Sometimes such moments are spread across whole populations and cultures, such as the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated or the day the space shuttle Challenger exploded or the morning America was attacked on multiple fronts on 9-11. Each of these was a horrific event, and if you were alive at the time and were old enough to know what was going on, you can clearly remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard the news unfolding.
A particularly joyous event in the lives of Latter-day Saints across the world occurred exactly thirty years ago tomorrow when President Spencer W. Kimball (1895-1985), the twelfth
president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced on June 8, 1978, that God had revealed 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" and that "all worthy male members of the Church may be ordained to the priesthood without regard for race or color" (First Presidency letter dated June 8, 1978; now canonized as scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants as Official Declaration 2).There were undoubtedly those who refused to accept the revelation as the mind and will of the Lord, just as had occurred eighty-eight years earlier when President Wilford Woodruff (1807-1898), the fourth president and prophet of the Church, had announced in 1890 that God had revealed that the Latter-day Saints were no longer required to live the law of plural marriage and were from that time forward specifically prohibited from entering into plural marriages (see Official Declaration 1 in the Doctrine and Covenants).
In both instances—with President Woodruff's announcement in 1890 and with President Kimball's announcement in 1978—the vast majority of devoted, faithful Latter-day Saints accepted these major shifts in practice as being the mind and voice and will of the Lord to His people.
My own experience on that June morning thirty years ago, captured in a joyous letter I wrote the following morning [Saturday, June 10, 1978] to my extended family and others, I think reflects the spirit in which most Latter-day Saints at the time greeted the announcement:
On Friday morning, June 9, 1978, all of the General Authorities of the Church who reside at Church headquarters were called to an early morning meeting in the Salt Lake Temple. They had been asked to come fasting and praying. In a manner most solemn and sacred, the statement of the First Presidency was read:
“To All General and Local Priesthood Officers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the World
“Dear Brethren:
“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, and Marion G. Romney”
President Kimball then responded, bearing his sweet and fervent testimony that the Lord had heard and answered by revelation his oft and fervent pleadings. Each General Authority present then had an opportunity to bear his testimony and share his feelings of joy and thanksgiving.
“Never have I felt the Spirit of the Lord more strongly,” commented one of the Brethren to me later that day, “than I did this morning in that temple meeting.”
Shortly after that historic meeting, Elder Carlos E. Asay and Rex D. Pinegar called together all of the staff of the Missionary Department, where I have the privilege of working, to make the announcement to us. As Elder Asay read the statement, my eyes filled with tears, my heart swelled with joy, and I felt like standing and shouting “Praise the Lord.” My reaction was not unique. The Spirit of the Lord was strongly present, and many in the room wept openly—as I was doing—and were thrilled beyond all description at this monumental step forward.
Both Elder Asay and Elder Pinegar bore their testimonies and let us know in no uncertain terms that this was indeed a revelation from Almighty God. The Spirit confirmed their witness and riveted it into our souls. This was truth; it was so right; the Lord had spoken; the heavens had been opened.
Elder Pinegar opened the meeting for others to respond, and three or four of us bore our testimonies. I had that sacred opportunity, and only once before in my life during the bearing of my own testimony have I cried.
I recounted how I had served my mission in northern Brazil, where a large part of the population had the Negro lineage. The last city I worked in had an estimated 70 to 90 percent of its population who were black. Oh, how I grew to love those dear, humble people. They were warm, eager, and receptive. But their day and season had not yet arrived.
In Brazil there are many fine black members in the Church, many of them strong and faithful despite the restrictions they may not have understood but nevertheless accepted, grateful for those blessings of the gospel they were able to enjoy, and hoping for the day that has now arrived when the blessings of the priesthood would be theirs.
I recall specifically one dear, humble family in Petrópolis, just out of Rio de Janeiro. They were poor even by Brazilian standards. They lived in a tiny house with a dirt floor and no electricity. But they were solid people, and they taught a young elder from North America what happiness was. The husband, who held the priesthood, was a counselor in the branch presidency. His wife and consequently the children were of Negro lineage. For eight or nine years the family had faithfully attended meetings before the elders would baptize them. And now to think that in only a few months when the São Paulo Temple is dedicated they will be able to go there and all be sealed together forever as a family.
Oh, how I wish I were in Brazil today!
Yesterday’s announcement was historic. In my mind it far surpasses in significance the Manifesto issued by President Wilford Woodruff in 1890. It perhaps even surpasses the revelation that came to Peter anciently when he was directed to begin taking the gospel to the gentiles (see Acts 10:1–11:18). This new revelation issued by President Kimball this week canceled what has been in effect through six long millennia since the days of Cain. It fulfills the promises and prophecies of various prophets that that day would come. We have witnessed prophecy fulfilled, and I would hope each of us would be wise enough to record the historic event in our journals and diaries.
Two things came across to me yesterday, among other things. First, President Kimball is a kind and loving man, filled with great concern for all of God’s children. He had struggled long and pled much with the Lord before this revelation came. The very tone of the First Presidency’s letter bears this out. Second, President Kimball is a courageous man. It is one thing to hear the voice of the Lord, but it is another to have the courage to carry it out.
This action did not come about, as some have already erroneously supposed, because of outside pressures brought to bear against the Church. It has come partly because we have a prophet who in the fulness of his near perfection is filled with charity, the pure love of Christ, and who paid the price to bring it about, prevailing upon the heavens with his giant Enoch-like faith. And it has come because in the economy of heaven and in the wisdom, justice, and mercy of an all-knowing and all-loving God the time was right for the full blessings of the gospel to be extended to all people everywhere “who will hearken to the voice of His authorized servants, and prepare them-selves to receive every blessing of the gospel.”
What the Lord said specifically of the Prophet Joseph Smith seems to apply so very well to President Spencer W. Kimball:
“Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me;
“For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith . . . .
“For thus saith the Lord God: Him have I inspired to move the cause of Zion in mighty power for good, and his diligence I know, and his prayers I have heard” (D&C 21:4–5, 7).
How fully that fits President Kimball and how appropriate to what has just happened this week!
The First Presidency’s statement does not contain the phrase “thus saith the Lord,” but it says it. They did say, “He has heard our prayers, and by revelation has confirmed that the long-promised day has come.” They did say, “We declare with soberness that the Lord has now made known His will for the blessing of all His children.”
I add my own humble testimony. God lives—of that there is no doubt. He has restored His priesthood in our day—of that there is no doubt. We have a mighty prophet in modern Israel—of that there is no doubt. The Spirit has borne powerful witness to my soul that this move to extend the priesthood to those who were formerly restricted is in fact a revelation from God. It is true. I know it as I know anything, and I declare that to you in the name of Jesus Christ, whose priesthood it is. Amen.
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