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Gramps,
I’m a new convert to the church as of a year ago. How do I explain the
Lord not allowing blacks to hold the priesthood until 1978? I have a
strong testimony of the Church. But it’s hard to explain to my family
who are born again Christians. What do I say gramps in your opinion?
Thanks for your answer. Josh, from California |
Dear
Josh,
The
Lord withheld the priesthood from the descendants of Cain from the very
beginning. The descendants of Cain were cursed by having the priesthood
withheld from them, but they were blessed by being given a black skin to
protect them from others with evil intent.
And
the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be
taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding
him should kill him (Genesis
4:15).
The
withholding of the priesthood from the descendants of Cain is recorded in the
Book of Abraham.
Now
this king of Egypt was a descendant from the loins of Ham, and was a partaker
of the blood of the Canaanites by birth. From this descent sprang all the
Egyptians, and thus the blood of the Canaanites was preserved in the land . . .
Pharaoh,
being a righteous man, established his kingdom and judged his people wisely
and justly all his days, seeking earnestly to imitate that order established
by the fathers in the first generations, in the days of the first patriarchal
reign, even in the reign of Adam, and also of Noah, his father, who blessed
him with the blessings of the earth, and with the blessings of wisdom, but
cursed him as pertaining to the Priesthood
(Abraham 1:21-26).
Although
the Lord withheld the priesthood from the black race since the days of Cain,
every president of the Church, from the time of Joseph Smith, prophesied that
the day would come when those of the black race would be permitted to hold the
priesthood. Elder Milton R. Hunter recorded the following:
“Brigham
Young did not originate the doctrine that Negroes could not hold the
Priesthood in this life but some day some of them may be granted that
privilege, but he was taught it by the Prophet Joseph” (Milton R. Hunter,
Pearl of Great Price Commentary, p.142).
And
from the history of Wilford Woodruff—
“Any
man having one drop of the seed of Cain in him cannot receive the Priesthood;
but the day will come when all that race will be redeemed and possess all the
blessings which we now have” (History of Wilford Woodruff, p. 351).
And
Elder Bruce R. McConkie has written the following—
“
‘Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in
the midst of thee, saith the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ shall reign personally
upon the earth. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and
shall be my people.’ Gentile nations shall be converted; the blacks shall
receive the priesthood; nations long outside the pale of saving grace shall come
into the fold and shall rise up and bless Abraham as their father” (Bruce R.
McConkie, The Millennial Messiah, p.599).
It
is important to note that is was the Lord, not man that withheld the priesthood
from the blacks. Thus it could not be restored to them except by the word of the
Lord. That marvelous day came in June 1978 when President Spencer W. Kimball
received a revelation from the Lord extending the blessings of the priesthood to
all worthy male members of the Church.
“The
result of long and earnest prayer, the revelation meant that the long-promised
day has come when every faithful, worthy man in the Church may receive the holy
priesthood without regard for race or color”—See Doctrine and Covenants,
Official Declaration—2 (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.2, HISTORY OF THE
CHURCH).
Gramps