From 1852 until 1978 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints had a policy of excluding blacks from many aspects of membership. While the policy was reversed 36 years ago, only recently did the LDS church admit that this policy was influenced by cultural racism that was widespread at the time.
The fact that church policy could be influenced by the cultural views of church leaders and members as opposed to only revelation is noteworthy. The church has also denounced commonly held beliefs as to the reason the ban was implemented and again renounced racism in all of its forms. While this acknowledgement should be applauded, it has caused many members to question long held beliefs about the role of modern revelation.
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