timdiggerm said:

Eh, there's not much to say, really. To the outside observer, black people weren't allowed to be clergy until the Church conveniently announced a message from God saying they could, after racism had become unpopular, much as there was a convenient prophecy regarding polygamy once the Supreme Court had definitively declared it illegal. To the outside observer, they weren't messages from God, they were the head Prophet recognizing social pressures and claiming to have received communication from the Lord. The the LDS-believer, it was all actual messages from God.

Your thoughts, as a believer, on the convenient timings?

I had a lengthy response already typed, complete with quotes. Unfortunately, I decided to add one last sentence, pressed backspace when having trouble, and lost the post. Arg! I bet you thought I forgot about your post, or perhaps I was dodging it. Well, neither. I just don't have time to type it up again at the moment, but I will return to this. Never fret.