Some critics
claim that the 1978 revelation allowing blacks to have access to priesthood and
temple blessings was the result of external pressure (e.g., the various
boycotts of BYU from sports organisations such as the NAACP [though such really reached its height during the 1960s and fizzled out a bit by 1978]). While they have
their typical negative/critical twist on the issue, the Tanners refute this
charge by noting that, for most members of the Church, this came as a surprise:
Even though most Mormons claim they are happy
with the doctrinal change with regard to blacks, there is evidence that the “revelation”
came as a real shock. A class at Brigham Young University which conducted a “random
telephone Survey” of Utah County residents found that 79 percent of those
interviewed did not expect a change at this time. Furthermore, many people
compared the news to an announcement of some kind of disaster or death:
Some 45 percent of those who heard of the
doctrine from personal sources expressed doubt that the news was true. This compares
with only 25 percent of those who learned from media sources.
Sixty two percent of the former group
expressed shock, compared with 52 percent of the latter . . .
Those who surveyed appeared surprised by the
announcement, Haroldsen said. Thirty-nine percent said they did not think “it
would ever happen”—that the priesthood would ever be given to blacks.
Another 40 percent expected it years in the
future, after Christ’s return, during the Millenium, or “not in my lifetime.” .
. .
In trying to explain how they reacted to the
news, 14 persons compared its impact with that of the assassination of
President John F. Kennedy. Another 13 compared it to the news of the death of
an LDS Church president. Eight compared it to a natural disaster, especially
the Teton dam break.
Others compared the news with the death of a
family member or friend, with a declaration of war, or other major political
event. (The Daily Universe, June 22,
1978)
The Mormon people apparently realized the
deep doctrinal implications this change involved, and therefore they associated
it with death or disaster. If they were really pleased with the change, why did
they not relate it with a happy event like marriage, the birth of a child or
the end of a war? We feel that this survey unwittingly reveals what church
members really thought off the change. (Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? [5th
ed.; Salt Lake City: Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1987 2008], 293-C, ellipsis in
original)
On the issue
of blacks and “Mormonism,” see:
Russell W.
Stevenson, For
the Cause of Righteousness: A Global History of Blacks and Mormonism, 1830-2013