Remember how in all of LDS scripture God essentially taps a dude on the shoulder, tells him he's now a prophet, and sends him off to tell everyone else what it is he (God) wants? I'm not sure that process was the most efficient considering the prophet to non-prophet ratio and the tendency for huge portions of the population to be skeptical of what one man has to say, but I think that process would be much more convincing than what we have going on today. The Church leaders (our dear prophets, seers, and revelators) no longer do things Moses' way, or Isaiah's way, or Jesus' way, or Samuel the Lamanite's way, or Joseph Smith's way of wielding all decisive power and authority on a matter; now they sit around in board meetings and vote like businessmen. And nothing passes unless there is a unanimous vote in favor. It sounds a bit Catholic, but such is the business of revealing God's Will for us today. I'm just curious what happened to the traditional method of prophecy, in which men had much less say in what the message would be.
Well, doesn't lack of unanimity mean that at least some of the 15 (and perhaps all of them) cannot figure out what it is that God is telling them?
ReplyDelete"In 1969 church apostle Harold B. Lee blocked the LDS Church from rescinding the racial restriction policy. Church leaders voted to rescind the policy at a meeting in 1969. Lee was absent from the meeting due to travels. When Lee returned he called for a re-vote, arguing that the policy could not be changed without a revelation."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_people_and_Mormonism
Does that mean that 14/15 or 1/15 were wrong at that time?
And why did it take another 9 years to get the revelation?
Mormons often hear that their lack of understanding God's will is their fault. We're not in tuned enough, right? Or maybe God's ways are just too damned mysterious. Or maybe God has a serious clarity issue.
DeleteI think the 1978 revelation is an interesting case to bring up given that the moment of epiphany was more like silent consent from the Almighty. Revelation through non-communication. How mysterious!