40 years ago today - Jun 1, 1978

Spencer W. Kimball's proposal to resolve "the Negro issue," is sustained by the apostles after a prayer circle in the Salt Lake temple. This answers ends the policy since 1852 of denying the priesthood to those of black African ancestry. The urgency of Kimball's inquiry involves the upcoming dedication of the temple in Brazil, where centuries of racial intermarriage have always posed problems in administering the LDS ban on priesthood to those of black African ancestry. The First Presidency announces this change on 9 June, and general conference accepts it on 20 Sept. This announcement becomes "Document 2" in the 1981 edition of the D&C. First Presidency secretary Francis M. Gibbons writes that this change "seemed to relieve them of a subtle sense of guilt they had felt over the years."

[Source: The Mormon Hierarchy - Extensions of Power by D. Michael Quinn, [New Mormon History database ( http://bit.ly/NMHdatabase )]]

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