A resolution at the 2023 World Conference proposed removing Section 116 from the Doctrine & Covenants. However, the Church History and Sacred Story Teams did not support this, so the preface was rewritten. A report with the revisions and explanation is included in this issue.
Excerpts from report by the Church History and Sacred Story Team
In 2023, Resolution G-2 proposed the removal of Doctrine and Covenants Section 116 from the scriptural canon. This section, received by Joseph Smith III in 1865, addressed the ordination of men of African ancestry to the priesthood. While affirming that men of every race should be ordained, it also cautioned against being “hasty” in ordaining men of the “Negro race” to offices in the church.
The Diversity and Inclusion and Church History and Sacred Story Teams did not support removing Section 116, arguing that it represents an important step in the church’s journey toward inclusion and recognizing the worth of all persons. Here are some key points from the Church History and Sacred Story Team report supporting their position:
When Scripture Wounds
Scripture provides us with guidance, encouragement, and consolation. Scripture also contains words that can wound or offend, reflecting the biases and limitations of the human authors. Examples from various scriptures include sexist, racist, and violent language. This doesn't mean these words are God's will, but rather a reflection of the writer’s experience, culture, and bias.
Responsible Interpretation
Community of Christ’s Statement on Scripture and our Church History Principles call us to be responsible interpreters. Affirmation 3 of the scripture statement reminds us that, “Scripture does not come to us apart from the humanity of the writers…” and Doctrine and Covenants 163:7 cautions us to remember that God’s light and truth “cannot be fully contained in any finite vessel or language.”
The church’s views on history advise us to avoid presentism, or judging the past based on present understandings, and we have been taught that context is critical in understanding both history and scripture. Scripture must be responsibly interpreted in light of God’s nature revealed in Jesus Christ. When words seem inconsistent with God’s undiscriminating love, we should either:
- Consider if the words have been misinterpreted or misapplied.
- Assert that these words reflect the prejudices or ignorance of the human authors, not God's will.
Removing Sections Sets a Bad Precedent
It is not difficult to understand why people would want to remove from the scriptural canon words that have wounded them or that they fear may wound others. The team believes removing Sections 107, 109, 110, 113, and 123 from Doctrine and Covenants in 1970 and 1990 was a mistake. It deprived members of historical insights and reinforced naive understandings of scripture and revelation.
Interpreting Section 116
At the church’s April 1865 conference, Joseph Smith III was surprised to discover that some of our ministers, who were overwhelmingly white men of European ancestry, were opposed to ordaining men of African ancestry. Church leaders met in early May 1865, and the question of ordaining men of African ancestry came up again. This meeting occurred less than a month after the end of the US Civil War.
The matter was referred to Joseph III, and he was asked to seek the will of the Lord. He returned the next morning with the words now found in Section 116. The document affirmed that men of every race should be ordained. In doing so, the document reaffirmed what had been the church’s practice during the 1830s, when men of color had, in fact, been ordained to priesthood ministry.
The last sentence of 116:4b, which is also the last sentence of the section, “Be ye content, I the Lord have spoken it,” may appear to reinforce the most problematic statements in this section. However, the earliest manuscripts tell a different story, showing the last sentence is not part of what would become 116:4. Instead, it is its own stand-alone one-sentence paragraph. Thus, this sentence may not have been intended to reinforce the points made in paragraph 4.
While some language in Section 116 is problematic, it affirmed the ordination of men of all races, reversing earlier exclusions. The team recommends:
- Correcting the paragraphing of the last sentence to reflect the original intent.
- Updating the outdated and offensive introduction from 1952/1970.
- Celebrating the steps toward inclusion while mourning the oppressive elements.
Moving Forward
The Church History and Sacred Story Team provided several recommendations to the First Presidency regarding the preface. These were considered by the Presidency as the preface to Section 116 was written.
Understood in context, Section 116 shows our faith community making early, though halting, steps toward inclusion and recognition of the “Worth of All Persons” and “Unity in Diversity.” Removing it from the Doctrine and Covenants would be inconsistent with Community of Christ's theology of scripture and its principles for responsible use of church history. Elements of this section are worth celebrating; elements of it should be mourned. But it should be responsibly interpreted, not omitted from the canon.
Section 116, with the suggested changes:
SECTION 116
Revelation given through President Joseph Smith III, May 4, 1865
A council of the First Presidency and the Quorum of Twelve was in session in the home of Bishop Israel L. Rogers in Kendall County, Illinois, May 1–5, 1865. While during the 1830s–1840s the church extended calls to priesthood without regard to ethnicity, the council was concerned about ordaining men of African ancestry in the immediate aftermath of the American Civil War. Their concern was based on the prejudicial attitudes of some White members and leaders. President Joseph Smith III was asked to seek divine guidance on this matter. A revelation was received and presented to the Quorum of Twelve, which voted unanimously to approve it. A General Conference authorized its inclusion in the Doctrine and Covenants in 1878.
In 2023 a resolution to remove Section 116 from the Doctrine and Covenants was referred by the World Conference to the First Presidency. The primary reason was that certain words and phrases were seen as offensive and discriminatory. Careful consideration included consulting with Black members, the Diversity and Inclusion Team, and the Church History and Sacred Story Team. A decision was made to retain this section because the church does not want to be seen as revising its history to appear in a more favorable light. Also, when read as a whole, the overriding message of this section is to ordain people of all ethnicities while emphasizing careful discernment of calling, commitment, and timing (compare to 156:9d).
The last sentence of paragraph four was reformatted to make it a separate paragraph five as it originally was written. By making this change, paragraph five applies to the whole section, rather than just paragraph four.
Today, the church strives to be inclusive of all ethnicities in every aspect of church life and ministry as we pursue our Enduring Principles such as the Worth of All Persons, All Are Called, and Unity in Diversity.
Section 116
1a. Hearken! Ye elders of my church, I am he who hath called you friends. Concerning the matter you have asked of me:
b. Lo! It is my will that my gospel shall be preached to all nations in every land, and that men of every tongue shall minister before me:
c. Therefore it is expedient in me, that you ordain priests unto me, of every race who receive the teachings of my law, and become heirs according to the promise.
2a. Be ye very careful, for many elders have been ordained unto me, and are come under my condemnation, by reason of neglecting to lift up their voices in my cause, and for such there is tribulation and anguish:
b. haply they themselves may be saved (if doing no evil) through their glory, which is given for their works, be withheld, or in other words their works are burned, not being profitable unto me.
3a. Loosen ye one another’s hands and uphold one another, that ye who are of the Quorum of Twelve, may all labor in the vineyard, for upon you rests much responsibility;
b. and if ye labor diligently the time is soon when others shall be added to your number till the quorum will be filled, even twelve.
4a. Be not hasty in ordaining men of the Negro race to offices in my church, for verily I say unto you,
b. all are not acceptable unto me as servants, nevertheless I will that all may be saved, but every man in his own order, and there are some who are chosen instruments to be ministers to their own race.
5. Be ye content, I the Lord have spoken it.