Latter-day Saint’s June 8th commemoration fosters unity
I have enjoyed reading the comments that have been made to my last post — Latter-day Saints examine racial history. I especially enjoyed the expressions of faith in the grace of God.
To clarify, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is built on the foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We believe in a restored, not reformed gospel. We believe in living prophets and apostles and our doctrines are derived from an open cannon of continuing revelation from God. Our roots are in Christian teachings, but our doctrine is distinct relative to other Christian traditions because of our open cannon. If there are errors in our practice, those errors are of man.
Our open cannon makes us open for correction or clarifying revelations. It makes our church vibrant and responsive to challenges in our times. We often refer to the church as a “living church”.
We rejoiced in the clarifying revelation in 1978 that extended the priesthood to all worthy males and expanded temple and mission service to all worthy members.
One might wonder why blacks would join a church that once excluded them from full participation equal to their white counterparts.
Perhaps we need to ask the black members of the faith.
Since I am not black, I defer to others to share their testimony of faith.
My dear friend Darius Gray – who joined the church years ago while the restriction was in place – and others tell their story on a recently released video that was shown at the June 8th gathering.
See video on You Tube: Priesthood for Mormon Men of Every Race
The program on June 8th, sponsored by our church, had speakers who acknowledged that we have a ways to go to bring unity to the body of Latter-day Saints. The speakers — white and black – also acknowledged we have come a long way and the future looks good especially as we focus on Christ and His attonement.
I have confidence Latter-day Saints will find answers and reconciliation because this is the place to be and when God provides the place, He provides understanding.
Where the spirit rests the welcome table is expanded.
We rejoice in Christ, we love Him and in that knowledge we feel one our brothers and sisters.
Above photos are courtesy of lds.org newsroom.
Related links:
From the lds newsroom: Unity and Gratitude Expressed at 30th Anniversary of Priesthood Revelation
See news stories in conjunction with the celebration posted on blacklds.org: click here
See my review of Blacks in the Scriptures — click here
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Dana King, 45, volunteers in public affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- St. Louis Missouri South Stake. She chairs the annual Discover Your Roots conference and serves on the Friends of Dred Scott committee. Dana is a contributor to outreach initiatives: knowyourneighbornet.org and BlackLDS.org. Dana is married, mother of two teens, and runs her interior design business. 
The humbleness of the church regarding the church’s past error in this area is mind blowing and is deeply touching.
I have never witnessed such openness concerning discussions of racism in a church before. Where in reality, all religious denominations practiced these same beliefs, while knowing it was wrong and against Christian doctrine.
It always comes back to God’s truth. He will correct you and guide His church into all that’s true and good when He is sought in spirit and in truth. Being a Christian is an on-going process towards perfection and maturity and I am sorry for being judgmental about the church’s genuineness in its desire to acknowledge its racial past history. It appears that not only have you acknowledged it and repented from it but also, it is obvious that change has taken place in hearts and the church has changed.
If one can’t find unity among one another as Christians where can it be possibly found? It is certainly one of the areas the church and everyone claiming to be Christian must get right before the Judgment.