2/7/2019 - Official Declaration 2

February 7, 2019

Official Declaration 2

Priesthood and Temple Blessings Extended to All, Prophets, Revelation, Plan of Salvation, Eternal Life and Eternal Growth, Testimony, Draw Near Unto Me,

I hadn’t realized this before, but the reason for not allowing the priesthood, or the temple ordinances, to extend to all people was based on Abraham 1:21-27. The revelation that was sought, and that was given to President Kimball and the apostles, was that all the blessings and all the obligations of the gospel, including the priesthood and the blessings of the house of the Lord, would be extended to those of every nation, culture, and race.

Elder McConkie writes beautifully as he described the events of those leaders, gathered in the Salt Lake Temple, and praying fervently for a revelation. “On this occasion, because of the importuning and the faith, and because the hour and the time had arrived, the 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. The revelation came to the President of the Church; it also came to each individual present. There were ten members of the Council of the Twelve and three of the First Presidency there assembled. The result was that President Kimball knew, and each one of us knew, independent of any other person, by direct and personal revelation to us, that the time had now come to extend the gospel and all its blessings and all its obligations, including the priesthood and the blessings of the house of the Lord, to those of every nation, culture, and race, including the black race. There was no question whatsoever as to what happened or as to the word and the message that came.”

Elder McConkie went on to say: “In my judgment this was done by the Lord in this way because it was a revelation of such tremendous significance and import; one which would reverse the whole direction of the Church procedurally and administratively; one which would affect the living and the dead; one which would affect the total relationship that we have with the world.; one, I say, of such significance that the Lord wanted independent witnesses who coujld bear record that the thing had happened.”

And then there is the declaration itself: “…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….”

I remember that day in June of 1978. We were living in St Louis and this was announced in the national news and was on all the radios and TV’s. It was a grand announcement to hear. And as I learned more of the process that proceeded this announcement, I learned more about prayer and revelation that I was able to apply in my own life. Here is Elder McConkie’s description of the immediate moments the preceded the revelation: “On the first day of June in this year, 1978, the First Presidency and the Twelve, after full discussion of the proposition and all the premises and principles that are involved, importuned the Lord for a revelation. President Kimball was mouth, and he prayed with great faith and great fervor; this was one of those occasions when an inspired prayer was offered. You know the Doctrine and Covenants statement, that if we pray by the power of the Spirit we will receive answers to our prayers and it will be given us what we shall ask (D&C 50:30). It was given President Kimball what he should ask. He prayed by the power of the Spirit, and there was perfect unity, total and complete harmony, between the Presidency and the Twelve on the issue involved.  And when President Kimball finished his prayer, the Lord gave a revelation by the power of the Holy Ghost….”

I so often feel the comfort and nearness of my Heavenly Father when I seek His help. There are very special times when I have received specific answers to those prayers that I have offered with deep concern, and continued requests, accompanied by my own research and scripture study and sharing my thoughts and concerns with my Father. I know He is there and that He listens to and responds to me, because I have felt His nearness and His response. It doesn’t always come immediately. But as I search for it, I always learn more, and gain both strength and depth of my testimony. There is no doubt in my mind that mortal life is an important time of learning for us. And there is no doubt in my mind that learning will continue for us through all eternity. I don’t think I can come close to fully comprehending eternity, because I am enveloped in a mortal world now. But I know that I have an eternal past, and I look forward to an eternal future. I also know that the Lord always points and directs us toward the path that will bring the most happiness to us. I feel full comfort in following His plan as closely as I can. And I look so forward to being with Him again. And being again with all the people that I have come to love and treasure from my earth time, and look forward to being with those I must have loved and treasured in my pre-earth time. I am so completely at peace with my past and my future, even though my vision is obscured by mortality. But the bottom line is that I know which direction I want to go. My frustrations are with myself, in that I take too long to develop and grow in the attributes that Christ exemplified. But even in that, I know there is also an eternal prospective, and an eternity of growth—and patience and faith are two of those attributes.

12/8/2021 – D&C: Official Declaration 2

It’s very interesting to me to be able to study revelations of my own time, for Official Declaration 2 was revealed to President Spencer W. Kimball on June 1, 1978, and I still remember that day. I was certainly happy to hear this news, but as I had grown up with this priesthood ban that was determined by lineage—I had wondered about it, but not worried about it. My understanding is that the Lord knows what is going on in the world, as well as in each of our hearts. It is not His intention to make our earthly path wonderfully easy, but instead it is His goal to make our life an education of our spiritual selves.

Before this revelation, when I heard the worries of other people about why the blacks could not hold the priesthood, but thoughts were that the Lord would not do anything to block our spiritual growth, and because of that my thoughts are that this absence of holding the priesthood would not affect the spiritual growth of the blacks. I don’t hold the priesthood, and yet I have access to all the Lord’s blessings. This was one of those questions that I knew that I assumed I would learn the reason of it after my mortal life.

Abraham 1:21-27 speaks about some men who were not allowed to hold the priesthood. These verses didn’t help my understanding, but they did tell me that the Lord was well aware of that situation, and that He had instituted it. My student manual says: “The full reason for the denial has been kept hidden by the Lord, and one is left to assume that He will make it known in His own due time.”  I think I have long understood that the Lord wanted our life on earth to be one of testing that would hopefully growing our testimonies of Him and of His plan. I have faith in the Lord that He will never put barriers in our lives that would lead to our defeat, but He would only allow barriers that would help us to learn and grow. 

This is what is written in the Symposium on the Book of Mormon, page 2. I love reading it: “On the first day of June in this year, 1978, the First Presidency and the Twelve, after full discussion of the proposition and all the premises and principles that are involved, importuned the Lord for a revelation. President Kimball was mouth, and he prayed with great faith and great fervor; this was one of those occasions when an inspired prayer was offered. You know the Doctrine and Covenants statement, that if we pray by the power of the Spirit we will receive answers to our prayers and it will be given us what we shall ask (D&C 50:30). It was given President Kimball what he should ask. He prayed by the power of the Spirit, and there was perfect unity, total and complete harmony, between the Presidency and the Twelve on the issue involved. And when President Kimball finished his prayer, the Lord gave a revelation by the power of the Holy Ghost.... On this occasion, because of the importuning and the faith, and because the hour and the time had arrived, the 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. The revelation came to the President of the Church; it also came to each individual present. There were ten members of the Council of the Twelve and three of the First Presidency there assembled. The result was that President Kimball knew, and each one of us knew, independent of any other person, by direct and personal revelation to us, that the time had now come to extend the gospel and all its blessings and all its obligations, including the priesthood and the blessings of the house of the Lord, to those of every nation, culture, and race, including the black race. There was no question whatsoever as to what happened or as to the word and message that came. The revelation came to the President of the Church and, in harmony with Church government, was announced by him; the announcement was made eight days later over the signature of the First Presidency. But in this instance, in addition to the revelation coming to the man who would announce it to the Church and to the world, and who was sustained as the mouthpiece of God on earth, the revelation came to every member of the body that I have named. They all knew it in the temple. In my judgment this was done by the Lord in this way because it was a revelation of such tremendous significance and import; one which would reverse the whole direction of the Church, procedurally and administratively; one which would affect the living and the dead; one which would affect the total relationship that we have with the world; one, I say, of such significance that the Lord wanted independent witnesses who could bear record that the thing had happened.” 

Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained that this revelation “affects our missionary work and all of our preaching to the world. This affects our genealogical research and all of our temple ordinances. This affects what is going on in the spirit world, because the gospel is preached in the spirit world preparatory to men’s receiving vicarious ordinances which make them heirs to salvation and exaltation. This is a revelation of tremendous significance.”

I wondered if this was something that needed to be done in preparation of the Second Coming of Christ—but that was just my wondering. My spiritual knowledge was that no matter why this was done, that this was the right thing at the right time.

I feel the love of the prophet and apostles when I read this declaration. 

One more thing: When we lived in the Netherlands (1990-1994) we met an amazing young man who shared his story with us. He and his parents and his two brothers were members of the Church. When he and his brothers were boys, there was a special conference held in the Netherlands. I can’t remember which of the apostles was there speaking, but after the conference the apostle stayed and shook the hands of the people there. As the apostle shook his hand, and the hands of his brothers, he looked at them and told them they would grow up to be amazing missionaries. This young man said that once the apostle had left and they were just with the family, they laughed and wondered how he, an apostle, could have said those words to three black boys. This, now amazing adult who, like his brothers, had served wonderful missions and were now starting their own families and were stalwarts in the Church there in the Netherlands. And that is personal, confirming revelation to me.