Hello again, everyone. I am currently watching the 6:30 PM newscast on KSL, and they just passed along some big news from the Church. The First Presidency has announced a celebration to be held in the Conference Center in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Revelation on the Priesthood. That revelation was announced in a letter dated June 8, 1978, with the signatures of the members of the First Presidency at that time (Spencer W. Kimball, N. Eldon Tanner, and Marion G. Romney), and that revelation was sustained as the word and will of the Lord during the General Conference that followed roughly 4 months later.
The celebration honoring the 40th anniversary of that announcement will be held on June 1 of this year, the details of which will be released at a later time. I, of course, was not born yet when this revelation was accepted as the word and will of the Lord, but I have read firsthand accounts in the biographies of many of the apostles that were involved in the process that led to that revelation.
Some are quick to accuse the Church of being racist, and in a way, I understand people who feel that way. The practice of ordaining all worthy males to the priesthood was established from the Church's foundation, and at some point, under the leadership of prophets who succeeded Joseph Smith, the decision to exclude some individuals from priesthood ordination was made.
There are wide-ranging disputes between scholars over who is to blame for making that change, and also why it took so long for this revelation to come. Some have tried to assign such blame to apostles that didn't feel right about a policy reversal prior to 1978. While I don't know or understand all the reasons things happened the way they did, I firmly believe that it took the right group of apostles who were in the right mindset to receive and act upon the direction from the Lord in the matter that directly resulted in the revelation being received at that time.
As that 40th anniversary celebration approaches, it is interesting to note that none of the apostles involved in the deliberations that led to this revelation are still alive (as President Monson was that last living apostle involved in that process). But we have seen the direct result of that revelation, particularly in the fact that so many internationally-born men are now among the Church's general authorities.
It is therefore altogether fitting and proper that such a monumental anniversary for such a significant and life-changing revelation should be celebrated, and I will be anxious to learn the details of that celebration, which I will be sure to pass along as I receive them. For the moment, I refer you to the Church's official announcement about the celebration, which contains what is currently known about it.
That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.
Monday, April 9, 2018
BREAKING NEWS: First Presidency Announces Celebration in Honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Revelation on the Priesthood
I have had a lifelong love for Church history, which has extended to ongoing reports of the ministry of our apostles and prophets, General Conference, and all temple developments. This blog enables me to share that love with all who read my thoughts on these developments, which are sometimes reported multiple times per day as needed.
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