Anybody look at history.lds.org

Cynical side: He’s black and doesn’t have a problem with the priesthood ban. Black! Why do you? :angel:

I agree with you, this is one man’s experience of dealing with what he finds complex about the priesthood ban and coming to terms with how he feels it is relevant to him today. It’s not going to be everyone’s experience and I don’t think people’s concerns should be dismissed with a variant of “you’re looking at it wrong.”

Part 4 of his essay gets to the meat of that discussion. In reference to the scripture where people ask Jesus whether the blind man sinned or his parents sinned:

I believe when we analyze the priesthood ban in a way that seeks to assign blame, either to people of African descent or to early leaders of the Church—and blame has been assigned to both groups—we become distracted. We miss the Lord’s grander, more eternal vision and opportunity.

He’s got me cornered, I’ll be assigning blame in the next sentence. How distracted are we by the issue of gay marriage at church? Sometimes it seems like it’s at the forefront of many top leader’s minds. Are we missing the lord’s grander, more eternal vision and opportunity with gay people? Is our best answer the rough equivalent of restoring sight to the blind but insisting that they wear a blindfold for the rest of their lives? (not a sin but remain celibate) Baby steps I suppose but I still feel we’re in the business of ascribing the discrimination of gay people to god.

I get what he’s saying though; look where we’re going, not where we’ve been. Some people see the past playing out in the present though. Sometimes it feels like we ask that those people move forward someplace other than church… until the church catches up. :

I suppose it all comes out in the wash.