Do Mormons still prevent women and blacks from holding the priesthood?

Most Mormons today won't believe that the LDS church really was teaching what you claim back in the 60's & 70's. The reason for this is that recently LDS leaders have told them that there was never an official reason and that anyone who said so was just speculating.

Nevermind that these teachings were common throughout the church and propogated by the highest levels, even published by one of the 12 apostles in a book called "Mormon Doctrine". But...it was never really doctrine... lol

Anyway to answer your question, a revelation was given in 1978 that all worthy male members could receive the priesthood (and by extension, become Gods, whereas before they were limited to being servants in heaven.) You can read the words of this revelation....oh wait, no you can't. It has never been published. Apparently it was just a "warm fuzzy feeling" rather than an actual revelation from God.

Every white 12 year old boy gets the Mormon version of the priesthood automatically. Until 1978, Blacks were denied this, which meant they could sit in the pew, but they couldn't get into Mormon temples to be married for eternity like every other Mormon, so they couldn't attain the highest level of Mormon heaven and become a god. Cause the Mormon god didn't want any Blacks up there.

Women are still ignored. The LDS church fought tooth and nail against the Equal Rights Amendment to the constitution in the 1980s and they turned just enough of the small Western states to get it shot down.

The idea that blacks sat on the fence in the pre-existence is false doctrine. Blacks recieved the priesthood during the early days of the church. There was a policy during the '70s which prevented black africans from recieving the priesthood. Current church policy extends the priesthood to every worthy man in the church and this policy is given in official declaration 2 which is published as part of the doctrine and covenants.

Actually, there never was an official reason given for blacks not being able to hold the priesthood. I didn't know that there are people out there that do not know that ALL worthy male members of the LDS church have been able to hold the priesthood since 1978.

And, no, women do not hold the priesthood and I don't know that we ever will. In fact I don't know any woman who wants it. I know that there must be some, but I don't know them.

Black men began receiving the ordinances of the Priesthood in 1978. Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints do not have the priesthood. Most LDS women don't aspire to it. They share in all the blessings of the Priesthood already.

I understand how you felt about blacks and women not having the priesthood. I felt the same way when some young missionaries told me that the blacks had been "fence-sitters." However, that is not official church doctrine. To learn more, you can go to www.lds.org. Pray about what you learn there. Read your scriptures and pray to understand them and know if they are true. God answers sincere prayers. Ask him to reveal the truth to you in a way that you can recognize, understand and accept. He has done that for me, and continues to. I believe he will do the same for you.

Mormons believe that God wants worthy men of any race to be priests (they have a lay clergy, so all practicing men are priests); women aren't ordained as priests. Before 1978, Mormons did not believe God wanted them to ordain black men as priests; it changed with a revelation to their prophet/apostles. Mormons don't intend to prevent anyone from holding the priesthood- it's not like they have an axe to grind--they just do what they believe God has told them to do.

Women do serve as leaders in LDS congregations, and give sermons and pray and teach sunday school and whatnot during church services (I saw it when I went there), though they don't administer rites or ordinances. They also participate in all the mormon temple rites, and are viewed as being equals, the same as men, before God. They aren't ordained as priests though, similar to Catholic or Jewish practice, because mormons believe God wants men to be priests.

Mormon women outnumber Mormon men and are, on average, more devout; I guess mormon religion is one more thing on the long list of things women do better than men. It's also interesting to note that black men are one of the fastest growing demographics in the Mormon church, and African congregations tend to be the only ones in which men outnumber women. Apparently, women and blacks don't feel like they are discriminated against by mormons.

Prior to 1978, Mormons, especially in America where the civil rights movement had already been embraced for over a decade, were wondering why God still hadn't told them to ordain black men. Many of them were accused of being racist, and felt like their religion was being attacked, and yet didn't know why their church policy was the way it was. One idea that some mormons came up with was that blacks were descendants of Ham (Noah's son in the bible), and that their race had been determined before they were born based on their choice in heaven. Since that's a simple explanation and easy to pass on, it was attractive to many mormons (probably including the missionaries you talked to). This idea was even repeated by some LDS leaders, but it was not canonized. After the revelation to change church policy came in 1978 and was canonized, those leaders agreed that they had been wrong.

There is still no official "WHY" for the policy or the change, other than that it was revelation to mormon prophets to fulfill God's purposes at the time (The tradition of modern revelation to prophets is a central mormon belief). Most Mormons were delighted when they heard the news about the revelation, because it had been troubling to them for a long time, especially black mormons who could now be priests and missionaries. Because of the revelation and policy change,mormon missionaries started going to more areas in Africa and had more success in South America. It was a bright moment in LDS history.

black men can now hold the priesthood, but women cannot.

see God decided that the role of women was to have babies, not people management.

Starting around 1980 they were supposed to have allowed Black's to be Missionaries and Priests, etc. There's a wonderful documentary on it, called "No One Knows (the Trouble I've Seen)." It gave a great account on how and why they changed their "Doctrine." And no, women are still not allowed. They even have separate Temples for some happenings I believe.

Don't worry about it.

As it becomes politically or financially beneficial to allow these changes, the upper management will announce some sort of message from some sort of God, allowing the changes.

They did it about letting blacks in at all, back when one of their guys was running for an important national office in the U.S. a few years back. (1978?)

They're NOT stupid.

... well, I HAD an answer for you that was about 5 paragraphs long but this stupid computer shut down on me in the middle of it and I lost the entire thing. maybe i'll come back and retype it later when im in a better mood.