For those of you who listened to the Sunday morning session of General Conference, you might remember that it was a very international session. Church leaders from countries all over the world spoke to us. In a day and age when everyone wants to show how inclusive and diverse their organizations are, this weekend the church showed the rest of the world how it really should be done. Few diversity programs even try to be inclusive on a global scale.

In 1852, President Brigham Young publicly announced that men of black African descent could no longer be ordained to the priesthood or to participate in temple endowment or sealing ordinances. Following the death of Brigham Young, subsequent Church presidents continued these restrictions. On June 8, 1978, Church President Spencer W. Kimball, announced that “all brethren who are worthy could now receive the priesthood.” We will discuss how those actions might be explained and understood.