In one of Elder Haight's final public appearances, he spoke at the graduation ceremony at the Institute of Religion at the U, May 2004. He shared his experience of being a member of the twelve during that process in the 1970's, and said when the twelve knelt in prayer with the first presidency, asking to know of what had been made manifest to President Kimball concerning the issue, that the outpouring of spirit was the greatest that he'd experienced during his tenure, leaving no room for disputation amongst any of them that the time had come and the policy changes were indeed the will of the Lord.
According to the documentation of Claire Meddlemiss, we know that there has been lack of harmony amongst the brethren concerning many issues: Harold B Lee and correlation, Joseph Fielding Smith and evolution, etc. But extending the priesthood was apparently something the Lord left no room for doubt amongst the leaders of the church, and I think that was absolutely necessary concerning the social biases and reservations that the brethren had observed their entire lives.
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