I was sad to see so much space taken up rehashing the ridiculous and hurtful (to the black members of the LDS Church) speculation about Brigham Young and “The Ban.”
Some want to blame Brigham because Joseph Smith ordained a few blacks to the priesthood, proving that “The Ban” couldn’t have come from him. But it was Joseph Smith who wrote the Book of Abraham 1:26-27 commanding that blacks couldn’t have the priesthood.
I know many will say that it was God who revealed that through Joseph Smith. Well, if one is going to believe that, then one would have to say that Joseph was the one who broke the commandment by ordaining blacks, and Brigham put things right again.
See … it doesn’t work any way you look at it. Back then, there were racism and prophets. And now there are racism, prophets unwilling to apologize to black members, conjecture for a scapegoat, and a lot of wasted time. There has been so much time spent trying to figure out who is to blame for “The Ban.”
I can’t wait for the revelation reversing “The Policy” to see who is blamed for that.
Shauna Clark, Cottonwood Heights