As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been reading the Lengthen Your Stride: Working Draft. Chapter 22 provides more information than is available in Lengthen Your Stride by Edward Kimball. Many have wondered why there has been no written revelation of the 1978 revelation allowed men of all races to hold the priesthood, and all races to participate in temple ordinances. The best answer to this question was in fact that it was not a verbal revelation. Edward Kimball describes the circumstances surrounding the revelation. The information in blue comes from the longer “Working Draft” version. From page 344 of the longer version (Chapter 22),

As a follower Spencer had proved loyal and conservative. He did not come to leadership intending to be a reformer, but he was not afraid of change. His only desire was to push the work of the Church forward. If doing so required changes, he stood prepared to make them.

President Kimball felt that his predecessors had sought the Lord’s will concerning the priesthood policy, and for whatever reason “the time had not yet come.”4 But Spencer had to ask anew. He wanted urgently “to find out firsthand what the Lord thought about it.” It was not enough to just wait until the Lord saw fit to take the initiative: the scripture admonished him to ask and to knock if he wanted to know for himself. He prayed, trying not to prejudge the answer: Should we maintain the long-standing policy or has the time come for the change? He received no immediate answer to his prayers.5

In May 1975, President Kimball referred to his counselors various statements by early Church leaders about Blacks and the priesthood and asked for their reactions.6 Wary of ways in which the question had been divisive during the McKay administration, he asked the apostles to join him as colleagues in extended study and supplication.7 Francis M. Gibbons, secretary to the First Presdiency, observed special focus on the issue in the year before the revelation.8 Ten years after the revelation, Dallin H. Oaks, president of BYU in 1978, recalled the time of inquiry: “[President Kimball] asked me what I thought were the reasons. He talked to dozens of people, maybe hundreds of people…about why, why do we have this.”9

Years earlier, talking about revelation in general, Spencer had written in a letter to his son,

Revelations will probably never come unless they are desired. I think few people receive revelations while lounging on the couch or while playing cards or while relaxing. I believe most revelations would come when a man is on his tip toes, reaching as high as he can for something which he knows he needs, and then there bursts upon him the answer to his problems.10

In June 1977, Spencer invited at least three General Authorities to give him memos on the implications of the subject.11 Elder McConkie wrote a long memorandum concluding that there was no scriptural barrier to a change in policy that would give priesthood to Black men.12 Considering Elder McConkie’s extremely traditional approach to the topic during the Lee administration, this conclusion explains why, according to Elder Packer, “President Kimball spoke in public of his gratitude to Elder McConkie for some special support he received in the days leading up to the revelation.”13 Although the minutes of quorum meetings are not available and participants have not commented in detail, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve discussed the issue at length, and over a period of months.14

During the months leading up to the June 1978, President Kimball spoke with the Twelve repeatedly about the question, asking them to speak freely.17 Spencer invited associates who had not expressed themselves in the group setting to talk with him in private.18 He seemed so intent on solving the problems that others worried about him. A neighbor of the Kimballs, Richard Vernon, had noticed that Spencer seemed somewhat withdrawn. Normally relaxed and comfortable with friends in his ward, Spencer responded to one inquiry that he was not feeling well and changed the topic. Many in the ward had noticed the difference and felt concerned. Many also noticed that Camilla was anxious and worried about Spencer.

Elder Packer, concerned at President Kimball’s inability to let the matter rest, said, “Why don’t you forget this?” Then Elder Packer answer his own question, “Because you can’t. The Lord won’t let you.”19

Spencer later described:

Day after day, and especially on Saturdays and Sundays when there wer no organizations [sessions] in the temple, I went there when I could be alone. I was very humble…I was searching for this…I wanted to be sure… I had a great deal to fight…myself, largely, because I had grown up with this thought that Negroes should not have the priesthood and I was prepared to go all the rest of my life until my death and fight for it and defend it as it was.20

On returning from the airport in February 1978 after one of his trips, Spencer asked the driver to let him off at the temple and sent Camilla home alone. “I want to go to the temple for a while,” he said, “I’ll get a way home.”21 Some days he went more than once, often alone.22 Sometimes he changed into temple clothing, he always took off his shoes. Â He obtained a key that gave him access to the temple night or day without having to involve anyone else. Few knew, except the security men who watched over him. One of them mentioned it to President Kimball’s neighbor, who told Camilla. So she knew that much, but she had no idea what problem so occupied Spencer. She worried that one of the Brethren might be involved in serious transgression and though of the devastating excommunication of Richard R. Lyman thirty-five years earlier. Spencer gently suggested to the security supervisor that his men should be careful about what they disclosed, even to his wife.23

Camilla called Arthur Haycock to ask what was making Spencer so distressed and concerned. The only answer Arthur felt free to give was that something was troubling the President but everything would be all right.24

On March 9, 1978, as the First Presidency and Twelve met in the temple, the Apostles unanimously expressed their feeling that if the policy were to change, any change must be based on revelation received and announced by the prophet. President Kimball then urged a concerted effort from all of them to learn the will of the Lord. He suggested they engage in concerted individual fasting and prayer.25

Over time, through many days in the temple and through the sleepless hours of the night, praying and turning over in his mind all the consequences, perplexities, and criticisms that a decision to extend priesthood would involve, Spencer gradually found “All those complications and concerns dwindling in significance.” They did not disappear but seemed to decline in importance. In spite of his preconceptions and his allegiance to the past, a swelling certainty grew that a change was what the Lord wanted.26 “There grew slowly a deep, abiding impression to go forward with the change.”27

The answer had become clear in Spencer’s mind as early as late March, but he felt unity within the leadership was important and he continued to discuss the matter with others. He sensed resistance from some, which he fully understood. Â He did not push, lobby, pressure, or use his office to seek compliance. Instead, he increased his visits to the temple, imploring the Lord to make his will known, not only to him but also to the Twelve, to these good men who all their lives had quoted other presidents of the Church that it was not yet time. In a sense the past prophets of the Church stood arrayed against this decision. The wisdom of the dead often seems loftier than the word of an imperfect living spokesman. Spencer wanted more than anything to have his fellow servants share with him a witness of the Lord’s will. Camilla noted that in their prayers together, where he had always asked for “inspiration” or “guidance”, he began to plead for “revelation.” She also noticed that he read the scriptures even more intently than usual during that spring.28

On March 23, Spencer reported to his counselors that he had spent much of the night in reflection and his impression then was to lift the restriction on blacks. His counselors said they were prepared to sustain him if that were his decision. They went on to discuss the impact of such a change in policy on the members and decided there was no need for prompt action; they would discuss it again with the Twelve before a final decision.29

Francis Gibbons, secretary to the First Presidency, had the impression that President Kimball had already come to know God’s will and was now struggling with how to resolve the matter in a way that the entire leadership would stand behind.30

On April 20, President Kimball asked the Twelve to join the Presidency in praying that God would give them an answer. Â Thereafter he talked with the Twelve individually and continued to spend many hours alone in prayer and meditation in the Holy of Holies, often after hours when the temple was still.31 He described the burden of his prayers in an extemporaneous talk to the missionaries in South Africa several months later:

I remember very vividly the day after day that I walked over to the temple and ascended up to the fourth floor where we have our solemn assemblies, where we have our meetings of the Twelve and the Presidency. And after everybody had gone out of the temple, I knelt and prayed. And I knew that we could receive the revelations of the Lord only by being worthy and ready for them and ready to accept them and to put them into place. Day after day I went and with great solemnity and seriousness, alone in the upper rooms of the Temple, and there I offered my soul and offered our efforts to go forward with the program32 and we wanted to do what he wanted. As we talked about it to him, we said, “Lord, we want only what is right. We’re not making any plans to be spectacularly moving. We want only the thing that thou dost want and we want it when you want it and not until.”33

…

[page 348]

At the end of a joint meeting of the Presidency and Twelve on May 4, when the priesthood policy was discussed, LeGrand Richards asked permission to make a statement. He then reported,

I saw during the meeting a man seated in a chair above the organ, bearded and dressed in white, having the appearance of Wilford Woodruff….I am not a visionary man….This was not imagination….It might be that I was privileged to see him because I am the only one here who had seen President Woodruff in person.36

…

Confirmation of the Revelation

On Thursday, June 1, [1978] Spencer left home early, as usual, so engrossed that he left his briefcase behind and had to send back for it. His journal for the day records, with striking blandness:

After meeting with my counselors for an hour this morning from eight until nine o’clock, we went over to the temple and met with all of the General Authorities in the monthly meeting we hold together [on the first Thursday]. Returned to the office for a few minutes and then went over to Temple Square for the dedication services of the new Visitors Center South, which was scheduled to commence at 3:00 P.M. The services lasted for about an hour, after which we returned to the office where I worked at my desk until six o’clock.

The day proved rather more significant that this entry suggests. On this first Thursday of the month, the First Presidency, Twelve, and Seventies met in their regularly scheduled monthly temple meeting at 9:00 A.M., fasting. There they bore testimony, partook of the sacrament, and participated in a prayer circle.45 The meeting lasted the usual three and a half hours and was not notably different from other such meetings until the conclusion, when President Kimball asked the Twelve to remain. Two had already left the room to change from their temple clothing in preparation for the regular business meeting of the First Presidency and the Twelve which normally followed. Someone called them back. Elder Delbert L. Stapley lay ill in the hospital and Elder Mark E. Petersen was in South America on assignment. Ten of the Twelve were present.

As was later recalled, President Kimball said,

Brethren, I have cancelled lunch for today. Would you be willing to remain in the temple with us? I would like you to continue to fast with me. I have been going to the temple almost daily for many weeks now, sometimes for hours, entreating the Lord for a clear answer. I have not been determined in advance what the answer should be. And I will be satisfied with a simple Yes or No, but I want to know. Whatever the Lord’s decision is, I will defend it to the limits of my strength, even to death.46

He outlined to them the direction his thoughts had carried him–the fading of his reluctance, the disappearance of objections, the growing assurance he had received, the tentative decision he had reached, and his desire for a clear answer. Once more he asked the Twelve to speak, without concern for seniority. “Do you have anything to say?” Elder McConkie spoke in favor of change, nothing there was no scriptural impediment. President Tanner asked searching questions as Elder McConkie spoke. Then Elder Packer spoke at length, explaining his view that every worthy man should be allowed to hold the priesthood. He quoted scriptures (D&C 124:49; 56:4-5; 58:32) in support of change.47 Eight of the ten volunteered their views, all favorable. President Kimball called on the other two, and they also spoke in favor. Discussion continued for two hours.48 Elder Packer said, a few weeks later, “One objection would have deterred him, would have made him put if off, so careful was he…that it had to be right.”49 The decision process bonded them in unity. They then sought divine confirmation.

President Kimball asked, “Do you mind if I lead you in prayer?” There were things he wanted to say to the Lord.Â He had reached a decision after great struggle, and he wanted the Lord’s confirmation, if it would come. They surrounded the altar in a prayer circle. President Kimball told the Lord at length that if extending the priesthood was not right, if the Lord did not want this change to come in the Church, he would fight the world’s opposition.50 Elder McConkie later recounted, “The Lord took over and President Kimball was inspired in his prayer, asking the right questions, and he asked for a manifestation.”51

During that prayer, those present felt something powerful, uniting, ineffible. Those who tried to describe it struggled to find words. Elder McConkie said:

[It was as though another day of Pentecost came.] On the day of Pentecost in the Old World it is recorded that cloven tongues of fire rested upon the people. They were trying to put into words what is impossible to express directly. There are no words to describe the sensation, but simultaneously the Twelve and the three members of the First Presidency had the Holy Ghost descent upon them and they knew that God had manifested his well….I had had some remarkable spiritual experiences before, particularly in connection with my call as an apostle, but nothing of this magnitude. All the brethren at once knew and felt in their souls what the answer to the importuning petition of President Kimball was…Some of the Brethren were weeping. All were sober and somewhat overcome. When Presdient Kimball stood up, several of the Brethren, in turn, threw their arms around him.52

Elder L. Tom Perry recalled: “While he was praying we had a marvelous experience. We had just a unity of feeling. The nearest I can describe it is that it was much like what has been recounted as happening at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple. I felt something like the rushing of wind. There was a feeling that come over the whole group. When President Kimball got up he was visibly relieved and overjoyed.”53

Elder Hinckley said soon afterward that the experience defied description. “It was marvelous, very personal, bringing with it great unity and strong conviction that this change was a revelation from God.54 Ten years later he said:

There was a hallowed and sanctified atmosphere in the room. For me, it felt as if a conduit opened between the heavenly throne and the kneeling, pleading prophet…. And by the power of the Holy Ghost there came to that prophet an assurance that the thing for which he prayed was right, that the time had come…. There was not the sound “as of a rushing might wind,” there were not “cloven tongues of fire” as there had been on the Day of Pentecost…. …But the voice of the Spirit whispered with certainty into our minds and our very souls. It was for us, at least for me personally, as I imagine it was with Enos, who said concerning his remarkable experience, “…behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind.” …Not one of us who was present on that occasion was ever quite the same after that.55

Elder David B. Haight recalled, “The Spirit touched each of our hearts with the same message in the same way. Each was witness to a

transcendent heavenly event.”56 He spoke of the event again eighteen years later: “I was there. I was there with the outpouring of the Spirit in that rooms so strong that none of us could speak afterwards. We just left quietly to go back to the office. No one could say anything because of the heavenly spiritual experience.”57 Elder Marvin J. Ashton called it “the most intense spiritual impression I’ve ever felt.”58 Elder Packer said that during the prayer all present became aware what the decision must be.59

Elder Benson recorded in his journal: “Following the prayer, we experienced the sweetest spirit of unity and conviction that I have ever experienced…. Our bosoms burned with the righteousness of the decision we had made.”60 Each who felt this powerful spiritual experience confirming the decision proposed by President Kimball perceived it as a revelation.

Elder Hunter said, “Following the prayer…comments were made about the feeling shared by all, that seldom, if ever, had there been greater unanimity in the council.”62

L. Tom Perry said, “I don’t think we’ve had a president more willing to entreat the Lord or more receptive since the Prophet Joseph. We knew that he had received the will of the Lord.”63

As the prophet arose from his knees, he first encountered Elder Haight, the newest apostle and they embraced. Elder Haight could feel President Kimball’s heart pounding and could feel his intense emotion. The president continued around the circle, embracing each apostle in turn.64 Others spontaneously embraced, also.

Spencer felt that the reaction evidence his brethren’s acceptance of the policy change and, at the same time, their acceptance of him. Elder Perry said,

It was just as though a great burden had been lifted. He was almost speechless. It was almost impossible for him to contain his joy. Nothing was said or had to be said. We sensed what the answer was, the decision was made. There was a great feeling of unity among us and relief that it was over. As I have talked with other members of the Twelve since then, they felt the same as I did. I don’t think the Twelve will ever be the same again. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.65

President Kimball also later said, “I felt an overwhelming spirit there, a rushing flood of unity such as we had never had before.” And he knew that the fully sufficient answer had come.66

Emotion overflowed as the group lingered. When someone reminded President Kimball of the earlier appearance of Wilford Woodruff to LeGrande Richards in the room, Spencer said he thought it natural: “President Woodruff would have been very much interested, because he went through something of the same sort of experience” with the Manifesto.67 The Brethren expressed their elation at the events, pleasing President Kimball by the depth of their feeling. They felt greatly relieved that the decision was made and pleased with the outcome. They had yearned for this change but had needed the confirmation of the Spirit to reassure them. After their experience–so sacred that some would not discuss it and the thought of it capable of bringing tears–every man stood resolute in support of the action.