Church History Matters

023 The 1978 Revelation of Reversion and Repair

Paul Reeve recently wrote: 
In June 1978, President Spencer W. Kimball received a revelation which returned the Church to its universal roots and restored what was lost, priesthood and temple admission to people of African descent. This … did not mark something new as much as it reestablished a commitment to the founding principles of the Restoration. [It] reconfirmed the Church’s original universalism, that the human family in all of its diversity is equal in God’s sight, that Jesus Christ claims “all flesh” as his own, that he is “no respecter of persons,” (D&C 1:34-35; 38:16) and that “all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden” (2 Nephi 26:28).
In this episode of Church History Matters, we take a close look at the details surrounding this watershed revelation of reversion and repair. Both out on the peripheries of the Church and at heart of Church headquarters within the presiding councils we’ll see the Lord gently influencing circumstances toward the fulfillment of his purposes. Yet he waited with divine patience until all of the apostles were unified in approaching him with a desire to lift the ban—then he made his will known with power. The story we trace today of how they get there under President Kimball’s gentle leadership is instructive on so many levels.
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/   

022 Was the Racial Ban Church Policy or Doctrine? Setting the Stage for a Revelation (from 1908-1978)

In 1907, the First Presidency codified the Church’s official policy about black African participation in both priesthood and temple declaring that, “No one known to have in his veins negro blood, (it matters not how remote a degree) can either have the Priesthood in any degree or the blessings of the Temple of God; no matter how otherwise worthy he may be.”
By contrast, in 2020 Church President Russell M. Nelson reminded all church members that, “Your standing before God is not determined by the color of your skin. Favor or disfavor with God is dependent upon your devotion to God and His commandments and not the color of your skin.”
The major catalyst shifting the Church away from that discriminatory 1907 policy and toward the marvelous inclusivity encapsulated in President Nelson’s words, was the Lord’s revelation to Church leaders in 1978. But this revelation didn’t come all of the sudden nor out of the blue; in fact, it was decades in coming and grew out of the convergence of real-world circumstances in which Church leaders found themselves and the Church. 
In today’s episode of Church History Matters, we take a look at some of the relevant historical developments in the Church during the 70 year period from 1908-1978—from the decades-long season of racial hardening and exclusion, to a softening and relaxing of certain Church policies under President David O. McKay in the 1950s and 60s, to disharmony and divergence of views among the apostles in the 60s, and finally to the unexpected call of Spencer W. Kimball as Church president in 1973. So today we set the stage for next week's climactic episode all about the details of the 1978 revelation itself.
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/   

021 How the Priesthood-Temple Ban Became Fully Entrenched Policy in the Church

Once people come to terms with the uncomfortable idea that Brigham Young committed an error in endorsing a priesthood ban on church members with black African ancestry, a puzzling question naturally follows: “If the ban was an error, then why didn’t it get corrected earlier than 1978?! There were nine Church presidents between Brigham Young and Spencer W. Kimball and 101 years between President Young’s death in 1877 and President Kimball’s revelation in 1978. So why did it take so long to correct this mistake and again offer full privileges to black Africans in the Church as they had enjoyed in Joseph Smith’s day?”    
In today’s episode of Church History Matters, we attempt to offer at least the beginning of an answer to this question by tracing the key moments and decisions in the leadership councils of the Church when, instead of correcting this error, they came to conclusions that led to an unfortunate hardening in place of the priesthood ban. In this episode, the years 1879, 1904, 1907, and 1908 will sadly be added alongside the year 1852 as we piece together both the timeline and the reasoning behind this ban.
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/   

020 1852 and The Beginnings of the Priesthood-Temple Ban in the Church

The historical record shows that Joseph Smith did not implement or endorse any practices or policies which specifically prevented Church members with black African ancestry from fully participating in priesthood offices or temple worship. But in 1847, only three years after Joseph’s death, attitudes and teachings of some church leaders began to shift away from full inclusion of blacks, to partial exclusion—until only five years later, in 1852, President Brigham Young first publicly articulated a priesthood restriction on blacks in the church. 
In today’s episode of Church History Matters, we probe what exists in the historical record to learn what happened between 1847 and 1852 to precipitate this divergence in attitudes and teachings about blacks away from Joseph Smith’s more inclusive teachings and practices. 
We’ll then look at the context and content of Brigham Young’s first public articulation of the priesthood restriction and attempt to answer the very important question, “Was Brigham Young inspired by God to institute the priesthood ban, or is this an example of an uninspired error?”
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/   

019 Joseph Smith and Black Africans

In the broader American culture in which Joseph Smith lived and led the growing Church of Jesus Christ, white attitudes and beliefs about the inferiority of black Africans dominated the scene. In this pre-Civil War context, exactly half of the states in the Union had legalized slavery and built their economies on it, while the other half did not. Yet fears were shared on both sides about what might happen to the country (and to the purity of the white race) if all slaves were set free and allowed to be social equals with whites—chief of which being the fear of inter-racial marriage.   
In this episode of Church History Matters, we take a close look at how Joseph Smith led the Church while navigating within this racially fraught culture, and what specific factors were at play as he did so. For instance, how did the expulsion of the saints from Jackson County, Missouri influence the Church’s approach to missionary work going forward? How did Joseph respond to Church members in the Northern United States who were calling for the excommunication of all slave holding Church members in the southern states? And how did Joseph’s public teachings on slavery change once Church headquarters moved to Nauvoo, Illinois and Church members were no longer in Missouri? 
And, importantly, did Joseph Smith ever implement or endorse any practices or policies which specifically prevented Church members with black African ancestry from fully participating in priesthood offices or temple worship? 
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/   

018 The Racist American Context the Church was Born Into

There was a season in our Church’s history when members with black African ancestry were unevenly barred from both priesthood and temple privileges. This overtly discriminatory practice is one of the most challenging aspects of our history and, for many, is one of the most difficult to understand. How could something like this happen in a Church led by living prophets and apostles? It’s a fair question. And the truth is, the answer is impossible to really get at without understanding the prevailing attitudes and beliefs about black Africans in the broader American culture at the time the Church was established and into the century that followed. 
In this episode of Church History Matters, we begin our series on Race and Priesthood by exploring the racial climate in antebellum America in the 1800’s and probing the three major factors responsible for how it got that way. 
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/   

017 Q&R! Tough Polygamy Questions with Dr. Brian Hales

Did Joseph Smith have any regrets about plural marriage? Like, with full hindsight, if he could go back and change anything about the way he implemented plural marriage, what might he do differently? Also, more and more people are denying that Joseph Smith ever practiced polygamy or that he lied about doing so. Is there even a shred of truth to either of these claims? Did Joseph ever send men on missions and marry their wives while they were gone? Were there any women who denied Joseph’s proposals for plural marriage? If so, what happened to them? What was Emma’s relationship to plural marriage after the saints left Nauvoo for Utah? And is there any truth to the idea that plural marriage exists because there are more faithful women than men?
In today’s episode of Church History Matters we tackle all of these questions and more with our special guest, Dr. Brian Hales!
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/   

016 The Rocky End to Plural Marriage in the Church

In 1852, only eight years after Joseph Smith’s death, Church leaders in Utah publicly announced to the astonished world what some had suspected—that Latter-day Saints did indeed practice the principle of plural marriage. But now that it was out there in the open, it could be openly challenged and attacked. And it was. Relentlessly. For decades.  
In today’s episode of Church History Matters we’ll walk you through the history of how plural marriage came to a rocky end under the draconian legislation and crushing pressure of the United States government. We’ll dive into the George Reynolds trial, President Wilford Woodruff’s Manifesto, the Reed Smoot trials and the Second Manifesto, the resignation of the two members of the Quorum of the Twelve over this, the beginning of the FLDS Church, and more!   
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/   

015 Plural Marriage Troubles (part 2): Emma’s Fury and Joseph’s Martyrdom

In June and July of 1843 tensions ran high in the marriage of Joseph and Emma Smith. After she had tried but failed to embrace the principle of plural marriage earlier that May, and after Hyrum Smith had tried but failed to convince her of the rightness of plural marriage even with a copy of Doctrine and Covenants 132 in hand, records indicate that Emma became for a time rebellious, bitter, resentful, and angry. In fact from July through September of 1843 Emma became confrontational to Joseph’s other wives trying (sometimes successfully) to drive them away from him. 
In this episode of Church History Matters we dive into the details of this challenging time as well as the reconciliatory place Joseph and Emma ultimately seem to come to on this. We’ll also dig into how Joseph’s practice of plural marriage was a major factor behind the conspiracy which ultimately led to his martyrdom.
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/   

014 Plural Marriage Troubles (part 1): John C. Bennett, Hyrum Smith, & Emma

As Joseph Smith quietly practiced plural marriage in Nauvoo in 1842 and 43, all was not well. Three people in particular complicated things for Joseph. The first was John C. Bennett, a highly gifted convert who’s meteoric rise to civic and church leadership in Nauvoo abruptly ended when he was exposed for his secret practice of “spiritual wifery,” which was nothing more or less than illicit serial adultery. Bennett’s defamatory opposition to Joseph after his excommunication was fierce and directly impacted Joseph’s own private practice of plural marriage.
Surprisingly, Joseph’s own brother and member of the First Presidency, Hyrum Smith, was openly opposed to polygamy during this time and sought to use his influence to put down any hint of it in Nauvoo, all the while suspecting that his own brother and others of the apostles may be living it. Yet amidst his opposition, in one key moment, everything changed for Hyrum.
Joseph’s wife Emma Smith was the third and most important person in his life to complicate his practice of plural marriage. Although she sought for a time to embrace it, Emma struggled mightily with this practice on many levels—to the point that it almost ended their marriage. 
In this episode of Church History Matters we discuss each of these three individuals—John C. Bennett, Hyrum, and Emma Smith—and how each factored in to the complexities and troubles of living plural marriage in Nauvoo.
For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/