Disputing the Changing Doctrine Argument

I hope these are my last words on this subject, but who knows. The subject keeps coming back into public light. While arguing for the ordination of women to the priesthood many call upon other doctrine that has changed for reference and claim it is only a matter of time until this doctrine changes too. Anything is possible and if the prophet tomorrow said they were going to start ordaining woman, I would say okay.

However, I do want to address changing doctrine. Let's start with polygamy since it was the first thing "changed" in this dispensation. First, polygamy is not completely done away with. A man may be sealed to more than one wife and they all will be his in the eternities. What is no longer practiced is polygamy for the living. The doctrine had to be restored for the restoration of all things, that did not mean it had to continue to be practiced forever. The Book of Mormon teaches “For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none;

28 For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.

29 Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes.

30 For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things.”

God commanded that those things be restored and when seed had been raised up and the gospel was spreading throughout this nation and to others, He said now live the law of one wife. I do not see this as doctrine being changed, it is all doctrine we lived one doctrine and when it was fulfilled we lived another.  I am not disputing that there was pressure from the government to change, of course there was.  What I believe is that when we started living the one wife doctrine instead of the plural wives, it was because the purposes for restoring the plural marriage doctrine had been fulfilled.  

Now let's discuss blacks and the priesthood. I do not have a lot of knowledge on this subject, but from what I gather from the scriptures, blacks today are not the seed of Cain, which some people have believed. This belief is strange to me, because from my scripture study it seems to me that Cain's seed was destroyed in the flood during Noah's time. I haven't found any other evidence that would say otherwise. After the flood Noah's son Ham was cursed with a skin of blackness and inherited the land of Canaan.  22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.

 23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.

 24 And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.

 25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren” (Genesis 9:22-25). “...and thus, from Ham, sprang that race which preserved the curse in the land” (Abraham 1:24). This, to me, seems the likely ancestry for blacks today.  But I don't really think the ancestry matters anyway.  The Lamanites, who were a cursed people, were taught the gospel and at one point became more righteous than the Nephites.  Cursings were not meant to be permanent from one generation to another.  Every one has the chance of choosing Christ and following Heavenly Father's prescribed way.  Christ's Atoning Sacrifice encompasses all men and all have a chance to repent.  All can be cleansed and reach their full potential.  

I only have an opinion about this, but it seems likely it was because of the feelings of the people as a whole in the country and around the world. If you look at our history it took many many years after laws were changed to discourage discrimination that discrimination actually began to lessen. Laws went in place after the civil war and more in the 1950's yet not until the late 60's and early 70's did we start to see equality. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints allowed blacks to hold the priesthood in the late 70's. So did culture and people's belief have something to do with this change? I believe it did, are there patterns of this type of change in the scriptures? I believe there is. When Christ was asked about divorce this was His answer “4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

 5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

 6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

 7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

 8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.” (Matthew 19:4-8). 

Some practices are in place because of the culture and people and the hardness of our hearts. The Book of Mormon teaches that all are alike unto God.

“33 ... and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.” Once we could start to feel that the doctrines in the Book of Mormon were true and the culture around the world changed, this change that had been prayed for, for years, was able to be brought to pass. It was not doctrine that was changed but a pattern of practice.

So now let's explore ordaining women. Is there a pattern for ordaining woman in the scriptures? I have not seen any. Some argue that because Deborah was a Judge in Israel and had the Spirit of Prophesy that she must have been ordained to the priesthood. I do not believe this to be true. There was much wickedness in the time of the Judges. Deborah was a righteous woman given a calling, which according to Elder Oaks is priesthood authority and she was working under the keys that were on the earth at the time. She had influence on those around her even the men and she had a gift of the spirit, or power. Gifts of the Spirit or power in the Priesthood are available to all men, women, and children who have made and kept covenants with God. We all are entitled to the gifts of the spirit. I can point to many stories in the scriptures and in pioneer times when woman had been given these gifts and this power. I do not believe any of them were ordained to offices in the priesthood, the pattern in the scriptures is that this priesthood was passed from father to son. “  40 The order of this priesthood was confirmed to be handed down from father to son, and rightly belongs to the literal descendants of the chosen seed, to whom the promises were made.

 41 This order was instituted in the days of Adam....” Doctrine and Covenants 107: 40-41.

I guess none of this really matters though. What matters is God has restored everything in this dispensation that we need to return to Him and save our ancestors. He has not kept anything from us that we would need to reach our eternal destination, nor would He. If priesthood ordination is given to woman by God great, if it is not ever given to us great as well, because more important than being ordained to the priesthood is the power of the priesthood and that is mine to enjoy and call upon if I will make and keep sacred covenants. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.