Done.

Ray, you may or may not read this based on your last comments. But I would like to know how you can say such, when just minutes ago I read about a lineage forbidden to hold the priesthood in the book of Abraham, which is part of our cannon of scripture. How can anything an apostle would say trump what is contained in the standard works?

I agree with your comments about the subjectivity of written history, but I think DHO’s comments here, in his interview, as well as in his 1985 talk, are full of red herrings. Using the your example quoted above, I would ask, what is the purpose of LDS historians (not always, but almost) in writing Church history, if not to teach and make a case for the divinity behind the calling of Prophets, the restoration, and the current Church with its leadership. In that case, controversial doctrines, policies, revelations, practices, and conduct of the Church and its leadership is all very relevant.

Such a concept simply is not in accordance with the revealed word of God as we have it in our generation, and Elder McConkie said it was crafted in our dispensation according to lesser light and knowledge. I object to it because it is wrong, according to the prophets and apostles of our time, and because I personally find it repugnant.

That’s the end of my participation in this particular discussion. Race and lineage were not the underpinning point of this post.

#147 – Elder McConkie and others had opinions about the ban. So did Pres. Young and others. Were there any authoritative statements to the effect that God did not authorize the ban?

#148 – I know a number of brethren gave reasons for the ban. I don’t know if they were right or not. Elder Holland dismisses them all. Perhaps he is right; perhaps he is wrong. The reason to me does not matter nearly so much as whether we dismiss the ban itself. It was given by a prophet of God, was it not?

In regards to OD-2, even Pres. Young said that there would come a time when the black man WOULD receive the priesthood. You could say that SWK simply thought it would come sooner than what had been predicted by BY. In regard to OD-1 or OD-2, did either of them go so far as to say that the commandments they were suspending/rescinding had been in error? If not, why do I get the sense that most in this group feel they were not of God and would just as soon that they had never existed?