Mitt Romney got some very tough questioning today on “Meet the Press.” Some of the toughest questions had to do with he 1978 revelation ending the priesthood ban for those with African blood. Romney was asked at least twice if the policy was wrong, and he bypassed the question. It was nice to see his extremely emotional response in which he recalled his father’s work on civil rights and his own weeping when the priesthood ban was ended.
I predict Romney will be questioned on this topic relentlessly as long as he is still in the campaign. And this raises two interesting questions: will he ever say the Church’s position was wrong? And should he?
My own take is pretty simple: the policy was certainly wrong by secular understanding. It certainly seems wrong. There are historical reasons to think some Church leaders may, at times, have misunderstood the reasons for the priesthood ban. I’ve seen many comments that showed that to be the case. So, you could argue some Church leaders were wrong on some aspects of the ban.
But at the end of the day, I believe that President Kimball received a revelation in 1978 to lift the priesthood ban, a revelation that other prophets did not receive. There is considerable evidence that President McKay and other prophets asked the Lord about ending the priesthood ban and were told it was not the time. So, it is really a difficult thing to demand that Romney, a loyal Latter-day Saint, second-guess the prophets on this issue. I don’t think he can or should do this.
He really appears to be boxed in politically. If his campaign continues beyond February (and I predict it will), the questions may become even more insistent. He will be asked again and again, “was your church’s position wrong?” His answer today, when given time to respond on a one-hour news show, was very good, but it didn’t answer the question.
Once again, we Mormons are faced with a difficult and intractable situation. Nearly every church in U.S. history has had policies that today we consider to be wrong. Yet other candidates are not ask to justify every past policy of every church. Baptist churches justified slavery and segregation for decades, yet Mike Huckabee is not asked about that. I’m not sure how you justify papal infallibility and indulgences and the Inquisition. Yet I don’t remember John Kerry being asked about that in 2004 (although he was asked about abortion, but that is a different and not comparable issue because he was not asked to justify his Church’s position — he was asked how he could be a good Catholic and not follow church doctrine).
So, at the end of the day, Romney should not even be asked the question. Yet he will be asked. Repeatedly. I’m sure glad I’ll never be running for president.