Lesson 30: “God Is No Respecter of Persons”

Purpose: To help class members recognize that the gospel is for all people and that the Church is guided by continuing revelation.

Oh, wow, this is very interesting. I guess it may be a result of being unpressured by work at the moment. But I assumed that this process of going back to review previous lessons was going to be arduous. Instead, I’m finding it kind of a delicious revisiting of old friends.

This lesson was exciting to deliver. I believe we started by describing the evolution of the High Priest Group within the Church. (That history, incidentally, is quite interesting.) Then we studied the history of Peter’s revelation of the taking of the gospel to the gentiles and the subsequent conversion of Cornelius. We observed particularly how much we liked the man Cornelius himself.

The transition began by asking all those who had been born after June 1978 to stand. (It was, incidentally, for us older members of the class a bit of a stunning moment to see all these young couples who were born long after some of us had become adults ourselves. But that’s a digression.) Why June 1978? Because that is when the revelation on the priesthood’s being accessible by all worthy males was received.

I shared several stories about that aspect of Church history, beginning with my own struggle to understand in order to be baptized. The next was a story about a young man from one of the French-speaking islands who was taught by the Elders. We all liked him so much and were anxious to hear how his baptism interview went. At that time, it was mandatory that the applicant be informed clearly about the issue of polygamy and the restriction of the priesthood. With respect to the latter issue, the interviewing missionary told him that there were two groups of people who could not hold the priesthood—women and blacks. According to the report, his only question was, “Why can’t the women hold it?” That was touching to us all.

While I was a member of the Singles Ward in Washington, DC, a black sister joined the Church. I recall hearing her stand and bear her testimony that she wanted to go to God’s house. She couldn’t believe He wouldn’t allow her to go. And we all cringed and prayed that she would hold onto the precious things of the gospel in spite of that restriction. As I heard that glorious announcement that morning in June, she was one of the first people I thought of. And I later I did see her in the Washington DC Temple, worshiping her Father in Heaven and serving her brothers and sisters.

How grateful we ought to be for the principle of continuing revelation!