Question About Blacks And Priesthood

I have been asked what my point was in my last post.  

I didn't make a point.  I only intended to provide the interview for you to decide if there was anything of value in it for you.  I didn't intend to spend more time on it, really.  I found the interview valuable, but it is only one man's public accounting of what took place.  Without looking at other testimonies it is impossible to come close to an accurate picture of what happened.  

It is difficult to find accounts detailing the experiences of each of the brethren who were involved in the June 1st meeting in which the decision was made.  Perhaps Elder McConkie's remarks and feelings have been most often quoted, and are most widely known.  His are also the most spectacular.  He and LeGrand Richards seem to me to have had different experiences.  David B. Haight said all were overcome with emotion when the decision was made, and recalled that he heard Spencer W. Kimball and Ezra Taft Benson say they had never "experienced anything of such spiritual magnitude and power."

There is no written revelation that was produced that day.  There were no visits, visions, voices, etc., and hence nothing to write down and publish.   However, more than not say they felt the Spirit witness to them in a powerful way that they should proceed in their desires, and that the change was pleasing to God.  All of the brethren who have described their experience tell of the feelings that came to them.

The most explicit explanation came from Elder McConkie.  When compared with what others said, it appears to be overstated:

"The Spirit of the Lord rested mightily upon us all; we felt something akin to what happened on the day of Pentecost and at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple.  From the midst of eternity, the voice of God, conveyed by the power of the Spirit, spoke to his prophet… And we all heard the same voice, received the same message, and became personal witnesses that the word received was the mind and will and voice of the Lord."

Also,   

"[T]he Lord in his providences poured out the Holy Ghost upon the First Presidency and the Twelve in a miraculous and marvelous manner, beyond anything that any then present had ever experienced." 

Elder McConkie also explained why he believed some members of the Church were disappointed with President Kimball's revelation (or presumed lack of one):

“Many of them [Latter-day Saints] desire to magnify and build upon what has occurred, and they delight to think of miraculous things.  And maybe some of them would like to believe that the Lord himself was there, or that the Prophet Joseph Smith came to deliver the revelation … Well, these things did not happen." 

Gordon B. Hinckley explained:

"No voice audible to our physical ears was heard. But the voice of the Spirit whispered with a certainty into our minds and our very souls."  

I intentionally withheld my views about the history of the entire matter.  There are articles and books written about the topic, all expressing various viewpoints.  

Fourteen Fundamentals, Part 5

[Words in blue are from this talk.  Commentary follows in black.]

Fourth: The [president of the Church] will never lead the Church astray.

President Wilford Woodruff stated:

“I say to Israel, the Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as president of the Church to lead you astray. It is not in the program. It is not in the mind of God.” (The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, pp. 212–13. emphasis mine)

President Marion G. Romney tells of this incident which happened to him:

“I remember years ago when I was a bishop I had President Heber J. Grant talk to our ward. After the meeting I drove him home … Standing by me, he put his arm over my shoulder and said: ‘My boy, you always keep your eye on the President of the Church and if he ever tells you to do anything, and it is wrong, and you do it, the Lord will bless you for it.’ Then with a twinkle in his eye, he said, ‘But you don’t need to worry. The Lord will never let his mouthpiece lead the people astray.’” (Conference Report, October 1960, p. 78.)

I've written about this idea before.  You can look here to begin with.  I will not rehash those same thoughts on this post.  

It is too bad the Lord did not have this system in place for his people in every other age of the world.  This could have spared a lot of folly, right?

The idea that you can't be led astray by men, that the thinking has been done and what's said by those in charge goes; the idea that the ability to discern between right and wrong, truth and error need not be exercised because of the office of the man speaking, or that if you just "stay in the boat" with all the Saints you'll end up being exalted; the idea that you should follow a man even if what he teaches is wrong, is Luciferian.  Those who teach these things are "leading the Church astray."  Those who grasp at these teachings are deceived.  Satan takes pleasure that these teachings are received so well.  

Following his talk at BYU, Ezra Taft Benson was summoned by president Spencer W. Kimball to a meeting with the general authorities to explain himself, and to "apologize" for what he said.  The twelve were "dissatisfied" with his response.  Edward Kimball said his father (who was then president of the Church) "was concerned about Elder Benson's February 1980 talk at BYU."  He continued by saying that president Kimball wanted "to protect the Church against being misunderstood as espousing...an unthinking 'follow the leader' mentality" (Quinn, Extensions of Power).

Unfortunately, none of this was ever made public knowledge by the Church.  It's as though some folks didn't want these teachings to go away, despite the fact that the president of the Church and twelve were displeased with what had been taught.  For instance, who was it that decided this talk was to become the "First Presidency Message" in the June 1981 Ensign?  President Kimball was still president of the Church.  Had he changed his mind about the talk?  These days it is seemingly more and more difficult to disseminate the truth to the public when there's such a strong desire to save face.