Blacks and the Priesthood: Consistency Of God

 

 

 

Last night I was with the missionaries teaching a man who attended Bob Jones University. He tried to trap the missionaries with the common anti-Mormon attack about Blacks being restricted from the Priesthood. He said, “in 1978 God changed His mind, and ended a restriction on Blacks and the Priesthood”. Before the missionaries even had a chance to answer this I opened my mouth and learned a lesson. As the Spirit spoke through me, the issue of Blacks and the Priesthood made more sense than ever before. Below is my attempt to convey what the Spirit said last night.

The following is from Matthew 15:22-28, and it is vital to understand how God always works systematically, and what we call restriction are normal in the Gospel.

 

22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.
28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

 

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Matthew 28:19

 

After that, they only taught the JEWISH people, they strictly forbid gentiles. Until Peter who was the leader of the Apostles had the vision as recorded in Acts 10-11 where the restriction was lifted, and the gentiles were taught the Gospel.

 

God does not “change” and neither do His decrees, He is consistent. Perceived inconstancy normally comes from a lack of our understanding of His commands. A common misunderstanding is that “God restricted blacks from the Priesthood and that in 1978 He ‘Changed’ his mind” or the idea that the church caved to the social pressure and stopped being “racists” and changed the doctrine. Neither of these are true, and is at best a misunderstanding, and at worse the works of Satan.

VITAL POINT The restriction was barring blacks from the Priesthood, NOT from the Gospel, they were still taught Faith, Repentance, Baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end, the Gospel restriction Jesus taught had been lifted, just as the restriction on the priesthood one day would be. But in the Lords time, not man’s. The Prophets understood this and taught the following.

 

“When all the rest of the children have received their blessings in the Holy Priesthood, then that curse will be removed from the seed of Cain, and they will then come up and possess the Priesthood, and receive all the blessings which we are now entitled to.”

Brigham Young

 

“The day will come when all that race will be redeemed and possess all the blessings which we now have.”

Wilford Woodruff

 

“Every soul coming into this world came here with the promise that through obedience he would receive the blessings of salvation. No person was foreordained or appointed to sin or to perform a mission of evil. No person is ever predestined to salvation or damnation.”

Joseph Fielding Smith

 

“It’s only a matter of time before the black achieves full status in the Church. We must believe in the justice of God. The black will achieve full status, we’re just waiting for that time.”

Harold B. Lee said

As we have witnessed the expansion of the work of the Lord over the earth, we have been grateful that people of many nations have responded to the message of the restored gospel, and have joined the Church in ever-increasing numbers. This, in turn, has inspired us with a desire to extend to every worthy member of the Church all of the privileges and blessings which the gospel affords.

Aware of the promises made by the prophets and presidents of the Church who have preceded us that at some time, in God’s eternal plan, all of our brethren who are worthy may receive the priesthood, and witnessing the faithfulness of those from whom the priesthood has been withheld, we have pleaded long and earnestly in behalf of these, our faithful brethren, spending many hours in the Upper Room of the Temple supplicating the Lord for divine guidance.

He has heard our prayers, and by revelation has confirmed that the long-promised day has come when every faithful, worthy man in the Church may receive the holy priesthood, with power to exercise its divine authority, and enjoy with his loved ones every blessing that flows therefrom, including the blessings of the temple. Accordingly, all worthy male members of the Church may be ordained to the priesthood without regard for race or color. Priesthood leaders are instructed to follow the policy of carefully interviewing all candidates for ordination to either the Aaronic or the Melchizedek Priesthood to insure that they meet the established standards for worthiness.

We declare with soberness that the Lord has now made known his will for the blessing of all his children throughout the earth who will hearken to the voice of his authorized servants, and prepare themselves to receive every blessing of the gospel.

Sincerely yours,
Spencer W. Kimball
N. Eldon Tanner
Marion G. Romney
The First Presidency