The Church Clarifies its History in Regard to Race Relations

Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else. Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form.

Source: lds.org

Wilford Woodruff saw and conversed with Joseph Smith and others in dreams

In the October 10, 1880 general conference, Wilford Woodruff related several experiences that he had in seeing and conversing with late prophets and apostles. His account follows.

After the death of Joseph Smith I saw and conversed with him many times in my dreams in the night season. On one occasion he and his brother Hyrum met me when on the sea going on a mission to England. I had Dan Jones with me. He received his mission from Joseph Smith before his death; and the prophet talked freely to me about the mission I was then going to perform. And he also talked to me with regard to the mission of the Twelve Apostles in the flesh, and he laid before me the work they had to perform; and he also spoke of the reward they would receive after death. And there were many other things he laid before me in his interview on that occasion. And when I awoke many of the things he had told me were taken from me, I could not comprehend them. I have had many interviews with Brother Joseph until the last 15 or 20 years of my life; I have not seen him for that length of time. But during my travels in the southern country last winter I had many interviews with President Young, and with Heber C. Kimball, and Geo. A. Smith, and Jedediah M. Grant, and many others who are dead. They attended our conference, they attended our meetings. And on one occasion, I saw Brother Brigham and Brother Heber ride in carriage ahead of the carriage in which I rode when I was on my way to attend conference; and they were dressed in the most priestly robes. When we arrived at our destination I asked President Young if he would preach to us. He said, "No, I have finished my testimony in the flesh I shall not talk to this people any more. But (said he) I have come to see you; I have come to watch over you, and to see what the people are doing. Then (said he) I want you to teach the people—and I want you to follow this counsel yourself—that they must labor and so live as to obtain the Holy Spirit, for without this you cannot build up the kingdom; without the spirit of God you are in danger of walking in the dark, and in danger of failing to accomplish your calling as apostles and as elders in the church and kingdom of God. And, said he, Brother Joseph taught me this principle. "And I will here say, I have heard him refer to that while he was living. But what I was going to say is this: the thought came to me that Brother Joseph had left the work of watching over this church and kingdom to others, and that he had gone ahead, and that he had left this work to men who have lived and labored with us since he left us. This idea manifested itself to me, that such men advance in the spirit world. And I believe myself that these men who have died and gone into the spirit world had this mission left with them, that is, a certain portion of them, to watch over the Latter-day Saints.

Journal Of Discourses 21:317-318

Brigham Young saw Joseph Smith in a dream after Joseph's Death

Brigham Young recorded the following dream in which he saw the Prophet Joseph Smith after Joseph's death:

While sick and asleep about noonday of the 17th inst., I dreamed that I went to see Joseph. He looked perfectly natural, sitting with his feet on the lower round of his chair. I took hold of his right hand and kissed him many times, and said to him: "Why is it that we cannot be together as we used to be? You have been from us a long time, and we want your society and I do not like to be separated from you."

Joseph rising from his chair and looking at me with his usual earnest, expressive and pleasing countenance replied, "It is all right."

I said, "I do not like to be away from you."

Joseph said, "It is all right; we cannot be together yet; we shall be by and by; but you will have to do without me a while, and then we shall be together again." I then discovered there was a hand rail between us, Joseph stood by a window and to the southwest of him it was very light. I was in the twilight and to the north of me it was very dark; I said, "Brother Joseph, the brethren you know well, better than I do; you raised them up, and brought the Priesthood to us. The brethren have a great anxiety to understand the law of adoption or sealing principles; and if you have a word of counsel for me, I should be glad to receive it."

Joseph stepped toward me, and looking very earnestly, yet pleasantly said, "Tell the people to be humble and faithful, and be sure to keep the spirit of the Lord and it will lead them right. Be careful and not turn away the small still voice; it will teach you what to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits of the kingdom. Tell the brethren to keep their hearts open to conviction, so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them, their hearts will be ready to receive it. They can tell the Spirit of the Lord from all other spirits; it will whisper peace and joy to their souls; it will take malice, hatred, strife and all evil from their hearts; and their whole desire will be to do good, bring forth righteousness and build up the kingdom of God. Tell the brethren if they will follow the spirit of the Lord, they will go right. Be sure to tell the people to keep the Spirit of the Lord; and if they will, they will find themselves just as they were organized by our Father in Heaven before they came into the world. Our Father in Heaven organized the human family, but they are all disorganized and in great confusion."

Joseph then showed me the pattern, how they were in the beginning. This I cannot describe, but I saw it, and saw where the Priesthood had been taken from the earth and how it must be joined together, so that there would be a perfect chain from Father Adam to his latest posterity. Joseph again said, "Tell the people to be sure to keep the Spirit of the Lord and follow it, and it will lead them just right."

Manuscript History of Brigham Young, pp. 119-20.

Orson F. Whitney's reply to Invictus: The Soul's Captain

Invictus

William Earnest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from Pole to Pole,
I thank whatever gods may be,
For my unconquerable soul. 

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud,
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed. 

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid. 

It matters not how straight the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.

The Soul's Captain

Orson F. Whitney

Art thou in truth?
Then what of him who bought thee with his blood?
Who plunged into devouring seas
And snatched thee from the flood 

Who bore for all our fallen race
What none but him could bear--
The God who died that man might live
And endless glory share. 

Of what avail thy vaunted strength
Apart from his vast might?
Pray that his light may pierce the gloom
That thou mayest see aright. 

Men are as bubbles on the wave,
As leaves upon the tree,
Thou, captain of thy soul! Forsooth,
Who gave that place to thee? 

Free will is thine--free agency,
To wield for right or wrong;
But thou must answer unto him
To whom all souls belong. 

Bend to the dust that “head unbowed”,
Small part of life’s great whole,
And see in him and him alone,
The captain of thy soul.

Orson F. Whitney served as a member of the Council of the Twelve Apostles from 1906-1931.

Speaking of Invictus, President Gordon B. Hinkley said:

It is a great poem. It places upon the individual the responsibility for what he does with his life. Through these many years, when I have been faced with difficult choices I have repeated these stirring words. But on the other hand, it may sound arrogant and conceited in terms of the Atonement. Orson F. Whitney, of the Quorum of the Twelve of many years ago, so regarded it and wrote a marvelous response using the same poetic meter and entitling his verse “The Soul’s Captain.”  So it is. When all is said and done, when all the legions of the ages have passed in review, when man’s terrible inhumanity to man has been chronicled, when God’s great love for His children has been measured, then above all stands the lone figure of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world, the Savior of mankind, the living Son of the living God, the Prince of Peace, the Holy One. (First Presidency Christmas Devotional, December 3, 2000)

On Giving Priesthood Blessings

I once heard a stake patriarch say that it is easier for him to give patriarchal blessings than it is to give blessings of healing because inspiration always comes clearly when giving patriarchal blessings, but things aren't always clear when giving priesthood blessings for healing. This reminds me of two things in regard to knowing what to say in priesthood blessings. First, a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants indicates that some who have the faith to be healed won't be healed because they are appointed to unto death. Doctrine and Covenants 42:43-48 reads:

And whosoever among you are sick, and have not faith to be healed, but believe, shall be nourished with all tenderness, with herbs and mild food, and that not by the hand of an enemy. And the elders of the church, two or more, shall be called, and shall pray for and lay their hands upon them in my name; and if they die they shall die unto me, and if they live they shall live unto me. Thou shalt alive together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die, and more especially for those that have not hope of a glorious resurrection. And it shall come to pass that those that die in me shall not taste of death, for it shall be sweet unto them; And they that die not in me, wo unto them, for their death is bitter. And again, it shall come to pass that he that hath faith in me to be healed, and is not appointed unto death, shall be healed.

So, regardless of what is promised in a blessing, in some cases, it is not the Lord's will that healing occur. This leads me to the second thing that the patriarch's comment reminds me of. Marion G. Romney, former first counselor in the First Presidency, spoke to the difficulty in discerning between your own emotions and the Spirit.

"If you can learn to discern between your own feelings and the inspiration of the Lord, you don't have to be in doubt as to what you are to do. It's quite an accomplishment, however, to be able to learn the difference between your own feelings and the promptings of the Lord. It is very difficult for me and so I think it must be difficult for you. For example, I am frequently called to the hospital to administer to someone. If it is someone that I know well, someone who is close to me, I want that person to get well just like you want your loved ones to get well. As I put my hands on his head to give him a blessing, I have the desire in my heart to bless him to get well. I know that if I do promise him out of the wisdom of Marion G. Romney that he will get well, he very likely won't get well. But if I can discern the Spirit telling me what to say, and I can say under the direction of the Spirit, "You will be well," he always gets well. Have you ever had that experience? I have laid my hands on the heads of people and just made a fabulous promise that scared me. But it all came true because I was inspired of the Lord. I have given people promises which have not been realized. I know one good woman who carries a great burden, and she partly blames me, because I blessed her daughter that she would get well. She had cancer, but she did not get well; she died. The people were my neighbors, and they leaned on me. I had been their bishop and their stake president, and they were just sure that the girl would get well if I administered to her. I wanted her to get well but she didn't. I tried to be guarded in what I said, but I wasn't sure whether I was speaking under the direction of the Spirit and I guess I said something in a way which the mother took as an outright promise that she would get well.” Marion tried to follow this and other scriptural patterns in his own personal prayers. He felt he had learned to distinguish between the inspiration which comes from the Lord and that which came from his own "uninspired hopes and desires." Howard, F. Burton. Marion G. Romney: His Life and Faith. Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1988, pg. 225.

It can be challenging to discern between emotion and the Spirit when giving a blessing to a loved one. It can also be difficult knowing what to say when clear inspiration does not come. These facts make me grateful for the blessings where clear inspiration does come.