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Originally Posted by SteelBlue
I understand where you and others are coming from. I used to feel the same way. But it now makes much more sense to me that the Lord corrected an error on an issue that really was only an issue for a very short period of time relatively speaking. Denying blacks the priesthood from the time of BY to McKay was a moot point. Nobody was asking for the priesthood. If you believe that the Lord decided to impose a 15 year ban on blacks then so be it. It seems much more likely to me that over a period of 15 years leadership debated/discussed and took to the Lord an issue that had growing implications. The Lord answered. I don't hold it against leadership that they thought as their peers thought in those times.
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I agree with your post, until the idea it was a 15 year ban. Brigham started teaching about the seed of Cain, and all hell broke lose. In fact, before Brigham taught about this, a member had petitioned Joseph Smith on why a black man was allowed to have the priesthood, unfortunately before a response was given Joseph was killed.
Many blacks came into the Utah valley after the saints had established themselves, and the previous anti-slave mormons, returned to the idea that it was ok to possess slaves. Elijah Abel and other black mormons had petitioned the council of the twelve multiple times to be allowed to be sealed, participate in temple worship, etc, all being denied. Can you imagine the heartache, the confusion, etc, these saints must have felt? Elijah Abel was good enough to hang with Joseph, was allowed to do baptisms for the dead, was called on three missions, was given the priesthood, yet was not allowed to receive the saving ordinances of the gospel. His posterity was considered, 'white,' and his countenance had changed to a 'whiter,' complexion.
My point is, that the issue started in the 1800's and was consistently reinforced throughtout the 1900's, to the point where the leadership was so worried about it that J. Rueben Clarke didn't want black people giving blood to Utah hospitals because he didn't want black blood being introduced into a white person's body. Racism in the church abounded for over one hundred years and unfortunately for Utah, for the church, for many blacks, and for many whites, they will abstain from the restored gospel because of the issues certain leaders had.
I would think the Lord would give extreme amount of concessions for the people that struggle with this idea in the afterlife.