Some posters have expressed surprise that the priesthood BAN ranked so high, as if that’s old history we should just “get over”. It isn’t old and past for many black members of our church, who face challenges to their faith over this single issue almost daily like an open wound that won’t heal.

Having the present-day church honestly address the BAN would be a humble and human act and one of the only ways to truly find peace on this. I believe the Ban is a collecgtive sin for which the church itself must plead forgiveness. Those who would lay the blame for it at God’s feet as if nothing happens without His command, are just searching for a way to justify good old fashioned hate and prejudice at God’s expense. I’m pretty convinced He isn’t in that line of business (Moses 1:39)

I picture Our Father up there just shaking His head most of the time over the things we do in His name. He pleads with us, he clearly tells us (“All are alike unto god . . ., love everyone . . . shew unto you a more excellent way . . .no respecter of persons, etc.) And yet we still find ways to exclude our brothers, to hate our neighbors, and pretend it’s God’s will. Even Peter had to be clearly instructed about taking the gospels past his neighborhood, more than once, before he progressed forward, and he walked with Christ!

In order to make life secure and comfortable, I’m sure my own father would love to step in at every point of my life and “help” me make the right choices about everything from job choice, my college major, wife (luckily I did alright on this one), and financial decisions. But he doesn’t as well he shouldn’t. I am grateful that he just let’s me live my life as I wish, and I stumble, and in turn succeed.

Our Heavenly Father also lets us live our petty little lives down here, knowing that “all things on Heaven and Earth shall pass”, and lets the march of human history commence on our own volition.

There is suffering in the world and much of it is squarely human-caused when it could be just as easily human-prevented. The mess we make down here is not God’s Will. His will is that we choose the righteous path, the straight and narrow, the Higher Law. When we choose otherwise, the consequences can’t be projected on to God’s Will.

All are sinners. Hate and prejudice aside, without even intending it we may even have blood on our hands. Whether it’s from buying diamonds, Nikes from child labor in Vietnam, or supporting a power elite who oppress others around the world for their benefit, and sometimes for our own trickle-down benefit, we are indeed sinners, desperately in need of forgiveness.

That is the purpose of our probation–in the end we are all brought to our kinees , humbled by life itself, vulnerable to our own imperfections and weaknesses, in desperate need of an atonement.

BTW, the word probation carries a connotation of proving oneself. As humans, sometimes we surpass all expectations of ourselves and become something truly Christ-like. At other times, inevitably, we fall horribly short–we blow it.

With the Ban et al., I think we blew it. It is my hope that we, (and I mean all of us “we” in the church), can find the institutional strength to ignore the numbing notion of infallibility as balm to our collective consciences, and make our experience in church a part of a humble acceptance of our human condition. It is in this spirit that I pray for our church, through it’s authorized leadership, to openly address this issue, clear the air with an apology and ask forgiveness.

These people were wronged, but not by God. They deserve the respect that an honest, humble, and loving apology would provide. Would the Gospel tell us otherwise?

Although I love LeGrand Richards as a person and a general authority, it bothers me that in his book “Marvelous Work and a Wonder” and many of his talks he has influenced so many members of the church to think that the Marvelous Work and a Wonder began back in 1830 when the church was restored…

I think this is really unfortunate! In fact I have just started a blog to voice my humble opinion about this topic

I would love to see a poll take on bcc to see what % of viewers think the mmw is a future event and how many of them think it began over 170 years ago

After all, the answer to this doctrinal questions is critical for the great test that is coming and it affects a persons perspective of the current state of the Club