Sacred Texts: Mormons

Mormon Doctrine & Covenants - Official Declaration 2 (On Non-Discrimination)

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This is a primary source document — an official ecclesiastical letter and conference announcement from the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dated June 8, 1978, and formally presented at the church's General Conference on September 30, 1978. It announces what the LDS Church characterizes as a divine revelation received by President Spencer W. Kimball, ending the church's longstanding policy that prohibited Black men of African descent from holding the priesthood. The letter describes Kimball as having received the revelation after "extended meditation and prayer" in the temple, and states that it was subsequently approved unanimously by the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and all other General Authorities. The core doctrinal claim is that God had now revealed the fulfillment of earlier prophetic promises that "all worthy male members of the Church may receive the holy priesthood without regard for race or color." The document is notable for framing the racial restriction's end as a long-awaited divine act rather than a policy correction, and it was canonized as Official Declaration 2 in the church's Doctrine and Covenants. Anyone interested in LDS institutional history, American religious history, or the intersection of race and religion will find this a foundational primary source.

Mormon Doctrine & Covenants - Official Declaration 2 (On Non-Discrimination)

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