the temple grounds, specifically the Tabernacle, on April 3, 1977. His denial of these actions is wrong. Any man who can take such actions and still call himself a prophet deserves more than I to be confined to this wheelchair."
Police officer David Olson, who had been accidentally wounded by a fellow police officer during surveillance of Latter-day Saint dissident Douglas Wallace, wrote a letter to the Editor of the Salt Lake Tribune on January 18, 1978, in which he criticized the Church's response to the incident. He wrote, "I would also like to thank Spencer W. Kimball for his incorrect press release concerning the police involvement combined with the LDS Church's efforts to restrict Douglas A. Wallace from the temple grounds, specifically the Tabernacle, on April 3, 1977. His denial of these actions is wrong. Any man who can take such actions and still call himself a prophet deserves more than I to be confined to this wheelchair."
Preparing to Lift the Ban
President Spencer W. Kimball spent hours meditating and praying on the priesthood ban in and out of the Salt Lake Temple, discussing it with General Authorities and lay church members alike, studying the ban's history (including Lester Bush's Dialogue article) and re-evaluating the traditional scriptural proof-texts. By late March 1978 he felt that the Lord wanted the ban to be lifted, and this belief steadily grew firmer. He later said, "I knew that something was before us that was extremely important to many of the children of God. I knew that we could receive the revelations of the Lord only by being worthy and ready for them and ready to accept them and put them into place. Day after day I went alone and with great solemnity and seriousness in the upper rooms of the temple, and there I offered my soul and offered my efforts to go forward with the program. I wanted to do what he wanted. I talked about it to him and said, 'Lord, I want only what is right. We are not making any plans to be spectacularly moving. We want only the thing that thou dost want, and we want it when you want it and not until.'"
Around this time a policy change was made that allowed black males to serve as junior companion home teachers without the priesthood. Helvécio Martins recalled, "Well, this worried us even more. I remember in our family home evening that night we decided something was about to happen. We didn't know what. We did not think it would be anything related to the priesthood. We had conditioned ourselves to believe the granting of the priesthood to Blacks would occur only in the millennium, but we felt something special was about to happen. We didn't know what it was but felt we should get ready."
In spring, F. Briton McConkie was in Manila, Philippines, on assignment giving patriarchal blessings. He promised a woman of African descent that she would receive the blessings of the temple, and a black man named Alonzo Harris that he would receive the priesthood and temple blessings within his lifetime. When he returned to Utah and reported these occurrences to his brother, Elder Bruce R. McConkie, the latter noncommittally responded, "I am glad to know you have given those blessings."
A Latter-day Saint named Blake wrote, "In the end, it is we, the members of the church, who must take accountability for racial attitudes and exclusion. I'm grateful for members like Mary [Sturlaugson] whose faithfulness and love motivate us to grow beyond our own limitations.
"When I was in Italy on my mission, in the spring of 1978, I was approached by an African woman from Ethiopia. Her name was also Mary (an assumed name, her real name was Ethiopian). It was the only time in my mission that someone approached me. She said: 'I know you have the truth and I would like you to teach me' - just like that! We taught her and she quickly progressed toward baptism at her request. As her baptismal date approached, I was brought to a bit of a crisis because I refused to baptize her without fully disclosing the Church’s position on Africans and priesthood. She had a little boy named Simone who was 8 years of age. I couldn't bear the thought of her learning about the priesthood ban after her baptism.
"I prayed for hours and hours, imploring the Lord to show me how it could be that African blacks would not be able to have the priesthood. I prayed for hearts to be softened and for the ban to be lifted and changed."
On April 3 the Salt Lake Tribune reported, "Byron Marchant, excommunicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was arrested Sunday at 1:45 p.m. at Temple Square on charges of trespassing... Marchant was requested to leave the church grounds after he offered literature to people waiting in line for admission to the 2 p.m. session of General Conference, Mr. Gibbs said. J. Earl Jones, director of security for the Mormon church reportedly advised Mr. Marchant he was on private property and advised him to leave. When Mr. Marchant refused, Mr. Gibbs said police officers were contacted and Mr. Marchant was placed under arrest at approximately 1:45 p.m."
Marchant's literature included a sheet which read: "Next October Conference I will join all interested in a march on Temple Square in Salt Lake City. In the event that the Mormon Church decides to ordain worthy Afro-Americans to the priesthood this demonstration will be a sort of celebration. A demonstration of support. In the meantime, every person and/or group concerned about Utah Racism is encouraged to speak out and attend the October protest."
Latter-day Saint entertainers and siblings Donny and Marie Osmond were interviewed by Barbara Walters in an episode aired on April 4, 1978, and the subject of the priesthood ban naturally came up. To their credit, neither of them speculated on a reason for it, which probably indicates that the folklore was being propagated less extensively among the Church's rising generations (Donny was twenty at this time, and Marie was eighteen).
Around this time a policy change was made that allowed black males to serve as junior companion home teachers without the priesthood. Helvécio Martins recalled, "Well, this worried us even more. I remember in our family home evening that night we decided something was about to happen. We didn't know what. We did not think it would be anything related to the priesthood. We had conditioned ourselves to believe the granting of the priesthood to Blacks would occur only in the millennium, but we felt something special was about to happen. We didn't know what it was but felt we should get ready."
In spring, F. Briton McConkie was in Manila, Philippines, on assignment giving patriarchal blessings. He promised a woman of African descent that she would receive the blessings of the temple, and a black man named Alonzo Harris that he would receive the priesthood and temple blessings within his lifetime. When he returned to Utah and reported these occurrences to his brother, Elder Bruce R. McConkie, the latter noncommittally responded, "I am glad to know you have given those blessings."
A Latter-day Saint named Blake wrote, "In the end, it is we, the members of the church, who must take accountability for racial attitudes and exclusion. I'm grateful for members like Mary [Sturlaugson] whose faithfulness and love motivate us to grow beyond our own limitations.
"When I was in Italy on my mission, in the spring of 1978, I was approached by an African woman from Ethiopia. Her name was also Mary (an assumed name, her real name was Ethiopian). It was the only time in my mission that someone approached me. She said: 'I know you have the truth and I would like you to teach me' - just like that! We taught her and she quickly progressed toward baptism at her request. As her baptismal date approached, I was brought to a bit of a crisis because I refused to baptize her without fully disclosing the Church’s position on Africans and priesthood. She had a little boy named Simone who was 8 years of age. I couldn't bear the thought of her learning about the priesthood ban after her baptism.
"I prayed for hours and hours, imploring the Lord to show me how it could be that African blacks would not be able to have the priesthood. I prayed for hearts to be softened and for the ban to be lifted and changed."
On April 3 the Salt Lake Tribune reported, "Byron Marchant, excommunicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was arrested Sunday at 1:45 p.m. at Temple Square on charges of trespassing... Marchant was requested to leave the church grounds after he offered literature to people waiting in line for admission to the 2 p.m. session of General Conference, Mr. Gibbs said. J. Earl Jones, director of security for the Mormon church reportedly advised Mr. Marchant he was on private property and advised him to leave. When Mr. Marchant refused, Mr. Gibbs said police officers were contacted and Mr. Marchant was placed under arrest at approximately 1:45 p.m."
Marchant's literature included a sheet which read: "Next October Conference I will join all interested in a march on Temple Square in Salt Lake City. In the event that the Mormon Church decides to ordain worthy Afro-Americans to the priesthood this demonstration will be a sort of celebration. A demonstration of support. In the meantime, every person and/or group concerned about Utah Racism is encouraged to speak out and attend the October protest."
Latter-day Saint entertainers and siblings Donny and Marie Osmond were interviewed by Barbara Walters in an episode aired on April 4, 1978, and the subject of the priesthood ban naturally came up. To their credit, neither of them speculated on a reason for it, which probably indicates that the folklore was being propagated less extensively among the Church's rising generations (Donny was twenty at this time, and Marie was eighteen).
On May 4, the priesthood policy was discussed in the regular joint meeting of the First Presidency and the Twelve, and afterward Elder LeGrand Richards asked permission to speak. He said, "I saw during the meeting a man seated in a chair above the organ, bearded and dressed in white, having the appearance of Wilford Woodruff... I am not a visionary man... This was not imagination... It might be that I was privileged to see him because I am the only one here who had seen President Woodruff in person." President Woodruff may have taken an interest in this issue from the other side of the veil because of its similarity to the difficult and far-reaching decision to end polygamy during his tenure as Church President.
On May 19, Harvard University administrator Chase Peterson wrote to President Kimball, expressing his view that there was a "present opportunity" to extend the priesthood to black people while external pressures were low. He concluded, "Could it be that the Lord has been both preparing us to accept the black man into full Priesthood fellowship and preparing the black man for Priesthood responsibility?... [Perhaps the Lord] is waiting for us to be ready, and if we fail to demonstrate our readiness, there may not be a [right] time again [soon]."
President Kimball replied, "I thank you very much for the delightful letter and for the suggestions you have offered. Please accept my sincere thanks and best wishes." He later told his grandson Miles S. Kimball that Brother Peterson's letter had been "very helpful" in considering the issue.
According to his son Edward, "On May 25, Mark E. Petersen called President Kimball’s attention to an article that proposed the priesthood policy had begun with Brigham Young, not Joseph Smith, and he suggested that the President might wish to consider this factor."
On May 19, Harvard University administrator Chase Peterson wrote to President Kimball, expressing his view that there was a "present opportunity" to extend the priesthood to black people while external pressures were low. He concluded, "Could it be that the Lord has been both preparing us to accept the black man into full Priesthood fellowship and preparing the black man for Priesthood responsibility?... [Perhaps the Lord] is waiting for us to be ready, and if we fail to demonstrate our readiness, there may not be a [right] time again [soon]."
President Kimball replied, "I thank you very much for the delightful letter and for the suggestions you have offered. Please accept my sincere thanks and best wishes." He later told his grandson Miles S. Kimball that Brother Peterson's letter had been "very helpful" in considering the issue.
According to his son Edward, "On May 25, Mark E. Petersen called President Kimball’s attention to an article that proposed the priesthood policy had begun with Brigham Young, not Joseph Smith, and he suggested that the President might wish to consider this factor."
The Priesthood and Temple Blessings are Restored to People of African Descent
On June 1, 1978, President Kimball asked the Twelve Apostles to remain after the regular first Thursday meeting of the General Authorities in the Salt Lake Temple. Only ten were present, as Elder Delbert Stapley was in the hospital and Elder Mark E. Petersen was in South America on an assignment. He said to them, "Brethren, I have canceled lunch for today. Would you be willing to remain in the temple with us? I would like you to continue to fast with me. I have been going to the temple almost daily for many weeks now, sometimes for hours, entreating the Lord for a clear answer. I have not been determined in advance what the answer should be. And I will be satisfied with a simple Yes or No, but I want to know. Whatever the Lord's decision is, I will defend it to the limits of my strength, even to death."
The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in early 1978. Front row: Mark E. Petersen, Ezra Taft Benson, Delbert L. Stapley. Others: Boyd K. Packer, Thomas S. Monson, LeGrand Richards, Marvin J. Ashton, Howard W. Hunter, Bruce R. McConkie, Gordon B. Hinckley, L. Tom Perry, David B. Haight.
A two-hour discussion followed, of which Elder Boyd K. Packer later said, "One objection would have deterred him, would have made him put it off, so careful was he... that it had to be right." President Kimball outlined his thoughts and conclusions on the matter, and asked the Apostles to offer their own without concern for seniority. Elder McConkie noted that there was no scriptural impediment to lifting the ban, and Elder Packer quoted verses from the Doctrine and Covenants - 124:49, 56:4-5, and 58:32 - in support of his view that every worthy man should be allowed to hold the priesthood. Eight of the ten Apostles present volunteered their views and all were in favor of lifting the ban; when the other two were asked to speak, they were also in favor.
Finally, seeking a confirmation of their decision, President Kimball asked, "Do you mind if I lead you in prayer?" With the Apostles in a circle around the altar, he began to pray. Elder Bruce R. McConkie recalled, "The Lord took over and President Kimball was inspired in his prayer, asking the right questions, as he asked for a manifestation. It was one of those occasions when the one who was mouth in the prayer, prayed by the power of the Spirit and was given expression and guided in the words that were used." As he prayed, all present received an outpouring of the Spirit confirming their feeling that the time had come to extend priesthood and temple blessings to all worthy male members without regard for race or color.
As Elder McConkie described it, "On the day of Pentecost in the Old World it is recorded that cloven tongues of fire rested upon the people. They were trying to put into words what is impossible to express directly. There are no words to describe the sensation, but simultaneously the Twelve and the three members of the First Presidency had the Holy Ghost descend upon them and they knew that God had manifested His will... I had had some remarkable spiritual experiences before, particularly in connection with my call as an Apostle, but nothing of this magnitude. All of the brethren at once knew and felt in their souls what the answer to the importuning petition of President Kimball was... Some of the Brethren were weeping. All were sober and somewhat overcome. When President Kimball stood up, several of the Brethren, in turn, threw their arms around him."
As Elder L. Tom Perry described it, "While he was praying we had a marvelous experience. We had just a unity of feeling. The nearest I can describe it is that it was much like what has been recounted as happening at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple. I felt something like the rushing of wind. There was a feeling that came over the whole group. When President Kimball got up he was visibly relieved and overjoyed... I don't think we've had a president more willing to entreat the Lord or more receptive since the prophet Joseph. We knew that he had received the will of the Lord."
As Elder David B. Haight described it, "The Spirit touched each of our hearts with the same message in the same way. Each was witness to a transcendent heavenly event." Eighteen years later he said, "I hope that [my great-grandson] Mark and others will have opportunities such as I had when I was in the temple when President Spencer W. Kimball received the revelation regarding the priesthood. I was the junior member of the Quorum of the Twelve. I was there. I was there with the outpouring of the Spirit in that room so strong that none of us could speak afterwards. We just left quietly to go back to the office. No one could say anything because of the heavenly spiritual experience."
Elder McConkie felt that "this was done by the Lord in this way because it was a revelation of such tremendous significance and import; one that would reverse the whole direction of the Church, procedurally and administratively; one that would affect the living and the dead; one that would affect the whole relationship that we have with the world; one... of such significance that the Lord wanted independent witnesses who could bear record that the thing had happened."
Finally, seeking a confirmation of their decision, President Kimball asked, "Do you mind if I lead you in prayer?" With the Apostles in a circle around the altar, he began to pray. Elder Bruce R. McConkie recalled, "The Lord took over and President Kimball was inspired in his prayer, asking the right questions, as he asked for a manifestation. It was one of those occasions when the one who was mouth in the prayer, prayed by the power of the Spirit and was given expression and guided in the words that were used." As he prayed, all present received an outpouring of the Spirit confirming their feeling that the time had come to extend priesthood and temple blessings to all worthy male members without regard for race or color.
As Elder McConkie described it, "On the day of Pentecost in the Old World it is recorded that cloven tongues of fire rested upon the people. They were trying to put into words what is impossible to express directly. There are no words to describe the sensation, but simultaneously the Twelve and the three members of the First Presidency had the Holy Ghost descend upon them and they knew that God had manifested His will... I had had some remarkable spiritual experiences before, particularly in connection with my call as an Apostle, but nothing of this magnitude. All of the brethren at once knew and felt in their souls what the answer to the importuning petition of President Kimball was... Some of the Brethren were weeping. All were sober and somewhat overcome. When President Kimball stood up, several of the Brethren, in turn, threw their arms around him."
As Elder L. Tom Perry described it, "While he was praying we had a marvelous experience. We had just a unity of feeling. The nearest I can describe it is that it was much like what has been recounted as happening at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple. I felt something like the rushing of wind. There was a feeling that came over the whole group. When President Kimball got up he was visibly relieved and overjoyed... I don't think we've had a president more willing to entreat the Lord or more receptive since the prophet Joseph. We knew that he had received the will of the Lord."
As Elder David B. Haight described it, "The Spirit touched each of our hearts with the same message in the same way. Each was witness to a transcendent heavenly event." Eighteen years later he said, "I hope that [my great-grandson] Mark and others will have opportunities such as I had when I was in the temple when President Spencer W. Kimball received the revelation regarding the priesthood. I was the junior member of the Quorum of the Twelve. I was there. I was there with the outpouring of the Spirit in that room so strong that none of us could speak afterwards. We just left quietly to go back to the office. No one could say anything because of the heavenly spiritual experience."
Elder McConkie felt that "this was done by the Lord in this way because it was a revelation of such tremendous significance and import; one that would reverse the whole direction of the Church, procedurally and administratively; one that would affect the living and the dead; one that would affect the whole relationship that we have with the world; one... of such significance that the Lord wanted independent witnesses who could bear record that the thing had happened."
Mary Frances Sturlaugson
Mary Frances Sturlaugson recalled, "These blessings were what kept me asking. Though I was slowly losing hope that I would ever be blessed to serve a mission, I felt something was going to happen. I wrote to a friend who was in Germany on a mission about the restless feelings I was having. I wrote that I didn't feel I would be in Utah the following year. I wasn't sure where I would be going, but I wasn't worried because wherever it might be would be the Lord's doing.
"On June 8 that same year I was playing in a coed softball game with my BYU ward when one of the players from the opposing team walked over to me between innings. He asked if it was hard. I thought he was referring to first-basing. I laughed and said no, I really loved it. He laughed and explained that he was talking about my people and the priesthood. Very quietly I told him yes, it was hard, very hard, especially when all I wanted to do was to serve my Father in heaven to the fullest, but the color of my skin prevented that. 'It is hard,' I said, 'but I have centered my life on accepting my Father's will and praying that when I fail to understand, he will grant me understanding.' He looked at me and said, 'Someday, someday I know your people will have the priesthood. It probably won't be during our lifetime, but I know it's going to come.' As he walked away I stared after him. My eyes slowly filled with tears. 'If you only knew how desperately I want it to come during my lifetime so I can serve a full-time mission,' I murmured. 'O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God,... that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance.' (Alma 29:1, 9.)
"The very next day the Lord opened the way."
"On June 8 that same year I was playing in a coed softball game with my BYU ward when one of the players from the opposing team walked over to me between innings. He asked if it was hard. I thought he was referring to first-basing. I laughed and said no, I really loved it. He laughed and explained that he was talking about my people and the priesthood. Very quietly I told him yes, it was hard, very hard, especially when all I wanted to do was to serve my Father in heaven to the fullest, but the color of my skin prevented that. 'It is hard,' I said, 'but I have centered my life on accepting my Father's will and praying that when I fail to understand, he will grant me understanding.' He looked at me and said, 'Someday, someday I know your people will have the priesthood. It probably won't be during our lifetime, but I know it's going to come.' As he walked away I stared after him. My eyes slowly filled with tears. 'If you only knew how desperately I want it to come during my lifetime so I can serve a full-time mission,' I murmured. 'O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God,... that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance.' (Alma 29:1, 9.)
"The very next day the Lord opened the way."
Announcing the Revelation
Following the revelation, many of the Apostles wanted to adjourn the meeting, but President Kimball urged them to stay for some unfinished business. He asked Elders Packer, McConkie, and Hinckley to each propose in writing a course of action for announcing the revelation. Over the course of the following week he continued to attend the temple on his own, praying that the rest of the General Authorities would accept the change. The three written proposals were constructed into a composite draft by Francis Gibbons, and at their meeting on June 7 the First Presidency spent a great deal of time revising the exact wording.
On Thursday, June 8, seven years to the day after the first meeting that led to the formation of the Genesis Group, the proposed announcement was shared with the Twelve for comment, and a few minor editorial changes were made. There was some debate as to when it should be released, with some wanting to wait until the October General Conference and others wanting to share it at the mission presidents' seminar the following week. Elder Bruce R. McConkie, however, urged them to release it immediately. "It will leak," he said, "and we have to beat Satan. He'll do something between now and then to make it appear that we're being forced into it." This was a wise prediction, for even without such a "something" critics would later claim that social pressures had forced the policy change.
President Kimball first called Elder Mark E. Petersen in Quito, Ecuador, and informed him of the announcement. Elder Petersen recalled, "I was delighted to know that a new revelation had come from the Lord. I felt the fact of the revelation's coming was more striking than the decision itself. On the telephone I told President Kimball that I fully sustained both the revelation and him one hundred percent." The First Presidency visited Elder Delbert Stapley in the hospital, who said "I'll stay with the Brethren on this."
It was then decided to tell the news first to the other General Authorities, then to the news media, and then to worldwide local church leaders in a letter. Heber Wolsey, managing director of Public Communications, had gone home early because of illness but was called back around four o'clock by President Tanner. After a brief meeting, Brother Wolsey told his associate to be standing by at 7:30 the next morning for an important announcement. That same afternoon Bill Smart, editor of the Deseret News, attended an unrelated meeting with Elder Monson and was quietly told afterward, "Reserve space for an important announcement tomorrow." He asked, "What is it?" Elder Monson replied, "I can't say anything now; it is confidential." He asked, "Can you tell me whether to put it on the front page or B-1?" Elder Monson replied, "You'll know it when you see it!"
The next day at seven a.m., President Kimball then met with the other available General Authorities in the temple. Because they had already held their regular monthly meeting and had been told to postpone travel or cancel appointments for this one, they knew that something big was happening, and speculation ranged from black people and the priesthood to the Second Coming or building a temple in Missouri. Elder Neal A. Maxwell recalled, "I had no inkling what was going on. And as we knelt down to pray, the Spirit told me what it was going to be... and after the prayer, President Kimball began the description. I began to weep." According to Elder Paul H. Dunn, President Kimball told them:
"Thank you for making the necessary arrangements to be here. I want to tell you about some important things. As a boy in Arizona I wondered why the Indians were so poor and looked down upon. I asked my father, who was kind and never too busy to answer my questions, and he told me about the Book of Mormon and its connection with the Indians and their condition. My father never lied to me. Later I asked him about blacks and the priesthood. My father said that the time would come when they would receive the priesthood. I believed him, although it troubled me. I was called as a stake president. When one of the Twelve came I asked him. He said 'I don't know, but the time will come.' I became a General Authority and asked President Grant, 'If I am to represent you and the Lord, I need to be able to answer questions about race and priesthood.' He said that the time would come when that restriction would change. Then one day the mantle fell on me. Brethren, you will never know how many times when you have gone home at night, instead of going home I have come to this room and poured out my heart. Now the Lord has answered me, and the time has come for all worthy men to receive the priesthood. I shared that with my counselors and the Twelve, and after getting their response I present it to you. But I won't announce it to the world without first counseling with you. We are not in a hurry. I want to hear from you."
President Marion G. Romney added, "Brethren, I have a confession to make. I knew President Kimball was searching for an answer, and whenever we discussed the question I told him, 'If you get an answer I will support you with all my strength', but I did not expect him to get an answer. If the decision had been left to me, I would have felt that we've always had that policy and we would stick to it no matter what the opposition. I resisted change in my feelings, but I came to accept it slowly. I have now changed my position 180 degrees. I am not just a supporter of this decision. I am an advocate. When the revelation came, I knew the mind and will of the Lord had been made manifest." The other General Authorities unanimously accepted the revelation.
On Thursday, June 8, seven years to the day after the first meeting that led to the formation of the Genesis Group, the proposed announcement was shared with the Twelve for comment, and a few minor editorial changes were made. There was some debate as to when it should be released, with some wanting to wait until the October General Conference and others wanting to share it at the mission presidents' seminar the following week. Elder Bruce R. McConkie, however, urged them to release it immediately. "It will leak," he said, "and we have to beat Satan. He'll do something between now and then to make it appear that we're being forced into it." This was a wise prediction, for even without such a "something" critics would later claim that social pressures had forced the policy change.
President Kimball first called Elder Mark E. Petersen in Quito, Ecuador, and informed him of the announcement. Elder Petersen recalled, "I was delighted to know that a new revelation had come from the Lord. I felt the fact of the revelation's coming was more striking than the decision itself. On the telephone I told President Kimball that I fully sustained both the revelation and him one hundred percent." The First Presidency visited Elder Delbert Stapley in the hospital, who said "I'll stay with the Brethren on this."
It was then decided to tell the news first to the other General Authorities, then to the news media, and then to worldwide local church leaders in a letter. Heber Wolsey, managing director of Public Communications, had gone home early because of illness but was called back around four o'clock by President Tanner. After a brief meeting, Brother Wolsey told his associate to be standing by at 7:30 the next morning for an important announcement. That same afternoon Bill Smart, editor of the Deseret News, attended an unrelated meeting with Elder Monson and was quietly told afterward, "Reserve space for an important announcement tomorrow." He asked, "What is it?" Elder Monson replied, "I can't say anything now; it is confidential." He asked, "Can you tell me whether to put it on the front page or B-1?" Elder Monson replied, "You'll know it when you see it!"
The next day at seven a.m., President Kimball then met with the other available General Authorities in the temple. Because they had already held their regular monthly meeting and had been told to postpone travel or cancel appointments for this one, they knew that something big was happening, and speculation ranged from black people and the priesthood to the Second Coming or building a temple in Missouri. Elder Neal A. Maxwell recalled, "I had no inkling what was going on. And as we knelt down to pray, the Spirit told me what it was going to be... and after the prayer, President Kimball began the description. I began to weep." According to Elder Paul H. Dunn, President Kimball told them:
"Thank you for making the necessary arrangements to be here. I want to tell you about some important things. As a boy in Arizona I wondered why the Indians were so poor and looked down upon. I asked my father, who was kind and never too busy to answer my questions, and he told me about the Book of Mormon and its connection with the Indians and their condition. My father never lied to me. Later I asked him about blacks and the priesthood. My father said that the time would come when they would receive the priesthood. I believed him, although it troubled me. I was called as a stake president. When one of the Twelve came I asked him. He said 'I don't know, but the time will come.' I became a General Authority and asked President Grant, 'If I am to represent you and the Lord, I need to be able to answer questions about race and priesthood.' He said that the time would come when that restriction would change. Then one day the mantle fell on me. Brethren, you will never know how many times when you have gone home at night, instead of going home I have come to this room and poured out my heart. Now the Lord has answered me, and the time has come for all worthy men to receive the priesthood. I shared that with my counselors and the Twelve, and after getting their response I present it to you. But I won't announce it to the world without first counseling with you. We are not in a hurry. I want to hear from you."
President Marion G. Romney added, "Brethren, I have a confession to make. I knew President Kimball was searching for an answer, and whenever we discussed the question I told him, 'If you get an answer I will support you with all my strength', but I did not expect him to get an answer. If the decision had been left to me, I would have felt that we've always had that policy and we would stick to it no matter what the opposition. I resisted change in my feelings, but I came to accept it slowly. I have now changed my position 180 degrees. I am not just a supporter of this decision. I am an advocate. When the revelation came, I knew the mind and will of the Lord had been made manifest." The other General Authorities unanimously accepted the revelation.
The letter outlining the revelation was then released, with instructions to give it the widest possible dissemination but to avoid any interpretation or commentary. With no advance notice, it spread like wildfire. It was the lead story on NBC News that evening, and made the front page of the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Washington Post. Time and Newsweek stopped their presses for it. Elder Haight recalled, "[J]ust a few hours after the announcement was made to the press, I was assigned to attend a stake conference in Detroit, Michigan. When my plane landed in Chicago, I noticed an edition of the Chicago Tribune on the newsstand. The headline in the paper said, 'Mormons Give Blacks Priesthood'. And the subheading said, 'President Kimball Claims to Have Received a Revelation'.
"I bought a copy of the newspaper. I stared at one word in that subheading - claims. It stood out to me just like it was in red neon. As I walked along the hallway to make my plane connection I thought, Here I am now in Chicago walking through this busy airport, yet I was a witness to this revelation. I was there. I witnessed it. I felt that heavenly influence. I was part of it. Little did the editor of that newspaper realize the truth of that revelation when he wrote, '...Claims to Have Received a Revelation.' Little did he know, or the printer, or the man who put the ink on the press, or the one who delivered the newspaper - little did any of them know that it was truly a revelation from God. Little did they know what I knew because I was a witness to it."
When Dallas reporter Bill Brown was sent to church headquarters to report the news, he discovered to his surprise that the ban had been operating out of principle rather than bigotry. He later said, "I felt that I was being a witness to history. I remember being emotional. I sensed a lot of happiness in the Church offices... a great burden being lifted. There was a sense of joy; people were genuinely thrilled... I experienced a change in feelings toward the Church that day." He read on the air, "God has spoken to the prophet of the Mormon Church."
This revelation became perhaps the most pivotal and defining moment in church history since its beginning, and church members would remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news.
"I bought a copy of the newspaper. I stared at one word in that subheading - claims. It stood out to me just like it was in red neon. As I walked along the hallway to make my plane connection I thought, Here I am now in Chicago walking through this busy airport, yet I was a witness to this revelation. I was there. I witnessed it. I felt that heavenly influence. I was part of it. Little did the editor of that newspaper realize the truth of that revelation when he wrote, '...Claims to Have Received a Revelation.' Little did he know, or the printer, or the man who put the ink on the press, or the one who delivered the newspaper - little did any of them know that it was truly a revelation from God. Little did they know what I knew because I was a witness to it."
When Dallas reporter Bill Brown was sent to church headquarters to report the news, he discovered to his surprise that the ban had been operating out of principle rather than bigotry. He later said, "I felt that I was being a witness to history. I remember being emotional. I sensed a lot of happiness in the Church offices... a great burden being lifted. There was a sense of joy; people were genuinely thrilled... I experienced a change in feelings toward the Church that day." He read on the air, "God has spoken to the prophet of the Mormon Church."
This revelation became perhaps the most pivotal and defining moment in church history since its beginning, and church members would remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news.
Positive Reactions
Heber Wolsey recalled, "On returning to the office [after lunch], I opened the door and saw Darius Gray looking fondly out the window at the Salt Lake Temple. He rushed to me, and we threw our arms around each other and wept for gratitude and joy. When we regained a little composure, I whispered, 'I never thought...' 'I always knew,' said Darius. 'I just didn't know if it would happen on this side of the veil.' '...in our lifetime!' Darius looked at me, then out the window at the temple, and then at me again. He closed his eyes, opened them slowly, and said softly, 'God is good.'"
Jerri Thornton Hale heard the news during a television news break, and immediately knelt in prayer to ask God if it was true. Before she could finish asking, "my whole bosom began to burn. My whole body seemed to burn from within. It was true! 'Does this mean I can go on a mission?' I inquired. 'Yes,' came the reply." She felt that this experience taught her early in her "spiritual growth not to lean on or depend on my own understanding. As I searched the scriptures diligently, prayed always, and believed that I would receive an answer to my prayers, I often did."
Of the aftermath she later said, "I got a lot of static about why blacks couldn't hold the priesthood. I ran into so many blacks who did not even know they could be members in the Mormon Church... When the revelation came, I thought maybe there were thousands and thousands of blacks in the Church, and they would all come out of the woodwork when the revelation was announced. None came. There were still very few."
Mary Frances Sturlaugson wrote, "I will always remember June 9, 1978. I will always cherish the memory of the reaction of the Saints around me. Not only did I feel the heavens rejoicing, but I saw and heard the Saints around me doing the same. That special feeling radiated in the air.
"I first heard the news in the employment office in downtown Provo. Bishop Bush, bishop of the ward I had been in when I came to Provo, came up to me and asked if I remembered him. He told me that he had some news that was going to change my life. I looked up at him, puzzled, and asked what it was.
'Your people have just been given the blessing of the priesthood.'
'Please don't joke with me about something like that.'
"At that instant a young man who had been talking on the phone stood up and, with his fists stretched above his head, shouted 'All right!' Cold chills went completely through my body. All I could say was, 'I don't believe it's happened.' An older man beside me kept repeating, 'I'll be darned, I'll be darned.'
"As I walked outside, crying like a happy kid at Christmastime, horns were honking like crazy. I stopped for a red light and a car pulled up. The driver asked me if I had heard what he had just heard. I half mumbled and half nodded a disbelieving yes. He whooped and started blowing his horn as he drove off. When I arrived at my apartment my roommates ran out to meet me, and we jumped up and down screaming with joy. Finally we went inside and each said a prayer, sobs punctuating every one.
"That night I offered more thanks for the blessing that Father in heaven had added to my life that day. Throughout that night I awakened and stared at the BYU newspaper headlines, 'Blacks Get Priesthood.' I kept praying that I wasn't dreaming."
S. Mark Barnes recalled, "I was in the Language Training Mission (now the MTC), preparing to leave on my mission to Japan. Despite all of the prior church opposition to black ordination, when the announcement came, new missionaries, myself included, were running through the halls, shouting and celebrating this glorious revelation."
Black Latter-day Saint Isaac Thomas, on tour with the BYU Young Ambassadors, recalled, "I was like, 'Wait a minute. Did I sleep through the Millennium? Let me go see what's coming in these clouds.' It was like a surreal dream sequence. My life passed before my eyes. Gary says, 'You better get out and get on that bus before they come off it and flood this street.' They are screaming, 'Bear your testimony.' Bear my testimony? I couldn't even think of my name. I don't even know what I said, to be honest with you. I sit down by Val Lindsey, the director. I said, 'Val, what are we going to do now?' He said, 'The Lord has spoken to a prophet of God.' From that point on, those kids started singing. 'The Spirit of God like a fire is burning.' Some of them bore their testimony. 'I am a child of God.' 'I know that my Redeemer lives.' The melodies - it was like heaven."
Black Latter-day Saint Victor Nugent recalled, "I was at my office at Alpart [Jamaica]. It was two o'clock in the afternoon, six minutes past two in my records that I got [a message from Richard Millett] on the phone and I called back. He said, 'Brother Nugent, are you sitting?' I said, 'Yes.' He told me, and I just couldn't believe. If it wasn't coming directly from the mission president, I probably would not have believed. I was just in shock, because it was the last thing I expected to hear... I mean for quite a while I couldn't say anything. I was just stunned. It was the last thing I ever expected. I just said, 'What is this?' Of course, I knew exactly what it meant, and I just started to tremble. The tears came to my eyes." Of visiting the Salt Lake Temple a few months later he said, "It was just a feeling that it was out of this world! When I went through those temple doors I still wasn't believing I was there. I felt I had gone to heaven and there were these angels walking around."
Black Latter-day Saint Helen Kennedy recalled, "I thought the world was going to come to an end because the missionaries said that we wouldn't get that in my lifetime... It was just a beautiful surprise. No bells rang, no stars started down, but it was just really something. Sometimes I think, 'Why did the Lord wait so long?' I had a kind of a rough time with my kids. I know that the gospel really helped me... My kids would always say, 'My mom has really changed.' And I know that I did... I am proud of the things that I have learned about the Lord, about forgiveness, about the plan of salvation, and about love."
New York lawyer George H. Mortimer recounted, "I was working in the public search room at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C.... The clerk had a radio playing and as I walked past the little office I heard the announcer say, 'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has just made public a revelation that Negroes may now hold the priesthood.' I will always remember the thrill... The following Sunday I was in Manhattan... [and] every black member over 12 years of age [was ordained] to an appropriate office in the Priesthood. The joy expressed in the faces... is indescribable."
Missionary and future scholar Terryl Givens recalled, "Brazil is a country, of course, that has many mixed lineages and people of mixed ancestries, and [December] 1976 was an era before the church had opened the priesthood to people of all races. Many of us didn't understand that doctrine, but we were faithful missionaries nonetheless....
"I remember one experience in particular when we were teaching a wonderful, wonderful family of mixed ancestry, and they wanted to be baptized members of the church. So we taught them the lessons, and they made wonderful progress. They attended services; they looked forward to going to the temple, to sending their sons on missions. It was heartbreaking for us to know that all of those blessings of the temple and the priesthood weren't going to be available to them, and yet we deferred explaining that aspect of priesthood doctrine to them.
"We finally went to teaching the last discussion before their baptism. They were to be baptized on a Sunday. We went there on a Friday evening, and we opened our visit with prayer, and we had a wonderful conversation and talked to them about the coming baptism and sensed their excitement, their desire to follow through with that commitment. And then I felt that I needed to just close our meeting with prayer and leave. We did so, and on the way home my companion said, 'But Elder Givens, you know that we can't baptize them [as] members of the church without their understanding the limitations on who may have the priesthood.' I said, 'I know that,' and yet I just wasn't able to, and that was the first time in two years of missionary work that I had felt just absolutely incapable of explaining that doctrine to an investigator of the church.
"We went home, not knowing what was going to happen. As we walked to our apartment, we passed the apartment of the district leaders, the other missionaries, and one of them came running out, and he said, 'Elders, have you heard the word?' And we said, 'What?' And he said: 'President Kimball has had a revelation. The priesthood is now going to be available to all the people.' I remember we ran from there to the stake president's house, and never did you see such a scene of gladness and weeping and rejoicing. And a day later the wonderful family was baptized into the church. I'm sure that they enjoyed the blessings of the temple and sent their sons on missions. It was great testimony to me of the subtle, quiet workings of the Spirit, and that there had been a reason why I hadn't been able to talk about a prohibition which as of that moment was no longer in force."
William Grant Bangerter, General Authority administrator for Brazil, said, "I was present on a few occasions when the announcement was made in priesthood meeting or in public meetings. People didn't respond as they would in the spirit of the Fourth of July or something like that, with excitement and tears, but their emotions were very deep. I think their response would be characterized by heaving great sighs of emotion and raising their eyes to heaven in the spirit of thanksgiving and prayer and tears flowing freely from their eyes and just quietly trying to absorb the meaning of all that had taken place."
Future Seventy and Church Historian Marlin K. Jensen recalled, "I know right where I was. I was on 26th Street in Ogden, Utah, and I was in my car; I heard it on the car radio. I was absolutely thrilled, stunned, thrilled, elated, and have been equally elated with the way that has played out now in the intervening 20 or so years."
Blake, the aforementioned missionary in Italy, wrote, "As I was leaving my apartment to go to tell Mary about the priesthood ban, I received a call from the APs (they knew of my mini-crisis). They said that I shouldn't tell Mary that Africans cannot have the priesthood because they had just received a communication from Salt Lake in the mission office stating that the ban on Africans having the priesthood had been revoked. I was very upset with them. I yelled at them over the phone: 'How could you joke about a matter like this? You know how much I love this woman and how important this is to me. I cannot believe you'd joke about it.' They insisted that they weren't joking. And then one of the APs said, 'wait just a second.' He put the Mission President on the phone.
"There was one thing I knew about my Mission President. This man would never tell a joke. When he told me that it was true that Pres. Kimball had received a revelation lifting the priesthood ban, I fell to my knees with tears streaming down my face. I thanked my Heavenly Father right there. I still told Mary about the ban on the priesthood, but it just didn't have the same import. It was so strange. I said, 'until yesterday, Africans in our Church could not hold the priesthood. But that changed today and now they can.' When she asked me if they changed the policy just for her I said, 'You bet your life!' (She spoke English a little and Italian hardly at all). She smiled and felt more than a bit special. However, the truth is that I always felt that my Father heard my prayer... and the prayers of many others that converged at the perfect moment for me and for Mary - both of them."
Gregory Prince recalled, "I was working at the National Institutes of Health. It was on a Friday. My wife was a radio announcer in a small town in Maryland. She called me and said, 'Guess what?' - because she had been reading the news on the air, and they had brought in the wire service report. She looked at it with disbelief, but read it and then called me. Spencer Kimball had announced to the world that this policy had been reversed by revelation. Now all worthy men, regardless of ancestry, could be ordained to the priesthood. It was a shockwave that went around the world... I was not aware, in the wake of the announcement of the revelation, of anybody in the church who had anything other than a sense of joy and relief. It was a burden lifted off our backs. Some had been crushed by the burden and had left. Some were sagging. [For] some it may have been a light burden, but they knew it was there and were glad that it was gone. I was an Elder's Quorum president then, and it was only a few weeks after that that I ordained a black man in my quorum. It was an interesting feeling - it was like, okay, things are right in the world where they weren't right in the world before."
Future Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland recalled, "I can remember exactly where I was. For us that's the 'where we [were] when Kennedy was shot,' this deep, deep, spiritual, emotional moment in the history of the Church. I was a very young commissioner of education, still in my 30s, and I was coming over from my office in the church office building to the suite of General Authority offices for something or other... I walked into the office of the General Authority I was going to see, and he said, 'Have you heard the news?' This was barely moments out of the temple meeting and the announcement where it was official. And I said: 'What news? I haven't heard any news.' And he said all worthy men - regardless of race or status or circumstance - all worthy men are to receive priesthood.
"You're going to think all I do is cry, but this is in the same family as that missionary experience I described to you. I started to cry, and I was absolutely uncontrollable. I felt my way to a chair... and I sort of slumped from the doorway into the chair and held my head, my face in my hands and sobbed....
"There's no issue in all my life that I had prayed more regarding - praying that it would change, praying that it would come in due time. I was willing to have the Lord speak, and I was loyal to the position and the brethren and the whole concept, but there was nothing about which I had anguished more or about which I had prayed more. And for that to be said in my lifetime, when I wasn't sure it would happen in my lifetime,... it was one of the absolute happiest days of my life...."
The Salt Lake chapter of the NAACP sent church headquarters a telegram saying, "Congratulations to you in the LDS Church upon today's announcement that all male members regardless of race shall be received into the priesthood. We have been of the opinion for many years that your prior practice of exclusion of blacks from progression... has extended into secular affairs and has done much to sustain discrimination in areas of employment, housing, education and cultural affairs. Your decision today will do much to change that opinion and undoubtedly will have an effect toward eradication of unjustifiable treatment to any people based on race."
Rabbi Abner Bergman of the Congregation Kol Ami said, "For some time the Mormon people have practiced equality and fairness in their dealings with human beings of different faiths and racial backgrounds. The statement issued by the Church serves to give an outward manifestation to what has long been unspoken personal relationships of equality between Mormons and others. Because this statement will carry the weight of law within the Church, it will serve to make more fully manifest the ideals and equality the Church upholds."
U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who had previously met with President Kimball and praised the Church's welfare and community service programs, sent him a telegram saying "I welcome today your announcement as president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that henceforth all worthy men in your church without regard for race or color may have conferred upon them the priesthood of your church. I commend you for your compassionate prayerfulness and courage in receiving a new doctrine. This announcement brings a healing spirit to the world and reminds all men and women that they are truly brothers and sisters."
In response to an ecclesiastical leader of another faith who claimed that the ban was an internal matter, a Salt Lake Tribune editorial called "A Burden is Lifted" said, "If Salt Lake City and Utah were not so closely identified with the LDS Church and all Utahns [sic] not in some way affected by its policies, this significant action could be called strictly a Mormon matter. But it is much more than that. In a very real way a burden has been lifted from all Utahns, whether members of the LDS faith or of other beliefs."
Lisa Torcasso Downing recalled, "I was a teenage investigator in June of 1978. I lived in a white, affluent community in California - so white that the only black student in the school district was an exchange student from an African nation. He was tall and skinny with shiny white teeth and a comb lodged in his hair. His exterior defined him for me because I never introduced myself, seeing as he wasn’t in my class and doing so would’ve felt awkward to me. He remained over there - a curiosity that didn’t touch my life - and I was here. I didn’t see how racial ignorance had its claws in me.
"The irony is that it was the priesthood ban and my disgust for its institutionalized bigotry that brought the 'Mormon Church' to my attention, led to my investigation and eventual conversion. The closet shelf where we put troublesome things was built for the priesthood ban and its attendant theology. I was using it before and after my baptism, which occurred six months after the ban ended.
"Here’s an ugly truth. Even with the ban gone, no one expected black people to join. The theology of the Church continued to be that black skin marked spirits who had been less committed to righteousness during the War in Heaven. Members understood this 'hard doctrine' would continue to be 'a stumbling block' for black people. I practiced my new faith because the glitch in the theology didn’t affect me.... Interestingly, forty years after I distanced myself... from the racial theology of the Church, I became the grandmother of the most beautiful mixed-race blessing ever sent from heaven.
"If I’m honest, the joy I and other white LDS felt when the ban was lifted wasn’t joy for black people. It was for me and other white LDS. I was happy because my race would no longer live under the burden of a bigoted theology of exclusion. The [white] Church could move along, even when sending missionaries to predominantly black communities and nations, with less fear of repudiation. 'Yes, we used to ban blacks from the priesthood, but not anymore.' That was a truth that set us free. Today, I’m ashamed and so sorry for my wrong-fully placed joy, for not recognizing my own blindness, and for not speaking out." (Brackets in original)
A BYU class conducted a random telephone survey of Utah County residents and found, as reported in the Daily Universe, "Some 45 percent of those who heard of the doctrine from personal sources expressed doubt that the news was true. This compares with only 25 percent of those who learned from media sources. Sixty-two percent of the former group expressed shock, compared with 52 percent of the latter... Those surveyed appeared surprised by the announcement, Haroldsen said. Thirty-nine percent said they did not think 'it would ever happen' - that the priesthood would ever be given to blacks. Another 40 percent expected it years in the future, after Christ's return, during the Millennium, or 'not in my lifetime'... In trying to explain how they reacted to the news, 14 persons compared its impact with that of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Another 13 compared it to the news of the death of an LDS Church president. Eight compared it to a natural disaster, especially the Teton dam break. Others compared the news with the death of a family member or friend, with a declaration of war, or other major political event."
Jerri Thornton Hale heard the news during a television news break, and immediately knelt in prayer to ask God if it was true. Before she could finish asking, "my whole bosom began to burn. My whole body seemed to burn from within. It was true! 'Does this mean I can go on a mission?' I inquired. 'Yes,' came the reply." She felt that this experience taught her early in her "spiritual growth not to lean on or depend on my own understanding. As I searched the scriptures diligently, prayed always, and believed that I would receive an answer to my prayers, I often did."
Of the aftermath she later said, "I got a lot of static about why blacks couldn't hold the priesthood. I ran into so many blacks who did not even know they could be members in the Mormon Church... When the revelation came, I thought maybe there were thousands and thousands of blacks in the Church, and they would all come out of the woodwork when the revelation was announced. None came. There were still very few."
Mary Frances Sturlaugson wrote, "I will always remember June 9, 1978. I will always cherish the memory of the reaction of the Saints around me. Not only did I feel the heavens rejoicing, but I saw and heard the Saints around me doing the same. That special feeling radiated in the air.
"I first heard the news in the employment office in downtown Provo. Bishop Bush, bishop of the ward I had been in when I came to Provo, came up to me and asked if I remembered him. He told me that he had some news that was going to change my life. I looked up at him, puzzled, and asked what it was.
'Your people have just been given the blessing of the priesthood.'
'Please don't joke with me about something like that.'
"At that instant a young man who had been talking on the phone stood up and, with his fists stretched above his head, shouted 'All right!' Cold chills went completely through my body. All I could say was, 'I don't believe it's happened.' An older man beside me kept repeating, 'I'll be darned, I'll be darned.'
"As I walked outside, crying like a happy kid at Christmastime, horns were honking like crazy. I stopped for a red light and a car pulled up. The driver asked me if I had heard what he had just heard. I half mumbled and half nodded a disbelieving yes. He whooped and started blowing his horn as he drove off. When I arrived at my apartment my roommates ran out to meet me, and we jumped up and down screaming with joy. Finally we went inside and each said a prayer, sobs punctuating every one.
"That night I offered more thanks for the blessing that Father in heaven had added to my life that day. Throughout that night I awakened and stared at the BYU newspaper headlines, 'Blacks Get Priesthood.' I kept praying that I wasn't dreaming."
S. Mark Barnes recalled, "I was in the Language Training Mission (now the MTC), preparing to leave on my mission to Japan. Despite all of the prior church opposition to black ordination, when the announcement came, new missionaries, myself included, were running through the halls, shouting and celebrating this glorious revelation."
Black Latter-day Saint Isaac Thomas, on tour with the BYU Young Ambassadors, recalled, "I was like, 'Wait a minute. Did I sleep through the Millennium? Let me go see what's coming in these clouds.' It was like a surreal dream sequence. My life passed before my eyes. Gary says, 'You better get out and get on that bus before they come off it and flood this street.' They are screaming, 'Bear your testimony.' Bear my testimony? I couldn't even think of my name. I don't even know what I said, to be honest with you. I sit down by Val Lindsey, the director. I said, 'Val, what are we going to do now?' He said, 'The Lord has spoken to a prophet of God.' From that point on, those kids started singing. 'The Spirit of God like a fire is burning.' Some of them bore their testimony. 'I am a child of God.' 'I know that my Redeemer lives.' The melodies - it was like heaven."
Black Latter-day Saint Victor Nugent recalled, "I was at my office at Alpart [Jamaica]. It was two o'clock in the afternoon, six minutes past two in my records that I got [a message from Richard Millett] on the phone and I called back. He said, 'Brother Nugent, are you sitting?' I said, 'Yes.' He told me, and I just couldn't believe. If it wasn't coming directly from the mission president, I probably would not have believed. I was just in shock, because it was the last thing I expected to hear... I mean for quite a while I couldn't say anything. I was just stunned. It was the last thing I ever expected. I just said, 'What is this?' Of course, I knew exactly what it meant, and I just started to tremble. The tears came to my eyes." Of visiting the Salt Lake Temple a few months later he said, "It was just a feeling that it was out of this world! When I went through those temple doors I still wasn't believing I was there. I felt I had gone to heaven and there were these angels walking around."
Black Latter-day Saint Helen Kennedy recalled, "I thought the world was going to come to an end because the missionaries said that we wouldn't get that in my lifetime... It was just a beautiful surprise. No bells rang, no stars started down, but it was just really something. Sometimes I think, 'Why did the Lord wait so long?' I had a kind of a rough time with my kids. I know that the gospel really helped me... My kids would always say, 'My mom has really changed.' And I know that I did... I am proud of the things that I have learned about the Lord, about forgiveness, about the plan of salvation, and about love."
New York lawyer George H. Mortimer recounted, "I was working in the public search room at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C.... The clerk had a radio playing and as I walked past the little office I heard the announcer say, 'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has just made public a revelation that Negroes may now hold the priesthood.' I will always remember the thrill... The following Sunday I was in Manhattan... [and] every black member over 12 years of age [was ordained] to an appropriate office in the Priesthood. The joy expressed in the faces... is indescribable."
Missionary and future scholar Terryl Givens recalled, "Brazil is a country, of course, that has many mixed lineages and people of mixed ancestries, and [December] 1976 was an era before the church had opened the priesthood to people of all races. Many of us didn't understand that doctrine, but we were faithful missionaries nonetheless....
"I remember one experience in particular when we were teaching a wonderful, wonderful family of mixed ancestry, and they wanted to be baptized members of the church. So we taught them the lessons, and they made wonderful progress. They attended services; they looked forward to going to the temple, to sending their sons on missions. It was heartbreaking for us to know that all of those blessings of the temple and the priesthood weren't going to be available to them, and yet we deferred explaining that aspect of priesthood doctrine to them.
"We finally went to teaching the last discussion before their baptism. They were to be baptized on a Sunday. We went there on a Friday evening, and we opened our visit with prayer, and we had a wonderful conversation and talked to them about the coming baptism and sensed their excitement, their desire to follow through with that commitment. And then I felt that I needed to just close our meeting with prayer and leave. We did so, and on the way home my companion said, 'But Elder Givens, you know that we can't baptize them [as] members of the church without their understanding the limitations on who may have the priesthood.' I said, 'I know that,' and yet I just wasn't able to, and that was the first time in two years of missionary work that I had felt just absolutely incapable of explaining that doctrine to an investigator of the church.
"We went home, not knowing what was going to happen. As we walked to our apartment, we passed the apartment of the district leaders, the other missionaries, and one of them came running out, and he said, 'Elders, have you heard the word?' And we said, 'What?' And he said: 'President Kimball has had a revelation. The priesthood is now going to be available to all the people.' I remember we ran from there to the stake president's house, and never did you see such a scene of gladness and weeping and rejoicing. And a day later the wonderful family was baptized into the church. I'm sure that they enjoyed the blessings of the temple and sent their sons on missions. It was great testimony to me of the subtle, quiet workings of the Spirit, and that there had been a reason why I hadn't been able to talk about a prohibition which as of that moment was no longer in force."
William Grant Bangerter, General Authority administrator for Brazil, said, "I was present on a few occasions when the announcement was made in priesthood meeting or in public meetings. People didn't respond as they would in the spirit of the Fourth of July or something like that, with excitement and tears, but their emotions were very deep. I think their response would be characterized by heaving great sighs of emotion and raising their eyes to heaven in the spirit of thanksgiving and prayer and tears flowing freely from their eyes and just quietly trying to absorb the meaning of all that had taken place."
Future Seventy and Church Historian Marlin K. Jensen recalled, "I know right where I was. I was on 26th Street in Ogden, Utah, and I was in my car; I heard it on the car radio. I was absolutely thrilled, stunned, thrilled, elated, and have been equally elated with the way that has played out now in the intervening 20 or so years."
Blake, the aforementioned missionary in Italy, wrote, "As I was leaving my apartment to go to tell Mary about the priesthood ban, I received a call from the APs (they knew of my mini-crisis). They said that I shouldn't tell Mary that Africans cannot have the priesthood because they had just received a communication from Salt Lake in the mission office stating that the ban on Africans having the priesthood had been revoked. I was very upset with them. I yelled at them over the phone: 'How could you joke about a matter like this? You know how much I love this woman and how important this is to me. I cannot believe you'd joke about it.' They insisted that they weren't joking. And then one of the APs said, 'wait just a second.' He put the Mission President on the phone.
"There was one thing I knew about my Mission President. This man would never tell a joke. When he told me that it was true that Pres. Kimball had received a revelation lifting the priesthood ban, I fell to my knees with tears streaming down my face. I thanked my Heavenly Father right there. I still told Mary about the ban on the priesthood, but it just didn't have the same import. It was so strange. I said, 'until yesterday, Africans in our Church could not hold the priesthood. But that changed today and now they can.' When she asked me if they changed the policy just for her I said, 'You bet your life!' (She spoke English a little and Italian hardly at all). She smiled and felt more than a bit special. However, the truth is that I always felt that my Father heard my prayer... and the prayers of many others that converged at the perfect moment for me and for Mary - both of them."
Gregory Prince recalled, "I was working at the National Institutes of Health. It was on a Friday. My wife was a radio announcer in a small town in Maryland. She called me and said, 'Guess what?' - because she had been reading the news on the air, and they had brought in the wire service report. She looked at it with disbelief, but read it and then called me. Spencer Kimball had announced to the world that this policy had been reversed by revelation. Now all worthy men, regardless of ancestry, could be ordained to the priesthood. It was a shockwave that went around the world... I was not aware, in the wake of the announcement of the revelation, of anybody in the church who had anything other than a sense of joy and relief. It was a burden lifted off our backs. Some had been crushed by the burden and had left. Some were sagging. [For] some it may have been a light burden, but they knew it was there and were glad that it was gone. I was an Elder's Quorum president then, and it was only a few weeks after that that I ordained a black man in my quorum. It was an interesting feeling - it was like, okay, things are right in the world where they weren't right in the world before."
Future Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland recalled, "I can remember exactly where I was. For us that's the 'where we [were] when Kennedy was shot,' this deep, deep, spiritual, emotional moment in the history of the Church. I was a very young commissioner of education, still in my 30s, and I was coming over from my office in the church office building to the suite of General Authority offices for something or other... I walked into the office of the General Authority I was going to see, and he said, 'Have you heard the news?' This was barely moments out of the temple meeting and the announcement where it was official. And I said: 'What news? I haven't heard any news.' And he said all worthy men - regardless of race or status or circumstance - all worthy men are to receive priesthood.
"You're going to think all I do is cry, but this is in the same family as that missionary experience I described to you. I started to cry, and I was absolutely uncontrollable. I felt my way to a chair... and I sort of slumped from the doorway into the chair and held my head, my face in my hands and sobbed....
"There's no issue in all my life that I had prayed more regarding - praying that it would change, praying that it would come in due time. I was willing to have the Lord speak, and I was loyal to the position and the brethren and the whole concept, but there was nothing about which I had anguished more or about which I had prayed more. And for that to be said in my lifetime, when I wasn't sure it would happen in my lifetime,... it was one of the absolute happiest days of my life...."
The Salt Lake chapter of the NAACP sent church headquarters a telegram saying, "Congratulations to you in the LDS Church upon today's announcement that all male members regardless of race shall be received into the priesthood. We have been of the opinion for many years that your prior practice of exclusion of blacks from progression... has extended into secular affairs and has done much to sustain discrimination in areas of employment, housing, education and cultural affairs. Your decision today will do much to change that opinion and undoubtedly will have an effect toward eradication of unjustifiable treatment to any people based on race."
Rabbi Abner Bergman of the Congregation Kol Ami said, "For some time the Mormon people have practiced equality and fairness in their dealings with human beings of different faiths and racial backgrounds. The statement issued by the Church serves to give an outward manifestation to what has long been unspoken personal relationships of equality between Mormons and others. Because this statement will carry the weight of law within the Church, it will serve to make more fully manifest the ideals and equality the Church upholds."
U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who had previously met with President Kimball and praised the Church's welfare and community service programs, sent him a telegram saying "I welcome today your announcement as president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that henceforth all worthy men in your church without regard for race or color may have conferred upon them the priesthood of your church. I commend you for your compassionate prayerfulness and courage in receiving a new doctrine. This announcement brings a healing spirit to the world and reminds all men and women that they are truly brothers and sisters."
In response to an ecclesiastical leader of another faith who claimed that the ban was an internal matter, a Salt Lake Tribune editorial called "A Burden is Lifted" said, "If Salt Lake City and Utah were not so closely identified with the LDS Church and all Utahns [sic] not in some way affected by its policies, this significant action could be called strictly a Mormon matter. But it is much more than that. In a very real way a burden has been lifted from all Utahns, whether members of the LDS faith or of other beliefs."
Lisa Torcasso Downing recalled, "I was a teenage investigator in June of 1978. I lived in a white, affluent community in California - so white that the only black student in the school district was an exchange student from an African nation. He was tall and skinny with shiny white teeth and a comb lodged in his hair. His exterior defined him for me because I never introduced myself, seeing as he wasn’t in my class and doing so would’ve felt awkward to me. He remained over there - a curiosity that didn’t touch my life - and I was here. I didn’t see how racial ignorance had its claws in me.
"The irony is that it was the priesthood ban and my disgust for its institutionalized bigotry that brought the 'Mormon Church' to my attention, led to my investigation and eventual conversion. The closet shelf where we put troublesome things was built for the priesthood ban and its attendant theology. I was using it before and after my baptism, which occurred six months after the ban ended.
"Here’s an ugly truth. Even with the ban gone, no one expected black people to join. The theology of the Church continued to be that black skin marked spirits who had been less committed to righteousness during the War in Heaven. Members understood this 'hard doctrine' would continue to be 'a stumbling block' for black people. I practiced my new faith because the glitch in the theology didn’t affect me.... Interestingly, forty years after I distanced myself... from the racial theology of the Church, I became the grandmother of the most beautiful mixed-race blessing ever sent from heaven.
"If I’m honest, the joy I and other white LDS felt when the ban was lifted wasn’t joy for black people. It was for me and other white LDS. I was happy because my race would no longer live under the burden of a bigoted theology of exclusion. The [white] Church could move along, even when sending missionaries to predominantly black communities and nations, with less fear of repudiation. 'Yes, we used to ban blacks from the priesthood, but not anymore.' That was a truth that set us free. Today, I’m ashamed and so sorry for my wrong-fully placed joy, for not recognizing my own blindness, and for not speaking out." (Brackets in original)
A BYU class conducted a random telephone survey of Utah County residents and found, as reported in the Daily Universe, "Some 45 percent of those who heard of the doctrine from personal sources expressed doubt that the news was true. This compares with only 25 percent of those who learned from media sources. Sixty-two percent of the former group expressed shock, compared with 52 percent of the latter... Those surveyed appeared surprised by the announcement, Haroldsen said. Thirty-nine percent said they did not think 'it would ever happen' - that the priesthood would ever be given to blacks. Another 40 percent expected it years in the future, after Christ's return, during the Millennium, or 'not in my lifetime'... In trying to explain how they reacted to the news, 14 persons compared its impact with that of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Another 13 compared it to the news of the death of an LDS Church president. Eight compared it to a natural disaster, especially the Teton dam break. Others compared the news with the death of a family member or friend, with a declaration of war, or other major political event."
Negative Reactions
In addition to over a hundred letters of appreciation from members over the next few days, President Kimball received about thirty negative ones, mostly from non-members. They said things like "You ostensibly had a 'revelation' - opportunistically, one fears." "I and many others really had a big laugh about your recent revelation." "Kimball, you faker." "A senile old man claims he had a revelation." More hateful ones said things like, "The Niggers and the Jews they taking over the world." "You are setting a path of destruction and caious [sic] for the Mormon Church." "Christian-white societies are inundated with parasitic colored." "God 'changes not', and he does not accept Negro race priests." "You are a traitor to your own race."
A few upset letters did come from members. "You senile old bastard... Even the black animals are laughing at us and planning for the 'take over' as they call it... You stupid fool... Our church shall curse the day you were born." "I request that my name be taken off the LDS Church records. You gave the Niggers the priesthood. This tells that you are liers [sic] and the Book of Mormon is a fraud." "I could have accepted and respected your decision if you had been honest enough to make the following statement: 'The doctrine is being changed due to changing times and pressures from the bureaucratic government.' To claim a vision and lay the church open to further ridicule I can't accept with a clear conscience... my only wish is to have my name removed from the records of membership."
William A. Wilson and Richard C. Poulsen wrote, "A new cycle of jokes which developed immediately following the announcement suggests that we should accept the Arrington/Bitton statement with some caution. These recent jokes seemed almost ubiquitous, at least along the Wasatch Front. Practically everywhere we turned we heard someone telling one. Even Latter-day Saints who do not normally engage in joke-telling seemed captivated by these jokes and shared them willingly.
"Some of the jokes were simply reworkings of earlier forms. For example, a few years ago a popular question was:
"Q: How do you know when the Millennium is here?
A. When you open your door and hear 'Hi! Wees you new home teachers.'
"It then became:
"Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Isa.
Isa who?
Isa yo new home teacher.
"The old riddle, 'Why are crows black? Because they wouldn't eat crickets,' became 'Crows can now eat crickets.' But most of the items were new inventions. A few examples:
"They've taken down the statue of Moroni from the temple.
Yeah, they're replacing it with one of Louis Armstrong.
"Do you know why President Kimball received his revelation?
He was doing his genealogy and found an ancestor named Kunta Kinte Kimball.
"Did you hear that Sidney Poitier is making a new movie, 'Guess Who's Coming to Priesthood?'
"They're putting a new song in the hymnbook: 'Come, Come Ye Saints, Do-da, Do-da'.
"Eenie, meenie, minie, moe, catch an 'elder' by the toe.
"Jokes like these may have been relatively harmless, but there were others which had a much sharper bite. Some expressed bitterness:
"Do you know how Kimball received his revelation?
In the form of a subpoena.
"Many played to the old stereotypes mentioned above, ridiculing supposed black characteristics and showed once again the same old insensitivities to the feelings of other human beings. Here are some examples:
"Have you heard of the new office in the Aaronic priesthood?
There will be priests, teachers, deacons, and de coons.
"Do you know what LDS stands for?
Love Dem Spooks.
"Do you know why they let blacks into the priesthood?
Who else are we going to get to carry our bags to Missouri?
"Did you know that since blacks have been given the priesthood, baptismal fonts have been filled with Clorox?
"Did you hear they've raised tithing to 12 percent?
To pay for busing.
"How many priest darkies does it take to bless the sacrament?
One to hum, and four to move his mouth up and down.
"Have you heard they're digging up the rose bushes at the temple grounds?
They're replanting the area with watermelons.
"Have you heard that they are changing the sacrament?
They're going to start using bread and watermelon.
"Did you hear that the St. George temple is being remodeled again?
They're adding chicken coops.
"Did you hear the state bird is being changed?
From a seagull to a chicken."
Leonard Arrington also recorded some more benign ones in his journal:
"Now we can have the best basketball team in the country.
"It was a black day for the Church.
"When my family heard, they celebrated by buying a watermelon.
"When asked whether there might be a Black president of the Church, President Kimball answered, 'Not in my lifetime'."
Wilson and Poulsen theorized about these jokes, "Possibly they were a means of giving voice to the anxiety that always accompanies a change from familiar to unfamiliar ground. Perhaps for those who were not much cheered by the thought of bringing into the fold people they had always regarded as inferior, the stories provided a means of expressing their anger and confusion. For such people the jokes were a sort of last hurrah for the old order. For us they suggest that many Mormons were still gripped by the bigotry of the past and were still having trouble keeping pace with their leaders. A person willing to accept blacks into full fellowship simply would not tell this kind of joke."
A few upset letters did come from members. "You senile old bastard... Even the black animals are laughing at us and planning for the 'take over' as they call it... You stupid fool... Our church shall curse the day you were born." "I request that my name be taken off the LDS Church records. You gave the Niggers the priesthood. This tells that you are liers [sic] and the Book of Mormon is a fraud." "I could have accepted and respected your decision if you had been honest enough to make the following statement: 'The doctrine is being changed due to changing times and pressures from the bureaucratic government.' To claim a vision and lay the church open to further ridicule I can't accept with a clear conscience... my only wish is to have my name removed from the records of membership."
William A. Wilson and Richard C. Poulsen wrote, "A new cycle of jokes which developed immediately following the announcement suggests that we should accept the Arrington/Bitton statement with some caution. These recent jokes seemed almost ubiquitous, at least along the Wasatch Front. Practically everywhere we turned we heard someone telling one. Even Latter-day Saints who do not normally engage in joke-telling seemed captivated by these jokes and shared them willingly.
"Some of the jokes were simply reworkings of earlier forms. For example, a few years ago a popular question was:
"Q: How do you know when the Millennium is here?
A. When you open your door and hear 'Hi! Wees you new home teachers.'
"It then became:
"Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Isa.
Isa who?
Isa yo new home teacher.
"The old riddle, 'Why are crows black? Because they wouldn't eat crickets,' became 'Crows can now eat crickets.' But most of the items were new inventions. A few examples:
"They've taken down the statue of Moroni from the temple.
Yeah, they're replacing it with one of Louis Armstrong.
"Do you know why President Kimball received his revelation?
He was doing his genealogy and found an ancestor named Kunta Kinte Kimball.
"Did you hear that Sidney Poitier is making a new movie, 'Guess Who's Coming to Priesthood?'
"They're putting a new song in the hymnbook: 'Come, Come Ye Saints, Do-da, Do-da'.
"Eenie, meenie, minie, moe, catch an 'elder' by the toe.
"Jokes like these may have been relatively harmless, but there were others which had a much sharper bite. Some expressed bitterness:
"Do you know how Kimball received his revelation?
In the form of a subpoena.
"Many played to the old stereotypes mentioned above, ridiculing supposed black characteristics and showed once again the same old insensitivities to the feelings of other human beings. Here are some examples:
"Have you heard of the new office in the Aaronic priesthood?
There will be priests, teachers, deacons, and de coons.
"Do you know what LDS stands for?
Love Dem Spooks.
"Do you know why they let blacks into the priesthood?
Who else are we going to get to carry our bags to Missouri?
"Did you know that since blacks have been given the priesthood, baptismal fonts have been filled with Clorox?
"Did you hear they've raised tithing to 12 percent?
To pay for busing.
"How many priest darkies does it take to bless the sacrament?
One to hum, and four to move his mouth up and down.
"Have you heard they're digging up the rose bushes at the temple grounds?
They're replanting the area with watermelons.
"Have you heard that they are changing the sacrament?
They're going to start using bread and watermelon.
"Did you hear that the St. George temple is being remodeled again?
They're adding chicken coops.
"Did you hear the state bird is being changed?
From a seagull to a chicken."
Leonard Arrington also recorded some more benign ones in his journal:
"Now we can have the best basketball team in the country.
"It was a black day for the Church.
"When my family heard, they celebrated by buying a watermelon.
"When asked whether there might be a Black president of the Church, President Kimball answered, 'Not in my lifetime'."
Wilson and Poulsen theorized about these jokes, "Possibly they were a means of giving voice to the anxiety that always accompanies a change from familiar to unfamiliar ground. Perhaps for those who were not much cheered by the thought of bringing into the fold people they had always regarded as inferior, the stories provided a means of expressing their anger and confusion. For such people the jokes were a sort of last hurrah for the old order. For us they suggest that many Mormons were still gripped by the bigotry of the past and were still having trouble keeping pace with their leaders. A person willing to accept blacks into full fellowship simply would not tell this kind of joke."
The First Ordinations
On Sunday, June 11, Joseph Freeman became possibly the first man with African ancestry to be intentionally ordained to the priesthood in one hundred thirty-four years (though it is possible that a black man was ordained slightly earlier in Guam, which is on the other side of the international date line). On this day José Ramon Diaz of the San Juan Branch in Puerto Rico and Robert Lang of Los Angeles were also ordained. Brother Freeman was immediately beset with interview requests from Time, Ebony, People, writers, news commentators, and call-in show disk jockeys. He was booked six months in advance for church meetings and firesides, sometimes having three or four engagements on one Sunday.
Jerry Avant recalled, "The announcement was made on Friday morning; the Church News had already gone to press so we didn’t get to write about this momentous event until the issue for the week ending June 17. We placed calls to leaders and members in many states and abroad to compile reports for that issue.
"I called Frank and Arline Talley, who then lived in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Sister Talley said that, upon hearing the news, she telephoned Alexandre Mourra in Haiti. Brother Mourra’s response was a joyful exclamation: 'Glory to God!' His next comment was, 'I can't believe it. Is it really true?' He told her that he had more than 21 friends of African descent who were ready to join the Church. 'How soon can someone come over to baptize them?' he asked.
"Victor Nugent, a faithful Jamaican member, said, 'I never thought I would see the day. Does this mean that I can take my family to the temple?'
"On Sunday, June 4, José Ramon Diaz, a member for more than 20 years, bore his testimony in the San Juan Branch. He said, 'I have waited years for the priesthood, and I will wait forever if I have to.'
"On Friday, June 9, Fela Ramirez, an LDS friend, ran out of her house to tell him the news she had just heard on the radio. 'I could not believe it,' he said. 'My knees almost gave way.'
"On Sunday, June 11, Brother Diaz was in the hallway of the meetinghouse waiting to be interviewed before his ordination as an elder. A member passing by said, 'They're keeping you waiting.'
"He replied, 'I don't care. I’ve waited 20 years; what’s 20 minutes more?'
"Sister Talley said that the chapel in the San Juan Branch was filled to capacity that Sunday. 'Everyone was weeping. Everyone was hugging each other. It was a thrilling thing to see. We were all so happy.'"
Though members of African descent had not been allowed to be sealed in the temple, and though church leaders had long been opposed to interracial marriage in varying degrees, the Church had never had an official policy against it and a few members had done it. Spokesman Don Lefevre clarified this to the Salt Lake Tribune on June 14, saying, "So there is no ban on interracial marriage. If a black partner contemplating marriage is worthy of going to the Temple, nobody's going to stop him - if he's marrying a white, an Oriental... if he's ready to go to the Temple, obviously he may go with the blessings of the Church." Three days later, at the insistence of Elder Mark E. Petersen, the Church News printed an article called "Interracial Marriage Discouraged" in the same issue that announced the end of the priesthood ban. The article shared past quotes from Spencer W. Kimball recommending against interracial marriage on sociological grounds.
Church Historian Leonard Arrington wrote to his children on June 15, "I thought I would take this opportunity of giving to you – and to the readers of my diary in which a copy of this will be placed – some personal reflections on the reasons for the revelation of June 9, giving the priesthood to every worth male member of every race and color....
"But a historian must ask an additional question. Why did the Lord wait until now? Why has the revelation occurred at this time?...
"As to immediate reasons why the Lord may have permitted the announcement at this particular moment, let me mention four that may have been influential. (1) The Lord may have felt that the Latter-day Saints today are fully prepared to accept blacks as brethren and as leaders. Similarly, the Lord may have felt that black members themselves are fully prepared to exercise the priesthood honorably and to serve as leaders. (2) The opening of the Brazil Temple in August surely would have created problems and anxieties, and the [L]ord in his mercy may have felt that this was an appropriate time to resolve such difficulties and anxieties. (3) Various states are beginning to refuse to exempt Church property, including temples and chapels and stake houses, from taxation on the grounds that the Church discriminates against blacks. This has already been done by Wisconsin, was being considered in Hawaii, and plans were being made to take the case to other states. (4) The Lord may have felt that the continuation of this doctrine might lead the Saints to become bigoted – to take measures which were prejudicial to the civil rights of the blacks. The Lord may have used this means of reminding us that we are all the Lord’s children and that he is pleased with all of them and that he specifically is displeased with those who spread bigotry."
No legal records, news reports, or other contemporaneous references to these alleged tax issues in Wisconsin or Hawaii have been found. After consulting Arrington's diary for the source of this unique claim, Ardis E. Parshall wrote, "I’ll note that Arrington did not hear what the Law Guy said, and was totally dependent upon his colleague’s report of that conversation: Arrington was not in the office on 9 June 1978 – he was home, all day, with a sore throat, and completely missed all the excitement and discussion in the office. At no other point in all the pages of discussion that he records in the following week does Arrington refer to later remarks about potential tax consequences. It would seem that that third-hand report (Law Guy to Colleague to Arrington) is the chief or only source for Arrington’s consideration of tax exemption in relation to the revelation. There's no nuance or extended conversation – you wouldn’t expect there to be, in the context of first learning of a momentous announcement – and no known followup confirmation."
On June 23, Brother Freeman and his wife received their endowments and were sealed to their two sons by Elder Thomas S. Monson.
Jerry Avant recalled, "The announcement was made on Friday morning; the Church News had already gone to press so we didn’t get to write about this momentous event until the issue for the week ending June 17. We placed calls to leaders and members in many states and abroad to compile reports for that issue.
"I called Frank and Arline Talley, who then lived in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Sister Talley said that, upon hearing the news, she telephoned Alexandre Mourra in Haiti. Brother Mourra’s response was a joyful exclamation: 'Glory to God!' His next comment was, 'I can't believe it. Is it really true?' He told her that he had more than 21 friends of African descent who were ready to join the Church. 'How soon can someone come over to baptize them?' he asked.
"Victor Nugent, a faithful Jamaican member, said, 'I never thought I would see the day. Does this mean that I can take my family to the temple?'
"On Sunday, June 4, José Ramon Diaz, a member for more than 20 years, bore his testimony in the San Juan Branch. He said, 'I have waited years for the priesthood, and I will wait forever if I have to.'
"On Friday, June 9, Fela Ramirez, an LDS friend, ran out of her house to tell him the news she had just heard on the radio. 'I could not believe it,' he said. 'My knees almost gave way.'
"On Sunday, June 11, Brother Diaz was in the hallway of the meetinghouse waiting to be interviewed before his ordination as an elder. A member passing by said, 'They're keeping you waiting.'
"He replied, 'I don't care. I’ve waited 20 years; what’s 20 minutes more?'
"Sister Talley said that the chapel in the San Juan Branch was filled to capacity that Sunday. 'Everyone was weeping. Everyone was hugging each other. It was a thrilling thing to see. We were all so happy.'"
Though members of African descent had not been allowed to be sealed in the temple, and though church leaders had long been opposed to interracial marriage in varying degrees, the Church had never had an official policy against it and a few members had done it. Spokesman Don Lefevre clarified this to the Salt Lake Tribune on June 14, saying, "So there is no ban on interracial marriage. If a black partner contemplating marriage is worthy of going to the Temple, nobody's going to stop him - if he's marrying a white, an Oriental... if he's ready to go to the Temple, obviously he may go with the blessings of the Church." Three days later, at the insistence of Elder Mark E. Petersen, the Church News printed an article called "Interracial Marriage Discouraged" in the same issue that announced the end of the priesthood ban. The article shared past quotes from Spencer W. Kimball recommending against interracial marriage on sociological grounds.
Church Historian Leonard Arrington wrote to his children on June 15, "I thought I would take this opportunity of giving to you – and to the readers of my diary in which a copy of this will be placed – some personal reflections on the reasons for the revelation of June 9, giving the priesthood to every worth male member of every race and color....
"But a historian must ask an additional question. Why did the Lord wait until now? Why has the revelation occurred at this time?...
"As to immediate reasons why the Lord may have permitted the announcement at this particular moment, let me mention four that may have been influential. (1) The Lord may have felt that the Latter-day Saints today are fully prepared to accept blacks as brethren and as leaders. Similarly, the Lord may have felt that black members themselves are fully prepared to exercise the priesthood honorably and to serve as leaders. (2) The opening of the Brazil Temple in August surely would have created problems and anxieties, and the [L]ord in his mercy may have felt that this was an appropriate time to resolve such difficulties and anxieties. (3) Various states are beginning to refuse to exempt Church property, including temples and chapels and stake houses, from taxation on the grounds that the Church discriminates against blacks. This has already been done by Wisconsin, was being considered in Hawaii, and plans were being made to take the case to other states. (4) The Lord may have felt that the continuation of this doctrine might lead the Saints to become bigoted – to take measures which were prejudicial to the civil rights of the blacks. The Lord may have used this means of reminding us that we are all the Lord’s children and that he is pleased with all of them and that he specifically is displeased with those who spread bigotry."
No legal records, news reports, or other contemporaneous references to these alleged tax issues in Wisconsin or Hawaii have been found. After consulting Arrington's diary for the source of this unique claim, Ardis E. Parshall wrote, "I’ll note that Arrington did not hear what the Law Guy said, and was totally dependent upon his colleague’s report of that conversation: Arrington was not in the office on 9 June 1978 – he was home, all day, with a sore throat, and completely missed all the excitement and discussion in the office. At no other point in all the pages of discussion that he records in the following week does Arrington refer to later remarks about potential tax consequences. It would seem that that third-hand report (Law Guy to Colleague to Arrington) is the chief or only source for Arrington’s consideration of tax exemption in relation to the revelation. There's no nuance or extended conversation – you wouldn’t expect there to be, in the context of first learning of a momentous announcement – and no known followup confirmation."
On June 23, Brother Freeman and his wife received their endowments and were sealed to their two sons by Elder Thomas S. Monson.
On June 24, Eugene Wagner wrote a letter to the editor of the Salt Lake Tribune asking, "Was this revelation really a revelation from the Lord, or did church leaders act on their own? Why don't they publish that revelation and let the Lord speak in his own words? All we saw was a statement of the First Presidency, and that is not how a revelation looks. When God speaks the revelation starts with the words 'Thus saith the Lord...' It seems when the Lord decides to change a doctrine of such great importance he will talk himself to the people of his church. If such a revelation cannot be presented to the members it is obvious that the First Presidency acted on its own, most likely under fear of public pressure to avoid problems of serious consequences and to maintain peace and popularity with the world."
In July, career apostates Jerald and Sandra Tanner dedicated most of Issue 39 of Utah Lighthouse Ministry's newsletter, the Salt Lake City Messenger, to attempting to discredit the revelation's divinity with quotes from Brigham Young and other previous church leaders. They wrote in summary, "Now that they have abandoned the idea that blacks cannot hold the priesthood, they should explain if they are giving up some of their teachings on the pre-existence. They should also explain if they are repudiating the Book of Mormon teaching that a dark skin is given by God as a 'curse'. By giving a 'revelation' on the blacks without explaining its implications, the Mormon leaders are leaving their people in a dense doctrinal fog. If the Church continues to hide behind a purported revelation on the blacks and fails to come to grips with its racist doctrines, thousands of people are going to continue believing these doctrines and the Church will be plagued with racism for many years to come....
"Some people believe that the Mormon Church is not sincere in opening the priesthood to blacks. We feel however, that even though the Mormon leaders have failed to face some important issues, they have made a major concession which will gradually weaken racism throughout the Church.
"We feel that one of the important reasons the Church decided to confer the priesthood on blacks was that the anti-black doctrine was hurting missionary work. With the change in this policy, we anticipate that the Church will make many more converts. On the other hand, many members of the Church have become disillusioned because of the Church's handling of the racial issue, and the new 'revelation' has tended to confirm in their minds that the Lord had nothing to do with the whole matter. For those Christians working with Mormons, this may really prove to be an opening for effective witnessing."
In July, career apostates Jerald and Sandra Tanner dedicated most of Issue 39 of Utah Lighthouse Ministry's newsletter, the Salt Lake City Messenger, to attempting to discredit the revelation's divinity with quotes from Brigham Young and other previous church leaders. They wrote in summary, "Now that they have abandoned the idea that blacks cannot hold the priesthood, they should explain if they are giving up some of their teachings on the pre-existence. They should also explain if they are repudiating the Book of Mormon teaching that a dark skin is given by God as a 'curse'. By giving a 'revelation' on the blacks without explaining its implications, the Mormon leaders are leaving their people in a dense doctrinal fog. If the Church continues to hide behind a purported revelation on the blacks and fails to come to grips with its racist doctrines, thousands of people are going to continue believing these doctrines and the Church will be plagued with racism for many years to come....
"Some people believe that the Mormon Church is not sincere in opening the priesthood to blacks. We feel however, that even though the Mormon leaders have failed to face some important issues, they have made a major concession which will gradually weaken racism throughout the Church.
"We feel that one of the important reasons the Church decided to confer the priesthood on blacks was that the anti-black doctrine was hurting missionary work. With the change in this policy, we anticipate that the Church will make many more converts. On the other hand, many members of the Church have become disillusioned because of the Church's handling of the racial issue, and the new 'revelation' has tended to confirm in their minds that the Lord had nothing to do with the whole matter. For those Christians working with Mormons, this may really prove to be an opening for effective witnessing."
Visit to West Africa
On July 21, Elder Merrill J. Bateman and President Edwin O. Cannon Jr. of the International Mission were called and set apart to visit Ghana and Nigeria in preparation for the Church's official establishment there. Elder Bateman recalled, "Four weeks prior to Elder Cannon’s and my trip to West Africa in July 1978, fifty letters were sent to members and nonmembers in the various countries apprising them of our visit and asking them to meet us at the airport upon arrival. During a four-week period we visited eight cities in four countries. With the exception of one city, no one received a letter in time to meet us. Toward the end of the trip, we arrived in Calabar, Nigeria, on a Friday afternoon, needing the services of a previously identified member to help us find approximately fifteen congregations in the southeastern part of the country. Each congregation had adopted the name of our Church, and the leaders had written asking for information and missionaries.
"The member, Ime Eduok, was not at the airport or at the hotel. Brother Cannon and I checked in and went to our room not knowing where or how to find Brother Eduok in a city of one million. The next two days were a critical part of the trip, and Brother Eduok was the only one who could help us. We knelt in prayer and asked the Lord to guide us to him. We returned to the lobby and asked the desk clerk if she knew Mr. Eduok. She did not. Within a few minutes a large number of Nigerians had gathered around us discussing our plight but lacking the information needed. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see a large man standing next to me who said: 'Did I hear you say Ime Eduok? He is my employee. I just entered the hotel to buy a newspaper on my way home from work. Ime will be leaving the firm in fifteen minutes. I do not know where he lives. If he leaves the office before you arrive, it is unlikely that you will find him before Monday.' The man hurriedly put us in a taxi and gave the driver directions. We arrived at the business just as Ime Eduok was locking the door. Brother Eduok guided us to each congregation during the Saturday and Sunday that followed. Many people in those congregations are now members of the Church, and information gleaned from them formed an important part of the report given to the First Presidency upon our return."
"The member, Ime Eduok, was not at the airport or at the hotel. Brother Cannon and I checked in and went to our room not knowing where or how to find Brother Eduok in a city of one million. The next two days were a critical part of the trip, and Brother Eduok was the only one who could help us. We knelt in prayer and asked the Lord to guide us to him. We returned to the lobby and asked the desk clerk if she knew Mr. Eduok. She did not. Within a few minutes a large number of Nigerians had gathered around us discussing our plight but lacking the information needed. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see a large man standing next to me who said: 'Did I hear you say Ime Eduok? He is my employee. I just entered the hotel to buy a newspaper on my way home from work. Ime will be leaving the firm in fifteen minutes. I do not know where he lives. If he leaves the office before you arrive, it is unlikely that you will find him before Monday.' The man hurriedly put us in a taxi and gave the driver directions. We arrived at the business just as Ime Eduok was locking the door. Brother Eduok guided us to each congregation during the Saturday and Sunday that followed. Many people in those congregations are now members of the Church, and information gleaned from them formed an important part of the report given to the First Presidency upon our return."
Concerned Latter-day Saints
On July 23, Joseph L. Jensen, a member of the presiding council of the polygamist offshoot group Apostolic United Brethren, purchased a full-page ad in the Salt Lake Tribune claiming to represent a group called "Concerned Latter-day Saints". It read in part, "It is to be regretted that we have camouflaged the truth, convincing the world and ourselves that we want to play in harmony with its institutions. Wolves always await the departure of the Priesthood shepherds, that they might neutralize the flock. And when we insist enough, the Lord will send us the delusion we have sought.
"Once the Saints were willing to burn their own homes and orchards and seek hiding places in the mountains rather than submit to improper governmental or group pressure. Now they generally will sacrifice principle, doctrine, and ordinance to comply with any law of the land. Eager to digress in 1890, the Church crippled her priesthood blessings and power by discarding exalting principles....
"There are a few valiant uncompromising men, within and without the official Church, whose integrity leaves no room for changing the doctrines and ordinances, breaking the everlasting covenant, or for presuming to bestow blessings out of season.
"These faithful few, under God's direction, shall redeem Zion, build up the kingdom upon the earth and usher in the Millennial reign of Christ. As we said in the beginning, it appears by the June 9th action of the L.D.S. Church, that The Pearl of Great Price, or a portion of it, it about to be repudiated, as are the Church’s founding prophets whose words are in harmony with that volume of scripture. We repeat the question:
"Will Latter-day Saints remain true to their former revelations, or will they yield to the pressures of this crucial day?
"Where do you stand?"
Jensen told The Bulletin a few days later, "This is in no way whatsoever against the Negro. I know some I'd just as soon be pals with as any white man."
Mary Frances Sturlaugson recalled, "The joy of my people receiving the priesthood was not only ignored by my family, but was also dulled by the realization that not all people shared my excitement. I was shocked when I saw a full-page advertisement in the Salt Lake Tribune declaring why my people should not have been given the blessing of the priesthood.
"For days after reading that advertisement my heart was troubled. How could I reach those who felt disturbed because my people had received the priesthood and help them understand what our Father in heaven had done? I couldn't understand their feelings; after all, Father hadn't taken any blessings away from them. Did they truly know that we were all brothers and sisters? If they did, why be disturbed when a particular group in the eternal relationship finally receives a blessing others have had from birth? Finally I wrote the following letter to the man who had signed the advertisement.
"July 31, 1978
Dear Brother ___________:
"I read with much concern your advertisement of July 23, 1978, to concerned Latter-day Saints. As a 'concerned' black I would like to respond to your ad and express a few of the 'sisterly' feelings I have for you and those 'concerned' Latter-day Saints who may share your views.
"May I ask you to please consider the following questions:
1. Do you believe in revelation? Was it not Joseph Smith who gave the Church this Article of Faith as one of its most basic premises: 'We believe all that God has revealed, all that he does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God'?
2. Do you believe in a living prophet? Did not God tell the Old Testament prophet Amos that 'surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets'? (Amos 3:7.)
"If you truly espouse to carry a strong testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, or in other words if you consider yourself to be the 'wheat' and not the 'tare' that grows freely in the same field, you will most certainly answer the above questions with a resounding yes.
"As 'concerned' Latter-day Saints your question is not whether or not the blacks should hold the priesthood in light of personal interpretation to [sic] the Pearl of Great Price scriptures, but rather is this truly the Lord's church and does he still administer his affairs through a living prophet. Either President Kimball is a prophet and receives revelation from the Lord to direct His church, or the LDS church does not represent the Lord's true church here on the earth.
"The Lord has said: 'What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.' (D&C 1:38.)
"Surely you must be aware that every prophet from Joseph Smith to the present has prophesied that a day would come when the blessings of the priesthood would be extended to all people, including the blacks.
"Certainly I for one never expected to see this prophecy fulfilled in my day or even in a yet future generation. No one was more surprised nor skeptical than myself. Only after much fasting and prayer did the Holy Ghost reveal to me that truly this was a revelation from God in fulfillment of that promised day.
"Those Latter-day Saints who have done as I have done surely know of that which I speak and have no reason to look beyond the revelation and invent reasons to satisfy their own lack of faith and understanding.
"I wonder how many 'concerned' Latter-day Saints would have joined in the condemnation of the Savior nearly two thousand years ago due to a similar lack of understanding of scripture and spiritual ignorance of the revelations.
"I am not condemning you nor defending myself because I am black. I just want you to realize that I, too, am a child of God and yearn to receive all the blessings you have always been entitled to because your ancestral lines go back to Father Abraham. I hope you realize and can truly appreciate this blessing, which was yours by right of birth.
"If the situation were reversed, my heart would be overwhelmed with joy for you – simply because of my great love of the gospel and all the blessings it brings into my life. Does not this same happiness and joy make you desire to share it with all people? If it were not so, we would not be a missionary church. For the gospel of Jesus Christ is to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
"Let me say that I would be the first to stand by you to extend my love, support, and strength, because you are my brothers and sisters, children of a loving Father in heaven, who sees us for what we are inside and not the color of our skin.
"I believe in God and know that he lives. I believe in revelation. I believe in a living prophet, and I know of a surety that Spencer W. Kimball is truly a prophet of God. And I know that this church is true.
"I did not seek this knowledge; rather, some really 'concerned' Latter-day Saints sent two of their missionaries to my door to share with me, a black, the true gospel of Jesus Christ. They carefully taught me the beautiful plan of exaltation and gave to my life new purpose, hope, and happiness. A wonderful thing happened as the Spirit silently bore testimony to my heart of the truthfulness of these things. I rejoiced in this knowledge and believed all these things for many years before the recent revelation given to President Kimball.
"Please, please, do not let your minds become clouded or so confused that you lose sight of that eternal goal to return to our Father in heaven in both glory and exaltation, there to dwell with him forever.
"Again, the Lord has said: 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.' (Isaiah 55:8-9.)
"May I say to you 'concerned' Latter-day Saints that as children of our Father in heaven, you ought maybe to check home before you put your thoughts and ways above his.
"Your sister,
"Mary Sturlaugson
A truly concerned Latter-day Saint"
On August 7 Time magazine carried a follow-up article called "Mormonism Enters a New Era", in which religion journalist Richard Ostling interviewed President Kimball. He wrote that President Kimball "flatly [stated] that Mormonism no longer holds to... a theory" that black people had been denied the priesthood "because they somehow failed God during their pre-existence." President Kimball's son Edward later included this in his father's biography Lengthen Your Stride. Ostling told him this was a paraphrase, but an accurate reporting of what he had been told.
"Once the Saints were willing to burn their own homes and orchards and seek hiding places in the mountains rather than submit to improper governmental or group pressure. Now they generally will sacrifice principle, doctrine, and ordinance to comply with any law of the land. Eager to digress in 1890, the Church crippled her priesthood blessings and power by discarding exalting principles....
"There are a few valiant uncompromising men, within and without the official Church, whose integrity leaves no room for changing the doctrines and ordinances, breaking the everlasting covenant, or for presuming to bestow blessings out of season.
"These faithful few, under God's direction, shall redeem Zion, build up the kingdom upon the earth and usher in the Millennial reign of Christ. As we said in the beginning, it appears by the June 9th action of the L.D.S. Church, that The Pearl of Great Price, or a portion of it, it about to be repudiated, as are the Church’s founding prophets whose words are in harmony with that volume of scripture. We repeat the question:
"Will Latter-day Saints remain true to their former revelations, or will they yield to the pressures of this crucial day?
"Where do you stand?"
Jensen told The Bulletin a few days later, "This is in no way whatsoever against the Negro. I know some I'd just as soon be pals with as any white man."
Mary Frances Sturlaugson recalled, "The joy of my people receiving the priesthood was not only ignored by my family, but was also dulled by the realization that not all people shared my excitement. I was shocked when I saw a full-page advertisement in the Salt Lake Tribune declaring why my people should not have been given the blessing of the priesthood.
"For days after reading that advertisement my heart was troubled. How could I reach those who felt disturbed because my people had received the priesthood and help them understand what our Father in heaven had done? I couldn't understand their feelings; after all, Father hadn't taken any blessings away from them. Did they truly know that we were all brothers and sisters? If they did, why be disturbed when a particular group in the eternal relationship finally receives a blessing others have had from birth? Finally I wrote the following letter to the man who had signed the advertisement.
"July 31, 1978
Dear Brother ___________:
"I read with much concern your advertisement of July 23, 1978, to concerned Latter-day Saints. As a 'concerned' black I would like to respond to your ad and express a few of the 'sisterly' feelings I have for you and those 'concerned' Latter-day Saints who may share your views.
"May I ask you to please consider the following questions:
1. Do you believe in revelation? Was it not Joseph Smith who gave the Church this Article of Faith as one of its most basic premises: 'We believe all that God has revealed, all that he does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God'?
2. Do you believe in a living prophet? Did not God tell the Old Testament prophet Amos that 'surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets'? (Amos 3:7.)
"If you truly espouse to carry a strong testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, or in other words if you consider yourself to be the 'wheat' and not the 'tare' that grows freely in the same field, you will most certainly answer the above questions with a resounding yes.
"As 'concerned' Latter-day Saints your question is not whether or not the blacks should hold the priesthood in light of personal interpretation to [sic] the Pearl of Great Price scriptures, but rather is this truly the Lord's church and does he still administer his affairs through a living prophet. Either President Kimball is a prophet and receives revelation from the Lord to direct His church, or the LDS church does not represent the Lord's true church here on the earth.
"The Lord has said: 'What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.' (D&C 1:38.)
"Surely you must be aware that every prophet from Joseph Smith to the present has prophesied that a day would come when the blessings of the priesthood would be extended to all people, including the blacks.
"Certainly I for one never expected to see this prophecy fulfilled in my day or even in a yet future generation. No one was more surprised nor skeptical than myself. Only after much fasting and prayer did the Holy Ghost reveal to me that truly this was a revelation from God in fulfillment of that promised day.
"Those Latter-day Saints who have done as I have done surely know of that which I speak and have no reason to look beyond the revelation and invent reasons to satisfy their own lack of faith and understanding.
"I wonder how many 'concerned' Latter-day Saints would have joined in the condemnation of the Savior nearly two thousand years ago due to a similar lack of understanding of scripture and spiritual ignorance of the revelations.
"I am not condemning you nor defending myself because I am black. I just want you to realize that I, too, am a child of God and yearn to receive all the blessings you have always been entitled to because your ancestral lines go back to Father Abraham. I hope you realize and can truly appreciate this blessing, which was yours by right of birth.
"If the situation were reversed, my heart would be overwhelmed with joy for you – simply because of my great love of the gospel and all the blessings it brings into my life. Does not this same happiness and joy make you desire to share it with all people? If it were not so, we would not be a missionary church. For the gospel of Jesus Christ is to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
"Let me say that I would be the first to stand by you to extend my love, support, and strength, because you are my brothers and sisters, children of a loving Father in heaven, who sees us for what we are inside and not the color of our skin.
"I believe in God and know that he lives. I believe in revelation. I believe in a living prophet, and I know of a surety that Spencer W. Kimball is truly a prophet of God. And I know that this church is true.
"I did not seek this knowledge; rather, some really 'concerned' Latter-day Saints sent two of their missionaries to my door to share with me, a black, the true gospel of Jesus Christ. They carefully taught me the beautiful plan of exaltation and gave to my life new purpose, hope, and happiness. A wonderful thing happened as the Spirit silently bore testimony to my heart of the truthfulness of these things. I rejoiced in this knowledge and believed all these things for many years before the recent revelation given to President Kimball.
"Please, please, do not let your minds become clouded or so confused that you lose sight of that eternal goal to return to our Father in heaven in both glory and exaltation, there to dwell with him forever.
"Again, the Lord has said: 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.' (Isaiah 55:8-9.)
"May I say to you 'concerned' Latter-day Saints that as children of our Father in heaven, you ought maybe to check home before you put your thoughts and ways above his.
"Your sister,
"Mary Sturlaugson
A truly concerned Latter-day Saint"
On August 7 Time magazine carried a follow-up article called "Mormonism Enters a New Era", in which religion journalist Richard Ostling interviewed President Kimball. He wrote that President Kimball "flatly [stated] that Mormonism no longer holds to... a theory" that black people had been denied the priesthood "because they somehow failed God during their pre-existence." President Kimball's son Edward later included this in his father's biography Lengthen Your Stride. Ostling told him this was a paraphrase, but an accurate reporting of what he had been told.
Interview with LeGrand Richards
On August 16, Apostle LeGrand Richards was interviewed by Chris Vlachos and Reverend Wesley P. Walters of the United Presbyterian Church, who said, "On this revelation, of the priesthood to the Negro, I've heard all kinds of stories: I've heard that Joseph Smith appeared; and then I heard another story that Spencer Kimball had, had a concern about this for some time, and simply shared it with the Apostles, and they decided that this was the right time to move in that direction. Are any of those stories true, or are they all..."
Elder Richards replied, "Well, the last one is pretty true, and I might tell you what provoked it in a way. Down in Brazil, there is so much Negro blood in the population there that it's hard to get leaders that don't have Negro blood in them. We just built a temple down there. It's going to be dedicated in October. All those people with Negro blood in them have been raising the money to build that temple. If we don't change, then they can't even use it. Well, Brother Kimball worried about it, and he prayed a lot about it.
"He asked each one of us of the Twelve if we would pray - and we did - that the Lord would give him the inspiration to know what the will of the Lord was. Then he invited each one of us in his office - individually, because you know when you are in a group, you can't always express everything that's in your heart. You're part of the group, you see - so he interviewed each one of us, personally, to see how we felt about it, and he asked us to pray about it. Then he asked each one of us to hand in all the references we had, for, or against that proposal. See, he was thinking favorably toward giving the colored people the priesthood.
"Then we had a meeting where we meet every week in the temple, and we discussed it as a group together, and then we prayed about it in our prayer circle, and then we held another prayer circle after the close of that meeting, and he (President Kimball) lead in the prayer; praying that the Lord would give us the inspiration that we needed to do the thing that would be pleasing to Him and for the blessing of His children. And then the next Thursday - we meet every Thursday - the Presidency came with this little document written out to make the announcement - to see how we'd feel about it - and present it in written form. Well, some of the members of the Twelve suggested a few changes in the announcement, and then in our meeting there we all voted in favor of it - the Twelve and the Presidency. One member of the Twelve, Mark Petersen, was down in South America, but Brother Benson, our President, had arranged to know where he could be reached by phone, and right while we were in that meeting in the temple, Brother Kimball talked with Brother Petersen, and read him this article, and he approved of it."
Reverend Walters: "What was the date? Would that have been the first of June, or something?"
Elder Richards: "That was the first Thursday, I think, in May. [June?] At least that's about when it was. And then after we all voted in favor of it, we called another meeting for the next morning, Friday morning, at seven o'clock, of all the other General Authorities - that includes the Seventies' Quorum and the Patriarch and the Presiding Bishopric, and it was presented to them, and there were a few of the brethren that were out presiding then in the missions, and so the Twelve were appointed to interview each one of them. I had to interview Brother Rex Reeve and read him the article and asked his feelings. He was thrilled because he labored down there in Brazil and he knew what it would mean for those people. And so every member of the General Authorities, to a man, approved it before the announcement went out.
"Now we had a letter from a colored man up in Ogden, read like this; he was a member of the church, and he said 'If the Lord is willing to let me have my wife and children in this life, why wouldn’t He be willing to let me have them in the next life?' That makes sense, doesn't it?
"And then, you know, the Lord gave revelation to Prophet Joseph where He said that 'There is a law irrevocably decreed in the heavens before the foundation of the Earth was laid upon which all blessings are predicated and no blessing can be obtained except by obedience to the law upon which it is predicated.' Well all that means is that if you want to raise wheat you’ve got to plant wheat, doesn’t it? If you want corn then you’ve got to plant corn. Well if I plant wheat and get a harvest and the colored man plants wheat and takes a good care of it – why isn’t he as much entitled to the harvest as I, you see?
"And then, um, [untelligible] and so."
Walters: "Well I was going to ask you about -"
Richards: "So we figured the same with spiritual blessings. If the colored man lives as good as I do, he can serve the Lord and so forth, why isn’t he as much entitled to the blessings as I am? It’s been a united decision, there’s been no adverse comment by anyone of the General Authorities."
Vlachos: "What about intermarriage? Is it okay?"
Richards: "What?"
Vlachos: "Is it okay to marry?"
Walters: "Intermarriage, is that in view too?"
Richards: "Well, no. Never before this decision was reached we've always recommended that people live within their own race - the Japanese ought to marry Japanese, the Chinese ought to marry Chinese, Hawaiians ought to marry Hawaiians and the colored people ought to marry colored."
Walters: "And that would still be your position?"
Richards: "That is still our position. But they are entitled to the temple blessings and the sealing of their wives to them. It's all conditioned on their living. Now if they live right and they're devoted and they're good clean living – why shouldn't they get the blessings?
Walters: "Now when President Kimball read this little announcement or paper, was that the same thing that was released to the press?"
Richards: "Yes."
Walters: "There wasn't a special document as a 'revelation', that he had and wrote down?"
Richards: "We discussed it in our meeting. What else should we say besides that announcement? And we decided that was sufficient; that no more needed to be said."
Walters: "Was that the letter you sent out to the various wards?"
Richards: "And to the Church; and to the newspapers, yes."
Vlachos: "Will that become a part of 'scripture'?"
Richards: "Yes, I've already thought in my own mind of suggesting we add it to the Pearl of Great Price, just like those last two revelations that we've just added."
Walters: "At that point, is there a special reason why you add it to the Pearl of Great Price rather than to the Doctrine and Covenants? Is it just more convenient to put it in there instead of adding another number or something?"
Richards: "I don't know, we didn't discuss the reason, which book it should go in, but the Pearl of Great Price was written and assembled later than the Doctrine and Covenants was and my Grandfather was one that organized the Pearl of Great Price. So when we discussed it in our meeting, we didn't discuss whether it should go in the Doctrine and Covenants or the Pearl of Great Price. We just discussed how to add those two revelations to the Pearl of Great Price."
Walters: "Will this affect your theological thinking about the Negro as being less valiant in the previous existence? How does this relate? Have you thought that through?"
Richards: "Some time ago, the Brethren decided that we should never say that. We don't know just what the reason was. Paul said, 'The Lord hath before appointed the bounds of the habitations of all men for to dwell upon the face of the earth,' and so He determined that before we were born. He who knows why they were born with black skin or white and so on and so forth. We'll just have to wait and find out."
Walters: "Is there still a tendency to feel that people are born with black skin because of some previous situation, or do we consider that black skin is no sign anymore of anything inferior in any sense of the word?"
Richards: "Well, we don't want to get that as a doctrine. Think of it as you will. You know, Paul said 'Now we see in part and we know in part; we see through a glass darkly. When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away, then we will see as we are seen, and know as we are known.' Now the Church's attitude today is to prefer to leave it until we know. The Lord has never indicated that black skin came because of being less faithful. Now, the Indian; we know why he was changed, don't we? The Book of Mormon tells us that; and he has a dark skin, but he has a promise there that through faithfulness, that they all again become a white and delightsome people. So we haven't anything like that on the colored thing."
Walters: "Now, with this new revelation - has it brought any new insights or new ways of looking at the Book of Abraham? Because I think traditionally it is thought of the curse of Cain, coming through Canaanites and on the black-skinned people, and therefore denying the priesthood?"
Richards: "We considered that with all the 'for's' and the 'against's' and decided that with all of that, if they lived their lives, and did the work, that they were entitled to their blessings."
Walters: "But you haven't come up with any new understanding of the Book of Abraham? I just wondered whether there would be a shift in that direction."
Vlachos: "Is the recent revelation in harmony with what the past prophets have taught, of when the Negro would receive the priesthood?"
Richards: "Well, they have held out the thought that they would ultimately get the priesthood, but they never determined the time for it. And so when this situation that we face down there in Brazil - Brother Kimball worried a lot about it - how the people are so faithful and devoted. The president of the Relief Society of the stake is a colored woman down there in one of the stakes. If they do the work, why it seems like that the justice of the Lord would approve of giving them the blessing. Now it's all conditional upon the life that they live, isn't it?"
Walters: "Well, I thank you for clarifying that for me, because you know, out in the streets out there, there must be at least five, ten different stories about the way this happened."
Richards: "Well, I've told you exactly what happened."
Walters: "Right. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate it."
Richards: "If you quote me you will be telling the truth."
Walters: "Okay, well fine. You don't mind if we quote you then?"
Richards: "No."
Walters: "Okay, that's great!"
Elder Richards replied, "Well, the last one is pretty true, and I might tell you what provoked it in a way. Down in Brazil, there is so much Negro blood in the population there that it's hard to get leaders that don't have Negro blood in them. We just built a temple down there. It's going to be dedicated in October. All those people with Negro blood in them have been raising the money to build that temple. If we don't change, then they can't even use it. Well, Brother Kimball worried about it, and he prayed a lot about it.
"He asked each one of us of the Twelve if we would pray - and we did - that the Lord would give him the inspiration to know what the will of the Lord was. Then he invited each one of us in his office - individually, because you know when you are in a group, you can't always express everything that's in your heart. You're part of the group, you see - so he interviewed each one of us, personally, to see how we felt about it, and he asked us to pray about it. Then he asked each one of us to hand in all the references we had, for, or against that proposal. See, he was thinking favorably toward giving the colored people the priesthood.
"Then we had a meeting where we meet every week in the temple, and we discussed it as a group together, and then we prayed about it in our prayer circle, and then we held another prayer circle after the close of that meeting, and he (President Kimball) lead in the prayer; praying that the Lord would give us the inspiration that we needed to do the thing that would be pleasing to Him and for the blessing of His children. And then the next Thursday - we meet every Thursday - the Presidency came with this little document written out to make the announcement - to see how we'd feel about it - and present it in written form. Well, some of the members of the Twelve suggested a few changes in the announcement, and then in our meeting there we all voted in favor of it - the Twelve and the Presidency. One member of the Twelve, Mark Petersen, was down in South America, but Brother Benson, our President, had arranged to know where he could be reached by phone, and right while we were in that meeting in the temple, Brother Kimball talked with Brother Petersen, and read him this article, and he approved of it."
Reverend Walters: "What was the date? Would that have been the first of June, or something?"
Elder Richards: "That was the first Thursday, I think, in May. [June?] At least that's about when it was. And then after we all voted in favor of it, we called another meeting for the next morning, Friday morning, at seven o'clock, of all the other General Authorities - that includes the Seventies' Quorum and the Patriarch and the Presiding Bishopric, and it was presented to them, and there were a few of the brethren that were out presiding then in the missions, and so the Twelve were appointed to interview each one of them. I had to interview Brother Rex Reeve and read him the article and asked his feelings. He was thrilled because he labored down there in Brazil and he knew what it would mean for those people. And so every member of the General Authorities, to a man, approved it before the announcement went out.
"Now we had a letter from a colored man up in Ogden, read like this; he was a member of the church, and he said 'If the Lord is willing to let me have my wife and children in this life, why wouldn’t He be willing to let me have them in the next life?' That makes sense, doesn't it?
"And then, you know, the Lord gave revelation to Prophet Joseph where He said that 'There is a law irrevocably decreed in the heavens before the foundation of the Earth was laid upon which all blessings are predicated and no blessing can be obtained except by obedience to the law upon which it is predicated.' Well all that means is that if you want to raise wheat you’ve got to plant wheat, doesn’t it? If you want corn then you’ve got to plant corn. Well if I plant wheat and get a harvest and the colored man plants wheat and takes a good care of it – why isn’t he as much entitled to the harvest as I, you see?
"And then, um, [untelligible] and so."
Walters: "Well I was going to ask you about -"
Richards: "So we figured the same with spiritual blessings. If the colored man lives as good as I do, he can serve the Lord and so forth, why isn’t he as much entitled to the blessings as I am? It’s been a united decision, there’s been no adverse comment by anyone of the General Authorities."
Vlachos: "What about intermarriage? Is it okay?"
Richards: "What?"
Vlachos: "Is it okay to marry?"
Walters: "Intermarriage, is that in view too?"
Richards: "Well, no. Never before this decision was reached we've always recommended that people live within their own race - the Japanese ought to marry Japanese, the Chinese ought to marry Chinese, Hawaiians ought to marry Hawaiians and the colored people ought to marry colored."
Walters: "And that would still be your position?"
Richards: "That is still our position. But they are entitled to the temple blessings and the sealing of their wives to them. It's all conditioned on their living. Now if they live right and they're devoted and they're good clean living – why shouldn't they get the blessings?
Walters: "Now when President Kimball read this little announcement or paper, was that the same thing that was released to the press?"
Richards: "Yes."
Walters: "There wasn't a special document as a 'revelation', that he had and wrote down?"
Richards: "We discussed it in our meeting. What else should we say besides that announcement? And we decided that was sufficient; that no more needed to be said."
Walters: "Was that the letter you sent out to the various wards?"
Richards: "And to the Church; and to the newspapers, yes."
Vlachos: "Will that become a part of 'scripture'?"
Richards: "Yes, I've already thought in my own mind of suggesting we add it to the Pearl of Great Price, just like those last two revelations that we've just added."
Walters: "At that point, is there a special reason why you add it to the Pearl of Great Price rather than to the Doctrine and Covenants? Is it just more convenient to put it in there instead of adding another number or something?"
Richards: "I don't know, we didn't discuss the reason, which book it should go in, but the Pearl of Great Price was written and assembled later than the Doctrine and Covenants was and my Grandfather was one that organized the Pearl of Great Price. So when we discussed it in our meeting, we didn't discuss whether it should go in the Doctrine and Covenants or the Pearl of Great Price. We just discussed how to add those two revelations to the Pearl of Great Price."
Walters: "Will this affect your theological thinking about the Negro as being less valiant in the previous existence? How does this relate? Have you thought that through?"
Richards: "Some time ago, the Brethren decided that we should never say that. We don't know just what the reason was. Paul said, 'The Lord hath before appointed the bounds of the habitations of all men for to dwell upon the face of the earth,' and so He determined that before we were born. He who knows why they were born with black skin or white and so on and so forth. We'll just have to wait and find out."
Walters: "Is there still a tendency to feel that people are born with black skin because of some previous situation, or do we consider that black skin is no sign anymore of anything inferior in any sense of the word?"
Richards: "Well, we don't want to get that as a doctrine. Think of it as you will. You know, Paul said 'Now we see in part and we know in part; we see through a glass darkly. When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away, then we will see as we are seen, and know as we are known.' Now the Church's attitude today is to prefer to leave it until we know. The Lord has never indicated that black skin came because of being less faithful. Now, the Indian; we know why he was changed, don't we? The Book of Mormon tells us that; and he has a dark skin, but he has a promise there that through faithfulness, that they all again become a white and delightsome people. So we haven't anything like that on the colored thing."
Walters: "Now, with this new revelation - has it brought any new insights or new ways of looking at the Book of Abraham? Because I think traditionally it is thought of the curse of Cain, coming through Canaanites and on the black-skinned people, and therefore denying the priesthood?"
Richards: "We considered that with all the 'for's' and the 'against's' and decided that with all of that, if they lived their lives, and did the work, that they were entitled to their blessings."
Walters: "But you haven't come up with any new understanding of the Book of Abraham? I just wondered whether there would be a shift in that direction."
Vlachos: "Is the recent revelation in harmony with what the past prophets have taught, of when the Negro would receive the priesthood?"
Richards: "Well, they have held out the thought that they would ultimately get the priesthood, but they never determined the time for it. And so when this situation that we face down there in Brazil - Brother Kimball worried a lot about it - how the people are so faithful and devoted. The president of the Relief Society of the stake is a colored woman down there in one of the stakes. If they do the work, why it seems like that the justice of the Lord would approve of giving them the blessing. Now it's all conditional upon the life that they live, isn't it?"
Walters: "Well, I thank you for clarifying that for me, because you know, out in the streets out there, there must be at least five, ten different stories about the way this happened."
Richards: "Well, I've told you exactly what happened."
Walters: "Right. Well, thank you so much. I appreciate it."
Richards: "If you quote me you will be telling the truth."
Walters: "Okay, well fine. You don't mind if we quote you then?"
Richards: "No."
Walters: "Okay, that's great!"
Looking Forward and Outward
In mid-August, non-Mormon scholar Jan Shipps explained in a Christian Century article called "The Mormons: Looking Forward and Outward": "Whether such will ever be the case or not, a crucial obstacle which almost certainly would have prevented the LDS church from ever being a universal church was removed on June 9, 1978, when the Lord, it was reported, confirmed 'by revelation' to church President Spencer W. Kimball and his counselors 'that the long-promised day had come when every faithful worthy man in the church may receive the holy priesthood.' Signaling the elimination of the barrier which had kept black men of African descent from holding the LDS priesthood, this revelation was an event of extraordinary importance to Latter-day Saints. It was widely and rapidly reported in the American press and electronic news media where many accounts, elaborating on the official announcement, suggested that the revelation was, in the words of the New York Times, 'another example of the adaptation of Mormon beliefs to American culture.'
"Despite the persuasiveness of this interpretation, the June 9 revelation will never be fully understood if it is regarded simply as a pragmatic doctrinal shift ultimately designed to bring Latter-day Saints into congruence with mainstream America. The timing and context, and even the wording of the revelation itself, indicate that the change has not to do with America so much as with the world.
"A revelation in Mormondom rarely comes as a bolt from the blue; the process involves asking questions and getting answers. The occasion of questioning has to be considered, and it must be recalled that while questions about priesthood and the black man may have been asked, an answer was not forthcoming in the '60s when the Church was under pressure about the matter from without, nor in the early '70s when liberal Latter-day Saints agitated the issue within. The inspiration which led President Kimball and his counselors to spend many hours in the Upper Room of the Temple pleading long and earnestly for divine guidance did not stem from a messy situation with blacks picketing the Church's annual conference in Salt Lake City, but was 'the expansion of the work of the Lord over the earth'...
"Predicting the impact of the June 9 revelation on the growth pattern of the Church would be risky. But the fact that this revelation came in the context of worldwide evangelism rather than domestic politics or American social and cultural circumstances is yet another indication that Mormonism can no longer be regarded as a 19th-century religiocultural artifact and dismissed as a footnote to the story of American religion. Mormonism is here to stay. Where did it come from? And more important, how and why is it growing at such a rapid pace?"
"Despite the persuasiveness of this interpretation, the June 9 revelation will never be fully understood if it is regarded simply as a pragmatic doctrinal shift ultimately designed to bring Latter-day Saints into congruence with mainstream America. The timing and context, and even the wording of the revelation itself, indicate that the change has not to do with America so much as with the world.
"A revelation in Mormondom rarely comes as a bolt from the blue; the process involves asking questions and getting answers. The occasion of questioning has to be considered, and it must be recalled that while questions about priesthood and the black man may have been asked, an answer was not forthcoming in the '60s when the Church was under pressure about the matter from without, nor in the early '70s when liberal Latter-day Saints agitated the issue within. The inspiration which led President Kimball and his counselors to spend many hours in the Upper Room of the Temple pleading long and earnestly for divine guidance did not stem from a messy situation with blacks picketing the Church's annual conference in Salt Lake City, but was 'the expansion of the work of the Lord over the earth'...
"Predicting the impact of the June 9 revelation on the growth pattern of the Church would be risky. But the fact that this revelation came in the context of worldwide evangelism rather than domestic politics or American social and cultural circumstances is yet another indication that Mormonism can no longer be regarded as a 19th-century religiocultural artifact and dismissed as a footnote to the story of American religion. Mormonism is here to stay. Where did it come from? And more important, how and why is it growing at such a rapid pace?"
All Are Alike Unto God
On August 18, in a speech called "All Are Alike unto God", Elder Bruce R. McConkie told institute teachers, "The gospel goes to various peoples and nations on a priority basis. We were commanded in the early days of this dispensation to preach the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Our revelations talk about its going to every creature. There was, of course, no possible way for us to do all of this in the beginning days of our dispensation, nor can we now, in the full sense. And so, guided by inspiration, we began to go from one nation and one culture to another... Not only is the gospel to go, on a priority basis and harmonious to a divine timetable, to one nation after another, but the whole history of God's dealings with men on earth indicates that such has been the case in the past; it has been restricted and limited where many people are concerned...
"You know this principle: God 'hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him" [Acts 17:26-27] - meaning that there is an appointed time for successive nations and peoples and races and cultures to be offered the saving truths of the gospel. There are nations today to whom we have not gone - notably Red China and Russia. But you can rest assured that we will fulfill the requirement of taking the gospel to those nations before the Second Coming of the Son of Man... We have revelations that tell us the gospel is to go to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people before the Second Coming of the Son of Man. And we have revelations which recite that when the Lord comes he will find those who speak every tongue and are members of every nation and kindred, who will be kings and priests, who will live and reign on earth with him for a thousand years...
"We have read these passages and their associated passages for many years. We have seen what the words say and have said to ourselves, 'Yes, it says that, but we must read out of it the taking of the gospel and the blessings of the temple to the Negro people, because they are denied certain things.' There are statements in our literature by the early brethren which we have interpreted to mean that the Negroes would not receive the priesthood in mortality. I have said the same things, and people write me letters and say, 'You said such and such, and how is it now that we do such and such?' All I can say to that is that it is time disbelieving people repented and got in line and believed in a living, modern prophet. Forget everything that I have said, or what President Brigham Young or President George Q. Cannon or whomsoever has said in days past that is contrary to the present revelation. We spoke with a limited understanding and without the light and knowledge that now has come into the world.
"We get our truth and our light line upon line and precept upon precept. We have now had added a new flood of intelligence and light on this particular subject, and it erases all the darkness, and all the views and all the thoughts of the past. They don't matter any more. It doesn't make a particle of difference what anybody ever said about the Negro matter before the first day of June of this year. It is a new day and a new arrangement, and the Lord has now given the revelation that sheds light out into the world on this subject. As to any slivers of light or any particles of darkness of the past, we forget about them. We now do what meridian Israel did when the Lord said the gospel should go to the gentiles. We forget all the statements that limited the gospel to the house of Israel, and we start going to the gentiles.
"Obviously, the Brethren have had a great anxiety and concern about this problem for a great period of time, and President Spencer W. Kimball has been exercised and has sought the Lord in faith. When we seek the Lord on a matter, with sufficient faith and devotion, he gives us an answer... One underlying reason for what happened to us is the Brethren asked in faith; they petitioned and desired and wanted an answer - President Kimball in particular. And the other underlying principle is that in the eternal providences of the Lord, the time had come for extending the gospel to a race and culture to whom it had previously been denied, at least as far as all of its blessings are concerned. So it was a matter of faith and righteousness and seeking on the one hand, and it was a matter of the divine timetable on the other hand. The time had arrived when the gospel, with all its blessings and obligations, should go to the Negro...
"Well, once again a revelation was given that affects this sphere of activity and the sphere that is to come. And so it had tremendous significance; the eternal import was such that it came in the way it did. The Lord could have sent messengers from the other side to deliver it, but he did not. He gave the revelation by the power of the Holy Ghost. Latter-day Saints have a complex: many of them desire to magnify and build upon what has occurred, and they delight to think of miraculous things. And maybe some of them would like to believe that the Lord himself was there, or that the Prophet Joseph Smith came to deliver the revelation, which was one of the possibilities. Well, these things did not happen. The stories that go around to the contrary are not factual or realistic or true, and you as teachers in the Church Educational System will be in a position to explain and to tell your students that this thing came by the power of the Holy Ghost, and that all the Brethren involved, the thirteen who were present, are independent personal witnesses of the truth and divinity of what occurred.
"There is no way to describe in language what is involved. This cannot be done. You are familiar with Book of Mormon references where the account says that no tongue could tell and no pen could write what was involved in the experience and that it had to be felt by the power of the Spirit. This was one of those occasions. To carnal people who do not understand the operating of the Holy Spirit of God upon the souls of man, this may sound like gibberish or jargon or uncertainty or ambiguity; but to those who are enlightened by the power of the Spirit and who have themselves felt its power, it will have a ring of veracity and truth, and they will know of its verity. I cannot describe in words what happened; I can only say that it happened and that it can be known and understood only by the feeling that can come into the heart of man. You cannot describe a testimony to someone. No one can really know what a testimony is - the feeling and the joy and the rejoicing and the happiness that comes into the heart of man when he gets one - except another person who has received a testimony. Some things can be known only by revelation, 'The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God' (1 Corinthians 2:11)."
E. Dale LeBaron recalled, "For decades the South African government had restricted the number of foreign church missionaries that could serve in the country at one time. Although there needed to be several missions to properly service the vast area of South Africa and Zimbabwe, there were not sufficient missionaries to even service one. Through the leadership of Elder David B. Haight of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and under the inspired direction of President Kimball, arrangements were made for me to meet with the South African Ministry of the Interior in August 1978 to discuss this rigid quota. The Saints and missionaries fasted and prayed. Through a sequence of miracles, the Spirit of the Lord touched hearts, and two months after the revelation allowing the blacks to receive the priesthood, the quota was removed. The number of missionaries and converts multiplied. Today [in 2000] there are many times more missions, stakes, and members as there were prior to the revelation."
"You know this principle: God 'hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him" [Acts 17:26-27] - meaning that there is an appointed time for successive nations and peoples and races and cultures to be offered the saving truths of the gospel. There are nations today to whom we have not gone - notably Red China and Russia. But you can rest assured that we will fulfill the requirement of taking the gospel to those nations before the Second Coming of the Son of Man... We have revelations that tell us the gospel is to go to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people before the Second Coming of the Son of Man. And we have revelations which recite that when the Lord comes he will find those who speak every tongue and are members of every nation and kindred, who will be kings and priests, who will live and reign on earth with him for a thousand years...
"We have read these passages and their associated passages for many years. We have seen what the words say and have said to ourselves, 'Yes, it says that, but we must read out of it the taking of the gospel and the blessings of the temple to the Negro people, because they are denied certain things.' There are statements in our literature by the early brethren which we have interpreted to mean that the Negroes would not receive the priesthood in mortality. I have said the same things, and people write me letters and say, 'You said such and such, and how is it now that we do such and such?' All I can say to that is that it is time disbelieving people repented and got in line and believed in a living, modern prophet. Forget everything that I have said, or what President Brigham Young or President George Q. Cannon or whomsoever has said in days past that is contrary to the present revelation. We spoke with a limited understanding and without the light and knowledge that now has come into the world.
"We get our truth and our light line upon line and precept upon precept. We have now had added a new flood of intelligence and light on this particular subject, and it erases all the darkness, and all the views and all the thoughts of the past. They don't matter any more. It doesn't make a particle of difference what anybody ever said about the Negro matter before the first day of June of this year. It is a new day and a new arrangement, and the Lord has now given the revelation that sheds light out into the world on this subject. As to any slivers of light or any particles of darkness of the past, we forget about them. We now do what meridian Israel did when the Lord said the gospel should go to the gentiles. We forget all the statements that limited the gospel to the house of Israel, and we start going to the gentiles.
"Obviously, the Brethren have had a great anxiety and concern about this problem for a great period of time, and President Spencer W. Kimball has been exercised and has sought the Lord in faith. When we seek the Lord on a matter, with sufficient faith and devotion, he gives us an answer... One underlying reason for what happened to us is the Brethren asked in faith; they petitioned and desired and wanted an answer - President Kimball in particular. And the other underlying principle is that in the eternal providences of the Lord, the time had come for extending the gospel to a race and culture to whom it had previously been denied, at least as far as all of its blessings are concerned. So it was a matter of faith and righteousness and seeking on the one hand, and it was a matter of the divine timetable on the other hand. The time had arrived when the gospel, with all its blessings and obligations, should go to the Negro...
"Well, once again a revelation was given that affects this sphere of activity and the sphere that is to come. And so it had tremendous significance; the eternal import was such that it came in the way it did. The Lord could have sent messengers from the other side to deliver it, but he did not. He gave the revelation by the power of the Holy Ghost. Latter-day Saints have a complex: many of them desire to magnify and build upon what has occurred, and they delight to think of miraculous things. And maybe some of them would like to believe that the Lord himself was there, or that the Prophet Joseph Smith came to deliver the revelation, which was one of the possibilities. Well, these things did not happen. The stories that go around to the contrary are not factual or realistic or true, and you as teachers in the Church Educational System will be in a position to explain and to tell your students that this thing came by the power of the Holy Ghost, and that all the Brethren involved, the thirteen who were present, are independent personal witnesses of the truth and divinity of what occurred.
"There is no way to describe in language what is involved. This cannot be done. You are familiar with Book of Mormon references where the account says that no tongue could tell and no pen could write what was involved in the experience and that it had to be felt by the power of the Spirit. This was one of those occasions. To carnal people who do not understand the operating of the Holy Spirit of God upon the souls of man, this may sound like gibberish or jargon or uncertainty or ambiguity; but to those who are enlightened by the power of the Spirit and who have themselves felt its power, it will have a ring of veracity and truth, and they will know of its verity. I cannot describe in words what happened; I can only say that it happened and that it can be known and understood only by the feeling that can come into the heart of man. You cannot describe a testimony to someone. No one can really know what a testimony is - the feeling and the joy and the rejoicing and the happiness that comes into the heart of man when he gets one - except another person who has received a testimony. Some things can be known only by revelation, 'The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God' (1 Corinthians 2:11)."
E. Dale LeBaron recalled, "For decades the South African government had restricted the number of foreign church missionaries that could serve in the country at one time. Although there needed to be several missions to properly service the vast area of South Africa and Zimbabwe, there were not sufficient missionaries to even service one. Through the leadership of Elder David B. Haight of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and under the inspired direction of President Kimball, arrangements were made for me to meet with the South African Ministry of the Interior in August 1978 to discuss this rigid quota. The Saints and missionaries fasted and prayed. Through a sequence of miracles, the Spirit of the Lord touched hearts, and two months after the revelation allowing the blacks to receive the priesthood, the quota was removed. The number of missionaries and converts multiplied. Today [in 2000] there are many times more missions, stakes, and members as there were prior to the revelation."
Mary Sturlaugson Receives Her Endowment
Mary Sturlaugson recalled, "On September 8, I went through the Provo Temple for my endowments. I woke up that morning as if in a dream. I still couldn't believe this was actually happening to me. Walking up to the temple that day, I felt as though hundreds of spirits were encircling me. There was such a feeling of love, it was almost overwhelming.
"During the temple session I tried to concentrate on the presentation, but my thoughts kept wandering to the full meaning of what was happening in my life. I was actually sitting in the house of the Lord. I could now be married and sealed to an eternal mate; I could do temple work for my ancestors; I could have my family sealed; my children would be able to serve missions. The full blessings of the kingdom were open to me now.
"I began to cry. No more limitations. I didn't fully understand why the priesthood blessings had been denied to us by our Heavenly Father, but sitting there in the temple, with the tears flowing down my face, I kept remembering the scripture, 'To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.' A woman next to me must have been aware of my tears, because she reached over and took my hand. I looked at her to thank her, and I saw that she too had tears in her eyes.
"As the temple session neared an end, a peaceful feeling of gratitude filled my heart. I was aware of the tears of others in the celestial room, though I didn't know most of them. They came forward to hug me and express their happiness for the blessing I now had. What a joyous and beautiful day that was in my life! The only thing missing was my family. How special it would have been if they had been there sharing it with me!"
"During the temple session I tried to concentrate on the presentation, but my thoughts kept wandering to the full meaning of what was happening in my life. I was actually sitting in the house of the Lord. I could now be married and sealed to an eternal mate; I could do temple work for my ancestors; I could have my family sealed; my children would be able to serve missions. The full blessings of the kingdom were open to me now.
"I began to cry. No more limitations. I didn't fully understand why the priesthood blessings had been denied to us by our Heavenly Father, but sitting there in the temple, with the tears flowing down my face, I kept remembering the scripture, 'To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.' A woman next to me must have been aware of my tears, because she reached over and took my hand. I looked at her to thank her, and I saw that she too had tears in her eyes.
"As the temple session neared an end, a peaceful feeling of gratitude filled my heart. I was aware of the tears of others in the celestial room, though I didn't know most of them. They came forward to hug me and express their happiness for the blessing I now had. What a joyous and beautiful day that was in my life! The only thing missing was my family. How special it would have been if they had been there sharing it with me!"
Correspondence
On September 11 Chris Vlachos wrote to LeGrand Richards, "Dear Elder Richards, I wanted to write and thank you for our visits of August 16th and a week or so ago. Wesley Walters and I appreciated your kindness in spending so much time with us, and for explaining your experiences with regard to the recent revelation authorizing you to give the LDS Priesthood to Negroes.
"Since I did not take any notes at our first meeting, I wanted to write and verify a few important points which you made before I forget them.
One of the most interesting items which you mentioned was that the whole situation was basically provoked by the Brazilian temple - that is, the Mormon church has had great difficulty obtaining Priesthood leadership among its South American membership; and now with this new temple, a large proportion of those who have contributed money and work to build it - would not be able to use it unless the Church changed its stand with regard to giving the Priesthood to Blacks.
"I believe that you also mentioned President Kimball as having called each of the Twelve Apostles individually into his office to hear their personal feelings with regard to this issue. While President Kimball was basically in favor of giving the Priesthood to Blacks, didn't he ask each of you to prepare some refer- ences for and against the proposal as found in the scriptures?
"Another thing which stands out in my mind was the prayer that President Kimball offered in the special prayer circle with the Apostles and First Presidency on June 1st: Didn't you say he prayed essentially that God would give you all the inspiration necessary to do what was pleasing to the Lord and what was best for the blessing of His children?
"In addition to these details, I have tried to sequentialize what you told us about the revelation. The Twelve and First Presidency had a special prayer circle in the Salt Lake Temple on June 1st, where President Kimball prayed for guidance and inspiration in regard to Negroes. Then, one week later on June 8th, you all met again and the First Presidency presented the letter released on June 9th to all Church leaders to the Twelve in order to hear their reactions. A few members of the Twelve offered suggestions for a few changes in the document. Afterwards, all twelve Apostles voted in favor of the announcement. When we asked you if there was a written revelation, you said that the only written document was the June 9th letter - that it was considered to be sufficient. The next morning, all other general authorities met and voted in favor of the announcement. Then it was released to the press.
"I feel fairly certain as to the accuracy of these events, but just wanted to double-verify it with you.
"I recall Wesley asking if the Mormons still believe that Negroes were less valient in the pre-mortal existence - this being a reason for their black skin. Didn't you say that the Brethren decided that the real reasons are still unknown? I do remember you saying that the Book of Abraham curse doctrine was considered with the pros and cons, and that you all decided that if Negroes live good lives, they are entitled to their blessings. I assume that this means no new interpretation of the Book of Abraham account?
"When we talked about intermarriage, I got the feeling that the Mormon Church will not encourage them, but if they occur, the Church will support them. Is my perception accurate?
"I guess that's about it. We did talk about other things, but these stick out more in my mind as the important parts. When you reply, please let me know if this accurately represents what you told Wesley and I. I really appreciate your personal concern in answering all our questions.
"Very truly yours,
Chris Vlachos"
The next day Elder Richards responded, "Dear Friend: This will acknowledge receipt of your letter of September 11th and I don't quite understand the purpose of your letter. The explanations I gave to you when you were here in my office I did not intend for public use. I thought it would be for your own information. I don't think there is anything more I need to add to what I told you at that time.
"It wouldn't please me if you were using the information I gave you when you were here in my office for public purposes. I gave it to you for your own information, and that is where I would like to see it remain.
"With all good wishes, I remain,
LeGrand Richards"
On September 15 Chris Vlachos responded, "Dear Elder Richards, Thank you for your reply of 12 September. I am writing you again because your response left me very puzzled. After you told Wesley Walters and I the incidents surrounding the recent Negro revelation, we asked you if we could quote what you had said, and you said something to the effect that 'Yes, you can quote me, for I have told you exactly what happened.' Having been given that permission, I have told many people since our conversation of your personal story. Now you say that it was not intended for public transmission. Of course, I have no intention of publishing any of those events, but having received permission to share the story, I am writing you again to verify the main points. I will continue to share what you told us, and only wish to be sure that what I say is correctly representing what you said.
"The basic points of the story as I remember them are:
"1. That the whole situation was provoked by the Brazilian temple all air. Apparently, most of the South American members would not have been able to use the temple due to their Negro ancestry.
"2. President Kimball personally interviewed each of the Twelve Apostles on the Negro question, and asked you all to prepare references for and against giving Blacks the Priesthood.
"3. President Kimball's prayer offered at the June 1st prayer circle was that God would inspire you all to do what was pleasing to Him and what would be best for His children.
"4. The letter sent to all Church officials was first presented to the Twelve Apostles by the First Presidency, and voted upon (affirmatively). This occured one week after President Kimball's prayer for guidance.
"5. The official letter mentioned in point #4 was the only written document involved in the policy change. No written revelation or account of inspiration was otherwise produced.
"6. No new interpretation of the Book of Abraham 'curse' upon the descendants of Cain will be offered by the Mormon Church. You said that we still do not know why Blacks were cursed, and that the lack of valiency in the pre-mortal existence is not a doctrine. The general feeling of the Brethren is that if Negroes live righteous lives, they are entitled to the same blessings as other members of the Church.
"7. With reference to intermarriage, the Church does not encourage them, but if they occur, the Church will support them and allow temple sealings to take place.
"As I mentioned in the first paragraph, you originally told us that we could quote you as having related these facts. This we will continue to do, but I truly wish to have your verification of the above seven points so that we do not mis-quote you.
"Thank you once again for your personal concern with this matter.
"Sincerely yours,
Chris Vlachos"
On September 19 Elder Richards responded, "Dear Mr. Vlachos: This will acknowledge receipt of your letter of September 15th.
"The reason I replied to your last letter as I did was because some time ago I received a letter from someone down in your area, complaining about what you were saying. I don’t remember just who the letter was from but I didn’t feel that my interview with you was something that you would want to be publicizing all over. I don’t have any objections to your telling it to a friend, as you have stated in your letter now of the 15th, I see nothing wrong in your statements reviewing our interview.
"I send my best regards.
"Sincerely yours ,
LeGrand Richards"
"Since I did not take any notes at our first meeting, I wanted to write and verify a few important points which you made before I forget them.
One of the most interesting items which you mentioned was that the whole situation was basically provoked by the Brazilian temple - that is, the Mormon church has had great difficulty obtaining Priesthood leadership among its South American membership; and now with this new temple, a large proportion of those who have contributed money and work to build it - would not be able to use it unless the Church changed its stand with regard to giving the Priesthood to Blacks.
"I believe that you also mentioned President Kimball as having called each of the Twelve Apostles individually into his office to hear their personal feelings with regard to this issue. While President Kimball was basically in favor of giving the Priesthood to Blacks, didn't he ask each of you to prepare some refer- ences for and against the proposal as found in the scriptures?
"Another thing which stands out in my mind was the prayer that President Kimball offered in the special prayer circle with the Apostles and First Presidency on June 1st: Didn't you say he prayed essentially that God would give you all the inspiration necessary to do what was pleasing to the Lord and what was best for the blessing of His children?
"In addition to these details, I have tried to sequentialize what you told us about the revelation. The Twelve and First Presidency had a special prayer circle in the Salt Lake Temple on June 1st, where President Kimball prayed for guidance and inspiration in regard to Negroes. Then, one week later on June 8th, you all met again and the First Presidency presented the letter released on June 9th to all Church leaders to the Twelve in order to hear their reactions. A few members of the Twelve offered suggestions for a few changes in the document. Afterwards, all twelve Apostles voted in favor of the announcement. When we asked you if there was a written revelation, you said that the only written document was the June 9th letter - that it was considered to be sufficient. The next morning, all other general authorities met and voted in favor of the announcement. Then it was released to the press.
"I feel fairly certain as to the accuracy of these events, but just wanted to double-verify it with you.
"I recall Wesley asking if the Mormons still believe that Negroes were less valient in the pre-mortal existence - this being a reason for their black skin. Didn't you say that the Brethren decided that the real reasons are still unknown? I do remember you saying that the Book of Abraham curse doctrine was considered with the pros and cons, and that you all decided that if Negroes live good lives, they are entitled to their blessings. I assume that this means no new interpretation of the Book of Abraham account?
"When we talked about intermarriage, I got the feeling that the Mormon Church will not encourage them, but if they occur, the Church will support them. Is my perception accurate?
"I guess that's about it. We did talk about other things, but these stick out more in my mind as the important parts. When you reply, please let me know if this accurately represents what you told Wesley and I. I really appreciate your personal concern in answering all our questions.
"Very truly yours,
Chris Vlachos"
The next day Elder Richards responded, "Dear Friend: This will acknowledge receipt of your letter of September 11th and I don't quite understand the purpose of your letter. The explanations I gave to you when you were here in my office I did not intend for public use. I thought it would be for your own information. I don't think there is anything more I need to add to what I told you at that time.
"It wouldn't please me if you were using the information I gave you when you were here in my office for public purposes. I gave it to you for your own information, and that is where I would like to see it remain.
"With all good wishes, I remain,
LeGrand Richards"
On September 15 Chris Vlachos responded, "Dear Elder Richards, Thank you for your reply of 12 September. I am writing you again because your response left me very puzzled. After you told Wesley Walters and I the incidents surrounding the recent Negro revelation, we asked you if we could quote what you had said, and you said something to the effect that 'Yes, you can quote me, for I have told you exactly what happened.' Having been given that permission, I have told many people since our conversation of your personal story. Now you say that it was not intended for public transmission. Of course, I have no intention of publishing any of those events, but having received permission to share the story, I am writing you again to verify the main points. I will continue to share what you told us, and only wish to be sure that what I say is correctly representing what you said.
"The basic points of the story as I remember them are:
"1. That the whole situation was provoked by the Brazilian temple all air. Apparently, most of the South American members would not have been able to use the temple due to their Negro ancestry.
"2. President Kimball personally interviewed each of the Twelve Apostles on the Negro question, and asked you all to prepare references for and against giving Blacks the Priesthood.
"3. President Kimball's prayer offered at the June 1st prayer circle was that God would inspire you all to do what was pleasing to Him and what would be best for His children.
"4. The letter sent to all Church officials was first presented to the Twelve Apostles by the First Presidency, and voted upon (affirmatively). This occured one week after President Kimball's prayer for guidance.
"5. The official letter mentioned in point #4 was the only written document involved in the policy change. No written revelation or account of inspiration was otherwise produced.
"6. No new interpretation of the Book of Abraham 'curse' upon the descendants of Cain will be offered by the Mormon Church. You said that we still do not know why Blacks were cursed, and that the lack of valiency in the pre-mortal existence is not a doctrine. The general feeling of the Brethren is that if Negroes live righteous lives, they are entitled to the same blessings as other members of the Church.
"7. With reference to intermarriage, the Church does not encourage them, but if they occur, the Church will support them and allow temple sealings to take place.
"As I mentioned in the first paragraph, you originally told us that we could quote you as having related these facts. This we will continue to do, but I truly wish to have your verification of the above seven points so that we do not mis-quote you.
"Thank you once again for your personal concern with this matter.
"Sincerely yours,
Chris Vlachos"
On September 19 Elder Richards responded, "Dear Mr. Vlachos: This will acknowledge receipt of your letter of September 15th.
"The reason I replied to your last letter as I did was because some time ago I received a letter from someone down in your area, complaining about what you were saying. I don’t remember just who the letter was from but I didn’t feel that my interview with you was something that you would want to be publicizing all over. I don’t have any objections to your telling it to a friend, as you have stated in your letter now of the 15th, I see nothing wrong in your statements reviewing our interview.
"I send my best regards.
"Sincerely yours ,
LeGrand Richards"
Pleas from West Africa
As the Spirit of the Lord worked upon the peoples of West Africa, their frequent inquiries about the Church increased following the revelation even before they had heard about it. On September 28 Anthony Obinna, unaware that plans were underway to send missionaries to West Africa, wrote to the Quorum of the Twelve, "Dear President, Your long silence about the establishment of the Church in Nigeria is very much embrassing [sic]. This country should be looked upon as one of the progressive countries of the world.
"When Christ was teaching people the truth, it can be recalled that many people did not believe him. This church if it is established in Nigeria will work wonders.
"Dr. Karl G. Ma[e]ser continued writing and the Church was brought to his people. There are many people who wanted the Church and it was granted.
"Nigeria has an open door for religious denominations. What could hinder this church from having [a] foot hold here?
"Did Christ not say 'Go yee [sic] and teach all nations?'
"LaMar Willaims gave us the lead and since he was on a mission to Gulf States, we do not receive the 'Ensign, New Era and the Friend or Church News.'
"We here are the true sons of God, but colour makes no difference in the service of Our Heavenly Father and Christ.
"The Spirit of God calls us to abide by this church and there is nothing to keep us out.
"May God bless you now and always.
Sincerely, Anthony Obinna
"N.B. For eight years now - 1971-1978 Our faith is still on trial.
"With God on our side we must succeed. I may pray that you bring this to <the> hearing of the Leading Authorities of the Church.
"Thank you for listening.
Anthony Obinna."
A Regional Representatives seminar was held the next day in conjunction with General Conference. Rendell N. Mabey, who had been asked a few days prior by Elder James E. Faust to consider a mission to West Africa with his wife Rachel, was in attendance. He recalled, "As President Kimball arose and began to speak, I immediately felt a sense of relevance that grew with every sentence he uttered.
'Now, I repeat what I have said many times before,' he told us. 'We have an obligation, a duty, a divine commission to preach the gospel to every nation and every creature.' How often I had heard such exhortations from nearly all of the Brethren, yet on that particular day my whole being seemed to resonate with his message. 'But, I ask you, are we advancing as fast as we should? We feel that the Spirit of the Lord is brooding over the nations to prepare the way for the preaching of the gospel. Certain political events have a bearing upon the spreading of the truth, and it seems as though the Lord is moving upon the affairs of men and nations to hasten their day of readiness when leaders will permit the elect among them to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ and when the gospel will be preached "for a witness" among all nations.'
"President Kimball had pointed out that our fast-growing technology would be an immense boon in preaching and proselyting but added that we seemed somewhat tardy in making use of it. Despite the great advantages of rapid transportation, he said, much of the world was still untouched by the gospel. 'When we think of nations like China, the Soviet Union, India, the whole continent of Africa and our Arab brothers and sisters - hundreds of millions of our Father's children - this seems to be on my mind as I consider how big the world is now and how many people are waiting for us to move forward.'
"For an instant he hesitated, his countenance calm and luminous, his spirit majestic. Was it merely my imagination, or had his gaze momentarily coalesced with my own? 'And what about Africa?' he demanded. 'They have waited so long already. More than one-tenth of the entire population of the world is living on the African continent, nearly twice as many as the whole of South America. Are they not included in the Lord’s invitation to "teach all nations"? Are they not included in the utmost part of the earth?'
"Then, most appropriately, he read portions of a letter recently received from a schoolboy in Ghana. The young man had expressed fervent hope that he might soon be baptized a member of the Church and in time receive the priesthood. He spoke of the way his heart thrilled to the strains of 'Come, Come Ye Saints,' 'Come, O Thou King of Kings,' and other songs of Zion.
"President Kimball also read excerpts from two other letters. 'To testify to our faith in Ghana, one of them stated, 'we have refused to yield to representatives of some churches in America who have tried to influence us with large amounts of money to cause a change of our name to theirs. We therefore solemnly declare in the name of Jesus Christ that God has prepared the groups in Ghana for you, and we have nowhere else to go but forward, looking for your missionaries to help us understand the Church better. It is our burning desire to live by that faith and attain its standards.'
"The third, written from Nigeria, stated, 'When I read through the literature and books you sent to me there is no reason why you should not come and establish a Church here.... In the book Matthew 24:14 Jesus said, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come." It is thus to be seen that nothing seemed to be as important in the sight of the Lord as to preach the kingdom of God.' He then added, 'If you say you cannot come and establish churches in Nigeria, what provision have you made that the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations? Nigeria is a country in the world... and if any one Church has the truth it is not only necessary that it be taught to the heathen nations... but also to members of other sects, for we must all come in the unity of the faith. We need salvation as you, yourself do... and desire that we may all come to a unity of the faith as one body.'
"Stirring words in every case. At the time, however, I did not realize that their authors would soon become flesh-and-blood realities, a unique and unforgettable part of my life. I did not know that all of them would enter the waters of baptism: Emmanuel Bondah, the schoolboy, and J. W. B. Johnson and Anthony Obinna, the first authorized branch presidents in Ghana and Nigeria respectively."
"When Christ was teaching people the truth, it can be recalled that many people did not believe him. This church if it is established in Nigeria will work wonders.
"Dr. Karl G. Ma[e]ser continued writing and the Church was brought to his people. There are many people who wanted the Church and it was granted.
"Nigeria has an open door for religious denominations. What could hinder this church from having [a] foot hold here?
"Did Christ not say 'Go yee [sic] and teach all nations?'
"LaMar Willaims gave us the lead and since he was on a mission to Gulf States, we do not receive the 'Ensign, New Era and the Friend or Church News.'
"We here are the true sons of God, but colour makes no difference in the service of Our Heavenly Father and Christ.
"The Spirit of God calls us to abide by this church and there is nothing to keep us out.
"May God bless you now and always.
Sincerely, Anthony Obinna
"N.B. For eight years now - 1971-1978 Our faith is still on trial.
"With God on our side we must succeed. I may pray that you bring this to <the> hearing of the Leading Authorities of the Church.
"Thank you for listening.
Anthony Obinna."
A Regional Representatives seminar was held the next day in conjunction with General Conference. Rendell N. Mabey, who had been asked a few days prior by Elder James E. Faust to consider a mission to West Africa with his wife Rachel, was in attendance. He recalled, "As President Kimball arose and began to speak, I immediately felt a sense of relevance that grew with every sentence he uttered.
'Now, I repeat what I have said many times before,' he told us. 'We have an obligation, a duty, a divine commission to preach the gospel to every nation and every creature.' How often I had heard such exhortations from nearly all of the Brethren, yet on that particular day my whole being seemed to resonate with his message. 'But, I ask you, are we advancing as fast as we should? We feel that the Spirit of the Lord is brooding over the nations to prepare the way for the preaching of the gospel. Certain political events have a bearing upon the spreading of the truth, and it seems as though the Lord is moving upon the affairs of men and nations to hasten their day of readiness when leaders will permit the elect among them to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ and when the gospel will be preached "for a witness" among all nations.'
"President Kimball had pointed out that our fast-growing technology would be an immense boon in preaching and proselyting but added that we seemed somewhat tardy in making use of it. Despite the great advantages of rapid transportation, he said, much of the world was still untouched by the gospel. 'When we think of nations like China, the Soviet Union, India, the whole continent of Africa and our Arab brothers and sisters - hundreds of millions of our Father's children - this seems to be on my mind as I consider how big the world is now and how many people are waiting for us to move forward.'
"For an instant he hesitated, his countenance calm and luminous, his spirit majestic. Was it merely my imagination, or had his gaze momentarily coalesced with my own? 'And what about Africa?' he demanded. 'They have waited so long already. More than one-tenth of the entire population of the world is living on the African continent, nearly twice as many as the whole of South America. Are they not included in the Lord’s invitation to "teach all nations"? Are they not included in the utmost part of the earth?'
"Then, most appropriately, he read portions of a letter recently received from a schoolboy in Ghana. The young man had expressed fervent hope that he might soon be baptized a member of the Church and in time receive the priesthood. He spoke of the way his heart thrilled to the strains of 'Come, Come Ye Saints,' 'Come, O Thou King of Kings,' and other songs of Zion.
"President Kimball also read excerpts from two other letters. 'To testify to our faith in Ghana, one of them stated, 'we have refused to yield to representatives of some churches in America who have tried to influence us with large amounts of money to cause a change of our name to theirs. We therefore solemnly declare in the name of Jesus Christ that God has prepared the groups in Ghana for you, and we have nowhere else to go but forward, looking for your missionaries to help us understand the Church better. It is our burning desire to live by that faith and attain its standards.'
"The third, written from Nigeria, stated, 'When I read through the literature and books you sent to me there is no reason why you should not come and establish a Church here.... In the book Matthew 24:14 Jesus said, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come." It is thus to be seen that nothing seemed to be as important in the sight of the Lord as to preach the kingdom of God.' He then added, 'If you say you cannot come and establish churches in Nigeria, what provision have you made that the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations? Nigeria is a country in the world... and if any one Church has the truth it is not only necessary that it be taught to the heathen nations... but also to members of other sects, for we must all come in the unity of the faith. We need salvation as you, yourself do... and desire that we may all come to a unity of the faith as one body.'
"Stirring words in every case. At the time, however, I did not realize that their authors would soon become flesh-and-blood realities, a unique and unforgettable part of my life. I did not know that all of them would enter the waters of baptism: Emmanuel Bondah, the schoolboy, and J. W. B. Johnson and Anthony Obinna, the first authorized branch presidents in Ghana and Nigeria respectively."
General Conference Announcement of the Revelation
In General Conference on September 30, President N. Eldon Tanner read aloud the statement of the revelation, which was unanimously accepted as the mind and will of the Lord. Soon thereafter it was canonized as Official Declaration 2 in the Doctrine and Covenants. Because church leaders were adamant about not elaborating further on the revealed will of God, they did not add an official repudiation of the folklore that had been used to explain the ban; a decision that would bring criticism from both within and without the Church for decades to come. However, the very fact of the revelation implicitly rendered all such theories even more untenable than they had been to begin with, and leaders considered it a sufficient disavowal.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie's book Mormon Doctrine had already undergone several revisions in its 1966 edition to fix errors and soften the authoritative tone, but following the revelation it underwent another to remove the statement that black people were less valiant in the pre-existence. It said instead: "As with all men, Negroes are the mortal descendants of Adam and the spirit children of the Eternal Father. They come to earth to gain mortal bodies and be subject to the probationary experiences of this present life. In the providences of the Lord, the gospel and all its attendant blessings are offered to one nation and people after another. During Jesus' mortal ministry he and his disciples took the gospel to the house of Israel only; after his resurrection the word went forth to the Gentiles also. Those who live when the gospel is not on earth may receive its blessings in the spirit world after death. In all past ages and until recent times in this dispensation, the Lord did not offer the priesthood to the Negroes. However, on June 1, 1978, in the Salt Lake Temple, in the presence of the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve, President Spencer W. Kimball received a revelation from the Lord directing that the gospel and the priesthood should now go to all men without reference to race or color.
"This means that worthy males of all races can now receive the Melchizedek Priesthood, perform ordinances, and hold positions of presidency and responsibility. It means that members of all races may now be married in the temple, although interracial marriages are discouraged by the Brethren, and that the full blessings of the gospel may be made available to their ancestors through vicarious temple ordinances. It also means that Negro members of the Church may now perform missionary service and should bear the burdens of the kingdom equally with all other members of the Church. This new revelation is one of the signs of the times. It opens the door to the spread of the gospel among all people before the Second Coming in fulfilment of many scriptural promises. It has been received with joy and rejoicing throughout the Church and is one of the evidences of the divinity of the Lord's great latter-day work. The official document announcing the new revelation, signed by the First Presidency (Spencer W. Kimball, N. Eldon Tanner, and Marion G. Romney) and dated June 8, 1978, is as follows..."
"This means that worthy males of all races can now receive the Melchizedek Priesthood, perform ordinances, and hold positions of presidency and responsibility. It means that members of all races may now be married in the temple, although interracial marriages are discouraged by the Brethren, and that the full blessings of the gospel may be made available to their ancestors through vicarious temple ordinances. It also means that Negro members of the Church may now perform missionary service and should bear the burdens of the kingdom equally with all other members of the Church. This new revelation is one of the signs of the times. It opens the door to the spread of the gospel among all people before the Second Coming in fulfilment of many scriptural promises. It has been received with joy and rejoicing throughout the Church and is one of the evidences of the divinity of the Lord's great latter-day work. The official document announcing the new revelation, signed by the First Presidency (Spencer W. Kimball, N. Eldon Tanner, and Marion G. Romney) and dated June 8, 1978, is as follows..."
Missionary Preparation
Rendell Mabey recalled, "I attended the first session of General Conference and was delighted to learn that Elder James E. Faust had been called as a member of the Council of the Twelve. Surely the past week had been a momentous one for him, but despite his ever-growing responsibilities he moved ahead with dispatch on our pending assignment to Africa. Three days later, on October 3, we met in his office, and there received another happy surprise. Ted Cannon and his wife, Janath, were to be our companions, a calling that they had not even anticipated until a few hours earlier....
"It was a spiritual high that increased far more as we entered the conference room of the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve. The prophet was seated at one end of a long, darkly gleaming table with his counselors, N. Eldon Tanner and Marion G. Romney. Other Church leaders at that meeting were Elder Faust; Elder Carlos Asay of the First Quorum of the Seventy and member of the Church Missionary Committee; Francis M. Gibbons, secretary to the First Presidency, and David Kennedy. It was, without doubt, an auspicious moment, and the next forty minutes were rich with instruction and counsel, much of it from President Kimball himself. His words were fatherly and gentle, without the slightest affectation but, as always, profound.
'We want you to know, our dear brothers and sisters,' President Kimball concluded, 'that this assignment will require great faith, wisdom, and courage. We appreciate you; we love and commend you for your faithfulness, and send you forth with our most fervent prayers.'
"How could anyone ask more? I wondered, and felt certain that same thought must have pulsed in the mind of everyone present.
'Are there any more questions?' he asked at last.
"I glanced at the others. 'Only one for the moment,' I said. 'How soon would you like us to leave?'
"The prophet smiled, and his gaze was a perfect blend of mischief and benevolence. 'Yesterday,' he said....
"As we left the office, Elder Carlos E. Asay made an observation none of us will ever forget. 'Brothers and sisters,' he said quietly, 'in my opinion no missionaries in the entire history of the Church have ever received a more important and challenging call.' A moving thought, but we already knew that the days ahead would bear him out."
E. Dale LeBaron recalled, "Another historic event occurred in October 1978 when an area conference was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, with President Kimball presiding. This was only the second time in our history that a president of the Church had visited the Saints in Africa. Accompanying the prophet were President N. Eldon Tanner and Elders Gordon B. Hinckley, Neal A. Maxwell, and James E. Cullimore. It was the first time that more than one general authority had been in Africa at the same time. It was the experience of a lifetime for the five thousand Saints who attended the conference, many traveling more than fifteen hundred miles to be there. These events did much to bring the Church in Africa out from under the blanket of obscurity and darkness."
"It was a spiritual high that increased far more as we entered the conference room of the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve. The prophet was seated at one end of a long, darkly gleaming table with his counselors, N. Eldon Tanner and Marion G. Romney. Other Church leaders at that meeting were Elder Faust; Elder Carlos Asay of the First Quorum of the Seventy and member of the Church Missionary Committee; Francis M. Gibbons, secretary to the First Presidency, and David Kennedy. It was, without doubt, an auspicious moment, and the next forty minutes were rich with instruction and counsel, much of it from President Kimball himself. His words were fatherly and gentle, without the slightest affectation but, as always, profound.
'We want you to know, our dear brothers and sisters,' President Kimball concluded, 'that this assignment will require great faith, wisdom, and courage. We appreciate you; we love and commend you for your faithfulness, and send you forth with our most fervent prayers.'
"How could anyone ask more? I wondered, and felt certain that same thought must have pulsed in the mind of everyone present.
'Are there any more questions?' he asked at last.
"I glanced at the others. 'Only one for the moment,' I said. 'How soon would you like us to leave?'
"The prophet smiled, and his gaze was a perfect blend of mischief and benevolence. 'Yesterday,' he said....
"As we left the office, Elder Carlos E. Asay made an observation none of us will ever forget. 'Brothers and sisters,' he said quietly, 'in my opinion no missionaries in the entire history of the Church have ever received a more important and challenging call.' A moving thought, but we already knew that the days ahead would bear him out."
E. Dale LeBaron recalled, "Another historic event occurred in October 1978 when an area conference was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, with President Kimball presiding. This was only the second time in our history that a president of the Church had visited the Saints in Africa. Accompanying the prophet were President N. Eldon Tanner and Elders Gordon B. Hinckley, Neal A. Maxwell, and James E. Cullimore. It was the first time that more than one general authority had been in Africa at the same time. It was the experience of a lifetime for the five thousand Saints who attended the conference, many traveling more than fifteen hundred miles to be there. These events did much to bring the Church in Africa out from under the blanket of obscurity and darkness."
São Paulo Temple Dedication
The São Paulo Brazil Temple was dedicated from October 30 to November 2 of 1978, becoming the first temple in Brazil and all of Latin America. Because of the recent revelation all worthy Brazilian members would be able to enter and perform ordinances.
Helvécio Martins had been assigned as the public relations coordinator for the São Paulo Brazil Temple and had worked diligently to promote its construction despite having no reason to suspect he would ever be allowed to enter. On seeing them at the dedication a few months after the revelation ending the priesthood ban, President Spencer W. Kimball later said, "I don't know when I have ever been as touched as I was to see that man and his wife standing in the congregation when we were dedicating the São Paulo Temple, and to see them wipe their eyes all through the session. They were so thrilled to be permitted to have the blessings."
Helvécio Martins had been assigned as the public relations coordinator for the São Paulo Brazil Temple and had worked diligently to promote its construction despite having no reason to suspect he would ever be allowed to enter. On seeing them at the dedication a few months after the revelation ending the priesthood ban, President Spencer W. Kimball later said, "I don't know when I have ever been as touched as I was to see that man and his wife standing in the congregation when we were dedicating the São Paulo Temple, and to see them wipe their eyes all through the session. They were so thrilled to be permitted to have the blessings."
The Church of Jesus Christ Enters West Africa
On November 18, 1978, the Church sent its first missionaries to black Africa since LaMar Williams - Elder Rendell N. Mabey, Sister Rachel Mabey, Elder Edwin Q. Cannon Jr., and Sister Janath Cannon - as special representatives of the International Mission. Presiding Bishop Victor L. Brown told Elder Mabey, "I think you are on the frontier of one of the greatest historical events in church history as far as growth is concerned."
On arriving in Nigeria Elder Mabey wrote, "At the very least, we decided, the religious atmosphere was a healthy one. Little churches dotted the landscape, and ministers of one kind or another abounded everywhere. Many times since then, in fact, I have felt that we owe a great debt to those religions which established a foothold in many parts of Africa when Christianity was regarded with much suspicion and hostility. Through their efforts a remarkably rich seedbed was prepared for sowing the everlasting gospel. Soil so fertile, in the words of an old-time farmer, it would 'almost jump up and grab the seeds from your hand.'"
On arriving in Nigeria Elder Mabey wrote, "At the very least, we decided, the religious atmosphere was a healthy one. Little churches dotted the landscape, and ministers of one kind or another abounded everywhere. Many times since then, in fact, I have felt that we owe a great debt to those religions which established a foothold in many parts of Africa when Christianity was regarded with much suspicion and hostility. Through their efforts a remarkably rich seedbed was prepared for sowing the everlasting gospel. Soil so fertile, in the words of an old-time farmer, it would 'almost jump up and grab the seeds from your hand.'"
Elder Mabey recalled, "A cock was crowing just before daylight the following morning, and we arose early, full of excitement. November 21, 1978: Although the events of that day may never be recorded for the world at large, it was to become a great landmark in the history of the Church and among the peoples of Black Africa.
"We left Enugu with the Knudsens and Bowns in the Knudsen family bus at 7:30 A.M., expecting to arrive at our destination, Umuelem Enyiogugu, by 9:00 A.M. This time, though, we were approaching the village from an opposite direction and again experienced problems finding our way over difficult roads. As a result, we arrived an hour and a half late to find the villagers both elated and anxious. They were all waiting and had sent a truck out in search of us. Several local officials had even been on hand as a welcoming committee but had eventually returned to their work a few miles away.
"Our first order of business, therefore, was to visit those men in their offices. There we offered apologies for arriving late, extended greetings from President Kimball and the Council of the Twelve, and were treated much like visiting royalty. 'We have heard very good things about your religion,' the commissioner informed us, 'and we want you to know that you are welcome. Our area government will be happy to assist you in becoming established here.' He went on to praise Anthony Obinna as an outstanding member of the community, and again we were filled with wonderment. How often on missions to other countries we had felt maligned and rejected, or at best merely tolerated! How long and how hard we had scraped and struggled to find a single open-minded listener. And now this - actual assistance from the government itself! Was it only a dream after all?
"No - no dream. Only a short while later we were back at the village discussing Church procedures and interviewing the nineteen adults whose names Anthony had provided. Many others desired baptism, he explained, but these were the strong ones, our foundation stones.
"Meanwhile, Sister Knudsen had been teaching a number of women and children one of the Church's all-time musical favorites, 'I Am a Child of God.' Her listenes learned quickly and within short order were marching together throughout the village compound singing the words with great enthusiasm and harmony. 'I am a child of God, and he has sent me here, has given me an earthly home with parents kind and dear.' How does one describe the depth of emotion at hearing those voices? They rose spontaneously and rapturously among the trees and rooftops of that little village. 'Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way. Teach me all that I must do to live with him someday.'
"Yes, we all had tears in our eyes, but events were happening so rapidly and unexpectedly it was difficult to assimilate them. We merely knew that the Lord's hand was increasingly evident that day, at every turn. Even before the singing had ended, our friend Anthony informed us that fifteen leaders, village chiefs and others from the surrounding area, had arrived and wished to confer with me. I therefore excused myself and went to meet them, leaving the interviewing to Elders Cannon, Knudsen, and Bown.
"All of these visitors were representatives of the Ibo Tribe, one of the largest and most influential in the country. Despite Nigeria's rapid evolution toward democracy and the establishment of government at local, state, and national levels, tribes like the Ibo, which consisted of several million people, still have much influence. These larger tribes, in fact, make the unification of Nigeria difficult in some ways because people there still tend to vote for their own tribesmen during elections.
"Our meeting was held in the 'Missionary Home,' and it was another experience that will never be erased: fifteen leaders of influence, appearing from nowhere, it seemed, all very dark, handsome, and dignified, several wearing brilliant native robes of red, orange, blue, green, purple, and gold, all sitting there attentively while I explained the everlasting gospel. Most of them did not speak English, so Anthony interpreted, and it soon became evident that he was doing an excellent job. 'Will it be possible,' one of the men inquired, 'to obtain a larger meetinghouse in a more central location? It may be that many of our people will become members of your church, and in that event the accomodations here would be inadequate.'
"In reply I explained that such a thing might be possible, that it would, of course, depend upon growth in membership. I also told them that the Church might offer financial assistance in such an undertaking but only after the members had displayed a strong desire to help themselves. Not long afterward, incidentally, the Obinna family donated a large building site to the Church. The land was located about a mile away so that other villagers would not feel they were attending the 'Obinna Family Church,' a point the owners emphasized in offering such a gift.
'Will your church be willing to establish schools in this area?' another man inquired.
'That I can't say,' I answered. 'Such considerations must await the future.' I paused, listening to our interpreter, then added, 'I must tell you in all honesty, however, that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not come with material incentives and worldly goods. We come instead with a gift that can never be equaled, one worth more than all the oil in Nigeria. We come with the gift of eternal life.'
"For a moment there was some rather animated discussion among the men – hands gesturing, faces earnest and intelligent, highly expressive. Then I turned to Anthony Obinna, fearing that our listeners had been harboring false expectations. 'What are they saying?' I asked guardedly.
'They say,' he replied, and smiled faintly, watching me from the corners of his eyes, 'that they wish to be baptized on your next visit.'
"The day, in terms of richness and fulfillment, might easily have ended right there, but the high point was yet ahead, four miles away on the Ekeonumiri River. It was there only an hour later that our first baptismal service took place. The spot selected lay at the end of a narrow dirt road amid lush greenery and palm trees, a scene that could perhaps rival the Garden of Eden. The river was rather small, only thirty or forty feet wide and so shallow that complete immersion appeared unlikely at first. After a little exploration, however, we discovered an ideal spot as one of the men in our group hacked a sizable opening among the water reeds with his machete.
"Four white wrap-arounds had been acquired for the occasion which could be quickly transferred from one person to the next, and the service began promptly with an invocation by Brother Bown and a talk on the purpose of baptism by Brother Knudsen. The time had now arrived, and I entered the river with an immense sensation of incredulity and reverence, feeling its cool, gentle flow against my legs and the squishing of soft, wet sand between my toes. Reaching out for the man behind me, I took him by the hand. We smiled at each other, and I placed a hand upon his shoulder to steady us. Then, reaching across his chest with my left arm, I took him by the wrist, placing his opposite hand upon my own wrist.
"For a moment we glanced at each other again - the blue eyes and the brown. Fanning out and away from us lay the river, copper colored along its fringes, swirling and green further on, and dappled with rays of sunlight. Beyond lay the vastness of Africa, and above, the endless depths of azure sky. Tiny, brightly colored fish darted to and fro in the shallows, and the onlookers there on shore waited in profound silence. We were all in the midst of a dream.
"I raised my right arm to the square. 'Anthony Uzodimma Obinna...' Bowing my head slightly, I could see the white hand clasping the black wrist, pulse beat to pulse beat. Never had I witnessed a more complete symbol of love and brotherhood, of complete unity. It was as though the blood in our veins had blended. The sunlight reflected brilliantly from his dark brow and cheekbones. 'Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.'
"Then he descended beneath the water in that special symbol of burial and resurrection, of planting and germination, of cleansing and purification, which only complete immersion can ever satisfy. He descended into the depths and came up dripping and radiant, just as the Savior himself once did so long ago in the Jordan; and from the onlookers thronging the shore arose an audible sigh, the laughter of joy and relief springing from a great and overwhelming sense of awe and fulfillment.
"The moment had come. Brother Anthony Obinna's thirteen years of waiting were over, and the first baptism of our mission had been performed. The doors of the gospel had opened upon the Dark Continent, and the light was pouring forth."
Anthony Obinna became the first black African branch president in the new Aboh Branch, with his brothers Francis and Raymond as counselors and his wife Fidelia as the first black African Relief Society president. He was concerned about having family members in these positions but was assured that they had been chosen for their worthiness, not their relations.
On December 1 the Obinna brothers wrote to President Kimball, "The entire members [sic] of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in this part of Nigeria have the pleasure to thank you and the Latter Day Saints throughout the world for opening the door for the Gospel to come to our people in its fullness. We are happy for the many hours in the Upper Room of the temple you spent supplicating the Lord to bring us into the fold. We thank our Heavenly Father for hearing your prayers and ours and by revelation has confirmed [sic] the long promised day, and has granted the holy priesthood to us, with the power to exercise its divine authority and enjoy every blessings [sic] of the temple... There is no doubt that the Church here will grow and become a mighty centre for the Saints and bring progress enough to the people of Nigeria as it is doing all over the world."
"We left Enugu with the Knudsens and Bowns in the Knudsen family bus at 7:30 A.M., expecting to arrive at our destination, Umuelem Enyiogugu, by 9:00 A.M. This time, though, we were approaching the village from an opposite direction and again experienced problems finding our way over difficult roads. As a result, we arrived an hour and a half late to find the villagers both elated and anxious. They were all waiting and had sent a truck out in search of us. Several local officials had even been on hand as a welcoming committee but had eventually returned to their work a few miles away.
"Our first order of business, therefore, was to visit those men in their offices. There we offered apologies for arriving late, extended greetings from President Kimball and the Council of the Twelve, and were treated much like visiting royalty. 'We have heard very good things about your religion,' the commissioner informed us, 'and we want you to know that you are welcome. Our area government will be happy to assist you in becoming established here.' He went on to praise Anthony Obinna as an outstanding member of the community, and again we were filled with wonderment. How often on missions to other countries we had felt maligned and rejected, or at best merely tolerated! How long and how hard we had scraped and struggled to find a single open-minded listener. And now this - actual assistance from the government itself! Was it only a dream after all?
"No - no dream. Only a short while later we were back at the village discussing Church procedures and interviewing the nineteen adults whose names Anthony had provided. Many others desired baptism, he explained, but these were the strong ones, our foundation stones.
"Meanwhile, Sister Knudsen had been teaching a number of women and children one of the Church's all-time musical favorites, 'I Am a Child of God.' Her listenes learned quickly and within short order were marching together throughout the village compound singing the words with great enthusiasm and harmony. 'I am a child of God, and he has sent me here, has given me an earthly home with parents kind and dear.' How does one describe the depth of emotion at hearing those voices? They rose spontaneously and rapturously among the trees and rooftops of that little village. 'Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way. Teach me all that I must do to live with him someday.'
"Yes, we all had tears in our eyes, but events were happening so rapidly and unexpectedly it was difficult to assimilate them. We merely knew that the Lord's hand was increasingly evident that day, at every turn. Even before the singing had ended, our friend Anthony informed us that fifteen leaders, village chiefs and others from the surrounding area, had arrived and wished to confer with me. I therefore excused myself and went to meet them, leaving the interviewing to Elders Cannon, Knudsen, and Bown.
"All of these visitors were representatives of the Ibo Tribe, one of the largest and most influential in the country. Despite Nigeria's rapid evolution toward democracy and the establishment of government at local, state, and national levels, tribes like the Ibo, which consisted of several million people, still have much influence. These larger tribes, in fact, make the unification of Nigeria difficult in some ways because people there still tend to vote for their own tribesmen during elections.
"Our meeting was held in the 'Missionary Home,' and it was another experience that will never be erased: fifteen leaders of influence, appearing from nowhere, it seemed, all very dark, handsome, and dignified, several wearing brilliant native robes of red, orange, blue, green, purple, and gold, all sitting there attentively while I explained the everlasting gospel. Most of them did not speak English, so Anthony interpreted, and it soon became evident that he was doing an excellent job. 'Will it be possible,' one of the men inquired, 'to obtain a larger meetinghouse in a more central location? It may be that many of our people will become members of your church, and in that event the accomodations here would be inadequate.'
"In reply I explained that such a thing might be possible, that it would, of course, depend upon growth in membership. I also told them that the Church might offer financial assistance in such an undertaking but only after the members had displayed a strong desire to help themselves. Not long afterward, incidentally, the Obinna family donated a large building site to the Church. The land was located about a mile away so that other villagers would not feel they were attending the 'Obinna Family Church,' a point the owners emphasized in offering such a gift.
'Will your church be willing to establish schools in this area?' another man inquired.
'That I can't say,' I answered. 'Such considerations must await the future.' I paused, listening to our interpreter, then added, 'I must tell you in all honesty, however, that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not come with material incentives and worldly goods. We come instead with a gift that can never be equaled, one worth more than all the oil in Nigeria. We come with the gift of eternal life.'
"For a moment there was some rather animated discussion among the men – hands gesturing, faces earnest and intelligent, highly expressive. Then I turned to Anthony Obinna, fearing that our listeners had been harboring false expectations. 'What are they saying?' I asked guardedly.
'They say,' he replied, and smiled faintly, watching me from the corners of his eyes, 'that they wish to be baptized on your next visit.'
"The day, in terms of richness and fulfillment, might easily have ended right there, but the high point was yet ahead, four miles away on the Ekeonumiri River. It was there only an hour later that our first baptismal service took place. The spot selected lay at the end of a narrow dirt road amid lush greenery and palm trees, a scene that could perhaps rival the Garden of Eden. The river was rather small, only thirty or forty feet wide and so shallow that complete immersion appeared unlikely at first. After a little exploration, however, we discovered an ideal spot as one of the men in our group hacked a sizable opening among the water reeds with his machete.
"Four white wrap-arounds had been acquired for the occasion which could be quickly transferred from one person to the next, and the service began promptly with an invocation by Brother Bown and a talk on the purpose of baptism by Brother Knudsen. The time had now arrived, and I entered the river with an immense sensation of incredulity and reverence, feeling its cool, gentle flow against my legs and the squishing of soft, wet sand between my toes. Reaching out for the man behind me, I took him by the hand. We smiled at each other, and I placed a hand upon his shoulder to steady us. Then, reaching across his chest with my left arm, I took him by the wrist, placing his opposite hand upon my own wrist.
"For a moment we glanced at each other again - the blue eyes and the brown. Fanning out and away from us lay the river, copper colored along its fringes, swirling and green further on, and dappled with rays of sunlight. Beyond lay the vastness of Africa, and above, the endless depths of azure sky. Tiny, brightly colored fish darted to and fro in the shallows, and the onlookers there on shore waited in profound silence. We were all in the midst of a dream.
"I raised my right arm to the square. 'Anthony Uzodimma Obinna...' Bowing my head slightly, I could see the white hand clasping the black wrist, pulse beat to pulse beat. Never had I witnessed a more complete symbol of love and brotherhood, of complete unity. It was as though the blood in our veins had blended. The sunlight reflected brilliantly from his dark brow and cheekbones. 'Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.'
"Then he descended beneath the water in that special symbol of burial and resurrection, of planting and germination, of cleansing and purification, which only complete immersion can ever satisfy. He descended into the depths and came up dripping and radiant, just as the Savior himself once did so long ago in the Jordan; and from the onlookers thronging the shore arose an audible sigh, the laughter of joy and relief springing from a great and overwhelming sense of awe and fulfillment.
"The moment had come. Brother Anthony Obinna's thirteen years of waiting were over, and the first baptism of our mission had been performed. The doors of the gospel had opened upon the Dark Continent, and the light was pouring forth."
Anthony Obinna became the first black African branch president in the new Aboh Branch, with his brothers Francis and Raymond as counselors and his wife Fidelia as the first black African Relief Society president. He was concerned about having family members in these positions but was assured that they had been chosen for their worthiness, not their relations.
On December 1 the Obinna brothers wrote to President Kimball, "The entire members [sic] of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in this part of Nigeria have the pleasure to thank you and the Latter Day Saints throughout the world for opening the door for the Gospel to come to our people in its fullness. We are happy for the many hours in the Upper Room of the temple you spent supplicating the Lord to bring us into the fold. We thank our Heavenly Father for hearing your prayers and ours and by revelation has confirmed [sic] the long promised day, and has granted the holy priesthood to us, with the power to exercise its divine authority and enjoy every blessings [sic] of the temple... There is no doubt that the Church here will grow and become a mighty centre for the Saints and bring progress enough to the people of Nigeria as it is doing all over the world."
In Ghana, Joseph Billy Johnson had heard a BBC radio broadcast about the revelation and cried tears of joy when he realized the Church could now come to his country. The Mabeys arrived in Ghana next and held the first baptismal service on December 9. Elder Mabey recalled, "The first cock crowed at 4:30 A.M. the following day, and the light began to come amid the chirps and warbling of countless birds. We had stayed in quarters at the University of Cape Coast the preceding night, and now, strolling the campus alone at dawn, I found myself enthralled by the sounds and exotic odors. On every side, the walkways and grounds abounded with shrubbery and flowers of many varieties - brilliant reds and yellows, creams and golds. As usual, the sun rose explosively in a great ruddy ball the color of molten slag.
"It was one of those glorious mornings when the very cells seem to scintillate in perfect unison with their surroundings and the promise of things to come. In talking with the Reverent Johnson a short while later, in fact, I learned that all of the other nine branches contained people of strong testimony much like those of Cape Coast. 'They too are waiting,' he explained, 'and many of them are equally prepared to receive the gospel.' He regarded me appraisingly. 'In all honesty, I feel certain that you can baptize a thousand or more the moment you are available.'
"As he spoke those words I began to tingle. How many missionaries in the history of this world ever received encouragement of that kind! Simultaneously, I had to face the demands of practicality. 'That's a marvelous thought,' I told him, 'but we must be cautious about proceeding too rapidly. We must take pains to organize thoroughly and to make certain that each branch is established on a firm foundation with capable leadership and with members who are strong in their acceptance of Joseph Smith's testimony. Otherwise, our efforts may actually do more harm than good in the long run.'
"Our new friend nodded solemnly. 'I'm sure that you are correct,' he said. 'That is definitely the path we must follow.'
"There was one other matter, however, which gave me pause, and I selected my words carefully. 'I'm told that you are a paid minister,' I continued, 'that you receive a livelihood through donations from your members.' He nodded again. 'And, of course,' I added, 'that is how most religions function. It is an honorable way of making a living. Within the true Church of Jesus Christ, however, we have no paid ministry. Are you aware of that fact?'
'Yes,' came the reply, 'I am.'
'Then you also understand that Church leaders must often put in many hours each week and at times make great sacrifice. How will you survive if the Lord calls you to such a position?'
"My friend smiled, slowly lifting his gaze toward the sky. 'I have been thinking about that,' he said, 'and am sure the Lord will not call me without providing a way. As a matter of fact, my brother and I plan to acquire a farm to raise fruit, vegetables, and chickens. He is willing to provide the financial backing, and we hope to develop a model kind of farming program which others may follow. We intend, in fact, to give all our surplus to the Church.'
"I made no reply for some time. It was hard to restrain the tears.
"At ten o'clock, having left Elder Cannon to complete the interviewing, I set forth with the Reverend Johnson along the ocean in search of a baptismal site. At one point we found the beach crowded with people pulling in an immense fish net that appeared to be nearly half a mile long, and I thought of how the Savior had once likened the kingdom of heaven 'unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind' (Matthew 13:47). A short distance beyond, we discovered a secluded and tranquil spot behind a barrier of rocks, but wondered whether it might become too deep and turbulent with the rising afternoon tide. Further still, we inspected the water in a small lagoon even though it was rather brackish. At our request, a fisherman in search of crabs tested the depth with his shovel and found it to be about waist level - almost ideal. The bottom, however, was encrusted with sharp-edged shells that cut his feet. In consequence, we elected to baptize at our first inspection site behind the rocks, hoping that the tide would cooperate.
"We decided to hold our preliminary service in the church meetinghouse, knowing that the beach would be scorching by afternoon. The building was a large one for that area, about eighty by one hundred feet, and was being rented for two hundred cedis (about eighty dollars in U.S. currency) a year. In anticipation of our arrival, however, members of the congregation had raised 5,858 cedis for a building fund within only one month. Aware that soaring inflation would devaluate [sic] currency in Ghana by approximately 50 percent within the coming year, they planned to spend this money promptly for cement to construct their own building blocks. A number of non-members were also contributing, and it was hoped that 10,000 cedis could be raised over the next two months.
"Certainly, these people had manifested the attitude of self-help to which I had referred in our meeting with the village leaders in Nigeria two weeks or so earlier. Nearly everyone we had encountered seemed to vibrate with faith and the spirit of sacrifice. Our teaching and testimonies found a receptive audience, and the interviews that followed were most encouraging. It was a fine atmosphere in which to conduct a baptism.
"By 4:00 P.M. we had gathered at the beach. Behind us rose a dark green hillside, before us the emerald water, breaking in gentle frills of white along the shoreline. Eighty-nine prospective members - men, women, and children - were assembled, all clad in white, awaiting their rendezvous with eternity.
"Elder Cannon entered the water first, extending his hand to Abraham Frank Mensah, and thus occurred the first divinely authorized baptism of one of God's black children in all of Ghana. Brother Mensah arose from the ocean glowing, the water dripping and shimmering from his dark hair and beard - and for a moment, despite the marked difference in skin color, Elder Cannon and our new convert looked very much alike in their brotherhood and rejoicing. It was an appropriate 'first' because Frank Mensah had very possibly been the first man to organize a so-called LDS Church in the land of Ghana.
"Throughout the entire afternoon the baptisms continued, Elder Cannon and I alternating one after another, the water dancing with light like millions of diamonds. Those first baptized also acted as witnesses, and Janath and Rachel carefully recorded all the necessary information.
"Afterward, still in our wet clothing, we placed a chair upon the sand, and I confirmed Brother Frank Mensah, initiating an undertaking that would continue well into the night. The sun vanished and darkness settled, but the moon soon rose, three-quarters full, pale and luminous like quicksilver, casting shadows upon the sand. Meanwhile, the sacred ordinances continued, the laying on of hands, the sense of life and energy pulsing beneath. '...and confirm you a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and say unto you, receive the Holy Ghost.'
"And there, at our very feet, was the growing voice of the sea. It came and ebbed, came and ebbed, wave after wave, in a universal affirmation."
Joseph Billy Johnson became the first branch and district president in Ghana, as well as serving several missions. Naomi Clegg recalled, "He would go into a new village and ferret out a prospective leader of the Church there. That person might be the principal of a school... or the postmaster or other village leader. Johnson would tutor that prospect in gospel principles and doctrine until he became converted. If the prospect proved difficult to convince President Johnson would take him into his abode and spend almost night and day with the novitiate. Then he would demonstrate Church leadership by going with the convert to establish branches. President Johnson would then go back to the new member's village and help him convert his fellow villagers and organize a Church group. We witnessed and participated in that procedure several times."
"It was one of those glorious mornings when the very cells seem to scintillate in perfect unison with their surroundings and the promise of things to come. In talking with the Reverent Johnson a short while later, in fact, I learned that all of the other nine branches contained people of strong testimony much like those of Cape Coast. 'They too are waiting,' he explained, 'and many of them are equally prepared to receive the gospel.' He regarded me appraisingly. 'In all honesty, I feel certain that you can baptize a thousand or more the moment you are available.'
"As he spoke those words I began to tingle. How many missionaries in the history of this world ever received encouragement of that kind! Simultaneously, I had to face the demands of practicality. 'That's a marvelous thought,' I told him, 'but we must be cautious about proceeding too rapidly. We must take pains to organize thoroughly and to make certain that each branch is established on a firm foundation with capable leadership and with members who are strong in their acceptance of Joseph Smith's testimony. Otherwise, our efforts may actually do more harm than good in the long run.'
"Our new friend nodded solemnly. 'I'm sure that you are correct,' he said. 'That is definitely the path we must follow.'
"There was one other matter, however, which gave me pause, and I selected my words carefully. 'I'm told that you are a paid minister,' I continued, 'that you receive a livelihood through donations from your members.' He nodded again. 'And, of course,' I added, 'that is how most religions function. It is an honorable way of making a living. Within the true Church of Jesus Christ, however, we have no paid ministry. Are you aware of that fact?'
'Yes,' came the reply, 'I am.'
'Then you also understand that Church leaders must often put in many hours each week and at times make great sacrifice. How will you survive if the Lord calls you to such a position?'
"My friend smiled, slowly lifting his gaze toward the sky. 'I have been thinking about that,' he said, 'and am sure the Lord will not call me without providing a way. As a matter of fact, my brother and I plan to acquire a farm to raise fruit, vegetables, and chickens. He is willing to provide the financial backing, and we hope to develop a model kind of farming program which others may follow. We intend, in fact, to give all our surplus to the Church.'
"I made no reply for some time. It was hard to restrain the tears.
"At ten o'clock, having left Elder Cannon to complete the interviewing, I set forth with the Reverend Johnson along the ocean in search of a baptismal site. At one point we found the beach crowded with people pulling in an immense fish net that appeared to be nearly half a mile long, and I thought of how the Savior had once likened the kingdom of heaven 'unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind' (Matthew 13:47). A short distance beyond, we discovered a secluded and tranquil spot behind a barrier of rocks, but wondered whether it might become too deep and turbulent with the rising afternoon tide. Further still, we inspected the water in a small lagoon even though it was rather brackish. At our request, a fisherman in search of crabs tested the depth with his shovel and found it to be about waist level - almost ideal. The bottom, however, was encrusted with sharp-edged shells that cut his feet. In consequence, we elected to baptize at our first inspection site behind the rocks, hoping that the tide would cooperate.
"We decided to hold our preliminary service in the church meetinghouse, knowing that the beach would be scorching by afternoon. The building was a large one for that area, about eighty by one hundred feet, and was being rented for two hundred cedis (about eighty dollars in U.S. currency) a year. In anticipation of our arrival, however, members of the congregation had raised 5,858 cedis for a building fund within only one month. Aware that soaring inflation would devaluate [sic] currency in Ghana by approximately 50 percent within the coming year, they planned to spend this money promptly for cement to construct their own building blocks. A number of non-members were also contributing, and it was hoped that 10,000 cedis could be raised over the next two months.
"Certainly, these people had manifested the attitude of self-help to which I had referred in our meeting with the village leaders in Nigeria two weeks or so earlier. Nearly everyone we had encountered seemed to vibrate with faith and the spirit of sacrifice. Our teaching and testimonies found a receptive audience, and the interviews that followed were most encouraging. It was a fine atmosphere in which to conduct a baptism.
"By 4:00 P.M. we had gathered at the beach. Behind us rose a dark green hillside, before us the emerald water, breaking in gentle frills of white along the shoreline. Eighty-nine prospective members - men, women, and children - were assembled, all clad in white, awaiting their rendezvous with eternity.
"Elder Cannon entered the water first, extending his hand to Abraham Frank Mensah, and thus occurred the first divinely authorized baptism of one of God's black children in all of Ghana. Brother Mensah arose from the ocean glowing, the water dripping and shimmering from his dark hair and beard - and for a moment, despite the marked difference in skin color, Elder Cannon and our new convert looked very much alike in their brotherhood and rejoicing. It was an appropriate 'first' because Frank Mensah had very possibly been the first man to organize a so-called LDS Church in the land of Ghana.
"Throughout the entire afternoon the baptisms continued, Elder Cannon and I alternating one after another, the water dancing with light like millions of diamonds. Those first baptized also acted as witnesses, and Janath and Rachel carefully recorded all the necessary information.
"Afterward, still in our wet clothing, we placed a chair upon the sand, and I confirmed Brother Frank Mensah, initiating an undertaking that would continue well into the night. The sun vanished and darkness settled, but the moon soon rose, three-quarters full, pale and luminous like quicksilver, casting shadows upon the sand. Meanwhile, the sacred ordinances continued, the laying on of hands, the sense of life and energy pulsing beneath. '...and confirm you a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and say unto you, receive the Holy Ghost.'
"And there, at our very feet, was the growing voice of the sea. It came and ebbed, came and ebbed, wave after wave, in a universal affirmation."
Joseph Billy Johnson became the first branch and district president in Ghana, as well as serving several missions. Naomi Clegg recalled, "He would go into a new village and ferret out a prospective leader of the Church there. That person might be the principal of a school... or the postmaster or other village leader. Johnson would tutor that prospect in gospel principles and doctrine until he became converted. If the prospect proved difficult to convince President Johnson would take him into his abode and spend almost night and day with the novitiate. Then he would demonstrate Church leadership by going with the convert to establish branches. President Johnson would then go back to the new member's village and help him convert his fellow villagers and organize a Church group. We witnessed and participated in that procedure several times."
Next: The Church of Jesus Christ and Black People 1979-1988
Main Page: Latter-day Saint Racial History
Main Page: Latter-day Saint Racial History
