"We seldom get into trouble when we speak softly. It is only when we raise our voices that the sparks fly and tiny molehills become great mountains of contention."
For example, Bruce R.
McConkie's inaccurate mention of "coinage" in the chapter
heading of Alma 11 has been removed (the Nephite system appears to be
based on weights and measures without the use of anachronistic
coins). The diversity of Native American origins is also more
properly reflected in the introduction to the Book of Mormon (for
those of you troubled by issues of DNA,
science, and the Book of Mormon), where the old
"principal ancestors" statement has been replaced with a
much more nuanced statement indicating that the Lamanites of the Book
of Mormon "are among the ancestors of the American Indians."
This is even more nuanced than the
mild 2007 change to "among the principal ancestors"--now
it's just "among the ancestors." That's a fair way to
describe what the Book of Mormon actually requires.
One of the most
interesting changes involves setting the stage for the 1978
revelation on the priesthood. Here is how Brother Lynch puts it:
Official Declaration 2
– Blacks and the Priesthood
In 1978, President Spencer W.
Kimball received a revelation on the priesthood that extended the
right to every worthy male in the Church to receive all the blessings
of the priesthood without regard to race, including those pertaining
to the temple. Prior to that time, individuals of African descent
were often denied the blessings of the priesthood. Many well-meaning
members and leaders sought to explain the practice, arguing that
there was a doctrinal basis for such a restriction. Many such
explanations assumed a revelatory basis for the practice, and
produced justifications that were damaging to the sensitivities of
our black members. Critics have argued that many Mormons cling to
such beliefs. The following new introduction to Official Declaration
2 dispels many of these notions. It reads:
“The
Book of Mormon teaches that “all are alike unto God,”
including “black and white, bond and free, male and female”
(2
Nephi 26:33).
Throughout the history of the Church, people of every race and
ethnicity in many countries have been baptized and have lived as
faithful members of the Church. During Joseph Smith’s lifetime,
a few black male members of the Church were ordained to the
priesthood. Early in its history, Church leaders stopped conferring
the priesthood on black males of African descent. Church records
offer no clear insights into the origins of this practice. Church
leaders believed that a revelation from God was needed to alter this
practice and prayerfully sought guidance. The revelation came to
Church President Spencer W. Kimball and was affirmed to other Church
leaders in the Salt Lake Temple on June 1, 1978. The revelation
removed all restrictions with regard to race that once applied to the
priesthood.”
This
official introduction validates an argument long made by defenders of
the Church that there is no known source for the initiation of what
has become termed the “priesthood ban”. It confirms that
Joseph himself ordained black male members to the priesthood,
indicating that the “ban” was likely not founded on
scripture. It further explains that, despite the unknown source for
the ban, it was believed that the lifting of the ban required
revelation from God which came on June 1, 1978 and was then adopted
unanimously by the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, and
the full contingency of General Authorities.
This
introduction can serve to provide some comfort to members bothered by
statements from other well-meaning individuals and leaders who said
many things in the past that are seen today as hurtful. It upholds
the current belief that only worthiness determines the right of a man
to receive the blessings of the priesthood, and helps to dispel the
notion that Mormons are racist in their intent.
I am pleased with this
noteworthy but subtle progress in our scriptures and hope the changes
will be welcomes and studied by our members. However, I was just a
tad disappointed to see that the book of Alma still refers to the
Amalekites when the outstanding scholarship of Royal Skousen shows
that the term most likely
should be Amlicites, correcting a scribal error and
revealing a deeper level of consistency and unity in the text than
Joseph Smith recognized (because, of course, he was not the author).
Maybe next time! ;)
Jeff Lindsay has been defending the Church on the Internet since 1994, when he launched his
LDSFAQ website under JeffLindsay.com. He has also long been blogging about LDS matters on
the blog Mormanity (mormanity.blogspot.com). Jeff is a longtime resident of Appleton,
Wisconsin, who recently moved to Shanghai, China, with his wife, Kendra.
He works for an Asian corporation as head of intellectual property. Jeff and Kendra are the parents of 4 boys, 3 married and the the youngest on a mission.
He is a former innovation and IP consultant, a former professor, and former Corporate Patent
Strategist and Senior Research Fellow for a multinational corporation.
Jeff Lindsay, Cheryl Perkins and Mukund Karanjikar are authors of the book Conquering
Innovation Fatigue (John Wiley & Sons, 2009).
Jeff has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University and is a registered US
patent agent. He has more than 100 granted US patents and is author of numerous publications.
Jeff's hobbies include photography, amateur magic, writing, and Mandarin Chinese.