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Once in 1969

Saturday, 21 Jun 2008 at 7:01 am

I learn something new everyday. LDS church leaders voted in 1969 to rescind the exaltation exclusion (a.k.a. the priesthood ban). Harold B. Lee came back into town and convinced everyone that it required a real revelation to change.

The real story is that almost all of the top leaders didn’t see the exaltation exclusion as divinely inspired (at least not until Lee showed up). They thought a vote was enough to change the practice. They must have thought it a simple policy.

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5 Comments

  1. Kullervo said,

    June 26, 2008 @ 11:13 am

    I don’t believe this story, actually. I need to see some sources. I’m not trying to quibble; this has been my bread-and-butter while I’ve been working on a paper for law school about Civil Rights and the priesthood ban in the 1950′s-70′s.

    I believe that Hugh B. Brown tried to put it to a vote (more than once!), because I know he was against the ban, increasingly thought it practice not doctrine, and wanted to end it. And Lee coming in to say “not without revelation” is consistent with his stance on the issue. But there’s absolutely no way Ezra Taft Benson and Joseph Fielding Smith voted to end the ban. Not a chance.

    And I’m going to need to see a pretty credible and convincing source to convince me otherwise. And if there is a solid source (or even a not-so-solid source), I’d really like to see it, because it should go in my paper. But I’m skeptical, because I really feel like I’d have seen such a source if it existed.

    Also, for the record, McMurrin’s statements about things McKay said are really questionable. McKay was certainly troubled by the ban, but it is not clear that he really said what McMurrin claims he said.

  2. Jonathan Blake said,

    June 26, 2008 @ 11:39 am

    I looked for a source before I posted this. My biggest complaint about WhyMormons.net is that he never cites his sources. Intriguing stuff, but without sources I have to stay skeptical. Anyway, Wikipedia tells the same story and cites The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power by Quinn as its source. That was enough for me to post it. If I was doing a paper, I would probably have actually read Quinn and his sources. :)

    I don’t remember if I’ve said it already, but I’d be very interested in reading your paper when you’re done.

  3. Kullervo said,

    June 26, 2008 @ 11:41 am

    Huh. Looks like I might have missed an important source. I’ll go back and check it out when I do my revisions for publication.

    I don;t want to post my paper online or anything, because like I said, I want to publish it, but I’d be happy to e-mail it to you in return for feedback.

  4. LDS Missionary said,

    August 31, 2008 @ 1:58 am

    Wow, I’m flattered that people actually visit my site.

    The real truth is that I ‘almost mostly’ cite sources in my articles.

    I have absolutely zero ambitions to be a super-star cowboy in the conversation against Mormonism, but I do like to throw out little gems of information that I personally know are true.

    Because I prayed. j/k. Because I did the homework. Or somebody else did. Or I think the sources can easily be found using the magic Google monster.

    I’m not sure if I’ve talked about it on my site, but if you’re still working on the paper, do a little searchy-poo on the Pratt brothers, and their connection with the Mormon race issue.

    Mormonism copied their ‘blacks and evil’ from every other Christian church at the time. The Pratt brothers, however, invented the uniquely-Mormon obedience-and-behavior-in-the-pre-existence-determines-your-place-in-life-doctrine (e.g. skin color, geographical birth place, wealth or poverty, etc).

    It was the Pratt Brothers’ unique ‘spiritual creativity’ that gave early Mormonism a refreshing splash of cool water, in my humblest of opinions.

    Cheers.

  5. Jonathan Blake said,

    August 31, 2008 @ 5:35 am

    It’s true that I’ve been able to source some of your information using Google. Coming from an academic background, it would be a convenience to your readers and lend credibility to what you say. Since you’ve taken the time to post it, why not take the time to also source it? :)

    Anyway, thanks for the info and thanks for stopping by.

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