The 1978 Revelation on the Priesthood and the Harvest of Souls in Africa

Latter Day Radio, now podcasting from The Intersection of Faith & Freedom.

Maybe it is better to be lucky than good. At least that was the case for my broadcasting partner Martin Tanner and me in June 2018. We broadcast our first episode of Latter Day Radio on Friday, June 1st, and then as we planned out our program fare for the rest of the month, we realized that we had a red-letter day on Friday the 8th. It dawned on us that that was to be the 40th anniversary of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ announcement that men of African descent would no longer be banned from holding the Priesthood.

In our first segments, we spoke with people who were on the scene in 1978 when the revelation on the Priesthood rocked the membership of the Church. And, in the second segments, Martin Tanner gave a detailed account of how the policy of withholding the Priesthood from black men came about and why it was not a revealed doctrine, but rather a policy that was changed.

And in the final segments, you will now hear of the marvelous experiences of a senior missionary couple, Farrell and Marilyn Barlow, who have to date served four missions in Africa. Their heart-warming stories of working with the members and the missionaries will move you. In fact, we have shared some of their photos here on this website. Finally, neighbor and friend Don Gull tells about his experience in New York City as an executive at CBS and his dealings with people of African descent before the 1978 revelation and what happened when people back east heard the announcement. Do you have experiences or comments you’d like to share? If so, please share them here by sending us an e-mail at [e-mail].