Wednesday, October 9, 2019

The Tanners on the Surprise Most LDS Experienced with the 1978 Revelation


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: