Mormons, Blacks and the Priesthood of God

Before jumping into this blog I want everyone to understand that I can't speak for the church's official position on this issue, nor do I know much of what the Prophet and other leaders do in regards to this subject matter, but I do have my personal views of why I think black men were not given the priesthood until 1978.

The first thing you need to understand is what the priesthood is. We believe that the Priesthood is the same power that God uses to create and govern the universe. It is this same power that he delegates to men to act in his name for the salvation of men. This authority is used to preach the gospel and to perform the ordinances (sacred acts like baptism) to bring others unto Christ. So in understanding how this power relates to the issue of Black men obtaining the priesthood we need to realize that the priesthood is given to men so they can bless the lives of others, it is not for their own benefit other than the blessings obtained by serving others and living worthy of it. The priesthood organization is a system of service.

So there are 2 basic reasons why I think black men were not given the priesthood until so many years after the church had been established. The first reason is because the Lord's goal to bring to pass the eternal life of his children had to be done through his church. The church was persecuted from its humble beginnings and I really wonder what the racism that was so strong throughout the county would've done to the church had it given all men the priesthood from the beginning. The Lord always does things in his own time and bases it on the ability of his children. The same way he gave Moses the 10 commandments and then when He came taught that he had fulfilled that law and taught a higher law. Rather than just not to kill he told his disciples that they were to love their enemies. I really think that the Lord had his reasons for waiting to give all men his priesthood. It allowed the church to grow in places and ways that it wouldn't have perhaps if all men would've received that priesthood in 1830. So basically the first reason I think the priesthood was withheld from blacks was to protect His restored church.

In the same breath and for similar reasons I note again that the purpose of the priesthood is not self-serving, but rather to bless the lives of others. So in the Lord not bestowing His priesthood on Black men, it was not a punishment to them as much as it was to the people who were so hateful towards the black people in the country. The Lord has provided a way for all people to receive the ordinances they need if they don't get a chance in this life, that is a great example of his love for all men. But for so many years the world and the nation was deprived of having so many more great men able to perform the ordinances and share the gospel with the priesthood due to the fact that the people were not ready for it.

Does that seem like logical reasoning to come to those conclusions? The church nor its leaders were racist, but the it wasn't the Lords timing and the people in the world weren't ready for that blessing yet.