Lifting the Ban: The Untold Story of the 1978 Revelation - A Conversation with Matthew Harris

Faith Matters

Faith Matters Foundation

Christianity, Ethics, Latter-day Saint, The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints, Mormon, Mormonism, Morality, Lds, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 7 June 2025

⏱️ 72 minutes

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Summary

This week—June 9th—marks the 47th anniversary of the 1978 revelation that ended the Church’s 126-year ban on Black members receiving the priesthood and entering the temple. It’s a moment we often point to with reverence and gratitude—but the story we’ve inherited about how it happened is, in many ways, incomplete. To help us understand more fully what led to that pivotal moment, we’re joined by Dr. Matthew Harris, whose new book Second-Class Saints draws on previously unavailable documents—in...

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0:00.0	Hey friends, Arthur Brooks here.
0:02.0	September 26th, 2025, I'm going to be in Orem, Utah for the Restore Conference.
0:07.0	It's going to be a great conference, and my part in it is going to be talking about the science of happiness with my Latter-day Saints friends.
0:15.0	Now, I'm a Catholic, but the Latter-day Saints always say I'm your favorite Catholic.
0:19.0	Do you say that to all the Catholics?
0:21.5	One way or the other, we're going to be talking about something that we all share, which is
0:25.1	bringing happiness and flourishing and well-being to people all around the world and doing it
0:30.4	in the context of our shared Christian faith. So be there the 26th of September, 2025, or in Utah,
0:37.3	at the Restore Conference.
0:38.8	Can't wait to see you?
0:40.6	Hey, everybody.
0:41.3	This is Aubrey Chavez from Faith Matters.
0:43.7	This week, June 9th, marks the 47th anniversary of the 1978 revelation that ended the church's 126-year ban on black members receiving the priesthood and entering the temple.
0:55.7	It's a moment that we often point to with reverence and gratitude, but the story we've inherited
1:00.6	about how it happened is in many ways incomplete.
1:04.2	To help us understand more fully what led to that pivotal moment, we're joined today by
1:08.5	Dr. Matthew Harris, whose new book, Second Class Saints,
1:11.9	draws on previously unavailable documents, including the complete, unredacted journals from
1:16.6	President Spencer W. Kimball, and other private papers from several other apostles and prophets who
1:21.4	were part of this story. What emerges is a story of complex revelation, one that didn't arrive
1:27.1	all at once, but unfolded slowly
1:29.4	through conversation, persuasion, and deep personal growth. We often talk about the 1978
	...

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