Priesthood Restriction, Revelation, & Restoration

Priesthood Restoration, Priesthood Restriction, and Revelation

June was the month of the priesthood restoration, priesthood restriction, and revelation in LDS Church history. It serves as a month of profound historical significance for Latter-day Saints, marking both the commemoration of the priesthood restoration and the anniversary of the 1978 revelation ending the priesthood and temple ban. Rick Bennett of Gospel Tangents explores the complex history of how priesthood authority was first established and how it evolved over nearly two centuries.

https://youtu.be/Tkc1j6r23s0

Don’t miss our other conversations on LDS Faith Journeys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9pQpKe9CEk&list=PLLhI8GMw9sJ7WQNTJCyCO3U5D2fn7d0JF

Gospel Tangents

Restoration Shrouded in Mystery

While the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood has a clear date—May 15, 1829—the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood is far more mysterious. Historians have identified three primary hypotheses for when this authority was conferred by Peter, James, and John:

June 1829: The traditional narrative, though it lacks contemporary evidence.
July 1830: An account involving a nighttime escape from persecution between Colesville and Harmony.
June 1831: Records from a special church conference suggest the high priesthood was manifested and conferred “for the first time” over a year after the Church was organized.

This presentation relies heavily on Michael Quinn‘s research in his book Origins of Power.

Forgotten Black Pioneers

Contrary to popular belief, the early Church under Joseph Smith featured a “flat” authority structure where Black men were ordained to the priesthood. Pioneers like Elijah Abel, a faithful member of the Seventy, and Joseph Ball, who served as a branch president in 1844, prove that the “one-drop rule” did not exist in the Church’s earliest days. These men served missions and received temple ordinances decades before the restriction was codified.

1852 Pivot

The priesthood ban was not a founding tenet but a mid-19th-century shift. In 1852, amid a legislative struggle in the Utah Territory regarding slavery, Brigham Young declared that “a man who has the African blood in him cannot hold one jot nor tit of priesthood.” This declaration marked the formal beginning of a century of restriction, often justified by theories—now officially disavowed—such as the “Curse of Cain” or the idea that Black members were “less valiant” in the premortal life.

Brazil Temple: A Tipping Point

The path to the 1978 revelation (Official Declaration 2) was heavily influenced by the Church’s global expansion. The construction of the Sao Paulo Brazil Temple in 1975 created a “dilemma”: faithful Black and mixed-race members were funding and building a temple they would be barred from entering. This reality, combined with years of prayerful supplication by President Spencer W. Kimball, led to the “hallowed and sanctified” moment in the Salt Lake Temple that finally extended priesthood and temple blessings to all worthy members.

Moving Toward Unity

Today, the Church unequivocally condemns all racism and rejects the past explanations used to justify the ban. The goal of the restoration remains one of redemption and connection, inviting all of God’s children—regardless of race or gender—to walk the covenant path together.

Rick shares his theory as to why leaders reacted with hostility to interracial marriage as the primary motivation for Brigham Young to implement the ban.

Don’t miss our other conversations on LDS Faith Journeys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9pQpKe9CEk&list=PLLhI8GMw9sJ7WQNTJCyCO3U5D2fn7d0JF

Gospel Tangents

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