Below is a link to a very inspiring video on LDS.org about Blacks in the Priesthood. It has some very touching testimonials from African Americans who were members before and after the 1978 declaration that all worthy members could have the priesthood.
I feel that it is important that we acknowledge the past policies of the Church and accept that they may not be right according to today's standards. However, I believe it is equally important to look at past policies through the eyes of past cultures. What was right then may not be right now just as what is right now may not have been right then. We must be careful when we judge the past because we cannot fully understand the past. It is very easy to judge knowing what we know now.
http://newsroom.lds.org/topic/race-relations
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
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I think this video was very interesting because it gave the perspective of Blacks who later joined the church after the revelation was given to Spencer W. Kimball that all worthy males have the opportunity to receive the priesthood. I think this revelation was given to Black at the right time, they were ready for it at this specific time. Many struggle with this idea of why the priesthood was given to them so late but I feel that the Lord knew they were not fully prepared beforehand so they had to wait.
ReplyDeleteIt still is a hot topic among members because blacks who are investigating the church may have a hard time with it because they think our church is racist. I believe our church is not racist but the members in it are and I think it is our responsibility to respect their culture and history. We are all apart of the same church and are trying to reach the same goal which is eternal life so our minds need to be open to black members and make sure we are fellow shipping them in any way possible.
I can accept that past prophets, operating under the limited assumptions of the day, had some prejudice views. But one thing that has been bothering me, as was mentioned in class, is the question "How are we supposed to trust that the prophets will never leave us astray when it appears that this is a prime example of that very thing?" As I've pondered this I have come to think about the policies of black exclusion in a different way. The prophets didn't exactly "lead us astray," it's more like they allowed us to go astray. It's not like this policy was presented as a revelation from God, but a practice that was simply not put through the process of revelation. We don't have to lose faith in our leaders because of this unfortunate episode because we know that whenever revelation is received we can be sure it won't lead us astray.
ReplyDeleteAs with many things in the Church, revelation comes when people ask.
ReplyDeleteTake the Word of Wisdom for instance. This is now a revelation, even though in the beginning of the Latter-day Church it wasn't. That doesn't mean that Joseph Smith was somehow less of a true prophet. It just meant that he was permitted to learn and grow.
The Church is allowed to grow and progress as an institution, just like individuals in the Church are allowed to grow and progress.
We can rest assured that prophets lead us today, and be grateful that God, in His wisdom, is patient with us as we learn and grow for ourselves.
That is my take on the matter. Someday I hope we will be able to see all aspects of the matter, and fully understand. (Although it is good to continue to seek out the answers for the time being.)
An additional example of the Church being permitted to learn and grow is the instance of the Salamander letter and Mark Hoffman.
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't the prophet know the documents were forged?
Does it even matter?
All was made right in due time.
Sometimes I wonder if the restriction was for those who were denied the priesthood for a season...Perhaps the real reason was that others weren't ready, not those who were restricted.
There were some early Black members of the Church who were given the priesthood. Later, they were informed to not exercise it. This, in my view, has little to do with their personal worthiness--rather, it has everything to do with others who were not accepting of them.
When the time was right, all was revealed and reconciled.
I cannot explain why blacks were denied the priesthood. I suppose this is like saying I don't know. While I understand the importance of discussing why, I also think the true answer is that we don't know. That is what struck me in the reading and class discussion and all the testimonials. It is helpful to read it all because we can realize what we do know--that it was not doctrinally based, for instance--but I don't think we will fully understand why everyone involved behaved exactly as they did in this life.
ReplyDeleteI agree and I also agree with what Elder Oaks said about not criticizing statements made by past Prophets.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very moving video for me to watch. All the clips of the blacks getting baptized and receiving the priesthood opened my mind to how horrible it must have been to have been told that you can't receive this amazing power that allows you to perform mighty miracles. I can only imagine how many gallons of tears of joy fell the day the announcement was made that they could finally hold that power. I understand why there are so many investigators who hear about the racism that the church was a part of and don't want to join, because the only reason I can understand it is because I have felt that it was what was supposed to happen. We can't know for sure what would have happened if we had allowed blacks to have the priesthood earlier on, but I know that whatever would have come of it would have been worse than what actually happened.
ReplyDelete@Davy:
ReplyDelete" All the clips of the blacks getting baptized and receiving the priesthood opened my mind to how horrible it must have been to have been told that you can't receive this amazing power that allows you to perform mighty miracles."
Huh, try being a woman sometime.