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?
It's always hard to type something for the second time, especially when you tend to write as much as I do. I'm sure this will be an inferior post to my accidental deletion.
My Church had a ban in place that prevent blacks of African descent (that specific line, as there are other races of very dark skin but not from African descent, such as Australian natives. This ban remained in place until 1978, and clearly is an offensive doctrine to most. Why it was put in place, no one is truly sure. Most historians today believe Brigham Young (second prophet) put it in place, and that there was probably a great deal of influence from prevailing ideas from his time, such as the popular notion that blacks were descendants from Cain. Even before civil rights issues reached their height in the '60s, Church leaders began praying to have the ban removed. However, they felt a specific revelation was needed to do so, and thus with continued prayers, the ban remained in place until a decade after the civil rights movement reached an apex. To me this does not sound like convenient timing, but rather the awaiting of specific direction from God, when there was already a desire to remove the practice.
I understand how offensive this was, probably more than any other to an outsider. I can't imagine how this would affect my faith if I were black. Why was the ban really allowed to remain in place in the eternal scheme of things? Why would God permit or cause such an unfair policy? No one truly knows. However, the best answer I've heard, which came from a black member of the Church BTW, is that God allowed an additional challenge to strengthen his people.
I will include several links, but perhaps in answer to your question, this link would be most useful:
http://fairmormon.org/Mormonism_and_racial_issues/Blacks_and_the_priesthood/Lifting_the_ban
Other beneficial links on the topic.
http://www.ldsgenesisgroup.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_people_and_early_Mormonism
http://fairmormon.org/Mormonism_and_racial_issues/Blacks_and_the_priesthood/Origin_of_the_priesthood_ban
With regard to polygamy being removed, I don't believe its timing was convenient. Read here:
http://lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/od/1?lang=eng
This is the announcement calling its end, and Wilford Woodruff (prophet #4) said the following:
"… I saw exactly what would come to pass if there was not something done. I have had this spirit upon me for a long time. But I want to say this: I should have let all the temples go out of our hands; I should have gone to prison myself, and let every other man go there, had not the God of heaven commanded me to do what I did do; and when the hour came that I was commanded to do that, it was all clear to me. I went before the Lord, and I wrote what the Lord told me to write. …"
In other words, he would have allowed whatever legal, fiscal, and social ramifications come upon the Church, but he felt God commanded that polygamy end. And since it was always taught to be an exception instead of a rule, this should not be interpreted as a matter of convenience to anyone.
Hope this helps. If you have further questions, please ask. It's a hard topic, but I am willing to address it.