Was the Racial Ban Church Policy or Doctrine? Setting the Stage for a Revelation (from 1908-1978)

Title

Was the Racial Ban Church Policy or Doctrine? Setting the Stage for a Revelation (from 1908-1978)

Publication Type

Podcast

Publication Date

August 1, 2023

Authors

Griffiths, Casey Paul (Primary), and Woodward, Scott (Primary)

Abstract

In 1907, the First Presidency codified the church’s official policy about black African participation in both priesthood and temple, declaring that “No one known to have in his veins Negro blood, it matters not how remote a degree, can either have the priesthood in any degree or the blessings of the temple of God, no matter how otherwise worthy he may be.” By contrast, in 2020, church president Russell M. Nelson reminded all church members that “Your standing before God is not determined by the color of your skin. Favor or disfavor with God is dependent upon your devotion to God and his commandments and not the color of your skin.” The major catalyst shifting the church away from that discriminatory 1907 policy and toward the marvelous inclusivity encapsulated in President Nelson’s words was the Lord’s revelation to church leaders in 1978. But this revelation didn’t come all of the sudden nor out of the blue. In fact, it was decades in coming and grew out of the convergence of real-world circumstances in which church leaders found themselves and the church, which they led...

Bibliographic Citation

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