Hello again, everyone. The "Be One" Celebration, which, as previously mentioned, was held tonight to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the landmark revelation that extended the priesthood to all worthy males, wrapped up about half an hour ago. And what a celebration it was! In music and spoken word, the history of many Saints of African and other descent was reviewed. Among those highlighted were Elijah Abel, who was the first black man to join the Church, and who served as a seventy in the early Church, Jane Manning James, a faithful black woman who was shown great kindness by the prophet Joseph Smith and his family, and Elder Helvecio Martins, who was the first general authority of black African descent.
The celebration began with President Eyring conducting and noting that the event had been planned by a committee chaired by Elders Claudio R. M. Costa (of Brazil), Edward Dube (the first Zimbabwean general authority seventy) and Joseph W. Sitati (who is the first Kenyan general authority seventy).
The event also featured addresses from Presidents Dallin H. Oaks (to open the event) and Russell M. Nelson (to conclude it). President Oaks focused his remarks on both the personal impact the announcement had on him and on Presidents Nelson and Eyring, and by sharing his hope that all Church members will focus less on the problems of the past and more on moving forward in the future. President Nelson endorsed President Oaks's remarks and provided his own message of hope that the Church will work towards greater unity, and also reiterated that the blessings of the gospel are available to everyone, because all are equal in the eyes of God.
I was very impressed with and touched by this event, which at times brought tears to my eyes. But I was also suitably impressed by how quickly reports of the event came in. You can find an article from the Church News here, and the one from Mormon Newsroom here. I am also pleased to provide links to the full text versions of the addresses from President Dallin H. Oaks and President Russell M. Nelson which speak for themselves.
I continue to monitor all Church news and will pass updates along to you as I become aware of them. 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.
Friday, June 1, 2018
"Be One" Celebration Held
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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In addition to my life-long love for the subjects which I cover in the posts of this blog, I have long held the belief that we can disagree without becoming disagreeable. Differences of opinion are natural, while being disagreeable in expressing those differences is not. And in that sense, I have no desire to close the door on anyone who earnestly desires to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on subjects covered in the posts on this blog.
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