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S i d e b a r
Mormon Changes in Practice
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This Rock
Volume 10, Number 5
 May 1999 
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The Church of Latter-day Saints has modified some of its doctrines as they have become socially unacceptable.
Blacks: "You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind. . . . That curse will remain upon them, and they never can hold the priesthood or share in it until all the other descendants of Adam have received the promises and enjoyed the blessings of the priesthood and the keys thereof" (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 7:290-291). "The descendants of Adam" are his white descendants. Though not all white men have been converted and received the Mormon priesthood, in 1978 then-prophet Spencer W. Kimball received a "revelation" canceling the Lord's previous edict to Young and admitting men of color to the priesthood and temple. Proselytizing successes in Brazil and other "dark" countries may have helped the Lord change his mind.
Polygamy: "I understand the law of celestial marriage to mean that every man in this Church, who has the ability to obey and practice it in righteousness and will not, shall be damned, I say I understand it to mean this and nothing less . . ." (Joseph F. Smith, Journal of Discourses 20:31 [1878]). "Celestial marriage" refers to polygamy. Twelve years later, in response to governmental pressure and desiring Utah statehood, the Mormon prophet officially "suspended" plural marriage. A practice once proclaimed crucial for salvation now would merit its proponents excommunication.
Abortion: "There is no excuse for abortion unless the life of the mother is seriously threatened" (Gospel Principles [a 1988 basic manual for church members], 241.)
"There is seldom any excuse for abortion. The only exceptions are when (1) pregnancy has resulted from incest or rape; (2) the life or health of the woman is in jeopardy in the opinion of competent medical authority; or (3) the fetus is known, by competent medical authority, to have severe defects that will not allow the baby to survive beyond birth" (Gospel Principles [1992], 251.) Bowing yet again to societal pressures, the Mormon Church, between 1988 and 1992, discovered additional excuses to permit the killing of the unborn. Very few Mormons realize their tightly "pro-life" church offers such loopholes.
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