Diferenças entre edições de "Pergunta: O que sabemos sobre a origem da restrição do sacerdócio aos membros da Igreja descendentes de Africanos?"

Revisão das 12h11min de 28 de novembro de 2015

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Pergunta: O que sabemos sobre a origem da restrição do Sacerdócio a membros de descendência Africana?

The Church has never provided an official reason for the ban

The origin of the priesthood ban is one of the most difficult questions to answer. Its origins are not clear, and this affected both how members and leaders have seen the ban, and the steps necessary to rescind it. The Church has never provided an official reason for the ban.

Members have generally taken one of three perspectives:

1. the ban was based on revelation to Joseph Smith, and was continued by his successors until President Kimball
2. the ban did not originate with Joseph Smith, but was implemented by Brigham Young by revelation
3. the ban began as a series of administrative policy decisions, rather than a revealed doctrine, and drew partly upon ideas regarding race common in mid-19th century America. The passage of time gave greater authority to this policy than intended.

The difficulty in deciding between these options arises because:
a) there is no contemporary account of a revelation underlying the ban; but
b) many early members nevertheless believed that there had been such a revelation; and
c) priesthood ordination of African blacks was a rare event, which became even more rare with time.

The history behind the practice in the modern Church of withholding the priesthood based on race is described well by Lester Bush in a 1984 book.^[1] A good timeline can be found at FairMormon's BlackLDS site: FAIR link.

Notas

1. ↑ Lester E. Bush, Jr. and Armand L. Mauss, eds., Neither White Nor Black: Mormon Scholars Confront the Race Issue in a Universal Church, (Salt Lake City, Signature Books, 1984). ISBN 0941214222. off-site