Although I never feel to force my doctrine upon any person, I rejoice to see prejudice give way to truth, and the traditions of men dispersed by the pure principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
History, 1838–1856, volume E-1, 1888 (from a letter to Joseph L. Heywood); see also Doctrine and Covenants 109:56, 70
Revelation expands our understanding and helps us overcome rigid and narrow thought patterns. Many of those patterns represent deeply embedded assumptions, often generally accepted in our society, and sometimes invisible to us.
When a heavenly voice commanded Peter to eat foods forbidden by the law of Moses, his reaction was immediate and forceful. “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.” The response was firm: “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common” (Acts 10:14-15).
The following day, Peter preached the gospel to a centurion named Cornelius and his family. Peter’s travelling companions “were astonished … because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 10:45). This event challenged their preconceived notions about Jews as the chosen people of God. Many difficult decisions lay ahead, but the Lord had opened their eyes and helped them see that all of His children could receive His light.
When Ammon and his brothers were preparing to preach the gospel to the Lamanites, they encountered passionate resistance from their friends and neighbors:
Do ye suppose that ye can bring the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth? Do ye suppose that ye can convince the Lamanites of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers, as stiffnecked a people as they are; whose hearts delight in the shedding of blood; whose days have been spent in the grossest iniquity; whose ways have been the ways of a transgressor from the beginning?
Alma 26:24
Fourteen years later, they returned to Zarahemla with “many thousands” of Lamanite converts, whose commitment and love exceeded that of the Nephites. (See Alma 26:13, 31-33.)
In 1978, Spencer W. Kimball received a similarly expansive revelation. For many years, faithful Church members of African ancestry had been denied the privilege of holding priesthood offices and participating in temple ordinances. The origins of this longstanding practice are not entirely clear, but its effects were deeply felt. President Kimball saw “the faithfulness of those from whom the priesthood has been withheld” and sought to understand the will of the Lord. He wrote,
We have pleaded long and earnestly in behalf of these, our faithful brethren, spending many hours in the Upper Room of the Temple supplicating the Lord for divine guidance.
He has heard our prayers, and by revelation has confirmed that the long-promised day has come when every faithful, worthy man in the Church may receive the holy priesthood, with power to exercise its divine authority, and enjoy with his loved ones every blessing that flows therefrom, including the blessings of the temple.
Official Declaration 2, paragraphs 9-10
Among the people who were profoundly grateful for this change was Dallin H. Oaks. He was at the time serving as president of Brigham Young University. When he heard the news and shared it with his children, he wept. As a young man growing up in Utah, he explained, the restriction had been “almost invisible” to him, but during his adult years in Chicago and Washington D.C., he had “observed the pain and frustration experienced by those who suffered these restrictions.” As a result, he said:
I studied the reasons then being given and could not feel confirmation of the truth of any of them. As part of my prayerful study, I learned that, in general, the Lord rarely gives reasons for the commandments and directions He gives to His servants. I determined to be loyal to our prophetic leaders and to pray—as promised from the beginning of these restrictions—that the day would come when all would enjoy the blessings of priesthood and temple. Now that day had come, and I wept for joy.
President Oaks Remarks at Worldwide Priesthood Celebration, 1 June 2018
Today, I will be receptive to the enlightening influence of the Spirit of the Lord. I will recognize that I don’t yet fully see all of God’s children as He sees them, and I will open my mind to better understand the expansiveness of His love.
Thank you!