When the revelation came that all worthy males may receive the priestood (lifting the "ban"), LDS were instructed to forget or disregard ANY teaching on the subject.

I remember that day because at the time it was revealed, my parents were so excited. My father later explained that while serving in the temple he had had a personal revelation that the priestood restrictions was about to be lifted. They were so happy.

The fact that some LDS leaders spoke about Cain's seed is niether here nor there. We simply don't know what is the truth behind the policies, and we were instructed that what had been taught in the past was to cease, that it was not to continue. The point is that it simply isn't relevant. There are some who may be sympathetic to this or that notion, I suppose.

I give the following as my personal opinion, which does not affect my standing in the church, nor does it matter. It simply is, to me, an interesting historical aside... Personally I think the Cain idea is ridiculous, and was most likely borrowed by protestant apologists by members of the LDS church. Joseph Smith himself gave the priesthood to one Elijah Abel who was a black man. The fact of the matter was that there weren't many black converts originally, and that a doctrine that might have come from some other fundamentalist sect was somehow adopted as a "policy" in the church, or more credibly, was adopted as a way to appease the murderous mobs of Missouri many of which were pro-slavery. It was these same mobs that murdered Joseph Smith, and thus the legacy of what might have been a clarified doctrine and set straight in policy in the church took a sabatical while the saints sought to save the remnants of their own lives.

When you're fleeing for your life into a barren wilderness, you tend not to care if you're politically correct. The remaining colonies fought a bloody war that became all about slavery, while mormons were making their first settlements in the Mountain valleys of Deseret.   

The fact that the church was able to thrive and go through many changes, many of which occurred just decades prior, is remarkable. It is to Joseph Smith's credit that reading the Doctrine and Covenants today is as relevant as it was when he was prophesying. It went from being an internally looking religion, one which encouraged every new convert to gather in Utah, to one that became more accepted as worldwide tolerance of religious diversity also became more than just a sentence written on the Constitution. It wasn't until a few years ago that the state of Illinois and Missouri even repealed some laws and decrees, or apologized to Mormons for state sanctioned laws that incited violence and intolerance.

It was not until the church was able to expand beyond the intermountain western area of the USA that it would be able to confront some of the issues regarding its policies. This is the nature of a living church, able to adapt to the endtimes as they hit us. There are all sorts of "strange" notions and programs that appear different to outsiders, but given the seal of the Holy Spirit for the times in which we live, they make a lot of sense. LDS have been encouraged to plant gardens, collect a year's worth of basic food and emergency supplies, to stay out of debt, not partake of drugs, drink caffeine, collect geneaological information, live healthy lifestyles, keep the sabbath day holy, have water instead of wine in their sacrament, baptize not babies but children at an age of accountability (8), tithing, the building of temples apart from churches, a welfare program, church farms and canneries, its missionary program for 19 yr old young men, 21 yr old young women and retired couples, Monday night is family night, home teaching, 3 hour Sunday meeting block, encouragement to participate in the boy scout program, encouragement to write in a journal... and the list goes on... the point is that you're better off getting your information from actual LDS who are currently IN the church and a part of it.

It's not a simple matter of so and so said such and such, because above all, LDS believe that all members need to have a witness of the truthfulness of the restored Gospel--a revelation from God--that they belong to his church. That is obtained by careful study of the scriptures, thought and discussion, and sincere prayer. LDS members choose to be a part of the church. Parents teach their children with the hopes that they will choose to be part of it as well, but most parents recognize that despite the best parenting, children make choices that often run counter to their wishes. Likewise, so does God.

God is not going to force anyone to be mormon, anymore than he forced the Jews to be Jewish. And in many ways, LDS view their religion in much the same way ancient Jews might have viewed their religion when they had an actual living prophet. What was God trying to teach the man he electrocuted when he attempted to steady the Ark and the Covenant? What was God trying to teach his children when they wandered for forty years in the wilderness, and complained everytime Moses asked them to do something that require an inkling of faith? Have humans suddenly changed their nature, that they no longer are willful or slow to heed God's commands today?

Everyone is born into the world ignorant. While we grow to adulthood our minds must confront many notions which we later find out to be untrue or we simply misunderstood their purpose, misascribed a reason to the reason that those around us behaved they way they did.

This is one reason why LDS are encouraged to be tolerant of other religions. We are encouraged in this day to seek common ground, and share in raising decent,upright, law-abiding families and to encourage good in others as well. Because we too have room for improvement and are desperately seeking the guidance and inspiration that can ONLY come from God, especially when it comes to things that ONLY God can answer.

That I believe that the LDS church is the true church of God on the earth, should not threaten anyone. I am not going to blow up some building or hack a head off. Instead I am being encouraged to be tolerant, loving, and patient, longsuffering and humble.

Such is life. And I personally am grateful to live in a time when my religion is not embattled--a time when the government of my land is NOT marshalling an army to destroy my home (other than whatever filth it allows to be sent over the broadcast channels or on the internet, and guess what, I can turn that stuff off)!

It is a great time to be alive. It is a great time to be a mormon. And I for one thank God every day for rich blessings... no conspiracies, no secret evil agendas, no desire to stomp on some underprivileged class, no illegal nastiness... I'm just a person of faith,

--Ray