Official Declaration 2

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf:

“My dear young friends, we are a question-asking people because we know that inquiry leads to truth. …

“… Inquiry is the birthplace of testimony. Some might feel embarrassed or unworthy because they have searching questions regarding the gospel, but they needn’t feel that way. Asking questions isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a precursor of growth.

“God commands us to seek answers to our questions (see James 1:5–6) and asks only that we seek ‘with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ’ (Moroni 10:4). When we do so, the truth of all things can be manifested to us ‘by the power of the Holy Ghost’ (Moroni 10:5).

“Fear not; ask questions. Be curious, but doubt not! Always hold fast to faith and to the light you have already received” (“The Reflection in the Water” [Church Educational System devotional, Nov. 1, 2009], LDS.org).

Introduction to Official Declaration 2:

“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.”

Elder M. Russell Ballard:

“In our Heavenly Father’s great priesthood-endowed plan, men have the unique responsibility to administer the priesthood, but they are not the priesthood. Men and women have different but equally valued roles. Just as a woman cannot conceive a child without a man, so a man cannot fully exercise the power of the priesthood to establish an eternal family without a woman. In other words, in the eternal perspective, both the procreative power and the priesthood power are shared by husband and wife. And as husband and wife, a man and a woman should strive to follow our Heavenly Father. The Christian virtues of love, humility, and patience should be their focus as they seek the blessings of the priesthood in their lives and for their family.

“It is crucial for us to understand that Heavenly Father has provided a way for all of His sons and His daughters to have access to the blessings of and be strengthened by the power of the priesthood” (“This Is My Work and Glory,” Ensignor Liahona, May 2013, 19).

Elder Dallin H. Oaks:

“‘If you read the scriptures with this question in mind, “Why did the Lord command this or why did he command that,” you find that in less than one in a hundred commands was any reason given. It’s not the pattern of the Lord to give reasons. We [mortals] can put reasons to revelation. We can put reasons to commandments. When we do, we’re on our own. Some people put reasons to the one we’re talking about here, and they turned out to be spectacularly wrong. There is a lesson in that. … I decided a long time ago that I had faith in the command and I had no faith in the reasons that had been suggested for it.’

“When asked if [he] was even referring to reasons given by General Authorities, [he] replied:

“‘I’m referring to reasons given by general authorities and reasons elaborated upon … by others. The whole set of reasons seemed to me to be unnecessary risk taking. … Let’s don’t make the mistake that’s been made in the past, here and in other areas, trying to put reasons to revelation. The reasons turn out to be man-made to a great extent. The revelations are what we sustain as the will of the Lord and that’s where safety lies’ [“Apostles Talk about Reasons for Lifting Ban,” Daily Herald, Provo, Utah, June 5, 1988, 21 (AP)]” (Dallin H. Oaks, Life’s Lessons Learned [2011], 68–69).

Elder Paul V. Johnson:

“It is not unhealthy for a student to see that the teacher doesn’t know the answer to everything but does know the answer to the core questions and has a strong testimony. When the angel asked Nephi if he knew the condescension of God, Nephi responded, ‘I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things’ (1 Nephi 11:17). Even if we don’t know the answer to a specific question, we can remind our students of the things we do know.

“Another challenge we face, especially if we have taught for some time, is a tendency to hold on to old files and old explanations. We would be much better off keeping up with the current stance of the Church. One of the best ways to do this is to be familiar with material in the newsroom at LDS.org (mormonnewsroom.org). …

“I was hired in seminaries and institutes in the summer of 1978. In June of that summer, the revelation was announced that the priesthood was available to all worthy males. In August of that same year, Elder Bruce R. McConkie, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, spoke to seminary and institute personnel in a gathering analogous to this one. He emphasized how the revelation had changed our understanding of the issue. He said:

“‘Forget everything that I have said, or what President Brigham Young or President George Q. Cannon or whomsoever has said in days past that is contrary to the present revelation. We spoke with a limited understanding and without the light and knowledge that now has come into the world.

“‘We get our truth and our light line upon line and precept upon precept. We have now had added a new flood of intelligence and light on this particular subject, and it erases all the darkness and all the views and all the thoughts of the past. They don’t matter any more.

“‘It doesn’t make a particle of difference what anybody ever said about the … matter before the first day of June of this year (1978)’ (“All Are Alike unto God” [CES symposium on the Book of Mormon, Aug. 18, 1978], 2; LDS.org).

“Let’s keep up to date with the light we have been given” (“A Pattern for Learning Spiritual Things” [address to CES religious educators, Aug. 7, 2012], LDS.org).

President Gordon B. Hinckley:

“There was a hallowed and sanctified atmosphere in the room. For me, it felt as if a conduit opened between the heavenly throne and the kneeling, pleading prophet of God who was joined by his Brethren. … By the power of the Holy Ghost there came to that prophet an assurance that the thing for which he prayed was right, that the time had come, and that now the wondrous blessings of the priesthood should be extended to worthy men everywhere regardless of lineage.

“Every man in that circle, by the power of the Holy Ghost, knew the same thing. …

“… Not one of us who was present on that occasion was ever quite the same after that. Nor has the Church been quite the same” (“Priesthood Restoration,” Ensign, Oct. 1988, 70).

Elder Bruce R. McConkie:

“On this occasion [when the revelation contained in Official Declaration 2 was received], because of the importuning and the faith, and because the hour and the time had arrived, the Lord in his providences poured out the Holy Ghost upon the First Presidency and the Twelve in a miraculous and marvelous manner, beyond anything that any then present had ever experienced. The revelation came to the President of the Church; it also came to each individual present” (“All Are Alike unto God” [address to CES religious educators, Aug. 18, 1978], 3, LDS.org).

Gospel Topics:

Race and the Priesthood